karendipity eats!

namu @ ferry building farmer's market

2012-02-05T05:59:00.002-05:00

san francisco, ca

website

the weather cooperated quite nicely for cindy's visit. it was a gorgeous sunny saturday afternoon when we went to the ferry building in sf. walked through the stalls, got some cheese from cowgirl creamery and amazing almond brittle coated in dark chocolate from g.l. alfieri. there's also a farmer's market behind the ferry building in the plaza with produce stands and food booths.

cindy and i found a booth serving korean food and decided to get the kimchee fried rice. this is now the second picture on my blog of cindy holding food in front of a landmark as she angled the plate of fried rice in front of the bay bridge. fried rice was decent and appropriately spicy. we realized too late that the booth next to namu had fried macaroni and cheese, which might have been a more interesting option.

kobe japanese cuisine & bar

2012-02-05T05:57:00.000-05:00

foster city, ca

website

my sister cindy came to visit for a few days and i took her on a whole tour of the bay area - san jose, palo alto, foster city, and san francisco. i've been lamenting the scarcity of decent japanese food in the bay area, so cindy asked L to find a good restaurant for lunch on friday. she recommended kobe sushi restaurant in a shopping plaza in foster city. because its a shopping plaza with a grocery store and several restaurants, parking was extremely limited. we managed to park in a residential neighborhood nearby.

kobe had a menu of lunch specials, which both cindy and L ordered from. but what caught my eye was the appetizer list, which included octopus salad and hamachi kama (grilled yellowtail tuna collar). the octopus salad was excellent, though a very small portion for the price. the tuna collar was grilled perfectly - buttery and delicious. fish collar is tricky to eat - the flesh hides in little pockets inside the bones, but it's worth the effort.

su hong

2012-02-05T03:20:00.001-05:00

palo alto, ca

website

you know a chinese restaurant is going to be good when you're handed menus written completely in chinese. derek and i considered relying on our limited chinese reading skills ("i think that says to-fu") but instead decided to play it safe and asked for english menus. su hong serves shanghai-style cuisine, which is one of my favorites as it reminds me of the food my mom makes at home.

we ordered "shi zhi tou" or "lion's head" meatballs. they were almost as good as my mom's and each meatball was the size of a baseball. it was an expensive dish ($16) -- but between the two of us, we only ate one meatball and the leftovers made excellent meals later in the week. the hand-shaved noodles were good, but our favorite dish of the meal was the crispy beancurd with hot garlic sauce (fried tofu). excellent crispy crust with soft, silky tofu inside. delicious.

the patty shack

2012-02-05T02:18:00.000-05:00

redwood city, ca

website

movie night in redwood city again. we were going to go to the spaghetti factory, but there was a ridiculous wait. apparently, spaghetti factory and a movie is a popular option in redwood city. i had remembered driving by redwood city's main street and seeing a burger shop with a funny name - patty shack. we decided to head there to make sure we made it to "mission impossible 4" in time.

patty shack is set up like a burger stand - order at the back, grab a number, find a seat, and wait for someone to bring your food. derek ordered a burger and fries, no surprise. the menu, however, had a few interesting side options - mac & cheese, beet salad, brussel sprouts ... i decided to try a side of broccoli soup with my burger. the soup was good, but a bit much. burger was also good - juicy patty, classic sesame seed bun, good veggies. a solid choice if you're craving a burger in redwood city.

a & j restaurant

2012-01-28T02:32:00.001-05:00

cupertino, ca

link to yelp

craving a good bowl of noodles, we headed to cupertino village. a&j restaurant is a very basic chinese restaurant with a short menu. walk in, someone usually gestures at a table. it's the kind of restaurant where you don't have to order tea or water, they just throw it onto the table after you sit down.

we each order a bowl of noodles. derek gets the beef noodle soup. i usually do too, but this time i decided to try the tripe noodle soup. it was good, but not as flavorful as the beef soup.

kitchen kura

2012-01-28T01:52:00.000-05:00

san francisco, ca

website

on the way back from reno, we stopped by SF to find dinner. which was a little difficult on new year's day. we drove around inner sunset, figuring that we had a better chance of finding an asian restaurant open on the holiday. april and lennon's favorite chinese restaurant was open, but had a ridiculous wait. we were too hungry and tired, so we ended up at kitchen kura, a decent japanese restaurant with some solid comfort food.

everyone else in the restaurant was ordering fried chicken and it looked fabulous. but i didn't feel like eating fried food, so i went with the sukiyaki (tofu, onion, beef, sweet soy sauce) and nishime (daikon, carrot, bamboo shoot, and shitake mushroom w/ dashi bouillon soup) with rice. derek ordered the katsu curry (pictured). very simple and comforting. definitely hit the spot after the long drive from nevada.

french laundry

2012-01-16T21:28:00.000-05:00

yountville, ca

website

thomas keller's french laundry is one of the best restaurants in the country, has three michelin stars, has been on my wish list for years, and is extremely difficult to get a reservation for. derek, always thinking ahead, called the requisite 2 months before new year's eve to get a reservation for 4 for lunch. april and lennon joined us for the amazing meal (and i look forward to reading april's write-up on her food blog!). the restaurant is located in napa valley, about an hour north of san francisco. french laundry is in a beautiful old building that looks like it was plucked out of the french countryside (at least what i imagine the french countryside might look like).

we were taken upstairs to a small room with a couple of tables, where it felt like we were in someone's bright sunlit living room. as is often the case with uber-expensive restaurants, the staff recognize that you're there for an experience and not just a meal. they were extremely pleasant and patient, pouring us a complimentary glass of champagne for the holiday and explaining each course in detail. the waitstaff got a kick out of the fact that we were planning on heading to reno after lunch ("gotta stay classy," said derek). after spending $$$$ at french laundry, we had to try to make the money back somehow...

now the food - april will do a much better job of chronicling each dish, so i'll just stick to the highlights. our favorites of the 9 courses - "oysters and pearls" ("saboyan" of pearl tapioca with island creek oysters and white sturgeon caviar) and the snake river farms "calotte de boeuf grillee" (bone marrow, marble potatoes, creamed spinach, and "a-1" sauce). they DEEP FRY the bone marrow and serve it next to an impeccable cut of melt-in-your-mouth meat from the top of the rib-eye. perfect beefy goodness. derek ordered the foie gras en terrine, which was served with a toasted brioche bread. what's funny is that before he even finished the first slice, they brought out a second freshly toasted brioche. derek remarked that he was fine, but the server insisted that the chef's instructions require that the terrine be spread on warm bread. that devotion to perfection is evident in each of the nine courses and made for a meal that we will never forget.

milagros cantina

2012-01-15T21:50:00.000-05:00

redwood city, ca

website

california is supposed to have amazing mexican food, right? still haven't found it. i'm sure it's here somewhere. i'll just keep looking. after having just-okay mexican food at margaritas in redwood city a few months ago, i remembered that we walked by another mexican restaurant, milagros, that looked much busier.

before heading to the movies (where we saw new year's eve which i enjoyed and derek not so much), we had dinner at milagros cantina. i ordered the chicken mole enchiladas. chicken was dry, mole sauce was bland. the guacamole was pretty good, but the chips were stale. cocktails, however, were excellent.

663 bistro

2012-01-13T01:06:00.001-05:00

seattle, wa

link to yelp

this is our new go-to chinese restaurant in seattle's chinatown. it's a rather ordinary looking restaurant, but the food is amazing. in fact, we had our rehearsal dinner here before our wedding in july. they served a traditional chinese feast with course after course, but their everyday menu is just as good.

my favorite is the "diced seafood on a bed of soft tofu." ignore the seafood. it's good, but the real star of this dish is the soft tofu - fried on the outside, creamy custardy melt-in-your-mouth consistency on the inside. i could eat the whole plate myself. if you need more than tofu, i recommend the crispy roast pork appetizer and e-fu noodles with lobster (some might consider the noodles to be the accompaniment, but not i).

beecher's handmade cheese

2012-01-13T00:51:00.000-05:00

seattle, wa

website

even though it's usually packed with tourists, i love going down to pike place market whenever i'm in seattle. good food, cool crafts, and i still enjoy watching them throw the fish. my sister cindy, brother chris, and i were looking for a quick lunch so that we could get back to shopping. beecher's cheese shop was perfect because we could munch on their sandwiches while walking.

at beecher's, you can either walk through the store for tastings and pick up some cheese curds or you can wait in the line outside to pick up lunch. we went for the latter. a little tip - while you're in line, ask for a sample of their famous mac & cheese. they'll give you a small cup of it, but it's so rich that the small cup is more than enough. we all went with their decidedly unboring grilled cheese sandwiches made with their flagship cheese. simple, yet delicious.

elite cafe

2012-01-13T00:16:00.003-05:00

san francisco, ca

website

to continue the theme of comfort food, derek and i had brunch at one of tina's favorite places, the elite cafe. there's a little bit of a wait on sunday afternoons, but service is speedy once you get a seat. atmosphere is cozy, very appropriate for brunch. tina recommended the beef hash, which derek ordered and enjoyed.

but i had to go with the alabama scramble - scrambled eggs and minced bacon with baked mashed potatoes, biscuits, and gravy. definitely delicious and comforting, but could have used more gravy on the biscuits. we ordered the cinnamon sugar doughnut holes (i have a hard time passing up doughnuts on a menu), but they were unremarkable. next time, we'll just get more biscuits - they're amazing - buttery and flaky.

wayfare tavern

2012-01-12T22:34:00.002-05:00

san francisco, ca

website

one of my new favorite restaurants! derek discovered this place while working in his firm's san francisco office. it's actually tyler florence's restaurant - the menu is very similar to the dishes he cooks on his show (which always look delicious). the atmosphere is upscale gastropub - the prices are a little high, but the ingredients and preparation are worth it. we walked in on a saturday afternoon and the place was packed - but thankfully we were able to get a seat at the bar, where we could watch chefs put the final touches on each plate.

wayfare tavern is known for their fried chicken, which derek thinks is amazing. if you're not in the mood for fried chicken, the dish to get is the tomales bay mussels - perfectly plump little mussels served with herbsaint cream, crispy chunks of pork belly, sweet potato, celery salt, and grilled toast. it's a little on the rich side, but trust me, you won't have any problem finishing it.

