Food – Page 10 – Virgo in Wonderland

Foodbuzz Last Supper: A Communal Table Like No Other

Posted on Monday, November 9, 2009Saturday, November 21, 2009 by virgoinwonderland

So what’s it like to share a family-style dinner with over 200 food bloggers in a produce warehouse? Well, it was cold. But not enough to dampen the mood ;).

So this was our big dinner event to cap off the Foodbuzz Bloggers Festival in San Francisco, and it was definitely a night to remember.

It was big. Very big. The table was connected. Seriously. It twisted and curved around the warehouse to accommodate all of us. All 250 of us. An ingenious way of planning a dinner, courtesy of the folks at Outstanding in the Field. And plates of food went around (albeit slowly). Plates of wonderfully prepared and devised Asian dishes from the crew at Namu Restaurant in San Francisco.

And the warehouse? The famous Greenleaf Produce. These guys have known organic, locally grown, sustainable produce before the phrases were even in vogue in foodie circles. They are the trailblazers of the movement.

Here was the menu:

Various wild mushroom dashi

Udon w/grilled calamari in browned butter ponzu, cucumber, tomato and chojan & sesame vinaigrette

Salmon baked with dashikombu, fried garlic, and Japanese curry powder (this was my FAVE of the night)

Mushroom risotto with Japanese rice and crispy mushrooms

Soy braised beef cheeks and oxtails, baby carrots and fingerling potatoes

Roasted brussels sprouts with ponzu fried garlic, guanciale (a Spanish “bacon”), bonito flakes

Japanese rice pudding w/cookie crumble and warren pears from Frog Hollow Farm

The meal was subtle yet deliberate in its conception and it’s execution. An inventive and ambitious menu to pull of for such a large group. However, it was the experience itself that made it a memorable night. It’s something I will never see again. The best food experiences are when they’re shared with great people. This was definitely something to remember.

And a shoutout to the wonderful foodies and food purveyors I had the pleasure of meeting:

Frog Hollow Farm
479 Popcorn
Black Stallion Winery
Recchiuti Confections
Neo Cocoa
Jimmy (The Thirsty Pig)
Arnold (Inuyaki)
Dan Lee (Namu Restaurant)
Danielle (Bon Vivant)
Marc (Chefectomy)
Loren (Foodbuzz)
Gudren (Kitchen Gadget Girl)
Stephanie (Lick My Spoon)
Jo (Taking Over the World One Bite at a Time)
Bonnie (Cocochanelella/Chrysanthemum)
Kathleen (Katz9Lives)
Elizabeth (Ms. Lin Guide)
Fanny (YummySF)

See you all next year!

Food, Peninsula, San Francisco, Street Food

Street Food Hits the Burbs

Posted on Saturday, November 7, 2009Saturday, February 13, 2010 by virgoinwonderland

Trucks, carts, even guys on bikes have shown up all over San Francisco and Oakland to peddle their cheap and tasty food. You can find both gritty and straightforward eats, as well as the artisan gourmet variety disguised as street food.

Of course, not all food that comes out of a cart is good food. There are LOTS of posers who are jumping on this popular foodie bandwagon, lately. It’s officially become a “trend.” It’s gone mainstream. Perhaps, it’s even jumped the shark.

But when cheap food is GOOD food, I have no complaints. That’s why these two newer food trucks that have hit the burbs have made me very happy. No more trekking to the city to find good street food!

Tacos Peralta (342 E. Hillsdale, San Mateo) – There are mediocre items on the menu that I’ve tried (the carne asada and pastor meats, in particular). And I’ve heard only lukewarm reviews about their burritos, though I can’t vouch for that, myself. But fortunately, there are some excellent items, including the torta (nicely toasted bread and a good amount of meat and fillings), super quesadilla (great flavorful beans and cheese), and the carnitas tacos (well seasoned moist pork, fresh onions and cilantro, and great with a squeeze of lime juice). And I love their hot sauce. It strangely reminds me of the taco sauce I used to get on taco day in elementary school. I don’t know if that’s a complement or an insult, but I used to go nuts for the stuff.

