cafe des amis

san francisco, ca

website

had dinner in the city with ryan, michelle, and their adorable little baby at cafe des amis. of course it was long enough ago that they don't actually live in the city anymore, but the restaurant is probably still there. cafe des amis is a moody low-lit french bistro that could be anywhere - new york city or paris - but with friendly san francisco service. excellent wine list. get the onion soup with the puff pastry on top. absolutely amazing - almost as good as anything i've had in france.

absinthe

san francisco, ca

website

i was traveling for business and after a stressful morning, a restaurant named "absinthe" sounded like the perfect place to relax. i picked a lovely table by the window where i could enjoy the rare san francisco sunny day, which paired nicely with a cool glass of chardonnay. and with that first glass, i ordered a terrible pasta with peas. with my second glass, i ordered something off their cheese list. this is word-for-word an email that i sent while eating my cheese: "Mt tam cheese from cowgirl creamery with toasted walnut apricot bread and a slightly oaky Chardonnay is cheezydrunk heaven." it's possible that truer words have never been written.

fung lum @ SFO

san francisco, ca

link to yelp

chinese buffets are comfort food. when i'm travelling, it's often the only airport food i find appealing. the tofu + veggie stirfry and chow mein at fung lum in the united terminal at SFO are decent. pork buns are not good. egg tarts are bland and useless. i went on a limb this particular trip and tried the wonton soup with shrimp wontons. i won't do that again.

delfina pizzeria

san francisco, ca

website

okay, my last post might have been a little overdramatic. i'll tone it down here. delfina has great pizza. vanita frequently brings her family here, so you know the food is amazing and the restaurant is family friendly. the pictured pizza was the broccoli rabe, which was a bit too bitter for me. but the other pizza we ordered in september 2012 (thank goodness for automatic timestamps) - whatever it was - tasted great.

cafe tiramisu

san francisco, ca

website

derek and i happened to be working in our respective SF offices one day and we decided to have dinner in the city before heading back to the south bay. belden place is a narrow alley near the office with a line of restaurants and outdoor seating. supposedly it's reminiscent of european outdoor dining -- it reminds me of little italy in new york and post alley in seattle. we walked through the alley, glanced at the menus for each of the restaurants, and decided on italian food at cafe tiramisu.

pictured is my appetizer - black ink risotto with pan seared scallops and lobster bisque. the scallops were perfectly cooked, buttery, and delicious. the risotto and lobster sauce matched the scallops well - with just a slight hint of the sea. my entree, however, was less successful - spaghetti with clams and uni. the uni, unfortunately, was not fresh and tasted a little funky. both a hit and a miss - we'll probably try another belden place restaurant next time.

umami burger

san francisco, ca

website

i've wanted an umami burger ever since giada de laurentiis described it as her hometown favorite on the "best thing i ever ate" (video) two years ago. i love umami flavors. i love burgers. it sounded perfect. except it was located in los angeles. but last year, umami burger opened a san francisco outpost, appropriately located in the cow hollow neighborhood. vibe is extremely casual, the waitstaff seems genuinely enthused about the food they serve, and the menu is one of those menus where i just want to order everything on it.

i chose the famous umami burger - shiitake mushroom, caramelized onions, roasted tomato, parmesan crisp, and housemade umami ketchup. (that's the parmesan crisp sticking out in the picture). if you're a fan of sweet & salty - this is the burger for you. incredibly rich flavor - definitely hits all of the umami notes but the sweetness was almost too much. but i would happily eat this burger again. and again. the truffled beet salad was fantastic (i would put that truffled ricotta on everything). derek ordered the manly burger - beer-cheddar cheese, smoked-salt onion strings, and bacon lardons. excellent. there's a nice beer and wine selection and humphry slocombe ice cream sandwiches for dessert. amazing. if only it wasn't so far away from my apartment - i hope they open a south bay location next!

bi-rite creamery

san francisco, ca

website

jinny and i drove by the beach at half moon bay but it looked too chilly to get out of the car. instead, we drove up to san francisco for ice cream. probably not the smartest decision, but it made sense at the time. san francisco was freezing and jinny and i were shivering as we waited in the long line outside the bi-rite creamery near delores park. thankfully when we made it to the front of the line, a table had opened up inside and we could eat our ice cream in relative warmth.

