E L.'s Profile

More overpriced BS food and service in Noe Valley... I ilve in the neighborhood and came in to try it out. Ordered the empanada and the Fresca Chicken Salad. Here is the description of the salad on their menu:

"Fresca Chicken Salad - mixed greens, rotisserie chicken, currants , avocado, candied walnuts, manchego, tomatoes, guava vinaigrette."

Needless to say when my food was delivered I didn't get what I ordered. The woman across from me at the next table ordered the same salad and hers looked right. I understand that people make mistakes, but this was ridiculous. Observe:

- Instead of "rotisserie" chicken they gave me a dry, overcooked chicken breast cut on the bias.
- Instead of candied walnuts they gave me plain walnuts straight out of the bag or box, and there were only about three walnuts on the whole salad that came on an entree sized serving dish.
- No avocado (which I can exxcuse, but with everything else wrong...?!)
- Guava vinaigrette sounds exotic but it was flavorless--this isn't in the same category of mistakes above, but it just underlines the fact that the salad sucked.

Moving onto my empanada:

- When I looked back at the menu now, I realize I had no olives with my order. Not inside or outside. So, there's another problem.
- The empanada was just okay. It didn't blow my mind or anything and the filling wasn't unique or very flavorful.
- For the best Peruvian empanadas on this side of town, go to Limon Rotisserie on South Van Ness.

This place is just dialing it in. They are aiming for people who can afford their prices but at the same time settle for mediocrity if it's in the neighborhood.

TWO STARS FOR SERVICE. THREE POINT FIVE STARS FOR FOOD.

First, the good: The  menu is simple with starters, small plates, entrees and sides. If you're smart, you can craft a delicious meal. For my meal, I had a small plate of the Spanish rice with chorizo and the roasted whole branzino--and I love branzino--with white beans and chard. These two items eaten together are the bomb. So good.

Meh: I was excited--despite a saturation of such--to see a charcuterie list. Not so excited when I ate it. We ordered 3 for $16: Spanish chorizo, pork rillette, duck. Duck was the best thing on the board thinly sliced and flavorful, rillete was good but I've had better in various places because theirs was just a little bland and not as luxurious on the palate as other that are more carefully prepared, the Spanish chorizo (dried chorizo style) was very... meh. Once cooked in my Spanish rice (if it is the same chorizo) the flavors bloomed, but as charcuterie, I would pass. The board also came with mustard and pickled cauliflower, pickles, fennel, etc. Best thing was the pickle, all of the other bites just okay. Charcuterie for me is supposed to be a palate raiser, to warm me up for my meal and maybe make me a little bit thirsty for more wine. Not so much here. Also, the toast points  tasted recycled!

We also had to try the bone marrow which seems to be on the menu for shock value and easy money. It's fine, but it's not anything that would bring me back.

Dessert: I usually avoid creme brulee but like the rest of their dessert menu (including homemade ice creams), the inventiveness of the honey-lavender creme brulee caught my eye. Why not? We didn't regret it. It was creamy and cold inside and crispy on the outside. I don't eat a lot of creme brulee but my companion said that the cream on the inside is supposed to be room temp and the brulee is supposed to be hot. Thoughts? I liked it, but it's not enough to bring me back to this place like some desserts have been known to do.

The bad and the ugly: Service is a little bit snarky and downright amateur. The restaurant is bare bones: Bare tables, noisy due to lack of acoustical control, tea lights on the tables and overhead lights, central stereo playing pop music... But, this doesn't mean that your front of the house staff has to throw out all decorum. Although this is part of an ongoing lament from a former San Francisco service professional about the decline in food service in the last decade in this city, Beast and Hare has serious service faults:

- When we came in the sun was shooting down on a few tables and felt very hot. We had walked to the restaurant and were already a bit warm, and we asked if we could avoid a table directly in the sun. The host eventually accommodated us, but not without 3 times telling us that within 10 minutes the sun would shift and go away. I understand that he might be rotating tables between service sections (to be fair to the servers), but for Chrissakes man that is NOT the patrons problem and resolving issues like that is restaurant management 101. If I don't want to sit in the sun and you have several open tables not in the sun, don't put me in the sun. It was pretty clear we didn't want to sit there, and he shouldn't have wasted his breath repeating more than once that we could sit there without a problem--like we were messing up his day.

