Restaurants

A milkshake and some Poutine.

No one knows Maine like Hilary Nangle.

Even though this author of Avalon Travel’s Moon series Maine, Coastal Maine and Acadia National Park can’t claim native status (she moved to Maine in childhood), there are few place in this state that she hasn’t explored.  And she’s more than willing to head the furthest corners  in pursuit of the best trails to hike, the funkiest museums and, of course, the best food.  So when I asked her about great restaurants in Maine, I knew she’d find me something incredible.

And her pick?  The appropriately named Duck Fat.

“Chef Rob Evans won the 2009 James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef in the Northeast award for his upscale restaurant, Hugo’s,” she says.  “And just down the block is Duck Fat, his casual joint, where anyone can sample Evans’ fare without a hefty price tag.”

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Seafood Combo Lunch @ Yet Wah

Looking for some seventies kitsch with your meal? Do you know that old saying “never go grocery shopping when you’re hungry”? If you like tasty Chinese food with a view, Yet Wah is just the place for you!

High on a hill, just below Twin Peaks in the Diamond Heights Shopping Center of San Francisco is where you will find this delicious dining artifact. This particular Yet Wah Chinese Restaurant is for those willing to walk up two flights of cinder block stairs, to enter a world that time hasn’t touched for decades, just look at the old linoleum. Read More »

Home Plate Home Run!

A long time favorite breakfast destination of mine is Home Plate in San Francisco.  It is in the Marina area, on Lombard Street and has been serving the best free scone and jam forever.  Seriously, it has been about 20 years!  We used to walk here from our old apartment almost every weekend, or when I was home on a sick wellness day.  Recently the management repainted and cleaned the place up, which was very nice to see but I am  very happy to report that nothing has changed regarding their food. We came in for breakfast recently and the free scone was as hot and delicious as I remember it.  We had meter parking on the street, which works well since it is $2.00 for an hour.  We had plenty of time to enjoy our trip down memory lane.

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When in Millbrae and craving pancakes, there’s really only one place to go: Millbrae Pancake House. I mean, the name pretty much tells you everything you need to know. It’s in Millbrae, and they serve pancakes.

Full stack buttermilk pancakes at the Millbrae Pancake House

My boyfriend David and I went to the Millbrae Pancake House a few months ago, and we had been meaning to go back. In the original visit, I got the Swedish pancakes with loganberry butter, while David apparently decided to let his inner-child order for him, because he got the chocolate chip pancakes, which were clearly more chocolate and whipped cream than pancakes. I remembered the food being tasty, and the waitress being very friendly. We were snuggled up in a booth, and she refilled our coffee and said, “Keep acting like that and people are going to think you are in love.” It was something out of an old movie.

In fact, the whole restaurant is a bit of a time warp, which is part of the charm. It’s an old-fashioned pancake house. If you want a low-carb, glutten-free pancake with organic syrup that comes from free-range trees, then this is probably not your place. But, after a morning of sweaty bikram yoga, I decided that I more than earned another visit to the Millbrae Pancake House, carbs be damned.

This time, the Millbrae Pancake House was packed not only for Mother’s Day, but it was also the restaurant’s 50th anniversary. Even the owner was there, brunching with her family. Since it was Mother’s Day, we were mentally prepared for a wait, so imagine our surprise when we walked in and they seated us right away. It was crowded, but a table for two was easy to come by. It says it a lot about a restaurant and its waitstaff when they handle themselves so well on a busy holiday. The waitress was still friendly and attentive, and the food arrived right away.

I ordered the buckwheat pancakes with a bowl of fruit, scrambled eggs and a side order of toast, and David went old school with a regular ol’ full stack of buttermilk pancakes. The buckwheat pancakes were delicious, cooked to perfection. David, usually a slow eater, inhaled his full stack of pancakes, which is a ringing endorsement. The waitress was on it, refilling the coffee before you could even notice that you were getting low. No small feat considering how busy they were.

Millbrae Pancake House in Millbrae

Right now, David lives in Burlingame, while I live in San Francisco. We are getting a place together in SF, so our eating excursions to the Peninsula will be less; however, there are a few places in the area that are worth losing the coveted San Francisco parking spot for and driving to visit. Millbrae Pancake House is one of those places.

Millbrae Pancake House
1301 El Camino Real
Millbrae, CA 94030
(650) 589-2080
Hours: Monday through Sunday, 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Intimate tables at Alegrias Spanish Restaurant

Date night in San Francisco is popular among my married friends, especially those with children.  Since there are so many romantic restaurants in San Francisco to choose from – I will help by suggesting Alegria’s Restaurant in the Marina neighborhood.