evvia

2012-01-12T00:28:00.000-05:00

palo alto, ca

website

one of the top restaurants in palo alto, it's been recommended by nearly everyone we've met since moving to the south bay. it's not the kind of restaurant where you can get a table on a whim, which is how we usually decide on dinner. but for derek's birthday, i made 8 pm reservations about a week in advance. the atmosphere at evvia was surprisingly cozy and welcoming for such an expensive restaurant.

pictured is the best octopus that i've ever had - grilled with lemon, oregano, and olive oil. perfectly charred yet tender. delicious. for my entree, i ordered the moschari souvlaki - beef filet, sweet peppers, mushrooms & onions with Cretan rice & Greek yogurt. the beef was well-spiced and served over excellent rice. everyone raves about the ice cream sundae - it was good, but a little bit too rich for my tastes. overall, a fantastic meal. there's so many other items on the menu that i want to try, but i'll definitely be back for the octopus.

madame tam

2012-01-11T23:23:00.001-05:00

palo alto, ca

website

decent southeast asian food on university ave. solid bowl of pho, which is perfect for those cold california evenings. hey, sometimes the temperature can dip below 50 degrees here. the pho is served with slices of beef and a few meatballs. i'd prefer more tendon and tripe, but it still soothes the soul.

there are several other bright spots on the menu. i like the buddha's spring rolls - good fresh veggies wrapped in rice paper, served with hoisin. we also like the provincial beef stew, the thai drunken fish, and garlic noodles. pretty good asian food if you're stuck on the ave.

straits

2012-01-11T22:35:00.000-05:00

san jose, ca

website

straits is purportedly a singaporean restaurant. lennon, an actual singaporean, warned us that the food bares little resemblance to real singaporean food. so we've avoided the place for nearly a year. but we were doing some christmas shopping at santana row, got hungry, and the steakhouse was completely booked. that's how we ended up at straits for some fake asian food.

there is nothing singaporean about the fried calamari, especially the chinese takeout box they serve it in. but it was edible - slightly spicy, well-fried, and served with delicious dipping sauces. the murtabak, roti stuffed with minced beef, is just weird - nothing like singaporean/malaysian roti should taste like. the whole striped bass was fried to death and doused with a too-sweet sauce. the indian street noodles were similarly over-sauced with sticky sweetness. if you're forced to eat here, get a cocktail and the calamari and call it a night.

armadillo willy's

2012-01-07T20:07:00.000-05:00

los altos, ca

website

we used to live in the flatiron district which had several excellent bbq restaurants located nearby, like hill country and blue smoke. we've also visited austin, where a+m served us amazing bbq from the salt lick. i used to make frequent trips to north carolina for work and had excellent bbq there (even at the airport...) so, we're quite picky when it comes to bbq.

armadillo willy's is located between derek's office and our apartment, which means its perfect for him to pick up on his way home from work. the food is pretty good. it's not as good as anything i listed earlier, but its sufficient to satisfy our bbq cravings. derek likes the ribs, i like the brisket sandwich (chopped, not sliced) and their "texas tots." if you're stuck in los altos and are craving bbq, i highly recommend.

kowloon tong dessert cafe

2012-01-07T19:50:00.000-05:00

san francisco, ca

link to yelp

jason took all of us to this hong kong-inspired dessert cafe located in inner richmond (which is apparently where all the REAL chinese food can be found in san francisco - forget chinatown). after starting the evening at mums, this was a good place for jason, the steves, derek, and me to settle down and sober up before the drive home. it can get quite crowded on a saturday night, so we had about a 10 minute wait for a table.

standard hong kong desserts. the egg puffs were my favorite - like mini waffle balls. they clearly do waffles well here. the ice cream waffle sandwich was free because we checked in on facebook (another instance where derek's iphone triumphed over my blackberry). the waffle was appropriately thin and crispy and the ice cream sufficiently chilled - derek devoured these sandwiches. another one to add to the short list of desserts that derek enjoys.

mums

2011-12-11T20:47:00.001-05:00

san francisco, ca

website

mums is all-you-can-eat and optionally all-you-can-drink shabu shabu. which inevitably results in sake bombing by a large and boisterous crowd. show up on a saturday night and you will very likely leave full, drunk, and half-deaf. your clothes might be slightly damp from being splashed with sake, beer, and/or soup. shattered glasses are common, judging by the efficient and non-chalant manner in which derek's sake-bombing failure was cleaned up. if that sounds like your idea of a good time, i highly recommend this place.

how was the food? does it matter? the quality of the meat (we tried beef, pork, and chicken) was surprisingly good for an all-you-can-eat place. i enjoyed the ponzu-based dipping sauce (especially with the daikon added) and derek's favorite was the peanut sauce. i've had better hot pot elsewhere, but not with an all-you-can-eat-and-drink package. good food, great fun.

southland flavor cafe

2011-12-06T23:41:00.001-05:00

cupertino, ca

website

cupertino village is a complex with a ranch 99, a few bakeries, and several excellent chinese restaurants with strange names. southland flavor cafe? it's probably a literal translation of the chinese name, but a better translation would be "southern taiwanese cuisine." i wonder if i can make a career out of fixing chinglish. derek's parents happened to be in town while val was visiting from chicago, so we made a trip out to cupertino village. managed to pull tiffany away from her studies too for a mini family reunion.

my favorite (pictured) was the pork rice bowl which can feed a small army (or me) for about $6. another favorite was the beef noodle soup, served with the wide noodles that derek likes. the only downside to this place is that every other table orders the malodorous and aptly named "stinky tofu" (that's actually the english translation). the state of california should mandate "stinky tofu only" sections for taiwanese restaurants. we always try to finish our food quickly when we hear a nearby table say "chou dou fu" because that stuff is deadly.

bon vivant

2011-12-03T20:16:00.001-05:00

palo alto, ca

website

bon vivant is a new french restaurant that recently opened in downtown palo alto. the interior is bright and inviting, especially on a sunny day (which is about 90% of the time here in california). derek and i were in the mood for something new and different and decided to try this place. despite the fact that they stop service at 3, the kitchen graciously let us sit and order an appetizer and entrees at 3:15. yes, that's when we eat lunch.

my favorite was the appetizer that we shared - duck rillette, which includes shredded duck, wild arugula, red onion, shaved fennel, and toasted bread. the duck was deliciously fatty, but balanced well with the fresh greens. excellent. the crepes were also quite good - mine was filled with smoked salmon, but the duck rillette was definitely the highlight. overall - pricey, but tasty.

karendipity cooks: gougeres

2011-11-14T23:41:00.001-05:00

april and lennon gave us a lovely "bride and groom's cookbook" as a wedding gift. it's meant to be used by a couple to cook together in the kitchen. there's lots of entrees, salads, pastas, but what caught my eye was the recipe for gougeres, those fabulous cheese balls that they serve at churrascarias like pampas. my gougeres did not turn out as puffy and light as the picture in the cookbook, but they're still delicious. the secret to these was a pinch of cayenne to the mix for a hint of spice.

reposado

2011-11-11T14:57:00.001-05:00

palo alto, ca

website

reposado is one of our favorite places to eat on university avenue ("the ave"). great raucous atmosphere - lots of people chatting and having a good time. excellent wine list and very good sangria. this is a good place to bring friends to - i brought anthony and his cousin here when they were in town.

my absolute favorite entree is the hanger steak. unfortunately it's not a very photogenic hanger steak, but it's delicious - perfectly grilled and served over an arbol chile demi glace. because i always get the guacamole (not quite spicy enough but perfect if you add their smoky salsa), i can never finish the entire steak. it's fantastic as leftovers, especially over some noodles. also - the chocolate gelato is homemade and amazing, but my favorite part of the dessert are the buttery mexican cookies they serve on the side.

kanpai

2011-11-08T17:48:00.000-05:00

palo alto, ca

website

yes! finally! two things to celebrate. 1 - derek and i finally found a decent sushi spot in palo alto and 2 - i've finally caught up with all of my posts. i ended up skipping a few places because i either forgot to take a picture or i had taken a picture, but couldn't remember the restaurant. i hope to blog more regularly in the future but we'll see how it goes... anyway, back to the food -- kanpai received some pretty good ratings on yelp, so we decided to give it a try. as soon as we walked in, the atmosphere reminded us of authentic japanese restaurants we visited in tokyo and manhattan, so that was very promising.

derek knows all about my love of uni. as soon as we sat down he asked the waiter whether they had uni. the response - "yes, and it's very fresh!" and it was amazing uni, some of the best that i've ever had - extremely fresh. in fact, i ordered another piece after eating the first. the rest of the sushi was good, but not the same quality as the uni. next time, we know to ask them for what is "very fresh" that day. they also serve the sweet shrimp nigiri with the shrimp heads deep-fried, so you get all the good brainy bits too. delicious. in addition, kanpai has an excellent sake list and really good rolls - we'll definitely be back!

reggio's at o'hare

2011-11-08T17:29:00.000-05:00

chicago, il

website

i'm a huge fan of chicago style pizza. my co-workers and i went to pizza due after a work event, but only because it was close to our hotel and open late. nowhere near as good as giordano's. so i was still craving a true chicago-style pizza at the airport, on my way back to SFO. reggio's was a little stand in the middle of the united terminal advertising a "butter crust." how could i say no to that? it didn't seem to really be chicago-style pizza. the crust was good, but not great. sauce was a little bland. but the cheese was good and it was sufficiently filling to sustain me through my five hour flight.

the publican

2011-11-08T17:20:00.001-05:00

chicago, il

website

chicago has amazing food, but it's not easy to figure out which places are going to be good. thankfully i have christine and val to show me around whenever i'm in town. we headed to chicago's version of the meatpacking district for a meat-centric meal at the publican. the restaurant is clearly one of the farm-to-table types and it appears to have brought the tables and pigpens from the farm as well. christine, val, and i were seated at a booth located in one of these pigpens, which was fun.

there's vegetables and starches available on the menu, but we focused on the good stuff - a full order of the mussels served with crusty french bread to dip in the broth (i'm glad we ignored the waiter who suggested that a half order would be sufficient), a plate of pork belly served over lentils (if i remember correctly), and my favorite - the blood sausage served with kimchee and apples. this was my first time trying blood sausage (but i've seen anthony bourdain rave about it on tv). it was fantastic - the richness of the sausage was perfectly balanced by the spicy acidic kimchee.

