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Archive for the ‘San Francisco’ Category

Incanto, aka pork belly HEAVEN

Posted in Eating Out, San Francisco, tagged , , , , on October 17, 2011| Leave a Comment »

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Incanto…what can be said about this place that hasn’t been said before.  The hubs has been dying to try this place since he first saw it on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations San Francisco episode.  Bourdain can recommend cold mushy peas and the hubs would want to try it, so you can imagine what salted pig parts does to the man!  To say that we were excited to finally try out this place is an understatement.

All in all the experience and the food was excellent.  The restaurant itself is warm and inviting, albeit a little boisterous.  We were actually seated in the Dante Room which is a small private dining room usually reserved for group dining, so it was a lot more intimate than the main dining room.  As per usual, we were given a basket of bread to start, which also came with an olive tapenade spread! I am really loving the spreads these farm fresh restaurants give as an alternative to butter!

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For appetizers, we ordered the Boccalone Salumi Platter, which comes in three sizes, piglet, sow, and boar.  We went with the piglet, but only because we decided to share a pasta dish as an appetizer too and it proved to be just the right size.  We selected the Handkerchief Pasta & Rustic Pork Ragu.  Both dishes were delicious and a particular highlight was the roasted garlic bulb on the salumi platter.  I looove garlic so it was a great complement to the cured meats.  For our entrees, I ordered the Pork Belly dish while the hubs tried the Goat dish.  I didn’t try the goat but the hubs seemed to enjoy it.  As for the pork belly, well, let’s just say it was THE BEST PIECE OF PORK I have ever tasted! And I don’t say that lightly.  It literally just melted in my mouth.  The hubs even had the nerve to pull the “hey, what’s that” move and steal a piece off my plate!  Needless to say, I will definitely be coming back again!

Again, rather than try their desserts, which I’m sure would’ve been just as delicious as their entrees, we opted for a stroll and ice cream again.  Since we were near the Bernal Heights area, we walked a few blocks over to Mitchell’s Ice Cream.  Mitchell’s is just as popular and tasty as Bi-Rite Creamery but offers very different flavors.  While Bi-Rite tends to be more gourmet-y (yes that’s a word), with flavors like salted caramel and honey lavender, Mitchell’s flavors are hawaiian-esque or asian-y, with tropical flavors like halo halo, ube, and ginger.  Between the two of us, we tried the ube, white pistachio, mango, grasshopper pie, and black walnut O.O!  So, yeah, they were all good 😀

Incanto

1550 Church Street, between 28th and Duncan St.

Mitchell’s Ice Cream

688 San Jose Avenue, between Valley & 29th St.

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Firefly and Pasta Gina

Posted in Eating Out, San Francisco, tagged , , , , , on October 9, 2011| Leave a Comment »

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Last Friday night eats was at a Firefly, a quaint neighborhood restaurant that’s tucked away in a residential area of Noe Valley.  Upon entering you get the sense that the place is mostly frequented by locals.  The atmosphere was lively without being noisy and felt very warm and inviting.

After ordering, they brought out a loaf of bread that was complimented with a carrot and bean spread.  It was so delicious I very nearly licked all of it off the knife, until the hubs gave me his please don’t embarrass me look.  We ordered the Dueling Kona Kampachi, as an appetizer, which is a white fish prepared two ways, grilled and tartare.  The grilled version had a sweet buttery taste but the tartare was light and refreshing.  The hubs had the Seared Scallops entree, which he ordered after seeing so many other diners ordering it as well.  I’m not a big fan of scallops but these were a-mazing.  So good that next time I want to order my own plate and have each and every one of them to myself.  Ever see the Friends episode where Joey gets upset that his date tried his food?  Yeah, well, that’s how I’d feel about these scallops!

I ordered the Roasted Duck Breast, which was very flavorful, especially when paired with the figs.  The hubs and I opted to skip dessert in hopes of finding something else and I’m so glad we did!  Just down the street from Firefly, we stumbled upon Pasta Gina, an Italian deli/specialty market.  We walked in unsure of whether they even had any desserts and almost walked straight out of there since all we saw were savory items, until I saw a sign for fresh cannoli.  Being from NYC, the hubs and I have missed all the wonderful italian pastry shops and being able to grab a good cannoli whenever we wanted.  Well, let me tell you, this did not disappoint! It was better than a lot of cannoli’s we’ve had in NY.  Even at a whopping $6 a piece, I highly recommend trying the cannolis here.  They were filled to order so that the shell stayed fresh and crunchy.  The filling was just the right amount of sweetness with chocolate chips sprinkled throughout.

