Andalu

3198 16th St
San Francisco, CA 94103

Occasion: KDPhi Fam Bam Dinner for Christina's belated Bday dinner! 11.23.10

Ahi Tartar Tacos

with Chili and Lime, Mango Salsa 
They're only $1 on Tuesdays! Yay for taco tuesdays!  These little tacos were delicious. I've always been a fan of tuna tartar, so this was a definite must get item.  They were mini tacos, which was perfect so you don't feel overwhelmed by an actual whole taco, leaving you feeling like you've had too much.  The mango salsa complimented the tuna tar tar very well and the taco shell was not too thick nor too thin. It was a delightful little treat to snack on. YUM!

Curly Polenta Fries, Spicy Tomato Vinaigrette

I had arrived when these were out already and had no clue what they were, but they definitely looked interesting.  I think this must be my first time having polenta fries and I loved it.  It had a cornmeal taste to it, but had a potatoey consistency to it.  It was delicious especially dipped in the spicy tomato vinaigrette.

Duck Confit Dumplings with Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce

Another fried item, but no complaints for me, even though I was sick.  Dip it into the sweet chilli sauce and it's amazing.  The duck meat inside  were not in chunks, instead it seemed to be ground up.  It was good, but not the best thing we ordered.

Crispy Mac and Cheese with Herb Tomato Vinaigrette 

This was interesting. I've never had mac and cheese in a stick form before.  At first it looked like a fried mozzarella cheese stick.  It had a deep fried bread battered outsides like that of  mozzarella cheese sticks,
 but the insides were filled with mac and cheese. How amazing is that?  It wasn't the best tasting mac and cheese, but it did the job and satisfied the taste buds.

Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin Grilled with Wam Slaw and Mustard Demiglaze

I've made it a point probably quite a few times in my entries, but I'm not big on bacon.  But for some reason I love anything that is served with bacon wrapped around it; including this dish.  Also, I'm not a big pork person, so the fact that I like this makes it worth trying for others who are reading.  It's freaking flavorful, the meat is tender and they serve it in slices for you. The mashed yam/sweet potato was soo good!!

Coca-Cola Braised Short-ribs with White Bean Salad

One of my favorite dishes.  Though I didn't taste the "Coca-Cola" I did think the meat was very tender and juicy.  It was slathered in some kind of delicious sweet-ish teriyaki like sauce.  The meat was so tender it fell off of the bone. So worth a try!!!

Brussels Sprouts Sauteed in Caper Brown Butter   
Nothing spectacular about this dish. Just sauteed brussel sprouts. I liked it though!

Golden Gate Bakery

1029 Grant Ave
San Francisco, CA 94133

Occasion: PCW's patient always brings in goodies when she has an appointment. And I am NEVER EVER able to resist from the goodies she brings. 11.23.10

Egg Tart, Coconut Tart, Coconut Sponge Cake with flaky crust

My all time favorite would be the egg tart.  I've been coming here since they first opened; it's been over a decade! Love love love it here. Soft eggy middle with a buttery flaky crust. AMAZING. As for the coconut tart, it was actually my first time having it.  It was good and I'm surprised I've never had it before.  It has a dense cake base and in each bite, you taste the coconut shavings mixed into the cake.  The top had a hard muffin like top. I've never had the coconut sponge cake thing either.  It's kind of like a combination of the egg tart and the coconut tart.  The flaky pastry puff reminded me of a napoleon and also the crust of the egg tart.  The middle had a coconut custard like filling.  It was freaking amazing, everything from the texture to the flavor. SOOOOO freaking good, I wish I had discovered this earlier.

Bang San Thai Cuisine

791 OFarrell St
San Francisco, CA 94109

Occasion: My sorority's Alumnae Luncheon. 11.21.10. The restaurant itself is pretty small, so our whole party took up their restaurant from 12-3pm

Eggrolls

The first thing I got to put in my stomach. I was so hungry, I scarfed it down and thought it was delicious.  Dip it into some sweet and sour sauce, or whatever it is and its perfect.  I got there right after they had served this, so luckily it was still warm.

