Hecho (FiDi)

Gal Foodie Lunch Date: April 29, 2011 @ 11:45 AM

After an excessive consumption of champagne, cucumber gimlet and pear martini at Lime the night before with my gals, both me and my gf Heather met up at Hecho the next day nursing a hangover.

Hecho was the perfect choice since I consider sushi my "morning after" guilt-buster remedy for overindulgence.

WHERE:
Hecho is the new kid on the block residing at the former home of now-closed Midi.

EAT JAPANESE/DRINK MEXICAN:
And Hecho, despite his Spanish name, does not have an identitiy crisis. Actually, he is solidly rooted and comfortable in his Japanese roots. One cool thing about him, though, is he knows that while he could provide the fresh and delicious Japanese bento, his Latin brother could provide the good times in a bottle (or 80+) of Tequila.

So Hecho is a Japanese restaurant/Tequila bar. We sat downstairs where the extensive tequila bar covered the walls that continued on to the sushi bar. The tables were made of wood with matching backless stools. The decor is definitely Japanese, minimal and handsome.

SUSHI PURIST:
And you won't find crazy Godzilla rolls here. It is all about fish purity and freshness.

* 2 SPOT SHRIMPS NIGIRI AND 1 OCTOPUS NIGIRI ($4 each): Pricey for 1 nigiri but the freshness is so pronounced! They melt in your mouth and meant to be savored.

BENTO BOXES:
In my hangover state, drinks were out of the question. I glazed over the short but adequate lunch menu. I really just wanted to fill my alcohol-induced hunger pang:

CHIRASHI ($18): Whenever I see chirashi on the menu, I am like Pavlov's dog. I start to salivate and get fixated on it. My meal was nicely presented with the chirashi placed in a ceramic boat-shaped bowl. It came with miso soup and a salad. I had 6 pieces of adequately cut assorted fish pieces which were very fresh. I love that my rice was not hot since the hot rice would cook the raw fish.

GRILLED SALMON ($22): It was also a bento box with a generous piece of thick salmon, salad and miso soup. I tasted a piece of her salmon which was simple but very fresh. Heather commented that the fish did NOT even have a hint of fishiness.



TAB: $60 including tax and tip without drinks. ($30 per gal.)

LOWDOWN:
Splurgey meal but you get what you pay for which is good quality fish. Portions are adequate but you might leave the place still a little hungry. Service was professional but very friendly. Most of the folks eating there were in business work suit.

I do not usually spend $30 for lunch on a daily basis but once in a while I like to hide and runaway from work for an hour to sit down and have a quiet satisfying meal.

Hecho fits the description if not the expensive bill but I will definitely return. A good choice for a day off with Heather spent on a super-gorgeous day in SF! Next stop, Ferry Building!!!!

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: Some are good. Some are okay. Some are bad.
3 Stars: Like! I will return!
4 Stars: Love! I will be dreaming of you at night!
5 Stars: Perfection (or close to!)

Dynamo Donuts

Dynamo Donuts is another testament that San Francisco rules the foodie world. Some people might want to kill the messenger and throw their Loubotins (size 6 please!) at her but you have to agree, this City by the Bay is pretty much up there in the inventive culinary pyramid.

I was jonesing for donuts. Not just any donuts but Dynamo Donuts.  I have tried Dynamo Donuts in the past when they literally landed on my lap while attending an event catered by Dynamo Donuts.  That was almost 2 years ago.

A couple of years later and I  was finally able to visit the kiosk.  It is a charming little kiosk serving coffee, tea and the notorious Maple Apple Bacon Donut in the Mission. 

I had to go for the Maple Apple Bacon Donut again plus Caramel de Sel and Chocolate Rose. 

Maple Apple Donut, Chocolate Rose and Caramel de Sel

I thought that the Maple Apple Bacon Donut will "take the donut." Believe me, it was great! The crispy bacon bits were generously scattered on top of the maple apple glaze. (I really did not taste the apple. The apple flavor was very, very subtle.) This literally melted in my mouth at 4 o' clock in the afternoon!!!

