1300 on Fillmore

1300 Fillmore St
San Francisco, CA 94115

Occasion: Catch up session with the bestest!

Complimentary Cornbread

From what I can remember, it came with home made jam too; which was very good. I love cornbread. I love the texture, i love the sweetness. i just love it. This one was extra buttery and was warm when it came out. I totally wanted to ask for more. I just love it when a restaurant has delicious starters breads. Having cornbread was really fitting for this soul food restaurant. I was expecting a basket of bread, and was happy to find cornbread instead.

Sage Roasted Butternut Squash-apple Soup with Maple Syrup Creme Friache
Jenny really wanted to order this and I wanted to give it a try. Jenny's had better and I felt indifferent about it. It was extrordinary, I only had a few spoonful. I like my soups to be savory...wasn't really expecting it to have a little sweet aftertaste. Definitely not my favorite dish that night.Grilled pears, arugula
chevre goat cheese, pomegranate, 12 year aged balsamic vinegar
Loved the fresh taste of the grilled pears. Light little salad with a variety of flavors. You've got a soft sweet pear, with little pomegranate seeds, the distinct flavor of arugula and little chunks of bleu cheese. All with a drizzle of their balsamic vinaigrette. Absolutely delicious! Loved how everything complimented well with each other.

Macaroni N' White Cheddar Cheese
Jenny loves her mac n cheese and so she really wanted it. It was GOOOD! I don't really like that vevetta type of mac n cheese. I like it when it's not too cheesy or rich and this is exactly what it was. Totally worth the try!

Black Skillet Fried Chicken
Buttermilk whipped potatoes, pan gravy

We got a piece of chicken breast and a thigh. Both of which were very moist and juicy. I usually hate white meat because it tends to be dry. But nope. Not this one. It's just a classier version of some soul food places, also not as oily, which I like. The thing with fried anything is that you end up consuming a half a cup of oil, but luckily I did not feel that way with the fried chicken here. If you do decide to order this, do so in the beginning because it takes about 20 minutes to prepare. Mashed potatoes and biscuit were amazing.

Surf N' Turf
Oven-Roast Divers Scallop-Foie, pulled beef short rib, sweet potato-bacon mousseline

We both love scallop so we ordered this. Loved the tender scallop that melted in my mouth. The pulled beef short rib sounded really delicious, but it didn't really execute for me. But the sweet potato-bacon mousseline was delicious! There's a bit of sweet mixed with bacon bits, what a great combination!

Pear Creme Brulee with almond crescent cookies

Yup we still had room for dessert. So delicious and unique. There were little chunks of pear in the creme brulee which made it more enjoyable. Different, but still tasty. We both enjoyed it. Pear flavor wasn't too strong, it was subtle and we could still taste the egginess of the creme brulee.

Bushido

156 Castro St
Mountain View, CA 94041

Occasion: Big Steve's soft opening! I've heard that a lot has changed and many improvements have been made since then. I can't wait to go back again to give it another try. Some of the dishes that I wanted to try were not offered at the time, I'm excited to give it a second try

Fried Oysters

I have never been a fan of cooked oysters, which is why this dish did not sound appetizing to me at all. But I decided to give it a try and did not regret it at all. Portion size was good and filling. A lot of the people on our table liked it. I usually only like raw oysters, and to my surprise, I actually enjoyed it. With fried food, there always needs some kind of sauce. I wish there was some kind of tar tar sauce dip that went with it. I think that would have made it taste better!

Stuffed Mushrooms

From what I can remember, I believe it was stuffed with crab meat. Those were delicious!!!!! Only bad thing is the portion size. There were only 3 =[ I could have eaten 4 to myself. haha.

Short ribs

I thought it was pretty good, considering its a japanese restaurant. I liked the flavor of the sweet sauce. Meat did not melt in mouth nor did it fall off the bone, but it was still nice and tender, which means it was not overcooked. I like that. Portion did seem a bit small.

Chicken skewers

As for portion, I thought 4 skewers to a plate is perfect. I thought the chicken was a bit on the dry side, or maybe it was just the skewer I got.

Chicken karage

It didn't really stand out to me, therefore I dont' really remember what it tasted like. Portion seemed small, or the plate seemed too big for the amount that was served on the plate.

Tuna Sashimi

like the salmon sashimi, was absoulutely delicious and really fresh. Generous portion sizes!

Salmon Sashimi

tasted SOOO FRESH and so good. Full of flavor. It seriously melted in my mouth! Everyone loved it on our table, besides the non seafood eaters. It was so good, everyone attacked it before I could get a pic of it. It was so good, everyone attacked it before I could even get a picture of it.

Gyoza regular

Perfect portions. I thought it was really good. The meat wasn't too dry. It was nice and moist. What I didn't like was that the skin would break apart really easily. They're best when they're fresh and hot. Dip it in the soy sauce and YUM!!!

Gyoza kimchi

I did not taste kim chi in it. I thought it tasted the same as the regular pork gyozas.Tonkotsu

Generous portions. I thought it was pretty good. The meat was not too dry like some places. You had the sauce that went well with it. I enjoyed this dish.

Crab and cheese croquette

LOVED it!! Love the flavor of it. I've never had crab and cheese croquette before. Thought it was really different from a lot of japanese restaurants I've gone to. I usually order the potato cream croquette or the vegetable one. Portion size were generous. I loved how it wasn't too rich. It was perfect and I am so craving it write now!! YUM!!

