Marengo on Union
On Tuesday I just happen to be on the bus headed out to get some ramen at Japantown when I was checking eater and found out that a new slider place was opening down in the marina called Marengo on Union. I checked out the menu and decided to change my eating location to this place. Boy was I happy I did. Located at 1980 Union st. at Buchanan it was an easy walk from the 22. I arrived slightly after the place just opened up so I was the third person inside. As you enter you are greeted by a large bar at the front where they do all the cooking. Nice to see your food being cooked while you wait, it makes me all the more hungry. The restaurant is nice an airy in design, with lots of windows, and skylights to bring in a lot of light, warm woods give it an elegant, but inviting feeling. There are two distinct spaces that are available for seating, the front with the kitchen bar, and the back room with a regular bar.
The menu consists of a selection of appetizers, salads, and the main event sliders. There are 8 savory sliders priced at $3.95 each, and two dessert sliders at $3.00 each. Each slider is about 2oz of meat which gives you about 3-4 bites of food. So a selection of 3-4 would probably satisfy the average eater. I started off by trying three different ones, the all-american, crispy chick, and the coconut shrimp, then followed it up with the porky's and the staring.
The first slider I had was the crispy chick, which is a crispy chicken, corn relish, romaine lettuce, and ranch dressing. The chicken was moist and flavorful, but it seemed like it was lacking the the crispy department. I was expecting more of a crunchiness to the batter, but it was more of a softer texture. The corn relish was slightly bland, and it seemed like it was missing the lettuce and couldn't even taste the ranch dressing. The star of the slider was the chicken, but the other cast of ingredients seemed to have disappeared in background.
Next up was the coconut shrimp. This was a fried shrimp with mango pico de gallo. Again there was a similar issue crispy chicken, in that the batter on the shrimp was not crunchy, resulting in a soggier skin. Despite that the batter was flavorful and the shrimp and mango pico de gallo worked well together. Giving it a tropical vibe.
The all-american is just what it sounds like a beef patty, with lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese, special sauce, and caramelized onions. The beef was cooked to a nice medium and was juicy and flavorful. Each bite of this slider was just like eating a great burger, as it should be. All the elements in this burger worked together nothing overpowered it.
The next slider was the starling. This was ground lamb, with grilled halloumi cheese, tomato, cucumber, garbonzo tahini. The lamb had a bunch of herbs and spices added into and was cooked to a medium well. The seasoning reminded of me middle eastern kebabs and the ingredients as a whole reminded me of the region. Each bite of the lamb was packed with flavor, but it didn't overpower the other ingredients, the tahini came in boosting the flavor of the dish, and then the tomato and cucumber worked to cool off the the flavor. The grilled cheese added another mild component to the dish, and I think if it weren't for the cucumber, it might have been lost in the slider.
Finally I had the porky's which is a pulled pork shoulder, with tangy & spicy BBQ sauce, coleslaw and blue cheese & cider vinaigrette. Slathered in BBQ sauce the pulled pork was tender and delicious. The sauce itself had a little kick which complimented to coleslaw. What I was trying to identify was where the blue cheese was coming in, I never got that flavor profile as I ate. It also seemed like a vinaigrette might night be needed since the BBQ sauce is already tangy as is. I think it would be nice to to have blue cheese on it.
Rating
Crispy Chick: 7.5/10 - The chicken is the star, but it overwhelmed all the other components. Wanted a crispier batter.
Coconut Shrimp: 8/10 - Good combination of mango, coconut, and shrimp. Again, batter could have been crispier.
All-American: 9/10 - A perfect example of how a well made burger should taste.
The Starling: 10/10 - Packed full of flavor, but nothing overpowering each other.
Porkys: 9/10 - Excellent pulled pork, nice coleslaw, missing the blue cheese.
Overall: 8.5/10 - This is place is definitely on my radar now, and I will be going back. Sadly I didn't have enough room to try the appetizers or salads which all sound good too. The level of attention they put to each slider is amazing. The only concern I have is will they still be able to maintain that same level of attention when there are packed with orders. I was the only one getting sliders at the time, so I'm interested to see if they can keep it up when they have other tickets up. I will be back to find out though.
