Saturday, August 09, 2008
Summer BBQ
We had a housewarming party at our new place and took full advantage of the backyard and the grill it came with.
Sliders
Giao made these delicious sliders using a technique he learned from Alton Brown of the Food Network. Basically, he rolled out the meat in a large baking sheet until it was about 1/4 inch thick, then he seasoned the meat in a single layer with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Finally, he folded the meat over on itself. Then we cut the sheet of perfectly seasoned meat into even squares with a pizza cutter. The sliders were very, very good. They were juicy and they were perfectly seasoned in every bite. For buns, we simply used Costco dinner rolls.
Black Bean Salad
This was a nice side for our meaty sliders.
-2 cans corn, drained
-2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
-10 tomatos, diced
-4 large Armenian cucumbers, peeled and sliced
-olive oil
-lime juice
-salt and pepper
Combine the olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper together to form a dressing in whatever proportions you like (if you have too much, just save it for another salad). Combine all of the ingredients and dress with the dressing. Give the salad and hour for 2 for the flavors to meld. This is best served at room temperature.
Red Cabbage and Carrot Slaw
A tasty, non-mayo-y, slaw.
Sliders
Giao made these delicious sliders using a technique he learned from Alton Brown of the Food Network. Basically, he rolled out the meat in a large baking sheet until it was about 1/4 inch thick, then he seasoned the meat in a single layer with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Finally, he folded the meat over on itself. Then we cut the sheet of perfectly seasoned meat into even squares with a pizza cutter. The sliders were very, very good. They were juicy and they were perfectly seasoned in every bite. For buns, we simply used Costco dinner rolls.
Black Bean Salad
This was a nice side for our meaty sliders.
-2 cans corn, drained
-2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
-10 tomatos, diced
-4 large Armenian cucumbers, peeled and sliced
-olive oil
-lime juice
-salt and pepper
Combine the olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper together to form a dressing in whatever proportions you like (if you have too much, just save it for another salad). Combine all of the ingredients and dress with the dressing. Give the salad and hour for 2 for the flavors to meld. This is best served at room temperature.
Red Cabbage and Carrot Slaw
A tasty, non-mayo-y, slaw.
-1 head red cabbage, shredded
-2 carrots, peeled and shredded
-3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
-1/4 cup agave nectar
-1 ts salt
-1 ts celery salt
-1 ts pepper
Combine all of the ingredients except the cabbage and carrots and stir to make a dressing. Pour the dressing over the other ingredients and let sit for an hour or two before serving. Best served at room temperature.
-2 carrots, peeled and shredded
-3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
-1/4 cup agave nectar
-1 ts salt
-1 ts celery salt
-1 ts pepper
Combine all of the ingredients except the cabbage and carrots and stir to make a dressing. Pour the dressing over the other ingredients and let sit for an hour or two before serving. Best served at room temperature.
Labels: black beans, burger, cabbage, carrot, corn, cucumber, homemade, salad, tomatos
Homemade Burgers and Spicy Oven Baked Potato Wedges
Spicy Oven-Baked Potato Wedges
Rarely do we cook, or even eat, potatoes, but they came in the CSA box, so we had to find a use for them. These were crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside.
-6 red potatoes, cut into wedges, lengthwise
-1 ts garlic powder
-1 ts paprika
-1 ts cayenne
-2 ts salt
-a bit of olive oil
Drizzle the olive oil on the potatoes and toss to coat. Add the spices and toss again to coat. Spread the wedges on a large cookie sheet in a single layer. Bake on 350 for about 35-40 minutes, or until crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.
-1 ts garlic powder
-1 ts paprika
-1 ts cayenne
-2 ts salt
-a bit of olive oil
Drizzle the olive oil on the potatoes and toss to coat. Add the spices and toss again to coat. Spread the wedges on a large cookie sheet in a single layer. Bake on 350 for about 35-40 minutes, or until crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.
Simple Green Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
Grilled Cheese Burger with Tomato, Onion, Lettuce and Condiments
The meat was seasoned with only salt and pepper and the burgers were grilled outside. There's not much better than a big, juicy burger grilled in the backyard on a warm summer night.
Labels: burger, dinner recipes, homemade, potato, salad
Friday, July 04, 2008
Bacon Cheese Burger at a Rooftop BBQ, San Francisco, CA
We (shamefully) bought some pre-formed burgers from Whole Foods because we were in the middle of packing up our house. The burgers enticed us because they had bacon and chedder mixed into the patty. Sadly, they tasted no different than a regular burger.
