Grace W.'s Profile

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.

I've never lived at Archstone South Market, but I feel compelled to write a review because I had a very positive experience working with Sara Schwerin when I was thinking of making my home at Archstone.  I sent her about half a dozen email messages over the course of two weeks asking about everything from apartment appliances to a sign that I saw in the common area, and she responded quickly and helpfully each time (even on days when she wasn't in the office).  She also showed me the property, and the units that I saw were quite nice (I think they were remodeled in 2007 or 2008).

My biggest hesitations about Archstone were that the place felt a little too corporate for my taste (as do most of the other big complexes in SOMA), seemed slightly overpriced, and is not rent controlled (I haven't confirmed this, but the complex was built after 1979).  The price of the unit I was interested in did eventually drop to what I considered to be reasonable (as mentioned on their website, the rent can change on a daily basis, so monitor closely for a good deal!), but by that time, I had found another apartment in a neighborhood that I liked more.

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.

Xanath now has a larger variety of (interesting) flavors.  On my most recent visits, I had the wild huckleberry and saffron ginger ice cream, both of which were fantastic!

Even though I live close to Zuni, I've only had the occasion to dine there a couple of times.  Each time, the food and experience were fantastic.  My first visit was a few years ago.  My boyfriend at the time and I stopped in for a late dinner after a free recital at the SF Conservatory of Music.  I  had a filet of halibut or sea bass that was cooked perfectly.  My companion had the ricotta gnocchi, which he thought was too eggy, but he is especially sensitive to egg.  More recently, I went to Zuni with two friends to celebrate their engagement.  We tried to call and pre-order the roast chicken (for my friends), but the staff said that they could only take our order once we were seated.  No problem, we snacked on delicious shoestring fries and olives while waiting for our mains.  I had the spaghetti with sweet and spicy peppers which was very flavorful.  Late last night (about half an hour before closing), a friend and I dropped in for dessert and drinks.  There was only one chocolate dessert on menu - the gateau victoire (which I'd shared with my friends on my previous visit) - so we ordered that since my friend was in the mood for something chocolatey.  It was an interesting experience sipping on wine and rye while looking out onto Market  Street through Zuni's large glass windows - I felt very much like was in San Francisco (sometimes, that feeling evades me).  Our water glasses were constantly filled and service was attentive even though we had only ordered one dessert and two drinks.

White Elephant's pad see ew and pad kee mao are the best that I've had in the Bay Area.  Their seafood noodle soup is good, too, although I think I prefer Thai Nakorn's soup base.  I ordered the panang curry once and found it to be bland; coworkers were also disappointed with the panang curry (ordered on different occassians) but recommend the green curry.  There aren't many options on the menu (in fact, pad kee mao is not on the printed menu, but they will make it to order), but the noodle dishes alone are worth the visit.