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.

Walk, Eat, Pray, Love

Phew, another exhausting jaunt through Fort Funston completed. We barely survived a Chow attack and it's dog walker's rampage, but mental illness runs amock among dog owners, no? See picture of Justice and Fantz, both lunatics and loving life.

Ending our bi-monthly walks through Fort Funston, where Justice and Porter enjoy walking their owners, Fanti and Chiqui (Ladies of the Night), we usually crave something salty, crispy, fatty after a Walk...hmmm, what to Eat...salty,crispy,fatty? Filipino! We almost always end up at Karilagan, tried and true, solid and reliable, but for a change we opted to try Intramuros last weekend. It was a pleasant surprise to see that Intramuros restaurant eschewed the perfunctory, over-sized wooden spoon and fork carvings as decor and decided to boldly embrace good design sense. A chic ambience, I have to admit, goes a long way to completing a memorable dining experience and I will remember this place and definitely come back to try the other offerings. Below, are pics of adobong kangkong and crispy tadyang. Drool worthy, right?

We are in agreement, three trannies can't possibly be wrong. Intramuros is a winner! Well, ok, the Callos needed a little undefinable something...umami? Spices? I can't be sure, but just go and try this place yourself, you won't regret it. No, you don't need to Pray that you'll be served good food, for you will. I promise you you'll Love it!

For more information about this cool and creative restaurant visit their website at http://theintramuros.com/. Toodles!

Behind the Red Door

My friend and fellow-alien, Andromeda Strained, came to visit from planet Oregonia. We had brunch at a typically San Francisco breakfast/brunch place called Red Door Cafe. Why do I refer to it as "typically SF"? Well, let's see...



the food was surprisingly unlabel-able. Is it french? They serve crepes. Is it Japanese? They served our mochas in miso-soup bowls. Is it Mexi-Cuban? Um, they're menu offered "mexidilia" and "roll my cuban". See what I mean? It defies any label you want to stamp on it. The servers were inked like they were giving Bombshell McGee a run for her money (BTW, the best made-up name ever! Sorry, Sandra Bullock, but it's true. She knows how to coin a great monicker). One of the servers, I think he was the owner, sported a very tiny wife beaters, matched with an even skimpier pair of shorts. See? All in all, the place is very San Francisco.




We knew the food would be presented in an equally unexpected and unique manner, they didn't fail us. Andromeda's lox came with a scaffolding of chopsticks and green apple. My crepes came with beans, a drizzling of viniagrette, and a squirting of Sriracha. I was unsure which I adored more, the fact that I received a squirting or that the squirts were of Sriracha which embellished the top of my crepes (love that Asian import).
The food was: myeh, but I'll come back again to try the less adventurous fare. Sometimes you can take uniqueness and innovation a bit over the edge. Oh no, not you Bombshell McGee, you can never have enough swastika tattoos on your labia.

The Lure of Muir (Woods, that is)

Another wonderfully sunny Saturday and I know exactly what I want to do. I'm going to Muir woods to look for a banana slug! Another excuse to cross that famous International Orange painted bridge. Listen up stupid Republicans, don't let me hear you say immigrants are useless and lazy. The Golden Gate bridge was mainly created by Chinese immigrants and BTW, Shishi Nee. So there. She's beautiful, right? I call her Ginger. Mane-ly (pun intended) because of her reddish, golden, tones and also, as a tribute to the asians who died while making her. They use ginger to liven up their cuisine. Ginger, you spark a light in me and liven up my life, you simply take my breath away.

Of course, a stop at Vista Point is a must for more photo ops. Check out the graffitied sign in the foreground of the San Francisco skyline (picture below, right). Nice. Thanks, taggers. Your art form is staggering. BTW,If you're reading this with a sarcastic tone, you're spot on.

It's only about thirty minutes more from the bridge to Muir woods. Make sure you come early as there's limited parking. Pay your $5.00 entrance fee and enjoy the phenomenal flora. I think the air just got a lot cleaner and fresher. There's nothing like the smell of thousand year old trees.


