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Momo's
Category:
Restaurants
760 2nd St
San Francisco, California 94107
(415) 227-8660
If you happen to live close to the ballpark like I do, you cross your fingers and hope for the day when a bar or restaurant opens up that isn't designed to cater solely to the baseball "tourists"...
If you happen to live close to the ballpark like I do, you cross your fingers and hope for the day when a bar or restaurant opens up that isn't designed to cater solely to the baseball "tourists" that head into the neighborhood. Every bar here seems to charge $5.50 where in other neighborhoods you would pay $4.25 maximum. At least at O'Neill's you get a full 22 ounces of Murphy's Stout for $5.75. But MoMo's? 16 ounces of beer for $6.
That's not local love. That's gouging tourists and anyone else who happens to go there.
I can't comment on the food, the clientele or anything else. I can say at these prices, MoMo's is a No No.
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When Krispy Kreme opened their first area location next to the In-n-Out Burger in Daly City, it was always a treat to stop there on Friday to pick up a half dozen for the weekend - and over the next...
When Krispy Kreme opened their first area location next to the In-n-Out Burger in Daly City, it was always a treat to stop there on Friday to pick up a half dozen for the weekend - and over the next few days we would push our insulin producing capabilities to the limit while we ate the greasy "kream" filled wonders. The problem is that after you've had a few of these gut busting donut bombs, you're sick of them. I had my last Krispy Kreme in 2003, and I'm just fine with that. Since then, aside from a decadent eclair from Miette, no cream filled pastry has crossed these lips.
But now there is a local haven for cream filled pastries, Beard Papa - a direct import from Japan where it has been providing the local population with sugar rushes for a half-century.
A Beard Papa is a Japanese take on a classic french pastry: pate a choux, or cream puffs. Here, they bake a tender, sweet butter and egg dough until it puffs up and fill it with a combination of vanilla custard and whipped cream. For $1.75, you get a fist sized cream puff, filled with this mixture and dusted with powdered sugar.
Compared to most cream puffs, these are much more refined and delicate in nature - which is about par for most french inspired japanese pastries. The power of the papa is in the cream - by combining a rich vanilla custard with whipped cream, you end up with a sweet filling that is rich, but not so rich that you couldn't have a second one. The only saving grace is that the filling will eventually make the cream puff soggy, so in my estimation, getting a couple extra to throw in the fridge for the morning isn't really an option. For some, this might be a bad thing - but for my waistline, it's perfect.
Right now, they are only doing the vanilla puffs, but the chocolate, green tea, milk tea and other flavors are coming soon, as are the cheesecake sticks which have also been given high ratings by Beard Papa fanatics. However, what I am looking forward to are the eclairs - a vanilla or chocolate cream puff dipped quickly in chocolate and served warm. My body's already producing extra insulin in anticipation.
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Dave
Category:
Bars
29 3rd St
San Francisco, California 94103
(415) 495-6726
I hate reviewing Dave's, because within two hours of arriving, I've really fallen for the place and I don't want it to get more crowded. There's a dozen beers on tap ranging from $4 (Deschutes...
I hate reviewing Dave's, because within two hours of arriving, I've really fallen for the place and I don't want it to get more crowded. There's a dozen beers on tap ranging from $4 (Deschutes Mirror Pond, Boont Amber, Big Daddy) to $4.50 (Guinness, Murphy's, Trumer Pils) and the Fernet runs like water.
For a bar sitting smack between the Financial District and the Ballpark, there's absolutely no attitude. The barstaff was friendly, and even the two women hired by Jägermeister to entice people to drink that swill were pleasant and unobtrusive.
It's a bar for drinkers. If you're nearby and in the mood to get your drink on, it feels just like home.
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Coco500
Category:
Food & Dining
500 Brannan St.
San Francisco, California 94107
(415) 543-2222
Considering that I walk by it at least twice a day and that the cocktail menu was created by the head bartender at the Slanted Door, I really want to like Coco500. However, after three visits there,...
