Pal's Takeaway inside La Movida

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After many years of wanting to check out Pal's Takeaway I finally made it out here.  Its only open for lunch on the weekdays so its not as accessible for those who don't work in the city. 

I really wanted to try their ever so popular Aunt Malai's deep fried Lao sausage sandwich, but it wasn't on the menu today.  Today's burger was the lamb burger.  The soft, squishy bun worked really well with this burger, staying firmly intact through every bite.  The meat, however, was a little dry and underseasoned. 

The deep fried cod sandwich was the better of the two sandwiches.  I was a little worried that the fish wouldn't taste good because it had a slightly fishy smell, but the fish was perfectly cooked.  The white fish had nice soft flakes and the batter was still crispy even though it was wrapped up in a sandwich.

The chocolate babka is sold by the slice and really chocolately. 

Address:                 Pal's Takeaway
                                3066 24th St.
                                San Francisco, CA 
 

Type:                       sandwiches

Popular chomps:     lao sausage sandwich

Chomp worthy:        fried cod sandwich       

El Gallo Giro Taco Truck

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The taco gods must be smiling down on me today because I've not only found this taco truck after four failed attempts of searching for it.  I'd almost given up on this phantom taco truck.  With no twitter or website, I think that weekday afternoons on the corner of 24th and Treat must be the sweet spot.

Their menu items are standard fare for the normal taco truck, but I have to say this is now my #1 favorite taco truck in the city.  Sorry, El Tonayense (see post HERE), but you have officially been upstaged in my taco truck book.

Right to left: carne asada, al pastor.  Both meats are juicy and spicy.  Its hard to say which is better.  Maybe the al pastor by a tiny bit, but both are worth a reorder if I ever get lucky and happen to stumble upon this truck again.

So the two tacos they are known for at this taco truck are the carnitas and pollo.  The pollo is juicy, but not really my thing.  The carnitas, however, is WOW.  Its probably one of the top 3 best carnitas I've ever had, if not the best.  The chunks of carnitas are large and juicy, but the best part is each piece is super crispy, yet tender and juicy inside. 

Address:               El Gallo Giro Taco Truck
                              23rd and Treat
                              San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                     Mexican

Popular chomps:   carnitas
                               pollo

Chomp worthy:     carnitas       

Dandelion Chocolate

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There is always room in the city for another chocolate and dessert shop.  With Craftsman & Wolves (see post HERE) right next door, its hard to decide which sweet shop to indulge in.  Even though C&W is quite popular, walking inside Dandelion Chocolate, I wasn't prepared for the room to be filled to the brim with so many die hard chocolate fans. 
Looking around the shop, its hard to take in all the glorious chocolate items.  From chocolate books to clothing, to a chalkboard sprawled with classes and tours, its sort of like being inside TCHO (see post HERE).

Besides the drinking chocolates, chocolate bars, and chocolate dessert, they do have a dessert thats not overwhelmingly chocolatey for those that aren't chocolate obsessed.  The creme fraiche cheesecake has a nice tartness to it.    The blood orange gelee and candied kumquats gives this dessert texture and a nice freshness.

Papua New Guinea s'more - 7x7 2014 Big Eat

At first I tried to be dainty and proper and use a knife and fork to cut into this gorgeous s'more, but the stickiness of the marshmallow ends up getting everywhere.  Its much better to just pick it up with your hands and enjoy.  The toasted marshmallow gives a surprisingly caramelized taste.  Its like a sophisticated s'more.

updated - Working my way through the 2014 7x7's SF big eat 100 things  

Address:                Dandelion Chocolate
                               740 Valencia St.
                               San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                      dessert

Popular chomps:    European drinking chocolate
                               frozen hot chocolate
                               PB&J tart
                               s'more                               

Chomp worthy:      s'more
                               cheesecake          

Sunflower

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I've walked by the Sunflower in the Mission many times, but never really felt the need to go in.  The absence of any Asian customers gave off Slanted Door vibes (high prices and lackluster food). 