And in classic street food fashion, it’s cheap. Tacos are only $1.25 a piece (of course you need at least four to feel satisfied). And I appreciate that their ingredients are fresh and they use good quality meats. I just polished off five carnitas tacos for dinner and I could easily eat five more for lunch tomorrow!

Curry Up Now (Primrose & Howard in Burlingame, Near Marine Pkwy. across from Oracle in Redwood City – @CurryUpNow on Twitter) – Let me just say that I like Indian food, but it’s usually on the bottom of my list because of the way it makes me feel. Four out of the last five Indian meals I’ve had in recent memory gave me a headache before leaving the restaurant because of the MSG, or left me reaching for my TUMS. Not fun.

So when I found out about this place foolin’ around on Twitter, I was excited because it seemed authentic, fun, and fresh. And again, I didn’t have to trek to the city to find it!

I’m so happy to say that this food truck exceeded my expectations. Everything we had was flat out fantastic! The food is a mixture of authentic Indian dishes with Mexican touches. Between myself and my other two diners, we had the Butter Chicken special, Tandoori Chicken “Taco”, Kathi Roll, Tikki Masala Chicken “Burrito”, and the Skirt Steak “Torta” sandwich. All the items were absolutely delicious with the perfect amount of spice that added flavor, depth, and character, not just heat. All the flavors just sang and melded together so well. It was just about the best Indian meal I’d ever had. The highlights were the Kathi Roll (so delicate in it’s mixture of special ingredients and sauce), the Tikki Masala Chicken “Burrito” (perfect amount of saucy flavorful chicken with special rice wrapped in parantha bread), and the Skirt Steak “Torta” (yummy special sauce again, and they did NOT skimp on the quality and amount of beef here!).

All that great food AND the owner was a whole lot of fun to talk to while we waited for our food. She was such a gem that it made me want to go back even more.

With such great “street food” options in suburbia, I don’t have to worry that I’m missing out on all the good cheap food in San Francisco proper. Let those city folks come down to suburbia instead!

Dinner, Food, San Francisco

Meeting the Gypsy

Posted on Wednesday, October 28, 2009Sunday, June 12, 2011 by virgoinwonderland

I rarely get drawn in by what I’ve heard about a restaurant’s setting. But Gitane’s European bohemian chic decor seemed so right up my alley that I wanted to see if for myself. And it didn’t hurt that it was on the SF Chronicle’s list of Top 100 Restaurants, so the food had to have some redeeming qualities.

The place is named after a gypsy and the food is inspired from the Basque region nestled between Portugal and Spain. But there seemed to be a touch of Moroccan influence as well. The menu is very eclectic and decor exotic and hip without being snooty. In fact, the staff was very friendly without trying too hard. Even the manager came by to check on us and seemed genuinely interesting inhow we were doing.

So my pals and I went for the Yelp Eats! prix fixe menu, and all the dishes were ones you could find on their regular menu. For our appetizers I ordered the Bastilla which was almost like a fried samosa filled with duck, chicken, nuts, spices, and raisins. It was served with some roasted red peppers for savory contrast. The dish was excellent, rich and meaty, and sweet with warm spice. It’s a heavier appetizer, so I’m happy I ordered the scallops for my entree. But more on that in a minute…

My friend ordered the Taboule appetizer, which was a revelation. It was bursting with lemon and mint and fresh shrimp, in this cool couscous salad. It was wonderful. The flavors were so fresh yet somehow, not overwhelming. Perfection.

For our entrees I got the St Jacques, which was pan seared royal sweet scallops with parsnip puree, fried padron peppers, and chorizo on top and chorizo oil sauce. It was wonderful. The combination was unexpected and yet delicious. The scallops were perfectly cooked and the chorizo oil was such a wonderful complement to the light scallops and parsnips. Yum!

