Queens Louisiana Po Boy Cafe **

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

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.

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.

New Orleans III

Photos from NOLA

The next morning I woke up and really did not feel like taking a run.  Instead, we headed straight to Cafe du Monde. There was already a line a block long, but I went into the restaurant as instructed by our taxi driver, and viola, there were plenty of open tables inside. We polished off one order of three beignets and a couple of cafe au laits. 

Parkway Tavern for Po Boys. I know the others were a little skeptical, but as the place started filling up and the line started getting longer, I think they realized that there might be something here. I went for the surf and turf, roast beef and shrimp covered in house gravy. The roast beef was soft and almost shredded like a pulled pork, really a stewed rather than roasted beef, the shrimp was fresh and coated with a thing crispy breading – the best po boy I had tasted up to that point. I also tried a few of the fried oysters in H's sandwich, also great fresh oysters in a crispy, but not overwhelming batter. The sandwiches were dressed with gravy some lettuce and a tiny bit of mayo, I think they could've benefitted from some acidity, so I added some mustard. Both of them said it was a good call and I think that meant that they had low expectations.

Cochon. The most modern place I'd been to in New Orleans. Ikea style, lots of light colored hard wood. We started with cucumber spicy pickles, wood fired oyster roast and fried boudin with pickled peppers. The cucumber spicy pickles were very korean, the wood fired oysters were absolutely delicious, oysters baked on the half shell in a wonderful spicy sauce – I could've eaten many more of these. The fried boudin was also excellent better than what we had at boucherie, light crisp crust with a savory boudin mixture – not gamey at all. Next came the paneed pork cheeks with pickled green tomatoes, tender pork good flavor, though not particularly outstanding. The Louisiana cochon with turnips, cabbage and cracklins – was the most deeply flavored pig I'd had this trip. It was basically pulled pork formed into a cake, so juicy and just the right flavor. The cracklins added a nice crunch and were clearly housemade. Smothered greens had nice bits of bacon in them. Then we finished with the Pineapple upside down cake, which was a delicious carmelized shell surrounding a sweet tart pinapple cake accompanied by a lime sorbet. beautiful combo of flavors. The Lemon buttermilk pie was fine, nothing special, but o.k. Service was not very good, somewhat cold and it seemed that they were trying to rush us out of the restaurant despite the fact that there were many open tables and no one was waiting outside. They dropped the check on us, cleared the table and after we finished dessert and were relaxing and talking with each other they began to wipe and clean the table.

The next morning we went for a run and stopped for a quick bite at Central Grocery. The muffaletta was fine, the giarinera was better than Frank's next door, but I think I'm just not a muffaletta girl. 

After we freshened up we headed for Casamento's for oysters. Wow really great raw with their mixture of cocktail, horseradish and lemon sauce. They had a very clean flavor (not briny at all) and almost burst in your mouth as you ate them. I'm not usually a fan of very large oysters because they are overly meaty. These oysters were large, but the flavor was light and refreshing. We also sampled their gumbo, oyster stew and oyster loaf. The oyster loaf was the best of the bunch, two toasted slices of texas toast style bread with a pile of freshly fried oysters on top. The oysters were really delicious, though I think the breading was thicker than I like.

On to Lilette for lunch, we started with the chicken broth with poached egg, hmm, not really my favorite, too much celery and herb, this lacked flavor. The grilled beat salad with goat cheese and walnuts was delicious, I liked that the grilling added a char flavor to the beets and made them less sweet.

Our mains were beef cheek and gnocchi in a mushroom bacon sauce. The mushroom sauce was nice, but the beef cheek was just o.k. while the gnocchi were dense chewy and just a little overwhelmingly starchy. The better of the two entrees was the pulled pork which came of toasted french breaded ladled with jus and mayonaise. Honestly, I thought that the jus soaked bread was the best part of the sandwich and for some reason the french fries were particularly good. Dessert was awesome. Quenelles of crème fraiche on top of lavender honey garnished with pistachios and poached pears – a winning combo of flavors and textures. Nutella custard with fleur de sel, caramel cream and chocolate-hazelnut brittle was good though a little on the custardy side.

