August 31, 2014

Seattle Part 2

Seattle day two has me obsessed with Top Pot Doughnuts, particularly the old-fasioned glazed. Coffee and doughnuts are a match made in doughnut heaven. I'm lso obsessed with Molly Moon's vegan coconut chunk ice cream in the best waffle cone I've ever had. Dare I say, Molly Moon's is better than the ice cream at Bi-Rite, Humphry Slocombe, and Smitten in SF.

Other notables were the view from the top of Kerry Park and playing anomia and drinking cider at Capitol Cider. I really liked the Capitol Hill social scene.

top pot doughnuts: old-fashioned glazed
pike place market
waterfront park
kerry park
molly moon's: vegan coconut chunk ice cream in a waffle cone
bike polo at cal anderson park
garage billiards bowling
anomia and sixknot organic gingerella at capitol cider

August 30, 2014

Seattle Part 1

I ventured up to Seattle for the first time! I took advantage of the long Labor Day weekend and figured if not now, when? Sometimes a mindset of 'seize the day' is all it takes for me to make decisions. It was an amazing trip that exposed me to a new city, new foods, new favorites, and new people. I'm ever so grateful to friends for giving me recommendations and showing me around to make it an awesome vacation. Also, thanks Seattle for only raining one of the days.

The best parts of the first day were the biscuit breakfast sandwich at Citizen and going up the single hill to Gas Works Park. Oh, I also cannot forget to mention that we made it a goal to try Palace Kitchen's burger after Zagat voted it the #1 burger in Seattle. Happy to have tried it as it was a decent burger but it wasn't very memorable.

citizen breakfast sandwich: homemade savory biscuit with an egg, white cheddar cheese, arugula, tomato, creme fraiche & ham
gas works park

tasting flight at fremont brewing company
palace kitchen burger royale: 1/2 pound chuck, dahlia bakery onion bun; fries

August 28, 2014

Ritual Coffee Roasters

Girl talk is sometimes so necessary. I spent the afternoon catching up with a friend at craftsman and wolves and ritual coffee roasters. Ritual just opened their new renovated space on valencia street and the inside is a bit too pristine. Too shiny and new. I like that they offer song tea though because it drives me crazy when cafes only offer coffee and I don't want to be up all night from drinking coffee late in the day. Song tea's wild mao feng tea was lovely.

craftsman and wolves: chilled corn soup
ritual coffee roasters
ritual coffee roasters: song tea wild mao feng

August 27, 2014

Eiji Part 2

The eggplant with walnut miso has been on my mind since I first went to Eiji a few months ago. I've recreated the dish at home but it's never been the same. I've been looking for an excuse to eat at Eiji again and was pumped to come here tonight. However the eggplant dish wasn't as good as last time and the chirashi bowl I ordered wasn't very good either.


After dinner, my friend and I went over to Cerveceria de MateVeza, the original location to WOODS Polk Station. I really enjoyed the brews at WOODS last time, particularly because I like cerveza + tea and when combined, even better! I was happy to find that the fantasma and beach comber beers were tasty as well. The fantasma is described as juicy and bright with the aura of strawberry sherbet, peaches and cream, and haunted by the spicy afternotes of a special saison yeast. I liked the beach comber more as it was tart, tangy, and fruity, and totally the tastes that I'm really digging lately.

Then we went to Thieves' Tavern for a few rounds of pool and though I lost, it turns out that I'm not as terrible at pool as I'd thought. Surprising I know. Fun night but I'm so ready for an alcohol detox.

August 26, 2014

Roam Artisan Burgers Part 3

After a few months of an absence of burgers in my life, I'm back on the burger train. Despite all the fancy burger options in SF, I still find myself coming back to Roam. There's just something about Roam that I really enjoy, particularly that there are options for a variety of toppings and even the meat patty. Where else can you get a bison or elk burger?! I branched out tonight and ordered a tejano burger with a bison patty. However, I should have stuck to my tried-and-true favorite, the french and fries, because I wasn't that into the tejano. I gave something different a try but now I know for sure to always go for the french and fries burger. Maybe I was just looking for that confirmation ;-) I also tried Roam's locally produced black currant kombucha on tap and it was tasty and refreshing.

