Chez Papa: Dine About Town 2011

My foodie friend Heather and I chose Chez Papa for our Dine About Town 2011 Lunch. When we got to Chez Papa, no DAT! We were confused but not too disappointed. Chez Papa offers a Business Lunch Prix Fixe Menu for $24.



I had a very brief glimpse of the interior of Chez Papa. I spotted dark wood furniture and  orange leather. Very chic but also dark inside. Since it was beautiful day, we chose al fresco dining. Chez Papa is located at the Mint Plaza, an alley on 5th and Market converted into a one open concrete space for people to just sit or have their meals at one of the restaurants. I remember when this alley used to be nothing but a dirty and unused street almost a decade ago. Now the Mint Plaza is with bustling with activities from hanging out at the plaza to dining al fresco at one of the higher end restaurants.



Al fresco dining at Chez Papa was great but it has its downside. About 3 times while we were dining, there were some aggresive panhandlers who tried to hit us up for change. There was a security guard at the site and the server readily apologized to us. Heather and I are not easily daunted. We ignored the behavior and still managed to have an enjoyable lunch. For the easily annoyed, opt to dine inside the restaurant.

We chose identical meals:

*Course 1: Charred Local Squid, Barhi Dates, Chorizo, Mizuna, Romesco as our appetizer: The squid with the tentacles were plump and looked very fresh. However the whole dish was on the salty side. I love the sweet dates that was meant to provide balance but the dish was still overly salty.



*Course 2: Grilled Albacore Niçoise, Soft Quail Egg, Confit Marzano Tomato, Tapenade Vinaigrette: The tuna was seared rare as I liked it. Fresh and nice healthy red color. Served over a small bed of greens and a single soft-boiled quial egg. Generously served, simple yet tasty.



*Course 3: Desserts

Dessert #1: Cocoa Nib Profiteroles, Pistachio Gelato, Toasted Almonds, Warm Chocolate Sauce: Heather generously shared her dessert with me. Just oh so delish dessert of 2 cream puffs with chocolate sauce served separately on the side to top off a nice lunch!



Dessert #2: Cacao Barry Chocolate Mousse, Minted Citrus Fruit Salad, Hazelnut Tuile: And I took mine home! The chocolate was so smooth and decadent complimented by the fresh citrus!



Another beautiful girl-bonding lunch. The Mint Plaza has its own unique personality due to the mixture of business and homeless/indigents folks sharing one huge beautiful urban space to find a little peace in this bustling city. It was quite an experience and great for people watching until you get hit up for spare change!

Tab: $32 per girl including tax, 20% tip and $1.50 Health SF Fee each.

FOODIE GIRL'S RATING:  3.75 Stars  (Our dishes did not have the "oomph!" factor but still tasty.)

Key:

0 Star: Never again!!! These people should not be in business.
1 Star: Chalk it to bad experience. Live and learn.
2 Stars: Very disappointing but there it has some good things to offer.
3 Stars: It is okay but do not expect much. I will still return.
4 Stars: I like it! I will be singing your praises!
5 Stars: I will be dreaming of you at night!
6 Stars: Perfection (or close to!)

Bushi-Tei

Saturday Date Night (Dinner and Movie): January 8, 2011 @ 5:30 PM

I once met this girl who is half-French and half-Japanese. I thought "what an exotic combination!" Bushi-Tei, a once Michelin Star awardee,  is like that girl. The fusion of Japanese and French cuisine produced a delicate culinary artwork.

For the first Saturday Date Night of the 2011, Enrique and I decided to have dinner at J-Town where we could also catch "The Black Swan" at the Kabuki later on. We had 2.5 hours to spare between dinner and the movie. We decided to relax and play it by ear.

I was surprised to find Bushi-Tei as a very elegantly decorated restaurant in contemporary design. You see transparent glasswork everywhere including the dining table, except for colored potteries on shelves which are the focal point. The chairs are leather and the utensil are steel except of bamboo chopsticks. Simple but very classy.

