Jenz y.'s Profile

continuing on from our fat kid sunday trails, we stopped by from lunch across the street at el farrolito and BFF dee and i both ordered banana creme pie and some milk. damn, the crust alone gets 80 gazillion stars. i admit that the banana filling was a bit lumpy and not as sweet as anticipated, but together as a pie pie it was delicious. we rolled out toting pregnancy-looking bellies and then shopped at big lots totally comatose. all in all, it was a posi experience.

my only sadness is that there was a severe lack in anything related to a berry - no raspberry, blueberry, or my beloved strawberry. there was ginger pear on the menu but i would ask for some berry love to be thrown up in that business for some extra love.

we had a work meeting on saturday that required a two-top and some quiet time, and cove fit the bill. there was a nice bustle about the cafe but it wasn't super obnoxious like lime. i had a medley breakfast of scrambled eggs, french toast, and bacon - all done nicely, but not like "OMG THIS SHIT IS AMAZING." it's breakfast! (shrug)

free refills does make my heart happy, and our server was very warm to us, which is a plus. i'm a little neutral about the joint but would not be adverse to coming back to try dinner. the fresh-squeezed OJ is really amazing.

i work two streets up from fulton on hayes, and papalote gets me through a power lunch when i don't have time to walk to the haight.

nachos - gigantic. the strictly veggie one can be sort of a trip if you are not accustomed to stuff like zucchini, but it's pretty cool.

dinner plates - expensive, not worth it if you want more food for your buck.

chicken mole burrito - the best of the burritos, with black beans and NOT super (which includes sour cream, and really, fucking with mole with something dairy is not kind). this is by far my favorite to get.

salsa - crack. spicy and tangy orange-colored.

tacos/quesadillas - prob cheaper at taqueria cancun, but hey.

the place toutes out its vegan/veggie slant a lot, which i suspect is a lot of where the business goes, and though i admit hating to spend money here because i know it's more expensive than most mission taq's i've been to, papalote is pretty damn tasty.

they also do "frequent burrito" cards, where every time you get a burrito you can get a stamp and your 11th burrito is free. chicken mole burrito, i'm coming to you, i swear...

plus, fun fact: "papalote" means "kite" in spanish, which makes so much sense if you have been inside and seen the crazy kites suspended from the ceiling.

this place satisfied my craving for both chinese or thai or something of the noodle variety. while it kinda sucks they don't deliver (we were like, four minutes away from then via car), it's located in a nice stretch of downtown burlingame with some bright decor. i had the house special noodle with chicken, which consists of "flat noodle with coconut chicken, lime leaves, yellow pea's powder, onion and fried thin noodle on the top." the yellow pea powder wasn't my favorite, but the chicken was really succulent, albeit in a minimal quantity. the noodles were nice and filling though, and for spice/flavor balance, it excelled. not a bad place to frequest when you are in the mood for some asian fusion.

It's the portion size that really sells me here. The chicken pad thai, albeit simple with the noodles and sauce splashing, is fucking huge and I usually have to split it into half to save for later. Plus, I am a huge sucker for Thai iced team, and Malai makes a good creamy one.

The service is decent, but in proximity to my house and to the area, it works. Additionally, if you get a chance to sit in a window, the people watching opportunity is excellent.

This place was quiet for the Wednesday night we went to, but the service was nice and we barricaded ourselves under a stair nook as BFF and I got wasted on chilled Grey Goose and beers - her drink and mine, respectively. (The restaurant was closed when we arrived, so my review is just for the bar.) The news played on the screen in the furthest corner amongst the regulars who sat at the bar. There's an outdoor patio right in front to sit and mingle with your friends while you down a cancer stick (bonus points for the place having ashtrays), and it's a no-frills, straight Irish bar - everything you'd expect one to be.

Admittedly, it's in North Beach's tourist hotspot, but still worth a gander to stop at and have a beer. The bar also accepts credit cards WITH NO MINIMUM. Hear that, Cafe du Nord?

$1 off all beers for happy hour. This means I can get my beloved Fat Tire for $2.50 a pint.

Uh, hell to the yes.

Casanova is centrally located and near everything I love (food, Dolores Park, my house), so I'm a little biased. It's sort of a weird set up (think a big room with a tiny ass bar on the left side that curves slightly and doesn't go even the length of the room, random tables and couches in the back), but it's clean and has nekkid girl paintings (similiar to Annie's Social Club's). We sat at the bar yesterday in direct sunlight trickling in from Valencia, sipping on cold beer, and suddenly my life was so perfect. No joke.

Poetic, right?

P.S. Dear bartender lady in the pretty red dress last night, it was I who kept sneaking olives from the tray. I'm sorry. They looked so good in my drunken state.

Hello, old school video games in the front of the room? A photobooth and pool table in the back? Happy hour til 9 PM (are you fucking kidding me)? I'd be married to this place if I could be in a monogamous relationship with a bar, but alas, I'm a beer slut.

I've come to Elbo for various occassions (roomie's birthday, friend's going away bar crawl, Friday night danceathons), and always have a splendid time. Last night some friends and I just sat and played video games and talked; the ambiance helps set a casual and comfortable attitude, and the fact that Speakeasy Hunter Point's beer was the happy hour superstar only fueled our fun. And while I admit the weekends can bring on the dickslices, you just gotta suck it up every once in a while and accept Marina kids will always think they have a place in the Mish. But alas.

Weekday nights are much better, and the upstairs hosts shows and club nights as listed on the bar website. Also, Elbo is a half block from El Buen Sabor, which makes my little tamale heart happy.

It pains me to give du Nord only three stars, but it's because, well...okay.

Do not get me wrong, du Nord. I love you so much for your crazy history (Prohibition era style tunnels, the creepy passage way between you and upstairs's Swedish Hall), for your impressive array of beer options, and the decor. I've done photo shoots in you that can't be replicated due to the fact the interior is just way boss. The kitchen has turned out some amazing dinner plates for my hungry belly (hummus and pita, hamburgers, thick diner-style fries). Door staff is usually so friendly, you are optimally located by street cars, buses and the underground, and while the sound is hit or miss, it generally does sound great.

So why the three stars? Because I can never fucking SEE anything. That's the whole point in going to shows, right? The stage is just not high enough to see anything if you're not in the first half of the audience, and though I am of average height (5'5" and a half), I seriously have to contemplate going to sold-out shows here because I know if I don't arrive by the first band, I will be SOL and be stuck craning my neck. Sometimes I am up to it, but other times I end up ducking out in the lobby area and watching from the pool table if I can, because it's elevated.

Also, there used to be doors that were used to block off the dance floor/stage area from the bar and lobby, but now red velvet curtains are in place instead when renovations happened a few years back - not bad, but I think it was more helpful.

Also, part deux: minimum at the bar is $25. YIKES.

I did a band interview here for my job - while I was trying not to be distracted by the attractiveness level of my subject, I had a strawberry smoothie from the place. Very creamy with a generous dab of whipped cream, though I was hoping for maybe some fruit chunks (that would have been more milkshake-like too, I presume).

I agree the place may need a better paint job, but it's in a nice location in prox to the UCB campus and has plenty of seating to hang out, do homework, catch up with friends, or in my case, try to write notes while blushing at the hot specimen seated across from you (did I mention that shit was hard)? The staff was really pleasant too when I asked to use the restroom. Maybe if I venture back across the bay and am not so preoccupied/flustered, I can have something off their hot food menu - my interview guy raved about it.