Bushi-Tei

Bushi-Tei continues to be one of our favorite restaurants in SF. We don't go for dinner because we can't afford it, but we have been twice for lunch/brunch and plan to go a lot more! It's pricey, but a great value for the overall experience.

First off, the space and service are both lovely. The restaurant is a combination of sleek modern furniture and rustic traditional wooden Japanese walls. The servers are all incredibly knowledgeable and very nice.

Brunch comes with an assortment of fresh baked goods from the house oven. From the left: something that tasted like a regelach, a berry pound cake, chocolate croissants, and little almond and marzipan tarts.

Here are my four treats along with my fresh grapefruit "mimosa." The drink was lovely, but not something I'd necessarily order again.

Soup of the day: Yukon potatoes and corn chowder. It's so creamy you won't believe there's no dairy in it! The flavors really pop, just like they do in almost every Bushi-Tei dish.

Arctic char salad. If you want something light and refreshing, this is your dish. Cold, sweet slices of fish and a lightly dressed mix of delicate greens.
Maison salad with bacon and a poached egg. This is more like a Cobb salad, but less heavy-handed.
The winning entree of the day: red crabcakes! I couldn't believe how big these patties were. They were probably the size of a small fast food burger, and had very little filling. The crab flavor was so intense my mouth started watering at first bite. The perfectly poached farm fresh eggs and Hollandaise only heightened the experience.

A second look at that egg: WOW! Deep orange, thick, creamy, delicious. And since there were two, this dish was really filling.

I had the fish of the day, which was seared amberjack. Beautifully done, slightly reminiscent of mackerel, but not on the same level as the crabcakes. What I did notice was that the vegetables were super sweet. The polenta on the side was just okay.

Scallops and spaghettini in a broth with mushrooms and chrysanthemum leaves. Yum! The dish looks run of the mill, but the homemade pasta and richly flavorful broth were not something that can be achieved at home. I firmly believe Bushi-Tei has earned it's Michelin star because its best dishes have the most mundane descriptions.

We barely had room for dessert, but we had to make an effort. This is the apple dumpling wrapped in pasry dough and topped with vanilla ice cream. The best part, in my opinion, is the pool of burnt caramel at the bottom.

Our favorite dessert is the black sesame blancmange. The texture is like that of panna cotta, but slightly more grainy because of the tiny bits of sesame still visible in the sesame powder used to make it. They top it with a thin layer of coconut reduction and a strawberry and pineapple "salsa" with tiny bits of jalepeno and a mint garnish. Not only is it beautiful, the strawberries today were intensely sweet.

In addition to being hands down one of the best tasting lunch spots in San Francisco, Bushi-Tei is quite reasonably priced compared to the other hard-hitters on the dining scene. Lunch entrees are about $!15, and brunch is $25 for your choice of soup/salad and entree. And if you're armed with a $50 restaurant.com coupon, choosing Bushi-Tei becomes a real no-brainer.

Stella Pastry

What's a birthday without at least two cakes? After dinner, we swung by Stella Pastry. I'm telling you, this is one popular bakery. They were sold out of slices of my favorite, the sacripantina!

Thus, I was "forced" to buy a whole mini cake. I think it's a steal at about $19. It's probably enough to feed eight people small after dinner portions, or six people a very hefty portion. Definitely more cost effective than a $4.50 slice! What can I say about the sacripantina: it's delicious layers of slightly boozy Italian cream and fluffy white cake, topped with whipped cream and dusted with cake crumbs (do I detect a faint whiff of fennel/anise?). Eat this and you'll never crave that oh so cliched tiramisu again.

Lynmar

This picture pretty much sums up why I love Sonoma. Imagine birds chirping and the occasional eagle or horse passing by.

We discovered Lynmar Estate and fell completely in love with the winery. I had a lovely chardonnay and several nice pinot noirs. And that's saying a lot, because I'm not usually a pinot noir fan. There was also a rich syrah that's more similar to what I usually drink.

