Friday, December 16, 2011

Blue Stem Brasserie

Blue Stem Brasserie

Blue Stem--a San Francisco urban restaurant is known for their distinct brasserie style dishes and its wide selection of wines sourced from Sonoma and Napa's finest producers. They strive to be very environmentally sustainable, using ingredients from local markets of San Francisco. Also, their beef comes from North American grass fed cattle, guaranteeing fresh and the highest quality of beef. 


The Atmosphere of the restaurant is very contemporary--definitely a place where young upcoming business professionals dine--There is a nice spacious bar with a few small tables in the side corner for more casual and intimate dining. The rest of the restaurant has about twenty tables with a mismatch of small and larger tables all around the bottom floor of the restaurant. Upstairs, six large tables are set up for larger parties which is a great idea for the ability to hold small private parties. 


The style of food was quite interesting because Blue Stem focuses on utilizing the whole animal--creating dishes that uses almost every part of the animal--




The dish that I enjoyed most was the pork chop dish. The perfectly seared pork chop came with an amazingly melt in your mouth pork sausage accompanied by smooth and creamy mashed potatoes, sliced pear and candied apple slices. This dish was incredible, for it had great texture and taste. 





They are well known for their Steak Tartare--a steak dish made from finely chopped or minced raw steak marinated in wine and seasoned with onions, capers, spices and topped with a raw egg yolk--creating an amazing dish. 









Desserts at Blue Stem were very fun and brought back fun childhood memories. Creatively, they served desserts in little dixie cups and wooden spoons to bring back that old school dessert.






--I highly recommend Blue Stem Brasserie for those that want to experience an upscale, contemporary and fun restaurant to dine with a younger crowd--



Off The Grid @ Fort Mason

Off The Grid @ Fort Mason --Food trucks


San Francisco is known for its innovative food culture that is rapidly growing. Matthew Cohen, owner and operator of Off The Grid-- mobile food catering--brought together local food trucks with the experiences that he's had with mobile vending. He felt as if it was important that he embraced local caterers by giving them a place to come together and show off their innovative skills in unique foods that each caterer offers.

Off The Grid has a very fun atmosphere--located in Fort Mason with food trucks parked in a circle to create space for foodies to get together and indulge amazing food--There is a hefty list of vendors that set up at Fort Mason every Friday night. Attached is the link that shows all of the vendors that participate in this event. http://offthegridsf.com/vendors.
Plenty of popular vendors not only go to Fort Mason, but also have their own thing going on with fans following them on Twitter. A popular vendor that I like to follow is the Creme Brulee Truck, constantly offering new and different flavors. They always seem to sell out of creme brulee at Off The Grid, so I follow them on Twitter in order to get my hands on the delicious creme brulees that they make.
The service at Off The Grid is solely based on the service that each individual cart likes to provide--with food cart owners being passionate about what they do, their service is always wonderful. I never once had any issues with the service provided, for everyone is always extremely pleasant. Who can be angry or crabby when you're surrounded by amazingly delicious foods!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

The Melting Pot

The Melting Pot 



Looking for a unique dining experience with the art of fondue? The Melting Pot--a romantic and unique dining restaurant strive to show guests an unforgettable dining experience through the art of fondue--The way that the restaurant is set up is to give guests the feeling of having their own privacy to where they can feel as if they are alone at the restaurant. This unique dining experience requires the server to be very attentive in explaining how the dining experience works so that guests will feel comfortable in taking the initiative to dipping into the cheese fondue or cooking meats and seafood in flavored broth. Servers here were very attentive and precautious in making sure we did not hurt ourselves with the heat from the stove. The setting was very intimate and comfortable.


The style of service was very unique, giving the guest the option to choose 4 different types of cheese to dip vegetables, fruit and bread. The cheese fondue was prepared tableside, the server first put butter and wine into the heated pot, then added the cheese with seasonings until the mixture melted perfectly enough to dip. For the main entree, there were options with meats and seafoods like shrimp, salmon, ahi tuna, buffalo chicken, steak, lobster or pot stickers that you can chose from. To cook the food, there were different homemade flavored broths that you can pick--broths with cajun spices, wine based and vegetarian.



