Cafe Bunn Mi
After returning to San Francisco, CA after a 1.5 week hiatus overseas, we decided to go to Cafe Bunn Mi for a quick bite on a Sunday morning per the recommendation of our friends Scott and Carmen. Our diet overseas had consisted of a variety of foods, many of which were fried and heavier, so we were looking for some light, comfort food. We walked into Cafe Bunn Mi soon after they had opened (November 4, 2012) so it wasn’t a problem to place our order, get seated, and get served our meals. The menu was written on 4 chalkboards but was extensive enough to have a good variety of foods to cover the gamut of Vietnamese sandwiches, rice plates, noodles, and pho.
A lot of things on the menu looked tasty but we knew we could only eat a couple of dishes by ourselves. In the end we ordered:
- Grilled Pork Saigon Noodles with Imperial Rolls
- Crab Noodle Soup Pho
There was a slight mixup of our order as a Chicken Noodle Soup Pho came out from the kitchen. We realized soon after taking a picture of it, and then sent it back. I had meant to ask the server if they were just going to toss it if they could just leave it for us to try but I was too slow . . . I blame it on the lack of sleep from spending the night at Newark International Airport, the early flight back to SF, and the lack of coffee! It’s too bad we didn’t get to try any of it but it did look tasty.
The good thing with pho is that it doesn’t take too long to prepare so it wasn’t long after that the correct order of Crab Noodle Soup Pho came out. From the picture below you might think that the crab noodle soup pho is a little spicy but that’s deceiving. The fresh tomatoes used in the dish made the soup seem spicier than it really was. There was also an ample amount of crab in the dish which was presented as an egg-crab mixture. The scrambled egg-crab mix had the texture of the brains of the crabs. Some people might not like that texture but I don’t mind it one bit – I’m usually the one clamoring for the crab heads!
The Grilled Pork Saigon Noodles with Imperial Rolls were great. The rolls, stuffed with pork, carrots, taro and clear noodles, were fried perfectly and were nice and crispy. There was also no oily feeling to the fried rolls which was great. The pork was well made and not too dry. The noodle bowl consisted of vermicelli noodles with pickled carrots and daikon topped with peanuts and green onions. Once the noodle bowl was mixed together with the pork and accompanying homemade fish sauce it was simply time to just sample the delicious flavors and enjoy our meal.
All of the dishes tasted great and the meal definitely hit the spot. The portion sizes were generous; some of us even had some leftovers to take home for an afternoon snack. I definitely recommend Cafe Bunn Mi and plan on hitting it up again in the future for more pho or to try their sandwiches.
Cafe Bunn Mi
417 Clement St
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 668-8908
Short Order
After checking out the Tasting Table July feature on what burgers to try now, I saw a blurb on Short Order located in Los Angeles, CA. Being that it was grilling season and my wife and I being in the L.A. area for a few days around the fourth of July holiday, the Tasting Table feature was extremely timely and provided us with a great place to go for a meal. We ended up going to Short Order on July 4th, 2012 for a late lunch.
The restaurant is part of the Original Farmer’s Market block and has a prime spot right at the corner of West 3rd Street and South Fairfax Ave. For those that haven’t been to the farmer’s market it is a neat spot to check out filled with all sorts of vendors. Short Order isn’t the youngest kid on the block. Some research on the establishment shows that it debuted a few years ago.
Perhaps it was due to the late lunch time, but everything on the menu looked really good as we pondered what to order. It was likely a combination of both the late lunch and yummy selections as after our meal I definitely would like to head back and check out other menu items so I’d attribute it to more of the menu items being yummy. For our lunch we ordered:
- Ida’s Old School Burger
- Lamb Burger
- Short Order Spuds, with sour cream dipping sauce with North Country bacon
- “Independence” milkshake
The Independence milkshake was a special item to celebrate the 4th of July. As an ode to the nation’s birthday, it was also decked out with red, white and blue, made up of strawberries and blueberries, topped with a generous serving of graham cracker crumble. It came out before our food was ready and boy oh boy was it a tasty treat before our meal! Who says you can’t have some dessert first?
