Chow Down on Church

Another one of the great traditions in my life right now is "Roommate Dinner Night." Although it uses the same pick-a-place out of a hat technique of Fancy Foods Wednesday and Movie Night, RDN is by far the most exclusive of the clubs. To be part of it, you must live in San Francisco and have a cool roommate. Surprisingly few of the people in our group fit that mold, so the only current members are me, Eugi, Manu, and Panch.

This week's RDN was my pick of Chow in the Castro. As per usual, Manu & Panch had to work late, so it was just Eugi and me. Chow is apparently a four location chain in the city. It features a broad menu of American and (shudder) organic foods to fit all palettes. Also apparently has a good brunch. It's a little bit hidden, right off of Market on Church. I really liked the entrance because you have to walk through a big velvet curtain after the main door! You feel like a magician :)

The restaurant is very homey with fall colors and almost a 1920s saloon vibe. We were able to sit by one of the big glass windows at the front letting us mass people watch outside. It seems like a really "local" place. For a Monday night, there was a hugely steady crowd, and everyone seemed to know what they were doing. 

I actually bought a beverage (which almost never happens at restaurants). Along with a wide variety of drinks and alcohol, they had some interesting add-ons. First there was "Hot Lips" soda (apparently raspberry and cherry) and then something called a "Blushing Girl." I was of course intrigued, especially when I found out it consisted of vanilla ice cream, orange yogurt, and raspberry soda. SO GOOD!!!! It tasted like an Orange Julius made with froyo. It was totally overpriced at like $6, but I really really enjoyed it.

I had a hard time picking my entree among the many safe choices. I ended up with a fried egg, ham and cheese sandwich (egg is another of my keywords that I always have to order). I was very tempted to try one of the pizzettas though. My sandwich was quite tasty!!! I was a bit confused when it came out with the fried egg on top, but some quick re-stacking mitigated any worries I had. The bread was like grilled cheese consistency which always makes me happy :). It also came with yummy fries.

Eugi ended up getting a side salad and a burger on a baguette. The choice of roll made it seem way classier than a typical burger and he seemed to enjoy it as well. We both noticed that it looks like the menu is changed seasonally, so definitely some incentive for repeat visits. RDN ftw!

the Castro's late night back-up

Last night we had another wonderful time in the Mission, closing out the bars (at the whopping CA hour of 2 am). Due to the fact that it took us a good 35 minutes and 8 blocks (in like 20 degree weather) to get a Jess a cab, we all ended up super craving some hot cooked late-night snackage. Of course, the immediate thought was to hit up the beloved Orphan Andy's <3, so we naively quested from the taqueria filled Valencia st. to my hood. 

Desert Fries, not to be confused with Dessert Fries

Because the Castro is SF's most happening place, and OA can seat about 10 people at a time, it was completely packed with a huge line. After some pro-tips from the dude ahead of us, we found out that Sparky's was even more congested, and so we put our faith in a Yelp search. Up came Bagdad Cafe, the triangular place that you always see when you are waiting for the light on 16th & Market. Thankfully there was no wait so we were sold.

giant nachos

The menu wasn't exceptionally exciting, pretty basic cafe/diner food... but without the pizazz or special items. BEWARE! they try to trick you with claiming to have "dessert fries." I'm not entirely sure what that means, but I imagine that anything involving sweet and french fries (e.g. sweet potato fries, fries & ice cream, etc) must be hardcore win. Not so much!!! It's actually "desert" fries which are just regular with some spicyness. LAME and misleading

Beyond that, the food was kind of expensive and not memorable. The fries were all soggy. Ken got a giant plate of nachos which was exciting from a purely quantitative perspective. Took forever for food and bill and we didn't get home till like 4am. boooo

really cool IRL

The one positive was that they had some very nice artwork on the wall. My favorite was the above (horribly cell photoed) painting of the neighborhood. It has Mr. Sutro in it <3 so that always makes me happy :)