But what made me " almost burst into tears" (figure of speech) was the Caramel de Sel. It was the least appetizing looking donut since the glaze stuck to the bag. I thought, "Great, now I am left with a donut with no glaze." And I was so wrong. One bite of this sweet savory, another melt in your mouth donut with bits of sea salt grains was just---gratifying, for lack of a better word. Maybe even intoxicating?

The Chocolate Rose also beat the Maple Apple Bacon Donut by a hairline in my opinion. This cakey donut was loaded with chocolate flavor with the nicest hint of rose. Divine!

In my opinion, what sets Dynamo Donuts apart from others aside from the melt in your mouth fluffy donuts even when they were not freshly out of the fryer, is the donut chef's ability to marry the flavors without overwhelming each ingredient. It is about complimenting, magnifying yet balancing the exotic flavors of each donut. And the above are just some of the exotic flavors. There are lot to spend your calories on:  http://www.dynamodonut.com/

Dynamo Donuts are not your mother's donuts. Maybe you should take her to Dynamo one of these days. Dynamo was brave enough to reinvent the donut and succeeded!

The verdict?  Not only I finished the Maple Apple Bacon and the Caramel de Sel, and ate half of the Chocolate Rose, I have also broken my 6 month seafoodtarian diet. Was it worth it? Heck, yeah! (But then do bacon bits count?!)

Donuts are $2-3 each.

Foodie Girl's Rating: 5 Stars
Good thing that I do not work or live close to the Mission, otherwise, Dynamo Donuts would have been a delicious diet disaster!


Key:
0 Star: Never again!!! These people should not be in business.
1 Star: Chalk it to bad experience. Live and learn.
2 Stars: Some are good. Some are okay. Some are bad.
3 Stars: Like! I will return!
4 Stars: Love! I will be dreaming of you at night!
5 Stars: Perfection (or close to!)

What's Up Dog (Larkin Street)

What's Up Dog on Larkin is a WUD with a BIG HEART!

For a limited time, for each HAPA DOG purchase, WUD on Larkin will donate $1 to Japan to help them rebuild from the devastation of the tsunami and earthquake.

So, what is a HAPA DOG?



I am assuming that Hapa Dog is probably the long-distance cousin of JapaDog in Vancouver. (I haven't had JapaDog.) http://www.japadog.com/

It was presented to me nicely cradled in red and white picnic wrapper. It was made with such care and looked very appetizing:

TOPPINGS:

The toppings for Hapa Dog are:
*Nori Shavings
*Furikake
*Wasabi Mayo
*Teriyaki Pineapple Glaze
*Caramelized Onions

I was a little nervous when I bought my Hapa Dog with veggie dog. I thought "if this does not taste good, at least it is for a good cause."

My Hapa Dog was really tasty! The combination of spicy kick from the wasabi mayo, sweetness from the teriyaki pineapple glaze, seaweed flavors from the nori and furikake and savory from caramelized onions were awesome! They complimented each other.

You can choose any dog you want and I bet the beef dog would taste really, really good with these toppings. I hate veggie dogs but I have no choice since I stopped eating meat.

MORE TOPPINGS PLEASE!:
Next time I'll ask if I can pay extra to get extra toppings since I want my Hapa Dog to be drowning in the yummy wasabi mayo, pineapple sauce and seaweed.

NORTHERN JAPAN RELIEF FUND DONATION:
As soon as I paid for my HapaDog, the owner thanked me for making a donation and handed me a "Relief, Recovery, Rebuild" button from the Northern Japan Relief Fund. I proudly wear this button with my work badge.

SERVICE WITH A HEART:
And this guy practices what he preaches when it comes to kindness. I have seen him treat the hardened population of the Tenderloin with much respect and patience. When my order took a few minutes longer since he caramelized the onions from scratch, he told me "Can you please do me a favor? Help yourself to chips or drinks while waiting." What a nice guy!

