The Best & Worst of 2009

It is 12/31/2009, so I must address the obvious: the highlights and lowlights of 2009. For all the delightful dining experiences I had in 2009, there were a few doozies (but not many).

Points for Perspective (these places made me appreciate the good places that much more):

1. Greens (Fort Mason): I guess I just can’t buy into the whole vegetarian/organic/free range/grass fed movement. Everyone I talk to raves about this place, but I JUST DON’T GET IT. One should be able to order sausage at brunch (or a Diet Coke. Upon my request, the waiter glared at me and scoffed: “we don’ t serve diet coke here.” Sor-reeey.) Totally overpriced ($18 for two eggs and mystery-healthy-potato hash). I walked in hungry and was not inspired to finish my plate – simply not worth the calories.

2. Papalote: Went here because its Chips & Salsa was touted as one of the Top 100 dishes in SF. First, I had to pay extra for salsa (the two free tablespoons was not going to cut it). Secondly, can a girl get some freakin’ guac, cheese, or sour cream in her burrito? Apparently not. My tacos were totally dry and bland. It is simply unacceptable to mess up Mexican food in this town.

3. Ocean Taqueria: Another example of Mexican falling painfully short. I ordered a burrito but perhaps they heard me say “soup in a tortilla”?? I can’t even describe what was going on here. The ironic thing is that just two doors down is El Burrito Express 2, which stands alone as my favorite burrito in SF. So, if you’re looking for Mexican fare on Divis – please choose El Burrito’s red awning over Ocean’s blue awning.

Onto the fun stuff! Here’s a list of my single most memorable dining experiences this year – not necessarily new discoveries or my favorite restaurants, just great meals:

1. The Front Porch: It’s way the hell out there but worth the trip. Sit at the bar, order a bucket of fried chicken, and sit back and enjoy the southern comfort. The fried chicken is actually served in a paper bucket – a charming touch I cannot get enough of.

2. Aqua: Went here with the folks featured in Blog #3. This is not a meal, it is an experience. You feel as though your personal happiness is the single most important factor in the wait staff’s livelihood. The food is beautiful to look at on the plate and even more beautiful going down. I remember wanting to do cartwheels along California Street as I exited.

3. Nick’s Crispy Tacos: I got here at least once a month in 2009. The fried baja-style fish tacos are … perfection. Order up at the counter, grab a drink at the adjoining bar while you wait, then dive into that plastic basket of goodness!

Outside City Lines:
1. Quinn’s (Oakland/Alameda border): Top notch beef burger, outdoor deck along the estuary, unusual Buffalo burger option. But really, this place’s true charm is the fact you can throw the peanut shells (free on every table) ON THE FLOOR. It’s every kid’s dream come true. Drop ‘em to your side, throw ‘em over your shoulder, toss ‘em out the window – whatever you want! Someone else will clean it up!

2009 Honorable Mentions:
1. Park Chow
2. Marnee Thai
3. Ella’s
4. RN74
5. Street

Cheers to John and Patti!!

Nothing gets me more riled up than going to an SF spot I’ve even never heard of. Enter Canto Do Brasil in Hayes Valley. Heard of it? Me neither. Following the incredible wedding ceremony of my BFF’s Dad and New-Stepmom in El Cerrito (who also happen to be Top Notch Foodies themselves and have graciously included me in several of their SF dining excursions), we limo-d over the Bay Bridge to this hole-in-the-wall spot on Franklin Street.

From the moment I walked through the door, I knew this was my kinda place:

Lighting: check
Temperature: Perfect for the LBD
Aroma: fried food.
Unpretentious: Yup.

Solid start and I hadn’t even seen the food.

