Category: Travel

Posted on October 23, 2011October 24, 2011

I’ve written about the Bay Area’s proliferation of izakayas before. It feels like nearly every month there’s a new izakaya in town — not that I’m complaining. San Francisco’s Chotto, which opened this summer, has been among the most buzz-worthy, and with good reason.

Excited at the prospect of grilled offal and fresh seafood, I had dinner at Chotto with a few friends one balmy evening. Located in the Marina District, Chotto’s cool, modern aesthetic betrays the neighborhood’s somewhat touristy vibe. (Sorry. It had to be said. Please don’t take offense, Marina dwellers.) Once we were seated, we pored over the eclectic menu.

The small plates are served family-style, and the wakamesu, or seaweed and cucumber salad came first. This was a good palate cleanser, and I loved the crisp texture of the purple seaweed, which I don’t usually see in wakamesu. (Does anyone know the name of this type of seaweed? Drop me a line.)

Next came the spicy tuna. I love tuna, but I’m not a big fan of the spicy tuna you usually see in maki sushi because it’s often the less palatable cuts minced up and blended with chili sauce to mask the texture and flavor. This, on the other hand, was one of my favorite dishes of the evening. Buttery, flavorful cuts of tuna were drizzled with a sweet, spicy sauce that didn’t overpower at all. We soon ordered a second plate.

Next came the uni, the most beautiful dish of the evening. Served atop shredded daikon radish and red bell peppers, this creamy uni tasted of the sea without being fishy. In other words, it tasted the way good uni should taste.

The applewood bacon mochi arrived next, and it was a hit. Chewy, plain mochi were wrapped in crisp, smoky bacon and briny nori seaweed. Bacon and seaweed don’t usually go together, but in this case, it worked wonders.

The gyutan, or Kobe beef tongue, arrived next, and it was one of my personal favorites. The tongue was tender, and the chili sauce was a perfect accompaniment to the strong flavors of the grilled beef.

Our next offal dish was the grilled chicken hearts, served with shichimi chili. Chicken hearts are one of my favorite types of offal: perfectly chewy, delicately flavored, and well, delicious. These were no exception.

We shared a few more dishes, but by this point I’d lost count. Suffice to say, Chotto is among my favorite izakayas in the Bay Area, and with friendly, helpful service to boot. Who knew one restaurant could so easily change my opinion of the Marina District?

Posted on October 5, 2011October 5, 2011

A few years ago, I lived in San Francisco’s Richmond District. I didn’t realize how good I had it at the time — you could hardly take ten steps in any direction without walking into a quality restaurant. My favorite dim sum restaurant was a five minute walk away, and after I moved, I searched fruitlessly for a replacement dim sum joint.

Enter City View. Located on the border of the Financial District and Chinatown, City View has become my new favorite dim sum restaurant — well, on this side of the city at least. I first visited for a work lunch, and I’ve been back many times since, most recently to introduce my great-aunt, who was visiting from Iran, to the joys of dim sum.

We started with the shrimp rice noodle rolls. These are usually stuffed with beef, but both variations were ethereal, velvety, and coated with just the right amount of savory sauce. Flecked with green onions and juicy shrimp, these are one of my favorite dim sum.

Next, we had the seafood-stuffed eggplant and tofu. Deep-fried and delicately stuffed with a shellfish puree, this was hearty. The eggplant was my favorite part: buttery without being oily.

We feasted on several more dim sum: shrimp dumplings, potstickers, siu mai, crisp-skinned duck with Mandarin pancakes and sesame balls, each delicious in their own way.

I’ve visited City View on weekdays and weekends alike and it’s nearly always busy. You’ll want to arrive before 1:00 pm so you have a good selection from the carts (City View closes at 2:30 pm).

And oh, my great-aunt? Suffice to say she’s now a fan too. It just goes to show you: good dim sum knows no boundaries.

Posted on October 3, 2011October 5, 2011

I tend to take fusion cuisine with a grain of salt. Too many wasabi-creme foams and deep-fried California rolls have made me apprehensive, but done right, fusion can be a beautiful thing. At the Embarcadero’s Ferry Building, Hapa Ramen does fusion right by serving up bowls of locally sourced and locally influenced noodles.

I stopped by the Ferry Building on a Thursday, and easily found the Hapa Ramen booth by the long line of hungry office workers. Intrigued by the fried chicken bowl, I ordered a bowl and sat outside to enjoy.

It may not be the prettiest thing to look at, but this was pure comfort food, California style. Instead of bamboo shoots and wakame seaweed, this ramen featured artichoke hearts and asparagus. The curious combination worked, and I happily munched on the juicy fried chicken before it had a chance to get lost in the broth. The noodles themselves were done right too: chewy and with the right amount of pull.

Hapa Ramen’s serving sizes are smaller than the standard ramen served in sit-down restaurants, but if you’re ordering at the Ferry Building, you’ll have plenty of snack and dessert options aftewards. Hapa Ramen sets up shop at the Ferry Building on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 2pm, and at Off the Grid at Fort Mason on Fridays from 5pm to 9pm.

Posted on August 14, 2011August 14, 2011

I rarely eat French food. It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just that, well, I don’t know what I’m doing when it comes to ordering off a French menu. The last time I tried, I wound up accidentally ordering sweetbreads deep-fried in butter. (Word to the wise: sweetbreads are not what they sound like.)

Thankfully, when I visited Cafe de la Presse in San Francisco’s Union Square, I went with my cousin, who was raised in Paris. I never would have known about this classic, rustic restaurant quietly tucked away from the bustle of the city were it not for her suggestion. Filled with vintage posters and foreign-language magazines, I could easily forget that I was on Grant Avenue and not in Le Marais.

We started with a salade aux petits lardons, which was topped with a wonderfully gooey egg that melded perfectly with the piquant Dijon vinaigrette and savory bacon. I have a French cookbook with this recipe that I’ve been ignoring for too long, and after sampling this salad, I’m determined to learn how to recreate it.

We also shared a tarte Provencale, topped with tomatoes, basil, Nicoise olives and a light smattering of cheese. The real highlight here was the crunchy, crispy flatbread: thin, but hearty enough to hold up against the toppings.

Service is friendly and timely at Cafe de la Presse, but in the interest of full disclosure, my cousin conversed with our waiter only in French, so I suppose that didn’t hurt. Still, Cafe de la Presse convinced me that it’s time I give French food another chance. And with a little corner of the 4th arrondisement in our own backyard, I no longer have an excuse.

Posted on August 7, 2011

I must have walked past House of Nanking dozens of times in the last year, but I never paid it much attention. Located on the border of San Francisco’s Chinatown and North Beach, this colorful, slightly wacky restaurant attracts its fair share of tourists, so I tended to eschew it. That is, until a friend suggested we try it out for lunch one day.

We began with the fried calamari, which was a welcome change from the greasy run-of-the-mill fried calamari dishes I’ve had so many times before. Lightly battered, velvety, and served with a light sauce that smacks of vinegar, I couldn’t stop nibbling these.

Our next dish was the Nanking sesame chicken, which is touted as one of their specialties. Served with paper-thin sliced and glazed sweet potatoes, this decadent entree was rich, savory and perfect alongside rice. My only complaint is that the sauce coating the fried chicken was a little too sweet for my taste, and yet it was entirely complimentary with the potatoes.

Service is brisk and borderline curt at House of Nanking, but that’s because it’s so perpetually busy. Be prepared to share your table with other diners, as there is often a line. Dishes are served family style and the menu is pricier than comparable Chinese eateries, and it’s also less authentic. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. If you’re looking for something a bit different without sacrificing flavor, then House of Nanking is your place.