Clover Coffee at the Coffee Bar

1890 Bryant St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 551-8100
www.coffeebar-usa.com

The Clover Coffee experience has been around for a few years now. I got wind that a coffee place called The Coffee Bar in the Mission District of San Francisco serves this rich coffee, so I had to go give it a whirl. The Coffee Bar is located in a somewhat industrial strip of the Mission. The Coffee Bar is a sleek and simple space with no nonsense menu and patrons. Really, I came specifically for the Clover Coffee.
The Clover Coffee machine is a single cup brewing process that is similar to a reverse French Press process. Hot water (of which the temperature can be regulated) is poured in the top of the machine from its own spout. The per order measured grounds are then raised up and down within the machine. The brew is extrapolated down and the grinds rise up to the top of the machine where they form a perfect disk and are then discarded. This Clover Coffee machine can cost between $8,000 and $20,000. The coffee I purchased was $3.
The Clover coffee was definitely rich. The flavor was deep and a sheen of coffee oil danced upon the surface of the brew. I would get the Clover again in the future if I happened to be somewhere that served the luscious brew, but I would not go out of my way again to find it.
Also, as of recent the Starbucks Company has purchased the Clover Coffee Machine Company. Now, I don't know how you feel about Starbucks, but I have never really liked the taste of their coffee. Nor do I support their attitudes about "venti", "grande" and the like. I much rather support a mom and pop coffee shop instead, or at the very least, a coffee establishment that has a better cup of coffee.
This is the quote from the Clover Equipment Company regarding "What's Next" for the merger:
"Starbucks is uniquely positioned to change the way the world thinks about brewed coffee with its coffee heritage and tremendous passion for the industry. Working together profound change is possible." (Clover Coffee Equipment)
Now yes, I am sure "profound change" is possible, but do we really want someone that makes bad coffee to take over something that makes good coffee? We shall see I suppose. I am just glad I was able to try it before the buy out.

The Slanted Door

1 Ferry Building
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 861-8032
www.slanteddoor.com

Still talking about San Francisco...As I have mentioned, I had been doing research for a spell before embarking on the West Coast excursion. The Slanted Door kept coming up. I asked people from the San Francisco area as well as other online sources, and all said that the Slanted Door was a must. So, who am I to argue, and it IS Vietnamese cuisine, so of course I had to go check it out.
The Slanted Door is located on the Embarcadero, which is the strip of piers in downtown San Francisco just Northeast of Union Square where we were staying. So, in the afternoon I set out through the business district to the water.
As I walked soaring buildings and cabs screeching around corners surrounded me. As I began to get closer to the Embarcadero I could smell the faint scent of the water. It grew stronger and stronger as I approached and then finally the buildings fell away and opened up to the beautiful sparkling bay. Sounds of cooing Seagulls came from all directions. I will never get tired of the sound of Seagulls. I know when they are overhead I am going in the right direction: towards the water.
A short stroll along the water and I arrived at the Slanted Door around 2:30. I had seen on their website that they offered a limited "Afternoon Tea" menu between 2:30 and 4:30, it sounded like exactly what I was looking for.
I entered the glass doors and requested a table for one, the young lady behind the desk said, "well we have a limited menu and you can sit at the bar" as she handed me a menu and motioned with her eyes towards the bar. I headed to the bar and took a seat in the middle. The sleek decor of the dining area stretched around to the left and was full with the lunch crowd finishing up their meals and there were a few of others at the bar and lounge area behind me.
I sat there at the bar for at least 10 minutes if not closer to 15 before any one of the three people behind the bar said anything to me. Yes, of course I could have said something, but I wanted to see exactly how long it would take for them to do anything...Finally one of the individuals came over to me and said, "do you have any questions?" I said that I did not have any questions, but a few requests. I asked for some ice water and some Chrysanthemum tea. I was given the water and he walked away. A few minutes later he came back and I ordered the Slanted Door Spring Rolls with shrimp, pork, mint and peanut sauce and the Prather Ranch beef Carpaccio, with roasted peanuts, rau ram, (Vietnamese cilantro) and lime juice.
I again sat there for about 15 minutes, then a young lady brought out my tea, and I turned around and a gentleman placed both of my dishes down in front of me. All three items arrived at exactly the same time. Hmmm.
The tea was delightful, I also very much liked the presentation with the loose tea in individual pots. As I steeped my tea, I looked around and realized I had no set up, and when I say set up, I mean no napkin, no chopsticks, no fork, nothing. I looked around to try and get the attention of one of the three people behind the bar, but I looked and saw that they were busy sipping martinis at the end. Now don't get me wrong, I understand that the lunch rush was over, and it is now a quieter time of day, I get it. But as I sat there a few others came to sit at the end of the bar closer to the sipping employees and were given a drink menu and a food menu right away.
Another gentleman appeared with glassware from the back, which I would assume was a bar back or busboy, but HE looked at me and promptly gave me the napkin, fork and chopsticks, I told him how much I appreciated it, he deserves a raise.
Let's continue on to the food at the Slanted Door. The Spring Rolls were good. The thin rice paper wrapper was soft and the shrimp was crisp. The peanut sauce was pretty good, it was nice and thick and had a great salty finish.
The Carpaccio was thinly sliced and was adorned with a crispy black sesame seed rice cake, which added a wonderful crunch to the dish. The food was good, but it wasn't great. I am a firm believer in good service in a restaurant that is of this supposed caliber. It's not that I am a perfectionist or demanding, but I have been in and out of the service industry, and I know what is good and what is bad. Sipping martinis when you have customers at the bar with no menus or no utensils is bad.
I sat there with empty plates for a littlw while, and finally a young lady behind the bar came by and asked if I wanted anything else, I was pretty discouraged with the place at that point but I still wanted something sweet and to give them one more try. I asked to see the dessert menu, and I ordered the Vanilla Bean poached Rhubarb, served with Blackberries, yogurt, and Black Tapioca.
The dessert was definitely tasty and the Rhubarb was soft and sweet. The yogurt lent a nice creamy contrast to the blackberries and the tender Tapioca.
The Slanted Door. The food was good, that is to say it wasn't spoiled, although it was nothing to write home about. Even though I did not try every one of their offerings, the lack of attention and service really left a sour taste for me. As I mentioned above, there are different ways to do things. The way the staff executed their daily operations, was pretty disappointing and I definitely will not be in a hurry to return.

