Walter K.'s Profile

This place is bomb-ass and anyone who thinks otherwise is on crack.  I used to come here in fifth grade when it was Yoshida-Ya and liked it so much then it was my designated birthday dinner destination.  Now it is even better.

Specialty drinks are the shiznit.

Women should really arrive wearing Lululemon yoga pants with a Patagonia fleece.  Men should wear a baseball cap or a sports blazer and Rainbow sandals.

Female mating call: "Eeeeee!"

Male mating call: "Hey dude, what's up."

This used to be the best BBQ in the entire Seattle area.  However the last few times I went it was only mediocre.  Meat seemed not the same quality, portions didn't look fully cooked.

And the lady at the cash register was so absolutely unbelievably rude to me that I swore it was the end of my visitation.

Now, realize, I've lived in Seattle off and on for about eight years and I've probably eaten there tens if not over a hundred times.  I used to love this place and took everyone, family, friends, etc. here whenever I was in the area.

I know what the attitude of the lady at the register is like, and I know she's always been bristly.  But the last three trips were above and beyond acceptable into literal verbal abuse.

No one deserves to be spoken to that way, and I won't go back.

We tried to go to Liverpool Lil's at 11:30pm last night but the kitchen was closed so they sent us over here, their sister restaurant.

Gumbo starter was fabulous, served with garlic bread.  Petite filet for girlfriend, perfectly cooked and just the right size.  Veal piccata, perfect.

Ambiance is so fun.  I felt like we were having a secret conversation to which no one was privy but ourselves.

Going back here as often as possible.

Super tasty hamburger, one of my favorites in the city.  Plus they serve dinner late, we couldn't think of where to go at 10pm but Liverpool Lil's was happy to help.  The french onion soup (made with veal stock!) was excellent.  Thumbs-up.  Lots of other tasty looking items on the menu.

A solid mid-scale loft-industrial-ambiance-esque diner experience in the SOMA area.  Good shrimp poppers, juicy and salty burger with a healthy dose of bacon and avocado (if you order yon add-ons, of course).

8 / 10 tastiness of club sandwich, 9 / 10 friendliness of staff, 3 / 10 ventilation on an 85-degree day for table service.  But boy that bacon was freshly cooked, crispy, and hot!  The focaccia bread also very memorable.  Highly recommended, and will be back ASAP.

My favorite Thai in SF thus far, though I like Marnee Thai as well.  Having spent eight years on and off living in Seattle, WA, where Thai is their equivalent of Chinese in SF volume- and popularity-wise, I feel well-positioned to pass some level of judgement upon those in SF.  Kwanjai delivers to us, and the food always arrives steaming hot.  Their Tom Kha Gai is excellent.  Try it!  You'll like it.

This place wins big-time on location, easily walkable from my place.  My girlfriend declared it "baja-style", and I agree.  Very different genre of Mexican when compared to the places in the Mission, Gordo's, Papalote, and the like.

We were really excited about the chicken soup, but found it to be flavorless with ingredients that weren't even entirely cooked (e.g. the onion).  To me, it tasted like they  had just run out, then we ordered it, so they threw some water and ingredients right out of the fridge into a pot, heated it up, put some boiled shredded chicken (with no fat) in, and then served it with a couple of slices of avocado.  It wasn't bad, it just had no flavor, which is, I suppose, bad for some definition thereof.

The steak nachos were good.  Beans are like refried with pinto chunks sprinkled throughout.  Steak was tasty, one of the highlights of the place.  The steak mixed with beans was my favorite thing about the meal.

The steak burrito, similar to nachos re: beef with bean mix was good.  The cheese was the thin-grated type and I enjoyed it but something strange happened to the tortilla, wherein it was gummy and slick along one side.  It stuck to my teeth as a result and was pretty unpleasant.

I'll come back due to proximity, and we look forward to trying the many other items on the menu such as tortas.  Unfortunately, I'd rather eat at Gordo's or Papalote most of the time, even if they're somewhat farther away.

Fabulous crispy egg roll things (more like mini imperial rolls), and an unbelievably upscale ambiance for a pho restaurant.  The pho is indeed clean, organic, and high quality ingredients.  All non-American-compatible items are removed from the menu (no tripe, intestine, stomach, feet, etc.).

However, and I feel guilty saying this -- the pho itself just doesn't taste flavorful to me in comparison to the dingy places I frequent more often.  Pho Clement, for instance.  Maybe it's the lack of MSG.  The noodles in Pot de Pho are also unusual -- wide rather than skinny.  Fun, but different.

I wanted badly to love the pho, and it wasn't bad, but it didn't really have much taste.

In summary, my friend and I concluded:

1. this is the place to take people who want a unique, never-before-had Vietnamese Pho restaurant experience.  It's so upscale it belies the contents of the menu, and the atmosphere is very enjoyable as a whole.

2. next time I'd order 40 of the crispy rolls.  Unfortunately it's about $6 for a plate of 4 small pieces, so that's like $60.  Doing that every few months might be worth it though.  They're really good.

Great lunch here, high quality ingredients, attentive and speedy staff.  My compatriot required no ginger in anything, and they happily obliged and delivered on their promise.

Won Ton Soup -- excellent.  Dim Sum including steamed pork buns, shrimp dumplings, siu mai, all fabulous and piping hot served in bamboo carriers.  House Special Beef made with Angus Beef, flavorful rich brown sauce.  Fried rice with a great mix of pork, shrimp, and vegetables, and not the leftovers as is used in many establishments.

A bit pricey ($30 per person, at a meal with two of us, essentially gorging ourselves) but IMO it's worth it for the experience.  It just means one might not want to eat here as often as one otherwise would.

I believe there is some affiliation between Harmony and Ton Kiang in SF, and it shows.  I love this place.