Gracias Madre

Gracias Madre is not for vegans only.  But even carnivores will find the non-meat and non-dairy dishes at Gracias Madre not only sufficiently good but bursting with flavors, refreshing, filling and delicious!

DECOR/AMBIANCE:
Gracias Madre's space is attractive. A colorful mural of Mother Earth who resembles the virgin mary greets diners at the entrance if they want to dine semi-alfresco style as an option. Her statue is also present inside the restaurant. Despite the hovering of Mother Earth the restaurant  is rustic and relaxed. The place is a little dark but the a long sunny open kitchen in the back provides light.

COMMUNAL STYLE EATING:
The heavy wooden chairs and tables are meant to be shared communal style but we did not have to. At 1:30 pm, the restaurant was busy but had plenty of space.

MEXICAN/LATIN AMERICAN VEGAN FOOD:
My gf H and I shared the following. We had the

ENSALADA DE HIGOS: Farm lettuce tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette, topped with toasted hazelnuts nuts and grilled figs, served with grilled Acme bread and queso blanco $9

**A very simple, fresh and well-made salad bursting with flavors. I honestly make this greens-fig at home almost every summer night minus the hazelnut. But I still enjoyed it for its simple but lovely flavors. The bread with queso blanco was the treat for me. The vegan cheese had a nice light nutty flavor to it.

 TAMAL: Stoneground heirloom masa steamed in the husk filled with sautéed zucchini and onions, served with beans and escabeche $ 11                      

**Really good and bursting with Spring flavors. The tamal was moist and the veggie filling, escabeche (functioned as the salsa) and beans all complimented each other. The result was a symphony of light flavors.

EMPANADA: Homemade pastry filled with grilled plantains, served on a bed of spicy mole sauce, topped with cashew cream $7

** For this alone, I would likely go back next week to order a couple more. This empanada is not the traditional fried or baked kind. The dough is soft and nestled on a bed of delicious mole sauce and vegan cream. Sweet plantains and savory sauce. Oh so good!!!!

DRINKS:
GREEN AGUA FRESCA: This was my gf H's order. It was very green, It is made with veggies including kale and celery. Too earthy for me. I tasted it but I am glad I did not get it. :) H finished it though. So she might have liked it. $8 for a large glass.

 VIRGIN MARGARITA: Refreshing drink that tasted like a real margarita w/o the alc. Nice! $5

Go now! And experience this bounty from Mother Earth done justice by the culinary skills of the folks at Gracias Madre. GM is a good alternative for lard-free Mexican food but the flavors are not compromised. I am happy to know that I can eat good Mexican food without having to suffer a heart attack later.

CHECK AND VALUE: $53 including 19% tip.
Pricey but I can understand why. Good quality ingredients made with lots of culinary talent and love. The 3 dishes got us pretty filled without making us feel overstuffed.

Limon

Saturday Date: July 23, 2011

I have had the pleasure of meeting the culinary family who introduced Limon's Peruvian cuisine to SF, and  their rise to success. I doubt that they will ever remember me but I met the brothers and their mother through a mutual friend almost 10 years ago while they were trying to make a name in the SF food world.

And how far they have come! I used to dine at their former restaurant also in the Mission District. I barely have any recollections of the old place but still remember the lomo saltado that was my favorite. Years later, thanks to Groupon, Limon was back in my radar again. The "new" Limon is very chic and contemporary with modern art and clean lines. At 2 pm, the place was not packed and is actually a pleasant place to have a late lunch in the Mission.

I did not order lomo saltado this time and wanted to try other Peruvian dishes. Enrique and I shared all the dishes family-style:

Ensalada Rusa: Classic Peruvian salad of beets, potatoes, peas and green beans in creamy mustard dressing. A salad that is on the heavy side because of the dairy dressing but filling and good.

Seco de Costillas: Braised boneless beef short-ribs with cilantro, potatoes and peas. This is really a very simple dish. Enrique mentioned that I made something very similar at home. However, the short-ribs were very tender and full of flavors.

Arroz con Mariscos: Peruvian-style paella with saffron rice, calamari rings, mussels, prawns, and pimiento. Not the best paella I've had but good as well with the spices with the saffron giving the rice and seafood good flavors.

Carne Empanadas: Crispy pastry dough filled with beef, veggies, hard-boiled eggs and raisins. Enrique was not quite full and ordered these empanadas which finally hit the spot. Delicous fried dumplings with generous beef fillings. I did not taste the raisins but it was there. I always compare empanadas from other countries to the Filipino empanadas. Filipino empanadas are baked and tends to be sweeter because of the raisins compared to the Peruvian ones. We enjoyed these little treats!

Instead of Sangria, I ordered a non-alcoholic mango lemonade. Very refreshing and paired well with the dishes we ordered.

OVERALL:
Well-executed dishes in a modern setting with lively vibes. Limon states their dishes are meant to be shared "family-style." However, their portions are more of tapas than big platters. Pricey for the portions but the taste of the food is worth the price.

TAB: $80 including 2 non-alc drinks, tax and tip.

Foodie Girl's Rating: 3.5 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!)

Bossa Nova

If you blink, you will literally miss Bossa Nova. Bossa Nova is a tiny Brazilian restaurant located in SF's South of Market (SoMa) Neighborhood. About three blocks from the Civic Center BART station, the location is perfect for access to public transportation which will come in handy after a glass or two of Bossa Nova's well-made mojitos and caipirinhas. It is also very important to get your street smarts out of the bag when traversing this part of SF--sketchy, sordid and surrounded by social services agencies including homeless shelters.

