Little Griddle - Civic Center/Tenderloin, San Francisco

Our lunch on Day 2 in San Francisco.


No one was particularly in the mood to eat in Chinatown today, so we headed back toward the hotel in search of something to eat and decided on this place that we've walked past a time or two in our neighborhood explorations.

Joey's Sweet & Savory, hold the 'maters.

It's funny the complicated mental calculus that goes on in your head when deciding whether to try a place you haven't researched - it's something about the name, and something about the font they use on the sign, something about the kinds of people who are already sitting down and eating there, and then of course whether or not the menu appeals to you.

And all those little factors about this place just seemed to assure me that we would at least have a decent, if not great, meal.


And it was way beyond decent, actually. The burgers here were exceptionally tasty and juicy, the beef was of really good quality, the buns perfectly soft, light, and slightly sweet and eggy, the cheese really creamy and cheesy, their house sauce really yummy, and their homemade pickles perfectly seasoned and crunchy.

Super cheesy tongue-wagging boiguh...

And Dean, Joey, our little burger connoisseur, and I all agreed that this place stacks up there with the best of the really good restaurant burgers we've had, and at an exceptionally good value.

Joey wants to make me promise to go back before we leave, but we are in San Francisco after all, and it's so many restaurants, so little time, so I told him I can make no promises.

A very strong recommendation if you're in the Civic Center/ Tenderloin area in search of a great burger (that actually comes with fries) at a really good price.


P.S. That dessert you see is an apparently brilliant use of day old doughnuts called the French D'OH!, which is cinnamon sugar dipped doughnuts, apparently griddled, then served with ripe bananas, strawberries, chocolate sauce, and really creamy real whipped cream.

P.P.S. blogger formatting can bite me. >|


shinae

Little Griddle
1400 Market St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
415.864.4292
www.littlegriddlesf.com

Swan Oyster Depot - Nob Hill, San Francisco

Our pre-lunch snack on Day 2 in SF.

"Somewhere, somehow, someone has determined that eating some types of fish may be bad, very bad. So watch what you eat because it may be eating you." ~ Swan Oyster Depot

I'll admit it.

We got Bourdained into going to this place, a little HITW oyster bar that was featured in his SF epi of The Layover.

And the oysters - Kumamotos, my faves, among them - were good and fresh, and I can totally see how a place like this might have appeal for a guy like we think Bourdain to be, what with the motley and mostly friendly crew of men behind the counter and fresh Anchor Steam on tap.

Other than that - it's raw oysters in a standing room only environment with about 20 stools max. (Luckily we got there early and didn't have to wait in line.) That is to say that if they're fresh, well shucked (which is to say that the oyster is whole, and the shell isn't in shards on the oyster itself when presented to you), and of the same variety, then it's pretty much the same wherever you go. 

As for the "half" Dungeness (i.e., claws and legs only) at $18, well, no further comment from the girl who usually pays $18 AT THE MOST for a whole LIVE one at 99 Ranch and gets the all the body meat and crab tomalley to boot. But such is the relative rip-off that is eating seafood out.

One of those places I don't need to visit twice, but am definitely glad to say I've been to once. :)

 

  

Swan Oyster Depot
1517 Polk St.
San Francisco, CA 94109
415.673.1101
www.swanoysterdepotsf.com

Tu Lan - The Tenderloin, San Francisco

We're in San Francisco for a little vacay with the monsters and my parents this week, so I thought I'd share some of our experiences here. This was last night's dinner. :)

If you're planning a first trip to SF and do any research on the interwebs, you will likely find plenty of advice telling you to stay away from the Tenderloin district. Why? Because it's, how you say, seedier in some spots than most. However, you'll also find lots of articles telling you there's a pretty interesting food scene here as well.

Yes. It's all true what they say about this area.
There are hookers and homeless people
on the sidewalks. :)

But even Julia didn't mind passing a few hookers
and homeless peeps to get to some good grub.
I always knew she was my kind of broad.

But I personally like exploring interesting older neighborhoods and find that a purposeful walk and gaze go a long way in keeping what many would call "undesirable" elements at bay while taking in the character and variety that such neighborhoods have to offer.

And while I usually like to pick one or two dining destinations in advance, in densely populated neighborhoods like this, I like to keep my options open, walk around, and see what looks/feels like a high probability of some kind of deliciousness.

So that's what we did tonight. We went for a walk, turned right on 6th, and stopped at a little Vietnamese HITW that was bustling with activity and customers, that HITW being Tu Lan.

