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ABOUT ME:

Name: Gutenberg

Location: Somewhere near the Golden Gate Bridge.

Occupation: BRPR (Bunrab public relations.)

 
the BUNRAB blog spot
 

Do you need to answer back? You can send me comments if you want to.

If I want to, I'll post 'em in this very blog.

-Gutenberg



 

July 17-23, 2008

 

go to next week's blogs

 

  Wednesday, July 23, 2008
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You can raise prices, use cheaper ingredients or reduce portions to compensate for skyrocketing restaurant expenses. I think that the safest option in the last. We had our usual breakfast items at Bubba's Diner and I noticed that the biscuits:

... were bis-cut with a smaller cutter. These diminutized dough patties were still satisfyingly large, and will probably keep customers coming round instead of getting round.


Bubba's Diner
566 San Anselmo Ave.
San Anselmo, CA
415.459.6862

 




 

 

  Tuesday, July 22, 2008
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The special at Memphis Minnie's today was rib tips ($7.95):

... which were a buck off their usual price. I have had these many times in the past with delicious results, but today's must have bucked off some of their flavorful rub – don't get me wrong, they were still tender and once they got a serious dose of the housemade sauce I enjoyed them, but this meat plate is usually tippier. Sides of slaw and mac and cheese added starch and crunch breaks to this flesh fest, but the mac was sadly lacking in lactose compared to our other visits, but to be fair, it was under eight bucks.


Memphis Minnie's
576 Haight St.
San Francisco, CA
415.864.PORK





 

 

  Monday, July 21, 2008
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Deem motion

We should have known better than to visit Yank Sing 2:

... when Yank Sing is directly next door. When you take the dim sum-meliers out of the mix, you end up with product that doesn't move. The assault-style service in the parlor gets a bunch of plates on the table before your porky buns hit your chair, but their neighboring outlet is cartistically impaired.

We both got identical deem sum assortments ($8.45):

... which we both deemed dim. The scallop dumplings, sui mye and potstickers flatlined on the steam table. The springroll and custart tart were both flakey and the pork bao did not suffer from being in a holding pattern, but they were all standard issue in flavor and joyless in presentation.

We like Yank Sing fine, but its takeaway outlet is more Yank than Sing.

 

Yank Sing 2
Rincon Center
101 Spear St.
San Francisco, CA
415.781.1111

 

From our Bunrab email bag, Mike asks about this weekend's dessert.


Gutenberg,

You could explain where the cupcakes came from. They are beautiful.

Mike


Gutenberg replies:


Dear Mike,

They were actually made by our friends who are serious culinary overachievers. These are people who built (I don't mean bought) their own wood burning pizza oven, make their own wine, cure their own olives and grow just about every fruit and vegetable that does well in their micro-climate….oh, and that is in their spare time (I actually think that they are two sets of identical sextuplets paid by the government to shame the rest of the population into greater productivity.)

-G

 

Tim writes with a seafood search.


Gutenberg,

I'll be traveling to SF and Marin County in a few weeks. What is a good time of day to go to Pizzeria Picco on the weekend? Late afternoon, early evening? How long is the wait in the evening? Where would you recommend to go for high-quality, fresh seafood with simple, preferably grilled, preparations in SF or Marin? Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Tim


Gutenberg replies:


Dear Tim,

Unless there is a heat wave, Pizzeria Picco is pretty full at the usual dinner and lunch hours. We like dropping by between 3 and 4. There can still be a wait, but it's usually minimal. Dinner time is all about luck and timing – you just never know.

As far as seafood goes, Fish. in Sausalito is a great, casual counter service bet. The prices reflect their sustainable, super-fresh, sourcing and they do a nice job of grilling. They don't take plastic, so make sure you bring plenty of paper money.

Sebo in SF has simple, grilled (as well as raw) Japanese style fish, and most of the local faves (like Foreign Cinema, Zuni and Delfina) have a good grilled fish of some sort on their menu.) If you want to stick with grilled to keep the butter plugs out of your arteries, you can achieve a similar effect by asking for a "naked" lobster roll at the North Beach Lobster Shack. It actually doesn't taste all "compromisey" to order it this way.

If you go to the Saturday Farmers' Market at the San Francisco Ferry Building, you can get a tasty order of grilled fish at the Rose Pistola stand (although they occasionally overcook it for my taste, it is usually very good.) It's not dinner entrée sized, so you will have room left to stroll over to Boccalone Salumeria for a meat cone and step outside again for a fruit galette at the Downtown Bakery and Creamery stand to go with a cup of Blue Bottle drip coffee from Out the Door (to avoid that long line at the stand outside) or stay in the building for a cannelle at Boulette's larder.

Have a good visit!

-G




 

 

  Sunday, July 20, 2008
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We chatted with some pals and met some new faces at a food blogger meetup at the Americano bar at the Hotel Vitale.

I got a flute containing their hit on a Bellini which subs out the peach with prickly pear puree in this pink Prosecco punch.

Chubby got a fragrant basil and grape laced cocktail served with a plastic intake tube which moderated his beverage consumption with flappy muddled leaf valves. This is an excellent alternative for those who wish to quit drinking.

Fortunately, this I.V.-style drink delivery system went well with socializing.


Americano Bar

Hotel Vitale
8 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA
415.278.3777


 



 

 

  Saturday, July 19, 2008
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Guests were getting all Lucy on Prosecco before dancing in the hydrangea-lined garden at Rickey's:

...in Novato. M's birthday party had a 60's theme, but instead of the traditional tapioca pudding of that time, we were treated to these cool cupcakes:

... for dessert – no 'splainin' required.

 

-G

 



 

 

  Friday, July 18, 2008
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It would be more fitting to request the doneness of meat at Couleur Café on a scale of blue to black, but they adhere to the less Pantone, American terminology.

Their flatiron steak ($18.00):

... wasn't meant to be a fancy dry aged and home schooled cut, but it was a tasty ve-gone special cooked to the requested rare and served with a pot of Roquefort pepper butter (which I didn't find necessary) however, I was happy to find that along with this muscle were some seriously good, crispy and delicious frites.


Couleur Café
300 De Haro St.
San Francisco, Ca
415.255.1021


 



 

 

  Thursday, July 17, 2008
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Umi Restaurant is the remodeled, former home of SF Thai BBQ:

...and even though they have changed hands and cuisines, the concept of offering a peppy, budget-friendly lunch has stuck like rice on rice.

Oyako Don ($8.00):

... was a bowl of comfort food bracketed by both ends of the circle of chicken life. Neither the chicken or egg came first since I started with some good hamachi ($5.00) and hotate ($4.00) nigiri:

It's a satisfying cheap and cheerful chow stop.


Umi Restaurant

1328 18th St.
San Francisco, CA
415.355.1328



 



 

 

 


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