JUNK FOOD JUNKIE PART 2...LAY'S NEW FLAVOR POTATO CHIPS...CHICKEN & WAFFLES, SRIRACHA OR THAT OTHER ONE?

Ahh...the salty crunch of potato chips as a snack has been around since the mid 1800's, believe it or not.  Outside of adding some ridges or making them waffle like the basics have always been the same, thin cut potato slices deep fried (or baked) and salted. It's the flavors that have changed over the years and even today they are still trying to come up with new tastes to entice more people to snack it up. So it is that Lay's has begun a new contest to select a new flavor. After taking online and polls and whatever, they came up with 3 new flavors to test out then you can vote and the winner will become a regular on your local supermarket shelf.

Your choices are chicken and waffles, sriracha and cheesy garlic bread. I decided to pass on the cheesy garlic bread since they were just a parmesan and garlic flavor--I mean how hard is that, you can already get cheddar flavor and other cheesy delights so it wasn't so special to me. The other two however, caught my eye and of course I just had to try them. 

Upon first bite of the chicken and waffles my taste buds are inundated with maple syrup flavor, in the beginning it just overwhelms everything else. As I try more some of the other flavors do come out but they are very subtle. Supposedly there is some chicken flavoring in there but it just get the taste of the seasoning that would be on fried chicken like garlic and paprika. I also get a taste of brown sugar which along with the maple gives them a salty sweet flavor that isn't awful but it also isn't something I felt I could eat a lot of. 

For the sriracha, the first rush of flavor I get is a sweet hotness, almost like their barbecue flavor, but then the spicy really kicks in, and the more you eat the spicier they get. There are also other subtle flavors here like garlic and paprika again and some kind of slight cheese flavor, however, these totally go out the door the more you eat and it's just hot and spicy and depending on how hot you like things it could be too much, which would be one way to keep people from eating too many of them. 

Of these two I'd choose the sriracha as my flavor of choice which means it's probably not going to win and America will vote for cheesy garlic bread or something, just because it's safe. It would be interesting if they could show some breakdown of how which parts of the country voted for which flavor. Though I'm sure sriracha would go over well in southeast Asian countries since it's a spice flavor that originates in Thailand so Lay's could open up a whole new market if America doesn't vote for it. We'll see, fingers crossed and don't forget to vote! (I wonder if more people will vote on this than voted in the past election.)

JUNK FOOD JUNKIE..MCDONALD'S FISH MCBITES..WHAT'S ALL THE HYPE?

I don't really go to McDonald's, not out of some sense of snobbery, but because San Francisco has so many food choices there are other things I'd rather try. It's actually been awhile since I've even been to a McD's, as a matter of fact it was February 4th of 2011 and it was a McDonald's in Jerusalem (yes the one in Israel). It was a very rainy Saturday, I was starving and everything was closed, except of course McD's so I went wandered in and got the falafel meal deal, I kid you not.

In all respects, it won't bad, or maybe I was just really hungry and usually anything deep fried is fabulous, either way it satisfied my pangs at the time. Come to present day and McDonald's has been giving a lot of hype to its latest menu offering, Fish McBites. Back in the day when I was a kid I really like the filet of fish there, yeah I know, weird kid, but I did. So I thought why not try this out and see if it is really all they say it is. 

I wanted to maintain some semblance of healthy eating so I got a side salad, but then couldn't resist a small fry so I got that also--all for $6.61! I got the medium sized mcbites of which I got 15 little fried squares of Alaskan pollock. First initial impression was the breading on the outside was crunchy and different from what you get on the filet sandwich. Not really a fish and chips kind of beer batter more a hearty breading like you see on fried chicken. At least it was crunchy and not soft, though I did think there was too heavy and detracted from the cube of fish on the inside. A lighter panko type breading might have been better to let the flaky white fish be the star and not the fried breading, but you know this is America and we do so love breaded and deep fried (see chicken mcnuggets) and thus these will probably become a menu staple as folks will let themselves believe they are eating healthy because it's fish, discounting or ignoring the fact it is covered in breading and deep fried. Ahhh...God bless American rationalization. 

Overall I didn't hate them and if you are a fan of fried fish you'd probably like these as a snack, but the fish won't be as prevalent as you might like. I do have to say the tartar sauce wasn't very good, too tangy and bitter, like there is too much vinegar and cream of tarter, they need to work on that recipe, best to just pop them in your mouth without it. Next time you are out on that long lonely road trip and there's no other food place in sight except those golden arches, pull on in and try them for yourself, it'd be better than starving. 

