Straw Does Grits Right

When AB suggested we meet at new-kid-on-the-Hayes-Valley-block Straw, I was more than happy to oblige. At the very least, the carnival-themed eatery would surely provide us with a modicum of amusement and hopefully some tasty bites as well.

Having scored what we thought was the best seat in the house—the metal canopy in the corner (a 2-seater salvaged from some amusement park from god know's where), we scanned Straw's brunch menu dotted with dishes adorned with festive names such as the Hanky Panky (Belgian waffle with fried egg, hickory smoked bacon and cheddar potato croquettes) and Wilber's Revival (pork hash with sauteed onion and sweet potato, a fried egg, grits, fried onions and bechamel).

Though the Hanky Panky was nice—the highlight being the molten, oozing cheddar potato croquettes lightly breaded in panko, it was Wilber's Revival that knocked our socks off. We loved the uber creamy consistency of the buttery grits (I'd just had a disappointingly leaden and lumpy version at The Corner Store—OK, the flavor was good, but the texture was all wrong). We also loved the generous mountain of well-seasoned pork and the crispety-crunchety fried onion strings. My only tiny criticism: The egg was medium-hard ... I was hoping to have all that sunshiney goodness spill out when I cut into it.

Oh well, I'll still go back ... and next time, I'll try the cheesy grits with linguisa and prawns in Cajun butter sauce on Straw's dinner menu.

P.S. We were wrong about the metal canopy 2-seater. It has the most incredible reverb—so much so that at times I could hear the 2 boisterous bros sitting 20 feet away better than I could AB who was sitting right beside me.

Welcome Nopalito

PH and I enjoyed a leisurely lunch at newly opened Nopalito in the Inner Sunset. The blustery grey day could do nothing to dampen our spirits as we celebrated PH's birthday with the bright flavors of lime, cilantro and tomatillo in the scrummy ceviche appetizer, not to mention the other well-made Mexican dishes we ordered today.

 

The ceviche: tender morsels of marinated fish and squiggles of calamari tossed in lime, tomatillo, jalapeño and cilantro with a generous fan of avocado on top and a pile of tortilla chips by its side.

The chicken enchiladas came doused in a richly satisfying sauce of chiles, chocolate and nuts topped with a tangle of onions and a crumble of queso fresco, plus a mound of refried pinquito beans.

Best Find This Month: El Sur's Empanadas

I've gotta say, I've had some really fancy food, Korean BBQ, tacos off a food truck, you name it, this past month, but what I'm most excited about is discovering El Sur at the pre-party to the SF Street Food Festival put on by La Cocina. Thank you, AB, for getting me in as your plus-one. I'm much obliged. Especially since we got to enjoy El Sur's heavenly Parisien empanadas.

 

The pretty round pastry pockets, which sport the most perfect buttery, flaky exterior, boasted a beautifully moist interior comprising chopped Prosciutto and country ham swimming in a melting pot of five cheeses and spiked with the sharp bite of scallions and chives.

 

The chef Marianne Depres' Cordon Bleu and French Laundry training clearly shines through.

Besides the Parisien, she's got a few other empanadas on her menu, including a traditional beef version and a chicken one as well. Though I didn't get to try those, I hope to soon.

 

Bonus points for the enchanting vintage Citroen van, which carries El Sur's precious cargo. I'll be sure to seek it out when I finally get over to SOMA Streatfood Park or Off the Grid.

Me love you long time, Locavore

To celebrate JA's birthday, I decided we should take a trip back to Locavore—after all, our first visit last year to the cozy Bernal Heights eatery had left such a good impression.

What we found was a brand new line-up tailored against the season's bounty and an enthusiastic server who steered us through the menu with great aplomb.

 

I inhaled the insanely sweet and juicy cherry and heirloom tomato salad with mellow pickled red onion, grassy cilantro leaves, fresh cucumber rounds and crunchy home-made chicharon in about 90 seconds flat.

Since I'm a sucker for the savory-sweet combo, I pounced on the pork osso buco, which was an especially honkin' big portion, said our server (woohoo), and came on a bed of honeyed apple sauce, with a healthy helping of grilled broccoli rabe and scallions.

LOVE.

In Season: Stone Fruit

Peaches and plums are in their prime this month, so what better way to showcase these sweet, juicy fruits than in a crumble.

Give me a crisp, crumble, betty, buckle or plain old piece of pie served with a dollop of vanilla ice cream any day of the week. I'll take that over chocolate every time.

This particular recipe comes out of Food and Wine and calls for both tahini and black sesame seeds. I had regular roasted sesame seeds so opted to use that instead, throwing in a healthy couple of tablespoons into the crumble. The substitution worked just fine and added a really nice almost-savory dimension to the dessert.

A pound of plums plus a pound-and-a-half of peaches, and what you've got is a whole heckuvalot of summery goodness that you can scoop out and then promptly smother with some really good ice cream or a large helping of whipped cream.

Authentic Balinese at Bumbu Bali

Another trip to Bumbu Bali in Tanjung Benoa after a four-year hiatus, and it's still just as good as I remember. I won't say much since what I wrote before still holds, except that there's love in this food. And it's all about the grill: the satays are amazeballs as is the chicken in roasted coconut sauce.

Needless to say, we didn't go hungry. Bumbu Bali likes to load its trays with a ton of bells and whistles to the point where you're rolling out the door, and almost regretting ordering all of the food you've gobbled up. Almost ... but not quite.

