After spending the weekend in Palo Alto for a friend’s wedding, Jenkins and I found ourselves in San Francisco for one more morning before we headed back to Vancouver. I had really wanted to try out Brenda’s French Soul Food after hearing many good things about it from many people including Sherman and Kim. After a somewhat sketchy walk through the Tenderloin District in downtown San Francisco, Jenkins and I finally arrived at Brenda’s low-key restaurant front.

Since it was Monday morning, it wasn’t busy inside at all and I was glad for that since I had heard that it could get quite busy. While we examined the menu, I ordered a glass of sweet watermelon house tea. I really enjoyed this drink, it was only slightly sweet and packed full of watermelon flavour. When summer rolls around again, I think I’ll try and make this tea.

We decided to share a small plate of plain beignets along with main breakfast choice. They were freshly made with a nice slightly crispy exterior which gave way to a soft and slightly doughy interior. Sort of like a fresh doughnut, I think I should be glad that not all doughnuts taste like this or I’d definitely have a weight problem. The mini doughnuts at PNE definitely have nothing on Brenda’s beignets! Since the version we ordered was plain, I spread a little bit of jam on mine to give it some additional flavour.

Jenkins and I weren’t overly hungry that morning so we just decided to share one dish, the andouille sausage and cheddar omelette. If I had known how delicious the food here would be, I would have ordered separate dishes for us but to be honest, the server portions were quite generous and this was more than enough for us. The omelette came topped with a little bit of salsa and was packed full of flavour, mainly from the sausage, cheese, and mushrooms inside. It had a slight hint of spiciness and and the hearty filling was delicious.

I chose to have a biscuit along with this dish and it was probably the best biscuit I’ve ever had. It was slightly crispy on the outside and very moist and buttery on the inside. It definitely didn’t need any butter but I couldn’t resist dabbing a little extra on my portion of the biscuit. The potato hash was also slightly spicy and had a nice crispiness to it that I quite enjoyed.

Jenkins and I had a great time at Brenda’s French Soul Food. It lived up to the hype and I’ll be making a return visit the next time I’m in San Francisco.

Details:
652 Polk Street, San Francisco
Tel: 415- 345-8100 (no reservations)

Summary:
Food: 5 out of 5 stars
Service: 4 out of 5 stars
Price: $$

While Jenkins and I were in the Bay Area, we also stayed a couple of days with one of my aunts and uncles who lived in Palo Alto. We were trying to decide where to go for lunch one day when my cousin suggested that we go to Chipotle Mexican Grill. I had no idea what that was but she assured me that it was quite good so that’s where we decided to go.

Since I now know that Chipotle is actually a pretty popular fast food-ish chain in the States, I can share with you their simple formula. They offer a few popular Mexican (themed) dishes, including burritos, burrito bowls and tacos which are all made with pretty much the same base ingredients. It’s kind of similar to Red Burrito in Vancouver but in my opinion, the ingredients at Chipotle are much fresher and taste better.

I wasn’t sure what to order but I always find burritos too messy to eat so I decided to order a burrito bowl instead. My cousin suggested that I choose a mixture of meats for variety so I chose carnitas (pork) and steak for my meat base. Along with that, I also added some cilantro-lime rice, black beans, guacamole, salsa, lettuce, and sour cream. As you can see below, my portion was quite generous. The lettuce was really fresh and crunchy, which contrasted quite nicely with the salsa and beans. The carnitas was cooked quite tender and actually had quite a bit of flavour although I couldn’t pick out the supposed spiciness from the chipotle in the beef. I also quite liked the texture of the rice, which was slightly chewy and each kernel was distinct although I couldn’t really pick out the cilantro or lime flavour.

Jenkins ordered basically the same thing that I had except it was a burrito as opposed to a burrito bowl. He thought the flavours were only ok though and wasn’t as impressed as I apparently was with my burrito bowl. I guess it just depends on what your tastes are since the same person made both our orders.

The Chipotle we went to in Palo Alto got pretty busy quite quickly during the regular lunch hour. I hear that the locations in California are quite busy although I’m not sure if that’s the case in their other locations. I’m just waiting for them to open up a restaurant here in Vancouver now.