But mostly, the people and space won us over 100%. At Lynmar, when you purchase a tasting, you aren't forced to stand at a bar and make small talk with the employees while you try to down one wine after another. Instead, you place your order, then you pick a seat outside and the wines are brought to you, poured, described, and left for you to enjoy at your own pace. You are also welcome to bring whatever food you would like, or purchase amuse bouches that are paired with the wine.

Some of the outdoor tables are nestled in the middle of a flourishing herb and flower garden. We saw huge bushes of oregano, thyme, chives, asparagus, lettuce, basil, strawberries, sweet peas, posies, poppies, and a lot more. We even saw a birds' nest built into the side of the building, and the mother bird was flying back and forth with beetles for her babies. Ah, nature!

So if you find yourself in the Santa Rosa/Sebastopol area, do not miss a chance to visit Lynmar. Tastings are $10-25 instead of $5 or free, but it's a much more leisurely experience and you actually get to sip and enjoy your wine instead of feeling like someone's breathing down your neck waiting for you to drink your wine, swish it around in your mouth, pour out the rest, and then buy.

King's Hawaiian

The King's Hawaiian Paradise cake, one of the best desserts on earth. Which makes the sister who brought it the best sister on earth.

Just kidding. She's only one of the two best sisters on earth. Anyway, not to make other desserts feel bad, but my favorite sweets usually involve fluffy cake. And King's takes it to a whole new level with colorful layers of guava, passionfruit, and lime cake. The whipped cream around the sides is rich but not too sweet, and the marshmallow topping is gooey and delicious.

The colors are a little psychedelic for some, but it's one of the most popular cakes in LA for a reason!

Blue Bottle

Ah, the things I do for family:

The Gibraltar, a Blue Bottle specialty that's basically an extra short cappuccino (translation: less milk than a regular cappuccino). The minimal amount of milk allows the coffee flavor to come through more. An even shorter drink would be a macchiato. There's not much to say here: Blue Bottle roasts great coffee, buys top of the line machines, and hires people who know what they're doing. The result is consistently fantastic.

What was more surprising was the up and coming Mint Plaza! Just a few years ago, the only two reasons I knew of to walk into this dank alley were for a tostada bowl or to hop on the old person's bus to Reno. Now there's Blue Bottle, 54Mint, Chez Papa, and an abundance of neon orange chairs and tables for public use.

BLT

A BLT: possibly my favorite sandwich. I think everything's pretty self explanatory here.

Zha Jiang Mien

Would you believe dinner tonight is vegan? I don't always follow my own rules, but I try to eat meat only once a day. Today, I succeeded.


This is my first attempt at zha jiang mien, a Chinese noodle dish that's usually a mix of vegetables atop a meat and tofu sauce. It's Chinese spaghetti, if you will. Today, I used a mix of wood ear mushrooms, shitake mushrooms, and pressed tofu in lieu of pork. Since the meat version doesn't require much pork to begin with, the difference in taste is not unbearable even to meat lovers.

The biggest pain in the you-know-where about Chinese cooking is finely slicing so many vegetables. This is after already dicing up tofu, mushrooms, onions, and garlic for the sauce!

But it's worth it. The noodles are topped with sauce, then vegetables, and everything is mixed together while the noodles and sauce are still hot. The result is a big variety of colors, flavors, and textures.

Tuna Melt

I try not to buy plain white bread. It's starchy, full of hidden sugar, has no nutrients, and doesn't contain much protein. But J bought a loaf while I wasn't looking, and I remembered that white bread does fry up more evenly golden than any whole wheat.


But I was right; it doesn't make you full. One whole tuna melt in my stomach and I'm ready for another one. That doesn't usually happen after two slices of Orowheat whole wheat bread!

Stuffed Bean Curd Sheets

It's not much to look at, but it was a pretty good first attempt. Stuffed bean curd sheets are a crowd favorite at dim sum restaurants. At home, I finally tried to make a healthier version of this dish, which is usually deep fried and then braised.