I had almost given hope on any bun (vermicelli) in San Francisco, but I have to admit that this is one of the better versions of bun I've had.  The prices aren't even that bad.  At around $9 (which is actually cheap for SF), the portion size is really generous with a lot of noodles and meat plus two giant fried egg rolls.  The lemongrass beef was well cooked giving the beef a tender and juicy flavor.  The only gripes for me is the small portion of nuoc mam (fish sauce), which barely covers the surface of the heaping portion of vermicelli, and the vermicelli noodles cut into super small strands.  That being said, I'd go back to get this one again, but ask for extra nuoc mam.

Five spice chicken with vermicelli - 7x7 2014 Big Eat

The five spice chicken vermicelli is actually my usual vermicelli order when I eat bun, but while the chicken is well cooked and juicy, the flavor is bland and is probably one of the tasteless ones I've ever had.

Usually my go to Vietnamese garlic noodles is PPQ, but I had to try Sunflower's version since it was one of their popular dishes.  While it doesn't have a super garlic flavor like PPQ's, it is a lot less oily.  Don't get fooled on the shrimp upsell like I did.  The measly five shrimp was more of an afterthought and didn't add anything to the dish.  The shrimp didn't even much garlic flavor.

updated - Working my way through the 2014 7x7's SF big eat 100 things 

 

Address:                  Sunflower
                                 288 Connecticut St.
                                 San Francisco, CA  

Type:                        Vietnamese

Popular chomps:      garlic noodles
                                  five spice chicken vermicelli
                                  pho
 

Chomp worthy:         garlic noodles      

Christopher Elbow Artisanal Chocolate

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Valentine's Day is synonymous with chocolates.  Christopher Elbow Artisanal Chocolates is not just a chocolate shop, but a small cafe that serves specialty hot chocolate.

Hot chocolate choices range from peanut butter to coconut curry flavor.  If you aren't feeling adventurous, they have a really good regular hot chocolate flavor as well.  The deep chocolate flavor is made even more deletable with a homemade marshmallow.

You can't walk into a chocolate shop and not get some chocolates.  From top left; clockwise: maple bourbon, bananas foster, pear, and passion fruit caramel.  My favorite from the bunch was the banana foster.  If you can't wait till you get home to eat the chocolates, you can opt to sit in their seating area on the side of the shop.

  

Address:                Christopher Elbow Artisanal Chocolate
                               401 Hayes St.
                               San Francisco, CA
   

Type:                      cafe/dessert

Popular chomps:    hot chocolate

Chomp worthy:      hot chocolate
                               chocolate   

Blue Bottle

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Before there was the Blue Bottle Oakland (see post HERE), Blue Bottle in Heath Ceramics (see post HERE), or any Blue Bottle for that matter, there was just this one.  This humble abode, which is the size of a garage, is where it all began.  I love coming to this one and sitting along the sidewalk to enjoy my usual pour over and having an occasional cookie.

My usual pour over coffee.  I remember when Blue Bottle coffee didn't have the emblem.

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Although people come to Blue Bottle for the coffee, they do serve up some really scrumptious ones.  Especially if you like the soft chewy type cookies, like I do.  The snickerdoodle is a popular favor here.  This one has a really great soft baked texture.

Chocolate is one of those flavors that pairs amazingly well with coffee and I'm pretty well known to enjoy a chocolate chip cookie with my coffee.  The double chocolate chip cookie has a good punch of chocolate without tasting like its too much (yes, I do think there is something as too much chocolate).

  

Address:                  Blue Bottle Coffee
                                 315 Linden St.
                                 San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                       coffee

Popular chomps:     pour over
                                latte
                                New Orleans iced coffee
                               

Chomp worthy:       pour over
                                latte
                                New Orleans iced coffee
         

Tout Sweet Patisserie

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I've been meaning to check out Tout Sweet Patisserie, especially since I was a huge fan of Yigit Pura when he was on Top Chef.  This sweet cafe is located on the 3rd Floor of Macy's.  Don't get confused like I did and wander around in the basement food court looking for it.

There are a lot of tempting sweets that I will definitely be back to try at another time.

I had heard somewhere that these macarons were on par with Laduree and since Laudree has yet to make an appearance on the West Coast (they have a location in New York), I don't mind looking for a West Coast substitution until one opens up.  A good chewy texture along with flavorful fun fillings.  I'd have to say its probably among the best I've had in the Bay Area (Brodard's in LA does it for me- see post HERE)

From top left; clockwise: Burnt caramel with sea salt, Aztec spicy chocolate, orange creamsicle, burnt caramel (repeat), dark chocolate. 