Hamachi kama

love love loved it. I love ordering it at restaurants. I thought it was cooked perfectly! Nice and tender and the flavor was definitely there. One thing I wish it came with was a little dish of ponzu sauce to go with the fish. I usually throw the diced up radish into the ponzu sauce and use it as a dipping sauce for the fish. SOOOO GOODBacon wrapped asparagus tempura skewers

It looked and sounded very apealing. Maybe I have a small mouth. But its hard to fit all that into your mouth. I think it would have tasted better if each asparagus was wrapped with bacon.

Shrimp tempura

Decent sized portion and they were good. Nothing bad about this dish! I enjoyed it.

I tried both the dessert that was on the menu that night. There was some kind of green the pudding like thing with a strawberry syrup on top. I actually really liked the flavor of it, but the texture reminded me of rubber, which I wasn't used to. I liked it. it was different and nothing that I've ever tasted before. There was also a green tea cake like thingy. Again very different. Not anything I've ever tried before. Flavor was all there. I like how it was a mix of cake and what seemed to be mousse. The cake was just a bit on the dry side. Overall, I still enjoyed it.=]

Sprinkles

393 Stanford Shopping Center

Palo Alto, CA 94304

Occasion: Thursday Treats!!

Carrot, Red Velvet, Black and White, Vanilla Milk Chocolate

Black and White

Belgian dark chocolate cake with vanilla frosting

Looked really rich at first, but it wasn't too bad for a sweet lover like me. I like the balance of black and white. Frosting was surprisingly not too sweet. It was really good! I was very happy with this as the first cupcake we tried.

Vanilla Milk Chocolate

Madagascar bourbon vanilla cake with fudgy milk chocolate cream cheese frosting.

Another balance of white and black, but this one was white cake and chocolate frosting. I don't know what it is with sprinkles frosting, but they are sure generous. Again, I liked the balance of both white and black. Based on the looks, the frosting looks really rich. I mean it is rich, but not as fudgy as I'd thought it would be. I guess the cream cheese makes it subtler and less rich in flavor.

Red Velvet
I love red velvet cupcakes. I have a love and hate relationship with red velvets from sprinkles. It's really tasty, don't get me wrong. But sometimes it's too sweet for my liking and other times its perfect. This was my favorite out of the four cupcakes in the box.

San Francisco Hornblower

Occasion: Vday Dinner Cruise!

Crab Sandwich

Dungeness Crab with Citrus-Dijon Dressing, Herbed Sourdough Crouton, Micro-Greens and Fingerling potato chips

So good! Great little teaser appetizer! Loved the crab with the dressing! Could have done withtout the crouton, nothing too special. I love how there was a generous portion of crab meat, which is rare at a lot of restaurants. Each bite was full of delicous flavor.

Squab

stuffed with house made sausage, baby arugula, sliced almonds, onion relish, blood orange and thyme vinaigrette

Loved this second course. Never have I had stuffed squab. It was nice to bite into a pleasant surprise; chunks of sausage. The meat was perfect. Not too dry, just the way I like it. Sliced almonds added a little extra kick to the flavor as well as to the texture. It's nice to have a little crunch with the squab skin. The first course was delicious, but the second course was even better.

Look at that deliciousness yummy!


Filet mignon with garlic prawns, crispy potato gratin, asparagus tips with truffle oil, claret reduction with sauteed wild mushrooms
As if the first two courses were not delicious, they just had to follow with even more deliciousness. I love variety and I love having some of my favorite things all in one plate: asparagus, prawns, potatoes and mushrooms. YUM. Filet mignon could have been a bit more rare, it's just my own personal preference, but the flavor was good. Prawns were good but not as garlicy as I'd like it to be. Yummy mushrooms and potatoes went well with everything. Aspragus were good but not great. I enjoyed being able to choose and pick what I wanted on the plate. Fun.Fun.Fun.=]

Wished the meat was more rare, still very delicious=]

Dessert

Grand Marnier Pot de Creme, mini fruit tartlets, truffles, house made cookies and chocolate covered strawberries

I love dessert and I love sweets. I ate everything! Mini tartlets were topped with blueberries with custard. YUM. House cookies were buttery with some chocolate swirls on top. Who doesn't like chocolate covered strawberries? They were awesome. Nom nom nom=]

Sam's Anchor Cafe

27 Main St
Tiburon, CA 94920

Occasion: Sunday singles awareness day/CNY/vday/Brunch. Didn't quite make it for brunch, more like a late lunch!

Some kind of fruity slush beverage and a bloody mary!

I'm not a fan of drinking while the sun is out, especially with my first meal. It seemed as though everyone, ok maybe not everyone, but a majority of the people had ordered the bloody mary, so I decided to order one too! Not the best way to start my day off. I have not had much bloody maries in my life to be able to judge this one. All I know is, that I did not finish it for sure!

Ahi Tuna Tartar with Won Ton Chips
Almost always a must when I see it on the menu. It was good, but not $15 good. Not enough won ton chips, but I'm glad they had avocado with it. Nothing really worth raving about. We were hungry and needed something to do to kill time before we were seated.

Boston Style Clam Chowder
I'm not usually a Clam chowder type of girl, but I have recently developed a new liking for it. I was definitely craving it that day, but too bad it did not satisfy. Soup was to brothy and not thick enough, flavor was not there, not enough potato chunks!

Fresh Fish Sandwich with Fries on focaccia bread

I forgot what the fish of the day was, but that's what I ordered. I liked that it was on a focaccia bread. The sandwich was good, but was not great. Nothing really to rave about. If not for the company, nice weather and the great view, I would have enjoyed it a lot less.

Sam's Burger

on sourdough bun with french fries

It's not a burger if it's not messy right? It just tasted like a typical burger. Nothing too special about it besides the fact that it was on a sourdough bun. I loved the french cut fries. It's not hard to please me when fries comes with the meal.