Kiji Sushi

1009 Guerrero Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 282-0400
www.kijirestaurant.com

Continuing my culinary adventure in the beautiful San Francisco, it was time for some sushi.
I had been doing research for weeks before our trip attempting to find the off the beaten path spots. One of the places I found was Kiji Sushi between the Noe Valley and the Mission. It was a warm sunny afternoon when we set out on our trek from Union Square to the Mission District. Of course we stopped from time to time at a cafe for an espresso or a bar for a libation, so we finally arrived just around six in the evening.
As early as it was, we were the only two people in the place. We sat at the sushi bar that was situated to the right of the restaurant. There was a small dining area to the left, and the walls were decorated with deep reds and blacks. The space extended to the rear to another dining area that was slightly secluded and would be a perfect place for an intimate gathering. I enjoyed the feel of the place very much, the dark colors were offset perfectly with dim lighting, and a nice display of Sake bottles adorned the back wall.
We ordered the two Sake flight options, one filtered and one unfiltered. All six selections had distinctively different flavors and aromas, and were a great start for our meal at Kiji Sushi.
We began with the Kanpachi Carpaccio (Amberjack fish which is the name of a pair of species of fish of the Carangidae family, which includes the jacks and the pompanos) served with thinly sliced Jalapeños, sea salt, and olive oil. The fish was paper thin and sweet. The flavor reminded me of a sweet Yellowtail, and the Jalapeños gave it a slight kick that was perfect. Next, we ordered the Potstickers. The dumplings were so light, flavorful, and the pork that was tucked inside was seasoned wonderfully.
Next we opted for a special that evening which was also a thinly sliced fish. This time it was Halibut dressed with Tobiko, Japanese Cilantro, and Truffle Oil. The sushi chef was masterful again with the presentation of the paper thin slices of fish, and the combination of the salty Tobiko, the earthy Truffle oil and the sweet and peppery flavor from the Japanese Cilantro was fabulous.
As we spoke more with the Chef, we discussed sushi places we had been to and items we enjoyed. He then informed us how Kiji Sushi had been there for about two years and apparently was named one of the best Japanese restaurants in the city according to the Zagat's guide, of which he promptly offered to show us their listing in the book. So much for off the beaten path and hidden gems of the city. Either way, I am glad that Kiji Sushi has received such praise because they certainly did from me.