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.

Saigon

2061 E. 4th Street
Cleveland, OH 44113
(216) 344 2020

The newest addition to Cleveland's East Fourth Street strip of restaurants is Saigon, a Vietnamese restaurant opened by the owners of #1 Pho on Superior Ave.
Do not confuse #1 Pho with Superior Pho, the delicious restaurant I have mentioned before. In fact, #1 Pho, and Saigon, cannot even compare to Superior Pho. Based on our experiences with #1 Pho, we did not have high expectations for Saigon but were willing to give it a shot. They had a good range of menu items to impress us with, but unfortunately the flavors did not.
We were one of three tables in the whole place at 9:30 on a Friday night. It was during Cleveland's first annual Restaurant Week, and this could be one of the reasons why they were so slow.
The decor is modern and sleek. Back lit blue framed pieces adorn the walls and there are Bamboo accents and divisions throughout the space. There is a three seat bar at the rear of the restaurant, which you would think would be larger considering that it is located right on the East Fourth strip. You would think a larger bar would be much more attractive to someone looking for a quick appetizer and sake, but instead there are about ninety seats spaced out over the shiny hardwood floors.
We started with the spring rolls and summer rolls. I liked the presentation of the summer rolls, with the sauce at the end of the dish. Unfortunately, the flavor was not as impressive. The spring rolls, as my companion pointed out, tasted as if they had just been defrosted from a grocery store. The fresh julienned cucumber slices were the best part of the two appetizers, not a good sign so far. Next, we ordered the Rare Beef Pho soup and the Vermicelli and Barbecued Pork. The Pho broth was salty and had a strange powdery undertone, the beef had a gamey essence to it that was a bit unnerving. The Barbecued Pork was bright red and had a good flavor and the Vermicelli noodles were nice and refreshing with the crisp bean sprouts, this dish was not too bad.
The service was great and our server was very friendly. Only three tables were occupied, and I wondered if they ever get busy. Was she so pleasant because the rush was over, or because she finally had customers?
All in all, if Saigon continues to dish up sub par meals and remain empty on a Friday night, I doubt they will make it much longer.

Superior Pho

3030 Superior Ave E
Cleveland, OH 44114
(216) 781-7462

Superior Pho in Cleveland's downtown is a tiny 15 or so table, Vietnamese restaurant specializing in Pho soups. Pho: savory rice noodle soups that are traditionally made with beef. But, can be made with chicken and pork, and come with garnishments of bean sprouts, basil, lime, and peppers. Usually, the soup starts with a slow simmered beef broth and is then served with beef shank, eye of round, flank steak, brisket, or fatty flank options.
As soon as you walk through the glass door you are enveloped by sweet and savory smells of basil and simmering beef. It was a Saturday afternoon and there were people of all ages having lunch when we arrived. Families, couples, and some friends, were all enjoying warm and soul comforting soups. They serve Jasmine tea by the never-ending pot full, as well as bubble teas. We started with a few summer rolls, of rice paper wrapped around shrimp and sprouts, and an order wrapped around Chinese sausage and fried egg,served with a sweet peanut dipping sauce. We also started with the crisp spring rolls stuffed with marinated, and chopped pork. Next, we all ordered a Pho soup. I tried the one served with fatty flank steak and eye of round. The fatty flank was falling apart as it floated in and around the cilantro, scallions, and tender noodles. I wanted to curl up in the large bowl and take a nap, swimming amongst the sweet broth. My sis in law chose the Barbeque pork and shrimp soup, which arrived steaming with a salty broth, but bursting with flavors of the cilantro and a sweet smokiness from the pork. It was served with chopped lettuce on the side for personal addition.
The staff was quite pleasant and ready to make our stay more comfortable at each pass.
Superior Pho serves up simple and delicious concoctions with ease, and it is definitely a spot I will return to every time I get the hankering for a smooth, and delightfully filling Pho.