E L.'s Profile

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 not 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!

Yes, they are pricey at 5.50 a piece, but the dough is what sets it apart. It's not fried and it's not flakey but it is dough with a bit more structure and tooth and not a lot of grease. The fat and richness comes from the special cheese combo in the cheesy ones and the savory beef and or veggie meat mix in the "meaty" ones. I still go out of my way to come here when I have a craving (and am feeling a little flush with cash). I recently discovered there's a new ham and cheese empanada which I wasn't expecting much from but it really hit the spot and I ate that all up. If you're in the hood, definitely try it! I agree with the other reviews at $5+ a pop, salsa, a small portion should come free with your order. C'mon...

two stars overall and a third star for the mac n cheese bar concept and use of fusilli pasta...

this place has issues. mostly with the service. our waiter, an intense looking bald dude with serious earrings, was somewhat friendly but had a troubling lack of menu knowledge and amateur service skills. the food is not garbage but after my first experience with so many restaurants in this fine city, why should i go back?

perhaps, for the two most interesting aspects about the place which are the burger bar and the mac and cheese bar. i was tickled to find that--for two dollars--i could add maine lobster to my three cheese mac and cheese. and, it was a fun experience to have that choice. also, the burger bar is akin to pearl's deluxe meat choice, i.e. beef, buffalo, turkey and veg, plus you have a world of ingredients to add inside and on top. i had been craving a pimento cheese burger, so i got that with roasted peppers, on the side. but the burger is where the trouble started...

our semi-friendly waiter didn't ask us what temperature we wanted out burger--well, you have a burger bar! c'mon! then, when he brought it to the table he casually announced that "they didn't put the roast peppers on the side" as we'd asked and put the plate down. so, whatever, we're fine with this. then, i ask him, "oh, what temperature is the burger?" and, he pauses. the gears are turning that he never asked us, so he says, "medium. isn't that what you said?" and, i say, "no, you never asked us." then, he says, "we cook all of our burgers medium. i mean, medium rare, i mean they cook it and by the time it gets to you table it's medium." greaaaat... anywho....

the food. mediocre to decent. the novelty of it all is that patrons have a choice. but, if the kitchen doesn't follow-through with something that is above the level of what the average person would cook at home, i don't think it's worth my time, really... there were some food highlights though... just don't order the roasted cauliflower.

for appetizers, the highlight was the shrimp/prawn corn dogs in a cornmeal batter, basically a corndog with shrimp. the waiter told me that there was a panko crust on the outside, but he was wrong. thank goodness i like traditional corndog batter. the batter was a little thick, but the sauces--an aioli and a cocktail sauce were tasty and the dish fun to eat.

our cauliflower gratinee was crap. a watery, vaguely flavored mess. the buffalo burger, despite not being asked our temp preference, was perfectly cooked to medium but the homemade pimento cheese was bleh. did not have a fresh and/or peppery flavor as pimento cheese should. i wouldn't get it here ever again unless the formula was reworked. also, compared to the mac n cheese bar, the burger bar doesn't have as vast a choice for toppings, but the pan de mie bun was a'ight... a decent touch. maybe, they should bump up the burger toppings and add in a few more bun choices?

i have to say the mac n cheese was the best thing that we ate. we chose "maine" lobster and crispy pancetta to mix-in. the lobster was mostly claw. i couldn't identify tail pieces, but what did i expect for $2? the cheese level was just right, on the decadent side, and i agree with a ton of other reviewers that using fusilli pasta is spot-on, since the corkscrew shape adheres the cheese well and can stand up to any ingredients you mix in. i'll also say, positively, that the list of mix-in ingredients on the mac and cheese bar is pretty decent including spanish chorizo, corn and different cheeses like goat cheese and bleu. it also has a decent price-point starting at $9 for naked mac n cheese and $1-2 for mix-ins.

after writing this review, i conclude that while there are some hit and miss items, my main complaint is the service and the atmosphere. the burger was good and the mac and cheese is definitely takeout worthy. HOWEVER, sitting inside this restaurant i could feel the BAD ENERGY all around the front and back of the house. they have an open kitchen and those people did not look happy. the multi-colored hair sous chef never ever cracked a smile and the exec chef (?) who appeared to be running food at time didn't either. he came off as an a-hole, actually.

as i mentioned, our waiter was preoccupied and a bit out of touch, but who wouldn't be when sh*t is probably going sideways before his eyes? yet, at the same time, he was lame enough that we skipped dessert because he never really "sold" us on staying... warm and happy this place is not. the decor is as cold as a chain restaurant in the marina on a rainy day.

the bottom line is... unhappy kitchen=unhappy floor staff=possibly unhappy food=probably unhappy customers. this is mediocre marina in the marina, folks. BUT, if you want to try the slightly above average and decadent burgers or mac n cheese bar at a decent price point, i highly recommend calling for takeout!

p.s. we ate here because sycamore's kitchen was closed :(

I'm not surprised at all the 5 star reviews. I've lived in SF for over a decade and this is the go to bakery in Chinatown... Nice savory handheld pies like bbq pork and curry beef wrapped in the classic chinese pastry dough with a good egg wash.

But, listen here, it's all about the ALMOND COOKIES. These are not your run of the mill almond cookies that are too crumbly with their yellow dough and a stale almond pressed into the center. GGB's almond cookies have more class: a nicely sized three bite cookie with just enough almond flavor, a good clean tasting dough that hold together well with a nice balance of crunch and slight chewiness, plus a sweet sprinkle of toasted almonds.