All throughout dinner, at one point, 4 servers were attending to us: our main waiter, the assistant waiter and 2 busboys. Our main waiter was very well-versed on that evening's menu yet relaxed and friendly. He explained every dish and came back after each course to check on us. Our water never went down pass the half the glass before it was filled again.

AMUSE BOUCHE: Complimentary "tuna puffs." Nice free food but it was not better than canned tuna.

DRINK: Torrontes for $8. So reasonably priced, generously poured yet so refreshing. They allow a tasting of your wine before you decide on it.

BREAD: Artistically presented tasty nutty bread flavored with rice and a flat cracker.

APPETIZERS - We decided on two apps:
a) Yuzu marinated calamari, cherry tomato, fine herbs, cucumber vinaigrette 12

*Surprisingly, Enrique hogged this whole plate of marinated calamari. We were supposed to share! The calamari was simply-prepared. The flavors were simple, delicate yet refreshing to the palate.

b) Lobster and Crab, Chrysanthemum leaf, papaya, bacon, ginger cream, curry oil 18

*I got nice chunks of crab meat and lobster, papaya in cream but not heavy. I didn't know it had bacon which I did not like to eat (I thought I was eating dried fish) which sort of overpowered the dish. Otherwise the papaya complimented the dish.  I still like it very much.

MAINS:
a) Day boat sea scallop, saffron Yukon potato chowder, pop over 28

*Once again my carnivore guy surprised me when he ordered scallops as his main dish. I think he was so inspired by the calamari. And as accurately as our waiter explained, the tastes of the scallops were delicate and prepared medium rare. I had a bite and it was great!

b) Big eye tuna, rock shrimp risotto, crispy shallot, coconut red curry 28

*Popular dish according to our server. The tuna could have been cooked more rare but the rock shrimp risotte in curry wowed my palate but did not overwhelm me. It was just right. The clean taste of the tuna brought out the fun exotic taste of the curry risotto.

DESSERT -- Enrique and I were really having an unexpectedly simple but enjoyable culinary experience that we went all out:
a) Espresso for me. I wish they served this with my dessert instead of before but it was still nice to sip on this bitter-strong coffee.

b) Caramelized banana: Black rice pudding, banana ice cream 8 Exotic version of fried banana with a kaleidoscipe flavors going on in our mouths.

c) Apple dumpling: French vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce 7.5 Ordering this with the banana just doubled/tripled/quadripled the fun!

*One was exotic and the other one was traditional. Now I am glad that Enrique nsisted that we get a dessert each. They were just simply divine and delcious!

d) ) Almond cakes and truffles: Very thoughtful compliments of the house but I still recommend to make room for the desserts above:

Tab: $122 after tax, before tip and before $40 Groupon. Even with the Groupon our final bill was still $102 with 20% tip included.

OVERALL:
Despite the mixed opinions on Bushi-Tei's culinary strengths (or weaknesses), Enrique had one of the most enjoyable fine dining experiences in a while. It helps that we went to Bushi-tei devoid of any expectations except for a hope of a beautiful date night.

The flavors of Bushi-Tei's cuisines are not overwhelming or strong. They were mellow, delicate and simple.If you want strong flavors which will induce explosive culinary euphoria, Bushi-Tei is not the place; although all throughout dinner we heard exclamations of foodie ecstacy from tables surrounding us:  "Superb," "Oooh, this is sooo good!" "Delicious!"

TIBDITS:
* Bushi-Tei once held a Michelin Star.
*The bathroom is probably one of the fanciest if not the fanciest in the City. We're talking about front wash, back wash and drying mode including heated seat. (Nope, I am not talking about a fancy carwash.) Check this out:

FOODIE GIRL'S RATING: 5 Stars --With the delightful and above average culinary experience we had on the evening we had dinner at Bushi-Tei, I can understand why it was awarded a Michelin Star. I continue to wish Bushi-Tei all the best.


Key:


0 Star: Never again!!! These people should not be in business.
1 Star: Chalk it to bad experience. Live and learn.
2 Stars: Very disappointing but there it has some good things to offer.
3 Stars: It is okay but do not expect much. I will still return.
4 Stars: I like it! I will be singing your praises!
5 Stars: I will be dreaming of you at night!
6 Stars: Perfection (or close to!)

