Monday, January 28, 2013

HI TOPS BAR...IT'S GOT DUDES...AND FOOD!!

At this point in my life, going to bars is something that I don't feel I necessarily need to do. I did a lot of it during my younger coming out years, but these days, ehh...not so much. I'm not going to say I miss it.  But it was with interest that I heard about Hi Tops Bar, a new gay sports bar that opened recently on Market Street in the Castro in the old space that was Lime. Gay sports bar you say? Why yes. I've lived in several other cities that have had thriving gay sports bars that I would go to frequently to hang out and watch games. Since I moved here I can't say any of the places here were true sports bar hang outs. Some would have games on occasionally, but not with any consistency and Hi Tops seems to be making the full commitment to it. Anyway, what intrigued me about this new place was that it was also going to do a food menu designed by Top Chef alum Jamie Lauren. So it was that the SO and I found ourselves wandering into the place on a Saturday night. It's a little before 6pm and there is a decent crowd hanging out along all the walls, across the bar and at the scattered tables in back.

                        

Thursday, January 24, 2013

BATTER BAKERY SQUARE MEALS...WHICH IS IT?


It's a bright sunny Saturday and I'm wandering up Polk Street headed toward the Bay, what's this neighborhood called? Upper Polk, Upper Nob Hill, Lower Nob Hill, Lower Pac Heights, Russian Hill? I'm not sure, it could just as easily be Upper Marina what with all the girls in workout clothes, sneakers and sporting blonde ponytails--who knows. Anyway, I'm hungry and want some new place when I see this small space that says Batter Bakery. I think, hmmm, I can have a cookie or cupcake or cake for lunch--why not? I go in and the first thing that catches my eye is this:


ok, so it's a bakery/quick food kind of place. Looking around I see a showcase that has different food stuffs like meatloaf and lasagne--much like you'd see at a homestyle deli.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

KARA'S CUPCAKES ARE GOOD BUT....

When you call a place in institution it can mean either the place has been around so long that it's more about the place than the food. Or it could mean they have been a consistent place you can count to get something good time after time. Fortunately for dessert and cupcake lovers alike Kara's Cupcakes falls into the consistent category of institutions. Started as a hobby out of her home, while working a full time job, Kara's has grown to 7 locations and a couple of food trucks in the Bay Area. The original location is on Scott Street in the Marina and, well, of you are going to try something why not go to the source.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

LIMON ROTISSERIE..IT'S TAPAS..AND I'M STILL HUNGRY

It's a Saturday night and me and the SO are wandering around the Valencia Street corridor looking for a place to eat. With our hunger reaching a plateau we wander into Limon Rotisserie.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

ICE CREAM BAR...SODA JERKS AND SUNDAES IT'S 50'S MALT SHOP TIME

I'm not the biggest fan of ice cream. When I have a dessert I like it to have some heft, like cake or doughnuts. The SO, however, considers it one of the 3 major food groups, the others being pizza and watermelon. Thus on the SO's birthday, we found ourselves in Cole Valley, in the rain, heading for Ice Cream Bar, a new ice cream place (obviously) that opened just last year. Even for a cold rainy night, when we got there the place was rockin'. It's also very retro 50's old school with marble counter tops, spinning stools and a cool art deco design, a nice vibe I found pleasing.

Monday, January 7, 2013

LITTLE SKILLET...SMALL SPACE BIG TASTE..ON THEIR SPECIALTY THAT IS

"Tucked away in an alley", this phrase alone can bring up all sorts of thoughts and connotations, but when it comes tumbling out of the mouth of a local, you should really sit up and listen. Such is the case with Little Skillet, a literal hole in the wall on a tiny one way "street" off the beaten track in SOMA. You order at the window and either head back to your home or office or just plop down on the concrete curb just across the street and soak in the sunshine with your other fellow eaters.

                    

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

CANVAS UNDERGROUND MAYAN END OF WORLD DINNER..THANK MAYAN IT'S NOT MY LAST MEAL

A new year has rung in and doomsday sayers were wrong yet again in their interpretation of the Mayans culture. But when that un-fateful day rolled around me and the SO decided if we were going to do anything on our last day it will be eating and drinking our way out. Thus we headed to Canvas Underground's latest get together and their Mayan End of the World dinner. This particular underground dinner was held way out in the Sunset at a lovely home set up for very intimate dining.