- As it turns out, maybe it would have been better to sit in the other section because of our server. She was a caucasian woman with a dark brown bob haircut. She never introduced herself, never lit the candle at our table until we flagged her down and asked. She was unable to answer basic questions; she forget menus, drink orders. The worst, she made excuses right to our faces as if we'd never been to a decent restaurant before. (What is the Shaker Pie? was answered with a straight-faced, "I don't know. It's new." Don't you have pre-service meetings?). She was also frequently walking right past her tables without looking at them, i.e. meaning ignoring her section and not being attentive to the needs of her customers which last I checked is antithesis to the job of being a server. I HATE having to flag servers down, especially in a small restaurant. This girl obviously thinks waiting tables is only about taking orders, delivering food and getting tips and making money and not about creating a dining experience. Good lord!

I don't think I'll be going back. If you're wandering past this restaurant in the Mission it's also right next to two other restaurants. Beast and Hare looked most packed but I attribute that to it's pseudo-hipster vibe and young crowd. As the night wore on it got super noisy, the staff front and back was obviously in the weeds (behind with their work) and that better-than-thou host was walking around glad-handing and whispering to fellow pseudo-hips. It's that kind of place it seems. A place where the food and service come second and suffer because of it.

This could easily be described as a celebrity chef restaurant tourist trap if it wasn't so legit. One of the best restaurants, relatively affordable and accessible restaurants I've been to in wine country.

Even though Michael Chiarello's pretty face has been all over TV, the man was still a chef and the man can still can cook, put together a menu and open a restaurant. I took my hubs and the mother-in-law here, and despite all our high standards we were in a state of bliss afterward, chuckling our way right across the street into the arms of Bouchon pastries and Blue Bottle coffees. Here's what we had for lunch, which is a very pleasant, mellow option if you want to avoid the dinner scene (or simply can't get a dinner rez):

- Fried Calamari with Aioli Nero: The calamari was perfect, not too greasy, but the AIOLI NERO was standout. It's your basic aioli blown out of the water made with squid ink and Calabrian chili oil. Chiarello is from Calabria and the influence shows.

- Hamachi Crudo on Pink Sea Salt Tablet: Oh, my stars it was beautifully sliced hamachi tuna lying seductively on a pale pink sea salt tablet. It was tender. It was umami. It was meant to be.

- Pasta Fritta (Savory Pasta Flour Beignets) with sliced Prosciutto & Lambrusco (a sweet Italian wine) Foam: When the plate comes to your table all of a sudden you're in a Dr. Seuss book. Speckled, oddly-shaped puffs rolled in parmesan and spices sit comically alongside seriously thin strips of prosciutto drizzled with oil and topped with crosne roots (all the way from France!) that look just like catapillar larvae! And, if that wasn't enough, you also get a bowl of airy, bright purple foam for dipping. Wrap the pasta fritta beignet in prosciutto (don't forget the crosne!) then dip into purple lambrusco foam and eat. Repeat. Delicioso. Really!

And, that was just the appetizers! I have to say, the service was also excellent that day. Our server was a petite Asian American woman with dark hair. She was friendly and jokey but professional. She was able to answer all of our questions...

Onto the entrees. They were ridiculously tasty, but a touch more traditional:

My mother-in-law and I coudn't resist the pastas, especially since it was lunch, and they had at least half-dozen to choose from:

- I had the black pepper spaghetti grande (it's thicker than normal spaghetti, like a solid perciatelli) with hen of the woods mushrooms, fava beans, head on prawns and a touch of  citrus and it knocked me out. The prawns were perfect, the pasta fresh-tasting and al dente with the sauce clinging to every strand. The flavor was slightly Asian with just the right amount of citrus to elevate the prawns and veggies. I love seafood pasta dishes and this hits the top of my list.