From top left; clockwise: Raspberry & Wu Long Rouge Tea, Tahitian vanilla, Earl Grey Tea Infused Dark Chocolate, Sicilian Pistachio & ceylon cinnamon.

updated - Working my way through the 2014 7x7's SF big eat 100 things  

        

Address:                  Tout Sweet Patisserie
                               170 O'Farrell St.
                               San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                       dessert/cafe

Popular chomps:      macarons

Chomp worthy:       macarons      

Chocolate Lab

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The Chocolate Lab has made a nice home in the old Piccino space in Potrero Hill.  The cozy interior is the perfect spot to enjoy all things chocolate.

Besides chocolate items, they do serve scones, sticky buns, and quiche.

Of course, in a place called Chocolate Lab, you have to get their version of hot chocolate - drinking chocolate.  It's not as thick as TCHO's version (see post HERE), its just as chocolatey with a true chocolate flavor.  And the homemade vanilla bean marshmallows make this hot chocolate even more delicious.

I had to take a double look when I saw this chocolate risotto on the menu.  I had never seen a sweet risotto before.  I was actually thinking it would be more of a rice pudding than a risotto, turns out its somewhere in between.  The risotto is actually served warm.  Both the warm chocolate and the popping crispy balls were an experience in itself.  All in all a creative dish. 

The meat quiche seems to be another popular item here.  Along with the custardy filling and the buttery crust, this quiche makes for a delightful savory bite. 

Even though I came here for brunch, I feel like this is one of those places you must indulge in a dessert.  The brownie sundae was sinfully chocolatey with a thick gooey chocolate syrup to push the chocolateness to the nth level.

Address:                  Chocolate Lab
                                 801 22nd St.
                                 San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                        American/cafe/brunch

Popular chomps:      goat cheese souffle
                                  brownie a la mode
                                  drinking chocolate

Chomp worthy:         drinking chocolate      

M.Y. China

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Honestly, I've walked by M.Y. China many times and never really thought I'd ever step foot in Martin Yan's most recent restaurant establishment.  Having grown up on Martin Yan on KQED, I've tried a couple of his restaurants and found them really unappetizing.  M.Y China is an attempt to bring a mostly Mandarin style menu to the mall crowds in a slightly more upscale environment.  Most of their dishes revolve around hand pulled noodles, which is rather exciting since its not commonly found in SF proper (more so in the South Bay area).   

Beef noodle soup is to Taiwanese people as won ton noodle soup is to Hong Kong people.  I've never been to crazy about this soup, but I can appreciate a good bowl, especially during the winter.  The best thing about this soup is the hand pulled noodles.  Since the noodles are hand pulled and cut, they come in various thicknesses and textures so each bite of noodles is something different.  Everything else about this soup was lackluster, from the too salty broth to the gristly slices of beef.

The wild boar scissor cut noodles are the known specialty in this restaurant.  Its appearance is on almost every table in the restaurant.  While I do have to applaud Martin Yan for bringing hand pulled noodles to the masses, this scissor cut noodles lacks any of the pan fried noodle bits found in these types of dishes.  If you've never had scissor cut noodles, the noodles are actually fun to eat and gives a different texture to the average Chinese noodle.  The flavoring reminds me a lot of beef chow fun. 

The Shandong beef rolls were one of the better dishes I had this meal.  Thin slices of beef are wrapped in a thin pancake crepe and topped with sweet hoisin sauce.  The flavor is pretty good, but the meat is too chewy and seems to be a lower grade of beef.

Inside the beef shandong rolls.

     

Address:                   MY China
                                  Westfield Shopping Centre
                                  845 Market St. 4th Floor
                                  San Francisco, CA 
 

Type:                         Chinese

Popular chomps:       wild boar dumplings
                                   wild boar scissor cut noodles
                                   truffle dumplings
                                   dan dan noodles
                                   beef hand pulled noodle soup

Chomp worthy:          nothing   

Sightglass

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There are something about coffee shops and airy open spaces.  Especially in the city, spaces like that seem to be occupied by mostly coffee shops.  Sightglass has to be at the top of the list of most gorgeous spaces in the city. 

