Cafe M

So I am trying to catch up with all this stuff. A few days ago I had lunch with Amy and Catrina and we got a chance to catch up.  We ended up at Cafe M by Fourth Street in Berkeley.  It was sooooo very crowded everywhere on Fourth Street that day but I found rockstar parking which was a good omen.  Anyway this place was great. I had eggs benedict.  I have been trying them out when I see them on the menu and it sounds like a good idea and they were great. The hollandaise sauce a just a bit of spice which made it a little different.  Anyway this was a great place if you are in the neighborhood......

1799 4th St
Berkeley, CA 94710
(510) 526-4429

Tartine

Ok so can't believe I have never posted about Tartine. I thought I had, crazy.  Anyway, last week I had the day off and spent the morning at the Aquarium which was awesome and highly recommended.  Anyway later on I headed over to Tartine because I hadn't been there in a while and it sounded good.  It is in the Mission on 18th Street (btw guerrero and dolores right near bi-rite and delfina so pick your poison as they say).  Tartine sells all kinds of yummy cake and bread (which a lot of restaurants like Delfina serve).  They have a great chocolate cake and a great bread pudding.  They also make a great open face Croque Monsieur which I decided to give a try and it was delish. It had ham and sun dried tomato.  This place gets super crowded and you can't be afraid to share a table with strangers but it is worth it.  

Tartine

www.tartinebakery.com

600 Guerrero St.

SF

Millbrae Pancake House

So I distinctly remember March 13, 2002 for quite a few reasons but one of the things I remember is that sadly it was the last time I had eaten at the MHP if you can believe it.  It has been there for ages and pretty much never disappoints, kind of hard to mess up eggs and pancakes (ok it is possible but they have like tons of practice). Anyway I had been wanting to stop in and finally got a chance on Saturday. It was great. I met up with my friend Mary who you readers have heard about in other posts and we had a good time chatting mostly about singlehood and dating woes over banana pancakes and omelettes and toast and of course orange juice. It was the perfect day to stay in and yummy pancakes hit the spot.  If you haven't been there I give it a thumbs up! Good times!

Bake Sale Betty and Strawberry Shortcake

So I knew there was something I was forgetting.  I wanted to tell you all about Bake Sale Betty. I heard about it a while back and forgot about it and was in the neighborhood a few weeks ago. It was amazing! They have pie and pastries and brownies and best of all strawberry shortcake. It was excellent. I was exactly like I love it not with spongecake or pound cake but with kind of a biscuit that has sugar and cinnamon and with tons of whipped cream.  I also got a scone for sunday morning breakfast and it was excellent also.

Bakesale Betty

5098 Telegraph Ave., Oakland.

510.985.1213

Citrus Club

So I have been dying to go to Candybar and so some friends and I decided to try it out and we get there and to our dismay the place is darker than dark so we had to go to plan b. We decided to try Citrus Club in the Haight (far cry from the pretty much dessert only Candybar). I have heard good things but never tried it myself. It definitely lived up to the good reviews. I had coconut lemon chicken noodles and it was excellent. It was spicy but not too spicy. My only complaint was this, Johanan was a few minutes behind us and the waitress made us wait until she walked in the door to seat us even though she had empty tables. To spite her we stayed and chatted at the table after we finished for a while. It was worth it though! It is on Haight and whatever street is before Stanyan going towards the park. It is also conveniently near Amoeba Music!

Citrus Club
1790 Haight St
San Francisco, CA 94117
(415) 387-6366

Yummy Recipie

So usually I talk about someone elses cooking but I do believe it or not do a little of my own. I have been experimenting with quiche and tarts lately. I made up my own recipe based on on in the newspaper.


Ham Sweet Potato Quiche

Ing.

About 3/4-1 cup cubed ham
1 bunch broccoli rabe (greens)
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup grated swiss cheese
1 pie crust
1 sweet potato
1/4 cup flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup onion if desired


grate swiss cheese. chop sweet potato. rinse and chop the broccoli greens. heat a skillet and add olive oil. throw greens into skillet to braise and cook down. while they are cooking mix the egg, milk and cheese. mix the flour and sweet potato and then add the egg mixture to it. line your tart pan or pie pan with your pie crust. spread your braised greens in bottom of pan. now add the egg and sweet potato mix. sprinkle and mix in the ham. bake at 350 for about 35-40 minutes.

Liberty Cafe

If you have never been to Bernal Heights you should check it out sometime. Cortland Avenue has some cute shops and good restaurants one of which I went to a few weeks ago. I have been there and tried the pot pie which is a staple there and very good. This time I tried the chicken with tomato basil stuffing and green beans. It is a small place with great atmosphere. It wasn't too crowded until about 8pm or so. We also tried the endive salad and of course dessert. The banana cream pie was great but the peach blueberry pie was the best!

