Palio d'Asti Happy Hour

http://www.paliodasti.com/happyHour/index.html

Yesterday I went to Palio in FiDi with Trish for Happy Hour. She had told me about the HH special and I really had to go there myself to believe it. For every 2 drinks you order, you get a free pizza!

They have a nice selection of proprietary cocktails ranging from $7-$9 and a mix of Italian and California wines by the glass. She ordered and Elderflower Gimlet ($7) and I ordered a glass of California Cab ($13). We decided to go with the Pizza Siciliana (Berkshire Pork Fennel Sausage, Fire Roasted Peppers, Smoked Mozzarella, and Tomato Sauce). It was pretty tasty. I would never actually pay for this pizza (no where near worth $17), but can't really complain when its free!

farmer brown

www.farmerbrownsf.com

Second time at farmer brown and I ended up ordering the exact same thing I ordered the first time. I just couldn't say no to the sweet potato steak fries, the fried chicken and the BBQ spare ribs. Definitely no regrets, but perhaps next time, I might be convinced to try the Crispy Cornmeal Catfish. Anyway, here is the breakdown:

Sweet Potato Steak Fries - by far, the BEST sweet potato fries I have ever had! They are actual sweet potatoes (as opposed to yams, which is what most places use for "sweet potato [fries, pie, etc.]) and are fried to perfection. Not terribly oily, with just the right amount of kick from cayenne pepper. Served with this delicious, lightly spiced aioli (think I tasted some cumin).























BBQ Spare Ribs - So tender and scrumptious. The precious pieces of meat fell off the bone easily. The accompanying tangy, vinegarey slaw counterbalanced the bright red, super spicy BBQ sauce nicely.

Fried Chicken - MMmmm, would say this was my favorite, but I really can't pick a favorite dish here. I had the breast piece and even that wasn't dry or overcooked at all. The meat was juicy and steaming hot with flavor. The outside breading was crispy and held its own, but not overbearing. It came with tillamook cheddar mac and cheese (not too creamy, but very cheesy, my fav) and collard greens (very spicy but good. think it had a good amount of cayenne as well).

Bourbon Pecan Pie - The pecans were crunchy and crusted with sugary glaze. The filling was supple and intensely sweet. The crust was crispy and buttery, just as it should be. Paula Deen would have been proud.

Golden Gate Bakery Egg Custard Tarts

Yes, the crusts on these tarts are just as flaky as they look. Everytime I pass by Golden Gate Bakery, the line is at least half a block long. Known as a Chinatown/SF landmark, this place boasts the best egg custard tarts in the city and the hype is well deserved. The Custard is sweet, delicate, creamy and has a intense egg flavor. The Crust is incredibly buttery and flaky, almost falling apart in your hands. This is a must if you work in the city and the perfect afternoon pick-me-up.

Dosa

dosasf.com

This was my second time coming here and it was just as delicious as last time! However, I checked out the Fillmore location, since Jason was here and we wanted to make a reservation (the one in the Mission has a few available reservation spots but is mostly a walk-in restaurant).

We started off with this yummy, simple Roasted Beet Cumin soup. I had never had anything like this before and Jason and I both enjoyed it a great deal. The beet flavor really took center stage but had a hint of cream and light spices. It had a lovely, smooth texture and was finished off with some nicely stylized dollops of creme fraiche.

Next, we had the Chicken & Eggplant ‘Baingan Bharta’ - Organic boneless, Fulton Valley chicken, roasted & pureed eggplant, peas. Very spicy-hot and robust. The chicken was more tender than any chicken I have ever had prepared in a curry and fell off the bone. The coconut rice we chose to accompany it was perfect too.



















For those who don't know, a dosa is a South Indian crepe made from lentils and rice. I love them! They are paper thin and super crispy. For our dosa, we chose the Chutney Masala which was filled with potatoes, onions, cashews and allegedly, some eggplant spread. I say allegedly because the primary flavor of this dosa was potato and I couldn't taste any eggplant at all. Still it was very tasty and nicely spiced, but I probably will get a different one next time. I don't really want to pay $11 for a glorified potato.









Lastly, we had the Tomatoes and Onion Uttapam with green chiles. Uttapams are a slightly thicker, pancake-style Dosa. This was much tastier than the Chutney Masala Dosa. It has this great chewy texture but was still crispy on the edges because both sides were pan fried. Both the dosa and uttapam came with 3 "sauces". Fresh coconut chutney, tomato chutney and sambar. I am not sure what sambar is, but it looked like some kind of soup. It had all these vegetables in it and was very spicy and flavorful. I loved sopping everything we ate in it.

Since it is so affordable (relatively) AND delicious I will definitely be coming back here again, if not make it one of my regular dining spots.

Aziza

aziza-sf.com

Wow.

Aziza just entered my top 10 SF restaurants list (for this price range at least).

Came here last night with Jason and Lindsay. The food was rich, flavorful, spicy (not hot) and cooked with great care.

