San Francisco for Fast Food

I've been doing a lot of great eating on the road lately. Last weekend, I took a mini-break in San Francisco to visit friends who've just moved to the Bay area. How well do they know me? The drive to and from the airport included stops at In-n-Out. Hurrah!

I get a lot of grief for how much I like fast food, but I am completely unapologetic about my love for In-n-Out. This is not the tired, microwaved meal you get at the national chains - all the food is cooked to order. e.g. I almost always order my fries "well done" bc I like them extra-crispy. Coming from the airport, I ordered my burger animal style; while I have a "don't ask, don't tell" policy on onions, the combination of flavors on the In-N-Out burger makes the grilled onions work. On my way back, I ordered a classic - and found myself exclaiming over the crispness of the toasted bun. I would not be unhappy to eat that burger at any restaurant in NYC.

Another bas cuisine favorite of mine is fish tacos, ever since I was introduced to them by friends at a Baja Fresh in LA. Sadly, we don't have those in Manhattan, so I have to go to Cali for my authentically fast food fix. My poor long suffering friends took me there for breakfast (since my stomach is on east coast time). I ordered a trio of seafood tacos - their usual fried fish taco, a mahi mahi special, and blackened shrimp. The shrimp taco was pretty good - I'd eat that again - but the mahi mahi special wasn't very good at all, probably bc the quality of the ingredients couldn't stand up to the simple treatment. I guess for fast food, it really needs to be fried.

It wasn't all fast food though. Saturday afternoon, we took a food wander through the city. We bought a custom box of chocolates at CocoaBella. While I like the interesting flavor combinations at CocoaBella, I think MarieBelle's chocolates are more exquisite, possibly bc I've been known to buy 3 chocolates with my two siblings and eat a third of each, savoring every morsel. Oddly enough, on our way to the Ferry Building, we walked past a newsstand advertising their 250 varieties of chocolate bars. They really do have a great many chocolate bars and we bought a bacon bar to share and habanero caramels. The bacon bar was interesting - the bacon tasted like all the extraneous fat had been removed before it was chocolatified, so all that was left was the smoky flavor. I loved the habanero caramels - I love caramel something fierce in general, so when you add spiciness to make the aftertaste more interesting... well.

My friend Janice was excited to take me to the Ferry building and after visiting, I can see why. I love the hunter-gatherer feeling of finding tasty ingredients for dinner at little artisanal shops. We bought heirloom tomatoes to go with our white balsamic vinegar, a variety of cheeses from Cowgirl Creamery, and a small roast that Janice cooked while I sat with Lochai on the porch smoking a cigar. Now that's a mini-break! Read More......

Weird Food Ideas

I often get notions of foods I'd like to combine - and Pinch & S'mac lets me indulge them. It's a very clever little semi-fast food restaurant, combining a pizza by the inch concept with custom mac & cheese. I enjoy their preset combinations - my friend ordered "parisienne" mac & cheese with brie, figs, shiitakes, and rosemary, while I had the "cajun" with cheddar, pepperjack, andouille sausage, green pepper, onions, celery, and garlic. Mmm...


My friend looked a little dubious when I suggested a pizza with hot dog and either chilis or broccoli, but she indulged me and even offered that it was pretty good afterwards. I thought the crispiness and slight bitterness of broccoli would be a nice foil to the roundness of the hot dog flavor. Next time though, I'm definitely trying the hot dog with chili. Read More......

RW Summer 2008, pt 2

It's taken me so long to write this post about Bar Boulud, I've actually been back twice!

I took a summer Friday to take care of some renovation-related things at home, but even my sister who works all the time took lunch off when she heard I had a reservation for Bar Boulud. The lunch was magnificent. Charcuterie is their specialty and mine was delicious - but my father's carrot soup was intriguing - it had a strong cumin flavor and the flavors were so well blended, it no longer tasted carrot-y. I had a ricotta and chanterelle ravioli for an entree; I'm not a fan of mushrooms and I believe ravioli should always contain meat, but the flavors blended so well, I didn't care. Dessert was a hazelnut mousse. Mmm..

My mother liked the restaurant so much, we went back for dinner for my brother's birthday. Turns out they always have a prix fixe and I think this might be the best fine dining/pre theater deal in the city - $42 for an exquisite, impeccably served 3-course meal. The carrot soup and the charcuterie were less transporting the second time, but overall the meal was delicious and delightful.

Did I mention Bar Boulud is across the street from Lincoln Center? We ended up going there before the opera and once again, the food delighted. I had a taste of my mum's head cheese, which was fantastic, and I had the skate. Both highly recommended.

They have tasting flights on their wine menu, which I don't think I've seen in fine restaurants before, and their sommelier is friendly and helpful. My mother keeps encouraging me to go there on my way home from work - and maybe I should. Read More......