Yum's Bistro **

Lunch
Salt & Pepper Pork - o.k.
Mock Goose - good wine flavored sauce.

De Afghan Kabob House **'

Fremont

Lamb Chop is the way to go lovely charred fat and meat.  My favorite so far.

Starbelly **'

The food has improved, I've had lunch here many times over the last year. Comfortable place, good service, and their bacon is excellent.

Chicken Liver Pate Plate
Pizza Margherita
Porchetta Sandwich
Burger
Spaghetti w/ Bacon - can be hit or miss depending on whether the pasta is overcooked.

KITCHENETTE @ Heart ***

The porchetta is my new favorite at kitchenette, just slightly edging out the fried chicken sandwich.  Thinly sliced porchetta on a toasty green onion foccacia-ish bread.  Every bite drips with rosemary and sage scented jus balanced by freshness from crunchy shaved fennel and peppery arugula.  The space at Heart is comfortable and I like the option of being able to sit down inside when it's sixty degrees outside.  I'll have to come back and see what other food they can do without a kitchen.


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SANTOUKA RAMEN ****

Santouka Toroniku Ramen (#7). Shio broth is silky and complex with balanced salt, seafood and pork flavors and a sesame note. The special pork (pork cheek?) is thinly sliced with a nice ribbon of fat that softens in the broth, nice soy flavor and tenderness. Noodles were good though not notable. Halu's noodles are more to my taste, but the broth at Halu is overly bitter (from smoke or garlic?). I prefer Santouka's deeply flavored and well balanced soup over the other local places. Rice with Salmon Roe is fine though nothing special just good rice with a splash of vinegar and a heaping of Ikura. Next time try the spicy miso ramen.

Mitsuwa Market - 675 Saratoga, San Jose

MISSION BURGER ***

I'm not one that craves burgers.  Yet I have not been able to resist the temptation of making a weekly visit to Mission Street Food's Mission Burger.  The stand is run by two chefs that that used to man the stoves at Bar Tartine.  And they prepare everything with care -- the burger is a well seasoned blend of brisket, short rib and chuck formed into a column of meat.  It's then cut into burger patties so that the grain of the meat is lined up and cut against the grain creating a burger tender to the bite.  The burger then gets a good char on the flat top with beef fat giving it that old school greasy spoon diner flavor.  The beefy goodness is accompanied by a toasted Acme bun, caper aioli, jack cheese, well carmelized onions and a garnish of grilled hot peppers.  Their caper aioli has a zing to it, but the burger could use a bit more of an acid element.  Instead of ketchup, I opt for a cup of their tangy mint lemonade which cuts right through the rich burger.  Good combination. 

After a few visits, I began to sample the specials.  Their perfectly fried halibut, with a light crispy batter hit the spot on a hot day.  Another time they were topping the burger with a Soul Food Farms fried egg and Benton's Bacon.  I'm a sucker for runny egg yolks.  As much as I enjoyed the rich yolk and bacon, it was a bit over the top.  

The guys recently added chili cheese fries to the menu.  A meaty chili with a spicy kick over their crispy fries.  If I didn't crave their burger so much, I'd just order these fries for lunch. 

Because I'd been happy with everything they'd ever fed me, I decided to really put myself in their hands by trying the vegan burger.  Yes, I have eaten at Millenium and Cafe Gratitude, but other than that, I have never purposely ordered or knowingly eaten anything vegan.  These guys start with their own patty of mushrooms, edamame and some other good tasting stuff, fried, then topped with crunchy fennel slaw and a chili paste that looked like sambal olek. 

The vegan patty didn't hold together as well as the beef burger.  A nearby diner admired my eating gusto and commented that I was making a mess like one of those sloppy burger commercials.  Aside from the soft texture of the patty, I wouldn't change a thing about the vegan burger -- it was delicious and, to my surprise, almost as hearty as the beef burger.  I would definitely order this again. 

Corner of 18h & Mission inside Duc Loi Market.

OUTERLANDS***

Outerlands is everything I love in a neighborhood restaurant.  The main menu is straightforward -- fresh wholesome food that nourishes and comforts soups, sandwiches and stews.   

The heirloom tomato soup was well balanced with a strong tomato flavor and spicy tap at the end.  A side of grilled cheese was made with thickly cut pieces of crusty bread, crunchy and perfect for dipping into the soup.  We also loved the spicy and soothing ginger cider. 

