December 24, 2011

Panna Cotta

Juiced up the recipe book this week and made a really good desert that was so delicious! Yes, I made Panna Cotta (Italian for cooked cream).

Tried a few different things with the plating and prep. In one case the chef I work for said he wanted to fry them in cubes with a panco coating. I also made a couple of bowls; one for a single serving and one for a couple to share. On those I put a jelee that came from a sorbet we had. Melted the sorbet and added gelatin.

Afterwards I made vanilla cookie I shaped into a squiggly and topped the desert with it and a dibble of freshly whipped cream… but there was a part of me that wanted to put a merenge. Either way too much would have been too much.

The flavor was great. I made vanilla and I made a pomegranate flavor. Yummers.

 

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September 13, 2011

La Tortilla on Castro

When skimming through the Castro for something good to eat and find a great value I discovered a lot of choices. San Francisco has to be a real food city. Being a recent transplant, my adventures in food here are barely getting off the ground.

In my time here I have been paying attention to service, cleanliness and customer service which are all extremely import when it comes to hosting guests in your establishment.

La Tortilla is one of many typical Mexican places in the city offering good food at reasonable prices. On this day I ordered my usual Super Burrito with chicken. Normally, especially after going to the gym, it is savory goodness. The black beans in the burrito were so salty I was blown away.

I brought it to the attention of the young woman at the counter who about threw a fit. Since she was speaking to her co-workers in Spanish I was not quite sure what was going on. He ire seemed to be directed at a man from the back kitchen.

Asking for another burrito with different beans got an eye-roll, but somewhere in there I think it was a lack of communication.

 

Dinner with a View at La Tortilla on the Castro

Maybe this guy was screwing up a lot lately and maybe she was having a bad day, but the eye roll and the attitude was not something the customer should endure.

Customer service is pivotal in keeping your establishment on the map where people want to go back.

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September 13, 2011

Sliders on Castro

This has got to be my 3rd burger place and second one in San Francisco. I like good simple food and a burger is just that sometimes. In this case this is a salmon burger.

Sliders on Castro Street

Sliders has been a San Francisco staple for me since I first visited the city many years back. They are half way up the block from the Castro BART station and offer some really nice specials. For seven bucks I got this meal and got to choose what I wanted to put on the sandwich from a salad bar of choices.

I do wish the salmon burger was not pulled frozen from a package in the freezer, but fresh might be a stretch.

In this case I also had sweet potato fries instead of regular french fries. This place is definitely worth a quick lunch and a good value.

When I arrived there was a young woman ordering and she, like me, was looking for something reasonably healthy and not beef. She ordered the Fish Burger which caught my attention and I asked if it was fried. Since it was I went with the Salmon and so did she! It’s all about people helping people.

 

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July 3, 2011

The Olive

When roaming the city with friends for a Happy Hour and a knosh one of the guys suggested “The Olive” on Larkin near O’Farrell. On first look from the street there was this fear of something less than desirable, but once inside there was contemporary greatness.

The Olive on Larkin in San Francisco, Ca

 

Although the outside suggests shabby, the inside is chic and modern with a great contemporary feel that pays honor to the history of the building itself as it must have been around a very long time. Unfortunately I did not ask about the lineage of the place while there and their web site give virtually nothing about the place except to celebrate the same happy hour that we enjoyed.

Cocktails to die for

The interior was smart and stoic, with bits of art that were interesting and brought just the right amount of color. For some reason, while sitting here writing this, I seem to have the memory of a light projected around us that was something like the beaded light of a disco ball. My companions enjoyed their featured cocktails (seen here) while to had a draft beer. It was an Amber of unknown origin but it was delicious.

Another thing I have neglected altogether in this story is the menu is the menu. It had some nice treats on it but it was a little disconnected from the identity of the place and offered a few strange things that sounded absolutely uninteresting. But, the things that were went right along with their Happy Hour beat. We ordered snacky food. Item number one was fried calamari that was good and nothing to make special note of, but the chipotle aole that came with it was a nice touch. Item two was french fries and they were something to note! It was a mixture of very fresh cut potatoes fried perfectly and a Japanese sweet potato also server with the same chipotle aole.