Make sure to make a stop at their cottage-like cafeteria for a cuppa joe and sightings of chipmunks. Don't feed the animal, please! That urge is a disease called chipmunkiosis and there is no cure for that. Feeding them is like giving them fish, instead of teaching them how to fish. Right, Gandhi? I'm calling the one pictured below Farrah. Farrah Cite.

You'll also see sculptures of John Muir (my idol) and a bear growling. Simply adorable, the bear's cute, too.

Still traipsing around the ancients and no banana slug. Well, at least I have a pic of the honorable Mr. Wood's wooden replica. Oh, where are you my lovely slug?

Just when I was about to give up...Voila. You know what? It looks like a piece of pickled, unripened mango. Burong manga. You know what I'm talking about, you Filipinos.

Laterz!

From cityviews to Cityview

What to do? What to do? Another weekend and I'm feeling ambitious. Why not climb the the Filbert steps, check out Coit tower and its lovely murals, then eat some delicious dimsum? Too much? Naah, I can pack it all in in one morning. You'll see.

First, we climb those darned steps. I must, I must, I must uplift my buns! Yes, dears, climbing stairs is a good derrier booster. J Lo and Kim K taught me that.



Once we've reached higher altitudes (pant...pant...), the views were amazing, but the murals by Diego Rivera were even more fabulous. Did you know he used to have sex with Frida Kahlo? I can't do such a thing, not because Frida's not awesome, it's just that I'd be too distracted by the brows, and the moustache and the headress... Sorry, Frida. I'll have to decline.
Below, you'll see photos of the delicious views and some details of the Diego Rivera murals I just mentioned. One detail shows a robbery in action, I guess that was painted in the Tenderloin area, the other is a blonde woman cradling cala lillies, one of my favorite flowers.




After getting my fill of visual feasts, what better way to end a pretty walk through this amazing city than to satisfy that craving in your tummy for cute, bite-sized asian delicacies? Cityview restaurant offers fresh and yummy dimsum that is evidenced by the long line outside its doors. You can see by the pictures that they do a good job with presentation (thanks to my photographer, Boobsie). They not only look good, they taste good, too. Yes, a bit pricier than other dimsum places in Chinatown, but you get your money's worth.


Above, you see tofu and eggplant (a tad oily for my taste) and the classic pork shumai to its right. Below is a sea anemone-looking creation and to it's right, fried eggroll stuffed with shrimp meat, fried crab claws, chinese broccoli with oyster sauce, and crabmeat on top of green bell peppers. Jealous? I love San Francisco!

Clog - Unclog

San Francisco is a walking town, despite its steep hills and varying micro-climates. I personally enjoy meandering around the different neighborhoods and seeing the different sights, smelling the different smells, and licking the different lickable items. We truly live in an amalgamation of different lifestyles and cultures and all of this is easily accessible to bipeds, so when I heard about the San Francisco Sunday Streets happening at the Embarcadero, I had just had to go.

I had a plan. First, eat heart-stopping, cholesterol laden food at Red's Java. It's supposedly an SF tradition. If Bourdain loved it, I should, too. Then un-clog the damage done to my arteries by power strolling through the closed street until I get to Pier 39 for more sinful delights, for there in that tourist trap is a destination onto itself: my favorite doughnut place, Trish's Doughnuts.

Well, the food at Red's Java was typical diner fare. Nothing too special, but the ambience was just pure, authentic, by the bay SF. Eating my huevos rancheros (see pic above) al fresco while fending off birds' advances to my food was simply too precious and charming. (Okay, the birds were slightly annoying and the sun's morning rays were getting into my eyes was just irritating and temporarily blinding, but what do you think you'll get from a blog about loving SF?) I'm coming back to try their Fish and Chips, though. I love fish and chips, and that's an order you just can't mess up.

