Posts Tagged ‘food’
SF Restaurants: Eats, NakedFish, Burma Superstar Restaurant, Sushi Bistro, Nizario’s Pizza, Five Happiness
March 23rd, 2009
It’s been about two weeks since I’ve been living in SF. I’ve decided I’m going to try to eat at a different restaurant for each meal I have out there. I figured I’m only there a few days a week and I don’t see myself going grocery shopping and cooking meals. I’m mostly living out of a suitcase so it makes more sense to eat out. There’s a variety of different restaurants within walking distance to where I’m staying and have received some good recommendations so far.
Eats (50 Clement St)
Eats is a small breakfast place on Clement St. I had a bacon and cheddar omelette that was pretty tasty. I’ve had bad breakfast before, but for the most part it’s hard to ruin bacon and eggs. I don’t eat breakfast too much. I get caught up in my work and by the time I go eat, it’s already time for lunch. Eats was good though and I’d probably go back.
NakedFish (2084 Chestnut Street) – Website
We found ourselves in North Beach for St Patrick’s Day weekend and decided to have sushi at NakedFish. The restaurant has a sushi bar in front and a small seating area in the back. I started with the Tuna Tataki Salad which was pretty good. The tuna was fresh and flavorful and made for a good starter. I also had one of the house special rolls, but forgot the name of it. The fish was fresh and that’s all you can really ask for when eating at a sushi restaurant.
Burma Superstar Restaurant (309 Clement St) - Website
The following week, a friend recommended I try Burma Superstar. She had heard good things about it, so I headed over there for lunch. The place was packed with people waiting outside, but the wait was pretty short. I heard people talking to each other saying how great the place was and what their favorite dishes were. This got my hopes up and it didn’t disappoint. I had a Burma Cooler at lunch which was just a beer with lemon and ginger. I ordered the Burmese Style Chicken Salad and it was probably one of the best chicken salads I’ve ever had. The chicken was crispy and the dressing over the lettuce was very tasty. I probably should have ordered something else though because I left feeling hungry still. It was a good experience though and a place I would recommend to others.
Sushi Bistro (431 Balboa St) – Website
I was told that there was a sushi restaurant that only opens when the owner feels like it. He puts a flag or a sheet up on the window and then you know he will be open for the night. I think you need to get on a guest list or something like that because the house fills up fast. It’s supposedly the best sushi in the area. I walked by and saw people in line and a sign on the door saying to come back at 9:00 – 9:30PM. It’s too much work and I just want to eat. I decided I wasn’t going to get in there that night, but I’m going to try to find my way in there someday. Down the block this brought me to Sushi Bistro.
The restaurant is very hip from the crowd to the music and everything around it. I guess that’s what you get when the restaurant is featured in an iPhone commercial. It was just too busy for my tastes. I don’t really like the feeling where I’m eating in a dance club. There were too many people around me and people bumping my table and I was getting claustrophobic in there. The food didn’t disappoint though. I ordered the Ahi Tuna Poke special of course, which is a bed of baby greens with ahi tuna on top. The dressing was very flavorful and the tuna was very fresh. The avocado and crispy noodles were a nice touch and it made for a great salad. The waitress said the dish was one of their most popular items and it was definitely one of the better ahi tuna salads I’ve had. I also had the Y.T. Jalepeno which was also good.
Nizario’s Pizza (3840 Geary Blvd) – Website
Lately I’ve found myself eating pizza by the slice late night. This brought me to Nizario’s Pizza late Friday night. Pizza always seems better late at night. I picked up a couple of slices and ate them back at the apartment. The pizza was good, but not the best I’ve had. It was good for a late night eat, but there’s a lot of pizza places around there and I’ll have to try some of the others to find the best.
Five Happiness (4142 Geary Blvd)
I had a craving for Italian food so I ended up eating Chinese food. It was more of a matter of being really hungry and seeing a restaurant and eating there. The Five Happiness restaurant is a pretty typical chinese restaurant. I started off with the Hot and Sour soup which was pretty good. Most have pork, but this one didn’t and I want to say it could be vegetarian, but not sure. I had the salt and pepper chicken wings and shrimp chow fun gravy style. Both dishes were tasty and the restaurant was very reasonably priced.
I found some pretty good restaurants over the last couple of weeks, but out of this list if I had to pick a place to recommend it would be Burma Superstar hands down. When people recommend it and you leave a place feeling good about what just happened, it’s a good thing to remember. I had that feeling eating there and that’s why I’m recommending it. The other places were good as well and I think everyone should try them also. There wasn’t a bad place in this list at all. I’ll be back out there in a few days looking for more places to eat. Until then it’s back to work like always.
Wine & Chocolate Weekend – Lodi Wine Country
February 16th, 2009
Yesterday I met up with a few friends at the Lodi Wine Country. I’ve done a good amount of tasting in Livermore Wine Country and a few places scattered throughout the US. Lodi Wine Country was hosting the Wine & Chocolate Weekend event February 14-15, 2009. It lasted from 11am-4pm both days and I showed up around 3pm on Sunday. Even though it was kind of late, we were still able to taste at three wineries.
First up was Abundance Vineyards. They just opened a new location which was really nice. I’m all about modern things and it’s probably why I don’t have much appreciation for historical landmarks. To me it’s just someplace old. There were a decent amount of people there, but not too many. The wine was okay also.
Our next stop was Lucas Winery. They had some good tasting wine. To be honest, I have no clue what I’m doing. If it tastes good to me that’s all that really matters. I picked up a bottle of their Zin Blossoms. It’s supposed to be a summer wine, but I’m not sure if it will last until then. By then it was already 4pm, so we looked for a place that was open until 5pm.
