FoodBuzz Fest Street Food Fare

The kind people at FoodBuzz (--> I am a featured publisher!) held the inaugural FoodBuzz Food Blogger Festival in san francisco this year. That was my other reason for going out there for this trip. On the first night, they had a street food fare at the Ferry Building. Street food... Ferry Building... put them together and it's like a dream! There were tons of local vendors who let us grub on their fine grub. It was a nice variety as well, and everyone was super friendly. Even though we only ate little plates, I was beyond stuffed by the end of it. And yes, all this food was prepared on the site!
What's a trip to sf without tacos? Beef, of course!
The food above is not only completely vegan, but also completely raw. Scary sounding, I know, but surprisingly tasty. The cheesecake was good, even though there was a slightly funny this isn't real cheese taste. I still liked it!
The star of the evening... the porchetta sandwich from roli roti. What is it? Pork belly rolled into pork loin with crispy skin rotisseried the crack up, with fresh herbs, onion marmalade, and curly cress stuffed in between bread. Oh. My. Word. Yes, it is that delicious.
Delicious thin crust pizzas. Yes, the oven was there!
Freshly shucked oysters from Hog Island Oyster!
Mini meat pies! These ones were steak & gruyere. This was my second favorite of the evening!
Adorable little mini cupcakes of various flavors from Mission Minis. So cute and so tasty! You can even find these at whole foods in the sf area! Schmancy!
Freshly fried chicharrones. Ok, obviously, this wasn't an event for the health conscious.
Ok, here's one thing that was slightly healthy... vegetables! I had the beet salad which I loved. You heard it here people, I love beets! I love street food. I especially love it when it's within one confined area so I don't have to walk far between gourd stuffings.

Tahoe Brew Pub

For our one dinner in tahoe, we had a bit of trouble. The places close fairly early, and especially because it was a sunday night, so several of the places we were first going to try were about to close. So eventually, we went subterranean to the Stateline Brewery, with only 20 minutes to spare, and they gladly welcomed us. The place is quite big and takes up quite a bit of the basement of the the little shopping center. It was pretty deserted at the time.
They brew their own beers, and J partook of their wheat brew.
He got the fish tacos again. As you can see, these fish tacos were quite different from the last ones he had. Black beans, instead of refried beans, the rice was completely different as well, and the fish in this one was lightly battered and fried. It was also a giant honkin piece of fish. And he wouldn't stop going on and on about them. Mark his words. Best fish tacos he's ever had.
It was quite cold, so I went with the two soups again, which I tend to do on occasion. First up was french onion soup. Good.
Next up was clam chowder. Also good. This one had hunks of celery, but they were easily avoidable. This had big giant hunks clams too. They're into big hunks of seafood here. Service was great. Our server was super friendly and didn't think it was weird when I ordered two soups. She was also kind enough to take a picture for us. Good food and good beer, can't beat that!

Point Reyes Lunch

After picking up a car, we hopped over the Golden Gate Bridge to head over into Marin County to check out Point Reyes National Seashore. On the way, we stopped in Inverness for a quick bite. There's a tiny teeny strip with a couple of restaurants and a market. Priscilla's is an adorable little seaside spot. It was halloween so everyone was dressed up. The place is totally adorable, like a whitewashed beach cottage. There's some outdoor dining as well.
You get a little mix to snack on at every table. It's basically chex mix and japanese rice crackers. I picked out all the rice crackers!
J got the fish tacos. The beans were nice and creamy and the rice was nice. The fish was a nice portion and grilled, with all the right fixins. He really enjoyed these.
I got a bowl of the clam chowder and half a meatball sandwich. The clam chowder was great and so was the sandwich. These meatballs were surprisingly flavorful, so much that they didn't even need sauce. It came sandwiched in a dense sourdough roll, which was delicious as well. I was happy with both of my choices. Service was fast and friendly and the whole dining experience was nice and relaxed. The bathroom is outdoors though, and smells quite terrible. So avoid it if you can!