Empty plates!

The empty plates and empty glasses should say it all. The Olive was a treasure on Larkin. Apparently a lot of other people agree on Yelp which is nice to see. There is no way to go wrong with happy hour at The Olive.

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June 13, 2011

Bistro SF Grill

I was running an errand today, a mission of mercy, and ducked into a quaint place on 8519 California Street call Bistro SF Grill. There was a menu there that might make some people raise eyebrows.

What do you do when you see choices like Ostrich and Buffalo and Kobe beef on a menu; for many seeking a burger these words might mean something strange. On this day they had a special for $7.95 that included a Kobe Beef Burger and French Fries.

I spoke to the owner while we ordered. He was a high energy would be rockstar singing along to U2 and David Bowie in the warm, quaint bistro. The restaurant has been open a mere 6 months and had a nice flow of traffic while we had our lunch.

While talking, I mentioned a burger I had there once before called the Geisha, which had Gorgonzola cheese on it and I love – no I have been craving this cheese. He immediately suggested we get it on the special we were enjoying.

It was a great lunch and a treat having this great burger. The fries were seasoned perfectly and portions were just right.

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June 9, 2011

Cafe Zitouna

I am finally settled in San Francisco and got a chance to eat out and explore something new! While walking along Polk Street my roommate and I happened upon Cafe Zitouna on Sutter Street and perused the menu on the front of the restaurant. It was a clearly a variety of Mediterranean dishes including something I have not seen very often – Tajines from nothern Africa.

Cafe Zitouna from the outside

The restaurant was crowded at lunch time which means their secret is out. The atmosphere is simple and the mood is fairly relaxed. The service is what I typically have a problem with at almost any restaurant, especially when I was in Las Vegas, and was surprised by the server’s odd behavior when it came to helping us.

Interior of Cafe Zitouna

The Food!

Chicken SchwarmaI was up in the air for their Super Falafel versus Chicken Schwarma. I had been craving Falafel through the day since we started out on errands, but this Super Falafel was so packed with other things that I decided I wanted something a little more simple like the Schwarma.

The food was absolutely amazing when it came to the table and all the flavors in Chicken Schwarma wrap I had were spot-on. I could taste every bit of that Mediterranean flavor I love so much. As a chef, I choose to cook food from this region because of a connection that keeps bringing me back to this world of goodness.

not sure what the name of this wasI got an extra bonus when my roommate got his dish and I got to taste it as well. Sadly, I am unable to tell you what it was even as I look at the to-go menu I bought home with me. It was wrapped in a philo dough and had the warm flavors of cinnamon and nuts that was very comforting. It was huge, too big for lunch, but when I got a little taste I was excited about that too!

Conclusion

The restaurant is very nice and based on the flavors alone I would go back anytime. Not to knock on the service too much, because it really was not too bad. Still not sure if the guy was just really busy or intimidated by us for some reason.

Obviously the locals are in love with this place and it is well deserved. We saw people who were regulars coming in over and over as the staff recognized them and visa versa. All the signs of a successful and beloved restaurant.

The food flavors were exactly what you would ever want. This is a good place to be adventurous and try something you never had before. As usual, I  looked on Foursquare to see what people were saying about the place and they were sporting a lot of great reviews as well. I actually took a recommendation from one of the posters there.

My complete order

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May 17, 2011

Forte Tapas

Tonight I went to another place in town for a meeting and we were given Tapas. This is a different kind of Tapas as the place describes itself as European Tapas over Spanish Tapas.

Me and the gang!

Forte Tapas is a restaurant on Rainbow Blvd in the Albertsons Shopping Center cross-street Flamingo. It has a Tapas menu with a mix of Spanish choices and seems to have a lot of Bulgarian and Russian options as well.

Chacuterie is prevalent in the menu with several kinds of packed meats.

We were provided a random selection of salads, sliced meat and a meatball wrapped in a piece of bacon as I recall. Now this is not my first time at this place, because what I remember most about my previous visit was the salad.

Forte TapasThese salads are actually Eastern European and made in creamy sauces. Last time’s choice I recall having peas, cheese and some other nice textures. This time we were given a nice seafood salad and something with chicken and dill. Both had remarkable flavor and I dipped into them a couple times over.

