Saturday, September 17, 2005
Dinner at Home
Alexis had a Peruvian-themed dinner party. Six sumptuous dishes:
Seafood Salad with Avocado--Bay scallops, squid and sole, sauteed separately in lemon juice and salt, then chilled and tossed in lime jiuce, plated over diced avocado.
Deep Fried, Cheese Stuffed Sweet Potato Balls (above)--Served with Red Onion and Cilantro Salsa (below)
Deep Fried Vegetable Fritters--Broccoli, Zuchinni and Bell Peppers Deep Fried in an Egg Batter. Served with a modified Ponzu Dipping Sauce (below)
Fresh and Spicy Corn Soup with Queso Fresco
Seafood Salad with Avocado--Bay scallops, squid and sole, sauteed separately in lemon juice and salt, then chilled and tossed in lime jiuce, plated over diced avocado.
Deep Fried, Cheese Stuffed Sweet Potato Balls (above)--Served with Red Onion and Cilantro Salsa (below)
Deep Fried Vegetable Fritters--Broccoli, Zuchinni and Bell Peppers Deep Fried in an Egg Batter. Served with a modified Ponzu Dipping Sauce (below)
Fresh and Spicy Corn Soup with Queso Fresco
Mixed Greens with Viniagrette and Beef/Turnip Stew
Baked Custard with Berries and Whipped Cream
Baked Custard with Berries and Whipped CreamLunch at the Cheese Steak Shop, San Francisco, CA
As a philly native, I spent quite a bit of time trying to find a good cheese steak in San Francisco. It ended up being a arduous task that was only satiated by the discovery of the Cheese Steak Shop. These guys are serious about recreating the Philadelphia experience, up to importing the all important Amoroso roll from Philly. I usually have to order extra meat to fully recreate the gluttoness goodness of your standard Philly cheesesteak.
Do yourself a favor, order in advance if you are coming around lunch.
10" Cheese Steak with Extra Meat($8) (Mmm...)
Do yourself a favor, order in advance if you are coming around lunch.
10" Cheese Steak with Extra Meat($8) (Mmm...)
Rating:
Food: 1 (Best cheesesteak in this city)
Decor: 0
Service: 0 (Order at the counter)
Website
Health Code Violations
Food: 1 (Best cheesesteak in this city)
Decor: 0
Service: 0 (Order at the counter)
Website
Health Code Violations
Friday, September 16, 2005
Lunch at Mijita, San Francisco, CA
Chef Traci Des Jardins 'regular food' joint, Mijita serves up a bit too expensive Mexican dishes. But the ingredients are fresh, organic and local, so we like to blame the price on that.
Sope de...(we forget)--Pork Soup with Vegetables and Tortilla Strips $7 (Giao)
Carnitas Taco $4 (Alexis)--The pork was a bit drier than usual, but still very tasty. Served with jalepenos and pickled veggies.
Queso Fundido $5 (both)--This means "melted cheese", or as Giao would rather believe "very fun cheese". In either case, you can really beat melted cheese with chorizo, baked in a clay pot. We like it smothered with guacamole (below).
Sope de...(we forget)--Pork Soup with Vegetables and Tortilla Strips $7 (Giao)
Carnitas Taco $4 (Alexis)--The pork was a bit drier than usual, but still very tasty. Served with jalepenos and pickled veggies.
Queso Fundido $5 (both)--This means "melted cheese", or as Giao would rather believe "very fun cheese". In either case, you can really beat melted cheese with chorizo, baked in a clay pot. We like it smothered with guacamole (below).
Dinner at Home
Tilapia fried in butter and capers
French Green Beans sauteed in butter and garlic. They were better last time with the addition of grated parmasean.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Dinner at Hayes Street Grill, San Francisco, CA
Because we live in a city that is a veritable cornucopia of good restaraunts, sometimes Alexis and I play this game. We get on a random bus, and pick a person to follow off. We then go find a place to eat. This time we were a bit foiled because the intended target faked us out. Anyway, we got out in the Hayes valley. After a bit of walking we found the Hayes Street Grill. They pull a bit of a older crowd, and have a corresponding conservative decor and menu. They offer a $29 prix fix on weekdays, consisting of a choice of salad, choice of fish and dessert. Alexis did that (sans dessert) while I went ala carte. 
Ceaser Salad $9 (Alexis)--Respectable caesar, good not too creamy dressing, lots of parmasean.
Spinich with Garlic $6 (Alexis)--A little too crunchy because the stems were not removed, but good flavor.
Salmon with lemon-caper butter $22 (Alexis)--Cooked medium-rare and drenched in caper butter, this was a pretty good dish.
