Restaurants

My boyfriend David fancies himself a connoisseur of burgers, so, of course, I had to introduce him to Burgermeister in San Francisco. There are five Burgermeister locations (the Cole Valley, Castro and North Beach neighborhoods in San Francisco, Alameda and Daly City), yet somehow, this self-proclaimed burger master has managed to never eat at Burgermeister.

This location is right on the corner of the Cole and Carl streets in Cole Valley near a N-Judah Muni stop, so we decided to grab a burger at Burgermeister and then hop on the N-Judah to catch a movie downtown.

Cheeseburger and fries at Burgermeister.

The restaurant can get quite busy during lunch and dinner hours, but we got lucky and were able to grab a two-seater table. At Burgermeister, you order at the counter and they bring the food to your table. The staff is quite helpful in guiding you through the many options. “Is that sauce spicy?” “Is medium rare actually medium rare or is it really well done?”

David ordered a massive cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate milkshake. All the beef is Niman Ranch. I decided to skip the meat and got the garden burger, onion rings and vanilla milkshake. You have to get the milkshakes at Burgermeister. You have to. No ifs ands or buts. The milkshakes are made from Mitchell’s Ice Cream, a San Francisco instutition since 1953, and they are thick, creamy and heavenly.

David loved his burger; however, he said he would skip the peppercorn steak dip sauce on the side. Meanwhile, my garden burger was perfect, and I always love onion rings. These onion rings were delicious and not too greasy. It’s a lot of food, though, and we were positively stuffed when we were done. The meal was yummy, but not exactly healthy.

Afterwards, we were standing at the bus stop, waiting for the N-Judah and feeling sick from overeating.

Me: “I feel kinda gross. I shouldn’t have eaten all that.”

David: “Yeah, there’s no way to feel good about yourself after a meal like that.”

Burgermeister

86 Carl Street

San Francisco, CA 94117

Phone: (415) 566-1274

Hours: Daily 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

My mother has never grasped my eating habits. Oh, she’s used to the picky eater routine. And although she’s not a big Italian menu fan, she understands why her kids like restaurants like La Trattoria and Vito Provolone’s Restaurant, since they have very classy, formal occasion atmospheres.

Stop! It's Fazoli's time.

But why an adult would stop at a fast-food place to order spaghetti befuddles her. Just how spoiled are we to pay for something you can throw in a pan and have ready in 10 minutes for pennies?

Make that pretty damn spoiled, because I love Fazoli’s. If I were to take a conservative guess, I’ve eaten 125 pounds of their breadsticks over the years. I’ve slurped down more strawberry Italian ices than anyone else in Indianapolis. And I’ve loved every bite of my cheese ravioli, ziti (sadly, no longer on the menu) and — oh, yes — spaghetti and meatballs since I discovered this restaurant in the early ’90s.

I’ve tried the lasagna, of course, and I’ve experimented with pizza slices and some of the baked dishes. But it’s the simple pasta entrees that hooked me to this chain — and they usually call my name loudly enough to make me do a u-turn and end up at their counter.

Pasta heaven

Maybe the secret is, despite its fast-casual status, Fazoli’s cooks the pasta just right: soft, not crunchy but not limp. Maybe it’s because even though they use mass-produced, premade ingredients, their ricotta cheese in the ravioli never tastes freezer burned like my bag from the grocery store does. I’m sure a lot of it has to do with the fact that after the meal, I don’t have to clean tomato sauce out of a pan.

But the bottom line for my rebellion is that it makes me feel rich to have someone else handle the ordinary, mundane tasks of life. And what else can you do that makes you feel like Daddy Warbucks for $4.49? OK, make that $6.50 because you know I’m going to splurge and ask for one of those fruity drinks on the side!

Fazoli’s

8401 S. Madison Avenue

Indianapolis, IN 46227

(317) 865-1204

Photography: Eli Hodapp, Ollie Crafoord,

DELICArf-1 Japanese Deli San Francisco

Always on the quest for something good for lunch, my latest find is a Japanese deli located in the San Francisco Ferry Building Marketplace. Having lived in Tokyo, I used to love going to the prepared food section of grocery stores.

Buying lunch there was less stressful than using my language skills and ordering at a restaurant, and I discovered the Japanese made better potato salad than my mother.

When you line up at the DELICArf-1 counter, you will find many of the same foods that I used to buy with interesting new dishes perfect for the adventurous palate. For vegans and vegetarians, you will find lots to choose from.

