Burma Superstar, Inner Richmond, SF.

Chili Lamb

Not available mild. Stir fried lamb with dried and fresh chili, onion and basil, comes medium spicy, or spicier!

I LOVED this! The lamb was super tender and the dish was packed with spice! It was definitely intense, spice wise, but I like some heat. ;)

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Korean bento boxes at Arang, Japantown, SF.

These are amazing! I've been to Arang a few times before and never knew they had these bento boxes! With each box you get rice, salad, two mandoo potstickers, a potato banchan, japchae, and a meat of your choice--all for about $10.

This is an awesome deal for a nice meal that you can get late at night! I got the spicy pork, which was a bit fatty, but was yummy. The mandoo was fine, and the potato banchan was actually really nice! The japchae was interesting. I actually liked it, but it kind of had a glaze or sauce, or something on it that isn't normally found on japchae. I enjoyed all of it though.

Edric got the bulgogi combination, which also comes with tempura.

I love that we rolled from Michael Mina to Arang and got these bento boxes! Thanks so much, Edric! ;)

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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.

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Vietnamese cold noodle salad from Turtle Tower, Tenderloin, SF.

Vietnamese cold noodle salad. The meat--pork and meatballs--was very good, but the sauce was only okay. I've only ever had this dish in a bowl, usually with some imperial rolls as well, but Turtle Tower serves it on a plate. I definitely prefer the bowl, as it is easier to eat, but the meat in this dish was really nice.

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Starting Girls Night with dinner at EAT in 111 Minna, SoMa, SF.

Minna continues to be one of my favorite spots. It's so great for art openings, concerts, karaoke, dance parties, and pop-up restaurants! LOVE. I went out for a much needed girls night and we decided to head here first for the last EAT--so fun!

Funny enough, I actually went to the very first EAT supperclub, and I ended up going to the last one, too, thanks to my friend Maddy! The menu, food and crowd definitely improved since the first.

The very open kitchen.

Salad with beets.

Yummy.

Lamb over pearl couscous polenta.

Didn't love it. The lamb was a bit tough and not very flavorful. The pearl couscous texture was off with the polenta. I realize polenta can be a bit creamy, but the creamy large pearls were throwing me off.

Pork belly over polenta with green apple slaw.

This was AMAZING. I was seriously blown away. It was coked perfectly, melted in your mouth and was super flavorful--the sour crispness in the green apple helped cut the fat and played SO nicely off the fattiness of the pork belly. The polenta was excellent, too.

White chocolate mousse with wild blueberries.

Amazing. I really like white chocolate mousse. I actually remember having an amazing white chocolate mousse for dessert at the last Junior League's Fashion Show and I've been craving one every since! This definitely satisfied that craving. :)

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Muir Woods and Brother's Korean BBQ, Inner Richmond, SF.

It was my first trip to Muir Woods! I can't believe how long it took me to get there, but there are some great hikes and it was actually very beautiful with the mist (not the greatest weather!). The hikes are nice, too, but we were all starving! Haha.. classic.

After talking about Korean food we decided to actually get some. We went to Brother's, which I'd been to once before and liked. They give a good array of banchan.

Spicy pork and kalbi. These were very good.

This was the worst tofu kimchi I've ever had. EVER! You normally can't go wrong with tofu kimchi, but this wasn't even the right dish! :( Here is the Google Images link to tofu kimchi.. Yea.. you can see why I would be confused.

Food coma!

A big thanks to Tony for a fun day. :)

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Asqew Grill, Upper Haight, SF.

Chicken skewer with couscous.

Steak skewers with mashed potatoes.

Southwestern salad. Didn't love it.

BBQ burger. This was okay.

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Amazing dinner at Delarosa, Marina, SF.

Delarosa is a pizzeria. It's fast and loud and hip and fun and delicious! :)

Champagne courtesy of Delarosa! That's a large glass of champagne and it was glorious! :)

Eggplant caponatina with burrata 9

Appetizer courtesy of Delarosa. This was ridiculously good. I know I never stop talking about how much I love eggplant, but this was really something else. Lovely.