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If you’re looking for a neighborhood-y restaurant with delicious food, attentive staff, and an unpretentious atmosphere without having to make a reservation weeks in advance, I’d recommend Firefly.  And if you ever need a lovely take-out option, I’d suggest giving Pasta Gina a try.  With a selection of pasta, cheese, wine, and dessert, you can pick up a whole meal for a romantic night in ;).

Firefly

4288 24th Street, between Diamond & Douglass St.

Pasta Gina

741 Diamond Street, between 24th & Elizabeth St.

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Dosa, indian food date night

Posted in Eating Out, San Francisco, tagged , , , , , on October 4, 2011| Leave a Comment »

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After our wonderful evening at L’Ardoise, we (and by we, I mean me) declared Friday night our official Friday night date night.  But really it should be called our Friday night eat night since it’s really an excuse for us to eat out after a whole week of home cooking.

One of the things that the hubs and I love to do is eat.  We appreciate all kinds of foods and are always looking up new restaurants or cuisines to try, whether it be a michelin-starred or a hole-in-the-wall restaurant.  And since we’re new to the city, what better way to get to know it than to try a new restaurant every week?  It will also give us a chance to venture out into different neighborhoods and experience the diversity that makes San Francisco special.

Despite living in the city for approx. 2 months, the hubs and I had still yet to explore neighborhoods that are more than 2 miles away from us! I had heard great things about Dosa and when I saw that it was located in the Fillmore area of Pacific Heights, I thought it would make a good date night restaurant.  Dosa’s Paper Masala Dosa was listed in the 7×7 100 things to try in SF before you die and of course I was keen to try it.  If you guys haven’t heard of the list before, you should definitely check it out! I’ve only tried about 10 dishes from that list, but so far every one of them have been mouthwatering good.  Anyway, back to Dosa.  The hubs partook in their seasonal 3 course tasting menu for $35.  He selected the Grilled Calamari, the Paneer and Peas Dosa, and the South Indian Lamb Kofta, all of which were tasty.  I of course tried the Paper Masala Dosa and loved it.  It also helped that the dosa was about 2 feet long!

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Look at that thing! I’m so glad the waitress warned me since I was about to order 2 dishes!  I’ve had dosas before but they were usually too light and airy, but this one had a wonderful denser texture, it reminded me of my mom’s thin chinese style pancakes…drool. It came with several dips that were very flavorful and complemented the dosa very well.  All in all I would highly recommend Dosa for a date night.  It is a larger restaurant and a bit noisy so I wouldn’t recommend it for an intimate or romantic evening, but the ambiance and bar scene is very hip/cool.  Also the drinks menu was quite extensive and I liked that they had interesting cocktails.

We strolled along Fillmore afterwards looking for dessert and ended up at Fraiche Yogurt.  I’m a big fan of Pinkberry and Yogurtland so I was super bummed to find out that there aren’t any in San Francisco :(, but Fraiche will definitely be a good substitute.  Similar to Pinkberry, there’s limited flavors but the flavors they do have are tends towards tart, which I love.  But what really made Fraiche outstanding was their homemade mochi topping.  I’m telling you, I can never go back to regular mochi now that I know what the fresh, homemade ones taste like!

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Truly a successful food night! I will definitely be heading back to Fillmore Street again, but maybe during the daytime.  It’s lively, full of boutiques and restaurants, and I can’t think of a better way to end a shopping trip than a stop at Fraiche.

What: Pacific Heights Neighborhood

Where: Fillmore St. between Post & Clay St.

Activity: Shopping, Eating, Drinking

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L’Ardoise, a little bit of Paris in SF

Posted in Eating Out, San Francisco, tagged , , , on September 25, 2011| Leave a Comment »

L'Ardoise

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Last Friday the hubs and I went out to dinner to celebrate my first full week of work and my first paycheck!  It was difficult narrowing down a restaurant since San Francisco has an abundance of great food, but I had heard of a charming neighborhood French restaurant that was near my place.  A quick check on Yelp and a look at their menu and 2 seconds later I was making a reservation at L’Ardoise.  And let me tell you, it lived up to and exceeded my expectations!

