Spice Dish

Munch, Munch, Munchery

You’re staring off into the void of your grey cubicle walls and you suddenly realize that your fridge at home is empty and it’s raining out. There is no way you’re hoofing it outside to pick up dinner after you finally make it home. Take out? Greasy Pad See Ew again? No. Not again. How about Orange-Dijon Pork Tenderloin, Roasted Asparagus & Herbed Quinoa or a Caramelized Onion, Goat Cheese, Zucchini Galette? Followed by a Pistachio Cake?

That’s more like it. Enter Munchery.com. Food delivery by personal chefs.

I ordered Grilled Hanger Steak with Risotto, "Hen-of-the-wood" Mushrooms, Fennel, Parsley oil and Beef Jus plus an Award Winning Old School Chocolate Chip Cookie. It really was just like takeout but much fancy-pantsier.  It was clear that instead of a spork and a packet of sauce, this dinner called out for a glass of wine and a cloth napkin.

All nice and neat

I followed the reheating instructions and arranged my plate. Gorgeous. The beef was perfectly cooked and seasoned. The texture of the risotto was a little underdone, but the flavor was fantastic. I was pleasantly surprised by the parsley oil.

Mmmm... dinner

The cookie was seriously delicious. It was chocolate chunks with a little dough holding it together—definitely a melty-chocolate, finger licking experience.

All in all I really enjoyed my Munchery meal and I’m sure I’ll order from them again. The food was fresh, tasty and a great departure from ordinary take-out. I also love that you know who is cooking your food since you can read up on each chef.

For people that don’t cook, this would be the perfect ‘come to my place for dinner’ date meal option or just a way to add some luxury to your life by ‘hiring’ your own personal chef.

For a limited time I can give you a referral code for 20% off if you’d like to try the service. Just shoot me an email! Only available in San Francisco.

 Enjoy!

EB

*** Full disclosure: Munchery gave me a credit to try the service and asked only that I give them my thoughts on the experience. No write-up required. 

 

What's the Sign for Pizza?

mozzeria.com

There’s been a lot of chatter about Mozzeria. A new little joint in the mission that specializes in Neapolitan style pizzas and happens to be owned and operated by a deaf couple. The fact that the bulk of the staff/patrons are non-hearing makes for a quieter dining experience than you might be used to in the Mission, but whether hearing or not, a draw for any restaurant is the food.

 mozzeria.com

The reviews have been mixed but my dining companions and I enjoyed pretty much everything about our meal. Knowing that pizza was the star, and wanting to try whatever came out of the Stefano Ferrara wood-burning oven, we ordered the margherita w/buffalo milk mozzarella, the eggplant/cherry tomato special and the roast duck with hoisin sauce special. Unfortunately the duck pizza was sold out. Ho hum, more room for cheese. We also ordered the crab ravioli, pecorino cheese which came with a lovely, buttery crouton and the Mozzeria Bar. Which is, for all intents and purposes, a giant, fried mozzarella stick-- a very delicious, giant, fried mozzarella stick. The pizza crusts were perfect. Thin, chewy and with a slight saltiness. The ravioli was creamy and lovely too. Our only real disappointment was the ricotta cheesecake. The flavor was great, but it was frozen solid.

There were a few tiny kinks in service, but there always are with new restaurants and nothing serious enough to complain about here.

 mozzeria.com

The next day, I did get the chef’s take on what it’s like to work there, produce usage and what he wants the menu to be (versus what it is), but cocktails were involved and we all blow off work steam at the bar right?

I really enjoyed my dinner and will most definitely go back. It seems like I’m not the only one either, lines and crowds can continually be found at their door already. 

 

Enjoy!

EB

 

You can find Mozzeria at:

 

3228 16th Street (at Guerrero Street)
San Francisco, CA 94103

(415) 489-0963

 

Resolutions 2012!

Happy New Year's!

Again, I'm not a New Years resolution kind of gal, just never have been. But lovely Marisa, of Food In Jars inspired me this morning. Just because I don't do personal resolutions doesn't mean I can't make some bloggy ones! So here goes, my Blog Resolutions for 2012:

1- To post more vintage cookbooks (you guys seem to like those)

2- Maybe a little re-design (change is good right?)

3- In general, just be more consistent with my posting (I can do it!)

Sound good? Ok then. Happy 2012!

EB

Cheap Eats in the Summer of Love

Looove the logo!

Hardworking immigrants who operate small establishments, serving heartfelt food at living wage prices? That’s our favorite thing these days in San Francisco right? Really, there is some truth to the saying that there is nothing new under the sun. We've always been a food city.

In 1969 R. B. Bread was a writer for the Examiner-Chronicle and a little book called “The San Francisco Underground Gourmet: An Irreverant Guide to Dining in the Bay Area.” His specialty was finding “different and excellent eateries” that were “small and modest.” He championed the mom n' pop joints that were overlooked by most publications. At the time, “ethnic” foods were all over the city but not nearly in the numbers we think of as normal today. While now you see Bernal Hill three year olds chowing down on octopus at any given sushi joint, in 1969 Read had to spend half his time explaining what things were before he could tell you where you should eat them!

