BIX

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BIX is one of those restaurants that I imagine how SF was back in the days - classic with a touch of mystery and romance.  Its located in probably the only alley in the city that doesn't have a homeless person loitering around.

BIX is probably the only restaurant I've ever seen that prepares and serves beef tartare tableside.  How classic!  Fresh rare beef, a raw egg, and some seasonings mixed in makes this one of the best beef tartares I've had in a long time. 

Not the biggest fan of this preparation of roasted bone marrow because of all the effort to get the fatty marrow out!  Not bad, but it takes a lot of work.

Its not apparent when you first glance at the menu, but there are actually two burgers on this menu.  The $28 black truffle cheeseburger is the one listed in the dinner entree menu.  This burger is served open faced on rye bread along with truffle fries.  The truffle lends both the burger and fries some earthiness.  The burger was juicy and ultimately satisfying, but the only complaint I had was the huge conundrum of how to eat this burger elegantly.  This fancy restaurant with their fancy ingredient burger and a hefty price tag left me wondering if I should eat this like a piece of toast or civilized with a fork and knife.  I think the latter was the right answer, but I couldn't bring myself to eat a burger with a set of utensils so the burger ended up sliding all over the place.  It was still delicious, whatever way it ended up in my mouth.

Bix Club Burger at BIX-  2013 7x7 SF's Top 100 Eats

The more hidden burger option is their cheaper club burger.  Not quite as fancy as the truffle burger, this burger is still made with quality ingredients that compared to its fancy counterpart makes it a standout option.  The bix burger is advertised on both the lunch menu and bar menu.  The $18 burger is sandwiched between a poppyseed bun for proper burger handling.  Its juiciness competes with that of the truffle burger.  Which one is better?  Hard to say, both are really tasty, but if you are feeling fancy, then opt for the truffle burger.  If you want a solid, no frills burger, the the bix burger will satisfy that burger craving. 

The desserts here aren't very risque.  In line with the classic architecture and entrees, the desserts are very modest.  Although, they do a bananas foster tableside.  The warm chocolate brioche bread pudding was rich and chocolatey.  Nothing extravagant, but it ended the meal on a nice sweet note.

updated - Working my way through the 2013 7x7's SF big eat 100 things    

Address:                    Bix Restaurant
                                  56 Gold St.
                                   San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                          American/burger

Popular chomps:        Bix Burger
                                    steak tartare

Chomp worthy:           steak tartare
                                    Bix Burger     

Father's Office

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The burger at Father's Office is touted as "the best burger in LA".  I had to check it out for myself.  There are two locations, but both are 21+ only.  So even during the day and for food only, its strictly for adults.  Anyone under 21 is pointed to the to go menus.  All orders are put in through the bartender then the food is brought to your table.

A lot of people rave about their sweet potato fries.  They have a nice crust and a sweet fluffy inside.  Not exactly the best ever, but solid sweet potato fries.  Its served with a blue cheese dipping sauce.  It wasn't the most traditional dipping sauce, but even though I'm not a huge fan of blue cheese, I found the flavor to be pretty good.

Finally, the main event - the burger.  The bun makes this burger look more like a hoagie or a sandwich.  Its lightly toasted and layered with arugula, blue cheese, caramelized onions, and gruyere.  The burger is juicy, but not oozing.  The meat is tender and flavorful, but not jaw dropping fantastic.  The taste of the burger is very sweet, which is from the very generous portion of caramelized onions.  While its not the best or most traditional burger, its still a good burger.  Nopa's burger in SF (see post HERE) outshines this burger by far.

Another ho hum dish - the bone marrow.  Again, with the sweet flavors!  The bone marrow, while fatty, was also a bit on the sweet side.  Nothing too memorable about this dish either.

Address:                 Father's Office
                                3229 Helms Ave.
                                Los Angeles, CA
 

Type:                       gastropub

Popular chomps:     burger
                                 sweet potato fries

Chomp worthy:        sweet potato fries    

Apple Pan

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This LA trip was all about the 2 B's:  burger and bakeries.  Apple Pan was the easiest to conquer with its super late night hours (Fri/Sat 1a and midnight all other days).  Apple Pan is an LA institution and they pride themselves on keeping everything the same from the food to the interior design. 