Fondue dessert is what everyone saves their tummies for! There are ten different options when it comes to dessert that can satisfy everyone's taste buds. Chocolate fondues like the flaming turtle--featured to the right--is melted chocolate with swirls of caramel and candied pecans. Every dessert comes with a plate of strawberries, rice krispies, graham cracker covered marshmellows and cheesecake.

The service at the Melting Pot was absolutely amazing! The server, Adam was very attentive and even though we were there past closing time, he was very patient and did not seem to care how late it was. He was more concerned with our experience rather them him having to stay after closing time. Overall, I loved this restaurant and would love to come back for a second visit.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

5 Most Popular Food Shows on TV

5 Most Popular Food Shows on TV


1. Man vs. Food


Adam Richman ate his way across the United States participating in food challenges in almost every state. A food expert taking on any challenge he can get his hands on. Food designed to be oversized and can feed a whole village is what interests him most. Restaurants participating in food challenges like to have Adam Richman as a guest in order to better promote their business. When I was in Oahu, I remember watching one of his shows when he attempted to eat an insanely large pancake that the locals called 'Da Big Pancake,' at a restaurant called Mac 24-7, so then I decided to get it and see how big it really was and how many people it took to finish one.



2. Bizarre Foods


Andrew Zimmerman is always on a mission to find the most bizarre foods all around the world. He likes to eat very exotic foods that most people are afraid to eat. For instance, his favorite food is testicles. He will eat testicles anyway that they are preapared, his favorite being slowly cooked in curry. His preference in eating very interesting foods is what makes his show so interesting and bizarre, hence the name of the show!



3. Top Chef
                                                                   http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef

A reality food competition show--where chefs compete with each other in culinary challenges--Contestants live in a house together and have to deal with not only each other's different attitudes, but also challenges that they are put against. Each chef is challenged to create a dish with certain requirements and are usually given about an hour to complete the task. Here judges are able to judge who utilized the challenge best and who created the best dish. This is one of my favorite chef competition shows on TV right now. I enjoy watching the pressure that the chefs have in order to complete the challenges because most of the time I couldn't imagine handling that kind of stress.


4. Anthony Bourdain-No Reservations

http://www.travelchannel.com/tv-shows/anthony-bourdain

Anthony Bourdain traveling the world to explore new cultures through food. I took notice of Anthony Bourdain when he went to Vietnam, for he ate anything and everythin they put in front of his face. I was very intrigued by his willingness to try any type of food that normal people would be afraid of trying. He had mentioned that Vietnam was his favorite country in the world and that was very interesting to me because he is such a well respected and known chef. I have never heard of such a well known chef to choose Vietnam as the favorite country, it being a third world country. His style is quite impressive, for he has great taste in food and is an incredible chef.

5. Hell's Kitchen

http://www.fox.com/hellskitchen/

An American reality cooking competition hosted by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay. This chef is known for being very intimidating and extremely cruel, but for those that understand him appreciate him very much. He is known for yelling and cursing at timid chefs that are running around the kitchen like chickens with their heads chopped off. His show has become quite popular, for people like to follow Chef Ramsay and see who can impress such a tough critic.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Bi-Rite Ice Cream

Bi-Rite Creamery, located in the Mission district of San Francisco, is well known for having very distinct and unique flavors of ice cream. Freshly prepared daily using local and organic ingredients like Bergamont olive oil, maldon sea salt and lavender. This ice cream parlor is well known in San Francisco and has all of the locals waiting in long lines on sunny days for their delicious ice creams!

Everyone here at Bi-Rite Creamery are extremely friendly. This ice cream establishment is located right next to Dolores Park, so once guests get their scoops of ice cream, most of them head over to enjoy it at the park. When it's hot out--which is very unlikely in San Francisco--this place has a line that curves the street. But Bi-Rite ice cream lovers will wait up to thirty minutes in order to get their hands on this deliciousness.

