Restaurant

I recently had my favorite bowl of ramen in the US, at Ramen Shop in Oakland (edging out Shin Sen Gumi Hakata Ramen): The veggie ramen shown above (“shoyu broth with meyer lemo, chanterelles, salt-cured egg, broccoli di ciccio, shaved carrots, negi, and mizuna”) was very good, and I tend to like shoyu or salt broths over miso broths, but it was the “garlic miso ramen with smoked king salmon, pork belly, shoyu-marinated egg, frisée, gypsy peppers, and shungiku” that blew my mind. Such a rich, creamy, yet not too greasy broth, and noodles with a nice bite. ...

Another food-inspired trip to Portland (Oregon) with friends. We ate well. In a few quick cell phone photos: Highlights: Evoe: This place still blows me away. I wish I could cook this effortlessly, casually well. Two chefs at a counter with a simple stove, fresh ingredients, and simple delicious plates prepared to order. Charred greens with egg and anchovy. Piperade (a Basque dish of peppers and onions topped with a soft egg yolks). A salad made from translucently-sliced thin raw squash, soft cheese, and good olive oil. Peach-speck-purslane. Two types of peppers, sauteed with salt. ...

low-key dinner-during-daylight with family and a few friends. various pasta including this green garlic one (and an amazing asparagus ravioli): grilled sardines with perfect asparagus and peas: desserts including a pea leaf panna cotta(!)

Another year, another weekend trip to Portland to see friends, eat, and drink beer. Getting up early and going to sleep late– less to take advantage of the nightlife and more to fit in four meals a day. Some memories: Heart Coffee: Easily the best coffee of the trip. A very light roast, lemony, smooth. Highly recommended. Apizza Scholls: Oh, wow. I’d been here many years ago and remembered it being good, but the first hot slice of Margherita this time was one of the best slices of pizza I’ve had anywhere (including New Haven, Brooklyn, and Naples). Perfect. They nailed it. Thin crust without being crispy, elastic without being chewy, tender without letting grease soak through, tart distinctively tomato sauce without being too acidic, small pockets of excellent cheese and basil, and just the right temperature…. even 15 minutes later it wasn’t as amazing. The New York White Pie (fresh mozzarella, pecorino, ricotta, garlic) was also very good and moist, but not in the same league. ...

Cross-posting from a tour of San Francisco dumpling shops by bike (highlights: pork+chive dumplings with orange curry sauce from Kingdom of Dumpling, and pan-fried pork buns from Dumpling Kitchen).

After a month with almost no starch, the pasta tasting at flour + water seemed appropriate. A friend and I were there for a long, leisurely dinner past 1AM, as the staff were eating post-shift meals and generously not kicking us out. And it was one of the best pasta tastings I’ve had there. Their classic agnolotti dal plin was as good as I remembered, the fava radiatore with quail was soft, delicious, and different with every bite (with a bit of nice acidity from something?), and the combination of lamb, cocoa, and beets really worked. They even humored our hungry eyes with bread to mop up leftover sauce. ...

If I were in town for New Year’s, I would probably do this again:

I filled in at the last minute for a space in an Ad Hoc brunch reservation with friends (this seems to be a running theme for me and Yountville restaurants). It’s a fixed you-don’t-know-what-it-will-be-ahead-of-time menu, and I really lucked out– it hit all sorts of favorite ingredients for me (anise, cured fish, egg yolk, spicy greens, pickles, etc). We started with bagels with good salmon cured with fennel/Pernod(? – I think that’s what she said), fried capers, and a beet and spicy watercress salad. Unfortunately, the bagels were mediocre– a texture more like a dense bread, not chewy or lactic-acid-fermentation flavorful the way a bagel should be. But as vehicles for the salmon and cheese they were fine. ...

by D at SoW

After working late, I dropped by flour + water on my way home to see if there was a seat at the bar, sat down within 15 minutes, and had one of the better meals I’ve had there: roasted duck breast with chestnut, roasted squash, walnut & pumpkin seed I do like the time of year when chestnuts make an appearance in food. And this dish was phenomenal– juicy, tender duck with a slightly sweet chestnut puree and a lot of mellow, well-blended supporting flavors. ...

Fantastic thin-crust pizza. The toppings and flavor on the Bianca (“onion crema, shaved garlic, preserved lemon, aged provolone & wild arugula”) get an A+, probably the best Bianca I’ve ever had. I went into an almost “truffle-style coma” from the flavor combination of cheese, olive oil, and preserved lemon. The Amatriciana (“tomato, pancetta, chilies, pecorino, oregano & an egg”) was also quite good, though not as amazing. The crusts were thin, floppy, a bit less char and crunch than I like but still excellent. Ragazza has climbed into my pantheon of good pizza with good ingredients, along with Pizzaiolo, Boot & Shoe Service, and Una Pizza Napoletana. ...

I have a new favorite place to get Dim Sum in the bay area, edging out my previous favorite (East Ocean Seafood in Alameda): the Hong Kong Lounge, in San Francisco at Geary and 18th Ave. There were about 60 people in line, but a friend got there an hour early to put our names in: The food was remarkably delicious and not heavy. We filled up this table with dishes three times over the two hours we were eating there: ...

Among other food adventures last weekend, I went to Noisette, a mix of Noisepop-curated bands (I really enjoyed the new-to-me Pillowfight with Dan the Automator, Kid Koala, and Emily Wells… but I digress from food), Speakeasy beers, and delicious small plates by nine local restaurants. One of my favorites was the rabbit sausage with liver and peaches on a homemade cracker, by flour+water. I’m also a sucker for edible nasturtium flowers. ...

(a post without a photo of food?!) A link from my father: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/06/opinion/terms-of-service-in-new-york-restaurants.html

I spent 4 days in Sayulita and ate both great and deeply mediocre food. If I don’t write up a few notes now I’ll forget them, so off the top of my head: Good advice in general in Mexico: “Get tacos at outdoor places with red plastic Coca-Cola chairs”. (as a side note, I was horrified to see that the top Sayulita restaurants according to Tripadvisor readers are a burger place, a nachos place, and a burrito place) ...