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

Macaroni and cheese – Cafe Flore

Macaroni and cheese Cafe Flore

Shell pasta baked in a creamy parmesan and white cheddar cheese sauce with cornbread crumble and chopped parsley topping. $6.50
Cafe Flore, San Francisco

Wow, this was good! Maybe it’s nostalgia, but I tend to like yellow mac and cheese the best. This version, however, made me forget about the color (hehe). It was nice and rich, and the crunchy topping added a great texture and even more flavor.  The medium sized shells held a lot of the yummy cheese sauce and were fun to play with! 🙂

Rock shrimp tortellini – Firewood Cafe

Rock shrimp tortellini Firewood Cafe

Stuffed with fresh gulf rock shrimp, green onions, shallots and red bell peppers.  Served with Firewood sauce (mixture of marinara sauce and white wine cream sauce) and bread, topped with parsley and shaved parmesan cheese.  $9.95
Firewood Cafe, San Francisco

I’ll admit that I’ve had this dish more than a few times after hanging out at the surrounding bars all night, hehe!  I think it’s the Firewood sauce, a great mixture of marinara, wine, and cream) that hits just the right spots.  It’s a warm and homey dish – a perfect plate to satiate an after-bar appetite.  The tortellini always has a nice bite to them and the rock shrimp filling is delicious.

Wild boar sugo – BIN 38

Wild boar sugo BIN 38

Served with pappardelle, summer greens, tomatoes, cheese, purple basil and a 63 degree egg. $19
BIN 38, San Francisco

Ever had a dish that looked amazing, but was sabotaged by one ingredient? Ding, ding, ding, ding! This dish was absolutely beautiful and tasty (I think), but the summer green (whatever it was, somekind of brassica) was overpoweringly bitter. I couldn’t taste anything else, and the bitter flavor continued to linger and intensify in my mouth as I ate more. The pasta was cooked perfectly, but I couldn’t really taste the wild boar sugo because (1) the aforementioned summer green killed my taste buds and (2) there was so LITTLE of it! For some positives, the 63 degree egg was amazing and flowed beautifully over the plate after it was broken and the colors from the tomatoes and purple basil were striking.

Spinach crab ravioli – Anchor Oyster Bar

Spinach crab ravioli Anchor Oyster Bar

Beautifully striped ravioli pasta filled with spinach, artichoke, and ricotta cheese.  Topped with lump crab meat, smothered in a wonderful lemon butter sauce, and sprinkled with paprika.
Anchor Oyster Bar, San Francisco

I have to admit that I was a little surprised (and impressed) at this dish. I think of Anchor Oyster Bar as serving simple, delicious food – caring more about freshness and quality than presentation. So the spinach-striped pasta was a nice surpise. It was abolutely beautiful and had a wonderful sheen to it. The ravioli was cooked perfectly and the crab meat was SO delicious. This was another special item on their menu, but I would love to see this again!