Labels: burger
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Late Lunch at Town Hall, San Francisco, CA
It was our friend's birthday, so we took him out for a late lunch at Town Hall, a semi-upscale place that's home to the best burger.
Seafood Chowder $8
Smooth, creamy and chock full of seafood, we were pleasantly surprised by this soup.
Bacon Cheese Burger $13
An expensive burger, but a tasty one. Although, it wasn't as tasty as we'd remembered it. Maybe we need to do another burger survey...
Seafood Chowder $8
Smooth, creamy and chock full of seafood, we were pleasantly surprised by this soup.
Bacon Cheese Burger $13
An expensive burger, but a tasty one. Although, it wasn't as tasty as we'd remembered it. Maybe we need to do another burger survey...
Ratings:
Food: 2
Service: 1
Decor: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
Decor: 2
Labels: burger, Decor: 2, Food: 2, restaurant, review, Service: 1
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Turkey Burgers with Carmelized Onions
Simple and satisfying. These turkey burgers were pretty healthy, especially when served with a hearty green salad.
-1 lb ground turkey
-1 tb garlic powder
-salt and pepper to taste
-sliced sharp cheddar
Mix the meat and spices thoroughly with your hands. Form into patties. Pan fry over medium heat for a few minutes on each side, until almost cooked through. Then top with the sliced cheese, cover and steam for about 1 minute, until the cheese melts.
-1 onion, thinly sliced
Sautee the onion in a bit of olive oil over low heat for about 45 minutes, until completely carmelized. Top the cheese burgers with the onions.
-1 tb garlic powder
-salt and pepper to taste
-sliced sharp cheddar
Mix the meat and spices thoroughly with your hands. Form into patties. Pan fry over medium heat for a few minutes on each side, until almost cooked through. Then top with the sliced cheese, cover and steam for about 1 minute, until the cheese melts.
-1 onion, thinly sliced
Sautee the onion in a bit of olive oil over low heat for about 45 minutes, until completely carmelized. Top the cheese burgers with the onions.
Labels: burger, dinner recipes, homemade, turkey
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Kid-Friendly Lunch at Custom Burger, San Francisco, CA
Custom Burger opened up several months ago on a rather sketchy block in SOMA, pretty close to where we live. When tasked with finding a kid-friendly place to eat with our friends (with two kids under 3) we thought it would be a good time to try out this diner-style, order at the counter restaurant.
The menu and ordering were stream-lined into this single page. Sort of like the Burger Bar format, you choose the type of meat, the bun, the toppings and the sauces, as well as any side dishes.
Onion Rings $4
Served, rather ingeniously, on a paper towel holder. The rings them selves were very crispy, but a bit too bready.
Double Bacon Blue Cheese Burger with Fried Egg $12
This was Giao's enormous, artery-clogging concoction.
Bacon Cheeseburger with Special Sauce $9
This was Alexis' slightly more healthy burger with balsamic caramelized onions and arugula.
The menu and ordering were stream-lined into this single page. Sort of like the Burger Bar format, you choose the type of meat, the bun, the toppings and the sauces, as well as any side dishes.
Onion Rings $4
Served, rather ingeniously, on a paper towel holder. The rings them selves were very crispy, but a bit too bready.
Double Bacon Blue Cheese Burger with Fried Egg $12
This was Giao's enormous, artery-clogging concoction.
Bacon Cheeseburger with Special Sauce $9
This was Alexis' slightly more healthy burger with balsamic caramelized onions and arugula.
Labels: burger, chain restaurant, Decor: 1, Food: 1, review, Service: 1
Friday, December 28, 2007
In n' Out, Always Delicious
In n' Out has to be the best deal in terms of cost per calorie and we love that they have the low carb "proteins style" option. And it's quick to boot.
1 Cheeseburger, 2 Double Doubles and 1 3x3 (all animal and protein style) and Fries $12
Mmm. Meat, cheese, fried onions, special sauce, all wrapped in crunchy lettuce.
We rarely ever order fries because 1) we try to stay away from carbs and 2) we don't usually like In n' Out fries because they are not crispy enough. However, we heard you could order fries "well done" and so we did. They were markedly better; much more crispy.
1 Cheeseburger, 2 Double Doubles and 1 3x3 (all animal and protein style) and Fries $12
Mmm. Meat, cheese, fried onions, special sauce, all wrapped in crunchy lettuce.
