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Range
Category:
Restaurants
842 Valencia St
San Francisco, California 94110
(415) 282-8283
Visit Date: 01/28/2006
For the last week, my wife and I have been entertaining friends from Belgium, trying to convince them that you can get good food in the states. For our last big meal, we...
Visit Date: 01/28/2006
For the last week, my wife and I have been entertaining friends from Belgium, trying to convince them that you can get good food in the states. For our last big meal, we decided to take them to Range.
For the first time in years, I was stunned by the quality of the food... and not just me, all four of us were just amazed by what came out of the kitchen. The hamachi and blood orange appetizer three of us had was just outstanding - sashimi grade hamachi cut in an appropriate way over cress, cucumber and avocado with a blood orange, oil and black pepper sauce. It was so good that we had to request more bread so we could dip it in the remaining juice. My wife, the only one to have a different starter, went with a poached pear that was so indescribably good, I can't think of a way to describe it.
For the main dishes, I went with a disassembled cassoulet: roasted duck, house made garlic sausage, white beans and pearl onions... the richness of flavor was amazing, but more amazing was the fact that the rich flavor wasn't coupled with the fatty richness usually found in this dish. My friend had a fantastic steak, and my wife and his fiancee went with the goat cheese pasta - quite the best ravioli preparation I've had since I was in Tuscany. A16 and Incanto should aspire to make a pasta dish so satisfying.
We all finished with dessert: My wife had the chocolate and pine nut brownie-like dessert with cardamom ice cream. The Belgians had a hazelnut torte with irish coffee ice cream, which was also excellent. However, it was my oatmeal souffle with caramelized bananas that took the proverbial cake: light, eggy and a perfect sponge balanced with the sauteed fruit.
All of this, plus four of the better cocktails I have had in San Francisco only came to $120 per couple including tax and tip... not that much more than a night of sushi (yeah, we eat alot of fish when we go out).
The only fault was the pacing of the meal: the appetizers barely left the table before the entree was served, but the other courses came out with just the right pause.
For anyone looking for an exceptional, affordable meal, you can't do much better."
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Rye
Category:
Food & Dining
688 Geary St
San Francisco, California 94102
(415) 786-7803
This could possibly be the hardest five stars a bar has ever earned, because man-oh-man, was this just not my normal cup of tea.
After dinner at Canteen, we decided to head over to Rye because,...
This could possibly be the hardest five stars a bar has ever earned, because man-oh-man, was this just not my normal cup of tea.
After dinner at Canteen, we decided to head over to Rye because, well, it's named Rye. Let me explain. If you're from the East Coast, especially the New York/New England/Pennsylvania area, you probably have some ancestral memory lodged deep in your mind about the virtues of rye whiskey. For those of us from the Northeast, Rye is our historical tipple of choice. Unfortunately, as a result of many years of marketing from the bourbon and vodka vendors, this perfect grain distillate had faded out of vogue.
But there is hope - in the late 1990s, Anchor Distillery launched a single malt rye whiskey - and since then a number of great rye whiskeys have come back onto the scene. So with this in mind, when I heard about Rye, I decided to make a trip out there.
The bar is beautiful, more East Coast than West - Scandinavian designed with wood accents everywhere. Down to every detail, the place screams "The Bubble Is Back! Long Live The Internet Bubble!"
But just on the promise that they may have rye, we went in.
The crowd was, well, horrible. Yuppie trash that decided to go out slumming in the Tendernob. Screeching bleached blonds and boisterous jock assholes vying for attention and hoping to get laid.
But they had rye, and we could get two seats at the corner of the bar near the door in case we needed to make a quick getaway.
It was at that point that I recalled what I thought about Paris: a beautiful city, if you could just get rid of the damned Parisians. Same thing goes for Rye.