- My mother in law had the rabbit sugo bucatini and the pasta was also delicate with a gamey yet light sauce, tender rabbit pieces and just enough tang and heartiness to make an Italian farmer weep with satisfaction.

- I can't really remember what the hubs had as it was gone so quickly. It was either short ribs or the duck and he had absolutely no complaints.

Overall, our lunch was a beautiful experience. There was a kind of industrious calm at our table, if you know what I mean. like when you're all caught up in the moment, but you're working hard to remember every bite.

My one tiny, tiny let-down was the dessert menu. Bear in mind the menu will rotate with the seasons and what's available, but nothing stood out to me. What I really craved was the Jean-Georges Vongerichten inspired molten chocolate individual cake--and that is available, but it's an OFF THE MENU item. So, if you're not in the know... I am the kind of person to ask--since I had seen a photo of it on the website--but by the time I inquired about the cake, I had already passed on dessert in my mind. Instead, we headed next door to Napa Style... this Chiarello-owned shop is a great place for high-end California Wine Country souvenirs (and Italian stuff!). I had to get a jar of Silafunghi hot chili sauce ($15) imported to their store from Calabria so I can try to make my own Aioli Nero.

P.S. One last thing about lunchtime dessert options: Bottega is on the most famous street in Yountville--Washington Street, home of Thomas Keller's French Laundry restaurant, Bouchon and Bouchon Patisserie. After lunch at Bottega walk across the street and get some giant french macaroons (or a high-end Ho-ho) at Bouchon. Yum-Yum!!

Pretty much the same feeling as the last time I reviewed. I went for the zucchini pancake today because I wanted something healthy and fresh. They offer it with bacon or smoked salmon, poached eggs and hollandaise. I opted for the smoked salmon--healthy, right? Anyway, as with my short rib six years ago, the dish overall was a little salty. Smoked salmon usually has a salty smoked flavor, but I think the zucchini cake was salted, too. In general, not bad. I was expecting two little fist sized cakes like you might get in a finer dining place, but this was a pancake as big as salad plate! My chai mocha was good, if not a tad too sweet. It's like the chef smokes and drinks too much coffee or something. But, I can tell he/she has good intentions.

This resto has been around for 6+ years--they must be doing something right! Big portions, reasonable prices, semi-adventurous variety on the menu for the semi-conservative food district wherein they're located... this all spells long-term success for some restaurants. Even though SF is known as a foodie city, that doesn't mean mediocrity doesn't thrive here, too.

What I am going to do as soon as possible is go back for the DUCK SPRING ROLLS. They're still on the menu--I checked, I asked--and I dream about them. Hope they're still yummy.

TWO and a HALF Stars. Cold marinara on lettuce--Would you eat it? This review is mostly for their sandwiches, although the market in general would also get 2.5 stars.

The atmosphere is nice and upscale, erratic, tight aisles, yummy samples. Lacks variety. Definitely not a place for bargains, but has organics and boutique items. Pleasant staff.

When I first came in the meat/fish guy behind the counter boasted that they have better sandwiches than BiRite Market--Um, Nooooo. That's not true: I had two sandwiches today and aside from the yummy fresh baguette and focaccia, the ingredients and the execution of the sandwich was very lackluster. Does not make me want to pay $7 and $10 for sandwiches there again.

A great sandwich you can taste all of the ingredients in harmony and the star of the show is the filling/protein whether it be meat, fish, cheese or veggies. The two I had today were not great. My criticisms:

- Crab Cakes Sandwich: Mostly disappointing. Crab Cakes aren't very crabby and tasted like filler. Too many red onion and on top of that the red onions were cooked well or right. They slices were too big and there were tough leathery and flavorless pieces of onion. The onion was everywhere--they was the second biggest component after the crab cakes. The spread was good but not much of it. They served the sandwich on sourdough baguette which is a little bit of an odd choice because the crabcakes are soft and end up shooting out of the sandwich when you bite into the chewy baguette. DISAPPOINTING.

