Tasting galore

Sampling restuarant offerings at the Art Alive fundraising event brought out some tasty offerings.




Cocunut tapioca with caviar topings, rich and savvy with flavor.




Tuna tartare with mango and citrus blends, went excellent with the champagne.




Duck quesadillas and wasabi enhanced guacomole




Tuna tartare with qual egg, roasted pine nuts




A yoghurt covered sauasage thing




Strips of sirloin and horseradish cream




Pesto covered raviole with goat cheese




Heirloom tomatoe salad to go with goat cheese... Delicious



Grilled octupus with spice... Fabulous




Short rib with horseradish cream sauce... Also quite good.

But best of all was an artisan sourdough Vermont cheddar cheese sandwhich with black truffles, grilled to perfection an oozing with flavor. So good, was consummed with eating of several of these.




Fantastic venue.




Flowers galore...

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Spicy pickle: Little Italy SD

Bring on the sandwhich! The grilled panini's at the spicy pickle are a great addition to any grab and go meal.

The chicken adobe: grilled panini with smoked chicken, cheese and corn with a slight chipotle sauce


The Bronx meat panini :


It may give some NY Jewish deli's a run for it's money!

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Killer kumquats

Famished and without a trace of food in the fridge except some champagne, a chocolate and a rockstar, what to make?

Kumquats. These little tiny orange sweet and bitter fruits are fantastic as a snack alone and cooked as well. Sautteed in olive oil and onions, sprinkled with garlic, dill and sea salt, the sweet and sour candied yumness was begging for the mahi to join.:



Candied to a sweet perfection, dill glazened mahi were all brought to a sizzling seduction:



The kumquatted mahi was fantastic. Loving this new little mix.

All good with rosemaried potatoes:


A nice cab from the catena winery in argentina brought the semi sweet kumquat and Rosemary combination together with a robust red:



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Amarin Thai SD

Amarin served up a tasty an spicy treat for us. This little neighborhood spot is definately worth a review down blog memory lane:




Papaya salad with shrimp and vinegared chile and fish paste.

Eggplant and chicken, with basil and pepper




And total Thai comfort, chiken Tom yum soup with brown rice:



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Macaroni grill.. LA suburbs

So the occassional family visit brought me to a new place To explore.

Mediterranean olives with focaccia bread started the sunday:



Crab stuffed mushrooms were the appetizer of choice:



The bruschetta came out with Roma tomatoe chopped freshness and basil leaves:


A grilled chicken and vegetables with a warm spinach salad was quite good, slightly sauteed spinach topped with warm goat cheese and grilled onions and roasted peppers made for a tasty plate:






Grilled shrimps could not be escaped:


A refreshing raspberry and lemon sorbet topped the Flavors:



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Momo's SF

Across the street from the giants ballpark, with outdoor game day drinking contests and Tasty brunches, Momos has some amazingly tasty bites for a ballpark eatery.

They use to have the citys best carpaccio! Truffle oiled slices of raw beef with capers and shaved Parmesan was one of the neighborhood's highlights.. But they removed it off the menu!!

Still, some spicy horseradish infused bloody's say "hello, sunshine, I'll be kickin up a storm today":



The ahi tuna sandwhich, seared ahi on ciabbiata bread, tangy coleslaw and a side of crisp cucumber, red bell pepper spring salad was fantastic:



A chicken and walnut butter leaf salad wa refreshingly good as well:



And let's not forget the burgers and fries, some good bites:



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Cross roads cafe SF

Local neighborhood cafe in Soma has fantastic breakfast options, great coffees and a sit down bookstore and outside mini garden.

Toasted poppy seed bagel and veggie egg scramble with chipotle Tabasco sauce to get a kick start in the morning:



Crunchy granola, sunflower seeds and currants with yoghurt to get the biotic flora in gear:




With free wifi and tucked away from mainstream traffic, crossoads is a favorite local joint that supports the Delancy foundation project in SF.

