Michael Mina Opening Party, Financial District, SF.

The history of the space is pretty amazing and it seems to be fate that Michael Mina is back and re-opening his restaurant in the old Aqua space, while Bourbon Steak takes over the old space at the Westin. Very exciting and a big congrats to Michael Mina!

I didn't take my photos, but here is a partial view of the space! It's lovely, although this was more of a cocktail/dance party, which was pretty nuts. Both Edric and I thought it was pretty amusing to see this going down at Michael Mina! I'm still curious to see what it looks like during service. ;)

Website

Yelp

Gettin' my French on at Garcon, Mission, SF.

french onion soup, gruyere, croutons 9

Yummy and a good size--one that you can finish! I find that a lot of times with French onion soup, it's too large and is a lot to finish.

“pate de campagne”, pork & duck liver pate, hazelnuts, green peppercorns, rosemary dijon 9

Not my favorite, but it was fine. I'm pretty picky when it comes to pate, but I'd heard so many good things about Garcon as a French restaurant so I thought it might be great here. And again, it wasn't bad, but I probably wouldn't order it again.

skillet blackened pork chop, potato-onion hash, green beans, grilled peaches, natural jus 26

The porkchop. This looked AMAZING! It was dark for a porkchop and looked more like a steak--so beautiful. :)

After our meal, we moved to the bar for some wine. The kind barman, Ryan, gave our party free shots! I'm not sure what all was in this, but it was a yummy little dessert drink. :)

After service we got to chatting with Chef Arthur Wall, who's a very cool guy. He was telling us about how the group of restaurants (mainly the Belden Place restaurants) are sort of re-branding. They've brought on Fortune PR, so I'm sure we'll see some exciting stuff soon. Chef Wall is helping by menu consulting for the various restaurants. His current sous chef at Garcon will be moving to Chouchou.

Website

Yelp

Dishcrawl & Jersey Tomatoes' Chef Battle: Jewtalian tonight at the Cova Hotel, Tenderloin, SF.

I get to go to this tonight and I'm SO excited! A HUGE thank you to Christian and Jersey Tomatoes/Split Pea Seduction and to Dishcrawl! It's going to be an epic culinary evening!

Here's a sneak peek look at the menu:

-Round 1-
Gagutz
House Cured Baccalà Salad with Hand-Shucked Ceci Beans, Roast Gypsy Peppers, Shaved Celery, Lemon and Arugula

BBC Elite pouring: The Harvest Negroni-
Gin, Campari, Sweet Vermouth, and Crushed Grapes...

vs.

Big Blue
Cured Sockeye Salmon and House-Smoked Whitefish Salad w/ Heirloom Tomato, Half Sours, Caper Relish and Pumpernickel


-Round 2-
Gagutz
Escarole and Baby Meatball Soup with Shaved Parmesan and a Poached Farm Egg

vs.

Big Blue
Free-Range Chicken and Fall Vegetable Soup with Kreplach

BBC Elite pouring: Dvash Frizzante, (a true blending of Italian and Jewish) - Fresh pear, honey, sage and lemon with sparkling wine


-Round 3-
Gagutz
Cherrystone Clams with Herbs, Crusty Bread and Mlinzi

BBC Elite pouring: 2009 Ruffino Orvieto Classico

vs.

Big Blue
Matzah Brei w/ Carmelized Onion, Leek, Chantrelle Mushroom, Micro Greens, House Ketchup and a Six Minute Egg

BBC Elite pouring: 2008 Francis Ford Coppola, Sonoma Chardonnay, "Directors Cut"


-Round 4-
Gagutz
Manicotti with Hand-Rolled Braciole and Pork Ragu

BBC Elite pouring: 2008 Bolla Chianti, Tuscany

vs.

Big Blue
Vidalia Onion Braised Brisket with Fingerling Potatoes and Chantenay Carrot Tzimis

BBC Elite pouring: 2004 Semler, Saddlerock Malibu Estate Grown, Cabernet Sauvignon


-Dessert-
Fennel, Gravenstien Apples and Toasted Nuts

Bar Agricole, SoMa, SF.

After MUCH anticipation and months of staking it out as our new office lunch spot (SF Station is right around the corner), Bar Agricole finally opened! Very exciting!

The space is great. A lot larger than it seems from outside (I feel like this is very SF), and very rustic-modern. The menu on the other hand.. While the actual design of it is fabulous, it reads a bit strangely. From everything I've read and from how they are presenting their chef (Brandon Jew), it seems like Bar Agricole is a bar/restaurant. That said, the menu is odd. It wasn't presented as a tapas place, but the menu seems incomplete for a normal restaurant. The line breaks + prices don't present a clear meaning either.

That all said, the food is great! Haha. But, with the exception of a couple dishes on the menu, none of the plates were full meals on their own.