The flavors that they offer are very unique and you can't get anywhere else. My favorite ice cream that they serve is salted caramel, this ice cream taste like heaven everytime I bite into it. I always highly recommend this ice cream to those that have never been to Bi-Rite before.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Americanized Food Charges Double

Slanted Door--a well known upscale Vietnamese fusion restaurant in San Francisco--charges double for menu items compared to regular Vietnamese restaurants. This restaurant has created a concept of being Americanized to where it caters to the middle class. Vietnamese restaurants are known not to necessarily strive to impress guest through service, for they feel as if their food would be impressive enough. Growing up with a Vietnamese background, I am used to the fast and inconsistent service, but for those that go to Vietnamese restaurants are always really upset with the service they are given. However, if you are interested in eating delicious Vietnamese food followed by incredible service, Slanted Door is the place to go!



Mexico DF, located on Steuart Street by the Embarcadero, is an Americanized Mexican restaurant that serves gourmet Mexican food but charges almost double as opposed to regular Mexican food served in Taquerias. This restaurant is definitely charging for the atmosphere and the service, although the food was very tasty! A lot of times restaurants that strive to impress guests by the services given, charge quite a lot for what they have to offer.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Samovar Tea Lounge



http://samovarlife.com/
Samovar Tea Lounge --Specializing in the ritual of preparing teas--

This tea lounge has such an amazing atmosphere and a great concept--Advertising the importance in the ritual of preparing tea. The concept of this tea lounge is to dig deep inside yourself and to find the zen in not only yourself but also the world around you. 


Located on the top of Yerba Buena in downtown San Francisco--this place is surprisingly relaxing in such a busy place--


The atmosphere at Samovar Tea Lounge is very relaxing. They strive to create a calm and relaxing atmosphere for guest to feel at ease once they enter the establishment. As you walk in, the decor and the tables are set up to feel very comfortable with large windows from the floor to the ceiling. The staff and servers are very friendly greeting you right as you walk in and are very patient with you as you look at a large list full of different types of teas that they offer. It seemed a little intimidating for first timers because the teas that they offer are from all over the world. I couldn't identify half of the teas that were offered, but the servers were amazing and very patient with us.


The style of the food here at Samovar Tea Lounge is very simple but offering a lot to choose from. http://samovarlife.com/lounges/food-tea-menu/ Their desserts pair perfectly with certain teas that they offer. My favorite dessert was the scones that had jam and a custard to spread with and I paired it with an earl red tea that made the flavors pop. I had never had an earl red tea before so it was very interesting to find how wonderful it was.

The service here was absolutely amazing and was a memorable experience. The Samovar Life is what they try to promote focusing on energy, love, life and integrity. This type of restaurant showed a lot of passion that they have in the importance of meditating to promote the beauty within and to embrace life. I would highly recommend this restaurant to those that are interested in having a relaxing and calming life experience.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Dining in The Dark ..

Opaque, dining in the dark, is located near the Civic Center in San Francisco. This dining experience was very unique and it took me by surprise. I was stoked to see what dining in complete darkness was going to be like, for I couldn't imagine how it worked. First, as we walked in we were greeted by a host at the top of some stairs. She checked us in, took our dinner orders and then brought us down the stairs to sit in a small seating area as we waited for our server to take us to our table. She explained to us that the servers at Opaque are legally blind and they would be leading us to our tables and serving us. I was quite impressed by that because I'm sure it takes a lot of skill in order to serve being blind! Right when the server came out to seat us, he had me put my hand on his right shoulder and my friend had his hand on mine, as a train we went through long heavy drapes that kept the light out. As we were seated it was explained to us that we needed to feel everything out and that we had to use our forks as a rakes so that we don't harm anyone. The server then explained to us that since our eye sights are taken from us, we are supposed to have a heightened sense of taste. I, however, did not think that the food was that good even though the concept of dining in the dark was to have a better sense of taste.

