Kevin "Double Oh Yelp" N.'s Profile

A truly great new, used, and vintage bookstore in the heart of the city, and I always stop by when visiting Hayes.  A very broad selection for such a small store.  You are sure to find a couple books you want to read RIGHT NOW, and then you will still leave thinking "man, I should have bought that other book, too!"

I went in, looking for a Christmas gift or two.  I had a vague idea for one person, and the owner (? not sure, I forgot to ask) gave me four quick suggestions, so I spent about 20min looking at those.  One was right on the money.  Another one was perfect for me, but I'm not buying it, yet (man, I should have bought that other book, too!).  And then, while wandering around the sections, I found another gift that I think (hope) will be perfect for a couple for whom I had NO idea what to get them.

This Fatted Calf appears to cater a bit more to the prepared food crowd than others I have been in.  Or maybe just all of them are moving in this direction.  Still, there is plenty of really prime meat in the counter, all of it looking extremely good and I wanted nothing more than to fire up the grill, open some wine, and cook everything to a nice medium rare perfection, put on a bib, and go to town.

The lunches are pretty awesome.  They usually have 6-8 items for lunch and I went ahead and grabbed the pulled pork.  Damn that was tasty!  Lots of pork that really was pulled and not just shredded as so often happens.  served on a tasty brioche and with not-too-sweet BBQ sauce.  My only complaint is that they don't package a wet nap with the thing.  I was an idiot and headed out without grabbing a napkin or three.  I was a mess by the time I finished that thing.  A really tasty mess, but still...

In addition to the sandwich, I grabbed a good helping of pate for a Christmas dinner and some duck fat for good cooking.  I don't know if you've ever shopped for duck fat, but it can be very difficult to find.  They had three cartons of rendered duck fat, and that means I'll be going back soon.   (also, they have a happy hour on Wednesdays with special cuts and drinks and snacks, so there's reason #3 I'd go back.  If you didn't catch it, #1 was the meat selection).

If you are into Magic the Gathering, I recommend checking out Legends on a Thursday night.  Thursdays  are $6 standard night, a friendly group of competitive players willing to help out people new to the game.

The place can get pretty packed for  release events.  It is not close to the food court, but still, snack and food options are closer than usual for a comics store.

Serpentine is an interesting restaurant nestled in the row of warehouses along 3rd St. in my hood: the Dogpatch.  I want to call this a neighborhood gem -and it is, in a sense- but it's really more of a destination restaurant.  A restaurant with easy parking in San Francisco, if you can believe that.  We headed to Serpentine on a Saturday evening, and though OpenTable would said there wasn't anything available from 7:30 to 9:00, the place was mostly empty by the time we got there.  There were a few couples that appeared to be more at least halfway into their meals.  There were also a couple people at the narrow bar.  Maybe it wasn't quite as empty as I make it sound.  Serpentine has really tall ceilings with uncommon brick walls.

We sat down and were handed the menus, which come on narrow clipboards, with the pages so well lined up that at first, I didn't see the specialty drink list under the dinner menu.  In fact, I only realized there were two pages because the wine list had all whites on the first page, and lifting it up, I noticed the second page with the red wines.  A few minutes passed, enough time for some comments on the decor and looking over the menu a couple times, and then our waitress appeared.  She was sorry about the time that we had been neglected, even though I didn't realize we *had* been neglected, and ordered a couple of interesting drinks from the menu, mine with a touch of absinthe in it that was devilishly tasty.  When she returned with our drinks, she apologized again and said the first round were on her.  This was an appreciated, though unnecessary gesture as I really didn't feel we'd been ignored.  In any case, we were happy to drink the cocktails and then order wine afterwards.

For some reason, neither of us were overly hungry, and we chose the soft cow's milk cheese to order for a small appetizer.  This also appeared on the dessert menu, and rightfully so, as it would make a good dessert, just as it made a good appetizer while we sipped drinks and made the final choices.  Even though I had all that time to peruse the menu, I missed the fact that the lamb cheeks were an appetizer and not a main course.  I guess this makes sense, as they would be both rich and relatively small, but I had tentatively decided on them until I realized they were an appetizer.  The menu is listed in, well, a list of all the items but not divided into the common "Appetizer, Salad, Main, Dessert" format.  It's not overly difficult to determine the purpose of an item; I just wasn't paying a whole lot of attention.  

On another visit to Serpentine, I took a friend of mine that was visiting from out of town.  I do not consider Serpentine to be an overly edgy or avant garde type of restaurant, however, my friend wasn't particularly adventurous and shied away from the drink menu (which is one of my favourite things here) and the better-looking (to me anyway) items on the menu.  Again, the food was solid and we had a great meal before she headed to the airport.