Caesar's

Caesar's is an old institution that opened its doors to San Franciscans in 1956. If it is traditional Italian cuisine you want and the famed San Francisco dish, Cioppino, Caesar's is the place to go.

I was finally able to try Caesar's when Enrique's sister, Chris and her husband, Russell took us to dinner here for Enrique birthday. Russell is second generation Italian. Caesar's is his Italian parents and "nonna's" (Italian for grandmother) restaurant of choice for family get togethers.

Chris whispered as we were sitting down, "you come here for the food and ambiance, not for the service." Sure enough, Caesar's is packed and loud with multi-generational families--mostly Italians but diverse enough with Asians and other non-Italian families. "Godfather "would have been happy to bring his la famiglia here.

If you want to practice your Italian, this is the place to do it. The place was loud with Italian dialects spoken all around us. Fiance's sis pointed out the staff who are from the old country who barely speak English but has been working at Caesar's for decades.

Caesar's is indeed old-school from the decor, immigrant restaurant staff and traditional Italian cuisine. The waiters wear black and white tux.

As much as I wanted to try the Cioppino, they were not serving it that night. Chris and Russell suggested that we go for the $35 Seven Course dinner. And for $35 per person, you will get plenty of delicious fare to get you stuffed:

1st Course: SALAD of lettuce, tomato and onionwith Italian dressing.

2nd Course: ANTIPASTI of calamari salad, garbanzo bean salad, grilled eggplant (caponata), cured ham, etc.
*The dishes were fresh and delicious. Future bro-in-law's told us his nonna made these dishes for the family every Sunday. I could dine on these small dishes alone! I could not stop eating the garbanzo bean salad, caponata and calamari salad.

3rd Course: A small dish of PASTA WITH MEAT SAUCE.
*I ate around the meat sauce since I am a pescetarian. I would say that the sauce was very flavorful and definitely NOT Chef Boyardee's!

4th Course: A delicious bowl of lite MINESTRONE SOUP.

5th Course: Choice of main dish.
*Enrique chose GRILLED LAMB CHOPS which he requested as well-done. It came to him medium rare. He said it was still delicious, not gamey and very tender.

*I had the GRILLED SEAFOOD PLATTER. My meal came with a skewer of plump prawns and very tender scallops with spinach and potatoes. As simple as my meal was, it was surprisingly very good! I had to take half of it home since I got stuffed from eating the antipasti,salad and soup.

6th Course: SPUMONI.
*You get to choose from their dessert menu but the spumoni ice cream was a great way to end this nice Italian dinner.

7th Course: COFFEE

OVERALL:
Service was polite and not so bad. This was a leisurely dinner and you might have to flag your server down once in a while. They leave you alone but not forget about you. You will still get your water refilled and your dishes on time.

They even gave Enrique an amaretti flavored cheesecake with a candle in it for his birthday dessert. Rich and delish! The whole restaurant joined in when we sang "Happy Birthday."

I have traveled to Italy and have had the pleasure to eat well in Rome and the Umbrian region. Caesar's is indeed authentic, traditional and old school. The dishes are not as delicious as what I had in Italy but at Caesar's it is about tradition. The dishes were simple, fresh and light--not the heavy, cheesy, Italian-American that is standard in the US.

On our way out, Enrique's sister spotted BUGIE COOKIES for sale at the counter. She said their nonna made these Italian sweets. I grabbed a couple of boxes for $6 each and gave one to her as a thank you present for the nice dinner treat. Bugies I found out later are fried dough sprinkled with powdered sugar. Delicious but not diet food!

FOODIE GIRL'S RATING: 3 Stars

Key:
0 Star: Never again!!! These people should not be in business.
1 Star: Chalk it to bad experience. Live and learn.
2 Stars: Very disappointing but there it has some good things to offer.
3 Stars: It is okay but do not expect much. I will still return.
4 Stars: I like it! I will be singing your praises!
5 Stars: I will be dreaming of you at night!
6 Stars: Perfection (or close to!)