HI LO BBQ...NEEDS A LITTLE MORE TIME IN THE SMOKER

***OK, WELL, THIS PLACE CLOSED, NOT BECAUSE OF THE FOOD, TOO BAD****

Ah the double quandary, I'm always on the lookout for new barbecue joints in town and then when they do open should I rush out and try it or give them some time to work out the kinks after a few weeks of customer feedback. Such was the issue with Hi Lo BBQ (they don't have a website yet just a twitter feed) a meat place from the folks who also did Maverick and Hog and Rocks, which just so happens to be across the street from Hi Lo. They've only been open about a week and a half but I was jonesing to try them so me and the SO schlepped over to 19th and Mission to strap on the feed bag. The entrance is misleading as it's a decent sized space once you walk in and yes it's lofty industrial with lots of wood.

It's an order at the counter and seat yourself place, so after a few minutes looking over the brief menu

We went with the beef brisket, sake-braised pork belly, collard greens and fried brussels sprouts. 

                      

The brisket came with dill pickles, Texas red sauce and a pull apart roll. The brisket was mostly decent, there were six slices and 4 of them were just on the edge of being over cooked and a bit dry and two slices were pull apart juicy and tender. They either came from different ends of the whole brisket or separate briskets, I'm not really sure, but it would have been nice to have some consistency. We preferred the tender juicy slices and wish there were more of them. The Texas sauce unfortunately was overwhelmed with vinegar--it was the first and last taste you got and anything dipped in it came up vinegar. The same can be said of the pickles--they were mega sour, I couldn't taste the dill or the cucumber, just the vinegar. And keep in mind I'm a fan of vinegar as I will put it in coleslaw, collards and sauce, but here it just was too much and I needed pallet cleanser to taste anything else. I did like the roll, it was soft and light, like a potato roll. It had bits of stuff in it but they didn't really add much but color. It would have been really great with some butter, which they have but for some reason don't serve with this dish. 

Next was sake braised pork belly with a tare glaze (a sweet teriyaki style glaze) and side of cucumber sunonomo. I like pork belly and have had some good ones in this town at both AQ and Gioia Pizzeria, thus coming into a meat joint I had some high expectations. The first bite of this was good, the meat was quite tender and had a hint of teriyaki flavor from the glaze. Subsequent bites however, were not has good. Whatever sake they used seemed to taste like that fish sauce that is prevalent in so many Asian stir fry dishes and it did not go well with the fat that is a major part of the pork belly. One major thing missing is texture. There was no crispiness or char anywhere on the meat thus rendering the fat and meat the same consistency of soft mushiness. Neither I nor the SO could finish it, which is a rare occurrence for either of us. The side was merely cucumber, jalapenos and red peppers in vinegar (again!).

As for the sides, they were actually good and the best part of the meal. The collard greens were tender and mixed with house smoked bacon, a touch of vinegar and a touch of brown sugar with neither overpowering the other but mixing well together. The fried brussels sprouts were not too hard and not too soft and came with a pineapple chili glaze that wasn't cloying or too spicy but just right and a few crispy shallots. I really enjoyed both sides and the portions were quite hearty and could be made a meal out of . 

Thus you see the dilemma of going some new place early on, some things work and some don't. In this case I have some hope that things will get better and I will probably go back as I could make a meal out of the rolls and some sides. I did see another diner get the pulled pork sandwich, which looked tasty, so I'd like to give that a try also. Another bummer was only two dessert choices--a pear pie bar or butterscotch cookies---ugh I do think they need to try harder in this area. So I'll say try it, but give 'em little more time.

CHOCOLATE LAB...TASTY CHEMISTRY IN DOGPATCH

**NO MORE ON THIS PLACE. THEY HAVE CLOSED AND THE POP-UP DINNER FOLKS KNOWN AS FEASTLY ARE USING THE SPACE NOW**

Dogpatch has been an up and coming neighborhood for some time now and it continues its trend with the opening of another new restaurant called Chocolate Lab. The brain child of Michael Recchiuti, the noted chocolate maker with the space in the Ferry Plaza. It's a small restaurant space attached to the chocolate factory and in addition to serving his famous chocolates they have created a savory and sweet menu of delights to try.



The dining space is a small woodsy affair with a few individual tabletops and a long communal dining table with the bright shiny steel kitchen off to the right. An intimate affair to be sure.

The small direct menu is highlighted with savory to the left and chocolate + sweet to the right. They've worked hard to make this food from local farmers and bakers. There is also a small but focused wine list that our charming server knew all about, so ask him to find the one that is right for you. It was a cold night and the soup special of the day sounded just right so I ordered that and what better than a tartine (a grilled open faced sandwich) to accompany it.