- Veg and Havarti: I was excited to try this because it has sundried tomato spread on it. I used to adore the sundried tomato pesto on the brie sando at Big Sherm's in the Lower Haight back in the day. However, this sundried tomato spread was blah. First of all it was ice cold on my sandwich. And, instead of having an olive oil base in the spread it was somewhat watery which made it taste like marinara. No bueno. So, imagine cold, marinara on lettuce and cucumbers and fresh mealy tomatoes--that was in the sandwich! That sounds unappetizing, doesn't it? The thinnest slice of havarti on the planet is in there, too. That cheese looked like paper. Aside from the wonderfully fresh focaccia bread this sandwich was a FAILURE.

Maybe, I'll try another sandwich, hopefully, something other reviewers are raving about, but I'm not rushing back here for a sandwich. It's a cute market, the people seem friendly enough and there are definitely a lot of tempting looking items like specialty desserts and prepacked cheese spreads and dips. If you like upscale chocolate like Rechiutti they have it.

By the way, Canyon Market is NOT BiRite Market. BiRite Market is amazing and has much better sandwiches. Sorry, Canyon, it's the truth.

I still love this place. And, it still deserves a solid four stars for food and service.

I hadn't been in at least two months maybe more and I was craving pancakes, and I wanted fluffy, buttery goodness not some pedestrian stuff. MBC delivered. The pancakes are delicate, buttery, fluffy, flavorful--you hardly need syrup but that bourbon sauce really hits the spot--and the spiced apple compote! The plate has beautiful presentation, too, with a sliced fruit medley, sprinkle of granola and smear of vanilla creme. I had to do everything in my power to keep from ordering huevos rancheros with eggs braised in salsa rojo, heirloom beans, pulled pork and topped with, get this, MICRO CILANTRO--in addition to my pancakes and candied bacon. This is how great the food is. I am willing to order more than one entree for myself.

So, I ordered pancakes and my candied bacon, and then, like I always do, I moseyed over to the pastry case to see what their genius chef had going, and oh my stars CHOCOLATE PECAN PIE. I never thought there would be anything that could pull my attention away from my all time crush their BROOKLYN BLACKOUT CAKE, but the chocolate pecan pie was calling my name and baby, it is impressive. I won't compare the BBC to the CPP, but I will say definitely try both. Instead of just doing the obvious and pouring chocolate ganache over a finished pecan pie, chunks of dark chocolate are mixed into the filling and even when baked, retain a nice chunky texture for a chocolate surprise as you bite into it. But, it was the standout texture of the pecans that made the dessert sing: I've had so many pecan pies that leave the exterior pecans whole and it's just too much for me, too unrefined, too undeveloped. At MBC they use chopped pecans, inside and outside, and that makes all the difference in creating a crisp, caramelized nutty flavor without it taxing your teeth of your palette.

And, the service, as always, was friendly and bright, welcoming and refreshing. Love.

Mission Beach Cafe is my highly recommended, go-to, love it love it love it, go there now place for brunch in SF. Pomegranate Orange Mimosa!

THIS REVIEW IS FOR OB GYN Associates of San Francisco and on a side note about Dr. Farner:

I've been going to OB GYN Assoc of San Francisco for almost two years, and I am less than impressed. Since I'm trying to conceive, I have been going for more than just check-ups, i.e. bloodwork, referrals and consultations. Mostly, their doctors are on the basic level of accommodating. But, generally, the office and admin staff is a mess.

First, the website indicates no email address or way to contact them over the internet, so therefore you are at the mercy of their phone lines and answering service. This would be okay if the system was efficient and user friendly, but it's not. Everyone who answers the phone has an attitude as if they could be doing something better with their time, and sound like they hate their jobs.

