When I think southern food it's all about fried chicken and pulled pork, mashed potatoes and gravy - meat and heart attacks! For a vegetarian that usually means making a meal out of sides of collared greens and beans and potatoes, maybe a dinner roll thrown in. So, imagine my joy on being introduced to Farmerbrown - a southern restaurant in the Tenderloin that has the meat and potatoes part covered, but also has a little something for vegetarians.
The little something I'm talking about is the vegetarian jambalaya - with fresh vegetables like corn, carrots, beans and peppers cooked with flavorful spices in rice, it is a real treat for your taste buds. Add some Tabasco for an extra kick and you are all set! If rice is not your thing (and butter is) there is a second vegetarian entree of grits with squash and pesto. Be forewarned though, there is enough butter in this to put a Paula Deen recipe to shame! And in case none of the entrees tickles your palate, there is always the option of the dinner made out of sides (mentioned above).
Farmerbrown is usually crowded, and waits for a table without a reservation can take up to an hour. The bar is open seating and has a Happy Hour menu in addition to the full dinner menu. The atmosphere is that of a moderately upscale restaurant - interesting artwork lines the walls and the music is peppy. Definitely recommended for a date or an evening out with a few friends.
www.farmerbrownsf.com
Monday, October 24, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
The best veggie burrito in Potrero Hill...
... and maybe even better than a burrito from the Mission!
I'm talking about Papito, just off Potrero Hill's happening 18th Street is this little Mexican restaurant that's run by the same people as Chez Maman. No... they don't serve Mexican food with a French twist (or attitude :)). They just happen to serve, what I think is a kick-ass veggie burrito.
So, what makes this burrito so awesome, take sauteed mushrooms, onions, beans, rice, lettuce and some fresh salsa. Slap on some guacamole and voila, you have a veggie burrito that is seriously fulfilling. If you are not a burrito person though, tough luck! I would suggest going to a different Mexican restaurant. I've tried a few other things on the menu, but nothing else stands up to the awesomeness of the veggie burrito here.
So, the next time you are grappling with restaurant choices in Potrero Hill, try the burrito at Papito!
I'm talking about Papito, just off Potrero Hill's happening 18th Street is this little Mexican restaurant that's run by the same people as Chez Maman. No... they don't serve Mexican food with a French twist (or attitude :)). They just happen to serve, what I think is a kick-ass veggie burrito.
So, what makes this burrito so awesome, take sauteed mushrooms, onions, beans, rice, lettuce and some fresh salsa. Slap on some guacamole and voila, you have a veggie burrito that is seriously fulfilling. If you are not a burrito person though, tough luck! I would suggest going to a different Mexican restaurant. I've tried a few other things on the menu, but nothing else stands up to the awesomeness of the veggie burrito here.
So, the next time you are grappling with restaurant choices in Potrero Hill, try the burrito at Papito!
Viva Las Vegas!
I was in Vegas recently for Cisco Live! It always amazes me how decadent Vegas can be - you work hard all day, but then you go out and have a great meal, and then party all night at the most glitzy clubs. I was there for four days - and whew, was that too much to handle!
Las Vegas is known for it's fancy restaurants and celebrity chefs. It's no wonder then, that one of the highlights of this trip was the amount of good food that was consumed. This review though, belongs to the restaurant that has to be the best restaurant I have eaten at in Vegas. That might not mean much - I'm hardly an expert on food or the best restaurants in Vegas. But let's just say that I could not stop eating, and when I did I was left with a feeling of such immense gratification!
Anyway, getting to the point, the restaurant I'm gushing about is China Grill in Mandalay Bay. It is a fusion Asian restaurant, serving sushi and sake for Happy Hour and dinner after. We went for a group dinner from work, and our server kept trying to convince us to get the Tasting menu for $69!!! "No, thank you" we said, and ordered off the regular menu. Tofu tots with miso cilantro dipping sauce, Udon noodles with vegetables in a spicy hoisin sauce, crispy spinach and three kinds of creme brulee later I could barely move, but I was in food heaven! I think the sentiment was shared with the rest of the folks at the table. Vrishab in fact insisted that this meal deserved a blog entry even though it was not in the foggy city :)
Las Vegas is known for it's fancy restaurants and celebrity chefs. It's no wonder then, that one of the highlights of this trip was the amount of good food that was consumed. This review though, belongs to the restaurant that has to be the best restaurant I have eaten at in Vegas. That might not mean much - I'm hardly an expert on food or the best restaurants in Vegas. But let's just say that I could not stop eating, and when I did I was left with a feeling of such immense gratification!
