Restaurant: Bistro Burger (Mission St., San Francisco)
Food description: 6 oz. Niman Ranch burger with brie cheese, sautéed mushrooms, lettuce, and tomato, side of curly fries
Food rating: 6 out of 10
Times ordered: 1
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Restaurant: Tied House (Mountain View)
Food description: Seasonal white fish, dipped in Amber beer batter served with malt vinegar and tartar sauce, side of french fries
Food rating: 4.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1
After all these salads and sushi lately, I was feeling the need for sumthin greasy! Next time I might be a little more careful for what I wish for though, because grease was just about the only thing I got with these fish and chips. I think the surgeon general should institute grease bomb warnings on menus for dishes like this so I can at least prepare myself next time. Ok, so you get my point that they were too greasy. Next on the list was that they were soggy. Most breading can withstand a quick squeeze of lemon without disintegrating when you pick it up. Unfortunately, this fish was so watery it must've been previously frozen, rendering the breading into a soggy mush and leaving behind a nice little puddle in its wake. The whole essence of fish and chips lies within it's crispy-crunchy-flaky factor, not in its greasy-soggy-watery lameness. I was willing to forgive all of these aspects if they could just get the fish right, but again, no such luck. The fish was not cod, which would've been fine if it actually had some taste, but it was completely flavorless (not surprising given it was frozen). I had to add a serious triple dose of salt to try to squeeze any semblance of flavor out of it. I actually enjoyed the french fries better than the fish. So after my meal of grease and salt, I felt a little gypped, because I thought the whole point of eating fried food is because it's guaranteed to taste good!
Restaurant: Frjtz (San Francisco)
Food description: Thick cut Belgian-style french fries with white truffle oil or fresh garlic topping and dipping sauce
Food rating: 6 out of 10
Times ordered: 3
Sorry guys, I just don't get all the hype about the fries at Frjtz. Maybe since it's one of the few (if only) Belgian frites places in the city, ignorance is bliss. I'd much prefer the ones I've had in NYC while living out there. So I've been to Frjtz several times just to make sure I wasn't crazy, and the experience has always been the same ole dense, starchy, chewy, and grease-drenched fries. They're just not that crispy at all (kinda like when you try to make french fries at home yourself). So instead of fixing their fries, this time they gave you a way to cover up the fries by adding toppings to them, such as fresh garlic or white truffle oil. I fell for it and ordered one of each. It didn't end up changing the fact that if the foundation is flawed, the building ain't gonna hold very long. The truffle oil was really tasty, but when added to the overwhelmingly oily fries, every bite I thought "hmm, can I get a little potato with my grease?" It also didn't help that I was reading an article on the anatomy of a heart attack (no joke!). And in terms of truffle fries in general, the one's I had at Harry's Bar were waaay better. The fries with the garlic topping had basically 4 cloves of raw garlic stuck on top of the fries, which is fine if you live and breathe garlic, but I don't, and it wasn't cute. I ordered the kalamata olive ketchup and peppercorn ranch dipping sauce, neither of which I really cared for, so ending up eating them plain. When I was finished, the fries left me feeling like a sluggish bear just emerging from hibernation. Though Frjtz is a cute little spot, I've given their fries enough chances to improve, so I'm switching them from the list of "Things I Eat" to the list of "Things I've Eaten".
Restaurant: Kate O'Brien's Irish Bar & Grill (San Francisco)
Food description: Beer battered and deep fried fish with chips (french fries) and slaw
Food rating: 9 out of 10
Times ordered: 1
I consider myself an expert on fried foods, in fact if you fry it, I will eat it (if you know where I can get my hands on a deep fried Snickers bar, call me.) Lately I've been having massive fish and chip cravings and heard that Kate O'Brien's had some really good fish and chips. Happily, I was not disappointed. These were really perfect fish and chips. The fish was firm and the batter was crisp with neither of them being greasy. I think they used cod but whatever they used, the fish was deliciously sweet and tasted fresh. The tartar sauce is homemade and it was a perfect complement to the fish. The chips were great, again, perfectly crisp on the outside and mealy and delicious on the inside. I think what really won me over in this dish was that nothing was too greasy. I have a thing about getting my hands too dirty and/or greasy and I was able to eat this dish without asking for extra napkins. The slaw that came with this was able to stand up to the heavier fish and chips on the plate. The cabbage tasted fresh and the dressing was not too sweet or creamy but had the perfect amount of tang to cut down on the already minimal grease on the dish. I highly recommend checking out these fish and chips.
Restaurant: Harry's Bar (San Francisco)
Food description: Three mini Kobe beef burgers with swiss cheese and caramelized red onions, side order of white truffle french fries with parmesan ranch dip
Food rating: 7 out of 10
Times ordered: 1
Like Burgermeister, Harry's Bar claims to have one of the best burgers in the city, but I know San Francisco can do better. Not to say that they're both not great, just not the best. After trying the mini Kobe beef burgers, they didn't disappoint, but lacked the flavor and juiciness that I look for in a good burger. The texture of the beef proved it was high quality stuff, but sorry, I don't think it was even 50% Kobe beef or it would have cost more than $12. I ordered the burger medium-rare because I hate dried out burgers, but it came out just barely pink (I'm assuming they accidentally overcooked it or they have no clue what medium-rare means). I also don't know why they used red onions and prefer yellow caramelized onions on burgers. The tomato was just whatever and didn't have much flavor. Overall, I probably wouldn't order this again but would be up for trying the full size Kobe burger next time. One thing you should definitely try are the white truffle french fries (you can barely see them behind the burger. It didn't say on the menu that the mini burgers came w/fries (but they did), so we ordered a separate basket of the specialty fries, which were sprinkled with white truffle salt and served with parmesan ranch dip. I ended up liking them better than the burgers!
Restaurant: Burgermeister (Church St, San Francisco)
Food description: Grilled burger with cheddar and avocado, side of curly fries
Food rating: 8 out of 10
Times ordered: 10+
Burgermeister has built up quite the reputation for having the ultimate burger, so I've been putting them to the test over the past year (I just happen to live nearby). The verdict? Great, but definitely not the best I've had. The best part about their burgers is the meat: high quality primo Niman Ranch beef. They use the good parts so you'll never bite down on any mysterious crunchy things, and the texture actually resembles meat, not sponge. Because of this, their burgers are somewhat leaner, so a medium or medium-well is going to turn out way too dry for most people. If you get that part down, you'll never have a bad burger at Burgermeister (they're very consistent). The bun is nice and squishy, not too bready and the toppings are nice and fresh and plentiful. Sometimes I think the burgers are over grilled, meaning too burnt-tasting, but that's probably just me. Also, if you're picky about bacon being crunchy (like me), you won't like it here, thought it's still tasty. Oh, and make sure to substitute the fries for curly fries. They're positively addictive!
