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
Text here
Restaurant: Canton Seafood & Dim Sum Restaurant (San Francisco)
Food description: Sauteed stringbeans with onion, soy sauce, and chili oil
Food rating: 6.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1
A little overcooked, patches of extreme spiciness, sitting in puddle, decent flavor
Restaurant: Canton Seafood & Dim Sum Restaurant (San Francisco)
Food description: Chinese steamed dumplings with pork, beef, and shrimp (dim sum)
Food rating: 6.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1
Meat flavor clashed together too much, nothing distinct about it.
Restaurant: Yank Sing (Stevenson St., San Francisco)
Food description: Steamed shrimp dumplings filled with chopped shrimp and sweet winter bamboo shoot tips
Food rating: 7 out of 10
Times ordered: 2
I must admit that har gau is one of my favorite dim sum dishes, so it was a relief that Yank Sing did a proper job on these dumplings. I was starting to worry they didn't have anything I'd like. Although these little suckers can get pretty slippery with the plastic chopsticks that were provided, the thickness and consistency of the rice skin was just right, and the chunky shrimp and bamboo filling had great flavor and texture. There were thick sesame overtones which meshed well with the shrimp, but left a slightly greasy aftertaste. Nothing that a swig of beer couldn't fix. Other than that, my only complaint is that I wanted more of it! Looking forward to ordering these again.
Restaurant: Yank Sing (Stevenson St., San Francisco)
Food description: Steamed dumplings with shrimp and pork filling, hand-wrapped in fresh pasta skin (dim sum)
Food rating: 4 out of 10
Times ordered: 1
The problem with all these dim sum dishes is that they look so gorgeous, I get distracted from ordering correctly. I mean, if I just took a moment to think about it, I'd come to the realization that shrimp and bacon together as dim sum is somewhat revolting, but noooo--I was all caught up in the presentation. Not for long though--one bite was enough for my other senses to kick back in and tell me I'd made a serious mistake. Those flavors together simply did not work. Not that it can't or anything, just not this time. To further fuel the fire, the shrimp was dreadfully dry and the bacon was chewy and cold. Also, I'm not sure where they were going with that two-inch hunk of scallion root in between everything, but it seemed to cause everything clash even more. Usually it's good to take heed when something is so unwanted that it's gotten cold and dried out from being on the cart so long. I'll try to remember that next time.
Restaurant: Yank Sing (Stevenson St., San Francisco)
Food description: Steamed dumplings with shrimp and pork filling, hand-wrapped in fresh pasta skin (dim sum)
Food rating: 6.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1
The shu mai at Yank Sing (Stevenson location only) is pretty standard. It's decent enough to order again, but nothing memorable. I really feel like the dim sum here is generally overpriced so please excuoooze me for sounding critical. On the bright side, the shu mai dumplings seemed fresh, not frozen, with a nice distinct sesame-pork flavor. The texture was well... dim-sum-y. You know, that weird mystery-meat lookin' medley of pork n shrimp that dim sum is notorious for. I don't really fancy my pork and shrimp sharing the same fork together, but there's enough garlic and other ingredients to distract me from this aspect. I think with enough sesame, garlic, and ginger, you can make anything taste proper. But for real, their shu mai was likable--the price tag less so--but I'd say go for it if you can get your company to sponsor it (otherwise you're on your own!).
Restaurant: Yank Sing (Stevenson St., San Francisco)
Food description: Crispy honey-coated duck skin and slices of house-roasted Peking duck, stuffed in a steamed seashell bun, with slivered scallions and hoisin sauce (dim sum)
Food rating: 5.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1
The Peking duck is one of Yank Sing's specials, but let's just say it's a special I won't be ordering again. The main attraction of crispy duck for me is the "crispy" part--the skin. There's nothing grosser than gnawing through thick rubbery duck skin, aside from maybe the flavor of rubbery duck skin. Either way, I had to endure both, which was very unappetizing to say the least. The duck itself had little seasoning and tasted a little game-y. I guess that's what the scallions were for, but they were cut way too thick to be eaten together. And last but not least, like their pork bun counterparts, the bun was too dense instead of light and airy. Together with the duck, there was just hardly any discernible flavor aside from hoisin sauce. Overall I did not enjoy nor would I recommend this dish, and it certainly wasn't special.
