Yogurtsoda

Posted on February 27, 2009February 27, 2009

Koryo is my first true love as far as Korean restaurants are concerned. While I’d been sampling Korean food all over the Bay Area for years before I finally found Koryo in Oakland, it was the first where I became a regular. Despite the somewhat sterile interior (the space was under construction the last time I visited), their bulgogi and stellar banchan won me over. After a few visits, I decided to branch out with what I order.

The last time I was there, I eschewed the grilled items in favor of hoe naengmyeon, a bowl of cold noodles with raw skate fish and chili pepper dressing.

It was refreshing and spicy, but after a few bites, I found myself wishing I’d ordered bulgogi. Maybe it was the skate – I love raw fish but wasn’t expecting to do so much chopstick maneuvering for so little meat on the bones. Maybe I had just gotten too used to having the bulgogi – the novelty of cooking your own food over a coal fire at your table while your cheeks turn red from the heat is so much fun, and the grilled beef remains my favorite dish at Koryo to date.

After several visits, Koryo is still among my top three favorite Korean restaurants. But the dishes are hit or miss, and depending on what you order, you may end up hooked or dissapointed.

Posted on February 23, 2009April 18, 2010

I know I reviewed Bar Cesar just over a month ago, but it’s worth mentioning again. A few months ago, I stopped by their Piedmont location with a friend to have dinner and sat at their patio on an uncharacteristically warm evening. This time around, we branched out from our favorite dishes and decided to try all new ones.

We started with fresh garbanzos with cumin. I love garbanzo beans (what Middle Easterner doesn’t?) but have never had them fresh in their pods. These were deliciously addictive and perfect with our Affligem blond ales.

Next, we tried the oven-dried tomatoes, lomo and green garlic aioli on grilled bread. These were good, but not my favorite of the meal by any means. I felt like they could have used more flavor.

We always try a cured meat when we visit Bar Cesar, and this time we tried the cecina, or air-dried beef. This was tasty and almost pastrami-like in texture, but sturdier. I prefer the fuet that I’d tried so long ago but would definitely try the cecina again too.

The real star of the meal was the patatas bravas. Do not be put off by the generous serving of garlicy aioli – these potatoes are out of this world. If there is one tapa you must try at Bar Cesar, this is it.

Dinner apparently wasn’t enough to sate our appetites for Spanish cuisine, so the next morning, I revisited Bar Cesar for brunch. We had the patatas pobres, a hearty and filling dish of potatoes, mixed cured meats and peppers topped with a fried egg.

Next, we had the migas con chorizo y huevo, made up of bread crumbs, chorizo, fried onions and fried egg. We pierced the egg and let the gooey yolk mix with the other ingredients, and it was delicious.

We ended our brunch on a sweet note with churros con chocolate. Bar Cesar always has the best churros, but I could do without the chocolate sauce, which was too sweet for my taste.

Bar Cesar’s Piedmont location remains my favorite tapas restaurant – the service is warm, the vibe is unpretentious and their dishes are solid. One of these days I’ll have to find time to visit their Berkeley restaurant as well.

Posted on February 17, 2009February 17, 2009

My favorite dim sum restaurant in San Francisco is Ton Kiang, but overall in the Bay Area, it’s Fook Yuen, hands down. Located in Millbrae, Fook Yuen specializes in seafood dim sum and is always packed on weekends around brunch time. Most of their dim sum offerings are classic, standard fare, but with better taste and craftsmanship than most other restaurants. It’s the perfect place to share small plates with a group – everyone gets to try a bite or two of everything.

Like most visits, we started this one with the har gau (translucent shrimp dumplings). Har gau have a clean, fresh taste unlike many other dim sum that are heavily sauced. Next, we tried the cheong fun (rice noodle roll), which are filled with either beef or shrimp.

One of the less commonly-served dim sums are fu pei guen (tofu skin roll), filled with shrimp and chives. Part of the fun in dim sum is mixing textures, and I usually like to have a fried dim sum or two in between most of the steamed ones.

Next, we tried Fook Yuen’s potstickers, which on this visit, were the best potstickers I’ve ever had. (Unfortunately, during my last visit, I ordered the potstickers again and ended up with among the worst potstickers I’ve ever had. The dough was significantly undercooked.)

I try to avoid limited myself to only seafood dim sum, so we also tried the fried tofu squares with black bean sauce, which were delicious and crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside.

We ended our meal at Fook Yuen with jin deui (deep-fried glutinous sesame seed rolls filled with red bean paste). These are sweet and warm, and my sister’s favorite dim sum.

The best thing about dim sum is the element of surprise. You never know which dim sum will be carted around next. At Fook Yuen, you usually can’t go wrong with whichever dim sum you choose.

Posted on February 11, 2009

I don’t really know how to begin this post other than just saying it: I really, really love Korean food. Honestly, I think it’s the banchan that does it for me. Not only do you get your main dish, but you get at least ten additional tiny plates of delicious, savory, morsel-y goodness de rigueur! I mean, come on. What other national cuisine does that? Oh, and then there’s gohcujang. I think I could write an entire post about the ubiquitous Korean red pepper paste that makes everything taste like happy.

My favorite Korean restaurant is Jong Ga House near Lake Merritt in Oakland. They have great ambience and serivce, and their entrees never dissapoint me. Also, they play K-pop, which only adds to the fun.

Instead of the usual seaweed soup in a light broth that most Korean restaurants serve at the beginning of the meal, Jong Ga House brings diners a cold kimchi soup. The soup is refereshing and peppery without being overwhelming.

The restaurant is generous with the banchan, usually bringing thirteen or fourteen of the little side dishes. They’re delicious, but a little sweeter than I’m used to.

I usually order the bulgogi, which is almost always moist and juicy. It’s grilled to perfection, mixed with flecks of charred and grilled onions.

At the end of the meal, as is the case in all Korean restaurants, a tiny chilled cup of sikhye is served as a non-alcoholic digestif. Made of cooked rice, this sweet beverage helps cleanse the palate too.

Oakland is home to a lot of good Korean restaurants, but even in a city with strong competition, Jong Ga House easily stands out.

Posted on January 26, 2009

I should preface this review by saying that I haven’t actually eaten at Sparky’s more than once in the past four years. However, I used to go there on a pretty regular basis during my college days.

Located in the heart of San Francisco’s Castro district, Sparky’s was and still is the perfect place to end a late night of debauchery. It’s not most revelatory food and the menu is pretty standard, but it’s the kind of place that comes alive at two in the morning, when all you really need is a deep-fried snack and a cup of coffee.

I’ve always had a weak spot for fries, especially seasoned curly fries. Sparky’s serves these up with a side of ranch dressing, just the way I like them.

If you’re craving something more substantial, Sparky’s also has a pancakes and hamburgers on their menu, as well as several varieties of shakes that use Mitchell’s ice cream.

Sparky’s is the kind of restaurant that’s at its best in the middle of the night (when it’s the most packed), so if you ever find yourself hungry in San Francisco after a late evening of shenanigans, pay Sparky’s a visit. The memories (and fries) will be worth it.