The process is simple. Stir fry a combined three cups of shredded vegetables. There are always bamboo and shitake mushrooms, but you can add woodear mushrooms, carrots, bean sprouts, Chinese celery, or whatever you like. It's sort of like a lumpia filling. I also added chopped dried shrimp and a small amount of ground pork. I sauteed all the filling ingredients in sesame oil, adding some soy sauce, white pepper, and hondashi to the mid. Then I rinsed the bean curd sheets under hot water to soften them and wrapped a small handful of filling in each sheet. There are no rules here, you decide what ratio of filling to wrapper you want. Then I braised everything in a mix of soy sauce, water, sesame oil, and a little sugar, adding a cornstarch slurry right before serving to thicken the sauce.

Aji de Gallina

The desire to make this dish came from a meal over a year ago at Fresca. I won't say my version is anywhere near as good as theirs, but it was a nice homey meal at the end of a fantastic holiday Monday! We went to the shooting range with W, had lunch at La Cumbre, went grocery shopping, and stopped by Mitchell's for a snack before coming home and spending the entire afternoon cooking. Good times!

The recipe needs tweaking, but you can click here for the recipe I followed.

Ro Zao Over Rice

A simple, hearty meal tonight. "Poor people's food," as J calls it. But dangit if it's not delicious.

Ro zao, or braised ground pork, is great because it's cheap, easy to make, freezes well, and makes a fantastic addition to almost any meal. You can eat it over rice, pour it over dry noodles, add it to noodle soup, or use it as a filling for any number of things. Here's a basic recipe to get you started:

• 1 pound ground pork
• 1/2 cup soy sauce (I like Kimlan Super Special)
• 1/2 cup rice wine
  
• 1 cup water
• 1 heaping tablespoon sugar (any kind)
  
• 2-3 whole star anise, depending how fresh yours are
• 1 tablespoon lard (optional, but this is one of those small things that makes a huge difference in flavor and mouthfeel)
• 1/2 teaspoon five spice powder (to taste)
• 1/2 to 1 cup chopped green onions
• 3-5 chopped shitake mushrooms, fresh or reconstituted dry

Heat up a tablespoon of oil in a small pot over medium high flame. Cook the ground pork, breaking up the meat into small pieces. When it's cooked through, add all the other ingredients and stir well to combine. You might need to add more water to cover the pork. However, rememberyou are aiming for a gravy-like consistency, not a soup. Simmer over low heat for at least half an hour up to an hour, until the ro zao thickens and your mouth starts watering in the other room.

Cafe Zitouna

We found a new neighborhood gem tonight. And cheap too! Cafe Zitouna is an unassuming corner cafe, the kind of place that looks like it has a 50/50 chance of either selling burnt coffee and stale pastries or being an ethnic gem. Luckily for us, Zitouna turned out to be the latter.

Not being terribly hungry, we settled for one entree and the hummus with warmed pita bread ($4). The hummus was very creamy, had a nice garlic flavor, and was topped with fragrantly grassy Tunisian olive oil.

Then we shared one of the lamb tajines ($10). The dish was nicely done, but I wouldn't order it again because I just don't like artichoke hearts, green olives, or frozen peas very much (at least not when I'm paying to dine out). The broth of the tajine was really tasty though, and I could have had a bowl of it as a soup. Which reminds me that next time I'd go for a bowl of lentil soup and half a lamb shawarma sandwich, or a cous cous topped with one of several stews. I can't wait to go back and sample more goodies.

The menu shows a nice variety of items (including mint tea and what is rumored to be good coffee) without being dauntingly long, and the service is friendly. One downside of their being devout Muslims is that the restaurant closes at 9:00 p.m. daily so that those who need to can get to prayer. Too bad for us diners, but I admire their commitment.

Pho Tan Hoa

Friday night = no cooking! Okay, not always, but this Friday night we went to Pho Tan Hoa just a few blocks away because J was craving pho. I rarely crave pho, so I had a bowl of marinated beef and spring rolls over vermicelli and romaine lettuce. It was simultaneously bright and refreshing while great for my intense beef cravings. There's something about red meat and salad that usually hits the spot for me. Vietnamese fish sauce never hurts, either.

La Altena Taqueria

A flash from the past: this is one of the things we at this weekend. It's called a burrito mojado, and it's a super burrito drowned in red enchilada sauce,cheese, guacamole, and sour cream. It's definitely big enough to share, and it's a Mission taqueria standard.

