i like to eat.

Imagine Quizno's, but better. Less franchise-y and more about a local sandwich shop that uses only fresh ingredients.

I first heard about Toaster Oven while I was a student at Academy of Art. I was taking an advertising concepting class and Toaster Oven was one of our clients. The sandwich shop was brand new and the owner turned to us to think of new ideas to market his restaurant.

My class and I concepted many ideas and unfortunately, they never made into production. But, during our research, we got to enjoy plenty of sandwiches from Toaster Oven. It's not hard to research when you're enjoying something so good. :)

Every sandwich is toasted on a conveyor belt for consistent heating and the bread is soft and crispy. All the ingredients are fresh and I love the pickled peppers they include in your sandwich.

I usually get the Kitchen Sink (roast beef, turkey, salami, ham and provolone cheese), but it seemed a little much, so I got my second favorite, Italiano. A delicious sandwich of mushroom, mortadella, capicola, salami, pepperoni and provolone cheese.

You must try this place if you're into toasted sandwiches. A word of advice, be sure to eat your sandwich as soon as possible. It's much better eaten warm. And who likes soggy sandwiches? ;)

A sweet colleague brought a box full of Dynamo sticky buns for a morning treat. I haven't had sticky buns in a long time and these sure were sticky - almost like taffy. Sticky and good, perfect with my morning latte.

Thanks Nina!

   

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Sticky_Bunz_tag_breakfast_dyna.zip (490 KB)

My Thursday food adventures at the farmers' market in the Ferry Building continues. Last couple of times (1,2), I had Namu, so I wanted to try something different.

Right next to Namu is Tacolicious, a project from Joe Hargrave of Laïola restaurant and Sara, senior editor of 7x7 magazine.

I ordered three tacos since it was $9 compared to $3.50 each. I got the "chef's favorite," house made chorizo potato, beef short rib and chicken taco.

I didn't eat the tacos right away (walked back to the office) and maybe that was a wrong decision. By the time I was ready to eat the tacos, they were already cold. The meats were all tender, but the flavor was ok. I liked the chorizo potato one the best. I never had this combination in a taco before. It actually worked.

I doubt I'd go back to Tacolicious - food's decent. There are 4 other booths I need to try! :)

     

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Tacolicious_tag_food_mexican_l.zip (676 KB)

I lived with a girl named Emily that was a sous chef at Ame.

Ame, my friends. Michelin rated Ame.

Food there is out of this world. And even better when you know the chef. ;)

I moved out and lost contact with her, but randomly thought of her one day. Texted her and found out she was no longer at Ame, but working at a new place called Il Cane Rosso in the Ferry Building. I was shocked to hear she was at the Ferry Building, considering I work only three blocks away and visit it almost every week - just never ran into her.

I swung by Il Cane Rosso and ordered their number one seller, porchetta sandwich. Holy cow, that thing's meaty and delicious. The pork shoulder was tender, moist and full of flavor. It looks gorgeous (image 3) and so yummy. The bread was soft with a red pluot mostarda spread (tasted kind of like plum jam) and mustard greens. I could only eat half of the sandwich - too much for one sitting.

Knowing someone that works in the kitchen often leads to hook ups. And this time was no different. My ex-roomie gave me a heirloom tomato salad with sel gris (sea salt), basil, balsamic reduction and extra virgin olive oil. How can something so simple be so amazing?

I'll definitely be vising Il Cane Rosso again, with or without a hook up. Their menu changes daily, so be sure to check out their site.

         

Click here to download:

Porchetta_Sandwich_tag_food_it.zip (1203 KB)

To celebrate Tony's birthday, several friends and I went to House of Prime Rib for dinner. I've been to this fine establishment a handful of times and every single visit brings happiness and good food.

You go to HOPR to eat prime rib and really nothing else, therefore, the menu's short. There is a fish option, but seriously, you go there to enjoy their legendary prime rib.

An iceberg lettuce with sliced beets, carrots and cabbage in a house made thousand island-like dressing is tossed table side. I really like this salad, but the dressing is strong and I wish they wouldn't drench the lettuce.

There are four options of the size of cut you want. I always get the smallest portion, city cut, because I can never eat it all. Medium please. Many people say that's "overcooking" it, but hey, I don't like blood on my meat. Your portion is carved table side from a silver cart.

The prime rib dinner comes with a choice of creamed spinach or corn, mashed or baked potato and an amazing Yorkshire pudding. The creamed spinach (my choice always) is not heavy, yet very creamy. I also always get mashed potatoes which is whipped super smooth and topped with gravy. The Yorkshire pudding is definitely my favorite part of the meal. It is light and delicious when you soak it in the au jus...yummy.

For the birthday boy, we had a super thick, chocolate cake. I am not a fan of chocolate cake and this is the epitome of why I don't like them. Too thick, too chocolate-ly and too much overly sweet frosting. Just too much. After two bites, I was done - stuffed from the meal and from the over kill of sweetness.

