La Boulangerie (on Sutter)

Today, a short ode to jam...if this post is for you, you know who you are!

sneakpeeq, a new tasty find every day

Today, I'm taking a moment to shill for my day job. I work for a website called sneakpeeq, and today marks a milestone in our company's growth. Along with sites like Fab, Spotify, Words with Friends, Pinterest, and Washington Post Reader, sneakpeeq is now a fully integrated Facebook Timeline App! Admire this photo and scroll down to find out why a foodie like you should care...

Cakes Suzette chocolate flowers. WOW! They're white chocolate covered Oreos. I don't even like white chocolate (usually). But I popped one in my mouth, and before I blinked 2 had disappeared. The white chocolate is super sweet, but tempered so that it's smooth and easy to bite into. The Oreos stay extra crispy in their airtight coating. And the presentation is so pretty, you'll want to bring them to a baby shower or give them to your mom for Easter Sunday. Seriously, they look like shiny plastic toys...of deliciousness.

I mean, c'mon, just look at them. Don't you want a dozen? If I were Oprah, I'd give them to you, and you, and YOU...Anyway, I got distracted there. Back to my day job. sneakpeeq is a shopping site focusing on unusual new products by emerging designers and food makers. The items are fun, the prices are amazing, and there are new stores every day of the week. It's a fun way to kill 10 minutes a day. Sign up through this link and you might just get $10 off your first buy. Check it out, let me know what you think!

Caffe Puccini

Caffe Puccini has long been one of North Beach's best deals.  We've been fans since at least 2004 (as evidenced by this ancient Chowhound thumbs up).  It's not gourmet, but it's a homey cafe where you can grab a quick plate of homey pasta for cheap. It's the kind of Italian food I'm able to make at home, but rarely find the time for.  Bonus: they don't have people standing outside trying to lure you in with loud fake Italian accents.  I give them points for classiness.

Linquine and clams.  If you like clams and can forgive the creamy texture of the sauce, this deal can't be beat.  You get at least 10 huge Cherrystone clams, and plenty of chopped clams in the sauce.  The sauce tastes strongly of fresh, oceany clams.  I admit, my fork spent a lot of time playing in J's plate.

Pappardelle Toscana.  I can't resist flat noodles.   The pasta was perfectly cooked today, and topped with plenty of sauce and Parmesan.  The meat sauce was full of shredded, slow-cooked meat, not ground.  I actually would have preferred a little less sauce or a little more pasta, but hey.  It's hard to fault them for packing on the protein.  In any case, we could barely finish our two plates of pasta and my huge bowl of coffee.  $29?  Very happy.

Next time:  Caffe Puccini must have recently hired a latte art expert!  I noticed too late, but many people had cheerfully decorated drinks, like happy-faced flowers and chocolate fish. Love it!

Taqueria San Buena (Taco Truck Edition)

Quick and easy post today about Taqueria San Buena's taco truck.  I go there when I can't think of where else to eat, and caught this photo sitting in a random folder and realized I'd never posted it.

$2 each for tacos, $ or $5 for a meal-sized, but not enormous, burrito.  Everything is a solid B, which is why I go but haven't bothered posting about it.  Meat's juicy, sauce has very slight kick to it, and the tortillas hold up.  It won't make you say wow, but it doesn't leave you with a gnawing, dissatisfied craving either.  Give it a try if you're in the area, but don't go out of your way.  The bright side? There aren't usually more than a few people in line.

Steins

Steins on Clement is a welcome addition to the Inner Richmond. It replaces Pagan, a Burma Superstar wannabe that I never bothered trying.  There are already at least three other places to get a decent tea leaf salad on Clement.  What the 'hood really needed was a place to get a solid pint of Czech beer.

Tada!  Staropramen!  This Prague brewery is one that's been around since 1911.  Given our recent jaunt through Central Europe, finding this on draft here at home was a wonderful surprise.  Nothing can compare to fresh-pulled tank beer from Prague, but for $4 a pint we couldn't help considering it was a good deal.

So I said above that a pint of beer is $4, but I forgot to mention that the picture is actually of a half pint.  That, plus a plate of food, was only $10 thanks to the specials menu.  I chose fish n' chips, and was rewarded with a crispy plate of hot, crispy fried fish and McDonald's style French fries.  For $10 total?  No complaints, my friends, no complaints at all.  It's not gourmet, but it sure hits the spot on a Saturday afternoon.

Kappou Gomi

I think I'm in love.  I finally made it out to Kappou Gomi, a non-sushi, non-ramen Japanese restaurant that some call one of the most exciting restaurants in SF.  In a word: wow.  If you haven't been, get there now. This is seriously Top 10 quality food.

A little background: Kappou Gomi serves Japanese food, but doesn't limit itself to sushi, hibachi, or other menu standards.  Instead, the menu is categorized by ingredient (mackerel, flounder, tofu, anago, noodles and so on).  Under each category they list about 6 of their favorite preparations of that ingredient (deep fried, braised, sashimi, salad).  Choose your dishes, and enjoy them tapas style.  There is also a list of one-pot type items, as well as hard to find home style treats like seaweed-wrapped mochi.  The menu is completely overwhelming, but everything is tasty so just go when you're feeling adventurous.

The best thing of the evening: uni.  This is the best thing I have eaten in 2012.  I know, we're only a week in.  But I'm willing to bet money it'll stay in the running for most of the year.  Not only was this uni fresh, it had been marinated or smoked to take on really earthy, herbal, almost Chinese medicine-like flavors.  I know, sounds strange. You just have to trust me when I say it blew my mind.

Mullet roe (Karasumi) was not as exciting, since we eat it a lot in Taiwan. But the presentation was very sweet.

We ate about a million other things, along with some darned good sake.  Highlights included an agedashi tofu deep-fried in some kind of gelatinous batter, and pink-tinted ume pasta in a dipping sauce.  Sorry, I was too hungry to keep photographing. But don't worry, we will return.  We had a lot of seafood and sake and spent about $200 for two this trip. BUT some of our favorites were the cheaper items, and we saw a lot of delicious looking clay pots and one-pot (hot pot type) meals.  So I suspect an amazing, home style meal can be had for half that price.  Kappou Gomi, see you soon!

Escape from New York Pizza

This is not something I'd normally choose to eat, but J insisted...

Just kidding. He didn't have to twist my arm that hard. It's a meatball sub from Escape from New York, which is next door to his office.  He kept talking about the enormous meatball sub you can get for $6.50, so I had to try.

The sandwich is huge, and comes with a bag of Ruffles.  The sandwich itself was filling and tasty, with tons of gooey cheese. If I could change one thing, I would make the sauce a little more runny.  It was borderline tomato paste.  But hey, a giant meaty sandwich covered in cheese? I'm not really complaining here.

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