Sweet Endings at Out the Door

The cashew coconut cake with passionfruit coulis at Out the Door on Bush ... helps take your mind off many things ...

SPQR - The Best Italian in SF

My Urban Daddy editor friend has yet to steer me wrong when it comes to food recs. I told her I'd been to SPQR within months of its opening and didn't like it—the pasta had been less than adequate; memories of limp noodles and a general blandness came to mind, I told her. She insisted I give it a second chance as the chef had changed and the quality of the food had improved tremendously.

She was right. Cousin MC2 and I adored absolutely everything that came out of the kitchen. Really well-flavored, nothing overpowering or overseasoned. Just the perfect balance and blend of flavors, colors and textures in every dish. We'll be back to try some more of the dishes on SPQR's extensive menu.


I'm a sucker for a good deviled egg. These were especially tasty—eggs ‘al diavolo’ with dill and white anchovy.


These little potato croquettes came out super crispy and piping hot—pork belly ‘croccante,’ sundried tomato, olives and gremolata.


Tender and moist, these local sardines came dressed in breadcrumbs, a fuji apple puree and a drizzle of chili oil.


MC2 favored the fragrant meyer lemon risotto with pea shoots and fried lemon, while I couldn't get enough of the light, little puffs of semolina gnocchi with wilted wild arugula, truffle butter and lotsa castelmagno cheese.


Both desserts were really well-done: passion fruit panna cotta, coconut spuma with 2 tiny coconut macaroons along with a springy brown butter torta, fluffy meyer lemon curd and sprinkling of Sicilian pistachio.

Candy Bar for Dessert

I can't remember all of the extra bells and whistles that came with Candy Bar's carrot cake concoction (though as you can see, there's caramelized banana and a tasty currant crumble with ice cream on the plate). All I can say is it hit the spot.

Out the Door on Bush

... is chef Charles Phan's home post, it being where he and his family live in the large flat just above this latest in his chain of Out the Doors. (In fact, we saw him puttering around in the kitchen on our first visit there.)

Phan's is a true rags to riches story. An immigrant to this country, he's now a celebrated chef and owner of several restaurants including ritzy Slanted Door in the Ferry Building. His success has everything to do with the creativity in his Vietnamese fusion dishes. Phan showcases bright, fresh flavors and ingredients that make for really wonderful food.


Out the Door's crispy-crunchy jicama and grapefruit salad with shredded red cabbage and carrots comes lightly dressed in a sweet soy sauce and has a healthy helping of candied pecans. It's super fresh and tangy.


Slow-roasted BBQ Niman Ranch pork ribs come smoking hot out of the oven, doused in honey and hoisin, with a generous sprinkling of scallions and cilantro.


The sauteed prawns in a garlicky soy sauce were tender and moist. We opted to leave the heads behind and enjoyed the fleshy flavorful bodies over some jasmine rice.

Slow Club's Still Got It

On President's Day, JG, JW and I went to Slow Club thinking we'd partake of an especially nice brunch (according to my sister who tried it out just a few months' prior). But it being Monday, there were no breakfasty items on order (brunch is relegated to the weekends), so we opted for lunch instead.

We quickly got over our initial disappointment when the food hit our table. Why? Because Slow Club is still doing it right—the last time I'd been was maybe 8 or so years ago. Sometimes the really old standbys are worth going back to.


My flavorful bowl full of fettuccini dressed in a fennel leek cream, pecorino romano, chile flakes, lemon zest and breadcrumbs had a nice crumbling of pork sausage along with melted leeks and wilted baby spinach.


JW's uber-tender and well-seasoned braised brisket came covered in a tart-tangy-peppery blend of horseradish creme fraiche, pickled red onions and baby arugula, sandwiched in a springy torpedo roll.

Snack Time at Zuni Cafe

Nothing like a pile o' crispy pommes frites plus a glass of wine at Zuni Cafe to put the blush on a rosy SF afternoon.

Heavenly Himawari

When workmate GC (who's married to a Japanese national) told us he almost cried over his bowl of Tan Tan Men deluxe (spicy savory ramen with pork belly, ground pork and stewed pork) at Himawari in San Mateo because it was so authentically delicious, JL and I decided we had to go as soon as possible. So a few days later, we three hightailed it down there for a midday repast and were transported to the 7th level of heaven (is there such a thing? at Himawari, there most certainly is).

Though I still do have a great love of the ramen at Ippudo in New York, I think Himawari's version is a tiny tad more authentic and homey, the pork broth ever so rich and succulent, the noodles a bit more al dente. Loved the added bite of cilantro and the soft-boiled egg thrown in. My only sadness is that the resto's not closer to home. Still, I'll try to make it down there every now and again—for an awesome bowl of ramen, why not?