One time I called on a weekday afternoon in early December and there was a recorded message that said they were closed for the holiday. I was baffled as to what holiday it was and there wasn't even a message stating when they would reopen! After finally getting through to someone much much later, they told me that they had turned that message on because they were closed for their holiday party!?

In the times that I've requested records to be sent to me or sent to other doctors, they've dragged their feet so that weeks and months have passed until they're received. (I've never received the copy of my records that I have repeatedly requested.) Part of this problem is that, once again, this office does not have a dedicated email system set up so that I might email my requests to the office and they can email me back; the one time I got an email it was a staff persons personal email! Is that very professional for a doctor's office? The answer is no.

As for my single encounter over the phone with Dr. Farner she was dismissive and sounded "put out" at best (as another reviewer said) with my questions about taking prescription medication. She told me that sometimes we have to "play these things by ear!!!" WTF? You are the doctor! I am the patient! You are the medical professional that I'm paying!

Overall, you get a generic to "I-don't-care" attitude from several doctors here. Another doctor actually contradicted what they wrote in the notes for my prescription, then repeatedly assured me a test came out normal and "off the charts" and I discovered months later that she never had the test in hand.

This much disorganization, confusion and ambivalence is not acceptable when it's people's health. I would not recommend this practice.

Yuppie watering hole with very mediocre food. Nothing special here.
I regularly travel to New Orleans and love Southern regional cuisine, so I was looking forward to a dinner date with my Big Man. Boxing Room was more than a little disappointing, sadly, from the moment we walked in:

- We walk in and it's bustling in there. The male host is talking to another staff member, doesn't look our way, walks away from the host stand for a few minutes and does nothing, circles round and comes back to seat us. Not very welcoming. He seemed more involved in wearing his suit jacket and trendy nerd glasses than helping guests as he was kindof darting around all night not smiling and looking baffled.

- We get seated and look at the menus. Lots of comfort foods, plus a raw bar, big beer list, nice wines. Although there's a separate drink list they don't list any non-alcoholic beverages and you have to ask your server. Obviously they're catering to a certain kind of clientele that likes to drink. Nothing wrong with that, but really if you have home made lemonade and sweet tea wouldn't you want to list it on a menu?

- The FOOD: Let me qualify by saying I spent two weeks eating in the South two summers ago, and I am a regular to New Orleans. One of my favorite restaurants in the South is Donald Link's Cochon. I also have really been getting into the Front Porch lately now that their staff is more organized and the plates are a bit better. SO, the food. It was very hit and miss:

- Kind of a Hit: Charbroiled Oysters. Tasty but a little too rich with a pool of butter sitting in the largest shell. Also, the size of the oysters was incredibly inconsistent from mama huge to practically thumbnail tiny. Flavors were there. Presentation? Meh.

- Crispy Boudin Balls: If you've never had traditional boudin balls you might think these were good, but actually for something that's supposed to be stuffed with white sausage and herbs it had a remarkably bland flavor. The remoulade dipping sauce was just okay. This gets a 4/10. I've had much better. The server insisted that the balls were not traditional boudin balls (what was untraditional about them?). But, the truth is every component in that dish was underseasoned--from filling to breading. And, it severely lacked sausage flavor.

- Special Rabbit Riette: The best appetizer so far. But, it was a special. Tender rabbit layered with fat in a cold spread served with toast points. The toast points were a joke--some were crispy, some soft. Presentation lacked any imagination. The vessel for the riette was an onion soup bowl. But, it tasted good.

