Porridge King - Daly City8/11/2011 Porridge King in Daly City is located in the same mall as 99 Ranch Market, a mecca for Asian food on the peninsula. I go there when I don't want to fight the crowds and parking in San Francisco. I find the BBQ items in 99 Ranch a bit sub par so I usually go over to the Porridge King for something better. Seeing a whole roast pig hanging on a hook can be a bit off-putting, but it can also be a thing of beauty depending on your perspective. Photo of Jook - wikipedia Porridge refers to a thick rice soup called "jook" in Cantonese. Chinese eat it for breakfast, a light lunch or snack. Koreans also call this soup "juk", but usually serve it to small children or someone ill. It's easy to eat and easy to digest. You would think that naming your restaurant the Porridge King, would mean the jook was really good -- not necessarily so here. The jook here is somewhat bland saved only by what condiments you add to it. The roast pork at porridge King on the other hand is really good. Sweet succulent meat with crispy skin reminiscent of chicharones. A whole roast pork is a signature dish at many important Chinese events, skillfully carved into serving pieces and re-assembled to maintain it's whole appearance. Look for it at your favorite Chinese deli.
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On Tuesdays Let them Eat Cake8/9/2011 Tartine's Country Bread San Francisco's Tartine Bakery at 18th and Guerrero is supposed to have some of the best artisan bread around. The daily bread comes out at 4:00 PM and I'm told it sells out quickly. I was there on a Thursday in July arriving after 5:00 PM and there seemed to be a good stock of loaves in the back. This last time I went on a Tuesday at 5:30 PM thinking I would still be able to buy a loaf. No - they were sold out! I'm told on Tuesdays, they bake substantially less bread than on other days. Fresh out of bread so I had a gluten free carrot cake made with kamut flour and a cup of tea. It was good -- dense with carrots present and without the need for the familiar cream cheese frosting. I'll go another day to get my loaf of bread. If you go on Tuesdays for bread, go before 5:00 PM. Poesia Restaurant - Grilled Calamari8/5/2011 Grilled Calamari - Poesia Restaurant, San Francisco Poesia Restaurant in the Castro is located on the second floor of a former house. Although comfortable, the conversion of the house to a restaurant seemed incomplete as it didn't have the charm and cozy feeling of being in someone's home and yet it didn't have the polish of a sophistication restaurant either. The food, however, was the best part of the experience. Dinner here was a gift from Alex. Thanks Alex.
Click here or on the photo for the Poesia Restaurant website. 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. 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. Mission District's Farina Restaurant has open air seating and large windows at its entrance. At night the glow of the restaurant beckons on a dark stretch of 18th Street between happening Valencia Street and Guerrero. There is an outdoor terrace on the second floor and the handrails in the photo above lead you to the second floor dining room and terrace. Constructed as a simple one-piece integrated metal handrail and bracket, it is the most similar to the one I saw in the Villa d' Este at the Tivoli Gardens that I published about a month ago. See that handrail here.
I started this series because I'm planning to replace my clunky handrail at home. My current thought is to have a wood handrail with a bracket similar to this. I like the warm feel of wood compared to metal. Work in starting in a week so I need to finish the design. 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. 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. 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! AuthorCatagories
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