Liberty Cafe
410 Cortland Avenue
SF, CA
415.695.1223

Philadelpia Food

So where to start........
City Tavern
138 S 2nd St
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 413-1443
www.citytavern.com
City Tavern has been in operation nearly continuously since the late 1700's. They serve you water in pewter goblets and serve food that they try to keep consistent with the period. I had black forest ham with asparagus. It is right near the historic park and the prices were actually pretty reasonable considering. I think if you have to pick one place to go this is definitely one you should strongly consider.

Maggianos
1201 Filbert St
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 567-2020
This was good Italian food. I had baked ziti that was excellent. I also had a good dessert here, an apple thing that was really yummy. It is right off Market Street and right across the street from Reading Terminal and a couple of the big hotels.

Reading Terminal Market
This place is a food bonanza. There are tons of vendors selling all sorts of stuff, not just food. I had a couple ice cream cones at Bassetts and there are a couple Amish stands that sell food and have the stuffed pretzels. They are by no means gourmet but they are so so good. I had ham and cheese. Also in the market are:

Ricks King of Steaks
1 N 12th St
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 925-4320
www.rickssteaks.com
This is owned by either the owners of Pats or Geno's. I had a great chicken cheese steak with pepper jack here.

Flying Monkey Bakery
51 N 12th St
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 928-0340
www.flyingmonkeyphilly.com
They have all sorts of pastries, mostly cookies and cupcakes. I tried a peanut butter and jelly that was delish.

Le Bus
1100 Filbert St, Philadelphia
(215) 592-0422
www.lebusbakery.com
Big on breads but sell pastries as well. I had a cheese danish here that was excellent. Apparently started selling out of a bus hence the name. There are a couple locations around the city and some of the suburbs.

Eulogy
136 Chestnut St
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 413-1918
www.eulogybar.com
A Belgian Tavern in Old City. I had a really good chicken sandwich here. It is two levels in an old house or shop. I definitely would recommend it. It is near a couple other places that looked really good.

La Scala
1201 Filbert St
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 567-2020
www.lascalasphilly.com
Italian food near Independence Hall. The salads looked good. I had gnocci that was good. It was a little heavy for lunch especially in the hot weather, not sure what I was thinking?

Jones
700 Chestnut St
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 223-5663
www.jones-restaurant.com
This was a spectacular find. It is kind of deceiving from the outside but inside has a sort of diner/Denny's revamped feel. Something I read about it called it Brady Bunch livingroom style. I had chicken and waffles that were excellent. I live in Oakland so you would think I would have tried that already but alas no. All I can say is be adventurous and go with the savory gravy and not maple syrup. If you are going to do chicken and waffles do it right. I also had a good alt sandwich here. Alt is just your blt without the bacon. The dessert here was out of this world. I had the coconut cheesecake. In my defense on this one i shared it. They also get points for having a couple fun non-alcoholic drinks. I had a purple people eater which was grape juice, sprite and lemonade. Rarely do you find fun drinks for those of us who don't drink actual cocktails.

More Than Just Ice Cream
1119 Locust St
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 574-0586
Just might be some of the best ice cream I have tasted. Trust me and get the cinnamon bun ice cream. I also say go with the waffle cone, just have a lot of napkins ready if it's summer. It was just the best! Also of note they serve pet meals part of the year.

Geno's Steaks
1219 S 9th St
Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 389-0659
www.genosteaks.com
As touristy as it is I figured I had to try either Pats or Geno's. Sadly I ran out of time to do my full duty and try both. We intended to go to South Street thinking they were just off South Street however they are way way off South Street. We asked about three different people to point us in the right direction. In short it ended up being about a 40 minute wild goose chase for cheesesteak. Needless to say Geno's didn't require crossing another street and had tons of police patches and wherever the cops eat you can trust it's good (usually). Anyway, I didn't get adventurous enough to go with the whiz but I did do provolone and it was absolutely delicious and worth the walk. They also get extra points because they served birch beer (a sister of root beer). We also passed up Jims which is supposed to be as good or better. I guess I have to leave something for next time......

Rangoon
112 N 9th St
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 829-8939
www.phillychinatown.com
This is a Burmese restaurant in Chinatown. It is kind of in a weird location but the food was good and the waiter/hostess were really nice. They did kind of forget one thing I ordered and I finally asked about it and they brought it right out. Worth trying if you want to be adventurous.

