HOLIDAY FOOD NEWS IS LIGHT...SO HERE'S A FILLING SCHULZIE'S BREAD PUDDING REVIEW!

***SADLY, SCHULZIES IS CLOSING! I DIDN'T GET BY HERE OFTEN ENOUGH, THOUGH MAYBE THAT WAS A GOOD THING FOR MY WAIST. OH WELL, ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST***

Lots of folks take breaks during the holidays it seems so food news is on the slim side this week. Thus I'm expounding out and throwing in a review of dessert, since we all haven't eaten enough so far. In keeping the with holiday theme, sort of, I made a trek through Hayes Valley recently to check out Schulzies Bread Pudding.

HOMESKILLET....SKETCHY TOWN GETS A BURGER JOINT

Let's be honest. As of right now even with all the changeover that is happening downtown, parts of Market Street are still--challenging. None more so than 6th and Market. It still has a way to go but it seems some folks are willing to take a chance where others have failed. Pearl's Deluxe Burgers originally had the spot on this colorful corner but gave up the goat and not soon after the place was taken over by Homeskillet. A place that is like Pearl's meets Dottie's True Blue Cafe--which just happens to be around the corner.

YOUR WEEKLY DIGESTION OF FOOD NEWS TO CONSUME...AND MORE BIG CHEF TOM'S BELLY BURGERS

Yes, I went back to Big Chef Tom's Belly Burgers, because well, they are really good. This time around I took the SO so he could experience the juiciness. We went for the All-American--a pork belly patty with sliced green apple, cheddar cheese and rosemary mayo on a toasted buttered bun. Sounds odd, but it all worked better than I expected. Tasty meat, tangy apples and cheddar and the nice hint of rosemary blended seamlessly to make this a yummy burger. I can see why it is a bestseller on their menu. Another visit another winner for Chef Tom. Either that or I'm just addicted to pork belly burgers. Either way, each time I go, every bite I've had has been delicious. This really is my new favorite burger place and I am picking this over SOMA StrEat Food Park whenever I'm in the area, it is only a couple blocks over. So if you are ever in the area and aren't thrilled by any of the food truck choices, skip on over to Big Chef Tom's and get a pork belly burger. Choose one of the main menu ones as they are tried and true and their flavors are proven to be tasty. The special burger flavors they feature can sometimes be hit or miss as far as coming together taste wise, but the pork belly burger itself will always be a winner. 

• Another bar centric restaurant is opening on the edge of Mission/Bernal Heights because that is just what the neighborhood needs.
• Here's a handful of new Bay Area bakeries that have opened recently. Get your sweet on.
• If Safeway is not your thing and you wanna go all local/organic/free-range/expensive turkey for Thanksgiving then 7x7 has got you totally covered. 
• Bar adds "Game of Thrones" themed cocktails. Real GOT fans or shameless ploy? I doubt they are totally Tyrion approved.
• A new bake shop has opened on Larkin Street. I guess if you are gonna get baked in the Tenderloin, this place will do.
• Forget turkey! Here's where to get your crab on as the season kicks into high gear.
• Flying out of SFO this holiday? Well, here's where to eat. Can't say they are all A+ (or affordable) but they get the job done.
• And if you have to fly out of Oakland--here's what you get.
• Spin the wheel of wine for all your holiday meal matching favorites.
• Hapa Ramen opens their brick and mortar location and everyone's all a twitter. Looking at the menu seems pretty expensive for noodle bowls.
• Thrillist's best new restaurants of 2014. Though I'm not down with all these choices.  

THE MILL...TRYING THE (NOT QUITE) $4 TOAST AND HATING MYSELF THROUGH EVERY BITE

Much has been made of The Mill and it's $4 toast since that notorious post went up last year. But here we are over a year later and The Mill is going gang-busters, serving up coffee and loaves of bread to folks along the Divisadero corridor. A street that has not only gotten a makeover but has become a place to venture to get a decent bite to eat. From Ragazza to Nopa to Bar Crudo and so on. The street and neighborhood have become gentrified over the last few years and it's sort of a Noe Valley meets Marina hood where mommies push strollers wearing yoga pants and ponytails. All while hipsters stand around and drink their coffee in too tight peg leg pants and flannel--when it's near 70 degrees outside. Be that as it may, I finally decided to venture over and try this famed toast since I figured the hubbub had died down enough so that I could get in and out without much fuss. Herewith then folks is my journey to The Mill.