When you walk into this intimate restaurant, the first thing we thought was how the decor and lighting reminded us of a cozy European hotel lobby.  We loved the decorations, the dark, rich fabrics and the use of beautifully framed mirrors.

The restaurant is run by the Gonzalez family and you will see all of them moving quickly between tables and the kitchen.  They did a great job at serving our dishes while they were hot.  They did not serve them all at once which I liked. We had a chance to savor each slowly.

Spanish tapas are small plates of hot and cold dishes.  Alegrias (pronounced A-le-gree-as) serves a large selection of tasty tapas along with traditional paella.  The evening we stopped in, they had a few specials on the menu including frogs legs.

Frogs Legs at Alegrias

With our meal we had a carafe of cold sangria that went well with the selection of dishes – crisp and not too sweet. Besides the frogs legs and seafood paella, we also had the incredible Tortilla de Chorizo and pair of Empanadillas de Carne.  The Tortilla de Chorizo is a classic Spanish potato cake with pieces of slightly spicy sausage – YUM.

Tortilla de Chorizo at Alegrias

We loved every dish, and my husband even commented on how tasty the Spanish olive oil was that they served with the bread. Fun fact for you local foodies, Alegrias was a selected restaurant on Check, Please Bay Area and they have told me that this exposure has helped bring more customers to enjoy their restaurant.  We will definitely return for another great dinner date!

2018 Lombard St
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 929-8888

www.alegriassf.com
Open everyday for dinner at 5:30 except on Tuesdays.

All photo credits to my iPhone.

by Gudrun Enger of Kitchen Gadget Girl

KT BBQ in Boulder, Colorado

This is the first and best BBQ I have tasted in Boulder, and not that I have eaten a ton of BBQ, growing up in California as I have, but I am willing to declare this the best BBQ in Colorado!

We stopped by the KT’s BBQ location in Downtown Boulder, located in a little shopping area between Moe’s Bagels and Vic’s Coffee. KT’s is on the backside of the center, facing 13^th Street.

My favorite menu item is the June Bowl – a layered meal of all your BBQ favorites – on the bottom of the bowl goes a little meat, your choice of pork, chicken or beef. That is topped with a little sauce, Kirk’s Killer Beans, a scoop of Red-skinned Mashers, more meat, and finally, more sauce. If you are getting it to go, they cram a lid on and hope the sauce does not squirt through the vent hole.

The Counter at KT BBQ

KT’s has also realized that not everyone can eat ginormous portions of BBQ, so for the diner looking for something a little more modest, they offer a Light Sandwich, with about 3/4 of the meat of a regular sandwich, or the combo plate, Amy’s Light Basket, which includes a Light Sandwich, one side and a drink.

If you are feeding a family (which we were, but we still ordered separately!), KT’s offers a value package with meats, sides, buns, sauce and desserts, which sounds perfect for a picnic during the summer.

This is excellent BBQ, I highly recommend a visit next time you find yourself in Boulder, Broomfield or Denver, Colorado.

Plan your visit:
Store Hours:
Open Monday through Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Closed on Sunday.

Downtown Boulder
2675 13th St.
303-442-3717

East Boulder
7464 Arapahoe Rd.
303-786-7608

Broomfield
799 Highway 287
303-410-7333

Denver
4030 N. Colorado Blvd.
303-355-5483

Photos courtesy of Kurt Achtenhagen.

Pretentious Hamburgers.  That’s my first thought when I think of Taylor’s Refresher.  My second thought is mmmm, who cares?

High-end restaurant smartly disguised as a roadside burger joint

Texas Burger v. Blue Cheese Burger

by Gudrun Enger, of Kitchen Gadget Girl

tasty appetizer

Each year, I travel to Redondo Beach to visit my great aunt and celebrate her birthday. Each year, we struggle to find a good restaurant, some place with excellent food (worthy of a birthday dinner), as well as a place that is good for my young children. And each year, I am unfortunately underwhelmed with the options.

Except this time.

This time, we found Chez Melange on the Riviera in Redondo Beach.

Wow, what a surprise.

Recently relocated to S. Catalina Avenue in Redondo Beach, Chez Melange shares its space with Bouzy, a Gastropub run by the same management. In fact, the evening we dined, my children were able to order off the more casual Bouzy menu, which leans towards pub food, including quick pastas and appetizers to share.