If you need to start out slowly, I have to suggest the Potato Croquette – lightly fried russet and yukon gold mashed potatoes covered in Panko breadcrumbs! These are straight from my taste bud memory album.

They also offer small and large size rice bowls topped with shrimp or beef curry.  I have not tried it yet but they now have a Ginger Pork rice bowl that is next on my taste list.  Like many Japanese places they offer obento, pre-set four, five or nine-item lunch boxes.

Add to this lunch the secret ingredient of a gorgeous location facing the San Francisco Bay, and maybe a dash of sunshine if available, and you have a fabulous lunch at the ferry building.  Here is your chance to taste authentic grocery store-style, delicious Japanese food and drinks (the jasmine tea is the same brand & bottle as Tokyo vending machines).

1 Ferry Building, Shop 45
Market and Embarcadero
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 834-0344
www.delicarf1.com

Mon-Fri. 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Sat. 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Another Fictional Fable with Food … by the Blogger Queen

She was a Texan. Born and teethed on barbecued brisket, chicken and dumplings, and Tex-Mex food.  Judy was more than a bit cautious about trying Mexican food from California.  So far California had been weird but it was the first place Judy had ever felt like she belonged. She felt especially at home in this small wine country town called Calistoga because the weather was hot, the people were friendly in an old-fashioned way, and there were Mexican restaurants everywhere. 

She walked into Miquel’s Bar & Grill, Authentica Cocina Mexicana located on the main street of Lincoln Avenue. In Texas her favorite Mexican restaurants had breakfast tacos with potatoes and cheese, gargantuan beef burritos, and every dish was covered in sour cream.  But now that she was officially in her 40’s, she tried to order green food that crunched i.e., salads.  The menu offered a wide variety of dishes and prices like Mole De Ozxaca for $13.95; Burritos for $8.00; and Quesadillas for $5.95.  But what she needed was the Costa Rico Salad for $8.50. 

Warm Salsa

First the chips and salsa were delivered.  This was certainly not Pace Picante Extra Chunky Salsa that she was used to binging on late at night, it was more like spicy tomato soup and it was warmed, of all things!  After her first couple of bites she started getting used to it and even enjoyed it, but the tomato soup taste was resilient. 

She needed to use the Senoritas Room before her salad arrived.  The small room was bright, clean enough, and available.  However, as she was washing her hands before returning to the table, she heard the toilet gurble.  To her horror, the water was rising as her toilet paper swirled around the top like a synchronized swimmer.  She stood there motionless and waited for the slush. Nothing.  She had clogged the toilet and the paper had not gone down.  She had two choices: 1) Tell the waitress or 2) Return to her seat and let the next poor sucker deal with it.  She chose to ignore and retreat.  She felt guilty on the way back to her booth, but by the time she sat down her guilt had been completely erased thanks to the salad being brought to her table. 

Costa Rico Salad

Her Costa Rico saladwas fresh and colorful, although not overly decorated like many other Napa Valley restaurants had been doing since her arrival.  At her favorite restaurant in Texas, the only decoration was a handy-wipe towelette on the side of the plate. 

The chunks of cabbage and mango were rather large and the shrimp were very shrimpy when compared to the Jumbo Godzilla Shrimp she’d get in Texas.  There was just about three tiny pieces of avocado and that was disappointing considering it would be the only fat on the plate.  The dressing was light and orangy with a little kick. 

The waitress came over and checked on her once or twice.  A nice bit of attention.  Just then a loud air horn blared.  Her eyes darted, she slid her back against the wall and slipped her hand in her purse.  Her gun was accessible if required but so far it was not. What was happening?  Her transfer orders were not approved yet but she was always on duty.

MIquels Bar & Grill

1437 Lincoln Avenue

Calistoga, California  707-942-6868

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

People familiar with Sedona know that the main (and fun, touristy) part of town on Rt 89A has just about every type of store – from cheapo knickknack shops to high end art galleries – a traveler needs. One of my favorite restaurants in Sedona AZ is right here: The Cowboy Club is a terrific grub joint, with Southwestern specialties like cactus, bison and rattlesnake (in a tamale, tastes like chicken) along with entrees less threatening to the tender American palate. The owner of the Cowboy Club recently opened up a new restaurant down the road a stretch: The Barking Frog Grille is is beautiful restaurant, with some of the same menu items as the Cowboy Club along with standard all-American fare.