The rest of our meal came out shortly after the milkshake left us salivating and anxiously awaiting our food. Ida’s Old School Burger is comprised of grass-fed beef, Hook’s aged cheddar, SQIRL handmade pickles, rossa bruno tomatoes, griddled onions, iceberg lettuce and Short Order’s secret sauce. I ordered it medium-rare and I got what I ordered. The perfectly cooked burger was nice and juicy; each mouthful was perfect with its accompaniments and secret sauce. The lamb burger – Sonoma grass-fed lamb with feta, wild arugula and salsa verde – was ordered to be a medium doneness. Alas it came out a little past medium. Even though it was slightly overdone the burger still retained enough juiciness and was still delicious. Some people aren’t big fans of lamb, my wife being one of them, but even she could appreciate the lamb burger which did not taste too “lamb-y”. The Short Order Spuds, small bite sized pieces of delicately fried potatoes with the skin on, were good but I think we happened to get some of the dregs and a few that were a little more well done. Hopefully the following short photo slideshow of our Short Order experience doesn’t make your mouth water too much . . . I know mine is each time I watch it!
Overall, the food was great and I can definitely see myself returning if I’m in Los Angeles again. I’d love to try out more of their menu, including their adult milkshakes 🙂 With their fireplace and heat lamps setup, I can imagine Short Order getting extremely busy at night too.
Short Order
6333 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 761-7970
Further reading:
Reposado
After a soccer game in Palo Alto, CA on Sunday morning (June 17th, 2012), my wife, our friend Meg and I were looking to grab a quick bite to eat in the area before headed back to the East Bay. Meg had grown up in the Palo Alto area and had thrown out some suggestions on some of her favorite places but doing a quick search on their business hours showed that all those places were closed on Sundays. By then we had narrowed our choices to Mexican cuisine so we headed towards downtown Palo Alto from the soccer fields while doing a Yelp search on our phones for a place to eat. Within a minute or two we heard Meg exclaim “Ah ha, I got it. Let’s try Reposado.”
As we continued toward Reposado, Meg described it as a more upscale sit down type place and told us she had wanted to try it for a while now, and shared that it had gotten decent Yelp reviews. Connie and I are not picky eaters and are always up for trying new places, preferably with delicious food, so we were looking forward to our upcoming dining experience especially since we had not gone out to eat in a while (hence the lack of new content for this blog!).
Once at Reposado we decided to sit at the bar and then contemplated the menu. Should we pick from the brunch menu, small plates or traditional style plates? Having just played soccer we were thinking a smaller portion size but we were still debating between the small plates vs traditional style plates. Fortunately, the bartender clarified that the small plates still had a decent amount of food on them. We ended up ordering a cerveza, a margarita (customized), some chips and guacamole and:
- Tacos De La Calle – Four “street” tacos, pollo & salsa verde, carnitas, pescado & mango salsa fresca, asada & guajillo salsa
- Ceviche de Hauchinango – Pacific Snapper in agua chile cucumber sauce, jicama, mango, and red onion
Being seated at the bar we had the advantage of being able to see the TV screens that were nestled in the bar shelves. They had one of the Euro 2012 soccer matches on (Netherlands vs Portugal) which was a bonus for soccer fans like us. Perhaps it was the distraction of the match but it didn’t seem too long after we had ordered that our food came out – a pleasant surprise since we had ventured into Reposado right at lunchtime. Furthermore, there did not seem to be any sort of detrimental influence of a crowded venue on our dishes, yet another plus.
First, the lowdown on the tacos. All the meats on the small tacos were cooked well – not underdone or overdone. I should clarify that by small, I mean each taco could be finished in two bites. All of the tacos packed a lot of flavor. Nothing too overpowering but enough to give the taste buds a nice tingle. For those that cannot do spicy foods some of the tacos did have a little bit of a kick, easily discernable visually.
The ceviche dish was presented nicely. A generous mound of ceviche topped with mango, red onions, and jicama on its own small dish set on one side of a long rectangular plate filled with tortilla chips. The ceviche smelled a lot fishier than it actually tasted. The pieces of snapper were a good texture and they were not totally overpowered by the limes or chile cucumber sauce which I thought was quite mild . . . was there really cucumber in there? Thinking about the overall dish, I think I’d make a recommendation to provide some more chips. Even with generous helpings of ceviche on my chips, I ran out of chips before I finished my ceviche.