- Mixed Green Salad with Apples, Spiced Pecans and Creole Cream Cheese:
SERIOUS MISS. Awful awful awful. I love spiced pecans and apple in salad, but this was barely edible. Also, for San Francisco is was gigantic for a starter salad practically the size of a dinner salad! Despite the large amount of mixed greens it only came with four small chunks of spiced apple. I asked the server about it and she immediately said she could bring me more. Also, and this is SO WEIRD--that salad was BURSTING WITH FRISEE!! I have never seen so much frisee in a restaurant salad in my life! Once I pushed it all aside, it took up nearly half the plate. I suffered through uncomplimentary components in this salad---the apples and pecans were all right, although the spiced pecans could have been better, spicier, crustier--because I like greens with my meal. But, it's safe to say, DON'T ORDER THIS!

- Fried Chicken: For $20+ they only give you two small pieces that my husband was finished with in 4-5 bites. That was it. Also, I tasted a small piece and the batter was TOO HERBACIOUS--I like thyme, which is what I suspect was the offending herb, but the flavor wasn't balanced and overpowered any flavor in the meager meat portion. The sweet potato puree was nice, but definitely not enough of it. Not enough chicken and not enough food in general on this plate + plus lack of balance and really horrific presentation (the chicken was dark, the portions of the elements had no aesthetic appeal) - A BIG MISS. At this point my husband said that "John Besh would have left at the boudin balls." In a town that lives for their fried chicken this won't be making any favorite lists. A BIG BIG MISS.

- Golden Trout: The one shining star on the menu. It's a whole trout split in half, deboned and served with brussel sprouts and bacon. Fish was tender and basically left alone to shine. The presentation suffered, however, as that lobbed giant half-orbs of brussel sprouts over the fish! This dish and the riette earn the 2 stars.

- Are you kidding me? We couldn't not have dessert after that for fear of them f*cking up some of our favorites like beignets and pecan pie and cobbler. Playing it safe at this point.

I would recommend the Front Porch in Noe Va/Bernal Heights area, Hard Knox on 3rd St or Angeline's Kitchen in Berkeley over the Boxing Room.

I'm not going to be too critical of my neighborhood taqueria (yes, I'm one of those annoying noe valley persons, but I still have a good palate!), so I'm going to play up my praise of the tortilla soup. In college, I worked at a place outside of Chicago where the cooks made crazy good tortilla soup. And, there used to be another place, one of the Mi Lindo... restaurants on 24th that is no longer that also had a brilliant tortilla soup--

So, finally, I've found my local tortilla soup replacement. The tortilla soup here is rich, meaty with chicken and has a lot of fun surprises like queso fresco, avo chunks, roasted corn, pico de gallo and fresh herbs. However, the main ingredient, tortillas, is the star! Chihuahua's tortilla chips are excellent: light, with a little salt and thin (delgado) with nice crunch. They're better than Papalotes tortilla chips! Sorry Papalote, but for a while now your chips taste stale all the time!

Anyway, tortilla chips are what make tortilla soup. Some recipes for the soup require that you grind corn tortillas into the soup to thicken it but I don't think they do that at Chihuahua. Instead they add corn and give you lots of chips that will sink and soften as you eat. There's also a nice hit of spice somewhere in there. So, five full OLE's for their soup.

I'm also crazy about the Mexican Chocolate Humphrey Slocombe ice cream they carry. It's really spicy! But, in a good, complimenting way.

Sometimes there's too much cheese, often there's way too many onion slices in things (can they just cut back, a little?), but otherwise, everything always tastes fresh and the agua frescas are super tasty.

I also like a taqueria with mommy cocktails and beer on tap. Nice job, Chihuahua. Just one of the many fans in the neighborhood. Shout out to all the talkative and endearing counter peeps! :)

I owe it to my Creole food seeking peeps to write this review. I'm not going to dump on Criolla Kitchen which, in some instances, might be easy to do. And, I want to be honest, I've only been here once--forced myself to go actually after looking at some questionably and authentic looking reviews--and I'm not sure if I'm compelled to go back.

