sam wo

chinatown, sf

link to yelp

a month before our wedding, derek and i made a very quick trip up to sf's chinatown to find me a wedding qi pao. did some quick yelp searching and found a place called L & G trading. derek picked a style he liked, in red (per tradition). i tried on the XL (sigh). it fit. we bought it. and we had plenty of time to find a spot for lunch.

we wandered around a bit and found sam wo, which is really a hole in the wall joint. menu looked good and very cheap. downstairs is a small kitchen and there's a very narrow staircase to a small dining area upstairs. ordered some wonton noodles, congee, and you tiao. the noodles and congee were standard, but the you tiao was surprisingly good. probably because it was freshly fried. apparently sam wo is popular with non-asians, not sure why, but maybe they know about the you tiao.

maverick

mission, sf

website

my friends are scattered across the country, across the globe and usually my only interactions with them are through gmail or g-chat, so it's great when a bunch of us can actually get together in person and share a meal. tony and kate were in town for a wedding, eric happened to be on a business trip for work, luckily i managed to escape my work long enough to caltrain up to SF for dinner with the gang. lisa recommended this great spot in the mission (but unfortunately couldn't join us). maverick hits all of the right SF highlights - focus on fresh and local ingredients, sustainable and ethical practices, comfort food, but with a twist.

the menu is always changing to keep up with the seasons. good news for the diner, bad news for the blogger who went to the restaurant months ago and can't remember exactly what she ordered. i do recall that the guys ordered the fried chicken, which maverick is famous for and which was fabulous. i also remember that the girls ordered the asparagus dish with the runny egg that turned into an amazing sauce for the veggies. kate, of course, picked out the perfect glass of red wine and i always follow kate's lead when it comes to wine. great food, great company, had a lovely time.