Margaritas – Hecho

Project 365: Day 65

So I’ve recently returned from an 11-day trip to Puerto Rico/cruise to the southern Caribbean. I gladly didn’t have internet during the trip, but now I’m completely slammed with a huge backlog of posts that I need to complete. I also couldn’t post anything for Project 365 so this is what I’m gonna do from now on. I won’t be posting a pic from that particular day for my Project 365 posts, but I will continue to use these posts as journal/daily entries. I’ll try to catch up on all my posts, but please be patient.  🙂

7 spice margarita Hecho

7 spice margarita – Don Julio Blanco tequila, cucumber, agave, lime juice, togarashi spice. $12
Hecho, San Francisco

I loved this margarita! It was nice and spicy and so flavorful!

Hecho margarita

Hecho margarita – Partida Reposado tequila, fresh lime and agave nectar. $10
This margarita was a bit boring compared to the 7 spice margarita. There also wasn’t very much tequila so it lacked any kind of punch.

Water Hecho

Cute water glasses.

Tom yum gai – Sai Jai Thai Restaurant

Tom yum gai Sai Jai Thai Restaurant

Spicy and sour soup with chicken, mushrooms, tomatoes, onion, lemongrass and lime juice. $6.95
Sai Jai Thai Restaurant, San Francisco

This was tasty, but it arrived at our table barely warm! Not good. There’s not as much flavor when it’s cold and it starts tasting more sour for some reason. Also, I thought it was weird that the huge pieces of mushrooms and tomatoes were completely raw.

Tom yum gai Sai Jai Thai Restaurant

Cocktails – Fish & Farm

I enjoyed these cocktails at Fish & Farm but I don’t think they were worth $12 a pop. You can get delicious, more intricate cocktails and other places for less money. And you’ll get larger pours!
Fish & Farm, San Francisco

The Scofflaw cocktail Fish & Farm

The Scofflaw. Classic Prohibition Era cocktail. Templeton rye, dry vermouth, house-made grenadine, fresh squeezed lemon juice, Reagan’s orange bitters, orange peel garnish. $12

Basil Blush cocktail Fish & Farm

Basil Blush. Hangar One vodka, fresh lime juice, agave nectar with a fist full of basil and freshly Watkins cinnamon shaken and served up. $12

Taylor Street Margarita cocktail Fish & Farm

Taylor Street Margarita. Herradura Blanco tequila, cointreau, fresh lime juice, and agave nectar shaken hard and served on the rocks. $12

Pama Manhattan cocktail Fish & Farm

Pama Manhattan. Woodford Reserve bourbon, Pama pomegranate liquor, chilled and served up, garnished with a brandied cherry. $12

Margarita – Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant

Margarita Tommy's Mexican Restaurant

100% agave tequila, hand squeezed lime juice on the rocks with salt. $8
Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant, San Francisco

This was pretty good, but it wasn’t anything special so I”m not sure why it made the 7×7 Big Eat SF list. I just ordered their house margarita so perhaps their specialty margaritas taste better. I’m not really complaining about it because I did enjoy it, but it didn’t blow my mind. Tommy’s is pretty far out in the Richmond neighborhood so I probably won’t be making frequent trip back.

Chips and salsa Tommy's Mexican Restaurant

Tortilla chips with red and green salsa. Complimentary. I LOVE chips and salsa! So salty and good, and the red salsa had some heat to it.  🙂

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

Prather Ranch beef carpaccio – The Slanted Door

Prather Ranch beef carpaccio The Slanted Door

Served with roasted peanuts, rau ram (Vietnamese coriander), fresh lime juice and rice crackers with black sesame.  $12
The Slanted Door, San Francisco

This dish was tasty and very fun to eat!  The large rice crackers were great to break apart and eat with the beef.  They provided a nice crunch and didn’t take away from the carpaccio flavor.  I loved how they dressed the beef.  I don’t think I’ve ever had rau ram in this way.  I couldn’t quite tell what it was while I was eating it.  It didn’t have a lot of flavor, maybe a slight bitterness, but it was a pretty sturdy leaf.  I loved the texture combined with the roasted peanuts.  The color of the carpaccio was a little off-putting because the lime juice had begun to cook the beef and made it a weird grey flesh color.  Regardless, it tasted amazing!  Noms!

Rau rum (Persicaria odorata) is commonly called Vietnamese coriander, Vietnamese mint, Vietnamese cilantro, Cambodian mint, and hot mint.

Cocktails – Hog & Rocks

Tom Collins Hog & Rocks

Tom Collins: Gordon’s gin, lemon, simple syrup, soda, garnished with lemon slice and cherry.  $6 happy hour

Dark & Stormy Hog & Rocks

Dark & Stormy: Coruba dark rum, bundaberg ginger beer, lime juice, garnished with lime slice.  $6 happy hour
Hog & Rocks, San Francisco

Have I ever mentioned that I love happy hour, lol!  These drinks were particularly delicious, and even more so at the discounted prices.  The Tom Collins was refreshing and light while the Dark & Stormy was dark and had a great ginger flavor.  I also love it when drinks are served tall (they last longer)!

Cosmopolitan – Tokyo Go-Go

Cosmopolitan Tokyo Go-Go

Vodka, triple sec, cranberry juice, and fresh lime.
Tokyo Go-Go, San Francisco

I know that cosmopolitan cocktails have been relegated to “girly drink” status, but I don’t care!  I enjoy the sweet, tangy flavor of this vodka classic.  And who can complain when you can get it for happy hour prices!?  Heck yeah!

Cocktails – Beretta

Nuestra Paloma Beretta

Nuestra Paloma – tequila, elderflower, cointreau, grapefruit, bitters. $10

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

Dolores Park Swizzle Beretta

Dolores Park Swizzle – rhum, lime, maraschino, absinthe, bitters, garnished with mint. $9

Airmail Beretta

Airmail – rum, honey, lime, prosecco. $9
Beretta, San Francisco

If I had to rank these 3 cocktails from best to OK, I would say Nuestra Paloma, Airmail, then Dolores Park Swizzle.  The Nuestra Paloma had a great, distinct flavor combination.  I personally love tequila, and the addition of the other ingredients made for a wonderfully bright (and strong) drink.  The Airmail was good and very drinkable.  It didn’t taste particularly special though.  I didn’t enjoy the flavors int he Dolores Park Swizzle.  The cocktail was beautiful, but there was something in it that turned me off.  Perhpas it was the addition of absinthe.  I must say that I’m always impressed by the bartenders at Beretta for their cocktail making abilities, and almost all of their speciality cocktails are DELICIOUS!  During my last visit, though, our first drinks didn’t arrive at our table until our second dish was out.  Now that’s kind of inexcusable – sorry!