Samosa

filled with potatoes and curry sauce

These were good! Not the best I've had but pretty decent. I like potatoes and curry sauce, so I was happy with this.

Cucumber Salad

Served cold.  It had a sweet tangy taste to it and was very refreshing.

Papaya Salad

It was way too spicy for my liking!  I was hoping to chow down on some refreshing and sweet papaya salad, but nope...I bit into what I thought was a cherry tomato to only find out that it was jalepeno or spicy pepper of some sort. It was SOOO FREAKING spicy I drank my whole cup of water and tried to eat other things to take the spicy feeling off of my tongue. I didn't touch the papaya salad anymore.

Pad See Yew

Typical. Nothing too special. I guess you can say it's decent.  Serving size was ok, but definitely not enough to feed 6 people.

Pumpkin Curry

I was so excited when this came out, but too bad it didn't meet my expecttions.  The curry was a tad bit too sweet, the rice it came with seemed undercooked and there just didn't seem to be much ingredients in the curry. Disappointed!

Pad Thai

I actually thought it was pretty good. Not only was it good, but they served a decent amount compared to the dinky portion of the Pad See Yew.

Roti with Green Tea Ice Cream

Probably my favorite part of the meal. DESSERT!  The roti had condensed milk drizzled over it and was crispy but a little soft. It was perfect with the green tea ice cream. YUMMY!!!

AJ's Place

Occasion: Pumpkin Pie Party and fooding it! 11.19.10

Chicken Skewers

with mushrooms, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, chicken

I didn't know something so simple could be so good. I seriously watched her make it and it wasn't time consuming at all. They were perfect and delicious. A healthy little appetizer for us to enjoy while we were baking the pumpkins.

Orzo Salad

with feta cheese, olives, parsley

Another simple little dish! It was sooo delicious even with the olives in it. I'm not usually big on olives, but it was perfect with the salad.  It's still so hard to beleive that something so good could be so easy to make (not time consuming at all). AJ is truly talented. She can whip anything up. Love it!

Lazy Man's Sushi
Jean's creation. The name explains it all.  It's rice baked with crab and some kind of delicious sauce. There were packs of seaweed where you can grab a piece and slab a spoonful of this baked deliciousness on top and there you have it: Lazy man's sushi.  You don't have to roll it up as you would with sushi. It was delicious and such a genius idea!

Cheese bisquit  bread
Bisquick mix with cheese sprinkled on top
Warm, buttery, fluffy and DIVINE! Perfect little appetizers!

5a5 Steakhouse

244 Jackson St
San Francisco, CA 94111

Occasion: Celebrating BFF's 24th. Party of 10. 11.13.10

Complimentary bread
One had bacon bits in it and the other was plain
I thought it was pretty unique and the bread with the bacon bits was not too bad. Definitely adds flavor to the bread. Yum.

Hamachi Shooter

with avocado, ginger, yuzu tobiko, ponzu

I heard the shooters here are better than those at Alexanders, so I just had to try it. I have to disagree to that comment. Honestly, it was a bit too salty for my liking and the ones at Alexanders were way way way better.

Truffle Fries

sriracha aioli, truffle oil

Seriously most delicious and addicting fries ever. They're really as good as people say it is. It's a must get if you're here. There's something with sriracha and truffle that makes it so addicting.

Bone in Ribeye

roasted red onion, aged balsamic demi glaze 25 oz

I'm not usually a steak person and have no experience in ordering it either. I'm used to getting what I do know...the filet mignon. I wanted to try something different after briefly getting educated on the different cuts.  I decided for the bone in ribeye, not knowing how HUGE it was. It was ginormous and I wish I had shared it with someone. But no worries, the piece of meat lasted me three meals. Everyone who tried it loved it!! It was very tender and full of fatty flavor, well DUH...it is the fattiest cut, or so I was told.  I ordered it medium rare and it was more on the medium side, which was absolutely fine with me.  I would definitely recommend this cut, because in our opinion it was the best cut!

Mac and Cheese

gruyere, mozzarella, cheddar

Freaking amazing. I'm not a big mac and cheese person because mac and cheese is usually too rich for me. I get sick of it after a few bites, but not 5a5's mac and cheese.  It's freaking delicious. Maybe because there's three different cheeses in it. It's seriously something worth trying!

