Grumpy Glutton
Grumping about San Francsico restaurants since 2008. It only seems like longer.
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Grumpy Glutton
Free, I Say, Free Chardonnay Tasting
There are few words in the English language that I like as much as free. You pretty much can't go wrong when something's free. And when it's free food and wine, well it just warms the cockles of this glutton's heart.
The kind folks at Bechelli's Flower Market Café are hosting a free Chardonnay tasting, including some free appetizers. I plan to be there and hope to see some of my loyal readers.
The tasting runs from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. on Thursday, July 21 (that's tomorrow as I post).
Free parking is available ...<< MORE >>
The kind folks at Bechelli's Flower Market Café are hosting a free Chardonnay tasting, including some free appetizers. I plan to be there and hope to see some of my loyal readers.
The tasting runs from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. on Thursday, July 21 (that's tomorrow as I post).
Free parking is available ...<< MORE >>
After the Chef Change
Chef changes at favorite restaurants are fraught with anxiety for me. Will my favorite dishes emerge intact, will I find new things to love or will the place to go hell in a handbasket??? Unfortunately, choice #3 has all too often been my experience.
The past months were especially anxious for me as two of my favorite neighborhood haunts — Fringale and COCO500 — endured chef changes. I'm pleased to report that both continue to flourish.
I hadn't been to Fringale since Thierry Clement left to open L'Ardoise in the Castro. No good reason for my absence, it just fell off of my rotation.
Running into one of their waiters in the Starbucks across the street from Fringale nudged me into going again. I'm glad I did.
Michael Bauer's update had given me some comfort that Fringale hadn't missed a beat since Tripp Mauldin, late of Angèle in Napa, took over in the kitchen. My experience confirmed Bauer's assessment.
Rather than ordering a main, I opted for two selections from the list of starters.
Fringale's frisée salad with warm bacon dressing, poached egg and toasted levain ($10.00) has set the gold standard for salade Lyonnaise in the City ... << MORE >>
The past months were especially anxious for me as two of my favorite neighborhood haunts — Fringale and COCO500 — endured chef changes. I'm pleased to report that both continue to flourish.
I hadn't been to Fringale since Thierry Clement left to open L'Ardoise in the Castro. No good reason for my absence, it just fell off of my rotation.
Running into one of their waiters in the Starbucks across the street from Fringale nudged me into going again. I'm glad I did.
Michael Bauer's update had given me some comfort that Fringale hadn't missed a beat since Tripp Mauldin, late of Angèle in Napa, took over in the kitchen. My experience confirmed Bauer's assessment.
Rather than ordering a main, I opted for two selections from the list of starters.
Fringale's frisée salad with warm bacon dressing, poached egg and toasted levain ($10.00) has set the gold standard for salade Lyonnaise in the City ... << MORE >>
An Open Letter to Joseph Manzare
Dear Mr. Manzare,
Dish towels are not napkins. Napkins are not dish towels. I mention this because you seem to be confused on this point. Please allow me to explain the difference.
Napkins are square. This is convenient because the shape they need to cover when placed in one's lap is more or less square. It is also convenient because it's easy to tuck a corner into one's collar, if one is inclined, as I am, to use their napkin as a bib.
Dish towels are rectangular. This is convenient because it's easy to hang a dish towel on the handle of one's oven door, sling it over one's shoulder or tuck it into one's belt while still having plenty of working surface exposed.
Dish towels can be used as napkins in a pinch. They'll work but they're far from ideal. It seems that Globe and Zuppa have been in a pinch for years.
Why do you insist on using dish towels as napkins at your restaurants? Did you happen upon a going out of business sale at a dish towel warehouse? Did you get a volume discount by buying enough dish towels to use as napkins and in the kitchen? Do you ...<< MORE >>
Dish towels are not napkins. Napkins are not dish towels. I mention this because you seem to be confused on this point. Please allow me to explain the difference.
Napkins are square. This is convenient because the shape they need to cover when placed in one's lap is more or less square. It is also convenient because it's easy to tuck a corner into one's collar, if one is inclined, as I am, to use their napkin as a bib.
Dish towels are rectangular. This is convenient because it's easy to hang a dish towel on the handle of one's oven door, sling it over one's shoulder or tuck it into one's belt while still having plenty of working surface exposed.
Dish towels can be used as napkins in a pinch. They'll work but they're far from ideal. It seems that Globe and Zuppa have been in a pinch for years.
Why do you insist on using dish towels as napkins at your restaurants? Did you happen upon a going out of business sale at a dish towel warehouse? Did you get a volume discount by buying enough dish towels to use as napkins and in the kitchen? Do you ...<< MORE >>
Pizza, Pizza
I thought that Michael Bauer was going to wimp out. When he kicked off his Pizza Friday series of blog postings, he called it his "quest for the best." Yet, when he ended the series in late June, there was no wrap up, no summary, no coronation of the best pizza encountered on his journey.
