Grace W.'s Profile

I've been to Out the Door (all three locations) numerous times, but I've only recently had the pleasure of dining at The Slanted Door.

After checking out the Saturday Farmers market at the Ferry Building, my out-of-town visitors and I decided to have lunch at The Slanted Door.  The six of us shared the following dishes: vegetarian fresh spring rolls, shrimp/pork fresh spring rolls, papaya salad, sauteed squid, dungeness crab cellophane noodles, baby bok choy with shitake, eggplant braised in coconut milk, BBQ chicken, BBQ pork, and two orders of rice.  Everything was fresh and flavorful, but for me, the stand outs were the papaya salad and the braised eggplant. It came out to $27 a head including tax and tip, which is not bad at all for the quality of food and service and the panoramic view of the bay.

I couldn't stop thinking about my meal at The Slanted Door, so the very next day, I decided to try to re-create the bok choy and eggplant  vegetable side dishes.  Recipe for these dishes can be found here:

http://www.foodandwine...
http://www.foodandwine...

The dishes turned out pretty well, but my execution does not compare with that of the chefs at the Slanted Door.

I've been going to yoga classes on a quasi-weekly basis at Spring Pilates  & Yoga for the last few months.  I'm a beginner (probably the least experienced in my classes) and find that the small classes of 10 or less (usually) are particularly conducive to learning.  I've been to other studios where there are normally 20+ students, and as a result I receive much less attention and constructive feedback from the instructors.  I've practiced with a few of the instructors at Spring, and while all of them are excellent, I especially like Taniya and Atosa.

I had walked by Garcon many times in the past but had never been tempted to go in for whatever reason (probably would have needed reservations anyway).  Recently, a friend suggested that we dine there, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover a new favorite in the southern end of the Mission.  I enjoyed a glass of Sancerre at the bar while waiting for my friend, ordered and devoured  a honey glazed prawn appetizer and a side of pommes frites for dinner, and shared a banana-chocolate crepe with my dining companion.  Everything was great.  I look forward to returning for dinner and dessert (I want to try their creme brulee and pistachio profiterole).

I ordered 4 dozen cupcakes from Doro for my 30th birthday party, and they were a big hit.  I consider myself to be a bit of a dessert snob, and these cupcakes exceeded even my expectations.  I ordered a dozen each of the mojito, coco-razzy, moonlight by the sea, and ebony & ivory.  I thought the moonlight by the sea was divine, but I think that the coco-razzy was the most popular flavor amongst my group of friends.

Doro was very pleasant to work with, and I would definitely order from her again.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to meet her in person because I asked her to deliver the cupcakes to a friend who lives closer to the bar where we were celebrating.

I have to admit that I was skeptical when I walked into the restaurant because all the patrons were white (I understand that anyone can enjoy sushi, but I was just surprised by the homogeneity since we *are* in San Francisco).  Anyway, my friend and I shared a bunch of rolls - Valencia, Hamachi, Rock N Roll, Elizabeth.  They were all good, but we especially enjoyed the Valencia and Elizabeth.  I'm not going to try to convince myself that Hamano is authentically Japanese, but the fish seems fresh and the price is right, so I'll definitely be back.

Based on all the four and five star reviews here, it looks like my experience was an anomaly, and I was just unlucky.  Anyway, I was tempted by the colorful display of flowers while waiting for the 22 and decided to buy a couple of bunches of tulips to liven up my apartment.  The tulips cost $20, roughly $1 per stem which I guess is pretty reasonable.  However, once I got home and unwrapped the tulips, I noticed that many of the stems were rotten (I had to trim off about 6 inches).  As I was placing the tulips into a vase, some of the petals started falling off.  I would be surprised if these flowers last more than a couple of days.  

Also, the woman at the stand tried to sell three pink peonies, two of whose stems were broken, to a customer for $15.  Fortunately, the customer knew that she was being ripped off and was able to bargain down to $5.

I will continue to enjoy the colorful sidewalk display of flowers when I go to the Marina to pick up my wines each month, but I think I'll stick to the farmer's market, Whole Foods, and Church Street Flowers for purchases.

Busy cafe in Harvard Square that serves excrllent espresso drinks.  I enjoyed my soy cappuccino and banana-walnut-date bread.  I felt a little hurried because there were many other patrons waiting for seats.

Bright, spacious ice cream parlor with quality ice cream and interesting flavors.  I  sampled the Earl Grey and Bourbon, both of which excellent.  My friend wanted to share the burnt caramel ice cream, but when we ordered it, the woman behind the counter warned us that the caramel was more burnt than usual - we tasted it and decided to pass.  We ended up sharing a medium Hydrox cookie (aka cookies n cream) and coconut.  Portions were large and the ice cream was delicious.  Toscanini also serves coffee and food (light meals) and has free wifi and lots of electrical outlets.

I had dinner with three friends at Jackson Fillmore Trattoria last night.  One of my friends claims it's the best Italian food she's had in California; I, on the other hand, thought that my linguine with shrimp and prawns was good but not exceptional (comparable to Pazzia and Aperto but not as good as Delfina or my East Bay favorites).  There was only one vegetarian pasta on the menu, but when asked, the waiter said that a few of the others could be made vegetarian.  The dessert special was phenomenal, though - a creation akin to a large truffle filled with chocolate ganache and sour cherries, served with dulce de leche.

*All* of the bartenders at Thieves are friendly and helpful and offer tastes when we ask for scotch recommendations (of course, we tip them for the tastes and then order a scotch).  Plus, the last time we were there, the tamale lady popped in.