The restaurant itself is all counter seating.  There isn't a hostess so you pretty much have to stake out for an open spot, but after 10p it wasn't much of a problem.

Sodas here are served paper cones held up by a metal cup holder.  Quirky, but cool.  It reminds me of a poor man's goblet.

Almost every burger is here is not without a plateful of fries.  The fries are obviously frozen, but they still make them above average.  Its all about full service here.  Ketchup is squirted on a paper plate for you.

There are two burgers offered at Apple Pan. Although everything else in the restaurant seems to be stuck in a time capsule, their prices are definitely not.  Their burgers fit perfectly in two hands and cost $6.75 with cheese being $.50 extra.  The hickory burger is their most popular burger.  Its served with all the basics - lettuce, pickle, mayo, and a secret sauce.  Their secret sauce just tastes like a sweet bbq sauce.  Their burger was just average, not really that juicy.

Although the hickory burger seems to be the staple order here, many people do order the other burger - the steakburger.  Its served with its own secret sauce, which reminds me of a sweet relish.  Not sure which burger I like better, neither really hit home for me. 

The lettuce served on their burger is not one of those wimpy, wilted lettuce leaves.  Its a huge wedge.  While some people may not enjoy the lettuce to meat ratio, I found the wedge to provide a nice crunch to be really refreshing.

A slice of pie seems to be a popular way to end the meal here whether its to eat here or to go.  They often have different flavors so its best to ask what that day's pies are.  I pretty much had my heart set on a banana cream pie.  It didn't disappoint.  Layers and layers of sliced bananas topped with a thin layer of banana pudding and whipped cream.  I loved how this banana cream pie was a no nonsense type pie and filled with bananas in each bite.  Definitely the highlight of the meal. 

Address:                  Apple Pan
                                 10801 W. Pico Blvd.
                                 Los Angeles, CA 
 

Type:                        burger 

Popular chomps:      hickory burger
                                  banana cream pie
                                  apple pie

Chomp worthy:         banana cream pie     

Park Burger

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The seasons change and most people focus on putting away their winter clothes and bring out their summer clothes, but I start to focus on my summer eating.  Burgers, of course, top out the list.  

Strawberry milkshake made with Dryer's ice cream.

I'm a sucker for anything with avocado.  This is the first I've seen it on a hot dog.  The California hot dog is topped super, crisp bacon and slathered with a thick layer of guacamole.  A little hard to eat, but I just had to appreciate how they sliced the hot dog in half for more surface area crispiness.  And yes, the bun is grilled and toasted too.

There are a good number of burgers to choose from, but you can't go wrong with a simple cheeseburger.  A nice fluffy bun that soaks up all the juices in their medium rare cheeseburger.  A solid cheeseburger, overall.  I think I like this one better than my burger feeding at TrueBurger (see post HERE).

Best thing eaten in this meal were the fries.  Somewhere in between McDonalds and In-N-Out, these handcut fries had super crispy pieces and some of those soggy pieces that I love in McDonalds fries.

Address:                     Park Burger
                                    4218 Park Blvd.
                                    Oakland, CA 
 

Type:                           burger

Popular chomps:         fries
                                    classic
                                    cheese
                                    bacon cheese
                                    garibay
                                    california
 

Chomp worthy:           fries
                                    cheese     

Forge Pizza

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I'm all about Oakland food movement, especially reviving the Uptown and Jack London Square area so I really wanted to love this place.  The space is amazing.  Right on the waterfront in Jack London Sqaure, its the perfect outdoor area on a sunny day in Oakland.  Firepits in the outside seating area are lighted so you can even enjoy the chilly nights outside.

Fried crispy cheese curds.  Little Miss Muffet couldn't have had it any better.  These globs of cheesy goodness deep fried in a light tempura batter were just amazingly delicious.  The single best thing of this meal.  Though, the side of marinara sauce was a little bland.  I wish it had a bit of spiciness to it, but it served its purpose.

The margharita pizza came with your usual toppings: mozzarella, basil, and tomato sauce.  The pizza was limp and soggy.  The ingredients along with the pizza tasted like one giant mush. 

The burger, albeit very juicy, wasn't that great.  It lacked much taste and heartiness.  The fried potato puffs on the other head took second place for best side dish of this meal.  Puffs of crisp potato with a pillowy soft center.  It reminded me of Gregiore's potato puffs, but better! (see post HERE).