The meatball was forgettable, however, and the chacuterie sliced meat was unremarkable. Me? I personally love chacuterie as it was introduced to me by Chef Hoffmeister back in Culinary school all those years ago.

The atmosphere of the place is distinctly European. In fact, it seems so much so that it almost seems to evade an American appreciation. I remember sitting there before the meeting and seeing a group of Eastern Euromen sitting around one table chatting on and sharing a beer. Some women having dinner together, also speaking Bulgarian. The waitress who spoke with a strong accent… it was a little strange.

Would I go back? In a heart beat! What was my favorite? Definitely the salads. It is a great place and hopefully this ends my seemingly strangely consistent story on Tapas places. However, no promises, because friends want to go to FireFly next week.

Note to Self: The sign over the restaurant just said FORTE and the “Tapas” part seems to have vanished. Given the expanded Russian and Bulgarian menu maybe they took the word away that scared away a clientele? Do Eastern Europeans do Tapas?

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Filed under Chacuterie, Good Restaurants, Local Dining

April 25, 2011

Tapas

Whenever I say the word “Tapas” on the phone I feel that I have to annunciate very clearly. Try it… because if you do not the other person may well hear ‘topless’. I like Tapas food. I have a book at home with nothing but Tapas in it.

Tapas originates from Spain and from the Spanish word tapar; to cover. Basically when wine was served in Spain, once upon a time, it came with a small amount of food and the plate covered the top of the wine glass from pests with nasty diseases. Then Tapas became a means of serving small dishes to people almost like family style dining to encourage people to interact.

Tapas in Vegas

As fas as I am concerned, the king of Spanish Tapas in Las Vegas is FireFly. They have a location on Paradise between Flamingo and Twain where they first opened here in the city. They have since opened additional locations, one predominantly on the Freemont Street Experience in the Plaza Hotel.

FireFly has been featured on any of a number of cooking related programs as was featured on Food Network on multiple occasions.

When I thought about making a note about Tapas in Vegas I realized there seem to be a few places that are trying to implement this kind of food experience while some have taken a great deal of liberty with defining  decent Tapas.

I think FireFly set the tone in Vegas. Cafe Ba Ba Reebah opened at the The Fashion Show Mall and showed a restaurant that started off strong and went down in flames which was very sad. My first experience there was amazing, but a year later I felt like I was in a different restaurant. It had gone down hill so badly it was literally sad. Gone now.

Tapas has a tradition behind it and though Tapas is associated with small dishes of food Tapas still implies a Spanish connection. A better word, perhaps more literal is crudités? When restaurants attempt to ride this trend there is a responsibility to the idea of Tapas as a known entity in the food world. People have taken liberties and from what I have seen one somewhat successful versioning is Forte Tapas out on Rainbow; also close to Falmingo. The owner brought some of her eastern European flavors in and I have to say some of the flavors were very successful.

Flash to Crash

I like a quote I heard last night about building a restaurant. ‘The fun part of building a restaurant is creating it. The hard part is sustaining it.’ If you think it is fun to have Tapas because the idea sounds cool, learn what real Tapas actually is. Make sure it is food people want and can recognize. Charizo Clams  (FireFly) sounds intriguing and it is. A distorted menu as an add-on menu is a mistake like in a previously mentioned article. Or end up as a faded memory like Cafe Ba Ba Reebah.

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April 24, 2011

2nd Chance – Still Questioning

I think the guy who owns Bar + Bistro is trying his hardest to run a good business here but it is looking like a future candidate for a Gordon Ramsey wake up call.

Sandwiches end at 3pm!

Why is it that coming here for food is always ALWAYS a challenge? The food IS generally really good. The service is dancing the line of wacka-doodle.

So, after perusing the menu I saw a couple of sandwiches that sounded really good and was told I could have neither. This was because they folded up that part of the kitchen for dinner service. Sandwiches ended at 3pm for their dinner service. Do they really take up that much room?

