Fast Food - Animal Protein

When we first headed West, it was to Northern California, home of amazing burritos, farm fresh produce, killer Burmese, and some pretty fantastic burgers - you'll recall my love of the Monk's Kettle turkey burger par example.

However, I purposely put off trying that king of the California burger - the In-N-Out because I wanted to wait to try it in on its home turf in SoCal. Even after arriving in LA, I put off trying it because I wanted to be in a full-on burger craving mood.

Well there's nothing like a little rock-N-roll, a wee bit of vodka (not to worry parental types, not enough to make it unsafe to drive,) and the witching hour to make a girl (and a bearded fellow) crave a burger. Big time. So after hearing our friends' band The Lincoln Bedroom play in Hollywood, we headed to that fast food icon for a midnight snack- er meal.

(Before I descend into burger bliss, I have to give a quick shout out to The Lincoln Bedroom. They were so, so good. Seriously. This is coming from a person who goes into most live music performances -- especially those at bars -- with a big dose of skepticism and a sense of foreboding. But I couldn't stop smiling the whole time they were playing.)

And that smile just extended to the In-N-Out experience. I loved the bright, bright lights of the joint. Even at 12:30 AM, the branch on Sunset was a hopping, festive (if slightly seedy) place to be. I loved the paper hats that the folks at the counter wore (the guy who took our order reminded us of Smash from Friday Night Lights.)

Having put off a visit to In-N-Out for so long, I'd done a lot of thinking about what to get. I'd practiced using the proper lingo for the various off-menu preparations and when we got to the counter I was ready to go.

Here's what we ordered...



Fries, Animal Style (meaning with fried onions, melted cheese, and "spread")
The verdict: Sinful, decadent, everything else you can imagine. Although, while I kind of liked that the cheese wasn't completely melted, it was a bit too solid to coat a large portion of the fries. This did, however, allow Daniel to eat some of them post-burger.



Daniel got his burger Animal Style (topped with fried onions, pickles, and "spread")
The verdict: At 12:45 or whenever it was that we finally got our order (this isn't fast fast food), he had no complaints. The next day he did say that perhaps because he didn't grow up eating In-N-Out, this did not surpass his greasy fast food standard-bearer, the Whopper. Although he also tried to maintain that his burger was a healthy choice because he didn't get a "Double Double," so clearly the boy has a skewed perspective.

Speaking of healthy, I went for Protein Style (served sans-bun in a lettuce wrap; with ketchup, mustard, and raw onions, no spread)-
The verdict: Man, that was a lot of lettuce. But I like lettuce. And I like burger. So, what's not to like? In fact, in my defense for making such a girly carb conscious choice, as a child on the occasional trip to McDonalds, I often removed the bun from my Happy Meal burger, choosing instead to focus on the skinny patty, diced onion, and pickle slices. So I was hanging it Protein Style waaaay back.

Seriously though, it was a pretty fine burger. Especially when topped with some Animal Style fries. I think this is what they mean by animal proteins.

Fast Food - Num Pang

I'm about to write something that may make me lose my license as a lover of the city life (and it's not that I haven't been paying my rent, despite the scary chalk drawing above).

Sometimes, I really resent brunch, which is not a popular opinion being that this weekly or for some bi-weekly late-morning festival of gluttony is among the most important rituals of city living.

That's not to say that I don't like the food. I love eggs. I love potatoes. I love breakfast meats. And every now and then I even pancakes. I also love that it makes eating lunch food before 1 PM not seem strange. However, eating a big meal at 11 AM always throws off my eating for the rest of the day. I get hungry again at about 5 PM, which confuses me. Should I eat a snack? Hold out for dinner? Eat an early dinner (dunch?) I'm in a tailspin.

But every now and then it leads to serendipitous experiences, as was the case last Sunday, when Daniel and I found ourselves in need of a snack while wandering around the East Village at around 4:30. Should we eat? Hold off for dinner? What to do? I did a quick mental rundown of places in the area that I'd wanted to try, casual enough that we could get something small and tasty enough to be worth our time - and then it hit me - Num Pang, the Cambodian-style bahn mi joint on 12th Street. And we were off...

