Restaurant Rundown: January/February

I've eaten a bunch of different restaurants recently and been honestly meaning to update you all with some reviews. So, without further ado.

Aziza: Went here for the second time on Friday night (first experience was during Dine About Town a few weeks ago). My first taste of Aziza was pretty spectacular--mini meatball skewers over jicama salad, chicken couscous with yummy veggies, finished with pink grapefruit sorbet over caramelized lemon and served with a side of a sweet goat cheese-filled date. Needless to say, it was pretty darn good. Friday night, I took Matt and my parents for a little celebratory dinner. We shared a goat cheese appetizer, served with tomato-cheery jam and pistachios. The goat cheese was delicious and when the crostinis ran out, I found myself scooping up the remains with bread. For my entree, I had the branzino (a Mediterranean fish that is tender, white and moist). Per my request, the chef de-boned it and prepared it with a delicious array of roasted veggies. I'm told that the rabbit, lamp chops and quail are phenomenal as well. For dessert, Matt and I split the pear tarte, served with huckleberry sauce and 'bitter almond ice cream' while my parents took to the chocolate souffle. As I recently discovered my love for Dolcetto D'Alaba, we ordered a bottle to accompany dinner. I think that everyone was pretty pleased with the meal and I, for one, will be going back. It's definitely a gem in the Outer Richmond neighborhood of San Francisco.

Perbacco: I've heard rumors of the this restaurant in the financial district for quite some time and was quite excited to try it out. The modern interior does not necessarily parlay classic, clean, Italian, but that's precisely what it was. Breadsticks, Dolcetto D'Alba, and their house-cured procuitto certainly started off the meal right. I've recently been on a kick of eating meat that I typically wouldn't prepare at home (quail and duck, most predominantly), so I ordered the duck, served over chestnut polenta and roasted pears. I ate every last bite and even Matt, who had his own short rib ragout, proclaimed that it was 'the best duck' he's ever had. I have to agree. Dessert started out curiously, a warm pistachio cake that, on first glance, appeared to resemble a mini muffin. I was about to give up in disappointment, but my first bite proved me wrong. There was warm, there was cream, there was crunch--it was everything I wanted. And with that, I now proclaim that Perbacco might just be another one of my Italian favorites in the city.

Local Kitchen and Wine Merchant: Checked out this new SOMA hotspot with my dad. The giant door at first, appears to be impossible to open. Walking in though, the space (a former karaoke bar of sorts, I hear?) is clearly a modern designer's vision. High ceilings, simple, long tables and even a wide stack of magazines for those single SOMA lunchers are definitely the most standout pieces of the place. The environment definitely speaks coziness and hipness, but the food left much to be desired, I think. Both my mahi mahi and my dad's pork were a bit on the dry side. For him, the truffle and cheese fries and tiramisu were the highlights. As we watched the thin crust pizzas be brought out to nearby tables (most at $12 a pop), we both realized that this pace is likely more of a hit for pizza and a glass of wine (their selection is quite extensive). Overall, I was pleased with my meal, but it certainly wasn't spectacular. That said, I'll come back for a pizza and another glass of Greek wine.

Jimisan: With this awful weather, there is only one place I wanted to go to dinner last night--my usual sushi standby, Jimisan. I fell in love with Jimisan to the extent that the place became my go-to sushi hangout. I love the super white tuna, their generous cuts, the Tropical Roll and the secret 'Snow White.' But, I have to say, last night made me realize that too much of a good thing can be...too much. Jimisan is a California-skewed sushi bistro, so a lot of the rolls are quite untraditional. If you're looking for a real Japanese experience, you'd best stick to sashimi and nigiri. Jimi is generous with his fish and you won't be disappointed. One specialty roll piece will wholly fit your mouth. Overall, I still love Jimisan, but I do think that my love has cooled..Just bit.

Little Star Pizza: O, deep dish pizza. I have a love/hate relationship with you. LSP's fresh ingredients, delicious crust, and dark atmosphere make this a damn good pizza place. Went here with a group of friends and enjoyed some delicious garlic bread (the sourdough loaf is served warm with a huge clove of roasted garlic!) and of course, pizza. Little known fact: you can request a half and half pizza, which is awesome for those of us who want a bite of everything. I do love the Little Star--ricotta, tomatoes, basil--what more could you want. When I uttered, "why not try the thin crust?" my friend Jamie gave me a horrified look. I won't argue. I think I am still a fan of traditional, thin crust pizzas, but this place definitely gets high marks from me.

I'm off to Mexico for a week, starting on Tuesday, so look ahead to talk of tacos, mariscos (Mazatlan is famous for its shrimp) and other local specialties. Adios for now, amigos!

Image above is of me and Matt's first attempt at making homemade pizza--more on that once we make a second attempt :)

Mmm. Oysters

I don't have a car in the city. Therefore, whenever I take the opportunity to rent a car, I always feel like I've gained some sort of amazing superpower. Not having to run on a bus schedule? Getting place three times faster? Sign me up! I definitely realize the hassles associated with having a car, so I'm not complaining. But, I also believe that there's something to be said about being able to get out of the city and enjoying the great escapes that California has to offer.

