Restaurant Reviews – Page 14

Tahoe Galbi

July 17, 2011July 17, 2011

Let’s be honest: The Bay Area has nothing on Los Angeles when it comes to Korean food. San Francisco’s Koreatown dwarfs in size to LA’s, and while there are pockets of mouthwatering Korean restaurants in the South Bay and Oakland, Los Angeles simply has more. So it was with great anticipation that I visited Tahoe Galbi, located in Los Angeles’ Koreatown with a group of colleagues.

Tahoe Galbi bills itself as an all-you-can-eat barbeque restaurant, which, if you’re familiar with Korean barbecue, can be a very dangerous thing for your waistline. Sure, Korean food is healthy, but endless plates of meat? My stomach says yes, but my pants say no.

We nibbled on small plates of banchan while we waited for our first plate of meat to arrive. I went for the fish cakes and pickled cucumbers, my favorites.

Our plate of thinly-sliced rib eye soon arrived, and we grilled at the table, dipping into our bowls of chili bean paste to season the meat. A bite of rice here, a mouthful of steak there, and I was in heaven.

While we mostly ordered red meat, we opted for a plate of shrimp and baby octopus as well, which were very good. The shrimp in shell were messy but just perfect dipped in tiny plates of sesame oil and salt.

We shared a couple more plates of steak before moving on to pork belly, which was a first for me. I tried a bite and was surprised by the super rich flavor, which paired well with vinegary, spicy kimchi. My favorite, however, was the tender, marinated bulgogi beef.

Tahoe Galbi gets very busy, so service is accommodated by a buzzer at each table to signal for a waiter each time one wants to order something new. Want some more banchan? Buzz. Another plate of ribs, perhaps? Buzz.

I left Tahoe Galbi wishing we had an all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue restaurant in the Bay Area. Although I’m not sure how much self-control I could exercise living so close to one, so maybe it’s a blessing in disguise. It’s a good thing Los Angeles isn’t too far away.

Ippuku

June 23, 2011June 23, 2011

Forget food trucks. The Bay Area’s latest food trend is the izakaya – they’re opening up so quickly that I can hardly keep track anymore. Not that I’m complaining. I ate at a few izakayas during my trip to Japan a couple years ago, but it wasn’t until last fall when food writer Michael Bauer wrote a review on Berkeley’s Ippuku, that Bay Area izakayas began to get on my radar.

Located just a few steps from the Downtown Berkeley BART station, Ippuku is less than a year old and prides itself on a waste-not-want-not ethos when it comes to ingredients, and a shochu menu unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I met my cousins there one evening for dinner, and was immediately impressed with the inviting atmosphere the proprietors have created amid the concrete walls and intimate booths.

We started with a flight of shochu while we checked out the offal-friendly and chicken-centric menu. It must have been a busy night, because Ippuku was out of every single offal-based item on the menu that we were interested in. Hearts, gizzards, necks, tongues, everything. Apparently you have to show up early to get the good stuff. Our very friendly and informed waiter made some alternative suggestions for us, and we started with the chicken gyoza.

Relegated to the frozen food aisle, gyoza have gained a bad wrap (pun unintended). But these were among the best I’ve ever had, and the dough was especially smooth and well, perfect.

Next, we had the grilled mountain yam, which can be hard to find. I’d never tried mountain yam before, and it was light and crunchy, but not very flavorful. I thought of this dish as a palate cleanser.

The chicken wing yakitori came next, which was my favorite of the chicken dishes we shared that evening. Wings are one of my favorite cuts of chicken, and the dark, flavorful meat was so satisfying.

We tried the nori-wrapped grilled mochi next. The mochi itself was flavored very sparingly, so the nori was where it was really at. I would have liked more seasoning on the mochi itself (shoyu perhaps?) but the chewy, sticky texture was fun.

Then came the chicken thigh yakitori wrapped in chicken skin. This tasted pretty similar to the wings, but I appreciated the creative twist on making sure to use every bit of chicken.

Our favorite savory dish of the meal was the raw duck on a bed of miso and green onions. Maybe it was the beautiful presentation, or maybe it was the interactiveness of mixing the raw duck at the table to make sure the coals didn’t burn the meat, but honestly I think it had to do more with the taste. The salty sauce was incredible, and I love duck, so this dish was a winner.

We ended our meal with a bowl of ume ice cream, which was perhaps the most surprising dish of all. I love pickled and sour foods like ume, but the vanilla ice cream and pickled plum combination was a little too sweet and a little too vinegared at the same time for my taste. I love the idea though.