We started off with the spreads (pictured here) and spinach appetizers. The spreads came with nicely grilled pita triangles and 3 kinds of spreads - roasted eggplant, red piquillo pepper - almond, and cucumber-dill yogurt. All were delicious, especially the red piquillo pepper, which was very spicy, sweet and nutty. The spinach appetizer resembled the standard spanokopita with spinach, feta and pinenuts except it was a cylinder shape (kind of like an egg roll) and was fried instead of baked. I think it was ok, but I couldn't really stomach it because the feta was made out of sheep's milk and was incredibly gamey (most people would probably like this, but I don't do lamb, goat, goat cheese, or sheep cheese).

For my entree, I had the duck with hon shimeji mushroom and thyme-ras el hanout. It was SO amazing! The duck was juicy and most, cooked to a perfect medium rare. On top, it had a decent-sized layer of fat, seared to a medium-dark brown color. It almost had a foie gras flavor to it. Came with a sweet, reduction sauce (the thyme-ras el hanout?) and I could have sworn the mushrooms were chanterelles, but the menu said hon shimeji.

Jason had the beef with couscous, carrot-tomato stew and brown butter. I only tried a little bit of it because I was too entranced by my duck, but it was also fantastic. The beef was incredibly soft and tender, fully infused with spices and flavor. The rich, brown butter sauce was generously poured all over the top and the couscous was very well flavored. Only complaint was the portion size was too small, especially for a psycho eater like Jason!

Lindsay had the couscous with lamb stew, chicken and prawns (pictured below). Didn't try the lamb stew of course, but I did have a bite of the prawn which was cooked perfectly! It was sweet, with a lobster-like texture and had a nice grilled flavor.

I highly recommend this place. The decor inside is really nice and festive and has "romantic" lighting (which I actually don't like because I can't see my food, but other people seem to like that kind of ambiance.) It wasn't cheap, coming out to about $46 a person, including tip (no dessert, with belgian beer) and is pretty far out in the Richmond, but I think it's definitely worth it for a special occasion.

Tea Garden

I recently discovered a place for Beef Noodle in financial district! Overall, it is quite satisfying, especially on a cold SF day. Unfortunately, it is pretty expensive - over $7 for a bowl. Here is my verdict on the individual components:

Noodle: The noodle itself is very high quality and and has a fresh, slight egg-y flavor. Texture needs some work, as it is clearly overcooked. This is probably because everything is pre-cooked (according to a Yelp review I read: http://www.yelp.com/biz/tea-garden-san-francisco)

Beef and Beef Tendon: Pretty standard and yummy. Overabundance of tendon, for my taste, but some people like that. Decent sized portion as well.

Broth: Too much salt and MSG (not surprising). Some spiciness would really take it to the next level. I do like how light and non-oily it is.

Fixins: 3 Baby Bok Choys, and lots of freshly cut green onion.

This will likely become one of my bi-weekly lunch spots, especially when my fellow Beef Noodle enthusiast, Tommy, works so close. I have also heard good things about their Pork Chop Rice, which I may try next time...

Any of you bankers working late who want some comfort food should check it out! It closes at 10pm. Unfortunately, it's cash only.

Chapeau!

Tonight I went to Chapeau! with my parents. I first came here about 5 years ago when I was still in college. I remember being blown away by the traditional french style cuisine here. Everything was well executed and the prices were such a great deal! Definitely an A- in terms of a quality/value ratio.

This time, it was ok-to-good. I expect it might be because the owner/chef, Philippe Gardelle, is now cooking at his new restaurant, Clementine... or maybe I am just more picky than I used to be. Most of the dishes were just not that extraordinary.

My mom and I both started off our meal with the Mesclun Salad with Pistachios, Green Grapes and Fried Camembert. Came with two slices of Walnut Bread. This appetizer has been on the menu for ages and rightfully so. The dijonnaise dressing is creamy and packed with flavor, but a tad sweet for my taste. They also went a bit overboard on the dressing, as the leaves were almost soaked, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. The rich, creamy Camembert, bright, refreshing, Green Grapes and crispy, sweet Pistachios worked beautifully together. The Walnut Bread added a great earthiness as well.

My dad ordered the pan seared Foie Gras served with thinly sliced Apples, Brioche toast, and some type of caramel, anise-like syrup drizzled all around it. This was excellent. The outside was nicely pan fried and almost crisp, while the inside was supple and delicate. My only complaint is that it was too small!

Both of my parents had the pan seared Monkfish (usually black cod, but they ran out) with Fennel Salad, roasted Red Bell Pepper, and braised Fennel in some type of broth. Pretty lackluster. The fish was cooked well, not overdone in the slightest, but it just lacked flavor. Even some extra salt would have been appreciated here.

As my main course, I had the Salmon Trio appetizer. Inside was a yummy Salmon Tartare that I believe used the same dressing as the Mesclun Salad. On the outside were slices of smoked salmon that didn't seem particularly fresh. Salmon Roe eggs comprised the remaining third of the Trio. Around the dish, they sprinkled chopped pieces of hard boiled egg and fried capers. The fried capers, especially were a nice touch. It was decently good, but nothing special here.

Same can be said about the Warm Chocolate Cake. It had a molten, gooey, chocolate banana center and was served with Vanilla Ice Cream. Don't get me wrong - it was crazy delicious, but definitely nothing I haven't had before (except for the flambe bananas in the middle - that was a nice little way to mix it up). Not sure I will be coming back here anytime soon, but maybe I will try Clementine someday.