tejano burger: pepper jack, jalapeno relish, avocado, tomato, white corn strips, herb ranch

August 23, 2014

Recipe: Caprese Skewers

Conflicted on what to make for a potluck park picnic, I went for simplicity. The challenges of cooking for potlucks is having to pick a dish that is portable, can feed many, and be tasty at room temperature. After much thought, I decided to make caprese skewers! I saw a photo of these online and knew it would be the perfect appetizer/salad to a park picnic, particularly because skewers make the perfect finger food. Also, with so much food that must all be tasted, I appreciate smaller portioned food. And look at how cute they are!


Caprese Skewers
Adapted from Iowa Girl Eats
Serves ~26

Ingredients
1 cup balsamic vinegar
toothpicks
1 8-oz tub of fresh mini mozzarella balls aka ciliegine  (~26 balls)
handful fresh basil leaves, cut in half or fold in half if large
~26 cherry tomatoes
salt and pepper

Instructions
Bring balsamic vinegar up to a boil in a saucepan, then lower heat to medium and simmer until it's the consistency of very thin maple syrup, ~10 minutes. Pour into a bowl and let cool.
Thread a mini mozzarella cheese ball, basil leaf, and a tomato onto a toothpick.
Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then drizzle cooled balsamic reduction on top.
Serve chilled (ok for up to 2 hours in the fridge) or at room temperature

August 21, 2014

Dusk

I'd forgotten how pretty the city can be at dusk.

Zero Zero

I never find myself craving pizza. Along with fried chicken, Italian food was one of those things that I didn't know could be so delicious. It wasn't until I went to Italy when I was shocked at how amazing fresh pasta and pizza could be. I grew up thinking Italian food was endless breadsticks at Olive Garden and pineapple pizza at Pizza Hut. I completely fell in love with authentic Italian food when I studied in Florence and yet, I never crave pizza because it's just so filling and I get bored by the bready crust and the same toppings on the whole pizza. Tonight, however, I set my mind on going to Zero Zero for dinner with a friend. I was craving fresh pasta and I'd heard this restaurant does a fantastic job. Upon walking into the restaurant, we were definitely glad we made reservations; it was busy! We sat upstairs and although it was only around 6:30pm, the bar scene was happening and I couldn't hear the music with all the noise.

To eat, we shared the radiatore pasta with veal shank "ossobuco", lacinato kale, marrow butter, and gremolata. When I get pasta at restaurants, I always order one that I wouldn't necessarily ever make at home. I loved the radiatore pasta shape (because obviously interesting pasta shapes definitely make it more fun to eat) and the richness from the marrow butter. We were conflicted on which pizza to order as they all sounded good, but decided on a vegetable-centric one to counter the rich pasta dish. We ordered the market pizza with pea tendril and basil pesto, summer squash, taggiasca olives, ricotta, caciocavallo, grana padana, fresh garlic, and chili flake. We went with the right choice because it was delicious, light, and made me realize I actually do like pizza. Well, pizza that has the right number of toppings and has a crust that is thin and not so bready.


But the true showstopper were the ricotta doughnuts. I thought the doughnuts at Wayfare Tavern was amazing but after having these at Zero Zero... WOW. They came to the table piping hot and I could see the steam rising after taking a bite. The ricotta gave the doughnuts the fluffiest texture. Zero Zero has a build-your-own-dessert menu so along with the doughnuts, we also got Straus vanilla soft-serve topped with olive oil and sea salt. My mind was blown with this combination. It was so decadent and delicious, it's amazing how ice cream and olive oil can actually taste so good together. I'd come here again just for the dessert. Left totally satisfied.

August 19, 2014

Wayfare Tavern

Ok the fried chicken at Addendum is pretty good but Wayfare Tavern is THE place for really great fried chicken.

