Lindsay "likes to drink wine" M.'s Profile

Not to be missed!

Stopped here for breakfast on our way into town.  We had just stepped off the red eye from San Francisco and picked up a rental car at JFK.  After working up a ravenous appetite, we knew where we had to go: Orlando's.

The huevos rancheros was loaded with ham, black beans, green onion, tomato, cilantro, avocado... all of the good stuff!  My plate came heaping with pico de gallo, fried eggs, home fries, bacon, and tomatillo sauce.  
Comfort food with flair.

Downside: no air conditioning.  I don't know about you, but spicy food sometimes induces perspiration.  On the hottest day of the year (90's plus humidity by mid-morning) I sacrificed greatly in the name of breakfast.

In the end, it was all worth it.

Quintessentially Northeast.  The lobster roll was high priced ($17.95) and on the plain side (bread, lobster, and clarified butter) but came with excellent sweet potato fries and spicy aioli.  The clams were also excellent - full of white wine, garlicky flavor and came out piping hot.

Tully's makes for the perfect late afternoon, post-beach snack.  Cold beer, Ben and Jerry's ice cream bars, picnic tables, and the food comes out fast.  Great for groups.  Wish we had lobster as sweet and succulent as this in California!

Definitely a solid dinner.

Amuse: potato-leek soup with a quail egg/caviar and smoked salmon skewer.  Soup was creamy, skewer was cute.  Set the stage for an elegant meal.

First course: Maine lobster salad.  I really adore lobster, so this was a favorite.  Tiny morsels of avocado and melon added a fresh complement.

Second course: Pan-seared scallop.  The menu says "scallops" but one should not be surprised when a single scallop comes plated on a plouf of potato puree with a splash of veal juices.  

Third course: I substituted sauteed prawns for the foie gras steak.  I generally pass on avian liver, but the shrimp was fairly unremarkable.  I suppose at the end of the day, there are only so many ways to prepare prawns.  Thank goodness for the wine pairing which kept things interesting!

Main course: Sea bass with asparagus.  Some of the most light and flaky fish I've ever had.  Small portion size, but extremely enjoyable.

Dessert: Chocolate truffle beignets.  The peanut butter ice cream was a tad too salty for my taste, but the chocolate beignets were outstanding.  The warm chocolate center was a pleasant contrast to the crispy fried casings.

Petite Fours: Arrived on a tray, but went untouched by our party.

Take Home Treat: Cinnamon cookies.  By the next afternoon they were going stale.  Came wrapped in a beautiful orange box.

Final damages: $1025 pre-gratuity.  Included dinner and dessert for 6, sparkling water for the table, five cocktails, two wine pairings, and the other intangibles (excellent service, flexibility for menu substitutions, high-class atmosphere amidst expensive artwork and a front-row seat for the Bellagio fountain show!).

Yesssss!  A super yummy, super cheap, super laid back, super friendly, super awesome restaurant in SF!!

Coconut drink: served right from the coconut.  On a plate.  With a straw.  And a cute umbrella.  Am I in the islands, or am I in the city?  Oh, right.  City!  (Darn...)

Tea leaf salad: mmm.  So many flavors and textures all blended together!  It's cute how they mix it for you right at the table.  I loved all of the crunch.  Highly flavorful and very healthy.  Makes you feel good.  Hedonists, come and get yo tea leaf salad!

Shrimp with okra: spicy!  But in a tangy, Asian way.  Lots of garlic.  Okra still a little crunchy... yet very satisfying.  Red bell pepper slides and strips of carrot to complement.

Mandalay noodle: coconutty.  Yes, that was the coconut chicken talking (you can request tofu if you'd prefer) and it spoke very loudly.  Fortunately it was pleasantly balanced with a bit of spice and a pleasant base of yellow curry.  The fried noodles on top added a nice crunch.

Mango pudding: cute!  We didn't even ask for this, but out it came anyways.  The servers were adorable... and helpful.