Until today. It took a month but the Big B came through, naming the top six of the 37 pizzerias he tried. MB's sainted six were (in no particular order, as far as I could tell) Gialina, Gioia, Pauline's Pizza, Pizzaiolo, Pizzeria Picco and Rosso. (Aside to the online editor at SFGate: See those little underline thingies? They're called links! They can take you really cool places. You ought to try using them once in a while. Your readers will love you for it. So will bloggers from whom you pull quotes.)
As the blurb on the SFGate home page said, "Let the arguments begin!" ... << MORE >>
Until today. It took a month but the Big B came through, naming the top six of the 37 pizzerias he tried. MB's sainted six were (in no particular order, as far as I could tell) Gialina, Gioia, Pauline's Pizza, Pizzaiolo, Pizzeria Picco and Rosso. (Aside to the online editor at SFGate: See those little underline thingies? They're called links! They can take you really cool places. You ought to try using them once in a while. Your readers will love you for it. So will bloggers from whom you pull quotes.)
As the blurb on the SFGate home page said, "Let the arguments begin!" ... << MORE >>
MoMo Mia!
It's easy to hate Momo's. Mainly a drinking spot for the pre- and post-game crowds from PacBell, er, SBC, er, AT&T Park, the food is undergood and overpriced (Zagat food 17, $37; Bauer food 1 ½, $$$).
But Momo's is not without its redeeming qualities, as Mackie and I discovered during a recent lunchtime visit.
My Cobb salad was representative. It wasn't very good. Then again, how bad can something with blue cheese and bacon be? At $17.00, it's way overpriced. A better rendition for way less money can be found around the corner at Paragon.
Mackie's Philly cheese steak ($14.00) was less satisfying. If you served a weak-ass cheese steak like Momo's near Pat's or Geno's, you'd get your butt kicked.
OTOH, the Philly also provided one of the redeeming qualities. The onion strings. Flat out the best onion strings I've tasted in years. Maybe ever.
My ordering advice is to find out what dishes come with onion strings on the side, pick the one that sounds the best (or that's the cheapest) and go from there.
For dessert, Mackie tried the homemade warm chocolate chip cookies ($6.00). For something that should be a sure-fire crowd pleaser, the cookies fell flat. ... << MORE >>
But Momo's is not without its redeeming qualities, as Mackie and I discovered during a recent lunchtime visit.
My Cobb salad was representative. It wasn't very good. Then again, how bad can something with blue cheese and bacon be? At $17.00, it's way overpriced. A better rendition for way less money can be found around the corner at Paragon.
Mackie's Philly cheese steak ($14.00) was less satisfying. If you served a weak-ass cheese steak like Momo's near Pat's or Geno's, you'd get your butt kicked.
OTOH, the Philly also provided one of the redeeming qualities. The onion strings. Flat out the best onion strings I've tasted in years. Maybe ever.
My ordering advice is to find out what dishes come with onion strings on the side, pick the one that sounds the best (or that's the cheapest) and go from there.
For dessert, Mackie tried the homemade warm chocolate chip cookies ($6.00). For something that should be a sure-fire crowd pleaser, the cookies fell flat. ... << MORE >>
Foodbuzzing
The nice folks at Foodbuzz hosted a dinner for their Bay Area Featured Publishers at Perbacco last night. A good time was had by all. Well, I know that I had a good time and it sure seemed as if everyone else did.
I'll post on the meal separately — I have a Perbacco post in the hopper because my father took me there while he was in town. I'll blog about both dining experiences in the same post. Here, I'll share some observations and anecdotes from the dinner.
I'll post on the meal separately — I have a Perbacco post in the hopper because my father took me there while he was in town. I'll blog about both dining experiences in the same post. Here, I'll share some observations and anecdotes from the dinner.
- It's not like I checked IDs or anything but I think I was the oldest person in attendance. By at least a decade. Is the general population of those approaching 50 so illweberate that they don't blog?
- When it comes to bloggers, I'm like a bartender with his customers — I couldn't remember their names to save my life but I could remember names of their blogs.
- Devin of Foodbuzz caused a stir when she said that she didn't like bacon. "You don't like bacon???" everyone at ...<< MORE >>
The Farmer in the 'Loin
UPDATED 8/4/08
I'm generally suspicious when soul food is called "neo" or otherwise gussied up. It's usually an excuse to charge more for something that tastes better in its plain and simple form.
So, it was with some nervousness that I approached Farmer Brown. That and the fact that the neighborhood sucks.
The results were mixed.
I was torn between the jambalaya and the short ribs. When I asked the waitress for advice, she replied "short ribs," immediately and with conviction. Short ribs ($19.50) it was.
