Toast Eatery at the corner of Polk Street and Sacramento Streets has an updated American diner look. Right at the #1 California Bus Stop and along busy Polk Street, you would think it would be a hit. It replaces Bob's Boiler, another diner that was at this location for as long as I can remember. Bob's Boiler had run its course and it had no energy and I hadn't tried it in years. Enter Toast Eatery. Coffee was good, buttermilk pancakes looked great, but tasted very average. Katie's hash browns looked average, but she said they tasted great. Toast Eatery on Polk Street - San Francisco The image of the entry on their website is really inviting. I think the appearance seems to promise a bit more than they deliver. Check out their website by clicking the photo to the left. I'd go back and give it another try.
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Bay Wolf Restaurant - Oakland7/27/2011 After seeing the new Woody Allen film, "Midnight in Paris" at the Piedmont Theater in Piedmont, we walked down Piedmont Avenue to have dinner at the Bay Wolf restaurant. Bay Wolf Restaurant has been around for many years, but this was my first dining experience there.
Located in a former house, it has a pleasant welcoming entry, with several dining rooms. Our dining room on the side of the building, however, had an awkward feel as it seemed like a leftover space after something else was carved out. The two most memorable dishes I tasked were the salad of poached egg, serrano ham, beans, and arugula and the other dish was the sherry flan. The salad was similar in concept to the French Frisee salad with lardons and poached egg I like. I liked this salad even better. The sherry flan was light, smooth and heavenly. I haven't been on Piedmont Avenue in a while and it seems filled with interesting shops, cafes, and restaurants. San Jalisco Restaurant in San Francisco's Mission District is a favorite spot for good Mexican food in a comfortable environment. At 901 South Van Ness and 20th Street, it is just out of the core of crowded Mission Street so parking is a little easier. Situated on the corner with generous windows on two sides, it provides a nicely lighted interior.
Add the bright colors, paper banners, and Diego Rivera and Frieda Kahlo artwork and it can feel like a party. Mariachi musicians come in to serenade dines and pass around the hat. Formica tables give the place a homey comfortable feel. The food is consistently good and they even serve hand made tortillas. Portions are generous and prices are reasonable so if you want a nice sit down Mexican place, this is it. There is nothing more important in my circle of family and friends than a reliable Chinese restaurant with good food and reasonable ("cheap") prices. At Golden Horse (Hyde and California Streets), we ordered off the the "wo choy" (fixed price) menu that included soup, five entrees, and dessert. In the old days, the wo choy menu was printed only in Chinese. You either had to be able to read Chinese or have a waiter who was willing to translate it for you -- good luck! We had mustard greens with salted egg soup, beef stew tofu clay pot, crispy flounder, salt and pepper pork spareribs, seafood and greens, Chinese broccoli with Oyster sauce, and tapioca coconut dessert. The standout dish is the whole crispy flounder -- deep fried with succulent meat. Amazing they can produce all this food for $33.88! The owners and staff are friendly and welcome you as old friends when you come in. Golden Horse is well-known among the San Francisco cheap good Chinese restaurant cognoscenti. If you go, take a good look at the Cala market across the street with it's distinctive swooping concrete shell roof-lines. It's scheduled to be demolished soon. As a kid I used to drive by and stare at the interesting architecture of the building. Lucky Peach7/16/2011 Yes we are a bourgeois society where everything is "special". I was at Green Apple Books on Clement Street recently and saw this new quarterly Journal on food. The person behind the counter said these were selling fast here in San Francisco. Surprising since all publications seem to be withering away.
We are a foodie town. Lucky Peach, started by foodie bad boys Anthony Bourdain and David Chang, feeds our current obsession with food. Yet we all need to eat, so it might as well be good, interesting, healthy and sustainable. Besides, it's a damn good read. Check out this article that includes a look inside the magazine. We celebrated Chris' birthday at Incanto Restaurant. Located at 1550 Church Street at Duncan in Noe Valley. At 6:30 PM parking was easy, but parking may be difficult at later times. Featured in an Anthony Bourdain TV episode on San Francisco, it has a reputation for it devotion to pork and offal. I love pork, but I'm a little quesy about innards. Katie, however, is adventuresome and ordered the lamb heart tartar. I admit it was good, but I stopped at a taste. Katie gobbled it up.
The design of the restaurant has a nice traditional Italian feel about it, but still crisp and contemporary. The front of the restaurant faces east and at 6:30 PM the summer late afternoon sunlight reflected off the walls of building across the street -- backlighting and making the faces of my dining partners difficult to see. It's a difficult lighting problem. You either boost the lighting on the inside to balance the light from the outside -- or you shade the windows from the outside glare. The salumi platter was available in three sizes and the mid-sized platter was generous and the selection good. My slow braised pork shoulder lacked the succulent moisture I was expecting. Best dishes were the ragu handkerchief pasta with duck egg on top - deliciously rich and Bay leaf panna cotta. They have a great looking website and an interesting read. Take a look here. Katie's Bakes a Birthday Cake7/10/2011 Fog City Diner Hamburger7/7/2011 Fog City Diner Interior Fog City Diner at 1300 Battery is in a beautiful section of town adjacent to the Levi Gardens (designed by the noted landscape architect Lawrence Halprin) with a view down the Embarcadero. Situated at the tip of a triangular shaped corner you get great views much like Zuni Cafe on Market Street. Although designed as a diner, it's more reminiscent of an old luxury train car like the Orient Express with polished dark woods and booths. Fog City has been around for a least 20 years and although not the hot spot it once was, it is still popular. Fog City Hamburger Any diner must serve a decent hamburger and Fog City is no exception. Alex almost always orders a burger if it is on the menu. Fog City's is classic in every way and served with fries! I recently blogged and included a recipe for Kimchi, a dish found in almost every Korean meal. I mentioned several uses for aging kimchi and one is kimchi fried rice.
If you like your fried rice spicy, then use the kimchi straight. If you want a mild version, rinse the kimchi with water before using. This is the ultimate emergency meal when you don't have anything else in the frig. See my recipe here. Dry Fried Chicken Many restaurants serve a version of dry fried chicken. I first had it in a Mission Street Chinese restaurant where it was called "Korean Chicken". The definitive version currently is at the Shanghai House. Shanghai Dumpling House Shanghai House in the Outer Richmond at 3641 Balboa sits opposite the Balboa Theater. The sleek glass and chrome facade belies the folksy slow service inside. The wait, however, is worth it. Service may take awhile because there is only one server and she moves to her own rhythm. They specialize in steamed dumplings called "xiao long bao". Ten in an order, everybody seems to order them as well as the dry fried chicken wings. The chicken wings aren't on the menu, but everybody seems to know about them and want them. These are big juicy chicken wings with a battered crispy skin that's hefty enough to carry the spicy sweet and sour sauce. Order the dumplings and chicken wings and then try out a couple of other things and you've got a great dinner. AuthorCatagories
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