DECOR/MENU:
The What's Up Dog at Larkin is not as shiny as other WUD but it is clean. It has a couple of comfy red faux leather diner style booth to eat your meal. Other items on the menu aside from the different dog combos are non-dog sandwiches and Mitchells' Ice Cream.

This WUD has won my heart!

Tab: $5.43 for Hapa Dog.

FOODIE GIRL'S RATING: 4 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: Some are good. Some are okay. Some are bad.
3 Stars: Like! I will return!
4 Stars: Love! I will be dreaming of you at night!
5 Stars: Perfection (or close to!)

Lime (Market/Castro)

April 7, 2011 @ 5:30 PM

Waiting To Exhale (remember the movie?) but my gf couldn't wait until Friday. So we went on a Thursday.

And Lime is such a cool place to chill with your girl, most especially if your girl has so much steam that needed to be let out.

CHILL PLACE/CHILL SERVERS:
I have read about how brunch can be crazy at Lime on weekends. When we went, we got to seat where we wanted. The place was not dead and still happening but we sat there for 3 hours over our drinks without being rushed to get out pronto to make room for others. Music was loud but after a while we stopped paying attention to it and able to talk.

SWANKY AND ULTRA CONTEMPORARY:
Lime's bar looked like it took a red-eye flight from LA and landed on Castro. The long bar is sexy hot pink. Booths are faux bleached white leather. Ultra-modern sleek chairs and tables.

SEXY STRONG DRINKS:
I had the CUCUMBER GIMLET while my gf had a MOJITO. My cucumber gimlet was so yummy and perfectly made. Not too sweet. The drinks were strong that we felt that nice buzz creeping up right away. We had to hang around for 3 hours to sober up a little over one drink each. As soon as my friend took a sip of my drink, she went "Now that's what I would call a drink!"

DELISH ASIAN FUSION:
* FISH TACOS (cornmeal dusted mahi mahi, guacamole, tomato salsa) $9 - Tastly lightly fried fish tacos. So yummy!

* GRILLED PRAWNS (3 white prawns, thai green papaya salad with mint, cilantro and peanuts) $10 - I loved the green thai papaya salad. The papaya was crispy and well-dressed. The prawns did not taste fresh thoug to me but my friend did not have a problem with them and thought they were good.

* BUDDHA'S CUPS (avocado, cucumber, ginger, peanuts, crispy shallots and soy-miso dressing ) $8 Crispy, sweet, addicting and guilt-free! These were little salads in lettuce cups!

The dishes at Lime are Asian tapas style. They were small dishes but we found ourselves full and satisfied. This a fun delish place to bond with your besties, grab a drink at the swanky bar solo, or have a romantic dinner just like the couple we saw who were starting off with a bottle of champagne.

Tab: $62 ($31 per girl including tax and 20% tip)

FOODIE GIRL'S RATING: 4 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: Some are good. Some are okay. Some are bad.
3 Stars: Like! I will return!
4 Stars: Love! I will be dreaming of you at night!
5 Stars: Perfection (or close to!)

Woodhouse Fish Company (Fillmore Street)

Saturday Date Night: April 9, 2010 at 4:55 PM

4:55 PM:
Arrived at Woodhouse Fish Company. Found it empty except for mom and daughter having an early dinner. Server asked to to sit anywhere we wanted. Enrique  took a seat by the window overlooking the bustling Fillmore Street. Got our water and drinks (bubbly water) few minutes as soon as we sat down.

5:10 PM:
All of the sudden the restaurant got jam-packed! People were being asked to wait 10 minutes and put their names of the list, go window-shopping first then come back.

5:15 PM:
We got our appetizer of ROCK SHRIMP CROQUETTES W/ POLENTA CAKE. Delish! The polenta was the smoothest I've had. The croquettes were crispy on the outside and nice with big pieces of rock shrimp on the inside. This was a main dish but we decided to share as an appetizer. ($17)

5:15 pm, 5:30 PM, 5:45 PM.....
Admired the decor. Woodhouse is nautical: huge fish art pieces are suspended on the walls such as a giant blue marlin and giant squid with long tentacles. A rustic bar is at the far end of the restaurant. The ceiling is ornate and high. The whole place has a whole rustic fishmarket feel to it.