   

Address:                      Forge Pizza
                                     66 Franklin St.
                                     Oakland, CA
       

Type:                            pizza

Popular chomps:         burger
                                     pizza
                                     fried cheese curds

Chomp worthy:            fried cheese curds   

Uncle Boy's

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If you are Filipino or know a lot of Filipino, the name of this place is pretty funny.  Its a little bit of a trek than the usual late night food, but its open till 3A.  Its one of the only late night burger options out this way except for Jack in the Box.

Even though its not super crowded like El Farolito, the food does take a while to arrive in your hands.

The sides options include:  fried mozzarella, onion rings, jalapeno poppers, and french fries.  The mozzarella sticks are really cheese.  They are served extra hot with gooey cheese and a nice fried exterior. 

The sauces are self serve: (from top;clockwise) pesto mayo, chipotle, marinara sauce.  All the sauces were pretty tasty.

The fried zucchini seemed to be one of the more popular side options.  These disks of fresh cut zucchini were extra hot inside and fried nicely.  Every bite was a challenge in keeping the zucchini from slipping out.

The lightly seasoned fries were crisp, but nothing special.

The burgers here remind me of an Ike's sandwich, but with a burger instead of a sandwich.  The word "spicy" caught my eye when glancing over the ingredients of the Hot Mess burger.  Two strips of bacon folded over, cheddar, 1 beef patty, onion, tomato, lettuce, jalapenos, and their hot mess sauce.  I was hoping for something more hot and messy.  I got neither.  Its a decent burger and at this time of the night its a nice option, but not sure if I'd travel all this way if I wasn't in the area.  My late night taste buds sprefer Sam's (see post HERE) when I'm craving a burger. 

Mamma Mia is another funky twist on a burger.  Melted jack cheese over a beef patty, 3 mozzarella sticks (but the menu said there should be 4!), and marinara sauce.

    

Address:                 Uncle Boy's
                                245 Balboa St
                                San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                       burgers/American/Filipino/late night eats

Popular chomps:     mamma mia burger
                                 zucchini chips
                                 hot mess                                                             

Chomp worthy:        zucchini chips        

Wayfare Tavern

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Tyler Florence has graced us with his presence in San Francisco with Wayfare Tavern.  With all things fusion and innovative gastropub fare popping up all over the city, Wayfare Tavern gives us the classic American dishes done right. 

The popovers make a perfect carb filled start to the upcoming rich meal.  They are light and eggy and always remind me of the Chinese egg puffs without the sugar.

I'm getting so used to eating bone marrow from canoes rather than this presentation.  I find it harder to scoop out every piece of all the fatty goodness.  This bone marrow dish was a more garlicy take than I've had before.  I think there might have been some garlic butter on the toasted bread.  The only negative to this dish was the whole parsley salad, its too hard to spread.

Each piece of the fried chicken is juicy and tender.  Its breaded very lightly, but packs a lot of seasoning.

Mac and cheese is hard to resist ordering in any restaurant.  Although the top had a nice crisp crust, the mac and cheese itself was rather bland and unexciting.

There are a lot of other fancier things to get on the menu, but the burger here is really good.  Plus you can add an egg, which is always a plus.  They put a very nice runny egg here.  The yolk drips over any and every piece of the juicy, flavorful burger.  The herb flavored fries also deserve a mention.  Almost as addicting as Bouchon's (see post HERE), these fries have the perfect balance of crispy and salty.

Address:                   Wayfare Tavern
                                 558 Sacramento St.
                                 San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                         American

Popular chomps:        burger
                                  bone marrow
                                  fried chicken
                                  popovers

Chomp worthy:          popovers
                                  bone marrow
                                  fried chicken
                                  burgers       

Grubstake

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Grubstake is one of those popular late night eating spots that are up there with El Farolito.  Its so popular that if you don't get here before 1a, be prepared to wait outside behind a red velvet rope.

Grubstake is diner food with a Portuguese twist so you can have your burgers and Portuguese sausage. 

