Saturday, June 21, 2008
Caraway Crusted Pork Chop with Summery Rice Salad
This was alight summer meal we ate on the balcony.
Pork Chops
-2 pork chops
-1 tb ground caraway
-1 ts salt
-1 ts pepper
-1 ts powdered orange rind
Mix all the spices and rub all over the pork chops. Panfry the pork chops over medium heat for about 6 minutes on each side.
Rice Salad
-1 cup leftover cooked basmati rice
-10 cherry tomatoes, halved
-1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced
-1/4 onion, thinly sliced
-a few handfuls of spinach, sauteed briefly
- juice of 1/2 lime
-salt and pepper to taste
-1 tb balsamic vinegar
Mix all ingredients and serve room temperature.
-2 pork chops
-1 tb ground caraway
-1 ts salt
-1 ts pepper
-1 ts powdered orange rind
Mix all the spices and rub all over the pork chops. Panfry the pork chops over medium heat for about 6 minutes on each side.
Rice Salad
-1 cup leftover cooked basmati rice
-10 cherry tomatoes, halved
-1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced
-1/4 onion, thinly sliced
-a few handfuls of spinach, sauteed briefly
- juice of 1/2 lime
-salt and pepper to taste
-1 tb balsamic vinegar
Mix all ingredients and serve room temperature.
Labels: dinner recipes, fennel, homemade, pork, rice, salad, spinach, tomatos
Friday, June 20, 2008
Another Lunch at The Sentinel, San Francisco, CA
The Sentinel is quickly becoming in our go-to lunch spot. Dennis Leary, the chef, was kind enough to give us extra dessert for free.
Tuna Tartare and a Warm Custard Cake $11
A solid rendition. The chunks of tuna were more poke sized than tartare sized. The cake was warm, slightly gooey and slightly fruity.
Roast Beef Sandwich with Horseradish Sauce $8
This sandwich is made from house-roasted beef and was very juicy. The sauce added a nice, creamy kick. Delicious.
Ratings:
Food: 1
Decor: 0
Service: 1
The Sentinel
37 New Montgomery
San Francisco, CA 94105
Tuna Tartare and a Warm Custard Cake $11
A solid rendition. The chunks of tuna were more poke sized than tartare sized. The cake was warm, slightly gooey and slightly fruity.
Roast Beef Sandwich with Horseradish Sauce $8
This sandwich is made from house-roasted beef and was very juicy. The sauce added a nice, creamy kick. Delicious.
Food: 1
Decor: 0
Service: 1
The Sentinel
37 New Montgomery
San Francisco, CA 94105
Labels: Decor: 0, Food: 1, restaurant, review, Service: 1
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Mediterranean Orange Roughy with Parmasan Spinach
-4 fillets orange roughy
-1/2 cup marinated artichoke hearts, diced
-1/4 cup kalamata olives, minced
-4 leeks, thinly sliced
-salt and pepper to taste
Sautee the leeks over low head until caramelized. Mix the leeks, artichoke heats and olives together to form a thick paste. Place the fish in a baking dish. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the fish in the paste and bake on 375 for 20 minutes.
-1 lb spinach
-1/4 cup Parmesan
-salt and pepper to taste
Sautee the spinach until wilted. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with Parmesan.
Labels: artichoke, fish, leeks, seafood, spinach
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Interesting, Well-Conceived Small Plates at Orson, San Francisco, CA
Orson is Elizabeth Faulker's (of Citizen Cake) new non-dessert restaurant and it's close to both our house and Alexis' office. The interior was large and lofty, yet still intimate. They did a good job of making distinct sections of the restaurant. There is the main dining area, a large lounge (towards the back), an upstairs loft and a very large, white marble oval bar in the center. It is modern, yet friendly. The service was also great. They were attentive, friendly and knowledgeable. And the food was also very good. The food was eclectic and interesting and overall, very tasty.
Chicarrones with BBQ Sauce $5
The chicharones (fried pig skin) were light and not at all greasy. The BBQ sauce was refreshingly lacking in cloying sweetness. This was a great way to start the meal.
Smoked Tempura Egg $8
Sounded better than it tasted, but still good.
