Yogurtsoda

Posted on February 28, 2011

The first time I visited Golden Flower, it was on the recommendation of a colleague who told me it’s the best Vietnamese food in San Francisco’s Chinatown. I dropped by the busy restaurant for a quick lunch of pho, and in the short time I was there, the owners’ cheerful attitude made such an impression on me that I soon returned again. And again.

Golden Flower is a welcome change of pace if you’re the neighborhood and craving something other than Chinese food. It’s is a casual hole-in-the-wall restaurant with solid Vietnamese fare, and their steady crowd of patrons is testament to the quality of their dishes.

During one of my last visits, I ordered the grilled beef and rice noodles. The dish comes with piping hot fried spring rolls, which I gleefully dipped into my nuoc nam dipping sauce. My favorite thing about this dish is that like pho, it’s easy to customize it to one’s own taste. Another splash of nuoc nam here, a drop of sriracha there, and I was happily sated.

Golden Flower has become one of my go-to lunchtime restaurants, not only for the food, but because I look forward to the cheerful employees too. Oh, and word to the wise: you can get pho to go as well. They’ll pack your broth and fillings separately so that nothing gets soggy.

Posted on February 20, 2011

I’ve mostly stayed away from the food truck trend, not because I haven’t wanted to sample what’s out there, but because I’m usually not in the right place at the right time. Or so I thought. A little bit of research and word of mouth revealed that there are actually a few food trucks making the rounds in San Francisco’s Financial District, like the now-popular Kung Fu Tacos truck.

Posted at the corner of Sacramento and Montgomery, the Kung Fu Tacos truck serves fusion fare for lunch Tuesday through Friday. I tend to approach fusion fare apprehensively, but I was pleasantly surprised here, even if the portions are smaller than average. I tried the roast duck and Asian asada tacos on my visit: Asian asada is marinated steak topped with onions, cilantro, and spicy Asian-style salsa, while the roast duck tacos are garnished with mango salsa, hoisin sauce, and green onions.

Both were tasty, but the duck was my favorite. Faintly reminiscent of roast duck with Mandarin pancakes, the rich meat contrasted well with the piquant mangoes. The steak was good too, even if it included almost as much onions as it did steak.

If you’re going for lunch, I recommend ordering more than the two tacos that I did, as I was still hungry afterward. These aren’t as filling as your standard taqueira tacos, but they’re a welcome change from the countless sandwich shops that line the Financial District. Plus, at $2 to $3 each, the price can’t be beat and for a busy workday lunch, neither can the location.

Posted on February 15, 2011February 16, 2011

I’m a big fan of French fries. (Who isn’t?) I’m also a fan of sandwiches. Thus, the only thing better than a sandwich and fries is fries inside a sandwich. Surprisingly, only a handful of restaurants have caught on to this gluttonous combination, and Giordano Bros. is one of them. Nestled in the heart of North Beach, it’s the perfect casual spot to sate your carb-on-carb craving.

Giordano Bros. models their sandwiches after a Pittsburgh tradition, of which I knew very little about. According to the proprietor, Giordano’s sandwiches are an ode to those served at Primanti’s in Pittsburgh. This tradition also includes showing Steeler games (think sports bar, not white tablecloth).

During our first visit, my dining companion and I split our sandwiches so we could each get a taste of both worlds. We shared the pastrami and the steak. The pastrami was saltier, but I actually preferred the texture of the pastrami over that of the steak. Both were solid though, and nestled between all those French fries and white bread, they were hugely satisfying. Don’t worry, though – the sandwiches also have a serving of tangy, light coleslaw, so you’re getting some greens. Or something.

Service is super laid-back and casual and Giordano’s, evoking a neighborhood feel in an area that can otherwise feel touristy at times. Health-consciousness aside, this is a terrific place when you’re craving a hearty, comforting sandwich. With French fries, of course. Glorious, glorious French fries.

Posted on February 13, 2011

If you asked me to name my favorite Chinese restaurant in the Bay Area, I’d be at a loss. There’s just too much good Chinese food to name one. But my top three? R&G Lounge in Chinatown forever holds a place in the ranking, and these days, the word is out.

Ever since I heard about the salt and pepper crab from a friend who’d dined there, I’d been intrigued. Then Anthony Bourdain featured the crab dish in his San Francisco episode of No Reservations. By the time I finally paid R&G my first visit to try their famed crustacean dish, the restaurant was packed, and with good reason.

My dining companions and I were quickly seated for lunch in the upstairs dining area (there’s an underground dining room as well). Service was brisk and the dishes we ordered emerged quickly from the kitchen. The first was the salt and pepper crab, of course. Deep fried and other wordly-looking, this Dungeness beauty was generously sprinkled with loads of fried garlic, which coated the crab meat as we pried open the claws. The hype is worth it – this crab is among the best I’ve ever had.

Next came the Mongolian beef, one of my favorite Chinese-American dishes. This was spicy, peppery, and the tender beef was seared well. Oh, and lots of onions.

As tempting as it is, it’s no good to order all meat, so we split a dish of bok choy with garlic as well. I’m not sure what was in the translucent sauce, but it was full of savory flavor, lending a hearty note to our supposed “light” dish. Not that I’m complaining.

We shared plate of seafood fried rice too, which was also tasty. My favorite thing about this fried rice is that it was far less greasy than your usual restaurant rendition of fried rice, and with extra bits of yolk mixed in.

I’ve been back to R&G Lounge several times since my first visit. A few regular dishes have grown on me in addition to the crab; namely the R&G special beef, the braised e-fu noodles, and the three treasures with black bean sauce. Now when I go to R&G Lounge, my biggest challenge isn’t sitting through the wait – it’s narrowing down what to order.