BALOMPIE CAFE...I'M JUST HERE FOR THE PAPUSAS

Some of the small restaurants in the Mission have been there for ages. They are small madre y padre places featuring authentic foods from their native countries. There are so many it seems difficult to try them all, or even get back to some once you have tried it. The food is usually good and affordable. I've hit up any number of these places over the years, but since I don't live near there anymore, sometimes returning can be a haul. Every now and then I do get an opportunity to revisit an old favorite and recently I had the chance dine at Balompie Cafe for the first time in a really long time.

YOUR WEEKLY DIGESTION OF FOOD NEWS TO CONSUME....AND SOME JUNK FOOD JUNKIE REVIEW

Oh Walgreen's you slay me! Like several other stores in town, our ever present Walgreen's drugstore has been going through a makeover the last year or so and is trying to be your one stop quick shop for literally everything. They are also reaching out to the grab/eat/go crowd with their own food imprint called "de-lish". It's their house brand name that covers any food related product--like generic but dressed up with catchy design. Part of this new brand included a couple new refrigerated dessert offerings like the ever present red velvet cake. It's a square two layer cake with icing packaged in a little plastic container for $2.99. I was in a Walgreen's one day when I had a sweet tooth attack and saw this little cube calling my name from across the room. At first I was dubious but I bought it anyway. Right off the bat, after one bite, I actually liked it. Yeah, I know, crazy right. The cake was moist and there were basically two pretty thick layers of cream cheese icing. I even checked the label to make sure this was real and yep, there it was right in the ingredients. Though I would suggest if you are health conscious in any way to not read the label on this. It's best to either just eat and enjoy or not eat at all, there is no in-between here. The cover says real vanilla used and no artificial ingredients, but you know, red dye kind of is, so I'll personally just ignore it all. The cake also has the right flavor of being chocolate cake with red food color added instead of some white cake that looks bright red. (Always pass those by they are imitators!) Added bonus, even with all the stuff in it, it doesn't taste too terribly sweet either. Thus it won't make your teeth hurt, but your waistline might complain a bit. As an admitted junk food junkie, on occasion, I'll say this satisfied a spur of the moment sweet tooth moment. Would I always want this? No, but when the feeling hits and ones choices are limited, I like to keep this in my back pocket as an option since I can usually find a Walgreen's open when other places aren't.

• Underground dining hits the mainstream as Inside Scoop interviews an original.
• Local chefs name their favorite local desserts. Now that's a list I can get behind.
• Munchery and an SF chef go at each other over food storage.  
• The Melt is doing burgers and other things now. I guess grilled cheese fast food wasn't working all that well for them?
• SFist eats some nachos then run down the city's best, so you don't have to, but should anyway. 
• Thanksgiving hasn't even happened yet and already there's a Christmas ale out. Let's drink it anyway. 
• There are three new bakeries in the East Bay. Ugh..they're really trying to make me go there.
• Chefs explain their fascination with cured meats, you know, besides the salt and no refrigeration needed thing.
• Under the radar pizza places? Maybe. But I'd hardly call Goat Hill unknown or underrated. 
• Restaurant prices go up so kitchen staff can get better pay. That's a better reason than healthy SF. 

HRD COFFEE SHOP....REVAMPED, REMODELED, REVISITED

Things change. It's a statement that conveys the ever evolving landscape of dining in San Francisco. We may hem and haw and not like it, but inevitably our favorites come and go or remake themselves into sort of the same but still different than what we remember or loved about them. Nowhere is this more evident than in the recent makeover of HRD Coffee Shop.

MISSION BEACH CAFE.....FORGET BRUNCH!....IT'S DINNER AND DESSERT!

Brunch, it's not something I usually get to these days, especially in San Francisco. Since it is still all the rage there are just too many people waiting for a table to eat eggs. I can make those at home. One place that gets a lot of brunch play is Mission Beach Cafe. It's a place that's been around awhile and has a good reputation, but for one reason or another I just never made it there. Recently Miss O and I had our schedules converge and since she lives round the corner from the place we decided to hit it up for dinner.

YOUR WEEKLY DIGESTION OF FOOD NEWS TO CONSUME.....AS COOKIE WEEK CRUMBLES TO A CLOSE

I was at The Mill and decided to forgo the "toast" (I'm saving that for some other time) and opted for trying some of their cookies. The chocolate chip with sea salt (it is all the rage) and the cherry chocolate. They were $2.50 and as you can see both fit on the bag, which means they weren't all that big and you know how I feel about that. The chocolate chip was decent enough, some pretty large chunks throughout, a tad too much crunch on the outside, softer in the middle, but a bit on the thin side for me. It was, however, the better of the two. I had hopes for the cherry chocolate, those are two things I like together. Sadly, the cookie was sticky, gummy when it should have been chewy, gooey. Plus I only came across one cherry, so there wasn't optimal distribution to give you the flavor. And that one cherry was like a sticky paste with only the barest hint of cherry flavor I was craving. The whole cookie was just off, which is too bad, I wanted to like it but it wasn't good. I couldn't even finish it and let's face it, if I can't finish a cookie, something must be wrong. I think these just go further in proving my point that an expensive cookie isn't always better. You'd think a place that bakes bread would have the baking part down but in this case, not so much. I'd say just stick to the loaves and coffee if you go and get your cookie fix from somewhere else. 

