Crossroad Chicken (Napa Valley)

Napa, CA 94558
(707) 280-3868
crossroadchix.com

As we were driving on the highway to the Napa wineries, we spotted the words "Wood Fired" on a food truck and had to make a u-turn to see what this was all about.  I admit, I thought the food truck was serving wood fired pizzas and was at first disappointed when I saw that it wasn't pizza. However, after chatting with the chef a bit and him giving us a tour of the truck we found out that he uses ingredients from sustainably farmed and local products whenever possible.

Having previously worked as a chef at Acacia Winery for many years, he started this food truck business about a year now.  There is actually a real wood fired oven, and he has the proper insignia on his truck so you know he's legit.

An appetizing and concise menu with an assortment of sandwiches, tacos, soups, and salads at reasonable prices.

Here is a picture of the jester/chef himself Chef Kevin Simonson. 

Rancho Gordo Anasazi Bean Chili w/ chopped red onions and sour cream ($4.95).  The Anasazi beans are some kind of heirloom beans. Wow, heirloom beans too? The chili was different than what I'm used to, but good in a way. The beans themselves were actually smoother and less gritty than most beans I have had.  I appreciate the nice bite from the onions and how the sour cream smoothed things out.

Hot Chicken Sandwich w/ Meyer Lemon Aioli, Tomatoes, Red Onions, and Greens ($8.95). Definitely your gourmet sandwich. The bread was nice and toasty and the chicken was quite tasty with the aioli and the beautiful heirloom tomatoes.  The heirloom tomatoes were amazing too. Every bite made me wanting more.

Here is a picture of the wood fired oven inside the truck.

This gourmet food truck definitely is worth the stop for all the tasty food items, quality ingredients, and use of local products. If you are are ever at the crossroads and see Crossroad Chicken, you should definitely cross the road. 

Commonwealth (San Francisco)

2224 Mission Street (Mission District)
San Francisco, CA 94110
Tel. 415.355.1500
commonwealthsf.com
Chef Jason Fox

"A progressive American restaurant in San Francisco's Mission district." This is how Commonwealth describes themselves on their website. Jason Fox, who used to be the Chef at Bar Tartine, is now the Executive Chef of Commonwealth. Having eaten at Bar Tartine the year before and enjoying a good meal, we had heard great things about Commonwealth. Commonwealth strives to be a restaurant that has finer dining at reasonable prices, which is something that we love.

seaweed flecked house made potato chips (complimentary)
The chips texturally were similar to Lay's but had a flavor that would most likely to be found in Japan Lay's and not in America. The seaweed flavor wasn't an "in your face" seaweed flavor, but more of a light dusting of seaweed. 

malt vinegar foam
The chips were meant to be eaten with the malt vinegar foam, which added a nice acidity.  This tasted like a  salt and vinegar chip...correction..a seaweed and vinegar chip.

shishito peppers, goat cheese and rose petals (6)
The peppers were nicely blistered. The addition of the goat cheese went really well with the peppers to help lessen the heat from these peppers. Luckily, we didn't have any that were over the top spicy. The rose petals visually were a beautiful addition to the dish and lent a slight floral scent to the dish.

garden tomatoes and basil, black olive crumble, smoked bread, idiazabal cheese (13)
This is what I consider a fancy version of a caprese salad. The dish was beautifully plated on a piece of slate. Every component of this dish worked well together.

summer squash, chilled soup, fried blossoms, shaved salad, vadouvan (9)
One of my favorite courses of the night. This was a chilled soup, which is something that I don't always have the opportunity to try out, with the exception of a gazpacho. The shaved salad was placed in the chilled soup which texturally added to the already delicious vadouvan flavored soup (vadouvan is like french curry spice). The addition of the fried squash blossoms, although unnecessary, were delicious as well.

potato gnocchi, corn, maitake mushrooms, sage, parmesan reggiano, truffle oil (12)
Another favorite of the night, was this gnocchi dish. The gnocchi were perfectly prepared to a pillowy consistency. This was a very well composed dish with the corn adding a sweetness and slight crunchiness, the mushrooms and truffle oil adding an earthiness and the parmesan adding a salty cheesy flavor. Delicious!!!

marrow stuffed squid, tamarind pork, shelling beans, black garlic, cilantro (13)
Compliments from the chef for our anniversary! What a nice touch by the staff at Commonwealth. The squid was nicely cooked. The marrow and pork added a meatiness to the dish. Didn't really care too much for the beans. This was Commonwealth's version of surf and turf. 