Restaurant: Yank Sing (Stevenson St., San Francisco)
Food description: Northern Chinese style pan-fried dumplings with minced pork, napa cabbage, scallions, ginger, and sesame oil filling (dim sum)
Food rating: 6.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 2
These potstickers vary depending on the weather . When they come fresh from the kitchen, they're hot, crispy, and tasty. When they've been sitting on the cart for a while, they become soggy, cold, and lifeless. It's pretty drastic, I know. The flavor of the filling was your standard sesame-ginger-pork combo--nice but same ole. The texture and balance of ingredients was good--none of that lingering garlic aftertaste in your mouth. I also liked the not-too-thick skin of the dumpling which allowed it to crisp up all the way through (on a good day) and not feel too doughy in your mouth. Overall, they make good filler, but make sure they're hot off the press or you'll be disappointed.
Restaurant: Yank Sing (Stevenson St., San Francisco)
Food description: Fluffy steamed buns filled with Chinese barbeque pork
Food rating: 6.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 2
Yank Sing on Stevenson Street is the ghetto version of its sister location in Rincon Center. The food is essentially the same either way: good, but somewhat overrated and overpriced. Starting with the pork buns, I thought they were decent, but not a must-have. The upside? The bbq pork was just the right sweetness and tenderness. The downside? Too much dough drowned out the pork. The dough was also too dense instead of light and airy. This is the hardest part to get right so I wasn't really expecting much in this department. Attention to detail isn't exactly a characteristic of dim sum. So to recap: way too much dough, good pork but not enough of it, and not-so-fluffy buns. Too bad, cuz I'm all about the fluffy buns. Buns like these.
Restaurant: Mixt Greens (San Francisco)
Food description: Romaine hearts with treviso, anchovies, shaved parmesan, meyer lemon, garlic croutons, ceasar dressing, topped with grilled chicken
Food rating: 6 out of 10
Times ordered: 1
Raise your hand if you've ever overdosed on garlic! Me, me, me! On this salad, if you haven't guessed by now! I can't think of any reason why anyone would want to ever consume this much garlic--my god, did they think I was a vampire or something? I pity those who had to sit in meetings with me after I ate this salad. I would not order it again on this fact alone; however, Mixt Green's other salads got some serious potential. Plus, aside from the garlic factor, mostly everything else was great. The lettuce was fresh and crisp, the parmesan was deliciously sharp and plentiful, and the grilled chicken was juicy and well-marinated. One thing about the toppings though, I've got this pet peeve about doing extra work before I can eat stuff, which I bitched about before, remember? Try cutting up slabs of chicken and anchovies that are sitting on top of a bowl of lettuce without demolishing everything. For this reason, I prefer the toppings to be cut up beforehand for my eating pleasure. But enough on that. From the very first bite, I noticed the garlic immediately, but it was very tasty and I was very hungry, so I just shrugged and thought "I can handle this." Well I sure enjoyed it while it lasted, but man, that stuff came back to haunt me for the rest of the entire day. The dressing was mostly the culprit, but the addition of garlic croutons didn't help the situation. I'd say one or the other would have been sufficient, definitely not both. Like I said before though, based on how good the salad was (all garlic aside), I'm psyched about trying some of their other stuff--maybe a little ahi tuna action or how about the filet mignon cheese steak, yeah? Uh huh.
Restaurant: Boudin Bakery Cafe (Market St., San Francisco)
Food description: Turkey and avocado sandwich on a croissant with havarti cheese, lettuce, and tomato
Food rating: 7.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 10+
Yep, another f#&*in sandwich, but this time a worthy one. It may not look like much, but it's simplicity at its best. Combine the freshest ingredients with an unbelievably buttery croissant, and you've got yourself a sandwich that will make you a repeat customer. Screw the sourdough, I'm all about the croissant, and I'm not the only one. You know this when you see everyone else around you eating the same thing. The turkey is fresh sliced turkey, not the super-cured stuff you find at the supermarket. Because of this it tends to need a little extra salt to bring out its flavor. The havarti cheese works great with the turkey. It's mild, salty, and creamy. The tomatoes are ripe and fresh, and this visit they were particularly impressive. I yanked one out of my sandwich just to eat it by itself, recalling the many unripe "winter" tomatoes I'd been subjected to in recent sandwiches. The lettuce was fresh and tasted like, well, lettuce. Like the tomato, the avocado was perfectly ripe and deliciously creamy. It makes all the ingredients so slippery, they all end up on my lap--but no worries, it's worth the dry cleaning. I can't actually say how this sandwich stacks up to the others on the menu, because I haven't been unhappy enough to seek out anything else. Maybe someday, just for experiment's sake...