Wayfare Tavern: Chef Tyler Delivers

Holiday Dinner with Girlfriends: December 17, 2010 @ 6PM

It was raining cats and dogs last night but the storm did not deter us 4 girls from having a delicious and enjoyable Holiday dinner at Wayfare Tavern.

DECOR/AMBIANCE:
The best description I can give WFT is it looked like a sophisticated saloon with heavy dark wood furniture, oriental rugs and hardwood floors. One of my gf's commented that it was like dining at one's elegant ("but not stuffy" another gf chimes in) dining room. The restaurant was dark, narrow and divided into different sections. Main level is where the open kitchen is located where you might see Chef Tyler Florence in action if you are lucky like us. Upstairs dining has its own bar.

SERVICE: Professional, efficient but slightly stoic.

SOCIAL SCENE:
The place was packed with mature nicely dressed holiday merry-makers.

DRINKS:
Um, we had quite a few. We had 10 between 4 of us. I wouldn't say who had how much but the drinks were nicely crafted and strong! We pretty much tried almost every mixed drink on the menu of about 5 drinks including MAPLE SIDECAR, LIEDESDORFF and dessert wines.

I had the OCCIDENTAL which probably could also function as a horse tranquilizer. :) Tangy and too strong for me but well-made, then another glass of a nice Chardonnay. I was still intoxicated 5 hours later! (I took the BART train home.)

STARTERS:
POPOVERS: Complimentary hot, custardy pastries instead of traditional baked loaf. The server generously offered us more before our main dishes arrived.



LOCAL FORAGED MUSHROOMS $8
Olive oil & garlic. Oh, so simple yet so delicious! The mushrooms tasted earthy and fresh.

GRILLED MONTEREY BAY CALAMARI $9
Toasted garlic, squid ink vinaigrette, smoked chili oil, breadcrumbs & celery. Another OMG! I didn't want to order this at first because I thought it was the greasy deep-fried kind. This dish was a delicious of fresh tender octopus with tentacles sauteed with of garlic and spices. The crunchy breadcumbs were a very nice addition. We really enjoyed this one!

MAIN DISHES:
HANGTOWN FRY $23-
A dying man’s last meal: fluffy Petaluma eggs, crispy oysters, smoked bacon, Jack cheese, Sausalito watercress; potato hash. I've had this few times before at different places. This was the best I've had with the fluffiest egg omelette topped with tender oysters sans bacon. Heather and I ordered this same dish except she had hers with bacon.

GRILLED SANTA MARIA TRI-TIP STEAK $26 -
Slow roasted heirloom onions, truffle butter, crisp Kennebec potatoes.
My picky carnivore friend Jannette loved her dish!

VEGAN "CUSTOM MADE" DISH
Our friend Alexis is vegan. She asked the server if the chef could make a custom made vegan dish for her. She told them to just surprise her. And she was surpised with a nice dish of polenta with mixture of fresh veggies. Maybe Chef Tyler made this dish for her.

DESSERT:
FRIED APPLE PIE $9 Orange caramel, sage ice cream. We liked the apple filling but not fans of the crusty thick pie crust. The sage ice cream with fried sage leaves were exotic and nice.

COMPLIMENTARY GINBERBREAD COOKIES: Yummy and sweet touch!

OVERALL:
Chef Florence creates dishes that are traditional, comforting and familiar but taken to the next level. They were delightful and not overwhelming ambitious. The potions were generous that despite our hefty tab we had leftovers to take home. A definite must return for me!

TAB: $360 including 10 drinks, tax and 20% tip. ($90 per gal.)

CHEF TYLER FLORENCE:
I didn't expect to see him but he was working last evening. I had the biggest crush on Tyler when I used to watch his food shows when he was still hot and single. He is still cute as I imagined. It was pleasure to see him in action.

FOODIE GIRL'S RATING: Solid 5 Stars even pushing 6!

