City Eats

Last week was a unique one for me. I went out to eat quite a bit - 6 times in 6 days. (THAT NEVER HAPPENS!) And everything I had was FANTASTIC. Can I just say eating out is one of the best reasons to live in San Francisco. The food is that good. WARNING - This is a lengthy post, but it might give you an idea of where to go out to eat if you live in the city or when you come to visit.

Mama's On Washington Square
You can't go to Mama's and order anything but the Monte Cristo (Well, you can, and it's good, but the Monte Cristo is what gets me to stand in the line ...) The menu describes it this way: Turkey, ham, cheddar and Swiss on white bread-dipped in egg & grilled, served with homemade jam. I call it a turkey and ham melt on steroids. And yes, you HAVE TO dip the sandwich in the homemade jam. It is just delicious. (For those who have come to visit and we didn't go to Mama's - you will need to come back!)

Kuleto's Trattoria
I went with three of my favorite girlfriends - Andrea, Joanna and Marisa - to Kuleto's and it was such a fun experience. We had the Bruschetta for an appetizer and oh it was DELICIOUS! I could have had it as my "main dish" - the warm garlic ciabatta was topped with Roma tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts and capers. I also had their Mista salad so by the time my Magherita pizza came I was only able to eat a couple pieces. (Roger didn't mind having the leftovers!) Oh and the service at Kuletos is phenomenal! They took really good care of us. We felt like celebrities.

The Grove
Our friend Yeliz was in town for a business trip (She and her husband moved to London almost 6 months ago.) We met up at The Grove for a cafe-style dinner. I had their BLT and Roger had their Cuban sandwich. Sarah loved the big pickle that came with our meal. She ate half of the 8" stick. We loved seeing Yeliz and catching up!



Osha Thai
Osha is my all-time Thai favorite. I LOVE their pineapple fried rice and yellow chicken curry (mild). Sarah and I met up with two of my old co-workers. It was super fun to see Terri and Liz. Ava and Sarah had a great time playing on the window seat. Sarah loved the pineapple fried rice -that girl is Just Like Mommy.



Garibaldi's
Another local favorite is Garibaldis. We went to dinner with the Carters, their house guests and some friends who have moved from the area (Jared Theurer and Clint Blackwood). You have to order the french fries (which aren't on the menu), either the Garibaldi Salad or the Chop Salad, the Chicken Milanese and the Boudino (with vanilla ice cream of course). Yum. Yum. Yum. Roger always orders the crème brulée (which is also tasty). Sarah LOVED eating the french fries, fried calamari, daddy's trout, my chicken, mashed potatoes and crème brulée.

Postrio
OK - so Postrio could have it's own post. Roger took me to this Kimpton Restaurant for our 1st Anniversary of when he proposed to me (It was leap day - 4 years ago!) I figured I would take the advice my sister Em gave me - do a big bash every 4 years. Yes, it was a splurge, but it was SOOOOOOOOO good. (Thanks Natalie for the restaurant recommendation.) Can I say it was simply PHENOMENOL! Roger had dropped off a floral arrangement of my favorite flowers - Gerbera daisies - for our table. He told the staff that we were celebrating an anniversary. I felt like a queen all evening with my king across from me.

I ordered the Sonoma Greens (sliced Granny Smith apples, toasted pecans, Stilton, balsamic vinaigrette) with my Grilled Estancia Filet Mignon (butter poached King crab, forestiere mushrooms, brussel sprouts, bacon lardons, potato purée, au poivr) with the German Chocolate cake for dessert. YUMMY! My mouth was dancing all evening. It was sooooooo yummy.


Roger chose the chef's taster menu, which of course meant I got to taste anything I wanted to as well! It included a Chilled Lobster Salad (shaved fennel, citrus fruits, pickled beets, lemon vinaigrette, fennel pollen) - super, super good - who knew I would like beats?; Sea Urchin Parfait (cauliflower mousse, soft egg yolk, American boutique caviar) - a little weird, but Roger said it was quite flavorful - I didn't have any; Olive Oil Poached Monkfish (braised oxtail, Swiss chard, black truffle potato purée) - this was FANTASTIC -the potato purée alone was incredible; Pork Belly (Delicata squash, Bahri dates, spinach, niçoise olive oil) - I've never had squash that has tasted better and the dates were phenomenal; Cypress Grove Truffle Tremor (Marshall Farms honeycomb, toasted pinenuts, herbs de provence) - Rog didn't like this one as much because the cheese was a little strong, but I enjoyed it; and for dessert the Huckleberry Linzertorte (grapefruit-star anise sorbet, grapefruit-vanilla curd) - again so flavorful.


While we were eating our dessert our server brought out a plate that said "Happy Anniversary" in chocolate with three delicious bite-sized cupcakes. We both shared all three. Again, they were TASTY.



Happy Anniversary Rog!