Aye Dios Mios! Mamacita

Sometimes, a good meal is all you need to make a night memorable. Other times, a good dining companion is all you need to make a terrible meal enjoyable. And then there are those rare moments when the planets and stars align, when the food is fantasically tasty and you dining companion is equally tasty in a non-cannibalistic sort of way. Those are the moments we should be hoping for when we eat.

I never planned on going to Mamacita on my last trip to San Francisco. In fact, I had never even heard of it. The decision to go there was a last minute choice over Circa, which is also on Chestnut. When I was first told of Mamacita’s Mexican cuisine, I was expecting sort of a run down and dingy place, when I could order tacos and horchata. On the contrary, Mamacita is quite the opposite of any Mexican place I’ve ever been to–it’s clean, slightly pricey, doesn’t serve horchata, and (most importantly) doesn’t look like the inside of a pueblo or mud hut. Mamacita’s light blue interior was a nice choice, but that’s probably because I’m partial to blue. And purple.

But the food is the real reason for my becoming a fan of the restuarant. How often is that just looking at a picture invokes the taste of a meal that happened over three weeks ago? The menu consists mostly of tapas that are meant for sharing. On this occasion, we did our best to balance our meal with plant/fruit matter, and more importantly, with three different types of meat (pork, beef, fish).

The jicama salad came with julienned slices of jicama mixed with cilantro, arugula, grapefruit, and strawberries in a vinagrette. While I don’t think jicama really has a flavor of its own, it adds a nice crunchy texture. The other ingredients, like cilantro, arugula, grapefruit, and strawberries, create a mix and mash of aromas and flavors that more than make up for jicama’s lack of flavor. They also make for an extremely colorful salad. I would eat this for a meal alone any day.

Next up were the tamales stuffed with carnitas and topped with mole and sour cream, and further topped with arugula (this becomes a recurring theme with their dishes I think). The corn meal worked well as a sponge to soak up the juices of the pork and sauce, and the meat was soft and tender. Usually, mole is a pretty strong sauce and can easily mask the flavor of everything else on a dish, but I think the sour cream softens the intensity of mole and allows for other flavors to come through, such as the corn meal and pork. And arugula, like always, adds a bitter taste to the dish just in case  you want something not as tasty as meaty flavors.

The carne asada tacos were a tad smaller than your usual taco truck tacos, but still packed quite a punch. The carne asada was soft and smoky, not too fatty, and just a little chewy. I forgot what kind of cheese topped the tacos, but it quite crumbly, and I want to say that it reminded me of feta cheese, except not as strong. And of course, it was topped with arugula. It’s not your regular taco with meat, onions, tomatoes, and cilantro, but it does retain the essence of a taco that you could get on the street while incorporating elements that justify raising the price several-fold (like fancy-pants arugula).

Finally, we ended our meal with halibut (or some other whitefish) with ratatouille (although I couldn’t seem to find it on their online menu). The fish was cooked thoroughly and flaked off without much effort, and had a lemony taste to it, probably from some lemon zest in the crust. The ratatouille was also quite good, as it tasted more like an actual vegetable dish rather than extra chunky salsa, which could very well pass as Mexican ratatouille. I don’t quite remember what the chunk of cornbread-looking thing was made out of, but it wasn’t cornmeal. I’d like to say chickpea, but it was more grainy than that. I also really enjoyed eating that as well. As you may well know by reading my previous entries, I’m pretty good at remembering how things taste, but not what they’re called.

I hope I can return soon and partake in some particularly awesome Mexican food and rest easy afterwards, knowing that I won’t get the same digestive problems after eating Mexican food like I do at other hole-in-the-walls. Unfortunately, since I’m a student, my budget slightly limits my menu options and how frequently I can go to places like this. Maybe some day in the future, when I’m financially stable, I won’t have to worry about throwing down a Benjamin or two for a dinner for two like this. Note: the meal only cost about $70 and my stomach was brimming full, but I would undoubtedly order more food if I had the opportunity, no matter how much pain I was in afterwards from stuffing my face silly. It’s just that good.

Mamacita

2317 Chestnut St

San Francisco, CA

(415) 346-8494‎

A Bay Area Diversion

Summer ends too quickly. It’s especially quick when it’s the last summer you’ll ever have. Next summer, I’ll be spending the first six weeks studying in the library because my life depends on it, and then I’ll follow that up by spending the rest of my life working in a hospital. So how did I spend my last week in California? I stuffed my face silly during a short trip to San Francisco.

I don’t think my digestive system has been the same ever since.