Looking over at the diners next to us, their huevo (egg) dishes looked really good. I do like brunch foods but I might still pass on the huevo dishes. If I do come for brunch I’m going to order the Chipotle Beef Benedict – grilled chipotle seasoned filet mignon, toasted English muffin, roasted poblano hollandaise sauce, home fried potatoes – which is also part of the brunch menu.
Overall, I’d give Reposado a thumbs up for our dining experience. The yummy meal was enough to fill our stomachs to tide us over but I’d say a little pricier (tacos @ $15, ceviche @ $13). I guess we were in a nice establishment with good ambience in downtown Palo Alto, CA – I’m sure Reposado is a popular place at nights. Side note to self – maybe I should stop hitting up my local taco truck for $1.25 tacos.
Reposado
236 Hamilton Ave
Palo Alto, CA 94301
(650) 833-3151
Mint Leaf Vietnamese Restaurant
My wife Connie was doing well in her recovery from tonsillectomy surgery a few days prior. However, she was getting a little tired of the apple sauce, juice boxes, and bland soft foods that I had made over the last few days. So, we decided that we were going to eat out for lunch on Sunday February 26, 2012. Initially, we were considering doing Chinese food close by but the restaurant flyer for the Chinese place we were thinking about showed that it actually wasn’t open for lunch on Sundays. So, scratch that idea. We ended up deciding to go with Vietnamese instead since the options would be good for Connie (i.e., palatable soft noodles, flavorful broth that shouldn’t be too spicy) and it should be relatively inexpensive. The closest place, Mint Leaf Vietnamese Restaurant, happened to be just around the corner – bonus!
We got to Mint Leaf around noon. The restaurant was about half full so we were able to get seated right away. After perusing the menu options, we decided to go with:
- Special PHO “PHO Dac Biet” (menu item #21) – rice noodles with rare sliced beef flank and beef brisket
- Hot and Sour Noodle Soup “Canh Chua Bun” (menu item #29) – rice noodles with catfish, prawns, tomatoes, pineapples, jalapeno peppers and sprouts in a savory broth.
Hot and Sour Noodle Soup "Canh Chua Bun" (menu item #29)
To be honest, initially I had actually selected Spicy and Sour Soup “Canh Chua” (menu item #20) but our server pointed out that the #20 was just the broth and didn’t actually have any noodles. So, I opted for #29 which was the same as #20 but with rice noodles. Not surprisingly, the food came out soon after we ordered and was as delicious as it looked. Everything tasted fresh and the broths were flavorful. Nothing tasted too bland, or too salty, and additional sauces were provided on the side in case one wanted to add some more kick to one’s dish. Connie was able to put down the soft rice noodles easily and I could tell she was glad to finally get some real food, not to mention have a real meal with me instead of watching me eat all the good stuff.
Overall, lunch at Mint Leaf was a great choice. If I’m ever in Alameda again and feeling like some pho, I will be sure to hit up Mint Leaf again. I may even hit up their newly opened Berkeley store in the future.
Mint Leaf Vietnamese Restaurant
831 Marina Village Pkwy
Alameda, CA 94501
(510) 522-2758
Swan Oyster Depot
Although I lived just one block away in San Francisco, CA, I had absolutely no clue about the famous gem in my neighborhood – Swan Oyster Depot – until I had moved away. After I realized I had missed out on my opportunity to just walk around the block to grab a bite at a San Francisco classic I made a vow that I would make an effort to eat there some time when I was back in SF. An opportunity presented itself when my wife Connie was scheduled to have tonsillectomy surgery at the nearby hospital (had she been able to go with me to eat there it would have been the perfect opportunity!).
Menu options
While headed to the hospital on a Thursday (February 23, 2012), Connie and I drove by Swan Oyster Depot around 12:30pm and saw the crazy long lunch line to get in. I didn’t have enough time to whip out my camera to photo-document, but the line was easily 30-40 people long! Do those people work and how long do those people have for lunch?! Thank goodness I was not going to attempt to eat there at that time but later in the afternoon with a friend of ours while Connie was in surgery.