My friends ordered the Solomillo, which was pork tenderloin and braised pork belly with a five spice sauce and carrot puree with pine nuts. The dish was rich and warm with those spices. And again, it all was perfectly cooked. The perfect autumn dish.

For dessert, we had beignets with a lemon, chocolate, and honey sauce, and the Vins de Fruits which was a chilled sangria with yogurt sorbet, berries and spices. Both were fantastic. The beignets were soft, warm, and perfectly fried. Sometimes they’re a little too brown on the outside but they were perfect here. The sauces were good, but honestly, they could’ve been better. Either way, a great dessert.

But it was the Vins de Fruits that impressed me. I’m not one for alcohol desserts, but this dish was so incredibly fresh and fruity, again made warm with the cinnamon and star anise. It was so fragrant that it was like perfume. Again, another surprising dish.

This place has so much character and diversity in both its menu and decor, it’s hard to imagine a more charming place to go in the city. It’s hip without making you feel out of place. It’s like a tiny European bistro because it’s in this little cobblestone alleyway and the service makes it a neighborhood gem. There’s also outdoor seating, but because of it’s size, I wouldn’t recommend it for a group larger than 6-8 people. And if you’re into that sort of thing, the bar was a super hot place to see and be seen on the Friday night we were there. Although personally, I wasn’t a fan of their special cocktails. A little too much spice, but that’s just personal preference.

We were truly entranced by this gypsy, for sure.

Food

Happy Cafe…The Name Says It All.

Posted on Wednesday, October 14, 2009Friday, October 16, 2009 by virgoinwonderland

I’m picky about my Chinese food. Regional, more specific kinds of Chinese food is what interests me. No plain jane stirfries or chow mein for me.

Now, I love Shanghainese food but a lot of it can be rather heavy and greasy (it’s mostly dumplings and noodles, less rice). They say that the farther north you go in China, the less rice dishes you’ll see. The typical rice and stirfries are from the southern part of China (like the Canton or Szechuan regions).

That’s what makes Happy Cafe in San Mateo so…simple. The dishes are classic Shanghainese: pig’s kidneys (sooooo good here without any gamey flavor), cold noodles with spicy meat sauce and shredded cucumbers (refreshing with such bold flavor), and fried pork chop over rice and greens (the pork is perfectly flavored and fried without being too greasy). Their boiled chicken appetizer with a lightly spicy sauce is also perfection. The chicken is silky, juicy and tender, and that sauce is again, bold and the perfect partner for the chicken.

My only complaint here is the tiny space (not good for groups and long waits during peak times since they don’t take reservations) and their Xiao Long Bao (steamed dumplings), which is usually the mark of a great Shanghainese restaurant. The dough on them is too mushy, the meat filling doesn’t have the right flavor, and the soup inside the dumpling is bland. Just skip it.

This is a classic “hole in the wall” joint, but if you order well, you’ll be richly rewarded. I’ve never left unhappy. 🙂

Food, San Francisco

One Hot Little Skillet

Posted on Friday, October 9, 2009Friday, October 9, 2009 by virgoinwonderland

LittleskilletComp1-1 Fried chicken is like the king of fried foods. When done right, it’s the perfect combo of juicy flavorful meat and crispy savory crunch. We’re lucky to have several places in the Bay Area that do it well, but all have their slight variations on the original classic. Little Skillet’s version is classic with Southern flair.

There’s no ambiance to speak of, but that’s okay. It’s literally hole in the wall, or actually a takeout counter where you walk up to order and take your food away to eat either out on the sidewalk across the street or back to the office.

My friend and I decided to take our eight piece chicken meal with two sides (the macaroni salad with herb vinaigrette and seasoned fries) and buttermilk biscuits, home. We’d finished the fries before we even got home. Total car snacking food and they were great. And the ketchup was a nice sweet tangy sauce that tasted like it was house-made (or at least a tinkered version of the bottled stuff).