bi-rite is famous for its ice cream sundaes and is frequently featured on those various what-to-eat-in-sf shows on the food network and travel channel. jinny and i shared a sam's sundae (chocolate ice cream with bergamot olive oil, maldon sea salt and whipped cream) and a sundae with honey and strawberries (if i remember correctly). both were pretty good, but probably not worth waiting in line for when it's cold and windy in san francisco. i think i'll stick with rick's down here in the south bay, where it's warm.

tokyo express

san francisco, ca

website

a few co-workers and i walked across the street from our san francisco offices and found tokyo express. it's a little confusing at first because there are numbered cards sitting on empty tables. however, when you order at the register in the back of the restaurant, you can tell them which table you want and the number sitting on that table. when your food is ready, they'll bring it to your table. very fast and efficient service -- this is clearly a lunch spot catered to busy professionals. my pork katsu was pretty good, although they relied on bottled tonkatsu sauce that was a bit too tangy. it's a good spot if you've got a group of 4 people and don't want to wait for a table elsewhere.

chairman bao

sf bay area, ca

link to twitter

i've seen this food truck featured on numerous tv shows and in numerous magazine articles, but it's usually parked up north, in san francisco. i was thrilled to find out last week that it would actually be parked right outside my office building in palo alto. it's so much easier when good food comes to me rather than vice versa. their menu has steamed buns, which are small white mantao pockets (pictured on the right). the menu also offers baked buns, which are much larger (as you can see on the left).

not that you can tell from my blog, but i'm trying to eat a little healthier. when faced with chairman bao's amazing menu, i decided to order the steamed bun with pork belly (smaller portion of pork belly) and the baked bun with tofu (larger portion of healthy tofu). what i actually received was a steamed bun with spicy chicken and a massive baked bun with ridiculous amounts of pork belly. i did not discover this discrepancy until i had already walked the 20 yards back to my office. clearly too far to turn back, right? the pork belly was crispy and fatty, the baked bun was slightly sweet, and the pickled radish balanced the flavors - very very good. i hope they come back.

ppq dungeness island

san francisco, ca

link to yelp

crabs prepared asian-style - perfect for large parties to share. but parking is a nightmare. we spent 40 mins circling and ended up half a mile away from the restaurant. seriously, if we weren't there to see j+j visiting from nyc, we might have just headed back home. otherwise, it was a great spot for j+j to meet up with their many sf friends. the $40/crab matches what we used to pay for fatty crab in nyc, but the set menus for larger groups provide better value.

our table shared 3 crabs and a few side dishes, including excellent garlic noodles. we had black pepper crab, roasted crab, and spicy crab. the roasted crab was definitely the best for me - deep fried and infused with garlic. others preferred the spicy crab. i didn't actually eat a lot of crab - i prefer the main shell over the legs (too much work). but i really enjoyed the dessert - fried bananas with mango ice cream. everyone else was too full from crab to eat the dessert - which just meant more for me.

txoko

san francisco, ca

website

california is going to ban foie gras beginning in july 2012. i don't actually like foie gras, but it shouldn't be banned. based on all 3 articles i've read on this issue, i believe there are humane ways to make foie gras. also, i'm generally a fan of allowing individuals to make informed choices about their ethical obligations when it comes to food - over a certain baseline standard, of course. given that there are humane ways to make foie gras (the duck/goose doesn't seem to be in any discomfort or pain), i don't think that baseline standard is met.

okay, what does that have to do with txoko? april is on a quest to try all of the great foie gras dishes in the city before the ban begins. while i'm not a fan of foie gras itself, i'm a fan of restaurants that serve foie gras, so derek and i joined april and lennon at txoko for dinner in the city. april enjoyed her foie gras appetizer and did a full write-up on her blog. derek and i shared the massive rib-eye which was very juicy and fatty. i started with an amazing green garlic soup - creamy, garlicky, and delicious.