This brought us to Jesse’s Grove Winery. It seemed like the people were much friendlier there. There were also some people that had too much to drink. I guess that’s what happens late in the wine tasting day. The wine maker explained a couple different barrels, one with oak treatment and one without and a mixture of the two. It was pretty interesting and nice that someone was willing to take the time to explain to someone that knows nothing about the industry. I picked up their bottle of Carignane. I noticed the alcohol content is a little higher than some of the other wines so that could probably be a good explanation for the state of mind of the people tasting there. One of my friends burnt her jacket on the space heater. Seriously who does that?
It was a pretty fun trip even through the weather could have been better. It was overcast and rainy at times. I guess that’s what I should expect during winter. I’ll need to go out and taste more as spring and summer come around. It’s much more fun when it’s sunny outside, but not too hot. I’m looking forward to my next trip and if anyone has any recommendations of places to go, let me know.
Pismo Beach
January 26th, 2009
I spent last weekend in Pismo Beach. I drove down there Friday night with a buddy and didn’t get in until after midnight. We were both pretty tired and ended up just calling it a night. The hotel room at the Sandcastle Inn was pretty basic, but it had a nice view. They are also pet friendly so I was able to bring my puppies on the trip with me. The price was very reasonable even with it being a winter month. The weather was a little wet and overcast most of the time, but you can’t really expect more than that even if someone makes guarantees or promises otherwise. There weren’t a lot of people laying on the beach obviously, but a good amount walking their dogs or taking a walk themselves.
We had the continental breakfast the hotel serves which was pretty basic – bagels, toast, muffins, waffles, juice, etc. I wasn’t expecting much more, but I definitely needed to eat somewhere else the following morning.
After that I took the dogs for a walk along the beach. We had hot chocolates at Mon Ami a small coffee and crepe shop in downtown Pismo. The people there were very friendly and let me take the dogs in which was nice. The hot chocolate was pretty good as well. There weren’t a lot of people out in Pismo Beach nor San Luis Obispo for that matter. I’m pretty sure it was probably bad weather, but it seemed like a ghost town in lots of parts.
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Ahi Tuna Salads
January 8th, 2009
Over the last few years I’ve primarily started eating chicken and fish. I tried to cut out pork and beef and for the most part been pretty successful. There are times when I do eat pork, but I try to keep it to a minimum. When I go out to eat I can usually find something to eat on the menu. I found myself going to more restaurants that have a variety of fish selections on the menu like sushi restaurants and fish taco restaurants. I also started eating a lot more salads. I can always get a chicken salad almost anywhere, but really started liking seared ahi tuna salads.
For the most part I don’t really eat at fancy restaurants on a daily basis. I’d like to but financially and where I live now makes it pretty difficult. Whenever I see seared ahi tuna salads on the menu or even a restaurant that serves seared ahi, there’s a good chance that’s what I’ll order. To me it seems like a pretty simple dish, but it’s not really something I can make at home. It really depends on the freshness of the fish. I’m a pretty simple guy so if the fish and lettuce is fresh and the ahi is not overcooked, I’m pretty happy.
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Cooking More
September 29th, 2008
I started cooking more the past couple of months and I have a few reasons for doing it. The biggest reason is I live in the middle of nowhere. The closest store or restaurant is a 10-15 minute drive so I’ve been stocking up on groceries and trying to eat more meals here at home. The second reason is I think it’s healthier. I’m able to control my diet easier. For the most part I try not to eat pork and beef. I’ve been doing this for quite a while now, but like I’ve said in earlier posts I’m not always that strict on diet. I’ve heard some people cook because they enjoy it. I’m not one of those people. I don’t mind it, but I don’t really get any enjoyment out of it. I used to cook back in college with my friends Ann and Michaela, and I enjoyed it, but I think it was more the aspect of hanging out with friends as opposed to the cooking part.
One thing that has allowed me to cook more is that I don’t work as many hours. Over the last couple of years I’ve been putting in about 12-15 hours a day more or less and there really wasn’t much time for other things. It was much easier to pick something up and keep working to get things done. I was wasting time preparing meals when I could be being productive and earning money. I think things in my life have changed. My lifestyle is a lot slower. I find myself playing with my pets and watching TV instead of going out all the time. I’m also working less hours. I reached certain goals I was looking for when I started the company and I think I’m at a point where I need more balance.
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Raw Food Diet
June 16th, 2008
I saw a link to this article on Times Online and I started thinking could I live off a raw food diet? Over the last couple years for the most part cut out red meat and pork from my diet and try to be more conscious in what I throw in my body. I’ve cheating on the diet at times, but I figure I used to eat a lot of unhealthy things all the time and if I do it once in a while it’s probably okay. I’m not on the diet to lose weight, just be healthier. I’ve definately cut back quite a bit and I don’t know if I am healthier, but I feel healthier and I’ve had a lot better scores during my physicals.
I just don’t think I could do a raw food diet. I think I would always desire other foods and when I go out to eat I wouldn’t choose the raw food dish. When they say raw food diet it states that it’s a vegan style diet. I think I may be able to get away with that and say raw fish. I may be able to do that, but then again I usually like eating the sushi with rice.
I think cutting back and eating what I eat now has been a pretty big struggle. I think I was able to sacrifice some things, but still able to enjoy others. In the raw food diet to me it seems like I’d be sacraficing almost everything. I guess right now in my life that’s not something I’m willing to try. That may change in the future though.