It's a very hipster little shop, with kitschy chalk-style drawings (see above) in the upstairs sitting area, which also proudly overlooks a parking garage - huge (though slightly grimy) picture windows give you a full view of people validating their parking passes below.

You have to order and pay outside though, which would be frustrating on a cold, rainy day, but would also make it a very speedy take-out option, especially at more prime time eating hours.

The menu of sandwiches, all served banh mi style on French bread with pickles and herbs and mayo, was overwhelming. Each one sounded amazing - from the roasted cauliflower with Chinese and Thai eggplant spread to the grilled king mackerel with leeks to the lemongrass chicken liver pate. They even had a veal meatball sandwich, which was thrilling because Daniel never gets to eat Asian meatballs due the ever present porcine effect.

In the end though, we went for one of the specials - a ginger braised brisket with all the trimmings - pickles, cilantro, carrots, and mayo.


This was some good sandwich. The bread had the perfect French crackle, made even more satisfying with a nice toasting. And oh that brisket - this was meat that you could serve at a Seder with pride - incredibly tender with the perfect sweet, sour, savory blend that so well befits brisket. The cilantro/carrot/pickle mix added the more traditional South East Asian sandwich flavor really hold there own with the richness of the beef and all in all it made mouths happy...



I was less thrilled with the side of market pickles that we ordered. It was a nice idea - a mix of watermelon rind, rhubarb, celery root, and turnip - but the pickles had no snap to them, neither in taste nor in texture. They were flaccid and overly sweet.


Still though, the sandwich split between two made for a perfect late afternoon snack. One recommendation for future outings to Num Pang - either eat upstairs and enjoy the surly chalk drawings and happy parkers below, or take your food to another stationary location, because while the sandwich holds together nicely, it is a messy beast. We left no napkin in our wake -

Three of my favorite things

From my visit to the San Francisco last weekend - three of my favorite things in one place.

1. A turkey sandwich (from the yummy deli on Guerrero and 19th Street)
2. Our ScionXB Otis (looking a little worse for the wear in my absence, I must say)
3. Daniel (today's birthday boy)

Hopefully this marks a return to your regular Food on the Frontal Lobe reports. Sorry for the recent dearth.

Fast food: Pickle on a stick

I am of the theory that there are a few types of food common across almost all cuisines - sandwiches, savory pies, dumplings, pickled vegetables, meat on a stick.

However, I do not know that every cuisine has mastered the art of the fusing of two of the best of these ubiquitous food forms. Here in New York though, the work has been done, and thus, while Daniel was visiting last week, we were able to sink our teeth into that veritable sign of advanced culinary culture - pickle on a stick. This one was sauerkraut flavored, sold on the street by Horman's Best Pickles of Glen Cove, NY. It was crunchy and sour and satisfying. Everything a pickle should be. Plus, did I mention it was on a stick?

Oh, and fine, I'll do it, there was a little excitement today. A mention on a New York Times blog. Even my stoic (but dear) mother the Midwesterner used five exclamation points in her email congratulations to me. NY Times Baby. (Her words, not mine.)

Fast food- Taco Chulo provides respite a little combobulation

So I'll admit to feeling a little discombobulated of late. I was in SF. Then in SC. Then in NYC. Then back in SF, and now here I sit back in Brooklyn. I'm really excited to be here, working hard, but I'm a little Daniel-sick and as I said a little discombobulated.

This sense of confusion began when Daniel and I visited the city for our recent two week sojourn. Here I was in a place I know so well, for a relatively extended period of time, but without really living here. It was odd. And being the food oriented person that I am, I sought a sense of grounding in some of my old favorite New York flavors - hummus, challah, date bars, and bagels.

While Time argues otherwise, I find that when I feel a little anxious, I crave comforting familiar foods, so boy was I in luck two weeks ago when I was able to treat a little low-level anxiety with one big old burrito - courtesy of my old friend Taco Chulo...



For the three years that I lived in Williamsburg, the El Gallo burrito, featuring savory tender chicken in a spicy salsa blend of guajillo, ancho, and morita chilies, was a staple of my diet. While I am now quite devoted to the veggie burrito at La Taqueria in San Francisco's Mission, my heart still belongs to Chulo. Back in the Williamsburg days, I would get home at night, see if my beloved roommate Ariel, an equally commited El Gallo fan, was game, and then we would place an order for delivery. Easy as one-two-three. Until the day that the brains behind Taco Chulo had the gall to remove our friend from the menu.