Its a fun sight to see them roasting the beans on site while you order your coffee.

The view of the roaster from the second floor is even better.

I never have much luck with coffee lids as they always seem to leak all over me.  Sightglass's cup is no exception.  A good pour of quality coffee, but unfortunately, a quarter of it ended up spilling out.

Address:                 Sightglass Coffee
                                270 7th St.
                                San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                      coffee

Popular chomps:    pour over
                                latte

Chomp worthy:      pour over       

Pan Grill Sandwich Shop

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For the most part pop ups and Asian fusion doesn't really get me excited like it used to, but Pan Grill has that old feeling come back again.  This very tiny pop up inside Butterfly on the Embarcadero is an awesome little treat amongst all a somewhat touristy area.  While it doesn't have any seating inside, there are plenty of places to sit by the water to enjoy their food.

One of the things that brought me here was their own housemade buns.  Not just any old bun, its like a baked chao siu bao bun so soft and fluffy with a just a hint of sweetness.  I did wish there was a little honey or sweet glaze on top like the baked chao siu bao buns I love so much.  The menu here is a headscratcher with so many things you want to try, you have to just pick a couple and then vow you'll be back to try the rest.

The yuzu lemonade was perfectly balanced and refreshing with just the right hint of citrus flavor.

While everything I had here was pretty tasty, the best by far were the yaki tots.  Essentially mini yaki onigiris shaped like slightly bigger than average tater tots, these super crunchy chunks of rice were one of those things that you eat and think genius.  Along with a spicy sauce drizzle, that seems to be made out of sriarcha, I would definitely come back again for just these.  Although I did order the additional tuna poke to be added onto this, its much better without it.

The yaki onigiri was just as crunchy as the yaki tots, maybe even more so.  Rather than the typical grilliing of the rice ball, it seems that they were actually deep fried so the outside crust is extra crisp.  Its a little hard to break off a piece, but once you do you can't stop eating away at them.

With all the choices of sandwiches, its hard to pick a couple to try.  The potato croquette was made with a sweet potato filing so it was pretty sweet.  Overall, this sandwich was a little too sweet tasting for me with the sweet bun and then the sweet potato curry.  Its was good, but it also needed some more crunchy texture since the sweet potato filling and the bread were so soft.

The hangar steak niku also had a sweetness from the glaze.  Its been a while since I had meat so tender and juicy.  In each bite, the meat practically melts in your mouth.  Out of the two, I think this one was my favorite. 

  

Address:                 Pan Grill Sandwich Shop
                                Pier 33
                                San Francisco, CA
   

Type:                       Japanese

Popular chomps:     yaki tot
                                 hangar steak niku sandwich
                                 kim chi pulled pork sandwich
                                 curry potato croquette sandwich

Chomp worthy:        yaki tot

Ramen Yamadaya

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San Francisco must have heard my whining and whimpering of more ramen spots in the city because Ramen Yamadaya is one of the many upcoming ramen restaurants opening here in SF.  The interior is a little odd to say the least, but once you get over that, its a nice option to have for those chilly SF nights.

A side order of yamadaya topping comes with wood ear fungus, bamboo shoots, green onions, pork belly, egg, and slices of seaweed.

The yamadaya ramen has a nice salty, fatty taste to it.  Not the best bowl of ramen, but its definitely a better version of the whats available in the city now.  One odd thing about this bowl of ramen is the noticeably thinner noodles.  The jury is still out on if I like the thickness of the noodles, but it does slurp well.

Tsukemen has been gaining popularity here in the city and its nice to know that its available here if you dare to try the dipping style ramen.  I love how there are slices of fatty pork soaking in the dipping broth.  I've noticed for tsukemen there are two groups that exist - those that absolutely love it (Chef David Chang falls into this category) and those that eek out an "eh" when they have it.  I'm part of the latter.  While I do enjoy a good bowl of a ramen, I've never had a tsukemen that's worth the extra dipping effort.

Address:                  Ramen Yamadaya
                                 1728 Buchanan St.
                                 San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                        ramen/Japanese

Popular chomps:      yamadaya ramen
                                  tonkatsu kotteri ramen
                                  tsukemen

Chomp worthy:         yamadaya ramen