Coconut shrimp
Crispy Chick
All American
Porky's
The Starlin
Lunch at The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen
I've been looking forward to this place opening ever since I saw the constructions signs go up half a year ago on this SOMA establishment. TAGCK just opened up Friday, so just like an new hip food place that just opened, there was a line. The line wasn't that long, and the staff was super nice about it, apologizing for the wait, and offering water, and complementary house sodas to the people in line.
Here is a run down of what I had:
Reubenesque
gruyére, jarlsberg, David’s Old World pastrami, local ‘kraut, Lusty B’s bread ’n butter pickles, deli mustard on rye $10Smoky Tomato Soup
house made with crème fraîche, croutons $4House made New York deli-style pickle $1.5
House made sodas served from our vintage tap. Flavor: Vanilla Gingermint free!
The Grilled Cheese
The Tomato Soup
The house soda was great, its really similar to an Italian soda in how its made, a couple pumps of syrup and some soda water. The flavor, Vanilla Gingermint was great, a more refined version of ginger ale. The flavors were distinct, the Vanilla is the first flavor you taste and it transitions beautifully into the ginger component as it does the two intermingle again. At the end the mint comes in and as you swallow it refreshes the pallet. They had another soda flavor available called spiced pomegranate, which I will have to try on my next visit. If its as good as the Vanilla Gingermint I can't wait to see what other flavors they will come out with.
The pickle was another surprise I got. Its not too vinegary or salty, what comes out most is the pickling spices they used. Crisp and refreshing with a hint of heat, what a tasty treat.
The sandwich was fantastic. The ingredients were in perfect proportion with each other, all the flavors came together and nothing overpowered each other. I enjoyed the taste of the rye bread, the caraway taste was stronger then I usually see in rye breads, but that just added to the depth of flavor of the sandwich. Sauerkraut, which actually still resembled the cabbage it was created from, had a nice mild sour/tart taste to it which went well with the pickles that were more on the sweeter side. The pastrami was thinly sliced moist and delicious, it had good flavor and my only complaint would be that I wanted more of it. The cheeses were still gooey and it felt like a blanket of deliciousness wrapping around all the other ingredients. Usually when I have a reuben style sandwich in the city something is always out of balance, either there is just way to much mustard that it kills my pallet or the sauerkraut is some weird consistency or just too sour, the pastrami is dry, too cold, or doesn't even taste like pastrami, none of those problems were present here. Each component of the sandwich were some of the best versions of the individual item I have tasted recently, all combined with a skillful hand.
The tomato soup was pleasing and I could see why its always used in combination with a grilled cheese, very comforting. There was a nice spice to the soup, which I couldn't determine if it came from peppers that were added or perhaps some seasoning used. There were a few things that detracted from it though. First I couldn't really get that smokey flavor, I don't think it tasted bad without it, but I would like to have seen what it would taste like had the smokey flavor been a stronger part of the dish. Secondly, this is more a personal preference type of thing, I would have liked to have a more crunchy crouton, something that could hold up better to soup and still stay crispy for a longer period. Lastly, I felt the tomato flavor of the soup was being lost in the mix, all the flavors were melded will together, but in this instance I think it would have been better if the tomato rose above the rest, with the others just complementing it. None of these are a deal breaker for the soup though, which was still delicious.
Final Rating:
Vanilla Gingermint House Soda: 10/10
More, more, I want more! This is some amazing stuff.
Deli Style Pickle: 9/10
Great Pickle nuff said.
Reubenesque: 9/10
A great sandwich with all components perfectly combined.
'Smokey' Tomato Soup: 8/10
A great soup, would have like it had more of the smokey flavor, also a strong tomato taste would have been good too. Needs crispier croutons
Overall: 9/10
I will definitely comeback to this place again and try the other sandwiches out. There are currently no breakfast items on the menu, but I can't wait to try those too. Looking forward to seeing where this place is going, but hopefully the line wont be too long next time.
Monk’s Kettle
For anyone that knows me, I'm not much of a beer person. If I had a choice I would rather be drinking a nice French Bordeaux. However, the Monk's Kettle stands out as a primer location for beer in the city, and is one place I wouldn't mind having a bottle of suds. Monk's Kettle is one of a growing number of gastropubs in the city that combines quality food and good beer together to form what an ideal bar should be like, a place to enjoy to company of others while sharing a good meal and drink.
