la cueva

green chile.
the original.
still the spiciest.

the cherry cricket

i love the cricket burger.

this one was no exception. cooked medium rare, with white cheddar cheese, bacon, and an extra-large side of green chile, for slathering between meat and bun and/or dipping whole burger into. (more on gc later.) top bun is lightly buttered and crispy where it touches the meat, soft on top for easy access to the other layers without risking scrapes and cuts to the mouth. white cheddar perfectly melted and tangy. meat juicy and earthy and unrepentantly rich; if there are any froufy herbs or whatever i certainly don't notice them. spicy, smoky green chile. salty bacon is a crisp counterpoint to this burger's lazy softness. and the bottom bun, which the cricket will double-toast on request, catches all those delicious drops of meaty flavor -- whatever doesn't end up on the fingers, that is. the cricket burger never claimed to be neat, but it is electrifyingly good. http://www.cherrycricket.com/


o, and it doesn't hurt that they serve deep-fried mac-and-cheese wedges, as well.

nettie's crab shack

what could be better on a warm november friday than an oyster po'boy and a glass of champagne? creamy oysters, a touch too bread-y but the breading was crisp & flavorful, piled inside just the right amount of soft roll, moistened with -- not bathed in! -- garlicky tartar sauce. plus, the delightful company of my mom. she got the fish & chips, which seemed to meet with her approval. i did not sample, unfortunately, so i am unable to report, but you can see for yourself. bonus points for simple syrup accompanying the iced tea.

ubuntu

the leaves-and-things salad, with thin-sliced watermelon radishes, fennel crackers, gorgeous soft creamy burrata, and borage flowers. i love borage -- the leaves, with that fresh, cucumber/shiso flavor and crazy tickly texture, and the stunning little flowers (i had a birthday cake once, decorated with candied borage flowers ... )





miniature broccolis, with big yellow raisins, pine nuts, and this pudding-like unexpectedness mixed in at the bottom, invisible until one's spoon removes the tiny broccolis. you can't see it, but a clear, red-pepper-based liquid (called "tears" if i recall aright) was poured over, and it mixed in with the pudding to make a milky-smooth, light sauce.




this was called the "carrot experience" and if it hadn't been so transcendently good i would have made merciless fun of the name. let's see: there was carrot foam, tiny buttery carrot gnocci (glorious), a scattered crumble of carrot and almond (reminded me a bit of the sweet pea "dirt" at wd-50, but not so acidic).





this, a wedge of light, crispy crepes layered with rich cheese ... emmental? gruyere? this is why i shouldn't wait so long to post about things ... with black trumpet mushroom and sweet onion glaze, turnips and turnip greens. the sauce had a little too much of a high sweet-and-sour note for pure engagement; it cut the unctuousness of the crepe-cake, but not in quite the right way. also, it is almost scary how much i love turnips right now. i want them with everything.

mission beach cafe

i loved the roasted pear & blue cheese salad, though i wouldn't exactly describe the cashews as "candied" since they weren't actually sweet. the prather ranch burger was pretty good -- i mean, how could it not be at least pretty good? -- but combination of onion marmalade and tomato jam made it a little too sweet and sloppy and the white cheddar wasn't melted. needless to say, it did not make its way into my shortlist of delicious burgers. o, and those fries are truffle fries with parmesan cheese -- nice, but missable. this picture is horrible but it's all i've got.

glad i had the chance to try the place out before celebrity chef ryan scott took off for other pastures. also, and this is totally unrelated to dinner, i heard that mr. scott is leaving to focus on his catering company "ryan scott 2 go." which, when you say it really fast, sounds like "ryan's got to go." that doesn't sound particularly flattering... maybe a name change is in order? http://www.missionbeachcafesf.com/

butternut squash soup recipe #1

a few days ago, someone at tom's office asked for my butternut squash soup recipe. i think she just wanted to know my online source. little did she know that i had actually made up a recipe for this one; ok, "cobbled together" is probably a better description, since a fair amount of refrigerator stragglers made their way into this soup.

ingredients
3/4 butternut squash, roasted w/ salt & chopped
5 cloves roasted garlic
sugar pie pumpkin puree -- about 1.5 cups, maybe more
3/4 cups corn
a couple whole peeled tomatoes and their sauce
chicken stock (amount depends on how thick you want the soup)
pinch of hing
oregano
bay leaf
parmesan rind
cayenne pepper
salt & pepper
___________________

directions
saute spices in olive oil.
add squash, pumpkin puree and corn. saute.
add chicken stock and bay leaf. bring to boil.
reduce heat. add parmesan rind. cover & simmer for a while.
add tomatoes & stir. take out bay leaf & rind.
salt, pepper, & oregano to taste.
blend & serve.

q-tip & the cool kids @ mezzanine

first up: http://www.coolxkids.com/. how did i miss this when i was living in chicago? immediately bought album.

and then: http://www.myspace.com/qtip. so everyone's dancing, q-tip is flowing some medley'd tribe tunes, and he breaks into check the rhime. he dips the mic into the crowd, you know, just for the small parts, the you're-on-point parts, and this girl starts rapping all the phife bits like you wouldn't believe. tip loves it, the crowd loves it, and when he asks her who she is and she screams serena ____ from east oakland!! the crowd roars and hands go up to point towards her, arms and bodies bouncing, awesomely approving. and then tip gets sort of wistful and he's like, i wish phife were here and then, suddenly, there's phife.

great show.