And even though I've grown up with plenty of really good Vietnamese food in OC's Little Saigon, much of it slightly to vastly different from the way things are prepared at Tu Lan, something about the vibe, the bustle, the sticky formica tables, the amazingly quick - as in quicker than any fast food joint you've ever been to - service, the incredibly reasonable prices, and what appeared to be a really big family working together to keep this thriving little joint working like a well oiled machine, made the food there delicious.

Dinner called for a couple of tall frosties. Because traveling with my ornery dad sometimes makes everyone, even my mom who never drinks, think they might benefit from a tall frosty. :P

If I weren't already in the neighborhood, I wouldn't go out of my way to eat there, but I'd certainly go back if the circumstances were right. :)

shinae

Tu Lan
8 6th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
415.626.0927
www.tulansf.blogspot.com

Jeezuss It's Been A While...

I've been gently nudged more than a couple of times by more than a couple of people to get back to this thing, which is probably a good thing. I think it's been a long while since I've gone longer than a month without posting at all.

With the proliferation of so much new media, I'm just getting a feel for which of what's out there will get me where I want to go. And yet I can't seem to scrap this thing that gives me the least amount of feedback for the greatest amount of work. In the end, I know it's because it's deeply personal to me. It's seen me through more than a few catharses, epiphanies, and turning points. 

It's replaced the very private handwritten journals, 13 years' worth, that are held hostage somewhere in the house that's inhabited by a person who exploited them to their benefit without compunction during the weakest moments of my life, and so in many ways, it seems only fitting that my new journal be kept on some remote superpowered Google-owned server where I am free to access and distribute it as I see fit, to exploit myself as I see fit, and to control the dissemination of whatever good, unflattering, or neutral personal truths I wish to disclose as I see fit.

My worldly possessions, my so-called friends, and even my children might have been poached from me to varying degrees.

Thank Goddess I still have my words.

Breakfast was yogurt with diced Fuji apples, freshly ground cinnamon, and a little drizzle of clover honey.

It's good to be back. :)

shinae

An Update On Me & Project Alchemy... :)

I've been away from here for over a month now, and though there is some guilt over my neglect of this thing, all things considered, I'm happy about the headway I've made in other places. Progress that I can ultimately relate and tie back to what I've been trying to achieve partially by way of this blog.

But since I have been away, let me catch you up on the development of things in other places. :)

I stopped posting here for a while
but
I didn't stop cooking. :)

Back in Fall of 2011, I had a few interesting clashes with some interesting characters I'd met on a certain food-related site that was a pretty big outlet for me where food was concerned. And I decided at the time that the outlet was not worth the agita I was getting from it, so I stepped away for a while. And I needed something to replace that repository for my energy, so I began spending even more time generating content for my G+ page.

Still making kimchi... ^^

And over the past few months, that has proven to be a really good use of my time. I get to share my love of cooking and eating good food in a format that sparks and encourages discussion and in which I can control the amount of trolling, negativity, and passive aggressiveness that often contaminate discussions in an open forum. I try to be reasonably open and open minded to other viewpoints, and I think I can fairly say that I give people more than ample time and opportunity to show that they're not coming from a malicious or toxic place, but I'll be damned if I tolerate shitheadedness just for the sake of being perceived as tolerant.

...and pancakes with homemade raspberry-lemon jam on top...

Then in the beginning of last November, I also decided that I wanted not only to earn a living with food again, but that I wanted to try to the best of my ability to provide some worthwhile community service in the process. And in that spirit, I started to outline the foundation for what I would eventually call Project Alchemy. And it might seem for those initially interested and supportive that that idea had been all but buried, but it wasn't. It's just that the more research and thought I put into the project, the more I realized that I would have to conceive of a different way to execute if it was to serve the purpose for others AND for ME that I originally planned.

And then later that same month, the Man and I found out that I am hosting an alien Robinson pod. Which also explains some of why it's been such a challenge for me to post unique content here - I've been flat out exhausted a lot of the time. Being preggo in your late 30s is definitely a different experience from being preggo in your late 20s. But we're about 20 weeks into it now, and I am finally starting to feel some relief from all those beginning of pregnancy discomforts. And if kicks are a sign of approval, so far, the Pod seems to like to eat sweet things and hot things. :P

We did also manage to get out of the house a few times...