The Swan story
Swan Oyster Depot is a tiny place. The setup is basically a deep room with a counter that runs down the middle of the room until you reach the wall that separates the dining area from the kitchen. One side of the counter is for the workers, and the other side is set up with stools for the patrons. I didn’t do an actual count of the number of stools but I’d estimate that there are only 20 spots or so, and the spots are snug. You’ll definitely bump elbows with your fellow diners.
Horseradish . . check
Rayna and I got to Swan’s around 4pm and although it was not prime dining time there was still a line to get in. While waiting in line we salivated at the different menu items available as we watched food being prepared, served, and eaten. Thankfully, the line was short and we just had to wait for four people in front of us before we got seated.
We decided we had to try a couple of dishes:
- mixed dozen oysters
- seafood combination salad
- smoked salmon (with smoked trout)
- sea urchin
Once we had put in our order we got our drinks and some fresh sourdough bread to tide us over until we got our food. The first dish that came out was the mixed dozen oysters which was made up of Blue Point, Miyagi and Kumamoto oysters that day. There were four of each kind so for two people it worked out pretty well. For any fan of oysters one could have easily polished off the mixed dozen by oneself but since we did have a number of other dishes still to come the six oysters apiece worked out perfectly. Mmmmm, so delicious . . . .
The mixed dozen oyster plate made up of Blue Point, Miyagi, and Kumamoto oysters
After slurping down the oysters to open up our appetites we were ready for our main entree selections. I had ordered the seafood salad combination plate which was just an absolute feast. Why peel and crack your seafood if you can just go to Swan’s. The dish comprised of large succulent pieces of prawns, crab, lobster, and shrimp on a bed of chopped lettuce. The portion size was huge but I’m definitely not complaining!
Seafood salad combination - large succulent pieces of shrimp, prawn, crab, and lobster on a bed of chopped lettuce
The smoked salmon dish is typically pieces of smoked salmon served with french bread and a side of shrimp salad, but for a little extra, Rayna had pieces of smoked trout added to the dish in order to try both types of smoked fish. “It’s all in the technique . . . and the freshness of the fish of course” one worker kept telling us as the diner next to us gushed about how incredible the smoked fish tasted. The smoked fish did not disappoint . . . the smokiness in the fish was indeed amazing!
An order of the smoked salmon dish with smoked trout added
We decided to finish up with some sea urchin. It’s been a while since I’ve had fresh sea urchin out of the shell. I still recall my first experience many years ago in the Caribbean when we picked up some white sea urchins off the sea bed, cracked them open, and enjoyed the rich, creamy, yellow roe – mana from the sea. But I digress. Swan Oyster Depot served black sea urchin (Stronglycentrotus franciscanus) presenting the “roe” on the half shell. Sea urchin is a delicacy, but it can be an acquired taste of sorts as it can have a unique texture which some people may not like. When sea urchin is served in little portions you might not be able to taste the texture, just the rich flavor e.g. when it is in sushi. I’m not sure if it’s because it was black sea urchin or if it was due to actual whole pieces of raw sea urchin as it was served at Swan Oyster Depot, but it seemed like the texture of the sea urchin tasted a little different from what I had had before. It was definitely still very fresh but the texture seemed a little firmer and more “filtery”? Essentially, the “roe” or yellow meat is the sea urchin’s reproductive system so the roe isn’t necessarily just eggs as one may think. I surmise that the unique texture may be related to the accompanying gonadal tissues. Whatever the case, the sea urchin still tasted great.
It's not every day that you get to have fresh sea urchin
All of the ingredients were incredibly fresh and tasted absolutely delicious. No wonder Swan Oyster Depot has been around San Francisco for a century and still consistently gets top marks from everybody, not just foodies and food review agencies! For those fans of Anthony Bourdain it probably is no surprise that Swan Oyster Depot was featured recently on his new show “The Layover” when they showcased San Francisco as he openly admits to always being at Swan’s whenever filming in SF. Swan Oyster Depot is most definitely a San Francisco institution and a trip to San Francisco should include this stop. My tip for potential SF visitors – skip the stalls and restaurants at Fisherman’s Wharf and go to Swan’s Oyster Depot instead! You may not be right by the ocean but you wouldn’t be able to tell by how amazing the food is.
