Cheap Sushi!

A lot of people say that sushi is like sex: even when it's bad, it's good. They obviously have never had Safeway's sushi--the worst ever! Sushi is not always good even when it's bad. And one way to gauge quality of sushi is by the price. If it's cheap, it's probably going to be bad. Kiki is one place where it's ok to have cheap sushi. It's cheap and it's still good (not great, but hell...its cheap sushi!). Go to Kiki's and revel in the cheapness of it all. Then go again the next night just because you can afford to. Just stick to the rolls and avoid the nigiri. Who would even order teriyaki chicken when they go out to Japanese food anyways (?

I've been to Kiki's enough times to try almost all of the rolls that they have, and now I stick to my basic favorites. I get the Rock n' Roll (about $3) which has unagi and avocado. Everyone loves unagi and avocado, you can't go wrong. Also try the Philadelphia Roll (about $3). It's got smoked salmon and cream cheese. Sounds weird, but cream cheese is really good in sushi (hell, it's good in everything!). My third favorite roll, I can't remember the name of (about $4). But it's a spicy tuna roll that's dipped in tempura batter and lightly fried. Then it's topped with rooster hot sauce.
Don't leave Kiki with out ordering the crunchy snowballs. It's pretty much tempura battered rice wrapped cream cheese with rooster sauce. It's soo yum. Every time I get these, I think of that scene in the Kevin Smith movie Clerks where the girl tells her boyfriend what a "snowball" is and that she's done it. Even with that image, the crunchy snowballs are good.

As if Kiki wasn't cheap sushi enough, if you go back within 2 weeks and bring in the old receipt, they'll give you 20% off! How sweet is that?!?! It's sweet.

Kiki is on 9th ave by Irving, and it occupies the space that the House used to be in.

the uber-delish Q

TATOR-TOTS. That’s the main thing you need to remember when you're at Q. They are deep-fat-fried to perfection, dusted with paprika, and always served up by charming, young, cute servers. Order up some tots and I promise you will not be disappointed.

Q is a triple threat. 1) great atmosphere with a fun non-stuffy crowd from the inner Richmond. It's loud, colorfull, crazy, and crowded. Not only that, if you have a large group, you can snag the back table which has a fake tree strung with christmas lights sticking out of the middle. 2) Yummy yummy in my tummy American comfort food and just about more than a third of the menu is vegetarian (perfect if you are trying to find a place where you and your crunchy-granola type friends will enjoy). 3) a HUGE wine list and great beer on tap. Go for the Boont Amber Ale or the Chimay.
It's the perfect place for a casual night out, or a group dinner...which is why I chose Q for my birthday last year and probably will again this year (I still have 4 months to change my mind). I've been to Q a number of times over the years, and have sampled practically the entire menu (not counting the veggies dishes and all the appetizers).

The menu is well rounded with entrees such as:
-a great hearty meatloaf made with sirloin steak (don't forget about the perfectly fluffy mashed potatoes it comes with)
-a veggie risotto (remember my passion for cheesy rice??) with peas (just pick them out--who likes peas anyways?!?)
-the standard comfort food menu item fried chicken (made exceptional, not standard at Q)
-Beer-battered fried catfish. Only get this if you're feeling skinny that night, though it's really not as heavy and fatty as other places with deep fried fish
-occasionally on the specials menu if you're especially lucky, Q will have a pork-loin dish that is very very heartily good. I've had it twice, and both times I was sublimely happy with it. Both times it came with a lovely savory sauce, polenta (which I love only second to cheesy rice), and grilled/sautéed veggies.

Q only has 2 downfalls: difficult parking in the neighborhood and usually a long wait since they don't take reservations. Those are 2 downfalls that I can live with, the food is great, and it is San Francisco after all (what do you expect?).

Go to Q and play with the magnet letters at the tables and try to spell something out witty. It's called "Q" like the letter Q, and it's on Clement by 3rd in the inner Richmond. When you go, bring me with too

my hunger can wait

Ti Couz....

crepe heaven on a plate with more cheese than one can handle without a few lactose digestive pills.
this three sectioned restaurant on 16th and valencia is well worth the hour-plus wait for a table. take it from me: opt for the counter of a table outside for a much shorter wait time. section 1: bar; section 2: dining; section 3: wait room. they have a whole area dedicated to waiting for a table, which they could remedy the long wait time by turning to wait room into a second dining area. alas, what do I know, I'm not a restaurant manager. the perk of sitting at the counter, you get to watch the talented (non-french) crepe cooks work their magic whipping up crepes as you salivate.