Restaurant: South Park Cafe (San Francisco)
Food description: Sautéed rock cod (fish of the day) salad with mixed baby greens with cauliflower, broccoli, red bell pepper, and zucchini, and meyer lemon vinaigrette
Food rating: 5.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1
I'm not sure if I actually enjoyed this salad, or liked it solely due to the fact that it wasn't a sandwich (they get old fast). It was a nice attempt, but I won't be ordering this again. I really don't even like cod outside of fish-n-chips, unless its really outstanding cod. I saw "rock cod" and I got all excited thinking it was going to be better than the usual ole cod. I'm so gullible when it comes to menu descriptions--make it sound good and I'm game. Anyway, the cod was fresh but too mild--you had to concentrate real hard to appreciate its subtle flavor. I had to add a bunch of salt to help that process along. The lemon dressing worked well with the mesclun, no so much with the veggies or the fish. The lemon part worked fine with the fish, of course, but I didn't like the vinegar flavor overpowering the already muted flavor of the fish. I thought the dressing also tasted weird with the veggies, and was missing some garlic or herbs or something. The zucchini was delicious, notice the nice black grill marks--that'll make anything taste good! Definitely my favorite part of the dish, despite its small ratio. The other vegetables were steamed and bore-ing! They also seemed slapped together, without giving much thought to how they would integrate with the rest of the dish. This was especially evident in the strong red pepper, which would have completely dominated the delicate cod flavor if eaten together. I guess the lesson here is to not bother with cod until it's been endorsed by Mr. Cod Connoisseur himself. Plus, I had a much better experience with the ahi tuna salad and would rather try that again and say the heck with cod for now.
Restaurant: Moishe's Pippic (San Francisco)
Food description: Hot corned beef sandwich on rye bread with spicy brown deli mustard and deli pickle
Food rating: 6.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1
After being impressed by their pastrami, I put Moishe's corned beef to the test, as promised. The result? Good corned beef, as far as corned beef goes, but not nearly as tasty as the pastrami. The meat had flavor, but it was oh-so-boring and really relied on the mustard to help it do its job. The texture of the meat, however, was much much better than the pastrami, totally tender and no tough gristle to chew through. Very surprising, considering they are both made from the same brisket cut. I don't know, perhaps they are overcooking the pastrami or something? A simple mashup would solve everything: combining the texture of the corned beef with the flavor of the pastrami to create the Ultra Super Pastrami Deluxe. Oh yeah, wasn't I supposed to be talking about the corned beef? Well, there's not really much else to say, because why would I order this again when the pastrami was clearly better? Nuff said!! Oh actually, I heard they've got amazing beef brisket on Fridays only, so stay tuned for chapter 3...
Restaurant: Moishe's Pippic (San Francisco)
Food description: Hot pastrami sandwich on rye bread with spicy brown deli mustard and deli pickle
Food rating: 7 out of 10
Times ordered: 2
Updated 4/17/07
I gave another go at this sandwich, this time ordering the "fatty" version since the first time around was a little chewy. The fat definitely changed the flavor in a different-but-not-better way. I could see myself altering between the two versions equally depending on whether I'm feelin' East Coast or West Coast. The pastrami itself was exactly the same yumminess as before, thankfully. The extra fat mellowed out the flavor of the spices a little but also smoothed out the flavor in that way that good fat always does. I was hoping it would be a little more tender with the fat, but that wasn't the case. Unfortunately that's going to cost it a half point, netting out at a 7. Still very good, but I'm going to save those higher scores in the hopes that a better pastrami sandwich exists elsewhere in the foodiverse.
Original post from 2/24/07
Moishe's Pippic, what the f#@& is that? You mean Moses' bellybutton doesn't ring a bell? Sorry, I couldn't resist looking it up, but I can tell you what it translates to: an authentic Jewish Chicago deli with a kick-ass pastrami-on-rye sandwich. They use Vienna meat imported straight from Chicago, giving me a little taste of Chi-town right in my backyard. Loved the friendly staff and the homey kitschy decor too. But back to the sandwich: the bread was simple, soft, and fresh. The rye wasn't overpowering and not too seedy. The pastrami was very flavorful and not too garlicky or peppery, and was very lean, so it had some stringy tissue here and there. I didn't mind it so much because it tasted excellent. I heard you can order a fattier cut, which should take care of that. The mustard was spicy brown deli mustard, which I forgot how much I liked, and complemented the sandwich perfectly. Normally I require the presence of cheese on all my sandwiches, but I surprisingly did not miss the cheese at all in this case. The sandwich was light and felt healthy, and the pickle lived up to my expectations. Though it doesn't compare to Katz' Deli in NYC (no offense), it's still one of the best pastrami sandwiches I've had lately. Looking forward to checking out the corned beef next time.
