Hot Sauce and Panko

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KFC means Kentucky Fried Chicken, Keller Fried Chicken, and KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN.  Its probably more well known and accessible in Southern California, but Hot Sauce and Panko, in the Richmond District of San Francisco, gives a much closer option.

A whole wall full of hot sauces from Marie Sharp's to plain old Tabasco are available for gawking at and purchasing.

The Green Wings are lightly fried and flavored with cilantro, ginger, jalapeno, sesame oil, and a dry spice blend.  Lightly crispy and probably my favorite of the three I ordered.  These wings are more dry fried style versus a saucey hot wing.

Korean Fried Chicken (KFC) made with chili paste, garlic, sesame oil, and agave.  Having had a bunch of KFCs before, I found these wings to be too sweet and not enough spice.  Probably my least favorite of the bunch I ordered.

Bulgogi wings made with bulgogi sauce and pickled chilis.  A wet style wing. 

For an extra dollar, you can add on a side for each order of wings.  The potato salad lacked in flavor, possibly needed some salt.

The macaroni salad also tasted bland. 

One of the combos was a fried chicken and waffle combo.  These waffles are cooked to order and you can decorate them as you wish with all the condiment choices in the store.  This one was drizzled with chocolate sauce and strawberry syrup.  I kinda prefer my waffle a little more crispy.  Overall its a cute concept, but the sides need a little work.

Address:                           Hot Sauce and Panko
                                                 1545 Clement St.
                                                 San Francisco, CA

Type:                                   korean/casual

Popular chomps:     Korean Fried Chicken (KFC)
                                                 Green wings
                                                 Bulgogi wings

Chomp worthy:          Green wings               

Kanpai

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After my favorite sushi spot (SushiYa) in downtown Palo Alto closed down, I had struggled to come to terms with possibly never finding anything in this area that comes even close.  Kanpai is probably the best of the bunch in the downtown Palo Alto area, which isn't saying much.  Almost everyone gets some kind of sushi or type of rolls here, but I think the secret gem is their nabeyaki udon.  When I find myself craving SushiYa's udon, I'll head over to Kanpai for a bowl of their nabeyaki udon.  Perfectly flavored broth with dense chewy noodles.  The nabeyaki is topped with chicken, cabbage, mushrooms, tofu, spinach, an egg, and one piece of tempura shrimp.  A sprinkle of shichimi pepper makes this soup good eats for the winter.   

Address:                        Kanpai Sushi
                                              330 Lytton Ave.
                                              Palo Alto, CA

Type:                                Japanese/casual

Popular chomps:   omakase

Chomp worthy:        nabeyaki udon

Katana-Ya

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Katana-Ya is one of the more popular and well loved ramen spots in San Francisco.  I think its probably one of the better ramen joint in the city, but South Bay ramen spots still top it by a large margin.  There is almost always a crowd outside waiting for a table in this small restaurant.

Katana-Ya ramen is a ramen with the "works".  It has everything you can imagine thrown into it - fried gyoza, karaage, corn, onions, egg. I'm not sure how they do it, but the fried gyoza and the chicken karaage are still slightly crispy even though it's been dumped into the soup. 

Katana-Ya also offers combos so you can taste the ramen as well as some rice dishes.  I chose the shoyu ramen with the kim chee fried rice.  The ramen broth isn't as rich and salty as I'd like it to be, but I still find it to be quite satisfying when I'm feening for some ramen in the city.

Address:                           Katana-Ya
                                                 430 Geary St.
                                                 San Francisco, CA

Type:                                    Japanese/ramen/casual

Popular chomps:        Katana-Ya ramen
                                                   kim chee fried rice

Chomp worthy:             Katana-Ya ramen

Random facts:           opens late -till 1a

Hai Ky Mi Gia

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Fresh housemade soybean milk.  It comes to the table hot - so watch out!

Almost every table has a plate of this fried fish cake dish.  Served with a side of pickled vegetables to add some sour taste and cut some of the oily taste from the fish cake.

One of the most popular dishes - the braised duck leg with thick noodles and won ton.  It can be served "wet" (pictured here), which just means its served as a soup.

The other option to the braised duck leg "soup" is ordering it "dry" which means it comes with the soup on the side.  Both versions come with a side of pickled vegetables which brings a nice texture and sour flavor between slurping your noodles.