The experience in itself was great! But I felt as if the food was low quality for what they charged. It was about $100 a person for this dining experience which I thought was a little too pricey for what the food was like. The experience of being served by a highly trained legally blind server was definitely worth the money, but I would have enjoyed it more if the food was as good as the service.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Drink at your own risk: 50 ml doses of Funranium's "Black Blood of the Earth."

Blue Bottle Coffee

Blue Bottle Coffee
Blue Bottle Coffee Company has such an amazing background. A freelance musician decided that coffee should be served less than 48 hours after its been roasted so that you can taste coffee at its peak of flavor. He also wanted to use pesticide free, shade free and organic coffee beans in order to create the best flavors. Now, Blue Bottle Coffee has grown rapidly all throughout San Francisco. Their cafes have grown into many locations and they also have their coffee selling at wholesale where cafes and kiosks carry their coffee.

The service at Blue Bottle Coffee is not as great as I would like it to be, for they can be a little snooty about the way that they brew their coffee. I onced asked for an iced espresso and the barista snapped at me and said that they do not ice espresso because it shocks the espresso making it a different flavor..or he said something like that which made me feel stupid for even asking in the first place. They can be a little rude at times, but their coffee is so good so I always keep coming back.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

The Old Clam House

The Old Clam House



The Old Clam House, a well known seafood restaurant, has been in business since 1861. Making this restaurant the oldest restaurant in San Francisco that is still in the same location. This is something that they are very proud of. 

This restaurant cherishes the fact that they are the oldest restaurant in San Francisco, specializing in their most popular menu item, Cioppino, a classic seafood pasta. Walking into this restaurant, I felt very welcomed and looking at the decor I felt the history of the restaurant. The staff in the restaurant were all very friendly, making sure to bring out bread and water right away as you sat down. The servers looked as if they had worked their for years, being very comfortable with the menu and the history of this restaurant. It was great to see an old establishment still standing and creating delicious meals as they always had.

The style of the food was simple with so much flavor. They are known for their clam chowder and Cioppino and the server had mentioned that the recipes do not change. That right there was very impressive because restaurants tend to change recipes in order to appeal to new dynamics--guests with different acquired tastes over time--they strive to stay the same.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Took Me By Surprise.

Uni Spaghetti & Clams





Who would have thought, Uni in a traditional Italian spaghetti and clams dish would be one of the best creations ever created!

Saturday, October 8, 2011

SightGlass Coffee Company

SightGlass Coffee Company--specializing in coffee.








"The best creations are the ones that are made by hand, and at Sightglass, coffee is our hands-on craft." -Jared & Justin Morrison.


SightGlass Coffee, an independently owned coffee company in San Francisco, is known for their special technique of brewing coffee. Coffee companies in San Francisco have a reputation for being pretentious, for the process and technique for creating an amazing cup of joe requires great knowledge and precision. An establishment that perfects in the technique of a perfect brew can be quite intimidating for those that may not be coffee connoisseurs. 

This spot is in a large warehouse that does not appear to be an average coffee shop. If you were to walk by, you would probably just pass by without even knowing what it was. Perhaps just a garage of some sort. However, this coffee company is indeed an amazing place with such a great atmosphere! Friendly faces hanging around the bar tops and chat chatting away. This establishment doesn't have any couches or coffee tables, it only has bar tops and places to stand with a shelf to place the coffee on. This makes it different from a cafe where people stick around on their laptops for hours at a time. This is more of a hang out spot, which creates more room to mingle. 

Up on technology too! They are definitely hip and trendy but very suttle about it which I absolutely love! As pretentious as these San Francisco coffee companies can be, Sightglass is where it's at--great service and divine coffee-- Amazing service when you walk into the door and when you're walking out--great place to enjoy a good cappuccino and chat. Overall, I'm very impressed with their style and service!


Monday, October 3, 2011

Super Duper Burger


Super Duper Burger--the newest burger joint in town.



I have walked by this restaurant plenty of times on Market Street as I'm walking to my internship and always wondered how super are their burgers? The name itself is fun and their burgers must be really good, considering the restaurant is called Super Duper Burger. This was definitely a must try. 


