One random Sunday in San Francisco, I woke up with an awful hangover from a crazy night of drinking the night before. How on earth was I gonna remedy this situation? Then it struck me! Soup! And you know what, I had just the thing from my todo list that would fit the bill, pho at Turtle Tower.
This is exactly the kind of hidden-in-plain-sight hole-in-the-wall I live to discover. Just a half block off the main Polk Street drag you’ll find a tiny little rather unimpressive looking shop with a bright blue awning that reads “Cordon Bleu”. No, it’s not a French restaurant as I first assumed based on the name. It’s actually a long-standing, super low-key Vietnamese joint that’s been in this location for many decades but still manages to slip below most people’s radars undetected.
A mere three days after my first Burmese food experience in San Francisco, I found myself in Palo Alto face-to-face somehow with another Burmese restaurant. Odd, I thought, considering I had never come across Burmese food anywhere else in the US before. But a quick bit of research informed me that the original chef from the famed Burma Superstar I had recently visited had defected a few years back to open his own Burmese restaurant in the heart of Palo Alto called Rangoon Ruby. I wasn’t gonna ask any more questions because I had already become quite obsessed with the healthy-ish, but still super-flavorful Burmese specialties and was excited for more opportunities to explore the cuisine while I was staying in town.
Finding a good, satisfying, filling meal in Sunnyvale is always a challenge. I’ve proven before that it can be done if your looking for a sandwich, greasy bar food, Japanese, or Korean food. Hell, I’ve already had some pretty darn good Indian food in Sunnyvale before, but I thought that place was a little hit-or-miss and was still on the lookout for a bit more consistency. A little bit of web research brought my attention to Shah, a highly rated spot on El Camino Real, though I definitely didn’t realize the dining experience was going to be as bare bones as it was.
*Editor’s Note 1/2/17: I’m sad to report that this eatery is no longer open.
If the divey dinner aesthetic of Han’s represents the “Tenderloin” part of the Tendernob neighborhood, then Sweet Woodruff would represent the “Nob Hill” portion. Only one block away from Han’s but a world of difference away in vibe you’ll find a completely opposite brunching experience with a much more trendy and modern take on the meal.
For Stanford students, there’s only a few bars that everyone goes to. One of the biggest nightlife hotspots is NOLA, an aggressively Mardi Gras themed bar and restaurant that’s gaudily decorated with scattered dangling beaded necklaces. It’s the kind of place that I’d normally write off at first glance, assuming they’d only be able to make stupidly sweet and strong alcoholic punches and serve shitty bar food, but that assumption would be wrong.
Have you ever wanted to eat Indian food in a velvet-walled subway car? No? The thought has never crossed your mind either? Well, I didn’t even know that was an possibility before I ate dinner at West Village’s Ghandi Cafe.
This narrow hole-in-the-wall is a really strange place. It’s situated right off the corner of Bleeker and 6th Avenue and it would be all to easy to walk right past its dingy facade. I wasn’t kidding about the velvet walls either. It really does look like a dressed-up subway car with a zany mish-mash of decor accents like tulip-shared sconces, English Premiere League flags, chandeliers, mirror-paneled walls, and Christmas lights.
What would the Fourth of July be without hot dogs? I’d say NOTHING. Yeah sure, you could eat a hamburger or a steak or something, but for me there’s nothing more essential than a grilled hot dog or sausage on a bun to celebrate America. If you live in San Francisco and you want the very best, you better take a trek out to the remote Inner Sunset neighborhood to get your fill at Underdog.
This isn’t the first time I’ve written about this stretch of NYC on 8th Street between 6th Avenue and Broadway. More and more interesting eateries keep popping up like the Persian coffee shop Cafe Nadery and the upscale date night destination Greenwich Project.
Nestled amongst the many restaurants on this burgeoning food mecca is Sticky’s Finger Joint. This small shop has been open for well over a year, but I finally got around to stopping in. I don’t know what held me back all this time. Maybe it was the less than friendly and downright befuddling behavior I had read online about the owner.
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. It ain’t easy finding great restaurants out in Silicon Valley, but they do exist if you look hard enough. Downtown Mountain View has proven over and over again that it’s loaded with great spots and the Latin inspired tapas joint Cascal is no exception. Buckle up, this is gonna be a long one. But I guess that’s bound to happen when you dine tapas style as a party of eight. I’ll try to keep my commentary concise because honestly all of the food was really awesome.