Joel "...and that's how Joel "C's" it!" C.'s Profile

I typically don't eat bread but if I do, I head to Noe Valley Bakery.  Is it by far my favorite bakery in San Francisco!

Recommend:
Cupcakes - Most-ess and Chocolate Caramel fluer de sel
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pumpkin Bread
Sweet Baguette

I'm sure the other baked goods are great, but I have a hard time pulling away from my favorites.  Definitely head there in the mornings to get the best items...they sell out pretty quickly.

Buddy is the reason why I've fallen in love with yoga.  He is AMAZING!  Take one of his classes and you'll understand that yoga can be both fun and an internal experience.  Any of my friends new to yoga, I always introduce them to Buddy's class and they leave feeling like they can be a yogi for life.  That's what you do Buddy...you inspire people to be better!  Check him out at a few studios around the city...notably YogaTree Castro and Equinox.

My co-workers and I came here during Dine About Town and overall had an amazing experience.  From the minute we were seated to our last bite of the delicious warm chocolate chip cookie, we were all pretty pleased with Maverick.

It's a pretty small restaurant so I highly recommend reservations.  The only downside of it, is that you have to put a credit card number in order to reserve.  When we arrived, we were quickly seated and our waitress gave us some pretty good wine recommendations as well as non-alcoholic beverages like the blood orange lemonade.

We started with the foie gras...which was just ok and sub par.  Thankfully dinner and dessert fared much much better. Both Seth and Monette got the Dine About Town meal which consisted of a salad, fried chicken and chocolate chip cookies with a glass of milk.  The fried chicken looked and tasted pretty amazing.  According to Seth, it's a definitely must have if you come to Maverick.  Both Adele and I ordered the scallops and I got a side of the Brussels sprouts.  All of it was delicious and hands down the Brussels sprouts were pretty amazing with the addition of roasted garlic, tiny pieces of squash and pomegranate seeds.

The chocolate chip cookies...I can't even talk about it without salivating.  Just get them and order them slightly undercooked.  They come out super warm and gooey...just like how mom made them.

Definitely recommend this place for a group dinner or even a nice date.

Let's face it, I'm a Southern Boy living in the West Coast.  When I first moved here, one of my priorities was to find a church that I can connect with.  The one church that felt most like home to me was Cornerstone Church.  I mean it's no Buckhead Church in Atlanta but it's nice that its a smaller more community focused church.  I always enjoy the music and the band and performers do a really good job showcasing their talent.  I also enjoy that the church really reaches out to its members and highlights them in short film segments...it was pretty meaningful and very cool to actually see these people sitting right next to you.  If you're new to the city or looking for an excellent non-denominational church, check out Cornerstone.  

Oh and how can you pass on $2.00 Philz coffee?

We came here last night to celebrate Brian's birthday.  For some reason, anyone and everyone we talked to had no idea where this restaurant was or if it was good or not.  I'm definitely glad we took a chance because we had a phenomenal time!

5A5 prides itself as a steak lounge, but quite surprising, I would also call it a bacon lounge because anything and everything had bacon in it.  There is even an alcoholic drink with bacon in it as well!  All I can say is that I just died and went to food heaven.

Since there were three of us, we decided to each order our own steak but share appetizers and sides.  With our waiter recommendation we started with the truffle fries, edamame and bacon wrapped scallops.  The truffle fries were legit.  Not too think yet not too thin.  The truffle oil and the side sauce that accompanied the fries were amazing.  The edamame was ok...it was typical of what you would get anywhere else.  The scallops...let me just go into a bit more detail about these scallops.  Not only were the wrapped in bacon, but topped with sweet potato AND another piece of bacon!  Plus the scallaps were cooked with cocoa and it had a nice sweetness to it.  The creme and aoili that surrounded the dish rounded out the flavors exceptionally well.

For our steaks we all ended up with the filet...which was topped with roasted garlic, maple bacon and tomato jam.  I mean, what could go wrong with any of those flavors?  It was probably one of the best steaks I've had in a long time.  Cooked to perfection, we could have ordered a 10 oz and skip the sides.  For sides, we got the three cheese mac and cheese and the spinach.  I favored the mac and cheese because it too was dressed in truffle oil.  

Since it was a birthday dinner, we could not help but grab a few desserts.  We got the 7 degrees of chocolate as well as the hot chocolate and fresh baked cookies.  I take it that the cookies were good...actually I didn't really know since Jeanne had inhaled her cookie and could possibly have eaten ours in the process.  I like the hot chocolate but it did pack some spice and heat to it.  The 7 degrees of chocolate was a beautiful presentation with 7 different types of chocolate.  Our favorite was the chocolate dome and the cake that surrounded the dome.  None of us were excited about the mousse but I think its because they were flavored with green tea and lavender which were flavors that we don't particularly enjoy...even though its chocolate.