The food is comforting and matches the beautiful interior of reclaimed wood.  Enjoying a meal at Outerlands feels like taking relaxing trip to a cabin in Big Sur sipping cider and eating hot soup in front of a fireplace.  It is that warm atmosphere and friendly service that makes me wish I lived around the corner.  
 

Outerlands photos
Judah at 45th Ave 

STARBELLY**

Starbelly, on a sunny afternoon during this heat wave of a week. First thing I notice are jars of pickles lining a wall -- good sign. I ordered the porchetta only to discover that they had run out. Went with the BLT. A very large sandwich. I thought, at these prices, no wonder they ran out of porchetta. Good bread, fresh red and yellow tomatoes, aioli, nice balance of flavors. The housemade bacon was fine. The jasmine green tea, lemonade and sage refresher was great. I would order either of these again.

Luckily on my next visit they had porchetta and it was by far the best thing I've had at the restaurant. Very thinly sliced moist pork, perhaps dipped in jus, served on a baguette nicely grilled with a giardiniara-salsa verde that had nice bits of nuts mixed in with the herbs. Great combination of pork, herb greens and giardiniara, though I would've loved a little more pork. The greens accompanying the sandwich had too much vinaigrette causing them to be limp. The clam po' boy was very light on the clam and heavy on the cornmeal crust, but had a good flavor.

KITCHENETTE**'

Korean Tacos - sweet thinly sliced bulgogi in a corn tortilla with the usual taco fixings.




May 2009

Fried Fish Roll with avocado, slaw, fried peppers, lemon mayonnaise. Great combo, nice bright slaw with a spicy kick from the peppers.


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BAKESALE BETTY **

Fried chicken sandwich, crispy, spicy, vinegary slaw, wish it had different bread. Nice outdoor seating using ironing boards as tables.

Kitchenette - April

Lunch at Kitchenette a little lunch box spot in the dogpatch run out of one of the loading docks.

Surprisingly good fried chicken sandwich. In spite of the fifteen minutes it sat in its wrapper before I got around to eating it, the chicken was crispy with a well-seasoned crunchy crust. Perfectly matched with the sweet spicy garam masala honey and herb freshness of the coriander slaw. This was much better than the sandwich at Bakesale Betty's.


Photo courtesy of R. Pereirea.

The chickpea salad with tumeric oil, served on the side was overpowered by the tumeric oil and acid, but still good enough for me to finish. I was hoping to try the chicharrones, but that day they had spicy chips. The chips were thin crisp and had the right hit of spice. I also had a bite of the coconut devil cookie which was chocolaty, chewy, and airy.

Beef & Pork Polpette Sandwich- the meatballs were a bit dry, the sauce was fine.

MILLER'S EAST COAST DELI*'

One of my usual stops whenever I'm back in NYC, is Katz's Deli. I like the atmosphere and the pastrami is great. I used to frequent Second Ave Deli because it was closer to me and was more of a sit down place. Times have changed, there are modern lofts right near Katz's and Second Ave Deli is gone.

It was nice to have an early dinner at Miller's East Coast Deli because it gave me a chance to remember those places. The menu is authentic, monte cristos, pastrami on rye, brisket, matzo ball soup, knishes, they even have Dr. Brown's Black Cherry. The pastrami was served with the pastrami stacked high, potato salad and a good crunchy pickle. The rye was right and the pastrami was o.k. I little too thinly cut for my taste. That's the beauty of Katz, you can tell the guys to cut it thick and they always give you a sample while you wait. Miller's pastrami was well seasoned if a bit on the salty side, but generally the right flavor.



My friend had the Monte Cristo and loved it. Egg battered bread with the traditional fillings. We also had a good basket of onion rings which I would order again.



I'd come back, if only to have some onion rings and a pickle (and maybe I'd try the brisket). The food is fine. The main thing that is missing is the neighborhood feel. The staff at my old NY delis were these gruff and sometimes surly guys until you got to know them. Once familiar they became friendly but still had the rough butcher guy attitude. The service at Miller's was efficient, but lacked the gritty character of the old timers in NY. Our server was a youthful clean cut disaffected type that didn't say much and probably rode his bike to work. I guess that's the San Francisco touch.

