Playing Tourist

View from Bistro Boudin

We all know that Fisherman’s Wharf is a huge tourist attraction. I grew up only 30 minutes north of the area and definitely made it a point to visit every few months to grab a bowl of clam chowder from Boudin Bakery or an Ice Cream Sunday from Ghirardelli Square (or both).  Yes, I was the cliché San Francisco tourist for the first 25 years of my life. Ever since I moved to SF almost one year ago, my Fisherman’s Wharf visits pretty much stopped. I guess I became too cool to go to Fisherman’s Wharf because living here no longer classifies me as a San Francisco tourist. This is completely stupid. Fisherman’s Wharf has some the best food in town! Ive only been hurting myself.

This past weekend, I woke up to a weather forecast of 75 degrees (uh, what month is it?) and a huge craving for some clam chowder. I knew I had to feed the craving. Tourist or not, it’s a fact that Boudin makes the best clam chowder in town. I made the decision to embrace Mother Earth’s decision to give us   hot and summery weather in winter by spending the day playing tourist and eating my way through Fisherman’s Wharf.

The first stop of the day was of course, Boudin Bakery. Most people just picture clam chowder and sandwiches on delicious sliced sourdough when thinking of Boudin, but they actually have a full service restaurant upstairs called Bistro Boudin. Bistro Boudin  has one of the most breathtaking  views in all of San Francisco (pictured above) and an excellent menu. Of course I had to order some of their famous clam chowder in a bread bowl, but I also decided on an order of their Dungeness crab tacos. Anything filled with crab tastes fantastic. The crab was really fresh and the sourdough tortillas paired nicely with it.  In short, these tacos were perfect. My boyfriend ordered the sourdough gnocchi topped with lobster an some sort of citrusy love sauce. The name of the dish pretty much sells itself. I'm pretty sure he loved it considering the fact that he legitimately licked the bowl clean. I have the picture to prove it!

He really did lick the bowl

Gnocci with Lobster

After leaving Boudin, we felt it was only right to take the short walk over to Pier 39 and say hello to the Sea Lions. Rough life those animals have just sunbathing and snuggling all day. Anyways, as we were on our way too see the Sea Lions, we spotted  Eagle Cafe- a restaurant and Oyster Bar with an outdoors seating area overlooking the pier. We decided to stop in and grab some oysters and beer. Yes, we were aware that we had just finished a huge lunch, but the two block walk to the pier was really strenuous and made us hungry again, ok? Of course the oysters were delicious, but the view alone was well worth the visit! I’d highly recommend that anyone visiting Pier 39 check out Eagle Cafe and ask to sit outside. They have outdoor heaters so don’t worry about freezing to death if it’s a cold San Francisco day.

Oysters and Beer, the perfect combo! 

No visit to Fisherman’s Wharf is complete without an Ice Cream Sunday from Ghirardelli square.  Right when the Oysters and beers were finished, we made our way to Ghirardelli Square and shared a delicious, hot fudge Sunday. Side note: the fact that I agreed to share and not have my own is a huge milestone in my eating habits. I’m not even going to make a recommendation as to what Sunday option to order. Anything smothered in Hot Fudge works out just fine.  You cant go wrong at Ghirardelli!

I’m not ashamed for all the food I consumed on that warm little Saturday afternoon in Fisherman’s Wharf. Technically, calories don’t count when you’re on vacation. Since I was playing tourist, we’ll just consider that a vacation day. Deal?

  

Assab Eritrean (South African) Cuisine

Assab Sampler

I haven’t done a post in forever, sorry. I really have no excuse. My eating habits haven’t changed a bit. Halloween reminded me of a restaurant that makes me feel like a kid so I figure this is a perfect time to get back into the blogging game. For obvious reasons, Halloween always makes me reminiscent of my childhood days. This of course inspired me to write about a restaurant that always lets me re-live a childhood obsession- eating with my hands.