Irish Pub
2007 Walnut St
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 568-5603
www.irishpubphilly.com


Alfa
1709 Walnut St, Philadelphia -
(215) 751-0996
www.alfa-bar.com

After wandering aimlessly in search of a restaurant to eat at we found this place. It is a little noisy but very fun. They played all 80's music so that was fun. I had a really good salad with spinach and strawberries and almonds. I also had a really really good chocolate creme brulee.

NYC Part Deux

So this is for all of you who thought I survived on dessert alone for two weeks in New York.

Yankee Stadium:
Nathans hotdogs and cracker jacks. Now Yankee Stadium has to be one of the only stadiums in mlb that hasn't given in to yuppie food. Pretty much all you can get there are hotdogs, sausage, chicken fingers and drinks and of course popcorn and the all important cracker jacks. It really gave new meaning when they played "take me out to the ballgame" during the stretch. I hope the new stadium doesn't give in.

Mocca
78-82 Reade Street
www.moccalounge.com
Had spectacular eggs benedict here. I have been sampling eggs benedict when I eat somewhere that they serve it and this was good stuff. The interior is very simple and modern and I wasn't sure what to expect on the menu but I went with a group and everything looked really good. A little sidenote. We showed up there at like 11am and they weren't serving lunch yet.

Puglia
189 Hester Street
This is one of the tons of Italian places in Little Italy but tried it because it was not actually on Mulberry Street (on a side street). I had manicotti and it was pretty good. It was drenched in sauce but overall not bad. I do think that there is probably better italian to be found however. Price was about comparable with most places on Mulberry but the food was not quite what it should be for the price.

La Esquina
106 Kenmare Street
www.esquinanyc.com
I had awesome lunch here. I had the Plato Julia. It was just basic black beans rice pico de gallo and avo. It was yummy! and you can request chicken to add or keep it veggie. I also had horchata that was excellent! It is in Tribeca and not far from Little Italy just off Lafayette so you can swing by for gelato or a cannoli after you eat.

Johns Pizzeria
260 W 44th St
New York, NY 10036-3900
Phone: (212) 391-7560
This place was great as well. It looks like a remodeled church right in Times Square by all the theaters. It was really busy but the pizza was great. It may be touristy but good pizza is good pizza.

Ben Ash Deli
857 7th Ave, New York 10019
At 55th St
I had a monster 10oz burger here. No I did not eat the whole thing but the half I managed to eat was delish. It was your usual diner food right near Carnegie Hall and Times Square. I also had a really delicious slice of cheesecake here that I have to say nearly rivaled Juniors.

Sweets and More Sweets! The NY Edition

So here is the lowdown. I don't think bad food exists in New York! Two weeks of eating out there gave me a lot of food to sample. So here is the scoop..... So we all know cupcakes are a pretty close to perfect food and I think I found my perfect cupcake at Magnolia Bakery (401 Bleeker Street in Greenwich Village) . It was the perfect combo of moist dense cake and sweet yummy frosting. Sometimes cupcakes look pretty but they are dry or the frosting is kind of flavorless but these are pretty much the best bakery bought cupcakes I have tried. Not far from I think Sheridan Square if you need a place to sit down and savor them. They had all kinds of yummy goodies like cookies and cake and cheesecake. Also somewhat nearby is Chelsea Market. It is an indoor market with several bakeries and shops and where they film some food networks stuff (Emeril I believe). In Chelsea Market is the Fat Witch Bakery (http://www.fatwitch.com). They sell several different kinds of witches (brownies) and looks like they sell them online as well. They had some additional flavors in the store like lemon bars and raspberry. I tried the cherry chocolate and it was sooo good. Lastly you can't go to New York without Italian food and you can't walk down Mulberry Street without passing a million restaurants and especially without finding cannolis. A bunch of us went to lunch and stopped into Ferraras (http://www.ferraracafe.com/recipes/cannoli.php) for a cannoli. It was heavenly! I tried two small ones a chocolate dipped and a plain. If they ask if you want the powdered sugar I say don't cheat yourself go for it! Also fun was Dylans Candy Bar (http://www.dylanscandybar.com). It is owned by Ralph Laurens daughter Dylan. There is an upstairs ice cream/cupcake spot to sit down and the basement has all kinds of candy. They even had those ribbon candies I haven't seen in years you know the wax paper ribbons with the dots that you peel off. It is right across the street from Bloomingdales so when you finish your shopping you can cross the street and stop in. Also spectacular were the blintzes at the Carnegie Deli (http://www.carnegiedeli.com). It is kind of dark but it was fun to go in and see the pictures plastered all over the walls. Here is their cheesecake recipie http://www.carnegiedeli.com/cheesecakes.html. Last but definitely not least is Juniors (http://www.juniorscheesecake.com). They started in Brooklyn and now have a spot in Grand Central Stations and Times Square. Apparently in the early 60's or 70's the restaurant caught fire and people stood watching the fire crying mourning the loss of the cheesecake and they luckily ended up rebuilding and remain a hit. So that is the scoop on the sweets!

