If you know me well, then you know that brunch is my favorite meal - at any time of the day. A brunch food truck is debuting in the city: Brunch Box SF. Twitter: @brunchboxsf. Clearly, my food truck chasing continues.
After moving to San Francisco and spotting the It’s-It ice cream factory several times from the freeway, I’ve been curious about the touted treats. I was excited to find some of the ice cream sandwiches at Lucky, and even read the history of It’s-It online when I got home (www.itsiticecream.com). This delectable piece of heaven is made of vanilla, mint, or cappuccino ice cream sandwiched between two oatmeal cookies and dipped in dark chocolate. Now I need to try the others, and somehow convince the factory to give me a free tour. Check it out at a Nor Cal grocery store or the factory - Hawaii friends can even get it at Safeway.
Recessionista approved: Get 50% off booze in the Bay Area via Yelp Drinks! April 4-10. What’s not to like about a week-long happy hour? (Check link for deets.)
So wonderful, yet so wrong: Deep fried french toast a.k.a. the Big Hip at Sweet Maple (pictured top right). They’re like the french toast sticks from Burger King, only 10 times better and probably 10 times worse for you. At least the one at Sweet Maple comes with fruit, right? No? Whatevs.
The millionaire bacon and multiple, well-seasoned potatoes should get an honorary mention. And that was the mention.
Long gone are my Los Angeles foodtruck chasing days - the subject that gave me a reason to love Twitter in the first place (shout out to KogiBBQ!). Off the Grid in San Francisco has now filled that void, and I opt for the one at Fort Mason on Friday nights (hey, they have parking, which seems to be rare in this town).
When OTG returned from its winter hiatus this weekend, I made it a point to include it in my pre-karaoke Friday night agenda in spite of rain, lightning, and thunder. As opposed to Angelenos who go into hiding like it’s the Apocolypse when just a drop of water falls from the sky, San Franciscans are ready to brave the rain like it’s their business! The crowd ceased my efforts to try the most coveted foodtrucks and carts. When will I ever get to the front of Chairman Bao’s line before they sell out of pork belly?! Fret not, there’s next Friday.
Happy Macaron Day! I’m in a macaron-hunt phase right now. Although places in NY have specials to celebrate this special treat, I couldn’t find a spot that’s observing it in SF. Regardless, I set forth to Fillmore Bakeshop for a few of these multi-colored confectionaries to celebrate. They’re not recessionista-friendly at $1.95 a pop, but they did their job. I prefer Patisserie Philippe in SoMa.
Thunderstorm, lightning, and rain didn’t stop us from foodtruck chasin’ last night. (Taken with Instagram at Off the Grid: Fort Mason Center)
Wha?! You haven’t been to Umami Burger in LA yet? Then we need to talk. Pick a spot - they have sprouted in five locations in just a few years: umamiburger.com. I’ve been a fan since day one when they only had a location on La Brea Ave. Now that I live in San Francisco, I can’t wait ‘til they open in the Marina! Get the Original Umami burger, and I’ll leave it at that.
As a funemployed recessionista, I still want to satisfy my food curiosity in my new city. Tools like Scoutmob.com where you don’t need to pre-purchase a voucher to get 50% off your meal have been helpful in my dine-out conquest. This brings me to Uncle Boy’s in Inner Richmond.
The burgers at Uncle Boy’s are like your friend’s barbecue burgers with the works. They’re good, no-frills burgers. I ordered a Nephew’s burger, which is basically a classic with lettuce, tomato, and cheese with a touch of pesto sauce. My boyfriend opted for the popular Cowboy burger (pictured) - like Carl’s Jr. Western Cheeseburger done right without the ‘cue sauce overdone. How he managed to bite into the burger with the towering layers of onion rings is beyond me. It made for a reasonably priced, simple, tasty meal overall.
If you look closely at this photo, you’re probably wondering about the gun-blade in one of the quadrants. Yeah, I’m wondering about it, too.
Thanks to our dear friends for a gift card, we were able to indulge at Pizzeria Delfina in the Mission district. 7x7 Magazine has the margherita pizza listed on its Big Eats list, and after trying it I’m now convinced that the list is overrated (where was the basil?!). Also over-hyped was the Yelpers’-recommended tricolore salad. What we thoroughly enjoyed, though, was the salciccia pizza with its flavorful, homemade fennel sausage. The arancini (fried mozzarella & rice balls) were tasty little fillers.
Maybe my expectations were set a little too high for this place, but it was okay. It was worth a try.
If there’s anything worthy of first food post of the year, it would be my new favorite sushi joint: Sushi Zone. Lame name right? Don’t let the name scare you.
Ever since my first visit to Sushi Zone, I have subsequently been ordering the baked sea bass appetizer. It is mixed with a flavorful mayo sauce and it buries the treasure of ripe mango, all on a mussel shell. For not being much of a mango fan, this combo is surprisingly dynamic.
The sushi deserves songs of praise as well. It’s simple and best of all, it’s very fresh fish. The parking sucks, there’s always a long wait in that tiny venue, but it’s all worth coming back for more. In my case, it’s every two weeks.
I GOT CRABS!
Crusty, delicious crabs, that is. Now that I have your attention, I’d like to divert it to R&G Lounge in SF Chinatown.
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - How Long Do I Have To Wait For You? with 21 plays.
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Where would I find a grip of “special” baked goods sellers, folk/country artists, and the need to immediately take a shower? The 10th Annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival at Golden Gate Park - a free, three-day, public concert event just a few blocks away from where I live.
On the last day and last hour of the festival, my friends watched Emmylou Harris perform. Instead I found myself alone, listening to Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings. That Ms. Jones is a fireball of energy! There is no question that that band has a lot of heart and soul. With all due respect to Emmylou, sorry to my friends who missed out!
In light of the show, I’m posting my favorite song from them. Bummer they didn’t perform it because it’s a sure shot hit in my book, but I’m happy to have watched them again for the second time nonetheless.
