Izakaya Sozai ***

Shishito peppers sauteed with garlic very nice. Tonkotsu ramen excellent soup, slightly underseasoned for me, but I'm a saltaholic. Good egg. Chicken skin yakitori very nice, strong sauce with a nice punch.

Mission Bowling Club ***

Vegan burger and regular burger as good as I remembered them. Good home fries. Fried chicken very crispy, but just o.k. nice cocktails.

NOPA **'

Dinner w J&A, and M's first restaurant dinner.  Excellent service from hosts & servers.

Warm Marinated Olives - o.k. good sized serving.

Fish Soup - nice light.

*Manila Clams, Green Garlic Cream, Tasso Ham and Grilled Bread - good flavors, well balanced, the ham was particularly tasty.

*Fried Asparagus and Romesco  - simple but very good.  The fried coating was crispy and not greasy while the asparagus inside was perfectly cooked.

*Moroccan Vegetable Tagine, Almonds and Lemon Yogurt - my favorite of the night, which was a surprise to me.

Housemade Pappardelle, Nine Hour Bolognese, Spinach and Parmesan  - average at best.  The pasta was a bit clunky, the texture was a bit tough and the pasta itself doesn't have much flavor.  At least they didn't err on the overcooked too soft side.  Compared to the quality of the pastas at Italian specialists this dish fell flat for us.  The meat in the bolognese had the proper long cooked consistency, but the sauce needed something to punch it up, either more acid or a hint of spice.

Grilled Broccoli, Lemon, Anchovy and Breadcrumbs  - o.k.

Kokkari ***

Great dinner at Kokkari.  I hadn't been in several years and the place hasn't lost a step.  From most to least favored:

Arnisia Paidakia -  lamb chops grilled with a lemon-oregano vinaigrette. Nice char and smokiness. My favorite.

Gigantes - giant beans with tomato and feta.

Tzatziki with housemade grilled pita - the fresh pita here is delicious.

Octapodaki tou Yiorgou- grilled octopus with lemon, oregano & olive oil. 

Average:

Horiatiki - classic Greek salad.

Baklava - the baklava was fine, but the praline ice cream was just sweet and flat.

Moussaka - the spicing of the lamb had too much cinnamon or nutmeg to my tastes.

Yummy Yummy **

Sate Beef Noodle Soup with Egg Noodles #8 (ordered spicy) - I loved the tender meat and strong sate flavor. 

I had written off YY before due to a lackluster Bun Bo Hue, but this was such a great showing, I might have to come back and give the BBH another shot.

Queens Louisiana Po Boy Cafe **

Oyster Po-Boy - nice authentic bread and flavor.
Gumbo - could be spicier and less greasy, but I liked it.

Plow **

The highlight here is the breakfast potatoes, they also serve Nueskes Bacon.
Tea Smoked Chicken Salad - pretty good.
Pricey menu, but good service.

Little Beijing *'

On Noreiga

Green Onion Pancake - thick layered and crispy.
Dan Dan Noodles - lots of peanut sauce not much meat, I prefer the one at Z&Y because it's a little less saucey and more flavorful.

All the other tables had pot stickers and fried chicken wings.  The menu also had water boiled beef, something I might try next time.  It seems like a hangout for Chinese students from SF State.

Ice Cream Bar *'

The soda fountain is the way to go.  Nice neighborhood atmosphere.

Root Beer Float - the root beer in this float is delicious, loved the anisey sassafras flavor, the marshemellow on top is a nice touch, but the marshmellow itself isn't the best I've had.  The ice cream here is on the sweet side.  It's not bad but not something I'd seek out.

Classic Wild Cherry Phosphate - refreshing with a nice tart sour cherry flavor.

Ice Cream Sundae - o.k., the composition of chocolate, nuts and whipped cream is nice, but the ice cream is a bit on the sweet side and the chocolate sauce lacks body and salt.

Coconut Lychee Sorbet - good.

Hong Kong Lounge II **'

No wait at 10:30 and service was better than original location.

Shrimp Dumplings
Fried Tofu Skin Roll
Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaves - a very good rendition
Salted Pork Porridge - o.k.
Noodles with Clam and Crab Paste - was a bit disappointing, the ramen noodles in the dish mediocre.
Chive Dumplings - translucent gummy skin, not my favorite

Toyose **'

Kimchi Fried Rice - excellent rendition, perfect seasoning and the egg yolk dripping over it added the right amount of substance to it.

Hae Mul Pajeon - chock full of seafood and nicely fried.

Yogurt Soju - a little weak alcohol wise, but good flavor

Seafood Jige - a variety of seafood in a spicy stew, the fish meat added flavor to the soup, but the meat itself was a bit mealy.

Fried Chicken - o.k. nicely seasoned, but needs sauce or something to finish it.

State Bird Provisions **'

halibut tartare & quinoa w/ bonito rosemary - nice way to start, enjoyed the nutty flavor of the quinoa, but the tartare itself didn't have any distinct flavors.

sourdough, sauerkraut, pecorino & ricotta pancake - ok, light.