Overall we had a great experience and major shout out to our waiter, Daniel, for an awesome time.  Highly recommend him and he was excellent in giving us food and wine recommendations.  Actually everything he recommended was spot on, so yes...definitely request him.  

Perfect place for birthday dinners, business dinner or a good date.  Can't go wrong and looking forward to coming back here again.

I don't wear anything but lululemon when I work out these days!  The best quality and best fit athletic gear out there!  What I love about lululemon is that they change out their styles and colors pretty quickly.  Plus the customer service is amazing!  Free hemming with all pants and tops with a three day turn around...can't beat that.  This location is one of the biggest lululemon stores that I have ever been in and I am glad that they have a huge men's section.  Definitely a must go if you are shopping in Union Square!

So I thought about taking my family to a seafood restaurant at Fisherman's Wharf and have them try some SF favorites like clam chowder and dungeness crab.  I should have relied on my instincts and try the street food since 1.  it looked delicious and 2. it was heck of a lot cheaper than the food at Alioto's.  

First, I thought the restaurant was a bit too stuffy for what it is.  The booths and tables were really small and I could not understand why the place was packed.  The bathrooms were also at an odd location, being placed on the 2nd floor of the restaurant.  Thank goodness the the main restaurant floor smelled decent unlike floor 1 and 2 which smelled like fish.  

We got out table quickly, thanks to reservations (which I highly recommend if you want to eat here).  We ordered two calamari appetizers to start off with and my mom could not help but say how much she thought Catch in Castro was already so much better than this.  I could not help but agree.  For entrees, my sister and I bought got clam chowder in bread bowls and decided to split the dungeness crab sandwich.  My brother got the same sandwich while my mom got the Shrimp Roll and dad got the bisque.  It took awhile for everything to arrive to the table and once it did, we were pretty underwhelmed.  Portions were small and the sandwiches looked like it was cole slaw between the buns.  The chowder was very bland and I had to add a lot of salt and pepper in it to get it somewhat edible.  

I don't recommend eating at Alioto's....maybe if you get one of the full course main dishes it would be better, but for lunch at over $100 for 5 people...it's pretty ridiculous.

Made reservations here for Christmas Eve dinner with my family and Bryan and had an amazing time.  The restaurant was pretty packed and we were able to get a table pretty quickly with the reservations...which is always a bonus in my book.  The food was delicious...everyone really enjoyed what they ordered.  For appetizers we got the grilled artichokes, fries with truffle oil and the fried jalea mix which had tiger prawns, calamari and rock cod.  I seriously could have gotten 2-3 more of these plates and just have this for dinner and be completely satisfied.  For entrees, Bryan and my sister got the special fish of the day with risotto.  My mom got the grilled prawns with risotto, brother got the talapia, dad got the mix grill of fish and I got the seafood stew.  All of it...was delicious!  We ended with two desserts, the creme brulee and the cobbler, with the cobbler being the better choice.  I definitely recommend this place for a great date or a family meal.  Have to try the lobster with fettuccine the next time I go!

There are days that I want a salad...then there are days that I want a salad in a huge Chinese food to-go container.  When I mean huge, I mean its a large enough salad to feed a litter of rabbits or a growing guy like me.  You really can't go wrong with anything on the menu.  Everything is fresh and their dressings are excellent.  My go to salad is the Cobber salad...chicken, avocado, eggs, lettuce, tomatoes, bacon and ranch dressing.  My co-workers are in love with the selection of grilled cheese sandwiches they have available and I've been eying the chocolate chip cookies and rice krispy treat squares, but haven't stepped up to the plate to try them out...although they do look delicious.  The dining room is fairly small but it's a great spot for lunch and take out!  Definitely a must if you are looking for something pretty healthy to eat in the Marina.

Pica Pica is one of my favorite quick places to eat in San Francisco.  Plus its nice that their menu is Gluten Free which definitely allows me to eat with one of my best friends, Lauren S.  The food here is pretty delicious...everything is cooked to order and the flavors are rich and savory.  My favorite thing to order is the Arrepa with the shredded beef and cheddar cheese.  Of course you have to add the plantains and avocado to complete the sandwich!  I also order a salad to complete the meal...the passion fruit dressing rocks!  All of this food for less than $15.00 is quite a bargain in this city!  Other worthwhile mentions are the empanadas (you get three), the plantains and the yucca fries (the dipping sauces are pretty amazing as well).  Definitely grab a bite to eat, especially if you don't see a line...this place gets pretty packed!