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!

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?

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.

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.

I'm so eggscited

I've always loved eating eggs. Scrambled, sunnyside up, hard-boiled, egg-drop soup, egg foo yong, omelettes, eggs benedict, and even deviled. Love em all. So, it follows that adding a fried egg on top of one of my favorite dishes would just take me beyond nirvana. That's exactly what happens when I order my fave roast duck fried rice at King of Thai Noodle in downtown (they have another one at Clement, equally good). I love it when restaurants cooperate to make me happy. Adding an egg on top is not un-reasonable, right? They fry it Filipino-style, too - crispy edges and runny center. YUM! Check out how yummilicious that looks. It's enough to make you wanna kiss it's parents...Yeah, I said it. I'm so grateful that I'll kiss its mom, a hen, and its dad, a cock.

I recommend to start your meal with an appetizer and their best offering is their seafood salad. It's citrusy, not too heavy and a medley of textures and flavors that will make you come back for more. The most interesting element is the white mushroom which looks like a spongey sea creature. I guess that's why they thought it would work in a seafood salad. Check out Boobsie attempting a bite below.

Their noodles are awesome, too. However, the last time we ate there we had to wait fooooreeeveeer to get our rad na. Honestly, I was done eating my duck fried rice when the noodles came. Obviously, they forgot that order. Major points off for the bad service. You'd think they would've offered to comp our drinks at the very least, right? I guess being a popular restaurant can work against you. If you know you're the bomb, who cares if you tick off some customers? There's always a long line of hungry tourists and locals waiting to take over our seats.

Unphotogenic Delights at Tartine

"What? You've never had weekend breakfast at Tartine? Oh, gosh you should go and have their breadpudding or their morningbuns. To die for!".

I've been hearing this forever and God knows, I've thought about it and planned it, but somehow it never panned out. Something about waking up early on weekends just totally messes up my inner wirings. Last weekend I finally bit the bullet and made a commitment to initiate myself to this San Francisco tradition on Saturday. Of course, it had to be the morning when it's raining and the whole city just felt like it was drenched and gloomy. I picked up my friend, Boobsie, and together we ventured off. On the drive to Dolores Park, with the sound of the windshield wipers as a background to Boobsies raves about the delicious Tartine offerings, my mouth was salivating.
Boobsie: "Oh, yes! The bread pudding is soooo goood, but they're over-rated."
Leave it to him to always come up with contradictory statements. I wanted to point out this contradiction, but I digressed. I haven't had my coffee and I didn't want our conversation to turn into a full blown argument. So, I bit my forked tongue.

We finally arrived, and of course Tartine is not only famous for their pastries, but also infamous for their long lines. As luck would have it, the queue was quite long and included an additional negative. Behind us was a very loud, obnoxious cel phone user who deemed it appropriate to shout all of his phone blabbing into our sensitive, un-caffeneited ears. Rude. I think I would have felt differently about this guy if I understood the language he spoke which was italian. It's one thing to shout on your cel phone in public, it's another to deprive your unwitting audience of the ability to determine the reason behind all the screaming. We need to understand at least your end of the conversation to know this. (Although, in your case it seemed pretty unilateral, since you never stopped your yapping)

This was not an auspicious start, the rain, the mixed review, the loud un-eavesdroppable talker...We eventually got our food: prosciutto, cheese and arugula pressed sandwiches (reminds me of Roma), bread pudding and banana cream tarte. All were ultra-yummy and delicious and satisfying and worthy of all the respect and kudos it's been given by SF local foodies.

We ate on a nearby bench and while we were eating and reveling in our delights, I suddenly remembered to take pictures. (Sorry, they didn't turn out well, as you can see. Believe me, the food tasted better than it looks in the photos). As I was taking my last bites of the bread pudding I looked up and I realized that the sun was shining brightly, and that it's been that way for awhile. The city was warm, dry and families were walking pass us with wide smiles on their faces. What brought on this fantastic change? Did Tartine's pressed sandwich and the bread pudding bring with it not only gastronomic satisfaction, but also a magic that can turn gloom into unicorns, puppies and rainbows?

