Cafe Fanny

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This quaint brunch/lunch place is an Alice Waters institution.

Cafe Fanny is one of the few places in the Bay Area that serves legit beignets.  You have your choice of either freshly made jam or chocolate.  These light pillows of fried dough come with a light sprinkling of powered sugar.  Unfortunately, they don't come out warm.

Seasonal fresh fruit compote (today's was apple) over crunchy granola and Straus Organic yogurt.  When you pour the yogurt over the granola you get a bite of tart, sweet, fruity, and crunchy all in one.  This dish was made famous as Tyler Florence's favorite "in a bowl" dish in Food Network's Best Thing I Ever Ate.

A little misleading with the menu describing it as a cinnamon toast, but its actually more raisin than cinnamon.  The bread is so soft and fluffy with a lightly toasted crunch.  The four pieces seemed a bit too much for me.  I feel like this could be better as a french toast.

Address:                        Cafe Fanny
                                              1603 San Pablo Ave.
                                              Berkeley, CA

Type:                                cafe/brunch/lunch/French

Popular chomps:   beignets
                                               cinnamon toast
                                               cafe au lait
                                               egg dishes
                                               granola with seasonal fruit

Chomp worthy:       beignets    
                                              granola with seasonal fruit

Pearl's Deluxe Burgers

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Sometimes you are just craving for a good (cheese)burger... Nothing fancy, just good quality meat and cheese and a side of crispy fries.  The Post street is Pearl's second location - I'm not sure if they were trying for a safer location, but the location on the corner of Market and 6th doesn't seem much safer than their Tenderloin location.   

I mustered the courage to test out this spot, but ordered to go after seeing a couple bums and ghetto people wander in and proceed to hassle the workers.  There are a couple tables here, if you don't mind the eccentric people 6th Street brings.

Besides some beers on taps, Pearl's also offers a wide variety of milkshakes..Pina colada flavored?!  Deciding to stick with something relatively traditional, the mint chocolate chip shake was properly made with a nice, thick consistency.  Look at how the contents of the shake coat the straw.

Twice fried fries! Reminds me of KFC.  Crispy with a nice extra coating of crispiness - addicting enough that I want to eat the whole box, but used strong willpower to remind myself that I would regret it afterwards if I did.

Pearl's also does a two choice mix of sweet potato fries, onion rings, or regular fries.  I chose the onion rings and sweet potato fries mix.  The onion rings were battered in thinner strips (which I'm not a fan of) and soggy.  The sweet potato fries weren't crispy either.  The whole box kinda resulted in a soggy mess.

Regular burger (1/4lb) with American cheese ordered medium rare.  So juicy!  This burger is a solid traditional burger.  You can really taste the freshness of the meat.  The beef must also be grilled with very little oil because you don't get that greasy, nasty feeling you get after you've indulged in a burger.

Kobe beef burger with cheddar cheese, also ordered medium rare.  I'm not sure why one is pinker than the other...  I was thinking that this burger would have more flavor than the regular meat since it was made with "Kobe" beef, but it tasted pretty similar to me.  I probably could have done a blind taste test and not noticed the difference.  Also, in a slight brain fart when ordering, I ordered cheddar.  I'm usually not a fan of cheddar in a burger because I find the cheese taste too be too sharp and overpowering when I'm eating a burger.  This cheddar was a lot more mild and the taste of the meat still shined through.  Also, another plus about Pearl's burger is that the bun still stays intact even to the last couple bites.  No bread falling apart here. The thickness of the bun seems to soak up the juices well without deteriorating the bread.

