Realizing that man cannot subsist on pastry alone and previously impressed by the cheeses at Cowgirl Creamery in the Ferry Plaza Market I stopped by Sidekick early on a Saturday morning to grab a breakfast sandwich simply titled Mt. Tam and Ham, ostensibly containing the company’s signature triple cream cheese and pork on a soft Acme roll…plus an inordinately large dollop of unadvertised mustard that rendered the entire $5 sandwich inedible when I discovered the tragedy a half our later en route to my morning conference at the Moscone Center; hopefully the homeless gentleman in the San Jose Sharks hat on Bush Street found it more palatable than I.
Cinnamon Bun, Mexican Hot Chocolate, Peach Cobbler
Let’s face it, if you’re at all interested in food and visiting The Bay Area you’re probably going to visit the Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market at least once and while there are plenty of vendors of all styles it isn’t every day that you find someplace selling artisan biscuits and jams; especially biscuits this good. Handmade, cut, and sold by Van Dao, a pleasant young man happy to chat while procuring your order, each of the three biscuits I selected proved impressive with great buttermilk notes in a warm, flaky biscuit and while both the cinnamon and cocoa notes of the Hot Chocolate and the rich icing on the Cinnamon Bun were good I would strongly advise visiting on the weekend when the self-contained cobbler is available, a soft and supple biscuit wrapped around a dense pocket of warm stewed fruit harkening a fritter, hand pie, or a danish but so much better.
Tuna and Salmon Brandade with Green Strawberries and Shrimp Chips
Bucatini, Roasted Corn, Nutritional Yeast, Bone Marrow
Rigatoni, Octopus Bolognese, Beets, Scallions
Stone Fruit Upside Down Cake with Sweet Cream and Sorrel
Leaving SBP I received a text from a friend inquiring as to whether I wanted to meet up at San Francisco’s other Beard Award Finalist for Best New Restaurant, Rich Table, and although I was already plenty satisfied with the evening it was an offer I figured I shouldn’t refuse. Located on Gough and rather nondescript from the outside but homey, rustic, and full of character within I was surprised to find walk-in seating available at 7:30pm on a Friday and seated at a small communal table with a great view of the kitchen a quick perusal of the menu and excellent service from a young man named Don had drinks and appetizers before us shortly thereafter. Not gifted an amuse like the majority of the tables around us but more than impressed by the drinks, bread (or more so by the butter,) and one of the most unique and delicious brandade preparations I’ve ever experienced the meal unfortunately took a turn for the worse with the oily donuts and oddly textured cheese foam plus the pastas, their textures fine but the unannounced lime zest on the bucatini unbalancing the entire dish while the rigatoni was so oversalted that we both agreed it was nearly inedible. Disappointed but undeterred, dessert would prove a return to form with a dense pudding cake topped with cooked peach, plum, and apricots resting in an aromatic broth – a big peak in a meal with some substantial valleys.
A James Beard Award winner for best new restaurant and the sort of no reservations place where people line up (literally) an hour before opening to nab a seat, Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski’s State Bird Provisions was an obvious choice for my visit to San Francisco and dining as a solo while arriving thirty minutes early I nabbed a seat at the chef’s counter for one of those rare meals that lived up to what seemed like almost unrealistic hype. Long, narrow, and loud as the traveling dim-sum style plates circulate but featuring a joyful atmosphere where everyone from the servers and chefs to the elderly lady seated next to you feels like a friend it should go without saying that a meal at SBP is a unique experience and taking into account all of the above, plus the quality of the cuisine, the most challenging aspect of the meal is showing restraint; deciding which items to order and which items to let pass. Beginning small and savory with daily provisions then progressing to a few of the commandables, including the signature quail and a truly outstanding crispy duck preparation with delicate mushrooms and soft crepes, before moving on to a pair of memorable desserts every single dish that I sampled at State Bird was impressive and watching the team at work in the kitchen was an experience in and of itself, a display of beautiful ingredients and rapid fire precision that only made me want to stay longer and order more.