The fried chicken was probably the best classic version I’ve had in the Bay Area, to date. It had a perfectly crisp skin that wasn’t to thick (my friend said it was like really good pork rines) and a wonderful flavor. It had a tinge of paprika, black pepper and cayenne pepper along with a slight smokiness. My theory is that it was Old Bay Seasoning they used in the flour coating. The best part is that the meat was juicy and flavorful, not dry or tasteless like some fried chicken can be. The skin was tasty, texture was great, and the meat was perfect.

The buttermilk biscuits were nothing to scoff at either. They were so buttery and good that they almost tasted like a croissant! My only complaint is that they weren’t warm and there was no honey to go with them. That would’ve sent me over the moon.

I was also impressed with the macaroni salad, though my friend wasn’t a fan of the herb dressing. I loved it. It was fresh and perfectly seasoned, not gloppy or heavy like most pasta salads. The perfect foil for a heavy chicken and biscuit meal.

You could tell the quality in all their ingredients, including the organic local chicken they use. And though they’re known for their long lines at lunch (they’re only open 11 am – 2 pm), we must’ve missed it since we arrived at 1:30 and there was no line to speak of (and parking on Townsend was easy-peasy). If I’m in a decadent mood, I’ll try the chicken and waffle combo next time around.

Events, Food, San Francisco

Deals Lately…

Posted on Wednesday, September 30, 2009Saturday, October 3, 2009 by virgoinwonderland

FOR FOODIES…

Yelp Eats! – San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and East Bay
October 5-11
This is the first year for this nationwide event. Basically it’s 7 days, 15 restaurants (per region), and a 3 course meal for $35 at eateries throughout the Bay Area. Some of the hottest restaurants around are on the list so it’s a great excuse to go out for a good deal on a good prix fixe meal.

Open Table – Log Off and Eat! (Silicon Valley Restaurant Week)
October 14-21
Again, prix fixe meals for $35 at this large list of restaurants in the South Bay. And again, no shabby list.

RNM Restaurant – Prix Fixe 3-Course Meal $28
You can’t beat this price for a restaurant that is modern yet casual. The food, from what I’ve been told, is pure comfort with an element of French influence for sophistication. The portions are also quite generous. I can’t wait to try this place out! (Haight @ Steiner in San Francisco)

Pasta Pomodoro – Buy One Pizza, Get One Free Thursdays
Every Thursday at ONLY their San Mateo, Novato, El Cerrito, and San Francisco-Cow Hollow locations, order one thin crust pizza and get another free! Plus, there’s no limit! Make sure you mention this promotion when you order.

FOR SHOPPERS…

Kate Spade Friends and Family Sale
October 1-4
Enter code FALLFF09 for 30% off everything online (including sale merchandise). They’re also offering free shipping on all orders.

LORAC Cosmetics
Head to their website and click “VIP Discounts” on the bottom of the homepage to see discontinued merchandise that’s up to 70% off! Some lipsticks are only $4.99! Shipping is free with any $50 order.

Gap Card Style Event
October 1-4
Use your Old Navy, Gap, or Banana Republic credit card and get 30% off all regular priced merchandise or 15% off all sale merchandise with code GAPSTYLE4, online.

H&M $5 Sale
For a limited time, select merchandise at all participating H&M stores is on sale for $5. Check stores for more info.

Events, Food, San Francisco

Good Conversation Over a Naked Lunch

Posted on Friday, September 25, 2009Friday, September 25, 2009 by virgoinwonderland

NAKED LUNCH IMAGE

Don’t worry, this isn’t going to be an X-rated post. I’m referring to the lunch I had today, catered by a little place that’s been getting big buzz lately: Naked Lunch.

The Foodbuzz folks were nice enough to host an open house for food bloggers today, serving a catered breakfast, lunch, and happy hour at their offices. Since lunch was to be catered by Naked Lunch and I had wanted to try their food for a while, I headed over.

The “Grilled” Cheese w/Tomatoes surprised me because of it’s wonderful tang that came from creamy goat cheese and sweetness from fresh and roasted heirloom tomatoes. It was topped off with a tangy pesto spread and some baby spinach. I loved this sandwich. Really tasty.

