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.

Favorite Dishes

So I haven't been able to faithfully document my eating experiences for the past couple of weeks because my mom stole my camera AND whenever the server finally brings my food, I pounce on it before I can remember to take a picture. In any case, I thought I would highlight some of my favorite dishes in the city.

1) Fresh Maine Lobster Spaghetti with Lobster Cream at Bix (www.bixrestaurant.com)
2) Mushroom Rice with Grilled Prawns at The House (www.thehse.com)
3) Grilled Sea Bass with Garlic Ginger Soy at The House
4) Wild Mushroom Pizza with Fontina and Thyme at LuLu (www.restaurantlulu.com)
5) San Daniele Prosciutto, Italian Provolone and Dressed Arugula Panini at Tartine Bakery (www.tartinebakery.com)
6) Carne Asada Taco at La Taqueria at Mission btw 24th and 25th
7) "Holy Trinity" at Great China Restaurant. Peking Duck, Double Skin Noodles and Crab w/ Egg White and Steamed Bun Dish (never seen this one at another restaurant before). Please see below for pics. This is actually in Downtown Berkeley. (www.greatchinaberkeley.com)

Frisee

http://www.friseerestaurant.com/

Saturday night, I tried Frisee in the Castro with Celeste and Claire. After much debate, we ordered 4 appetizers and 2 main courses to share. Yes, I know we are piggies.

Kicked off the meal with the Dungeness Crabcakes. They came on a bed of petite frisee lightly dressed with balsamic, crispy lardons (like bacon, but more snobbish) and a creamy, spicy lemon paprika aioli. Allegedly, there was some fruit compote as well, but I definitely could not taste it. They were more like balls, rather than "cakes", but had a nice crab-to-filler (flour, breadcrumbs, etc.) ratio. They were about 5 seconds overfried. Pretty tasty as most crab-filled croquettes can be, but by no means mindblowing.

Squash Blossoms came next. Definitely the highlight of the meal! Fried to perfection and not oily at all. Inside was a delightful mixture of [portobello?] mushroom puree with a touch of cream. The crispy squash blossom was beautifully complemented by the smooth earthiness of the mushroom mixture.

Heirloom Tomato Caprese. Organic mixed tomatoes were super sweet and ripe. The mozzarella cheese was creamy, fresh, and had great texture, with the perfect amount of springiness. Accompanied by organic basil, aged balsamic and EVOO. Very yummy!

Tartare (see pic above, stolen from Yelp since I don't have a camera right now). Per the menu: sesame drizzled ahi, salmon, sweet corn, citrus onion, simple guacamole, potato crisps, sea salt. Sounds great in concept, but pretty uneventful in execution. Enough said.

On to the entrees... we ordered the Filet burger which was pretty damn good. Came with homemade tomato relish and the standard fixins: butter lettuce, red onion, cheddar cheese, etc.
It's pretty hard to mess up a burger at a nice restaurant since they use such high quality beef, so can't give them too much props for this one.

The Chutney Stuffed Pork Loin was decent. I am usually disappointed by Western renditions of pork. There really is no contest compared to Asian preparations, like Korean bulgogi, slow-cooked fatty pork Canto-style, roasted pork or straight up ground pork as an enhancer to tofu or fried green beans.

Anyway, back to the Pork Loin. Overcooked (no surprise) but still tasted good when you smothered it with the tangy, bright, cherry apricot chutney. The accompanying polenta was disgusting. Had no flavor (not even salt) and had clearly been re-heated as it was pretty cool in the middle. The fried onion strings on top were tasty and so was the bed of summer succotash it came on.

Unfortunately, we had no room for dessert, so perhaps next time. All in all, an enjoyable eating experience. The tab came to just $35 a person (including tip) so taking value into consideration, definitely a solid B+.