Details:
2675 El Camino Real, Palo Alto (and other various locations)
Tel: 650-462-9154

Summary:
Food: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Service: n/a
Price: $

While we were in San Francisco, Jenkins and I met up with one of our aunts and uncles who lived in the Bay Area. They took us out for dinner at a small Chinese restaurant in the Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco (I can’t remember where) and since we wrapped up dinner early, we decided to have some ice cream before going home.

My aunt told me that when my cousin Pick had come to visit previously, they had taken him to Polly Ann for ice cream and they had a fabulous time trying a few different flavours but their favourite was the jasmine green tea ice cream. To be honest, I was interested but at the same time, I didn’t see how this could be too different from the regular green tea ice cream so I decided to sample a few flavours before making a decision.

Although all the flavours I tried tasted really great, I decided that the jasmine green tea really was quite unique and decided to pick that for my main flavour. It turned out that all four of us wanted the jasmine green tea so we ended up buying a half gallon that’s usually for take-out and split it amongst the four of us.

The ice cream at Polly Ann is rich and creamy and full of flavour. Despite us ordering a half gallon, the texture was just right and the ice cream tended more towards the firm side, which I actually like. You can definitely pick out the jasmine flavour in the ice cream and if you are a fan of jasmine green tea, you’ll definitely be a fan of this ice cream. The green tea flavour is also prominent, as in your typical green tea ice cream, which is made with matcha; but the unique jasmine flavour here really makes this ice cream stand out.

We were lucky that we snagged one of the few seats available in Polly Ann. They had a steady stream of customers coming in while we were there despite the fact that it was a week night. Polly Ann’s definitely on my repeat list the next time I’m in San Francisco.

Details:
3188 Noriega Street, San Francisco, CA
Tel: 415-664-2472

Summary:
Food: 5 out of 5 stars
Service: n/a
Price: $

Jenkins and I were off to Fisherman’s Wharf one morning so I hunted around for a good breakfast place nearby. It looked like Hollywood Cafe had some pretty good reviews and it was conveniently located a few blocks from the wharf so we decided to check it out. Even though we were there on a weekday, it was pretty full so I can only imagine how busy it would be on a weekend.

First, I started out with some grapefruit juice.

Both of our orders also came with bread so that came first. I went for sourdough while Jenkins was slightly healthier with multigrain.

There were actually several good options in Hollywood Cafe’s extensive brunch menu that I was interested in trying out but I decided to go for something that wasn’t available in the Vancouver brunch places that I frequent. I forgot to note down the exact name of what I ordered but it was a California scramble that was almost like a blended omelette that had bacon, tomatoes, and avocado in my scrambled egg. It came on top of a crunchy hash brown that provided a nice crunch to my otherwise creamy egg dish. I liked the additional substance and flavour provided by the avocado and this was quite a heavy but satisfying breakfast.

Jenkins had something similar to mine but his was slightly spicy with the addition of chorizo sausage. It’s too bad that I can’t remember the names of these dishes as they both look quite similar I would have to say that taste wise, they were fairly similar as well but it’s definitely a dish I would recommend if you do come here. There was also an option to switch out the hash browns for fruit for $1 extra but I think the extra crunch from the hash browns really add to the overall dish although it wouldn’t be as healthy as the fruit.

Service is super friendly here and we could tell that there were a lot of regulars at this place. Most brunch options are very reasonably priced and I’d be quite pleased if some place similar opened up in Vancouver.

Details:
530 North Point Street, San Francisco
Tel: 415-563-3779

Summary:
Food: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Service: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Price: $$

Jenkins and I took a short trip to San Francisco earlier this year for a friend’s wedding. Since it was Jenkins’ first time to San Fran, we decided to do some touristy things along with the wedding and time visiting relatives. It turned out to be pretty nice and we got the chance to visit some pretty tasty restaurants in addition to some regular home cooking. I was asking around for some good recommendations and Susan mentioned that she always goes to Fino when she’s in SF so we decided to check it out…especially since it was conveniently located a few blocks from our hotel. Incidentally, Fino is located just off the lobby of another hotel, The Andrews Hotel.