Fava bean and pecorino bruschetta 7

I overheard a guy telling his friend the Fava bean bruschetta and the meatballs were killer. Then I asked our server what she recommended and, right off the bat, she said the same two apps! We went with those and they were both fabulous!

I don't know how they grate the cheese into this beautiful cloud over the bruschetta, but the textures and tastes were all right on!

Meatballs in spicy marinara 6

Okay, I wouldn't say the marinara was spicy--really, it wasn't, but the meatballs and sauce were both fantastic.

Margherita with burrata 15

We ordered the Margherita with burrata and added panchetta--SO GOOD. Move over Delfina! There's a new thin crust pizza joint and it's good. Everything about this pizza was wonderful--the cheese was perfect, the sauce and dough were excellent, the basil was fresh and the panchetta was heaven. I'm already craving this pizza again!

Coppa Mocha 7

Coffee gelato, crème anglaise, chocolate sauce, candied almond, and meringue

Beautiful. Delicious. This whole dinner just kept getting better right down to this dessert. The coffee flavors weren't those muted frappuccino flavors you get with other coffee ice creams--they were real, and the texture of the gelato was spot on, too. The meringue was crumbled up as a topping, which is such a fabulous idea!

Delarosa is one of those spots that you'll keep going back to. That and every time you go back you'll want to order everything you had last time because it was so delicious, but you'll also want to order all new dishes because you know they are going to rock your world! Now, that's my kind of restaurant. ;)

A very special thanks to Lauren at Rivera PR and Delarosa for the fabulous reservation and for the drink and app! Rivera--you guys are always SO fabulous and represents the hottest spots! :)

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Doggie Diner Giants Dog at AT&T Park, South Beach, SF.

Doggie Diner had the shortest line, but great food! I think they are one of the cheaper eats at the ballpark, too.

Gotta keep 'em grillin'!

My brat with onions. This was amazing. Okay, I was really hungry, but this was honestly a very good hotdog. Great flavor.

Tony, super excited, obviously! ;)

Ahh, there's nothing like hotdogs and baseball. :)

Thanks for the yummy hotdog and for not leaving me during the game, Tony! (We somehow managed to lose everyone else we went to the game with!) Haha. ;)

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Lettuce wrap tacos, four ways.

Left to right: Fish, grilled veggies, chorizo & poato, shredded beef.

These were all taco fillings I got to-go from Tacolicious, but since I don't like tortillas, I decided to eat them with romaine leaves! This was very Korean of me, where it's called ssam (쌈). So so great! I don't get the appeal of tortillas and I feel bad saying that, but this is healthier and adds a nice crispness, while not taking away from the flavorful filling!

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.

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Hosting the SFS Team Outing: Three Papaya's Brunch & Screen-printing at Levi's Workshop, Mission, SF.

I hosted my first SF Station team event! It was very exciting and I want to give a special thanks to everyone who came out and made it a success!

Papaya Salad at Three Papayas. Ta-wei, Vivienne and Matty at the Three Papaya's treated us to two of these! So sweet!

One of the specials, a lotus root salad with chicken. Mmmmm.

Another one of the specials! The pig's head with Spanish rice and a fried egg. This is apparently a Filipino dish and was very interesting!

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After brunch we all headed over to the Levi's Workshop for some excellent screen-printing! I surprised the crew with a special illustration made by our current SF Station Local Artist, Charmaine Olivia! Thank you, Charmaine, for the amazing illustration! And a special thanks to Levi's Workshop and Turner PR for making this all happen!!!

My bossman, Chris, workin' the screen!

Our amazing screen-printing pro, Henrik! Thank you for everything! He is holding up the first part/color of our print.

Here is a photo of my finished t-shirt! You can see the other layer here (in gray). I LOVE what Charmaine designed for us and love how it looks screen-printed! I'm so happy with how today went and can't wait to plan more events!

Hachimaki Sushi & Sake Night at Yoshi's, Lower Fillmore, SF.

Some SF food media big-shots got together with Rivera PR for an amazing Hachimaki Sushi & Sake evening at Yoshi's SF!

Yoshi's is such a beautiful space. We gathered in the swanky, glass-walled Omakase room, where we enjoyed a fun-filled, intimate dinner, with Yoshi's signature jazz playing in the background.

