Pardon the crumbs

An afternoon snack. Brie and crackers.

Dine About Town, Round 3 - Aziza

First I was like :)

Then I was like :P

And then I was like :D

On the recommendations of several friends, Therese and I finally made our way out to the Outer Richmond Wednesday night to try Aziza, apparently the standard bearer for Moroccan/Mediterranean cuisine. For the both of us, this was our third Dine about Town this month, and, unlike One Market, this place more than lives up to the hype. Everything about this place oozed with appeal; the decor, the lighting, the service and food presentation were all impeccable. It didn't hurt either that this was one of very few nights that it wasn't raining buckets. Seriously, I wish all Wednesday nights could be like this.

Between the two of us, we split two appetizers, two entrees and two desserts, and there wasn't a single miss among them.

lima beans, feta, bread crumbs, oregano

Remember back in the day when we all refused to eat lima beans? These were no ordinary lima beans, no no. This was served casserole style, baked in a tomato sauce with feta cheese and topped with crispy bread crumbs. I'm not much of a fan of feta (particularly goat cheese feta), though to each their own. The bread crumbs were unexpected but not at all unpleasant. But the beans, man oh man were they good. And gigantic, too. The beans were tender but not mushy, and had absorbed all of the wonderful flavors of the sauce. If they were served like this, I'd have eaten them all day, every day. Initially I was hesitant to order this, but I'm absolutely sold.

meatballs, grape, jícama, herb vinaigrette

Yup, those are grapes, not cherry tomatoes, which I first thought they were. And it works oh so well. Loved the spices in the meatball. Small, but well cooked, moist, and packed with flavor. The jícama, which is normally fairly bland, was seasoned well, yet maintained the same refreshing taste.

couscous, chicken, prawn, lamb sausage, vegetables

For someone completely accustomed to eating rice, rice and more rice, the grains of couscous were a wonderful change. They were fluffy, cooked well and were still slightly chewy with a little pop, which Therese said was like munching on sacks of roe. The trio of meats was a great idea, with red meat and seafood and poultry (oh my!). If anything, the chicken was just a touch overdone, but that's really stretching to find something that I didn't like about the meal. The shrimp and sausage were grilled to perfection.

lamb shank, barley, prune, cranberry, scallion

Ah, yes, this was without a doubt my favorite. I can only assume that this was painstakingly slow roasted over hours and hours. The meat fell right off the bone, no need for a knife, and melted in your mouth like butter. Unlike most lamb that I've previously had, this wasn't gamy at all, and had I known better, I'd have even mistaken it for beef. Either way, it was fantastic. It was served over barley and cranberries and with a prune on the side. A great mixture of sweet and savory flavors.

passionfruit semifreddo with pistachios, crumbled gingersnaps, and cherries

Passionfruit and pistachios aren't two things that I'd normally associate together, but for some reason, it works! Two layers of a light and soft ice cream, with a layer of pistachios in between, topped with cherries and a passionfruit sauce. Considering how generous the appetizer and entree portions were, I was happy to have something that wasn't so heavy. It was very beautifully presented, in a way that these dark pictures can't fully justify.

sesame mousse, cocoa spice cake, and cranberry coulis

Sesame isn't something I normally see in American desserts, though it's used heavily in a lot of sweet asian goodies. In that sense, there was a kind of familiarity with the flavors of this dessert, yet it was still innovative and delicous. And like above, very beautifully presented. Feast with your eyes, so they say. I did like that it wasn't too sweet, and had a slight crunch from the sesame. A bit of a tossup between which dessert I liked better.

Great company, great food, great atmosphere. It doesn't get any better than this.

Total with tax and tip, $45. Worth every penny.

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http://www.yelp.com/biz/aziza-san-francisco

5800 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94121

Baklava!

Another one of those fun words to say. Even more fun to make and to eat. Recipes and "making of" pictures to follow.

