Maneesh B.'s Profile
DateSan Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 563-7700
Cafe des Amis
Categories:
French,
Brasseries
Neighborhood: Marina/Cow Hollow
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 882-4581
Spice Kit
Categories:
Sandwiches,
Asian Fusion
Neighborhood: SOMA
A short rib banh mi (with pate, of course), a pork bun, and a vietnamese coffee for $15. Can you get cheaper? Definitely. Can you get tastier? Probably. Can you get anything cheaper, tastier, AND made with fresh, organic ingredients? Probably not.
Will definitely be stopping by again!
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 896-4008
Kasa Indian Eatery - CLOSED
Categories:
Indian,
Vegetarian
Neighborhood: Marina/Cow Hollow
Until yesterday. I finally went in while it was still light out. And the food was (still) amazing. The Saag Paneer kati with egg is hands down my favorite, closely followed by the chicken tikka kati (not to be confused with the chicken tikka masala). And a Dogfish Head brewery 90 Minute IPA. Service is fast and friendly. The food is relatively cheap. The quality and taste are outstanding.
Note #1: they put three things on your roll by default: a red sauce, onions, and a green paste. The green paste is spicy, so if you have a problem with spicy food, skip the green paste!
Note #2: for those commenting on authenticity, this is actually reasonably authentic. It's street food. They refer to themselves as an "Indian Taqueria", and it's a spot on comparison. I would never try to compare El Farolito to Maya, nor would I compare this to Amber.
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 441-2575
Marengo on Union
Category:
American (Traditional)
Neighborhood: Marina/Cow Hollow
The variety of sliders makes it easy to get good variety without having to order a lot of food. So far I've tried 4 of the 8 different types, and the two standouts are the All American and the Starling.
The wine list is surprisingly long for a burger joint -- though I suppose that's why they bill it as a whiskey/wine/slider bar, not just a burger joint -- and they have a really good selection of wines by the glass, and everything is pretty reasonably priced.
My two favorite non-food-related things about the spot: 1) the awesome retractable glass roof, and 2) that the husband/wife partners who run the place are almost always there, walking around, and talking to customers. It's a little thing, but I wish more places had the owners wandering around. It adds to the convivial atmosphere of the place.
Added Bonus: when you wander out at 10:30pm on a Tuesday night, and Bar None below has a crowd, you can have a grumpy-old-man moment like me... "who are these people? don't they have jobs to go to tomorrow? who goes out drinking on a tuesday night?"
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 934-0411
The Barber Lounge
Categories:
Barbers,
Day Spas,
Hair Salons
Neighborhood: SOMA
Nick has been doing my hair for something like 3 years now (I followed him to Barber Lounge when he left MR). I love the fact that all I have to do is show up, and he gives me exactly the hair cut I want without my having to say a word. One of the funny things is that I have a sort of euro-ish haircut (ok, maybe it isn't really that euro, but I got this hairstyle from a place in Paris, so I'm going with it!), and Nick is a totally old school, rock-a-billy barber. Props for the versatility! My only complaint: too many other people have discovered him! When he first moved from MR to Barber Lounge, I used to be able to get an appointment the same day. Now, I'm lucky if I can get one the same week!
As for the lounge itself, it's great. Always decent music and good magazines out in the comfy lounge area, where one waits with the beverage provided by the lounge. There's a bulldog occasionally wandering around that I find endlessly entertaining if only because it can't take two steps without grunting and panting. It makes me giggle.
San Francisco, CA 94117
(415) 564-5332
Zazie
Categories:
Breakfast & Brunch,
French
Neighborhood: Cole Valley
The restaurant itself is really just 4 stars. Don't get me wrong, the food is great, the service prompt, etc. But it's the patio that makes this place worth the trek and worth the wait.
Listed in: Brunch Spots
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 409-3276
Farmerbrown
Categories:
American (New),
Southern,
Soul Food
Neighborhood: Civic Center/Tenderloin
Went back something like 6 months ago, and had an *amazing* meal with 5 friends. All the food was perfectly cooked and tasted phenomenal, and that little problem from last time corrected, definitely worthy of 4 stars.
1 Previous Review:
-
8/27/2007
Why is this place considered so good?
Went there on a Saturday night, and got seated promptly on the far left (from the entrance) side of the dining area, that left me with a perfect view into the kitchen. Not the cool food prep area, or something -- but the dish washing station. (Hey, farmerbrown, never let your customers have a prime view of the dish washing area. We all know it's happening, but we really really don't want to see it). Additionally, there are so many columns and half walls that the whole dining space is really disjointed. I'm sure it's all part of some uber-chic industrial aesthetic, but I thought it just kind of sucked. I think there were maybe 3 or 4 tables in the entire space that I would have actually wanted -- and they were all in the "main" space, and all for groups of at least 6. In fact, for couples, the best space in the whole restaurant appears to be at the bar.
Anyway, we get seated, and ordered drinks, an app, and our mains; and were promptly served the starter. I'll admit that the starter cornbread w/ jalapeno muffins served with a honey (or was it maple?) butter were good -- albeit, quite small.
My companion got a glass of wine, which was, well, as good as it was supposed to be, and I got the ginger beer which was extra tangy (the way I like it). For our app we got the shrimp poppers. I was unimpressed. There were definitely nice big lumps of shrimp in there, but the deep fried breading taste overwhelmed everything else. I probably should have known this going in, but considering how highly rated the restaurant was, I expected something a little more refined than what I'd get at TGI Fridays.