Four Barrel

I don't believe in giving away something for nothing, even to myself. So instead of just bussing down to the Mission to satisfy my curiosity about the newish Four Barrel Coffee store, I made myself jog the two miles there before indulging in a creamy hot latte.

Nothing in SF can yet compare to a single shot latte from Victrola in Seattle, but this came pretty close. Tight, dense foam partnered with a smooth, deep coffee with hints of burnt sugar.

I'm digging the interior, too. Coffee beans are sold in no-nonsense brown bags, and the menu includes 8 ways to have your coffee and an option to use soy instead of dairy. No tea, no soda, no hot chocolate--just coffee!

Broccoli and Bean Salad

Haha, chicken, I speared you! Yup, gotta check to make sure the meat's cooked before we dig in.

The broccoli salad was inspired by something I saw in the deli counter at a Middle Eastern restaurant. I'm not sure what exactly is in their version, but mine is as follows:

• 3 cups broccoli, crown broken into bite sized pieces and stem peeled and cubed
• 1 carrot, diced
• 2 cups whole wheat pasta (leftovers, in this case)
  
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 cup cooked mixed beans
• 3 tablespoons (to taste) garlic balsamic vinaigrette (homemade)
• juice of 1/2 a lime
• salt and pepper to taste

Bring a pot of water to a boil and put in the carrots. After a minute, put in the broccoli. Boil for a minute to a minute and a half, depending how you like your vegetables. Drain and toss with the other ingredients. The beauty of this salad is that it's good warm, cold, or anywhere in between.

Nara and Stella

Like everyone else, J and I are trying to be more careful with money. Being who we are and living where we live, it's impossible to completely eliminate dining out. What we've done is opt for a combination of lower end dining and dining out for lunch, happy hour, or snacks instead of dinner.

This Saturday, we stopped in at Nara Sushi on Polk for $1 happy hour sushi after getting a haircut down the street. The quality was fine for everything, and the salmon was quite good. The $1 pricing is per piece, runs 3-6pm every day, and includes about ten of the most basic nigiri choices. $2 hot sake is also available.

Today, we took a walk through Chinatown and North Beach and stopped at Stella Pastry for a sacripantina ($4.78), one of my favorite desserts in SF. I think Stella has the best tiramisu in the city, but for my money I usually order the sacripantina because I don't want coffee or chocolate competing with the fluffy cake and lightly boozey Italian cream. To take home, I got four Italian cookies ($1.48).

Black Cod (aka. Butterfish)

I know there are a lot of more exotic, more expensive seafood selections in the world, but for my money I like a piece of simply prepared flakey fish. I'm not particular about what type of fish, but tonight we had an especially delicious variety called butterfish.

J, master of all things from the ocean, remembered that butterfish is great with a miso glaze. We combined two tablespoons of light soy sauce, a teaspoon of rice wine vinegar, a teaspoon of sugar,and a teaspoon of grated ginger to make a simple marinade for the fish. We let the fish sit in it for thirty minutes, and then put the two pieces in the toaster oven at about 200 degrees. Twenty minutes later, we glazed the top with more marinade and turned the toaster to broil for ten minutes. the fish turned out perfect. J had his on a bed of arugula.

I'm not a big arugula fan, so I had mine with cabbage, celery, and carrot slaw instead. We both had fragrant sushi rice and furikake on the side.

Conduit (SF Cocktail Week)

For some reason, Conduit Restaurant has never made it onto my radar screen. But after the SF Cocktail Week event they hosted last night, they are smack flat in the middle of my consciousness. Kudos to all the people who put on the Gin and Gen event last night; it was a fantastic evening all around.

The concept behind the event was a free ladies' night. I guess they wanted the women to feel free to get sloshed and to concentrate on what was being promoted: new gins and a Dutch liquor called Genever.

The darling of the evening was Bols Genever. Genever is the predecessor to gin; in addition to the usual aromatics in gin it includes a malt wine made of grains. Therefore, it has a whiskey/anejo tequila aroma that gin lacks. For my money, genever is the better product. It's traditionally served neat in these fun little glasses.

