Dry cherry ice cream – Xanath Ice Cream

Project 365: Day 48

Boring day today so far. Not much planned, just WGL. Ok, maybe not laundry. I gotta really focus on my eating habits from now until the cruise. I’d love to lose at least some of my belly fat. I guess eating ice cream isn’t helping, lol!

Dry cherry Xanath Ice Cream

Organic dry cherry ice cream. I finally made it to Xanath! It’s a super small ice cream shop on Valencia, next to Dosa. They have a nice selection of flavors and the service is friendly. It’s not too busy in there so you don’t feel guilty trying out different flavors. They have a couple benches in front of the store and its also next to a dinosaur parklet. Heck yeah! The ice cream was good, but little on the dense side.  I do appreciate that they use organic ingredients. I’d return and support this neighborhood shop. Child scoop $1.99
Xanath Ice Cream, San Francisco

Ube ice cream – Mitchell’s Ice Cream

Project 365: Day 40

It’s been an uneventful day thus far, besides it sporadically being super windy and rainy outside. I was on the highway earlier and I swear that the car was occasionally being blown into the other lane, scary! I’m looking forward to a great gym workout after work. I gotta work off all that fried Southern food from this weekend and I don’t want to feel bloated for Valentine’s Day tomorrow!

Ube ice cream Mitchell's Ice Cream

Purple yam flavored ice cream. Junior size $2.20
Mitchell’s Ice Cream, San Francisco

I love all the tropical flavors at Mitchell’s! I’d say that Halo Halo is my favorite, but Ube is also delicious. I love that it has chunks of purple yam in the ice cream and I think the color is particularly pretty.

7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2011, 2012

Why did I go to a lunch buffet? – Fresh Choice

We must have been bored or something and that’s why we randomly went to Fresh Choice for lunch. OK now I remember! Papa Chang thought he found a coupon we could use for the buffet, but it ended up being expired. They ended up giving us a discount anyway so we paid less than $8 for the lunch buffet. Although the food wasn’t amazing, I’m not going to complain at that price. And I have to commend them because they have healthy options and they post the ingredients and calorie counts for the dishes. I’m not a big lunch buffet kinda guy (except in Vegas, omg), but it’s fun to go every once in a while.
Fresh Choice, San Bruno CA

Mama Mia's pasta toss Fresh Choice

Mama Mia’s pasta toss. Spaghetti with a meat sauce of ground beef, tomato, onions, celery, garlic, and spices, sugar and salt. Pretty good. Carbs + meat sauce = comfort food!

Tuna pasta salad Fresh Choice

Tuna tarragon salad. Medium shell pasta wtih tuna, red onion, celery, carrots, red peppers, relish, mayonnaise, oil, lemon juice, tarragon, and black pepper. Decent.

Watermelon radish Fresh Choice

Watermelon radish. These were pretty, healthy, crunchy, and tasty!

Tomato basil soup Fresh Choice

Tomato basil soup wtih shaft blue cheese. Tomatoes, onions, vegetable stock, basil, croutons, blue cheese, parmesan cheese, garlic, canola oil, olive oil, kosher salt, thyme, black pepper. This soup tasted like it had cream in it too but it didn’t! It was rich and tasty and the croutons added a nice texture.

Pepperoni pizza Fresh Choice

Pepperoni pizza. Standard.

Sasame kale toss salad Fresh Choice

Sesame kale toss salad. Kale, rice wine vinegar, canola oil, carrots, red cabbage, sesame seeds, olive oil, kosher salt, sugar, sesame oil, black pepper. I loved this salad! It had a great texture from the kale and the light dressing was flavorful.

Greek orzo salad

Greek orzo salad. Orzo pasta, spinach, balsamic vinegar, red onion, feta cheese, olive oil, pinyon pine nuts, dried walnuts, basil, white pepper. Yuck! Too sour for my taste and it had an odd texture.

Clam chowder Fresh Choice

New England clam chowder with oyster crackers. Clams, clam base, cream blend, red potato, celery, yellow onion, diced red pepper, garlic, Tabasco, sherry, parsley, roux, and spice. Good standby. Pretty flavorful.

Hard boiled eggs Fresh Choice

Hard boiled eggs. Great source of protein. Try not to add salt.

Swirl soft serve Fresh Choice

Chocolate and vanilla swirl soft serve ice cream. Somehow not very satisfying. :-(F

Candy cane ice cream – Bi-Rite Creamery

Candy cane ice cream Bi-Rite Creamery

Peppermint flavored ice cream with candy cane bits. Kid size $2.50
Bi-Rite Creamery, San Francisco

This was one of their seasonal flavors before the Christmas holiday. It looked so bright and festive that I had to try it. I loved the peppermint ice cream and the candy cane bits were fun and crunchy! Yay! Bi-Rite remains a winner in my book!

There’s a new ice cream parlor on Valencia Street toward my apartment, though. Gonna have to try it and see how it compares!