Now this could have led to utter devastation, but the gods were smiling, and armed with a now probably quite valuable relic of a menu and the knowledge that the folks at Chulo will allow you to "pimp" your own burrito, we were able to recreate the glory that was El Gallo, and our tradition continued unmarred.

So when I entered Taco Chulo for the first time in over a year, I felt hopeful that my craving could be sated. I looked at the menu and struggled to remember exactly what had gone on the burrito of my dreams. The waitress came, at first bold enough to try to remember my order, but when she realized that I was going to list what I wanted ingredient by ingredient, she wisely got out her pad.

Satisfied that I had ordered correctly, I sat back to read my book and to wait. A few minutes into my relaxing read, however, I had a terrible realization. I had forgotten to ask for cabbage instead of lettuce. I scurried to the counter to alert the waitress of my grave error. She looked at me, in my state of burrito-induced panic, a little strangely. Was there a glimmer of concern in her eyes? Or was it fear? I didn't care. I needed that burrito to be just right. Could she do it? Was there time? Finally, sensing the urgency of the situation, she hurried back to the kitchen. She'd see what she could do.

A few minutes later she emerged with this...


Ah, it was perfect. Cabbage and all. A comforting combination of the crunch of the said member of the Brassica oleracea species, the chewiness of the tortilla. The whole pinto beans adding a little pop to the the satisfying bulk of the potatoes. Salty, spicy, and a little sweet. Utter perfection.

And in the hopes that if enough people hit up Taco Chulo and order my dear El Gallo, they might reinstate it. Here is the list of ingredients:

Taco Chulo's El Gallo Burrito (RIP)
-whole wheat tortilla
-pollo rostizado (chile-spice-rubbed chicken)
-potatoes (NOT RICE!)
-whole pinto beans (NOT REFRIED!)
-marinated cabbage
-salsa seco
-cilantro, onion, radish
-cheese and crema optional

Go, try it. It will bring you comfort.

Fast Food - Sloppy, sloppy bao

Here's an abbreviated list of foods that I have been known to enjoy on their own.

1) Sloppy Joes - in all forms, even the sloppy soy that they served in the dining halls in college.

2) Banh mi - French bread, cilantro, meats, pickles. What's not to like?

3) Green mango slaw.

And what is that sultry sandwich you see to your left, gracing your screen, making you salivate?

Why it's a Sloppy Bao from Baoguette, the New York Vietnamese mini-chain that so rudely popped up after I headed West to San Francisco. It's certainly not the kind of authentic bahn mi to which I've become accustomed in the Bay Area, but as you might have guessed, it combines everything good - spicy curried ground beef, a crusty baguette, green mango, some cilantro, and lemongrass. I got mine extra spicy, so they threw on some sriracha and jalapenos. Here take another look and imagine that you are biting into this crusty bread. The bun crackles as your tongue hits the sweet, tang of the moist tender meat before passing into the crunchy bits of sweet, fresh mango. It's hot and spicy and it tastes so good.


Oh, you sloppy, sloppy bao.

Fast Food - Jamaican Me Hungry for More (well almost)

Being back in New York, I feel compelled to stop by all of my old favorite haunts as well as to try some new places.

Given my recent piece for Black Book on food carts in San Francisco, I thought that I needed to visit at least one here in the city. So when I found myself in midtown the other day, I debated between two carts that I'd read about on Midtown Lunch for the past couple of years, both of which have been nominated for some Vendy Awards over the years.

I was closer to the Biryani Cart and thought I'd try one of their Kati rolls since I'm a sucker for a spicy chicken sandwich, but when they were out, I decided against going for one of their chicken in a pita sandwiches, and hiked uptown a few blocks to the Jamaican Dutchy cart, which sells its wares on 51st and 7th.




While the cart made its name for jerk chicken, oxtails, and patties, I wanted to try one of its new sandwiches, served on soft, pillowy Jamaican style coco bread (this bread has no coconut nor cocoa in it, but it's a cute name nonetheless.) I'd read on Midtown Lunch that the vegetarian version of this sandwich was actually more tender and moist than the jerk chicken breast offering, so I took his advice and ordered the vegetarian.