Our bartender, Jennifer, was the saving grace of the night. In between churning out 7&7s, Rum and (Diet) Cokes, 7 and Waters, Gin and Tonics, Stoli Vanillas and Ginger Ale and other drinks better suited for frat parties than a sophisticated bar like this, she served up some of the most amazing Manhattans (Jim Beam Rye, Noilly Prat Sweet (Red) Vermouth, Peychoud Bitters and a single sour cherry) - possibly the best I have ever had. She admitted that she had a soft spot for that cocktail, and she treated it with the respect that it deserved.
We went in planning on having one, or at the most two drinks total, as we didn't hit the ATM before heading in (yes, they are cash only for now). By the time we left, we had each had four - because I don't think either we or the bartenders wanted the night to end.
As we left, we mentioned to Jennifer that she was the saving grace for the bar because she made the crowd there "tolerable".
So, here is the breakdown:
The bar - The atmosphere, architecture and sense of style is great, and the inclusion of both an outside cage (where we saw a blond chickie climbing up and comically (to us) trying to sexily writhe for her man) for smokers and a pool table warrants a definite 5 out of 5. Hopefully next time we'll see someone smack into the wall-length mirror thinking there is another bar on the other side of the wall.
The bartenders - Everyone we had there was amazing, not only making great Manhattans, but muddling a pair of perfect Basil Gimlets (vodka) and a house drink called a Gold Rye Fizz - a rye drink with mandarin oranges, rye, bitters and a splash of cream as a substitute for the missing Advocaat/Eierlikor/Egg Liquor. Jennifer gets extra points for gracefully dropping a whole lemon in a martini glass full of Absolut Citron - the perfect "lemon drop" in my book. 5 out of 5
The selection - 5 out of 5 - this is a hard one. The beer was well selected, but I still winced when seeing someone order a can of Tecate (the crowd was mostly drinking Stella, but a good number of Chimays came out of the fridge). A number of good whiskeys were available with the well rye being Jim Beam Rye (yellow bottle). Some bimbettes wanted Crown Royal, which they were out of, or didn't carry... which thoroughly distressed them but amused us.
The crowd - 1 out of 5, and if I could give lower scores, I would. Loud, annoying, drunk and the sort of people that makes me reconsider ever going back there, even though I loved the place. Once this crowd finds the "next greatest thing" I am sure it will be a much more tolerable group of folks frequenting the bar.
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Dosa
Category:
Food & Dining
995 Valencia Street
San Francisco, California 94110
(415) 642-3672
Tonight, after watching Dosa being built and then finally opening just weeks ago, we decided to stop in for a quick dinner.
Dosa is a special sort of restaurant for San Francisco - instead of...
Tonight, after watching Dosa being built and then finally opening just weeks ago, we decided to stop in for a quick dinner.
Dosa is a special sort of restaurant for San Francisco - instead of focusing on the common tandoori dishes of northern India and Pakistan, it focuses on the crepes and chickpea dishes of southern India - the wonderful dishes of cities such as Chennai, Goa and Tamil Nadu. Here, you'll find mostly vegetarian with a single chicken appetizer and a few meat based curries. The main courses revolve around dosa and uttapam - vegetable filled crepes and pancake like chickpea breads with added in vegetables and spices.
Arriving at 7pm, we were lucky to be able to get a table - a single two-seater that had just become available. Considering that a group of four that had arrived just before us had been quoted a 1.5 hour wait for a table, we felt that this was a good omen.
The food? Wonderful. I started with the Chicken Chennai - spicy chickpea battered chicken served over mixed greens and garnished with slivered red onion - which was fantastic, possibly the second best Indian chicken dish I have had, surpassed solely by Mehfil's Chicken Laccha. Following that was the Coriander and Chili Uttayam - perfect on its own and magically made better by dipping it in the wonderful coconut chutney.
Dosa's decor was also quite nice - using deep salmon colors accented by brown wood and frosted glass partitions. From a restaurant flow perspective, the bar was too crowded, making it difficult to follow the maitre d' to our table. The bathrooms were clean and the service seemed to lack any noticable defects aside from the fact that our main courses came a little too quickly after our appetizers.