While we perused the menu, we were presented with some bread. The bread itself was pretty lacklustre but I really liked the balsamic vinegar dip that came with it. In addition to the regular olive oil and balsamic vinegar mix, garlic and herbs were also added and it helped to cover the fact that the bread was not very good

Fino has a pretty comprehensive menu but I was in the mood for some pasta so I  decided to order the fetuccini carbonara. The portion size was quite generous and I think the pasta was freshly made. The pasta was made al dente, or as much as it could have been with fresh pasta, and did a great job of soaking up the sauce. What I liked about the carbonara here was that it wasn’t overly heavy and there was just enough garlic to really complement the panchetta. There was also a slight hint of chilli flakes and was a nice addition to the pasta.

Jenkins was also in a pasta kind of mood but he wanted something a bit more substantial…i.e. something with more meat so he went for the linguine con salsiccia, which had sausages and peppers in a tomato sauce. The pasta here was also prepared nicely and as you can see, there was definitely a lot of sausage in this dish but Jenkins noted that he liked mine more.

We were originally going to have dessert but we were actually so full from this meal that we decided to pass. We had quite a nice time at Fino. The service was very prompt and attentive and they served pretty solid and traditional Italian food. I heard that their other entrees and salads are quite tasty as well but I’ll have to save that for a future visit. Note that they do not seat you until your full party has arrived, even if you have made reservations.

Details:
624 Post Street, San Francisco
Tel: 415-928-2080

Summary:
Food: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Service: 3 out of 5 stars
Price: $$$

Jenkins and I were originally going to stay for dinner in Seattle proper but we were running a bit late and didn’t want to get stuck in traffic on our way back to Vancouver. We decided to slowly make our way out of the Seattle area and arrived at Alderwood Mall in nearby Lynnwood around late afternoon. We did some shopping in the area and decided that we may as well stay there for dinner before starting the drive back. I’m not usually a fan of places like Macaroni Grill but since it was convenient and nearby, we decided to give it a try.

I wasn’t too hungry that day but since I knew that we wouldn’t be making too many stops on the drive back to Vancouver, I decided to order the Italian sausage pizza, which had sweet Italian sausage, mozzarella cheese, and basil. The crust was light and crispy although it was starting to get a bit soggy towards the end of our meal. There was also a good amount of toppings although I think a little less would have been fine too. Overall, it was better than I expected and the toppings were a classic combo that went well together.

Jenkins decided to go for the Honey Balsamic Chicken, which was a grilled chicken with a honey balsamic glaze and came with a tomato capellini pasta. Similar to what I found with my pizza, Jenkins was quite surprised with his chicken, which was quite juicy and had a nice flavour from the glaze. The pasta was also al dente and the tomatoes and boccoccini served as a nice accompaniment.

Although nothing earth shattering, the food at Macaroni Grill was executed quite well and was tasty. Our server was very friendly and she came by regularly to make sure we had enough complimentary focaccia bread and drinks. It’s nice to know that the next time I’m shopping in Alderwood Mall, there are some convenient meal options available.

Details:
922-3000 184th Street SW, Lynnwood (in Alderwood Mall)
Tel: 425-368-2874

Summary:
Food: 3 out of 5 stars
Service: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Price: $$

When I was researching which restaurants I wanted to try in Seattle, I came across an interesting sandwich place called Jimmy John’s. I didn’t know that it was part of a larger chain of restaurants in the US but since it had received rave reviews in Yelp, I thought it would be a nice place to check out. Jenkins and I went to Jimmy John’s on our second and last day in Seattle and it was a bit difficult for us to find because we didn’t realize that it was on the second floor of a mall.

Even though it was a weekday and slightly pass the regular lunch hour, it was quite busy inside. Jenkins and I scored a table right by the ordering counter so we were able to sit down and peruse the counter menu at our leisure. I had heard pretty good stories about Totally Tuna sub, which was an eight inch sub with house-made tuna salad which had celery, onions, Jimmy John’s tasty sauce, alfalfa sprouts, cucumbers, lettuce, cheese, and tomatoes. I decided to order my sandwich on a white bread baguette, partly because the menu said it had less calories than the whole wheat. I have to admit that when I saw the sandwich, it didn’t look that appetizing to me but luckily for me, this sandwich tasted way better than it looked. The tuna salad was fresh and the alfalfa provided a nice, light crunch along with the cucumbers. The tuna salad was also seasoned nicely and although I think the bread would not have been good to eat on its own, its slight dryness and chewiness allowed it to soak up the flavours from the tuna salad.