Cheese plate 15

Our server (who was very sweet) said there would be crisp apples with this! There were no apples. I wanted apples. :( Both the bread and cheeses were very nice though. There was a camembert and two goats' milk cheeses. The plate could definitely use more bread, or fruit though.

Chopped liver on toast 8

I don't normally like pate, but this was SOO good. Apparently it isn't a traditional pate because it's technically "chopped liver", but it sure looked like pate and was definitely a spread.. ;)

Roasted peppers with napatella 13

These were lovely, but I wouldn't say they were anything extraordinary.

Grilled eggplant & farro with basil 11

This was pretty yummy. I just really love eggplant though. Haha. I didn't really taste the basil, but it was a nice, unique way of serving eggplant.

Mussels with pork sausage and pea greens 16

This would be the only plate that I would consider to be a full meal on it's own. Still, I never understand when people order a big bowl of mussels as their whole meal! Haha. They were very yummy though.

Blueberry shortcake with lemon verbena cream 8

This was yummy. It wasn't a shortcake though. Shortcake with fruit and cream is my favorite dessert and this definitely wasn't a shortcake. It lacked the crumble that I hoped for. although the plump blueberries were nice, I think wild blueberries would have brought in more flavor. Their cream is amazing though!

Pluot upside-down cake 8

This was my favorite dish of the evening. The cake was moist and buttery and just perfect with their light, yet flavorful cream and wild blackberries! Mmmmm!

After writing this, I feel like it was a negative review, but it really wasn't. The drinks were great, the food was great--the menu was just a bit odd. I don't know that I'd go for a full meal, but I'd certainly go back for drinks and dessert!

Website

Yelp

Ta-wei's super delicious Wiener Schnitzel.

Ta-wei Lin (Chef/owner of Three Papayas) invited me over to have a special dinner and sit-in on an interview he was doing with a documentarist. I wasn't able to stay for the interview, unfortunately, but I heard it was really fun and I can't wait to see the footage!

Ta-wei ended up reaching back to his Euro influences and whipping out a fantastic wiener schnitzel for us. Ta-wei lived in Europe for awhile where he traveled through kitchens, eating with and learning from the locals. After hearing this, I had some pretty high hopes for my wiener schnitzel--although, I'd expect no less from Ta-wei!

The fabulous Matty! I absolutely adore him. He's always so hospitable.

Wiener Schnitzel with horseradish and mint jelly, with potato salad.

Ta-wei explained how wiener schnitzel, in Austria, is strictly veal, but in Germany it can be prepared with pork or veal.

Matty, who doesn't cook, but knows his German food, compared notes with Ta-wei about how to properly make wiener schnitzel before this dinner. Ta-wei knew the correct methods, but then put his own twist on it, as he always does! And I'm so glad he did because this cutlet was absolutely perfect.

Thank you SO much, Ta-wei and Matty! As always, it was an absolute pleasure and the food was amazing!!

How to make Ta-wei's super easy Wiener Schnitzel

Ingredients:

• Pork (normal cut)
• Eggs
• Beer (Pilsners are good)
• Lemon juice
• Bread crumbs
• Panko crumbs
• Spices (Ta-wei used paprika, oregano and a couple others.)
• Oil
• Horseradish
• Mint jelly

Recipe:

1. Get normal cuts of pork and pound with a meat tenderizer until it's 1/2 inch thick.
2. Mix eggs, beer and a little lemon juice in a large bowl and let the meat marinate in them.
3. Mix bread crumbs and panko breading (this will add a nice lightness to the breading), with your spices.
4. Pour a liberal amount of oil into a fry pan and turn on high heat.
5. While the oil is heating, Take a piece of meat from the marinade and coat it with the crumb mixture.
6. Cook each side for a couple minutes, until the breading turns golden.
7. Plate and serve with some horseradish and mint jelly!

Now that I know how to make it, I can't wait to try--as you can see it's super easy!

Be sure to check out Ta-wei's amazing food at Three Papayas, his pop-up "cultural liberation brunch". Three Papaya's operates out of the Doc's Clock, where you'll see Matty taking orders, and runs every Sunday from noon - 4pm.

Website

Yelp

Seasons' Burger Lounge article on SF Station.

Executive Chef of Seasons, Mark Richardson.

Head bartender Siera Zimei, double straining the "English Breakfast of Champions".

Here is my Four Seasons Burger Lounge article on SF Station! Please, check it out!

And here is my previous post with the whole shebang of photos!

Corey Lee's new restaurant, Benu, SOMA, SF.

What is to be Benu. You will see the KITCHEN through these windows! Understandably, they wouldn't allow photos for the hard-hat tour since they are still in construction. The space is wonderfully innovative and has such brilliant details. And, of course, it all goes back to the food--cannot wait to try it!

Chef Corey Lee and Architect Richard Bloch. Le sigh.

They will be opening in August. It's said to be the restaurant opening of the year!