Two appetizers, two main courses, three beers and a "chai russian" - a variant of a white russian using chai and soju instead of Kahlua and vodka came to $61 without tax. We'll certainly return here - next time saving room to try one of the tempting desserts.
No reservations for parties of 4 or less and no hard alcohol. Beer, wine and soju "cocktails" available. Credit cards accepted."
Visit Date: 03/26/2006
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Let's just face it... the Chinese food in San Francisco might be authentic, but does it always taste good? Sure, there is damn fine dim sum out here - and the dumplings from Henry's Hunan are aces...
Let's just face it... the Chinese food in San Francisco might be authentic, but does it always taste good? Sure, there is damn fine dim sum out here - and the dumplings from Henry's Hunan are aces in my book and don't get me started about Chef Jia's amazing fresh garlic chicken, but the run-of-the-mill Chinese food here just doesn't compare to what I grew up with on the East Coast. Ah... such fine memories of Boston's Chinatown...
But I digress. This isn't a review about unsatisfying Chinese food, it's about Yum Yum House, the best of the "standard" chinese joints I've found here.
Tonight, on my first trip, I started with the Hot and Sour soup, which was both hot (spicy) and sour. Have I had better? Definitely - Jade in Munich holds the spot for best Hot and Sour soup in my book, but this was a better than average rendition, tasting of mushrooms, black vinegar and spice.
Following that were the potstickers, nicely seasoned and tasting of ginger. Accompanying the dumplings was a standard soy sauce, vinegar and a small dish of dried pepper flakes and seeds in oil. Again, there are better potstickers in the world, but they were better than average.
The surprise of the night was when I ordered a dish that wasn't on the menu. I was in the mood for Moo Goo Gai Pan... blanched sliced chicken breast cooked with mushrooms in a clear garlic starch sauce... a dish that I rarely see outside of the East Coast. I asked if they could make it and was extremely surprised when the waitress said that they could make it.
I was even more surprised when it came. The dish was spartan, consisting of only quartered button mushrooms, sliced carrots and chicken - but it tasted just like I remembered. Sure, I would have preferred straw mushrooms, snow peas and water chestnuts - but the dish worked without them.
2 bowls of soup, an order of pot stickers, two entrees, a coke and tea for two came to $30. Sure, I could have schlepped myself out to Henry's Hunan and paid twice as much, but with Moo Goo Gai Pan like this, why bother?
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Though you can find good burgers in San Francisco (Barney's, Choppers, Grumpy's), more often than not, you either end up with an undercooked (Burger Joint), overcooked (Brickhouse), over salted...
Though you can find good burgers in San Francisco (Barney's, Choppers, Grumpy's), more often than not, you either end up with an undercooked (Burger Joint), overcooked (Brickhouse), over salted (again, Burger Joint) or just plain bad (3rd Street Grill) meat puck on a bun.
But we were in Hayes Valley, and our friend from overseas wanted a burger for dinner, so we decided to stop in at Flippers and give them a try. Not only was the burger good, I might go as far to say it was darned good (though Grumpy's with bacon, cheese and a fried egg on top still holds the number 1 slot).
I always get my burgers medium rare, while my wife has started getting them medium because the last few medium rare burgers she ordered were more on the rare side (as in cold in the middle). These burgers were cooked perfectly - my medium rare ran from charred on the outside to a warm rosy pink in the center, while her medium was a uniform grey with a pink hue and a little area of pink in the middle. The third person at the table had a medium burger as well and the color was the same. A+ job, Flippers!
For $8.75, you get a burger (with toasted bun that didn't fall apart at all), a heap of steak fries (very well prepared but a teensy bit mealy), and some mayo. I went with a burger that had avocado, bacon and cheese - the avocado was creamy, the bacon nice and crispy without being overcooked, and the cheese, well, it was cheesy. Greens, onions and tomato slices were also present, as was a small plastic dish with mayo. We also split an order of onion rings that were confusingly decorated with shredded cheese - which were quite nice as well.
