Michiel D.'s Profile

I bet it's faster to fly to Italy for a great espresso, than dealing with these pretentious Blue Bottle coffee con artists.

Peter is the Winston Wolf of iPhones. He solves problems.

Even before they opened, this place already was more than just another new pizzeria. NYC wept as Anthony Mangieri headed West, and the hype surrounding his arrival in SF made it seem the local pizza landscape was about to be redefined for good. But...

It didn't.  

Yes, the place is fantastic. It's industrially spacious and minimally elegant. The centerpiece, the oven, is the prettiest I have ever seen.

And Anthony at his marble workbench is like DJ Mangieri spinning at the Pizza Club. Smoothly and confidently he handles the dough, the fresh toppings, the pale, the wood chips. But...

The result of all this, the pizza, is not this mind blowing, ecstatic experience you by now are fully expecting.

It's quite delicious, but the dough is too doughy, and as mentioned by another reviewer, Miss and Mr T., both burnt on the outside and still raw on the inside.

Which may mean Anthony hasn't found the right balance in his new surroundings yet. Making a perfect dough means dealing with many variables, like temperature, humidity, time, etc. Many of which are local. So...

I will come back in a little while. To enjoy the place, and hopefully a better, more balanced pizza dough too.

Today, I had my very first okonomiyaki experience. And it could very well have been my very last. That's how very bad it was.

So, now I'm faced with a rating dilemma:

a) was this how an okonomiyaki is supposed to taste, and am I just not an okonomiyaki person?

b) are the guys at Namu lousy okonomiyaki makers?  

c) is okonomiyaki just the wrong word? I googled it, and it turns out to mean "what you like" or "what you want" (http://en.wikipedia.or...) - which clearly wasn't the case

d) am I passing unfair judgment as I was already a bit grumpy since I was actually going to get one of the much-hyped porchetta sandwiches at Roli Roti (but the line was waaaay too long)?

I don't know. As a consequence, consider this a very confused 1 star.

Today's favorite: Banana con Dulce de Leche.

Josh Donald now has his own place! He used to offer his great knifes and sharpening services through others (like Avedano's and Drewes Brothers) and he may still do so. For a much bigger selection of new and vintage knifes (German, French, Japanese) the place to be now is the new collective on 331 Cortland.

Plus, a nice little nod to the hood in the NYT:
A Neighborhood Stages a Culinary Comeback
http://www.nytimes.com...

Wine in jam jars is OK when you're moving house for instance. You're putting some fresh paint on the walls, and the stem glasses are still buried in one of the many moving boxes.

Oh wait, did I just describe the new wine bar Heart? I think this place has great potential, but started the house warming a little too early.

Should one visit an establishment during its first week of opening? Depends on what you're looking for. 54 Mint may become a great addition to the Italian restaurant scene. Like La Ciccia in Noe. The people running it are real Italians, showing knowledge, passion, and flair. However, the overall verdict is mixed for now:
Food: delicate and delicious
Atmosphere: giddy, as one can expect during the first week
Service: chaotic and erratic
Prices: reasonable

Perhaps its best to let things settle for a bit and then return for an equally tasty meal, with a much smoother delivery.

The killer grill did it again last night. To a petrale sole this time. The taste and smell this magical machine generates are simply fantastic.

The great House of Hengst now also has a men's line. Nice, as hengst (the owner's last name) means stud in Dutch. Just got my first piece, a super soft cotton shirt, with very subtle gray and blue striping. I will be baaaaaack more often now.