San Francisco Weekend Day 2 Eats: Brenda's French Soul Food, Mercury Lounge and Zuni Cafe

Last May, I got the approval to attend a Monday seminar in San Francisco. Instead of flying in Sunday night, I decided to come into town Saturday morning just so I can check out whatever food scene I could explore in just two days. Click here to read about Day 1. When it came to Sunday, Day 2, I visited a trio of restaurants definitely worth a second visit. On my agenda for Sunday morning was to first pay a visit to Brenda's French Soul Food.

I actually got a tip about Brenda's from friend and fellow Filipina food blogger, Princess Gourmet, who told me that Brenda's was owned by a Filipina American Chef. Since I'm always up for supporting Pinoy-Owned Businesses, I knew that French Soul food was definitely on the menu for that weekend. Another tip I was given was to get to Brenda's early because lines were going to be pretty crazy. So when I arrived, the first thing I did was put my name on the chalkboard.

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After taking a good look at the long narrow restaurant space, it was quite obvious why there could be a long wait. Space was at a minimum. Luckily, as a party of 1, I was able to jump over larger parties and even a couple of parties of 2. They mean it when they say that your whole party better be there or else, it's on to the next name on the list.

When I sat down, I first enjoyed a glass of Sweet Watermelon House Tea. That drink was really refreshing. I actually asked for a to go cup after my brunch so that I wouldn't waste a drop.

Finally, I put my food order in and the first thing to arrive was the Chicken, Sausage and Okra Gumbo. The soup was chock full of all the ingredients that I just listed; however, it lacked a depth of flavor.  There was a little bit of heat at the tip of your tongue, but then it dissipated as you swallowed the spoonful of soup. It was lacking something.

Brenda's is known for their beignets and being in a savory mood, I went for the Crawfish Beignet spiced with cayenne, scallions and cheddar. One thing I didn't know was that all the beignets came in an order of 3. If I knew that, I would have just gotten the Beignet Flight, which included a sampling of all 4 beignets. Instead, three good size Crawfish Beignets arrived at my table to my rounded eyes.

Unfortunately, I could only finish one of them, but I really enjoyed it.  The beignet itself was soft and airy and I liked the dusting of cayenne/chili pepper on the surface of the bread. As for the filling, I would have liked a little more crawfish, but the cheese, the scallions and the seasoning was spot on.

My brunch entree was a special for the day and was a Creole Seafood Fritatta with crawfish, shrimp, andouille sausage, cheddar and scallions with grits. The fritatta was really delicious, but what I remembered more than the fritatta were the grits. I haven't had too many experiences with grits, but if they all tasted like the grits at Brenda's, it's something I'd definitely be on the lookout for it more. It was rich, creamy and buttery. So rich that eating the entire bowl would have been impossible, but I still made a pretty good dent into it.

I'm really glad that I paid a visit to Brenda's. The ambiance was lively and vibrant and the food was the same way. Brenda's was definitely a foreshadowing for the rest of my food journey in San Francisco because my next two restaurant stops were also pretty fantastic. To give me time to digest my meal and to also enjoy some San Francisco culture, I paid a visit to the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, took an audio tour and also checked out the Bali Exhibit. A few hours later, I took a walk to Mercury Lounge.

Mercury Lounge is owned by Filipino Chef, Dominic Ainza. Although the food at Mercury Lounge is considered Pan-Asian, Chef Dominic does showcase his Filipino heritage in some of the dishes on his menu and that was especially true for the two dishes I had for lunch. It started with the Adobo Fried Rice, a pulled pork adobo fried rice with a fried egg. Simply, it was delicious and that's all I really need to say.

Dessert was all about the Pan de Sal Bread Pudding which was topped with vanilla ice cream and coconut caramel sauce. In truth, bread pudding is not a dessert I'd usually go for, but since this particular bread pudding was using Filipino sweet bread, I knew I had to have it.  It was simply amazing. What I liked about the pan de sal was that it was more airy and light as opposed to being dense. Also, the coconut caramel sauce added a nice tropical touch.

Mercury Lounge was a wonderful lunch stop and I fell in love with the restaurant even more when I visited it a few weeks later, but that's another post altogether. By the way, while taking photos outside of Mercury Lounge, I spotted this Cow with some kind of cheetah or maybe, giraffe print hanging outside a front entrance of a bar and just had to include it in this post. Interesting, huh?

Dinner tonight was going to be in the company of some of my Kapamealya friends and was going to be at Zuni Cafe. Ever since I had a taste of my friend's version of Zuni Chicken, which Zuni Cafe is known for, and loved it, I've always wanted to try the original dish. This was definitely going to be the night.

