Calamari, shrimp, fennel, green beans, zucchini, marinara. $14
Pesce, San Francisco CA
Mmm, I love fritto mistos! Who doesn’t love a plate of battered and deep fried seafood and vegetables?! I thought the marinara sauce was a little lame, but I’m not gonna complain too much. 🙂
Fall Smash: George Dickel rye, maple, lemon, mint, fresh cranberry. $10
Almonds and berbere (spice mixture). Pre fixe menu
Radio Africa & Kitchen, San Francisco CA
I really liked these prawns – they had a lot of flavor. They were probably on the verge of being overcooked so they could have been a bit more tender, but I still liked the dish overall.
Sparkling rose wine.
Classical guitar jukebox monkey, Valencia Street.
Hmm, this was greasier than I like it and also really salty from the soy sauce. I was expecting something flash sauteed in a wok and with lots of garlic or something. I didn’t know they were gonna drench it in soy sauce so I probably won’t order this again. $7.95
Jasmine Tea House, San Francisco CA
Contours in the Air sculpture, Ruth Asawa, de Young Museum.
Broccoli de ciccio, green beans, soft polenta and parmesan. $14
Nopa, San Francisco CA
This was pretty tasty and I loved the smoky flavor of the roasted broccoli, but there really wasn’t much food in this little bowl. I was still hungry after eating this especially after the wait to get seated and then to receive the actual food. Perhaps they could considering adding a bit more food in the future because this wasn’t very satisfying.
Red-tipped echeveria (Crassulaceae), West Field Road.
Ugh, these tasted fine but they were pretty greasy and quickly became limp and sad. Perhaps they were overcooked (as evidenced by their heavily blistered skin) or perhaps they got overly steamed during transport, but I didn’t enjoy them either way. That makes me sad because I love string beans! $6.95
Dumpling Empire, South San Francisco CA
Large artichoke agave (Agave parryi var. truncata, Agavaceae), West Field Road.
With aioli dipping sauce. $3
Jarred SF Brine, SF Street Food Festival 2013, San Francisco CA
These beans were very pickled tasting which was great, but they were SUPER greasy. I ate a couple and didn’t want to finish the rest. It was like chomping on a sticks of oil! And I can appreciate that they’ve prepared a lot of beans for the Street Food Festival, but they could have at least cleaned up the stems. Definitely not one of the highlights of the day.
Commemorative plaque to Japanese Naval Ship Kanrin Maru, Lands End. From here, you can get a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge.
This dish was pretty tasty and not too greasy. I liked how they used larger cuts of beef so that they’re still recognizable as such. The beef was also properly cut in cross section for ease of chewing. And the was plenty of flavorful string beans. $8.95
Red Jade, San Francisco CA
Steamed bbq pork buns. Complimentary
Spotted succulent (Aloe?), West Field Road.
Served with potatoes, carrots, green beans, side salad, dinner roll, and cream crackers.
London (LHR) to San Francisco (SFO), United Airlines
The chicken doesn’t look very appetizing, but it was actually palatable with the salty gravy on top. The carrots and beans were way overcooked and had the consistency of soft food for the elderly. I’m not a salad person so I just picked at a few lettuce leaves. This was another underwhelming dinner service from United Airlines. Please, let me fly first class next time!
Jubilee Market Hall, Covent Garden.
Cotes d’agneau grillees aux fines herbes. With haricot vert and frites. 12,50€
La Comete, Paris FR
Mmm! While the lamb chops were tasty, they weren’t butchered very cleanly. The cuts looked beat up and a bit ragged and sad. The French fries weren’t as good as those of our previous meal, but at least they weren’t gross and greasy. But I do love green beans!
Red and white wines.
Menu.
Place Vendome Column. This beautiful column is covered with 425 spiraling bas-relief bronze plates and topped with a statue of Napoleon.
Smoked salmon, mushrooms, tomato, haricot vert, cucumber, hard boiled egg. 9,90€
La Comete, Paris FR
We were searching for an early, small dinner but all the restaurants/cafes were packed. It was such a warm evening that we really wanted to sit outside at a sidewalk table to enjoy the weather and to people watch. Everybody else seemed to eat outside regardless so why not do the same? We walked around for quite some time before we ended up at Cafe La Comete.
Our initial idea of getting a small meal quickly ended when we realized the portions were quite large! The prices were, however, much more reasonable than our first meal in Paris (which I thought was slightly overpriced). The food here was good, but nothing special. I’d never seen a salad completely veiled in thin layer of smoked salmon though – that was new. Our waiter was really cool, a little rough around the edges but friendly and accommodating (and easy on the eyes). We haven’t really had to fumble with our French at all so far since everyone speaks English anyway.
French baguette. Complimentary
Place setting.
Jardin de l’Hotel-de-Sens, Le Marais. We were walking around the neighborhood near our hotel and passed by this cute garden with low hedges and beautiful flowers. I also love the red accents on the building’s dormers.
Broccolini, baby carrots, harcot vert, fennel, and herbed tartar. $26
Lot 7, San Francisco CA
Wow, that herbed tartar sauce was amazing! And all the vegetables on the plate were beautifully cooked. The salmon, however, was a tad over-done for my taste.
Toilet paper-covered bicycle, 16th Street.
House made potato gnocchi served with braised chicken, summer corn, roasted red peppers, green beans and finished with parmesan cheese. $18
Briscola, Reno NV
Is it just me or does this look like barf on a plate? The presentation is a joke! I should have known not to order this when the the title and description of the dish had contradicting information – roasted or braised chicken? I didn’t enjoy this dish one bit. The sauce was disgusting and tasted like it was out of a can. For some reason I imagined a substantial piece of chicken, not mutilated bits thrown in with the random veggies and gummy gnocchi. They should advertise this dish as their buffet leftovers gnocchi plate, seriously.
As a whole, this meal was a disaster and I would not recommend this place to anyone. The service was horrible and the food was marginal. Argh!
Rodney Strong, cabernet sauvignon, Sonoma 2010. $10
Columbia Crest “Les Cheveaux”, Washington 2010. $8
These wines were decent, but honestly their wine menu is definitely lacking for a “high end” restaurant.
Focaccia. Complimentary
Chopped tree trunks, Mount Rose Summit Trail.
Vittle Monster 