The Barking Frog is in a large, gorgeous series of dining areas, making for a much less crowded lunch or dinner that the smaller Cowboy Club. Plenty of drinks here, including Fat Tire Amber Ale (on tap) and the Prickly Pear and Horny Toad margaritas, add to the Southwestern ambience. It’s always a bit jarring to see seafood listed on a landlocked state’s restaurant menu, but the shrimp tamales (with green chilis and poblano sauce), grilled BBQ salmon, and even the grilled fish sandwich are great and still remarkably fitting. Just like the Cowboy Club, visitors to Sedona can order those cactus fries, buffalo burger (I love this) and even filet mignon. However, most of the menu items are unique to the Barking Frog here and in Park City.

Tom Gilomen, the owner of the two Barking Frogs and Cowboy Club, has a talent for running

Barking Frog's Filet Mignon

restaurants that impart a sense of place as well as great, I’ll-come-again food and drinks. Even though the Barking Frog in Sedona is down the road from the busiest part of 89A, it’s easily worth the 5-minute drive. But watch out – those mouth-watering churros for desert are over the top! Dieters, consider yourselves warned…It’ll take a big hike to work off those delicious treats. The next time I’m lucky enough to vacation in Sedona AZ, I’ll make a point of returning to The Barking Frog.

Barking Frog Grille
2620 W Highway 89A
Sedona AZ
(928) 204-2000

Ahhh, Philly!  It is definitely not the same city of my youth.  And with Philadelphia’s resurgence (I guess the official term for the clean up is “gentrification”), all kinds of fantastic restaurants have popped up.

Take Mercato, a cash-only, bring-your-own-bottle joint located on Spruce Street.  This “Italian-inspired” restaurant resides in the historic Carmac Food Market Building – it’s small but has a modern, Bohemian feel that makes you feel more like you are in New York City than Pennsylvania.

And the food is out of this world.  Our server explained that the Chef believes in two things:  fresh ingredients and slow-cooking.  And I believe it.  My parmesan-encrusted veal cutlets were tender enough that I could cut them with my fork.  And the taste?  Unbelievable.  It was one of those meals that I was so full at the end but, had there been more food, I would have kept eating.  It was just that good.

Some might feel that the fact Mercato is both cash-only and BYOB gives it two strikes.  But honestly, I enjoyed being able to bring my own bottle of wine (and not having to pay a 40% premium to order the same bottle off a restaurant wine list).  As for the cash thing, well, you know, it’s America – there’s an ATM on every corner.  And if you know the restaurant is cash only, you can come prepared.  But when it comes right down to it, these things aren’t really negatives when you look at what you are really getting here.  The incomparable mix of great food, a great space and great service makes Mercato of my favorite restaurants in Philly.

———-

Mercato
1216 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA
Tel:  215.985.BYOB

Hours:  Monday through Thursday, 5:00pm to 10:30pm
Friday and Saturday, 5:00pm to 11:00pm
Sunday, 5:00pm to 10:00pm

———-

Photo courtesy of cpt.spock.

I’ll be honest – I wasn’t really expecting to be wowed by the food in Scotland.  Friends who have ventured there usually only mention two things:  Haggis (and whether they loved or hated it) and an after-hours delight of bacon and potato mash served in a cup called “stovy.”  Not necessarily the things that culinary dreams are made of!  But whether you are expecting great things or not, eventually you have to eat.  And that’s how I found myself at the Bad Ass Bistro.

Just down apiece from Dirty Dick’s (and I’m so not kidding), the Bad Ass Bistro is a quaint little pub-esque cafe on the pedestrian Rose Street in Edinburgh.  But make no mistake – it is not a pub.  In fact, while there, I saw the waitress turn away several potential customers because they only wanted drinks.  By law, to get yourself a pint or some wine at the Bad Ass, you need to order some grub.  And what this means is that you have all the charm of a Scottish pub without football on the telly or the possibility of a large, drunken man spewing over the bar top.  A win/win, in my book – especially when traveling with kids.

And the food?  It’s your basic bar-type menu – pastas, sandwiches, steaks and a few Scottish classics like sausage and mash and, yes, of course, the traditional Haggis.  It was fairly simple fare but also quality.  I ordered the daily pasta special – a three-cheese fusilli.  Sure, I know that’s just a fancy way of saying I ordered mac and cheese but the dish was thick, tasty and hit the spot after a day of walking the city.  The wine list is filled with screw-tops and the beers are all local but even this seemed to work in the Bad Ass’ favor.  It just made the experience seem all that more, well, authentic.