By the way, we were seated upstairs, which made for some nice photos of the bar below us.

Since the Zuni Chicken takes an hour to prepare and it says so on the menu, we went ahead and ordered other dishes to start our meal with. First was the Marinated Beets with shaved fennel, toasted almonds, mint, shallots and ginger.  It was a nice light dish where all the flavors harmonized together without competing with each other. Considering that three of the ingredients were ginger, mint and fennel, this dish really showed the deft touch of the chef.

Our second dish was the Merguez sausage with fried chickpeas, grilled spring onions and harissa sauce. The sausage and the harissa sauce added a nice bit of heat to our taste buds without being overwhelming. I also could have easily eaten a whole bowl of those fried chickpeas.

Following the sausage came the Bellwether Farms ricotta gnocchi with pea leaves and morel mushrooms. The gnocchi were cooked perfectly, which meant that they were soft and fluffy and the morel mushrooms added a nice hit of earthiness that made this dish even more enjoyable to eat.

Also on board was the Wild Arugula Salad with first-of-the-season County Line Farm summer squash and caper vinaigrette. What I loved about this salad was that it wasn't fussy in that there were too many ingredients.  The peppery arugula paired well with the tangy caper vinaigrette.

Then the Polenta with Mascarpone made its apperance and what a spoonful after spoonful of creamy goodness that was.

Finally, the star attraction arrived in the form of roasted chicken tossed with a warm bread salad of scallions, red mustard greens, currants and pine nuts. The chicken itself was moist and tender.

There was also a lot of nice textures to this dish by way of the warm bread salad between the softened; yet, slightly crispy bread and the light crunch of the pine nuts. The slight bitterness of the greens also went well with the dark berry flavor of the currants. Overall, this was a chicken dish really worth waiting for.

To end, Zuni Cafe was a great way to end my San Francisco foodie journey. Monday was all about hotel food at the seminar that I came to San Francisco to attend in the first place and then a flight back home. Except for the one restaurant experience on Day 1, every other place I dined at during my weekend in San Francisco was stellar and I definitely see why San Franciscans are proud of their local dining scene.

Brenda's French Soul Food
652 Polk St
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 345-8100


Mercury Lounge
1582 Folsom St
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 551-1582


Zuni Cafe
1658 Market St
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 552-2522


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San Francisco Weekend Day 1 Eats: Chaat Cafe and Patio Filipino

Last May, I got the approval to attend a Monday seminar in San Francisco.  Instead of flying in Sunday night, I decided to come into town Saturday morning just so I can check out whatever food scene I could explore in just two days. During my time there, I also had a chance to re-connect with my Norcal Food Blogger friends, the same ones who I first met through twitter and then in person last March, but not until Saturday night for dinner.

When it came to lunch; however, I decided to stick close to the place I was going to call home for the next 3 days and decided to go for Indian food at the Chaat Cafe.

 

Photo Credit to Veggin' Blog

My meal started well with the arrival of the Strawberry Lassi. Having only had mango lassi in the past, a strawberry version was a refreshing change and it was a change I loved.

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When it came to the food, I decided to stick with two items on their "street food menu" starting with the Pakori Chaat which are mixed vegetable pakoras topped with tamarind, mint chutney and spices. Unfortunately,I didn't care for it. The pakora was over-fried. All you have to do is see the photo below and see the dark brown surface to see what I mean. I also found the tamarind sauce to be too thick and a bit cloying.

The other dish I ordered was the Dahi Batata Puri which were crispy shells filled with mashed potatoes and chopped onions, topped with yogurt, spices, chutneys and sev (thin string-like fried snack preparation made out of gram flour). I thought the filling was nice, although I felt that the shell could have been lighter and crispier, but that tamarind sauce again didn't add anything to the Puri.

It was still too thick and cloying and also was just too tangy and this comes from someone who really likes tamarind. I also didn't understand the addition of the sev. It seems like the crunch component of the shell should be enough.

It's safe to say that other than the Strawberry Lassi, I wasn't a big fan of what I ate at Chaat Cafe.  It's also fair to say that I shouldn't judge a restaurant based on just two dishes, but first impressions do count. So Chaat Cafe probably wouldn't merit a return visit from me anytime soon.

Thankfully, a really good meal was on my horizon with a dinner at Patio Filipino, which turned out to be the soft opening of Kapamealya, an organization of like minded Filipino foodies and bloggers who are here to promote, highlight, and exhibit Filipino cuisine via various culinary outings. The founders of this group are my Norcal Food Blogger Buddies. So if you're in the Bay Area, be sure to check Kapamealya out.

