Lesson: Never be a "girl" in a restaurant and order a salad

My philosophy in college was that salad took up important space in my stomach reserved for food that actually tasted good.  A freshman 15 later and the discovery of Farmer's markets, I began to realize that salads actually can taste awesome (well, at least my 22-ingredient ones do). 

BUT, my most recent restaurant meal has led me to revert back to my college stance.  At Dobbs Ferry Restaurant, my friend and I made the GRAND mistake of ordering salads.  They were boring and we sat at the table picking at our sad greens while salivating over everyone else's luscious pizzas and pastas.  The only thing that salvaged the meal was our fried squash and fondue appetizer, so delicious that I nearly ordered another.  Overall, the meal was not worth it and shame on me for trying to be healthy- always a bad move in a restaurant.

Fried squash and fondue dipping sauce

Large garden salad

Small beet salad

The Richmond - A trio of hotdogs!

The Richmond is a cute spot on Balboa and 7th in the Richmond District of San Francisco.  Apparently it's been open for 6 years, but only recently has climbed to the top of open table best in SF lists.  I thought I'd try it out because it's perhaps the most reasonably priced "upscale" restaurant I've come across in a while. 

I knew I had chosen well when the meal started off with 3 types of butter to top our warm, crusty baguette.  I moved onto a creamy and delicious pumpkin soup, while my friend could not resist the trio of hotdogs.  Chili dog, corn dog, and bacon-wrapped dog - come on!  I tasted the chili dog and it was awesome.  Then we ordered the salmon and bacon-wrapped steak.  We were clearly trying to balance out our bacon-guilt by ordering a few healthier options as well.  The Salmon was cooked perfectly, pink on the inside, moist, well seasoned.  The steak was decent, maybe even great for meat lovers, but I can't judge because I don't like red meat in general.  I'd probably opt for another item if I go back.

The overall meal was great, but edged on the salty side.  It's affordable and has a great wine list.  The best part is that I went two weeks ago and see that the online menu has already changed.  A sure sign of a good chef!

French bread with olive, salted, and sage butter

Pumpkin soup with roasted pepitas

Trio of hotdogs.  We went there.

Salmon over Ratatouille and tomato cream sauce

Bacon-wrapped steak with chard and potatoes

Southpaw BBQ Restaurant Review

My time in San Francisco is usually so limited that I don't have the opportunity to explore all of the new additions to the food scene.  Now that I have settled in for a few weeks, I discovered that the Mission is an entirely new area than what it was 3 years ago.  It's super yuppy and I love it!  There are so many great new restaurants and fun bars. 

I winded up at Southpaw BBQ during my last trip to the city with some great friends from college.  Perhaps it was our common memory of piling food onto our dinning hall trays that led us to order an absurd amount of food, but whatever it was, we went all out! 

I shared the pulled pork (awesome) and tray of side dishes: mac & cheese, grits, zucchini, black eyed peas, collard greens, brussel sprouts and bacon, and hush puppies.  I could have eaten an entire pot of the mac & cheese.  Ashley and Edward split the pulled pork and fried oyster sandwiches - also good.  But the stars on their plates were those sweet potato, salt covered chips.  I stole half of Ashley's batch!  The most fun part of the meal, however, was trying out each of the six special sauces.  Sweet potato, habanero was my fav.  All in all, Southern comfort food at it's best!  Only downside was the bar's obsession with whiskey, but some things in San Francisco will never change.

Menu

Ashley and Edward

Pulled Pork, Mac & Cheese, and Grits

Tray of Side Dishes

Pulled Pork Sandwich

Fried Oyster Sandwich

Ebisu Update

So apparently I didn't get my fix at Ebisu the first time I stumbled upon the Tuesday special lunch and  was compelled to return with my family the Tuesday before Thanksgiving just ensure our full week of over-eating started on point.  Check out my previous blog post about SF's best kept secret. 

Here are some of my favorite items from our latest visit.

Cabbage wrapped around a seafood meatball - surprisingly awesome!

Hamachi

Nigiri

Seafood salas

Sweet, softshell shrimp

An ode to Aunt Jemima

Follow the recipe on the box.  Keep the pancakes small.  Re-oil the pan after each batch.  Ask Lynn Fine if you have questions.  Enough said.

The Red House Restaurant Review

During my trip to the East Coast, I was lucky enough to stop in Cambridge MA and visit my good friend Lynn Fine.  Lynn and I met in Buenos Aires and she's now attending Harvard (genia).  We decided to go all out and have a little girls night at an awesome restaurant in town -  Red House.  We ordered the 3 most indulgent, comforting, and delicious items on the menu: scallops, seafood stuffed lobster, and pumpkin ravioli.  The scallops were the clear star of the show as we fought over the remaining sauce and pomegrante seeds.  Unfortunately I'm not sure when I'll be able to return to the restaurant, but it's recommended for all you Boston locals!

Winning Bread Basket

Scallops

Seafood stuffed lobster - not indulgent at all....

Pumpkin Ravioli in a cream sauce

Bubby's in Tribeca

One piece of advice if you go to Bubby's - order the baked goods or pancakes.  Bubby's is a cute, 24 hour, upscale diner with multiple locations in New York.  We waited for over an hour on a Sunday and I was blown away by the sweet dishes, but disappointed with the savory.  I ordered a chorizo and avocado omelette with a side of grits.  There was way too much chorizo in my omelette and I had to pick half of it out.  It also was one dimensional compared to my everything but the kitchen sink style omelettes I make at home.  This biscuits I ordered (and missed in the pic) were buttery, might have a heart attack, but don't care good.  A definite must even if you only have a bite.  My BFF, Darby, ordered the blueberry pancakes and I ended up eating her leftovers, because they were sweet, fluffy, moist, and perfect.  I'd opt for the pancakes next time if I go back.

Omelette

Blueberry pancakes, eggs, and sausage