Duc Loi Kitchen @ Duc Loi Supermarket

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Duc Loi, the humble beginnnings of THE Mission Burger (now housed at Mission Bowling Club see post HERE), is now giving fruit to Vietnamese sandwiches in their kitchen.  Things to remember when ordering at Duc Loi Kitchen:  First walk up to the food counter (the meat counter), which is located on your left as you walk into the supermarket.  After placing your order and getting your food then proceed to the food checkout counter to pay. 

$5 for a Vietnamese sandwich here!  Almost goes against everything that I believe in!  What happened to the days of $1 Vietnamese sandwiches?  Five different sandwiches served here:  Authentic Vietnamese (combination), Vegetarian tofu and portabella (only in SF do you see such options for Vietnamese food), Pork BBQ, Chicken BBQ, and fried chicken.

For those who always ask whats in a combination.  Duc Loi disects it down for you.

 I was pleasantly surprised to find that the sandwiches were packed full of meat and veggies. 

Check out the layers of fried chicken in the sandwich.  I guess it makes the $5 price tag on this sandwich somewhat okay.  Not as crispy as I would have liked, but still decent.  The insane amount of chicken made me wish for more veggies to balance it out.  All you can taste is fried chicken, which isn't seasoned well.  It was missing that tanginess from the pickled vegetables and the spicy kick from the jalapenos.  Not really a Vietnamese sandwich.

After taking a bite of the fried chicken sandwich, I wasn't expecting much, but this sandwich was much better.  The pork was tender and flavorful, much like the grilled pork found commonly found on rice plates.  Loved the hint of lemongrass in the bbq pork. 

Address:                        Duc Loi Kitchen

                                              2200 Mission St.

                                              San Francisco, CA

Type:                                Vietnamese/Sandwich

Popular chomps:   fried chicken sandwich

Chomp worthy:         pork bbq with lemongrass sandwich      

Monk's Kettle

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Monk's Kettle is a place you can take someone who appreciates beer.  It has a book full of beer options and menu items with suggested beer pairings.  They don't take reservations, but if you get here before 7:30p, you won't have to wait long.

A damn tasty pretzel.  A crisp exterior with fluffy insides.  The first pretzel I've tasted with this type of texture.  Most are usually either chewy or crunchy.  It came with two sauces:  a cheesey dip and a mustard sauce.  Both were delectable, but the mustard sauce was my favorite.  A slightly sweet, but tangy taste made it a pleasant dipping option.  I'm usually not a fan of mustard, but this is insanely good - note to Monk's Kettle - bottle it up and sell it. 

 Bone marrow charged by the canoe ($9 per).  The bone marrow came out rich and fatty just like I like it, but I wasn't a fan of the popcorn.

Whats a gastropub without the juicy burger?  Monk's Kettle's burger came out super juicy with ground beef, onion jam (more like a mound of grilled onions), aged white cheddar, all on top of an acme bun.  A side of super crispy fries (McDonalds meets Burger King) came with the juicy burger.  Definitely a juicy burger, but could have done with a little more seasoning on the meat.  The flavor of the aged white cheddar got lost somewhere between the meat patty and the onions.  Since it was an Acme bun, nothing could go wrong there. 

From top right, clockwise: boar salumi, rabbit pate, soft cheese, toasted breads, house mustard, rhubard jam, hazelnuts, dried currants, and olives.  Definite favorites on the board were the boar sausage and the olives.  The boar sausage was hearty and full of flavor.  The olives had a sweeter aftertaste than the standard salty brininess.

Almost didn't order a dessert because the food coma was coming on quick, but so glad I did.  A huge scoop of ice cream served with a stout beer from a nitrogen pump.  First bite was a shock to the tastebuds due to the bitter stout beer, but after mixing the beer with the vanilla ice cream, the sweetness really came out.  A little scoop of beer foam and some vanilla ice cream made a unlikely, but delicious combination.    

Address:                        Monk's Kettle

                                              3141 16th Street.

                                              San Francisco, CA

Type:                                gastropub/American

Popular chomps:    burger
                                               pretzel                               

Chomp worthy:        pretzel
                                               stout milkshake       

La Torta Gorda

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La Pierna Enchilada Torta at La Torta Gorda - #39 on 2012 7x7 SF's Top 100 Eats

I had high hopes for this torta as I saw it being pressed on the grill.  The regular size is massive.  Definitely more than enough for two people to share.   The generous heaping of pulled pork was flavorless and disappointing.  There was supposed to be avocado inside, but I didnt see any.  Actually it was supposed to have pulled pork, refried beans, avocado, queso fresco, jalapenos, onions, and mayo, but the only thing I was able to distinguish was the pulled pork and the refried beans.  The bread could have also been pressed a little longer to make a more crispy contrast.  Better luck getting a torta at La Casita Chilanga  (see my post HERE)

updated - Working my way through the 2012 7x7's SF big eat 100 things

Address:                        La Torta Gorda
                                              2833 24th Street
                                              San Francisco, CA