Key:
0 Star: Never again!!! These people should not be in business.
1 Star: Chalk it to bad experience. Live and learn.
2 Stars: Very disappointing but there it has some good things to offer.
3 Stars: It is okay but do not expect much. I will still return.
4 Stars: I like it! I will be singing your praises!
5 Stars: I will be dreaming of you at night!
6 Stars: Perfection (or close to!)





Ozumo: Uber-Hip Sushi

Saturday Date Night: November 27, 2010

Want to eat sushi at ultra-chic, uber-hip and trendy bar/lounge/sushi restaurant? Ozumo fits the bill.

It was senses overload for me as soon as I walked in. The place is "warehouse huge" with exposed pipes on high ceilings. Different colored lights in contemporary shapes lit up the dark modern lounge. It had the glamous LA feel to it than the usual more "subtle but cool" Bay Area ambiance.

The place is divided into two parts: a swanky bar and a fun but more formal sushi dining area.

Enrique and I went straight to the main dining area for dinner while I was doing a mental note to come back and have a drink at the swanky bar and seat right next to the wall fountain.

The huge lighted sushi kitchen was in the middle of the huge dining room where chefs prepare your dish. The rest of the place was dimly and dramatically lit.

We ordered few starters which arrived immediately. We were impressed with the deliciousness of these dishes:

a. Futago $13: Grilled washu beef flatiron, sauteed spinach, eggplant wtih goma-miso sauce. My fiance reported that the beef was melt in your mouth. I only ate the veggie parts and they were very tasty.

b. Nasu $5: Another grilled eggplant appetizer without the beef. It was very similar to Futago but also very tasty.

While waiting for our sushi, we enjoyed a complimentary amuse bouch, small hot sake for me ($8) and Voss Sparkling water for my guy. We were enjoying the ambiance, admiring the architecture, people-watching, talking, sipping......and waiting and waiting.....

Our sushi finally came 40 minutes after our drinks and starters were served. We had:
a. Spider Roll ($9)
b. Dynamite Roll ($15)
c. Uni Nigiri ($10)
d. Tako Nigiri ($6)

Our sushi were fresh but forgettable. I could have gone to a mom and pop sushi joint down the street and probably have gotten the same quality. The sushi rice was even on the hard side and fell apart.

Our Saturday Date Night dinner started out fun enough but waiting for almost an hour for run of the mill sushi was not fun even at a cool place like Ozumo. Service was very friendly and our server was taking care of almost every table at this huge place. Ozumo needs to hire more servers. She apologized for the delay.

$90 later (after tax and 20% tip) Enrique drove into a Burger King drive-in for french fries and shake. He was still hungry but we did not want to wait another hour for a sushi roll.

(You may also try Ozumo San Francisco on Steuart Street.)

FOODIE GIRL'S OVERALL RATING: 3.5
Food: 2
Decor/Ambiance: 4.5
Service: 2

Key:


0 Star: Never again!!! These people should not be in business.
1 Star: Chalk it to bad experience. Live and learn.
2 Stars: Very disappointing but there it has some good things to offer.
3 Stars: It is okay but do not expect much. I will still return.
4 Stars: I like it! I will be singing your praises!
5 Stars: I will be dreaming of you at night!
6 Stars: Perfection (or close to!)

Oyster Rockefeller

SONOMA WEEKEND GETAWAY: November 20, 2010

Chilled Drake's Bay oyster on the half shell served with our Lemon-Honey-Jalapeno Mignonette, OR

Rocker Oysterfeller: Wilted arugula, cream cheese, crispy bacon and cornbread crumbs with a hint of Pernod liquor and garlic butter,  OR

BBQ, Louisiana Hots, Garlic Butter on Tomales Bay oysters.

Are you not not convinced yet?
I found out about Oyster Rockefeller's Kitchen and Saloon's while browsing a copy of 7x7 magazine. And the food writer had me at BBQ oysters.

So Enrique and I packed our overnight bags and headed to Valley Ford despite the forecast of heavy rain. Valley Ford is located in Sonoma county. And the Rocker Oysterfeller is nestled among the green pastures and rolling hills off of Highway 1.  This is truly backroads dining at its finest.