Jenkins decided to have a sub as well and chose the Pepe, which has applewood smoked ham, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. Although Jenkins enjoyed his sandwich, he noted that he couldn’t really taste the applewood flavour and thought that my sandwich was the better of the two.

At first glance, Jimmy John’s looks like your typical sandwich joint but I really liked their variety of sandwiches, the fact that they’re made fresh to order, and they are quite reasonably priced. If you’re of regular hungriness, the eight inch subs are definitely enough although I have to admit that I was quite tempted by the rows of bagged potato chips. I guess I will just need to try this the next time I’m there.

Details:
1420 5th Avenue, Seattle (2nd floor)
Tel: 206-805-5733

Summary:
Food: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Service: n/a
Price: $

Jenkins and I were walking back to the downtown Seattle core after our visit to the Science Fiction museum about mid-way through our mini visit to the city. We had passed by Dahlia Bakery on our way to the museum so I figured it would be a nice place to stop and grab a snack when we were finished with our museum visit. I had actually wanted to go to Dahlia Lounge for lunch or dinner but it just did not work with our schedule. A trip to the bakery would have to suffice.

I knew going in that there was definitely one thing I wanted to eat and that was Tom Douglas’s famous triple coconut cream pies. I didn’t know that the pies could be sold by the slice (I probably should have asked!) so I just ordered a coco pie bite for $2.50. I’m not a huge coconut cream pie fan normally but Tom Douglas’s version was absolutely amazing. The flavour of the coconut really came through in the creamy pie filling and was heightened by the flakes of coconut on top. The crust itself was nice and crumbly and just fell apart in your mouth. I would definitely come back just to eat this pie and I would likely get a bigger piece next time! The pie was also not overly sweet, which I find often to be the case with cream pies of any type. I should also note that there is a happy hour special for the pies and if I remember correctly, it’s only $1 per coco bite between 4-6pm.

Jenkins and I also split a chocolate truffle cookie for $2.50. To me, I felt like this was a giant version of Thomas Haas’ chocolate sparkle cookie but Jenkins felt that it tasted better than the sparkle cookie. I think this cookie was flourless (or very close to it) and the texture was light but had the rich flavour of chocolate permeating through every bite. Even though it was dark chocolate, this cookie was quite sweet and rich and I think it would go perfectly with a strong cup of coffee or tea.

Jenkins and I both enjoyed our brief but delicious stop at Dahlia Bakery. Sometimes, you’re just not sure if things live up to the hype but I felt that the coconut cream pie was definitely as good as was claimed (or even more so). There are so many delicious bakery items on the menu that I would want to try next time so I would likely buy a box of goodies for the trip back to Vancouver. I would also like to come back for lunch one day to try their sandwiches, which all sounded very tasty. Although slightly pricy, I felt that the quality ingredients that were used and the items that we tried were all worth the price.

Details:
2001 4th Avenue, Seattle, WA
Tel: 206-441-4540

Summary:
Food: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Service: n/a
Price: $

Jenkins and I had finished our snack at Piroshky Piroshky when I realized that we were close by to The Confectional in the Pike Place Market area. I was pretty intrigued by their cheesecake-filled truffles so I decided to stop by and pick up a couple of items.

I had actually eaten quite a few things by the time I arrived at The Confectional so I decided to order only a couple of truffles and after paying, decided to save them to eat later. I saw a sign by the cash register that made mention of a frozen hot chocolate so I decided to order one of those to try as well. Essentially, for $2, you get a mini chocolate popsicle that is full of chocolate flavour and is slightly spicy as well. If I had to classify this, I would say it was more of a frozen Mexican hot chocolate rather than your typical, sweet hot chocolate. I enjoyed the spiciness and it augmented the chocolate flavours in the “popsicle” quite well.

I saved the cheesecake truffles I bought and didn’t eat them until after dinner. They weren’t cheap at $1.75 each so I only bought two to try out. First up was the cookies and mint chocolate cheesecake truffle. I could really taste the mint and there were some tiny pieces of oreo cookies in the cheesecake. I liked how the contrast of the tangy cheesecake went really well with the sweetness of the chocolate. Second up was the peanut butter cheesecake truffle. I think peanut butter with chocolate is a great pairing and this truffle was almost like a cheesecake version of a Reese’s peanut butter cup.