I've always been a fan of Tyler Florence and have been wanting to try the food at his restaurant for quite some time now, particularly the burger and fried chicken. Reservations are strongly encouraged because the financial district location makes it the perfect spot for after work drinks and getting a table can be really challenging. I made reservations about a week in advance and requested seats at the chef's counter because I like to see the action in the kitchen. As expected, there was already a lively bar scene when we arrived. While waiting for our table to be cleared, I got a cocktail called don't say a word. A sweet and pretty strong drink.

don't say a word cocktail

The meal started with my first ever popover. I couldn't get over how perfectly soft and buttery it was, and when spread with a thick layer of the most delicious salted butter, oh my... Every restaurant should do away with the bread basket and go for popovers. We ordered 3 types of oysters recommended by our server. The nootka oyster was large and almost too intense.

blue point, kusshi, and nootka oysters

I was so excited to try the burger "le grand"! I had requested the addition of a sunny side up egg on top of the burger but the server forgot and I didn't bother asking for it at that point because I was just too excited to eat the burger. The meat was cooked perfectly and the brie, roasted onion, and bacon were great toppings to the otherwise simple burger. This is the most expensive burger I've had in my life and while really good, I still can't get over Nopa's burger. After devouring my half of the burger, I dug into the fried chicken. Wayfare Tavern's fried chicken definitely sets the bar for fried chicken. By far it's the best fried chicken I've ever had. It reminded me more of breaded roasted chicken because it was juicy and not at all greasy.

fried chicken: buttermilk brine, roasted garlic, crisp woody herbs, lemon; wayfare burger "le grand": grass-fed beef, marin brie, roasted onion, smoked bacon, brioche

We were both super full but I just couldn't pass up homemade doughnuts for dessert. I was surprised by how large the doughnuts were when they were brought to our table because for some reason I expected doughnut holes? I don't even remember when the last time I ate a doughnut was but these doughnuts were amazing, especially dipped in the caramel sauce. I'm not super keen on the rest of the dishes on the menu but I'd gladly come here again to eat the burger, fried chicken, and doughnuts (or try a different dessert because they all seem tasty).

homemade doughnuts with peach jam, strawberry jam, and caramel sauce

August 16, 2014

SF Street Food Festival: Rice Paper Scissors

I spent the day working with the Rice Paper Scissors team at the 6th annual San Francisco Street Food Festival. Rather than perusing all the food offerings as a customer, I was more interested in getting involved with the people who provide all the wonderful food offerings. I reached out to Valerie and Katie, the founders of Rice Paper Scissors, and they had me on board. I ran the Vietnamese iced coffee station and sold out by 3pm! So many people came to the festival and it felt rewarding to see the lines grow ridiculously long at some points. I tried Rice Paper Scissors's beef pho rolls and they tasted fantastic. It's no wonder a few people came back for seconds. The iced coffee is super strong and with the sweet condensed milk, makes a perfect pair to the spicy sriracha-doused food. While on break, I strolled through the stalls and saw so many of SF's best food establishments serving up delicious food. We worked next to Salumeria and they were serving up biscuits with peaches that looked amazing. Unfortunately they sold out before I had a chance to try it. Even my current favorite restaurant, Stones Throw, was tossing up their delicious puffed potato & eggs, and I had a chance to speak with the friendly Stones Throw owner and chef. It was a tiring day but the fast-paced scene made the hours fly by!

beef or mushroom pho rolls

August 15, 2014

Addendum and The French Laundry Culinary Garden

A friend invited me to go eat lunch at addendum in Napa. I've been living in the bay area for two years now and yet it was my first trip to Napa! We left early to make the hour and a half drive up in time for lunch. It was a hot summer day that completely satisfied the summer deprivation I've been feeling in cold San Francisco.

Addendum is located in the rear garden area of Ad Hoc, where there are plenty of picnic tables for guests. It's only open seasonally and serves lunch only a few days a week. You order at the counter and a server brings out the food to you in a takeout box. The menu is simple, $16.50 for either the buttermilk fried chicken or bbq pork ribs & pulled pork, honey cornbread, and two rotating sides. Because we wanted to try both, we ordered the chicken and the pork. The chicken won. I was excited to try Thomas Keller's famous fried chicken because I have never had proper fried chicken before and my distaste for it stems from dry chicken experiences at KFC. With very low standards, I was obviously impressed by the crispy yet juicy fried chicken! The cornbread was delicious and the sides today, potato salad and cole slaw were good but the cole slaw was excessively dressed in mayo.