Lumberjack cake – Frances

Lumberjack cake Frances

Pink lady apple, medjool dates, maple-walnut ice cream, powdered sugar. $8
Frances, San Francisco

This sinfully dense cake was SO fickin’ good! It had a beautiful dark and rich color and it was bursting with yummy fruits which helped to keep the cake very moist. The ice cream scoop almost looks fake in the photo. I love the texture of it in the pic – it still looks super cool! Amazing flavors all around in this great dessert!

7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2011

Chocolate fondant – Bisou

Project 365: Day 18

Happy birthday to me! Had a great gym workout in the morning then went to Bisou for a birthday brunch with Silverfox, T-Head and RSL. Apparently they told the waiter that it was my birthday so they brought out this cake at the end of the meal and sang Happy Birthday REALLY loudly, lol! I was actually surprised and kind of embarrassed (in a good way).

That place was rocking despite the very wet weather. There was another large birthday party in there. We had reservations but the people around us were quoted a 1.5 hour wait, geez! Bisou is quite the popular brunch place. I guess everybody loves bottomless mimosas!

Afterward, we went and had drinks at The Lookout, then we met more friends at Badlands followed by Toad Hall. It was a great birthday and a lot of my friends came out to celebrate. I drank plenty but I’m happy to say that I didn’t have a hang over! Perhaps the after-bar meal at La Zapata helped out, hehe.

Chocolate fondant Bisou

Rich souffle-like chocolate cake with a molten chocolate center. Served with vanilla ice cream. $8
Bisou, San Francisco

This chocolate fondant was delicious! Maybe things taste better when it’s your birthday. It was so warm and rich and the perfect with the vanilla ice cream. Thanks guys for a great birthday brunch! Too bad the 49’ers lost their game for a chance to play in the Super Bowl. 😦

Bottomless mimosa Bisou

Bottomless mimosa. $10

Mexican root beer float – The Little Chihuahua

Mexican root beer float The Little Chihuahua

All natural root beer poured over a scoop of Humphry Slocombe’s tequila ice cream. $4.25
The Little Chihuahua, San Francisco

I was craving a yummy, sweet treat this particular night so I decided to pop into The Little Chihuahua and try their Mexican root beer float. It was SO nommy! I think the tequila ice cream put it over the top. Not too sweet and you can definitely taste the tequila. It’s a great treat for any night of the week!

Plum galette – Bar Agricole

Plum galette Bar Agricole

Served with lemon verbena ice cream and a ginger crumble. $9
Bar Agricole, San Francisco

While this desert tasted fine, there was something about it that felt a little flat. Perhaps the portion was too small, or perhaps the plate looked a little sad – I’m not sure. I did love the additional fo the ginger flavored crumble. It added a great flavor and texture to an otherwise boring(ish) plate.

Salted caramel ice cream – Bi-Rite Creamery

Salted caramel ice cream Bi-Rite Creamery

Luscious, salted caramel ice cream – arguably their most popular flavor! Kid size scoop, $2.50
Bi-Rite Creamery, San Francisco

I have to admit that Bi-Rite is my favorite ice cream in San Francisco (with Three Twins a close second).  They have great flavors, but I think it’s the consistency that does it for me.  Other creameries have ice cream that are too milky or too airy.  Bi-Rite’s is right in the middle – which is perfect for me!  The pic doesn’t do the ice cream justice since I took it after the melting point. They make the ice cream in small batches using Straus Family dairy and other local and organic ingredients whenever possible.  Their tiny storefront near Dolores Park has a line around the corner whenever it’s warm and sunny, but it’s worth the wait!

7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

Secret breakfast ice cream – Humphry Slocombe

Secret breakfast ice cream Humphry Slocombe

Luscious bourbon ice cream with corn flakes mixed in!
Humphry Slocombe, San Francisco

Yes, puh-lease!!!  This secret breakfast isn’t much of a secret in San Francisco.  It has made most foodie lists as a must-eat.  Several restaurants in the city have it on their dessert menus, and the upstairs coffee shop at the SF MoMA also serves it in an affogato.  Popular, indeed!  When Ben & Jerry’s introduced Jimmy Fallon’s “Late Night Snack” flavor, a Fair Trade vanilla bean ice cream with a salty caramel swirl and fudge covered potato chip clusters, it caused some controversy among local ice cream fans.  Drama, lol!

Of the flavors I’ve tried at Humphry Slocombe, Secret Breakfast is still my favorite.  Their ice cream is denser and milkier than those at other creameries, so it’s very rich and filling.  I must admit that I’ve had some REALLY waxy ice cream at Humphry Slocombe, so my overall feeling of the place remains mixed.

7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2010, 2011, 2012

Mini ice cream cones – ANZU

Mini ice cream cones ANZU
Chocolate and vanilla ice cream, raspberry and mango sorbet, served with chopped peanuts, chocolate sprinkles, and chocolate shavings.
ANZU, San Francisco

I absolutely loved these tiny morsels!  Everything looks cuter in miniature, right?  This dessert, however, reminded me that you should always use fresh ingredients. The ice cream cones were perfectly fine, but all the accompaniments looked and tasted old and chalky.