If you want something affordable and not the least bit pretentious in Hayes Valley, this just might be your place
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As a stranger in a strange land, it's always a challenge to find a good meal, so when the team leader I was meeting with recommended that we go to a brewpub for a beer and some dinner, I was as...
As a stranger in a strange land, it's always a challenge to find a good meal, so when the team leader I was meeting with recommended that we go to a brewpub for a beer and some dinner, I was as giddy as a school girl (personally, I blame the lack of oxygen and sleep).
It's a big brewpub, with over a dozen beers on tap and a menu printed on newsprint. Since there was a cask IPA available, I immediately went for it, as did four other people in our group. The beer was ok... more in the British style than the Pacific Northwest style, but if you're going for a british IPA, the choice of Cascade hops isn't appropriate. Better to use Fuggles or one of the other classic British hops. Still, it was served at the right temperature, and if I wasn't there for work, I could see having a couple. If that was the only thing I had at the brewpub, it would be a clear 3.5 star rating.
The other beers I sampled weren't bad, but it wasn't necessarily good. The scotch ale (or scottish in their terms) was bland, the chili beer was tolerable (if you're making a chili beer, give it a kick!) and the Koelsch was just lackluster and too sweet for the style (and I lived in Cologne and drank literally hundreds of glasses of the stuff while I was there).
The food, well, let's put it this way - there's a reason I travel with Imodium. The brisket was sweet, drenched in a really bad barbecue sauce (think KC Masterpiece meets the McRib) and accompanied with a garlic mashed potatoes that lacked a significant flavor of garlic or potato (though it did taste a little like unwashed potato skin). I know we're trying to be health conscious, but come on. We're in a brewery... a little butter, salt and heavy cream isn't going to kill you. The dysentery, however, could take a year or two off your life.
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Ugh. Yeah, while at a business meeting in Fort Collins, the team decided to go to Bennigan's. What was it like? Like every other Bennigan's in the chain.
The highlight? The coke. Man, they pour a...
Ugh. Yeah, while at a business meeting in Fort Collins, the team decided to go to Bennigan's. What was it like? Like every other Bennigan's in the chain.
The highlight? The coke. Man, they pour a good coke... a perfect blend of fizzy water and cola syrup. Mmm.
Yeah, that was the highlight.
The Reuben sandwich wasn't bad, but it was bereft of flavor: so lean that it just tasted like red-colored cardboard, which is expected, considering the sauerkraut tasted like... well... nothing. I mean, sauerkraut should taste like sauerstoff - vinegar. It was limp, pale and flavorless. The thousand island dressing and swiss cheese were fine, and at least the sandwich wasn't dripping in butter from the quick grilling, but this sandwich was an insult to the Irish and New York Deli Denizens alike.
The crock of "baked potato soup" was just too much. I asked for a cup to replace my fries, and what I got was a big-ass bowl (because they ran out of cups). The soup was just OK - and nothing special. When it's done well, it is a beautiful balance of potato, green onion, cheese and bacon. Done like this, it tastes like you blended some pre-frozen potato skins with heavy cream.
It's absolutely no worse than any other Bennigans, and the food came in 14 minutes (known only because of the tableside timer), which is a plus... but I just can't recommend it.
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After dealing with the hordes in Comp USA, I needed coffee... and since I won't drink the brown drek at Starbucks or the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, that left me in a quandary.
Luckily, I...
After dealing with the hordes in Comp USA, I needed coffee... and since I won't drink the brown drek at Starbucks or the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, that left me in a quandary.
Luckily, I remembered Cafe Madeline.
For $2.75, I was able to get a darn good double cappuccino. Sure, it's not as good as one from Blue Bottle or Ritual, but it's still a darn good Horn of Zeese (that's cup of joe for anyone who doesn't speak Boontling).