And then after a year of occasionally debating if there's any real reason for us to get married on the books and finally deciding that it's more practical to give me and the Pod health insurance through the Man's work than outside of it, we got hitched earlier this month in a really sweet, fun, funny, and intimate little shotgun ceremony at the courthouse - just us and the Monsters. And that seemed to make the Monsters really happy, which in turn made us all the happier about it.

But all the while, I've been posting unique food related content, usually at least 3 times a day on both my G+ and facebook pages (albums here and here), sharing lots of recipes, information, and helpful hints along the way.

I also learned how (and how NOT) to make ebelskivers.

And that downtime has been good for me, because taking a break from trying so hard consciously to find a solution to my project dilemma has allowed my subconscious to find a solution. And if all goes as planned, my recently announced

G+ Cookalong

will become the better mousetrap version of Project Alchemy.

At this point, I can think of no better platform to reach as many people as possible, as conveniently as possible, and perhaps even as effectively as possible. This will give me a chance to share what I know about cooking the food I love with anyone with a sincere interest in learning and doing along with me, at their own pace.

And I think I found a better way to bring my perennial
big ideas to fruition. :P

And if I can reasonably cover my costs and efforts through donations and eventually cookbook sales, it will also be free for those who have more pressing needs for their cash at the moment.

And it's off to wash some dishes and come up with a good birthday dinner for the Man.

Thanks for reading. I've missed you! :)

shinae

100 DOLLARS A WEEK PT.2 - Day 23 (Saturday) & Something About HAPPY NEW YEAR & Google...

It's been a little over a month since my last post and while I can attribute some of my delinquency to morningmorelikeallday sickness and fatigue and some work on the cookbook, if I am to be truthful, I think the biggest reason I haven't written here is because I've been writing there (and learning how very limited is my capacity to generate unique content in both places in the process).

And the instant gratification junkie in me finds it infinitely more instantly gratifying to download my scattered thoughts to immediate response and feedback there than here.

And yet there seems not to serve the sake of posterity as does here...

G+ scares me a bit with all its brilliant integration and amazingly intuitive grasp of the mind of its end user and how it almost makes me want to shelf all other social media (including this Google blog). I'm kind of afraid one day we're all going to find out who really runs Google is a crazy little bald dude with a hairless cat wearing a Chairman Mao getup who will sell all our search information to the Feds for *ONE GAZEEEEELLIONN DOLLERRZZZ* ^-, but at the moment, I find everything they do simply too crackalicious to resist.

That said, on Saturday, December 10th of 2011, we ate...

BREAKFAST

Some soupy steel cut oats with dried cranberries, brown sugar, and a little cinnamon for the adults. The kids were wrapping up an overnight camping trip with their dad.

Steel cut oats and milk for 2 $1.25

+ some dried cranberries, brown sugar and cinnamon $0.25

= $1.50 FOR BREAKFAST FOR 2

LUNCH

was chicken and dumplings. And because I hadn't had it in ages, it was extra delicious. :)

Specially with a splash of heavy cream in it. :)

All the dark meat from one chicken $3.00
+ some carrot, onion, peas, garlic, leeks $1.50
+ flour, water, sugar, salt, butter, and milk for dumplings $0.75

= $5.25 FOR LUNCH FOR 4

DESSERT

For an after lunch treat, we each had one of those iced Lofthouse cookies. I don't know why I like them because they taste about as real as a Twinkie, but they're oddly satisfying in that way that makes your teeth want to fall out...

$1.00 FOR FOUR COOKIES

SNACK

Never one to go long without a snack, Mads asked for apples and cinnamon. Which is a good thing because it gets us all eating a little more fresh produce along with her.

$0.50 FOR SNACK

DINNER

was a Caramelized Onion & Bacon Mac (or cavatappi in this instance) N' Cheese.

And some so-so watermelon that was refreshing nonetheless.

Cavatappi $1.00
+ cheese $1.50
+ some flour, butter, milk $0.75
+ 3 strips of bacon and some caramelized onions $2.00
+ half of a miniature watermelon $0.75

= $6.00 FOR DINNER FOR 4

After dinner treat was a visit from this groovy full moon as we watched X-Files. So apropos...

$14.25 spent on the second day of the last week of the project.

Friday 12/09 - $8.30
Saturday 12/10 - $14.25

$22.55 spent with five days left to account for. Having to pick up this PAIN IN MY ASS project after having dropped it for so long, I think I can safely say it's going to be a LONG time before I do another 100 Dollars A Week installment.

Back in a bit with the last shopping trip!

shinae