#73 on 2011 SF Foodie's 92 list

A close up of the dry version of the braised duck leg "soup".  Even though its supposedly the same dish, it tastes totally different.  The braised duck is cooked so perfect, the meat just flakes off into tender chunks.  The most popular version of this dish is the dry version, which I prefer as well.  Make sure you add some scoops of chili oil into the noodles and mix!

Address:                        Hai Ky Mi Gia
                                              707 Ellis St.
                                              San Francisco, CA

Type:                                Chinese/Vietnamese/casual

Popular chomps:   Braised duck leg soup (dry) with thick noodles
                                               fresh soy milk
                                               fish cake

Chomp worthy:        braised duck leg soup (dry) with thick noodles (also add wonton)
                                               fresh soy milk

Random Facts:         The braised duck noodle is #73 on the 2011 SF Foodie's 92 list

King Eggroll Restaurant

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King Eggroll is probably one of the more famous, well known spots in San Jose.  Their trays are commonly ordered for holidays parties or gatherings.

King Eggroll is best know for their eggrolls, of course.  Always super crispy, and served piping hot.

The filling has a consistency of meat and vegetables.  The red sauce is an absolute must for dipping!  The sauce differs from your average sweet and sour sauce because it gives a slightly spicy kick at the end.

Another favorite of King Eggroll is their fried shrimp balls.  

These shrimp balls come wrapped with shredded wrapped and are perfectly fried.  The minced shrimp inside is juicy and huge!  Again, you must use the red sauce for dipping when eating this. 

If you come in early enough, you can order dim sum here.  One of my favorite dim sum dishes is lotus steamed sticky rice with chicken.  The sticky rice soaks up all the yummy chicken flavor.

Address:                             King Eggroll
                                                   1221 Story Rd. Suite #10
                                                   San Jose, CA

Type:                                    Chinese/Vietnamese/casual

Popular chomps:      eggrolls, fried shrimp balls

Chomp worthy:            eggrolls, fried shrimp balls, steamed chicken rice

Arinell's Pizzeria

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Amongst Berkeley's massive choices of pizza lies Arinell's.  No fuss, just a thin

Cheese slice - #84 on the 2011 7x7's Top 100 Things to Eat

Arinell's Pizzeria is one of those slices that can satisfy your craving for a thin, greasy, cheesy slice.  Thin and wide enough that you can fold in half just like in New York.

 

Address:                       Arinell's Pizzeria
                                             2119 Shattuck Ave.
                                             Berkeley, CA
 

Type:                              American/pizza/casual

Popular chomps:  cheese slice

Random facts:      Another location is San Francisco
                               The cheese slice is #84 on the 2011 7x7 Top 100 Things to Eat

'wichcraft

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Celebrity chef Tom Colicchio's mark on San Francisco.  A small cafe that serves sandwiches (both hot and cold) and soups serves as a quick option for eats while shopping in downtown SF Westfield Shopping Center.

I've had a couple sandwiches here and have not really been too impressed with anything, but I found the grilled fontina cheese with trumpet mushrooms to be the best of the average here.  The sandwich is perfectly pressed with gooey cheese and a slight crunch from the mushrooms.

Address:                          'wichcraft

                                                868 Mission St.

                                                San Francisco, CA

   

Type:                                 American/sandwiches/casual

Popular chomps:    sandwiches

Chomp worthy:      trumpet mushroom with fontina cheese grilled sandwich

Gregoire

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Who said French food can't be affordable?  This cute little take out window in the Gourmet Ghetto of Berkeley features a rotating lunch and dinner menu.
 

Probably the most famous staple on the menu are these potato puffs.  A slightly crunchy crust with a creamy mashed potato center.  Careful!  These are made to order and you can seriously burn your tongue if you get too eager!

Address:                               Gregoire
                                                     2109 Cedar St.
                                                     Berkeley, CA                

Type:                                       French/casual        

Popular chomps:         Potato puffs

Chomp worthy:           Potato puffs

Addendum

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For those of us who can't sneak out of work on Mondays to get a table at Ad Hoc to enjoy Thomas Keller's fried chicken, our prayers have finally been answered.  Addendum (located behind Ad Hoc) offers the famous fried chicken as well as the ribs Thursdays through Saturday for lunch. 

I almost prefer the picnic setting than the inside dining area to feast on the chicken while enjoying the gorgeous California sun. 