Everywhere I looked, bartenders were muddling this and squeezing that. Here is the setup for both the Poisoned Rose cocktail and Green Party champagne cocktail (both from Range).

Ah, Poisoned Rose. Simultaneously rosey and lemony, without too much flower flavor. I should have done a better job photographing the over dozen cocktails I sampled, but it was tough! Not only were my hands full, every time cocktails were placed on the table they were snatched up by thirsty women within ten seconds! I couldn't get a shot in edgewise. After awhile I just decided to enjoy myself. But I did get the names (in rough order of favorites):

• Hot Mama
• Wanderlust
• Siren
• Poisoned Rose
• Green Party
• Basil Gimlet
• some kind of punch
  

And there was food! My favorite was the carpaccio with truffle oil and roasted peppers. The bread it was served on was incredibly buttery, cheesy, and melt-in-your-mouth. One woman joked that the chef must have called the Devil for the recipe.
Spring peas were featured both inside and on top of these ravioli.
Dungeness crab with pickled cucumbers and red onions, on top of mini biscuits. The food at Conduit was all incredible. There were also meatballs dipped in yogurt sauce, and the staff was quick and friendly while putting out as much food as we could swallow.

Needless to say, I came home deliriously happy and am hoping to see more publicity for these kinds of events in my future. Plus, I was given a goodie bag! Yay for San Francisco. I love this town.

Lamb Ragu

Dental work is never fun, but I'm making it better by treating myself to some homey soft food.

Tonight we're eating a simple slow-cooked lamb ragu on top of whole wheat pasta and topped with arugula, pepper, and pecorino. My recipe changes all the time, but here's what I did today:

• 1 pound ground lamb
• 1 very large onion, finely diced
• 2 medium carrots, finely diced
• 3 large stalks celery, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 can diced tomatoes or chunky tomato sauce (I used Muir Glen)
  
• 1 cup red wine
• salt and pepper to taste
• shallot salt (optional, I have some great shallot salt from Penzey's)

In a wide pot with a heavy bottom, warm three tablespoons of olive oil. Sautee the onions for a minute, then add the carrots, celery, and garlic. Stir occassionally for five minutes, or until the onions are translucent but not browning. Add the lamb, a lot of pepper, and a large pinch of salt, and sautee until browned. Add the tomato paste, then tomato sauce, then red wine and bring to a simmer.

Reduce the flame and cook for at least an hour, stirring occasionally. If you have the time, you can cook this for several hours so the meat really softens and the flavors truly meld. Add more salt and pepper to taste, and eat over your favorite pasta or use as a base for more complicated pasta creations. I'll probably be using this sauce in a very different recipe tomorrow night; stay tuned!

Chicken Wrap with Yogurt Sauce

This is what J had for lunch today.

Remember when I said I'm trying harder to remember to grill up a chicken breast and use it creatively throughout the week? This is four slices of breast meat, or about half of an average sized chicken breast. That's less than half of what most Americans would consider an entree size, but it's more than enough for a big chicken wrap. I added sliced cucumbers, sliced romaine lettuce, and a helping of yogurt that had been mixed with garlic, onions, cucumber, and salt.

Potstickers and Cherries

Ah, potstickers, how I love you. These came out perfectly crisped on the bottom.
This time around my homemade dumplings are filled with about a pound each of ground pork and chopped shrimp, a generous bundle of chopped up Chinese leeks, two chopped green onions, three tablespoons of ground ginger, and some soy sauce, sesame oil, and salt to taste. And while dumplings of all sorts are usually served with dipping sauce on the side, I like to pour a little sauce over my dumplings and top with a generous handful of cilantro and green onions. It brings the presentation up a few levels and adds a brightness to what might otherwise be an oily dish.

And for a side/dessert, cherries! Giant cherries are on sale all over Chinatown for 89 cents a pound. Some of these cherries are approaching the size of small walnuts, and most of them are quite sweet. This variety, which I believe is called the Brook cherry, is more varied in color than the black-red Bing, and has a milder flavor. As with the Bing, I could easily eat a bowl a day.