This past weekend, Matt and I decided to rent a car and take a little adventure to Bodega Bay to visit a little shack sort of in the middle of nowhere and experience the raw experience of oysters.

Drake's Bay Oysters really is an industrial-type oyster farm up a dirt road. Behind the shack, oysters are farmed in crates and are brought in to distribute by singles, dozens, and huge bags. The oysters come in extra small, small, medium and large. Let me tell you, having eaten oysters on several occasions at restaurants, I have never seen anything like this. Our small oysters were larger than I had ever seen before--and these were the small! For $12, we got a dozen oysters shucked for us and served on a paper plate with some lemon. While the farm has no dining room, save for one wooden table outside the facility, it does offer a good selection of sauces to enjoy with your oysters. I particularly liked their house-made cocktail sauce with sage.

I must admit, at first, I was a little afraid, but as I swallowed my first one, I realized what the fuss was all about! The oysters were so fresh, perfectly salty and refreshing that I quickly put down all six of my share. Eating oysters is kind of a curious thing--you literally swallow the little sucker along with whatever water is trapped inside the opened shell. I really don't think I'll ever look at oysters in the same way away and I doubt that I'll have oysters as fresh, large and satisfying at a restaurant. Drake's Bay was definitely nowhere near a gourmet dining experience, but absolutely an experience that I'll never forget.

Ah, Love

I always find that I'm generally about five blog posts behind experiences. But, you have to understand, that considering that food is involved in my life on a pretty regular basis, I'd be updating my blog twice a day to keep up. That said, I've had a lovely week and (not yet ended!) long President's Day weekend.

I must admit that when I was single, I absolutely dreaded Valentine's Day. A completely overrated holiday that was meant to make single people feel somehow inadequate and unfulfilled. I spent most of my Valentine's Days dining with friends, baking cookies, and watching sappy movies. Now, as someone who's 'committed,' so to speak, I still find Valentine's Day to be a Hallmark holiday. With that, I still can't complain about getting flowers from my lovely boyfriend, or having a gourmet meal cooked for me. Matt went all out for Vday--lobster tail with parsley/chive butter sauce, sauteed black trumpet mushrooms, filet mignon and the topper...a dark chocolate souffle-like dessert topped with a generous serving of espresso whipped cream (a 'molten chocolate espresso). The recipe is about as gourmet as you can get in your home kitchen. He claims it was easy. Tyler Florence on the Food Network claims it is too. All I can say is my boy did well. Not only did he refer to the online food bible (Food Network's foodtv.com), but he executed with perfection.

Perhaps diamonds are the way to some girls' hearts, but Matt knows me well. Dark chocolate, a good steak and some high-end seafood seals the deal with me. To accompany the meal, we took note from our visit to Perbacco last weekend (I really, really am behind) and picked up a bottle of Dolcetto D'Alba--a semi-sweet Italian red wine that was light, smooth and crisp--to accompany the meal. I think I will have to do a restaurant roundup later on...My good friend Daniel gifted me with a restaurant book (complete with slips for cards and notes) which I have GOT to start using on a regular basis. Hopefully, I'll have some great recommendations soon!

Nostalgia

Two of my favorite people visited me this weekend and just left and I have to admit, I'm a little sad. I always tend to get a little sad when friends or family come and then go--I immediately feel a sense empty nestdom. Even though my nest is certainly not empty, I get used to cooking, offering snacks, making tea, pouring wine and dispensing towels and toilet paper.

The past week has been a good one, to say the least. It was my one year anniversary with Matt and we celebrated with a much-anticipated dinner at Delfina--one of San Francisco's most-hyped about Italian restaurant of the past several years. The hype may have died down down recently, but it still packs a house--and for good reason. My quail over bread salad and winter chicories was delectable. The grilled calamari over baked white beans and fresh, sourdough Tartine bakery bread were definitely worth noting. My profitroles with espresso ice cream and warm chocolate sauce and candied almonds were a delicious end to the perfect meal. I'm told that their blood orange buttermilk panna cotta is to die for, but being the chocolate fan that I am, I knew I couldn't resist those little puffs.

After a hectic week at work, I was really looking forward to unwinding with a sushi dinner at my new find--Castro's Sushi Time--with Matt and my friends Katie and Cliff. But, of course, the big event was my Siena sisters--Ruth and Sonia, paying me a visit. It was of course, a delicious food-filled weekend. From my usual crepes with nutella, bananas and more--to noodles at Hotei, intimate dinner at Zazie (try it for dinner v. brunch one of these days!), and of course, wine and conversation around a newly-minted table (long back story here)--it was a weekend filled with nostalgia. But, the good kind. If there is anything that I learn with age is that good friends are like a fine wine, our relationships only get better with time. While we build new memories in changing times and integrate different people into our lives, we can always rely on that canvas of old memories, pictures and anecdotes. After all, the only thing that goes better with food than wine, is warm conversation among friends.