Anyway, getting to the point, the restaurant I'm gushing about is China Grill in Mandalay Bay. It is a fusion Asian restaurant, serving sushi and sake for Happy Hour and dinner after. We went for a group dinner from work, and our server kept trying to convince us to get the Tasting menu for $69!!! "No, thank you" we said, and ordered off the regular menu. Tofu tots with miso cilantro dipping sauce, Udon noodles with vegetables in a spicy hoisin sauce, crispy spinach and three kinds of creme brulee later I could barely move, but I was in food heaven! I think the sentiment was shared with the rest of the folks at the table. Vrishab in fact insisted that this meal deserved a blog entry even though it was not in the foggy city :)
Friday, March 4, 2011
Back from the long hiatus (hopefully?)
It's been over a year since I last posted. Not because I've been sitting idle and not sampling the most awesome food in San Francisco. But because I got lazy writing about it... it's alright, it happens to us all.
I've been to so may great San Francisco restaurants in the past year - Schmidt's, Contigo, Gracia Madres, Another Monkey... the list is pretty long. I don't even remember what I had that was so good at these places, guess I'll just have to go back :)
So, this post is about Yield Wine Bar - while it's still fresh in my mind... three lovely ladies and a dog went to Yield one Wednesday evening. If you have a dog this is the place for you - they actually have dog treats and strict dog petting policy. So cute!! The people here are super-friendly and the vibe is very chilled out and comfortable. It's is kind of small though, but considering it's in the middle of nowhere in the Dogpatch of all places, it's probably not going to get super-crowded on a weekday.
For a wine bar the food is exceptionally good. You get small plates at Yield, and my only complain is that they are just that - small. The food is so delicious, but the portions kind of tease you saying "you can have two bites of this but not more". We had the sweet potato gnochhi, aparagus and pickled leek salad, cauliflower pakoras, spinach and artichoke dip and the Bermuda Triangle which is a soft goat cheese. If that sounds like a lot of food for 3 people, it's not! I think we could have easily eaten a few more samples. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a sucker for gnocchi, so it's no surprise that it was my favorite item in the menu.
The only dessert they had was apple pie... not the most enticing, so we skipped dessert. I would definitely recommend this place for a nice, quiet evening - it's good for a casual date and to just hang out with friends. And of course, if you have a dog it's the place to go!
http://www.yieldsf.com/YieldWineBar/Welcome.html
I've been to so may great San Francisco restaurants in the past year - Schmidt's, Contigo, Gracia Madres, Another Monkey... the list is pretty long. I don't even remember what I had that was so good at these places, guess I'll just have to go back :)
So, this post is about Yield Wine Bar - while it's still fresh in my mind... three lovely ladies and a dog went to Yield one Wednesday evening. If you have a dog this is the place for you - they actually have dog treats and strict dog petting policy. So cute!! The people here are super-friendly and the vibe is very chilled out and comfortable. It's is kind of small though, but considering it's in the middle of nowhere in the Dogpatch of all places, it's probably not going to get super-crowded on a weekday.
For a wine bar the food is exceptionally good. You get small plates at Yield, and my only complain is that they are just that - small. The food is so delicious, but the portions kind of tease you saying "you can have two bites of this but not more". We had the sweet potato gnochhi, aparagus and pickled leek salad, cauliflower pakoras, spinach and artichoke dip and the Bermuda Triangle which is a soft goat cheese. If that sounds like a lot of food for 3 people, it's not! I think we could have easily eaten a few more samples. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a sucker for gnocchi, so it's no surprise that it was my favorite item in the menu.
The only dessert they had was apple pie... not the most enticing, so we skipped dessert. I would definitely recommend this place for a nice, quiet evening - it's good for a casual date and to just hang out with friends. And of course, if you have a dog it's the place to go!
http://www.yieldsf.com/YieldWineBar/Welcome.html
Thursday, January 28, 2010
The Egg Factory
There's one thing I love about India - you always manage to find unique and quirky restaurants, stores, coffee places etc. The Egg Factory struck me as one of those.. the menu has dishes predominantly made with (you guessed it) eggs, the decor is industrial and bare, interesting anecdotes line the walls and the menu is this nice and compact piece of paper folded in 4.