For the mains, I got the pan fried meatloaf, which was spectacular, but, I mean, it's meat loaf.... My companion got the fried chicken, which I think we were both anticipating would be something special, and we were both let down. First, while the chicken was moist and hot, it was not crispy. In fact the breading was kind of oily and soggy... which kind of ruins the whole experience. Second, the macaroni and cheese was equally underwhelming. I can appreciate a Mac&Cheese that isn't baked, but the cheese sauce was just too runny, and almost a little bland.
For dessert we got the bread pudding. It's not bread pudding. It's damp cake with a cream sauce. Bread pudding is supposed to have an almost custardy consistency (bread *pudding*... it's right in the name!), and the only way to get that out of this was to cut off a piece, swirl it around in the cream sauce, shake off the excess, and then eat it. Of course, given the cake to sauce ratio, this renders only a third of the cake worthy of the status "bread pudding", and the rest is relegated to the previously mentioned status of "damp cake".
The service was perhaps the one bright point of the dinner. The wait staff was prompt, polite, and did a good job of replacing things as they needed replacing, with out being overly present. Our waiter did his best to guide us to the bright spots on the menu, and discouraging us from things he described as "it sounds great, but..."
All of this for.... just under $80 (tax & tip included). For serious? Soggy fried chicken and meat loaf for just under $80? The whole meal should have been $50, and even then I would have only given it 3 stars.
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 243-0580
Zaré at Fly Trap
Categories:
Mediterranean,
Persian/Iranian
Neighborhood: SOMA
Went with a friend from out of town, and we got the crispy polenta and beef kebab apps, and the roasted duck and lamb burger for mains. All were outstanding, and the mains very reasonable priced (22 and 14 respectively).
One of the really noteworthy things about the wine menu is that they feature a handful of wines from Middle-East. We ordered one from Israel -- a Cab/Merlot/Syrah blend -- that was surprisingly good!
Note to (potential) customers: While the back room is cozy and perfect for having a quiet conversation, note that when it's full, it gets really warm in there.
Note to the restaurant: I would consider it a personal favor if you would open on Sundays!
They've got a sweet setup in the back, with couch seating and low tables, plus the previously mentioned huge screen (plus a couple flat panels in case you're at a bad angle).
Dinner food was fine -- the chicken club sandwich was pretty tasty, and the touchdown platter (calamari, taquitos, chicken fingers and potato skins) was a plate of deep fried goodness. Pitchers of Sierra were $14, which felt expensive, but I don't really know; and they also have a full bar with something like 10 different flavors of Smirnoff. Service was fine... probably took 15 minutes from the time we ordered until all our food came out.
Give it 5 stars because the sports viewing setup is fantastic (big screen is viewable from pretty much anywhere in the bar), and food/service were of good enough quality that I'd have no problems going back again next monday.
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 441-3200
Terzo
Categories:
Mediterranean,
Tapas/Small Plates
Neighborhood: Marina/Cow Hollow
When they tell you that you should get 2-3 plats per person, that really is just about perfect. Between the three of us, we got 7 plates, and it was really just the perfect amount of food. We ordered: pacetta wrapped figs, roasted beets, heirloom tomato bruschetta, roasted chanterelle mushrooms, chicken spiedini, sausage, and the roasted beef. Everything was really really good, with the sausage, figs and bruschetta being the standouts.
The wine list is great because it is loaded with non-Californian wines, and most of them are moderately prices (under $60).
The wait staff did a great job. They were great about bringing the food out in groups of 2-3, so at no point were we sitting there with an empty table, but we also didn't have to deal with 7 plates on the table all at once.
All around, very satisfying meal -- I'll definitely be coming back!
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"semper ubi sub ubi"
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60 Useful, 24 Funny, and 31 Cool
San Francisco, CA
Yelping SinceJanuary 2007
Find Me InJeans and a t-shirt, usually
My HometownNeedham, MA
When I'm Not Yelping...I'm either playing soccer or skiing
My Second Favorite Website The Last Great Book I ReadHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
The food was great. Not quite standard cafe fare, the restaurant is certainly more upscale than, say, Gamine, but also certainly not in the Fleur de Lys category. Probably a worth comparison would be Chez Papa Resto in Mint Plaza. However, as good as the food was, the dessert stole the show. The 24-layer crepe cake was absolutely amazing. It's 24 (duh) thin crepes, each separated by a layer of what I"m guessing is either whipped cream, or marscapone, and the result is spectacular. I can see myself some night going in, sitting at the bar, and ordering just that (possibly with a glass of the Riesling).
One thing they absolutely nail is the wine list. It's huge, and extensive, but not crazy expensive. From my quick perusal, most bottles are squarely in the $40-$80 range. Another *very* french touch is that they offer a number of wines by the "pichet", which is basically a little more than a half bottle, but not quite a full bottle. This service form is very common in french cafes, and in my opinion is almost the perfect size for 2 people dining together, as it allows you to pair wines with your meal as you go, and you get to try more wines!
Definitely recommend, definitely one of my new favorites in the neighbourhood. Alas, maybe a little too spendy to go as often as I'd like!