Free Chipotle

What's better than a chipotle burrito? Well, lots of things. But really, what's better is a free chipotle burrito! While digging through all the mail that had accumulated from my trip, I found a random free coupon. And man, it totally worked. I definitely enjoy me some free burritos!

Barn Wedding Reception

After showing up late for the ceremony (damn you google maps, you failed me again!) we headed out to the reception in style. There was a shuttle bus from the hotel to the reception, and when I say bus, I mean bus! As in big ass greyhound type bus. It was pimpin, and stylin indeed.
So the reception was in a barn. Say what? Yes, a barn. I kid you not. But it was free of hay and animals and the stench that goes along with it. Instead, it was cozy, adorable, and lovely. A reception like no other, and that's a very good thing.
There was a little band from new orleans which was just perfect for this type of setting. Four instrumentalists and a singer. I absolutely loved it.
The little takeaway gifts were jams! Yes! Jams! As you can already see, this is my type of wedding reception!
Even some of the centerpieces were food based. Seriously, my kind of reception, y'know?
There was a little outdoor tent setup in front of the barn, and the open bar was there (thanks uncle p!), and a few appetizer stations. The first was a nacho bar. I've never imagined a wedding reception with a nacho bar. But now that I've seen it, I think everyone should have one. These were homemade flour tortilla chips. There was chili, and melted cheese, and guacamole, and pico de gallo... it was perfect.
There was also a little setup of pot stickers and california rolls. The california rolls were excellent. The pot stickers had been pan fried who knows how long ago, so they were a bit cold and soggy. I'm sure if they were freshly fried, they would have been little pockets of heaven.
There were also some servers going around with hors d'oeuvres. These were little potato cakes with ketchup relish. Eh, I wasn't impressed. The sauce was sweet and odd, and so were the cakes. I also saw some fruit skewers and soms type of artichoke things going around.
Bacon wrapped scallops. Put two of my favorite things together and it's a perfect little snack.
On to the dinner! Once they were ready for dinner, we started with a lovely summer salad. Spinach with roasted pear, berries, dried currants, preserved grapes with a carmelized onion type dressing. It was a perfect salad. And it came with the cutest little whole wheat biscuit.
The entrees were served buffet style. I love buffets because I can try whatever I want, and it's just less stuffy. Ribs! Wahoo! Beef ribs with bbq sauce, and they had a silky peach bbq sauce to go along with this. Also, short ribs. Which actually ended up being better than the ribs because there were no bones and you could just revel in all the meatiness. And mac and cheese. Again, another dish I would not imagine at any wedding reception, but something that everyone should consider!
Crab quesadillas with pico de gallo. These little suckers were good, and filled with real crabmeat. I didn't try the chicken, but I bet it was good!
Last but not least was a grilled veggie salad. I love veggies like this. Just grilled with some olive oil and herbs, these are my favorite ways to eat veggies. Squash, zucchini, bell peppers, fingerling potatoes in red and purple, all cooked just enough to retain their bite.
The bride and groom got a little mini cake for their traditional cake feeding thing. It was a chocolate cake. They seemed to like it enough. But the rest of us did not get to partake in the cake. I did not mind this at all.
Instead, we got apple pie! You're looking at a girl who loves herself some pie, so getting apple pie instead of boring wedding cake was a pleasant surprise.
Apple pie a la mode with caramel sauce. This beats cake any day of the week. What a truly unique and different reception. I loved everything about it. With the two weddings I've been to this year, they both had incredibly different receptions from the norm. And I'm thankful that they were unique and memorable.

