Food review: Penne guillamo

Restaurant: Squat and Gobble (Fillmore St., San Francisco)
Food description: Penne with grilled chicken, sun dried tomatoes, onions, and artichokes in a pesto cream sauce topped with shaved parmesan and parsley
Food rating: 7 out of 10
Times ordered: 5

This dish is on my "Great Pasta Under $10" list. It's nothing gourmet, but it hits the spot when I'm in the mood for a simple pasta that's tasty but won't break the bank. This recipe normally includes chicken apple sausage and black olives, but the dish is better off without them. Same with the artichokes (as much as I luv 'em), they over tang-ify the dish when combined with the sun dried tomatoes. I know I've completely butchered the chef's original vision, but it's ok, because I doubt the chef had much of a vision anyway (it's a sidewalk cafe). So the best part of this pasta is the pesto cream sauce. I'm sensitive to garlic, and though it's pretty heavy on the garlic, it's done in a way that enhances, not overpowers. The cream helps mellow out the garlic, and it's not so much cream that you can't get out of your chair afterwards. The sun dried tomatoes add the citrus element that cuts the heaviness of the sauce, and the onions are subtle
and tender. As far as the chicken goes, it's usually pretty good, but sometimes can be bland. This time it was great: fresh off the grill, tender, and marinated nicely. By the way, it's a huge portion (enough for dinner), so be prepared if you're ordering this for lunch because you'll be tempted to eat it all (but trust me, you won't). I haven't tried any of their other pastas, but probably would after my positive experience with this dish. It's a straightforward pasta that's a great alternative to people like me who are sick of having burgers, burritos, and pizza.

Food review: Caesar salad

Restaurant: Squat and Gobble (Fillmore St., San Francisco)
Food description: Romaine lettuce hearts with shaved parmesan, herbed croutons, and caesar dressing
Food rating: 6.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 2

I'm not that much of a salad person except when it comes to caesar salads. I can't help it, I just crave them constantly, which also makes me a real stickler. The caesar salad at Squat and Gobble (my regular brunch spot) was definitely below par. I've had it with chicken too, but that didn't help. The good thing about the salad was the lettuce was very fresh and crispy, no wilted or brown leaves, which I hate. The dressing was decent, not overly garlicky, but there wasn't enough of it and it was a little thin. The recipe didn't include anchovies, which was very unfortunate since it's a key ingredient to anything I consider a real caesar salad. The croutons were ok, homemade I think, but too small, too sparse, and too bland. The shredded parmesan was tasty, but again, not enough of it. Overall, for a caesar salad in this price range, I'd prefer the one at Harvest and Rowe.

Food review: Eggs benedict

Restaurant: Squat and Gobble (Fillmore St., San Francisco)
Food description: Poached eggs atop Canadian bacon and English muffin topped with Hollandaise sauce, side of rosemary home fries
Food rating: 7.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 10+

I like the eggs benedict at Squat and Gobble. The sauce is not to sweet, the canadian bacon is cooked correctly and the english muffin is not too hard or too soft - perfectly toasted. The eggs themselves are usually done just right, but sometimes they have that slightly runny white issue in the middle, which is a sign of an imperfect poaching. Also the rosemeary potatoes have come a long way since I first started going here, they used to SUCK. Now they are pretty good, somewhere along the way they changed the recipe and made the slices thinner and cooked them crispier. Oh they also got a fresh OJ machine, which has made OJ something I order every breakfast I eat there -- very tasty.