I had to wait a while for my order to come up, as I understand is often the case at Jamaican Dutchy. It was very hot and I'll admit I felt a little cranky, especially as others who had ordered after me received their heaping plates of jerk and rice. But when my five dollar sandwich arrived, I was not disappointed. It was a good-sized baked tofu steak, marinated in a spicy jerk sauce, topped with lettuce and tomato and hot sauce, and served on the aforementioned coco bread. Very simple, but really incredibly satisfying. The tofu was tender and appropriately chewy. The bread nicely soaked up the sauce, and the veggies supplied some good crunch and tang. It was a lovely lunch, indeed. If only I had more time here, I'd go and get another. But even a sandwich this good is not going to send me back to the Times Square area in this heat.

Fast Food- B&H (of the dairy persuasion)

H must be a lucky initial here in this city that I love so. After all, how else could you explain the success of B&H cameras? Or H&H bagels? Or the ubiquity of H&M? (I know it's an import, but still...)

Another H-staple of this city is B&H Dairy Restaurant on 2nd Avenue. I'd been once many years ago, but in spite of his proximity the year he lived on 12th street, Daniel had never partaken, so on the insistence of our friends Ben and Dorit, we made the trek, right before closing, to sample a little good old fashioned comfort food, Lower East Side style.

Sitting at the counter, watching all the food go by

The menu at B&H is a like a siren's song of carby Old Country temptation, with matzoh brie, challah French toast, and blintzes all competing for your attention. Because it's a meat-free zone, the savory options run the gamut from the traditional fish salads, vegetable based soups, and potato knishes to something that sounded surprisingly enticing - veggie balls and spaghetti.

Having been told it was some of the best in the city, Daniel went the white fish salad sandwich route, served with a bowl of matzoh ball soup.

The soup was very good, with big chunk of carrots and the disconcerting but very welcome presence of noodles.

New York delis are famous for their overstuffed Pastrami sandwiches, but this overstuffed white fish, put all of those to shame. It was enormous -


This picture really doesn't do it justice. It was so big that our man Daniel had to go open-face on a few bites, splitting each half of the sandwich an additional time because he couldn't manage its girth. The sandwich was served on B&H's famous, non-braided challah, which has a texture quite unlike any challah I've had. It was light and airy, reminding me almost of angel food cake in its ethereal delicacy. The white fish salad itself was also unique, less of the kind that you get at an appetizing store like Russ and Daughters, but rather more akin to something like a lunchtime tuna salad, with pieces of celery interspersed throughout. It was very good, and our white fish salad lover was pleased, but it did not sate our need for the kind of white fishy goodness to which we are more accustomed.

Whenever I see kasha varnishkas on a menu, I am hard pressed to order anything else. When said kasha varnishkas can be ordered with steamed vegetables, I am in heaven, especially when I can drench both in a side of mushroom gravy.


While the varnishkas were a bit overcooked and gummy for my taste, for me there is little more comforting than pasta with my beloved nutty, hearty buckwheat groats, and so I was perfectly pleased. Plus, Daniel had a few cast off pieces of challah from his behemoth, so I dipped those in some of my thick brown gravy. And in that moment, with the sweetness of the light bread intermingling with the viscous, savory sauce, I realized what is perhaps the meaning of the H in B&H - heaven!

Fast Food - Taim (it's for research folks)

If you see this sign, it means you're about to have something REAL good.


It means you're in the heart of the West Village (which, let's be honest, is a pretty good place to be on its own) AND you're at Taim, the Israeli falafel and smoothy bar that opened shortly before Daniel and I moved West. We had tried to go once before moving on one of our epic walk-and-eats, but by the time we got there, we were too full from other tasty treats.

But last night after visiting our friends Sam and Duncan and their adorable baby girl Izzy, we headed west and ordered a couple of these...


They're called sabich; and they entered Israeli hearts and bellies courtesy of Iraqi Jews who immigrated to Tel Aviv, bringing this heavenly sandwich with them. It is now the darling of New York sandwich lovers and the line for them (and their other Israeli standbys - falafel, hummus, etc) is long at Taim. This sandwich is well worth the wait.