Now on to my 10 course meal at Patio Filipino, but what came out first was a refreshing and fruity Mango Sangria, which by the way, is not on the regular menu. It was a special drink made just for the evening.

As for the food, the first dish to hit the table was the Calamares Frito which are deep fried squid that came with a Patio special sauce. What a great starter. The squid was light, crunchy with just the right amount of chew without being too chewy. I also liked the sweet and sour sauce that came with the calamari.

Next was the Gambas al Ajillo which was made up of shrimp and bell peppers sauteed in olive oil, garlic, paprika and served on a sizziling plate.  I absolutely love garlic and there was definitely enough garlic and even a little kick of heat from this shrimp dish that made me quite happy.

After the Gambas al Ajillo, our table was treated to the Balut ala Pobre, fertilized duck egg in a cream sauce. Actually, the rest of the table was more than happy to take my share since balut is not something I eat, but it was interesting to see this fertilized egg out of the shell and prepared in a way that I've never seen before. This dish was certainly enjoyed by my dining partners.

One of my favorite Filipino soups, a Chicken and Mussels Tinola Soup which is a ginger-infused broth with chicken and mussels, was our next course. I love the taste of ginger and this is one of those soups that is perfect when you're feeling under the weather.  I've only had it with chicken in the past, but the addition of the mussels made my eating experience even better.

Pork is definitely a mainstay in Filipino cooking and one dish you'll see in most, if not all Filipino restaurants, is the Crispy Pata, which is a deep fried pork shank.  I really wanted to like Patio Filipino's Crispy Pata, but I though it was over fried.  The pork meat should have been juicy and instead, was a little too dry.

What came next was the Callos ala Madrillena with tripe, tendon, Spanish chorizo, olives and garbanzos in a tomato sauce.  The only time I ever really eat tripe is in Menudo and I'm also not much of a tendon eater, but I have to say, that I really liked this dish. The tendon was soft, not chewy, which worked for me. I also loved how the olives and chorizo added flavor to the tomato sauce.

My favorite dish of the entire meal was the Sizzling Bangus Sisig which is boneless and shredded milkfish cooked with spices and jalapeno. My sisig experience in the past has only revolved around pork, but this Bangus Sisig was amazing. I couldn't stop eating it. In fact, I could have easily eaten the whole fish all by my lonesome.

The last savory dish of the meal was the Lengua Champignon, beef tongue stewed with mushrooms and cream sauce. The sauce rocked and I would have loved it with pasta; however, I had an issue with the tongue. It was cut a little too thick as well as too gamey for my liking.

Two desserts ended our meal. One was the Panna Cotta with drizzled caramelized honey and topped with dry roasted almonds. The panna cotta was light and creamy and with the other components, it's a dessert that wasn't overly sweet, but still hit the sweet spot.

Our second dessert was the Buko Con Seta which has coconut juice that has been made into a jello-consistency with sweet beans and topped with ube ice cream. What a wonderful unique creation. One thing mentioned by the restaurant was that if they didn't have the freshest coconut water available, this dessert wasn't going to be served. I liked that conviction and I loved this dessert. That coconut jello tasted so fresh and refreshing and if that coconut water wasn't fresh, you'd be able to taste it.

Overall, while my lunch experience at Chaat Cafe was quite unsatisfactory, Patio Filipino was another experience altogether. Except for a couple of dishes, Patio Filipino is most certainly worth a return visit and if I find myself up North or in the San Bruno area in the near future, Patio Filipino would definitely be worth a stop.

Cafe Chaat
320 3rd St
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 979-9946


Patio Filipino
1770 El Camino Real
San Bruno, CA 94066
(650) 872-9888


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Asian Food Rap by The Model Minority Report Group

Lately, I've been on a food video kick, so when I came upon this Asian Food Rap by The Model Minority Report Group, I knew I had to share. You'll see quite a few Asian foods mentioned with Filipino food references going to durian, Jollibee and Chicken Joy. Enjoy! :)

Hapa SF Filipino Food Truck Featured on the Eat Street Food Show

Man, I got hungry watching this video. You will, too. The food on the Hapa SF food truck looked slamming thanks to Chef William Pilz. By the way, keep an eye out for Filipino Food Blogger, Jun Belen, who's also in this video!

Hip Hop, Asian Grocery Shopping and Chicken Adobo with "Fou Lee" Music Video by Seattle's Blue Scholars

In truth, hip hop music is not a style of music that I listen to. I have definite preferences towards other kinds of music.  However, when I came upon this music video by Hip Hop Group, Seattle's Blue Scholars, it spoke to me. In the video, two of the singers are shopping at an Asian Grocery Market and then go home to cook chicken adobo for friends and family to enjoy. Be sure to watch the end of the video, you'll even see the ingredients for chicken adobo.