There were multiple rounds of family style platters. The most memorable of which was the platter of croquettes – about four variations on the fried-mozzarella stick. I’m still not sure what each was stuffed with, but like I said in Post #2, if it’s fried – who really cares anyway? (For the record, I checked the website, and we were treated to Chicken, Brazillian Cheese, Beef, and Tabuli). Hope nobody saw me wrapping them up in napkins and stuffing in purse…

Other dishes to try: the eggplant pate, cod fish pate, and the Mambo Mumbo mixed drink. I’ll be back.

If you must leave SF...

First, Merry Christmas to all (or, to the four people that read this blog)! I am always a pathetic sap around the holidays - and this year is no exception. While I love my new 32 inch flat-screen TV and Magic Bullet blender, the best gifts are my family and friends. The material things are just icing on the cake...

I digress. I dedicate this blog to a legit spot outside city lines. On Christmas Eve Eve, I braved the Bay Bridge S Curve to meet up with Bro and Bro's lady friend at La Pinata in Alameda. Perusing the menu, "bacon wrapped jumbo prawns" immediately caught my eye. Truth be told, anything wrapped in bacon will cause my ears perk up. In fact, if you wrapped a tree trunk in bacon, I'd absolutely give it a shot. However, at a classic Mexican spot, I'm typically inclined to stick with their tried-and-true options (tacos, burritos, etc). So, full of trepidation and high expectations, I took a chance - and my leap of faith paid off in a huge way. Served with cheesy refried beans, Mexican rice, and pitchers of margies, this was one of the most delightful meals I've had in 2009. Merry Christmas, indeed!

****Addendum to First Post: Woke up in cold sweat last night and realized I left Nick's Crispy Tacos off the list. Nick, my sincere apologies: Your baja-style deep friend fish tacos reside comfortably/gloriously in my top 5. I don't have the heart to displace a member of the list, so my Top 5 List is officially a Top 6 List.

Another one bites the dust

My fingers suddenly took on a mind of their own as they typed "create a blog" in the Google search bar, clicked "proceed to next step" and finally, "Create my Blog!" Three and a half minutes later, here I am, joining the millions of other self-absorbed, over-exposed Internet bloggers.

But my purpose is different, and quite frankly, superior than all those other blogs. I'm here to educate, entertain, and hopefully enable others to make better San Francisco food decisions. What better way to start than with a Top 5 List? Here comes Top 5 San Francisco spots (the King of all lists):

1. Fog City Diner. It is difficult for me to verbalize my feelings for FCD. I can hear the cries now: "It's a tourist trap on the Embarcadero!!!" On the Embarcadero, yes. Tourist trap, WRONG. Take one step inside and you're engulfed in the warmth of a classic diner feel, authentic SF wait-staff, and incredible bites. I could write a novel about the biscuits and gravy, the kobe burger, or the fritatta - but I'd be wasting your time. It's the fries. It was always the fries. The double-fried fries. Fried once, the dipped in corn starch and fried again to crispy perfection (yes, I asked).

2. Little Star Pizza: Get one deep dish and one thin crust and you're good to go. Which one is better? Eff if I know! They're both insane. Eat in or eat out.

3. Liverpool Lil's: Great first date spot and delicious bar food to boot. Lighting is low, which is ideal for pimple-inclined ladies like myself who just want to chow on a good burger and down a cold a beer.

4. Dino's: In and out under ten bucks. If you do take-out (which is often the case as I live a block away and interior lighting is not helping my dating life) Dino himself will serve up some free wine while you wait. You can hear me now: "Nahh...take your time with that!! I like my pizza really well done!!!!" Don't miss the chicken parm sando either.

5. Aqua. This is precariously perched in my Five but I will keep it here because it provided me with the single most memorable dinner I've ever had in SF. A return visit (lunch, full disclosure) was decidedly less impressive. Food was very good but not $75-per-person-good (RECESSION???). Halibut was dry - and I don't eat fish just for the halibut... (sorry, had to work that joke in somehow).

And there you have it. Clearly, I don't discriminate on price or swank-level (please reference #4 and #5) and am open to try anything - esp if someone else is buyin!

Cheers,
Corinne