Here’s a pro-tip: Always go to ABC Cafe with Chinese-speaking friends. Located in the heart of San Francisco’s Chinatown, this casual Hong Kong-style ABC Cafe has become one of my favorite haunts for a quick lunch, but not without some help. On my first visit, I shared a meal with my friend Karen, who helped me navigate in Cantonese and narrow down what is otherwise an overwhelming menu.
I ordered the shui kau lo mein, a filling dish of shrimp, meat, and wood ear mushroom dumplings, chewy noodles, and steamed vegetables. Shui kau have since become one one of my favorite kinds of dumplings, and I’ve had them at ABC Cafe in noodle soup form, too.
Curiosity got the best of me, so I also ordered a cup of yuanyang, a hot drink that’s part milk tea, part coffee. The combination might sound, uh, unique, but I loved it. Served with a dollop of condensed milk, it was the perfect beverage for a foggy San Francisco afternoon.
ABC Cafe is nearly always busy, but the wait is short and the ambiance is super casual. Go here if you want a taste of Hong Kong without having to hop on a plane.
Truffle oil is so misunderstood. I know, I know, it’s not even made with real truffles. Fair enough, Internet, but it’s delicious and there’s no denying it. I drank the truffle oil Kool-Aid and I’m putting it in everything: pasta, popcorn, and my favorite: mashed potatoes.
With (American) Thanksgiving right around the corner, this mascarpone-flecked dish is one of my favorite holiday sides. Just be sure to go heavy on the truffle oil. And for a decadent treat, add a few shavings of the real thing on top.
Ingredients:
3 pounds medium Yukon Gold potatoes
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
whole milk
3 teaspoons truffle oil
1. Cook potatoes in pot of boiling water until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain, cool slightly, and peel potatoes. Return potatoes to same pot. Add butter and mascarpone cheese; mash until smooth. Mix in enough milk to thin to desired consistency. Mix in truffle oil and season with salt and pepper.
I first tasted gai pad gra pow this past spring (late pass, I know), when my friend Natasha offered me a bite of her dish at a Thai restaurant in San Francisco. I was hooked, and I had to learn how to cook it.
Since then, this basil-inflected chicken stir-fry has become one of my favorites. Spicy and full of protein, it pairs perfectly with a cooling cucumber salad and steamed rice.
Ingredients:
5 cloves garlic, minced
3 bird’s eye (Thai) chiles, stemmed and minced
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cleaned and chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup Thai basil leaves
1. Place a wok over high heat. Add the oil, garlic, and chiles and stir-fry for 30 seconds, or until the garlic is slightly golden. Add the chicken and stir-fry for 5 minutes, or until the chicken has cooked throughout, using a spatula to press the meat against the hot wok.
2. Add the fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and pepper and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the basil and stir-fry until wilted, about 1 minute, then turn out onto a serving dish. Serve warm.
Mission Cheese opened over a year ago, but I didn’t get around to visiting until this summer. I was suspicious — a restaurant dedicated to just cheese? Don’t get me wrong — you can’t really go wrong with cheese, but I was hesitant to make a full meal out of a menu dedicated to cheese, cheese, and more cheese. (Oh, and a bit of wine.)
I had dinner there one evening and started off with a cheese flight. I can’t recall which cheeses we ordered, but they were all delicious, and full of salty, creamy flavor. The selection changes daily and is categorized by (American) geographic region, and the staff is more than happy to guide you through the ordering process if you’re not sure what you want.
Next, we shared an order of Eric’s country pate. I don’t know who Eric is, but he makes some of the finest-tasting pate I’ve ever had. Duck confit and pork pate are mixed with cherries and pistachios for a crumbly, meaty, oh-so-rich texture that paired perfectly with cornichons and our glasses of pinot noir.
We rounded out our meal with a skillet of mac and cheese, topped with breadcrumbs and toasted just right. I’m not sure what kind of cheese they’re using here, as the menu attributes it to a secret recipe, but it’s definitely worth ordering again.
A couple caveats about Mission Cheese: they close at 8pm, so plan on an early evening of cheese and imbibing. And they’re located on a busy stretch of Valencia Street. Hipsters. Need I say more? Still, I’ll gladly tolerate ironic flannel for this cheese. Who knew one humble ingredient could go so far?
I had a quick work trip in Fort Lauderdale, Florida this summer, and after the long flight my colleagues and I were relieved to get in the cab and ask our driver to take us to our hotel, only a few minutes away. Except he took us to the wrong one. In Miami, an hour away.
And that’s how I found myself in Miami for dinner one evening. It turned out to be worth the detour, and I took in as much of South Beach as I could while we searched for a good Cuban restaurant. We settled on Yuca — not quite the homestyle, authentic cuisine I was looking for, but rather an upscale, fusion-y rendition of Cuban classics. Or as Yuca calls it, “nuevo Latino.”
I started with a Hemingway mojito. Mojitos were a favorite of Ernest Hemingway’s, but I’m not quite sure what makes a mojito “Hemingway” as opposed to not. Regardless, this was one of the best mojitos I’ve had – rummy and heavy on the mint, just the way I like it.
We shared a few appetizers too, including beef and chicken empanadas served with jalapeno chimichurri dipping sauce. These were crispy on the outside, flaky on the inside, and piping hot with spicy meat. No complaints here.
We also shared an order of a citrusy shrimp, calamari, and octopus ceviche, and a plate of piquillos de pepin. Okay, two plates of piquillos de pepin. What are piquillos de pepin? And why isn’t there a photo? You might be wondering. Sorry, I was too busy scarfing down what might be the most delicious appetizer I’ve ever tasted to snap a picture. Imagine roasted Spanish piquillo peppers stuffed with porcini mushrooms and chorizo, drizzled with creamy cabrales cheese sauce. My new food goal in life is to learn how to make these at home.
I had the ropa vieja with plantain fufu and fried onions as my entree. Fancy ropa vieja is fancy. Ropa vieja translates to “old clothing,” so I couldn’t help but appreciate the irony here. Angus steak, slow cooked to shredded perfection and the fufu soaked up the garlicy tomato sauce. This dish may have been having an identity crisis, but it was delicious.
Yuca was reason enough to make our accidental detour worth it — and the additional hour ride back to Fort Lauderdale. I’ll raise a Hemingway mojito to that.