Lunch by the Sea at La Lucciola

When I read that beachside bistro La Lucciola in Seminyak, Bali, had amazing views of the ocean from its second floor, I decided this would be the perfect place for a mid-day repast. And indeed it was.

 Not only did the view take our breath away (see below), but the food—"a creative fusion of international fare with an accent on seafood," according to Lonely Planet—was some of the best we had on holiday.

 

The tuna crudo with its drizzle of basil oil and generous garland of sharp watercress, licorice-y fennel and sweet-and-sour pomelo tasted faintly of the sea and melted like butter in our mouths.

 

The blush-toned baby chicken was so tender and moist, it fell away with just a little push of the butter knife. The French green beans were sauteed to a lovely crisp-tender and perfectly complemented the chick as well as the creamy richness of the pillowy bed of polenta sitting in its savory pool of jus, all of which came draped in a vibrant pesto sauce.

 

My tangy and garlicky seafood risotto came chock full of the tenderest calamari, octopus and local fish. Creamy and smooth—with just the right amount of liquid, the risotto was a winner. La Lucciola's cooks clearly know what they're doing.

We couldn't leave without getting in a bit of dessert, especially when La Lucciola was pushing a luscious coconut tart topped with coconut ice cream and fresh chunks of mango. Wow.

Oh yes, this was the view we enjoyed. So while we devoured La Lucciola's amazing food, we also ate up the awesome spectacle of Seminyak beach stretching out before us. Love Bali.

Best in Class: Bulgari

Bulgari's pina colada was by far the best pineapple-coconutty beverage I had the great fortune of ordering while in Bali. Thank you, AB, for suggesting we drop in for a drink. 

Though an overnight stay was mos def too rich for our blood, a late afternoon refreshment (just one) did work within our budget. And the killer views were certainly worth the $13 per drink price tag.

The "world famous" pina colada at Poppies Restaurant in Kuta, Bali, gets an honorable mention—for the coconut carved in the shape of a barong (aka lion's head) that the frothy fruity drink came served in, not to mention the extremely modest fee.

Numero Uno: El Tonayense Tacos

I'm seriously over the moon when the El Tonayense truck cruises on over to the Wharf and decides to park right next to the office. It's a rare occasion indeed; it's only happened twice in the past 6 months. But when it does, you better be sure I'm making a beeline for the black-and-gold roach coach, and I make sure to get out there well before noon (read: before the huge line forms and snakes down the street).

Why am I thrilled with El Tonayense? Well, for a mere $2 each, you can get tacos generously filled with well-seasoned, moist and flavorful grilled meat—I'm partial to the al pastor (spit-grilled pork), though the chicken's also deelish. All of 'em come with a smattering of onions and cilantro, along with a dousing of zesty hot sauce. I asked for spicy pickles on the side, and they piled 'em on. A most excellent and inexpensive noonday meal.

Newsflash: Ramen Has Arrived at Ken Ken

... and in San Francisco, in general. You can get a piping hot bowl of porky goodness (yes, I'm partial to the pig) chock full of bouncy, springy home-made Japanese noodles in a number of neighborhoods in the city: the Inner Sunset, Inner Rich and the Mission, which Ken Ken Ramen calls home. It's something I've been waiting for—and lamenting the lack of—since I moved back from NYC (at the end of '06), where good ramen can be had in nearly every neighborhood from Hell's Kitchen on down.  Oh sure, San Mateo had and still has some great ramen eateries, Himawari among them. But SF sadly came up short ... until now.

Ken Ken Ramen had been on my list of places to try, ever since I'd read the pop-up had found a permanent residence in the Mission about 7 months ago. As we dropped in on a Wednesday, we took advantage of that night's special: the tonkatsu ramen, touted as "the king of broths ... a milky porky wonder." Ahhh, yes, it certainly is. Filled with braised pork, nori, pickled ginger, a soft-boiled egg, and scallions, it ranks right up there as one of my fave kinds of comfort food.

Doing it Up at Burritt Room and Tavern

I managed to catch the tail end of Dine About Town, squeezing in a visit to Charlie Palmer's newish Burritt Room & Tavern just a stone's throw from Union Square. Where many SF restaurants seem half-hearted about their participation in the two-week period where a set lunch and/or dinner menu are offered at a fixed price, Burritt Room & Tavern does it up right. JL and I happily browsed the selections for each of the three dinner courses, and this is what I chose:

Sweet corn chowder screaming of summer with a tiny crown of roasted fingerling potatoes, crispy bacon, sweet sorrel leaves, plus a drizzle of truffle honey.

Marinated strip steak grilled to a gorgeous medium rare accompanied by a mound of creamy potato puree, tangy piquillo pepper coulis, shallot confit, bone marrow butter and sauteed spinach. I practically licked the plate clean; it was that good.

Wild strawberry soup surrounding a soft cube of Greek yogurt panna cotta, sprinkled with a bit of hazelnut brittle and a tiny drizzle of honey balsamic glaze.

Burritt Room & Tavern is a keeper.

A Hankering for Shanghai Dumpling King

I decided to give Shanghai Dumpling King another go, and turns out, the 2nd time round was better than the 1st. The soup dumplings seemed fresher, juicier and springier. And the pork chives were delicious as usual. So, we went back a 3rd time and inhaled another load of dumplings, along with the Shanghai-style stir-fried noodles and the braised string beans. Mmmm ... tasty.