Restaurant: Coco500 (San Francisco)
Food description: Grilled marinated flank steak with fingerling potatoes and salsa verde
Food rating: 7 out of 10
Times ordered: 1
Again with the small portions, sheesh! All their lunch entrees are tapas-sized, perfect for maybe a dieter, but surely not me. I'm a stickler for portion-size, particularly when it's leaning on the pricey side ($14). Less is not more, dammit, can any of you minimalist chefs hear me (echo...echo...)? Ok, I'm over myself, so let's discuss the steak. For flank steak, it was shockingly tender and gristle-free, so it was definitely primo-quality. And, though it was cooked much more than the medium rare I prefer for flank steak, it was still tender, but ended up a little dry around the edges. I'm a steak purist, so I like my steak a little marinated and slapped on the grill for that nice charbroiled flavor, no steak sauce, horseradish, no nuttin. This steak however, came topped with "salsa verde," as they called it--which was basically chimichurri sauce. I don't mind a little of this, but since it tended to be overly heavy on the garlic, it was a good call to serve it mostly on the side. Other than that, the actual flavor of the steak was great, a little leaner and less grilled than I prefer, but delicious overall. The fingerling potatoes were pretty boring and could've used some grilled onions or something to bring them to life, but they served their purpose as filler. If they cooked the steak correctly and put a little more effort into the sauce and potatoes, I'd have rated this dish much higher. And I'm sure I don't have to remind anyone about the portions!
Restaurant: Coco500 (San Francisco)
Food description: Seared Pacific tombo (albacore) tuna atop salad of organic baby spinach, sauteed mushrooms and butternut squash, ginger, and sesame seeds
Food rating: 8 out of 10
Times ordered: 1
Of all the things I tried on the lunch menu, this salad was the absolute best by far. The other dishes were overpriced and just so-so, but this dish made Coco500 worth my while. My biggest complaint is that they're ridiculously stingy on the portions, especially given their prices. This particular salad would work fine maybe as a lunch appetizer, but not a main course (unless you order the vacherin for dessert). Regardless, this salad was the best I've had in a while and I highly recommend it, despite the minute portions. Since it was the catch of the day, I'm not even sure when they'll have it again--it should really be a regular menu item. Anyway, the tuna itself was extremely fresh, ultra tender, and seared perfectly, leaving it warm on the outside and cool on the inside. It really was at its peak freshness and was a great cut with a mild lean flavor. The spinach and tuna were dressed in a light marinade of sesame, ginger, and garlic, and worked well with the mushrooms and butternut squash. All the ingredients combined together in harmony without anything standing out more or less than another. The resulting flavor was buttery, mild, nutty, and meaty. The spinach was just barely sauteed so that when you chewed it, its texture would blend with the other ingredients, rather than being all raw and crunchy. I thought this was a rather nice detail because it's annoying when you're chewing something that's all smooth except for that one ingredient that takes longer to chew than everything else. It was the cherry on top of an already great salad, and made a joke out of the last seared tuna salad I'd had. Nicely done!
Restaurant: Coco500 (San Francisco)
Food description: Butter leaf salad with tiger prawns, jicama, kumquats, avocado, pickled jalapeno pepper, and citrus vinaigrette
Food rating: 5.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1
To make a long story short, I could make this salad at home for 5 bucks. I accidentally ordered this salad because the menu description sucked. It read "prawns, butter leaf, jicama, kumquats, avocado, pickled jalapenos" and when I asked the waiter how the prawns were prepared, he said "sauteed". So I was assuming I'd be getting a hot sauteed prawn dish, not a salad. @#$&!!! If you still don't believe me that the descriptions stunk, there's another highly descriptive dish on the menu called "soup, " no description, just "soup, $6" (gotta love it). Anyway, I made the best out it (translation: I picked out all the prawns and avocado and left the rest) but then remembered how much it cost ($14!!) and went into sticker shock. Honestly people, there was nothing that stood out about this salad whatsoever. The prawns were cooked correctly and were tender and tasted fresh, not frozen. Other than that, they were basically no different than every other shrimp I've had. They weren't marinated aside from a little salt, and they seemed more steamed than sauteed. The salad would've been a million times better if the prawns were sauteed to a golden brown in some butter. The vinaigrette was boring and did nothing for the salad and the butter leaf was fresh, but were entire leaves that had to be cut up. I really dislike salads that force me to do extra work before I can eat it. That's what the chef is for. The avocados were ripe but didn't have much flavor, and I'm not sure if they really expected me to eat that giant jalapeno pepper or what. I don't like kumquats because they're usually too sour, as were these, but I liked the citrus that it brought to the table. I'd describe the overall flavor as light, fresh, citrus-y, and bland. It's something I'd be happy eating if I made it myself at home, but would never pay $14 for. At least throw in some scallops or lobster for god sakes! Unless you like mediocre food and blowing away money, do yourself a favor and don't order this salad. Do order the tombo tuna salad instead.