Although Monk's offers a selection of wines, once you take a look at the dizzing 5 page beer list, you'll know your in a beer lovers bar. They offer 24 draft beers and a staggering 150 specialty bottles running the gambit of styles from light golden lagers to deep dark stouts. These beers come from the four corners of the Earth, and while you'll see beer mainly from Europe and America here there is a good selection of Asian beers all from craft breweries. People looking for a common beer need not apply. Also prices aren't that cheap either, most bottled beer is over $10 per bottle, with some costing more than a bottle of wine in a nice restaurant.
The food here isn't a slouch either. They offer a small selection of appetizers, burgers, entrees that will satisfy the hunger. The menu also suggests beer pairings that will go well with each dish. On one visit there my group sampled a couple of their appetizers. A charcuterie plate consisting of 4 different cured meats, a macaroni and cheese with lobster and bacon, and a bowl of fries with 3 different dipping sauces. All the dishes were satisfying and tasty. The standout of the evening for me was the special mac and cheese they offered. The combination of the lobster and bacon with the cheese sauce was good and surprised most of guest I was with.
Overall the Monk's kettle is a great place to get a good glass of beer and some great food. Although this place hasn't changed my love of wine, it has definitely improved my view of beer. It is has made a place of my list of great places to eat in the Mission.
Tasty fries. They came with a flavored ketchup, curry aoli, and mayo. Hits the spot when drinking.
The charcuterie plate consisted of duck prosciutto, regular prosciutto, salami, and sasuage.
The lobster-bacon mac and cheese with just great.
Some Chinese food
During a previous trip to Japan I had an opportunity to try some Chinese food in Yokohama. There I had some Dim Sum, by far one of my favorite styles of Chinese cuisine. There was hope for great things, the proximity to China made me believe that this was going to be close to authentic Chinese food, at least better than what I could get in the states, sadly I was wrong. The food that time was more or less strange. I got a sense that I was Japanese-Chinese food, which to me means food that is Chinese in origin, but uniquely tailored for the Japanese pallet. At that time I had assumed that all Chinese food was going to taste like that, so I can now happily report that it does not.
I went to a Chinese restaurant that is located in the modern Roppongi Hills. The hills is one of the largest private urban development projects in Tokyo and is geared towards an upscale clientele. Since I was there for lunch they had a set menu which included four different kinds of Dim Sum along with rice and your choice of meat, I decided on roast duck. The four dumplings that were included were included were a deep fried mochi with meat filling, a Shanghai style soup dumpling, and two kinds of shrimp dumpling.
The deep fried dumpling was one of my favorites of the meal. I have only just tried this kind of dumpling a few months ago in San Francisco, and this version is levels ahead of that one. The filling was slightly sweet, and contained a mixture of ground pork, chopped shrimp, and shiitake mushrooms. The outside was crispy and not oily at all while the mochi was soft and slightly chewy.
Second was the Shanghai soup dumpling. I had some high expectations of this one. In San Francisco, Yank Sing, the dim sum place I frequent has this type of dumpling as one of its specialities, so I was hoping for something better out of this one. I'm saddened to say that one was not that good. For one it lacked a soup component, or more specifically there wasn't enough soup. When I think of a soup dumpling I think of it like a hot meat slurpy. The soup is mixed in with the meat filling to give it a chunky, yet drinkable texture. The filling itself was bland as well. There was a slight hint of pork, but completely lacked seasoning. It ended up being a bland slightly juicy dumpling that was forgettable.
Next up were the two shrimp dumplings. The first was a typical one with a rice flower skin, the second had a rice flower skin as well, but it was also mixed with either maccha or green onions to give a green appearance. The regular one was not interesting. The filling was completely made into a paste so there was no chunks of shrimp in it. The flavor as well lacked something that would make me feel like it's a real shrimp dumpling. The green one however, was quite tasty. It was not as good as deep fried one but it was better than the other two. The filling was also different from the first shrimp dumpling. There were larger shrimp chunks and this one also included some green onions that punched up the flavor.