sasabune

2011-11-07T20:46:00.003-05:00

los angeles, ca

website

you know a place is going to have good sushi when ... (1) it's recommended by cindy c and (2) you're greeted with a sign that warns you that they don't serve california rolls, spicy tuna rolls, or teriyaki. the only real option at sasabune is the omakase -- the waiter asks you whether you'd like the japanese or the american tasting menu. (we chose japanese, of course!) i had no idea how much lunch was about to cost, but i didn't particularly care. i had been deprived of good sushi for far too long to let financial concerns interfere.

amazing sushi, definitely around seki-level quality. we started with two plates of sashimi - toro in a ponzu sauce and what i think was raw clam with pink salt. so good - extremely fresh, buttery sushi. then the waiter brought us the nigiri courses, two pieces at a time. my favorites were the uni and ikura (pictured) and sweet shrimp, although every piece was fantastic. finally, they serve crab hand rolls - they don't look appetizing, but they were delicious. lunch ended up costing about $100 (incl. tax and tip) so this is definitely a special occasion spot, but i was very happy with the entire experience.

randy's donuts

2011-11-07T20:15:00.001-05:00

inglewood, ca

website

cindy c and i make a lot of spur-of-the-moment dining decisions whenever we're together. (see in n out post). while driving to lunch, cindy c pointed out the famous 30-foot tall donut atop the randy's donuts structure. i might have remarked, "donuts sound good," and before you know it, we're in the parking lot. cindy c pointed out that we weren't exactly in the safest neighborhood, but nothing was going to stop us from getting donuts. the verdict? excellent cheap donuts - moist and delicious.

pacifica del mar

2011-11-07T20:07:00.000-05:00

del mar, ca

website

after outlet shopping in carlsbad, derek and i stopped by del mar on the way back to san diego. there were some cute restaurants along camino del mar, but we decided to go to del mar plaza for easy parking in the multi-level garage. del mar plaza has several restaurants (and very random expensive shops). we really wanted to try flavor del mar, but they were no longer serving lunch at 2 in the afternoon.

we tried pacifica del mar, which was right next door. we got great seats on the patio with a nice view of the ocean. we were still looking at buildings across the street, but you could see the ocean beyond the buildings. the food was good, but not great. my pasta with clams was good, but covered with too much cheese. there's an italian custom of not putting cheese on seafood dishes, which i know many people ignore. it would have been preferable to have cheese as an option rather than a requirement.

richard walker's pancake house

2011-11-07T19:56:00.001-05:00

san diego, ca

website

one of the benefits of having friends scattered across the globe is that there's always someone willing to show us great restaurants wherever we go. san diegan monica suggested that we meet her for brunch at richard walker's pancake house. there was already a line outside at 11 am on a sunday. a good sign. we ended up waiting only about 10-15 minutes before getting seated.

the menu has a variety of pancakes - much like ihop, only so much better. monica ordered the apple pancake, which appeared to be an apple pie in the form of a single giant pancake. i decided to order the potato latkes (pictured) - i haven't had these since moving out of manhattan a year ago. served with apple sauce, the latkes were delicious. derek had normal-sized pancakes, eggs, bacon, and hash browns. everything was good, but i think monica's massive apple pancake was the clear winner.

extraordinary desserts

2011-11-05T22:51:00.000-04:00

san diego, ca

website

wow. this place really lives up to its name. this is a favorite of cindy and ryan, former san diegans, and they make a trip here whenever they're in town. this time derek and i went with cindy, ryan, and the kids. the table was filled with sweets - strawberry napoleon (pictured), strawberry pie, truffe framboise (raspberry chocolate cake), and i think we also had a brownie but the sugar overload may have affected my memory. each dessert was artistically presented, showered with flower petals. beautiful and delicious, truly extraordinary.

before driving up to disneyland, we all went one more time for breakfast. i ordered the chocolate coffee cake, which turned out to have molten chocolate liquid in the center. cindy ordered the chocolate strudel. an intense breakfast, to be sure, and neither of us could finish. ryan had the brilliant idea of boxing up our leftovers and bringing them into disneyland. it was the perfect dessert after our (surprisingly good) meal of pasta and salad at the pizza port.

emerald chinese seafood restaurant

2011-11-05T22:36:00.000-04:00

san diego, ca

website

blogging ethics dictate that i have to disclose if there is a potential for bias in my reviews, so i have to tell you that steve's parents own this restaurant. i might be biased, but the food was seriously good. i love dim sum and emerald has all of my favorites, especially the stir-fried noodles that you don't always find at dim sum places.

shown at the bottom of the picture is the magical plate of noodles - magical because they were delicious and also because no matter how much i ate off the plate, there always seemed to be a massive pile of noodles left. other favorites were the pork shiu mai, congee, and hom sui gok (deep fried glutinous rice dumpling filled with pork). finished the meal with some egg tarts, of course, but watch out - the plates are hot! biased or not, if i'm ever in san diego again, we're going here for dim sum.

los panchitos

2011-11-05T22:17:00.003-04:00

san diego, ca

website

adventures in san diego with our host, steve, started with excellent spanish tapas and expensive cocktails at cafe sevilla in the trendy gaslamp district in downtown san diego. progressed to rum+cokes and a video dj mash-up performance (turn-table scratching with videos?) in a warehouse at the afterparty for the asian american film festival. and ended with cheap mexican food on pacific highway. a job well done, steve.

los panchitos was the final stop of the night. open very late, it serves perfect post-partying cuisine. authentic? probably not. but it was still pretty good. i had cheese enchiladas and ordered rolled tacos for derek, which are basically flautas. cheesy greasy hangover-prevention goodness.

korean bbq

2011-11-05T21:53:00.000-04:00

palo alto, ca

link to yelp

yes, that is apparently the name of the restaurant. which is somewhat descriptive because they do serve korean food, some of which was probably barbecued earlier in the day. it's tucked away in a corner of town & country mall. in fact, we had been to town & country at least a dozen times before and we had never seen it. derek found it on the internet when he was searching for korean food.

the restaurant is basically a buffet of pre-cooked korean food, most of which gets nuked in the microwave before they serve it to you. you choose two entrees and two ban chan for your plate. i went with the japchae (noodles), bulgogi, crab seafood salad and kimchee. the food isn't great - the bulgogi is a bit dry and the japchae is a little bland, but it's basically the quality that you would expect from a fast food korean buffet spot in a mall. (although the korean in the westfield san francisco mall is much better).

gilbert's firefish grill

2011-11-05T21:43:00.001-04:00

santa cruz, ca

website

after costco, we continued our tour of the south bay by driving down to santa cruz, which was highly recommended by derek's cousins. traveling to santa cruz from palo alto requires taking a windy highway through the mountains and derek was thrilled to test out the car's maneuverability. i was less than thrilled, but was convinced that it was the only way to get to the beach. santa cruz's boardwalk was pretty fun - my favorite "ride" was the skyglider, which is basically a skilift that takes you from one end of the boardwalk to the other. while on the skyglider, we saw a bunch of neon signs in the distance and decided to head out there for dinner.

turns out, we were looking at the santa cruz municipal wharf, which is a long pier lined with restaurants and shops. all of the restaurants served the standard seafood options that you would expect on a wharf. we chose gilbert's because it looked a little bit more modern than the others. something about being near the ocean just calls out for fried seafood - derek ordered a platter with fried calamari and grilled fish, i ordered the fish and chips. everything was very good, but it's hard to go wrong when everything is deep fried.

margaritas

2011-11-01T20:41:00.000-04:00

redwood city, ca

website

trying to broaden our horizons and explore more of the south bay, derek and i decided to venture to redwood city to find restaurants, culture, and whatnot. actually, we were running out of paper towels and redwood city has the closest costco. anyway, we did walk around downtown redwood city. there was a nice farmer's market, a theatre district, and a beautiful old courthouse which now houses the san mateo county history museum.

the restaurants looked very promising too. we decided to try margaritas, which was pretty good mexican food. not the best i've ever had, although derek really enjoyed his pork carnitas. as we walked off our meals, we walked by another mexican restaurant which was much busier - milagros cantina. we'll have to try next time.

il fornaio

2011-11-01T20:24:00.000-04:00

palo alto, ca

website

this is another restaurant that derek and i frequently pass by. the atmosphere looked a little too formal for us. finally, it was a special occasion (which might have been that we were both out of the office at dinner time) and we decided to celebrate by dining at "fancy" il fornaio. turns out, there's a lovely patio area in the back with very effective heat lamps where the atmosphere is much more casual. looking at the menu, we realized that this restaurant is part of a chain and we had been to the seattle location before. the menu's specials periodically change to highlight a different region of italy.

i didn't recognize any of the wines listed on the menu, so i just picked whatever was reasonably priced. our server (who was extremely attentive and friendly, by the way) apologized because they ran out of that wine, but recommended another that was "more frizzante." i shrugged and said okay. it ended up being a red sparkling wine, which was weird but not unpleasant. anyway, now i know what "frizzante" means. the food was very good - derek is still raving about his bacon salad and my butternut squash ravioli was delicious.

slider bar

2011-11-01T20:04:00.000-04:00

palo alto, ca

website

a brilliant marketing strategy -- a giant banner advertising belgian frites. i've passed by this restaurant many many times, but they managed to draw me in with the promise of belgian frites. they didn't exactly fulfill their promise - belgian frites are supposed to be double-fried, which makes them dark and crunchy on the outside with fluffy potato in the inside. but the fries were still good, especially the curry dipping sauce.

derek likes the chicken sliders here. i ordered two of the beef sliders and they were good. nothing remarkable. seems like a nice place to hang out, eat a small burger, and catch up with friends. but if i was craving a really good burger, i would head to in n out instead.

akane

2011-11-01T19:48:00.001-04:00

los altos, ca

link to yelp

derek and i have been desperate to find a quality japanese restaurant in the south bay. akane is not it. derek chose this restaurant because it had a favorable rating on yelp. i'm not sure why. maybe it was an off day but when derek and i went, the food was very disappointing.

i ordered the nabeyaki udon. the only thing right was the poached egg, which was perfect with the udon noodles. but the broth was bland and the fish and the chicken were overcooked (and bland). we ordered a sushi roll and some nigiri. the uni tasted funky and not in a good way. the mackerel was not fresh. the sushi roll consisted mostly of green onion and what little raw fish was included was tasteless. sigh.

