Tribu Grill: A San Bruno Gem

Tribu Grill is Filipino fantasticness.  The restaurant began in the Philippens and is now franchising in the Bay Area.  I'm lucky enough to have one around the corner from my parent's house in San Bruno.  The menu has everything from ahi tuna to noodles and curry.  It's not the lightest food you can find, but it is quite tasty and certainly worth a visit.  So if you ever find yourself in San Bruno (not likely), give Tribu a try.

Tofu, eggplant, and white fish in chili sauce

Pumpkin and shrimp curry with green beans

Best ever sizzling ahi tuna

Kansas City BBQ: Un asado estilo EEUU!

Kansas City BBQ is on point.  The brisket and ribs are so tender they fall off the bone.  The turkey and chicken are delicious and still leave you feeling slightly healthy.  The thick-cut white wonder bread makes you reconsider ever buying wheat bread again.  The sauces are sweet and spicy, not vinegar based.  The sides and dessert top off an already too indulgent meal, but are so good you don't care.  In fact, I loved the BBQ at Arthur Bryant's and Jack Stacks so much that I, not the boys, requested to go two nights in a row, and I'm going to get some for my plane ride back to Argentina this evening. 

If ever in Kansas City, please stop by one of these two restaurants.  Arthur's is more hole-in-the-wall, famous for just being the best.  Jack Stacks is also great, but the sides are what win out.  If I had to choose just one, I'd go for Arthur Bryant's and order the POUND of meat with burnt ends and ribs.  (It's a pound minimum and America at it's finest).   So while Kansas City in general didn't llamar mucha atencion, it's BBQ was worth the trip alone.

P.S. some photos didn't come out great with my phone.

Counter and menu at Arthur Bryant's

"Open faced sandwich" with burnt ends and chicken

Small portion of ribs and beef

Brisket and Turkey with baked beans and cheesy corn

Mega sampler platter

Best carrot cake of all time (except for the one I make)!

A little late: New Year's Eve Dinner

Yes, homemade pizza, roasted green beans with parmesan cheese, baked sweet potato fries, sausage and veggie kebabs, incredible steak, and cupcakes seem to be sufficient for 4 people!  This year's NYE was low key and fun, just friends cooking dinner over wine.  All I need to be happy!

I was inspired by the following recipes:

Pear, goat cheese, pancetta pizza
Chicken apple sausage, cherry tomatoes, and goat cheese pizza
Kebabs with sausage and veggies
Roasted green beans
Sweet potato fries

Bringing in the New Year in at Frances in San Francisco

I finally got into Frances and it was worth the wait.  I was initially drawn to the menu because it’s small-plate style and I prefer restaurants where I can order multiple things for myself and get away with it.  Everything was delicious, fresh, and beautifully plated.  My only criticisms are that you can NEVER get a reservation before 9pm and that the cocktail menu is very lacking.  The food is updated comfort food that would have gone nicely with an interesting cocktail.

My other comment is that the food is VERY rich.  There was absolutely no lack of cream in the soup, polenta, chickpea fritter dipping sauce (and probably batter for that matter).  I didn’t feel my lightest after the meal, but I genuinely loved it all.  The grilled calamari and red snapper were the standouts.  

Chickpea Fritters

Grilled Calamari

Sunchoke and Celery Root Sup

Red Snapper

Side of Polenta and Mushrooms

Cheese Plate