So why on earth did I pick up an ethnic food restaurant guide from 1969? There were two things that made me plunk down my four dollars for the book: one, Read proclaims that “San Franciscans need a restaurant guide” due to the fact that for all of San Franciscans “heady interest in the subject” there was very little exploring outside of certain comfort zones. Can you imagine? Us needing a restaurant guide? Two, Read includes “Gay” as an ethnic food category, right between Frisco and German! He acknowledges that most gays are not “glamorous theatrical personages” but “wage earners in humdrum and humble occupations” who needed a place to go be themselves, where they could be free from discrimination. In a sign of the times, while he only finds three Korean restaurants worth mention he lists almost three pages of “Gay” restaurants. Can you imagine his joy cruising the Richmond today? 

Very few of his haunts remain, but some like Lois the Pie Queen hold fast and have changed little. Others like Tadich Grill remain but are clearly out of the budget conscious realm that got them in the book.

While apparently Read was a “well-known San Francisco epicure and bon vivant,” a “world traveler, journalist and resource economist,” I haven’t been able to find much about him. But I think it’s pretty clear, with his ‘get out there and find good food in small places’ mentality he would undoubtedly be a food blogger if he were on the scene today.

EB

Of Anniversaries and Things

My first picture posted

I started SpiceDish four years ago. FOUR. It’s strange where life takes you in four years. I’ve never been a diary keeper (too embarrassing) but I realize now that SpiceDish is a diary of sorts. Looking back on past posts I can see when I was happy at my work (fewer posts), when I needed escape (more posts), when I was engaged with the blogosphere (lots of comments), and when I was playing recluse (no comments).

I can see when larger life issues, very personal ones, took precedence over posting or when I was compelled to post by those same issues.

I have met some truly amazing people because of SpiceDish. People like Bethany, Victoria, Sarah and Jessie.  I have been let into many other worlds in the past years and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.

Like a lot of you, I’m at yet another crossroads in life. The ‘what’s next’ type. The ‘can I really make that happen’ type.  I have no idea where I will be come next October’s blogiversary, and that’s a bit scary. I do know that I’ll be able to look over the year’s posts and see where I’ve been. And that is comforting.

Here’s to another year.

Enjoy-

EB

 

It's All About the Meat

An absloutley perfect old fashioned  

There are some places in this city that defy description. That said, let me try. The House of Prime Rib is a bastion of all things old-school and awesome. This place has become an institution since opening in 1949. With good reason-- perfect old fashioneds, never ending martinis and meat--lots of meat. In fact, while the wine list is so large it requires dictionary-like binding, there is actually only one item on the restaurant’s menu. Prime rib. You can choose your size of cut, but that’s it. It comes with sides: salad, creamed spinach, Yorkshire pudding and potato. These are your options folks, and you are blessedly grateful for it. Ok yea sure, there's a "fish option" listed sheepishly, and in very small print, on the menu-- a concession to some sad souls to be sure.

The salad is spun at your table, sour cream is flung at baked potatoes, bread is dutifully replenished to soak up the copious cocktails. But it’s the beef that is the star. And that is as it should be. It’s perfectly  cooked, perfectly seasoned and it’s everything you didn’t know you wanted.

 
It's all about the meat

In short,  it’s glorious. It’s fun, it’s ridiculous, it is an experience. It’s the House of Prime Rib.

 

Go. Eat meat. Enjoy!

 

House of Prime Rib

(888) 808-7631 

1906 Van Ness Ave

Juxtapose

 

I love the juxtaposition in this city. Somehow, wherever you are, you're only one block from the corner of crack and whore in one direction and the corner of rich and waspy in another. You see some of the best artwork in the world, while standing next to a pile of trash. Much of this yin/yang can be found in the places we choose to eat. While I've understood this for a long time, the reality of it hit me just this weekend when I went from a culinary relic to what's clean, fresh and new.

 

On Saturday, after a 3 hour long Batmitvah at the temple on Brotherhood Way (mazel tov!) we were really, really hungry and stuck in the culinary no-mans land that is Lake Merced. Options? Not many. Decision? Joe's of Westlake. Joe's of Westlake is an experience. It's a restaurant that time forgot. The menus haven't changed, the bar hasen't changed (yes that is Crystal Gayle on the jukebox thank you....), hell even the servers haven't changed, since 1980 at least! This place serves chablis by the carafe, sides of spaghetti with your steak and a dessert called "Fried Cream in Blue Flame." There's lots to make fun of about this place, it's an irony-loving hipster paradise to be sure, but the thing is sometimes a plate of chicken parmesan followed by a cup of coffee and a scoop of spumoni really is a thing of glory.