Where the food was mostly Mayan inspired, with a few chef flairs thrown, it was interesting and filled with highs and lows. Things started out with a crab and shrimp chilmole


Crab, shrimp, allspice cured papaya, candied habanero syrup, arugula and vinaigrette of ground chili oil. A lovely plate to look at and I enjoyed parts of this dish separately though not so much together. I really liked the syrup, it was sweet and hot, though a little goes a long way. For me I think the crab and shrimp were just too delicate in flavor and were just overwhelmed from the syrup and the vinaigrette. My taste buds wanted a heartier meat to go up against the bold flavors. Both of these sauces should be bottled and sold. Next up was roasted plantain soup.


plantains were roasted then cooked down with leeks, garlic, butter and cream then pureed. Served with yucca chips and a citrus salsa of orange peel, lemon, grapefruit, red onion an cilantro. By far this was the best dish of the night. Creamy, rich, flavorful...I just couldn't get enough. Akin to potato soup but so much better. The yucca chips were also a nice crispy bonus and I could have eaten a bag of those too. The chef said he took a lot of time and effort with this and it paid off. Again he should can and sell this.  Then came the papadzules


A pasture egg enchilada with tomato sauce and pumpkin seed oil puree. Hmmm....this I just did not like. Mostly it was a weird texture issue for me. The egg was boiled and chopped inside and the corn tortilla was just too soft, then you add in the sauces and it was a lot of mush. Each of the sauces didn't really stand out either to me. The dish needed some kind of fat like cheese to give it flavor. Sadly, the whole thing was just a miss for me. We quickly moved on to the Salmon Creek Ranch duck pibil


Slow roasted, smoky duck served like pulled pork with black beans, corn tortilla, cilantro and red onion pickled in orange peel, vinegar and sugar. I enjoyed this version of an open faced taco. The duck was perfectly cooked and tender and the citrus flavor from the onion was a nice refreshing touch to offset the heaviness of the black beans. We easily could have eaten several of these with that side of soup and been totally happy. The meal was finished off with honey and vanilla glazed pumpkin. 


Yes, pumpkin, not as a pie but served as you would a fruit. It came with fresh roasted cocoa beans, a honey glaze, a prickly pear cactus fruit sauce and fresh cream. Visually, a very colorful dish with an intriguing concept. Individually the flavors are there, but together I just didn't like the way they meshed. The pumpkin could have been sweeter, or actually sweet, it tasted like squash. The cocoa beans were just too bitter and there wasn't enough honey glaze to offset that. The cactus fruit sauce was....um...different and it also was not very sweet. The chef said it was his goal to make an nontraditional dessert on the low sweet side and for that he succeeded. Flavor wise, not so much. (I almost stopped at a donut shop on the way home, but it was late and we had an early flight the next morning so we thought better of it.) Not a great way to finish a meal but definitely different. 

As with many of these underground dinners, the food is a centerpiece, but it's also more about trying new things and meeting new and interesting people in a less formal setting and in that regard it surpasses expectations. The folks we ate with were fun and interesting and you get to talk food and experiences with other food minded individuals whom you may not meet otherwise. If you every have the chance to attend a dinner you really, really, really should. 





Monday, January 28, 2013

HI TOPS BAR...IT'S GOT DUDES...AND FOOD!!

At this point in my life, going to bars is something that I don't feel I necessarily need to do. I did a lot of it during my younger coming out years, but these days, ehh...not so much. I'm not going to say I miss it.  But it was with interest that I heard about Hi Tops Bar, a new gay sports bar that opened recently on Market Street in the Castro in the old space that was Lime. Gay sports bar you say? Why yes. I've lived in several other cities that have had thriving gay sports bars that I would go to frequently to hang out and watch games. Since I moved here I can't say any of the places here were true sports bar hang outs. Some would have games on occasionally, but not with any consistency and Hi Tops seems to be making the full commitment to it. Anyway, what intrigued me about this new place was that it was also going to do a food menu designed by Top Chef alum Jamie Lauren. So it was that the SO and I found ourselves wandering into the place on a Saturday night. It's a little before 6pm and there is a decent crowd hanging out along all the walls, across the bar and at the scattered tables in back.

                        

Thursday, January 24, 2013

BATTER BAKERY SQUARE MEALS...WHICH IS IT?


It's a bright sunny Saturday and I'm wandering up Polk Street headed toward the Bay, what's this neighborhood called? Upper Polk, Upper Nob Hill, Lower Nob Hill, Lower Pac Heights, Russian Hill? I'm not sure, it could just as easily be Upper Marina what with all the girls in workout clothes, sneakers and sporting blonde ponytails--who knows. Anyway, I'm hungry and want some new place when I see this small space that says Batter Bakery. I think, hmmm, I can have a cookie or cupcake or cake for lunch--why not? I go in and the first thing that catches my eye is this:


ok, so it's a bakery/quick food kind of place. Looking around I see a showcase that has different food stuffs like meatloaf and lasagne--much like you'd see at a homestyle deli.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

KARA'S CUPCAKES ARE GOOD BUT....

