Nice to Meat Ya!

I've been craving protein lately and my bosom buddy, Shameless Shama, had the best recommendations. Sorrry, veggie folks, this posting is not for you. With Shama, it's all about the meat. For her first recommendation, we went to Parada 22. It's a Puerto Rican restaurant that is located towards the end of Haight Street. It's just beside old standby, ChaChaCha. Parada 22 has incredible food! Que sabroso! See biftec encebollado (beef and onions) pictured below.

Another great dish was their pernil asado, which is a plate of roasted, marinated pork leg with garlic and spices. This dish was even more of a stand out, even though it's not as photogenic (see below), it was really sumptuous. Yes, sumptuous is the perfect word for this plate of goodness. 

Shameless Shama proved her credibility by introducing me to this Puerto Rican place. The restaurant is the perfect combo of hole in the wall appeal and delectable plates. However, she did not stop there, for she is a true meat connoisseur and she insisted we try another restaurant the next time we step out - Valencia Pizza and Pasta. This second place is also all about the meats and  boy, do they know BIG portions! Below is Shamelss Shama with her order of Beef Ribs. 

Much like Divisadero corridor, Valencia street had slowly undergone a renaissance of sorts. It has morphed from stale street to boudacious boulevard in a relatively brief period of time; it's a a wonder to behold. With a well-organized thrift shop, earth-friendly organic beauty stores, a hip barber shop, and lots interesting restaurants, I always jump at the opportunity to traipse around this hood. Below, see me gawking at the giant slabs of porkchop in creamy mustard sauce. I swear to goddess, I almost fainted with delight!

B44 and After

I was super excited to break bread with my pre-op transgender friends, Fantastica and Prosthetica. We wanted to celebrate the success of my girlfriend’s recent cosmetic surgeries (adam’s apple shaving, and elbows and knees bleaching), so we decided to go to B44, located at Belden Place, that pseudo-European-trying-hard-to-be-more-than-SF-truly-is alley. The plates we ordered from this Catalan-inspired restaurant were brilliant. Although some of the dishes were more fully realized than others, we still enjoyed our experience at B44.

We ordered a bevy of appetizers. The Sauteed Mussels, made with sofrito, pancetta, green peas, and tarragon was the stand out winner (see mouth-watering picture below) Growl, oops. Sorry, that was my tummy having a gastronomic memory.

The sizzling skillet of prawns and garlique was phenomenal and if I could marry it I would have, but I think Republicans will have a lot to say about a marriage between a space alien avatar and a plate of sizzling gambas (see photo below).  Anywho, Prop 8 is dead, so the last laugh is still ours, so take that you repressive Republicans!

The Plate Of Cured Meats which include slices of jamon serrano, chorizo, and fuet was, in a word, meh. I love jamon Serrano, but their version of it was lackluster at best. The chorizo could have just been those mini-sausages by Hillshire farms for all I cared. Anywho, I suppose what I’m saying is you may skip the plate of cold meats. It kinda made me snore, actually. Yawn.

We also had stuffed squid in black ink sauce which was divine. A little scary looking to the uninitiated, but it was still worth the try. What we really wanted was to try the blood sausages (morcilla), but they did not have it that night. Booo! How do they think they'll entice continued patronage from vampires if they don't consistently serve blood sausages?

We shared an entrée of grilled pork chop with a sweet honey sauce. Yummilish! Nuff said.

Below are photos of the seafood paella and the fideua negra, both outstanding plates. However if I'm being nitpicky, I'd say the rice and the noodles were ever so slightly undercooked.

After a very satisfying dinner, we decided to take our culinary journey elsewhere. Where else can we go for delicious dessert? I’m craving purple yam ice cream…UBE! Mitchell’s here we come! Please pronounce it as "Oooh Beh"....Never say "Yooob". The E is never silent. Saying "yoob" would just prove that you're nothing but a total newb...Hey, I made a rhyme.  I think I'll make a poem:

I love you, Yoob;

I'll eat you in a cup or in a cone.

But when I drip you all over my fingers and clothes,

I feel like a total boob.

For more information about B44, check out their website. You can also look through Mitchell's ice cream's site and peruse through all their fab flavours by clicking here. I suggest ube, halohalo, avocado, macapuno; all of them can be found under the sub-heading of Tropical Flavors. Cheers!

Citizen's Band

Aside from the quality of the restaurant's iced tea, nothing sets the tone of the meal like the very first bites of their appetizers. However, before you put that food in your mouth, your eyes need to be titillated and the people at Citizen's Band, on the corner of Folsom and 8th really came up with a doozy.  Above, you see a photo of their ...well, can you guess what it is?  Hmmm, give up?  No, it's not sliced sea cucumbers on top of a tres leches cake.  It actually is a mac and cheese appetizer topped with three onion rings.  Tres interesante, right? Yes, it looks odd, but oddly enough it's soooo goood! The melted cheese on the crispy onion rings ties in well with the macaroni and cheese that's quite melty and, of yes, cheesy. The sweetness of the onions was a great counter point to all that creamy goodness.