Bar Crudo

655 Divisadero St
San Francisco, CA 94117

Occasion: Friday Happy Hour with the coworkers. 11.12.10

$1 Oysters.

Every day from 5pm-6:30pm; for 8 people we got about 7 dozen

So worth it. Love it with the mignonette sauce.

Clam chowder

Seriously, my favorite clam chowder in the whole city.  It's creamy, flavorful with generous chunks of clams as well as potatoes. Love, love love it!

Monk's Kettle

3141 16th St
San Francisco, CA 94103

Occasion: Dinner with Jason 11.11.10.

Artisan cheese plate with candied walnuts, Marshall’s Farm organic honey,

balsamic reduction, fresh Bosc pear and toasted Metropolis bigio

We chose two cheeses one was for sure the Rouge et Noir Triple Creme Brie (cow’s milk) – CA, the other was either Caprino Piemontese (goat’s milk) – ITA or Pecorino Calabrese Riserva (sheep’s milk) – ITA . I really really enjoyed the brie. It was very soft and had a buttery taste. The other cheese was good too, but it had a different texture and in my opnion a less pungent taste (could be due to my lack of taste because I was coming down with something).  The cheese wasn't as soft and had a harder consistency to it. I loved dipping the walnuts into the honey and enjoyed the combination of items on the cheese plate.  I even used the pear they provided and wrapped it with the prosciutto from the charcuterie plate.

Charcuterie Plate with pate, house-cured magret duck prosciutto, house-made sausage, Hobbs salami, artisan prosciutto, cornichons, stone ground mustard, cherry tomatoes and toasted Metropolis bigio

I loved this plate too. Everything on the plate was amazing. What stood out to me was the duck prosciutto because I've never had it before and the pate. I love love love pate. I could have ate that with bread all night. The mustard was a pretty good too; as I used it as a spread on the bread. This plate went really well with the cheeses.

Maredsous Tripel (12 oz) Belgian Tripel Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat, Breendonk-Puurs, BEL

My drink of choice because I wanted to order some kind of belgian beer so I could say that I tried #50. An obscure Belgian beer at The Monk’s Kettle on SF BIG EATS 2010 list.  I thought it was pretty tasty!

Superior Farms Lamb burger grilled to order, and served with lettuce, organic tomatoes, fresh red onions

and a cucumber mint tzatziki sauce on a Metropolis sweet french roll

I saw it on the highlights of the yelp reviews and really wanted to try it, since I've never had it before. I got it medium rare. It was really good!! Second night in a row having a burger and this was definitely the better of the two.  It was pretty good especially with the extra added sliced avocado.

Coleman Natural Hampshire beer-braised Pulled Pork with house made Porter BBQ sauce,

served on a Metropolis poppyseed kaiser bun with jicama slaw

The pulled pork was pretty soft and tender, but the BBQ sauce was just too spicy for me.  It had a sweet teriyaki like bbq taste, but the spice just got to me and was somewhat unbearable. If it were not as spicy, I probably would have enjoyed it more.

Lukas Taproom and Lounge

2221 Broadway

Oakland, CA 94612


Occasion: Dinner date with Anne K. Lee in Oakland. 11.10.10

 Seared Bacon Wrapped Yellowfin tuna

with new potatoes, hard boiled eggs, celery greens and sauce Gribiche

I'm not usually a bacon person, but for some weird reason I have liked any dish that had bacon wrapped around it.  It sounded really appealing so we decided to get it.  It was amazing! I love how it was served in slices. I built it into a sandwich form before I bit into it. First the layer of the sliced boiled egg, then the bacon wrapped tuna, then the picked veggie.  As I bit into it, there were a burst of flavors from the fresh fishy taste of the tuna, to the salty bacon to the tangy picked veggie. It's definitely something to try.

 Squash Soup

with roasted pepper and creame fraiche

Very flavorful and creamy. Again perfect, a soup kind of day.