Had a fabulous time with everyone, like any other time at HOPR. Thank you and happy birthday Tony!

                 

Click here to download:

092109_hopr.zip (2394 KB)

I met up with Kate, Bruce and Tony at my old neighborhood coffee shop, Cup of Joe. I used to go here a lot to do my homework, meet up with friends or just kill some time. They have one of the best deals for happy hour - $3 draft beers and I always get Stella.

But....on this particular day, I forgot my ID at home. I switched purses in the morning and left my ID in my other bag. Boo, guys never have this problem, do they?

I tried to order a drink at the counter and was immediately turned down. I'm 26; come on now! I do look young (it's the Asian in me), but I was pretty annoyed because I had a long day at work and needed an ice cold glass of Stella.

The barista wasn't budging, so I ordered a hot chocolate with whipped cream. I didn't feel like drinking a latte or mocha (my normal coffee drinks). The hot chocolate was surprisingly pretty good - smooth and rich.

I did, however, quench my alcoholic buds by taking sips from my friends' beer. muhahaha - beating the system.

Ray and Aki treated us a night at The Westin St. Francis, so we could all get ready together for the wedding in the morning.

I woke up pretty early, looked out of our 26th floor window and loved how peaceful Union Square looked. This popular tourist spot was silent. It was like the calm before the storm, with only a few people walking the streets.

I needed coffee since I knew the wedding day was going to be super busy. Luckily, we had a nice coffee brewer in our room with Starbucks. I'm more of a latte/mocha person, but a warm cup of roasted coffee definitely hit the spot.

       

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Good_Morning_SF_tag_san_franci.zip (828 KB)

We went to Terzo on Steiner x Union for Ray and Aki's rehearsal dinner. I've never been to the restaurant, but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The ambiance was spot on - low key, casual yet intimate, with delicious tapas-style food.

Our party of 14 had pretty much everything on the menu. From hummus with house made pita, braised pork meatballs with polenta to their famous chicken spiedini (skewered chicken with bread, marinated in cilantro, chile and onions) to grilled Niman Ranch skirt steak. Everything was tasty.

I didn't take any pictures because I hate to make people wait (lighting was also horrible), but I did take a picture of my dessert - warm apple crisp with vanilla ice cream. It was the perfect way to end a meal.

Thank you Ray and Aki. Congratulations! :)

Kate and I went to Belden Place, a small alley filled with European restaurants. The main attraction is sitting at a table in the alley under twinkling lights - truly romantic and it makes you feel like you're in Europe.

It's hard to choose a specific restaurant since they're all quite similar, but we chose Cafe Tiramisu since we've been there before. The plans quickly changed as soon as we sat down, but we had a little bit of extra time, so we had an appetizer.

We shared an order of fried zucchini blossoms with tomato sauce. I've never had a zucchini blossom, the delicate flower at the end of every zucchini, and was intrigued to try. I didn't even know what to expect, but once I bit into it, the blossom flowed with a creamy ricotta and Parmesan cheese filling. There were also small chunks of zucchini stuffed into the blossom. The batter was very light, almost no batter at all and the creamy tomato sauce helped balance the flavors.

I rarely think of Belden Place when I'm looking for a restaurant in Financial District. It seems like a tourist trap with overpriced food, but it's a place to check out at least once - just go for a glass of wine. :)

   

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Italian_Before_Dinner_tag_dinn.zip (445 KB)

Met up with Ms. Kate for dinner at Borobudur on Post x Jones. I've been to this restaurant a handful of times and the last time I went, I vowed to not go back because I didn't think it was that good and the food was too salty. But...somehow, months later, I'm back at Borobudur.

We ordered a ton of stuff, way too much for two girls.

We started off with fried spring rolls with chicken, carrot, tofu and bamboo shoot. The second dish, stewed beef with spices and coconut milk was recommended by the waiter. The meat was really soft and tender, but the sauce was way too salty and overwhelming.

I mistakenly ordered regular sautéed spinach with tofu and garlic, when in reality, I wanted to order water spinach. Lastly, we ordered fried rice with salted fish (salt cured fish). I know, I know, you're thinking, of course it's going to be salty, you ordered salty fish! This dish, I did expect to be somewhat salty, but there still needs to be a balance of flavor, not just overly salty!

The only thing I like about Borobudur is their desserts. I was too full, so I didn't order any of their special drinks with coconut jelly, jack fruit, red bean and all sorts of other exotic fruits. Instead, we split a plate of thousand layer cake. The cake is extremely soft (tons of butter!) with a slightly spongy texture. It's called thousand layer cake because it's made of many (I counted 20!) layers of cake sandwiched together. It's soooo good, but I swear Borobudur buys this pre-made. Does anyone know where I can find this?

I left the restaurant disappointed and vowed once again to not come back for dinner - unsatisfying and way too salty. I'll be back for desserts though, no doubt.

           

Click here to download:

Indo_tag_food_indonesian_san_f.zip (1438 KB)