Above, you'll see another awesome appetizer which is inspired by a Quebecois dish called poutine.  French fries with gravy, and chunks of meat - you can't go wrong!

The entree that they're famous for is their fried chicken.  The well-deserved buzz is merited because...well, just look at it!
Note, if you visit their website, you'll see a sample menu, but since they're menu changes everytime, don't fall in love too soon.  I was browsing through their website and I thought I was going to order the bacon and egg appetizer, but...Alas, they don't have it anymore.  Darn you, false advertiser!

Snack Attack!

Grumble...grumble...After seeing the brief video above, my tummy hungreee!  Grumbledy-grum-grum.

Hey, Belinda Belly.  I hear you grumbling down there. What's that? You're feeling peckish.  Well, I know just the place for a bit of gastronomic enjoyment.  Nijiya Market, here we come!

Check out the wide selection of convenient, pre-packaged goodness. I love Japanese cuisine and at Nijiya market, which is located at the nucleus of Japantown (Post and Webster), one can discover culinary cuteness rolled into delicious delectability. It's quite a sight to behold, believe me this pic does not do it justice, you have to run like a reindeer to Japantown and check it out. Go, Bambi, go!

When you ordered that tempura/teriyaki combo plate at your favorite Japanese restaurant, did you ever wonder what dressing your they poured on top of that side salad of cabbage? Well, wonder no more!  They have it at Nijiya market.  If you're lucky, it will even be on sale. I recommend the miso based one; it's creamy and sweet!

Check out the raw tuna with spicy mayo sauce, and to the right the fish roe looks so ready to explode in your mouth!  Love it when they pop...pop...poppitypop...

Above are different kinds of Furikake bottles.  They're basically enhancers of steamed rice; they contain shredded seaweed, sesame seed, shaved bonito, etc.  It all depends on your taste. Domo Arigato, Nijiya Market for being Belinda Belly's savior when she's hungry.

Thai Me Up

Now that I've exposed you to the funny side of Thai pop culture, let me expose you to the culinary side.

"Sawatdee Ka!"

This is how you should greet your thai waitress, if it's a male Thai waiter the greeting should be, "Sawatdee Krap!". I always apply this little piece of linguistic knowledge whenever I try out a new Thai restaurant. If they respond with a big smile and say, "Sawatdee Krap", then I know that they're authentic (or at least their servers are). Bonus points to them for actually recognizing me as a male. However, if they look at me with a vapid stare and mutter, "Um,Whatdawho, ma'am?", then I know they're fakers and I would turn, and walk away while saying, "Pad-See You Later!"

You won't have authenticity issues at Basil Canteen. Attention Vegetarians: Above, you see a picture of their fried chive cake kanom guay chai; Delightfully delicious, and this is just the start.

Basil Canteen is the sister to Thai Basil restaurant. They are both located on Howard Street, this posting is for Basil Canteen which is on the corner of 11th. There's a gazillion and one Thai restaurants in the city and if you don't watch your step, your bound to stumble into a mediocre one. Well, you won't have to fear anything when you walk into this place. They're the proverbial cat's pyjamas! Tangent Alert: I never understood that old time expression. Let's start a new one. How about saying, "They're the koala's onesies!"

My fave dish, seen above, is the kao soi neur. This dish is brilliant! It's egg noodles in a coconut curry sauce which has a mild citrus infusion. This bowl of yummy includes slices of flank steak and it's crowned with crispy noodles. The different textures and the savory coconut milk sauce makes for a completely unforgettable dining experience. I promise you, you will die - figuratively!

Click here to check out their menu.

Loko for Loukoumades!

I love attending food festivals! Some of my faves are: Gilroy Garlic, Nihonmachi and Cherry Blossom Festival at Japantown, etc., so I was super excited to learn about the Greek Food Festival that occurs every September. San Franciscans have multiple options when it comes to ethnic cuisine, but looking forward to an annual open-air festival, where there's live music and dancing, is un-beatable.


I'm always on the look-out for something new, so when I saw these doughnut holes, drizzled in honey, and sprinkled with walnuts, I knew I found my true love. They're called loukomades or loukomathes. The old lady that served me told me that they were home-made and that she made them herself. They were yuuuuuuumy!



As you can see, these bite-sized, pillowy delicious morsels are to die for.  If you're a fan of the Greek desserts, which are usually sweet and sticky, think baklava, then you'll love loukomathes! So make sure you mark your calendars for next year's event.  Here's a tip, they usually have free passes you can print out from their official website. You can get more get more information about their mission and other events at http://www.annunciation.org/.  Cheers!

Deep Love for Deep Fried

I’ve never met a fried food I did not like.  I always say that, because it’s true.  I’ve had fried cheese (Nicaraguan), fried flowers (Italian), fried chicken livers (Soul), fried pork skin (Filipino), fried whatever – I’ll eat it!  So, you can bet I’m a true connoisseur of the  basic fried chicken. Yes, I’m familiar with the usual suspects and most people will vote for Popeye’s, but I choose an unlikely winner.  I believe the best fried chicken in San Francisco can be had at Sam’s Diner. 

