Food review: Duck and vegetable spring rolls

Restaurant: Home (Market St., San Francisco)
Food description: Duck and vegetable spring rolls with spicy chili dipping sauce
Food rating: 7 out of 10
Times ordered: 2

Since Home's macaroni and cheese steals the show, there's really no need to try any other appetizers, right? Well yes, except for these spring rolls, which are the the only other starter worth ordering, as far as I'm concerned. The rest of the food at Home just ain't all that, but I do fancy these spring rolls. The duck is subtle with lots of ginger and other good stuff to balance everything out--I'd dare say even a person who doesn't really like duck might actually like these. The skin is crisped to perfection, not too thick, and won't give your jaw a workout. It's obviously deep-fried, so when combined with the richness of the duck, it borders on being a tad heavy. Unless you're a freak and don't like fried food, this should not be a problem at all. I guess if you wanted, you could dip it into that sugary, wannabe-spicy, generic, effortless sauce. That wouldn't ruin it or anything, would it? So yes, the sauce was terrible, as expected from an American restaurant, and they must have known this already and took the liberty of providing me with an alternative grease-fighting option: fresh mint leaves, which really did the trick. So my friends, the lesson learned today is that there's actually more to Home than mac-and-cheese. What a concept!

Food review: Cobb salad

Restaurant: Home (Market St., San Francisco)
Food description: Cobb salad with romaine lettuce, grilled chicken, bacon, tomato, avocado, cooked egg, tomato, and bleu cheese with buttermilk herb dressing
Food rating: 7.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

Let me start by saying I have never been a big fan of bleu cheese. That being said I have been craving a salad with chicken and bacon and I always like to revisit my dislikes to see if my palate has changed, so the cobb at Home was going to be my testing ground. First impression was, "damn another salad I have to toss myself", BUT they gave you plenty of bowl to do it in, so it didn't turn out to be that much of an ordeal, unlike our previous disaster. The ingredients looked quite fresh and upon tasting the dressing I was pleasantly surprised, slightly buttery and creamy with decent flavor. The bleu cheese chunks were a little too massive for me (but that could just be my overall dislike of bleu cheese), but I do have to say I could tolerate them and they added something to the dish which I had never appreciated before. The tomatoes were not so great, even though they looked fresh they were very bland. It's getting harder and harder to find good tomatoes everywhere (I don't know if it's simply a matter of the season or what). The bacon and avocado blended together well and the bacon in particular was cooked perfectly. I did find that "center of the lettuce hunk" where they had cut the bottom off though. It's a piece of the lettuce I just can't eat and I don't feel like it should have been in there. The chicken was above average, with a light barely discernable marinade and the char from the grilling was just right. I would have this again next time I was feeling that bleu cheese adventurousness.

Food review: Broccoli and cheese

Restaurant: Home (Market St., San Francisco)
Food description: Steamed broccoli with cheddar cheese sauce
Food rating: 6.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

So I don't know who out there is a big fan of broccoli with cheese sauce, but I sure am. My mom makes some sick cheese sauce and steams the broccoli just right. Home didn't quite live up to the "home" cookin' but it was pretty good. Most of the broccoli was al dente although a few pieces had the mush goin' on. The cheese, while creamy and smooth really wasn't cheddary enough. I mean it says CHEDDAR CHEESE SAUCE and I could barely tell it was cheddar. Also, the cheese sauce could have been thicker, it was in a slightly watery state. So as a side dish goes, I might order it again, but overall I've had better.

Food review: Macaroni and cheese

Restaurant: Home (Market St., San Francisco)
Food description: Macaroni with mozzarella, cheddar, and parmesan cheese topped with toasted breadcrumbs and minced scallions
Food rating: 8 out of 10
Times ordered: 10+

If I'm going to eat at Home, it's for one reason alone: their heavenly macaroni and cheese. Ok, they've got good brunch too, but when it comes to dinner, the mac and cheese is my main course, and I could care less about the other filler courses. This dish is decadently rich--made with three cheeses--so a little goes a long way (toward the gym). It's totally worth it though (hell, I've had it twice in the past two weeks), so remember this when you're ready to indulge. The cheese is the perfect consistency, not pasty nor watery, and tastes so rich and buttery you' have to eat it in shifts. It's not your everyday cheapo cheese, it's mild but has a slight sharpness to it, something I feel it could use a little more of. The ratio of cream is higher than the cheese, so it needed a dash of salt to bring out more of the cheese flavor. The macaroni is perfectly cooked and the breadcrumbs add a subtle texture to contrast the smoothness. The scallions add not only color, but are an essential part of completing the flavor of the dish. They add just enough character to balance out the richness without becoming too overwhelming. It's a gourmet rendition of a ghetto dish done right. After all, there's gotta be a reason for the flag hanging outside that reads "Best Macaroni and Cheese in SF."