                           

The soup was a hearty chicken stock barley, tomatoes, ditalini pasta, and cabbage--it was much like a minestrone. In addition to being very tasty and filling, the serving was huge, more than enough to share. Because I wanted to try some dessert I couldn't finish it but surely wanted to. It paired nicely with the ham and cheese tartine--layers of smoke country ham from Fatted Calf Charcuterie and triple cream cheese, house made relish served on fresh flatbread from Firebrand Bread in Oakland and a side of pickled vegetables. It was a good tartine heaped high with ham whose subtle smoky salty flavor was a nice blend with the buttery creaminess of the triple cream cheese, which I could enjoy all by itself. It seems like a lite bite but it's not, it is a full on meal and easily shareable like all their tartines. I really liked the pickled vegetable side of cauliflower and carrots. They a mild tangy sweetness that I enjoy and worked well with the theme as opposed to just a plain pickle.

Of course, one of the main reasons to come to Chocolate Lab is for the desserts and not wanting to be too gluttonous, I chose to try only 2 of them, the Chocolate Lab cake and the cookie plate assortment.

                           

The cake was most definitely the best of the two and a highlight here. Devil's food cake layered with bittersweet chocolate ganache, a Recchiuti semi-sweet chocolate wrap, cacao nib infused foam with caramelized cacao nibs placed in a bowl of coffee creme anglaise. For those who like chocolate that isn't cloyingly sweet this is the dessert for you. It was both dense and creamy and all the different chocolate flavors blended together seamlessly to make this heaven in a bowl. The coffee flavor in the creme anglaise also isn't overpowering either, which says a lot coming from someone who isn't a coffee fan. This is a big dessert and while I myself was able to consume all of it in record time others may need to share, otherwise you might succumb to a sugar rush nap quite quickly, but oh what a sweet nap it will be.

The cookie plate consisted of double chocolate, ginger snap chocolate, cacao nib shortbread, shortbread cookie and a sesame seed, potato chip shaped cookie dipped in chocolate. After the richness of the cake, the cookies were a little bit of a come down. They are not as sweet and are all crumbly cookies, not the soft chewy kind. I'm going to say I wasn't the biggest fan of these, particularly the sesame seed and chocolate--texture and taste wise it was odd and off putting to my palate. Much like pizzas, everyone has their own likes and tastes about cookies--soft and chewy, crunchy, etc.--for me, I've had better, but you'd have to try them to really make up your own mind.

Overall I enjoyed my visit here, it was cozy and neighborhoody and we didn't feel rushed to get in and get out like some overly crowded places in town. While you may not be up for trying their savory choices I do highly recommend you go by and try their desserts, start with the cake and work your way down, it will be totally worth the trip out to Dogpatch.

STATE BIRD PROVISIONS...THE HIGH COST OF SMALL BITES AND BIG EXPECTATIONS

Expectations, a word that comes with a lot of baggage both good and bad. Ever since State Bird Provisions opened it has been met with critical acclaim across the board including Bon Appetit naming it best restaurant in America. Since then it has been near impossible to get in to and while I've been intrigued I haven't even tried. Then by some sheer chance a fellow co-worker had gotten a reservation but was unable to go and like a vulture on a carcass I swooped in to take advantage when he offered it up to the first taker. (I'm nothing if not a fast typer/emailer.) On a rare Tuesday night out me and the SO put on our feed bags and headed out. Tucked away at the corner of Fillmore and Geary, if you blink you'd miss it.

DOBBS FERRY DOCKS IN HAYES VALLEY

It's a work week night and I'm wandering through Hayes Valley looking at the all the new restaurants that seem to have opened up here recently. The day ended on a bummer so I feel like stuffing my face with food that isn't really good for me physically but will be mentally tasty. I call my friend Miss O to join me since she's only a few blocks from here. After looking at a few menus, the fried pumpkin at Dobbs Ferry catches our eye and we hop on in. Dobbs Ferry is a town in upstate New York on the Hudson River and it's where the owners are from, hence the name. Their goal seems to be to bring East Coast sensibility to West Coast cuisine, or something like that. And they are using those buzzwords of local, organic and sustainable, but I'm looking past that and trying to concentrate on what to get off the menu. At least as far as the space is concerned it's exposed brick, wood floors but thankfully none of that subway tile, but still, it has the look of a lot of new places around town--very lofty.

ME SO HUNGRY FOOD TRUCK...THEN EAT SOMETHING?

Hmmm...a bright sunny Sunday and a good day to go out for a walk and, well, look for something to eat. After passing by several places that were packed for Sunday brunch, because people will wait in line for food seemingly on Sunday at brunch time, I decide to just move on over to the StreatFood Park and see what my choices will be. When I get there its a decent crowd yet I won't really have to wait long to get any food. Being that I'm pretty hungry I think why not just hit up Me So Hungry food truck, yeah the name is a play on...ummm...ok you have search engines just look it up.