Restaurant: Coco500 (San Francisco)
Food description: Fried pacific oysters with corneal breading served with remoulade sauce
Food rating: 7.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1
To me, doing anything to an oyster that precludes it from being raw is sacrilege! To remind myself of this, I'll occasionally order a fried oyster or two, as was the case here. I was actually really impressed with the fried oysters at Coco500. However, the flavor was still slightly metallic, as with all fried oysters (which is why I like 'em raw), but they definitely redeemed fried oysters in my mind. The breading was so paper thin, you could see and taste the oyster in all its glory. Its sole purpose was to add some texture to contrast the plump succulence of the oyster. The oyster was artfully fried in a way that maintained its juiciness while being gently crisp on the outside--an aspect that can be rather difficult to achieve. I don't eat mayonnaise, so the remoulade sauce was a no-go, but a quick squeeze of lemon and a dash of salt was all that it needed to satisfy me. The rest of my party was so impressed that they immediately demanded another order from the waiter. I don't know why, because if you think about it--$10 for four fried no-name oysters ($2.50/piece)--ain't really worth it. Even the most premium raw oysters around cost less than this (and at least you know where they come from). So all in all, they were very good as far as fried oysters go, but can't touch don't come close to raw oysters in taste or value.
Restaurant: South Park Cafe (San Francisco)
Food description: Grilled peppered ahi tuna atop a salad of mixed greens, canellini beans, fennel, and basil
Food rating: 6.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1
When it comes to lunch in South Park, I'm partial to the Butler and the Chef , but today I needed a change, and South Park Cafe is second on my list. It was warm outside, so I thought, hmm, do I really want something greasy and heavy and be asleep in an hour? The ahi tuna was the perfect solution, being the right balance between sustenance and healthiness. For me, the salad was all about the tuna. If they didn't get that part right, I wasn't going to enjoy it. I'd say they mostly pulled it off flavor-wise, but the tuna was overcooked to point of being dry, but not rubbery. Since I'm a huge sushi head, the rarer, the better. However, the tuna seemed like it wasn't a high enough grade to be served ultra rare. At the bargain price of $10, I wasn't expecting it to be either. Nevertheless, the tuna still tasted pretty good, but only if you like black pepper (I sure do). It was spiii-ceeee, and I'd say maybe even a little over-peppery for the average person. There was actually some green pesto sauce on top of the tuna, but it got seriously lost in all that pepper. There were plenty of greens in the salad to cut the pepperiness, and to me, that's really the only purpose for having them there at all (like I said, I'm not the pillar of health). I'm also just not a huge fan of eating canellini beans or fennel in this fashion. So basically, I'm rating the tuna--which was good, but could be great if it was cooked less and eased up on the pepper factor. Despite its flaws, I think it's an excellent choice for lunch for the price, and I'd have no qualms about trying it again.
Restaurant: Soup Freaks (San Francisco)
Food description: Organic Diestel smoked turkey with cranberry sauce and brie cheese, side of beluga lentil soup
Food rating: 6.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1
I stumbled upon Soup Freaks (grand opening) on my way to A.G. Ferrari and walked in, browsed the menu, and walked out. It was a little generic and nothing interested me right away. Plus it seemed overly healthy for my taste buds, but when you're desperate for something new, you're bound to crack at some point. So I broke down and finally ate here and I have to say, it was better than I expected it to be (except for the soup). The people behind the counter were touting the beluga lentil soup as the second coming, so I indulged, curiously, which basically turned into a little reminder on why I shouldn't be entrusting my gastronomic wellbeing to complete strangers. The soup was way too thick, almost pasty, and I think they accidentally substituted cloves of garlic for the lentil beans, since I swear it was mostly all garlic. I guess some people are into to the Stinking Rose thing, not me personally though. I did, however, enjoy the sandwich. It was fresh sliced roasted turkey, not the cold cuts from the supermarket, and was piled high on the roll with a huge slab of brie (mmm, cheeeese), and a dollop of cranberry sauce. Though I liked the generous helping of meat and cheese, there wasn't enough roll to handle it all--I had to take some of it off to fit into my mouth without distorting my face. The roll was a little on the chewy side, and the sandwich was so stuffed that when I had to yank off a bite, some of the sandwich would fall out each time. So it became a little game to deconstruct and reconstruct my sandwich, which my lunch companions found amusing. Overall though, I think it was lacking a little flavor, which the cranberry helped a little with, but if it wasn't for the brie, I might think twice about ordering this sandwich again. Stay tuned for round 2...