the portions are huge, so share a savory crepe and save room to share a desert crepe as well. who can pass up a nutella and banana desert crepe? I sure as heck can't resist. (just ask for no ice cream and less whipped cream. it can get a bit soggy with all the toppings they pile on)
savory crepes: I recommend getting at least one with mushroom. the mushroom gravy garnish gives the crepes the perfect amount of moisture. without the gravy, the savory crepe can be a bit on the dry side. the onion, mushroom and cheese crepe is my personal favorite. the seafood crepes are ok. order it of you are feeling "oceany", but keep in mind the quality of the scallops and shrimp is not top-notch. Ti Couz also has a raw-bar, but I have yet to tear myself away from the yummy crepes.

go check it out, wait in line, watch the crepes being made, and dig in. it's well worth the wait.

fancy shamncyness

As you all have probably figured out by now, the only time I really go out to eat at fancy shmancy restaurants are when my dad takes me and foots the bill. This is one of those times: Chez Spencer

With a name that includes "Chez" in it, one (or just I) would normally assume that it's a fancy shmancy frou frou frenchie restaurant. Chez Spencer is just that snooty hip frenchie type. Located on a deserted street in a lesser-traveled section of the Mission, it's easily missed unless it is your destination for the night. The plus side: you can walk to Best Buy after dinner and pick up Frasier seasons on DVD to entertain you for the rest of the night. Sweet!
The decor of the place is nice...I think. We got a table outside in the patio and I never set foot inside the actual place.
The menu was sparse but interesting. I ordered the white asparagus risotto with white truffles. I am NOT a fan of asparagus. I hate the way it makes my pee stink. Every time I eat asparagus, all I can think of is the way my pee will smell, making me imagine I'm eating solid pee. Yuk. I braved the asparagus though, thinking I could pick it out (I was disappointed to find that it was virtually impossible to pick out the little tiny pieces of white asparagus mixed in with the little white pieces of rice...oh well). I love, love, love risotto. What could be better than creamy, cheesy rice and pasta? Not only that, I've been fascinated by truffles every since I first saw the lumpy ugly thing on a cooking show when I was younger and used to spend all Saturday afternoons watching cooking show after cooking show on PBS. I've never tried truffles before, and there was no better time. I dived in to the rice, cheese, truffles, and asparagus. My spirit made a dull thud sound after the first few bites. Lack luster and not seasoned enough (and I couldn't keep myself from thinking about the pee thing). I have had much better risotto at Savor on 24th and Sanchez for a third of the price. What is the big deal with truffles anyway? For all it's hype and cost, I was expecting something amazing that would blow my taste buds off my tongue. But all I got from it was a woody texture. Maybe my palette just isn't refined enough to appreciate the exquisiteness of truffles. I'll have to try it again, another time, another place. Overall, the risotto was bland with a need for salt. That and I just do not care for asparagus.
The saving grace for Chez Spencer: the antelope dish. I was torn at first between ordering the risotto (big mistake) and the wild antelope special they had that night. I ultimately decided on the risotto, since one of my dinner companions was ordering the antelope. I figured I could just mooch off of his plate and therefore get the best of both worlds. Once again, let I remind you that I'm not a usual fan of red meat. I had to try the antelope. It was awesome, perfectly seasoned and complemented by the scalloped potatoes that accompanied it. There is something about obscure meats that I seem to love. I should have ordered the antelope and I would have avoided disappointment.
If you're planning on going to Chez Spencer, make reservations, wear something warm and definitely bring the Benjamins. The place is on the pricey side. Oh, and take a pass on the asparagus.
So I sit here at my desk snacking on granny goose Cheese Puffs, I reminisce about my trip to the hipster snooty frenchie restaurant...Chez Spencer

the fall from grace

I have decided to revive my food snobbery.