I bought a pack of them and my first bite reminded me of what almond cookies are supposed to taste like... Go down and get a bunch of stuff in the old school pink bakery boxes with red string!

You can't help tripping over this cupcake fad thing, and I've tried enough to say that Kara's is the best cupcake place in the city as far as I'm concerned. My favorite is the chocolate velvet with it's big fluffy ball of frosting covered in chocolate shavings. What I like about the chocolate velvet is that the cake is moist (like all of their cupcake flavors) and tastes like chocolate--and the frosting is like a mousse; delightfully light--really f-ing good.

There's also meyer lemon and passion fruit, banana, etc. Check out their menu. The chocolate fleur de sel, a standard flavor these days, is filled with a nice rich caramel and the dark chocolate ganache is tempered by rock salt. The ganache is rich and fudgy but has true dark chocolate integrity. I just tried the coconut chocolate today and the coconut cream cheese frosting garnished with shaved coconut was the perfect bite. They have minis, too, in most flavors. Perfect if you want to try something.

PLUS, and this is a big thing for me (a former service industry professional in SF) they have decent to great counter service, friendly and informative people at least when I went in on a Sunday. It's the least you can expect at $3+ for each regular sized cupcake. Yet, remember, quality isn't cheap; this is not a 4-pack of sugary blandness at Safeway.

As a food blogger, a food professional and a passionate home cook, I fully endorse Kara's. If you're headed to the Marina or need cupcakes on that side of town don't go anywhere else. They also have a store in Napa and Ghirardelli Square. Enjoy!

This hotel has all the basic amenities and does the job for a quick stay. The staff were actually very friendly and nice and down to earth. Reservations can be made online and it's all convenient. They also still use room keys which is a nice, classic touch.

It's a little outdated with the tube tv, simple decor and bedding but it's not what I'd call shabby. Just simple. For example, our king room was spacious and equipped with a tiny kitchenette (stove! microwave! fridge! sink!) but it didn't have a duvet on the bed, plush pillows or a comfy armchair. (There was a table with 3 sitting chairs, bench, closet, pullout ironing board in the room, iron, hairdryer. Make sure you request a room on "the quiet side" which means away from the pool area where people can hang out into the evening.

When my hubs and I stay up in Wine Country we're usually prepared to spend at least $200-250 per night. Our usual place wasn't available, so we had to check out something new. We weren't disappointed in the John Muir as a place to crash, get ready and spend just a little downtime.

A reasonable deal for Napa. I would recommend this place to a friend that just needs a simple room versus a romantic high end hideaway.

I'm not really a cupcake person but we're drawn to try at least something each time we're in Napa. Haven't been disappointed yet. Yes, each cupcake is $3+ but I'm not expecting a deal in Napa.

Chocolate Velvet is my favorite so far. Have also tried filled Passion Fruit, Fleur de Sel and my husband really liked the S'mores which won Cupcake Challenge on Food Network. They have lots of flavors and you'll be spoiled for choice.

Their store in the Oxbow Market in Napa is cute. Despite the reviews about dry cupcakes, mine were not dry. I think people confuse dry with crumbly? Mine were moist but not always cakey. So, the chocolate velvet had a loose, moist crumb while the passion fruit held together more like a slice of lightweight cake does.

I avoid cupcakes usually because, I'm not a fan of heavy, sugary frosting and even though the passion fruit had a generous swirl of frosting it was melt in your mouth buttercream and just their right sweetness rather than cloying and dense. The frosting on the fleur de sel is a thicker ganache but a rich chocolate comes through rather than just sugar. My favorite frosting was on the chocolate velvet--a light airy, not too sweet chocolate cream frosting covered in chocolate shavings. That was some of the best frosting I've ever had and it's magic the way it held together all the way home to san francisco!

I can't wait to go back to Kara's (or go to the one in the city) to try the Coconut cupcakes. All this love even though I'm not even a cupcake fan!

This is competing to be the worst Whole Foods in SF. Only go here if you have to. Unfortunately, this is my local WF and it's convenient. But, things have just not clicked yet in this store, and I don' t know if they're ever going to. In addition to the much much smaller selection compared to other WF's of everything from fresh produce and meats to packaged foods and bakery, they also have problems with the quality of the food. Three times I've had to return meat and fish that they sold to me pretty much rancid or 1/2 day from rancid. In general, all of the "fresh" products sold in the store don't seem as fresh as they do at the Portrero Hill or California St locations.

Customer service also is spotty. It's a busy store because of the location and the people who work their seem like they don't know how to handle it. Their fish and cheese people are just not knowledgeable enough in general, so it's hard to trust anything they say; they're often unfamiliar with their own product. There always seems like a whole bunch of workers running around the store yet they're still always frazzled when you stop them and ask them a question. The one exception is the guys who work in beer and wine section. Those guys seem to know what they're talking about and want to help you...

Also, why in the world are workers stocking in the already cramped produce area on a predictably busy Saturday afternoon? The WF has been there long enough that they know that the crazy Noe Valleyians will be out in droves on Saturday, and they choose the middle of a rush to stock produce?

At times, their store operations and the lax/indifferent/cliquish attitude of the workers make very little sense and is off-putting. I agree with a lot of the other reviews who are astounded by the lack of agreeable customer service. This is the only large format 'healthy' grocery store within walking distance in the neighborhood, so I guess they're guaranteed business, but even so, they really need to get it together.

P.S. Parking lot is tiny. If you need to go, don't drive!