SFBA Favorite Bites, October 2016

Turns out it is a squid ink cracker shaped like a hollow charcoal briquette, like an eggshell, inside is the small cheeseburger

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Ricotta/Asian pear/persimmon jam toast at Tartine Manufactory, 10/8/2016.

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Som tum from Phat Thai food truck (Spark Social, Mission Bay), 10/7/2016. Outstanding.

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It’s meant to resemble a charcoal briquette, symbolizing American backyard barbecue, and also to allude to the carbon footprint of food production…hence the name “Apocalypse Burger.” No joke.

Lunch today at Auntie April’s Chicken-n-Waffles.
4618-3rd Street, SF
Best bite is the $7 fried fish sandwich crunchy with a cornmeal crust with cheese, lettuce-tomato-pickles-red onion-mayo on a hamburger bun. I like it with extra pickles.

The “Margherita pizza” at Gaspare’s Pizzeria Ristorante in the Outer Richmond is Italian American manna. It’s not NY style, but the thin crust, oregano, tomato sauce, and low moisture mozzarella hit the same general points as a NY Neapolitan pie, and the prominent use of garlic oil reminds me of several of Cheeseboards’s offerings. The nomenclature is odd— there are no San Marzanos, fresh mozzarella, or even basil, so it’s not Margherita in the traditional sense.

They don’t have slices, so you have to order whole pies. I wasn’t as big a fan of their more complicated pizzas (vegetarian or a sausage), which I felt had enough toppings to inhibit flavor in the crust.

The pizza scene in Blue Jasmine was filmed at Gaspare’s, and it has the feel of a place older than 1985, when it was founded. They also have a location in San Rafael.

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Lemon soufflé at Café Jacqueline.

French onion soup - Corridor
Scallop sashimi, Italian style, - Swan’s Oyster Depot
Cove Mussels, Chorizo, Delicata Squash, Aïoli and Grilled Bread - Nopa
Fried chicken, with unami salt - Abura-Ya

Grape Sorbet at the Tartine Manufactory at 18th Street & Alabama.
Serving 4 flavors with toppings from 11 am.

That sounds really good. What were the lines like?

no line. we arrived at 10:45 am on Tuesday morning to be the first for the ice cream at 11 am. no one else until 11:30 am…a couple walked up to the counter for tastes of the chocolate, coffee, fior de latte, and the grape sorbet. I love the hint of tartness in the grape sorbet and that gorgeous color!

no line at the door for food/pastry service. no line for breads.
parking in the neighborhood is a challenge.

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Crispy fried oysters, black garlic glazed pork belly, smoked oyster aîoli, cucumber relish, pluots at Town Hall. Also their country ham with pepper jelly and butter on a biscuit was delicious. Too bad the restaurant was so LOUD.

Cha gio from Tú Lan in SoMa in SF. Larger than the typical cha gio. Peppery, greasy, and salty pork filling. The wrappers are thick - crispy on the outside and a little soft in the inside, with almost like a mochi-like consistency if that makes any sense.


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Princess marzipan cake, Schubert bakery (sf)

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Pan fried shrimp roll, Great Eastern (SF)
(Avoid the xlb and potstickers there, at all costs)

I had a great dish called something like family-style tofu there a while ago. Nicely complex sauce.

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Dim sum today at Dragon Beaux on Geary Blvd. SF - best bite: spotted prawns (seasonal) with roe. So tasty, we requested a second order of 12 huge prawns, devouring heads, legs, and shells.

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Mourad Lahlou’s “modern” duck confit basteeya, at Mourad.

Stone crab claws in steamed egg white & chinese rice wine (In Situ, SF)

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Hangover Soup at Hwaro, 4516 Mission Street in the Excelsior neighborhood, it’s perfect for a dark and stormy night - that wasn’t. No rain. Good soup.