L’Ardoise is the kind of intimate neighborhood bistro I’d expect to find in Paris.  It’s a quaint restaurant located in a lovely residential area.  Upon entering we were greeted by a host with a French accent, assuring the hubs and I of the authenticity of the restaurant (ha!).  The restaurant was dimly lit with a soft glow made by candles and table lamps.  There were baskets of baguettes hanging around and the specials were written on a chalkboard.  It was really the perfect setting for a nice and relaxing evening of good food and good conversation.

Unfortunately I’m terrible at taking pictures of my food since I always end up devouring half of it before I remember to whip out my camera, so you’ll have to believe me when I say that the food was delicious!  We ordered the charcuterie plate as an appetizer, which consisted of a variety of salami and pates.  The hubs had the filet mignon for his entree, which he claimed was really good, and that’s saying alot coming from a Korean man who grew up in Argentina (that man knows his meats!).  But what was truly outstanding from his dish was the pommes landaises, which are lightly fried potato slices.  They were so good that I couldn’t stop taking them from his plate!  I ended up with the cog au vin, which was delicious, albeit slightly dry.  I wish we had tried the desserts but we decided early on that  it’d be nice to walk around the neighborhood to digest and then go for some ice cream at Bi-Rite Creamery.

As someone who loves all things French, this restaurant truly brought me back to when I was vacationing in Paris.  In fact, during our walk after dinner, the hubs and I talked about traveling to Paris as our next vacation to try all the great food we couldn’t afford and didn’t know about when we were last there 7 years ago.  I think what truly made our evening so great was that for the first time since we moved out West, we just enjoyed going out and not having to worry about our finances.  We were free to dream and plan our future.  And isn’t that what being in Paris is all about?

Wow, I wasn’t anticipating that this be such a long post! Anyway, I know that San Francisco is chock full of French restaurants, but if you’re looking for the one that will transport you to Paris, definitely try L’Ardoise!

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Lands End

Posted in Dog Friendly, Hansel, Hiking, San Francisco, tagged , , , on September 18, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Oh my gosh…My first official post! Can you tell I’m excited?!?

So I’ve been living in San Francisco for just a little over a month now, and even though I’ve been warned by many people that the summer here can be chilly, I was still surprised to find most days overcast and cold.  So when the fog manages to dissipate early morning and the sun is out and the weather is warm, I feel like I have to make the most of it and spend as much time outdoors as possible.  One of my favorite trails to go on when the day is beautiful is the Lands End Trail.  It’s a great scenic trail that’s conveniently located right in San Francisco.  I love it because it’s not too strenuous, there’s parking (a rarity in the city!), and on a clear day, offers amazing views of the Golden Gate Bridge.  Also, it’s one of the few places the hubs and I let Hansel off leash for the entire walk, which makes him immensely happy!

The trail starts off at the Sutro Baths ruins, which at one time was a privately owned swimming complex comprised of 7 pools built into the side of the cliff that overlooked the Pacific Ocean.  Unfortunately a fire destroyed the baths and all that’s left are some concrete walls.  It’s still a cool site though and I like to imagine what it must have been like back in the day in all it’s glory.

Image via Wikipedia 

The trail follows the curve of the cliffs and offers beautiful views of the Marin Headlands and the Golden Gate Bridge, as well as beautiful wildflowers all along the trail.  Aside from a small stretch of steps that always gets my heart racing, the trail is mostly flat and enjoyable.

After about 1.5 miles, you’ll end up in the Sea Cliff neighborhood with signs pointing to various beaches and the Legion of Honor museum.  If you’re not too tired and especially if it’s a warm day, I highly recommend going to Baker Beach, which is only about another half a mile and passes through some of the most beautiful houses in San Francisco.

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Sigh, I could easily spend a few hours there either reading or doggy watching.  Including the beach time, you could easily spend half a day here! Although I’ve never been there myself, I’d love to try the Sunday Champagne Brunch at the Cliff House one day.  It’s located at the beginning of the trail and would be the perfect prelude to the hike, or treat if you’re an early riser 😉  Champagne, poached salmon, desserts, hiking, beach…Doesn’t it just sound like the perfect weekend?

What: Lands End Trail

Where: Point Lobos Avenue at 48th Avenue, San Francisco

Activity: Hiking (~3 – 4 miles round-trip; Easy to Moderate)

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