Hegui and Devaki at Estadio

We had the singular pleasure of dining with fellow food blogger, Devaki, from Weave a Thousand Flavors, and her delightful husband at this remarkable Spanish-inspired place, Estadio, in Washington D. C. over the winter holidays. D had researched it extensively and was completely excited by the chef, the menu and I think the company. After a truly memorable lunch here, we were too.

welcome to Estadio

Estadio exterior

The web site says the restaurant is in the Logan Circle neighborhood. Of course, since I’m from San Francisco, that’s like speaking in a foreign language to me. It was vaguely near U Street and 14th, which I only recall because we went on a bar crawl around there the night before with Hegui’s niece, Juliana, and our friends, Callie and Elizabeth. It was pouring rain the day we lunched at Estadio, but that didn’t keep us from feeling warm and snug inside.

The interior has a stunning design which I can only characterize as “Spanish fantasy.” There were the usual dramatic tiles and cast iron metal work, uncomfortable dark rustic wooden chairs, and large TV screens showing various Iberian soccer matches, of course. The bathrooms were fun, displaying a sexy-comic stereotypically fierce heterosexist vibe: in the Men’s was a huge floor-to-ceiling image of what looked like a scantily clad female model; and in the Ladies’, some shirtless soccer players flying the colors of Spain. I wish I’d taken a picture.

rainy street from the window of Estadio

stunning details of Estadio interior

It was not particularly crowded at 12:30PM on a Tuesday just after Christmas, though I can only imagine that it gets packed. They’ve an extensive wine and cocktail list, which unfortunately we really couldn’t explore as we planned to go to the National Gallery of Art post meal. It would be worth it to go back some evening to try the drinks.

Since everything’s basically tapas-style, we ordered lots of small and medium sized plates and more-or-less shared it all. As we ate, we got to know one another better, and I hope, began lasting friendships.

Cantabrian anchovies in olive oil

bacalao crudo, jalapeno, avocado, orange and olive oil

grilled octopus, potato and caper salad

Rhode Island calamari a la Plancha, Salsa Verde

smoked salmon with yoghurt and honey open faced sandwich

First to arrive were the Cantabrian anchovies in olive oil with some bread. In a word: delicious. In short order we enjoyed the smoked salmon with yoghurt and honey open-faced sandwich; the amazing bacalao crudo with jalapeño, avocado, orange and olive oil; grilled octopus with potato and caper salad; and the Rhode Island calamari a la Plancha with salsa verde.

Next we tried the lovely sherry glazed halibut with smoky Romesco and scallops with roasted cauliflower and salbitxada. We had sides of grilled scallions with more Romesco and Idiazábal and fiery sautéed red kale with garlic, sherry and chili flakes.

sherry glazed halibut, smoky Romesco

scallops, roasted cauliflower and salbitxada

This perfect repast ended on the sweet, as we shared an order of the unusual and tasty Manchego cheesecake with quince and pistachio granola.

The service was attentive but not hurried. As I’ve already alluded to, the ambience was super. This is a restaurant that we would definitely visit again. You Washingtonians are lucky. Thanks for treating us to Estadio, Devaki and Shamit!

Manchego cheesecake, quince and pistachio granola

I went to Crown & Crumpet Tea Salon the other day for Lucy’s baby shower. She used to work at our office here in SF but now works remotely from her new home in South Carolina. The beauty of the Internet! Lucy was here on a business trip and this was the last time she was to be in the office before the baby is due. So the day before she headed back to SC, we all went to Crown & Crumpet, located on scenic Ghirardelli Square to celebrate her new addition to the family, wish her well and bid adieu!

Crown & Crumpet Tea Salon interior view

How to describe Crown & Crumpet? Classic? Kitschy? Stylish? Girly? Perhaps all the above? Check the pics and decide for yourself I really liked this place, what with its beautiful views, vibrant colors, the decorative stuff with lots of light blues and pinks, adorably mismatched tables and chairs, and pretty China. I am a bit sensitive to scents, and this might have been an issue here, but the air inside the Salon was marvelous and inviting, infused with sweet aromas, tannins from different teas, herbs, bergamot, berries: a real treat!

Crown & Crumpet Tea Salon tea bar

enjoying the company at Crown & Crumpet Tea Salon

congratulations on your new baby, Lucy!

On the website the owner invites you to slow down… allow the delicious food and libations to transport you to a classic, traditional tea salon experience, as if you were in England. Forget that cup of Starbucks-in-a-hurry and enjoy the world’s most popular drink. I must say I did feel transported.