The thought process behind the video is reflected on a post on the Guerilla Candy website, which you can read below.

Blue Scholars MC Geologic said the song was ”inspired by shopping trips we made to that grocery store when we lived in the heart of Beacon Hill, from 2004 to 2008.”

“We had house parties during recording sessions for The Long March and Bayani during that time, made a lot of coffee runs, had a lot of meetings, and the meals we shared were usually cooked with ingredients bought at our favorite Vietnamese-owned Philippine grocery store, where the staff greets you in Tagalog spoken with thick Vietnamese accents. This song uses food as an analogy for who we are – a mash-up of ingredients, chopped up and thrown onto a fire made from memory instead of recipe.”

Filipino cuisine to me is sometimes a mash-up of ingredients coming from a mash-up of different cultural influences, so it's not always easy to define what it is.  Regardless of what it is, what I love about Filipino food is the communal aspect of it that is such a part of our culture.  For special occasions, family members will be in the kitchen cooking together to feed the guests or bring potluck dishes so that they can contribute to the meal.

When we eat, it's not about courses that include an appetizer, an entree and dessert.  Instead, food is put on platters and in bowls and along with rice scattered on the table for everyone to enjoy.  Rice is passed around and dishes like chicken adobo are moved from one end of the table to the other where diners eagerly scoop the sabo onto their rice and eagerly savor the vinegary and sour flavors of a favorite Filipino dish.

It's not about being formal.  Instead, I think Filipino dining fosters more of a community kind of dining and allows a good forum for conversation and bonding over delicious food and that's what makes it special to me.

While you're at it, check out this article by Andrew Matson, who delves more into the aspect of communal cooking and dining and click here for a Chicken Adobo recipe by the Oriental Mart in Pike Place Market posted by Seattle Times food writer Nancy Leson.

Now that the introduction is over, take a look at the video for yourself!

The Dynamic Female Duo of Chef de Cuisine, Sara Johannes and Executive Pastry Chef, Sally Camacho at WP24

In a profession that is still primarily male dominated, it was an extra pleasure to attend a hosted media dinner at WP24, a restaurant owned by Celebrity Chef, Wolfgang Puck, but led in the kitchen by Chef de Cuisine, Sara Johannes and  Executive Pastry Chef, Sally Camacho. WP24 was so named using the initials of Wolfgang Puck and because it's on the 24th floor of the Ritz Carlton hotel and the focus of the restaurant is on serving Modern Asian Cuisine, primarily centered around interpreting traditional Chinese food.

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Having eaten my way through many various regional Chinese restaurants in San Gabriel Valley, I have to say that I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about the food at WP24. With every bite, would I be wishing that I was at one of those small mom and pop Chinese restaurants on Valley Boulevard instead? It was definitely going to be an interesting evening, but it definitely started well when I took a sip of one of their signature cocktails, the Passionfruit Cosmo. Although I'm not much of a drinker, I did find it tart and refreshing.

By the way, one thing to mention is that most of the dishes we tried that night were from their lounge menu, but Chef Johannes did manage to give some samples from their regular menu as well. Starting us off was a Sushi Platter of Sushi with White Tuna Roll, Spicy Tuna Roll (scallions,chili aioli, kaiware sprouts and sesame oil), Rainbow Roll (California roll, salmon, tuna, shrimp and hamachi), Dragon Roll (tempura shrimp, asparagus, cucumber, barbecued eel) and Hamachi Nigiri. Nothing necessarily stood out, but everything tasted fresh.

Next were the Chinese Crystal Dumplings with king crab, shrimp and kurobuta pork. Given their size, they seemed more like a bao than a dumpling, but once I took a bite, it definitely had the slight chew of a dumpling wrapper. Overall, I remember liking this dumpling when I ate it. Other than that, it wasn't very memorable. Honestly, it seemed a tad fussy to me. I like dumplings fairly plain with just a little chili, soy sauce and hot mustard and I'm good to go.

What came next were the “Chow Fueng” Rolls with braised kobe beef cheeks with chilies, scallions, cilantro, crispy garlic and hot sesame oil. I absolutely loved this dish.  The coolness and mild flavor of the rice roll along with the bang of flavors that came from the other ingredients made my taste buds very happy.