So don’t be put off by the name.  Really, don’t be.  (After all, the Web site clearly states that the place was named after a naughty donkey and why would they lie?).  If you have a hankering for some good quality pub food without having to worry about cleaning Gosh-only-knows off your shoes after, definitely hit the Bad Ass.

———-

The Bad Ass Bistro
167 Rose Street
Edinburgh
EH2 4LS
Tel: 00 44 (0)131 225 1546
info@belowthebeltfoodco.com

Posted by Nancy D. Brown of What a Trip

Marche Restaurant

Nothing says love like eating and drinking your way through a city. I love Eugene, Oregon in the spring time. Let me count the ways…

Best organic, sustainable food: Marche Restaurant located at the base of Eugene’s Fifth Street Public Market. Owner/Chef Stephanie Pearl Kimmel and Executive Chef Rocky Maselli believe that seasonal and local are where its at when it comes to food sourcing. “I live in a chef’s playground,” marvels Maselli. It is all about celebrating the bounty of Pacific Northwest locally grown and gathered food. FYI, my wild salmon tasted like it was fresh from the ocean. The soup of the day, a puree of spring onion with panchetta; fantastic.

Follow Marche Restaurant on Twitter @Marche_eug

King Estate Burger

Best Burger: The KE Burger, with estate bacon, Tillamook cheddar and beefsteak tomato served on a house bun with pommes frites and home made ketchup was killer at $10. For $8 more, you could make your burger sing with Foie Gras and Truffled Fries.  If you happen to be at King Estate Winery on a sunny day, I recommend dining outside on the patio with a glass of 2006 Oregon Riesling or a NxNW 2006 Walla Walla Syrah or the 2007 Signature Pinot Noir. The restaurant seats 80, with 23 inside tables. For those daring to walk on the wild side, order Executive Chef Michael Landsberg’s Profiterole of candied bacon ice cream served with caramel sauce. Personally, I prefer my bacon on the KE Burger. Awesome!

Follow King Estate on Twitter @kingestate

Ravioli of the Day

Best Pasta: Beppe & Gianni’s Trattoria, located on East 19th Avenue, didn’t exist when I attended the University of Oregon. I’m glad some things about Eugene have changed since I’ve been gone. I ordered the Ravioli of the day with roasted chicken, baby spinach in a dijon mustard cream sauce with crimini mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes, in addition to a ceasar salad with homemade dressing. Going strong since it opened in 1998, this is a fun, lively addition to campus.

Prince Pucklers Ice Cream

Save room for ice cream after dinner at Beppe & Gianni’s. Cross the street to Prince Pucklers and have a scoop of mint chip. If it’s good enough for Barack Obama, it’s good enough for me. This institution was a going concern when I was a college-coed and it’s still a campus favorite. In fact, Prince Pucklers has its own Facebook fan page.

Best Chocolate: Euphoria Chocolate Company has the best hand-dipped chocolate truffles. I was bummed that I didn’t have a chance to stop by the store on 17th and Willamette or make it to the Euphoria at Valley River Center. There’s always next time.

Bangkok Grill

Best Food Booths at the Eugene Saturday Market: Bangkok Grill makes an excellent pad thai with homemade peanut sauce and pork on a stick.

Best Desserts: Dana’s Cheesecake Bakery. Since 1980 Dana and his wife have been creating cheesecake such as the best seller Oregon Berry, a combination of marionberry, raspberry and blackberry. My personal favorite, peanut butter!

Best wheat or gluten free desserts: Sweet Life Patisserie. I confess, I didn’t have time to stop at Sweet Life but everyone I polled said this was the bees knees for cinnamon rolls and all things sugary. Next time; I’m on it!

Best Beer: Eugene City Brewery is part of the Rogue Ales family of breweries. Founded in 2004, the Brewery takes its name from the original Eugene City Brewery, established in 1866. They even have a brewery, Rogue Ales Public House, in San Francisco’s North Beach area. (Oregonians are serious about their beer.)

Best Micro-brewed Beer: Ninkasi Brewing Company was born on June 15, 2006 when Jamie Floyd and Nikos Ridge spent 17 hours brewing their first batch of Total Domination IPA. They have now moved to the Historic Whiteaker neighborhood in Eugene. Call ahead before you go (541) 344-2739

Photos by Nancy D. Brown

Karen’s Kitchen, oh I don’t know what number it is, is less than a quarter of a mile away. It’s the perfect place to walk to, when we have out of town guests and I don’t want to cook breakfast.