 

The next day, I was toddling around the Mission with a friend and we needed a little respite from the heat because we San Franciscan's just don't know how to handle the flamin' orb in the sky-- so we popped into Radish for a light lunch and a drink. Opened just in April, this great little spot has a fantastic new-american menu (local ingredients, in-house made breads, fresh organics etc) all with a Southern twist. It's clean, new, shiny and boasts a friendly waitstaff to match. I had an herb and organic berry salad while my friend had the po' boy. Both delicious. We had pink, juice and beer based drinks (sounds weird but were excellent on a hot day) and chatted with the staff. Everyone in the place seemed relaxed, well fed and really enjoying the art-filled, freshly painted interior. And it was just what we wanted on that day.

 
But who's to say that tomorrow I won't want carnitas tacos off a truck for lunch and and a 15$ burger served in a white linen joint for dinner. One block either way and I'm sure my cravings could be satisfied.

EB

Southern Fried Chicago

table52.com

I've been away the past few weeks. Off to Chicago. A place I can now say I really, really dig! The Art Institue? Amazing. The shopping? World class. The drinks and views from famous skyscrapers? Unforgettable. And then there was the chicken.

There was fried chicken, braised short ribs, fried chicken, goat cheese biscuits, fried chicken, deviled eggs with caviar and oh yeah... fried chicken. So... the chicken. I was invited to Table 52 by a friend who had made the reservation months in advance and figured she'd find some people to go with. The reservation was made for a particular night of the week. The night they serve... you guessed it... fried chicken. It was amazing fried chicken I must say. Our group was super sporting and ordered basically one of everything so we could all try everyone else's dishes... but the chicken won out. Hands down.

The place was cozy, charming, noisy and warm (due to the closeness of a brick oven). Upscale southern food on white linen, that somehow wasn't stuffy at all. All served up in a super cute space in Chicago. If you find yourself in the windy city anytime soon I say after a cocktail on the Wit rooftop, head over for mac n cheese, grits, fried chicken, pork chops, fried chicken...

Table 52

52 West Elm Street
Chicago, IL 60610-2769
(312) 573-4000

 

Enjoy!

EB

¿Quién es el Sr. Pollo?

Who is Mr. Pollo? He is, in fact, Manny Torres Gimenez. A seriously inspired chef who caters to his diners as if they were family. Charming and talented, he knows what people want. Delicious food, prepared by someone who truly cares.

Once you arrive you quickly realize that this hole in the wall joint offers 5 star food at bad, chain-restaurant prices.

My dining companions and I all had the tasting menu which was chock full of sea faring goodies like octopus, mackerel and scallops. There was also a cheese stuffed arepa and because we were ogling another diner's goat, a complimentary final dish of mouth watering goat atop a perfectly caramelized plantain.

The only drawback to this place was the diners itching to get in that mad-dogged us from between the curtains, hoping to inspire us to hurry the hell up so they could cop our seats and dive in to deliciousness.

This is not a quick meal. It is a truly unexpected, several courses, hours long experience. Enjoy it.

Get yourself there. Pronto.

2823 Mission St
(between 24th St & 25th St)
San Francisco, CA 94110
http://www.mrpollosf.com/mrpmenu.htm

(415) 374-5546

 

Resolutions Away!

It's that resolutiony time of year it seems. I've never been much of one for the "quit smoking," "lose 10 lbs," "call my mother more often" type of resolutions, or any type really. But this year, as I looked back on last, I realized that my crazy little life got in the way of well... my life. The things I love most kind of fell to the wayside while I dealt with other things. So, for the first year in many (or maybe ever) I'm making a few resolutions. Declaritive statement time. My New Year's Resoultions for 2011 are to:

Eat: Elsewhere. There are literally thousands of restaurants in this city, and I go to a lot of them. But every once in a while I realize I have a few places that have become go-to's more often than they should be. Places like George's have been on my list of to-get-to's for ages. I walk by it weekly. Yet I've never made it inside. 2011 is your year George!

 

Listen: Music. There is some amazing live music in this city on a nightly basis. I've started taking that for granted and getting lazy about going to shows. Hey... I've got a work schedule that's a little less than stellar... but I need to kick it into gear and get out there and discover the next great group to sell out.

 

Do: "Stuff". Another thing this city is full of? Odd, hidden little places. Like the Seward St Slides. These kinds of things are always in my mind, but rarely on my calendar. It's time to fix that.

 

See: Movies! Specifically at the Red Vic, the Castro & the 101 year old Roxie. I love films. Hell, I teach film! But I rarely get to the theater to see them, much less the awesome indie theaters we have. Way beyond the blockbusters, these theaters show gems like everyone's fave "The Room."

Make: Food. This last year was one of many changes and unfortunately what took a hit was my cooking. I simply don't really cook anymore. New year, new(ish) kitchen. Let's do this thing! I'll finally tackle the stack of recipes and books in my kitchen that unfortunately became dust collectors last year.

So that's it. A fairly doable list I think. Oh well, those and to actually friggin' blog this year. Sheesh.

 

EB