bar agricole

san francisco, ca

website

vanita found this great space for the gang to get together for dinner. it's a beautiful restaurant with wood panels, high ceilings, and a cool atmosphere. originally they were going to place us in the back of the restaurant, which was dark and depressing. instead, we waited an extra half hour and got a better table in the front of the restaurant (vanita, rajesh, and i had to wait for the rest of the gang anyway). next time we'll know to request a front table.

waiting gave us the opportunity to explore their cocktail menu. i had a planter's punch - white agricole rum, lime, grapefruit, and bitters. then a rye gin old fashioned - rye gin, gum syrup, bitters, and two zests. both were excellent, although the old fashioned was quite strong. then i think i had another planter's punch. the rest of the night is a little fuzzy - the anchovies i started with were okay, but needed bread. (what kind of restaurant doesn't give a bread basket?) i ordered an entree too, but i can't quite remember what it was.

sorabol

san francisco, ca

website

after breakfast at the ferry building i walked over to union square to do some shopping. having learned my lesson from my last visit to the westfield shopping center, i went back to tina's food court recommendation - korean food at sorabol. i'm pretty sure they cook the bulgogi in butter. according to jinny, that's how real koreans cook, anyway.

in an attempt to be healthy, i decided to add some spicy tofu, which was good but uninteresting. next time i'll just get extra bulgogi. the kimchee is free - grab a few containers when you get to the end of the line. good flavor to the kimchee, it adds the right amount of acidity to match the buttery bulgogi. there's probably better korean food in the city somewhere else, but sorabol is a great option if you get hungry while shopping.

blue bottle coffee

san francisco, ca

website

the day after the exam, i decided to wander the streets of san francisco by myself. i started the day at the ferry building for breakfast. there were so many choices - do i get a cute little cupcake from miette, a meat cone from boccalone, or a roll from acme bread company? i decided to try blue bottle coffee to see what all of the hype is about. each cup of drip coffee is individually brewed, but thankfully i ordered a rosemary-studded olive oil shortbread cookie to munch on while i waited for that process. and it really is a process - there's a contraption with a row of coffee cups and coffee filters filled with coffee just above them. a woman with a teapot of hot water pours a little bit into the filters, watches them, pours a little bit more, watches them again, repeat.

18 minutes from entering the line to getting my coffee (although the line was even longer by the time my drink was ready). it was $3.75 for a drip coffee with foamy steamed milk swirled into a pleasant design. this is special occasion coffee - making this a daily habit might dent both your wallet and your patience. but i had the time and the funds, so i enjoyed sitting at the blue-bottle-customers-only counter, sipping my exceptionally aromatic coffee while watching the comings and goings of the ferry building.

michael mina

san francisco, ca

website

derek is very good at thinking ahead and making reservations. when he found out that cindy was coming for a weekend visit, he immediately made reservations at michael mina - highly rated, has one michelin star. a had been there before, so we followed his lead and ordered a la carte. cindy, a+ma, and derek split two orders of the tuna tartare (which was very good), but i had to be an uni-snob and order the uni pasta off of the tasting menu (pictured). the uni was incredible, the rest of the pasta was pretty good as well.

my entree, highly recommended by the waiter, was the "japanese inspired whole dungeness crab" served with ramen. some of the crab was tempura-fried and the rest of the crab was poached in miso-butter. the poached crab was amazing, served with an incredible sauce. the ramen was disappointing - tasted like overcooked instant ramen in a bland broth. the highlight of the meal, however, might have been the bread served on the side - ridiculously good. grilled, buttered sourdough bread served with a little pot of (what i assume must be) fresh ricotta topped with a layer of honey. after you finish one slice of bread, they bring you another slice and another pot of ricotta, so feel free to go crazy with the ricotta. overall, it was a quality fine-dining experience, just don't get the ramen.

coriander gourmet thai

san francisco, ca

link to yelp

normally when i go to the westfield mall's food court, i stop by tina's favorite spot for korean food. but since we had just eaten kimchee fried rice at the ferry building, i decided to try the thai food. not good. the tofu was overcooked and dry. the green beans and the pad thai were bland. the food court at the westfield mall has many many better options.

namu @ ferry building farmer's market

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.

kitchen kura

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.

elite cafe

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

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.