They were excellent. Very meaty, surprisingly little fat. The lack of lipids meant that the meat wasn't fall-off-the-bone tender. I'll take that trade off because it precluded wading through a pound of fat and bone to find an ounce of meat, as is often the case with short ribs.
The ribs were served on a bed of mashed sweet potatoes and topped with a couple of onion rings. Some brown broth at the bottom of the shallow bowl completed the dish. The onion rings were above average but would have been better if they had been warmer. The mashers were good, not spectacular. The broth was a nice addition, a bit salty and providing some nice moisture ...<< MORE >>
I'm generally suspicious when soul food is called "neo" or otherwise gussied up. It's usually an excuse to charge more for something that tastes better in its plain and simple form.
So, it was with some nervousness that I approached Farmer Brown. That and the fact that the neighborhood sucks.
The results were mixed.
I was torn between the jambalaya and the short ribs. When I asked the waitress for advice, she replied "short ribs," immediately and with conviction. Short ribs ($19.50) it was.
They were excellent. Very meaty, surprisingly little fat. The lack of lipids meant that the meat wasn't fall-off-the-bone tender. I'll take that trade off because it precluded wading through a pound of fat and bone to find an ounce of meat, as is often the case with short ribs.
The ribs were served on a bed of mashed sweet potatoes and topped with a couple of onion rings. Some brown broth at the bottom of the shallow bowl completed the dish. The onion rings were above average but would have been better if they had been warmer. The mashers were good, not spectacular. The broth was a nice addition, a bit salty and providing some nice moisture ...<< MORE >>
Bye, Bye Bobby
According to Eater SF and The Tablehopper, Le Petit Robert, aka, Little Bob, is closing. Once one of my favorite Russian Hill haunts (Mackie insists that I inform you that she never understood its allure), Little Bob went downhill rapidly after the eponomous Robert Cubberly (a rather tall gentleman, I'm told — calling him "Petit Robert" is like calling me "Slim") exited a bit over a year ago. Even the bread they served wasn't as good. In retrospect, Little Bob would have been an excellent zombie to have included in my Living Dead post.
Its end of month closing, will provide excellent fodder for a second Zen and the Art of Restaurant Dining post. For a time, I ranked its French-style hamburger the best in San Francisco, although the recent price increase from $14 to $15 really rubbed me the wrong way — it was already pricey at $14. I'll also miss the mac and cheese as well as the shaved brussels sprouts with hazelnuts, when sprouts were in season.
Both sources report that the neighboring La Boulange de Polk will move into Little Bob's space, allowing La Boulange to expand.
Speaking of La Boulange de Polk...<< MORE >>
Its end of month closing, will provide excellent fodder for a second Zen and the Art of Restaurant Dining post. For a time, I ranked its French-style hamburger the best in San Francisco, although the recent price increase from $14 to $15 really rubbed me the wrong way — it was already pricey at $14. I'll also miss the mac and cheese as well as the shaved brussels sprouts with hazelnuts, when sprouts were in season.
Both sources report that the neighboring La Boulange de Polk will move into Little Bob's space, allowing La Boulange to expand.
Speaking of La Boulange de Polk...<< MORE >>
Eat at Susie's. Please.
Susie, the cook/owner of Susie's Café, one of my favorite cheap eats joints, was badly injured (as in multiple broken bones) in an automobile accident about a month ago. While she has insurance, I'm sure that she's incurred medical expenses that aren't covered.
The Café is open, her faithful waitress doing double duty as the cook, with no drop in quality of the preparation but slightly longer waits when it's busy.
The best way I can think of helping is to patronize often, which is what Mackie and I have been doing. If you're in SoMa and want a quick, bargain bite, stop by Susie's. It's good and for a good cause.
(BTW, I discovered that Susie isn't her real name, it's not even her adopted English-language name. I guess, like me, everyone assumed that the place was named after her and they call her Susie. ...<< MORE >>
The Café is open, her faithful waitress doing double duty as the cook, with no drop in quality of the preparation but slightly longer waits when it's busy.
The best way I can think of helping is to patronize often, which is what Mackie and I have been doing. If you're in SoMa and want a quick, bargain bite, stop by Susie's. It's good and for a good cause.
(BTW, I discovered that Susie isn't her real name, it's not even her adopted English-language name. I guess, like me, everyone assumed that the place was named after her and they call her Susie. ...<< MORE >>
An Open Letter to the Management of Little Star Pizza on Valencia
Dear Management,
GET THAT FREAKIN' TINA TURNER CD OFF OF YOUR JUKEBOX! NOW!!!
Respectfully yours,
Grumpy
<< MORE >>
GET THAT FREAKIN' TINA TURNER CD OFF OF YOUR JUKEBOX! NOW!!!
Respectfully yours,
Grumpy
<< MORE >>