Misnomers aside (criolla cuisine does mean 'creole' literally, but it points to a Spanish based and Puerto Rican cuisine not really Cajun Creole, so...), Criolla kitchen has some friendly waiters and a funky space with lots of light. They are in a fantastic location on Market in the Castro, you cannot beat this location for foot traffic.

Anyway, I'm avoiding talking about the food which at best is "safe" creole and southern cuisine. I tried all of the standards that might make me want to go back: crispy original waffle, shrimp po' boy and gumbo, their "famous" yam tater tots and the iced chicory coffee with simple syrup. Needless to say, I was not blown away by any of it. Don't get me wrong, I'm VERY sad about this as I've been known to go out of my way for waffles, gumbo and po' boys. I've also been to New Orleans several times eating all over the city not just in the Quarter and spent two weeks last summer eating throughout the Southern U.S.

Criolla Kitchen is serving very SAFE versions of all of your Southern favorites. It's more quantity over quality here. So...here's what I thought:

Crispy Original Waffle: Very odd tangy taste. I asked if it was supposed to be buttermilk and waiter confirmed, But, the taste was off-putting and the waffle while nice and crispy got dry and cold almost immediately. It could barely melt the cane butter. The syrup is something particularly awful. TWICE the server introduced it as "maple syrup" but when pressed he said it was a "blend of maple syrup and corn syrup" (he no longer added the descriptor "Vermont"). It was awful! I use maple syrup at home and have had Grade A, B, Vermont, Canadian, et al. I don't know if they have real maple syrup in the house and if they don't they need to hook it up.

Po' Boy and Gumbo combo: This was the best part of my experience. Po' Boy quality and style varies in the South and in life as I've found out over the years and there's much bickering about bread, batter, remoulade, lettuce or no lettuce, etc. Their Shrimp po' boy was very standard lightly battered shrimp with a clean, plump taste, remoulade on a softish hoagie roll. No surprises, and dare I say good. But, just good. This is NOT Domilises! The gumbo was passable also with a nice dark roux and good flavor. Although, the shrimp was really at the point of disintegrating in my bowl which made me think that it had once been frozen :( I would order this again or try the other po'boys (they also have oyster)... if someone else was paying! Can't knock them for this, they did good.

Yam Yam Tater Tots: I'd say that if I didn't shop at Rainbow and I wasn't already familiar with the Alexia brand of frozen potato products I would probably be as enamored as every else with these silly tots. But, the fact is, the pictures make the tots looks bigger than they really are and what they are very similar in appearance (I can't say they're one and the same) to the Alexia sweet potato nuggets that I don't really like that much. They are a lot like the original waffle with that off-putting tangy taste. The waiter made a big deal about the sauce that came with and the sauces on the table when he delivered the tots, so I'll make a point to discuss. One word: SAFE. Again, very very safe. I love Cilantro and their cilantro cream sauce had a too mild flavor; it didn't even have the garlicky kick of aioli so it ended up being more like a greenish sour cream. The beige speckled mojo (the server's favorite) was surprising, again tangy, but the little flavor spike seemed more appropriate and definitely welcome at this point. The habanero and jalapeno red hot sauce was okay, again, very SAFE, with very dubious heat especially when habaneros are involved? It's like the maple in the syrup ran away with habanero in the hot sauce and they're hanging out somewhere else together--like Hard Knox or Brenda's or Angeline's Kitchen in Berkeley--all three places where I'd rather go for my soul, creole or otherwise.

Chicory iced coffee: Tastes just like regular iced coffee. There was initially too much sugar in my to go cup and I had them add more coffee--I should have asked for more milk, but I think they're using 2% instead of something more rich like whole milk (or even soy has a better viscosity for chicory coffee) as it would taste more like it should!

Bottom line: Not in any rush to get back, but the breakfast/brunch menu looks sorta appealing, so maybe if I'm in the Castro...

Thanks for the memories Criolla Kitchen! Your'e not N'awlins or Mississippi. But, I bet you can be if you tried harder! Right now, you're just too safe for this Spicybrowngirl!