Total: $25/person after tax/tip/Healthy SF

Ice cream trucks stir up blissful memories of hot summery Midwestern days.  That magical music made every kid run to the street side and plead with their parents for an ice cream sandwich will remain ingrained in my head forever.

When I spotted a cutesy food truck parked in the neighborhood on Friday, I knew that I had no option but stop by to investigate.  My foodie GPS always gets the best of me.  It was about 54 degrees, a little sprinkling out, and definitely windy, but when I realized that "Twirl and Dip" was ice cream, I had an out of body experience.  Never mind that it was cold, wet, windy, and I had just come from the gym.  I was gonna get me some ice cream for dinner.  I'm 25 and no one is looking over my shoulder telling me not to!

I asked for recommendations after being thoroughly overwhelmed by all of the options.  I forked over a $5.00 bill in exchange for a homemade cone (with swirls on it - cute!) and a chocolate/vanilla twist.  It was gone within 10 very happy minutes.  If I knew that there would be an ice cream truck waiting four blocks from home every time I went to the gym, you'd probably find me at a gym a lot more often!

My expectations were too high.  I love Nopa and I love Mexican food.  As it turned out, this was a recipe for being only moderately impressed.

FOOD: I came five hours after pilates and I was beyond famished.  Protein was a requirement, so I sprang for the carnitas.  They were lacking in flavor and moisture.  The slaw was crisp and fresh, the meat was pleasant and tender, and the avocado-tomatillo salsa was mild and "nice."  I was disappointed that to find spicy garbanzo beans in lieu of chips and salsa.  I mean, how can you call yourself Mexican without the free chips and salsa?

DRINK: Margarita was very boring.  It was fresh and natural (agave, orange, tequila, and lime) but certainly not as good as what you'd get at Tropisueno or Mamacita.

SERVICE: We were definitely taken care of.

PRICE POINT: $30 for lunch?  Carnitas $15.  Margarita $9.  Tax + Tip + Healthy SF $6.  

AMBIANCE: This is the kind of place I'd take my Mom.  It's very family friendly on a Saturday afternoon but still has the "cool" SF vibe.  Worth trying again on a Thursday or Friday night, but annoying that they don't take reservations!

I've heard people rave about Evvia for the last several years.  It pains me deeply to realize that I've spent 3+ years living in the Bay Area, working on the peninsula, and only this week discovered this Palo Alto precious gem!

I snagged a 12:00 pm lunch reservation on Open Table about 10 days in advance.  I arrived about 15 minutes late thanks to an impromptu phone call that went late.  Parking, while not normally a challenge around University Avenue, was predictably a pain when I was running late.  The place was full of power lunching lawyers and financiers.  The hostess was a bit snappy when I pointed to my name on the reservation list while she attempted to deal with another patron.  (At this point, I noticed the enormous diamond on her finger and laughed to myself that only in Palo Alto would the wives of the wealthy be working in restaurants.)  I wasn't trying to be rude, I simply expected to be shown to my table where my guest was waiting for my arrival.

The initial snafu aside, I was very pleased with the service.  Our server offered personal recommendations and went above the call of duty to divide and plate our entrees so that we could each sample a bit of the others.  After beginning with the spanakopita (by the way, who doesn't love cheesy spinach and herbs in phyllo?!) out came the albacore pita (my selection) and the chicken souvlaki (my guests selection).  It took two servers to bring us our lunch as the restaurant had gone through the effort of plating both entrees for two people.  It was an embarrassing amount of food, so needless to say, I had leftovers!

I loved the light albacore tuna pita, which came with some spicy dressed greens and a bit of feta cheese.  The tuna was seared perfectly and the caramelized onions offered a sweet accent to the slightly salty pita shell.  The chicken souvlaki was coated in a zesty blend of spices and the grilled pita was among the best I've ever had.  Thicker than customary, it will be the first item I request when I return to Evvia for another magnificent meal!

As far as I know, San Francisco is not known for its outstanding selection of Irish bars.  There are a few that come to mind (Kate O'Briens, Foley's, and the Irish Bank) and quite frankly, they are all decent.  Guinness, Smithwicks, Harp, and irresistibly-greasy pub snacks.

