Atlantic City Food & Wine Festival This Weekend...

So Atlantic City is holding its annual Food & Wine Festival. I'm not much of a gambler, so who knew that the A.C. would have something to offer the Urban Food Maven?
Bring it on...

If any of you are interested in partaking in the bounty of this epicurean festival, tickets are available here.

The UFM Game Plan?
Friday's Taste Wine Like A Sommellier Event and Saturday's Grand Market Tasting.

See you there!

New York, New York...

Start Spreading the News...

It's official, I have taken the plunge and have moved to New York. I cannot tell you how excited I am! After 11 Delicious years in San Francisco, I felt that it was time to move back east to 'bring it home' and explore new possibilities.
The prospect of a new place, let alone a place such as New York and the myriad of new places to eat is both thrilling and intoxicating...

I'm getting ready to Eat NYC!

Now.. Who's gonna eat with me?

UFM Food Porn - Hunan Lion Peking Duck

Hunan Lion  
2070 Chain Bridge Rd
Vienna, VA 22182

Hours:

Lunch
Mon-Sat:11:30am-4pm
Dinner
Mon-Sat:4pm-10pm
Sun:11:30am-10pm

Hunan Lion at Tyson's Corner in Vienna, VA is known for its Peking Duck.

I came.

I ordered.

I ate.

Still love Sang Kee in Philly, but it was pretty damn good at Hunan Lion.

This is a special Soup that they make with the leftover Duck with Cabbage, Tofu and Clear Noodles. YUM.
 

ar2mhuby3i

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Eating My Way Out of San Francisco: The Final Week

My Final Week...
I can hardly believe it.
Realization sets in...
I won't be able to hit every place on my list!
Ah well...  It's not like I'm not gonna be back, right?
So here goes...


Brothers II Korean BBQ with Cris.
Don't be jealous...  
View actual photo below and weep.

I heart Panchan...



We decided to wrap our Brothers II Lunch at Genki with a Nutella and Banana Crepe.  
Me Raptor.  
Me SO happy.




Baby Blues BBQ with G and Billy

Original one in Venice, CA and the brothers who own them are originally from Philly.  Woot!
Anyhow, see spread below.



 

 

Pulled Pork, Corn Bread and Mac&Cheese

Memphis Ribs and Baby Back Ribs with Corn Bread and Sweet Potatoes

Sushi Groove with Nee

Needed something a little on the lighter side to break up my final week...


The Slanted Door

Here were the highlights...

Hamachi with Crispy Shallots and Thai Basil

 

Niman Ranch Shaking Beef with Cubed Filet Mignon, Sausalito Springs Watercress, Red Onion and Lime

 

Oven Roasted Sonoma Liberty Duck Breast with Cherries, mint and Sausalito Spring Watercress

Delfina
My Last Supper with Nad & Murph and Kuya Mel & Tim.
We came.
We ate.
It was Aweseme.

Some highlights below...  
Full review to follow soon. 

Green Garlic Sformatino with Mussels and Fiorelli

Prosciutto-Mascarpone Ravioli with Lemon Herb Burro Fuso

Pancetta-Wrapped Rabbit Saddle with Farm Carrots and Fava Beans

Tartine
Murph was adamant, that I could not leave SF without having the Morning Bun.
He hunted.
He gathered.
We ate.

Morning Bun on the right and Gougere to the left

Croques Monsieur

And so...

In Sinatra's word more or less..

The End is Here.

And I'm glad to say
I did it 'My Way'....

Thank You San Francisco for all of your Gastronomic Bounty!
I Came.
I Ate.
And I Loved it All...

So Long San Francisco

 and
       Hello New York!

As you can see, UrbanFoodMaven.com up & running now...

Eating My Way Out of San Francisco: Week Two...

Eating San Francisco continued...

Mango Cafe in Palo Alto



Hot Curried Goat Roti at the Mango Cafe in Palo Alto.


Pho at Turtle Tower in the 'Loin



Pho with Rare Beek & Well Done Flank.


Sushi Groove South



A Selection of Nigiri.