Assab Eritrean (South African) Restaurant is the one restaurant I go to where I am not required to use a fork. Or knife. Or spoon. You get it. In South Africa, food is eaten with inerja, spongy bread that closely resembles a crepe. Any dish you order gets served on top of a very large piece of the inerja and also comes with some inerja on the side. The inerja is the only tool provided to eat with. (Ok, I’m done saying the word inerja, but I wanted to really reiterate that this place does not give you silverware.) It’s a bit messy and not a very attractive way of eating, but it sure tastes great. The picture above doesnt do it justice, but I wanted to give you an example.   

South African food can best be described to people who have never tried it as spicy, exotic and flavorful. The best thing to order for your first time at Assab is a meat sampler and a veggie sampler. I’d describe each, but it’s definitely easier to just read the menu for this one. Click here for the menu link. All their meats are very tender. I’m pretty picky when it comes to meet, but all three options (lamb, chicken and beef) really are delicious. I’m not also not a huge vegetable lover (shocking), but they cook their veggie dishes to perfection and add so much flavor that I forget I’m even eating vegetables in the first place.  Please just trust me and order the samplers, even if something included sounds way out of your acceptable food ordering range. It won’t disappoint you.  

The food at Assab pairs well with a glass of their Honey Wine. I’m not a huge fan of sweet wines, but theirs isn’t overly sweet and does a good job of curbing some of the spice from the food. Assab is a great place to take someone to if you want to impress him or her. You will definitely seem all fun, cultured and cool for suggesting this restaurant. It’s a fun experience, guaranteed. If the lack of silverware thing scares you, they will give you a fork, but you’d only be ruining your own fun!

Midori Sushi

The GoGo Roll

I think it’s an unspoken rule that when eating at a sushi restaurant, you never order two of the same roll. I used to live by that rule until Midori Sushi changed everything I know about sushi.

We wandered into this restaurant one night because we heard they had cheap sushi rolls and a nightly special of one-cent sake shots. My kind of party. We did our standard menu scan and after much deliberation went with the typical order of edamame and miso soup along with four different rolls. One of our roll selections was the GoGo roll: shrimp tempura, crab, avocado with crunch, sauce. (This is exactly how they describe it on the menu). I know this description sounds a bit boring and vague, but the second I had one piece of this roll I was hooked. I don’t have any other way to describe it other than the fact that it’s delicious. The crunch on top is so good that I’ve been known to sit and pick at my plate until every little crunch scrap is gone. Don’t judge me.

Ever since that night, every time we go back to Midori we don’t even waste time looking at the menu and order three GoGo Rolls to share. The first time we placed this unheard of order, we got some weird, confused, and slightly judgmental glares from the waitress. I think after making this a weekly habit, the waitress finally accepts us for who we are: the GoGo Roll’s biggest fans. We’ve since gotten quite a few friends onboard with our GoGo addiction. At least we're not in this alone. 

All of Midori’s other rolls are fresh, delicious and well priced. They even give you complementary ice cream. How nice of them! The next time you’re in the mood for a great sushi dinner and don’t feel like spending way too much money, check out Midori Sushi. It's conveniently located on Geary and Stanyan (in San Francisco) and there's always plenty of street parking close by. They don’t have a website, but click here to view their menu. 

Magnolia Pub and Brewery

Scotch Egg

Last week, I finally got the chance to go check out a spot I have been hearing about for months- Magnolia Pub and Brewery.  This place defines cool.  Magnolia is located on Haight St., one of my favorite areas of San Francisco. Inside, Magnolia has a great atmosphere with nice employees and friendly customers. They have an awesome craft beer selection and their menu is not the standard menu you find at most pubs. It has many unique food combinations along with a few items I have never heard of before. I think I definitely increased my personal cool points by trying a couple of items I’ll share with you below.

The first thing we tried were Devils on Horseback: goat cheese-stuffed, bacon wrapped dates.  I had never eaten dates before, but anything wrapped in bacon wins in my book. These little gems are so good that after trying them, my boyfriend and I were legitimately left speechless for at least 30 seconds. If you know either of us, 30 seconds is a long time to be silent after trying amazing food. We usually sit and make weird food loving noises, creeping out everyone surrounding us. This time, we couldn’t even get words out to describe our happiness about the food we had just experienced. Yes, eating these is an experience. I think it really was a milestone in our relationship.

