Cocktails – Betelnut Restaurant

Posted on February 13, 2012 by vicentesf

This was a random choice for a Christmas eve dinner, but I’m not traditional in many ways, lol! The food was hit or miss, but the drinks were very good overall. I loved the creativity!
Betelnut Restaurant, San Francisco

Betelnut’s famous mai tai. Myers’s rum, orgeat and the “cabin sink”. $9.25
Sweet and delicious! Makes me wanna be poolside.

Mao-jito. Betelnut’s take on the classic mojito. $9
A little too sour for my taste.

Phuket gimlet cocktail Betelnut Restaurant

Phuket gimlet. Hendrick’s gin with lemongrass and thai basil. $8.50
The lemongrass and thai basil combo makes this drink very refreshing.

Burma sour. The classic sour made with Bulleit bourbon, fresh orange and lemon juice. $8.75
All you need is a warm beach and a beautiful sunset!

Cocktails – Zuni Cafe

Posted on February 7, 2012 by vicentesf

Finally made it to Zuni Cafe for Sunday brunch. I’ve been here before but only for a quick meal. We had reservations for when they opened and there was a line outside when we arrived. I think people who didn’t have reservations decided to come early to see if they could get a table. We were seated upstair at a table for 2 in the corner. I loved it! We were next to the window and there was some privacy where we were. The table next to us wasn’t even seated until near the end of our meal, score!

The service, of course, was great and the food was absolutely amazing! We had to have mimosas and a few other cocktail, lol!
Zuni Cafe, San Francisco

Balsamic bloody Mary with spicy pepper-onion relish. $11.50
You’ll never see me ordering a bloody Mary, but Silverfox had this and it was VERY tasty. I actually really liked it and would order it for myself next time. It had a great kick and the balsamic vinegar gave it a great flavor. Noms!

Aperol cocktail. $10.75
Aperol is an orange flavored Italian apertif. Not sure what else they put in the cocktail, but it was super tasty!

Mimosas. $8 each
A Sunday brunch standard. These were a lot nicer than the ones I usually get for Sunday Funday bottomless mimosas. They must use real orange juice in these and better quality champagne.

Chocolate fondant – Bisou

Posted on January 23, 2012 by vicentesf

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.

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. $10

Cocktails – Mercury Lounge

Posted on January 20, 2012 by vicentesf

Silverfox and I came here to redeem an expired daily deal coupon (so we were at least able to deduct the face value). We tend to be early eaters so it was nice find out that we arrived during their happy hour (Tue-Fri, 5pm – 8pm). Well drinks were only $4 and the pours were decent, score!
Mercury Lounge, San Francisco

Rose Kennedy. Well vodka soda with a splash of cranberry juice.

Cape Cod. Well vodka with cranberry juice.

Madras. Well vodka with orange juice and cranberry juice.

Orange-lime sparkling mimosas – Criolla Kitchen

Posted on January 18, 2012 by vicentesf

Bubbly mimosas, a great way to start Sunday brunch! Criolla’s orange-lime version is light and refreshing. And they’re perfectly priced! Two for $6
Criolla Kitchen, San Francisco

Hawaiian burger – Pinocchio In The Desert

Posted on January 15, 2012 by vicentesf

Project 365: Day 10

I had a hard time sleeping last night, not sure why. I even had a nightmare where a snake tried biting me. Odd, huh?

Silverfox and I had a late brunch at one of our usual Palm Springs breakfast joints, Pinocchio In The Desert. Unfortunately, we were SO disappointed. Maybe it was the overcast weather, but everything at this place seemed off. I’ve always known that you don’t really go to Pinocchio for the food, but the atmosphere is usually really fun so you don’t notice that the food isn’t all that great.

Today, we both noticed that the food was really crappy. That and the bottomless mimosas gave me a headache and knocked me out for the afternoon.

We did have a great dinner at Johannes though. You can read my diatribe about dark restaurants in my previous entry. I HATE DARK RESTAURANTS! So annoying.

Otherwise, had a lazy day. Did some clothes shopping and ran some errands. A nice vacay day if you ask me. Just wish the food had been better.

Half pound burger on a whole wheat bun, pineapple, teriyaki sauce, lettuce, sliced tomato, pickles, caramalized onions, swiss cheese and cole slaw. $10.95
Pinocchio In The Desert, Palm Springs CA

I guess this tasted ok, but how can you really go wrong with a burger drenched in teriyaki sauce with pineapples! Hawaiian burgers have always been a favorite of mine, but the beef patty on this burger was a bit of a throw away. Sad.