Tag Archives: sf

House of Prime Rib

Posted in San Francisco by

My dad loves prime rib, so on his birthday, my siblings and I decided to treat him to none other than House of Prime Rib. Generally, reservations are hard to come by (reservations should be made two months in advance) but we called a week before and were able to get a table for seven. Note: They will not seat you until the whole party is present, even if guests are in the restroom. We had a bit of difficulty from the hostess for this.

Now don’t get HOPR confused with other steakhouses, as they serve nothing but PRIME RIB! The pre-fixe meal includes salad, mashed potatoes or baked potato, yorkshire pudding, creamed spinach or creamed corn, and your choice of cut of prime rib. They offer four different cuts of prime rib: City, House of Prime Rib, English, and King Henry VIII. The City cut is a smaller portion of the HOPR cut. The House of Prime Rib cut is their standard cut. The English cut is multiple thin cuts of meat. The King Henry VIII is a generous extra thick cut. If you have kids, they also offer a children size cut. Or if you don’t want meat, they also offer fresh fish.

The salad is prepared at your table like a show. It consists of romaine lettuce with beets, goat cheese and their unique dressing, which tastes like thousand island.img_0443e
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Turtle Tower

Posted in San Francisco by

Those who know me know I love a good bowl of noodle soup. No one makes a better pho ga (chicken noodle soup) than Turtle Tower. It always hits the spot on a cold day.
Their pho ga comes with flat rice noodle, shredded chicken, and broth filled to the brim topped with green onions and cilantro. Hours of cooking creates a clear flavorful broth that I can’t wait to dive into once the bowl hits the table. I always end up burning my tongue from being impatient. It’s so good that every drop of this broth gets slurped. The best part? Each bowl is under $10 after tax.

Locations:

Kirimachi Ramen

Posted in San Francisco by

Decent ramen is hard to find in the financial district of San Francisco but the search is over. Kirimachi Ramen serves up a decent bowl of ramen. The noodles are made fresh daily and have a nice tender bite. They offer a variety of pork and fish tonkotsu ramen.

I generally get the number one but this day the the duck truffle ramen special caught my eye. The ramen was topped with roasted pork, duck, soft boiled egg, fish cake, bamboo shoots and green onions. The duck was cooked perfectly and balanced well with the light broth. You could definitely taste the black truffle oil in the broth. It was flavorful yet not overpowering. The noodles had the perfect chewiness and bite. The egg was perfectly slightly runny. Overall, it was a decent bowl of ramen but the portion was small for what you pay ($18.50 for the special). But keep in mind, nothing good comes cheap in FiDi.

Location: 3 Embarcadero Center, San Francisco, CA 94111

Gott’s Roadside

Posted in Napa Valley, Peninsula & South Bay, San Francisco by

Now that summer is in full swing, I love spending my weekends wine tasting in Napa. My first stop before drinking commences is fueling up at Gott’s Roadside. The original is located off of the 29 in Saint Helena on the way to the wineries. However, they also have one in the heart of Napa, at the Ferry Building in San Francisco, and Palo Alto.IMG_2066
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Kitchen Story

Posted in San Francisco by

Brunch is the most important meal on the weekends, and if you’re in San Francisco, it’s the only meal that matters on the weekend. Expect to wait at least over an hour at the latest trending brunch spot. Kitchen Story is no exception, but it’s worth the wait.

The french toast is two layers with marscapone cream in between, dipped in batter, fried, and topped with fresh fruit. This dish is decadent but not overwhelmingly sweet like most french toast. I wanted to finish it all, however I was sharing, so out of politeness, I refrained.

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Don’t forget to order the millionaire bacon. It’s sweet, salty and spicy all in one bite.IMG_7942- cropped

The belly rancheros with slow cooked Kurobata pork belly, avocado, arugula, and Kimchi pico de gallo over corn tortillas were amazing! The Kimich pico de gallo was more like a green sauce than a pico de gallo, but the flavor burst put this dish over the top. Everything coated with this sauce tasted delicious and helped balance the sweetness of the pork belly. Dreaming of the sauce now!
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The open face breakfast with a Wagyu patty, spinach, mushroom, white cheddar and two eggs sunny side up reminded me of loco moco.  This dish wasn’t bad but the AMAZINGNESS of the other two plates made this one lackluster.
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(3499 16th St., San Francisco, CA 94114)

b. patisserie

Posted in San Francisco by

b. patisserie reminds me of the bakeries you find in Paris. It’s minimalistic designs and delicious pastries will instantly transport you to Paris.