Type:                                Mexican

Popular chomps:   Pierna Enchilada Torta

Chomp worthy:        nothing         

SFoodie's 50 - countdown of Favorite Things to Eat and Drink, 2012 edition

Pin It Now! A noticably smaller list this year (last year's consisted of 92 items), but still excited to start checking off each one before the year is over.  Yay! I've even got a couple already done!  I'm usuallly a bigger fan of this list than the 7x7 top 100 SF eats.  Check out the 7x7 Top 100 List HERE.

Here's the newest SFoodie's countdown of Favorite Things to Eat and Drink, 2012 edition:

  1).  Bar Tartine's Blood Sausage
  2).  Steamed Sea Bass with Lime and Chile from Lers Ros
  3).  Koo's Spoonful of Happiness
  4).  Falafel From Sunrise Deli
  5).  Smitten's Chocolate Ice Cream
  6).  Josey Baker's Black Pepper and Parmesan Loaf
  7).  Hakka Restaurant's Stuffed Tofu
  8).  Taqueria La Altena's Al Pastor Burrito
  9).  Liguria Bakery's Pizza Focaccia
10).  Dirty Rice at Boxing Room
11).  Wing Wings' Chicken Salad Biscuit
12).  Pamonhas de Sal from Pamonhas
13).  Gobi Aloo Kati Rolls from the Kasa Indian Truck
14).  Delfina's Trippa alla Fiorentina
15).  Leatherneck Steakhouse's Truffled Tater Tots
16).  Baia Pasta's Durum Pasta
17).  Fish with Flaming Chile Oil at Z&Y Restaurant
18).  Fried Catfish at Auntie April
19).  None But the Brave at Heaven's Dog
20).  Vegan Kibbeh at Saha Arabic Fusion
21).  Hazelnut Kouign amann at Starter Bakery
22).  Pupusas at Cafe and Restaurant Montecristo
23).  The Apple Fritter at Bob's Donuts
24).  Le Sanctuaire's Vadouvan
25).  Cobb Louis Salad at Nettie's Crab Shack
26).  Soy Sauce Chicken from Happy Bakery & Deli
27).  The Jewish-Style Artichoke from Locanda
28).  Local Mission Eatery's Asparagus-Egg Sandwich
29).  18 hour Brisket from Memphis Minnies
30).  Custard buns from City View
31).  Kung Pao Pastrami from Mission Chinese Food
32).  Panisse Frites from Frances
33).  Chawanmushi from Izakaya Yuzuki
34).  Chorizo from Fatted Calf
35).  Silvanas from the House of Silvanas
36).  Linden Street Brewery's Black Lager
37).  Red Blossom Tea Company's Aged Oolongs
38).  Broken Record's Crawfish Grits
39).  La Mar's Cebiche Mixto
40).  Black Jet Baking Co.'s Nutella-Hazelnut Hand Pie
41).  Fifth Floor's burger
42).  Perbacco's Agnolotti dal plin
43).  Iced coffee from Sightglass
44).  Cypress Grove's Purple Haze Chevre
45).  Lechon from Tastebuds Cuisine
46).  Duck with beets from AQ
47).  Tai nigiri at ICHI Sushi
48).  Fish with explosive chilis from Spices!
49).  Baker & Banker Bakery's blueberry cream cheese muffin
50).  Kufta tajine from Cafe Zitouna

Kingdom of Dumpling

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Five spice marinated beef.  Slices of gelatinous beef served cold on a bed of mixed greens.  A nice snack to start off the meal.

Grilled lamb skewers.  Gotta love the very basic menu descriptions at Chinese restaurants.  Tender lamb with a surprising kick from the spices.  First time having a skewered dish like this at a Chinese restaurant and was pleasantly surprised.

Soup Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao) at Kingdom of Dumpling - #12 on 2012 7x7 SF's Top 100 Eats

Soup dumplings, Shanghai soup dumplings, xiao long bao, or XLB, whatever you call them, is the thing to order here.  There are a handful of XLB restaurants in this area with the two most popular being Kingdom of Dumpling and Shanghai Dumplings (see my post HERE).  I found the xlb here to be lukewarm with minimal soup in the dumpling.  Big disappointment.  The xlb at Shanghai Dumplings are much better.  

Thick skinned steamed lamb dumplings that were a little bland.  Totally unmemorable.

Beef tendon noodle soup.  Chewy pieces of tendon swimming in a rather bland beef broth. 