Almost like an alternative to pho, the caldo verde soup is soothing and a seemingly preemptive cure for any aftermath from a late night session.  The soup is named after its green color, which is made green by shredded kale.  Potatoes and onions give this soup a slightly creamy texture. Spoonfuls of this less guilty late night treat are made a tad bit naughty by the spicy Portuguese sausage. 

Sometimes your stomach just yearns for something greasy and salty during the late night hours.  The bacon burger comes in a variety of different ways.  The Nugget comes with a fried egg, which I think makes any burger better.  Unfortunately, this one didn't come with any deliciously runny yolk.  Not sure why this burger is so popular here, its juicy, but the meat needs some seasoning.  If I'm looking for a late night burger, I think Sam's is better (see post HERE).  The onion rings, on the other hand, were pretty good.  They were juicy, sweet, and didn't fall apart.   

Address:                 Grubstake
                                1525 Pine St.
                                San Francisco, CA 

 

Type:                       burgers/diner/Portuguese 

Popular chomps:     burger
                                caldo verde soup

                               
Chomp worthy:       caldo verde soup       

Rickybobby

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The ultra popular "pop up" inside Broken Record has finally found itself a home inside the old Rotee.  Only a couple weeks old, even on a weekday this place was packed.  Best to come early or after 9 to score a seat.

The space is tiny.  Community tables are lined up along the walls so even if there are 3 separate parties of 2, don't be surprised that you may likely share a 6 top table.  So that means one party of 2 right in the middle of the 2 other parties.  A little awkward at first, but the food is so good, its worth it and its not anymore awkward that being squished up in a crowd riding the Muni.  Also, as of right now its BYOB.  If you forget then you can run across the street to the liquor store and pick something up.

The crawfish and grits dish is must order here.  I felt a little sorry for not dropping knowledge on the tables I saw that missed out on ordering this superstar dish.  Mounds of spicy sausage are piled on top of a golden gravy mixture of huge crawfish chunks and grits.  The flavor of this dish doesn't hit you right away, but when it does it really blows you away.  Make sure you get a spoonful with grits, sausage, some crawfish, and a little bit of gravy!  The dish just gets tastier as you keep eating it.  The grits soak up the spicy, rich gravy.  You can't help, but want to lick up every last drop.  FYI - I took this dish home and ate it the next day and it tasted just as awesome.

The portion of the sweet potato tater tots was huge.  A really sharing size.  It comes with a side of ketchup and ranch.  The tater tots were not as crispy as I prefer tater tots to be, but if you've never tasted them then its a fun thing to order.

A $3 a piece, I was pleased to find the chicken to be on the larger size.  The meat was extremely juicy and flavorful.  Good, but not sure I would order it again.

Whats comfort food without an order of their beef and bacon burger.  It's probably just as popular as their crawfish grits.  It comes with two thick patties made with ground beef and bacon and fried up on bacon fat.  It was slapped together with a soft bun and melted cheese.  It was juicy, but I was expecting more bacon flavor.  I still prefer Nopa's burger, but this one isn't too shaby.

This meal is not for those looking to save on calories.  Each dish seems to get more rich and decadent than the previous.  I've had lobster mac and cheese a handful of times and it usually sounds a lot better than it tastes.  Farfalle (butterfly shaped) pasta baked with proper chunks of lobster, corn, and spinach.  The mac and cheese comes with a nice golden brown crust and gooey cheese with a slightly sweet flavor from the lobster and corn.  This dish made me a believer that there can be good tasting lobster mac and cheese.

The food is really rich and so delicious that you want to stuff your face into every last piece of it so its really hard to save room for dessert, but make sure you at least order the Hawaiian bread pudding.  Its one of those dishes that you wish you had thought of.  You know how you scan a dessert at a restaurant and there is always at least one ingredient you are "meh" about?  Not this one.  TCHO chocolate sauce drizzled between fluffy, sweet Hawaiian bread topped with vanilla bean ice cream then sprinkled with macadamia nuts.  Yes please!

Address:                   Rickybobby

                                  400 Haight St.
                                  San Francisco, CA

Type:                         American

Popular chomps:       crawfish grits
                                   lobster mac and cheese
                                   burger
                                   sweet potato tots
                                   pulled pork sandwich
 

Chomp worthy:          crawfish grits
                                    lobster mac and cheese
                                    burger
                                    Hawaiian bread pudding