We rarely ever order fries because 1) we try to stay away from carbs and 2) we don't usually like In n' Out fries because they are not crispy enough. However, we heard you could order fries "well done" and so we did. They were markedly better; much more crispy.
Labels: burger, chain restaurant, Decor: 0, Food: 1, review, Service: 1
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Clown Alley is now Pickles
Alexis walked and walked and found nothing to eat in the financial district on a Saturday morning. Then she happened upon Clown Alley, which has been renamed Pickles, but is exactly the same except for the sign.
Bacon Cheese Burger Sans Bun $8
This was a step above your standard fast food burger, but with lots of bacon.
This was a step above your standard fast food burger, but with lots of bacon.
Ratings:
Food: 1
Decor: 0
Service: 1 (counter)
Pickles
42 Columbus Ave
San Francisco, CA 94111-2102
Health Code Violations
Food: 1
Decor: 0
Service: 1 (counter)
Pickles
42 Columbus Ave
San Francisco, CA 94111-2102
Health Code Violations
Labels: burger, Decor: 0, Food: 1, restaurant, review
Friday, November 23, 2007
Burger Bar in Las Vegas: Best Burger in the West?
When we go to Vegas, we always make a point of going to Burger Bar, Hubert Keller's (of Fleur de Lys) burger joint. Burger Bar's schtick is that they have about 60 different a la carte burger toppings and 5 kinds of meat. This time we tried to make the most decadent burger we could and I think we succeeded.
Foie Gras, Bacon and Mozzerella Burger $25
Although this was an expensive burger, it was totally worth it. It was decadent and delicious. What always surprises us is that the piece of foie gras is so generous.
Foie Gras, Bacon and Mozzerella Burger $25
Although this was an expensive burger, it was totally worth it. It was decadent and delicious. What always surprises us is that the piece of foie gras is so generous.
Labels: burger, Decor: 1, Food: 2, restaurant, review, Service: 1
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Lunch at Taylor's Automatic Refresher, San Francisco, CA
Chopped Salad $5
This salad was not very good. I'm not sure why I always try the salad's here, even though they are never good.
Labels: burger, Decor: 2, Food: 1, restaurant, review, Service: 1
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Breakfast from In-N-Out Burger, Morgan Hill, CA
On our way to Carmel, we stopped off for some In-N-Out, some of the only fast food we will put in our bodies by choice and one of the best deals around.
Two 3x3s and a Double Double, Animal and Protein Style $11
For those who don't know about off-menu ordering, animal style means you get fried onions and protein style means you get your burger wrapped in lettuce. We got 8 patties of meat for $11, that's sort of ridiculous even when you don't consider that they pay their employees livable wages and use quality ingredients, made fresh to order.
In-N-Out Burger
895 Cochrane Road
Morgan Hill, California 95037
Previous Restaurant Review
Two 3x3s and a Double Double, Animal and Protein Style $11
For those who don't know about off-menu ordering, animal style means you get fried onions and protein style means you get your burger wrapped in lettuce. We got 8 patties of meat for $11, that's sort of ridiculous even when you don't consider that they pay their employees livable wages and use quality ingredients, made fresh to order.
In-N-Out Burger
895 Cochrane Road
Morgan Hill, California 95037
Previous Restaurant Review
Labels: burger, Decor: 0, Food: 1, restaurant, review, Service: 0
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Lunch at Taylor's Automatic Refresher, St. Helena, CA
We were up in Napa wine tasting and we didn't want a long, drawn out lunch, so we decided to go to Taylor's. While we'd been to the San Francisco outpost of this burger joint too many times to count, we'd never been to the original. The food was just as good (and expensive) as the San Francisco location, but the menu had fewer items. Taylor's is the perfect place for a low-key burger and glass of great wine. The quaint atmosphere of the St. Helena location was really great. It was a beautiful day and we took advantage of the plentiful, shaded picnic tables on a grassy lawn while eating our greasily delicious food.
Beer Battered Onions Rings $4
These super-crunchy, onion rings have a light, slightly tangy batter. Usually Alexis tries to abstain, but this time, she just couldn't.
Chili Cheese Dog $6
Eh, not really the greatest. The chili is too bean-y and the hot dog is not of superior quality.
Bacon Cheeseburger $9
This tasty, juicy burger is served with "special sauce" onion, tomato and pickles. And we always get it wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun.
Beer Battered Onions Rings $4
These super-crunchy, onion rings have a light, slightly tangy batter. Usually Alexis tries to abstain, but this time, she just couldn't.