Shanghai pan fried dumplings.  Like squishy balls of dough.

updated - Working my way through the 2012 7x7's SF big eat 100 things

Address:                       Kingdom of Dumpling

                                             1713 Taraval St.

                                             San Francisco, CA

Type:                               Chinese

Popular chomps:  Xiao Long Bao

Chomp worthy:      grilled lamb skewers            

Mission Bowling Club

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Finally after much anticipation, Mission Bowling has opened.  I'd say most people were more excited by another Anthony Myint establishment (Commonwealth, Mission Chinese Food, and Mission Street Food) than by the bowling alley.
Much like Lucky Strike, its a 21+ bowling alley with a full service bar and restaurant.  Also, full menu is served outside, which I didn't realize until after I left. 

There are a handful of tables on the second story with a full view of the bar and the bowling alley.  Reservations are taken on their website for the restaurant.

Only 6 lanes here, but you can reserve lanes via their website as well.  Now onto the food...

 Labeled as home fries on the menu, but more like halves of small potatoes.  Served with a side of romesco and aioli, these potatoes were amazing.  Crispy on the outside, but steamy soft on the inside.  Surprisingly addicting.  The sauces were also delicious.

Playfully plated, both the corn dog and the fried chicken were served on excess wood pieces from the bowling lanes.  Pork and fennel sausage battered and deep fried into snack size bites on a stick.  I wish the batter was fluffier and had more flavor.

Fried chicken on a stick served with a side of ranch dip.  Can't get any more American than that.  The fried chicken was crispy and tender, but I wasn't a fan of the ranch dressing.  It was missing that zippiness.

 The burger is possibly the ultimate draw of this whole place.  I've been lucky to have tasted this ($8) burger when it was served from the modest confines of Duc Loi Supermarket in the Mission.  Fast forward to today and add on the now $15 price tag (happy hour its $10) and I'm able to taste this famed burger yet again.  Resurrected and sserved with Monterey Jack cheese, caramelized onions, and caper aioli, the biggest difference between this burger and other burgers is the meat.  It's 1/2 aged, granulated patty.  When you take a bite of this burger, there is no question that you are wolfing down chunks of meat.  Best word to describe this burger is meaty.  It was a touch saltier than I remembered from its Duc Loi days.  The fries are reminsiecnt of Zuni's thin, crunchy fries. 

 Cinnamon crunchy toast with vanilla ice cream for dessert.  A thick piece of Texas toast thats been toasted to form a thick carmelized glaze on the top.  Cinnamon and sugar have been sprinkled on top to give the toast some sweetness and crunch.  It was swimming in a soup of what tasted like melted vanilla ice cream.  Absolutely lip smacking delicious.  Something so simple thats so good.  

Address:                      Mission Bowling Club

                                            3176 17th St.

                                            San Francisco, CA

Type:                              American/burger

Popular chomps: burger

Chomp worthy:     burger      

                                            cinnamon crunchy toast    
                                            home fries                

Sancho's Taqueria

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Sancho's (the original location) was nestled deep in the neighborhoods of Redwood City.  Its a trek to drive all the way up here.  I hoped that the decision I made to eat at the original location versus the Palo Alto branches would be worth it.

These days it seems like everyone has a twist on fries.  Sancho's is no exception.  A daily special of mole fries.  The fries were thick and very potatoey with a light crisp.  The mole was much too sweet and overwhelming.  I managed to eat all the fries that were untouched by the sweet sauce.

 Pastor (pork) taco.  Two tortillas here which is nice and the pastor is one of the better ones I've had so far on my journey through the Peninsula taquerias, though nothing to be excited about.  It lacks the spice kick from the marinade.

Carne asada is probably one of the more popular meats in taquerias, but I have yet to find a place on the penisula that serves a properly flavored piece of beef.  Sancho's adds to that pile of disappointment.

The carnitas taco had good flavor, but lacked the grilled texture.  Too tender and soft to be considered real carnitas.

A solid, but pricey fish taco.  Generous chunks of fried fish in a flour tortilla with a light drizzle of baja sauce.  Refreshing without the greasiness.

Mexican corn (elote) was one of the daily specials on the blackboard.  I haven't a good piece of elote since they closed up Dona Tere's cart in the Mission.  Elote is Mexican corn on the cob, which is usually dusted very generously with a thick layer of salt, chili powder, butter, cheese (queso fresco), lemon/lime juice, mayo, and sour cream (crema).  This one was a little skimpy.