Until the Notre Dame Alumni Club started hosting basketball game watches at the Irish Times, I wasn't even aware of its presence.  But we hosted a Friday night game watch when the Irish played Louisville in the Big East semifinals last week.  The central location made it a natural after-work gathering place for a larger-than-expected contingent of young alumni.  It was a friendly place full of friends and despite our loss to Louisville, I left the bar looking forward to returning in the future.  Street parking was a cinch at 6:15 pm on a Friday night as the meters became free and the worker bees went home to their families.

I sat at a table outside of the men's bathroom.  This enabled lots of conversations fueled exclusively by liquid courage as beer-drinking boys lined up to take a leek.  Now here comes the important note: dudes, lock the door when you use the toilet!  I easily saw 20 incidents of guys walking in on other guys.  Hmm, not exactly what I had in mind with my nachos!

After all of my potty talk, it seems weird to give this place five stars, but I loved the music (lots of Hootie and the Blowfish, Coldplay, and random 90's songs), there were plenty of TV's, the service was expedient during prime time, and the food was pleasantly palatable.  Beer was $5.50 which in some US cities, probably sounds steep, but after a few years in San Francisco, felt pretty average.

Another faaabulous Yelp Elite event!  

My 24th birthday party was wine and cupcake themed, so you can imagine that I was not going to miss the Sugar High Launch Party.  Nothing like a little bit of frosting to remind you how sweet life can be.  And nothing like a few sips of Napa's finest to make a girl feel like a queen.  I downed the pinot noir perhaps a little too fast, but the night ended on a sweet note with the dessert wine from Rock Wall winery.

Project One made for the perfect venue.  I've always been a modern art fan and the Warhol-inspired collection of Cambell's soup interpretations was my favorite.  Color, glitter, beads, even and a Barbie drowning in a tin can.  How great is that?!

The DJ and photographers made this seem a real "elite" experience and despite some awkward pre-meditated flirting at the end of the night (maybe that was the pinot noir...) I went home happy!

Stopped by Sociale for lunch as part of January's Dine About Town.  For $17.95, I had a top notch meal with excellent service.  Minus a star for not being able to eat on the patio on an insanely gorgeous January day.  Note to self to request outdoor seating next time.

Sociale is full of neighborhood appeal.  Laurel Heights is quietly sophisticated and completely unpretentious.  Plus, the parking situation is so much easier than places like the Marina or Russian Hill.  The tucked away location means that this small nook is relatively sequestered and quiet.  

First, I must rave about the bread.  Served slightly warm with creamy butter that slowly melts into the light wheat carbohydrate orgy, I had four pieces of this bread.  Maybe that was my post Saturday morning workout body trying to replenish itself of the gallon of sweat, though.

The water service was also great.  Not once did my glass go less than 1/3 full.  Since I was all post-workout glow and in desperation for hydration, I had no less than 5 glasses of water.  Good job to the team for being on top of that!

The choices for Dine About Town were a beet/goat cheese salad or arugula/chanterelle tossed salad.  Neither had too much initial appeal to me, so I solicited the opinion of our humble waiter.  He recommended the arugula as being nice and fresh.  It turned out to be a great call and while arugula is sometimes overbearing with its peppery undertone, the balance of a citrus-based vinaigrette was a welcome balance.

For a main course, there was a quail with brussel sprout entree that did sound intriguing.  Instead, I selected the tubo (yes, that's tube-shaped pasta) with pork and kalamata.  It was bathed in a red sauce and fortunately the olives were not too noticeable since I don't care for them at all.  The pork was a great addition - super tender and very savory.  This reminded me entirely of a dish I had at Delarosa in the Marina a few months ago.  I loved it at Delarosa and I loved it at Sociale, olives and all.

We declined on dessert and after the $1.25 Health SF that Sociale assesses, plus tax/tip, I plopped down $25 in cash and called it a day.