Retreat at Zuppa

PM and I had a hearty and heart-warming lunch at Zuppa the other day ... a welcome respite from a day of drudgery.


We ordered up a big plateful of sweet roasted beets and braised fennel, sprinkled with a julienne of basil.


And followed with a generous helping of pasta tossed with pecorino and Parmesan, topped with a generous smattering of tender, springy clams. Mmmmm, mmmm, good.

Lovely Luce

I get why Luce got the nod from the French, earning one Michelin star for food that's not only really pretty, but super tasty too. Cousin MC2 and I hit the incredibly large eatery (you had to walk the length of 1/2 a football field to get to the bathroom for crying out loud) housed in the Hotel Intercontinental last week while Dine About Town was still on. Here's what went down:


A really toothsome assortment of baby beets accompanied by microgreens, a dehydrated crumble of truffles, and big gobs of blue cheese.


Super fresh slivers of Kona kampachi crudo with globules of yuzu. MC2 liked it well enough, but was jonesing for more of a citrusy tang to add some sparkle to the dish.


It was Luce's bouillabaisse comprising a couple o' hunks of branzino, amazingly tender rings of squid, baby octopus and shrimp doused in a pool of lobster broth that was our hands-down fave. MC2 kept saying she'd love a stein of the frothy broth plopped in front of her—"just give me a straw and I'll be happy," and she meant it. Oh yeah, and the crispety-crunchety pork belly and fork-tender pork cheeks with gigante beans and fennel shavings was pretty damn good too.


We loved the moist hazelnut cake with nutella “kiss,” hazelnut “cloud,” vanilla pudding and tangerine sorbet. The chocolate mousse with white chocolate shavings was more run-of-the-mill—no stand-out dessert was this; what we should've done was order Luce's third DAT entree (a beef tenderloin) instead. Oh well, there's always next time.

Fine Hotel Dining at Vitrine

Vitrine did Dine About Town really, really well. No cutting corners, no skimping. Just super awesome food beautifully presented. I hadn't actually heard of this downtown resto found in the St. Regis Hotel, but work pal VB gave it such high marks that I made lunch rezzies for a group of us on that day.


Vitrine's amuse bouche comprised a medley of tart olives and house-cured charcuterie.


The Maine lobster bisque flavored with lemongrass and topped with a celeriac foam tasted like liquid lobster; it was so fresh and delicious.


I got the peppery arugula salad piled on top of 2 yummy disks of organic rabbit porchetta, accompanied by generous shavings of Parmesan cheese and a really lovely dollop of satsuma mandarin marmalade.


And I ate every bit of the uber-moist, roasted Chilean sea bass, which came with sweet pearl onions and leeks bathed in a sherry vinegar and “vitello tonato” jus.


VB ever-so-graciously gave me a taste of her perfectly done walnut-crusted squab breast, savory cabbage compote and crispy potato galette.


Loved the apple tart with lavender honey ice cream and salted caramel sauce.


And the tiramisu was also mighty fine.

Starbelly So Good

The very preggy Mrs. H and I snapped up the last of the handful of bar seats at hotter-than-hot newcomer Starbelly. A good thing too as the crowds started filling the foyer and the sidewalk beyond while we noshed on the some really tasty crab hush puppies; grilled sardines with lotsa lemon, chives and capers; and my fave: Sonoma lamb chops grilled medium rare with a dollop of quince chutney accompanied by a generous scoop of cheddar grits and a tangle of braised greens.




Mrs H's sea bass (not pictured) was fried to a deep, deep crisp—unfortunately not what my gal pal was hoping for. She'd have much prefered a lighter hand with the oil. Oh well, the oh-so-tasty chocolate ice cream banana split sundae with peanut butter cookie helped make up for it.

In Search of (the Best) Soup Dumplings

I was told by those in the know that Shanghai Dumpling King in the outer Rich puts out the best soup dumplings in the city. So, while the husband was away, JG came out to play ... we decided to give it a go one blustery night.

The verdict? "Meh" from the both of us.

I gotta say, I think King of Noodles' soup dumplings are better, and so are Yank Sing's (see below). (JG agrees with me on the former as he's had them with me—the broth is more flavorful and the meat filling is juicier.)


But oh well, the visit was still worthwhile. We really liked the spicy pork and chive dumplings. The wrappers were tender, the meat super tasty.


I also liked the flaky, crispy green onion pancakes. JG? Not so much.