charlie palmer steak

2011-11-01T19:30:00.000-04:00

washington, dc

website

charlie palmer is best known for his restaurant aureole, which i've never been to but heard good things about. after several days of hotel catering, i was really looking forward to a real meal and a real steak. when i lived in manhattan, derek and i went to many excellent steakhouses. palo alto, not so much. in california, they tend to drench their steaks in unnecessary sauces. ridiculous.

charlie palmer did not disappoint. my steak was excellent - perfectly cooked and perfectly seasoned. the right amount of char and the right amount of fat. a pleasant surprise was the amazing starter salad, served with a poached egg to add yolk to the dressing. dessert, a berry cobbler, was also very good.

ben's chili bowl

2011-11-01T19:10:00.000-04:00

washington, dc

website

i first heard about ben's chili bowl from stacey, who went when she was in DC for president obama's inauguration. i was in DC for a much less glamorous reason - a three-week trip for work. work was very busy and we rarely made it outside of our offices to see sunlight, much less eat a meal ... but a group of us managed to escape long enough to make a pilgrimage to the famed ben's chili bowl. if you have a certain number of people in your party, you can go straight to the back and grab a table. someone will come by to take your order. we didn't realize that, so instead we ordered amidst the chaos of the front of the restaurant.

ryan recommended the "half smoke," which is a quarter-pound half-beef half-pork sausage, doused in chili. yes, it tasted as good as it sounds. i've never had chili like this before - it's spicy, meaty, and thick - more sauce than soup. however, when ordering, i made a tactical error by assuming that the massive amount of chili that they poured on the sausage would be sufficient and i ordered my fries plain. big mistake. next time, i gotta go with the chili cheese fries just to get more of that amazing chili sauce.

crepevine

2011-11-01T18:45:00.000-04:00

palo alto, ca

website

the crepevine is popular with stanford kids, or who i assume are stanford kids. they look young and unemployed. my guess is its because the prices are reasonable, the portions are large, there are plenty of seats, and they let you sit wherever you want for however long you want. derek and i have been here a few times. i don't like sitting inside because during the summer, there's usually flies. outside, for some reason, the flies don't bother me that much. however, i much prefer ordering takeout and eating my food in the comfort of my own insectless living room.

crepevine generally serves diner food - for brunch that means pancakes, waffles, eggs, etc. obviously, they also have crepes which are premade, then heated and filled when you order. on our first visit, i ordered blueberry pancakes, which were good, but nothing compared to the magical blueberry pancakes at clinton st. baking co. in manhattan. derek's corned beef hash, however, was excellent - cheesy and meaty with crunchy bits of fried potatoes. solid brunch fare.

1331 bar & lounge

2011-11-01T18:29:00.000-04:00

washington, dc

website

in town for a week of meetings, i managed to escape long enough to have drinks and snacks with anthony at 1331, located inside the marriott near the white house. it was surprisingly spacious and modern for a hotel lounge. instead of booths, the lounge has small couches set up that face eachother, with a coffee table in between. it's a little awkward for eating, but theoretically we were only there for snacks.

but we were hungry, so we ended up ordering grilled vegetables, hummus, bruschetta, and buffalo wings. it didn't sound like a lot at the time, but our little coffee table was overflowing with food. everything was good, the bruschetta was probably my favorite. 1331 also had a decent and reasonably priced list of wines by the glass. overall, a nice quiet spot to hide from the summer DC heat and catch up with a friend.

yank sing

2011-11-01T18:08:00.000-04:00

san francisco, ca

website

strangely situated in an office building (rincon plaza) near the financial district in downtown, yank sing is a massive dim sum operation. at least on weekends, the crowd of dim sum'ers fills the restaurant and spills out into the lobby of the office building. jen and matt brought the kids and we found a perfect table in the lobby, underneath a ray of sunshine from the skylight above.

some of the dim sum options were better than others. we ate here a while ago, but i remember being a big fan of the shanghai soup dumplings and not such a fan of the regular pork dumplings. pictured is the fatty duck served in mantou pancakes - delicious. yank sing is a little pricey for dim sum, but it has a great atmosphere and quality food.

tamarine

2011-10-24T00:50:00.003-04:00

palo alto, ca

whenever we ask a local about good restaurants, they invariably include tamarine in the list. it is located just down the street from our apartment but it is always packed. last minute reservations are nearly impossible to get. we finally planned ahead enough to make reservations for dinner. we arrived on time, but they still made us wait at the bar for twenty minutes before seating us. fortunately they make excellent cocktails.

asian fusion here means that they use high quality and expensive ingredients and then throw asian sauces on them. turns out to be pretty decent fare. the shaking beef (pictured) was delicious. was it worth the price? not sure. might be good for a special occasion with a focus on cocktails. otherwise i say go to a real asian restaurant for something more reasonably priced.

bistro le clochard

2011-10-01T13:48:00.004-04:00

curacao

website

curacao doesn't have that many fancy restaurants. remember that couple that i mentioned in the pane e vino post? well, we saw them again at pampus the following night (where i forgot to take a picture). then we saw them AGAIN at bistro le clochard on the next night! turns out, one of the guys is originally from curacao but studied hospitality abroad and had returned to take his partner to some of the best restaurants in curacao.

bistro le clochard is definitely one of the best - everyone at the resort recommended it and it's been around since the 1970s. the restaurant is located inside an old fort from the 1800s and includes includes a little outdoor ledge on the water. we sat at a corner of the ledge, where we could look up at the old fort looming above us and out into the ocean to watch ships passing the island. great romantic atmosphere, solid french cuisine, excellent wine, and great steaks.

pane e vino

2011-10-01T13:21:00.004-04:00

curacao

link to tripadvisor

we decided to go somewhere fancy for dinner one night and the resort recommended pane e vino, which was about a half mile down the street. the resort, however, ordered us a cab because they didn't want us walking in the area at night. when we arrived, there was a security guard outside the restaurant, so the resort was probably right to order us a cab. pane e vino is located in what looks like a little yellow house. it's cozy, with only a handful of tables. for a while, there was just one other couple in the restaurant. they had ordered two glasses of champagne - looked like a good idea, so we did the same.

incredible italian food, some of the best that i've had. the chef, who is italian, came out toward the end of the meal to greet his guests and everyone showered him with compliments. first, derek and i shared a massive antipasto plate with mozzarella, tomatoes, roasted vegetables, and parmigiano cheese. my entree was seafood pasta in a rich and winey sauce. derek's entree (pictured) was intense -homemade spaghetti in a butter truffle sauce served shaved truffle and chunks of foie gras. it's like a heart attack in a bowl. a delicious, rich, and fatty heart attack.

jaanchies

2011-10-01T13:04:00.005-04:00

westpunt, curacao

link to tripadvisor

carlos, the resort's resident tour guide, took us on a fantastic tour of the west side of the island. gorgeous beaches and incredible coves to explore. the west side of the island requires a car, which means that the beaches are less crowded and tend to have more locals. one of the stops was jaanchies, a famous restaurant that serves the local island cuisine.

i ordered the fish. derek got the beef stew (again). as you can see, my fish was served with picked vegetables, rice and beans, and buttery shrimp. the seafood was incredibly fresh and everything was delicious, especially with the spicy onion sauce that they serve on the side. jaanchie's is an open air restaurant with a garden full of tiny birds along the front of the restaurant. it's a little disconcerting to be eating so close to the birds, but you get used to the chirping.

hemingway's

2011-10-01T12:49:00.006-04:00

curacao

website

we were getting tired of just sitting on the beach at the resort and wanted to explore more of curacao, so jenny did some online research for us and suggested the curacao seaquarium. it was only about a mile south of us, so we decided to walk. along the way, we saw several other resorts and beautiful beach areas packed with tourists. one of these areas was seaquarium beach, which apparently has a cover charge (ridiculous), but if you look like you belong (which means, if you look like a tourist), you can just walk onto the beach without anyone asking you for money. there's a few shops with beachwear, scuba gear, and a couple of restaurants.

we stopped at one with seating on the beach, hemingway's. i decided it was a great opportunity to try some dutch snacks. curacao was formerly a dutch colony and the place is full of dutch tourists. pictured is my order of bitterballen, a deep fried beef snack. i don't know where these have been all of my life. i don't understand why this delicacy has only been discovered by the dutch. it's chopped bits of beef, mixed with potato, deep fried, and served with coleslaw. awesome.

iguana cafe

2011-10-01T12:30:00.004-04:00

willemstad, curacao

link to tripadvisor

we chose curacao for our honeymoon because it's conveniently out of the hurricane paths and we happened to be traveling during the caribbean's hurricane season. found a fantastic luxury resort (which was also fantastically expensive, but you only get one honeymoon, right?). the resort was located about a mile and a half away from the capital city, willemstad. apparently it's not safe for tourists to walk that distance (said the resort staff), but we didn't find that out until our trip was nearly over. we walked during the day, did not run into any issues, and it was nice to explore the area.

iguana cafe is on an extremely touristy stretch of the capital. it's the perfect place to sit, eat a touristy meal, drink an appropriately tropical alcoholic beverage, and watch the "famous" floating bridge float back and forth to allow ships to pass through the channel. derek ordered the "local" beef stew, which was delicious. i ordered the very touristy chicken strips, which were fried to death but still delicious. a rum punch and a pina colada rounded out our excellent lunch.

sam wo

2011-08-13T14:17:00.004-04:00

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

2011-08-13T14:00:00.004-04:00

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.

ryowa

2011-07-17T13:09:00.004-04:00

mountain view, ca

link to yelp

i really miss all of the fantastic ramen shops we used to eat at in nyc (and the ones we tried in tokyo, of course). the south bay is seriously lacking in the ramen department. derek managed to find a spot on castro street in mountain view. it was pretty crowded when we went on a saturday afternoon. we had to wait a while before we could grab a stool. the shop reminds me of the ramen bars we visited in tokyo - simple layout, condiments on the bar, stool, wait until a spot opens before you sit and slurp.

i ordered the tsukumen, dipping noodles - while it was good and satisfied my craving, it wasn't nearly as good as the tsukumen with fatty crispy pork at setagaya. it's also missing the dense chewy noodles. but ryowa has buttered corn, good broth, decent noodles, it will do just fine. i'm hoping the crowd of eager ramen eaters indicates a growing interest in this japanese specialty and we'll see more ramen shops open up in the area.

mom-dipity cooks!