After enjoying lunch, we strolled through The French Laundry Culinary Garden, where heirloom tomatoes, corn, herbs, pumpkins, etc were growing. I can only dream of eating at The French Laundry so for now just Thomas Keller's fried chicken will suffice. Napa is beautiful with vineyards and farms... it was also extremely quiet and slow-paced. We joked that we'll move here when we're old. As we made our way back to the car, we stopped to buy bread and pastries at Bouchon Bakery, another Thomas Keller owned establishment. I got a loaf of brioche because I have had the strongest craving for french toast lately and it looked like the perfect bread for it. Will report back on how it turned out :-)

August 12, 2014

Stones Throw

I think Stones Throw might be my new favorite restaurant in SF! I was totally blown away by the food and drinks. The menu is pretty simple with just 4-5 choices so it made selecting dishes less conflicting.

Since it was my first time eating here, I kind of went with the raved about dishes. The puffed potato & eggs were hands down the best thing I ate all night. The puffs were beautifully plated on top of a cauliflower mousse and topped with crispy chicken skin. The half-cooked egg yolks inside the puffs oozed out... complete showstopper. I was intrigued by the seafood squid ink conchiglie pasta and while good, it wasn't that notable. The pasta had an interesting flavor that I imagine seafood fans would appreciate more. Next, as my friend and I are both burger-obsessed, we split 'da burga'. No description on the menu other than that it comes dressed & ready. The patty was perfectly cooked medium-rare and the baked potato tots that came out with it were warm and crispy. There was too much cheddar on the burger but the crunchy, refreshing slaw balanced it out.

The desserts are twists on childhood favorites and all sounded amazing. I was eyeing the peanut butter & jelly donuts but because my friend had tried those before, we went with the chocolate bananas foster. No regrets whatsoever. The warm caramel melted the chocolate bananas and brownie, and combined with vanilla ice cream, it was amazing.

Another fantastic thing is the restaurant's huge selection of beer and wine. And for beer novices like myself, it was such a great touch to separate beers by taste and drinkability. I loved that because it made selecting and trying new beers much easier. I got evil twin brewing's low life pilsner and a sour beer. The service was excellent, the brunch menu looks epic, and so I will definitely be back, also to try some other interesting sounding dishes such as the duck pate & mousse, sweet corn soup, and warm pork belly & crispy pig's ears.

puffed potato & eggs
squid ink cochiglie pasta: spicy capers, clams, calamari, shrimp, tender greens
"da burga" aka da disaster; 'everything' baked potato tots
chocolate bananas foster: warm brown sugar caramel soaked bananas with warm chewy chocolate brownie 

August 11, 2014

Umami Mart

Went on a work-related east bay adventure this afternoon. We popped into Umami Mart, a shop that started off as a food blog but now sells the most gorgeous Japanese kitchenware, barware, and food products. I've been to the small pop-up store located inside The Perish Trust in San Francisco but it was my first time going to the original location in Oakland. I want everything here...

August 10, 2014

Recipe: The Single Lady Pancake

PANCAKES. I love them but a problem I always run into when making pancakes at home is that recipes produce way too many pancakes. I can only eat so many pancakes per day/week so I end up freezing a large batch, which I eventually forget about and freezer burn happens. Making pancakes is also, at least for me, a bit of a production. It involves flour, mixing bowls, measuring, buttermilk, batter everywhere, time, and when it's just me I'm cooking for, I don't want to bother with the hassle. Enter The Single Lady Pancake. I saved this recipe the moment I saw it because it simplifies the pancake making process and makes just one giant pancake or two smaller pancakes. In fact, it was almost still too big! But nevertheless, perfect for one... or perfect for two I guess with eggs on the side.