Hachimaki attack! Mine said, "Karate", while others read "boss", "peace" and "#1". This was such a fun idea, and was a great conversation starter to kick off our fabulous dinner.

SEA SALT CURED JAPANESE CUCUMBER

Creamy Sesame Dressing

&

KONBU SEAWEED CURED ASPARAGUS

Miso Mustard Dressing

&

FRENCH BEANS

Silken Tofu Dressing

POACHED BLACK COD

Grilled Japanese Eggplant Salsa, Shiso Oil

How beautiful is that?! I love the actual plate, too!

FRIED HIRAME & LOBSTER

Wrapped in Seaweed & Served with Tentsuyu

The seaweed-wrapped lobster was encased in battered soy-beans--yummy. I wasn't the biggest fan of the boney fish, but I did give it a try. It was certainly interesting and new to me. It wasn't bad, but I much preferred the lobster, naturally!

The tentsuyu dipping sauce.

GINGER SOY BRAISED JAPANESE RED SNAPPER

Burdock Root, Chinese Cabbage, Spinach

Everyone agreed that this was one of the stand-out dishes of the evening. The snapper was cooked to perfection. For me though, this came in as my second favorite dish, which just means there was something even better!

And, again, I can't get over these plates! They really add to presentation of the dish.

I couldn't keep track of each pairing, but our 8 courses were paired with 10 different sakes and there wasn't a single one I didn't like! Here is the first half of our sake adventures: Dewazakura "Oka"; Masumi "Yumedono"; Akitabare "Suirakuten"; Masumi "Arabashiri"; Masumi "Okuden Kantsukuri".

GRILLED DUCK BREAST

Wrapped With Mochi, Sweet Tomato & Eringi Mushroom

&

ROASTED CHICKEN TSUKUNE

Poached Egg Yolk

I love duck and was anxiously awaiting this course, but when it arrived, I was much more intrigued with the chicken tsukune and poached egg yolk! I'd never seen only the yolk poached. It was really quite lovely--third favorite for sure!

SHABU-SHABU STYLE WAGYU RIBEYE

Carmelized Onion, Mizuna

All right, this was my absolute favorite dish of the evening! Super tender. Super flavorful. Super super! I'm craving more of this already!

STEAMED KING CRAB LEG

Sea Urchin Roe, Crispy Rice, Roasted Snapper Soup

What a fun dish! I love interactive food. The tea kettle held the broth for this dish, which transformed it into...

This beautiful soup. It was a bit difficult to eat with this spoon, but it was a choice that went along nicely with the traditional setting of the dinner.

GRILLED WATERMELON, FIG & KUMQUAT PANA COTTA

Grapefruit Jelly

Very interesting. I really enjoyed the special fruits in this dish, but the Grapefruit jelly wasn't my favorite thing. I think it had something to do with the consistency being too similar to that of the pana cotta.

Unfiltered sake with editors Erica and Carleigh of 944 SF and Culinary Trends, respectively, in the background. Here is the second half of our sake adventure: Kamoizumi "KomeKome"; Kokuryu "Junmai Ginjo"; Miyasaka "Yamahai 50 Nama"; Koshi no Kanbai "Muku"; Kamoizumi "Nigori Ginjo".

Each sake was incredibly smooth. They were served in an assortment of glassware, which made it more interesting, too. The above is an unfiltered sake in a champagne glass. We had another excellent sake served in a white wine glass that tasted like apple juice! It was as delicious as it is dangerous, I'm sure! I believe that one was the Kamoizumi "KomeKome".

Execultive Chef Shotaro "Sho" Kamio, joined us at the end of our meal for well-deserved congratulations and a toast! Chef Shotaro created such a lovely menu for us--many thanks!

Seio Shimada, the Yoshi's sake expert! So kind and so fun! Just look at that smile--adorable! This is definitely the guy you want pouring your sake.

The amazing team at Rivera PR, who made this all possible, and the rockstars behind Thrillist SF and Urban Daddy SF and, of course, SF Station. Such great company for such a fantastic meal! As you can see, we were all smiles after, yes, 10 pairings of sake!

Thank you again, Rivera PR and Yoshi's SF!

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