2011-07-17T12:59:00.005-04:00

made a trip home to see the parents. i only blog restaurant vists or the rare occasions when i cook something photogenic enough to post. but i think i'll make an exception for mom-dipity's cooking.

no one can beat my mom's dumplings.

steamed sea bass, snow pea shoots, and lion's head meatballs.

the best mi fun in the world.

burger bar

2011-07-17T12:52:00.004-04:00

san francisco, ca

website

derek and i are huge fans of top chef masters competition, where hubert keller was a finalist. when i found out that he had a burger restaurant in san francisco, derek and i had to go. i was slightly worried when i discovered that the burger bar is located above macy's in union square, which is extremely touristy (which usually suggests bad food). but we forged ahead.

the burger bar is not what we expected. it clearly caters to tourists. the floor is sticky with what i assume was the result of tourists spilling sugary cocktails and beer everywhere. the burgers are overpriced and while they were decent, it wasn't the quality that we were looking for. for me, the highlight was the zucchini fries, which were crispy and crunchy on the outside, but soft on the inside. but even the zucchini fries aren't worth a repeat visit here. lesson learned - gotta trust my instincts and not be blinded by the names of famous chefs.

citizen cake

2011-07-17T12:43:00.004-04:00

san francisco, ca

website

after fresca, a+ma took us across the street to citizen cake, a cute little shop devoted to desserts. love the name, love the decor, love the desserts. apparently the menu also includes pizzas and sandwiches, but for me, the focus is on the display case full of cakes, brownies, and other desserts. i ordered the s'mores brownie, topped with a gooey toasted marshmallow. rich, decadent, and delicious.

fresca

2011-07-17T12:25:00.004-04:00

san francisco, ca

website

a+ma took derek and me to a peruvian restaurant on fillmore. they serve fancy california versions of traditional peruvian food. i took a picture of the paella i ordered. i can't remember what else we ordered, except for the fact that alcohol was involved. which might explain why i can't remember what else we ordered. but i do remember that the food was fantastic, along with the company.

alice's restaurant

2011-07-17T12:04:00.004-04:00

woodside, ca

website

this may be one of the few restaurant raves where i will probably not be going back. at least not without some dramamine. as i mentioned in the la toque post, we got a new car on the way to napa. in fact, we are now leasing a 2011 bmw m3. apparently this car loves to go fast, especially on winding roads. the roads in the hills just northwest of palo alto are quiet and twisty - the perfect combination to test the limits of sports cars, motorcycles, and your inner ear equilibrium. derek had taken the car on these roads (alone) a few times and saw a cool restaurant he wanted to take me to.

alice's restaurant is located at the crossroads between two highways in these hills and it's clearly a biker hangout. the parking lot in front of the restaurant is filled with huge motorcycles and a handful of expensive sports cars. there's even a booth advertising the services of attorneys specializing in representing bikers (??). inside, the atmosphere is perfectly casual and cool. the burgers are amazing - the meaty and juicy patties are the highlight here. i ordered an omelette - delicious, served with excellent hash browns and a biscuit. the only problem is that i was woozy all day from the trek. sigh.

village bistro

2011-07-17T11:47:00.003-04:00

san jose, ca

website

santana row is a massive outdoor shopping complex located in san jose, california. in addition to the shopping (standard mall fare), there are hotels, spas, restaurants, and even apartment complexes. although derek remarked that living above a shopping mall would be like living in disneyland, removed from reality. palo alto gets pretty sleepy at night, but santana row is always buzzing. village bistro, which refers to itself as a "california bistro" did not look inviting. it looked fancy and stuffy. but once inside, the atmosphere was fun, light, and vibrant.

too bad the picture is terrible, because the food was amazing, some of the best that we've had since we moved to california. fantastic cocktails. in typical california style, all of the ingredients are local and sustainable. i had wild salmon - perfectly cooked, buttery and delicious. the sauce was spectacular. derek ordered the burger (of course) - he loved it. we went back again and ate outside on a sunny day and had fantastic make-it-yourself bruschetta. they serve crunchy grilled crostini with a selection of housemade ricotta, roasted garlic, tomato marmalade, and candied olives. mmmm.

gott's roadside

2011-07-17T11:38:00.002-04:00

napa, ca

website

we love burgers, diners, and roadside stands, so when y+a recommended gott's roadside for burgers in napa, we knew we had to go. especially after a disappointing meal at la toque, we weren't going to take any chances with lunch the next day. napa has a very cute and very walkable downtown area and we explored the market and walked through a few shops before heading to gott's.

i ordered mini corn-dogs (yes, i'm a 10-year-old at heart) and a bowl of chili. fantastic chili, made a delicious dip for my corn dogs. derek had the burger and fries. also excellent. solid american food done well. y+a know how to find great food.

la toque

2011-07-17T11:11:00.005-04:00

napa, ca

website

sorry for the lapse in blogging, things have been very busy, but now the big event is over and i will try to catch up with the backlog so that my new posts will be more timely. the lag has caused me to forget many details about prior meals. i'll skip the meals where i can't even remember which restaurant we ate at. hopefully moving forward i'll be able to post right after the meal rather than months later and give my devoted reader(s) more accurate information.

derek and i decided to take advantage of our new norcal locale and venture up to napa valley to check out what the fuss is about. unfortunately we also decided to stop by the car dealership while we were up there and ended up spending most of the weekend getting a new car rather than touring wineries. we did make it to la toque, however, which is a michelin star restaurant. derek and i were missing the fancy new york food scene and thought we could relive the experience at la toque. unfortunately, the only thing amazing at la toque were the desserts. the panna cotta was incredibly light - somehow floral and fruity all at once. the food was good, but not worth the price. the sommelier was engaging and gave us intriguing backstories on each of the wine pairings, but one of the wines was undrinkable. overall, not worth the trek but perhaps it was an off-night.

max's

2011-05-21T14:32:00.003-04:00

palo alto, ca

website

by now, derek and i have been to the stanford shopping center many times. when we try to find a spot to eat, we usually end up at the palo alto creamery (which i have apparently forgotten to blog - it is probably one of those photos in my collection that i didn't recognize). the restaurant next to bloomingdale's always looks too dark and imposing. but one day, we didn't feel like the creamery and decided to venture into the dark and imposing restaurant.

inside it's completely different. bright lights, fun music, tons of families. huge menu full of awesome choices. i love the slogans on the menu "this is a bad place for a diet" and "everything you've always wanted to eat." we've been here a few times now and i always get the caesar salad with grilled salmon. each time, the salmon is perfectly cooked - just the right amount of char on the outside and melt in your mouth tender on the inside. derek has gotten a few things off the menu and he always enjoys his choice.

ozumo

2011-05-21T14:19:00.003-04:00

san francisco, ca

website

after a couple of days of working hard at the SF office, the team decided to go out for a celebratory dinner when our project was finished. we ordered several dishes for the table and several bottles of excellent sake. i really don't remember much after that. but i do remember that i did not want to inflict my uni-obsession on my co-workers, so i did not order the dish that i really wanted.

i have no qualms, however, on inflicting my obsession on derek. derek had just finished taking the california bar, three days of stressful exams, so we went out to celebrate at ozumo. i ordered that dish i was eyeing - the yamabuki - fresh uni, shimeji and shitake mushrooms in a healthy Genmai brown rice risotto. after the uni-xtravaganza i had at sakagura, this was a disappointment because it lacked strong uni flavor. the rest of the menu was good, though. quality japanese food, but maybe a little toned down for the financial district crowd.

karendipity cooks: black bean orecchiette with spicy pork and broccoli

2011-05-21T14:12:00.004-04:00

this is one of derek's favorites. another recipe from ming tsai's cookbook. this one is super easy to make. one thing to keep in mind is that you should chop up the broccoli into bite-sized pieces, otherwise it can become unwieldy.

not going to post the recipe, but i will explain my modification. the recipe calls for fermented black beans. as they do not sell fermented black beans in our whole foods, i had to go with the garlic black bean sauce. this sauce does not have as strong of a flavor as straight black beans, so i use more than the recipe calls for.

cafe encore

2011-05-21T14:05:00.005-04:00

millbrae, ca

link to yelp

derek picked me up from SFO after a very long cross-country flight from JFK. not feeling all that great, i was craving solid chinese food, perhaps a bowl of noodle soup. just a hop and a skip away from the airport, we found a small strip-mall-food-court-thing that is so common in california.

derek wanted in-n-out, but i convinced him to try cafe encore. hong kong style cafe food. kind of greasy, but it hit the spot after such a long flight. i ordered a large bowl of noodle soup topped with saucy pork. derek had the same saucy pork over rice. solid chinese food near the airport, good to know.

bonfire

2011-05-21T13:56:00.002-04:00

jfk airport

link to yelp

i had to make a few work calls while at the airport, so i decided to settle into a quiet corner of todd english's bonfire restaurant at the united terminal at JFK. waitstaff was very polite and left me alone while i finished up my calls, except to refill my soda.

i was craving a hot dog ever since i made the tactical error back at la silhouette, so i ordered the hot dog and fries with coleslaw. expensive. greasy. heavy. the bread was too thick and dry. but the fries were good. typical airport food, but i was hoping for something better from a restaurant with a famous chef's name attached to it.

la silhouette

2011-05-21T13:45:00.005-04:00

new york, ny

website

it is always a treat to eat with y&a. they know good food and they know good restaurants. and in the case of la silhouette, they also know the owners. which translates into excellent and attentive service (and free freshly baked cookies!) one of the great things about nyc is that there are always new restaurants popping up everywhere and this one happened to pop up right in their hood. convenient. convivial. what's not to love?

i joined y&a for brunch, for which silhouette has an entire section devoted to "hangover sandwiches." i made the dumb decision of ordering a more healthy option (eggs benedict with spinach and salmon, sauce on the side) which was decent, but nothing compared to y's "hot duck" (hot dog with duck sausage - get it?) or a's "short rib brisket burger queen" which were both amazing. even baby n's scrambled eggs (more like scrambled butter) and fries was a better choice. i've learned my lesson for next time.

