I'VE GOT A NEW WEBSITE--YEAH! LET'S CHECK IT OUT!

While blogger has been fun, I figured after 5 years or so it was time to upgrade to a new cleaner look and what not. This meant leaving blogger as my platform for hosting. If you didn't get redirected when you landed here and are reading this then please go to placesiveeaten.com to see all my posts which I imported over (that was fun). Thanks and see you at the new page!

SINGLE SERVING: SAFEWAY WAFFLE BREAKFAST SANDWICH...YES, SAFEWAY!

Oh, Safeway! I guess sometimes it is nice you can count on your local grocery store to offer up some trashy junk food like stuff for breakfast. Leave it to them continue offering up mass appeal food on the heels of their waffle donut and cinnamon rolls the size of baby's heads. I guess it was fortuitous I came across this as I am on my breakfast sandwich kick this year and if they are going to offer one, why would I not check one out?

POPSONS BURGERS IN SOMA....THE BURGER JOINT PARADE CONTINUES

As one burger place closes, another opens. Isn't that some kind of proverb or something? Or they were talking about a door, right? As Marlowe gave up their Marlowe Burger spin off spot, it wasn't long before another burger place moved right on in. The folks behind Causwells are pulling a Marlowe and spinning off their burgers into their own spot with Popsons Burgers. They opened a couple weeks and normally I'd give them some time to get settled, but in this case, the building they are in is on the chopping block for teardown and new build so I thought I'd try them out before the wrecking ball came swinging through.

YOUR WEEKLY DIGESTION OF FOOD NEWS TO CONSUME...AND DONUT CREAM PUFF THINGY

Back at La Boulangerie de San Francisco I felt I couldn't resist this lovely (not so) little round cream puff donut like thing that was calling my name. Seems it is called a tropezienne and can come in larger sizes too! It's a brioche cake bun with puffy thick cream filling and coated with sugar granules and powdered sugar. It's almost like a round eclair without the chocolate. This one was about the size of a regular hamburger for $3.50. The minute you bite into it the cream comes gushing out and luckily enough there is enough of the filling to go with every bite. The bread is somewhere between a brioche bun and donut--sturdy yet still fluffy. The sugar on top gives it a bit of crunch too. It is a dessert that seems light and airy but has the heft of a "real" dessert like I go for. I can only image this in a large tort form. Soft, creamy, crunchy, sweet goodness--enough to make me want to traverse back across town to the Fillmore District to get another one. 

• All you can eat in San Francisco?!! I'm gonna be all over that Farmer Brown one!
• Yeah, so I know this isn't SF specific, but seriously, if this comes to town I'm gonna have to try it.
• Those famous NY halal guys have finally found a spot--in the Tenderloin--that new hotspot of trendy dining. 
• Food Inc. on Divis is closing after 20 years. I hadn't heard of them either but they managed that long under radar. 
• Sparky's Diner seems to have met a similar fate. Or has it?
• This sparse, tiny, set price and dishes places has finally opened. Let's wait and see if it takes off.
• Alfred's Steakhouse has reopened and it seems to be a big deal for many in town.
• Google takes on Amazon (again) with instacart grocery food delivery service.
• Guatemalan hot dogs are back in business and you can get your late night Mission drunk on for one.
• Reveille Coffee Co. has finally opened their cafe in Mission Bay. You get check them out for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They have an extensive menu from a chef formally of Hops & Hominy.
• Is San Francisco really obsessed with Japanese cuisine? 
• Even Rainbow Grocery, that bastion of left leaning workers co-op is overwhelmed by the homeless tent city nearby.
• As Samovar Tea Lounge in the Castro closes, Le Marais Bakery moves in. Restaurant spaces don't stay empty too long.  
• Joe's Of Westlake is also making a comeback after two years. 