Karen’s has your standard, 65-year-old waitress, that tends to work in this type of joint. Mind you, I’m sure it’s for the extra cash during retirement, but when I’m 65, I don’t want to be dealing with some punk kids that come in from being out all night and want to boss me around.

Sausage Gravy!!

Anyway, back to the restaurant. Karen’s Kitchens are located all over the Antelope Valley , California and they are pretty darn popular. The waitresses treat you like people, like folks over for breakfast, it’s nice.

It Smiling At Me!

They have your traditional breakfast fare: Omelets, mickey mouse pancakes for the kids, biscuits and gravy for Whit and my standard, 2 eggs over medium with hash browns, sausage or bacon and wheat toast. I always get that, because I just can’t handle pancakes.

Everybody is happy with the choices they make, we all dig in, drink copious amounts of coffee and hot chocolate and walk it off on the way home. What could be better?

We like to make the trek to Karen’s, because it is kid friendly, the servers make sure the kids are entertained as well as the parents.

It may not be fancy, but it sure is comfy.

Karen’s Kitchen is generally open from 6am – 2pm everyday.

I returned from a Mediterranean cruise earlier this month with two more bears from Hard Rock Cafe for my collection. They sit in the bay window of my office, watching me work morning, noon, night, weekends and holidays — a constant reminder of why I’ve parked my butt in this office chair to start with.

The latest additions

Well, that was the idea anyhow. Looking at the little ancient soldier from Rome reminds me this was the only place I stopped all day where the toilet was actually a toilet as opposed to a stinking hole in the ground. The squatty dude with the Lima t-shirt reminds me that I spent twice as much on the cab fare to find this Peruvian souvenir as I did the bear itself. The London bobby from the original restaurant recalls the fact I waited in line 2 hours for a table and a cheeseburger at this one. (We entertained ourselves by watching the Olympic torch come down the street.)

But it’s the one from Tokyo that really stands out. You see, he represents how I snookered my husband into spending  money we didn’t have for something stupid we didn’t need. It went like this: Japan was the last city on our 17-day whirlwind vacation, and we were out of money. Tokyo is expensive. So we spent the day watching CNN on the hotel television set, reading books and planning how to use the subway to go to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner as our big spend for the day.

During the trip to the restaurant, we wandered into one of those idle conversations about what we missed most about the United States. My list was short: whole milk. But I ended it with, “Well, what I haven’t missed is listening to your stupid John Denver albums.”

Yes, I am now convinced that was code for an ancient Asian curse because as we were slowly savoring our cheeseburgers and fries, who should walk in and take a seat at the table next to us but Mr. Denver himself? My husband, the most gregarious man on the planet, suddenly went shy and couldn’t say a word. But he did stop staring long enough to whisper that we ought to share a banana split so we could hold the table longer.

I’ve never turned down a banana split in my life.

After an hour of stalling, I finally decided this was beyond silly, grabbed my camera and walked over to John Denver’s table to confess that my husband was a big fan, and could we get a photo? Naturally, the answer was yes — the man was sitting in a Hard Rock Cafe, for crying out loud. He chose it to be recognized. My husband, with eyes as big as fried eggs, shook his hand and still couldn’t manage to mumble anything. But when the two turned to pose for the camera, I accidentally hit the flash button and caught the singer off guard. The photo reveals men looking bug-eyed and scared.

Handle with care

At this point, my husband was definitely enjoying a private Rocky Mountain High. As I wandered through the merchandise shop looking for my bear, he asked if there was anything else I’d want. Sure — those embroidered sweatshirts would be nice, don’t you think? A matching pair, of course. Next thing I knew, the man was standing at the cash register with his VISA card in hand, buying those suckers.

Now it was my turn to do the bug-eyed stare.

When we got back to the hotel, and my husband finally ran out of ways to describe to me how he’d met John Denver, he apparently thought gazing at his new sweatshirt would trigger a different angle to the memory. That’s when the receipt fell out of the bag, he did a quick calculation and …”JULIE! I JUST SPENT $110 ON SWEATSHIRTS!’ Uh, yes, dear, the price was clearly marked in big numbers on the tag, which is why I sarcastically joked that we should own them.

The sweatshirts now hang in our closet to be worn on special occasions — we dry-cleaned them for several years lest we ruin them in a regular old washer.  And we tell that story with almost every HRC we walk into, because while the food may be American, the memories from this chain are universal.

And my business finally paid off that VISA bill, too.

Photographer: Julie Sturgeon