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
Crispy fried russet and sweet potatoes, fried okra, zucchini sticks, cool ranch, spicy ketchup, bbq sauce. Happy hour $6
Nola, Palo Alto CA
When we saw that this was only six bucks on the menu, we assumed that it was gonna be a small sampler plate. OMG, this bowl was packed with food! I think my heart is constricting just remembering it. I was actually surprised at how well everything was fried though. Nothing was really greasy or limp, and everything tasted pretty good! Well done, Nola.
Lindley’s varied lupine (Lupinus variicolor, Fabaceae), Pigeon Point.
Delicious mixture of veggies cooked to order in Hahn’s special spicy sauce. Served with rice, bean sprouts and kimchee. $8.95
Hahn’s Hibachi, San Francisco CA
Hmm, this was just ok – really nothing special. I chose the spicy sauce option and there wasn’t any heat despite the presence of chili flakes.
Courtyard at St. Kevin Rectory, Cortland Avenue.
Thai garlic seasoned vegetable stir fry with shrimp, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, onions, zucchini with a touch of garlic. $15.95
Original Thai Cuisine, Kailua-Kona HI
This tasted pretty good. The shrimp were tender and the garlic sauce was flavorful. They included plenty of vegetables so that made me happy.
Hulihee Palace, Ali’i Drive.
Panang curry with beef. Rich, strong, zesty with a touch of coconut milk, peppers, peas, carrots, zucchini, basil leaves and kaffir lime leaves. $13
Original Thai Cuisine, Kailua-Kona HI
This had a lot of great flavor and you can choose the spiciness level. Of course I asked for “Thai hot”! The beef was a little tough and chewy though.
Public telephones with orchid decorations, KOA Airport.
Seared sea scallops served on a bed of spinach noodles in a spicy galangal coconut green curry sauce. Toppped with green papaya, zucchini, and fried basil. $20
Zadin, San Francisco CA
This was a weird dish, and I’m not sure it was a successful one. The spinach noodles and green curry sauce didn’t taste amazing together, and the seared scallops just seemed like an afterthought.
Mr. Bluebird came to visit my balcony.
Squash blossoms, zucchini, goat cheese, spring onion, tomato vinaigrette, chicken sausage, mixed greens. $16
Foreign Cinema, San Francisco CA
Another delicious brunch dish! I particularly liked the nice sear on the chicken sausage. Everything was super flavorful and tasted fresh and spring-y.
Water service.
Castro Castle Guest House, 17th Street. I’ve always thought that this building was super cheesy looking and out of place. But I appreciate that it has SO much character. I don’t think I’d ever want to stay here though.
Freshly grated zucchini is baked into this hearty bread that’s complimented by crunchy walnuts and spiced cinnamon. $2.75
Napa Farms Market, San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
I think it’s interesting that this market sells baked goods from City Baking Company which is actually based out of South San Francisco and not Napa Valley. Oh well, the bread was delicious and cut nice and thick.
Small drip Equator Coffees & Teas. $2.25
Two scrambled eggs with fresh mushroom, tomato, basil, zucchini and Jarlsberg cheese. Served with a cup of fresh fruit (strawberry, banana, orange, cantaloupe, honeydew melon), 2 slices whole wheat walnut bread, Darigold butter, and raspberry jam. $10.75
Chloe’s Cafe, San Francisco
Mmm, this scramble was very good and pretty healthy, even with cheese. Jalrsberg has less fat than other cheese so it was more guilt-free. All the vegetables were delicious, but I wish the eggs had been cooked as a softer scramble. That would have been perfect!
White Hygrandea (Hydrangeaceae), Jersey Street. The house down the street improved their sidewalk-scaping along the side of their building. I love the addition off these lovely Hydrangeas.
Mexican meatball soup. Beef and pork meatballs in a tomato based broth with carrots, onions, zucchini, celery, lime, parsley, and shredded tortilla chips. $8
Mijita, San Francisco
Yet another soup that was served luke warm! Was this suppose to be served that way? I like my soups HOT! If they’re too hot, then I’ll just wait a couple minutes for them to cool down, but I enjoy them so much more when they’re able to warm my stomach, literally! This soup was OK. Not sure why it’s on the 7×7 Big Eat list. There are plenty of other soups out there that have more flavor (and are served piping hot). The meatballs are tiny, making them easier to eat I suppose. With that much vegetables in the soup, you’d think that it’d have a little more flavor.
Oh, and a sea gull tried to attack me while sitting at the outside table. That was my cue to move inside, but there are still birds running around there too. Gross, so unsanitary!
7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2010, 2011, 2012
Fried tofu with broccoli, bok choy, zucchini, carrot, onion, peas, mushrooms, water chestnuts, and garlic. $6.95
Chef Wang Restaurant, Millbrae CA
You never sure what you’re gonna get from some Chinese menus because certain dish names aren’t very descriptive. Who knew this dish would have such a variety of vegetables in it!? Pleasant surprise. 🙂
Johannes Restaurant, Palm Springs CA
Ok, the title of this blog entry is a little unfair, but I wanted to vent a little bit. I actually had a very good experience at Johannes. The service was excellent as was the food.
But I’m just gonna go out and say it – I hate super dark restaurants!
For me, part of an amazing dining experience is being able to actually see what I’m eating. For instance, my duck appetizer tasted great and I’m sure it looked amazing – BUT I COULDN’T SEE IT! I really wanted to see the amazing roasted duck against the dark lentils and the beautifully drizzled raspberry vinaigrette. BUT everything looked just like a dark lump. I tried positioning the candle to get better shots to no avail. What you see on this blog is WAY better than what I actually saw in person!
How does a dimly lit room improve my dining experience!? I can’t see my food. I can’t see my dining my guest. I CAN’T SEE ANYTHING!!!
This is becoming such a pet peeve for me that I’m tempted to decline my next reservation if I enter a restaurant and see that it’s lit like a Paleozoic cave! Just wait, I’m gonna do it! This is ridiculous!
So in conclusion, I enjoyed my dinner but it was a little overpriced considering that I couldn’t FULLY enjoy my meal.
Lillet blonde. Over ice, orange zest. $9
Grey Goose vodka martini up with olives. $11
Pimm’s cup, lemon juice, over ice. $9
Brussels sprouts salad (special). Lemon juice, olive oil, pecorino cheese and walnuts. $12
Very bright and refreshing. This was a simple salad that you can easily make at home. I think the hardest part would be leafing the brussels sprouts, probably very labor intensive.
Honey and soy glazed duck breast. Sliced roasted duck breast, Beluga lentil salad, tiny greens and raspberry vinaigrette. $11
My favorite dish of the night. It was served cold and tasted amazing. I’m sure it was beautifully composed, but I really couldn’t see much of it. The dark duck on the dark lentils looked like a black blob in the restaurant. The flavor were great and the textures were fun.
Australian grass fed kangaroo loin. Glazed bosc pear, veal bacon, walnuts, orange, cranberries, broccolini, juniper merlot reduction. $29
The kangaroo didn’t taste as crazy as I thought it would. I guess the chef recommends it served medium rare, but this came out pretty rare. I wish I would have ordered it medium instead. It was very tender and the reduction tasted great. The bosc pear came out super hot and delicious, and I loved the mixed topping.
New Zealand grass fed young lamb rack. White beans, zucchini, tomatoes, grilled green onions, triple Dijon mustard sauce. $36
Wow, you get a LOT of lamb – 6 ribs of it! This was very delicious and super tender. I wish the grilled green onions weren’t on the plate though. They seemed too clunky for an otherwise beautiful plate.
Baguette and pesto butter.
Vittle Monster 