corn custard, sea urchin, chorizo, lobster emulsion, jalapeno (15)
This was one of the dishes I was most looking forward to as I perused the menu. What's not to love about sea urchin, chorizo, lobster, and corn custard? The corn custard itself was very light, almost like a panna cotta with the essence of corn. I couldn't really detect too much flavor of lobster though. The jalapeno flavor kind of hits you on the palette and creeps up on you. The sea urchin and the corn custard had a nice creaminess that went really well together. 

grilled lamb tongue, chard, burnt eggplant, miso and mint (12)
This is the only dish of the night that I did not enjoy. Reading the description, I thought that the miso flavor and mint would work wonderfully together.The dish in my opinion was over salted and lacked the complexity that I was expecting. I really couldn't taste the miso.

frozen matcha meringue, pistachio, summer berries, strawberry consomme (8)
I believe this dish involved the use of liquid nitrogen to freeze the matcha meringue. I enjoyed the taste of the matcha with the berries and the consomme.

Commonwealth in my opinion has met its goal of serving upscale food at reasonable prices for a larger segment to enjoy. The dishes at Commonwealth are beautifully composed and for the most part were all very good. If you are looking for a reasonably price restaurant that is serving innovative dishes, I would definitely give Commonwealth a try.

Tomales Bay Oyster Company - Marshall

15479 Highway 1
Marshall, CA 94940
415.663.1242
www.tomalesbayoysters.com

This is definitely one of the best oyster experiences I had!   There is nothing better than sitting outdoors, soaking in the sunshine, breathing the fresh air, and shucking your own tasty oysters fresh from the farm.  And not to mention, eating as much as you want without burning a hole in your wallet.

We arrived at the farm around 10:00am and were the first few to have claimed our spot next to the water.  More people started coming in around 11-12pm, bringing out their big coolers, E-Z Up canopies, red and white checkered tablecloths, boombox, and large amounts of food. I looked around and thought... "they know how to work it."

I first ordered a dozen for a mere $10!! Great deal and it's fresh. You have a choice of x-small, small, medium, or large.  X-Small ones were perfect.  The Tomales Bay worker said that he doesn't know why people get the mediums, or especially the large ones.

After popping 12 oysters in my mouth, I was content, but was needing more.  So.. another dozen!

Being first-timers, we only brought small packets of tabasco that we managed to find and keep from our drive up to San Francisco, a lemon, and a towel. We didn't even have a shucker.  The night before, we stopped at several places to buy one and even a General Store at a nearby small town, but no luck for us.  Luckily though, the man selling the oysters at this farm let us borrow his (what a nice guy). Whew!

We found a great tutorial on shucking oysters from youtube.com, and the farm also had some reading material as well. The important thing is not to injure yourself, while being careful not to let any shell remnants get inside and contain the oyster liquor inside the shell.

The damage I did.... 24 oysters later. All by myself....

What a peaceful view of the waters while enjoying the fresh oysters.  

This unique experience was worth the 45 minute drive from San Francisco.  The beauty and serenity of the place (before the crowds come) and the delicious, sweet oysters made it heavenly for me. Next time, I will definitely be better equipped with the right tools and ingredients.  Not to mention, a bottle of wine.

Bar Crudo - San Francisco

655 Divisadero St (between Hayes and Grove)
San Francisco, CA 94117
415.409.0679
www.barcrudo.com

We decided to head up to San Francisco for our anniversary weekend. San Francisco is one of our favorite cities to visit because of the delicious food, the beautiful scenery, and the chill, cool, and unpretentious people. Our first stop was Bar Crudo, a place known for fresh and delicious seafood.

We came for their happy hour: $3 beers on a certain beers, $10 for 2 fish tacos, $5 for seafood chowder and $1 oysters from Point Reyes. We came there at 5:30pm and there were no seats at the bar but small wooden panels from the wall that you can stand and enjoy your beers and food. Luckily for us, they decided to offer the upstairs area as part of the happy hour area. Made for much more of an enjoyable and relaxing experience for us.

 

Crudo Sampler: (12)

Artic Char (horseradish cream, wasabi tobiko, dill)  This was my favorite! It was buttery like salmon.

Hokkaido Scallops (sweet corn puree, piri piri peppers, spanish smoked salt) The scallops had a soft texture, but the sweet corn threw me off a bit.