• It's a hot restaurant space up for rent and it's "not quite in the Mission" but hey, it's close and if you think you've got what it takes to make it in this town, then by all means--RENT IT!
• Looks like New York is stealing SF talent to make their own restaurant institutions better.
• Gross, gross, gross and more gross. It's $4, but that was only on it's first day. Now it's--$12?!
• Looks I've started a trend as 7x7 counts down their favorite chocolate chip cookies. 
• It's pie season and here's where to get your pie on in the Bay Area. 
• Bon Appetit's foodie dude talks all things food in San Francisco.
• Chenery Park closes. Tully's on Fillmore closes. Anybody else?
• Berkeley passes soda tax--no surprise. San Francisco's soda tax doesn't--kinda surprised.
• Sixth Course, a new confectionery shop, opens in the Mission to fatten up skinny hipsters.
• Joshua Skenes explains how his cooking style got him to 3 stars. Now it's your turn.
• An area code named tapas and beer taproom is opening in the Westfield because it's perfect for tourists and bridge and tunnel shoppers. 

ANTHONY'S COOKIES IN THE MISSION....COOKIE WEEK GOES POPULIST

Do any internet search on best cookies in San Francisco and you will get a varying list of names. Though one name does show up on pretty much every list--Anthony's Cookies. They've been around since 1997 and I've heard their name bandied about over the years but hadn't found the time/made the effort/gotten my lazy butt over to where they are waaaay down Valencia past 25th street. That's like Outer Mission almost all the way to Bernal Heights--I mean that's all the way on the other side of town from where I'm at, totes not convenient peeps. I love a good cookie as much as the next folk but, ugh, all the way over there? Yeah, I know, suck it up and go. And that's just exactly what I did to keep this cookie week going.

YOUR WEEKLY DIGESTION OF FOOD NEWS TO CONSUME...AND STILL SOME COOKIE WEEK

Now THAT'S  a big ass cookie! And I'm not just talking about the picture. This lovely chocolate chip handful and a half is brought to you by Sweet Inspiration in the Castro. Normally I hit this place up for their well icing'd slices of cake, this time I decided to snack on one of their cookies, which are all made in-house. At $2.25 it's a good price for a really big cookie. For the most part it is also a pretty tasty cookie. Not too sweet, crispy around the edges, slightly soft as you get towards the middle, pleasant small notes of brown sugar. Though for the size I do think they need to up the chocolate chip quotient. When things are this big sometimes there can be an issue with coverture and the chips don't spread out as evenly as you'd like. You move from large pockets of chocolate to areas where there isn't anything. So not a chocolate in every bite thing. Plus, me personally, I like my cookies just a tad chewy, gooey-er than this was. Still, overall it's a decent cookie for the price and I don't think you be dissatisfied with flavor. It hits enough of the right notes to make it worth a try if you are in the hood and craving a not so light sweet bite. It's big enough to share or have some now and save some for later--if you are that kind of person. Me, I just ate it all in one sitting, cause I'm that kind of person. 

• Now these are some $10 Bay Area dishes I can get behind--since many are less than that.
• Another week another food truck park makes a bid for Valencia and Ceasar Chavez.
• Well, it's finally opened. Lonely women who knit have a place to go for tea now.  
• Is that still open? Well, not anymore. Luna Park gets bought out and will be--a bar?
• A wine bar for mere mortals? You don't say. No really, don't say it. 
• So long Blue Jay Cafe, hello Brenda's Meat & Three. Because meat & one would be silly.
• And the restaurant closures continue as 3 more joints add their names to the list.  
• COFFEE NEWS! COFFEE NEWS! COFFEE NEWS! MORE CAFFEINE! 
• The Ferry Building will be adding more outdoor, yet covered, kiosks. Yeah, more organic, locally produced, gluten, vegan, free of whatever that tourists can spend money on.
• The grilled cheese guy is getting his own spot, because we are all too lazy busy to do this on our own now. 
• The Tenderloin gets one of those new "trendy" wood and steel designed restaurants of it's own, because we all want to go there and pay $20 or more for an entree--at night. 
• In the mood for some old-school table side flaming service? 7x7's got you covered.