Beet Salad with blue cheese, walnuts and endive (Giao) $11--Good.
Scallop on a bed of corn(Giao) $22--A bit on the small side for an entree of this price because most was filler when we all know that scallops are the good part.
All in all, a solid, if uninspired meal, a little overpriced. The waiter was lacking though, having forgotten to fetch us bread, a bit brisk in manner and forgetting parts of the order.
Ratings:
Food: 1
Service: 0
Decor: 0
Health Code Violations
All in all, a solid, if uninspired meal, a little overpriced. The waiter was lacking though, having forgotten to fetch us bread, a bit brisk in manner and forgetting parts of the order.
Ratings:
Food: 1
Service: 0
Decor: 0
Health Code Violations
Lunch at Work
Mixed green salad with avocado and rotisserie chicken, dressed in a vinagrette.
Breakfast at Home
Eggs Scrambled with Jalepeno Artichoke Chicken Sausage and SpinachWednesday, September 14, 2005
Dinner at Home
Steamed Broccoli and Celery Root Turnip Soup
Sauteed shrimp with butter and garlic, an old favorite.
Lunch at Work
Mixed Green Salad with Avocado and Rotisserie Chicken
Celery Root Turnip Soup
Breakfast at Home
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Dinner at Home
Lunch at Work
Mish-Mash of leftovers.
Tomato Soup with Mozzeralla - Much better than just the soup
Costco Chicken Wings
Salad with Rotissere Chicken
Tomato Soup with Mozzeralla - Much better than just the soup
Costco Chicken Wings
Salad with Rotissere Chicken
# posted by Giao and Alexis @ 1:30 PM 
Breakfast at Home
Monday, September 12, 2005
Dinner at Home
Roasted Boneless Leg of Lamb--I marinated this all day in parsley, garlic, dijon, balsamic, olive oil, salt and pepper, then roasted it. It turned out juicier than usual, but not rare enough. Using the electronic meat thermometer I learned that the interior temperature will increase by 12-15 degrees after removing it from the oven.
French Green Beans sauteed in Butter, Garlic and sprinkled with Parmasean--These thin, french green beans retain a nice crunch, even after cooking. They are incredibly tender.
Lunch at Chef Jia's, San Francisco, CA
The best thing about Chef Jia's is that it is cheap and does not make you sick. Also, it is right next to House of Nanking and it does not have the crazy lines.
Chicken Soup $5 (both)--This soup has a nice flavor and bits of chicken and shrimp, but it also oddly contains frozen peas and carrots. And while Giao likes the crunchiness of the celery, I do not.
Chicken Soup $5 (both)--This soup has a nice flavor and bits of chicken and shrimp, but it also oddly contains frozen peas and carrots. And while Giao likes the crunchiness of the celery, I do not.
Bean Curd with Pork $8 (Giao)
The pork did not have the consistency of pork (too soft), and the sauce was a bit too sweet, but it was edible.
Fresh Garlic Chicken with Broccoli $8 (Alexis)
This dish was actually one of the best I've had at this place. Not too sweet or too corn-starchy, like cheap Chinese oftens is. It also contained a nice surprise of lots of sauteed scallions. And it was a huge amount of food.
Food: 1
Service: 0 (Typical chinatown rushed service)
Decor: 0
Chef Jia's
Breakfast at Home
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Dinner at Home
After we stocked up on supplies at the Costco (finally), we sat down to some Costco wings and a salad.
The wings were pretty good, not spectacular, but who cares, they are wings...
The wings were pretty good, not spectacular, but who cares, they are wings...
Salad of mixed greens, baby bell peppers, tomato, red onion and marinated mozzarella, with a balsamic viniagrette. The standard.
Lunch at Tony's House, Burlingame, CA
After football, we ran over to the Whole Foods and got this assortment. The spread was about $30 total.
Marinated mozzarella--We had never actually tried the marinated minis before, but they were actually pretty good. lightly seasoned and fresh.
Marinated mozzarella--We had never actually tried the marinated minis before, but they were actually pretty good. lightly seasoned and fresh.
Proscuitto--sliced a bit too thick but how can you go wrong with proscuitto.
Tofu and cabbage salad. Not great but edible. Tofu was a bit hard and it was not seasoned well, a bit too bland for our tastes.
Octopus and calamari salad, cured in lemon juice. Nice and refreshing.
Tomato soup--A bit too chunky, more like a sauce than a soup, but very flavorful.
Shrimp "cooked" in lemon juice and garlic. Mmmm, shrimp.
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