The problem I face every time I go to Los Angeles or San Francisco is this: I only visit for a couple of days every so often, and there are only a limited amount of meals that can be eaten during the day–that amount being governed by how much I pain and discomfort I can tolerate from overstuffing my stomach. So the real problem is: deciding if I should stick to the restaurants I know will meet my expectations of deliciousness, or if I should venture out and try new restaurants? This was especially problematic this time around since I knew it would be a long time before I would return to San Francisco. It should’ve been an easy decision to revisit my old favorites one last time before the rest of my life began, but for some reason, I chose to explore what the city by the bay had to offer. Unfortunately, that meant I had some bland meals, which amounted to tasteless calories. But on the upside, I discovered Mamacita’s, which has now become one of my favorite places—if not THE favorite—to eat. And that was after tasting just four of their dishes.

I’ll save Mamacita’s for its own post later. It needs a post of its own.

So for now, I’ll just post more food porn with very little description—the best kind of post, right?

My first meal had to be something familiar. I needed some good food that I couldn’t get in Fresno, so we went to King of Thai for some beef noodle soup, pumpkin curry, and pad thai.

The noodle soup was saltier and darker in color than Vietnamese pho, but is more similar to pho than it is to ramen or Taiwanese beef noodle soup. This bowl came with some cuts of beef flank (I think) and beef balls. And I’m pretty sure there was some MSG in there. Noodle soups just aren’t fantastic without MSG. Note: they can be good—even great—without MSG, but they’ll never be fantastic.

The pumpkin curry was made with kabocha, and had only a subtle pumpkin flavor. I don’t know how to intensify pumpkin flavor with anything other than cinnamon. I can’t remember if it was spicy, but I’m sure it can be modified.

Pad thai. Good.

The next morning I went to Crepes A Go Go, a chain with multiple locations in the bay area. Out of all the crepe places I’ve tried, this place has the best crepes in my opinion because the majority of the crepe is firm, yet soft, and the outside edges are crispy. That crispiness is what separates crepes from rolled-up giant thin pancakes in my opinion. This particular crepe was filled with egg, turkey, and jack cheese–a pretty standard combination of foods.

This breakfast was followed by some really bland meals at restaurants I would rather forget, but I won’t because I need to remember not to go there because I don’t like meals that have no flavor. Unless I’m sick and I need to eat bland foods, that is.

That Takes The Cake is a small cupcake shop on Union by Steiner. I’ve been here a couple times, and enjoyed their cupcakes, but mostly the cake part; I hate frosting. Fortunately, That Takes The Cake doesn’t go overboard with frosting, unlike other places that I’ve seen. These remind me of cupcakes you buy at grocery stores because they don’t look too outlandish, but their flavors are quite unique, like the flavors I got that day: red velvet, key lime, and carrot cake. Their version of red velvet was the very first time I’ve ever tried red velvet, which I think is unusual since it’s a Southern specialty that I seemed to have avoided eating in this last year I’ve lived in Nashville. I’ll be on the prowl for some real red velvet (which is made with cocoa that turns red when oxidized, not with spoonfuls of red dye) when I’m in Nashville this time around.

My stomach was pretty satisfied by the end of the trip; I’d filled it with Thai food, crepes, and cupcakes, a fairly representative sample of foods that I wouldn’t find or willingly eat in Fresno for lack of quality. Until I return, I can say that I left my stomach in San Francisco.

That Takes The Cake

2271 Union St

San Francisco, CA

(415) 567-8050‎

Crepes A Go Go

2165 Union St

San Francisco, CA

(415) 928-1919‎

King of Thai Noodle House

639 Clement St
San Francisco, CA

(415) 752-5198‎

Laiola

The great thing about staying a couple blocks from Union and Chestnut streets is that we have really accessible good eats, just a hop, skip, and possible tumble down some steep hills. I don’t want to be mean, but it would be hilarious to see one of the drunkards take a tumble down Filmore after a night of drinking. Anyway, this post isn’t about the hilarity of drunkeness, it’s about some really good Spanish tapas on Chestnut at a place called Laiola. Even though I’ve been to Pacific Catch numerous times, which is next to Laiola, I’ve never actually noticed the existence of the restaurant until I saw a picture of the sangria on Eat, Drink, and Be Merry. Although when I went, my Sangria looked very different, and tasted quite average, I did enjoy eating Spanish food for the first time.

When I saw that they had chickpea croquettes on the menu, I had to get it; I was on a croquette high after Oyaji, and needed some more fried fluffiness in my belly. And they didn’t disappoint. They were stacked like Jenga blocks, and shaped more like fries than like croquettes, but they were soft and fluffy on the inside and had a nice crunch on the outside. It was like eating fried hummus, which also sounds like an awesome idea. The aioli that came with the croquettes were quite olive-y, but weren’t necessary to enjoy the croquettes.