Considering that I walk by it at least twice a day and that the cocktail menu was created by the head bartender at the Slanted Door, I really want to like Coco500. However, after three visits there, it just doesn't deliver.
This afternoon, I went there with three other colleagues for lunch. The meal? Forgettable. I had a $13 "Coppa Salami Pizza" which was, regrettably, not a Coppa Salami Pizza, but merely a coppa pizza, the menu writer not understanding that Coppa is a Salumi, not a Salami. It was good, but $8 good. Not $13 good.
A colleague had a chicken romaine salad that had an inedible lettuce core served on the plate (and I don't mean the white part of the lettuce, but the actual stalk of the lettuce). The service was very rough for the price - servers reaching over people, cutting off orders and generally providing minimal service.
Honestly, it's not worth the cash to eat here. I wish it was still Bizou, a nice French bistro instead of this hipster small-plate joint.
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Timbuk2
Category:
Retail Shopping
506 Hayes Street
San Francisco, California 94102
(415) 252-9860
I've been a Timbuk2 fan for years - purchasing my first one over 10 years ago, and aside from a single computer bag from Crumpler that I purchased while abroad, I've been loyal to the brand.
In...
I've been a Timbuk2 fan for years - purchasing my first one over 10 years ago, and aside from a single computer bag from Crumpler that I purchased while abroad, I've been loyal to the brand.
In April, Timbuk2 opened their first retail location in Haves Valley, and last weekend I decided to pop in and check it out. This store focuses only on custom messenger bags, offering a selection of textured and patterned fabrics. They also have some of the accessory bags (for iPods, Treos, etc), and that's about it.
If you're looking to put together a truly one of a kind messenger bag, stop in and take a look.
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Every time I walked by The Butler and the Chef, I always thought is just going to be an overpriced sandwich shop with a French theme. Who would have thought that under the vintage signs and new...
Every time I walked by The Butler and the Chef, I always thought is just going to be an overpriced sandwich shop with a French theme. Who would have thought that under the vintage signs and new enamel tabletops promoting classic French brands lurked a real, traditional sandwich shop along the lines of what you find lining the streets near the Sorbonne.
The menu at The Butler and the Chef is simple - the sort of food you would take to go and eat while sitting outside, watching the hordes of students passing by if you were in Paris. There are four main categories of food here: cold sandwiches, hot sandwiches, crepes and what I'll call "other".
The cold sandwiches are made in the continental style - split baguettes simply dressed with butter instead of mayo. It might take a little getting used to your first time, but once you get through the initial shock of butter, cheese and a slice of french jambon (ham), you realise how decadent it is.
The Croque Monseiur, from the hot sandwiches menu, was an amazingly good version - topped with creme fraiche instead of gruyere cheese before placing under the salamander - it's creamy, a little sour and perfect with a slice of tomato and herbes de provence.
The crepes looked nice, and there are sweet and savory options available. Finally, in the other category are some salads, soup and the breakfast dishes such as belgian waffles and a fantastic looking pan perdu (french toast).
The interior was a little warm last Saturday - but a nice cold Fischer d'Alsace Amber took care of that. Overall, the food was exceptional for what it was. the prices were a little high to make it a weekly stop, but now that it's open weekends (which is amazing in this neighborhood), I'll certainly make a point to stop in for a baguette now and then.
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I remember my first trip to John Walker back in the mid 1990s - I had been searching for an elusive bottle of Turley wine, and since then, whenever I had a craving for a hard to find wine or spirit...
I remember my first trip to John Walker back in the mid 1990s - I had been searching for an elusive bottle of Turley wine, and since then, whenever I had a craving for a hard to find wine or spirit ranging from Old Potrero Rye Whiskey to Del Maguey Crema de Mescal, they either have it or can easily get it.
