Posted on June 24, 2017June 24, 2017 in Dining

State Bird Provisions

State Bird Provisions is notoriously known as the hardest restaurant to get into in San Francisco. Luckily I snagged a reservation for the Friday night Nick’s sister Alex and her boyfriend Brent were visiting.

Our table was right next to the kitchen – a dangerous place to be because you can see every dim sum dish leave on its tray. We were warned to order from the stationary menu before we were too carried away by the rotating trays.

Each dish combined flavors in such a fantastic and unique way. I really appreciate a restaurant experience where I try things I would never pair together. The pork belly combined pork belly, mint, and plouots for a perfectly balanced bite.

We ordered so many fantastic things.

Some of my favorites were the pork belly, the state bird, oysters, steak tartare, and the burrata.

We also ordered the halibut tartare, octopus, roasted avocado, croque madame pancakes, gulf shrimp and heart of palm salad.

Dessert was unbelievable. The ice cream sandwich and the Black Forest cake with matcha are pictured below and again each surprised me with their combinations and how much I enjoyed them. The peanut butter milk shots are like drinking perfectly melted ice cream. I would and could have had four more at least had we not been at dinner with guests.

Posted on April 9, 2017April 9, 2017 in Baking

Brown Butter And Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

This week Bon Appétit shared an Instagram with a caption mentioning a recipe for the best chocolate chip cookies ever to be had. My curiosity had piqued, so Friday after work I stopped the store for Guittard Organic Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Wafers and Heath Bars (the recipe cals for Skor but those seem to be harder to come by).

I had never before attempted to brown butter but with a quick Google search I felt confident enough for the task at hand, and can proudly say I think it was a success! Once the dough was prepped and had sat at room temperature I stored it in a Ziploc overnight. Today when baking them I used a large scoop from Oxo to create a perfect uniform shape. The large scoop made exactly 15 cookies.

The cookies turned out so much better than I could have even hoped. Sometimes I think it is so easy to avoid recipes that seem just a little bit too challenging but pushing yourself outside of that comfort zone sometimes gives you the best results. Though this wasn’t a traditional chocolate chip cookie it is definitely a “do again”.

Recipe: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/brown-butter-and-toffee-chocolate-chip-cookies

Article: http://www.bonappetit.com/story/greatest-chocolate-chip-cookie-ever

Posted on March 28, 2017 in Dining

Spruce Birthday Brunch

Yesterday was Nick’s Birthday! I spent Saturday making my first homemade birthday cake. The peanut butter cake with chocolate frosting was a challenge but was so rewarding.

Sunday morning we woke up and headed to Spruce. We sat down at a table in their library and there was a card waiting for Nick. We started with the cinnamon rolls which came out on a wood cut and was served with a fantastic frosting that balanced the cream cheese and sugar perfectly.

For our entrees, Nick got the Eggs Benedict with a side of bacon and I ordered the burger. The bacon was just as tasty as it looked! The “benny” was served on their housemade English muffin and came with mushrooms, ‘nduja, broccoli, and mixed greens.

The burger was just as good as the last time I visited. I snagged a piece of Nick’s bacon and added a Jidori egg. The fore mentioned combination with the muffin bun, gruyere, and medium rare patty was fantastic.

At the end of the meal, our waiter brought out a birthday treat for Nick. The entire staff was so attentive and really made Nick’s birthday celebration that much more special. I highly recommend Spruce’s brunch and celebrating special events at this Michelin star restaurant.

Posted on March 22, 2017March 22, 2017 in Dining

Foreign Cinema Brunch – SF’s Best French Toast

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This past weekend my best friend Anna and her boyfriend Sam came to SF for the weekend. This was my first time meeting Sam and a couple months before their planned visit Anna sent me a list of places in SF he wanted to try.

Planning this weekend was such a treat and I tried to hit as many places from his list that I could incorporate but also add in some of my SF favorites. Friday night we enjoyed dinner at Tosca Cafe (definitely get the meatballs) and enjoyed the hectic fun of North Beach on St. Patrick’s Day. Saturday we attended brunch at Foreign Cinema.

Nick and I had been to dinner at Foreign Cinema to celebrate my birthday back in December. Going back for brunch with Anna and Sam presented me the perfect opportunity to try the French Toast I had heard so much about.

After each enjoying some much-needed caffeine we started with oysters and ordered our entrees. Nick and I shared the Croque Madame and the Champagne Omelet. The Omelet was airy and light and the asparagus and prosciutto were folded in beautifully.

The Croque Madame was magic. The homemade bechamel made each bite more fantastic than the last. This combination of toasted ham and Gruyere was Anna, Sam, and Nick’s favorite part of the meal but I had to disagree after trying the French Toast.

Foreign Cinema’s french toast is my pick best French Toast in the city. The combination of coconut, pineapple, almonds, and mascarpone with the baguette was divine. Never would I have thought that as a simple french toast lover that this combination would bring so much joy in every forkful. I look forward to going back for the French toast as the seasons change and the plate is served differently.

The foodie tour continued to Tartine, NOPA, and Souvla, and I’ll be sharing more from each of these stops soon!

Mozzarella mermaid

mozzarella mermaid