sakagura

2011-05-21T13:24:00.003-04:00

new york, ny

website

CR is queen of finding hidden little japanese gems in midtown east. this time, jenny and i joined her at a difficult-to-find restaurant with a tiny little sign outside. walk a few flights down to the basement and you are transported to japan. the decor, complete with a wall stacked with sake bottles, reminds me of restaurants i visited in kyoto. love it. menu reads somewhat like a standard izakaya menu, but with a few more entree-like choices. the sake menu is massive and a little overwhelming. CR, jenny, and i decided to go with the daily special, advertised to taste like "snow" - and it was bright, fresh, and crisp, all the things clean snow should taste like. both bottles. or did we get three? i don't remember.

i do remember that the food was amazing. pictured are the soba noodles soaked in a uni broth topped with huge pieces of uni. uni-tastic. uni-licious. it's really a miracle that i didn't immediately dunk my head into the bowl, but managed to let jenny and CR try some before devouring the rest. uni-rrific. one note - if the waitress recommends that you each order a "buta kakuni" - do not believe her. order one to share for the table. it's incredible stewed fatty pork and it's delicious. but eating an entire portion by yourself might kill you.

karendipity cooks: asian spaghetti

2011-04-30T21:22:00.013-04:00

it's been quite a while since i've posted about something that i've cooked. i do cook, especially now that i don't live in the land of seamlessweb -- but it's rarely something post-worthy. (lots of quesadillas ...) this dish, however, is definitely post-worthy. asian spaghetti! my brother chris bought me ming tsai's latest cook book simply ming one pot meals for christmas. this book is perfect for people who like to eat asian food, but need very simple recipes that don't take a lot of ingredients, precision, or time.

i'm not going to post the recipe because presumably there's copyright and whatnot involved, but i will hint that there's canned tomatoes, soy sauce, beef, and pork. a lot of beef and pork. the recipe calls for spaghetti, but i prefer to use capellini pasta which gives the dish more of a mai fun feel. the flavors are a strange hybrid of italian and asian, but it works perfectly. yum.

marnee thai

2011-04-30T21:11:00.006-04:00

san francisco, ca

website

wow. amazing thai food. i now understand why it is such an effort to get a table here. we went on a saturday night and it was completely packed. april and lennon had managed to get reservations for 5, but when we got there, we all had to squeeze into the very narrow entrance area and wait about a half hour past our reservation before we actually got seated. even then, c had to sit in the path between tables and kept getting jostled by the waitstaff.

but it was worth it. started with the delicious sticky spicy chicken wings (pictured) with a dark soy chili sauce. love love love the fried corn cakes (very indonesian). it's been so long i forgot what we ordered for our entrees, but i remember being very impressed. however i can't forget the dessert - roti with ice cream. sounds strange, i know, but it's sensational. will definitely be back in the outer sunset soon to try this spot again.

jeffery's

2011-04-30T21:02:00.002-04:00

menlo park, ca

website

about a week or so after we first moved to the south bay, derek and i got lost trying to find 101-north. in fact, we got lost several times. and each time we got lost, we drove by a classic-looking diner called jeffrey's, a burger joint. desperate to find a great burger spot in the south bay, we made a mental note to stop by later when we weren't trying to get to the freeway.

the interior mirrors the exterior - reminsicent of a 1950s diner. but shiny and new. very shiny. i really liked the burger here. the patty has a nice salty crust that reminds me of the shake shack. the rest of the ingredients are less spectacular - the bun is just okay, the condiment bar (iceberg lettuce and unripe tomatoes) is just alright. but let's not be too picky. order a big basket of their excellent onion rings and enjoy.

prospect

2011-04-30T20:50:00.005-04:00

san francisco, ca

website

derek and i made it up to SF to join tina, vanita and rajesh for dinner at prospect a few months ago. yes, i'm that far behind. excellent decor and atmosphere. extremely high ceilings, dark wood interior, roomy comfortable booths. in fact, my firm had an event here a few weeks later - the back room was perfect for a gathering of about 40 of us. the bar area and cocktail list looked pretty good as well, but tina had brought a fantastic bottle of wine from rochioli vineyards to share.

my favorite dish is pictured - the uni risotto with tiny seared scallops. amazing. buttery and rich uni in buttery and rich risotto. although it was unfortunately only a starter, so the portion was small. next time i might order two because i wasn't that impressed with my main course. the desserts were fantastic, though -- loved the fancy smores.

mayfield bakery & cafe

2011-04-01T00:26:00.004-04:00

palo alto, ca

website

i'm sure you're starting to see a pattern in my south bay posts. lowering my dining expectations. hampered by geographical limitations. being surprised when food is actually good. having wine with every possible meal. well, here's another one. derek and i had been to calafia way too many times at this point, so we decided to try its neighbor - mayfield bakery & cafe.

the waitress really knew her wines and recommended an excellent white to go with my roast chicken. i was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the chicken - juicy meat, crispy skin, and a tasty risotto on the side. as we were leaving, the manager thanked us for coming, then called us over to the corner of the restaurant. there, he invited us to choose a loaf of bread from their basket. maybe they had leftover bread? maybe we looked like we needed more sustenance? i chose a large round loaf of olive bread. since we didn't have a toaster yet, i heated up slices in a pan and drizzled a little olive oil over them. a delicious snack that lasted us all week.

main street coffee

2011-03-31T01:49:00.006-04:00

redwood city, ca

website

now that derek and i live in california, we've become very familiar with the DMV. there's no DMV in palo alto, where we actually live, so we've made a couple of trips up to redwood city to visit the lovely DMV office there. since we had an early morning appointment, we decided to get some breakfast after the DMV but before heading into the office. derek did some yelp searching and found main street coffee, just off of main street in redwood city.

cute little coffee shop with some surprisingly substantial breakfasts. i had the yellow cornmeal buttermilk pancakes with a side of eggs. delicious. great coffee too. tons of baked goods, bagels, and other breakfast treats but we stuck with the griddled goods. will definitely have to come back to this coffee shop next time we have to go to the DMV.

imperial garden seafood restaurant

2011-03-26T12:20:00.003-04:00

kent, wa

website

derek's parents took us to dim sum in kent on our way to the sea-tac airport. imperial garden is one of my favorite dim sum places in the seattle area. it's a little bit of a drive from seattle, so we rarely go. but it's fresh, quality, and great variety. in addition to the standard dim sum fare, we ordered lobster over noodles.

the waiter plucked a giant lobster from the tank, brought it over to us to get our approval, and then off to the kitchen to meet its demise. shortly thereafter, we received the pictured plate. lobster was delicious, but i'm not very good at getting the meat out. which generally means entertainment for everyone as they watch me crack the poor lobster into bits and fling chunks of meat all over the table and myself. after a while, i just stuck with the noodles.

howie's artisan pizza

2011-03-26T12:06:00.008-04:00

palo alto, ca

website

finally, good thin-crust pizza! town & country village is a very posh strip mall (somewhere along the lines of seattle's u-village) with some excellent eats, like calafia. howie's serves a really good neapolitan style pizza. neapolitan means a thin, bendable, crust, hopefully with just the right amount of char and chew. i could have used a little bit more char on our pizza, but it's probably best to minimize the carcinogens.

howie's also has an excellent wine list with helpful descriptions of their wine. i'm really getting the hang of this wine + pizza thing. pictured are the spicy meatballs, which were good, but not actually spicy. do people in the south bay have an aversion of spice? i'm not sure what's going on here. i may have to start storing hot sauce in my purse.

sancho's taqueria

2011-03-26T11:31:00.004-04:00

palo alto, ca

website

derek loves this place. his favorite is the chimichanga, a giant deep-fried burrito. i'm less than thrilled about the cuisine. the salsas are out of this world fantastic, but i don't think a place should have to rely on condiments for flavor. the tortilla soup is a giant bowl of thick tomato sauce. the enchiladas are covered in a bland red sauce with bland refried beans.

it's incongruous that a place with a moustached skeleton in a sombrero as its logo has bland food. sigh. but it's close by, quick, not too expensive, and derek loves, so we've gone here a few times. i'm sure you're sensing a theme in my blog posts lately. geographical limitations. time constraints. going to the places with just decent food because of convenience. toto, we're not in manhattan anymore.

renzo

2011-03-20T13:15:00.011-04:00

palo alto, ca

website

i love linguine con vongole. i don't normally eat clams, but for some reason i love the scent of the sea that the clams add to this pasta dish. being doused in wine and butter probably doesn't hurt either. i don't make this dish at home. i'm not ready to confront live seafood or acknowledge the amount of butter that is required in this dish, so i prefer to order it from restaurants. one of my favorite things about renzo is the atmosphere. its not crowded, but the chatter from the bar keeps the dining room buzzing with a quiet energy. service is a little odd (a little over-the-top with the random italian words - bella, really?) and they can be a little pushy about getting the bill up to increase their tips. but i find that being polite and friendly when refusing can go a long way.

we've been here so many times already, i've figured out the tricks to getting a great meal. first of all, order alcohol. it makes you happy, it makes the waiter happy, which will improve the quality of the service. there's some strong drinks from the bar and that's always a lot of fun. second - get fresh dinner rolls. when the rolls are cold, they get a little mealy. when the rolls are overbaked, they're hard as rocks. (derek actually tried to crack one open by banging it against the table). but once when we got a fresh batch of steaming dinner rolls and they were perfect. third - know what to order. get the calamari. get the salads. get the pasta. linguine con vongole is great, but inconsistent. some days amazing, some days just good. both better than me cooking at home, though. solid food, easygoing atmosphere, reasonable prices. walking distance from the apartment. i think we're going to become regulars here.

cafe brioche

2011-03-20T13:08:00.003-04:00

palo alto, ca

website

derek and i were still in the process of getting adjusted to normal restaurant schedules. in nyc, restaurants are usually open for brunch until 4 pm. in palo alto, not so much. we were attempting to go to joanie's (mmm, hash browns), but it was closing just as we got there. we managed to sneak into cafe brioche next door just before they flipped their sign to closed.

cafe brioche is no joanie's. egg scramble was great, loved the quality of the veggies in it, but the home fries were blah. if they could get their hash browns on par with joanie's, then i would consider heading here next time the wait at joanie's is ridiculous. but until then, derek and i just need to get out of the apartment earlier.