Baked Oysters – New England Clam Chowder in a Shell
Sauteed Wild Mushrooms with Grilled Bread, Truffle, Poached Egg
Crispy Fried Chicken Sandwich with Caesar Aioli, Bacon, Field Greens
Upside Down Strawberry Crisp with Bourbon Ice Cream and Brown Butter Caramel Sauce
Unbeknownst to me it was National Bourbon Day when I visited Marlowe and with folks celebrating heavily even at 2:00pm on a Friday I found the small restaurant packed on my arrival, a lone seat at the bar waiting in one of SoMA’s hottest restaurants where a young bartender named Tanessa, stood mixing cocktails and slinging shots while also serving up great recommendations from the small menu of reimagined and refined comfort foods. Bustling but never loud and kitschy yet comfortable the majority of my visit focused on Chef Jennifer Puccio’s classic dishes and working from the best oyster preparation I’ve had outside of ‘Oysters and Pearls’ to an umami-bomb of mushrooms and egg tamed by a tangle of greens before finally taking on a veritable fried chicken Caesar salad on a light, airy roll it would be difficult to call any of the savories anything less than entirely satisfying; the effect of great ingredients placed in very skilled hands and a trend that carried over to dessert when I too celebrated the holiday with an oaky, smoky jar of slowly melting strawberry crisp.
Fried chicken and waffles from a little window on Ritch Street seemed like a great idea, particularly coming from the team at farmerbrown’s with their focus on organic meats and prepared-to-order sides, but given the fact that there are many ‘Mikes’ in the world the idea turned out to be merely okay as I was left to find out that I’d received the wrong order after I’d walked back to the Moscone Center. Relegated to a boring Caesar Salad with (admittedly excellent) Blackened Chicken in place of the shrimp and grits and black pepper honey biscuit that I paid for I guess I should be thankful that the other Mike at least had the sense to order two pieces of crispy fried chicken over buttermilk waffles with a side of pure maple syrup and another of jalapeno honey sauce but in the end even though the chicken maintained its heat and crunch beautifully the waffle came up limp while the cornbread proved dry. Perhaps sticking around to check my order and eating immediately would have been the great idea…
Apple Fritter, Crumb Cake, Apple Pie Bread Pudding
Located on Polk Street with all the expected persons and characters close at hand Bob’s looks as if it has been exactly where it stands and exactly as it is for years, a family run business churning out hot donuts throughout the day and night for anyone with a few bucks to spare and a sweet tooth needing its fix. Arriving early and told by the lady behind the counter that fresh fritters would be out in about thirty minutes I wandered the neighborhood and returned with the fritters ready on cue along with a crumb style cake donut and a still-cooling slice of Bread Pudding fresh from the oven – a total price of $5.95 cash for about a pound of surprisingly high quality baked and fried carbs. From the crackling shell on the shellacked fritter with chunks of apple within to the dense crumb of the cake donut with glaze and a buttery crumble atop both donuts were classic in style and nice representations of their genre and moving on to the bread pudding there was donut, pie crust, raisins, apple pie filling, streusel, and even some sprinkles – a Frankenstein of leftovers soaked in custard and rebirthed into haphazard gluttony entirely embracing the roots of bread pudding as a means to use leftovers …and entirely delicious.
Challah custard toast with Korintji cinnamon sugar topped with fresh McGinnis Farms berries
Claiming itself as an ‘upscale bistro’ with a focus on local, sustainable practices and a limited but interesting brunch menu Olea seemed like a great choice for my first meal after stepping of the plane in San Francisco; unfortunately it was not…though it did end up complimentary. Apparently having just changed hands in terms of ownership it seems hard to imagine that a space with less than thirty seats could be so inefficient, but from failing to seat me for five minutes while the owner kibitzed with a customer to the waitress first forgetting to bring me a menu or silverware and then, no kidding, forgetting to place my order with the chefs (also standing around chatting in an otherwise idle kitchen) the service was a veritable disaster. Admittedly, when my French Toast finally did arrive it was good, a crispy golden exterior laden with cinnamon wrapping a delicate crumb and topped with typically impressive California strawberries and pure maple syrup, but it certainly did not live up to the French Toast available elsewhere in the city (nopa, just for you, plow, Brenda’s, Dottie’s, Zazie, etc) and even if they do get their act together under new management I really can’t think of a reason I would return.
…and with summer again comes change; changes in life, location, and the blog – a site I originally created largely to preserve transient memories and to share with family, but obviously something that has grown substantially since – to the tune of somewhere around 100,000 web-hits per month…a number that still seems crazy to me, but thanks to all who enjoy reading and more so to those who e-mail or comment (even though I often fail to approve comments respond in a timely manner.)
So, what changes you may ask? Well, to those who know me outside this blog, clearly you are aware of the issues surrounding my current location and the reasons I am Leaving (for) Las Vegas come November. While I enjoy this blog and the travel from which it derives I also love the people I care for a great deal – this move is one based on my ethics, my morals, what is right for those patients (and people in general) and hopefully what is right for me as well.