You know how sometimes you'd order fried anything and it can taste like it's been sitting under a heat lamp for a while and therefore a little soggy.  Or at times fried food can taste like the restaurant has been using and reusing the oil they've been frying with so it it has some weird burnt oil flavor to it.  That won't be your experience at Sam's Diner. This chicken is uh-mazeballs!

On my last visit I tried another fried wonder, their Fishn'Chips. Ok, I wanted to love it, but I just fell in like with it.  It's still worth a try.  As you can see it's quite pretty to behold.  I think they burnt my fries a little bit, though.

Looking at the pics, I know you’re salivating right now. Listen up Drooly McDrool, you need to run, not walk, to Sam’s on Market between 9^th and 8^th.  You will not regret it. You can even order ahead of time if your lunch hour is tight.  Here's their menu. Happy heart cloggin' eating!

Salsa con Ajo

Well, it's lunch time again and I have a hankering for something delicious and cheap and yummy. My usual partners in crime, RLM and Sticky Fingers vote for a trip to Mission to get our grilled chicken and fried yuca fix. Yes, we're addicted. Just look at the picture below and you'll understand what I'm talking about. Grilled chicken with a slight crispiness on the skin, marinated in delicious spices matched with refried beans, rice and, of course, the show stopper - fried yuca. I mean, come on! Doesn't that look just absolutely lovely.

The place is very family-oriented and they'll always have a football (soccer to us North Americans) blasting on the flat-screen tv. I think they finally fixed their exhaust fans, because I didn't feel so smoked out the last time we ate there - so good for us who are paranoid about lingering food essence.

Make sure to ask for extra garlic sauce, the one that comes with the fried yuca. It's divine. You can dip your fried yuca in it or put drops of it on your chicken, heck, just pour the whole thing on your plate, then ask for more. "Podria darnos mas salso can ajo para la yuca?"

So, run like a gazelle to La Parilla on Folsom and 24th, you won't regret it. Unless you just hate good food. Actually, don't run like a gazelle, run like a leopard, yeah, that's a better simile. Let's go with that...oh, wait. Run like a stocking?

PYT: Pizza, Yummy and Thin

I know there are tons of you who'd rather die than give up your thick-crust pizza. I myself am a die-hard lover of Divisadero's Little Star pizza, but that's a digression. Let's talk about being open to new culinary experiences, you thick-headed, thick-crust zealots.

LaFayette is about a thirty minute drive from San Francisco and it is a place that's half suburbia, a quarter little town, and one fourth cosmopolitan city.
There's a Chow restaurant that most SF dweller will recognize as a tried and true standby. They also have a Cold Stone creamery and a vintage-like candy store to satisfy the sweet tooth, however we were craving something savory with a mediterranean feel.

Driving through Mt. Diablo Boulevard, La Fayette's main thoroughfare, we stumbled upon Pizza Antica, and I have to say, this place made me reconsider my allegiance to the weightier kind.

First of all their Arnold Palmer, was the right balance of tartness and sweet...Um, Wait a minute...Am I the only brown-skinned human here?...

Anywho, back to the food. We had the Prince Edward (isn't that a piercing?...down there in your weewee?...)island mussels, spaghettini with roasted chicken, and of course, pizza. We ordered the one topped with three cheeses, caramelized onion, shaved broccoli, and pancetta. All I have to say is: YumYumYum. Below are some pictures for your enjoyment.

The mussels were ok, just needed a little more garlic or something...It lacked that certain umami that I get in other restaurants, or maybe I just wanted fries with it. The spaghettini, well the pasta was over-cooked. I prefer my pasta to bite back when I chew on it...oh, well. Thank God the pizza was stellar!

You see, what did I tell ya? Yummiliciousness in four slices.

Filipino Breakfast Sizzles

All I know is that I want me some fried rice, preferably crowned with a fried egg. Is that too much to ask for? Ok, since I'm dreaming, why don't I throw in some sizzling, savory meat with a squirt (hehe, I said squirt) of calamansi. What?! No calamansi. I thought we were an international city?!?

Ok, I'll settle for lemon. I think it's time for a Tselogs run! That awesome place that skirts Daly city and SF just makes me greatful I was raised to recognize that beginning your day with garlic fried rice is the best way to kickstart a day. Although, I don't want to limit myself to just eating this in the AM, when I crave a "silog", whether it be during afternoons or night time, I just go for it. Luckily, the bay area is a hub for Filipino eatings.

At Tselogs, you must order the Chicken sisig-log. It's the best they have to offer. Check out the picture below, steam was not Photoshopped, mind you.

We also had their lumpiang shanghai (snore) and their tapsilog (sweeter than usual, teriyaki-esque). They were a'ight. OMfG, I'm so from the block. Let me try that again...a'ight. Shivers. Please don't hesitate to slap me when I try something like that again.