Address:                        Sancho's Taqueria

                                              3205 Oak Knoll Dr.

                                              Redwood City, CA

Type:                                Mexican

Popular chomps:  fish tacos
                                             carne asada

Chomp worthy:       fish tacos           

Spruce

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It's been a while since I've been out to restaurant where I have to dress up.  Spruce is tucked in a sleepy part of the city, but even on a weekday night this restaurant is bustling.  I hoped to just slip into the bar, where they serve full service, but even at 9p on a weekday there was a wait!  Definitely come a little dressed up here, you will stick out if you are in jeans and t-shirt.  

I love places with bread service!  The last time before this was Joel Robuchon (see post HERE ), where I was in bread heaven.  Two choices of butter at Spruce: maple cinnamon (above) and Regular (below).  Maple cinnamon was my favorite.  A sweet start to the night. 

 Likewise with the bread, there were two bread options:  cranberry sourdough (above) and dinner roll (below).  Both went quite well with both types of butters.  The dinner roll was soft and fluffy.

Hudson Valley Foie Gras with Vadouvan wafffle, strawberry, and pistachio.  A playful twist on a waffle dish.  Also, I had to get my last tidbits of foie in before the ban (insert sad face here).  The foie is served two ways:  as a torchon and the standard seared presentation.  I was pleasantly surprised that the sweetness of the foie went well with the seasonal strawberries and the waffle.  Overall, very impressed with this dish and loved how it wasn't the same ol' foie dish.  Just the perfect balance of sweet and savory without feeling like you are overdoing the richness of the foie.

Burger and Fries at Spruce - #37 on 2012 7x7 SF's Top 100 Eats

The burger and fries are probably the most popular and well known dish at Spruce.  Its actually served on the dinner menu as well as the bar menu.  Rich and flavorful Nieman Ranch beef served between a buttered English muffin.  Not a juicy burger, but the meat is well flavored.  You have the option of 3 cheese:  blue cheese, gruyere, and cheddar.  Served with a side of zucchini pickles, which I loved, and crispy duck fat fries.  Not exactly #1 in my book ( Nopa's burger is still the standard for me see it HERE), but overall an excellent burger and well worth the $16 price tag.

Spruce burger (medium rare) with cheddar cheese.

Frozen Key Lime Pie with Macadamia nuts, strawberry guava puree.  Light and refreshing dessert that wowed me.  Just the perfect touch of tartness in the key lime with a frozen, slushy center. 

 Dark chocolate cake with mint chip ice cream and toasted marshmallow.  Rich and chocolately.

A sweet goodbye treat.  Not sure exactly what it was, but tasted like a bite of almond cookie.  I'd be avoiding upscale American restaurants for a while because the menus were starting to bore me, but I was surpringly impressed by Spruce and a little upset that I hadn't made it out here before, but I will definitely be back. Absolutely deserving of its Michelin star.

updated - Working my way through the 2012 7x7's SF big eat 100 things

updated - Working my way through the 2012 Michelin list (Bay Area)

Address:                       Spruce

                                             3640 Sacramento St.

                                             San Francisco, CA

Type:                               American

Popular chomps:  burger and fries

Chomp worthy:       burger and fries
                                              foie gras and waffles     

Asian Box

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This quick service Vietnamese spot in Palo Alto's Town & Country Village is headed by Grace Nguyen of Out The Door (Bush Street).  It definitely has a lot of logistical kinks to work out.  A huge line out the door, but not because its so popular.  More like all the orders were getting messed up and having to be redone.  Took a couple tries to get my orders in my hands, only to find out that they left out something, but I was already over it by then.

 The semi customizable checklist menu allows you to choose your own meat, and vegetables along with special toppers.  Overall, a nice array of options, but no description of ingredients are listed.  This left most of the people in line to ask themselves what each item was.

 A pretty pricey lunch box option even for Palo Alto.  With a couple of add ons, this came out to almost $10.  Short grain brown rice + chicken (six spice blend) + wok steamed vegetables + all box toppers + carmel egg (extra $.95) with  Miss Jones' Sriacha.  The chicken was surprisingly tender, juicy, and flavorful, but the special sriacha wasn't nothing special.  It was very similar to the hot sauce found on tables in Chinese restaurants.  Carmel egg possibly had a hint of sweetness, but I couldn't really tell.

The shrimp spring rolls were located at the front refrigerator and was more of a grab item than a freshly made roll.  The shrimp rolls were nothing special, albeit quite small.  I wasn't a fan of the peanut sauce - much too creamy and bland.  

Rice noodles +Garlic Soy Glazed beef + wok steamed vegetables + all box toppers.  The beef was tender and flavorful.

Address:                       Asian Box

                                             855 El Camino Real

                                             Ste 21

                                             Palo Alto, CA

Type:                               Vietnamese

Popular chomps:  chicken
                                              beef

Chomp worthy:      chicken
                                              beef