Is Bossa Nova worth the trip?  Definitely. If you are looking for delicious, well-made drinks, decent tapas and a little Brazilian live jazz, Bossa Nova is the place. Bossa Nova is a also cute and cozy. The decor celebrates both Brazilian culture with a cross and altar hanging on the brick wall, a well as SF's culture--a pair of red erotic high heels suspended above the bar. In the evening the tealight candles make Bossa Nova a romantic place to grab a light dinner or Happy Hour with your friends.

I have been to Bossa Nova for close to half a dozen times already over the last two years.  One thing I can say, the fruit mojitos were consistently strong and good. The food were hit or miss. They could be the same dishes but sometimes they came out good, othertimes, disappointing.

I can say, though, that my last visit in July 2011, our dishes were executed better than the last time I was at Bossa Nova. We celebrated my friend Russell's birthday. I made a reservation through Opentable and mentioned the occasion.

We started with a round of Mojitos, Caipirinhas and a fruit juice for me.  I've had Bossa Nova's mojitos and caipirinhas many times before. They were always well-made, strong and delicious. Even my non-alc strawberry lemonade this time was yummy.

A tableful  of tapas followed. We thought the Organic Fresh Hearts of Palm Salad w/ Fresh Peas, Black Olives, Cherry Tomatoes, Chives & Red Wine Vinaigrette  $12.75 was superb. The salad was so full of flavors, light and refreshing.

All of our tapas were delicious and came to us at the right temperature. (My least appetizing dinner at Bossa Nova in the past was due to hot/fried dishes coming to us lukewarm but not this time.)

Brazilian Cheese Bread "Pão de queijo" $5.50: Delicious bite-size morsels of cheesy bread.

I personally loved the Steamed Mussels w/ Spicy Tomato, Cilantro, Coconut Milk Broth $15.75. I could not leave the broth alone even after all the mussels were gone.

The Fried Plaintains $4.75 when done right, i.e., delivered to the table hot off the fryer were actually nice, crunchy and savory. The spicy sauce that accompanied the chips complimented the salty-tangy taste of the chips.

The Steak Fries $4.75 were beautifully piled high on the plate. These thickly cut fries would have been great if they were not overfried to the point of being burnt. Since we were rounding up dinner we decided to not send them back.

We have had a few more tapas including Saltcod Croquettes which were hot and good with plenty of fish instead of being doughy with flour.

The most disappointing part of our dinner at Bossa Nova was the lackadaisical, luke-warm service that we received. In the past, Bossa Nova's friendly and warm service was its saving grace when dinner was less than satisfying.  This time, although our server was not mean or unkind, she appeared stressed out and uncaring. When it was time to order dessert for the birthday boy, we pointed to our friend and informed our server that it was his birthday. (I also mentioned during during my reservation through OpenTable.) We asked if she could put a candle on his cake. She half-smiled and told us "we do not have candles." She made a brief attempt to look in the drawers.

Needless to say, our birthday celebrant was deprived of a birthday candle and a round of embarrassing "Happy Birthday" song.

He truly loved and enjoyed his Chocolate Cake ($7.25), though, which was a hot molten lava cake--sans birthday candle. Oh, well...Happy Birthday, Russell!!!!

Tab: $120 after tax before tip for 5 people (5 alcoholic drinks and 1 fruit-juice)

Foodie Girl's Rating: 3 Stars

A great place for Happy Hour, well-made fruit mojitos and tapas. Live Brazilian music sets the mood for fun times with friends or solo R&R!

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!)

Delicious Chilean Empanadas at Chile Lindo

I grew up eating Filipino empanadas as a little girl in the Philippines.  When I heard about the Chilean empanadas at Chile Lindo, I was really excited to try them.  I wanted to compare the two empanadas from two different countries who share the same history of being conquered by Spain.   Two countries apart-- one in Asia and one in Latin America but share similar dishes including paellas and empanadas.

Chile Lindo is a cozy little kitchen on 16th Street and Mission.  You will find the owner and her chef working hard at making pastry disks filled with meat, cheese, eggs and raisins.  (I just described the contents of a Beef Empanada which is my favorite.)

You can purchase the pre-baked empanadas  for you to take home and bake for 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes. You can also buy the still "hot off the oven" empanadas that you can eat on the sidewalk.

I have been to Chile Lindo twice so far and found the  Beef Empanadas to be addicting. My friend bought the cheese empanada during our first visit but she was not impressed.  I am happy to just eat the Beef Empanadas.  The pastry was neither thin nor thick except when you get to the "folds" which are understandbly doughy.

So how do they compare?  They are almost the same except Filipino empanadas are filled ground beef instead of Chilean's which were little chunks of beef.  Filipinos empanadas also don't have olives in them and tend to be sweeter because of the raisins. 

At first glance, an empanada from Chile Lindo is not enough to satisfy one's appetite but I found that my eyes are bigger than my stomach. I was full after eating one of those savory snacks. In my case, paired with a nice glass of Shiraz, I had the perfect dinner last night! (In the Philippines, empanadas are eaten as "meriendas" or afternoon snacks.)

$5.50 per empanada.

FOODIE GIRL'S RATINGS: 4.5 Delicious, filling and addicting!

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 might 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!)