Little Eats Downtown

I got to attend a little event downtown this week at APO. It used to be called Apothecary, but I remember hearing that they had to change their name since they weren't an actual apothecary. It's a bar. And a pretty cool one at that. They're not normally open on a tuesday night, so we have the place to ourselves. That was pretty cool.
The event featured some food from Leila Cafe, a fairly new middle eastern joint. Honestly, I wasn't too crazy about the food. The hummus was too salty and a bit too dry. The rice and chicken/lamb dish... the chicken and lamb were good, but the rice wasn't, and it was overloaded with cinnamon. I could see all the cinnamon powder on it. Eek. The dolma were pretty good. They had little falafel disks (not balls) that were the best of the offerings this evening. I don't really see myself going to Leila to check it out myself. I think there are better middle eastern offerings around.
There were also mini cupcakes from Cupmakes, a very young cupcake place. These little things were adorable. A might on the dry side, but the frosting made up for it. It was banana chocolate. Incredibly banana-y and delicious.
There were also a number of special drinks for the evening. This is the blood orange swizzle. Really tasty. You could hardly taste the alcohol. Since this is a fancy drink place, they make each individual drink to order. So there were long lines. It was annoying. I can see on a normal night doing this. But when there are only 5 drinks on the menu, and hundreds of people are going to be ordering the same drink, it wouldn't kill you to make bigger batches.
We didn't get quite enough food, so we stopped by El Vez for a little snack since it was right down the street. The salsa mexicana. They all had a bit of a kick. Now these chips. Let me just say something about these chips. They were crunchy. But they were super greasy. Beyond greasy! It just seemed ridiculously greasy. I think they could totally degrease these a bit.
I was driving, so I had a virgin strawberry margarita. I know how strong their typical margaritas are, so I knew I had to be good. Damn it if these virgin margaritas aren't freakin tasty. I could have drank a giant pitcher of this. Gah. So damn good. Since it cooled down a bit, we enjoyed the drinks and chips outside and it was a lovely evening.
Leila Cafe
401 S 13th St
Philadelphia, PA 19147
(267) 319-1903

Cupmakes
520A S. 2nd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147
(267) 581-6586

Waiting At Puerto Alegre

For my last meal in San Francisco, we finally decided to go to Puerto Alegre, to see what all the fuss was about. It was fairly early for dinner on a Sunday so there was no wait! Which is apparently a rarity here. The decorations are kitsch. But I liked it. Especially the horrible wood panelling.
Laminated menus. We're talking high class here! Complimentary chips and salsa. The chips are fantabulous. Thin, crispy, and not at all greasy. The salsas... eh! The one on the right was more pico de gallo-esque, but with a bunch of tomato sauce. The one on the left was just strange. That one went mostly untouched.

They're apparently famous for the margaritas, so we got one. If famous = strong, then yes, they're very famous. Whoo! I felt like I was breathing fire for the rest of the day. Good though, but a bit strong for me. When I saw the couple next to us sharing a pitcher, I wondered who would puke first.
J got the two taco platter. Perfectly fine.

I wanted one enchilada in green sauce, but I was told I couldn't just get one. So I just got one red one instead. Also perfectly fine. Rice fine, beans pretty ok. I like the shredded lettuce salad with russian-like dressing. It was a nice bit of veg.

Service was ok. Our waiter was... puzzling. He was like a little cartoon character. And had questionable hair. The food was ok, but nothing to wait hours for! So it must be the beyond strong margaritas that's the draw. And that it's brimming with hipsters. Prices are quite reasonable too! Bye bye SF! Until next time...

Puerto Alegre

546 Valencia St

San Francisco, CA 94110

(415) 255-8201

Mexican In The Mission - Happy Hour Special

You can't go 2 yards in the Mission without coming up on a Mexican restaurant. They're literally everywhere. So when J came down to the Mission the other night and wanted a burrito, we headed off to Puerto Alegre. Except as usual, there was a huge line at the place. Annoying. So we went down the block to El Toro, also on Valencia. It's a nice and bright cafeteria style type joint. You pick up your food, head over to the salsa bar, and then pick a seat and chow down.