Meanwhile the chef was sitting 3 chairs down checking his facebook? It was his ongoing presence in bar that made me ponder the mystery of the sandwiches further sensing I had to be missing something. Why can I not have ‘a sandwich’?

Mac & Cheese from the "Tapas" MenuI had to order the mac & cheese from their “tapas” menu and when it arrived I really had to look at how it was heated. It looked like it had a top heat from  that was intense, but the core temperatures was extremely hot. So I asked if it was microwaved and the owner balked at me denying it. Cool, I accepted, but after tasting it the problem then became that the dish had almost no flavor. It was simply not good.

Kindly, the owner offered to make me a sandwich from the list that ended at 3 and I ordered the Cubano. Now the classic cubano I am familiar with has a sliced pork tenderloin with a pickle and mustard on a crispy bread.

This version of the sandwich takes it a jump ahead and it also has a black forest ham on it and it is a panini! Panini’s are just that much more delicious. It was served with sweet potato fries that had a crumbled Gorgonzola cheese and I love Gorgonzola.

"Cubano Sandwich" with Sweet Potato Fries and Gorganzola

From the last write up to this one…

I think I noted in the last review how slow the food was to get to the tables, associating that with the fact the chef was hanging out in the bar being social so much. The excuse that they put away the sandwich stuff for dinner was as weak as an excuse as it could get. There is a panini press in there somewhere and a gold mine at the bar with these sandwiches.

I simply cannot say I am thoroughly impressed with their “Tapas” menu.

The rest of the menu is pretty darn good and what I believe is the core of what this restaurant can offer. If they could get ahold of the excuses and the shotty service this place would make me to back-flips.

But, I have to say I keep going back. I enjoy the atmosphere of their Bar… BAR being the first half of the business with the + BISTRO looking like the afterthought and the wobbly leg of the table.

Customers

There seems to be a local and loyal base of patrons of the Arts Factory where the business is hosted. I think the restaurant has a good future but can make it up to the next level. Does it need to do that? Probably the best thing they could do is shore up their customer service and getting people their food in a more timely basis they could get a lot more gold stars.

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Filed under Follow Up Review, Good Restaurants

April 13, 2011

Truth in Menu / Bait and Switch

We live in a litigious society, watch any afternoon of programming, then multiply that by 1000 and then we have a gummed up court system. The food business MUST always dance a fine line with legal issues and health issues. There is always someone out there to bust you around every corner.

Juice Bar at LVAC Wednesday April 13th; Maryland Pkwy and Karen

Today I went to the Juice Bar inside the LVAC on Maryland and Karen today seeking some refreshment following a decent workout and I had to walk a couple miles to pick up my car from the shop where the oil was being changed.

Basically, I almost never buy from the Juice Bar inside the gym because things tend to be expensive and fattening. The drinks are often high in calories and I am personally not a fan of soy protein, yet I was seekign something satisfying to avoid 2 fast food joints that were on the way. “Juice Bar” had something called the Juice Bar Punch for $5.25. I asked for the nutritional information and it was given to me on a card; which I was pleased to have available. 300 calories and 30 grams of protein rung my bell.

But when the register rang $5.95 it did not add up? She said to me, “Whey protein is more.” I did not ask for whey protein and I reminded her what the price on the menu was the woman was merely confused. The change I got back was $4.30 (scratching head again). I did end up leaving with a very good drink… but this sneaky crap with the charge and ambiguity about the contents left me feeling cheated and confused. There should be better ways to make sure you are getting your tips… and if that is not the case… just charge what the menu says and give me what the menu promises. LET ME CHOOSE if I want a more expensive feature in my protein drink.

Did I order – what? What kind of protein is actually in this?

After questioning the transaction I was asked whether I wanted whey or soy protein a few times and all I wanted was what was on the menu. Seemed clear to me, but I left still puzzled.

I asked at the front desk and Juice Bar is a private enterprise not connected to LVAC except as a retailer in a rented space. Contact information that was at the front desk to make inquiries about said Juice Bar were not to be found.

TRUTH IN MENU / BAIT AND SWITCH

These are real law and I will be posting some general information on the site about these. It is something every consumer needs to know and food providers need to be nailed to them for your safety and for the public.

 

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