Tombo Tuna (avocado mousse, chili lime vinaigrette, peaches) This had some good flavors, but nothing memorable.

Butterfish (salmorejo, quail egg, jamon)

Seafood Chowder (5)
A hearty and comforting chowder with generous amounts of seafood. Good-sized chunks of fish, calamari, mussels, shrimp and potatoes. Also had chunks of chorizo and applewood smoked bacon.  Definitely a must order! 

Point Reyes Oysters, Marin ($1 each)
One of my favorite reasons to come to San Francisco is to eat and slurp on super fresh and tasty oysters.  These oysters did not disappoint. They were cold and fresh, and the accompanying mignonette was perfect with the oysters.

Service was great throughout our little dinner/snack. While chatting with the waitress, we mentioned we were up in SF for our anniversary and they were kind enough to bring us chocolates with a candle. We heart SF!!!!

If you are ever in SF and looking for a place that serves fantastically fresh seafood in a laid back and unpretentious setting, Bar Crudo is a great place to be.

Flour + Water - San Francisco

2401 Harrison Street (Mission District)
San Francisco, CA 94110
Tel. 415.826.7000
www.flourandwater.com

Flour + Water is one of the new restaurants on the block in the Mission District and is getting high praise from food critics and bloggers. The restaurant focuses on the simplicity of ingredients, hence the name Flour + Water. Just like many of the other Mission District restaurants the style of the restaurant is definitely eclectic. I love that this restaurant has a very unpretentious, yet cool vibe to it.

The restaurant specializes in house made pasta (and who doesn't love house made pasta) and Neopolitan thin crust style pizzas that are baked for no more than 2 minutes at a blistery 427 degree centigrade. According to the website, this is approximately the same temperature as hell, but only heaven awaits as you enter these doors. The prices are definitely reasonable for the quality of ingredients and quality of food your are going to get.

Margherita Pizza with tomato, basil, fior di latte, and extra virgin olive oil (13)
Fresh out of the oven, piping hot, slightly crispy, yet soft crust are some words to describe my initial reaction to the pizza. The pizza has a beautiful crust that is slightly charred but with a fantastic chewy consistency and a wood imparted flavor. Pizza doesn't get any simpler but more satisfying than this.

Maltagliati with brown butter braised duck giblets (15)
At the first bite, it tasted a bit livery and I wasn't sure if I liked it because I never really had duck giblets in my pasta.  It was just unexpected.  But as I took my second bite, and then the third bite, I just couldn't get enough of it.  I really just wanted to lick the whole plate. The freshly made pasta had a wonderful consistency that is only attained through fresh and not dried pasta. Included in this pasta dish was either pumpkin or squash bits that really lightened the dish that could have been too heavy.

Basil granite with late summer stone fruit and prosecco jelly (8)
While perusing the dessert menu, my eyes immediately darted towards this dessert. Basil? Love it..Stone fruit? Love it... Prosecco? Love it.. Did I love this dessert? No....Did I hate it? No... It was a light and refreshing dessert but didn't really taste the prosecco in the jelly and the basil granite was just so-so.  Yet the concept was very interesting and unique.

I like what Flour + Water stands for with their simple approach to food without compromising flavors. There is something so satisfying about a great pizza and perfect pasta; this is my comfort food. The excellent food and the laid-back cool vibe is something I am definitely looking forward to returning to in the future.

Range - San Francisco

842 Valencia Street (Mission District)

San Francisco, CA 94110

Tel.: 415.282.8283

www.rangesf.com

Owners: Husband and Wife: Phil and Cameron West 

Range is located in the Mission District on a corner of a humble building across from a neighborhood park.  Nothing fancy.  Nothing out of the ordinary.  Nothing to distract one's attention from the carefully prepared seasonal dishes and lovely drink concoctions here at the one star Michelin restaurant.   

We made reservations for the first seating at 5:30 p.m. (so that we could have a second dinner around 9 or so at Flour + Water).  The place was empty, but it quickly filled up by 6 o' clock.

 

 

Known for their mixology, I ordered a Mr. White (9.50), which uses Pueblo Viejo Tequila and housemade strawberry-mint shrub with lime.  The drink was smooth, tasty, and not too sweet. Delicious and refreshing.