Gelato Firenze

Every Saturday I try and make it to the Farmers Market here in by the lake. Every Saturday I walk longingly by this Gelato shop until a couple weeks ago when I walked in. It was the perfect warm night and I earned it by running the lake, right?? I tried the malt and the vanilla bean which were really good. Since then I have tried the chocolate hazelnut and the cherry. If you go to the movie it is the perfect place to hit up before or after because they are open late (I am sure for just that reason). Anyway it is delish!

478A Lake Park Ave
Oakland, CA 94610

Orphan Andy's

Saturday night I met Mary and her friend Regina for dinner and a movie at the Castro Theater. We rolled the dice and decided to try Orphan Andy's around the corner on 17th Street and Market. Neither of us had really been to any of the restaurants in the neighborhood and it looked fun. It is a diner and all the tables have jukeboxes at them which gives them an extra star in my book. Anyway every time I go to a breakfast place I am tempted by a monte cristo and never get one but this time I gave in and ordered the monte cristo. It was great! It was the yummiest combo of sweet and savory with a little powdered sugar sprinkled. I definitely recommend it. I have to say this neighborhood is not one of my most frequented but it's always good to know a solid place to get a bite to eat. The Castro Theater is super fun as well. They have Sound of Music and Wizard of Oz sing alongs but I went to an old Marilyn Monroe flick. They have a Wurlitzer and the interior of the theater looks straight out of 1920. If you are an east bay dweller it is really similar to the Grand Lake which has a Wurlizter too. Anyway if you like monte cristo sandwiches or just diner food and you find yourself in the neighborhood check it out.

Orphan Andy's
3991 17th St
San Francisco, CA 94114

Mama's

So today I met my friend Mary for brunch/lunch at Mama's in North Beach. It has been around forever and I was told there would be a line but don't dismay the wait is worth it. Well I have to say after about a 45 minute wait chatting with Mary we finally sat down to eat. I had eggs florentine with spinach, tomato and avo with orange juice and it was excellent. Everything they had looked good. They had a bunch of coffee cakes that looked really good as well. Anyway, it was worth the wait but if you aren't up to it go early. It is right across the street from Washington Square Park and right off Columbus. Also near one of my favorites, Cafe Jaqueline. http://mamas-sf.com/

I also took a stroll down Columbus and stopped at Stella for some cannoli. They were excellent as the sisters and JJ can attest to. Also nearby is Cafe Trieste, City Lights Bookstore, Molinari Deli, and Steps of Rome (if you want waiters to flirt with you this is the place to go. my poor friend julie was ready to skip dessert after she saw them sing happy birthday to a girl at a table across the room)

Front Porch

Tuesday night Kathryne, Julie, Ryan and I all went to dinner at Front Porch (www.thefrontporch.com). It was excellent! I had the brown sugar and tamarind braised short ribs with sweet potato and cucumber salad. Ryan got the bucket of chicken and Julie had the fish cutter which was fried oyster. Kathryne had the vegan one pot stew which was really good as well. Another thing that won me over was their excellent mac and cheese. I am a sucker for mac and cheese and always interested in a new recipie and theirs was really good! They were paired with sweet potatoes and cucumber salad. We also tried the ceviche and arugala salad. Of course dessert is mandatory and they had excellent dessert options. I had the pumpkin pine nut cake with coconut ice cream drizzled with honey. Julie had the poached pear and Ryan tried the sorbet (meyer lemon, tamarind and one other flavor I can't remember). The prices were really reasonable and the food was really on par with way more expensive places. It was a really low key place. They played great music. It didn't get croweded until after about 8pm and it did start to get pretty noisy so if that is something you can't live with just go early and you will be fine. If you don't find a dessert you like there you always have Mitchells which is across the street (http://www.mitchellsicecream.com/)