A Thursday night touchdown in Cleveland was marked by familiar weather: cold and rainy.  I made made my way through the rain in my big Chevy Impala to my downtown hotel.  The local time was getting late, but I wasn't in a rush for food as it was still 6pm by my body's pacific time clock.  I put away some things then pulled out my laptop to check trusty ole Yelp for local eateries.  I came across GHT with its 4+ stars and some great commentary on wings and smallplates, which would be perfect as I wasn't too hungry. It was also only a couple blocks away, so I walked on over there.  Sadly, it was not to be.  I must have spent more time than I thought getting ready and they appeared to be getting ready to close.  I figured I would have some time to hit it up later in the weekend and headed home.

Fast forward to the end of the long weekend, and it is Sunday with a 7:30 flight and GHT opens at 4pm.  One of the friends I met up with that weekend went on and on about how great the place was, so I knew I had to go.  4pm supper it was, then!

After spending some time scrambling for parking (there must be some better parking in the area, but I don't know where it is), I rolled in at about 4:10.  Being alone, I opted to sit at the bar.  There were only a couple tables and about three other people at the very long bar this early in the afternoon.  However, by the time I left at around 5:30pm, the place had started fill to about 3/4 full.

The problem with GHT is that everything looks good, and they have a great selection of wine by the glass.  They also have a good selection of eclectic beers, but I'm not a beer with food pairing person.  I wanted to order about 5 things, at least one of them a main course.  However, I chose the duck crackling pasta and the foie gras clams.  Perhaps this was a bit too rich, but I wasn't hungry enough for the pork chop, which is what I really wanted, and stuffing myself prior to a flight seemed like a bad idea.  To go with the food, I chose a nice pinot noir from Oregon, and it was so good, I went ahead and had a second glass to enjoy while finishing up some of the sauce with leftover bread and reading my book.

It is difficult to describe, but GHT just feels comfortable.  Maybe it was some combination of the friendly service, the low-key atmosphere shortly after opening time on a Sunday, and sitting at the bar but I wanted to just hang out with another food item and glass of wine.  There are a couple TVs in the place, most notably a large one over the bar.  I do not understand why every place feels it needs a TV on the wall; at best it is distracting and at worst during an exciting game it can be really annoying.  

There is also a large party seating downstairs and some tables upstairs, which makes for nice variety.

Cava Mezze wasn't what I expected.  Two of my best friends named the place for us to meet for a quick dinner.  I was early and walked on by, heading up the street for a place with a full bar.  When I peeked in, I thought the place would be a Chipotle with a different name.  

I don't like Chipotle.

Happy Day, however.  Cava is kind of a Greek version of Chipotle, but lots better.  The same Subway-esque format exists: approach the counter, order the first piece, move on and specify the condiments and goodies you want on your food item.  

I ended up getting a salad (had sandwiches for lunch) with lamb, and tahini and harissa sauces.  (note: you can get more than one sauce!!).  I highly recommend some harissa if you like spice.  It was good, and such a nice change from all the shriracha-laden foods in the Bay Area.

Moshi Moshi is my neighbourhood sushi restaurant and the closest place to grab prepared food.  Most of the time, I stop in on my way home from the train just to pick something up for takeaway, although I usually get a drink at the bar while waiting.  

The bartenders are always friendly, there are always a couple other people doing the same, and the owner is one of the  friendliest people I've ever met.  On the times I've talked to him, he mostly hangs out and chats with the incoming and outgoing customers.  There's a party room on the side that one night was very dark and a bit raucous.  He kept calling it the "dark side". :)

They have some interesting sushi options, a really good combo deal that seems the best value, and a couple interesting cocktails (although I admit that 65% of the time, I'm boring and just get a gin martini).

The Breakfast Place does feel a bit unfinished.  They've been open for a while now, and there isn't anything MISSING, but there is something off about it.  For the inside, my biggest complaint is the noise.  The place is all wood and tile, and the noise from the kitchen and other diners is very noticeable.  Luckily, it was only about 1/3 full when I went there, so noise was not much of an issue.  I dread a packed dining floor at this restaurant.

The menu was a bit confusing at first, but once I figured it out, it is AWESOME!  For most of the standard breakfast dishes, you get one or all of the following: 1) bacon, 2) toast 3) hash browns.  What is not immediately apparent is that these are replaceable by a vast array of items.  For example, toast could mean toast, muffin, waffle, pancake, etc.  Bacon means multiple types of bacon, sausage, and some other meats.  Etc, etc.

I had this place at 3 stars, but the versatility of the menu and the food being quite good for the price bumped it up to 4.

Dear Airport Au Bon Pain,

It's a good thing travellers' choice is limited at Terminal F in the Philadelphia Airport.  Otherwise, I don't think you would survive.  A glass half full kind of guy, I am happy to report that you did teach me a couple valuable lessons.

Sbarro, Cheesesteaks, and China Express do not scream BREAKFAST to me, so I headed in to the Au Bon Pain.  Surely, they would have something decent, and the pastries did indeed look good gleaming through the window.  But it was the egg white "thin bagel" placard out front that caught my attention.  Apparently, this is a light option for the discerning and calorie-conscious traveler.  I am not really any of those, but having a lighter option before boarding a plane appeals to me.  I had been angling for some yogurt, but since I had no dinner the night before, something a bit more substantial appealed to my stomach, so I ventured in to the morning Au Bon Pain chaos.  