CA State Bird - Fried squab, excellent crunch perfectly cooked moist tender meat.  Not gamey.

potato chips & dip - crispy, not greasy, enjoyed the creamy dip

hass avocado with scallop, squid and mussel ‘salsa’ - tortilla chips with whipped guac and a salsa of scallops, clams and squid; the seafood was tender and the sauce well balanced.

red trout with kishus, hazelnuts and garum brown butter - well seasoned crispy skin - a highlight for me.

duck liver mousse with almond biscuit - a favorite, loved the rich creamy mouse and the brioche-like biscuits.

duck neck dumplings in sourjus - I like the acidic broth but the dumplings were unremarkable.

green garlic bread with burrata - Nice housemade burrata, but wasn't a fan of the prep with the bread because it was a bit soggy.

cast iron asparagus, lentils & sunchokes - roasted asparagus with lentils, liked that the asparagus kept is fresh crunch and the lentils made it more substantial without the usual treatment of drenching them in fat.

kimchi pork belly with manila clams and tofu - I like the broth in this dish, the rest of it was o.k.

beef short rib ‘salad’, radishes & bone marrow - nice, tender chunks of braised rib, the salad had an appropriately zingy shallot? vinaigrette. And miner's lettuce to HM's delight.

tofu, yuba, shimeji mushroom & white miso - a mix of tofu ingredients in a light well balanced creamy miso vinaigrette.  Perhaps because I'm used to being punched with miso flavored sauces, I was impressed with the lightless and delicacy of its use in this dish.

milk chocolate sesame crunch, clementine-cocoa jam - loved the combo of sesame with chocolate.

turkish coffee ‘ice cream’ sandwich, hazelnut streusel - excellent.

‘world peace’ peanut muscovado milk - ok not much essence of muscovado.

Dumpling Kitchen **

XLB had very thin skins, though the bundles were not as neatly made as those at YS.  The filling had a decent amount of soup, but was lacking seasoning.  I was pleased with the skins even though a few of them broke when lifting them from the steamer.  I much prefer for them to err on the side of being too thin rather than too thick.

Pork Dumplings in Hot Oil - the hot oil is not spicy as I would like, but I though the dumplings skin had good flavor and texture and I loved the chinese chive filling.

Sneaky's BBQ *

Wednesday Wing Night - double the wings for the price - tried the original and the spicy bbq sauce w/ the wings. Prefer the spicy.  Wings were o.k.

Beef Brisket - parts were excellent, the bark was well seasoned and had good smoke, the interior was moist but a bit too soft so somewhat overcooked for my tastes.

Delfina **'

Revisiting after almost a decade, so I went with the items I enjoyed before.  They were as good as I remembered.
Squid salad - excellent beans perfectly balanced with the acid in the sauce and good quality greens
Trippa alla Fiorentina - a little sweeter than I remembered, but delicious nonetheless.
Friendly Service and good value.

Plow **

Eggs Benedict nice hollandaise excellent potatoes, the place is crowded and prices are high.  Friendly neighborhood restaurant styleservice, I'd be interested in trying the pancakes.

Lers Ros***

Two different lunches, one at the Tenderloin location and the other in Hayes Valley. 

Stir Fried Crispy Pork Belly- delicious.
Duck Larb - excellent.
Papaya Salad - good.
Crispy Pork Ribs -  o.k. a bit tough.
Pan fried trout - o.k.
Beef ooan dish - too spicy and meat somewhat tough.
Spinach w bean sauce - fine.
Seafood green curry - fine.

I'll definitely return to explore more of the menu..

Una Pizza Napoletana **

I had a craving for pizza and didn't want to wait, so we headed to UPN.  Still no red pepper oil or red pepper. Margherita had a nice sauce with a good bit of bright acidity from fresh sauce.  The Illaria had good smoked mozz, this is the pizza I'd get again.  All in all is a great example of the traditional Neopolitan style - wet and thin. Though I appreciate the flavorful crust on the UPN pies, I prefer the NY Neopolitan style with the crisped and charred crust.

AQ*'

Beautiful setting, good service.  Food is artfully presented but it looks better than it tastes.  We had about twelve items off the menu.  The appetizer special of pastramied lamb heart was tender, though it didn't quite work in a pool of broth.  The venison tartare was nice, but the rest of the starters were forgettable -- even the crab dish was a miss for me. 

The mains were better, a duck wih some geleed beet and a crispy skin, a trout with a nice sauce, and a braised short rib served without its brasing liquid were all quite good. 

Dessert of caramel popcorn over a cake and a chocolate chiboust was fine.  For this style of food, I much prefer Plum, Commonwealth, or Commis.  I would not return but I do think it would be a good place for a business dinner or some occasion when the setting is more important than the food.

Wise Sons Deli **'

Wanted to try some pastrami, but they were sold out of almost everything.

Burger - very good bun and I loved the pastrami mixed into the burger, it added a smokiness that is even better than bacon. Also enjoyed the pickles - everything is housemade.  The potato salad and chicken soup were o.k.