The main dish was the rice and roasted duck. Roast duck is one of my favorite chinese dishes and the one they do here is done right. It reminds me of the kind of duck that is used of Peking Duck, but better. There were no bones and the meat with incredibly rich. There was layers of fat that made that flavor of the duck spread throughout ones mouth and melting away. The sauce that came with it was also good and mixed well with the rice that was sitting underneath. The only complaint that I could make for this dish was there wasn't enough duck.
Final Rating:
Fried Dumpling: 10/10
Good flavor, these were the best dumplings out of the bunch.
Soup Dumpling: 4/10
Thoroughly disappointed, lacking soup, and flavor.
Green Shrimp Dumpling 8/10
Didn't get a a taste of what was they put in the green skin, but the filling was good.
White Shrimp Dumpling 5/10
A mediocre effort no big pieces of shrimp, lacked a flavor that usually makes these dumplings taste so good.
Roasted Duck: 10/10
The that duck was great no complaints.
Overall: 8.5/10
There were some highs, but there were also some lows. I am mixed giving it this rating on one hand The dishes that I liked, I loved. The dishes that I disliked weren't too bad, but I would never eat them again given a choice.
Wait Gucci Makes Food?
To many in the west, Gucci, is a luxury clothing outfit, it produces sought after shoes, bags, clothing, and accessories. However, did you know that they also make chocolate and have food operations? Located at the Gucci building in Ginza, is one of only two Gucci cafes in existence, the other being in Gucci's flagship store in Milan. Dressed in a color pallet the matches their stores, and sculpted in a minimalist contemporary style, the cafe exudes the feeling of luxury.
The cafe serves mostly desserts and some lighter fare. I had the seasonal tart, which had a topping of grapefruit, and was served with a honey sorbet. The plating was very elegant, yet still simple. The tart itself was fantastic. At first one would think that grapefruit would be too tart to have as the only fruit on the dish, but these were not that tart at all. The crust was perfect it had enough structure to hold everything in place, but was soft enough to cut with a fork without much effort. Below the fruit was a cream base that give the grapefruit that additional sweetness to offset the minor tartness of it.
The honey sorbet was magical, and has now replaced vanilla as a basic flavor that I enjoy. It was the perfect balance of a vanilla flavor with just a hint of honey in it. While eating it the first sensation is that of vanilla and as you swallow the honey flavor spread though the mouth.
Final Rating: 10/10
This was the perfect dessert. Everything was perfectly executed, the taste was just the way it should be.
Lunch in Ginza
Had lunch in Ginza today at Fujiya Restaurant inside the Fujiya building. Although we were in ritzy Ginza, the food that was served was closer to a family restaurant than anything else. Family restaurants are a class of restaurants where service isn't the same as a regular restaurant where you pay at the table, rather you go and pay at the front. Also the menu is usually always western in scope, which is another defining element.
I ended up ordering an omelet rice, which consists of a catsup style fried rice covered in a plain egg omelet with a little bit demi glace on top. The dish also came with a side of beef stew. The omurice it self was okay, rice lacked flavor and richness. The egg was well prepared and the sauce on top matched well with the flavors of the rice.
I ended up enjoying the beef stew more. The sauce that was in it was very rich and had a great depth of flavor. It contained some gnocchi or potato dumplings, carrots, broccoli, and beef. The vegetables were cooked perfectly and the beef was melt in your mouth tender. The bland starchy gnocchi complemented the rich sauce and give it balance.
For a drink I had a chocolate frappe type drink. I'm not sure exactly what was in it, but I believe it was blended with some kind of nuts or coca nibs. It was topped with an chocolate ice cream, and some whipped cream. The whip cream was extremely dense. The consistency was almost like custard, but it had a great mouth feel. The ice cream was very creamy too, it was soft, but not like a gelato. The actual drink itself on first taste seemed like it had bananas in it, but I could not confirm. Attempting it drink it was also a challenge, it was thick, which made it difficult to drink with a straw.
Final Rating: 8/10
Most of the food was good, the filling in the omurice was the only stumbling block. I feel like the version I make tastes better. Other than that it was a good meal.
Quick Snack in the Morning
In the morning I picked up a quick snack to eat from Family Mart (I can see a trend emerging here). It was a can of coffee and a yakiniku onigiri. The coffee was good, it was sweetened with cream and sugar so it wasn't bitter at all. The yakiniku onigiri was okay. The rice was cooked well, but the filling's flavor was really strong. Its a good thing that there wasn't a lot of it or it would have been too overbearing.