Their Spirits Consultant, Dominic, is a veritable fount of knowledge about any type of distillate - which he applies generously when mixing cocktails at Range as well as when selecting his products at John Walker... and you can see his effect on the current stock. You can find products ranging from Fee Brothers bitters to Austrian Alpensahne to the classic digestives like the Italian Averna. If they don't have it - John Walker & Co. can find it. Recently, they tracked down a bottle of 15 Year of Redbreast, available for shipping to the US from a single source in Dublin.
The prices are fair, and the selection and service is exceptional... and if you're looking for the next hip vodka or the perfect Austrian Stone Pine liqueur - head over to the Crocker Galleria and see what's in stock.
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The sign on the window declares "It's Steam!" but really, it's the soul of the bagel making a valiant attempt to leave the squishy sponges known as Noah's Bagels.
The bagels here have no...
The sign on the window declares "It's Steam!" but really, it's the soul of the bagel making a valiant attempt to leave the squishy sponges known as Noah's Bagels.
The bagels here have no texture, a sponge like consistancy and taste, well, bland and airlike. Nothing like the real bagels of New York or even Katz just down the street.
There's better alternatives, and honestly no reason to subject yourself to this imitation of a bagel.
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As a transplanted East Coaster, I'm very particular about my bagels because, let's face it - most of the people west of Mamaroneck don't know how to make a decent one.
Case in point, the...
As a transplanted East Coaster, I'm very particular about my bagels because, let's face it - most of the people west of Mamaroneck don't know how to make a decent one.
Case in point, the donut-like sponges from Noah's Bagels, which locals praise for their texture and range of "schmears". A good bagel doesn't need strawberry pesto schmear. It needs cream cheese or chive cheese and possibly a slice or two of nova lox.
Katz Bagels is probably the closest thing to a good New York style bagel shop in the FiDi/SOMA area. They have the classics: egg, plain, onion, garlic, rye, poppy and sesame to name a few - and a couple of "berry" ones that have become popular recently. The bagles themselves are pretty darned good - a little bit of elasticity in the crust and a soft yet dense dough inside. For me, a garlic bagel with chive cheese, a slice of red onion and a slice of tomato with a little bit of lox on top is a perfect way to start the day.
Noah's? Feh. Try Katz!
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Though my plan was to have a quick dinner at Zoya and a single drink at Absinthe before heading home, by the time I looked down at my watch, I realized it had been almost three hours and my one...
Though my plan was to have a quick dinner at Zoya and a single drink at Absinthe before heading home, by the time I looked down at my watch, I realized it had been almost three hours and my one cocktail had turned into five.
But it's OK... May 6 (today) is the 200th anniversary of the first published cocktail recipe, and Absinthe was celebrating the momentous occasion with four fantastic cocktails priced at $6 (Sazerac, Old Fashioned, Martini and a Brandy Crusta).
I started out with a Martinez, possibly the precursor of the Martini, this drink was based on Plymouth Gin, modified with orange bitters, an olive and vermouth. The staff mixed it perfectly, and it transported me back to the early 1930s to the heady days when men (and women) knew how to mix and drink a classic cocktail.
The Martinez was followed by an amazing Sazerac - though it was not as good as those from the actual Sazerac Bar in New Orleans, still it was a great cocktail, blending Rye Whiskey, Herbsaint (an Anisette), Peychaud Bitters, sugar and lemon. I like a little more Herbsaint in my Sazerac, but all in all, it was a fitting tribute to the great 200 year old cocktail from New Orleans.
Next was a classic martini - not a modern martini made with vodka and a whisper of vermouth, but instead a gutsy blend of Plymouth Gin and Noilly Prat white vermouth at a ratio of 3:1.
From there, I moved to a well made Plymouth Gin based Aviation (marischino liqueur and a lime twist) and an orangy Pegu Cocktail.
As classic cocktails go, the weekend team at Absinthe is hard to beat.
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