I got a two taco combo (even though I only asked for one). It comes on a huge plate with rice and beans, guac, a side salad, and chips. That's tons of food. I got one pork and one beef. Good and good. The beans weren't as good as I'd hoped, but still pretty good. Like I said, they have a salsa bar, which is really one of my favorite parts of eating mexican food in general. And as usual, my trusty lime jarritos. For whatever reason, I was reaching for the jarritos instead of the sidral. The chips were really great, super crunchy and not greasy at all. I forget what kind of salsa I picked, but it was a smoky one. The burritos are huge. I did not partake of one but I enjoyed some vicariously through J and J.

El Toro is infamous for their weekday happy hour. From 3-5pm they have $1 tacos, $2 beers, and $1 agua frescas. Not too shabby in this economy! We didn't go during this crazy happy hour, but this is definitely good information to know. We had done some indoor climbing earlier in the day at Mission Cliffs, so we were tired and starving and scarfed all the food down right quick. Good food, good prices, friendly service, and the place is clean!

Eating At Work - Al Fresco

So I was in Winston-Salem on business visiting a leading apparel company. I won't name names, but just sing to yourself, wait til we get our ___ on you! They have a beautiful campus. Like seriously beautiful. With a jogging trail and tons of land and even a lake type thing. And tons of outdoor spots for dining. And it's hot here people. Hot and sunny. So I enjoyed myself a little outdoor dining with my giant heap of taco salad from their cafeteria. And pink lemonade.

Taco Hankering

On sunday, I needed me some tacos. And so, we cruised on down washington ave to Taqueria Veracruzana. I like this place a lot, and have for many years. It's probably been over a year since I've been here though. I'd missed it.

The place is deceiving from the outside. It makes you think it will be dumpy inside, but it's actually quite cute. Small, but cute. And brightly colored, too. They always have mexican music videos on. I tend to order the same thing each time - tacos. They come 3 to an order, and although I've never mixed and matched, I'm pretty sure you can. We got an order of the tacos al pastor and one of the steak. Both sets delicious. They come the mexican way, on a corn tortilla with raw onions and cilantro, and some lime wedges. But it doesn't really get better than this. And as always, I got a side of beans and rice. You can usually split this between 2-4 people. It's a big ass bowl of beans and rice. And you get free chips and salsa too, which is always good. Both the green and the red sauces are delicious, in their own way. And they have real mexican sodas, in bottles, that are made with proper sugar and not high fructose corn syrup. I remember them being cash only before, but they take credit cards now, which is pretty freakin exciting.

The Soup

For lunch one day, we went to get "the soup". M and B just call it "the soup". And you can get said soup at Azul. It's a tequila lounge and restaurant, and a bit more upscale. Let's call the food mexican-esque. So this soup is actually called pollo caldo. And it's actually not wrong to call it "the soup" as it's the only soup dish they have in the entire restaurant. It is a mexican soup with chicken, vegetables, rice, avocado and pico de gallo. Some of these vegetables include carrots and zucchini. It is spicy, but not too much so. And it looks like a little bowl, but it will fill you up. It's a hearty soup, and I've become a big fan of it. Give me more of "the soup" please.

La Palmera

We took a drive to the Mill Creek Town Center to have lunch at La Palmera. It's a mexican joint, in case you couldn't tell. It was doubly gawdy as it was decorated in over-the-top mexican kitche, along with valentine's day decorations. It was a garish combo. But there was nothing garish about the chips and salsa. Good stuff. The salsa was just spicy enough, but not too much so. I got an enchilada and taco combo, both with beef. It came with beans and rice, both of which were pretty good. I liked the enchilada, the taco was only ok. It wasn't particularly authentic, and the taco would have been much better with a soft corn tortilla and real fixins, like onions and cilantro, instead of lettuce, cheese, and tomatoes. Enchilada was pretty good though. B got the gordita combo. EEG. Take a look at this humongo thing. It's like an enormous taco. Or a taco salad served in a big shell, instead of a bowl. It's daunting, isn't it? Service was just fine. Pretty decent food at decent lunch prices.