I also tried a bit of the Chorizo Sandwich which had chorizo, pears, pickled onions, and garlic aioli. The picked onions did a good job of contrasting with the meat in both taste and texture. It was a strong sandwich that would satisfy a meat lover and was a favorite of everyone in the room. It was definitely different and surprising.

I’ve been truly impressed with the sandwiches I’ve had lately. Not just your boring old neighborhood sandwich shop fare, but noteworthy spots like Kitchenette, Bakesale Betty’s and Naked Lunch who are making innovative, fresh, gourmet sandwiches that worth talking about.

And a shoutout to the food bloggers I had the pleasure of meeting at the event: Chrysanthemum, The Food Librarian, Kat’s 9 Lives, Lick My Spoon, Ms. Lin Guide, Streaming Gourmet, Taking Over the World One Bite at a Time, and Yummy SF to name just a few. Let’s hope we can plan a foodie get together to swap stories and review some good food!

Events, Food, San Francisco, Travel

A Meat Lover’s Dream

Posted on Monday, September 7, 2009Monday, September 7, 2009 by virgoinwonderland

A birthday celebration calls for meat, that’s what I say. Screw the sugary treats (cakes and ice cream do nothing for me), let’s move on to the savory stuff.

So it was the Hubby’s birthday and I decided to forgo the prim and proper and go straight for the tried and true. So I made reservations at the House of Prime Rib in San Francisco.

I know what you’re thinking. It’s a tourist trap. It’s boring. There’s only one thing on the menu. But the question is, do they do that one thing right?

Absolutely.

I had the English Cut, which was two large yet super thin slices of prime rib, no seasoned crust. It was perfect. Easily one of the best slices of meat I’ve ever had. It was a perfect medium rare and the flavor of the meat was flavorful, well seasoned, juicy and tender, almost buttery. You could tell this was high quality beef.

My Hubby had the King Cut, which was the largest one on the menu. It was huge but he finished it with no problem and raved about the flavor. In fact, he toyed with the idea of getting another helping (if you finish the King Cut they apparently give you another for free if you ask). I advised against it since he said he thought his arteries couldn’t take it :).

The sides were mixed, though. Baked potato and creamed corn were both out of this world, but the mashed potatoes were totally boring and the brown gravy tasted artificial. A big disappointment. The creamed spinach was good, not great. The spinach tasted frozen, not fresh. And yorkshire pudding is something I’ve never cared for, though some say it’s the perfect vehicle for sopping up meat juices.

Service is supposed to be legendary here, but I found it lackluster. The waitstaff and host were only artificially friendly, which was a disappointment. But service was prompt and professional. Maybe I hit them on an off day.

Regardless, it was a fabulous experience with it’s old school charm and ambiance, and exceptional food. It may be a tourist trap and they may only have one thing on the menu, but they’re a Bay Area institution for a reason. You can’t do much better for a special occasion dinner.

East Bay, Events, Food, For Kids/Parent, Lunch, Street Food

Street Food En Masse

Posted on Sunday, August 30, 2009Wednesday, July 14, 2010 by virgoinwonderland

The Bay Area’s first Eat Real Festival happened this past weekend in Oakland’s Jack London Square. An estimated 30,000 foodies from all over the Bay Area came to enjoy live music, support local farmers and food purveyors, and sample food from over 50 different street food vendors. I couldn’t wait!

Jen and I arrived at around 10:30 am, which was about 30 minutes before showtime, so we could avoid what would be the inevitable long lines later in the day. We came on the last day of the event to avoid the heat from the past two days and avoid the mistakes of others who had ventured there before us. It was nice being there that early. The area had a distinct energy but it was quiet with just the right trickle of people milling about. Vendors were smiling, friendly, and getting their food and selling areas ready for the day’s crowds.