It consists of fried eggplant, hummus, tahini, amba (a pickled mango spread scented with fenugreek), Israeli salad, a hard boiled egg, and marinated cabbage. I had mine on a whole wheat pita; Daniel went for white. We both opted to add pickles and hot sauce. The results? Well see for yourself...


Every bite was a mix of creamy (from the eggplant, the egg, the tahini, the hummus) and pungent acidity (the amba, the pickles, the cabbage, the hot sauce). The textures were also an incredible melange - crunchy, chewy, smooth, rough. The bread was soft and flavorful. The sandwich was sublime.

It was also an utter stomach bomb, so I made Daniel walk down to the Canal Street station as opposed to boarding to head home at West 4th. I didn't fully recover until the next day. BUT it's for research, and I am more than willing to keep have another for the sake of future generations.

Fast Food (and drink) - Alembic

To celebrate the purchase of my recent iPhone 3Gs (thank you Bersons!), Daniel and I went for a fancy drink at Alembic in the Haight. We were great lovers of the fresh fruit cocktails offered at Death and Co. in the East Village and have been looking for something comparable in the Bay Area, so we hit up Alembic Bar, which is named after an outdated whiskey distilling process involving some tubes and other mishigas.

The atmosphere is brighter and more open than Death and Co, so it doesn't feel quite as special and moody, but the cocktails were good and the servers were friendly. Being a lover of the savory drink ("I prefer to get my vitamins from a Bloody Mary", said the lady), I asked the waitress for a rec, and Daniel and I went with both of her suggestions - his involving strawberries and Tabasco and mine incorporating some celery juice. They were both good, although still a little sweet for me. Here are some pics (taken with the 3GS)

The strawberry extravaganza- notice that pretty drop of oil on top

The celery surprise

If our visit had just been the cocktails, it would have been a nice, but relatively forgettable diversion. However, there were snacks too. And I love snacks!

We were saving ourselves for dinner, so we kept to the small plates.

Shishito peppers with housesmokeed salt -

These came in copious quantities, and while good and salty and smokey, were not as hot as I might have liked. So we gave our extras to the heavily tattooed couple sitting beside us. Yes, we were paying it forward, although we have yet to reap the rewards of that particular generosity.

We were less eager to share our other small bite - the pickled quail eggs. These three tender, delicate orbs of briny lusciousness were represented everything one wants to go with a pre-prandial cocktail. They were salty, smooth, and a little fatty, soaking in the alcohol and helping to intensify the palate and appetite for the upcoming meal.


Usually, when we get three of something as we did in this case, I let Daniel have two, and being a martyr to the cause of gastro-magnanimity take a single sample. However, these were so sublime, that I insisted that we split the final one. Yummy, indeed.

Fast Food - Ickle me, pickle me

So it's been a while, and I have much munching to report, but it's been busy and then there was Passover, and frankly who wants to blog about past bready meals when one is drowning in a sea of matzoh?

But now that bread is once again acceptable eats, what a better way to get back into the swing of things than a quick report on some delicious sandwiches that Daniel and I sampled a couple of weekends ago from the appealingly named Mr. Pickles.

I went and picked up sandwiches and then we picnicked in the sunny Dolores Park near our place. It was lovely. I went with a very basic turkey sandwich on my newly beloved Dutch Crunch roll. As has been mentioned previously, although I'd never heard of them before moving West, these crunchy rolls are ubiquitous in the Bay Area. I was skeptical at first and since they're lacking in whole grains I still generally keep my new found appreciation for them at bay (pun intended), but occasionally I splurge, and it was well worth it for this Pickle special. The sandwich, topped with lettuce, tomato, pickles, hot peppers and mustard was masterful in its simplicity and generous in its bountiful heft. A satisfying tangy and salty meal.


For Daniel's sandwich, I went a little more adventurous. He'd given me freedom to choose something I thought he'd like, so he got the Station 7, which consisted of chopped chicken breast in spicy honey mustard with avocado (hold the cheese). His sandwich came with the same fixins as mine, and he also splurged on the Dutch Crunch. It was definitely a Daniel style sandwich - messily dripping with a spicy sauce with lots of fresh avocado smashed into the chewy soft roll with that deliciously unique crunch on top.