And it couldn't get any better than this: the promise of a wonderful weekend was sweetened by the fact that Oyster Rockefeller is housed at Valley Ford Hotel where we also decided to stay.

EAT + DRINK + SLEEP= Perfect weekend getaway!

DECOR/AMBIANCE:
Oyster Rockefeller is a casual dining restaurant that is full of country charm. It is located among rolling hills, ranches, grazing cows. It is the perfect setting for a bucolic and quiet mini-getaway. The crowd consisted of couples trying to have a romantic dinner (including us) despite familes who had kids who kept on staring and pointing at our crab! And mixed age group of 20 something friends to more mature ones. The decor is shabby-chic country with cozy wooden provincial furniture.

SERVICE:
Service was very friendly. It is being run by a husband and wife team. The wife is the bartender, server and hotel manager. The husband is the chef.

DRINKS:
Since we didn't have to drive after dinner, Enrique and I had a glorious evening with Oyster Rockefeller's strong but yummy cocktails:
1. Strong MOJITO for my him.
2. BLOODY MARY for me: Generously served in a mason jar with a olives and celery stick. Strong and good.

BISCUITS: Complimentary, fluffy and delicious!

OYSTERS;
We were here for the oysters and we chose:
1. Six CHILLED DRAKE BAY'S OYSTERS ON HALF-SHELL with Lemon-Honey-Jalapeno Mignonette ($12)

Six LOUISIANA HOTS BBQ TOMALES BAY OYSTERS ($14)
1. Both were delicious! The fresh and BBQ oysters were a great combination. The fresh oysters were plump, sweet and fresh. The BBQ oysters tasted like eating BBQ chicken wings except they were oysters.

MAIN:
We wanted to eat more oysters but we wanted room for the main entrees. Although Rocker Oysterfeller boasts of the creative ways they can dress they oysters, the main dishes were not overlooked. They were fresh and full of flavors. The ingredients are locally-grown and harvested, thus, the Southern-inspired dishes tasted fresh and lighter than their authentic Southern counterparts.

1. FLASH FRIED DUNGENESS CRAB with Cajun seasoning, potatoes and toast ($29): Since it is the beginning of the crab season, my guy chose this. He got down and dirty and enjoyed this sweet and meaty crab. He gave me a quarter of the crab and it was spicy delish!

2. GULF SHRIMP PO-BOY with Applewood Smoked Bacon, White Cheddar and Fries ($18): This po-boy is so ginormous and oozing with countless plump tender prawns in hot melted cheese (and bacon that I took out.)! I could not finish it and longingly looked at my wasted delicious leftover. This sandwich might be a misnomer because it is pricey but it is so worth it!

OVERALL:
We really enjoyed our dinner at Oyster Rockefeller along with the well-mixed drinks, cozy dining room and warm service.

TAB: $110 including tax and 22 % tip. Worth every dollar!

AT THE BAR:
Our dinner did not end here. We were too full to go back to our room upstairs (along with the fact that the room had no TV and weak wi-fi connection.) Enrique and I decided to hangout at the cozy bar for a night cap. It was pouring outside and I was feeling cold that I decided to have a HOT TODDY. It was sweet with cinnamon and cloves. Well-made and warmed up my freezing bones. Enrique had another mojito. We chatted with the owner, watched football and went people-watching.

The evening was perfect. And the best part, we just climbed a flight of stairs and slept like babies while it was storming. It couldn't have been more perfect!

For details on Valley Ford Hotel:  http://www.vfordhotel.com/

FOODIE GIRL'S RATING: 5 Stars all the way through!

Key:
0 Star: Never again!!! These people should not be in business.
1 Star: Chalk it to bad experience. Live and learn.
2 Stars: Very disappointing but there it has some good things to offer.
3 Stars: It is okay but do not expect much. I will still return.
4 Stars: I like it! I will be singing your praises!
5 Stars: I will be dreaming of you at night!
6 Stars: Perfection (or close to!)