Although there were some other vendors I didn’t get to try, simply because there just isn’t that much room in this tummy, I did try the following vendors:

Urban Nectar (Lemonade & Strawberry fresh juices)

Adobo Hobo (Chicken Wings Over Rice)

Seoul on Wheels BBQ (Spicy Korean BBQ Pork Tacos)

SLRP Street Ramen (Pork Broth Ramen w/Sweet corn & Homemade Kimchee)

Liba Falafel Truck (Falafel ball w/Roasted Eggplant)

Kika’s Treats (Chocolate Covered Graham Cracker S’mores)

Gerard’s Paella (Seafood & Chicken)

Creme Brulee Man (Vanilla Bean & Lavender Flavors)

Unfortunately, I was severely disappointed with Liba’s Falafels. The accompanying roasted eggplant mixture was delightful, but the falafel balls themselves, were so overfried that their outer shells had been become dark brown and were more hard and crunchy than thin and crisp. And the accompanying flatbread was stale, doughy, and flavorless.

The three dishes that had notable elements were Seoul on Wheel’s Spicy Pork Taco (warmed tortillas that didn’t taste store-bought would’ve GREATLY helped), SLRP’s Pork Ramen (the noodles were soggy and flavorless, but the pork belly and homemade kimchee were delicious), and Gerard’s Paella (fresher shrimp and non-burnt ends would’ve made it great).

The one thing that DID live up to the cult following was the Creme Brulee Man’s vanilla bean dessert. It had the perfect crunch from the torched top and the flavor was rich and creamy like an ice cream and smooth and luxurious like a pudding. Pure heaven.

I wish I could’ve tried Roli Roti’s porchetta sandwich, Gobba Gobba Hey’s sweet treats, Jim n Nick’s BBQ (they drove all the way up from the South), roasted pig from Chop Bar, 4505 Meats, Wholesome Bakery’s doughnut bites, and Pizza Politana’s margherita pizza slices.

I have to admit that nothing I had blew me away. It was all good, but nothing was extremely noteworthy. Amazingly, though, I wasn’t disappointed. I was just happy to be there and share in the positive energy of the day from both purveyors and consumers. I enjoyed the company, the weather, the variety of food, the environment overall. And I can’t wait to try more next year…

Food

Mexican Food Done Right

Posted on Friday, August 28, 2009Sunday, August 30, 2009 by virgoinwonderland

tacqueria

So I’ve never been happy with Pancho Villa Taqueria in San Mateo. No offense to them, but it’s always been a slightly subpar, unsatisfying experience. It’s okay, but nothing to write home about. And there are plenty of other Mexican joints in the area, but they’re mostly sitdown places that leave you feeling…bleh. I was looking for a good authentic taqueria around here. One that wouldn’t make me feel like I’d eaten a brick afterwards and tasted fresh and homemade.

Enter Los Moreno in San Mateo. It hasn’t been around that long, but I hope and pray it will stay forever. I’ve eaten here twice in the last week, so that should tell you something.

My hubby and I have had the shrimp tacos, nachos, beef, chicken, and cheese enchiladas, and the beef tacos. Yes, a lot of food for just two visits between the two of us, but we were hungry…both times.

The enchiladas are solidly good. Tastier than most than most we’ve had in this area of the Peninsula. So were the nachos. And the beef tacos were simply made, dressed only with cilantro, and wrapped in soft corn tortillas. It was super fresh, flavorful, and the carne asade was cooked to perfection. I loved ’em. Simply loved ’em.

But it was the shrimp taco that sealed the deal. It was one of the best tacos I’ve ever had. It tasted like all the flavors of the grill were sucked up by the shrimp. They were tender and flavorful, and they didn’t skimp on the portions either. And it was dressed with grilled onions and mushrooms. Just delicious. I want one now, just thinking about it.

I hear that their burritos and numerous other homemade items on the menu are simple yet delicious as well. I can’t wait to try more. And to make things even better, their beans and rice are pretty damn tasty too.

The owners are also super friendly, which makes me feel even better patronizing them. I feel like my search for an authentic Mexican taqueria is over.

Los Moreno Taqueria – 37 W. 43rd Ave, San Mateo – www.losmorenotaquerias.com