Lilian and me ended up here for lunch after a very lackluster shopping day - one sip of the Pink Lady though and I was refreshed! It's a smoothie with cherries, almonds, yogurt and banana ( yes, I got mine without b-fruit .. yuck :)) and I could have had 2 of 3 of them and be done with lunch. But I had to try the famous egg dishes, so I restricted myself to just one. I will go back and OD on it some other day though.
Egg Factory has every conceivable egg dish on it's menu. Everything looked great, but I opted for a Manipal bread scramble - it's like bhurji tossed with chunks of bread so that all the flavor just soaks into everything... yumm! I could just imagine coming here for a late night snack after a night of crazy partying - although in Bangalore that would be like 11pm :)
Definitely recommended!
Lilian and me ended up here for lunch after a very lackluster shopping day - one sip of the Pink Lady though and I was refreshed! It's a smoothie with cherries, almonds, yogurt and banana ( yes, I got mine without b-fruit .. yuck :)) and I could have had 2 of 3 of them and be done with lunch. But I had to try the famous egg dishes, so I restricted myself to just one. I will go back and OD on it some other day though.
Egg Factory has every conceivable egg dish on it's menu. Everything looked great, but I opted for a Manipal bread scramble - it's like bhurji tossed with chunks of bread so that all the flavor just soaks into everything... yumm! I could just imagine coming here for a late night snack after a night of crazy partying - although in Bangalore that would be like 11pm :)
Definitely recommended!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Not quite foggy-food-for-thought
Hello Bengaluru - home for the next four months!! I'm going to *try* and blog about my culinary adventures in this city that is touted as India's Silicon Valley.
So far I think I've made a good start - I had Rajathani thali at Rajdhani, Chinese food at the very overpriced and over rated Ping, and some good Italian food at 100 Ft. Not bad, in my first 2 weekends here :)
So lets start with Rajdhani - one of the things that you miss the most about India is the food. I was looking forward to eating an authentic Indian thali after several years, and a little scared about whether I would have the room in my little tummy to try all the delicacies they would put on my place. Turns out my fears were well placed - I lost track at some point of the number of dishes on my plate. At last count there were 4 kinds of sweets, 4 kinds of rotis, about 6-7 sabji/dal combinations, dahi wada, farsan, 3 kinds of rice... you get the picture... enough food to send anyone into a food coma. To add to the amazing variety of food, Rajdhani is located in UB City - an over-the-top designer brand name mall in Bangalore! Defintely worth a visit - but definitely not for the calorie-conscious or the faint-stomached.
Ping - the less said about the place the better. To me, this restaurant embodied everything that could go wrong when one person's awesome vision for a high-class Asian eatery in India is reduced to dust because of the lack of vision and quality in the wait staff. There was nothing really wrong with the food at Ping - it may have been way to spicy and garlicy (if that is a word) for me, but hey, my stomach is no longer an Indian stomach so who am I to complain about that. There was a time when I used to find this food yummy, and maybe in 4 months I will again! What was wrong was the the wait staff - who did not let us know about specials, did not answer our questions on what was good here, and made us order way more food than necessary. It makes you wonder... maybe India can boast of fancy restaurants and world food, but are they really doing justice to it?
Thankfully, 100 Ft made up for the Ping disappointment... the bruschetta was comparable to what I would have had in a US restaurant. The pasta was creamy, and had a smattering of Indian spices, but stayed true somewhat to what a penne primavera should be. We skipped dessert because we were full - but turns out dessert is not to be missed here. Definitely going back!
So far I think I've made a good start - I had Rajathani thali at Rajdhani, Chinese food at the very overpriced and over rated Ping, and some good Italian food at 100 Ft. Not bad, in my first 2 weekends here :)
So lets start with Rajdhani - one of the things that you miss the most about India is the food. I was looking forward to eating an authentic Indian thali after several years, and a little scared about whether I would have the room in my little tummy to try all the delicacies they would put on my place. Turns out my fears were well placed - I lost track at some point of the number of dishes on my plate. At last count there were 4 kinds of sweets, 4 kinds of rotis, about 6-7 sabji/dal combinations, dahi wada, farsan, 3 kinds of rice... you get the picture... enough food to send anyone into a food coma. To add to the amazing variety of food, Rajdhani is located in UB City - an over-the-top designer brand name mall in Bangalore! Defintely worth a visit - but definitely not for the calorie-conscious or the faint-stomached.