Still no food after almost an hour. We amused ourselves by taking pictures of one another. Fried food started to come out. We were the very first ones there but we still haven't gotten our food along with others. We wondered if the chef was late for work today.

6:00 PM:
An hour later and Enrique was suffering from hunger pangs. Our food finally came out;

ARTICHOKES STUFFED WITH CRABMEAT AND SHRIMP W/ CROSTINI: Enrique really enjoyed his dish and labored through each artichoke leaf until he was rewarded with the artichoke heart. The shrimp and crab were very fresh.

CRAB CAKES ON GREENS: I enjoyed my crabcakes which were crispy on the outside; creamy and packed with crabmeat on the inside. Definitely a generous crabcake and not a fake one with nothing but fillers. The green salad was nicely dressed.

SAUTEED VEGGIES: Good choice! I didn't know that Enrique ordered this. The sauteed green beans, carrots and broccoli in butter complimented our seafood dish.

6:35PM
Our friendly but busy server gave us our check. The restaurant was packed with people waiting. Some are families with kids in strollers. This is a family-friendly and casual date place restaurant.


TAB: $71 including bubbly H20, tax and 20% tip.

FOODIE GIRL'S RATING: 3 Stars
Charming neighborhood seafood restaurant. Trustworthy place for fresh good quality seafood. Does not accept reservations. Prepare to wait or come early. Super-super slow service.

Key:
0 Star: Never again!!! These people should not be in business.
1 Star: Chalk it to bad experience. Live and learn.
2 Stars: Some are good. Some are okay. Some are bad.
3 Stars: Like! I will return!
4 Stars: Love! I will be dreaming of you at night!
5 Stars: Perfection (or close to!)

Mission Pie

5A beautiful sunny and hot (and rare) Spring day in San Francisco made me crave refreshing Spring inspired lunch.

Mission Pie is THE PIE DESTINATION in the Mission. Easy enough to remember. However, Mission Pie's awesomeness is not just limited to their artisinal pies.

Today, I treated myself to a sumptous and tasty lunch of

a. PASTA WITH ARUGULA PESTO

b. STRAWBERRY GALLETTE

c. ICED TEA

This trio of savory and sweet, hot and cold food delivered a simple yet one of the deliciously satisfying lunches I have had in a while.

PASTA W/ ARUGULA PESTO: One bite of this cold salad woke up my palate. The simple combination of arugula, garlic , pamersan cheese and white beans produced very refreshing and bold flavors. I enjoyed and finished the whole bowl. $5

STRAWBERRY GALLETTE: This hot round pie was oozing with the flavors of strawberries. The crust was flakey and contrasted nicely the gooey berries. So simple but so good!

ICED TEA: I considered this nice fruity drink in an ice-cold sweaty glass on a hot Spring like today where I walked probably 10 blocks one of life's simple pleasures!

During my previous visits, I also had :

PERSIMMON GALLETTE WITH BLUE CHEESE AND WALNUT:. The sweetness of the persimmon satisfied my sweet tooth and the blue cheese was its perfect creamy-savory accompaniment. The filling was very tasty but the crust was overly crispy because the server left my pie too long in the oven when he reheated it. ($5.50)

COFFEE: I paired it up with one of their fair-trade coffees from Latin America. What a lovely meal!

DECOR:
Pies are made in the open kitchen and baked in big industrial oven that is visible in the dining room. The pie flavors are handwritten on the chalkboard wall.

Mission Pie is spacious, rustic and charming. The almost floor to ceiling wraparound windows make the place bright. You will get a nice view of the bustling Mission Street. A long communal table is also available but plenty of tables for solo or group. The cafe atmosphere is very inviting.

AMBIANCE:
Aside from the irritating group who was having their staff meeting at Mission Pie (I do not need to hear how you are trying to get your Federal funding! I am running away from work myself!), the place provides a nice reprieve from the 9-5 over a cup of coffee and delicious pie.

