Fourth Time is a Charm

Marking our fourth attempt to dine at Barbacco, my parents and I headed to the new-ish California street spot armed with reservations (which seems to be the only way to get a seat after 11:30am). Upon being seated, we ordered the salted focaccia bread to tie us over while we browsed the menu. This isn’t a slight on the rest of food - because the bread is truly one-of-a-kind - but the $1 app was my favorite aspect of the meal. It’s doused in olive oil and topped with flavorful sea salt. Top 3 bread of all time.

Since it’s polite to spend more than $1 and actually order an entrée, I ordered the warm duck confit spinach salad and split the salumi platter with my dad. My dad had the lasagna and my mom the muffaletta sandwich. The salumi platter is what Barbacco is known for and I can see why. The platter consists of several salami and bologna-type selections, bread sticks, and small toasts. By the time my spinach salad arrived, I was closing in on full. I suppose it was wise ordering, as the salad was light and didn‘t make me uncomfortably full. It was tasty but not something I’ll be talking about in a day or two (do salads every ingrain themselves in one’s memory, though?). My dad’s lasagna looked amazing (warm, cheesy, comforting), and the bread in my mom’s sando gives carbs a good name.

I use a gymnastics analogy to describe my attitude toward certain genres of food. Just as there are varying maximum scores on the vault in gymnastics depending on degree of difficulty, some kinds of food are simply not out of a perfect 10 for me. Even if Barbacco were to “stick it,” it’d probably be out of a 9.0; pasta simply doesn‘t have the thrill-factor for me. Burgers, on the other hand, have a max score of 10. That being said, Barbacco probably scored an 8.5 - which means it’s about as good as it can get for me but just can’t compete with the more difficult routines…

An SF Institution Delivers!

For reasons I cannot explain, I have walked right past Tadich Grill for the last three years. It’s across the street from my office and has been around since 1849 (the oldest restaurant in the city!) so I have no excuse. After reading this blog entry, you have no excuse either!

This spot continuously nailed it from the moment I walked into the door to the last bite of bread pudding (and assuredly again when I re-heat the leftovers tonight). We walked in, reservation-less, and were immediately seated in a corner table by the window overlooking California Street (+ 1). Authentic SF sourdough bread was already on the table when we sat down (+1). Room temperature butter on table (+1). Our old-school waiter (think long, white overcoats) brought us our menus and water promptly (+1). Upon his recommendation, we ordered a ceviche appetizer, which appeared before us as we were still perusing the lengthy menu (+1). And probably one of my favorite touches: waiter brings out a large, wide-mouthed bottle of ketchup without us requesting it. Clutch! (+1)

I was torn between the daily Mahi Mahi special and the seafood curry casserole. When my mom said she was getting the Mahi Mahi, I was sold on the curry casserole. The moment I started getting antsy for my plate, the waiter appeared with a glorious dish of baby shrimp, jumbo shrimp, crab, and prawns swimming in a thick curry sauce served over a bed of white rice (see before and after shots). I am a sucker for curry and this was right up there with the best I’ve had. It was everything curry should be: warm, comforting, hearty, and filling! I saved half of it for dinner tonight. Man, that was good! (+100)

My mom had the Mahi Mahi special (see pic) and I was privy to a bite or two. Right away, I could tell this was quality seafood. Moreover, the fillet was large (to the point my mom didn’t finish it). My dad had corned beef hash (I can NEVER predict his orders) and walked away happy (+1 and +1).

Lastly, the waiter mentioned they had bread pudding and we all know I cannot say no. I am always excited to see how each restaurant will approach a bread pudding (bread pudding is like a snowflake - no two are the same). Tadich’s take was unlike any I’ve seen and I was quite impressed. First, it was just barely warm (as opposed to steaming hot like most) and was more like layered pieces of French toast with a thick bourbon sauce. Sometimes bread pudding comes out more on the “pudding” side, but this one definitely comes out on the “bread” side of the spectrum. Upon first bite, I had my doubts, but then I couldn’t stop digging in (+ infinity).

I lost track of the exact score, but Tadich is a winner!

A Healthy Dosa

Last Friday night’s plan consisted of dinner at Dosa followed by a screening of Sex & the City with four of my running gal pals. Having read the reviews of SATC, I was definitely more excited to see how Dosa handled high-end Indian than how Carrie handled the Middle East. Like Mexican food, I’m not convinced Indian should be served in a luxurious vicinity with double-digit prices … but it’s always worth a shot.

With five of us at the dinner table, I rescinded all ordering power to those around me because I’ll try anything and everything on the menu looked good to me. Either it’s hard to find a miss at Dosa or I just found myself some excellent new wing-women! We ordered an assortment of curries, samosas, and Dosas. The highlight for me was definitely the Bhatura, the puffy bread in the picture. Not only is it an unusual site to see on your dinner table, the sweet’n’savory flavoring reminded me of a thin pancake. Give me a little dipping sauce and that’s a happy meal for me.

It’s been several days since Dosa and I’ve done some soul searching about the difference between expensive Indian and take-out. Shalimar – previously reviewed on this blog – is incredible Indian food and one of my favorite take-out spots in the city regardless of genre. One of its greatest virtues is that one can get out the door in under $15 and still stuff two adults. So, is Dosa worth the premium? I say yes, when the occasion is right (for comparison sake, expensive Mexican is NEVER worth it). Take a look at the pictures – the puffy bread and rolled up bread is not something one can order take-out. The presentation of these dishes is an exciting and unusual treat in itself. The serving sizes (again, unlike expensive Mexican) is generous and easily shared among multiple people. Moreover, the Indian staples – curries, samosas, etc – were just as memorable as the stuff you get in plastic take-out ware. Lastly, the first adjective that pops to mind to describe Dosa’s Fillmore location is “luxurious.” Dosa has a lot going for it.

And since this is exclusively a food blog, I’ll spare you the SATC movie review…