Nomming in the Bay: Part 5

Txoko, SF

Cool mural on the wall. Kind of reminded me of Peter Rabbit and Animal Farm.

Wood Oven Roasted Shishito Peppers. With Chevre, Roasted Garlic and Marinated Gypsy Peppers. Nommy! Love me some goat cheese and it was super tasty even though it was a mixture of strong flavors. Definitely a small bite and recommended by our server. 

Local Squid A La Plancha. With Black Olives, Potatoes, Pimenton and Spinach. This was nommy! My friend and I weren’t sure what small bites we should get so we asked our server and she suggested the ones we got including this one. So good! The squid was fresh and super delicious and I liked the variety of tastes and textures on this one tiny crostini. NOM!

Foie Gras A La Plancha. Golden Raisin Sauce, Brussel Sprouts and Coriander. This was AMAZING. So delicious it makes me sad that they’re banning foie gras soon! I could eat this every day, no joke! The mix of flavors in this small bite is mindblowingly awesome. Yes, the goose liver is fatty goodness, BUT it’s definitely not overly rich. I thought it’d have more of a bitter flavor because it was a liver after all, but it did not! So good! The golden raisin sauce actually does a really good job of cutting down the fat with its tangy sweetness as does the springy goodness of the super green brussel sprouts. DELISH!

Pan Seared Day Boat Scallops. With Crispy Okra, Sweet Corn Sauce, Sugar Snap Peas and Potato Coulis. This was yummy in my tummy as well! The scallops were well seared and not the least bit overcooked. It was like eating pillows of seafood goodness. The corn was super sweet and delicious as was the sugar snap peas, definitely lived up to their names. I always love me some okra too so it was delicious!

Glazed Beef Cheeks. With Crispy Sweetbreads, Carrot Puree, Celery and Horseradish Creme. This was alright, a little bit too rich for my liking but it was well-flavored and delish in small amounts. The beef cheeks were super tender and I loved the flavor. Super good! The sweetbreads were pretty good too, even though it was my first experience with sweetbreads I found it delish! The carrot puree and celery, while good, did little to curb the richness of the dish so that’s my only real issue with it. I’ve realized I’m getting old and not doing too well with fatty and rich foods sadsies!

Grilled Venison Loin. With Huckleberry & Endive Marmelatta, Apples, Oregano and Pine Nuts. This was sooo good!!! I’m very happy about my first experience with venison. I was actually praying they’d have this on their menu the night I visited. The venison was well-cooked especially since I like my meats on the rarer side, this was super good. It actually reminded me of beef but with a less strong, but fresher flavor but definitely more tough. Still, it showed it’s unique deer meat flavor and I was pleasantly surprised. I’d originally thought it’d be more gamey and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I also loved the huckleberries because I love me some huckleberries! I definitely could have done without the apples though, not a fan of booze soaked fruits, but the rest of the dish was delish!

Foie Gras Ice Cream. With Whole Wheat Sables, Poached Pears and Sherry Jelly. Super interesting! I really wanted to try it seeing as I love me some foie gras. It was good though, but definitely more of a vanilla ice cream with a foie gras richness and flavor to it. The more you eat it the more you taste the flavor so it definitely adds up in your mouth! The poached pears were pretty good, but I was not a fan of the sherry jelly at all. The ice cream was definitely interesting and well worth a try! 

Lime Pudding Cake. With Persimmon Sorbet, Fennel, Pomegranate and Pine Nut Brittle. This was pretty good. I loved the tangy flavor of it with just the right amount of sweetness. The sorbet was a lot better than I expected also because I’m not a major fan of persimmons but it was delish. 

Enjoy Vegetarian Restaurant, SF

Combination Platter. With Soybean Sheet, BBQ Pork, Tofu and Sweet & Sour Wheat Gluten. Large Size. This was super good, but not as good as it was last time. Definitely love the larger size though because there was more for everyone and it’s yum.

Chicken Nuggets. With Sweet & Sour Sauce. This was super good, tasted exactly like McDonalds chicken nuggets except in veggie form! It even had the texture of chicken. Plus I loved the sauce with it, I think they use the same sauce for spring rolls also. Noms!

Pickles. We didn’t get this last time but they gave it to us free. It was pretty good. A bit of sweetness, it actually reminded me of Sprite. 

Mongolian Beef. This was pretty good, the texture was surprisingly as similar to beef as you can get with tofu. The flavors were pretty good though I think I’m more of a fan of their chicken and fish dishes.

Eggplant with Sea Bass. Super good as usual! With the same texture and flavor of fish! I loved it with the eggplant. It’s too bad a lot of times I’m digging for the sea bass in the dish and I end up with eggplant because it looks the same on the plate. But it’s so delish and worth a try even though it’s not the most picture-perfect dish.

Steamed Bok Choy. Pretty good, had some ginger flavor to it so it was pretty interesting. As interesting as steamed vegetables can get!

Chez Papa Resto, SF

Got the business lunch set, thinking it would be a good deal. A deal it definitely was not. 

Organic Bibb Lettuce. With Crispy Shallots and Mustard Vinaigrette. This could have been better due to how fresh the lettuce was. But it was overdressed so I could barely even taste the flavor of the lettuce. Sadface. 

Bread. And Butter. This was okay, one of the best things I ate that meal, which isn’t saying much.

Carlsbad Aqua Farm Mussels. With White Wine, Bay Leaf, Garlic, Aioli and Crostini. Wow, I have no words to describe how horrible this dish was. I’ve never had mussels this horrible ever unless they were frozen and smelly and these were definitely not. The mussels themselves were good, however it was the sauce that ruined it all for me. It was like sea water, literally. The crostini was also super burnt. But even if the crostini were not charred to bits, you could not have dipped it into the sauce without feeling your tongue burn from the amount of salt in it. I was so thirsty afterwards just from eating the mussels. Never again! 

Bread Pudding. With Caramel Sauce and Cream Fraiche, topped with Slivered Almonds. This was alright, nothing to write home about seeing as I could make it at home. It wasn’t as horrible as everything else as I have nothing to complain about really. Just bread pudding with cinnamon and nutmeg, the usual. 

Palomino, SF

I’ve already written about Palomino a billion times, so just food porn for ya :)