Daily Feed - August 11-20, 2011

Check out our other stuff: Yummy Chow | Photo Hutch | Home


	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

August 11-20, 2011

go to next week's blogs

Saturday, August 20, 2011
permalink

Spam and eggs ($8.50):

... at Royal Donuts:

... was a relishable rendition of this potted product with over easies. The meat mass was crusty from the griddle with a moist middle. I subbed rice for the spuds to make a tumble of porky, yolky, grain goodness served with toasted rye bread.

This loopy location does a brisk takeaway business with standard issue donuts and coffee in the front and sit down diner chow in the back of this cheap and cheerful cafe.

Royal Donut Cafe
1165 Broadway
Burlingame, CA
650.344.7854

Mark your Calendar

...that calendar being the new 2012 "Chefs of the Bay Area" calendar (which will be released October 2011). 100% of the proceeds will benefit Meals on Wheels of San Francisco.

This calendar opens with Peter McNee of Poggio Trattoria ringing in January followed by 11 other local chefs including Dominque Crenn, David Bazirgan and even a sprinkles-covered Yigit Pura.

The kick off party will be held at Macy's Union Square Cellar on Thursday October 6th with sweets served by the participating chefs.

2012 "Chefs of the Bay Area" calendar
$20 each

Kick off party
October 6th, 6 p.m.
$25 includes a copy of the calendar

Friday, August 19, 2011
permalink

Ensalada con Pollo ($11.95):

... is my go to dish at Sol Food.

Moist, marinated, meat mingles with ripe avocado, pickled onions, lettuce and tomatoes with a lemon-garlic dressing in this thigh high number.

The commendable comida at this colorful counter service corner attracts a quick moving queue, but the kitchen churns out the chow without much of a wait. And the mango iced tea:

... served in a canning jar is uncannily refreshing in a not-too-sweet way.

This patch of sol-id sustenance is rotation worthy.

Sol Food
901 Lincoln Ave.
San Rafael, CA
415.451.4765

Thursday, August 18, 2011
permalink

The steak salad ($12.95):

... at Vis à vis was delivered at my desired doneness of medium rare. Planks of pink protein were zagged with a peppery dressing with a confetti of capers rolled 'round roma tomatoes.

I felt for the single server who was taking care of all the customers while simultaneously bussing all the tables. Even though he was stretched thin, he got us the goods quickly in this Greenbrae grub grotto.

Vis à vis Bistro
282 Bon Air Center
Greenbrae, CA
415.925.4370

Wednesday, August 17, 2011
permalink

I got my "Pork Store special" ($9.50):

... with over easies to ooze into a duo of moist and tender, thin-cut pork chops.

Crusty hash browns and a flaky biscuit, along with some rye toast swapped from a fellow diner, bracketed this breakfast of fortifying, nap-inducement served in a (lamp):

... shady setting.

The Pork Store
3122 16th St.
San Francisco, CA
415.626.5523

Tuesday, August 16, 2011
permalink

Albacore ($10.95):

... was dressed with nectarine and tomato bread salad in a cravable crudo followed up by a halibut ($12.50):

... version with watermelon, cukes and mint. These nifty numbers 'nitiated our nosh at Zero Zero.

Our pals hadn't been to this SOMAteria before where we hammed it up with spec, culatello and prosciutto ($12.95):

This spec-tacular array of swine sheets after a perfect portion of squid ($12.95):

... with padron pepper cushioned by chickpea panisses.

Crispy skinned trout ($13.95):

... with eggplant caponata and potatoes was reign-bowed while pork belly ($12.95):

... with semolina cakes and broccoli had a poached egg to use as a gilding agent on this barnyard, broc and bwok dish.

The Fillmore pizza ($16.50) peeled out of the wood burning oven with hen of the woods 'shrooms mosaiced in just the right amount of cheese. The crust was light, crisp and chewy in its few moments of existence.

We washed it all down with some Dolcetto on tap ($44.00 per liter) before hitting the make your own sundae list and grabbing an exemplary panna cotta ($9.00):

It's always gratifying to introduce friends to a good place and Zero Zero didn't let us down.

Zero Zero
826 Folsom
San Francisco, CA
415.348.8800

Monday, August 15, 2011
permalink

Manresa was (unsurprisingly) booked so we booked down to Dio Deka with our pals where we dug into a cool melon soup ($12.00):

... with grated feta, mint granita and compressed melon. This sweet pool of honeydew was a refreshing potion followed by grilled octopus ($16.00):

... with sensationally smokey tendercles.

