Jim Barcelona's Philosophy and Food Blog - Food

What I can check off the Big Eat SF 100 List

nospam@example.com (barce) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 20:38:14 +0000

Here's the list.

Here's what I can check off:

3. Carnitas taco at La Taqueria -- it's such daily fare for me, that I'm surprised it's on this list.
7. Shaking beef at the Slanted Door -- I ordered this dish twice in one sitting.
10. Baja-style fish tacos at Nicks Crispy Tacos -- it's good, but on a top 100 list?
11. Pork sugo with pappardelle at Delfina -- nothing like fresh pasta
14. Beef brisket at Memphis Minnies -- yummers
21. Pizza margherita at Pizzeria Delfina -- it's nice when you can sit outside on a warm evening.
23. Beer sausage with sauerkraut and grilled onions at Rosamunde Sausage Grill -- and then I took this to the Toronado next door.
29. Spaetzle at Suppenküche -- I would have put the Saturday knoedel on the list instead.
33. Prime rib at House of Prime Rib
38. French fries at Hayes Street Grill
40. Cheeseburger at Taylors Automatic Refresher
62. Shrimp-and-chive dumplings at Ton Kiang -- I ordered 3 of these.
64. Paper masala dosa at Dosa
77. Eggs benedict on the back patio at Zazie
88. Buckwheat crepe and a French cider at Ti Couz
92. Bacon-wrapped hot dog from a cart in the Mission (preferably when youre drunk) -- On Folsom in front of some club playing 80s music. Porter was there.
96. Baby-coconut ice cream from Mitchells

There are some things on this list that I would have put:

A donut and coffee at the Silvercrest
A piadina and glass of wine at the Reverie Coffee Shop. Nobody else makes piadinas in San Francisco.

A place that does good Cioppino like Fog City Diner

Favorite Food Place in Potrero?

nospam@example.com (barce) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:57:27 +0000

Do you have a favorite food place in Potrero?

I like going to:

Hazel's
Whole Foods
The Taco Truck on Mariposa - just for the tortas. I don't recommend anything else.
Dos Penos
Connecticut Yankee

Any other places that you can recommend?

Food ideas...

nospam@example.com (barce) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 05:22:12 +0000

I've been eating in a lot lately. So far, the sort of cooking I do tends to be from Bon Appetit Magazine...

The latest was snow peas, which are in season, and crabcakes! Delicious!

Another Day, Another Burrito Blog

nospam@example.com (barce) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 17:44:46 +0000

There are some blogs that go into burritos that you can have in difference states. The Another Day, Another Burrito Blog just focuses on one spot that's on Rhode Island and Mariposa, Liz y Gaby's Taco Truck. I've had the tinga burritos here and they're great.

New Whole Foods in Potrero Hill on 17th and Arkansas

nospam@example.com (barce) — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 21:29:41 +0000

I finally found a place that I love to go to for coffee on my way to work.

It's the new Whole Foods in Potrero Hill on 17th and Arkansas.

Bloggers Night at the Symphony and Dessert at Sauce

nospam@example.com (barce) — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 06:43:06 +0000

Last night a an awesome friend invited me to Bloggers Night at the San Francisco Symphony. Kevin Smokler organized the event. James Gaffigan conducted three pieces that centered around the theme of romance.

Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet
Richard Strauss' Don Juan
Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3

Tchaikovsky's piece starts off slow and builds up to an ecstatic and joyful melody with the flutes alternating between two notes while the violins play the main melody. It ends with a sad and mournful funeral march.

The Strauss piece has the same movement from light to dark.

During the intermission, George Kelly asked conductor, James Gaffigan, "Do you have a blog?" The conductor replied that he didn't because he really expresses himself through his music.

Rachmaninoff's 3rd moves from angst and melancholy to utter joy and transcendent bliss. 23 year old pianist, Gabriela Martinez, played with endurance and excellence a really difficult piece and her rendition floored me. While at dessert at Sauce, I mentioned that in order to get your trance fix before electronica, you probably had to listen to Rachmaninoff.

The dessert at this place is absolutely fabulous. They have a sampler plate on the menu with the phrase "trust us..." After tasting the PB&J, which is pan seared sponge cake layered with homemade strawberry preserve and frangelico peanut butter and a vanilla ice cream center, I am ready to give the creators of such a divine dessert my social security number.

Sauce
131 Gough Street (between oak st. and lily)
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 252-1369
Dinner is from 5pm to midnight. Bar closes at 2am.

Have you tried Mission Pie?

nospam@example.com (barce) — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 05:07:44 +0000

Dear Lazy Web,

Has anybody tried Mission Pie on 25th and Mission yet?

Cheers,
Barce

Brothers Restaurant Lets You Barbecue

nospam@example.com (barce) — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 06:41:28 +0000

The idea is simple. You order a ton of meat. You cook it. You eat it, and then you pay for it, and you are happy. For a more fancy review you might want to check out yelp.

Brothers Restaurant aka Brothers BBQ
4128 Geary Boulevard (cross 6th)
San Francisco, CA 94118 (415) 387-7991
Hours:
Mon-Sun 11:00 a.m.-2:00 a.m.

credits: barce (on camera and voice), Mike Brenzel, Hal Kane, Evan Graham, Gabriella Giuliani

Noodle.ism's Tilted Bowls Slides Food Into Your Tummy

nospam@example.com (barce) — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 00:21:45 +0000

When you walk into Noodle.ism on West 5th and Congress in downtown Austin, the first thing that strikes you is the giant tiled hanging menu with all the food options. Each food option has it's own gigantic 8x10 to tempt your corrupt soul.