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Recipe adapted from here and here:

Ingredients
For the filling:
2 tsp ground cinnamon
6 ounces almonds
6 ounces walnuts
6 ounces pecans (I substituted pecans)
2/3 cup sugar
1 pound phyllo dough, thawed
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

For the syrup:
1 cups honey
1 cups water
1 cups sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Finely chop the almonds, walnuts and pecans; add to the cinnamon sugar mixture. Set aside.

Trim the sheets of phyllo to fit the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch metal pan. Brush the bottom and sides of the pan with butter; lay down a sheet of phyllo and brush with butter. Repeat this step 9 more times for a total of 10 sheets of phyllo.

Top with 1/3 of the nut mixture and spread thinly.

Layer 6 more sheets of phyllo with butter in between each of them, followed by another third of the nuts. Repeat with another 6 sheets of phyllo, butter and remaining nuts. Top with 8 sheets of phyllo brushing with butter in between each sheet. Brush the top generously with butter.

Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and cut into squares.

Return pan to the oven and continue to bake for another 30 minutes. Remove pan from the oven, place on a cooling rack, and cool for 2 hours before adding the syrup.

Make the syrup during the last 30 minutes of cooling. Combine the honey, water, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla in a medium saucepan and set over high heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Once boiling, boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat.

After the baklava has cooled for 2 hours, re-cut the entire pan following the same lines as before. Pour the hot syrup evenly over the top of the baklava, allowing it to run into the cuts and around the edges of the pan.

Allow the pan to sit, uncovered until completely cool. Cover and store at room temperature for at least 8 hours and up to overnight before serving. Store, covered, at room temperature for up to 5 days.

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The recipe originally tells you to cut into 28 pieces, but I cut them into more (9x4=36).

Total cost of ingredients: about $20. Probably less if you already have some of the basic ingredients on hand.

Dine About Town, Round 2 - One Market

(Apologies for the pictures, I didn't have my camera with me, so I had to take these with my cell phone. And no amount of photoshopping can save these photos. I've tried.)

Dine About Town continued tonight with a visit to One Market with Mark and his friend, Paul. Considering its location in the heart of the Financial District (also bordering the Embarcadero), you can tell immediately that this place generally serves a more upscale clientèle.

I was informed during dinner that this place was awarded a Michelin Star ("Ooo la la!"). Quite frankly, that comes as a bit of a surprise. Not to say that the experience was bad, I just expected so much more. Perhaps to expect is simply to set ourselves up for disappointment. On to the food.

Seared Tuna with something-something

Alright, I didn't pay attention to what they said this was. This was the complimentary amuse-bouche that was brought out just after we ordered. The tuna was very fresh and the herbs complemented the fish well. A wonderful start to the meal, though to be honest, I'm impressed merely at the fact that they serve amuse-bouche (it's a fun word to say, too). My only complaint was that we only got one bite =(

Cauliflower Soup with Nantucket Bay scallops, asian pears, pickled ramps

The soup was creamy without being overly heavy. The Asian pears were a bit of a surprise; for a while, I couldn't decide if that was good or bad. I'm a fan of the texture and the added crunch, but it's a weird flavor to mix with the otherwise savory soup. The scallops were delicious though.

Grilled Bay Leaf Marinated Skirt Steak, “boulangere” potatoes, red wine shallot reduction

Though the photo above is dark and grainy, honestly it's a pretty good representation of what was served. The portions were good and the steak was fine on the inside, but it was inexplicably blackened and charred on the outside. Perhaps I had angered a chef for ordering my steak medium (blasphemy to some, I know). For a while I thought that the burnt taste came from the steak, but soon I realized that the sauce tasted burnt too. That was a major downer. The meat and potatoes sat on top of the red wine sauce and, as I soon found out, a sad squished little pile of spinach underneath. I ate the spinach anyway, but considering that it was the only source of color in the dish, I had to wonder why it was tucked away and drowned in the sauce.