Oysters $5 for 2
Classic and good.
Tongue Croquette with Cherries $5
I think tongue is this season's IT ingredient. It is surprisingly tender. The cherries, I think, would have been a better addition if they had been a little less sweet and a little more sour.
Duck Fat Fries with Aioli $7
Duck fat fries are also showing up on menus all over the place. I'm not complaining though.
Foie Gras Bon Bon $5
This was very weird, but actually worked. It was cold torchon of foie gras dipped in dark, bitter chocolate. Our friend and dining companion, L, didn't like it at all, but we thought it was great.
Fried Tofu $5
This was good, if a little bland.
Bone Marrow with Roasted Garlic and Crusty Bread $12
The garlic overpowered the marrow, but on their own, spread on the hearty, sour bread, both were unctuous.
Greens, Beets, Grapefruit, Pine Nuts, Ricotta Salata $
Pork Buns $7
These were better than your standard dim sum pork buns, but we don't really like pork buns all that much. The acidic sauce added a nice kick though, however.
Charred Hamachi Tartare $11
It was agreed that this was just a little too charred--the flavor overpowered the delicate flavor of the fish.
Shortribs with Espresso Sauce $15
The espresso sauce was oddly tasted and the bitterness matched the fattiness of the shortrib well.
Roasted Pig, 5 Ways $17
Delicious, in all 5 ways.
Sausage, Asparagus, Fennel and Pecorino Pizza $15
We are getting a little sick of the no-sauce pizzas that keep appearing on menus, but the flavor was good here, and the crust was as good as any I've had on the West Coast.
Orson
508 4TH ST
San Francisco, CA 94107
Health Code Violations
Chicarrones with BBQ Sauce $5
The chicharones (fried pig skin) were light and not at all greasy. The BBQ sauce was refreshingly lacking in cloying sweetness. This was a great way to start the meal.
Smoked Tempura Egg $8
Sounded better than it tasted, but still good.
Oysters $5 for 2
Classic and good.
Tongue Croquette with Cherries $5
I think tongue is this season's IT ingredient. It is surprisingly tender. The cherries, I think, would have been a better addition if they had been a little less sweet and a little more sour.
Duck Fat Fries with Aioli $7
Duck fat fries are also showing up on menus all over the place. I'm not complaining though.
Foie Gras Bon Bon $5
This was very weird, but actually worked. It was cold torchon of foie gras dipped in dark, bitter chocolate. Our friend and dining companion, L, didn't like it at all, but we thought it was great.
Fried Tofu $5
This was good, if a little bland.
Bone Marrow with Roasted Garlic and Crusty Bread $12
The garlic overpowered the marrow, but on their own, spread on the hearty, sour bread, both were unctuous.
Greens, Beets, Grapefruit, Pine Nuts, Ricotta Salata $
Pork Buns $7
These were better than your standard dim sum pork buns, but we don't really like pork buns all that much. The acidic sauce added a nice kick though, however.
Charred Hamachi Tartare $11It was agreed that this was just a little too charred--the flavor overpowered the delicate flavor of the fish.
Shortribs with Espresso Sauce $15
The espresso sauce was oddly tasted and the bitterness matched the fattiness of the shortrib well.
Roasted Pig, 5 Ways $17
Delicious, in all 5 ways.
Sausage, Asparagus, Fennel and Pecorino Pizza $15
We are getting a little sick of the no-sauce pizzas that keep appearing on menus, but the flavor was good here, and the crust was as good as any I've had on the West Coast.
Ratings:
Food: 2
Decor: 2
Service: 2
Food: 2
Decor: 2
Service: 2
508 4TH ST
San Francisco, CA 94107
Health Code Violations
Labels: Decor: 2, Food: 2, restaurant, review, Service: 1
Monday, June 16, 2008
Shrimp, Kale and Quinoa in a Spicy Miso Sauce
-1 bunch kale, chopped
-1 lb shrimp
-1 cup quinoa
-2 tb miso
-2 tb chili sauce
-juice of 1/2 lime
-1/2 cup hot water
Cook the quinoa like you would rice and set aside. Mix together the water, lime juice, chili suace and miso. Sautee the kale until tender, then add the shrimp and the miso mixture and sautee until shrimp are tender. Serve the kale and shrimp over the quinoa.