A mystery, unheard of food I ordered was called a Scotch Egg. Magnolia’s menu doesn’t even describe what this so the best I can do is tell you that it’s an egg, wrapped with sausage, deep-fried and placed on top of a reddish sauce. I know, it sounds a bit odd, but it is fantastic. The sausage is extremely flavorful and perfectly crispy while the egg actually adds a nice flavor and texture. From my previous post, you already know my love of sauces, so obviously the red sauce adds the perfect finishing touch. The Scotch Egg tastes even better when paired with one of Magnolia's perfectly crafted beers. Be daring and try it, ok?

 

We ate so much other food that night and were so full after, that it was seriously an obstacle just walking one block to the car. Worth it! I can’t wait to go back to Magnolia and try more of their awesome food. Do me a favor and go eat there to give me suggestions. Click here to see their menu! 

The Stinking Rose

The Bagna Calda

I don’t think I’ve ever had a moment in a restaurant where I looked at a menu, something had garlic in the recipe, and I thought it sounded disgusting. Has anyone? I truly hope not because I absolutely love garlic on almost any food item and hope you all feel the same way. That’s why The Stinking Rose is my absolute dream come true. This restaurant is dedicated to one thing: garlic. Almost everything on the menu has garlic in it, even their ice cream. It’s hard to go wrong with any order at this place because garlic makes everything fantastic, but I have a couple must-order favorites that everyone needs to experience.

Immediately upon sitting down, I always order the Bagna Calda appetizer. Picture garlic cloves soaking in a tiny little butter-filled bathtub. This is exactly what the Bagna Calda is: garlic cloves, oven roasted and soaked in butter and olive oil. It’s served with The Stinking Rose’s house-baked focaccia bread which I use as a spoon to very unattractively shovel as much garlic into my mouth as possible. I’d recommend doing the same.

For my main dish, I always go with the Dungeness crab soaked in The Stinking Rose’s “special secret garlic sauce”. First of all, if you put the words “special” or “secret” in front of any sauce name, I’m going to eat it and probably enjoy it. There’s no exception to this sauce. It’s delicious. Even when the crab is gone, I’ve been known to eat spoonfuls of the sauce by itself. You’ll understand one day.

Lastly, The Stinking Rose really does make garlic ice cream as promised above. This ice cream is definitely unique and worth a try. You’re already going to have garlic breath for days, so why not top your meal off with garlic ice cream?. You can’t get garlic breath by just reading the menu, so check it out here!

Off the Grid

Off the Grid is one of the best things that’s ever happened to my Friday nights. A huge variety of food trucks, free live music, and an excellent location at Ft. Mason in San Francisco, make Off the Grid a dream come true for any foodie in the Bay Area. The hardest decision I make all weekend is what food truck to order food from first. All of the food trucks have unique and delicious food, but I definitely play favorites with Koja Kitchen and the Crème Brulee Cart.

Two words describe my love for Koja Kitchen: Kamikaze Fries. Kamikaze fries are Crisscut fries topped with Korean BBQ Beef, kimchi, green onions, and drizzled with signature sauce and Japanese sweet mayo. The combination of awesome on these fries is like nothing I’ve ever tasted before.  They have a perfect ratio of sweet and spicy and the BBQ beef is always cooked to perfection. Don’t even think about trying to split just one order with a friend. Be greedy and get your own.  You’ll thank me later.

The Crème Brûlée Cart is conveniently located on the way out of Off the Grid. I’m usually disgustingly full by the time I mosey on over to this cart, but it's there to remind me that you can never be too full for dessert. The Crème Brûlée Cart has perfect portions of a variety of crème brûlée flavors. My favorite is the Si Por Favor which is Nutella and strawberry flavored creme brûlée- the perfect OTG nightcap. Even better, the cart advertises free high fives and the folks working inside always stay true to their high five promise. I like that.

If you aren’t interested in the food I described above, Off the Grid has many food trucks to choose from. Also, don’t let long lines scare you away. I think I’m stating the obvious that the trucks with the longest lines have the best food. So grab a beer, tell yourself you’re burning calories by standing in a long line, and enjoy the atmosphere. If you’re not an SF resident, Off the Grid has multiple locations they travel to in the Bay Area. Check them out here!