When you call a place in institution it can mean either the place has been around so long that it's more about the place than the food. Or it could mean they have been a consistent place you can count to get something good time after time. Fortunately for dessert and cupcake lovers alike Kara's Cupcakes falls into the consistent category of institutions. Started as a hobby out of her home, while working a full time job, Kara's has grown to 7 locations and a couple of food trucks in the Bay Area. The original location is on Scott Street in the Marina and, well, of you are going to try something why not go to the source.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

LIMON ROTISSERIE..IT'S TAPAS..AND I'M STILL HUNGRY

It's a Saturday night and me and the SO are wandering around the Valencia Street corridor looking for a place to eat. With our hunger reaching a plateau we wander into Limon Rotisserie.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

ICE CREAM BAR...SODA JERKS AND SUNDAES IT'S 50'S MALT SHOP TIME

I'm not the biggest fan of ice cream. When I have a dessert I like it to have some heft, like cake or doughnuts. The SO, however, considers it one of the 3 major food groups, the others being pizza and watermelon. Thus on the SO's birthday, we found ourselves in Cole Valley, in the rain, heading for Ice Cream Bar, a new ice cream place (obviously) that opened just last year. Even for a cold rainy night, when we got there the place was rockin'. It's also very retro 50's old school with marble counter tops, spinning stools and a cool art deco design, a nice vibe I found pleasing.

Monday, January 7, 2013

LITTLE SKILLET...SMALL SPACE BIG TASTE..ON THEIR SPECIALTY THAT IS

"Tucked away in an alley", this phrase alone can bring up all sorts of thoughts and connotations, but when it comes tumbling out of the mouth of a local, you should really sit up and listen. Such is the case with Little Skillet, a literal hole in the wall on a tiny one way "street" off the beaten track in SOMA. You order at the window and either head back to your home or office or just plop down on the concrete curb just across the street and soak in the sunshine with your other fellow eaters.

                    

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

CANVAS UNDERGROUND MAYAN END OF WORLD DINNER..THANK MAYAN IT'S NOT MY LAST MEAL

A new year has rung in and doomsday sayers were wrong yet again in their interpretation of the Mayans culture. But when that un-fateful day rolled around me and the SO decided if we were going to do anything on our last day it will be eating and drinking our way out. Thus we headed to Canvas Underground's latest get together and their Mayan End of the World dinner. This particular underground dinner was held way out in the Sunset at a lovely home set up for very intimate dining.


Where the food was mostly Mayan inspired, with a few chef flairs thrown, it was interesting and filled with highs and lows. Things started out with a crab and shrimp chilmole


Crab, shrimp, allspice cured papaya, candied habanero syrup, arugula and vinaigrette of ground chili oil. A lovely plate to look at and I enjoyed parts of this dish separately though not so much together. I really liked the syrup, it was sweet and hot, though a little goes a long way. For me I think the crab and shrimp were just too delicate in flavor and were just overwhelmed from the syrup and the vinaigrette. My taste buds wanted a heartier meat to go up against the bold flavors. Both of these sauces should be bottled and sold. Next up was roasted plantain soup.


plantains were roasted then cooked down with leeks, garlic, butter and cream then pureed. Served with yucca chips and a citrus salsa of orange peel, lemon, grapefruit, red onion an cilantro. By far this was the best dish of the night. Creamy, rich, flavorful...I just couldn't get enough. Akin to potato soup but so much better. The yucca chips were also a nice crispy bonus and I could have eaten a bag of those too. The chef said he took a lot of time and effort with this and it paid off. Again he should can and sell this.  Then came the papadzules


A pasture egg enchilada with tomato sauce and pumpkin seed oil puree. Hmmm....this I just did not like. Mostly it was a weird texture issue for me. The egg was boiled and chopped inside and the corn tortilla was just too soft, then you add in the sauces and it was a lot of mush. Each of the sauces didn't really stand out either to me. The dish needed some kind of fat like cheese to give it flavor. Sadly, the whole thing was just a miss for me. We quickly moved on to the Salmon Creek Ranch duck pibil


Slow roasted, smoky duck served like pulled pork with black beans, corn tortilla, cilantro and red onion pickled in orange peel, vinegar and sugar. I enjoyed this version of an open faced taco. The duck was perfectly cooked and tender and the citrus flavor from the onion was a nice refreshing touch to offset the heaviness of the black beans. We easily could have eaten several of these with that side of soup and been totally happy. The meal was finished off with honey and vanilla glazed pumpkin. 


Yes, pumpkin, not as a pie but served as you would a fruit. It came with fresh roasted cocoa beans, a honey glaze, a prickly pear cactus fruit sauce and fresh cream. Visually, a very colorful dish with an intriguing concept. Individually the flavors are there, but together I just didn't like the way they meshed. The pumpkin could have been sweeter, or actually sweet, it tasted like squash. The cocoa beans were just too bitter and there wasn't enough honey glaze to offset that. The cactus fruit sauce was....um...different and it also was not very sweet. The chef said it was his goal to make an nontraditional dessert on the low sweet side and for that he succeeded. Flavor wise, not so much. (I almost stopped at a donut shop on the way home, but it was late and we had an early flight the next morning so we thought better of it.) Not a great way to finish a meal but definitely different. 

As with many of these underground dinners, the food is a centerpiece, but it's also more about trying new things and meeting new and interesting people in a less formal setting and in that regard it surpasses expectations. The folks we ate with were fun and interesting and you get to talk food and experiences with other food minded individuals whom you may not meet otherwise. If you every have the chance to attend a dinner you really, really, really should.