I’ve been meaning to return to Ippuku since they were out of most of the dishes I was meaning to try, but even with that disappointment, their menu and service was solid. Next time, though, I’ll make sure to arrive extra early.

Imperial Tea Court

May 9, 2011May 9, 2011

The problem with the Ferry Building in San Francisco is that there’s tons of competition. With so much to choose from, I get distracted by all the options, always making a mental note to try out a restaurant but never getting around to it. I’d often walked past Imperial Tea Court while visiting the building, and during my last visit, I finally dropped in with a friend for a quick bite to eat.

I’d visited Imperial Tea Court’s Berkeley outpost a couple of years ago, so I was excited to try the San Francisco location. Imperial Tea Court is a tea house first and foremost, but it also boasts a great menu if you’re hungry. Once we were seated, we ordered a pot of sencha tea. Sencha is more delicate than most green teas, and we enjoyed its grassy, fresh flavor while we perused the menu.

It was chilly outside, so we ordered a big bowl of spicy hand-pulled noodles with beef, and a side of vegetable spring rolls. The dish wasn’t quite as spicy as I’d expected, but oh man, was it delicious. The noodles had a perfect bite to them, the broth was hearty, and the beef was richly browned and fall-off-the-bone tender. The spring rolls were a delicious side: crispy on the outside, piping hot on the inside, and full of freshly julienned vegetables.

Now, a word about Imperial Tea Court’s service. Maybe they were having a bad day, or maybe they were short-staffed – I’m not sure. But from start to finish, our service was cold and curt, and we kept feeling as if our waiter was annoyed at us for, I don’t know, dining at the tea house.

I want to give Imperial Tea Court the benefit of the doubt, though, so I won’t write off the tea house based off of this one experience. Besides, those noodles are really out of this world, and I know I’ll want to go back for more.

Boccalone

May 1, 2011

You might not know this, but mortadella is very much an Iranian food. Sure, it may have originated in Italy, but for me and countless other kids in the Iranian diaspora, we grew up eating garlic and pistachio-flecked mortadella, wrapped up in lavash and enjoyed with a side of pickled Persian cucumbers.

It’s this childhood nostalgia that compels me to seek out new variations of mortadella wherever I can find it, and Boccalone in San Francisco’s Ferry Building is doing amazing things with it. (Not to mention a whole cornucopia of other high-quality cured meats.) Run by Chris Cosentino of Incanto fame, one of my favorite things to do is to buy a sandwich at Boccalone and enjoy it in front of the pier. (The shop does not have a seating area.)

During my last visit, Boccalone was carrying their seasonal truffled mortadella, so I shared a sandwich with a friend. Stuffed with provolone, lettuce, tomatoes and mortadella and encased in a crispy baguette, the sandwich was perfect except for one thing: too much mustard. I mean, it was terrific, whole-grain mustard, but whoa. The mustard was so strong that I couldn’t taste the truffles.

Despite the overzealous mustard incident, Boccalone is still one of my favorite sandwich shops and I’ll be back the next time I’m at the Ferry Building. Their menu is always changing so I know I’ll be in for a surprise. Just go easy on the mustard, thanks.

Comstock Saloon

April 17, 2011April 17, 2011

Ever since it opened last year, Comstock Saloon in North Beach has become one of my favorite after-work hangouts. As its name implies, the vibe is saloon-like, down to the live piano on the mezzanine and the old-school cocktails (think Manhattans and Sazeracs). And to be honest, I rarely visit a bar with the quality of food in mind, but Comstock’s dishes are just as good as their drinks.

During one of my last visits, I ordered a hop toad cocktail, made of Jamaican rum, apricot brandy, lime and bitters. Strong and oh-so-slightly sweet and tart, it was a good accompaniment to the plate of fried potatoes I shared with a friend. Served with cheese curds and gravy, I imagine these amazing potatoes are a tribute to poutine, the classic Quebecois dish that I wish would take hold in California already.

That’s what makes Comstock so great. They have terrific all-day fare, with an emphasis on hearty, traditional cuisine. Naturally, a place with solid drinks and food, and in a convenient neighborhood to boot, gets busy, even on weeknights. If you’re coming with a large group, it’s best to make reservations ahead of time. But even with a crowd, the service at Comstock is consistently friendly yet professional.

They may have been open for less than a year, but Comstock seems to have it all.