Final rating:
Boss Coffee: 8/10
As far as canned coffee goes it was good.
Yakiniku onigiri: 7/10
The strong flavors made it hard to give this a higher score. The only thing that saved it was there wasn't a lot of the filling.
Overall: 7.5/10
A decent morning snack to get the gears going.
Dinner in Shibuya
In the evening the rain finally let up and I headed to Shibuya to check out the sights, and of course get something to eat. I met up with a friend and we ended up going to a place we've been before. The cuisine of the restaurant was Japanese, and was great to have a nice hot meal. I started off with a glass of apple juice, which in japan is more like an apple flavored soft drink. For dinner I got a fry place with half a tonkatsu, kani cream croquette, and two pieces of friend shrimp. It also came with rice, miso soup, and some braised root vegetables. I added an onsen tamago along with it.
The miso soup was good, though it could have used a little bit more salt. The veggies were alright as well. I was a little disappointed with the onsen tamago though, the center had coagulated and it was not runny at all. However, the flavor was there, it was served with a little sauce which I am guessing is composed a little dashi and soy sauce. On the entree the fried foods all had been fried and breaded nicely. Although for the shrimp the batter was a bit too thick for my taste which resulted in less shrimp. The kani cream croquette was a little bland, I could mostly taste the cream sauce, but very little crab. The tonkatsu was by far my favorite. It was moist and tender and tasted great with the sauce.
Final Rating: 7.5/10
The food was good. Though some items could have been better.
A dreary sunday afternoon, and expectations finally
While summer in California means heat, beaches, great weather, and if your in San Francisco it means cold, and fog. In japan it means overbearing heat, humidity, and the rainy season. The month of june brings an almost unending supply of rain to the country, and a blanket clouds that seem to never break. The night I arrived it seemed pleasant enough no rain, mild heat, and a slight breeze. Today I awoke to rain, and giant wall of humidity. This really didn't motivate me to get out and see the city. So I stayed in caught up on some writing and again went to the trusty Family Mart to get some lunch.
Today was a lot better then yesterday as far as selection. There was a good supply of almost everything on the shelves. So I picked up a couple of onigiri, a bag of chips, sushi set, and a drink.
The drink I picked up was called Paradise Tropical Tea, it described itself as "A choice blend of natural premium teas and tropical fruit taste". I'll believe the first part, but I didn't taste the fruit described in the second. Instead I got some floral taste to it, which is something I associate with a more herbal tea, so getting that flavor profile with a black tea is something that was strange. It tasted good, though it was unsweetened which is another thing that surprised me. Usually when I see fruit in a tea I expect it to be slightly to really sweet, this was neither.
Next up the two onigiri. I picked up a salmon, and a tuna mayo one. These were really great. A big step up from yesterday. The rice was nicely cooked and the fillings were great. The nori had lost its crispness since there packaging was not the kind that that separates the nori from the rice. I tried the tuna mayo first, the filling looked brown so that was my first sign that it wasn't only tuna and mayonnaise. It turned out to be soy sauce. The combination was really good the saltiness of the soy sauce and the richness of the mayo combined well with the tuna. The only complain I had was that I wish there was more tuna in it. The salmon onigiri was also good. Its' consistency was different the usually flakiness that I've come to expect from a salmon onigiri. This one was a little more moist similar to the tuna mayo.
Afterwards I began on the sushi set. It consisted of two pieces of inari, two tamagoyaki nigiri, and two different maki rolls. Like the onigiri the rice was nicely cooked. However, the flavoring of the rice was kind of bland. There wasn't a good vinegar or sweet taste to it. The inari was okay just like I expected, better than equivalents you can get in the states. The egg in the tamagoyaki was good, nice and moist with a good level of sweetness. The two maki were okay there was little in the center.
Finally there were the chips. The flavor was Grilled chicken and Garlic. Calbee is a brand of chips that I am very familiar with. They are usually sold in many Japanese markets in San Francisco as well as other places in the city. The taste was great, it had that flavor of grilled chicken but without a strong meaty taste that some chips have. The garlic flavor was also good, it wasn't overpowering. The primary taste you got was of the chicken seasoning flavor, then at the end you got just a hint of garlic.
