Dark Indeed...

"...veiled in mist and darkness..."
(Sorry too much Kafka today)

Reunited at last!

The Hitachino Espresso Stout is aptly named and tells no lies. As the label touts, a "Japanese Dark Ale Brewed with Coffee Beans," this little guy is a must try for Hitachino and Stout enthusiasts. It's quite chocolately in taste with hints of espresso and not very hoppy, but that's about all I can say, since I'm not a beer connoisseur. Took me a while to track it down, but I finally got mine at Berkeley Bowl. Whole Foods might also be a good place to look. Happy Drinking, Mates!

Off the Grid: Civic Center Edition

Korean Taco

Braised Pork Bao (Steamed)

Recently, a Chronicle reader emailed Michael Bauer with a list on "How to tell if a restaurant is pretentious." Although the list has some good points, there are few that really make the reader himself sound pretentious. Of course, one of his points involves food trucks:

3) If the restaurant has four wheels and does not serve hot dogs or tacos. Or if the restaurant is a “pop-up”, period.

Yes, it does get annoying having to chase down food trucks or stands, and sometimes I, too, am disappointed. But hating on all trucks is a tad drastic. Anyways, that was my small spiel. Off the Grid basically involves food truck pop-ups in various areas of San Francisco. On Fridays they're usually at Civic Center (until Fort Mason opens again). You can check their twitter for links to which trucks are actually there on a specific date (they change week-to-week sometimes). Last Friday, I was able to try Seoul on Wheels and give Chairman Bao another go. My actual objective was to hit Japacurry, but they were sold out! The taco at Seoul on Wheels was fantastic. The Bulgogi was very flavourful and went surprisingly well with the tortilla. This time I tried the Braised Pork with Savoy Cabbage and Preserved Mustard Seeds at Chairman. This bao is a definitely more fusion-y. The creamy pulled pork-ness was interesting, but sent less Chinese vibes than the other baos.

http://offthegridsf.com/

Off the Grid: Civic Center
(Literally right in front of Civic Center)
11:30-2:30 on Fridays for now, but will probably move back to Thursdays

Chicken n' Waffles at Long Last!

I have heard many wonderful things about the combination of Fried Chicken and Waffles, but I did not have the opportunity to experience such wonders until a couple weeks ago. Flashback: Fan Fest at the Ballpark. Pandemonium. Not in a good Panda (Sandoval) or baby panda way either. After waiting in line for god knows how long, K.yo and I decided to treat ourselves to some Little Skillet. This place literally operates out of a hole on Ritch street, but is totally legit. You'll probably see people perched outside noming on the goods. The chicken was moist, flavourful, and delicious. Like KFC but BETTER. The waffle was just alright. I'm into crunchier ones, and this one was a little soggy. Syrup was a tad too sweet too. Next time, I might just get fried chicken. Thing to know: They only operate for lunch.

360 Ritch Street
San Francisco
(Tip: Google Maps it unless you're really familiar with the area. Ritch is a tiny street)

Happy Valentine's Day...

Oh yes, it's that time of year again...when hearts, red, and pink, throw up everywhere. (As is the case with my own apartment.) So, Special K and I decided to throw an (Anti) Valentine's Day Tea Party. My contribution will be Strawberry Cupcakes. I usually try to make things from scratch, but the strawberry cake this time is admittedly from a box. It's been a stressful few weeks, and it was on sale for 89 cents at Safeway. Also, let's not hate on the convenience and deliciousness of boxed anything! Anyways, the strawberry frosting IS made from scratch. The recipe came from Martha Stewart's website, but she actually stole it from Sprinkles'. One thing I did change was the amount of confectioners' sugar and strawberry puree. I only used 3 cups of sugar because I ran out, but you honestly don't need that much sugar. The frosting is way sweet. So sweet, in fact, I kept adding more strawberry puree to balance it out. I think I may have doubled the amount, which ended up being too much. My suggestion would be to keep taste-testing the frosting and add puree until it tastes good but isn't too mushy. Here's a link to the recipe:

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/candace-nelson-strawberry-frosting

Cheers and Happy Valentine's or Anti-Valentine's Day to you!

When You Are Feeling Blue, Go to Ippuku

...as Tob-asco and I did...

Dungeness Crab Croquettes

Quail Eggs

Bacon Wrapped Mochi (and a Glass of Awamori)

Berkeley Goes Foodie

Within the past year, a slew of new restaurants have opened in Berkeley. And, I'm not talking about the ice cream cookie sandwich place that opened in Beard Papa's old storefront, which by the way is possibly cursed because it seems like no business ever does well there. Anyways, Berkeley is getting more and more foodie. Last month I was able to visit/re-visit a few places: Summer Kitchen, Slow, and PIQ.

Summer Kitchen:
Cute, Casual, Family Owned, and all Local, Summer Kitchen is a nice addition to College. Whether you want picnic fare, a boxed lunch or to dine in, they've got it all. Not to mention Blue Bottle. I ordered Pork Sugo and Polenta (which according to the website was actually taken off the menu recently), a Mint Mojito Lemonade, and a Coconut Cream Cupcake. The pork was tender and the polenta was creamy and delicious. Lemonade definitely refreshing, and the cupcake was one of the tastiest I've had (no surprise, since one of the owners used to be a pastry chef at Chez Panisse). If you're up on College, give this place a try, but know that they close at 8pm.