Address:                     Pearl's Deluxe Burgers

                                           1001 Market St.

                                           San Francisco, CA

Type:                             American, burgers
                                            casual

Chomp worthy:     burger

Pass:                               sweet potato fries, onion rings

Random facts:      Pearl's Phat Burger was featured on Food Network's Best Thing I Ever Ate

Bi-Rite Creamery

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Sam's Sundae - chocolate ice cream with bergamot olive oil, maldon sea salt and whipped cream



Its been hot in the city these past couple nights to the point where its been unbearable to sleep at night.  The best remedy - ice cream.  Bi-Rite Creamery opens late so I can always pop over for a quick treat.  I've always wanted to try the Sam's Sundae, but I'm too attached to my Salted Caramel ice cream.  A unique take on a traditional ice cream sundae, Sam's Sundae ( I think it was named after the worker who invented it) has a drizzle olive oil on top of their house made chocolate ice cream.  If you look closer at the picture you can see little sprinkles of maldon sea salt.  Weird?  Maybe.  Delicious?  Yes.  Bi-Rite has the reputation of having velvety and creamy ice cream - the chocolate flavor is no exception.  The syrupy olive oil enhances the richness of the chocolate.  Each sea salt flecked bite makes your taste buds confused then thirst for more.   

 Address:                               Bi-Rite Creamery

                                                      3692 18th St.
                                                      San Francisco, CA

Type:                                        dessert
                                                      casual

Scarpetta - NY

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dipping sauces for the bread: olive oil, eggplant, butter



bread basket



stromboli - bread filled with cured meat



Heirloom tomatoes, burrata, pickled eggplant & herb salad

Short rib & bone Marrow Agnolotti with garlic chips & fresh horseradish

spaghetti with tomato and basil

chocolate cake with salted caramel gelato & chocolate butterscotch

Address:                  Scarpetta

                                        355 W 14th St 

                                        New York, NY 10014

Type:                          Italian
                                         business casual 

Chomp worthy:  spaghetti, bread basket

Random facts:

• the spaghetti was named one of Saveur's best dishes
• Spaghetti dish was named Food Network's Best Thing I Ever Ate - "Sauced"

Morimoto - NYC (2006)

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Morimoto - NY - omakase tasting menu

Trudged through a snow blizzard for this meal!

Modern decor inside the restaurant

Infamous Tuna Tartare -(showcased on Iron Chef) with caviar, sour cream, wasabi, dashi-soy, sesame crackers, chive, black sesame paste

I loved this dish. The plating is so creative.  The best way to eat this dish was to scrape a small section of the tuna tartare and then dip into each condiment.  This dish was also mentioned on Food Network's Best Thing I ever ate.

Shrimp

Nigiri course

Hamachi

Roasted duck

Oyster with uni

Waygu beef

Whole roasted lobster spiced with garam masala and lemon creme fraiche

One of the most memorable preparations of lobsters I've ever had.  Originally I thought the lobster with the curry spices would be overpower, but they work well together.  You could still taste the sweetness of the meaty lobster with the light sprinkle of spices.  Lemon creme fraiche was served on the side - creative way to serve lemon with the lobster, but totally unnecessary.  It actually complicated the flavors of the dish.

Dessert

Matcha tea with macaroon

Verdict:            I knew coming to this restaurant it wasn't going to be mind blowing, but after watching Chef Morimoto so much on tv I can't help but be curious about his food.  It was a lot better than I had braced myself for.  The food is fresh and well executed, but its not as inventive as his dishes on tv.

Address:          Morimoto

                         88th 10th Ave 

                         New York, NY 10024

Type:               Japanese
                          business casual

Chomp worthy:  tuna tartare
                            lobster

Pass:               nothing

Random facts:

•  Chef Morimoto is often seen walking around  - I met him!

Doughnut Plant - NY

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Doughnut Plant (LES)

This place has been on my must try for a while, but there are so many great spots to eat in New York that I never remember to come here.  The tres leches doughnuts are the most popular donuts and they sell out fast!  This trip to New York I actually came here twice. 

First attempt -I happened to walk by and remember I wanted to eat a doughnut here, but it was late in the afternoon and of course, tres leches was out.  There were actually only 3 types available at this time.  Me being extremely upset that I remembered to come here and the doughnut I wanted wasn't even available, I actually put up a good fuss about not even wanting to try any doughnut until I ate that one first.  Calming down I ordered the strawberry doughnut.  It was glazed on the outside, very fluffy on the inside.  Yup, tastes like strawberries.  Not sure if its because I had my heart set on tres leches, but I didn't really care for the strawberry.  Although I secretly think it must not be that good in comparison to the others because it was one of the few options left late in the afternoon.