I think this is a perfect spot to impress your out of town guests. Besides C and C itself, the Square offers the traditional touristy Ghirardelli chocolate store, numerous great shops and beautiful views of the Bay and Golden Gate Bridge. The only caveat is that Crown & Crumpet is a small place so make a res before you go.

The menu was fabulous. As you might have guessed, they serve several types of tea: Strawberry Fields – green tea, strawberry, vanilla; Marie Antoinette – black tea, bergamot, blue mallow and roses; Minted Green – green tea blended with peppermint; Paris – black tea, bergamot, vanilla. I tried them all except for the mint—it’s not my cuppa tea. My favorite ones were the Marie Antoinette and Paris. Some of these herbs are supposed to promote spiritual healing and peace, something from which we can all benefit in our rushed weekday lives.

our lovely triple tiered tray

Aside from the tea, we had lovely triple tiered trays of mini sandwiches, pastries and assortments of petit fours. Delicious! The list is long. Among the sandwiches, we had cucumber & crème fraîche; curried chicken; salmon &cream cheese; and egg, chives & mayo. For pastries, we sampled the lovely crumpets, mini scones and apple Danish. The petit fours were assorted baby cup cakes, macaroons, date bars, butter cookies and chocolate and raspberry cream puffs.

This was my first visit to the Salon and my first exposure to the mysteries of an American baby shower. Both were delightful. We all left Crown and Crumpet happy and satisfied.

Located in the h2hotel, the ultra chic Spoonbar was a must try on our recent Sonoma wine country weekend. The joint was packed every night, but fortunately we were able to make a day-before reservation for four.

h2hotel with Spoonbar at ground level

stunning community table at Spoonbar

This place has a really open, warm feel, surrounded by tall picture windows overlooking the street, with lots of gorgeous exposed wood, comfortable stylish seating and flowing bars. There’s even a fascinating water fountain at one entrance made up of hundreds of spoons that move as the water tinkles past.

They’ve embraced an eat-local style of gastronomy. Many of the ingredients come from Northern California. Their web site particularly recommends their small bites and specialty cocktails, which they call potions. I tried the Smokey Local, a kind of Manhattan made partially of local things, including the delightful Qi Black Tea Liquor produced in the Bay Area. Delicious.

The menu was a bit all over the place, offering standard American fare, like burgers and fries; various Italian inspired dishes; and more exotic things with descriptors like “Moorish,” “Moroccan” and “Mediterranean.”

We arrived a bit early for our 8PM reservation, thinking that we’d wait at one of the crowded, cool bars, but they sat us immediately. Two of us started with cocktails and we had wine for the table.

We all shared a few appetizers and salads. The “mixed breads served with all three spreads” was really enjoyable. The three were the Mediterranean hummus, Moroccan eggplant and a white bean dip.

our cute tray of four appetizers

We ordered a dish of four small plates: batter fried shrimp, giant beans in some kind of olive tapenade, cucumber and tiny mozzarella balls wrapped in prosciutto. All of these were good (Hegui and I skipped the forth).

I was amazed by the Heart of Romaine salad with Lemon Cured Sardines and Caesar Dressing. The fish were huge and really flavorful. Hegui ordered the chicory salad with candied walnuts, which, though a bit bitter, was cleansing and enjoyable.

Heart of Romaine salad with Lemon Cured Sardines and Caesar Dressing

Hegui and Veronica toasting life at Spoonbar

pan seared salmon with root veggies

pasta with shellfish: look how messy the plate is, right from the kitchen

Veronica had the pumpkin stuffed pasta

chicory salad with candied walnuts

For my main, I got the spaghettini with shellfish in a seafood sauce. I only took a bite, as I ended up trading with my friend Karen, who ordered the pan seared salmon with root veggies. She has a real phobia of beets, and though she asked the waiter specifically, the dish arrived with lovely little beet cubes. I’m not much of a salmon fan but can tolerate it. The bed of smoky Swiss chard that it came with appealed to me. Hegui also had the salmon (we had initially planned on sharing) but he liked the fish but didn’t care for the chard.

Too full for dessert, we ordered it anyway. Karen and Veronica both selected the chocolate cake. It was a bit of a disappointment, as it arrived cold and tasted more or less like an ordinary brownie.