A meal comes with a 2 pieces of fried chicken, a piece of cornbread and two sides.  I was a little uneasy going into this. I wasn't trying to get my hopes up after my first encounter with Ad Hoc's Fried Chicken, especially with the to-go vibe.  How good could the to-go version be if the one I had in the restaurant was just "okay"?  (Check out my Ad Hoc's Fried Chicken experience HERE )  One word:  Redemption.  Perfectly crispy, not oily, super juicy fried chicken.  It was like I had FINALLY experienced the Keller Fried Chicken I had heard so much about.  I knew Thomas Keller would never fail me!   

A side of corn succotash.  From the picture it doesn't look like much, but it is SO good!  I should have ordered another side of this. 

Another simplistic dish - potato salad with small chunks of potato and some bits of celery.  Another winner.

Address:                         Addendum
                                               Behind Ad Hoc
                                               6476 Washington St.
                                               Yountville, CA

Type:                                 American/casual

Popular chomps:    Fried chicken/ribs

Chomp worthy:        Fried chicken

Random facts:        only open Thursday - Saturday 11a - 2p

Pretzel, Sausage, and Pickle @ Frankfurt Airport

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Another layover in another German aiport in a trip through Europe.  This time it was in the Frankfurt Airport.  A lot smaller than the Munich airport and not much to eat, but found a quick bite at one of the food carts in the airport.  Not far off from what I expected to find in Germany - warm, soft pretzel with some mustard, a sausage, and a crunchy pickle.  Simple, but delicious!

Volcano Curry of Japan

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Volcano curry.

Mini croquette sandwich.  A nice snack size.  The croquette seems a little bland (possibly premade frozen) and lacks a nice crunch.  Possibly would taste better if there was some curry sauce or some shredded cabbage.  Although, I like how the bread is soft and slightly sweet. 

Panko crusted spam mini sandwich.  I prefer the crunchier texture of this sandwich over the croquette sandwich, but I felt like it need something more.  Again, maybe some shredded cabbage or some sauce would give this sandwich some depth.

A more traditional Japanese curry versus the one I had at Kare-Ken (see post HERE ).  The curry is thicker and there are some vegetables tossed in.  It's most likely made from a store bought paste, but most Japanese curries found in restaurants are.  The chicken katsu in the chicken katsu has a nice crunchy texture and the chicken is tender.  You can choose your heat preference - volcano being the hottest.  I ordered hot and it had a decent level of spiciness to it.  As with traditional Japanese curries, a small scoop of red pickles (my favorite) provide a pickley and crunchy texture to the smooth curry.

Address:                       Volcano Curry
                                             5454 Geary Blvd
                                             San Francisco, CA

Type:                                Japanese/casual

Popular Chomps:  katsu curry
                                              potato croquette
                                              katsu sandwiches

Chomp worthy:       katsu curry 

Random facts:       you can order double Volcano for an extra EXTRA spicy level

Hershey's Kisses Air Delight

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Hershey's newest addition to its kisses family.  Having seen these commercials multiple times during this holiday season, my curiousity got the best of me and I picked these up at Walgreens.  Aerated chocolate.  Fancy name for chocolate with holes.  Honestly, first thought I had was Hershey's came up with a candy where they give you less chocolate and make more money.  So bubbly holes - a gimmick or is there really something to it?  I'd have to say gimmick.  Besides some extra softness to the chocolate I can't really find anything exciting about this.

Cheese Board Pizza Collective

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Cheeseboard pizza.  Berkeley's take on pizza. Always made with the freshest, seasonal ingrediants, Cheeseboard pumps out its one and only one type of pizza for lunch and dinner to its long line of adoring fans.  No additions or substitutions.  For those people who don't like surprises, the weekly menu can be seen online. 

Paying homage to the mushroom season in the Bay Area, today's pizza is crimini mushrooms, onions, goat cheese, mozzarella, garlic olive oil, and fresh herbs.

On a really nice day (like this one), everyone noshes on their pizzas in the median.  Totally unsafe (with signs warning against it), there is just something about the slight danger, the jazz music, and the hint of carbon monoxide that completes the Cheeseboard experience.

Cheeseboard is a thin sliced pizza, but not a crispy crust.  The key to this pizza is in their fresh ingrediants.  Also, they give you a bonus baby slice with your order.

Address:                         The Cheese Board Pizza Collective
                                                1512 Shattuck Ave.
                                                Berkeley, CA

Type:                                  Pizza/American/Casual

Popular chomps:    pizza of the day

Chomp worthy:       pizza of the day

Random facts:        they only make one pizza a day