Final Rating
Paradise Tropical Tea: 7/10
Flavor was good, but didn't live up to expectations and promises on the label.
Salmon Onigiri: 7/10
Average for a salmon onigiri.
Tuna Mayo Onigiri: 8/10
I enjoyed the combination of the tuna, soy sauce, and mayo.
Sushi set: 7.5/10
As a whole the set was a lot better than what you could pickup at Safeway. I would say it was about the same or marginally better than what you could get at a Japanese market in Japantown. The variety in ingredients was nice.
Calbee grilled chicken and garlic potato chips: 8.5/10
These were really good. After eating over three quarters of the bag the flavor became too intense, it was a little hard for my palette to finish the rest.
Overall: 7.5/10
This was a big step up from yesterdays choices, I can see why the things I choose yesterday were the last on the shelf. The food I had today was what I was expecting to see from a combini. Nothing really blew my mind, but everything was good, or great.
First food in Japan
After the flight from the states and the long train ride from the airport, I was really too tired to go look for food. Fortunately there was a combini literally a block away from the place I am staying. The great thing about these places is they are everywhere open 24 hours and stock a good selection of snack foods. This is definitely a boon for high density Tokyo where there are a lot of small apartments some with little or no kitchen. It's definitely a staple for the single guy who cant cook, which seems common in Japan, if not in the entire world.
When I got there the selection was a little sparse, my guess I was a little early for the restocking truck to come by. Combini usually restock several times a day, they keep on hand quantities low to insure freshness of the product. At most there is usually 10 of a single item, for popular things like onigiiri, and average of 3-5 for other food products.
I picked up a bottle of lemon water, a onigiri, and a melon pan. The lemon water is by far one of my favorite drinks I have come across. It is a slightly sweet, slightly lemony drink. All the major Japanese drink manufacturers have their own brands and I've tried them all, but my favorite of all of them is the House Wellness brand of the stuff. It has just the right combination that I am looking for. Sadly for me, when I'm in the states they rarely import the stuff, so it's really difficult to find. Strangely almost all the other brands are available at one time or another.
The onigiri was the only one they had in stock. Onigiri are rice balls with filling inside of them and wrapped in nori or some other product like beefsteak leaves, though they aren't always shaped like balls, usually you see them as triangles. They're portable easy to eat and cheap. I'm not exactly sure what it was when I had it, but it had a tart taste to it. I think it was on the shelf for a while because the rice had gotten all mooshy and gummy so it was kind of hard to eat, the filling was good though. As a side note, the Japanese markets in America also sell onigiri too, but they are horrible at packaging. They tried to replicate the packaging done in japan to separate the nori wrapper from the rice to keep it crisp until serving, but when you try an open the american version it always breaks the nori apart, Japanese wrapping doesn't seem to have this problem. This is due to the placement of the stickers on the american version and also the materials used in said sticker don't tear easily as Japanese counter parts.
Finally was the melon pan, this is one of those strange Japanese dishes the emerged as their unique take on western foods. Contrary to the name most melon pan does not have any melon in it. The name comes from the shape of the bread which resembles a melon. Melon pan consists of two parts a sweet bread at the core similar to a sweet dinner roll and the outer crust which similar to a cookie. Due to the different cooking times for the different parts the outer cookie crust never fully cooks through which results in a sticky outer layer. The melon pan I had tasted like many of the prepackaged breads available in the states, kind of dry and not fresh. That lack a freshness I feels is part of all the preservatives that are usually included in packaged items to extend their shelf life. Even though I don't think that any of the items on the shelf have been made more than a day ago. Maybe it was the jet lag or maybe just after all the food and drink from the flight, but I couldn't finish it.
Final rating
Lemon Water: 10/10
I love the stuff, its perfect.
Onigiri: 5/10
The filling was good, but I couldn't get past the texture and consistency of the gummy rice.
Melon Pan: 5/10
I'm not a big fan of packaged breads. The melon pan was dry and bland, it tasted too similar to the dinner roll I had on my flight over to japan.
Overall: 6.5/10
Originally I was going to give it a 5.5, but I'm going to give some of it the benefit of the doubt. Due to the flight and the lack of appetite I think my taste buds were just tired out.