Ping - the less said about the place the better. To me, this restaurant embodied everything that could go wrong when one person's awesome vision for a high-class Asian eatery in India is reduced to dust because of the lack of vision and quality in the wait staff. There was nothing really wrong with the food at Ping - it may have been way to spicy and garlicy (if that is a word) for me, but hey, my stomach is no longer an Indian stomach so who am I to complain about that. There was a time when I used to find this food yummy, and maybe in 4 months I will again! What was wrong was the the wait staff - who did not let us know about specials, did not answer our questions on what was good here, and made us order way more food than necessary. It makes you wonder... maybe India can boast of fancy restaurants and world food, but are they really doing justice to it?
Thankfully, 100 Ft made up for the Ping disappointment... the bruschetta was comparable to what I would have had in a US restaurant. The pasta was creamy, and had a smattering of Indian spices, but stayed true somewhat to what a penne primavera should be. We skipped dessert because we were full - but turns out dessert is not to be missed here. Definitely going back!
Q, Chloe's and Park Chow - brunch anyone?
My laziness has finally caught up with me, and I decided to condense my reviews for these three places in one big brunch post!
Lets start with Q - I went here with my swim friends. It's all the way on Clement Street, parking is a pain here so be warned. The place itself is pretty small, we got seated all the way in the back. Our table was funky (in a good way), there was this tree trunk in the middle of the table, added an interesting touch to the decor of the place.
The service was a bit random... our server kept telling us that the coffee mugs were missing and brought us our three coffees one by one. The food was pretty good brunch fare. I got an omelet with corn and some spicy salsa. Lalitha got the french toast which was pretty good too. Overall I would say the place was good... was it worth the trek all the way to the Richmond though, not sure!
Ok the next place is also that side of town - Park Chow is right outside the Golden Gate Park. Again parking here is a pain, but if have a lot of money, you go into the park and park at the De Young :)Park Chow is really popular - you can tell because the place is pretty big, it has two levels but it was full. There's a really cozy feel to it, maybe because of the giant fireplace downstairs. We were a group of 8, so we got put upstairs in a large, spacious room. This place is good for kids - I always have trouble finding places to take my friends who have kids, so this is a great find! The food is a mixture of traditional brunch options with some Asian and Italian options thrown in. Pretty good food and service. Overall, this seems like a good place to start the day off with a nice relaxed lunch, and walk across to the park and hang out - definitely recommended!
Last, but not least is Chloe's - it's a block away from my apartment, and I don't go there nearly as often as I would like. Why? This place is super-popular, and tiny! Which means, you end up waiting for a table for at least 45 minutes, and they don't take reservations. But, Chloe's makes you wait for a good reason - the food is awesome, made with fresh ingredients and always flavorful. I love their rosemary thyme bread - the french toast and most of their omelets. So, if you have a couple of hours to spare one weekend, make the trip to Chloe's - it's definitely worth it!
Lets start with Q - I went here with my swim friends. It's all the way on Clement Street, parking is a pain here so be warned. The place itself is pretty small, we got seated all the way in the back. Our table was funky (in a good way), there was this tree trunk in the middle of the table, added an interesting touch to the decor of the place.
The service was a bit random... our server kept telling us that the coffee mugs were missing and brought us our three coffees one by one. The food was pretty good brunch fare. I got an omelet with corn and some spicy salsa. Lalitha got the french toast which was pretty good too. Overall I would say the place was good... was it worth the trek all the way to the Richmond though, not sure!
Ok the next place is also that side of town - Park Chow is right outside the Golden Gate Park. Again parking here is a pain, but if have a lot of money, you go into the park and park at the De Young :)Park Chow is really popular - you can tell because the place is pretty big, it has two levels but it was full. There's a really cozy feel to it, maybe because of the giant fireplace downstairs. We were a group of 8, so we got put upstairs in a large, spacious room. This place is good for kids - I always have trouble finding places to take my friends who have kids, so this is a great find! The food is a mixture of traditional brunch options with some Asian and Italian options thrown in. Pretty good food and service. Overall, this seems like a good place to start the day off with a nice relaxed lunch, and walk across to the park and hang out - definitely recommended!
Last, but not least is Chloe's - it's a block away from my apartment, and I don't go there nearly as often as I would like. Why? This place is super-popular, and tiny! Which means, you end up waiting for a table for at least 45 minutes, and they don't take reservations. But, Chloe's makes you wait for a good reason - the food is awesome, made with fresh ingredients and always flavorful. I love their rosemary thyme bread - the french toast and most of their omelets. So, if you have a couple of hours to spare one weekend, make the trip to Chloe's - it's definitely worth it!
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