Nirvana, Market Bar and Toast

I've decided I'm going to be lazy and combine reviews for three restaurants in one giant blog posting. Not that they don't deserve their own individual moment in the spotlight - at least Nirvana definitely does. But, these are restaurants I've been to over the past two months so some of my memories of the places are hazy and I'm going to get them all mixed up anyway :)

Lets start with Nirvana, an Asian fusion restaurant in the Castro. I tried this place for the first time with Judy, when I had just moved to the city three years ago. Wow .... time flies, and here I was again, celebrating my "surprise" birthday party with my awesome, awesome friends. From what I remember (very vaguely) the drinks at this place were really good! The food was pretty good too, but since I can't remember the names of any dishes, I'm guessing at least the vegetarian options were pretty standard fare. The seafood though, was a big hit! A friend of mine who doesn't really like seafood, started ordering seafood at every restaurant he went to for the next few weeks to see if he could find the same taste closer to home. Overall, I would recommend the restaurant - it's not that great for a date, but pretty good to go out with a group. Oh.. and remember, parking in the Castro is a nightmare, so take the muni :)

http://nirvanarestaurant.net/

After two months of no brunches out with Laxmi (parents visiting, south-indian breakfast every weekend at home, who needs brunch :)), we decided to go to Toast in Noe Valley, the Sunday after my folks left. For some reason this place is super-popular. We waited an hour and a half ( I kid you not!) to get a table. I mean yeah.. they make a good omelette, but don't people have better things to do on a beautiful Sunday morning? Apparently not! Anyway, once we were seated, the service was pretty quick. The restaurant has the usual brunch fare - I do recommend getting the omelette, it's perfectly made, with really fresh veggies, light and fluffy and most importantly, not runny. If eggs are just not your thing, the tofu scramble looked pretty good, and I guess you also can't go wrong with pancakes and syrup :)

http://www.toasteatery.com/

My last review is for Market Bar - it's this huge place with outdoor seating in the Ferry Building. The only reason I'm reviewing this place has nothing to do with food - it's the location! If there's one place in San Francisco that always makes me smile and want to give a great, big hug to the city, it's the Ferry Building. I don't know if it's because of the water and the Bay Bridge in all it's magnificence towering over the Bay on one side, or all the tall financial district buildings with busy people walking around purposefully on the other side that makes this such a special place. Every time I go here though, I can almost feel the vitality and energy around me lifting me up. So, anyway, back to Market Bar - we went here to celebrate Chetna's first marathon, we were a large group, and this place was awesome - they take reservations, unlike a lot of brunch places in the city, and it's big enough to accommodate a large group. The food... was as far as I remember, pretty lackluster. Once again, it was the usual brunch fare. I mean how wrong can you go with scrambled eggs and toast? So, go here if you need a place that is centrally located and can fit large groups - but if you are looking for a brunch place with really good food, you're better off picking your favoritest (I know it's not a word.. but you get the picture) person from the group and heading to one of the many smaller, neighborhood brunch places where you'll easily find a table for two (except if it's Toast :)).

http://www.marketbar.com/