I ordered the marinated mussels with shaved fennel, lucques olives and cherry tomatoes (12.50).  This by far was the most heavenly.  There were so many layers of flavors and textures that went so well together.  The whole dish itself exuded lightness and freshness. The mussels were well cooked. The tomatoes were sweet. The dressing was sweet yet tangy at the same time.  I absolutely loved this amazing salad.  It was love at first bite.

Next, I ordered goat cheese and sorrel stuffed pasta with lime butter chives (13) 

You could really taste the citrus component of the lime - it added a nice brightness to the dish. Otherwise, it would have been too rich.  I had this as a main, but after eating the excellent fennel salad, this one was not at the same level. A bit disappointed, I craved the salad even more.

We then had the whiskey and brown sugar glazed pork ribs with a carrot salad (11.50)

The meat was very tender and was fall off the bone tender. The whiskey and brown sugar glaze was very good - not too sweet, just right.  It was nice having the carrot slaw as it tempered the sweetness and saltiness with its citrus element.  This dish was very well done.  I could definitely eat a whole rack of these ribs.  

Lastly, we had the pan roasted bavette steak with oven dried tomatoes, broccoli di ciccio, barley, and horseradish sauce (26). The steak was perfectly cooked medium rare.  I liked the horseradish sauce with the meat.  It was creamy and had a faint hint of the heat.  I didn't like the barley too much.  I don't think I'm much of a barley person.  It tastes a bit too healthy and bland for me.   The oven dried tomatoes added another flavor depth to the dish, but I don't remember too much of the broccoli.  Overall, this dish is very enjoyable.

When my husband made reservations, he mentioned our anniversary.  And at the end of our meal, they served as their complimentary dark chocolate squares with an anniversary candle.  Very sweet! 

This restaurant certainly earned its one Michelin star - thoughtful and delicious dishes as well as serving creative drinks.   The service also was impeccable and very attentive.  I would love to come back here and try other new dishes and see what the chef can create next. 

Canteen - San Francisco

817 Sutter Street  (Nob Hill)
San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 928-8870
www.sfcanteen.com

We continued celebrating our 2nd year anniversary by taking a trip to our beloved second home, San Francisco.  Our first meal was at Canteen, which is reminscent of a 60s diner in the South because of its retro decor, bar stools, vintage books, and its polished simplicity.  It just has this unpretentious, homey and nostalgic feeling.  And there are only 7 bar stools and 4 booths.  Small, but quaint.

Two waitresses here run the show and they were so genuinely kind and down to earth.  They served us the brioche rolls which were excellent!  It tasted like a buttery croissant, without the flakiness.  

For the amuse bouche, they brought out a small piece of smoked salmon with pepper over slices of honeydew.  I was not very impressed by the presentation of it.  It looked a bit sad.  The smoked salmon had a nice flavor, but there was nothing here that excited my taste buds or amused my "bouche".

Lamb's Tongue Vinaigrette with butter beans and romesco (10.50)
The vinaigrette went well because it added another flavor dimension to it.  I don't usually like beans, but it was well-cooked and smooth in texture.  I loved the nutty, romesco sauce which consisted of red peppers, pistachio, parsley and "other stuff" say the waitress.  The tongue itself had a rillette texture in a way and enjoyed the light and bright flavors of the lamb.  It was a great way to start the meal.

Albacore with lobster sauce, eggplant puree, and peppers (23.50)
The seared albacore was cooked perfectly and was moist and tender.  The dish was carefully prepared, and the buttery lobster sauce and puree tasted good on their own, but when I put it all together, the flavors just did not meld too well.  It was sort of a "musky" taste.  Plus, it was a bit overpowering for the delicately mild-flavored fish.

Pork Schnitzel with a poached egg (25)
We went with one of the waitress' favorite dish on this menu.  Pork schnitzel is thinly pounded breaded pork cutlets and was topped with fresh arugula, poached eggs, arugula and paprika sauce.  It was good dish with intense flavorings, but I expected more out of it.     

We were served with the "Week 190" seasonal menu.  But one of the timeless items that doesn't change is the "Vanilla Souffle since 2004" (8.50).  They brought out the souffle and pierced it through with some kind of cream sauce.  And since my husband had told them we were celebrating our anniversary when he made reservations, they brought out 2 complimentary glasses of champagne.  What a special touch!

The great thing about seasonal menus is that you get to taste the chef's inventive creations using seasonal ingredients and artistic talent.  So I will probably return one day.  Plus, I also have read that they serve really good brunch, so I'll try that out too.