Slow:
I've been wanting to try lunch at Slow for a while now, since the prices are a bit more reasonable than dinner. I finally got to it a couple weeks ago. Slow is yet another all local produce place and is probably named after the Slow Food Movement that began in the '80's by Carlo Petrini (something I learned in Italian class ;)). I ordered a Pulled Pork Sandwich with an Orzo Salad. The sandwich was pretty tasty, but I really prefer pulled pork with bbq sauce. The Orzo Salad was interesting...a bit too fusion-y for my taste. The dressing was made with orange, fennel, and soy beans. To be honest I wasn't too impressed with lunch. I prefer dinner, but the price and portion are another story.

PIQ:
This place first came under my radar as "The place with Ipads". Must've been some kind of publicity stunt, but I'm not quite sure if it worked. Yes, they do have Ipads. Rumor has it, one of the owners has an in and probably got some promotional/test models. Anyways, this place is supposedly tailored after Italian bistros. It actually is quite cute, and the pizzas, pastries, and paninis all look fresh and delicious. K.yo ordered a Prosciutto and Arugula Panini and I ordered something almost exactly the same except it was a Thin French Olive Loaf with Prosciutto. Sorry, I don't have the actual names of the dishes. The menu isn't online. Mine was pretty delicious and definitely worth it at $3.50. However, it was more like a snack than actual dinner, which is one of the complaints I've heard about this place. Even still, the place is pretty cute, so if you're looking for a quick snack/coffee place, check it out. (I haven't tried the coffee, so I'm not actually going to vouch for that yet.)

Summer Kitchen
2944 College Avenue
(Next to Ici)

Slow
1966 University Avenue
(A little past Milvia)

PIQ
91 Shattuck Square
(It's in that awkward median where Shattuck splits.)

Birthday = Foodday

One really must treat oneself on a birthday. I think that's a rule or maybe not. Nonetheless, I started out my own with some delicious Japanese food from Kirala 2. I also discovered that if you purchase more than $10 worth of food, you get a day-old item for free! Beef Donburi, California Rolls, and Kara-age made an amazing lunch that day...and leftovers for the next. For the evening, I arranged an outing with the gang to Show Dogs and Thermidor.

First up, Show Dogs:
Part of me really wishes this were in a better location. It's kind of in a random spot on Market, nestled near the Warfield, and smack in between Powell and Civic Center Bart Stations. However, Show Dogs met my expectations. A lot more casual than Foreign Cinema, Gayle Pirie and John Clark's second venture lives up to its name or breeding so to say. The food was fresh and the beer selection was impressive. The only complaint would be that various items were sold out, but this may be due to it being close to the end of the night. For some reason I had my heart set on fried chicken that day, so I didn't actually order what the place is supposed to be known for: sausages. That being said the chicken was good and the mashed potatoes were creamy and flavourful. Everyone else, however, gave the dogs a try. Dogs digested: the House Maple Bacon Pork, the House Chicken Curry, and Field Roast Vegetarian Sausage. And since we were feeling extra awesome, we ordered BBQ Fries AND Onion Rings. All good with no complaints. GET THE BBQ FRIES.

Next up, Thermidor:
After we were filled, we ventured to Thermidor in Mint Plaza for drinks. Yes, be ready for bourge. However, the cocktails were quite amazing (although I've decided that I'll never get an actual English Pimm's in America). The bartender was extremely nice and not only gave me a free shot of Laphroaig, but also kept refilling Special K's glass with wine after we figured out that the price was not the one listed. And as a snack, we ordered chips with caviar. Delicously bourge. I would suggest going here for drinks (especially at happy hour) and maybe getting a small snack.

Kirala 2
1511 Shattuck Ave. (b/w Cedar St & Vine St. It's in Epicurious Garden.)
Berkeley

Show Dogs
1020 Market Street (on the corner near the Warfield)
San Francisco

Thermidor
8 Mint Plaza (From Market walk down Fifth St. The plaza is across from the mall.)
San Francisco

Bourgey Burgers: Part 2

You know a burger is bourgey when it comes with 4 sauces, you don't know what to dip in what, and the place is half swanky lounge. Don't get me wrong, Orson is a nice joint, but dare I say maybe bordering on too bourge for K.yo and I? Actually the atmosphere is quite romantic (if you're looking to impress someone), but the bar is also casual enough for a drink after work. Also happy hour is from 5-7pm and the drinks are quite spectacular. This time the burgers consumed came with duck fat fries, truffle mayonnaise, cobb relish, and house-made steak sauce. (I admittedly had to look that up just now because we totally forgot what the sauces were.) Duck fat fries sound like a heart attack waiting to happen, but it's a good heart attack and not as scary as it sounds. These actually reminded me of the fries at Grub: thin and crisp like good ole McDo. The burger was alright, but honestly a bit awkward to eat given the setting and the size of the thing. I fork-and-knived it but felt a bit silly while doing so. It is also a bit pricey; actually probably the priciest burger that I've had. Not sure if I would call it the best either, but the sauces were quite phenomenal (especially the cobb relish). If anything, drop by for drinks if you are near by.

And for dessert, we dropped by Ippuku for a Matcha Green Tea Sundae. Soooo goood. It's basically a spin on the affogato except with matcha green tea and vanilla soft serve. Yes the bourge did continue...

Orson
508 4th Street (Near the freeway)
San Francisco

Ippuku
2130 Center Street (b/w Shattuck and Oxford)
Berkeley