Yogurtsoda – Page 76 – Eating my way around the world by Mariam Hosseini

Cotogna

March 5, 2012

“Oh, Cotogna? It’s overrated,” said a friend when I floated it as a dinner idea. “Cotogna is the best Italian food I’ve had in the city this year,” said another. I decided to find out for myself one evening and met up with a friend who hadn’t tried the restaurant yet. Straddled between the Financial District and North Beach (and adjacent to its parent restaurant, Quince), Cotogna was packed when we arrived for a weeknight meal, so we took advantage of the balmy weather and were seated outside.

Billing itself as a celebration of rustic Italian cuisine, Cotogna’s menu also seemed (perhaps unintentionally) influenced by Californian fare, and we ordered accordingly.

We started with the little gem lettuce salad, which was, well, exactly that. I love lettuce just as much as the next yes-please-I’ll-have-the-organic-greens eater, but I hoped this salad would have included a bit more than a light, piquant vinaigrette.

Next, we shared the sea urchin pizza with cauliflower and jalapeno. It may sound like an odd combination of ingredients, but curiously, it worked. The sea urchin was fresh and creamy and complimented the cauliflower’s texture. The jalapeno provided a much-needed kick, and the pizza itself was a wonderfully crispy, chewy vehicle for it all.

We ended our meal with a side of perfectly-cooked beets with creme fraiche and pollen. I love beets in any shape or form: roasted, pickled — you name it. I couldn’t taste the pollen here (to be honest, I’m not sure if pollen is supposed to taste like anything) and I didn’t really need the creme fraiche. Just give me the beets, thanks.

Conflicted reviews aside, Cotogna is a welcome addition to the city’s crop of rustic Italian restaurants. If you’re looking for a farmhouse feel in the middle of the Financial District (albeit with a crowd), look no further.

Tanpopo

February 4, 2012

Ever since I visited Japan a couple of years ago, I’ve been on the hunt for the best ramen I can find this side of the Pacific. Sure, I’ve had good ramen in the Bay Area, but nothing like what I tasted on the streets of Shinjuku. I’ve been looking for that sweet spot: chewy noodles, salty but not overpowering broth, and no skimping on the toppings.

I finally found it at Tanpopo in Japantown. A colleague suggested it to me and on a rainy afternoon, we headed over for lunch. She recommended the kyushu ramen, which I ordered.

Kyushu ramen (named after Japan’s southernmost island) is a specialty at Tanpopo: a cloudy, rich broth called tonkotsu, served with egg noodles, boiled bean sprouts, red ginger, chashu pork, bamboo shoots, boiled egg, fishcake, seaweed, and green onions. Whew. My only complaint is that the egg wasn’t soft, but then again, this was one of the few times I’ve finished my entire bowl of ramen.

Tanpopo is nearly always busy, so plan accordingly, especially since Japantown can be a bit out of the way and service at Tanpopo can be brusque. I can’t speak to their other styles of ramen, but the kyushu ramen alone is worth the trek.

Sichuan Dry-Fried Green Beans

January 22, 2012August 17, 2023

I used to hate green beans. Growing up, I inexplicably dreaded the loobia polo that most kids loved: an Iranian rice pilaf of green beans, browned lamb, tomatoes, and spices. It wasn’t until recently when I tried Sichuan-style dry-fried green beans that I’ve come around to loving the legume. It was the spicy, garlicy flavor that made me change my green bean-hating ways, and now, I can’t get enough.

Long beans are traditionally used in this recipe, but green beans work as well. Feel free to omit the ground chicken as well for a vegetarian version. Last but not least, make sure your beans are completely dry before frying them — this will ensure a blistered texture.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 pound ground chicken
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce or chili bean sauce
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 cup vegetable oil
3/4 pound green beans or long beans, ends trimmed and cut into 3-inch lengths

1. Marinate the chicken: stir 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce and cornstarch together in a medium bowl until the cornstarch is dissolved. Mix the chicken in the marinade until incorporated. Let stand for 10 minutes.

2. Prepare the sauce: stir the chicken stock, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, chili garlic sauce, and sesame oil together in a small bowl until the sugar is dissolved.

3 Pour the oil into a 2-quart saucepan and heat over medium-high heat. Carefully slip the green beans into the oil and cook, stirring continuously, until they are wrinkled, about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the beans to paper towels to drain. Reserve the oil.

4. Heat a wok over high heat until hot. Pour in 2 teaspoons of the reserved oil and swirl to coat the sides. Slide the chicken into the wok and stir-fry until the meat is crumbly and changes color, about 2 minutes. Add the green beans and sauce and stir until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Scoop the contents of the wok onto a serving plate and serve warm.

Sunrise Deli

January 15, 2012

Sunrise Deli bills itself as “the best falafel in town,” and well, I think it’s true. With three locations in San Francisco and one in Berkeley, it’s become my go-to casual lunch spot when I’m craving Middle Eastern food. I frequent their SOMA restaurant, and on most visits, I can count on a line.

My favorite dish at Sunrise Deli is the falafel plate. Served with hummus, tahini, pita bread, and super-flavorful olives and pickled vegetables, the falafels are moist on the inside and crispy on the outside — no small feat. Best of all, Sunrise Deli’s falafels are fresh, with their vegetables picked from local farms and their bread baked at the Irving Street outpost. During my last visit, my dining companions had the chicken shawarma and shawarma plate and spoke similar praises of their freshness.

Sunrise Deli has been around since the early 1980s, so I fully accept my late pass in discovering this Bay Area establishment. But be forewarned — their SOMA restaurant closes at 4:30, so you’re better off satisfying your craving during the day.

Hecho

January 5, 2012

Tequila and raw fish? This won’t end well, I thought to myself when I first heard of Hecho, the Financial District’s new robata and sushi bar boasting over 80 tequilas. I met a friend for dinner at Hecho the first time I visited, not entirely sure what to expect.

I was pleasantly surprised. We were quickly seated inside the small interior and and started off with a couple of house margaritas while we perused the menu.

We started with the smoked pickled daikon and tuna-cucumber maki. Hecho’s menu isn’t very lengthy, but what they offer is unique — no California rolls here. The vinegary daikon were super crunchy and the tuna was good quality and fresh, a welcome relief as I took another sip of tequila.

Next came the chicken karage, my favorite small plate at Hecho — perfectly crisped, super succulent chicken glazed with a spicy-sweet sauce.

Hecho isn’t the kind of place to go to if you’re ravenous — the small plates are, well, small. But they’re artfully presented and tasty. On my second visit with another friend, we ordered a few maki and finished off with a plate of cured hamachi.

Plated on a pink salt block and garnished with candied jalapeno and lemon oil, the fish was almost too pretty to eat. (Not that it stopped us.)

As it turns out, tequila and sushi can and do go together. After all, if sake is a mainstay in sushi bars , why not tequila?