The Single Lady Pancake
Adapted from Joy the Baker (per usual I adapted the original recipe with what's in my kitchen)
Serves 1

Ingredients
1/3 cup (40 grams) white whole wheat flour
1 tbsp dried oats
2 tsp sugar
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 tbsp melted butter
¼ cup + 2 tbsp buttermilk (or almond milk + splash of vinegar)
dash of vanilla extract
handful fresh blackberries 
½ banana, sliced
drizzle of peanut butter
maple syrup

Instructions
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together melted butter, vanilla extract, and buttermilk.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir to combine.
The mixture will be thick. Fold in ½ of the fresh blackberries and ½ of the banana slices.
Heat a non-stick frying pan with a dab of butter over medium heat.
Pour in the pancake batter and spread it out with the back of a spoon.
Cook over medium heat until blackberries begin to bubble and the bottom of the pancake is golden brown.
Flip and cook until the second side is golden brown.
Remove pancake from pan and place onto a plate.
Top with the remaining blackberries and banana slices. Drizzle some peanut butter and finish it off with maple syrup!

August 8, 2014

numnums: Food Photo Shoot

Spent the day cooking and photo shooting up a storm. We started with selecting the 5 recipes we would be cooking and taking photos of. Then we picked out tableware that we thought would complement the foods best. It was interesting how many things needed to be considered, such as dishware, cutlery, tablecloth, background items, let alone angle and lighting. We thought we would be able to get through all 5 dishes but we only made it through 3 before we had to call it a day. It was exhausting but a really fun day where I learned a lot about what goes on behind-the-scenes of putting together a cookbook.

August 7, 2014

Souvla Part 1, Place Pigalle, and Loving Cup

Souvla is a Greek sandwich shop that opened a few months ago in SF. The restaurant interior is gorgeous with plenty of high top tables and seats to perch on. Meats can be seen spit-roasting in the back and the menu is extremely simple.

We ordered the lamb leg salad, pork shoulder sandwich, and juicy potatoes to share. The lamb leg was perfectly tender and the harissa-spiked yogurt dressing added so much flavor. No doubt if greek yogurt is involved, I'm going to love it. The pork shoulder sandwich, juicy and wrapped in warm pita bread, was nearly as delicious. The pickled red onion in both the salad and sandwich added a nice crunch and refreshing taste to the meats. The juicy potatoes were appropriately named, smothered in rotisserie drippings and sprinkled with fresh oregano. The frozen greek yogurt options seem amazing, especially the baklava crumbles & syrup, so I will definitely return to Souvla to try that and to give the chicken and roasted white sweet potato salads and sandwiches a shot!

Souvla: lamb leg salad; pork shoulder sandwich, juicy potatoes

Our second destination of the night was in honor of National IPA Day. I'm really not into IPAs because I find them so dark and bitter tasting. I like my light beers... but since it was a special day, we went across the street to Place Pigalle for a round of beers. Without any signage outside, I was confused if this place was even open. Upon entering though, we were pleasantly surprised to see a great selection of beer on tap and even a pool table in the back room. My friend got IPAs while I settled with a sour ale and a belgian saison.


Our third destination of the night was Loving Cup. I stumbled upon its menu a week prior and when I saw the extensive list of possible blend-ins, I had to try it. We shared a small cup of vanilla frozen yogurt base blended with coconut and gummy bears. Loved it!

August 5, 2014

Recipe: Sweet & Sour Dumpling Stir-Fry

This dish completely exceeded my expectations. I saw this dish featured on this one Korean reality show that I get a huge kick out of watching and just made a mental note to cook it. I had never heard of stir-fried dumplings before so I was definitely curious.
This stir-fry dish comes together fast, especially if you have frozen dumplings stashed in the freezer, and the sauce can be used to replicate sweet & sour chicken, pork, or beef.


Sweet & Sour Dumpling Stir-Fry
Serves 1-2

Ingredients
9-15 frozen dumplings, cooked according to directions
¼ cup onion, diced
¼ cup red bell pepper, diced
¼ cup zucchini, diced
¼ cup bean sprouts
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp sugar

Instructions
Heat a nonstick skillet on medium-heat.
Add a little bit of oil and stir-fry the diced onions, bell pepper, zucchini, and bean sprouts.
Meanwhile, combine soy sauce, vinegar, oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sugar to make the sauce.
Once vegetables are tender, add the sauce and dumplings to the skillet.
Stir-fry for ~2 minutes.
Plate and eat hot!