Dulce de Leche Bread Pudding, caramel rum sauce, pecans, Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream

Throughout the entire meal, I kept waiting to be blown away; after the disappointing steak, I was ready to give up entirely. And when dessert came out, blown away I was. The bread pudding had a slightly crisp shell on the outside and was soft and warm inside. The candied pecans were toasted nicely. Even the ice cream made Dreyer's taste like a frozen pile of dog turds (comparatively speaking, of course). I should note that Mark ordered the chocolate souffle with chocolate/blood orange ice cream, and that too was absolutely perfect. Hats off to dessert chef. This is the definition of decadence.

So to recap, the soup = pretty good; the entree = eh; the dessert = fantastic. Would I come here again? Maybe next year for Dine About Town. Or maybe just stop by for dessert.

Total with tax and tip, $45. Quite a pretty penny.

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http://www.yelp.com/biz/one-market-san-francisco
1 Market Plaza, San Francisco, CA 94105

Nova Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese

On a pepper and poppy seed cracker. Also great on bagels. Hmm, maybe that'll be tomorrow's breakfast.

On another note, the intermittent breaks we get in between the periods of heavy rain make for pretty decent lighting.

Salmon, $5 for 4 oz. Water crackers, $0.99 for 4 oz. Cream cheese, $2 for a small tub. Trader Joe's is awesome.

Navel Gazing

Navel oranges are at the peak of the season! And they're delicious. That is all.

Can be had for cheap this time of year. Best I've seen is 3lb for $1.

Dine About Town, Round 1 - Vitrine

On a rainy and blustery MLK day, Therese, Justin and I ventured downtown to start off Dine About Town in style at Vitrine, an incredibly elegant and modern restaurant. Conveniently, this weekend coincided with the 75th anniversary of the Museum of Modern Art, which means... free admission! We decided to make a day of it: spend a few hours at the museum, then head to the restaurant and enjoy some fine dining on the cheap. Mmmm, that's the life. The restaurant itself is situated on the 4th floor of the St. Regis Hotel, which itself is located next door to MoMA.

Maine Lobster Bisque flavored with Lemongrass, Celeriac foam

The meal started of with a lobster bisque that was every bit worth the fat and cholesterol your arteries will be clogged with. Every spoonful was packed with intense flavor. The celery foam on top was interesting, with subtle flavor and texture complementing the soup well.

Walnut Crusted Squab Breast, Savory Cabbage Compote, Crispy Potato Galette

Therese and Justin both ordered the Chilean Sea Bass, which sounded incredibly tempting. For the sake of variation, I resisted and ordered the squab. Everything was cooked absolutely to perfection. The skin was crispy, yet the breast itself was tender and juicy, though to be nitpicky, wasn't all too flavorful. This was served on a delicately thin yet crispy potato galette, which to me was even better than the squab. Then again, I'm partial to things fried and crispy. (Side note: I always thought of a galette as more of a pastry, but I suppose this is their interpretation.) Rounding out the bottom was a bed of cabbage and carrots (eww vegetables), though obviously those weren't the stars of the show. All in all I was pretty satisfied, yet I couldn't help but feel the slightest food envy at having missed out on the sea bass. Just one of those 'Grass is greener' things, I guess. By the way, where was the walnut crust on this thing? o.O

Apple Tart with Lavender Honey Ice Cream and Salted Caramel Sauce

With the app and the entree, we were surprisingly full (considering how small these portions usually are), so we decided to split an apple tart for dessert. Not much to say here, just that the vanilla creme thing was a nice touch, and that the honey lavender ice cream was had a milder delicate flavor that is a great contrast to the sweet apple tart.

Total for the meal (w/ dessert split 3 ways): $25. Not too shabby.

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Vitrine

125 3rd St., San Francisco, CA 94103
http://www.yelp.com/biz/vitrine-san-francisco

"Located on the fourth floor of The St. Regis San Francisco, Vitrine offers a full breakfast and lunch menu based on the highest quality ingredients, with herbs and vegetables from the hotel’s organic terrace garden."