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Tango suprises- PB

Every now and then, a colleauge surprises me with samples and bites from a new restuarant that recently opened up in PB. The tango dancehall has a restuarant that is now serving lunch and dinner.

A tuna melt prepared in a slightly different Italian twist was coated with pesto and mozarella cheese:



Although the twin finger sized fries were too much and the sandwhich may have fared better on a pressed sourdough bread, the tuna and mozzarella was very tasty.

Another day, a grilled portobello sandwhich appeared on my desk: grilled portobello covered in a chipotle aioli type sauce served with what appeared to be cooked spinach was also flavorful. Masked a bit with the sauce and textured heavily woth the mushroom, but nonetheless tasty.




From flatbread pizzas to jalepeno poppers, this tucked in Tango restuarant deserves a try in one of these upcoming days.


And the day came today. Walking into the establishment is a bit of an experience. The tango hall was apparently constructed 15 years ago by a patron for his flamenco dancing daughters. The interior is rather ornate and overly embellished with baroque influenced columns, Arabic mirrored arches and floor to ceiling covered octagons with carpeted decorations. The theme of Spanish fighting bull meats an Arabic prince comes to mind, with gold and red and white everywhere. It's rather interesting, with a certer tango floor in the middle, stage lighting and sound systems to rock out to, the open bar and hospitality required a visit.

Upstairs searing giVes you a view of the whole place. A dumb waiter brings up your food, graciously served by Virginia, the chefs wife.

On a tight schedule, a sauteed tilapia on spinach salad was prepared with a cream dressing:


The fish was cooked well, and for the first time, a spinach salad appeared in PB. Although a light herb infused olive oil based vinagrette would have been the choice of dressing... It was tasty.

Stealing a slice of the goat cheese and spinach pizza my colleagues ordered, was glad to see the flatbread style pizza making it's way as an entree.




Check out the interior:









I see a couple of lunch time tango sessions in the future.

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Avenue 5- bankers hill

Global theatre Trekkers and banker hill residents have a fantastic urban lofty and delicoisly good food spot called avenue 5 on fifth.

Occassional visits are definately required. Mixture of architectural elements: brick, dark wood, open airy lofty expanse, blackened ducts and low lit atmosphere provides for an intimate yet casual dining experience.

The veal special was on the hunters list tonight: tender veal medium rare encased in natural juices, mushrooms, spinach and fingerlibg potatoes:



The split portion itself was a meal for one. Accompanied with the pickled apple and beet salad, interspersed with gorgonzola pieces and semi sweet vinagrette combined sweets, sour, crunch and cheese into flavorful bites:



Definately a spot to frolic in...


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The big easy -hillcrest

If you have ever been to new Orleans, you will most likely gain a few due to the fabulously rich and delicious food. N'awlins has finger sucking crawfish feasts, fried oyster specials, po boys, gumbo, jambalaya and other favorite creole dishes. And let's not forget cafe du monde's beignets... World famous white powder wonderland...

Well in hillcrest, Frankie the bull, top chef extraordinaire , has opened up The big easy, bringing n'awlins dishes to community.

Walking inside the large glass door, you arewhisked away to a warm comforting living room style set up, with modern southern decor.

Their were so many appealing things on the appetizer list and full menu, that we had to order a few to sample.


The Grits and shrimp, large sized shrimps with tomatoe and onions and fried grits were delicious:


The jambalaya, spicey and full of flavor:



Crawfish étouffée looked amazingly good:


Ceasar salad came out in mounds of romaine crispness:


The lamb, ever so delicatley cooked medium rare was well presented :


The spicy shrimp:... Hold on to your seats as fire emblazened babies go down:



But the special of the day, the Chilean sea bass... Ok not a typical n'awlins special, but a little creole spicing to a Chilean sea bass does the body and mind good:



The red bean soup with shredded chicken was also fantastic:



And of course, the beignets were in order for dessert:



The flavors and spice had you singing the theme song "when the saints go marching in".

Definately be returning for some Creole and cajun Flare and flavor found at the big easy.

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