PRICE:
Sweet pies are pricey at $20 or more and savory pies are $26. Slices are more affordable at $5.50

A sign at the restaurant says: "Mission Pie is a corner café, bakery, and neighborhood gathering place."
For me, Mission Pie is my "Pie in the Sky" in the Mission.

CASH ONLY.

FOODIE GIRL'S RATING: 4 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: Some are good. Some are okay. Some are bad.
3 Stars: Like! I will return!
4 Stars: Love! I will be dreaming of you at night!
5 Stars: Perfection (or close to!)

Mercury Lounge (SoMa)

Happy Hour with the Girls: February 10, 2011 @ 6PM

CLUB OR RESTAURANT?
Mercury Lounge will feed you delicious Filipino and Asian Fusion dishes before you get your groove on on the dance floor. Mercury Lounge is a restaurant/club in one.

Thanks to Mercury Lounge's split personality, we were able to enjoy its foodie offerings and able to take off before ML's DJ started bringing down the house.

SOCIAL SCENE/AMBIANCE:
My girls and I met up at 6pm for few rounds of ML's tasty cocktails and fun pan- Asian tapas. The place was almost empty but chill. Everything was laid-back while the DJ and his crew were trying to get ready for that night's music event.

DECOR:
ML's decor is disheveled yet swanky at the same time. The dingy furniture are casualties of bumpin' and grindin' while imbibin' night owls, I'm sure, but the place is clean.

ASIAN FUSION FOR SHARING:
The dishes are fusion-fun and unique. Definitely more fun when sharing. Believe it or not 4 girls demolished all of these:

YUM!
* Fried Tofu w/ pepper adobo sauce $5

* Crab Curry Fried Rice (Crab, coconut, chinese sausage) $9
(The spices did not quite come together but delish carb galore)

* Cucumber Salad $5

* Miso Tofu $11

* Eggplant Miso $6 (Tender eggplants bursting with flavors)

* Salt and Pepper Fish $5 (hot and fried but not greasy)

* Bread Pudding $6 (sweet wya to end a savory dinner)

JUST OKAY:



* Samosa $5 (Ananda Fuara's samosas are a 100x better!)

* Basil Garlic Fries $5 (Overly fried and greasy)



* Grilled Flatbread w/curry sauce $5 (The flatbread was dry)

None of the dishes were foodgasmic delish but still yummy and we enjoyed almost all of them. My girls imbibed while I was the only one who remained sober (I was the only one who had a virgin drink),

ALCOHOL:
And my 3 friends really did imbibe. They liked their drinks which they reported as yummy and strong. They had the following:
(2) Li Hing Margarita ( Herradura Tequila, lime, mango juice, and li-hing powder ) $9 each
(1) Mercury Mojito (Bacardi Rum, muddled mint, fresh lime)$9
(1) Thai Gimlet (Tanquerey Rangpur Gin, muddled w/ thai basil, fresh lime, sugar ) $9
(3) Mercury Ale $3 each

NON-ALC:
I was getting over my flu plus I also drove in that evening so I was stuck with a non-alc drink. It was as expensive as the alcoholic drink but it was really just a fruit juice.
(1) Threesome (The menu says $5 but we were charged $9) Calamansi, mango and orange juice, up or on the rocks w/ li-hing powdered rim

BOTTOMLINE:
If you want to get your groove on or you just have the munchies or both, Mercury Lounge is your destination . Affordable, fun tasty with decent-sized portions.

The late night kitchen is perfect if you are jonesing for Asian fusion particularly Filipino dishes, before and after a hot night on the dance floor. Mercury Lounge will satisfy your cravings without robbing your dinner savings account. The staff are chill and friendly as well.

TAB: $140 including tax and tip (about $35 per happy well-fed girl)



FOODIE GIRL'S RATING: 4 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: Some are good. Some are okay. Some are bad.
3 Stars: Like! I will return!
4 Stars: Love! I will be dreaming of you at night!
5 Stars: Perfection (or close to!)