Next came some charcuterie made from pork confit. They looked like slices of salami, but were soft, bordering on mushy because each slice had an immense amount of fat. It was like pork-butter almost. If I had the resources, I would make a sandwich out of the croquettes and charcuterie, a deliciously simple idea that combines two strong flavors between a slightly doughy piece of French bread. Oh, the possiblities…

To continue with this theme of porky goodness, we ordered bacon-wrapped dates and some roasted (?) piglet. You can tell that I have completely forgetten the names of these menu items, but I hope that using the key words from these items will be good enough to identify them on the real menu. After all these days, the only thing I really remember is the different tastes of pork from this place, which I don’t mind at all, except that it makes me sad that I can’t get food like this in Fresno. The bacon-wrapped dates had a good balance of salt and crunch from the bacon with the sweet and mushy of the dates. The dark sauce that it was soaked in had a hint of what I thought tasted like curry as well. It was a little pricey, but the dish was well worth it. I think it’s just another example of how meats on sticks are one of the greatest culinary accomplishments mankind has made. Ever.

Saying a dish was made from a piglet may have some cringe factor, but if you eat veal, it should be no problem eating babies. I’m sure Jonathan Swift would have no problem with this dish! I expected the meat to be a little more succulent and tender because veal is so tender and soft, but the meat was almost like a regular porkchop, somewhat tough, but not as much as a grown piggy I guess. The great part of this dish is that the beans that come with it have little bits of fried skin I think. It’s pure genius.

We also ordered some potatoes because I didn’t think 4 tapas dishes would be filling, but we were surprisingly full by the end of the meal. The potatoes weren’t really special. But I guess if you’re trying to get full, this would be a good way to do it.

Eating here has really piqued my interest in Spanish food. Besides the word “tapas,” I haven’t really heard or tasted much of Spanish food. Interestingly enough, Spain has more Michelin stars than France. I should really give Spanish food a chance. Since I’m nextdoor to a Spanish restaurant in Fresno, I think I’m in a really good position to try some of Fresno’s Spanish cuisine.

Laiola

2031 Chestnut Street

San Francisco, California

415.346.5641

Oyaji

Since I came back to California for the summer, I haven’t been able to get a real Japanese meal, despite going to several Japanese places in Fresno. So when I was thinking of where to go this time in San Francisco, I made sure to get some real Japanese food. Now, although San Francisco has a Japantown, the Japanese food in up north pales in comparison to what’s available in southern California–mainly Los Angeles, Torrance, and Gardena–in terms of quality and diversity. But there are still some pretty good places up north. Oyaji is one of the few izakayas, the equivalent to Japanese pub, in San Francisco proper, and has many of my favorite dishes, like buta kakuni and korokke.

Oyaji is kinda located out there, as it took about 30 minutes to get to the western part of the city, where it’s located, from Pacific Heights. It was worth the drive, though. We stepped out of a foggy and brisk July 4th evening into a warm and humid pub, filled to the brim with people waiting to get a seat at any of the full seats. Luckily, we had made reservations and were seated at our own private table, isolated from the rest of the crowd by a curtain of beads. It just didn’t feel like we were isolated because it was hot and muggy throughout our meal. It’s a good thing that my dining company didn’t care if I was sweating while we ate.

Japanese pub food is like tapas, so we ordered a couple different dishes to get all our necessary food groups in: you know, stuff like meat, fried foods, and meats on sticks. The one dish I always have to get at an izakaya is the buta kakuni, or stewed pork belly. It’s the same cut of meat as bacon, except its thicker, uncured, and stewed for hours so that it falls apart at the touch of a fork. The version here came with a dab of mustard, and was a nice contrast the the salty and slightly sweet sauce the pork was stewed in. I wish this dish was cheaper because at $8, I was only able to get a couple bites of this heavenly cut of meat.

The combination plate of yakitori, skewered and grilled meats and vegetables, came with chicken thighs, chicken meatballs, and various veggies impaled on sticks, and came with a dab of what I think was korean gochujang, and red pepper flakes. The chicken thighs gushed with juice, and were our favorites, while the meatballs tasted a little like ground up firm tofu. The veggies included shiitake mushrooms, shishito peppers, and mushroom stems, and were pretty standard.