On our brisk walk to Pier 39, working up a sweat to undo the heart clogging we just did, we witnessed a queue forming outside this concrete building. We stumbled in the TCHO plant where they were offering free chocolate samples. What?! Free and Chocolate? My fave combo, more than combo # 3 (apply to any restaurants that list their combo plates, you'll see that the third option is always best). The samples range from fruity, to nutty. I especially loved the fruity, because I am fruity, too. Although if you follow that logic, then I must equally love nutty. I'm confused...I wonder if they'll come up with a flavor that's as complex as I am. They'll call it The Complicated and Complex Conundrum that is Jonsey Balonsey. I'll have to ask for a cut on all the sales they make. No, I'm not a money grubbing whore, but we live in a capitalist society. I might as well get a piece of the pie. Hmmm, pie. I guess they can also sell banana-chocolate cream pie and for the chocolate part, they can use The Complicated and Complex Conundrum that is Jonsey Balonsey flavor. I'll ask for a percentage of the profits from that, too. Then I'll be rich and famous and more people will read my blog, but because I'm rich and famous, I won't have time to write this blog anymore, since I'll be too busy trying to come up with a new chocolate flavor that will top the sales of The Complicated and Complex Conundrum. Anywho, I digress. Below, you'll see the chart/paper plate they came up with to offer their measly samples.

We were moving on and powerstrolling when we finally made it to Pier 39 I was sooooo excited to finally have some Trish's doughnuts after months of abstinence that I almost peed my pants. It's time to re-clog the superior vena cava! I ordered my usual six-piece bag, it looked scrumptious, then took a bite...Um, what happened? This isn't how it usually tastes. It's usually soft, fresh, and billow in the inside. Today it's dry and overcooked. Boooooooo! Where's the consistency? I hate unrealized expectations. Trish, you better get your act together, or else... I still finished the bag, though.

The Wonderful World of Wondercon

Is it any wonder why Wondercon has achieved a Must-Attend status? For the past few years we’ve religiously attended this annual Spring soiree designed and designated to the beleaguered and bespectacled, and to this day the wonders never cease to amaze.

Mostly we come to see the Hollywood elite fly north to peddle their latest wares. In previous years, we witnessed Brandon Routh promote the return of Superman (snore, he should’ve stayed wherever he was, although, I must say, Brandon's quite a chesty specimen, where is he?), we saw Chris Pine announce the come-back of Captain Kirk (Thank you, JJ Abrams, you have good taste in leading men..casting couch much?), and Christian Slater sell his moody, gravelly-voiced, depressed take on Batman (darkness fits him like dark eye shadow fits Kristen Stewart). This year was Jake Gyllenhall's turn to sell his biceps to the bespectacled masses, read: nerd herd, and we bought it (I don't know how to quit you, Jake!). I enjoyed the exclusive trailer they showed of "Prince of Persia", but I would've preferred to see the scenes from "Brokeback Mountain" that didn't make it to the movie screens. American's are just so prude. It took a Chinese director to showcase homo love, proving that alternative lives are Oscar worthy. Why aren't we more artsy? Arg!

Other reasons to come to Wondercon are the fun merchandise, from the unrepentively kawaii to the weirdly bizarre toys (see right picture above). Also, just people watching. I saw Deanna Troy, Lindsey Wagner, Erin Gray, female icons of mine from decades past, and lay people who enjoy dressing up as their favorite super hero, or Star Wars characters (see left picture above). So much fun. It's a time when freakazoids can let their freak flags flutter wildly in the blowing wind...and how they blow. The winds of change are a-blowin', my dear nerds. Soon the world will be ours and Victory, The Force, My Precious, Unobtainium, Kryptonite, and the matching Wonder Twins Rings will be ours. The whole, wide world will be bowing to our every whim! Bwahahahaha! Wait, hold on, is there food stuck on my braces? No? Ok,good. Bwahahahahahaha!