Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Eating My Way Out of San Francisco: The First Week

Since I made the decision to move to NY, my time has been dominated by packing up, selling and donating my stuff, as well as farewell and birthday Lunches and Dinners, leaving little time for writing anything elaborate or extensive. So all I can do is just do what I can, right?

It is now mid-May and the plan is to chronicle my Meals as I eat my way out of San Francisco during the last 30 days before I leave in mid-June. Since we're a week into it, I'll get right to it...

My first Meal was at Postrio and although the majority of the Meal was nothing to write home about, one Dish stood out enough to make the blog.



Postrio - Poached Egg atop Angel Hair Pasta, Wild Mushroom and Frisee Appetizer.
Ok, now that I look at it, the Dish was a bit of a hodge podge and perhaps the best part of the Dish was the perfectly Poached Egg...



Next was a Medium Rare Prime Rib at Houston's...
That's the way, uh huh uh huh.. i like it.



I had Ryoko Sushi, of course, and was getting down with the Jumping Tuna and some serious Hamachi - both Sashimi- and Kama-styles...



Then I had Pho at Golden Star on Walter U. Lum Place with my friend Billy, who's eyes have always been WAY bigger than his stomach. hahaha...



Crustacean was next on the list and I had yummy Roasted Crab and Garlic Noodles...
It got messy..
It was worth it.

First week down, 3 more to go.
So who's next and where?

Monday, May 18, 2009

Ch-ch-ch- Changes...

Ok.
It is Time.
Time for what you ask?
Time to make that move back east to the NYC.

This move has been on my mind for a year and a half now and I almost made the move exactly a year ago. But the timing was not right. A year later, I still feel the same way and it is time for this Food Maven to move on after 11 years in San Francisco.

So what does that mean? Obviously, I cannot be the 'SF' Food Maven any more and naturally, I had been toying around with changing my name to be something broader. My new name will soon be the Urban Food Maven and the site will change over to UrbanFoodMaven.com. Nice, eh?

So, I will keep you posted on the changes as they come...

As Always, I really do appreciated your continued support!

Yours In Food,

The SFFoodMaven, soon to be
The Urban Food Maven

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Lulu's

This is just a quickie...
Went to Restaurant Lulu for dinner with friends last week and I just had to share a few pics and the SFFM Fave of the Evening...


Sardines atop a Fennel Salad.
How Beautiful is the Dish?



And the Winner is...
The Roasted Duck.
Crisp Skin.
Juicy, Tender and Falling Off the Bone kinda Delish.
Although, I have to say that it has not surpassed the Roasted Duck that I had at Osteria Mozza.
Still good nonetheless...

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Ryoko-Oh-oh-Oh!


I had the best sushi experience last night at Ryoko. This sushi place is literally a hop, skip & jump from where I live and I frequent the joint on a regular.. It's a little neighborhood gem that serves great sushi, is open til 2am and is popular with the industry crowd. The place itself is underground, quite literally as you have to go downstairs to the restaurant upon entering. The decor is what one would call eclectic with it's electric blue walls accented with black vinyl, Asian kitsch and a shiny black Baby Grande in the center of the restaurant, where a dj spins atop it on Friday and Saturday nights.
Simply put, this place is best described as badass.
So last night I went with my friend Maria and it was awesome. So much so that I felt compelled to write about it here.


Naturally we ordered up some Sake and opted for a bottle of Nigori (Unfiltered making it Milky and a Mildly Sweet for those that are unfamiliar). Now I've had a lot of Nigori in my life and I thought that this Nigori was especially good. I have to say that it went really well with everything we ate.
A Perfect Sushi & Sake Pairing if you will..


It was Maria's first time here, so I ordered the Jumping Tuna which is one of my favorite rolls here. It is a roll that is made with Fresh Tuna, Cucumber and Shiso wrapped in Sushi Rice and then dipped in Tempura Batter and flash-fried. Together with the Sweet & Spicy Sauce, it makes for a great combination. My friends and I always order this whenever we go. You gotta try it..

We also had Hamachi Toro, Hamachi, Sake and Uni Nigiri that were all great, although we found the Hamachi to be much better than the Hamachi Toro. Again, all went extremely well with the Nigori..
The Hamachi, Sake and Uni were all great, but the Hamachi was Damn Good!!
So Fresh and So Buttery! Like all Sushi experiences should be...
This one is still imprinted in my mind, it was just that good.


The last roll that we had was another fave of mine, called the Pokemon, which is Salmon, Mango, Avocado, Fresh Lettuce and Rice wrapped in Soy Paper.

We topped off the night with Tempura Fried Ice Cream garnished with Chocolate Sauce and Toffee bits.
Yep, that's right..
A Very Happy Ending.
The End...

Saturday, May 2, 2009

The Big Eat SF: 100 Things To Try Before You Die on 7x7






The Big Eat SF: 100 Things To Try Before You Die on 7x7 is now on Facebook.

Now you can track just how many things on the list that you have tried.
Click here for the link.


Ben & Jerry's Ameri-Cone Dream by Stephen Colbert



















I have a new crush right now...
And it is Ben & Jerry's Ameri-Cone Dream by Stephen Colbert which is A-W-E-S-O-M-E!
Vanilla Ice Cream with Fudge Covered Waffle Cone Pieces and a Caramel Swirl.
The combination is intoxicating...

Be forewarned. Can be Addicting..