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It’s signature pastry, the kouign amann (pronounced “queen amman”), is a sweet, buttery, flaky croissant. I suggest you go early to snag one of these before they run out!

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The blueberry, peach, almond croissant isn’t your normal croissant. It’s more dense than flaky but the flavor is there. The peach brings out the sweetness of the blueberry but also helps balance it out.

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The passion fruit bostock reminded me of a dense coffee cake.

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(2821 California St, San Francisco, CA 94115)

Trouble Coffee Co

Posted in East Bay Area, San Francisco by

Trouble Coffee Co comes off like a hipster coffee joint because it sells $4 toast. However, it all started when Giulietta Carrelli opened up shop selling her personal comforts like coffee, toast, coconuts, and grapefruit juice to help keep stability in her schizophrenic life. The menu simply consists of the four items listed above but you better know how you like your coffee and toast because this place doesn’t have a defined menu. From the looks of it they seem to offer everything possible: espresso, drip coffee, chocolate toast, butter toast, etc.

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I got my usual soy latte and was pleased. The infamous cinnamon butter toast was a child’s dream breakfast. Sugary, cinnamony, and crunchy. Next time, I’m will try the nutella toast.

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Locations: 1545 Willow St, Oakland, CA 94607 (the Original)
4033 Judah St, San Francisco, CA 94122
1730 Yosemite Ave, San Francisco, CA 94124

Hard Knox Cafe

These days the Dog Patch neighborhood of San Francisco is looking to face lift everything, but one place that hasn’t changed in the past 16 years is Hard Knox Cafe. This inconspicuous restaurant, located across from Mr. & Mrs. Miscellaneous ice shop, serves up hearty Southern style comfort food. For $13, you can get a three piece fried chicken dish with two sides of your choice and corn bread. The fried chicken is meaty and perfectly crisp. The mac and cheese is the classical hearty and cheesy mac and cheese that everyone loves. My favorite was the corn bread. It was sweet and moist.

They also serve chicken and waffles and ribs of all sorts. I’m definitely going back to try those next.

If you’re in the Richmond district, look out for their second location.

Locations: 2526 3rd Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
2448 Clement Street, San Francisco, CA 94121

RN74

Posted in San Francisco by

The Michael Mina restaurant group is offering a three course #outtolunch special for $29 at all three restaurants: Michael Mina, Pabu, and RN74.  For those who haven’t tried it yet, I highly suggest you hurry and make your reservations soon since this deal ends on August 31.

At RN74, the out to lunch options are:

  • Appetizer- Butter Lettuce Salad or Sweet Corn Soup
  • Main- Pork Schnitzel or Traditional Bouillabaise
  • Dessert- Valhorna Chocolate Bouchon 

The sweet corn soup was not as sweet as stated. The soup was sweet while the corn bits were sour. It was marinated in a vinegar-like flavor.

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Everything about the pork schnitzel was perfect: the thinness, the breadcrumb layer, and the flavor bomb it left on taste buds. On top of the schnitzel was a light salad, roasted pecans, and pommes anna (Anna pototoes) topped with an apricot mustard. 

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When they took our order, the waiter asked if we would like the dessert to go. I loved that they offered this option, considering how difficult it is to enjoy your lunch in an hour time slot, I definitely wanted to savor my dessert. The Valhorna chocolate bouchon reminded me of a crumbly cookie brownie.

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Now go taste Michael Mina’s work for a fraction of the price before it’s too late. 

(301 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105)

KoJa Kitchen

Move out of the way ramen burger, rice patty burgers are in town. Koja Kitchen features a fusion of Korean and Japanese rice patty burgers. My favorites are the marinated kalbi (short rib), which is pictured above, or bulgolgi (brisket) sandwiches. The rice patties keep you full, and it keeps its shape throughout your enjoyment.

Normally sold in a food truck parked at the Truck Stop in the alley between Mission and First, they now have a brick and mortar shop in Berkeley. You can also pre order online for the Berkeley location. Below is a map of all their locations.