vero

2011-03-20T12:53:00.006-04:00

palo alto, ca

website

oh vero. the first time i walked by your white table-clothed, dimly lit restaurant, you reminded me of the amazing italian restaurants that i used to frequent in manhattan. i dragged derek through your doors, desperate for a bowl of classic linguine con vongole. and you dazzled with freshly steamed clams, in a winey buttery sauce, perfectly al dente pasta, and an unexpected hint of fire from calabrese chili peppers. service left much to be desired, but that only heightened the manhattan-like experience. i was thrilled and convinced that you would be a frequent destination.

i similarly dragged my dear friends vanita and tina on a second occasion, expecting them to be similarly dazzled. oh vero. how disappointed we were. tina and i ordered the linguine con vongole. clams were filled with sand. the sauce was okay, but the calabrese peppers (which really made the dish) were missing. we vacillated over whether or not to complain, but i had such high hopes i wanted to give you a chance to redeem yourself. we discussed whether or not the peppers were supposed to be there. you insisted that they weren't. we insisted they did. you finally checked the menu and realized they were and apologized for the "new" chef, handing me a pepper on a plate. sigh.

patxi's pizza

2011-03-20T12:42:00.003-04:00

palo alto, ca

website

i miss new york city pizza. not only are there fantastic sit-down pizza joints like batali's otto, angelo's, or lombardi's, but nearly any slice joint is going to have a good slice of thin crust, great sauce, perfect cheesiness. i have yet to find to a good new york style spot in palo alto, but i have found a great spot for chicago style pizza. i mean, it's no giordano's, but i have to work with certain geographical limitations.

patxi's does do chicago-style well, good cheese, good sauce, nice buttery crust. one of my favorite things about patxi's (and one benefit to my geographical limitations) is that the wine list is fantastic. i usually have a soda with my pizza, but i'm starting to get used to the amazing wines that you find in every restaurant in the bay area. patxi's wine menu has descriptions of flavors, notes, etc. so a vino novice like me can find something i'll like. wine with pizza -- try it!

joanie's cafe

2011-03-12T12:56:00.002-05:00

palo alto, ca

website

new favorite brunch spot. in fact, it's our new sunday tradition. joanie's is located on california avenue, another main street in palo alto. on sunday's, is the site of a massive farmer's market. sunday morning - wake up, head to california ave, put our names down on the clipboard at joanie's (it can be up to a half hour wait), and walk around the farmer's market to buy some fruit and veggies. they have pomelo that's the size of your head for a $1 each (smaller ones would cost you $5 in manhattan).

we try not to snack on too many of the fruit samples at the market, to save room for joanie's fantastic breakfast plates. pictured is derek's breakfast burrito and the amazing hash browns. perfectly crispy and crunchy, not too greasy. the omelettes and other egg dishes at joanie's are also awesome, but they almost seem like accompaniments to the main course of hash browns.

joya

2011-03-12T12:34:00.005-05:00

palo alto, ca

website

one problem with living in the south bay is trying to convince your SF friends to drive an hour down to meet you for dinner. lennon and april graciously made the trek to meet derek and i for dinner at a spanish tapas place a few blocks from our apartment. i loved the vibe of this restaurant - modern interior, fun atmosphere, interesting menu items, and lots of great drinks.

the food itself was just okay. guacamole with taro chips was alright, but i've had better guac (i.e., jinny's homemade guacamole which is amazing). paella was kind of soggy, missing the crispy rice edges that should be a paella requirement. but i loved their homemade white sangria with fruit - delicious. the sangria and the fact that it's walking distance from the apartment (which means we can drink as much sangria as we want without worrying about the drive home) will probably be sufficient for me to come back here, but i'll try something different from the menu.

luu noodle

2011-03-12T12:22:00.004-05:00

mountain view, ca

link to yelp

life's been busy, involving a lot of travel lately, but i'm going to try to catch up with some entries this morning. derek and i discovered this awesome noodle spot close to target in mountain view. it's perfect -- start with a big bowl of cheap noodles to carbo-load before a major target shopping trip.

i get the combo noodles with wontons and meatballs. vietnamese/chinese style noodles. good, clear broth. perfectly dense and chewy noodles. when derek and first went here, they included fried pork skin as a garnish - yum. last time we went, no more fried pork. not sure if it's a permanent change or if we were just unlucky. service is non-existent, you pay at the counter by telling them your table number, booths are kind of uncomfortable, and i would avoid the shrimp. but for $5 a bowl, i'm not going to complain.

los altos grill

2011-02-13T16:15:00.005-05:00

los altos, ca

website

we were at the at&t store in mountain view, buying derek a new iphone (hey, he's in the valley now - no more blackberry for him). while i waited for his iphone to get set-up, i decided to find a nearby spot for dinner with non-asian food. using one of the sample ipad's yelp app, i searched for "american" food near mountain view, california. nothing. the closest spot was in los altos, so we decided to drive out there and check it out.

turns out it's a hillstone restaurant! derek and i frequently visited houston's, another hillstone restaurant, in manhattan, so it was a little piece of home here in the south bay. very similar menu. with one big difference. their "famous cornbread in a skillet." sounds simple, but it's amazing. moist, crunchy, buttery, and spicy goodness. derek, not normally a cornbread eater, devoured half of the massive skillet of cornbread. delicious. everything else was standard houston's fare - great ribs, burgers, french fries. if only it wasn't all the way in los altos ...

hangen szechuan

2011-02-13T16:07:00.004-05:00

mountain view, ca

link to yelp

every little town in silicon valley has a "downtown" area. having recently moved from manhattan, using the term "downtown" with respect to the south bay definitely requires quotes. mountain view's "downtown" is called castro street. one street, several blocks, lined with restaurants, small grocery stores, and random bookstores. there's tons of chinese food on this street. i suspect that derek and i will be familiar with every restaurant very soon.

first stop was hangen szechuan. huge restaurant. empty. which is usually not a good sign, but the food was surprisingly good and the service extremely attentive. we ordered some spicy animal innards, spicy chicken, and not-too-spicy noodles. pictured is the spicy chicken, which only derek could eat because it was too spicy for me. he ate the whole plate - it was that good. we'll definitely be back here.

omelette express

2011-01-29T17:33:00.004-05:00

santa rosa, ca

website

since we weren't in any hurry to get to our extended stay hotel in mountain view, we decided to wander around the "historic railroad square" area in santa rosa and get some breakfast. most of the restaurants were closed (it was a sunday morning) and the others were pretty empty. but one restaurant was completely packed, with a line spilling out onto the sidewalk. so of course that's where we went.

the owner or manager of the restaurant was actually outside with all of the waiting customers, entertaining them with some story. he took our name and told us "not to go far." so we joined the other customers hanging out on the sidewalk. about 15 minutes later, a table opened up and we got to order something from their huge menu of omelettes. i can't remember what i ordered, but i do remember that the omelette was the size of a football. the highlights for me were the slice of homemade sourdough bread and the salsa they served on the side. another good find.

syrah bistro

2011-01-29T17:16:00.006-05:00

santa rosa, ca

website

derek and i decided to spend the night in napa valley, rather than driving through the night to get to the south bay. i IM'd danielle on my blackberry and she found us a great hotel in the area - the hyatt vineyard creek hotel and spa in santa rosa. perfect location - just off the 101 and within walking distance of the historic railroad square area with shops and restaurants. after 2 days of driving, it was nice just to get out and walk. the concierge at the hotel recommended the syrah bistro, a cute but small restaurant a few blocks away. the restaurant was a little cramped, so when the hostess asked if we wanted to be seated outside, we gladly said yes. but turns out that "outside" is really a hallway between the restaurant and a hair salon.

it was a little odd to be seated next to a display of hair products, but the food and wine made up for it. derek and i shared a terrific bottle of wine, which was from a nearby winery - a 2008 desmond pinot noir. we started with the wild arugula and escarole salad - very good, derek especially liked the crispy shallots and i liked the white anchovy on top. i ordered the pan roasted duck breast, with risotto style farro, oregon chanterelles, and black garlic-sour cherry jus. delicious. definitely a great little spot if you ever find yourself in santa rosa.

jalisco cafe

2011-01-29T17:00:00.004-05:00

eureka, ca

link to yelp

after spending the night in oregon, we made it to california on the 2nd day of our epic journey down highway 101. first stop in california - eureka for mexican food and gas. located just across the street from a gas station, we found jalisco cafe. it looked authentic, so we decided to give it a try.

massive menu full of mexican classics. they even had lengua! not being particularly adventurous, i ordered my usual - two beef enchiladas with a side of rice and beans. delicious. red sauce, cheesy beans, fluffy rice. definitely reminded me of the mexican restaurants i used to eat at when i was growing up in eastern washington. who knows if i'll ever make it back to eureka, but this mexican restaurant definitely hit the spot.

mo's chowder

2011-01-29T16:43:00.001-05:00

florence, or

website

i do not recommend driving through the oregon hills in the rain at night. derek did a great job of navigating some very treacherous roads, but he was exhausted by the time we reached florence, oregon. we decided to spend the night at the old town inn before continuing our epic journey. the inn is appropriately named because it's just a short walk to the cute waterfront area, called old town. the innkeeper gave us a token for free clam chowder at mo's. on a cold, rainy night in the pacific northwest, clam chowder sounded perfect.

mo's is located at the north end of old town, right across from a homemade ice cream shop (that was unfortunately closed). standard chowder house menu - derek ordered the fish and chips (and a beer) and i ordered the clam strips and chowder. seaside comfort food. clam strips were tasty - not too greasy, just the right clam-to-breading ratio. chowder was solid. it's clear that the seafood was fresh. our table was right next to the window, overlooking the siuslaw river. perfect. mo's even has a little souvenir shop inside, so you can get your shopping and eating done all at once.

clyde common

2011-01-29T16:25:00.007-05:00

portland, or

website

this was the first stop on our epic trip down the pacific coast, driving derek's car and 4 suitcases from seattle to our new home in the bay area. derek, the driver, was craving a burger. so i searched for "best burger portland" on my blackberry and found clyde common. it's located in what i think is downtown portland and was very easy to get to from I-5. the restaurant is clearly part of that whole farm-to-table movement and it looked like they brought the tables from the farm too. long wood tables with tiny little chairs lined on each side. the table is shared space, so be warned that you might literally be rubbing elbows with some portlanders. they're nice, though.