Dorade ($34.00):

.. was grilled and served whole. I plucked all the moist meat and crispy bits from this creature along with bites of mushrooms ($10.00), beets ($9.00) and roased Padron peppers ($9.00) which were all kicky sides.

Moussakas ($27.00):

... was a pleasing puck of ground lamb, eggplant and potato washed down with a nice 2008 Etude Pinot Noir.

The baklavas ($9.00) and Greek beignets ($7.00) were okay:

...but not really our thing especially since we were pretty full from the meaty mains.

Dio Deka was a friendly hotel restaurant to catch up with our pals.

Dio Deka
210 E. Main St.
Los Gatos, CA
408.354.7700

Sunday, August 14, 2011
permalink

While guests checked into their suites at the InterContinental, we checked into the sweets at the annual Project Open Hand benefit - Dessert First.

The event kicked off with cocktails:

... and snacks before the main event on the third floor with sucrose sensations such as Ethan Howard's chocolate sassafras cake:

... with milk chocolate mousse, vanilla buttercream and sassafras ganache (we'll have to look out for his licorice 'lishousness next time we're out at Murray Circle.)

Trays of savory snackage circulated (for those who didn't take the name of this event as literally as we did.)

Michelle Polzine:

... always a-Ranges to support good causes. Her plum and almond torte with peach leaf cream and blackberries:

... was plum peachy.

Jake Godby of Humphry Slocombe made a "Fluffernutter Sundae":

... with fluff in and on top of the ice cream nutted up with peanuts and drizzled with chocolate sauce. H.S. always delivers the goods and this frozen formulation was no exception.

Elizabeth Faulkner's pop up dessert table:

... had buttered popcorn ice cream with popcorn caramel sauce, corn nuts, peanuts, popcorn and whipped cream:

This dramatic dessert was a wondrous theatrical release which we followed with One Market's root beer float:

... with little root beer pearls perched on a tuft of whipped cream that Patti Dellamonica-Bauler bubbled up.

Sara Spearin made her Dynamo Donuts:

... with Project Open Hand peanut butter and glazed them banana and honey. These sensational circles had us spinning while crooners:

... shakers and socializers:

... all sated themselves at this perfect parfait party.

This was the eleventh Dessert First and each year the patisserie-pants never fail to sweeten the deal with imaginative afters.

11th annual Dessert First benefit for Project Open Hand
InterContinental Hotel
888 Howard St.
San Francisco, CA

Saturday, August 13, 2011
permalink

Heritage Fire had something for emberybody during this porky party at Charles Krug Winery in St. Helena.

Charcuterie and oysters primed palates for those seeking a cruci-fix of protein.

Over two thousand pounds of meat steered through this celebration of heritage breeds and primal roasting.

The toast crew:

... kept the staff of life circulating in a crowd of sipping, snacking and snapping flame fans.

Swell suckling from Cochon Volant BBQ:

... Chef Morgan Robinson's xlnt blts (made with pork belly):

... and an amazing blood sausage dish (made by Chef Jeremy Fox):

... with pink pearl apple, scrapple stuffed onion tops, fennel, beet puree and fennel caramel was our kind of trans-fusion cuisine.

De-butchery prevailed as we witnessed saucy language: "I got a lard on" and behavior at this smoking soiree set in a saintly city.

Heritage Fire
Cochon 555

Friday, August 12, 2011
permalink

Tofu Village may sound like an architecturally unsound prospect, but it is actually a brick and mortar bibimbap stop where the hot Korean tofu stew serves as their specialty.

A cup of clear chicken broth:

... was a light, hot, shot that primed me for a bowl of bibimbap ($12.99 including soup):

... which was served in a Kane from Kung Fu style sizzling cast iron bowl. I resisted applying my forearms to the scorching vessel and raced with the radiation to prevent the ongoing heat from overcooking the chicken and egg in this vegetable bowl with continually crisping rice.

These village vittles fortified me to my foundation with cheap and peppy chow.

Tofu Village
1920 Irving St.
San Francisco, CA
415.661.8322

Thursday, August 11, 2011
permalink

My visit to The Patty Shack:

... did not include any groundhog antics, but I did get some ground cow (Angus) in a "Forget About It" ($8.95):

... which received extra enunciation from bacon, Swiss cheese, mushrooms and grilled onion in a sesame seed bun in a fine amnesisnack.

Flatscreens lining the walls were broadcasting the same body shaper informercial:

... as I dug into an order of greaseless onion rings ($2.00 upgrade to burger.):

Ranch dressing rounded out these fried loops but I didn't dunk since they didn't need saucing (or perhaps it was it the subliminal suggestion on the screens...)