Swan Oyster Depot
1517 Polk St
San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 673-1101
Jen’s Island Cafe & Deli
On a day trip (December 28, 2011) to downtown Charlotte-Amalie, St Thomas, US Virgin Islands, we decided to stop in to Jen’s Island Cafe & Deli for lunch as it seemed like one of the few places in downtown that served local cuisine. Most of the other bars and restaurants that we had seen in town seemed to just serve bar/pub food without any local fare. I’m sure they are just catering to what people want, but to me it seems like if you’re visiting somewhere you would want to try that somewhere’s food as part of experiencing the culture? But I digress . . .
At Jen’s, we started off with the conch fritters. Per the menu, the fritters were made with fresh conch, peppers, onions and seasonings fried and served with a mango chutney sauce. The batter was light and the fritter contents were well balanced though I must admit the conch seemed a little hidden at times. That’s always a challenge with making conch fritters though. The fritters were moist enough that they really didn’t need too much of the accompanying mango chutney unless you wanted to give it some additional flavor to the fritters, which did indeed make them even tastier.
Conch fritters
For the main course, we decided to get an order of the chicken roti. For those who haven’t had a roti but are familiar with burritos, a roti is very similar. In the Caribbean, a “roti” (a traditional Trinidadian dish) refers to a filled pastry. For a more detailed introduction on rotis and what rotis are in different regions of the world, check out the Wikipedia roti entry. At Jen’s, the chicken roti had a filling of curried potatoes, carrots and chick peas, in a nicely made dhalpuri wrap. Everything came together well and I appreciated that the wrap was sturdy enough to hold everything yet not too dry or tough.
Chicken roti
For those that may want to add some additional zing to their roti, or whatever they may order, Jen’s also makes its own hot sauce. Looking at the bottle the hot sauce appears to be habanero pepper-based, with generous amounts of garlic and onions, and some other ingredients. Although the hot sauce was made with habanero peppers it wasn’t scorching hot. I’d describe it as a toned down flavorful hot sauce with the slow acting habanero kick – a great sauce to complement your food.
Overall, we had a great lunch experience at Jen’s Island Cafe & Deli. We sat at the bar and it was definitely a very friendly atmosphere. We would definitely return for another meal if we are ever back in Charlotte-Amalie.
Jen’s Island Cafe & Deli
43-46 Norre Gade
Charlotte Amalie, VI 00802
(340) 777-4611
Uncle Joes’ (World Famous) BBQ
While on our honeymoon in the US Virgin Islands (December 2011), my wife and I had taken a day trip to St John where we did the Reef Bay Trail Hike. After the several hour long hike that had spanned lunch time, we were both pretty hungry and so some good food was definitely in order. Since we were visiting the USVI, we wanted to sample some local West Indian fare in downtown Cruz Bay. We saw Uncle Joe’s BBQ close by and had absolutely no qualms about dropping in for a bite to eat at this little roadside jaunt.
Uncle Joe's BBQ from across the street
We decided to go for their chicken BBQ plate with sides of red beans and rice, and macaroni salad. The chicken was well cooked and generously covered with their unique BBQ sauce, which was tangy in flavor and had a little kick. Being in the Caribbean, based on my previous living experiences in the West Indies, my guess is that they used just a touch of scotch bonnet peppers in their sauce as it had that oh so wonderful lingering sensation of a good hot suace. Some others might not appreciate the coating amount of BBQ sauce but I thought it was just the right amount of sauce – enough for all of my chicken, and some left over for my rice and beans 🙂
BBQ chicken platter with sides of red beans and rice, and macaroni salad
All in all, a great meal that definitely hit the spot! BTW, if you’re looking for some authentic local fare, there aren’t many places in downtown Cruz Bay so I’d definitely hit up this place if you can.
Uncle Joe's BBQ
Uncle Joe’s Barbecue
North Shore Rd, Cruz Bay
St John, VI
(340) 693-8806
Foodie Forays 