We followed all this meatiness with some vegatables, deep fried eggplants and deep fried mushrooms. We were expecting something like tempura, but I think they skipped the battering step and just threw the veggies in the fryer naked, and then they were put in a bowl with their house special sauce, which is reminiscent of tempura sauce. I think they used wood ear mushrooms, or something similarly shaped, and they tasted like the tempura sauce. The eggplant was nice and mushy, except for the skin, which made me feel like I was eating mush on non-edible paper. I was a little relieved that these weren’t battered. It makes me feel not as unhealthy as eating battered fried foods.

Their korokke, or croquettes, in a word, were amazing. In a better description, they were like creamy fried pillows just waiting to be bitten so they can explode with happiness. The korokke were filled with potatoes, cream, and crab (maybe krab?), but were much creamier than I expected. Usually when I order croquettes with potatoes, they end up being a little chunkier and more solid than cream. But now I have been enlightened, and expect that any croquette I have from now on must have the texture of a fried pillow just waiting to gush out with flavor.

This is a pretty good place for izakaya food, and a very good alternative for when I can’t go to LA for Japanese food. (Fresno: take note of what real and delicious Japanese food is like!)

Oyaji

3123 Clement St

San Francisco, CA

(415) 379-3604‎

King of Thai Noodle House

I have a confession to make: I like purple. It’s not a bad color at all. And the coolest thing about King of Thai Noodle House on Clement is that the interior is purple. And all the employees wear purple. Not deep, dark purples, but more lavenderish. I really regret not taking a picture of the interior and the employees; I think think the choice of purple for everything is something only an Asian restaurant would ever decide to do. But this blog isn’t really a platform for me to wax on about the color purple, is it now? Let’s talk food: it’s gut-busting good.

Like with many Asian hole-in-the-wall places, the prices are reasonable, bordering on cheap, and the food is plentiful in quanity and taste. We ordered a good variety of dishes that we were nowhere close to finishing, unless we wanted to throw up a couple times to make room. I wanted a good variety, so we started out with a papaya salad, and followed that up with pad thai, pad see ew, and a green curry.

I’ve had papaya salad at many places in Los Angeles, the most notable being the one from a food stall at the now-defunct food court at Wat Thai Temple. For about 7 bucks, we got a large plate overflowing with papaya, some cherry tomatoes, and ground up dried shrimp. The shrimp I’m talking about aren’t the kind that are served in most places in Fresno. They’re miniscule and dried, then crushed up to look like bacon bits almost, except that in the sauce for the papaya salad, they instill a bold fishy taste. These kinds of salads are supposed to be a little fishy, which is why most western palates are put off by the smell and taste. This one was a little too much for me as well. I was never a huge fan of that seafoody taste, so I saved my stomach for the feast that was about to unfold.

The pad thai was sweet and tangy, and what I’ve come to expect from many Thai places. This version had a bolder flavor than other versions, and I enjoyed the slight tangy aftertaste following noodles going in my belly.

Pad see ew is highly underrated in my opinion. When people think Thai food, they think pad thai, not pad see ew. But they should! Not only does it have one of the most awesome “think out of the box” noodles (flat and broad), but the sauce isn’t as tangy as pad thai, and it also employs the use of Chinese broccol, which adds bitterness to the mix of flavors. And (!) it also tastes better the next day after a good microwaving.

Their green curry was standard fare–I don’t think I could tell the difference between green curries at different restaurants. It was nice though. My favorite thing to do with leftover curry sauce is to pour the rice into the bowl of curry, mixing it around, and creating what my friend refers to as gruel. But this tasty concoction doesn’t deserve such disgusting name. I think something along the lines of “greater than oatmeal” or “curry risotto” would be more befitting. Then again, many tasty Chinese foods have terrible names, so I’d rather just eat than focus on naming dishes.

I wish we had more places like this in Fresno. I wouldn’t mind making late night pad see ew runs. This particular location had another King of Thai just 4 blocks away! Can’t Fresno have one?

King of Thai Noodle House

639 Clement St

San Francisco, CA

(415) 752-5198‎

I (Stomach) SF

My stomach made its way to San Francisco over the past July 4th weekend. While I was there to see some friends, my belly (or belleh) was able to ingest foods I don’t normally find in Fresno. Ever since I’ve moved back to Fresno, I’ve had to make the most of my trips to places like San Francisco and Los Angeles. Whereas most normal people would make a list of places to see and things to do in such famous cities, I don’t leave home without making a list of places to eat. In the past, I’ve frequented restaurants like Osha, Fresca, Rosamunde’s, Pacific Catch, and R & G Lounge. And while I wouldn’t object to eating at those delicious establishments again, I decided that being adventerous would do me some good, like a breath of fresh air for my stomach. So this past weekend, I went to King of Thai, Circa, Oyaji, and Laiola. Expect new posts in the coming days.