Food review blog from San Francisco.

Restaurant: Caffe Museo (San Francisco)
Food description: Bowtie pasta with smoked chicken, tomatoes, caramelized red onions, and red pepper flakes topped with grated parmesan and toasted bread crumbs
Food rating: 6.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

The only thing I remember about this pasta is that my mouth was on fire for a good 10 minutes after eating it. When the menu description casually mentioned red pepper flakes, what it meant to say was that someone was going to put an entire red chile pepper into your pasta. Ok, so maybe I exaggerate a bit, but it was on the heat level more akin to Mexican or Thai spicy, which in pasta terms translates to spicy-as-hell. What's weird is that at first it wasn't all that hot, but it was like a slow burn that crept up on you and then hit you good after a few minutes. Then your nose starts running and eyes start tearing and you're constantly dabbing it with a napkin while trying to have a conversation. This makes it not only uncomfortable to eat, but unpleasant for whomever happens to be watching you attempt to eat it. But I've digressed...Spiciness and all aside, I actually enjoyed the dish for what it was. There were a few areas that needed improvement, particularly the canned tomato factor. I know, what do you expect from a museum cafe, but they were noticeably canned. Aluminum cans = Alzheimer's disease, last time I checked. Anyway, as far as the smoked chicken goes, it was a little over-cured if you know what I mean. You know, when the texture starts to resemble ham and is overly salty (even for me). I also don't really care for caramelized red onions so much, but I guess it added some flavor. I did eat all of the pasta, which is typically a good sign, but it was painful with all the spiciness in the end. I might order it again some day if I'm feeling masochistic.