House. For an eternity (at least since my dad first introduced me to the world of food snobbery), The House has been my favorite restaurant. I remember the first time we ate there as a family. I had never heard of Asian fusion cuisine before, and I was enamored. What could be a better concept? Fusing fresh Californian ingredients with traditionally Asian elements. Genius! My first entree there was the menu standard Chilean Sea Bass with a garlic ginger soy glaze/sauce. I was so impressed: it was new, almost odd. My experiences with food until the House had distinct and straight lines and borders. Italian. Chinese. Vietnamese. Mexican. There was no mixing. All of a sudden, Bam! Asian fusion. It blew my mind, and House was my instant favorite. The House defined me, I also being a "fresh Californian fused with Asian". If I were a cuisine, I'd be "asian fusion".
My most memorable dish: Farm raised ostrich in a red wine reduction on a bed of baked polenta. Yumm. I had never had ostrich before; I'm not even a fan of red meat. However, this steak of ostrich was amazing. Tender; melt in your mouth flavor, perfectly complemented by the thick red wine sauce and the safe old standby of polenta. To this day, it's still the only time I have ever been floored by a dish. Sadly, the ostrich dish came and went. I had it once, and was almost broken hearted when it was off the menu the next time around.
Now for the sad part. Why is it that all great eateries eventually become lackluster, sub-par, even dare I say...boring? I still insist on going to the House every once in a while, it's been my standard fabulous restaurant. Every two months or so, my dad and I will go and have dinner at our trusty tiny place. The past few times I've been there though...sadly, I've left disappointed. Each time was worse than the last. The chef had gotten to over salting the food. The rice was too mushy. Excessive use of a soy sauce reduction, it was overpowering the great rock cod. The menus has even gotten boring. Roasted unagi with avocado sushi rice? (sure, sure, my dad and I did order that last time, but who can go wrong with unagi? No matter where you order it, it's still ungai. Unagi with avocado sushi rice: snooze. Standard sushi fare.) Everything we ordered was just excessively salty, way too much soy sauce. Too much sodium might be great for an old guy with waning taste buds. But a heavy soy reduction does not suit a light flaky roasted rock cod fillet.
Overall, the House is still my favorite restaurant in SF, though falling quickly behind Q (review to come soon) and Naan n' Curry (the one on 9th has cockroaches-go to the one in North Beach instead). Sad, sad, fall from grace....the House.

check it out. my fabulous friend jeremy is a talented musician.

wings of red

life changes

liveland chapter 1

mountians and rivers

lickashot

everything will change...when i reach 25 years of age. my "scary" age. it's only 4 months away. when i was little, i imagined myself at 25 to have graduated from a prestigious university, have a successful career, loads of fabulous friends, my own loft if SF, a spiffy car and a wardrobe full of designer clothes (what can I say, I'm shallow). at 24 years and 8 months olds, i have absolutely no career, have not graduated yet (not even close), do not own a loft in SF, and do not have a wardrobe full of designer clothes. I do have fabulous friends who tend to not call and flake often, and I do drive a very spiffy Volvo wagon (we'll just call it "the green steed") which now desperately needs new breaks (damn those SF hills!). I'm doomed to fall into a great big wallowing pit of depression, and self pity the day I turn 25. Lets just hope those fabulous friends of mine pull through and make it to my birthday _____. (fill in the blank with dinner, party, bar, etc.)

chenery park cafe

my first food blog, and i'm not taking this seriously, so you shouldn't either. no, food snobbery does not win me points normally. just ask my friends.

went to dinner with my dad last night at chenery park cafe. i've always been impressed by the food at this cafe right around the corner from my house. it opened up about 3 years ago, and to my surprise, it was still around a year later. most resteraunts in san fran fail within the first year. i'm glad this one is still around.
chenery park cafe is the only place i will order steak. they have a aged new york strip steak on the specials every time. it's always a special. why not just put it on the menu if it's a special everynight? it's not so special anymore. anyways...the steak they serve is amazing. i am not a steak person. i never order steak. except for when i eat at chenery park cafe. steak rant...over
last night i ordered the local halibut on a bed of thin pasta in a light tomato sauce. very very yummy, though i think it would have been better if the fish was not pan fried before baking. steamed or grilled would've been perfect. tasty. daddy got the lamb(surprise surprise) medalions with spinach and potatoes. that was very good also, i guess i'm starting to like lamb more and more everytime i try it.
desert was a lemon pudding cake with strawbery sauce. great texture. light and flufy cake covered in dense, creamy lemon pudding. i was in nirvana. i have a horrible sweet tooth, and this cake hit the spot. daddy ordered the strawberry rhubarb crisp with vanilla ice cream. way too much brown sugar on the top. the brown sugar overpowered the rhubarb tartness and took away from the effect.
by the time we left the cafe, i was about to explode. not a good feeling.

they have mac and cheese on the menu (for $8). haven't tried it yet....it's mac and cheese!