U Street

So about a year ago Joanie sent me a link to this restaurant, not sure how she found out about it but my friend Lynn and I went there for dinner my last week in DC and it was amazingly good!I had the chard salad which had chard of course and ricotta, pine nuts and raisins. We shared pizza and for dessert we had honey tangerine sorbet and the nutella calzone. They had a chocolate dessert that sounded excellent as well. Everything was so good. http://www.coppisorganic.com/
The restaurant is on U Street in DC a few blocks from the Metro station. The neighborhood is definitely one of the most historic neighborhoods in DC. It is now starting to be revitalized and coming back into it's former glory. Another recommendation in this neighborhood is Bens Chili Bowl (http://www.benschilibowl.com/). I haven't eaten there but it is a DC institution. Interestingly enough NPR did a segment about U Street and there is a link to a history of U Street. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89397682

DC Edition

Well my trip isn't quite over yet but there has been good food to report. Weekend one was spent at Eastern Market on Capitol Hill (http://www.easternmarket.net). Super convenient via Metro by the way. There is a crepe stand there that judging by the line most people have figured out is excellent so of course I had to try it right.... Well it was excellent. They make them right in front of you and serve them warm in a paper. I had the banana-nutella version and it was indescribably delicious. Bottom line if you find yourself there on a Saturday give them a try. My second recommendation is Giffords (http://www.giffords.com). Their ice cream is sold all over DC but the one stand I have seen is at 10th and E Streets (Right by Fords Theater, FBIHQ and E Street Cinema). I have had ice cream there several times and it has yet to disappoint. This time I picked peanut butter cookies and cream and it was awesome. They made it into a sundae with chocolate sauce that almost rivals Ghiradelli. Anyway, hopefully more to come! Oh, also non-dessert related was Olssons Bookstore cafe which I believe is called something like Footnotes. I had amazingly good asparagus-brie soup. Olssons is right by Archives/Navy Memorial Stop on the Blue/Yellow lines on Seventh Street next door to the Shakespeare Theater. Lastly, the West Building of the National Museum of Art has a cafe with desserts that looked amazing as well as gelato. I was too late to try but they looked amazingly good. Anyway, happy eating and hope everyone has a chance to make it out here someday to "our nations capital" if you haven't already!

A 16

Saturday night Kathryne and I ate dinner at A16 on Chestnut St. It was amazingly good. We had the tuna, zuppa which was delicious and the cannellini bean pasta and the chard which was great as well with pine nuts and currants. And for dessert in keeping with the theme of this whole thing we had the salted chocolate tart. It was soooooo good. It had chocolate mousse with sea salt sprinkled. I highly recommend it. They had another dessert that sounded good too. I think you really can't go wrong with anything you order there. We sat at the chefs counter and watched everyone making the food and it all looked great. I guess that is why it is popular these days!

Lavender Panna Cotta

The other night I had a craving for something sweet after my posting about cupcakes so I went over to Citizen Cake and after much deliberation I took home a lavender panna cotta. It was awesome. I wish I could put a picture but alas I can't take photos from their website. It had a gelatin and sprig of mint. It was perfect, not to sweet. Anyway, I highly recommend it!

Cupcakes

So cupcakes are the in thing now. They are really one of the most perfect dessert creations ever. They are just the right size and you aren't tempted to eat a whole cake and everyone can have a different flavor. Miette is my personal favorite as far as cupcakes go I have to say. They make awesome chocolate cupcakes with marshmallow cream frosting and my favorite gingerbread with lemon frosting. Almost better than the cupcakes is the princess cake. Another great cupcake place is Citizen Cake, for those of you who loved hostess cupcakes they make their own version. I tried the lemon coconut and it was great! They are also famous for their after midnight cake.

http://www.miettecakes.com/ -located at Octavia and Hayes (no cakes just candy, cupcakes and macaroons) and also in the Ferry Building

http://www.citizencake.com/- Located at 399 Grove (Franklin and Grove) and Citizen Cupcake on 3rd or 4th Floor of the Virgin Megastore on Stockton and Market

Cafe Jaqueline

So you want to try souffle do you? Well this is the place. I am trying to catch up with all the yummy places I have been but this ranks pretty darn high on the list. It was awesome. It is a small place with about 10-12 tables. I had asparagus souffle and for dessert the strawberry souffle. I read an article in Gourmet magazine and decided I had to try it. They suggested the strawberry and they were right. The great thing about it is that you can share it all. Sadly I did not go there on a date :( but I went with my friend Julie who is superfun and we both agreed it was the best date restaurant ever. Anyway, strawberry season is just beginning! It is right around the corner from Washington Square Park and North Beach Pizza so you can walk off all those calories!! It is a little pricey but well worth it and if you are worried dessert only is a pretty reasonable option!

1454 Grant Ave
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 981-5565

Aziza

So last Thurs. was Dine About Town at Aziza. It was awesome. I had the spreads and cod and the orangeblossom mousse. The mousse was great. It was served with blood orange slices and was a great mix of sweet and tart.