Category: Travel

Posted on September 22, 2012

Shanghai Dumpling King is probably the most well-known restaurant in San Francisco serving xiaolongbao, or Shanghai-style soup-filled dumplings. But the casual, no-frills Shanghai Dumpling King is deep in the Richmond District, so I’ve always stuck to restaurants in Chinatown serving these piping-hot morsels instead.

I finally took the plunge one evening with a couple of friends, and we endured the wait in the windy, cold fog. It was worth it once we were seated.

We started with the stir-fried pea shoots, a light and delicately-seasoned dish that brought out the ever-so-slightly sweet crunch of the veggies.

Next came the Shanghai fried noodles: thick, chewy noodles stir-fried with greens, meat and cabbage. These were more greasy than what I’m used to but otherwise tasty.

The spicy wontons were my favorite dish of the evening: fiery, juicy, full of flavor, and brimming inside with savory goodness. Mmm, wontons.

Lastly came the piece de resistance: the Shanghai soup dumplings. These were delicious. Filled with scalding broth and meat, I took care to dip my xiaolongbao in the accompanying black vinegar and ginger sauce without breaking the thin dumpling wrapper.

I’ll still probably frequent my favorite xialongbao restaurant in Chinatown, but now I know where to go when I find myself on other side of San Francisco. Between the two, I’ve got enough to hold me over until I actually make it to Shanghai proper.

Posted on September 15, 2012September 15, 2012

I don’t like pie. At least I don’t like most pie. I prefer savory over sweet, and most pies seem too sugar-laden to really taste the other ingredients.

At least that’s how I felt until I ate at Mission Pie. Fresh off of an epic taco crawl in the Mission District, I sat down with a couple of friends for a cup of coffee and a bite. (Because after three tacos, a cone of ice cream, a cob of elotes, and a watermelon agua fresca, we clearly weren’t yet sated.)

We tried their walnut pie, and Internet, I swear this is the best pie I’ve ever tasted. It’s nutty, it’s gooey, it’s sweet but not too sweet, and the crust is flaky and oh-so-buttery. Behold, the perfect pie. And what better to wash it down with than a strong cup of coffee?

The vibe at Mission Pie is warm (there’s sunlight in this hood!) and casual (big, beautiful wooden tables), with none of the hipster pretentiousness that’s permeated some other parts of the Mission (*cough* Valencia *cough*). I could sit here all day, and if it weren’t for all the tacos, I may have gone back for a second slice. Perhaps I love pie after all.

Posted on August 26, 2012

Food trucks have taken over the world. At least that’s what it feels like in downtown San Francisco. When a colleague first told me about Casey’s Pizza, I was intrigued, and not just because I love pizza (who doesn’t?). Casey’s Pizza features a brick oven in its truck, an impressive feat that makes all the difference for their old world-style and locally-sourced pizzas.

Casey’s Pizza changes its menu daily, and on the day I visited on California and Sansome, they featured margherita, kale, and Zoe’s pepperoni pies. I went for the pepperoni and was not disappointed. Salty pepperoni, aged mozzarella, and full flavored grana padano cheese topped the thin crust, which had achieved that perfect crispy-yet-chewy texture.

This pizza truck moves around daily, so check ahead of time to see where they’ll be at. Paired with a root beer, Casey’s Pizza makes for a terrific lunchtime meal in the (fickle) San Francisco sun.

Posted on August 13, 2012August 13, 2012

I’m a little picky when it comes to Iranian restaurants. As an Iranian-American, I grew up with home-cooked Persian food: fragrant basmati rice, herb-flecked stews, grilled kababs, and tons of fruits and vegetables.

There are a few noteworthy restaurants in the Bay Area, but I never had a favorite in San Francisco until Lavash opened up in the Sunset District a few years ago. I knew I was in the right neighborhood when I realized I could smell the smoky aroma of kababs on the grill more than a block away from the restaurant. I recently visited for dinner with my friends Rebecca and Laura, excited to introduce to them the often-overlooked (but delicious) world of Persian cuisine.

We started with an assortment of appetizers. First came the sabzi panir, which is a platter of fresh herbs, walnuts, cucumbers, feta cheese, and flatbread to roll into tiny, fresh bites. Next, we ordered kotlet, or ground beef, onion, and potato patties. These are one of my favorite picnic foods, but they served us just fine in a restaurant too. Lastly, we sampled the kashk-e bademjaan, a super garlicy eggplant dish similar to baba ghanoush. (For those curious to try it at home, I’ve posted my recipe here.)

No Iranian feast is complete without doogh, or yogurt soda, so we ordered a couple glasses. “Are you sure you want to order this? It’s an acquired taste,” said our friendly waitress to my friend Rebecca. Doogh is salty, minty, and popular throughout the Middle East and South Asia in various permutations. If you’ve never tried it, you must.

We each ordered a different kind of kabab as our entree, and I had the kabab barg. Barg is sliced beef fillet that’s been seasoned with saffron (and often marinated in lemon and yogurt, lending it a tender and piquant flavor). This came served with a bed of saffron-flecked rice and a grilled tomato. I felt like I’d been transported right back to my childhood.

For dessert, we split an order of makhloot, a decadent treat that’s half Persian ice cream (think rosewater, pistachio, and saffron) and half faloodeh, any icy rosewater-flavored thin rice noodle dish drizzled with lime juice. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Lavash is what I’ve been waiting for: a solid Iranian restaurant that’s centrally located and serves good quality fare. Home-cooked fare may still be at the top of my list, but Lavash is the next best thing.