The stir fried udon with bok choy, chicken and red bell peppers corrupted my soul so badly that they'll have to event a new circle in hell. The noodles were chewy, the chicken cooked perfectly, and the sauce a pleasant mix of sesame, salty, sweet and sour. They were served in a tilted bowl so that I could lean back and admire the steam rising above this dish. You can have it spicy or mild. The service was both fast and friendly.

Noodle.ism
107 W. 5th Street
Austin, TX 78701

Rigolo's Whips Up The Best Mac'n Cheese in San Francisco

nospam@example.com (barce) — Sat, 06 May 2006 03:57:02 +0000

I was doing some work in Laurel Heights this afternoon, and after work I had a total hankering for some comfort food.

If you're looking for the best Macaroni & Cheese in town look no further than Rigolo's on 3465 California & Laurel.

A divine combination:
Macaroni, Creamy Gruyere Cheese Sauce, Proscuitto, Truffle Oil

Oh my gods, oh my gods, The Mac'n Cheese has: lots of creamy and thick gruyere. Tender, savory pieces of proscuitto, and your macaroni was also bathed lavishly in truffle oil. It is simply the best mac'n cheese in San Francisco & dare I say it, "The world!"

$8.95 gets you a bowl of mac'n cheese that left me sated.

Rigolo's
3465 California & Laurel
(415) 876-7777
www.rigolocafe.com
Monday - Saturday 7am - 9pm
Sunday 8 am - 9 pm

The Old Man Likes His Manicotti

nospam@example.com (barce) — Mon, 01 May 2006 18:43:38 +0000

Cafe Mondo on 602 Mission Street and 2nd Street is just a hop away from right after work hotspots like 111 Minna.

I had the manicotti special. It's not real, Italian manicotti, but it hits the spot for just under $8. Don't let the square of cheese melted on top deter you.

Where is the best manicotti in San Francisco?

Shopping for Art Supplies at Urban Ore Works Up an Appetite for Rockridge Cafe

nospam@example.com (barce) — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 17:46:08 +0000

After shopping with Devon McClive for art supplies at Urban Ore (yelp), I worked up quite an appetite and so had a hankerin' for a good breakfast.

The art supplies purchased came out to $14.07, which ain't bad for an art project inspired by Calder (wikipedia).

An early hanging mobile by Calder

Parasite by Calder

The Rockridge Cafe jumps with the hustle and bustle of breakfast eaters, even at around 2pm. I had the spinach, goat cheese, bacon omelette, which used to be a special, but was ordered so much that it's now part of the regular menu. Having this dish is worth the trip to the East Bay alone!

Urban Ore
900 Murray Street @ Ashby
Berkeley, CA 94710
Mon-Sat: 8:30 am- 7:00 pm
Sun: 10:00 am- 7:00 pm
Receiving closes everyday at 5:00 pm

The Rockridge Cafe
5492 College Avenue
Oakland, CA 94618
(510) 653-1567
http://www.rockridgecafe.com/
Open Daily, 7 Days a Week from 730am - 3pm

Medjool's Lamps Keep You Warm and their Food and Drinks Make You Happy

nospam@example.com (barce) — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 18:44:49 +0000

Medjool on 2522 Mission street and 21st street is probably the best place to catch the sunset in the Mission.

You can sit on their deck, keep warm with their heat lamps, and enjoy drinks made to order.

This Saturday for a friend's 32nd birthday, (Hi, Evie!) I got to enjoy:

pita bread with hummus and tabouli
shrimp with spicy chutney
spinach salad with bacon bits
a Hendrick's Martini with a slice of cucumber
lamb meatballs
lemony dolmas with rice cooked in a chicken broth

The food's fabulous, and the view of the Mission is great, too.

credit: flickr://eye-uh

Happy Saint Patty's Day!

nospam@example.com (barce) — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 18:53:50 +0000

Where are you getting your drink on, today?

I just love this speech by Mario Savio that goes like this:

We have an autocracy which runs this university. It's managed. We asked the following: if President Kerr actually tried to get something more liberal out of the Regents in his telephone conversation, why didn't he make some public statement to that effect? And the answer we received -- from a well-meaning liberal -- was the following: He said, "Would you ever imagine the manager of a firm making a statement publicly in opposition to his board of directors?" That's the answer! Now, I ask you to consider: if this is a firm, and if the Board of Regents are the board of directors, and if President Kerr in fact is the manager, then I'll tell you something: the faculty are a bunch of employees, and we're the raw material! But we're a bunch of raw material[s] that don't mean to have any process upon us, don't mean to be made into any product, don't mean to end up being bought by some clients of the University, be they the government, be they industry, be they organized labor, be they anyone! We're human beings!
[Applause]

There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part; you can't even passively take part, and you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop. And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!

You can listen to this speech, if you've got Real Player.

What's the Best Happy Hour in San Francisco? (Part 2)

nospam@example.com (barce) — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 18:21:47 +0000

I was at the Lucky 13, yesterday, on the advice of Adam Perry, drummer for The Love X Nowhere. Adam recommended the Lucky 13 a few blog posts ago, and so far it's my top pick.

$2.50 pints of beer until 8pm.

2140 Market St
San Francisco, CA 94114-1319
(415) 487-1313
Cross Street: Church Street

Any other suggestions?