Chili Cheese Dog $6
Eh, not really the greatest. The chili is too bean-y and the hot dog is not of superior quality.
Bacon Cheeseburger $9
This tasty, juicy burger is served with "special sauce" onion, tomato and pickles. And we always get it wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun.
Taylor's Automatic Refresher
933 Main St
Labels: burger, Decor: 2, Food: 1, regional American, restaurant, review, Service: 1
Friday, August 24, 2007
Lunch at Taylor's Automatic Refresher, San Francisco, CA
Another beautiful day in San Francisco called for lunch outside at the Ferry Building.
Bacon Cheeseburger $8
Expensive, but served with extra "special sauce", this burger is worth the price.
Taylor's Automatic Refresher
Previous Restaurant Review
Bacon Cheeseburger $8
Expensive, but served with extra "special sauce", this burger is worth the price.
Taylor's Automatic Refresher
1 Ferry Building
San Francisco, CA, 94111
Previous Restaurant Review
Labels: burger, Decor: 1, Food: 1, regional American, restaurant, review, Service: 1
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Brunch at In-N-Out Burger, Millbrae, CA
On our way to California Extreme, we stopped off at In-N-Out for some delicious burgers.
2 Triple-Triples and a Double-Double, Animal and Protein Style $13
For those of you unfamiliar with the ordering style at In-N-Out, that's 3 triple cheeseburgers (for Giao) and 1 double cheeseburger (for Alexis) all served with sauteed onions and wrapped in lerruce instead of a bun. This is the only fast food we eat by choice and we can even let the bible quotes on the trays slide because the burgers are such a good deal.
In-N-Out Burger
11 Rollins Rd.
Millbrae, CA 94030
2 Triple-Triples and a Double-Double, Animal and Protein Style $13
For those of you unfamiliar with the ordering style at In-N-Out, that's 3 triple cheeseburgers (for Giao) and 1 double cheeseburger (for Alexis) all served with sauteed onions and wrapped in lerruce instead of a bun. This is the only fast food we eat by choice and we can even let the bible quotes on the trays slide because the burgers are such a good deal.
11 Rollins Rd.
Millbrae, CA 94030
Labels: burger, Decor: 0, Food: 1, restaurant, review, Service: 1
Friday, August 03, 2007
Lunch at Taylor's Automatic Refresher, San Francisco, CA
Because it was such a beautiful day, we headed to the Ferry Building to Taylor's for some expensive but yummy burgers in the sun.
Chili Dog $5
Covered with chili and cheese, this dog looked better than it tasted. The dog itself was cheap supermarket qualty and the chili had too many beans.
Double Bacon Cheeseburger, No Bun, Extra Special Sauce $12
This is the first time Alexis opted for the double and she won't attempt it again. It was very good, but just too much burger for her stomach.
Blue Cheese Bacon Ring Burger $8
This burger is topped not only with bacon and cheese, but also with a fat, crispy, beer-battered onion ring. Heart attack, here we come.
Taylor's Automatic Refresher
Previous Post
Chili Dog $5
Covered with chili and cheese, this dog looked better than it tasted. The dog itself was cheap supermarket qualty and the chili had too many beans.
Double Bacon Cheeseburger, No Bun, Extra Special Sauce $12
This is the first time Alexis opted for the double and she won't attempt it again. It was very good, but just too much burger for her stomach.
Blue Cheese Bacon Ring Burger $8
This burger is topped not only with bacon and cheese, but also with a fat, crispy, beer-battered onion ring. Heart attack, here we come.
Taylor's Automatic Refresher
1 Ferry Plaza
San Francisco, CA
94105
San Francisco, CA
94105
Previous Post
Labels: burger, Decor: 1, Food: 1, restaurant, review, Service: 1
Friday, July 20, 2007
Lunch from Brandy Ho's and Bun Heaven, San Francisco, CA
Brandy Ho's was catered in at Alexis' work, but sadly, the usually good food was sub-par. So, she met Giao at a new burger place that opened up where the Fatt Dogg used to be...
Brandy Ho's:
Hot and Sour Soup
Tasty, as always.
Whole Fish with Ginger and Scallions
The fish tasted a bit off. Not really rotten, but certainly too old to eat.
Chili Cheese Burger (no bun) $6
Not bad at all. The chili was pretty darn good and really meaty, with no beans.
Cheesesteak $7
Also better than expected, and better than it looked.
