Kimberly K.'s Profile

i've tasted this season's new flavors.

dearest amanda, you are a goddess.

I can't send enough accolades for Visible Voice. This bookshop is probably my favorite in the entire country. (Yes, my affinity goes beyond my love of City Lights in sf and Elliot Bay in Seattle).

Visible Voice isn't about quantity, it's about quality. It's about independent book stores with friendly, knowledgable staff. It's about forward-thinking authors and space to sit and take in a chapter. I think it's about a slice of Clevo in Tremont, too.

Every time I'm home, I find my way to Visible Voice. Each time I walk out with a new book I can't wait to dive into.

One of the many reasons I loved living in Tremont. One of the reasons (though they may may not be as plentiful as the reasons keeping me in SF) why I contemplate the journey back home for good.

i haven't written a review in awhile.  there are several reasons:  1)  when i write one, i want to write it for a reason.  stellar product, amazing service, or just the best (or worst) experience i can get.  2)  i finished grad school and the chaos of transitioning back into real life has been hellish 3)  my income as an intern is pathetic  so i've had to cut back on outings.

that being said, the wok shop is worth the review.  i've had my fair share of chinese food in my lifetime.  i feel like the options provided to me as a kid growing up in cleveland weren't vast in the least.  of course this is likely because of the limited asian community in suburban ohio, but still.  the offerings were...let's just say they weren't authentic.  no matter- because it was all i had access to, it was delicious.  that's what i considered chinese food to be.

fast forward to twenty years later.  restaurants specializing in cantonese, sichuanese, hunan, shanghainese, taiwanese, and hong kong traditions are everywhere.  how am i supposed to find the one restaurant that makes food that both challenges and satiates my previously poorly limited tastebuds, yet appeases the seven year old in me that just wants familiar tasting food?

seven year old me loved ordering:  pork fried rice and won ton soup.  that's it.  

mature me (not saying how old i've gotten) loves ordering:  spicy, veggies and meat, and every now and again a good ol' soup to warm my tummy.

the seven year old in me often wants won ton soup, but with all the different varieties in style of chinese food here, it's hard to find won ton soup that tastes delicious, flavorful, and familiar to me.  many restaurants include both shrimp and pork in their dumplings, different veggies, and sometimes even different meat in the soup outside of their dumplings.  this is not the won ton soup i'm familiar with.  with all those additions, the flavor of the soup (albeit good) is not what i want.  i want my definition of won ton soup.  

how hard could it be to find won ton soup = pork dumpling, delicious broth, a bit of onion, and a hint of salt?  apparently much harder than i thought.

when i had the wok shop's won ton soup, i was in heaven.  here's why:  they make it a ton of different ways and it's based on your choice.  do you want chicken in your soup too?  ok.  it's there.  pork only, and in the dumpling?  yup.  and when you order it just plain?  there's my soup.  i'm in heaven.

after i've tried their soup (and craved it after the first tasting), i've been back several times for different entrees.  every single one has been delicious.  not only that, but the service is always friendly.  you feel like their family is cooking for you while you visit their house.  such a great environment.

i totally recommend the wok shop.  especially on a chilly december night like tonight.

they're a win.

it is no coincidence that the tuesday noon city alarm went off as i poured the last of my four barrel coffee beans into the grinder.

no more four barrel coffee is definitely cause for alarm.

oh.my.god.

that s'mores desserty treat?

you know that moment meg ryan has in the diner in "when harry met sally"?

that's me.  right now.  at this moment. as i eat this s'mores creme brulee.

god bless you, off the grid.

and i'm not even religious.

it's important to have a go-to pizza joint in your 'hood.

i don't even mean to say "go-to pizza joint" knowing that pizza joint is the name of this pizza place.

but it's my pizza joint.

they're very nice.  it's free delivery.  their sandwiches are hefty delicious.  their pizza is doughy and flavorful.  it's like the old pizza joint i used to live next to back in tremont.  

there may not be a ton of good pizza joints in sf, but this one is my neighborhood doughy good pepperoni garlic heaven.  best ingredients for a good pizza: pepperoni, fresh garlic, fresh basil, red onion.  best.

my fortune cookie should have read "you will order delivery on a friday night, wait over an hour, and fill your belly with the wrong order.  you will also feel sad because they were so nice when you called in to check on the order after an hour had passed, but can't hide the feelings of disappointment as you open the to-go container to find steamed pork buns instead of bbq pork fried rice"

but i guess that would be too long for a fortune cookie.

now *this* is your higher-priced, somewhat exotic locale to partake in those deliciously made polynesian drinks.  you could venture to trader vic's for some big ol' rum filled fruitastic drinks.  or you could make a night of it and take in some of their delicious food, too.

...and you should.

it's been a few months since i was at trader vic's.  i sat on the review for awhile because i just didn't know how to add to what's already on yelp.  here's my take:

the staff are really accommodating, polite, and attentive (but not too much).  they're friendly, cool and ready to make your evening a great one.

the drinks are outta this world.  they're like their own meal.  so.good.

the atmosphere is awesome.  it's right on the water, you feel like you're on vacation even when you're not, and you can have tables in your own little corner of the place for your own privacy.

the food is stellar.  beef cho cho= deliciousness.  9 spice half chicken melted in my mouth (but not in my hand).

this is a special night out, and it's well worth it.  splurge on this place.  it's pretty rad.

great place to take a date.

i am a sucker.

i am a sucker for a "polynesian drink".

maybe there are other suckers that like those, too. but this is not your higher-priced, somewhat exotic locale to partake in those kind of beverages. this is a low-brow-hey-i-just-turned-21-let's-get-wasted-on- some-drink-with-rum-in-it-because-those-last-few-a maretto-sours-are-getting-to-me kinda joint.

this place is full of usf college-aged young folk.  these folks are suckers for mixing very sweet drinks and probably getting severe hangovers and yacking on geary a few hours later.  i felt like grandma.

but when grandma walked out, some dude (who confessed he was only 22) who looked like bruno mars stopped me and rambled for a bit before asking me for my number.  hey, thanks bruno.  grandma feels a bit like mrs.robinson, but she's flattered.

this place reminds me of the dive bars i went to back in ohio when i was in college except it's not full of white guys wearing ohio state jerseys holding a beer.  this place has "that guy" wearing trendier clothes, holding a mai tai, and winkin' at the honeys on the other side of the bar.

grandma didn't go out with bruno.  i'm sure he went through his phone a few weeks later and thought "who the hell is kim?"  well, drunk bruno, it was me.  and i'm old enough to be your mom in a sick, twisted universe.

thanks.

-3 stars for that kinda-dirty vibe it has going and reminding me of ickier lower self esteem days.  +1 star for the ego boost by getting hit on by some young guy who looked like bruno mars

p.s. it definitely wasn't bruno.  he wouldn't catch a grenade for me.

here's a review where my cleveland's gonna hang out.

"whoa.  that's indecent.  put that away!" i hear you say.

nope.  cleveland born and raised.  proud of it, baby.

i had a groupon for bowling, and my friends and i have been talking about going bowling forever.  the four of us wound up here on a weekend night a few weeks ago.  here's what i learned:

a)  midwesterners have mad skillz for bowling that just don't exist out here on the west coast.  
..that's because it's actually part of the culture in the midwest.  it's definitely not out here.  

b)  i suck at bowling in ohio, but here i'm actually pretty good.

c)  pretty sure The Dude was there

d)  sure, you can be prepared and come early.  but you're gonna wanna stay for the turn-down-the-lights and play loud music like a club bowling night.

and that, ladies and gentlemen, is a review from a gal lettin' her cleveland hang out.

YIKES!