By chance, the night we were there, a colleague of mine from work was sitting with his wife and some of his friends at the next table. Since we were about 90 miles from home, that seemed uncanny. I had hoped to chat with them after their meal, but they left abruptly. On Monday we spoke about it. Apparently his party was so dismayed by the dreadful service that all eight of them ran out of there as soon as they could. Only after they left did he remember that he forgot to say goodnight.

messy salt shakers should be cleaned after

salt mingling with my dessert spoon

the pretty but rather sad chocolate cake

And it is true. Service was bad. We waited a long time for the waiter to mosey around to our table to take our order. Drinks arrived slowly though the wine, much quicker. Actually the young energetic guy acting as sommelier was really pretty good and attentive. Otherwise, we started to believe the drought was back on, after the endless delay for our water to be refilled. The food arrived at a slower-than-leisurely pace, and when the dishes were cleared, the table was never wiped, so large salt piles that leaked from the miniscule salt mill marred our table through dessert. Not cute.

We had a big debate about what to tip. I gave less than I normally do, though more than I wanted, committee procedures being what they are. I would try Spoonbar again sometime, perhaps in six months or a year, when hopefully they will have gotten their act together. If you were just going for a cocktail and perhaps a small bite or two, then no problem.

our miserably empty jar of h2O

welcome to Troya

Hegui and I have walked by Troya on many an occasion, while shopping for Asian ingredients at Richmond New May Wah on Clement Street in San Francisco. In the mid-afternoon, when we’re most often around, the place is dead: maybe one or two tables full at the most. So we weren’t especially into trying it.

That is until the other week, when I couldn’t help but notice through the window a large table of folks eating what appeared to me to be the most beautifully presented food. It was then that I looked at the menu and the sub-title to the place, “Turkish Cuisine and Mediterranean Meze Bar.” Now I was hungry.

As you’ve probably guessed, Troya is named after the famous, some say legendary city on the Anatolian peninsula of Turkey, Troy. Remember that great movie of the same name with Eric Bana as Hector, Brad Pitt as Achilles and Orlando Bloom as Paris? (I wonder what ever happened to Orlando Bloom? I haven’t seen him in a movie in ages and ages. I hope that he’s okay!) I really liked the fight scene with Hector and Achilles—so thrilling and so sad! Here it is:

I forgot how incredible that movie is!

Anyway, back to Troya. We went the night that we attended a party in honor of our friend, Tom’s 40th. It was held at a wine bar a few blocks away, so it seemed like a perfect evening to try the restaurant. Since we knew we were going to a wine bar, we had beer at the meal. Not that exciting, if you ask me, though it went excellently well with the marvelous and really beautifully presented food.

Troya interior on a busy Saturday night

It's funny: I look at pictures of myself and keep seeing my father

In no particular order, since they all arrived about the same time, we tried the Mediterranean spreads. This was a plate of three traditional dips: hummus, haydari—a yogurt dip, and muhamara—made from roasted red peppers. These came with a large cone like you’d see at Belgian fry places, filled with warm pita bread. In a word, yum.

I was blown away by the gorgeous presentation of the falafel. It tasted as good as it looked.

The börek, a baked filo pastry stuffed with spinach and other treats, was so flakey and buttery, it almost melted in my mouth. The fresh Monterey Bay grilled sardines with sumac dusted shallots, cucumber and greens was amazing. I want to try to make that at home sometime soon. The sumac gave the smoky fish a lovely vaguely citrusy-ness that we really enjoyed.

Mediterranean spreads: muhamara, haydari, and hummus

beautifully plated, delicious falafel

fresh Monterey Bay grilled sardines with sumac dusted shallots

Troya börek

I wasn’t as wild about the grilled eggplant salad (so maybe one itty-bitty misgiving), though Hegui didn’t have any complaints. Perhaps the problem is that I make something like this at home already, so I was underwhelmed? Also I thought it needed salt.

We shared an order of grilled ahi tuna kebabs to round out this remarkable meal. Since we were off to a birthday party, we skipped dessert, though I’ve no doubt that it would have been sublime at Troya.

roasted eggplant salad with bell pepper, cauliflower, herbs and pine nuts

grilled ahi tuna kebabs

the gorgeous green-tiled Palomar Hotel, home to the Fifth Floor restaurant

I’m thrilled to report to you all in blog-landia this super fun dinner, meet-the-winemaker experience that Hegui and I enjoyed last week. Littorai has become famous in California for Burgundian-styled Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. Just this month, they were given high praise in Wine Spectator’s annual California pinot noir run-down. And the Fifth Floor Restaurant in the gorgeous Palomar Hotel has been a sensation here in San Francisco for years. We’d tried neither the wines nor the restaurant before this “private client dinner,” making this an especially delightful time.

The event, as you might have guessed, was put together by Littorai Wines as a fun promotional thing for their wine club members and friends. We paid to attend but that didn’t put anyone off. The dinner was crowded. In fact, the organizer told me that it filled up in a few days, Littorai is that good.