How does this affect the blog? Obviously moving is time consuming, so there is that (so is opting out of a contract, licensure in a new state, credentialing, etc FYI) but the change is also based on a conversation I had with the owner of a tiny diner back in June in which he made the point that his goals as an owner are no different than those of a Michelin 3* restaurant – that being to make his guests happy while doing the job he loves and believes in (and hopefully making enough to pay the bills in the process.) Obviously there was much more to the conversation than this and I’m not remotely trying to pretend that the average greasy spoon is Alinea, but without a doubt the conversation got me thinking – the eventual decision being a more concise and egalitarian approach; all the pictures and descriptions as always but just one paragraph per bakery/diner/coffee shop/restaurant/etc with the rare exception, if necessary.
A radical departure, no doubt, from my substantial verbiage of the past I feel that not only is the above a better way to expedite my reviews (at the time of this writing six trips and over 100 meals/snacks/stops behind) but also a better way to stimulate conversation to those who want to know more…or to save time for those who just come to look at the pictures. As always, I’m happy to respond to e-mails or comments – and I’ll try to do so much more expediently in the future.
A drive from San Diego to Phoenix, or vice versa, will take you through a lot of empty desert land, cacti, and even sand dunes…plus no less than fifty signs directing you towards the Date Shakes in Dateland Arizona – a simple calling that states “Our specialty is Dates. That’s what we do”…and it is indeed what they do. Handpicked with varieties ranging from Medjool and Khadrawy to Halawy and Thoory baked into pies or cakes or made into bars and candies with seemingly unlimited samples of each this is perhaps the best roadside attraction in Arizona and moving past the freebies the date shake and its lesser raved cactus shake are both worth every bit of the $4.50. Sweet and intense, blended with creamy soft-serve and so thick you can barely suck it through a straw the date shake tastes every bit like its namesake fruit while the cactus, actually prickly pear, comes off smoother with a refreshing raspberry and strawberry top note – a tough call as to which is better and therefore encouragement to try both.
Ivoire Royale – Vanilla Bean Pound Cake layered with creamy white chocolate mousse, Raspberry, Strawberry, Blueberry, Blackberry
Lemon Bar
Devonshire Berry Pavlova – Baked Meringue Shell filled with Sweet and Sour Devonshire Cream and topped with Berries
Cream Cheese Brownie
…still the best bread pudding I’ve had to date (https://endoedibles.com/?p=104) a visit to Karen Krasne’s Extraordinary desserts was mandatory and although the bread pudding has now transitioned to a dinner only item our sampling at the original Balboa Park location was no less impressive than the first in Little Italy. With some items ordered for dine in and others making the trip back to Phoenix it was once again Krasne and team’s innovative takes on the classics that surprised the most, specifically the crème brulee bun which, like its namesake dessert, managed to be both creamy and crackling with the pop-over style shell light as air, and the pavlova, a cloud of fresh berries and cream beneath a flawless meringue dome. Adding in the intense brownie and even more assertive lemon bar and then moving on to a slice of cake that would make any wedding worth attending before finally finishing with a Danish that tasted like a choux-based pineapple upside down cake, sure none were none that topped the bread pudding – but every one of them were as delicious as they were beautiful.
Battered Fish Taco with Cabbage, Onion, Tomato, Cilantro
Considered by many to be the best Mexican Seafood in San Diego, and perhaps all of California, a visit to Oscar’s Pacific Beach location was requisite for our visit and with a limited menu, limited seating, and frankly “hole-in-the-wall” sort of appearance generating a small line even at off hours I had little doubt walking in the door that the food itself must be ‘that’ good…and it was. Cramped and cash only but fresh and well portioned, particularly at such a low price, my sampling of the cuisine was limited but of what I tasted I can certainly say I’ve had no better tacos in my rather limited experience and with two new locations opening since my May visit the good news is that now Juan Montes’ cuisine can be experienced throughout the city and provided the quality standards remain I can think of few better things than that fried marlin as a midday snack.
Elk Sausage and Biscuits with Scrambled Eggs and Crispy Potatoes
Eggs and Boar Bacon with Brown Sugar Peach Pancake
Nutmeg French Toast with Pecans, Sauteed Apples, Strawberries
Cornbread with Honey Butter and Strawberry Preserves
It should come as no surprise that breakfast and brunch are taken seriously in the city that brought Hash-House A Go Go to the world and in the same vein as “twisted farm food” the team behind Hash House created The Tractor Room in 2006 with a slightly different focus of “Honest Cocktails and Meats” at dinner…and the same audacious sort of breakfast foods as Hash-House gussied up with a wild game spin. Loud and dimly let with the restaurant divided into several small rooms and servers both cheery and efficient as they presented a ‘standard’ menu plus a few daily specials our options largely veered towards the sweet, though dishes like venison meatloaf and free-range buffalo sloppy joes had some appeal, and what we received was audacious to say the least; enough to feed a group twice our size, though we certainly had fun trying. A great spot for brunch without the lines of Hash-House and seemingly an even more interesting spot for dinner I don’t think anyone will mistake The Tractor Room for fine dining, but given the quality of sourcing and the plates presented, especially the gamey biscuits and gravy, buttery cornbread, and truly outstanding French Toast topped with local fruits it was certainly a mighty fine breakfast.