Although two truffles don’t seem like a lot, this was actually enough for me because the cheesecake filling made these truffles quite rich and filling. It was difficult for us to order cheesecakes from The Confectional because we were wandering around the city so I didn’t know where to put them if I didn’t want to eat them right away. The next time I’m in town, I’ll have to better plan my trip so I can pick up a few cheesecakes to try in addition to their cheesecake truffles.

Details:
1530 Pike Place, Seattle, WA
Tel: 206-282-4422

Summary:
Food: 4 out of 5 stars
Service: n/a
Price: $

Before we went to Seattle, I did a little research to determine which places to visit. Part of the reason for our trip was to celebrate Jenkins and my anniversary so instead of going all out on a super nice place, I wanted to go to several smaller and cheaper places so I could draw the celebration out. I saw that Le Pichet was rated really highly on Yelp, the prices were reasonable, and it was quite close to our hotel so I decided that we should give it a try. I probably should have made reservations since it appeared to be quite busy but we were lucky enough to grab the last two spots at the bar.

After Jenkins and I put in our orders, we were presented with a small dish of mixed olives. The olives were soaked in oil and had just the right amount of saltiness to them.

I also enjoyed munching on my olives with the complimentary French bread. It had a crusty exterior and a fairly chewy interior, which I really liked.

For our first course, Jenkins and I decided to share a small plate of charcuterie. I really enjoyed the pâté albigeois, which was country-style pork paté (far right below).  It was just fatty enough and was seasoned just right. The saucisse au jambon was a large sausage of smoked ham, forecemeat, and herbs. I could really taste the herbs in this. The saucisse lyonnais was Lyon-style sausage with pork and pistachios. The combo of the pork and pistachios was actually quite nice. We enjoyed munching on this with some gherkins, mustard, and French bread. At $7, this was a fantastic deal, especially when compared to Vancouver prices.

When I saw that there was steak frites on the daily special menu, I knew that’s what I wanted to eat that night. Funnily enough, I had a craving for steak frites even before I walked in so I was quite happy to see that it was available. I asked for my steak to be rare and it was tender and flavourful and went great with the crimini mushroom sauce that it came with. There was a bit of tendon in some of my pieces of steak that I had to cut off but overall, I found it to be very well made and tasty. I also loved the fries that came with my steak. They were double fried, crispy, and had just the right amount of salt. Jenkins didn’t think they were as good as I thought they were but I think this ranks amongst one of the  best fries I’ve ever had.

Jenkins chose the truite poêlée sur salade de tomates, buerre noisette au gingembre (Idaho Trout, pan roasted on a salad of tomatoes, fresh cheese, and pistachios with orange-ginger brown butter). He’s been on a roll lately in terms of ordering great dishes and this time was no different. The ginger brown butter gave the trout a hint of Asian flavour and the pistachios added a nice slight crunch. Jenkins noted that the trout was perfectly cooked and was the second best trout he has ever tasted (the first being when we ate it in Peru). As you may have noticed, Jenkins rarely raves about his food so when he noted that he was very impressed with his trout, I was in turn, also impressed.

At this point, both Jenkins and I were stuffed so we probably should have stopped eating. However, I was so happy with everything that I had eaten so far at Le Pichet that I felt that I would be doing myself a disservice if I walked away without eating dessert! Le Pichet seems to have a daily rotating dessert menu and our server told us that the chocolate tarte was excellent. I’m always up for chocolate so Jenkins and I ordered it to share. I was kind of expecting a typical chocolate ganache tarte but Le Pichet put a different spin on it by making the curst crumbly and flaky rather than a typical shortbread-type crust. I really enjoyed it with the velvety smooth chocolate ganache which was highlighted by the delicious salted caramel sauce. The creme fraiche cut the sweetness a bit. Overall, this was an excellent chocolate tarte.

Needless to say, Jenkins and I thoroughly enjoyed our experience at Le Pichet. Not only were all the dishes very well made, the prices were all quite reasonable as well. We each ordered a glass of wine and our total before tip came out to $68 USD. Perhaps because we were at the bar, we had excellent service because there was always someone around to top up our water and clear our dishes. The next time I come back to Seattle, Le Pichet will definitely be on our list of places to revisit!

Details:
1933 1st Avenue, Seattle, WA
Tel: 206-256-1499

Summary:
Food: 5 out of 5 stars
Service: 4 out of 5 stars
Price: $$