Ricotta and Porcini Gnocchi

with chanterelle mushrooms, kabocha squash, rapini and frisee with a porcini sherry broth

I think this must be the first time I've had gnocchi.  It's like a pasta dumpling, stuffed with ground meat and other things. It's not that bad, but not something I'm that fond of. My favorite part of this dish were the chunks of squash, which were soft and sweet. I loved the consistency of it.

 

Luka's Burger and Fries

with lettuce, tomato, onion and extra added avocado

It was good and very filling. Nothing too special or extraordinary from other burger joints

Osha Thai

149 2nd St
San Francisco, CA 94105

Occasion: Girl's Night Out Dinner. Party of 6 family style. 11.09.10

Tuna Tower

Tuna Tartare with cilantro, mango, avocado, garlic chip and Sriracha-sesame sauce served with fried wonton
I love eating tuna tar tar and I can never go wrong with this. I love the combination of tuna, avocado and diced mangos all served on their wonton chips.

Tom Kha

Spicy coconut soup with lemon grass, galangal, Kaffir lime leaf and mushroom
It was perfect for the cold rainy weather. I love the flavor of lemongrass and coconut. To my surprise it wasn't too spicy. It helped warm me up.

Volcanic Beef

Wok-fried grilled premium flank steak with basil, black pepper in Lava sauce garnished with fried onion rings
A little spicy, but the black pepper sauce is so good. One of my favorites here!

  Pineapple Fried Rice

Fried rice with egg, tomato, onion, green onion, cashew, raisins, pineapple, chicken and prawns
Besides the presentation, nothing too special. Just another fried rice dish to me.

Spicy Eggplant

Choice of sliced chicken, beef or pork stir-fried with eggplant, basil and red bell pepper
It wasn't as spicy as I'd thought it would be, Thankfully bearable. Wish they had more chunks of eggplants. I would have enjoyed it more if there were more chunks of eggplants.

Spicy String Bean

Stir-fried string bean with chili paste sauce with chicken
Everyone loves string beans, so you can't really go wrong with that. It was tasty!

Grilled Sea Bass

Glazed with sweet hot mustard, served with steamed Baby Bok Choy and homemade spicy tangy sauce
I love seabass and I like how it was prepared here. I love the sweet glaze.  The meat was nice and tender and the outer skin had a slight crisp to it. Yummilicious. You can never go wrong with seabass!

Chocolate Souffle

Warm chocolate cake with a heart of creamy 'A' grade chocolate.
It was not what I thought a souffle would be. The cake tasted like it was made with some mix from walgreens. The cake itself was dry and there was not much of a creamy chocolate filling. This was the no bueno.

Fried Banana with Ice Cream

choice of Vanilla or Coconut ice cream
It was ok, I've had much better! Did not satisfy the sweet tooth craving.

Vanilla Sky

Crispy Roti served with vanilla ice cream
If only the roti was softer. It's too crispy and fried for my liking.

Fat Apple's Restaurant and Bakery

1346 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd
Berkeley, CA 94709

Occasion: Susie brought in cakes to celebrate Dr. Wong's Bday! 11.09.10

Chocolate cake

Super rich and decadant. I've never been a big chocolate cake fan, but it was very moist and sweet.  I would not choose to have a chocolate cake for my birthday.

 Carrot cake

The favored of the two cakes. The carrot cake was super moist and it was delicious with the cream cheese frosting and filling. I am such a fan!! I couldn't keep my eyes off of this cake and kept on going for little slices.

Amici's East Coast Pizzria

2200 Lombard Street
San Francisco, CA 94123

Occasion: After shopping dinner and catchup session with the BFF! 11.08.10

Manhattan Red Clam

Our special mix of Clams, Garlic, and Seasonings with Tomato Sauce

Between the two of us, we ordered the small, which was perfect for us. We each had about three small slices each and it was very tasty. Love tomato sauce pizza especially ones with garlic.  I really did enjoy their thin crust pizza.  I am a big fan of pizza, I like all kinds, but I have to admit, East coast pizza is better than Midwest pizza. So glad we came upon this place to give it a try.

Baked Penne Parmigiana with Eggplants

Loved it. Cheesy, tomato pasty and soft smushy eggplants with penne pasta (my favorite). It was filling and again, perfect amount for the two of us. Yummay!