-1 lb shrimp
-1 cup quinoa
-2 tb miso
-2 tb chili sauce
-juice of 1/2 lime
-1/2 cup hot water
Cook the quinoa like you would rice and set aside. Mix together the water, lime juice, chili suace and miso. Sautee the kale until tender, then add the shrimp and the miso mixture and sautee until shrimp are tender. Serve the kale and shrimp over the quinoa.
Labels: dinner recipes, homemade, kale, quinoa, shrimp
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Good Bistro Food at L'Ardoise, San Francisco, CA
A coworker, with respectable foodie cred, recommended L'Ardoise to us and so we made a reservation. We found the food to be good, but not necessarily special. The service was good, but a different kind of special. Everyone who worked there seemed to have a phony French accent, which became a bit grating. If we lived near L'Ardoise, we'd probably go there more often, but, as it stands, we live much closer to Fringale, which will remain our go-to bistro.
Octopus Salad $13
The octopus was good, for sure, but the components of the salad didn't really work.
Charcuterie Platter $9
Classic and tasty.
Escargots $11
The thick potato slices the escargots were stacked on were superfluous, but the escargots were tender and the sauce was delicious and worthy of sopping up with bread.
Hangar Steak with Frites $18
A large portion and a decent version of a classic. I ordered medium rare and received very, very rare, however.
Prawn Ravioli $10
We really wanted to like this dish. The pasta was thin and tender. The shrimp flavor was nice. However, there was something oddly sweet in the sauce. Seafood and sweet don't really go together in our minds.
Ratings:
Food: 1
Decor: 1
Service: 1
L'Ardoise
151 Noe Street
San Francisco, CA 94114
Can't Find Health Code Violations
Octopus Salad $13
The octopus was good, for sure, but the components of the salad didn't really work.
Charcuterie Platter $9
Classic and tasty.
Escargots $11
The thick potato slices the escargots were stacked on were superfluous, but the escargots were tender and the sauce was delicious and worthy of sopping up with bread.
Hangar Steak with Frites $18
A large portion and a decent version of a classic. I ordered medium rare and received very, very rare, however.
Prawn Ravioli $10
We really wanted to like this dish. The pasta was thin and tender. The shrimp flavor was nice. However, there was something oddly sweet in the sauce. Seafood and sweet don't really go together in our minds.
Food: 1
Decor: 1
Service: 1
L'Ardoise
151 Noe Street
San Francisco, CA 94114
Can't Find Health Code Violations
Labels: Decor: 1, Food: 1, French, restaurant, review, Service: 1
Dim Sum Brunch at Tian Sing, San Francisco, CA
Tian Sing is the closest decent dim sum to our house. The meal came to about $20 per person, and we were pretty stuffed.
Fried Oysters
I don't like oysters because of a bad childhood experience involving the slide down and the subsequent slide back up the esophagus. I thought I'd give these a try since the slime factor was gone. I still didn't like them. Everyone else liked them.
Chicken Feet
Not the best rendition.
Spareribs
Tasty, but no black beans?!
Siu Mai
Yum...our favorite.
Har Gow
Classic.
Fried Tofu
These were not super crunchy, but they were very good. They were smothered in sauteed scallions and garlic.
Crab Dumplings
Light and tasty.
Mushroom Dumpling
Ok.
Fried Oysters
I don't like oysters because of a bad childhood experience involving the slide down and the subsequent slide back up the esophagus. I thought I'd give these a try since the slime factor was gone. I still didn't like them. Everyone else liked them.
Chicken Feet
Not the best rendition.
Spareribs
Tasty, but no black beans?!
Siu Mai
Yum...our favorite.
Har Gow
Classic.
Fried Tofu
These were not super crunchy, but they were very good. They were smothered in sauteed scallions and garlic.
Crab Dumplings
Light and tasty.
Mushroom Dumpling
Ok.
Ratings:
Food: 1
Decor: 0
Service: 1
Food: 1
Decor: 0
Service: 1
Labels: Chinese, Decor: 0, Dim Sum, Food: 1, restaurant, review, Service: 1
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