In the main dining room, the atmosphere is trendy without being slick. Our table was comfortable, in a room with about 12 other tables. Off to the side was another space, with big double French doors, which could be used for private parties. It looked intimate and cozy, with attractive décor.

juicy steak

Dinner was the best part – each of us found an entrée to enjoy. Because the restaurant uses fresh and local ingredients, the menu changes often, which means that if I lived in Redondo Beach, I would be visiting every month.

Beverages were plenty and interesting – we enjoyed perusing the wine list and settled on a bottle from the south of Spain, a region known for its well-balanced reds. My great aunt was quite happy with her Martini, served up with one olive. Chez Melange also serves several creative house cocktails.

Next time you find yourself in the South Bay, I highly recommend a visit to Chez Melange. The restaurant is open for lunch Monday – Friday, dinner daily and brunch on Saturday and Sundays. For more information, visit the Chez Melange website.

Chez Melange
www.chezmelange.com
1611 S. Catalina Avenue
Redondo Beach, CA
310-540-1222

Photo Credits to the Chez Melange website

Rosamunde Sausage Grill - always busy

Whenever I am craving a really good quality sausage, like the kind I had in Germany at many a beer hall – Rosamunde Sausage Grill is the place I always head to.

It feels as if you’ve been transported across the Atlantic, when you grab your sausage order and take it next door to Toronado – a bar where you’ll find an extensive selection of German and Belgium beers and ales on tap.

The location of Rosamunde Sausage Grill is in the Lower Haight area of San Francisco, which for someone new to the area is known as a bit of a rough neighborhood, though mostly only at night.

However the sausages more than make up for any reservations you may have of going, when I suggest you put your wallet in your front pocket before heading over. Just like traveling in Europe, be friendly but prudent.

Lots of savory sausage choices!

Rosamunde Sausage Grill has a loyal and steady stream of customers, therefore expect a ten minute wait for your order whatever time of day you go.

They offer a huge variety of sausages on a fresh substantial bun – for about $5.00 – here is a small sample of what you can expect:

• Wild Boar apple and spice

• Chicken smoked with cherries

• Duck with figs

• Smoked Lamb sundried tomato and potato

• Italian spicy pork

• Hungarian smoked pork

• Andouille cajun smoked spicy pork

• Vegan organic spicy sausage

For all of the rough and tumble neighborhood, the sausages they offer are delicious and with the perfect selection of condiments – Sauerkraut, Grilled Onions, Peppers or Spicy Beef Chili – your taste buds will be in heaven.

Belgium, German Beers and Ales plus local beers from Anchor Steam

They are open everyday and don’t forget that you have the option of taking your food “for next door.” And “next door” is the Toronado, a very cool bar that serves a huge selection of cold beers, which go very nicely with sausages.

Rosamunde Sausage Grill is located very near to good public transportation so don’t worry about the street parking.

545 Haight St
(between Fillmore St & Steiner St)
San Francisco, CA 94117
(415) 437-6851

Hours: Mon-Sun. 11:30 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Lively music all day

For many people, breakfast means cold cereal or maybe some toast and coffee. For the kids and workers with big appetites, breakfast burritos are now a very popular choice in the morning.

If you enjoy authentic Mexican food served in an atmosphere as warm as any home, Los Jarritos is a wonderful place to go.

This great little restaurant is in the Mission District in San Francisco, across the street from Mr. Pickles Deli (a great marker for finding the corner quickly when driving).

Los Jarritos is family owned and operated by the Reyes Padilla family of San Francisco. There is only street parking which can be a little difficult sometimes but worth the effort – unless you take public transportation which is abundant.

One of my favorite meals of the day is breakfast, and the Los Jarritos menu includes both traditional American breakfast items like eggs and bacon to real Mexican dishes like chicken mole and Nopales (cactus).

Little jars hang everywhere

My husband orders Huevos Divorciados almost every time we go, while I love their eggs with nopales or an omelet with chorizo (Mexican sausage)!  Huevos Rancheros is perfect if you have not tried a traditional Mexican breakfast before. It will be tasty without being too spicy.

They are open all day so I would definitely suggest stopping by anytime for a great meal – maybe you will also get a lively serenade from a roving guitar player too. You can’t beat the homemade chips and salsa or their handmade corn tortillas prepared everyday in their kitchen.

Carnitas taco and enchilada

Frosty Sangria

Lunches often turn into my only meal when I come here, because their combination plates including the extras always fill me up.

They have Mexican cervezas (beer) and Sangria (love the frosty glasses they serve them both in) but they also have delicious traditional non-alcoholic Mexican beverages like refreshing Horchata (yummy drink made from almond and rice with cinnamon).

901 S Van Ness Ave
San Francisco  94110
(415) 648-8383

Mon-Sun. 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.