Super Duper Cheeseburger


In the heart of San Francisco lies a trendy somewhat upscale casual dining type restaurant. This was probably one of the nicest looking burger restaurants I have ever been to. Everything was stainless steel, the counters and tables matched everything in the wide open kitchen. As you walk in, you notice how clean and organized everything is. The atmosphere was quite nice--welcoming i would say. 




They served burgers that you can have any way you would like--adding any topping including grilled onions, jalepeno peppers, pickles, tomatoes, lettuce and super sauce--for no extra charge. But for only $1 more, you can add avocado, an egg, grilled peppers, roasted portobello and Cambozola Blue cheese. Their milkshakes are to die for! The chocolate milkshake with fresh strawberries was such an incredible creation. 




Service is key at this burger joint and you can feel it is genuine. The cashier that I ordered my burger from was a huge fan of the burgers that they served, so that was very helpful when it came down to what I wanted to add to my burger. The prices are a little higher than other burger joints, but the service and the atmosphere makes up for the extra dollar or so. You will be impressed. But only if you order the Super Duper Burger--double patty burger with everything on it. This mouth-watering cheeseburger is definitely the way to go!

San Tung Chinese Restaurant


San Tung Chinese Restaurant, known for their most popular dish, Dried Fried Chicken.


All this fuss about--Dried Fried Chicken--certainly caught my attention. Not only did the name make me curious to what it really is, but also how is it prepared? The name sold itself practically, making everyone curious to know what that even meant. All this talk on Facebook and Yelp made me want to go experience this dish that was described as AMAZING or BEST CHICKEN WINGS EVER. If you have never heard of this before, you are in for a treat!


There is always a little bit of a wait at San Tung, but obviously that's a good thing. The restaurant was very plain and looked like any ordinary Chinese restaurant, with two or four top tables and Lazy Susans. Ordinary looking decor that would not have caught much attention unless people have heard of the place. 




The style of food at this establishment was very much like the traditional Chinese dishes except for they had a few dishes that were very unique--with their famous sauce that they use on their chicken wings--They served dried fried fish and dried fried green beans. The flavoring was absolutely tasty--sweet, spicy and fried to perfection. I couldn't believe how delicious and addicting it was. 





The service did not stand out at all, but unfortunately that's how it is at many Chinese Restaurants--service is not expected to impress you. They are more concerned on being efficient and maximizing their table turns. A restaurant that sells on unique menu items are not too concerned with making the dining experience memorable. The menu items are very affordable and this is the spot you want to go to for some quick delicious food. 

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Papalote Mexican Grill

Papalote Mexican Grill, is it true? Best burritos in San Francisco?


As I was flipping through the SF weekly magazine that my work receives every so often, I honestly could not wait to get off work so that I can try the best burrito in San Francisco! Being a burrito fanatic, I could not believe what I saw and why have I never tried it before? I was a bit skeptical because burritos in the Mission District of San Francisco are to die for and I couldn't imagine anything better. 


As I walked into the restaurant, I noticed that it was an upscale establishment. An establishment that focused more on the decor than the average normal Taqueria. The look and feel of the restaurant was not what I expected at all, for it was quite trendy and somewhat snooty. The take out section was actually not too bad, it was set up just like any other taqueria--where you walk straight to them, order and pay--which made it look and feel more personable.


Although Papalote was going for a trendy establishment, they still stuck with the same style of food, serving all the traditional dishes that any Taqueria would serve. There were a couple of twists on some dishes. For instance, nachos with guacamole, sour cream and chicken adobo--a Philippino dish, chicken cooked down with vinegar and different spices--making their menu different and unique. 


The service was far from excellent, for they were not too friendly. The waitstaff did what was expected from them--simply taking the order and delivering--not going above and beyond as far as service goes. The food was overpriced for what it is. A burrito was almost $9 and to make it a super burrito--with guacamole and sour cream--it was $1 more. Making a carne asada burrito nearly $10! 