Asparagus Deux Facons – Gribiche, Brioche, and Sorrel (Dutch White with Sorrel Puree and lemon / Northern California Delta Asparagus Veloute and Sliced Spears)
Peanut Butter Terrine – Port Wine Ice Cream and Honey Anglaise (Luxardo Cherries)
Raspberry Macaron with Milk Chocolate Ganache
Shortbread
Billed (heavily) as Southern California’s only Five-Star / Five-Diamond restaurant and featuring the culinary skills of Chef William Bradley plus the bounty of the region’s local seafood, produce, and livestock Addison at The Grand Del Mar seemed a fitting finale to my visit to San Diego and with reservations secured for the main dining room a month in advance expectations were high as the seasonal menu turned from spring to summer, bringing with it many of my personal favorites. Beautiful, elegant, and well cultivated Addison is undoubtedly a ‘hotel restaurant’ in as guests are given white glove treatment from entry to exit and yet with this comes some of the less fortunate aspects of such an experience as well, namely overly formal and joyless service plus food that often fails to take chances. A truly beautiful room and technically flawless with imported caviar gently popping on the tongue, snappy asparagus as flavorful as those in Paris, a creamy sweetbread the size of a child’s fist, and the sort or ruby red duck you only see at true temples of gastronomy Addison is a restaurant where diners get what they pay for, the room and each dish exquisite, but at such a tariff I would have traded perfection for a little more enthusiasm.
Monte Diego: Smoked Ham, Fontina Cheese, Grilled Pears, Marinated Onions, Custard Dipped Egg Bread
Grilled Four Cheese Sandwich with Fresh Basil and Tomato, Creamy Tomato-Fennel Soup
Skillet of Duckaroni
Corn Pudding
Salted Caramel Pot de Crème with Chocolate Ganache Cap, Whipped Crème Fraîche
Lemon Poppyseed Buttercake with Vanilla Meringue and Fresh Berries
Raved by locals and tourists alike, Urban Solace was one of the first reservations I made when planning the trip to San Diego and with a menu focused on local, natural meats and produce it was the lunch I looked forward to most…and in the end perhaps too much. A kitschy spot full of ironic pop-art and reclaimed wood with a large bar and friendly service our meal consisted of three courses and beginning with the critically acclaimed biscuits I will concur with the masses and say they are indeed a must order, though certainly not the best I’ve had, while the roasted squash would have been more aptly titled ‘roasted garlic’ given the entirely one-dimensional flavor profile – a fault that also marred the highly anticipated ‘duckaroni,’ which closely approximated the flavor Papa John’s garlic dip poured over pasta. More successful, both sandwiches were exemplary – the grilled cheese impossibly simple yet beautiful with the aromatic tomato soup and the Monte Diego a truly inspired take on the classic; sweet, savory, crispy, and creamy in each bite. Moving on to desserts it would be hard to go wrong with either of our selections as the pot de crème’s tangy topping managed to meld salty caramel and rich dark chocolate seamlessly while the dense buttercake found levity in the fresh berries and light lemon cream.
French Toast Sampler – Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Apples, Strawberries and Cream, Bananas Foster
Fig Bread Pudding with Vanilla Ice Cream
Buttermilk Pecan Coffee Cake
Known to generate hour-plus waits on the weekend we arrived at the University Avenue location of Fig Tree Cafe just after opening and after being greeted by a young man named Thomas who acted as host, server, and even as assistant to the chef as a co-worker had called in sick our visit couldn’t have been better. Featuring a large menu of items both savory and sweet our table of three opted to eschew the former and ordering one entrée, one side, and a dessert every single dish managed to impress. Beginning first with a dense cut of coffee cake featuring a buttery base underlying a lightly nutty topping and then moving on to a trio of French Toast, each caramelized piece of brioche featuring fresh fruits cooked-to-order in the kitchen, it would be hard to name a favorite but moving on to the final dish a front runner emerged in the bread pudding; dense, buttery, custard-laden, and naturally sweetened by the figs but not overly saccharine even with the addition of a large scoop of vanilla ice cream…at breakfast.