The sandwiches looked tasty and the insulated cups are a nice touch, reducing the need for a cardboard "Java Jacket". It's certainly worth a stop if you're stuck in Union Square and need a nice cup of coffee.
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As much as I love the other Irish bars in the city, there's something special about the Irish Bank. Maybe because it's in an alley... and my favorite Irish Bar in all of Germany was hidden in an...
As much as I love the other Irish bars in the city, there's something special about the Irish Bank. Maybe because it's in an alley... and my favorite Irish Bar in all of Germany was hidden in an alley near the tourist areas. I'm not exactly sure, but it just had the right craic - that feeling that you only get in an Irish Bar... warm, cozy, and like you can spend the rest of your life there in the corner, perched on a stool and drinking whiskey and stout.
The bar itself is simple and comfortable, with two televisions and a wall full of whiskeys (+1 point for having Redbreast 12 and +1 point for having Jameson 18). Guinness, Harp, Bass and Magners Cider are available on tap (+1 point for Magners) but unfortunately, there was no Murphy's Stout (-1 point for ignoring the amazing stout from San Francisco's sister city of Cork).
It's a great place when you're done dealing with the Union Square crowd, but not quite ready to head home.
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Cortez
Category:
Restaurants
550 Geary St
San Francisco, California 94102
(415) 292-6360
The minute you walk in, it screams "hipster attitude lives here!" With bartenders neatly dressed in black and hostesses running around to shuffle guests from the bar to the table, it's pretty much a...
The minute you walk in, it screams "hipster attitude lives here!" With bartenders neatly dressed in black and hostesses running around to shuffle guests from the bar to the table, it's pretty much a see-and-be-seen sort of joint. The unexpected thing is that the food was pretty darned good.
We arrived a few minutes before our 7:45 reservation, found a few places at the bar and enjoyed a well made cocktail. I had a Journalist - 209 gin, vermouth and cointreau... though mine was strangely made with Plymouth gin and triple sec (which worked better in my opinion). The other half of our quartet arrived a few minutes late and were sent to meet us at the bar. However, it took a good 5 minutes to get them service (not because the bar was busy, but because the staff was chatting and not watching the patrons) and a good 10 minutes more before we were seated. I'm not usually a stickler for punctuality, but it just didn't feel well coordinated. When we were brought to a small side room where a large table with a stroller was seated, I figured that we were in for a bad night.
But surprisingly, we weren't.
Our service was prompt, well choreographed (the waitress always stepped between us and the wall instead of between the table to our left in order not to disturb their dining) and we never went without water or bread. As Cortez is a "small plates" restaurant, we ordered 8 dishes for four people.
Some highlights:
Roasted shrimp with crab risotto - cooked perfectly with a sauce so tasty that it was a sin not to sop it up with some bread before the plate was taken.
Yellowtail crudo - perfectly flavored and simply presented.
Pork Cheeks - soft, flavorful and second only to those served at Coco 500.
Hanger Steak - a precise medium rare served with amazing wilted greens.
The food ranged from great to fantastic, but it came at a cost - prices ran from $12 -$18 per small plate, which bordered on the obscene. For that much, I expect 30% more food on each plate.
The dessert I had was just ok, certainly not the highlight of the night. I had selected a peanut butter truffle cake with banana ice cream. The ice cream was perfect, served with peanut brittle cracklings. However, the truffle cake really lacked something. I judge chocolate cakes on the amazing flourless rendition from The Slanted Door why back from when it was located in the Mission. Back then, there wasn't much better than that cake served with a pot of well selected tea. This was a much more pedestrian version - tasting more like a Reese's peanut butter cup than a sophisticated dessert worthy of this restaurant (or the $9 price tag).
I would have given Cortez 3.5 stars, but the excellence of the drinks made me round up. It's a good place when someone else is picking up the tab. Otherwise, check out some of the other small plate restaurants where you'll pay a little less for a little more (even if the quality might not be as good).
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