Chili Dog $5
Again, the chili was pretty tasty.
Brandy Ho's:
Hot and Sour Soup
Tasty, as always.
Whole Fish with Ginger and Scallions
The fish tasted a bit off. Not really rotten, but certainly too old to eat.
Brandy Ho's Hunan Food
217 Columbus Ave
San Francisco, CA 94133
217 Columbus Ave
San Francisco, CA 94133
Better food awaited us...
Chili Cheese Burger (no bun) $6
Not bad at all. The chili was pretty darn good and really meaty, with no beans.
Cheesesteak $7
Also better than expected, and better than it looked.
Chili Dog $5
Again, the chili was pretty tasty.
Ratings;
Food: 1
Decor: 0
Service: 2 (When we didn't read that the cheesesteak had mushrooms in it, they made us a new one without, at no extra charge.)
No Website
Too New for Health Code Violations
Bun Heaven
200 Pine Street
San Francisco, CA 94104
Food: 1
Decor: 0
Service: 2 (When we didn't read that the cheesesteak had mushrooms in it, they made us a new one without, at no extra charge.)
No Website
Too New for Health Code Violations
Bun Heaven
200 Pine Street
San Francisco, CA 94104
Labels: burger, Decor: 0, Food: 1, restaurant, review, Service: 2
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Dinner at Home
Feta Turkey Burgers with Chopped Greek Salad
We added feta to the burgers themselves for a nice twist on the standard turkey burger, and we used a chopped salad as a sort of chunky salsa for the burger. It was pretty good, but not amazing.
Feta Turkey Burgers
-1 lb ground turkey
-1 ts garlic powder
-1 ts cayenne
-1 ts white pepper
-3/4 cup crumbled feta
Mix all ingredients thoroughly with your hands. Form into 4 patties. Pan fry the patties on the stove (or BBQ, if you have one handy). This takes about 5-8 minutes on each side for the meat to be fully cooked, which you want when you are cooking poultry.
Chopped Greek Salad
-6 baby cucumbers, peeled and chopped
-1 tomato, diced
-1/2 onion, diced
-1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
-1/4 cup crumbled feta
-1 huge handful fresh mint, finely chopped
-3 tb balsamic vinegar
-1 tb olive oil
-1 tb grainy mustard
Whisk the vinegar, olive oil and mustard to make a vinegarette. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl, the pour the vinegarette over the veggies and stir to combine. Eat on its own as a side salad, or serve over the top of the feta burgers, as we did.
-1 lb ground turkey
-1 ts garlic powder
-1 ts cayenne
-1 ts white pepper
-3/4 cup crumbled feta
Mix all ingredients thoroughly with your hands. Form into 4 patties. Pan fry the patties on the stove (or BBQ, if you have one handy). This takes about 5-8 minutes on each side for the meat to be fully cooked, which you want when you are cooking poultry.
Chopped Greek Salad
-6 baby cucumbers, peeled and chopped
-1 tomato, diced
-1/2 onion, diced
-1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
-1/4 cup crumbled feta
-1 huge handful fresh mint, finely chopped
-3 tb balsamic vinegar
-1 tb olive oil
-1 tb grainy mustard
Whisk the vinegar, olive oil and mustard to make a vinegarette. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl, the pour the vinegarette over the veggies and stir to combine. Eat on its own as a side salad, or serve over the top of the feta burgers, as we did.
Labels: burger, cucumber, dinner recipes, salad, turkey
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Lunch from Carl's Jr., San Francisco, CA
Six Dollar Low Carb Burger $4.50
Alexis asked for no mayo, Giao asked for no ketchup, we got 2 burgers, one with no condiments and one will all condiments. So something got lost in translation. Still, this has to be the best fast food burger around.
5 Piece Chicken Tenders $5
Carl's is about as far as we like to sink on the fast food chain, and only every once and a while. Despite the thick breading we attempt to pick off, these tenders are made from real, not reconstituted chicken.
Labels: burger, Decor: 0, Food: 1, restaurant, review, Service: 0
Friday, May 25, 2007
Lunch at Taylor's Automatic Refresher, San Francisco
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Lunch at Burgerville, Portland, OR
Giao, between sessions, decided to give Burgerville another shot. He asked if they could serve it without a bun, thinking that they might wrap it in lettuce. After he got his burger, he had to revise of his earlier opinion of "local version of McDonald's" to "bad local version of McDonald's."
Labels: burger, Decor: 0, Food: 0, restaurant, review, Service: 0
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