Then we walked around for a bit and ended up at Sucre and got some truffles. The next stop was Domilese's after a short train ride we came across this shack of a place.

Domilise's – shrimp and oyster po boy was excellent.  The shrimp had a nice snap and the oysters had a like crispy batter all of it went perfectly with the sauce.  This and Parasol's were the most old school po'boy shops we went to.  It was very hot that day and unfortunately they weren't running the a/c otherwise I'd rank this one as my favorite.

Parasol's – roast beef po boy.  The roast beef here is more like a long braised pot roast sandwich piled high with juicy tender chunks of beef, lettuce, cheese and a mayo sauce.  I would've loved a glass of red wine to cut through the richness, but that wouldn't fit this place -- it's the back room of a neighborhood bar.  This is my favorite roast beef sandwich.

Next Restaurant August & Stanley

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.

BAKESALE BETTY **

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

BURGER JOINT **'

Last week I was on the road and I ate at In n' Out Burger for the first time in many years. It was fine, but not as good as I remembered it. I've been spoiled by the local burger places. Of the local burger places that are convenient quick stops, Burger Joint is the place for me. The Niman Ranch burgers are always juicy flame broiled with a little bit of smokiness and a natural tasting beef flavor. I order it with grilled onions and a thick piece of quality cheese. It's all served on a toasted sesame seed bun and I'm happy to say that that's our city's version of a fast food chain.


Valencia at 19th

ST. FRANCIS FOUNTAIN

I miss the diners of New York with their ten page menus, no nonsense decor and that feeling of being at home in a bustling setting. Lunch at St. Francis Fountain definitely had the right atmosphere with its long counter, swiveling stools and a large menu of traditional diner food. The tuna melt came on nicely grilled sourdough, unfortunately the tuna salad was very dry and under seasoned. The cheddar cheese was melted though somewhat rubbery in texture by the time I bit into the sandwich. I would not order this again.

J thought the patty melt was o.k. and declared that "hey, it's diner food, it's supposed to fill you and just be food" he liked it enough to devour the whole thing. To be fair, there are many other items to try. I spied some pretty good looking pancakes as we left, and was tempted by some of the ice cream drinks -- it is, afterall, a traditional soda fountain. With Casa Sanchez just across the street and several other lunchworthy places a block away, I won't be back for lunch. Though I wouldn't mind returning for dessert or breakfast.

JAKE'S STEAKS**'

Sometimes I miss the down to earth grittiness of the East coast. Or maybe it's just the greasy mom and pop fast food places I crave?

After a run through the Presidio and Chrissy Field on a gorgeous sunny day, it became clear to me that it was the food that I missed. I headed back to Jake's Steaks. The previous week, I enjoyed a great cheesesteak with American cheese, but was disappointed by the chili on the chili cheese fries. I wanted to go back to try the cheese fries made with Cheese Whiz. To make more room for the fries I opted to go bunless. The cheesesteak salad was good and a large portion, it had as much steak as the sandwich with about two cups worth of salad greens. The cheese fries were outstanding. Plenty of salty cheese coating the crisp waffle fries enough for two people. Next time I'll order the cheese fries as my meal.

SANDY'S CAFE

Close to the corner of 9th and Judah is Sandy's a small Vietnamese restaurant with a menu of typical banh mi sandwiches. I went for the combination pork, a steamed pork patty and pork stew on a toasted french roll with pickled carrots, cucumbers, and fresh cilantro and jalepenos. Despite the nice mayonnaise and seasoning, the sandwich was dry, the fillings a little flat compared to those at Saigon Sandwich. Still it was inexpensive and very filling. Next time, I'll try some of their other dishes.




Sandwiches

9th and Judah