With our view of the San Francisco skyline (and a lot of men in speedos), we were happy sitting in the warm April sun. Just two people enjoying all that bread has to offer before our week of unleavened creative eating.

Fast Food - random Chinese bakery on Mission

Have no idea the name of this place. Daniel and I were taking a study break last Saturday to go get burritos when we happened upon this place. Never one to overlook an exciting seeming house of baked goods, I urged us in, and we went for this scallion bun. Soft, warm, eggy, and oniony. Daniel compared it to challah, and he's been wanting one ever since. It is Friday, so maybe we can motzi on over and pick one up. (sorry, truly terrible pun).

Fast Food - Tangerine

When Daniel returned late from NYC last Saturday night, we decided that we deserved a proper Sunday brunch to celebrate his arrival. So the next morning, we got up and facing the cold San Francisco drizzle, headed down Sanchez to Tangerine. We'd spotted it when we were first looking at the neighborhood and were struck by the large number of dinner specials (the free dessert, free cocktail, please come and eat here variety). I couldn't help thinking that it didn't seem like a place with a lotta legs. That was before we happened by the restaurant one day during the brunch hours and saw the long line outside. When it comes to food where's there's a line, there's usually some good eating to be had, so we added it to the list of places to try.

We waited for about 20 minutes for our table in the crowded dining room. Daniel went for something truly special - a fried egg, macaroni and cheese, corn pancake. We spotted another patron consuming it happily, and it looked amazing.



Daniel cut into it and out poured the liquid yolk, drenching the mac and cheese corny concoction...


Daniel found it pretty thrilling and gobbled the whole thing. I have to admit, I found it a little flavorless. The cheese lacked any real sharpness and the whole thing needed some kind of tang to balance all the carb and eggy density.

I didn't find my dish to be particularly thrilling either. On the recommendation of the waitress, I got the Mexican omelet - filled with shrimp, spinach, and mozarrella (I got it w/o cheese) and topped with salsa and avocado. Again, the flavor balance was a little off. The salsa was without much spice and there wasn't enough of it to offer any real acidity. Granted I got it as an egg white omelet, so it did have that going against it...



Plusses of the meal - the breakfast potatoes were delicious (though a bit greasy) and the whole wheat toast and jam plate was really tasty and perfectly toasted. The waitstaff was incredibly friendly and attentitive.

But worth a wait in the rain? Maybe not so much. This tangerine is not quite ripe. (sorry, i'm tired.)

Fast Food - Udupi Palace

It's been a busy few weeks, so I'm behind, but I have loads of pix/meals to discuss, so here begins an attempt at catching up.

A few weeks ago, Daniel and I, feeling mildly jealous of Eric and Ariel's recent trip to India, decided to take a little trip to the subcontinent ourselves, by way of Valencia. We hit up Udupi Palace, a southern Indian joint, specializing in dosa and uthappam. Given the experience I had the summer between junior and senior years of college, I don't often eat South Indian food because it brings up lingering feelings of rage. Don't know that story? Oh, I was fired from a fusion South Indian restaurant in New York because the owner thought I had been stealing from the register. I am many things, but a thief, not so much...

Anyway, in spite of these persisting feelings, I do love the dosas and was excited to give Udupi a try. We started with the idli (the rice patties pictured above) as an app, and were particularly thrilled with the sambar that accompanied them. It was warm and flavorful and lovely both as a dip for the glutionous idli and on its own eaten as a soup. For our main courses, we ended up going the uthappam direction - Daniel being Daniel went for the one with the word "Spicy" in the name (he was pleased, but not thrilled) and I went for the tomato omelette (described as an uthappam made of chick pea flour with tomato and spices.) It came with more sambar (awesome) and coconut chutney (sweet and thick and rich). I LOVED it and despite its large size, I ate the whole thing. And then I got the stomach ache that comes with copious amounts of chickpeas and lentils. Luckily, Daniel was in the same situation. We were quite a pair...

Fast Food - Sultan Indian Buffet

In honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, Daniel and I decided to express our love of a buffet - an Indian buffet to be exact.


Although there are many options about town, we'd heard good things about Sultan, and so after a morning of building up a big appetite working at Daniel's favorite coffee shop, we headed off.