SINGLE SERVING: BREAKFAST SANDWICH JOLT 'N BOLT CAFE DOGPATCH

Me and the SO have done just a bit of traveling over the years and one thing I've noticed on our journeys, breakfast is a big deal, particularly in European countries. Yes, they have the cereals, yogurt and sometimes egg things, but they also do a lot with meats, cheeses and breads. At first I was like, oh wow, I can make a sandwich for later! Eventually I came to appreciate the protein offerings especially in the ham and white cheese forms we found most often. I bring it up because this weeks breakfast sandwich brought to mind those foods when I picked it up at Jolt 'n Bolt Cafe in the Dogpatch--the neighborhood that has been up and coming for about 10 years now.

THE WHOLE BEAST AT THE YARD MISSION ROCK.....MEAT, MEAT AND MORE MEAT

The Yard at Mission Rock is this thing the Giants built in one of their parking lots across from the stadium. It is a collection of shipping containers housing a couple food places and a North Face Store of all things. Honestly, I'm pretty sure this is just filler since they got city and voter approval to build their not so little complex in that parking lot, thus no way to know how much longer this place will be around. One of the food places is called The Whole Beast, a name that is pretty fitting as they like to celebrate whole animal cooking. I'd vaguely heard of some pop-ups they'd done and they have another sort of permanent for now space at The Hall on Market Street, so being into meat, I knew I would get by eventually to try them. I just wanted to wait till after baseball season ended. The place is a combo food and beer hall and there was no way I was going to be around a bunch of drunk Giants fans--living near the park is enough. Since I'm relatively near this place, I actually made several trips by here to try as many options as I could, with varying degrees of success.

YOUR WEEKLY DIGESTION OF FOOD NEWS TO CONSUME...AND FRENCH TOAST! MADE OF CORNBREAD!

Yes, a day late and dollar short is how it is for food news this week. That's what happens when VDay falls on Sunday and between work and going out with the SO, the whole day just gets away from you. But here it is and I'm staying in this breakfast sandwich vein in a way by serving up some french toast. I have a love/hate kind of thing with Town's End Restaurant & Bakery. The SO likes them, they are close to the live place and we do so like that free basket of small bread bites they offer up when you sit down. For me, they are just a bit on the high end for brunch--seriously--$15 for eggs and bacon? I just can't, unless of course, someone else is paying, then my cheap ass is all in as I won't have to walk far to get some food. We made our way over there on a recent Sunday at the invite of a friend. I decided to take the opportunity to try something different. I went for the cornbread, blueberry French toast with lemon ricotta cream and real maple syrup for about $14. 

SINGLE SERVING: BREAKFAST SANDWICH THE PIN UP ALL-STAR DINER

Lately, I've had this thing about breakfast sandwiches. It seems like such a simple thing to pull together--some bread, egg, maybe cheese and bacon or ham or some other meat and voila--instant breakfast. This town is full of them to be sure. Stop by most any deli, diner, sandwich shop, etc. that is open for breakfast and you can find some version of this combination. Even Super Duper Burger is doing one, which I did find tasty and affordable. Thing for me is to be able to run by a spot and get one and still get to work on time. Sometimes that can be limiting as the less time I have to spend on the T-Line the better. Thus I've been making forays out to see what is on offer sort of near me that won't break my budget or be too hard to obtain. As on the previous post I mentioned I returned to The Pin Up All-Star Diner to nosh on their biscuit combo thing, so it seems like a good place to start my new Single Serving Series, which for now, will cover breakfast sandwiches.

THE PIN UP ALL-STAR DINER AT YERBA BUENA....MORE NOT DINER PRICES IN SF

This is what a week of not feeling well does for ya', you don't feel like eating or doing anything. Such was my case last week and why I took a little break. No blogging is not hard, but I only felt like collapsing on the couch and falling asleep in front of the TV. Haven't we all been there before? Anyway, I'm back in action and rolling into a relatively new diner spot in town. Located in the complex that is Yerba Buena Gardens area, sits The Pin Up All-Star Diner. Are they the easiest thing to get to? Not really. Plus, being tucked back into the complex, beyond the merry-go-round and upstairs, to the right of the ice rink (yes there is an indoor ice rink in San Francisco!) you won't exactly stumble across them unless maybe you are headed towards said ice rink. I noted their opening a few months ago and wanted to give them time to get their legs so to speak before swooping on by.