No. Sorry to burst your bubble. I've always believed that climatic changes occur when people bite their tongues and keep their negativity inside. It makes for a better day. However, some studies say that suppressed emotions can cause inordinate weight gain. Oh, well.

From Tofu Soup to Photoshoot

Grumble, grumble, grumble. My tummy's hungry and I need some deliciousness inside me and I don't want to go the same ole, same ole route. I feel the need for a new discovery, a place I've never been to. Luckily, Raunchy Richelle knew exactly where to go. Doobu restaurant at Japantown Adjacent is great! I must say that they rival the tofu soup at My Tofu House - wait a minute, I don't know any other place that serves Korean tofu soup...oh well. To date, I'm not sure which is better, though. My tastebuds haven't made a decision. Both restaurants have the same selection of banchan, the usual suspects of kimchi, bean sprouts, etc. with a small fried fish for each diner, which was awesome. I ordered the beef and assorted seafood tofu soup and it was great. The seafood was fresh, especially the oysters, but peeling the shrimp was laborious. Sticky Fingers Ann ordered the seafood soup and Rauchy Richelle had the assorted mushrooms. We were all happy campers, except they only had one server during their very hectic lunch hour. Not sure if it was poor staffing or if someone called in sick, but that crowd needed more than one server, for sure.

As usual, pictures were taken of the food for blogging purposes and it invariably spiraled into an impromptu photoshoot. What is it about new cameras and friends and good food that puts people into a posing mood? Is this how Kate Moss started? Doubt it, it would mean that she actually eats...maybe she just takes a sniff here and a sniff there and then she's ready for her close up!

PS - Note how Sticky Fingers didn't seem to bother to take a picture of me and Raunchy Richelle....Hmmm, someone's a camera hog.

Why so crabby?

When my friends said we're eating at Roy's, a hawaiian restaurant chain, I had very low expectations. Having visited Hawaii a few times, I know that anything attempting to be Hawaiian-esque in our cold, foggy city will surely fail. Which is why Roy's was smart in tagging itself as "hawaiian fusion", because grasping for 50th state authenticity is not something you can really achieve.
The evening started inauspiciously, as our table was right underneath a busted light bulb. Great. We needed flashlights to see what they had to offer in their menus. One of my amigas had to stand up and walk closer to the bar where there was better lighting. Not sure if because it was really that dark and the flashlights weren't cutting it, or because she just recently had her blepharoplasty done on her eyes and she was still healing.
Anywho, darkness aside, the food was great and the service highly competent. Make sure to order the crabcake with macadamia nut (pictured here), and finish with the chocolate molten mousse (order early on as it takes the kitchen awhile to prepare this dessert). Please see my complete review at my website. Aloha!

Appeteasers are Crowd Pleasers

Boulevard is to be experienced. From the beautiful Belle Epoque setting designed by Pat Kuleto, to the delicious French-influenced cuisine by Nancy Oakes, the entire time you spend there is absolutely arresting - until you drink the iced tea.
It's a glass of snore.

Anywhooz, enough with the dissing. I still enjoyed this restaurant, despite it's iced tea short coming. The main entree highlights were the rack o'lamb and the pork chop. They were competently created and very good to my tummy, however the starters were beyond the beyond! The two highlights were: soft boiled egg and foie gras. The crispy farm egg, pancetta, with semolina fonduta was amazing. The creativity behind the end product just startled my tastebuds. It gave me a glimpse of what the chef envisioned; she wanted the diner to have that perfect bite - a piece of pancetta, with softboiled egg and porcini mushroom. Honestly, it was lovely. She knew that that perfect bite would be transcendent.

The other appetizer that was equally satisfying was the seared Sonoma foie gras, with pumpkin brioche, spiced butternut squash, candied pecans and cranberry crackle. The rich flavor of the foie gras was the perfect complement to the sweetness of the cranberry crackle and the candied pecans. It's a must have! Although, I must admit that the foie gras got a little too rich and the brioche wasn't neutralizing that immense richness enough, well that's what the free bread is for!

Check out my complete review of Boulevard at http://www.jonseybalonsey.com/.