Best Burrito in San Francisco? Disagree. The burrito tasted very generic with ingredients that did not tickle my taste buds. The carne asada was plain with little to no flavor, the rice and pico de gallo was pretty bland as well. Overall, the burrito tasted very generic. Not impressed.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Top 10 Links Passion for Food

The delicious days food blog explains the do’s and don’ts of writing food blogs. This topic is becoming quite popular, therefore making it very competitive for food bloggers It is very important to grasp and steal the attention from not only foodies, but also those that are interested in learning about new or old ways of preparing food. This website explains the importance of the structure and content of one’s blog. It gives examples of how someone can make their blog more interesting or appealing to the reader. For example, a picture of a plate of food with the recipe next to it, so people can attempt to make that dish at home. This blog has helped me to take food blogging a lot more serious, meaning make it so interesting to where people that don’t usually read food blogs would want to.

www.aspoonfulofsugar.net           
This food blog caught my attention so quick because of the name. It sounds insanely appealing, who doesn’t love sugar?? This blog actually talks about the passion that she has for cooking and baking. She was inspired by a food blogger years ago and she has been doing her own blogging for quite some time now. She found interest in it because she felt like there was a lot that she can offer to people who needed inspiration to start cooking. The layout of the website is really nice, for it has all of her recipes and thoughts all categorized. This blog has definitely inspired me to possibly start cooking again.

The title, “A Consuming Passion-For the Love of Eating,” has got to be one of the best names for a food blog. This blog creates some fun in cooking/baking, because the author challenges himself by creating well known specialty desserts. It’s fun because it has a little story of why he’s attempting to cook or bake and the recipe follows, so those that are interested can interact and learn something new. The blog is very simple and gets straight to the point, making it very admirable.

The author of this blog is very creative in the sense where this person not only reads about food but dreams about it. The author takes twist on making food for special occasions fun and witty. This person teaches as they learn and it’s great to follow along for some good tips. The blog shows the raw meat and the description of it, then it shows a picture of it cooked and plated nicely, then she writes about the taste. This blog is very interactive and that makes it fun for followers.

A whisk and a spoon. This is a fun blog that has pictures of mouth watering desserts. It first has the picture and the name of the dessert then the dessert is explained in full detail with a link that directs you straight to the recipe if you wanted. This blog is clean and goes straight to the point with many links, so it’s not too overwhelming to the reader. It is important to make sure that the reader is constantly interested in what you have to say.


This blog is about street foods in the East Bay. This author has an article recently published in “Edible East Bay,” talking about his experience with street foods. He makes it very personal and creates an engaging feel as I read it. He doesn’t always post pictures and that makes it interesting when there are photos instead of just text. His style of writing shows his seriousness of his obsession with food and that’s what keeps me intrigued, for I want to know more of what he thinks.

The seasons have an effect on how this blog is created. It is very “Californian” to cook with the ingredients that are in season. This author/cook makes very tasty cuisines that use mainly things that are in season. After the explanations on why she loves this dish so much, she provides a recipe for others to try. She creates all kinds of dishes from all over the world, from pineapple fried rice to Cajun jambalaya with okra. These dishes are completely different which makes the author seem very innovative and fun.

Annie’s New York Eats creates a different take on food blogging because she has provided not only food, but also travel. She traveled to New York for the summer and decided to explore and share her findings. Being able to travel and find local food spots seems to be the kind of life that anyone would die for.

This blog is very simple with a lot of depth in it. He is creative in his own way by creating new and different recipes that most would feel indifferent about. His recent post was about him making ice cream and then putting a twist on it by adding odd ingredients that takes it to another level. For instance, he made cinnamon ice cream with muscovado brown sugar swirl. Oddly enough it was a success, and that’s what keeps people interested.

Food blogs are multiplying as we speak! However, this blog is so simple and straight to the point that I find it very useful. I feel like it is credible because it has food findings with pictures and a small description of the atmosphere and quality of food. It has a link to read more and that gives the reader more of a choice to either be interested in that topic or not. These food finds are useful to those that travel and want to get the inside scoop of the best places to eat when you’re in Boston.