derek and i both ordered the burger. i remember really enjoying my side salad. the burger is not as good as the shake shack or any of the other amazing burgers that we loved in nyc, but derek and i are hard to please when it comes to burgers. the menu looked great, so if we ever come back, i'll try some of the other items and probably something off their extensive beer list. also, clyde common is just a short walk away from the famous powell's bookstore, which is a great place to walk off your lunch.

bamboo village restaurant

2011-01-29T16:17:00.004-05:00

seattle, wa

website

huge chinese restaurant in the wallingford area in seattle. i've heard that it's popular for dim sum, but we went for dinner last november. (yes, i'm still posting november restaurants, i hope to catch up to the present soon ...) cindy, ryan, the kids, derek, me, derek's parents, all sitting around a big round table with the lazy susan in the middle, piled with food. standard chinese restaurant atmosphere and fare.

except for the honey walnut shrimp, which is fantastic here. in fact, you can even get honey walnut chicken, which i've never seen before. just the right amount of crispiness, a hint of sweetness, crunchy glazed walnuts, not too much mayonnaise, it's done perfectly here. i'm sure the other stuff is good here too, but the honey-walnut anything is my favorite.

maialino

2011-01-29T13:22:00.006-05:00

gramercy, nyc

website

once again, derek and i simply walked out of our apartment and wandered around, waiting for inspiration to hit. as we neared gramercy park, i saw maialino, which i had been wanting to try since it first opened in fall 2009. i doubted that we could get a table, but wanted to see how long the wait was. to our surprise, we were seated immediately. score. the restaurant is absolutely beautiful. we sat in the bar area (they only make reservations in the dining room, so that's why we were seated so quickly). but this is no ordinary bar area. huge rustic-style tables for two, spaced far apart. the afternoon sun was streaming in through the huge windows behind the bar. just beautiful, i could have sat there for hours. eating.

it's a homey-but-upscale italian restaurant. (officially, a "roman-style trattoria," whatever that means). the best cup of latte i have ever had in a restaurant. it somehow strikes the ideal balance between strong, rich coffee and sweet, creamy lightness. the moist olive oil muffin - which was both fruity and savory - was a perfect companion to the latte. i highly recommend just stopping by, sitting at the bar, and enjoying a latte with the budino di olio d'oliva. heaven for about $6. pictured is the pasta, sausage, and other brunch dishes, which were also very good. but the muffin and coffee were just out of this world.

mint

2011-01-28T22:05:00.003-05:00

midtown, nyc

website

there are a lot of fancy indian restaurants in midtown. white tablecloths. great service. everything served in silver bowls and platters, with silver utensils. mint falls into this category with a slight twist. the interior is lit up with neon green lights which make you feel like you're inside a dance club or other night spot. it's a little disconcerting when you're meeting a friend in the middle of the afternoon for lunch.

but the food is good. i was caught up talking to XYZ and stuffing my face with spicy corn, so i didn't take a picture until i only had a few bites left. thus the photo of giant corn and giant grains of rice. XYZ and i shared the corn salad appetizer and the corn in saag sauce, with a side of excellent naan. very tasty.

union square cafe

2011-01-28T21:51:00.006-05:00

union square, nyc

website

one thing that i love (and miss) about new york city is that at nearly any time during the day (or night), you can walk out the door without any idea of where you're going and just keep walking and walking until inspiration hits you. derek and i did just that - we walked out the door of our apartment, with empty stomachs and a vague desire to get a really great new york lunch. we decided to head south, toward union square, where there are more options. somewhere between 19th and 17th street on park avenue, i shouted, "union square cafe!" derek exclaimed, "great idea!" and so that's where we went.

derek and i are huge fans of danny meyer resataurants. his restaurants are known for over-the-top service and exceptional cuisine. union square cafe has a very cozy feel (despite the high prices). it's been a while, so i don't remember what derek ordered, but it was probably the burger. i ordered the butternut squash ravioli with cranberries in a brown butter sauce - delicious. union square cafe is a classic - solid and reliable. a nice restaurant to keep in your back pocket whenever you're not quite sure where to go.

locanda verde

2011-01-27T00:20:00.005-05:00

tribeca, nyc

website

see earlier post about how jenny is always plugged into whatever is new and exciting in manhattan. locanda verde is located in the middle of nowhere, on the edge of the island, somewhere in tribeca. i took a cab to get to the cross-streets (north moore and greenwich), but was quite lost among the dark warehouses and quiet streets. suddenly, a door opened and i could hear the clanging chatter of a busy restaurant. i followed the noise, walked through the doorway, and politely shoved my way through the crowd of fashionably clad bodies to reach jenny, who was waving one hand in the air (the other hand holding a large glass of red wine).

we didn't have a reservation, but jenny had put our names down for two seats at the bar. fortunately, we were seated within 10 minutes (although two people who got on the list just after us were not seated for almost an hour). we started with bread, their housemade focaccia served warm and slightly crispy. amazing. we had seconds. our appetizer was also delicious. but the highlight of the meal was the ravioli, listed on the menu as "my grandmother's ravioli." i have never had ravioli this good before. the pasta was cooked perfectly al dente, but the meat inside just melts in your mouth. sure, it's a little weird for meat to melt, but it's just that good. hands down, the best ravioli i've ever had. it is $17, but it is worth all 1700 pennies. save up. try it. thank me later.

financier

2011-01-26T23:38:00.007-05:00

midtown, nyc

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the original location of this cleverly named patisserie is in the financial district (a financier is both a type of french pastry and someone who handles a lot of money -- get it?), which is located at the southernmost tip of manhattan. this means that lazybones like myself only tasted pastries from this bakery when one of my friends (usually jenny or dorothy) brought some to the office or to a party. on those rare occasions, tarts and pies from financier were a special treat.

something happened, however, when financier opened a branch just a few blocks away from my office. perhaps distance does make the heart grow fonder because i found that the midtown location's pastries are good, but not amazing. the dining area of the bakery is cluttered and dirty. the sandwiches are small and take forever for them to make. we still go every now and then to get some coffee and perhaps satisfy a craving for sweets, but sadly, the allure is gone.

the meatball cart @ mia dona

2011-01-26T21:42:00.004-05:00

midtown, nyc

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i'm not sure how, but jenny is always plugged into what is new and fun in the big apple. jenny suggested that i meet her in midtown to try donatella arpaia's meatball cart located just outside her restaurant, mia dona. autumn in new york can be quite cold, so i was surprised to see a crowd standing outside waiting for meatballs. always a good sign.

jenny requested the sandwich (meatballs between two squares of foccacia + cheese + arugula) for $6 while i went for the cup of meatballs swimming in red sauce for $5. mia dona's waitstaff suggested that we go inside to escape the cold, so jenny and i cozied up to the bar where the bartender graciously poured us some water. (hey, in nyc, these little things make a world of difference). the meatballs, apparently an old family recipe, were terrific. i don't dare to mention the name of that swedish superstore, but let's just say that there is no comparison to the meatballs i usually eat. i'm not sure if the cart is still out there given the below freezing temps, but definitely check it out in the springtime.

ramen mottainai

2011-01-22T18:14:00.009-05:00

gardena, ca

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in LA for work, i dropped off the rental car at LAX a couple of hours before my flight back to JFK. cindy c picked me up for a quick dinner in "nearby" gardena. as i am not accustomed to the land of freeways that is the los angeles metro area, i was a bit concerned about the number of roads that cindy took to get us to our destination. turns out, it was only 15 minutes away from the airport and returning was not a problem.

like all good restaurants in california, this ramen shop is hidden away in the corner of a strip mall. walking in, we were greeted with the traditional shouting in japanese. the atmosphere reminded me of the ramen shops i enjoy in new york. except much more spacious. and no wait! cindy c ordered a plate of spicy veggies to start off with, which were yummy. i ordered the porky ramen (tonkotsu broth) with the addition of buttered corn. love love love the buttered corn. i think everything in life should be topped with buttered corn.

abc kitchen

2011-01-19T02:09:00.011-05:00

flatiron, nyc

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just north of union square is one of jean-georges' newest restaurants, abc kitchen. the atmosphere is earthy and casual, completely different from any of his other restaurants. the quality of the food is impeccable, as always. unfortunately the price is high, as always. pictured are two of the most expensive doughnuts i've ever eaten. it's hard to tell from the picture, but they're TINY. and the pair cost $9. delicious? yes. outrageously priced? yes indeed. i now turn this blog post over to ... derek! he had the burger. i refused to take a picture because otherwise my blog would turn into "derek eats! burgers!"

D: I like to taste the meat in my burgers. Eric Ripert says that when preparing a fish dish, the chef should “elevate the fish” not overpower or compromise it. The same philosophy should apply to burgers. When we heard that ABC Kitchen had a burger featuring a Pat LaFrieda blend, naturally, I had to try it. Unfortunately, the LaFrieda patty was not elevated. It was still a goo-ey, zesty, and soul-comforting blend of cheese, herbed mayo and pickled jalapeños, but it was merely a tasty sandwich, not a burger. A real burger, in my mind, is what they do at Little Owl or City Hall. A fat, juicy patty enhanced with light, complementary additions (yes, bacon and cheddar can be “light”). That said, the sandwich-with-LaFrieda patty was still delicious. After all, Mr. Vongerichten knows his stuff.

friedman's lunch

2011-01-19T01:49:00.010-05:00

chelsea, nyc

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it's been so long since i took this picture of pancakes (auto-dated october 31) that it first took me about 10 minutes of searching through my old emails to determine what city i was in that day and then where i might have eaten pancakes. i need to start carrying around a notebook. or i need to avoid having a backlog of photos waiting to be posted. anyway, now i remember the restaurant - friedman's lunch in chelsea market.

however, i can't remember why derek and i dared to wander through chelsea market on halloween. the market was incredibly crowded -- full of trick-or-treaters and people on stilts. it probably had something to do with getting chocolate-covered cheerios from jacques torres for my niece (who refused to eat regular cheerios after eating a few of the chocolate ones -- oops). derek, amazingly enough, remembers that he ordered the fish basket and that it was delicious. i clearly had pancakes and if i remember correctly, i really enjoyed them. i vaguely remember that it seemed like a great place to recommend to my friends. so - there you go.