Although advertised by a sign out front, they did actually carry the mythic thin bagel sandwich.  Instead, they had only three versions of the standard "Fat Bagel" (what else am I supposed to call it, now that there's a thinner cousin?).  Having already poured a cup of coffee and committed myself to to the venture, I continued to choose a fat bagel and egg sandwich.

Lesson #1: When a place prominently advertises something but does not actually carry it, leave immediately and find a new option.

Opening the breakfast sandwich proved difficult, as the paper wrapping was having separation anxiety.  Seriously, the wrapper would not let go of the bagel, and when I continued my wrapper remonstrations, the paper, in defiance of all known physics, actually fused at a molecular level with the fat bagel.  This is probably a property only the fat bagel exhibits.

Lesson #2: If a sandwich is tasteless, paper sticking to the bagel really doesn't make much of a difference.

Yes, I was here just the day before and should have learned my lesson, but I'm pretty thick-headed.  Believing myself to be in the airport only for a short layover, I grabbed a "Mediterranean" wrap.  Although this thing had two days left for the sell by date -a freshness period that is presumably not weeks long, but what do I know- the bottom was soggy.  Worse, the thing had practically no flavor even after I had made it through the end that was primarily wrap into the end that had chicken and Mediterranean seasoning.  I seriously doubt whether the caesar chicken or the southwestern chicken wraps would have tasted any different.  

Lesson #3:  When you get something from a place that is bland and unremarkable, do not expect anything else from that place to be any different.

Radius

Julie's Supper Club is dead, long live Radius with the Julie's Supper Club sign!

I admit it, I really like the SOMA/Dogpatch/Potrero Hill parts of the city.  I've lived almost exclusively in these neighborhoods, primarily for their Caltrain accessibility and easy parking after work hours.  These attributes are also what makes these areas kind of a strange place to live as compared to the rest of San Francisco.  Most of us are not overwhelmed with restaurants, grocery stores, bars, and coffee shops all within a single block radius and our ratio of fast food to decent small restaurant is probably higher than anywhere else in the city.  This is why I love it when an interesting new place opens in these neighborhoods.

The restaurant is named Radius because it is a full and active participant in the "locavore" movement.  This means that everything that goes into your food is sourced locally, within a certain radius of the restaurant.  Also, the menu is "French inspired".  I use their term because the heavy use of sauces, flavoring, and the light touch on salad dressing gives them away without any of those French classics such as duck confit being on the menu.  Even the wine was all from wineries within 100mi of San Francisco.  My dinner companion and I mused on whether or not they would allow patrons to open and pay corkage on a bottle that came from outside the 100mi radius.

First time here so of course we ordered too much food: charcuterie plate, baby gem salad, pork two ways, and the house favorite lamb shank, and I thought everything was very good.  Radius does not serve cocktails, so we started off with a glass of the J sparking rose and I also ordered a wonderful glass of a Syrah made very much in the French Rhone style.  This was off-menu and bottle-only, but they had opened the bottle that night and offered me a taste.  It was fantastic.

The charcuterie was more like a puzzle.  There were three types of meat (chicken mousse, pork sausage, and duck pate), a tapanade or condiments accompanying each one, and two types of bread (three if you count the table bread).  This allowed for trying different combinations to suit your tastes.  For example, the chicken mousse was so-so with the light bread, but the hands-down winner with the darker bread.  The pork was best with just a touch of the apricot tapanade, and so on.  

The baby gem salad was a nice, light salad.  It was a good palate cleanser after the charcuterie plate and would make an excellent spring/summer salad with a glass of wine.

The pork two ways (belly and loin, I think) was also very good, but was the cause of the one snag in service for the night.  For whatever reason, the loin hadn't been cooked enough and came looking more like tuna than pork.  The waiter noticed us poking at and discussing the uncooked pork (I suggested "just try it, how uncooked could it be?") and took it away to have a new one made.  We split the lamb shank in the meantime and were also brought a little soup -butternut squash and chervil, I think- until the new dish arrived.  When it did, it was very good, with the brined tenderloin a bit better than the belly, in my opinion.  It came with some beans with a touchof rosemary and mushrooms that must have been both pickled and sauteed.

The lamb shank deserves the house specialty moniker.  It had so much flavor and just fell off the bone, served with some greens and fingerling potatoes.  I felt like the potatoes could have been roasted a bit more or at a higher temperature to brown or crisp them up, but really, who cares?  The lamb was the star of the show and I was only sad when it was gone.

They left the old Julie's Supper Club concrete flooring intact, so the place can get a bit noisy.  It was not overly crowded on the night we went there, so this wasn't a problem, but I can imagine conversation may become a bit difficult in a packed dining room.

The place also has a nice-looking cafe, and backyard patio, and takeaway station.

I also really liked the artwork on the wall.  This isn't something I usually comment on, but I thought it really suited both the space and the neighborhood.  I don't know if they change the artwork or if this is permanent, but I liked quite a bit.