Dibital N.'s Profile

A resounding five stars!!!!!!!

Next time I find myself in a lifeless relationship, bored and wishing I were naked with somebody else, I'm going to start a tradition: every Sunday at India Palace. We'll walk in, not talk too much, she'll sulk a bit, and I'll eat not only three plates of food, but I'll drag the meal out for an extra hour with their super excellent tea.

I friggin love this place. It's one of those rare restaurants that brings the beauty out of melancholy.

Nobody can deny the inventiveness of the menu - every item on there is enticing. The menu reads like a good menu should, drawing you into the concept of the food and making you want to order everything. I'm just not sure that the execution matches the menu's ambitions.

My ribeye came with a spinach puree, celery root, espresso jus, and seasoned with salt and chocolate. The spinach was very very tasty and easy and I'll be making that at home. But when it came down to it, the meat was underseasoned and the cut was not that impressive. The espresso jus underwhelmed and didn't add enough to the meat. I couldn't taste the chocolate but yearned for more salt and some pepper on there. Hmmm...

The other things we ate were rather tasty - the cauliflower soup and the hamachi sashimi.

The service was friendly if a bit unprofessional. We were told that the only table left  was an undesirable one - dude, the power of suggestion. Had they just pitched it a bit differently, we wouldn't have had the sensation that we were roughing it a bit in the corner. Likewise the server was too honest and said too much, as he rambled on about dishes he openly didn't understand too much.

The prices are low and the menu sounds great, so this place will keep drawing people in. But just remember that those prices are low for a reason.

Back when I lived in this hood, this was our Seinfeld restaurant. We'd go there, somebody would eat breakfast food, another maybe a burger, and still another maybe just a beer or a milkshake. With its sparse decor, Californiacated version of the booth, and extrafriendly and heavily accented waitstaff, this restaurant became the go to place for the anti-occasion.

My taste buds having since hit puberty and veered away from the curly fries, Polkers remains a high-grade throwback. Sometimes the foodie doesn't want to care about food (but still doesn't want to eat slop). Sometimes the foodie doesn't want pageantry (whether of the high end type or the adventurish-ethnic type). Sometimes the foodie wants a Western Bacon Cheeseburger with Onion Rings and Barbeque sauce eaten with elbows on the table. And when that impulse strikes? It's straight to Polkers.

seen some great shows here, and they definitely get good bands...but the acoustics are brutal.

i don't even know anything about music. i can't play a single instrument. but i can tell that the sound there is muddled. blah...

Wow, I'm about to reveal myself as the hack that I am. While scanning the menu at Magnolia, I came upon the pork schnitzel sandwich. Enticed, I threw the menu down and concentrated on my beer.

And then it hit me - schnitzel? The heck are you thinking? I thought of Weiner Schnitzel the SoCal hot dog chain and imagined a hot dog sandwich, which was definitely not what I wanted.

I ordered the wings instead (they were actually really good) and didn't think much more about the passed over schnitzel until this morning when it occurred to me to double check on my initial impulse to order the schnitzel. Here's what they say about the dish on wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.or...

Turns out schnitzel has nothing to do with hot dogs at all. Did my impulses know more than I thought I knew? Not sure, but I definitely want to go back as soon as possible to give that sandwich a try.

top three orders from in n out:

double double doggy style - they shape the patty like a hot dog. use plenty of condiments.

fries animal style with a hamburger patty - they will tell you they can't do this, but they can. don't take no for an answer. if you are forced to take no for an answer, just order the fries animal style (fries with cheese, sauce, and onions) and a separate hamburger patty (it'll come in a nice little envelope) and throw it on top yourself. wait five minutes for the ingredients to gel together and you've got yourself a treat.

triple triple talleywacker surprise - three patties mushed up by hand into one big ball which is then deep fried and served on a bed of lettuce.

i'm going tonight!!!!!!!!!!

Endlessly hyped by the masses and often debated by my friends, A 16 had a lot riding on this meal.

Before I even opened the menu, I ate some of their bread and olive oil. The olive oil had such a pure taste that I couldn't stop mopping it up. This was a good sign. Bread is such an important indicator of a restaurant's attention to detail.

Salads, cured meats, olives, and cheese were passed around, all delightful. The house cured meats were particularly exciting, as their personal touches shook the salames and pates out of the expectations I'd built up after plenty of grocery store foraging over the years.

As we grazed on the array of snacks we'd ordered, it hit me by surprise. The aroma of fresh crust, tomato sauce, and cheese wafted my way. Luckily we'd ordered a bunch of pizzas to try, as after catching a whiff of the pizza scent floating out of their kitchen, there was nothing that could have prevented me from eating one. The thin, tasty, cracked crust provides an unrivaled foundation. As I ate it, I tried to think of pizza in Italy that compared, but I couldn't. This was better, though I never made it south of Rome.

My entree came along and was fine. The gnocchi was beyond delicate, melting seconds after putting it in my mouth. My complaint was that they didn't do enough with the chantrelles. There must be some way to illuminate their flavor more and spread them throughout the dish.

After dessert I was so full it was painful. The bottom line here is that the food is good and the pizza is excellent. I know that I get cravings for mindblowing pizza pretty regularly, and I'll definitely think about A 16 the next time one rolls in.

Never did I imagine that a place could so perfectly blend all things equine with all things tea. Suddenly the two seem as naturally bonded as pancakes and syrup. I guess they're both quintessentially British, at least a presented in this anglohaven, and that unifies them.

Walk in, take in the whips, the full sized horse model, and the riding caps. Hear the classical music that makes you think of grandma. Wander to the back and meet the guy who works there, who will gladly take your order - you want tea, right? Perhaps a scone, crumpets, or some tea sandwiches? They have it all and they serve it properly and with style.

Whether you've brought a conversation partner or a good read, you'll be comfortable on the couch and lovingly doted upon as you warm yourself with the nectar of the old country.

Sometimes I think I don't smoke enough. That's when I'm glad for places like Mr Smith's. While waiting in line to get in, I was forced to use my last defense against the overwhelming smell of urine - cigs.

Smokey and hammered might be the only way to do this place. As soon as you walk in the door you'll find yourself surrounded by bodies, both the gyrating type and the wandering type. If you're not dancing, you've got to just wander between all the different floors of this place. Stationary is not really the idea here.

Next time I feel like chugging gin and tonics I'll probably be back here.

Everyone who works here is on drugs. It's in the Castro.

What better way for a straight and square New Balance wearing whitey to experience bohemia than over a plate of blueberry pancakes?

How I wish life were as simple as a late night pile of breakfast food.