Quince



Above is their selection of Breads - Bread Sticks, Bread with Star Anise and the wheel-shaped one with Olives and soaked in Olive Oil, which was a Favorite at the table...



A surprisingly good Paine Farms Smoked Squab with Black Cabbage-Porcini Mushroom Strudel and Sunchoke Crema.


Beretta



Eggplant Caponatina with Burrata.



Margarita Pizza with Burrata Cheese and Sausage

Last but not Least,





the Infamous Bacon-Wrapped Hot Dog from one of the Bacon Dog Carts in the Mission...

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?

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

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...

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...

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..

Michael Bauer's Top 100 Bay Area Restaurants

Michael Bauer of the Chronicle has come out with his annual Top 100 Bay Area Restaurants list...
Click here for the full list.

Taste of the Nation - San Francisco

Taste of the Nation - San Francisco

* DATE: Thursday, April 23, 2009
* TIME: 6:00 PM - VIP Reception Entry at 5:30 PM
* LOCATION: The Field Club Lounge at AT&T Park (Tasting Reception) and Traci Des Jardin's Acme Chophouse (VIP Dinner & Auction)
* TICKETS: VIP Dinner + Tasting Reception- $250, Tasting Reception - $75

We are very excited to announce the amazing line-up of chefs for this year’s Gala Dinner. They include Michael Symon (Cleveland's Lola/Lolita), SF’s own Traci Des Jardins (Acme Chophouse/Jardinière/Mijita), Chris Cosentino (Incanto), Gavin Kaysen (NYC's Café Boulud), and Koren Grieveson (Chicago's Avec).

Chef Elizabeth Falkner will once again provide the dessert course, and Host Chef Thom Fox has graciously opened his Acme Chophouse kitchen again to host.

Kicking off the event will be a Tasting Reception featuring an array of the Bay Area's best chefs & restaurants, including:

*
Honorary Tasting Event Chair Jamie Lauren - Absinthe
*
Liza Shaw - A16
*
Jordan Grosser - The Alembic
*
Percy Whatley - The Awhanee Hotel
*
Jason Fox - Bar Tartine
*
Loretta Keller & Michael Morrison- Coco500 & The Moss Room
*
Robbie Lewis – Oracle
*
Jenn Puccio - Cortez
*
Cal Stamenov - Marinus at the Bernardus Lodge
*
Scott Youkilis - Maverick
*
Michelle Mah - Midi
*
Staffan Terje & Sarah Ballard - Perbacco
*
Tim Luym - Poleng Lounge
*
Seis Kamimura - Postrio
*
Jennifer Biesty & Tim Nugent - Scala's Bistro
*
Charles Phan - Slanted Door
*
Chris Behr - SPQR
*
Mark Sullivan - Spruce
*
Parke Ulrich - Waterbar
*
Hoss Zare - Zaré at Flytrap

JUST ADDED:

An incredible Mixology Program celebrating the upcoming SF Cocktail Week in May. Sample signature cocktails from the City's best bartenders at the Tasting event.

Participating Bars Include:

* Elixir
* 15 Romolo
* Beretta
* Bourbon & Ranch
* Conduit
* Heaven's Dog

Taste the best of San Francisco's original cocktail culture and sample some new inspirations from the country's best mixologists.

Bid on unmatched food and wine experiences in exciting silent and live auctions at the gala dinner, or buy raffle tickets for a variety of fun packages at the tasting event. Best of all, Fight Hunger in San Francisco and throughout the US with your generous contribution. 100% of your ticket purchase goes directly to Share Our Strength.

Beneficiaries:

Ticket sales will benefit Foodrunners, Children of Shelters, and Sports 4 Kids, San Francisco.

Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation® is the nation’s premier culinary benefit dedicated to making sure no kid in America grows up hungry. Each spring, the nation's hottest chefs and mixologists donate their time, talent and passion at more than 45 events across the United States and Canada, with one goal in mind: to raise the critical funds needed to end childhood hunger. Since 1988, Taste of the Nation has raised more than $70 million.