The place was relatively empty, but the buffet bar was full of all the standards - tandori chicken, aloo gobi, various kinds of dal, etc. So we filled our plates with as many options as we could and went to work.



The verdict: didn't love either of the meat dishes we tried - tandori chicken was a little too chewy and the lamb a little too gristly, but the vegetarian stuff was quite nice - especially a lovely cabbage dish, whose name I can't remember. I also really liked the rice patty (that big white disk pictured above). Apprarently, they make an excellent okra masala, but that wasn't available the afternoon we were there. Oh well.

For dessert, I tried "Indian noodles with butter." They were just that - Indian noodles with (LOTS) of butter. One bite was sufficient, but it was a good bite.


Overall, Sultan was nothing thrilling, but when it comes to large amounts of pretty good Indian food, frankly, what's not to like...

Fast Food - Sunflower Vietnamese

In spite of the fact that I should feel refreshed after the Winter Break, I've been feeling even more burnt out than ever since returning from the East Coast. Getting myself back into the swing of work, work, work has been next to impossible. The solution? Procrastination station. So I took one night off this week, and Daniel and I hit the Radio Habana Social Club for drinks and then grabbed dinner at Sunflower Vietnamese.

This restaurant has two locations around the corner from each other. We hit the "fancier" of the two - a perfectly comfortable nondescript little place, the packed tables a testament to its loyal following. Daniel, who is usually strangely opposed to sharing, agreed to split an appetizer and two entrees. It turned out to be far, far too much food. We started with burrito-sized fresh veggie spring rolls, which were perfectly rolled in slippery rice paper, stuffed with lettuce, tofu, bean sprouts, mushrooms, and cabbage. They were a delicious combination of crunchy and chewy and would in the future be a satisfying meal for a person seeking a light meal. We were not such people.


We were people who also had a bowl of chicken pho - rich flavorful yellowish broth, with loads of rice noodles and perfectly poached chicken. With the addition of some bean sprouts, a squeeze of lemon, and a shot of Sriacha, it was an incredibly satiating, slurpable soup (I liked it so much that when I had a bad sinus headache Saturday night, I went by and got another bowl of it to go).
Our final dish of the evening was Vietnamese vermicelli with beef and crispy imperial rolls. It was such a dish that served as my introduction to Vietnamese cuisine at the place my family frequented when I was a kid, and it's the standard by which I judge Vietnamese restaurants to this day. Although I was pretty stuffed by the time I gave this a taste, I was not disappointed. The beef was tender and had the appropriate barbecue like tang. The noodles and cucumbers were cool and light, providing lovely contrast to the beef. With the accompanying sweet clear sauce it was a wholly unnecessary, but deeply delicious end to a much needed night of hooky playing.

Fast Food - Monks Kettle

Ten days ago was my birthday. I am officially very old. While I have arthritis and wrinkles and cellulite to look forward to, I am also all about celebrating the joys of old age. With age comes wisdom, and I exercised some of that wisdom on my birthday proper, knowing that I would not have it in me for a raucous celebration. I wanted something low key and cozy.

So Daniel and I walked down into the Mission and drank some beer and ate some comfort food at the gastropub cum beer bar, Monks Kettle.

It was perfect. Although we had to wait for a while, we were finally seated in a nice big booth and serviced by a knowledgeable waiter who really knew his brews. He patiently described several options and then based on what we ordered to eat and our ill-developed preferences, helped us choose a couple of beers that satisfied us thoroughly.

Perhaps even more satisfying was the grub. We split a big soft pretzel that came with little pots of stone ground mustard and a cheddar cheese sauce for dipping. So soft, so salty, so warm and fresh from the oven. So delicious, in fact, that tomorrow, I plan on making some of my own.

Then we each had a turkey burger for our main course. I know boring right? What are you an old woman watching your cholesterol or something? Well yes I am, but in this case boring and healthy wasn't boring at all (and let's be honest an enormous turkey burger on a big white bun isn't all that healthy anyway...). But it was so intensely flavorful and moist, and it had a perfect bread to meat ratio. I close my eyes just thinking about it. I ordered mine with avocado and saved some of the stone ground mustard from the pretzel to smother it with. Man it was good. I have been craving another one of these since.