Orange Macaron with Salted Caramel, Pistachio Macaron
Almond Croissant
Chocolate Croissant
Blackberry Banana Nut Muffin
Red Velvet Cupcake
With breads offered throughout San Diego and at many prestigious restaurants Bread & Cie seemed like a great spot for early morning snacks and featuring breads, pastries, and viennoiseries of both traditional European stylings and more common rustic American recipes the majority of what we sampled from the University Avenue café was quite good. Priding themselves on natural starters and largely organic ingredients our choices ranged from a pair of exquisitely textured macarons with excellent crackle and smooth filling to a pair of decent, albeit somewhat soft and overly sweet, croissants and finished with a muffin and a cupcake – both praiseworthy, particularly the still-warm muffin, rife with banana and a near liquid pocket of fresh berries.
Kate Sessions – Hendrick’s Gin, St. Germaine, Lemon, Strawberry
Ida Bailey Martini – Skyy Citrus Vodka, Fesh Lime, Strawberry, Basil
Pretzels n’ Dip – house made barley pretzels, carrot sticks, celery sticks and apples with poblano beer-cheddar sauce and whole grain honey-porter mustard
Duck Puppies shredded duck confit, toasted hazelnuts, Red Trolley-cornmeal batter, arugula, shaved parmesan, ale aoli and balsamic-jager drizzle
American Pie Doughnuts Brioche doughnuts stuffed with caramelized apple pie filling served with a beer cheese fondue and cinnamon sugar glaze
Maple Bacon S’more Bar Fluffy homemade toasted marshmallow piled on top of a bacon-graham cracker crust topped with candied bacon and maple drizzle
Admitting up front that the Gaslamp most certainly isn’t my scene – nor a scene particularly fitting my 60 +/- year old mother and aunt – there are situations in which one must compromise…specifically when looking for a place to watch the Los Angeles Kings vs. San Jose Sharks playoff game while on vacation in San Diego and moving past the limited parking, scenester patrons, and loud-as-hell acoustics Barleymash not only proved a sufficient place to watch a GREAT game, it also put on a pretty good showing in terms of the food, drink, and service. Featuring no less than thirty televisions and at least a dozen sun-soaked ladies that could have fallen out of David Lee Roth’s “California Girls” video in a room full of reclaimed wood and communal tables alongside clever, albeit overpriced, drinks and the same clever takes on comfort food that comprise most ‘gastropub’ menus these days our order would consist of three drinks, two appetizers, plus two desserts and while none of it is going to shake the culinary landscape all of them were well prepared and nicely presented with the sweet-meets savory doughnut holes the best of the bunch and the supple confit inside a crunchy shell also impressive as the balsamic added just enough acid to balance out the fat.
Located in University Heights, El Zarape seemed like a can’t miss “locals” spot and approaching the small restaurant the space seemed legitimate – an authentic hole in the wall feel, not dirty or run down, with a short line and a menu hand written on the wall and a staff whose English was just about as good as my Spanish. Having just finished snacks from Carnitas’ Snack Shack and with the restaurant fresh out of lobster for the oft-raved lobster tacos and burritos our decision to order lightly was made quite easy and choosing four tacos plus a rice pudding to be divided by three people the tasting was a few bites each with each protein fresh and tender, tortillas light with just a bit of chew, and the tomatillo salsa bright and lightly acidic. Perhaps not the destination taco shop that is Oscars’ in La Jolla, but a whole lot better than majority of the taco shops nationwide…and the rice pudding is probably the best ten quarters you can spend in San Diego.
Pork Belly App – Sweet Chili Glaze with small Frisee apple salad
Butterscotch Pot de Crème
Bacon Whiskey Truffles
No matter how you slice it, Carnita’s Snack Shack is the best and worst of ‘foodie’ culture; a minimalistic restaurant where long lines gather to wait and pay for the opportunity to experience aloof hipster service but, fortunately, some truly impressive shock-and-awe cuisine centered on brine and swine. Owned and operated by local boy Hanis Cavin and clearly a place where gluttony goes a long way what is truly most impressive about Carnitas’, aside from its popularity, is the quality of the sourcing – a local slow-foods approach that elevates dishes that could simply be audacious to something artisan, flavors popping and textures aplomb. Open noon to midnight six days a week with a menu that changes throughout the day depending on ingredient availability it should go without saying that Snack Shack isn’t for everyone, but amongst restaurants in its genre it runs far ahead of the pack and both the Bacon Whiskey Truffles and The Triple Threat are worth the wait (and weight.)