Tres Leches

Second attempt:  Yay! Score - 1 tres leches doughnut.  This doughnut was a cake doughnut, versus the previously tried strawberry doughnut, being a yeast doughnut.  Breaking apart you notice that this doughnut is denser, but still very moist when you bite into it.  It didn't break apart in your mouth either like most cake donuts I've experienced.  So yummy!  The light coating of frosting provides the slightest sweetness to the doughnut.

Verdict:            Tres leches is a must, but make sure you get their earlier in the day to score your prize.  The menu does change daily, but tres leches is a regular item.  Donuts are made fresh throughout the day.

Address:           Doughnut Plant

                         379 Grand St. 

                         New York, NY 10002

Type:               dessert
                          casual

Popular chomps:  tres leches doughnut

Chomp worthy:  tres leches doughnut

Pass:               strawberry doughnut

Random facts:

• PB& J donut was featured in Food Network's Best Thing I ever Ate 
• Tres Leches donut was featured in Bobby Flay's Throwdown (Food Network).

Russ & Daughters - NY

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Russ & Daughters

This New York institution has been been operated by four generations of the Russ family.  It prides itself on high quality smoked fish, caviar, and other specialty foods.

Belly lox, cream cheese, bagel

Probably the most expensive bagel and cream cheese that Ive ever eaten ($10).  Definitely chow-worthy.  Each bite providing the perfect ratio of cream creese to lox to bagel.  Belly lox is actually salmon that is cured in salt so it can be too salty for some people.  The traditional smoked salmon that people are used to is called the Gaspe Nova.  After choosing a smoked fish, each layer of fish is hand sliced and gently folded layer upon layer onto the generous coating of cream cheese.  Shockingly salty, but soon cooled by the thick, creamy, rich cream cheese and the soft, spongy fresh tasting bagel.

Verdict:            A solid snacking spot when craving something simple.  The quality and care of each ingrediant shows at this store.  A huge, loyal following is apparent here as majority of the people who stop by for their "usual" order.

Address:           Russ & Daughters

                         179 E. Houston St.

                         New York, NY 10002

Type:               deli, food mart, Jewish
                          casual

Chomp worthy:  lox and bagel, any smoked fish

Pass:               nothing on this visit

Random facts:

• You can order items online and ship them within the US.
• The Gaspe Nova here was featured on Food Network's Best Thing I ever ate

Blue Ribbon Brasserie (2005) - New York

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This was the first time I ever had beef marrow prepared in this way and thus started my obsession with this dish.  During this visit, I also tasted the cheese fondue and the paella.  Both were unmemorable.  Six years later I still remember the first taste of this dish.

Beef marrow & oxtail marmalade

    

Prepared in the traditional vertical cut of the bone.  Creamy, with a burst of beef flavor.  You scoop out the marrow on spread it on the bread like a jam.  The toast provides a crispy texture for the jelly like consistency of the bone marrow.  Delicious!

Verdict:            The bone marrow is amazing. I love that its open late, but its hard to get reservations for this spot.  The popularity of this restaurant, even after all these years, shows that they still showcase quality dishes. 

Address:          Blue Ribbon Restaurants - Brasserie

                         97 Sullivan St.

                         New York, NY 10012

Type:               American
                          casual

Popular chomps:  Beef marrow with oxtail marmalade, Fried Chicken

Chomp worthy:  Beef marrow with oxtail marmalade

Pass:               cheese fondue

Random facts: 

• Due it to its late hours its a popular eating spot for new york shifts after working their dinner shift.
• Also affiliated with the other Blue Ribbon establishments in New York and Brooklyn, such as Blue Ribbon Sushi, Blue Ribbon Bakery, etc
• The fried chicken is a popular menu item here
• The Beef Marrow and Oxtail Marmalade is on Food Network's Best Thing I Ever Ate