But being the wizened wise one that I am, I know that if I hold out for a while longer, it will taste that much better when I go back for a second round.

Fast Food - Mission Beach Cafe

It was a VERY long week, and I needed a beer and a burger or pizza or pasta or a burrito. Something comforting. So Daniel, the ever intrepid, and I headed out to explore our still new neighborhood.

First we hit up the The Liberties Bar for a couple of beers, and then we wandered the streets pondering our options. We debated Delfina and Little Star for pizza and Range for locavore action, but we finally we settled on Mission Beach Cafe in search of a well deserved burger and fries.

I'd been there once before for brunch, but I'd been recovering from a terrible bellyache, so all I'd had was an English muffin (housemade and delicious) and some poached eggs, oh and the best cup of coffee I've had in San Francisco.

Tonight though we were there with a mission (in the Mission I might add), and we both ordered burgers (served with tomato jam, onion marmalade, and lettuce, hold the cheese). We had a choice between regular fries and truffle fries with Parmesan cheese and being the equal opportunity gluttons that we area, we decided to split one of each. We started the meal with a broccoli rabe appetizer with cherry tomatoes and anchovy butter.

The app was a little rich for me, although the combination of the tart, firm cherry tomatoes with the crunchy texture of the broccoli and the sublime saltieness of the anchovy butter made for a really good couple of bites.

Then came the long-awaited, much anticipated burgers and fries. Daniel ate a bunch of truffle fries first, and he was very, very pleased with them. I was pleased too, they had a really distinct truffley flavor, made more piquant by the Parm, but like the broccoli rabe, I could only handle a few. But no matter, that left more room for the burger. Oh do I love hamburgers. I had mine medium and added some whole grain mustard to the mix. The burger was rich and juicy and perfectly cooked. I loved the tomato jam, which had a distinctly fruity flavor and the onion marmalade. My only complaint was that the bun was a little dry and too big, so it overwhelmed the amazing grassfed Prather ranch beef wonder. But otherwise, we were very, very pleased.

And the best part of living in an apartment that is surrounded by hills in all directions is that you can eat a big ole burger and not feel guilty as long as you walk home after...

Fast Food - Weird Fish

So my dear old friend Mookie B was in town last weekend, and what did we do? EAT!

Most of the places we hit up were old (well newish-old) friends like La Taqueria and Eji and Burma Superstar. But Saturday night we did try out Weird Fish in the Mission. We had anticipated a long wait, but because we were willing to sit at the weird counter at the back of the restaurant, we were seated very quickly, and it afforded us a view of all of the weird people who came in. Okay really only one table full of weird people, but they were really, very weird (top hat, long dreds, etc).

The food was delicious. From Daniel's little b. stack appetizer (roasted yams, spinach, goat cheese and marinated tofu), to Megan's side of sauteed spinach with raisins (so lightly cooked as to maintain their shape and crunch), to my grilled jamaican-style catfish in a spicy-citrus sauce, to Daniel's side of heavenly mashed yams with coconut milk (is it weird to have two dishes for dinner that include yams?) Their fish dishes were good too, although I liked mine best...

All in all a good night, and not too weird, if you don't count the waiters, one of whom didn't know how any of the fishes were cooked and the other of whom kept smelling wine glasses to guess what was in them...

Fast Food - I Like Ikes

So the big news. We moved to San Francisco about a month ago. I couldn't handle living in the suburbs any longer. So it's been a whole new world of restaurants to explore. One of our favorites is a sandwich joint near our place called Ikes. They're only open during the day, so it's weekends only for me and my buddy Ike, but the sandwiches are so huge that they basically keep me full all week anyway.

Everything I've had so far there has been amazing - the Not so Sloppy Ike


Which is a vegan sloppy joe. I get it with avocado and jalapeno.


Other favorites include the various shredded chicken breast sandwiches, turkey burger, and salmon burger. Daniel always gets them with dirty sauce, a mayonnaise based sauce for which Ike's is famous. I of course can't handle the mayonnaise, but the sandwiches stand up just fine without it. They all come on freshly baked bread and are literally the yummiest sandwiches I've ever had. If it weren't already 6:00, I'd order one right now.