Open up and say "Aaah" said the Steamed Baby Bao Buns that arrived at our table next.  The filling consisted of slow braised “red cooked” pork belly with Chinese honey-garlic glaze. I didn't know what being "red cooked" meant so when I came home, I looked it up and found the definition here. Basically, it's is a slow braising cooking technique that imparts a red color to the prepared food. While I found the bao bun itself to be a bit too thick and too bready for my taste, I enjoyed the pork belly filling and how the addition of the cucumber added a nice bright crunch to the overall dish.

Lettuce Cups with Jidori chicken, rice sticks and pickled ginger-serrano vinaigrette were next on the agenda. I like the crunchy component of the rice sticks and light crispness of the lettuce and red cabbage. What really blew me away was the pickled ginger-serrano vinaigrette.  It gave the ingredients a lovely kick of spice and heat.

One of my favorite dishes of the night was simple, but delicious or should I just say a simply delicious Curry Tempura Green Beans.  Oh my gosh, I could eaten a whole plate of them just by myself. I've had tempura dishes before, but the addition of the curry brought this particular tempura dish to a whole different level, a better one.

Following the those green beans were Prawn Toast with sweet & spicy garlic chili.  Unfortunately, I didn't care for this dish very much. I liked the spicy garlic chili sauce, but I found the Prawn Toast to be a bit greasy for my taste.

The next three items were items that were on the regular menu, starting with these Quail Wings which had a citrusy glaze. Quail has often times been a hit and miss with me, but if I could have quail like this all the time, it would be a hit every time.

Tempura Scallops came next, but didn't do much for me. While the scallops were cooked perfectly, the sauce that topped the scallops was a bit too salty for me to enjoy the dish.

Our last savory dish before dessert was the Singapore Style Chili Prawns with fresh crab, fried garlic, chili, scallions, shallots and pickled ginger. The strong flavors of the garlic, chili and ginger gave zing to the prawns and was a perfect bite.

Next came a trio of desserts from Chef Camacho which included a Marjolasian with layers of dark chocolate, white espresso mousse and cashew nougatine, a Cinnamon Financier with market fresh raspberries and finally, a Vanilla Panna Cotta. They were all quite tasty, but my favorite dessert of the night was one that we all got sample when we went on a kitchen tour.

I should also mention that Chef Puck also came by to say "Hello" to all of us and he was the one that like Pied Piper, happily led us into the kitchen for a look see. I have to say that Chef Johannes definitely took it in stride when a bunch of food blogger paparazzi came in and started taking pictures.

Here are more kitchen photos as well as food photos to take a look at.

From Chef Johannes, we made our way to Chef Camacho who was hard at work whipping up my favorite dessert of the evening. While we were waiting, Chef Puck let us pick from a fresh batch of green tea cookies. There's just nothing like fresh cookies out of the oven.

While Chef Camacho was putting the finishing touches on her dessert before handing some out for us to try, it was fun to see Chef Puck alongside her doing some sampling on his own. By the way, a note about Chef Camacho, she beat out five other Pastry Chefs in Paris on April 6, 2011, earning her the opportunity to represent the U.S. in the Valrhona C3 Culinary Competition in Madrid in early 2012. Now that's Pinay Power! :-D

Finally, here is what Chef Camacho made for us. A Calamansi Vacherin with calamansi curd, Szechuan peppercorn meringue, macadamia crumble, vanilla bean ice cream and Thai basi. If you didn't know, Chef Camacho is Filipina, as am I, and calamansi is a popular fruit in the Philippines.  It was awesome to see one of our native fruits used in such a unique way. As for that dessert, I loved the tart, peppery and sweet nutty flavors it invoked.

When our meal ended, the city view was absolutely gorgeous and when you're on the 24th floor, how could it not be, so I hope you enjoy the pictures below.

As for the meal itself, the presentation of the food was lovely, but without substance, pretty is as pretty does. However, I found most of the food to be really good and I could see myself going back on my own dime, although for more a special occasion than on a regular basis.

A meal at WP24 is about 4 to 6 times or more than you'd pay for that small Chinese restaurant in San Gabriel Valley.  The menu is not a la carte. Instead, you have 2 tasting menus to choose from, a 3 course for $80 and a 4 course menu for $110. It's a meal that's definitely going to cost you quite a few bucks, but given the location with its fantastic view,  the beautifully presented food that also tastes good, the ambiance and for some dishes, table side service, it would be a good splurge.

One thing new that has been added to WP24 or specifically the lounge menu is the "Tastes of 24", where for $24, there is a daily three-course menu featuring signature dishes from their dining room that is perfectly sized for one.  It's  available Monday through Saturday from 5pm-7pm. I'd say that price is steal and may be just the right incentive to pay a visit to WP24.  Heck, it may even bring me back sooner than I expected.

WP24
Ritz Hotel
900 W Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 743-8800


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