Bar Jules

609 Hayes St
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 621-5482
www.barjules.com

Ok, last post about San Francisco...This will not be a long post, but I have to mention Bar Jules in the Hayes Valley of San Francisco. Again no pics because of how much I enjoyed the experience. Which is kind of a funny thing I guess, but no pics.
We were wandering around the Hayes Valley one evening during our stay in San Francisco and happened upon Bar Jules. As I have mentioned, I had done the research in preparation for our journey, Bar Jules was a place I did take notice of, but that night I had not realized we were in the vicinity.
We entered into a small room full of people chatting, laughing and eating everywhere we looked. Bar Jules seemed to have a special air that surrounded you as soon as you crossed its threshold. We grabbed seats at the bar which overlooked the prep counter of the open kitchen. The menus for Bar Jules are written on chalkboards, one on the back wall and one on the side wall by the entrance.
The daily menus are limited to what the chef gathers at markets or receives from their farmers for the night. A small selection of appetizers and a soup and then about three entrees and a few desserts. That is it. The wine list is small too; one wine of each varietal they have for the evening. We selected some glasses of wine and started with the seared scallops appetizer which was served with greens beans, carrots, and a lemon tarragon butter. We conversed with one of the chefs that was preparing our scallops no more than a foot away from us. He and one other gentleman were running the kitchen that night with swift movements, not once becoming flustered from the multiple orders that were coming in from the dining room.
The scallops were perfectly cooked and the tarragon butter was delightful.
The simple yet superb menu, the warmth you feel when you enter, and the delicious offerings of Bar Jules should definitely be commended.
We moved on after that delicious tease, but I will certainly make a point to return to Bar Jules the next time I am in the Hayes Valley.

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.

1550 Hyde Wine Bar and Café

1550 Hyde Street
San Francisco, CA 94109
Get Directio(415) 775-1550
www.1550hyde.com

I have mentioned that San Francisco is a wonderful place. I think either I have lived there in a past life, or am destined to. Either way, every time I am there, it gets better and better. Whether it is the weather, the food, or the people it just keeps calling me back.

This trip was superb. I will first discuss 1550 Hyde Wine Bar and Café.

(I must tell you, I did not take this pic which will be explained later...)

1550 is located in the Russian Hill neighborhood and was about a one mile walk from where we stayed near Union Square.
The San Francisco night air was crisp and cool, and as we climbed up and down the hilly streets our anticipation grew for what was awaiting us behind the glass door that read "1550".
We entered into a lively candle lit room, full of positive energy, so far so good. My eyes scanned the small packed dining room and were immediately drawn to the ceilings which were adorned with wine corks arranged in the shapes of flowers.

We were greeted by a gentleman that told us there would be at least an hour wait for a table. We spied two seats at the end of the six-seat bar and promptly grabbed them. The bar was tiny, but pleasantly cozy, and the gentleman that originally had greeted us was now telling us the evening's specials as he handed us menus. We ordered some wine and started with their Antipasto Plate offering.

(Now before I continue, I have to say because I enjoyed this whole experience so much, the camera stayed tucked away in my bag. I am sorry, but the place was that great, pics were momentarily forgotten about, my sincere apologies.)

Anyway, the Antipasto came complete with about six different types of olives that had been warmed and dressed with just a bit of oil, a locally farmed and cured Salami, a warm beet salad, a beautiful Porcini Mushroom Crostini that I could have eaten all night, and finally a nice mix of roasted nuts.
It was a perfect selection of items. On the menu that evening were also a selection of cheeses. We selected the Toma Piedmontese, a cow' s milk cheese from the Piedmont region of Italy, which arrived with slices of walnut bread. The cheese was divine. Since returning to Cleveland we have been scouring the city to find it, no such luck yet. (I may just have to order it online, it was THAT good.)
As we continued to nibble on our lovely items, the gentleman informed us about how the restaurant has personal relationships with food suppliers and farmers all local to that region of California. Because of these relationships the menu changes often as menu items are dependent on the fresh harvests and the availability of various cured meats. We wanted to try some of the entrees next, but we decided that something sweet was in order after all of the salty choices.

We were given the dessert menu, and everything sounded fabulous. We were then informed that the evening special dessert was a Brown Rice Pudding with Sauternes macerated Strawberries. That clinched it. We ordered the rice pudding and the Scharffen Berger Bittersweet Chocolate Pot de Crème with Straus whipped cream and shortbread cookies.
Holy $#%@! The Brown rice in the pudding had a perfect texture; not mushy and not stiff, right in between, the pudding itself was not overly sweet, and the Sauternes with the Strawberries was an exquisite compliment.
Now onto the Pot de Crème. This was absolutely delicious. The consistency of the chocolate was so smooth and creamy we fought over whom got to lick the dish. The Straus whipped cream was also a perfect addition and the crisp shortbread cookies lent a delightful crunch.

1550 Hyde Wine Bar and Café was such a wonderful neighborhood find in the Russian Hill district of San Francisco. If it were my neighborhood, I know I would be there all the time.

Posting Pause

As some of you may know, I was out of town for a spell on the West Coast; San Francisco specifically. Therefore, I apologize for the temporary pause in my posts. Very soon, I will be giving you the heads up on my culinary adventures in the city that I love more each time I visit.
Thanks and here is to reveling in flavor adventures!