At Home in the Castro :)

I freaking love the Castro! It is the only neighborhood that is always hopping no matter what the day or time. Plus, I miss my beloved el Seandola so much, and it reminds me of his awesomeness (altho he's not that awesome considering he doesn't even read my blog >:P)

Last Friday, despite being up for like 2 days straight due to the International Date Line and some serious bummed-out-ness about leaving Japan, I knew I had to go out. As much as I am in love with Tokyo, San Francisco means everything to me and I had missed it very much <3. What could be better than eating dinner at Home, a comfort-food stop in the Castro?? :)

The location is great, right by the downtown cross-section of the neighborhood on Market St. There is ample seating, and a full menu with a lot of traditional "home-cooked" favorites. Since Eugi was super hungry, and owed me big-time for withholding important information :P, we got lotsa food! The appetizers all looked amazing. We ended up with beer-batter fried beans and macaroni and cheese. Loved them both!! The batter on the beans was crazy addictive. I wanted to gobble up the whole plate. The mac & cheese was very homemade tasting, and had a great combo of cheeses. In my haste, I spilled quite a bit on the table :( so I didn't consume as much as hoped.

Meal-wise, I got a pork chop with applesauce dressing and cheesy grits. SO GOOD! I'm not a big meat person, but pork has always been one of my favorites. The sauce really well illuminated the flavors. Also, the way the meat sat in the cheesy grits was perfect. By the end they got all melty and mushy around it, mmmmmm. I love cheesy anything. Sadly I was full and couldn't finish (having like 5 meals in one "day" will do that), but I totally would go again.

The portions were HUGE! Eugi ordered chicken and got half a freaking bird. His side was Rice-a-Roni. This made me happy for multiple reasons. 1. Rice-a-Roni rocks 2. It's the San Francisco treat! How regionally appropriate :D 3. He's from Italy, was unaware of the brand, and I got to sing the jingle and describe the 90s commercial to him <:D

Rice-a-Roni, the flavor can't be beat~~

Recommend!

Philadelphia in Italia

today i happily fb statused "i wish more foods had fried egg and/or cream cheese as condiment options" so when we stopped at our very favorite SF late night diner, i could do nothing better than order an omelet with cream cheese and jelly. that sounds pretty disgusting, even for me... but ironically the person who suggested it was EugiEugi. Apparently in Italy, it's a common dish to put jelly and Philadelphia in an omelet?! What is even crazier, is how this ridiculously flamboyant, semi-grubby diner in the Castro picked up such an international delicacy?? I think the answer is that Orphan Andy's and it's 24/7 goodness just pretty much rocks. I've only been there at very off-times (11 pm on Weds, 1:30 am sun night) and it's always PACKED! it's tiny and the bathroom is smaller than one on an airplane, but the food is delicious and the portions generous. Each breakfast food comes with a side of pancakes! Also, they have a variety of exotic burgers (also involving cream cheese). but don't go if you are from Romania. it doesn't meet the country's cleanliness standards. 

in case you are wondering if that's a slab of cream cheese and strawberry jam in an omelet: Yes.

if you on the shore then you sho' not me, oh!!!!

cuz, I'M ON A (SUSHI) BOAT MOFO-ER!!!

for years (and by years, i mean months since kevin came to visit) i have heard tell of the magical concept of "sushi boat" : |. i finally went last Friday, and it was every bit as pure amazing as i had hoped and dreamed. eugi, manu and i hit up Warakubune Sushi in the Castro. so awesome!!! for those of you who have not yet experienced the magic, at sushi boat places you sit around a central island counter. in the middle is a chef... he is consta-refreshing little plates on these boats that sail around the moat in front of you. each plate is priced, and you reach up and grab whatever you want! so great :D. The sushi here was decent, especially for a serve yourself type place. Also, they had one spicy roll that was topped with Taro fries, highly recommend!

endless possibilities await... raining sushi, slingshot sushi, train sushiiiiii