October 5, 2011 Off

Spork (San Francisco: Mission)

//// By in 04: SF+Bay Area

I had a fun dinner with friends from LA at a cute, hip American bistro called Spork at Mission. Their menu is small and simple, featuring gourmet take on comfort food. True to their name, they have spork (spoon + fork) on the table.

SporkSpork

Very yummy bread!

Spork

Calamari and Cauliflower United , with mint and lemon aioli dressing. This is amazing, the calamari are light and soft. The baked smokey flavors contrast well with the touch of citrus taste.

Spork

In-side-Out Burger a fork and knife burger with two beef patties, caramelized onions, tillamook cheddar, lettuce, tomato, house dressing. Tasty and the patties are so flavorful. Doubling the patties is

Spork

Steak Stroganoff $22. Very good too. The steak are juicy and flavorful and the sauce is very yummy. They know how to cook their beef really well.

SporkSpork

Alaskan halibut, fresh corn polenta, torn basil, pea shoot. Well cooked and perfectly dressed fish.  Mussels and Pork with a spork. roasted pork, belgian beer, lemon scented green beans, pimenton aioli. This is where they failed to impress me for the first time. The sauce was very salty yet the roasted pork was rather dry and bland tasting.

Spork

Brownie. Melty, gooey and awesome.

Spork

Complimentary mini burgers (sweet) for our table at the end of the meal.

I was impressed with almost every dish (except the mussels), and I love its casual, fun, quirky vibe. It’s classic comfort food cooked with fresh and sustainable produce – nothing fancy nor sophisticated but they do make you happy. As with almost every restaurant in Mission, reservation is needed.

Spork
1058 Valencia Street. San Francisco, CA 94110-2427

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September 22, 2011 Off

Ken Ken Ramen (San Francisco: Mission)

//// By in 04: SF+Bay Area, Favorite Food Entries

Pop-Up restaurant is all the rage in SF thanks to the success of Mission Street Food (it has became a permanent restaurant). These pop-ups are usually held in abandoned building in the gritty area of Mission. I was introduced to another pop-up called Ken Ken Ramen, from the owner of the Lower Haight/Mission clothing store Revolver (you’d see him arriving on a bicycle sometimes). The story behind this ramen joint involves a Tampopo-sque quest for ‘how-to-make-the-best-ramen.’

Ken Ken ramen

It operates on Thursday and Sunday night on the corner of Mission and 18th for now.

Ken Ken ramen

The Gyoza is beautiful. However it looks better than it tastes, I found the stuffing is a bit mushy for my preference.

Ken Ken ramen

Karage. Light and tender, very good!

Ken Ken ramen

The $11 miso flavored Ramen. Wow the broth is rich and dense with pork bone flavored. The slow cooked egg is perfectly runny, the vegetables are fresh and the pork is incredibly tender, flavored and juicy. You can tell this is a bowl of ramen made with high quality ingredients and lots of love. The noodle has just the right texture. I didn’t feel sick afterward like some overtly oily and salty ramen does. I got pretty addicted to it and went back 3 times already. I heard that it used to cost $13 a bowl, but since people complain too much they lowered the price a little bit.

Ken Ken ramen

Not on the regular menu: Coffee Jelly made from SF’s local popular Ritual Coffee. A perfect palete cleanser to the wonderful ramen.

It’s a fun place to be with a decent selection of beers and wine. Pop-up always have unpredictability: will they be able to keep up the quality?

Ken Ken Ramen
twitter.com/KenKenRamen
2199 Mission St (between Sycamore St 18th St), San Francisco, CA 94110

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September 22, 2011 Off

Mitchell’s Icecream (San Francisco: Noe Valley)

//// By in 04: SF+Bay Area

I rent a place in Noe Valley, a neighborhood known for strollers. Turns out this quiet family oriented neighborhood has quite a few hot destinations. One such destination spot is Mitchell’s Ice cream. There is always an insanely long line outside, even in cold foggy weather. The long queue stayed until closing time at 10:30pm. Thanks to this place, I always feel safe walking at night.

Upon entering the place, you have to grab a number near the entry way and wait for your number to be called. My friends and I waited for 20 minutes at 10pm one night. They sell their ice cream in boxes to-go too (at other retail store) yet most people prefer waiting in line to have their ice cream served on the spot. You can choose a pretzel cone as well.

Mitchell's icecream

What’s special about this place is their exotic tropical flavors made from fruits import from the Philippines: avocado, buko (baby coconut), guava,
langka (jackfruit), macapuno (sweet coconut), mango, pineapple and ube (purple yam).

I got the Buko (baby coconut) and Ube (purple yam). Wow it’s indeed very good. Their ice cream is thick and milky. There’re fresh and refreshing bits of coconut in Buko, and the Ube taste amazing (especially for those who likes the chestnut/taro-ish flavors).

Other than Mitchell’s, SF has a few others equally popular ice cream joints in the city (will report them later) and I have to say this place is my favorite of them all. I’m amazed that such a windy, cold, foggy city like SF can sustain all these popular ice cream joints. It really shows how supportive people here are for their community.

Mitchell’s Icecream
688 San Jose Ave. San Francisco, CA 94110

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September 20, 2011 Off

Maki Restaurant (SF: Japantown)

//// By in 04: SF+Bay Area

Maki Restaurant is a neat, small space inside the Japantown mall that specialized in homemade udon and soba. My friend sum this place up as ‘the $20 bowl of Udon’ place.

Maki

Maki

Maki

The food are prepared and presented delicately, the sets are beautiful (and the price is $$ range). The udon are thinner than the usual and I really like it.  But given the type of menu and ‘casual’ seatings, it’s not really affordable for a daily drop in type of dining. However it is a place to go to  if you want to treat yourself for some basic but fine Japanese noodle sets.

(updated on 2012:   I heard that they’ve changed owner and it’s no longer the same, I have yet to confirm this myself).

Maki Restaurant
1825 Post St (between Fillmore St & Webster St)
San Francisco, CA 94115

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September 16, 2011 Off

Chantal Guillon (SF: Hayes Valley)

//// By in 04: SF+Bay Area

chantal Guillon
chantal Guillon
Photo
chantal Guillon

Really good Macaron at this pretty shop called Chantal Guillon at the high end neighborhood. The flavors taste natural and subtle and the textures are consistent.

Chantal Guillon (415) 864-2400
437A Hayes Street San Francisco, CA 94102

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