Polk near Clay

SEA SALT Lunch**'

Back to Sea Salt, this time for lunch. Started with some cold items, Hawaiian Blue Prawns, Kumamoto, Kushi (?), and Luna Oysters. The Kumamoto had a lightly sea flavored brine with a sweet finish, the kushi had a very salty brine and a creamy texture a little more substantial than the kumi, the luna was creamy and had a neutral brine taste. The kumamotos are still my favorite. The prawns were fresh and cooked well and chilled. A good start. For our mains we tried the BLT (bacon lettuce and trout) sandwich and the salmon and goat cheese terrine.

The trout was pan fried with a nice crispy skin, full trout flavor and topped with two slices of smokey bacon. The portion was substantial even without bread. The accompanying greens were fine, but the coleslaw was a little disappointing. The slaw did not have much flavor and lacked crunchiness. This is something to order again just for the delicious trout.



The terrine of salmon and goat cheese was also disappointing. The smoked salmon was good, but served too cold to show off salmon flavor. The amount of goat cheese was a bit overwhelming and overall the texture of the dish was soft and mushy, it could've done better with a crunchy starch element.



Service was fine and the restaurant is comfortable, light and airy. After an excellent dinner at there, it was nice to find that it also worked well for a casual lunch. I'll definitely return to sample more of the interesting lunch offerings.

Previous Sea Salt Post

Berkeley, San Pablo at Dwight

Tartine Bakery ***'

Tartine for lunch - Three Cheese Tasting Sandwich, Frangipan Tart, Ham and Tomato Croque Monsieur. The three cheese tasting sandwich had Bellwether Farms Jersey Carmody, Straus Cheddar and Idiazabal a truly decadent grilled cheese sandwich on crunchy well charred and pressed walnut bread with enough butter to taste, but not so much as to make it greasy. The tart had currants on it which was a nice sweet tart note to the almond paste.




Frangipan Croissant chock full of sliced almonds and almond paste.




Previous Tartine Post

Guerrero and 16th St.

MYTH CAFE**'

Myth Cafe - Tuna Sandwich, Strawberry Salad, Cream of Chanterelle with Truffle Oil.



Pacific at Montgomery

PLAYA AZUL*** & THE LIME TREE*'

Met up with A for a lunch of Caldo de Siete Mares and a Tostada de Ceviche de Pulpo at Playa Azul, and then we went over the top with a double at Mitchell's. The soup was very hearty and tomato based full of vegetables and seafood. We were smart enough to split the soup as I think it would be just too much for any one person. The ceviche is a very good deal and I would definitely go for the pulpo again. Next time try the Filete Relleno (fish stuffed with crab and shrimp), taco salad cancun and the tostada de ceviche de camarones. Also the blood orange sorbet at Mitchell's was excellent.

After that hearty lunch, I really wasn't in the mood for a big dinner, but I had to catch up on all of J's news. We settled on The Lime Tree as I read that they had a good cheap Roti Pratha. It is indeed a good deal for only $2.50, but a bit too buttery for my tastes. So moist it was like a flattened croissant. Delicious, but the dipping sauce had too much curry powder and wasn't that flavorful. We also enjoyed the Martabak which is the same roti wrapped around some ground beef and onions. This would be a good lunch, solid and more tasty than eating a hamburger. The beef rendang and roasted chicken with sweet chili sauce were subpar. The rendang had no depth of flavor, no spiciness whatsoever. It could just have easily been an Irish beef stew as a Indonesian curry. The roasted chicken was nothing special, not bad tasting, but I think I could do better at home. Still, all this food with soft drinks for only $20 with very warm and friendly service. Nice neighborhood lunch stop. Next time stick with the Murtabak.

HANH'S HIBACHI ON IRVING**'

I satisfied my pork craving this afternoon with the Pile O'Pork at Hanh's Hibachi on Irving. I still don't understand why every other HH in the city is terrible and doesn't serve the same good spicy sauce on their daeji bulgogi. This is supposed to be a chain -- weird. Anyhow, the pile o'pork had a pile of sliced pork, a big pork chop and a pork rib (which was somewhat dry). I got it "spicy" which (oddly) costs and extra dollar. Hmm, I guess they know that spice hounds will pay. The sauce was spicy but not overwhelmingly so, the meat was nicely charred. Overall, it was a huge if not somewhat extravagant lunch, leaving me with a craving for ice cream which I ignored in honor of the upcoming SF Marathon. Next time, ask to get the salad dressing on the side.