Attending an event like this reminded us both of a wedding dinner. People were excited to be there, were well dressed and for the most part on their best behavior, though hardly anyone knew one another. So we had the wonderful opportunity of chatting with our elegant neighbors.

There were six pairs of people at our table, including ourselves. One was in the wine industry. One was in investment banking but had a small pinot noir vineyard in Anderson Valley as a sort of money-pit. There with his fiancée, they’re to be married this week or maybe next. Another couple were real food-and-wine lovers living in the Marina District in town. They splurged and ordered a whole case of the delicious 2009 Littorai The Haven Vineyard Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir as the meal was winding down, which I thought impressive. These two were especially psyched about the Fifth Floor and its relatively new executive chef, David Bazirgan. The pair to our left were relative newcomers to San Francisco, having moved here from Minneapolis, MN about three years ago. They were especially fun to talk with, as they adored cooking. One recommended we try making sushi for brunch sometime and serve it with champagne. Apparently she does that quite often, to rave reviews.

sipping 2010 Littorai Lemon's Folly while awaiting other dinner guests

heirloom tomato, melon, tomato leather amuse bouche

Littorai winemaker and owner, Ted Lemon, explaining the Haven and Hirsch Vineyard pinots

I was a bit dismayed to be ushered to the Sixth Floor group dining room upon arriving at the Palomar, so I’m not yet convinced that we’ve actually dined at the Fifth Floor. But there were some perks, too, on the 6th floor. I’m a huge fan of evaluating restaurant bathrooms as part of an overall dining experience. Here the bathroom was really unique: it came with an entire hotel room, bed included. Cool!

We asked for the pesce-veggie menu as usual. As we waited for everyone to arrive, we early-birds sipped glasses of 2010 Littorai Lemon’s Folly, an off-dry blend of several grapes, including gewürztraminer. I liked it though Hegui, who remains a purist and red-devotee, wasn’t too sure.

Everyone started with an amuse bouche of heirloom tomato, melon and tomato leather. Tomato leather! That’s different. Really it tasted like sundried tomato but had the texture of one of those “healthy snacks” for kids, Fruit Roll-ups. Fun.

geoduck, razor and surf clam ceviche

lovely cheese-filled ravioli with basil pesto and tomatoes

On the left, the 2009 Cerise Vineyard Pinot Noir, and on the right, the 2009 Savoy Vineyard Pinot Noir; both from Anderson Valley

That was followed by the first pair of pinots: the 2009 Savoy Vineyard, Anderson Valley; and the 2009 Cerise Vineyard, Anderson Valley. We enjoyed ours with a cheese stuffed ravioli dish. The other diners had duck breast. The Savoy was drinking best of the two, though somehow I preferred the Cerise, which seemed more complex, and therefore, more interesting.

Last were two more pinots: the 2009 Hirsch Vineyard, Sonoma Coast; and the 2009 Haven Vineyard, Sonoma Coast. We had ours with a small dish of grilled scallops. The rest had lamb. The Haven was really nice and seemed less acidic than the Hirsch. Really all the wines were quite enjoyable.

grilled scallops with corn and padron peppers

perspiring four cheese dessert dish

Between courses, winemaker and Littorai owner, Ted Lemon spoke to us about his winemaking philosophy, the various vineyards he sources grapes from, his experiences working in Burgundy and fielded questions from the cheery audience.

We finished with a somewhat disappointing four cheese selection and re-tastings of any of the wines. (The cheese looked like it had been sliced and sat for a while, as they had beads of condensation on them. Not cute.) I had more Haven and Savoy and re-tasted the Hirsch, just, you know, to be sure

me and winemaker Ted Lemon

cheers from the Thirsty Bear!

My friend, Mate, originally from Uruguay but now currently resident in Huntington Beach in Southern California, came into town to visit with her family. She insisted on a girls night out and wanted to eat tapas. I searched on-line. Turns out, there are quite a few tapas places in San Francisco, but the one that caught my attention was Thirsty Bear. I had been years ago for a beer and some olives, so remembered it fondly.

welcome to Thirsty Bear

They have an all organic micro-brew beer selection large enough to quench the thirst of any thirsty bear. Beyond that they also have live Flamenco shows on Sunday nights and a wide array of Spanish inspired tapas. Here’s their “philosophy” which I quote from their site:

The original concept for Thirsty Bear Brewing Company is simple: to pair the ultimate social beverage, beer, with the ultimate social food, tapas.

Thirsty Bear interior: look at the bullfighter painting!

Thirsty Bear is quite the place for a taste of Spanish food and culture right in San Francisco. We ordered Sangria made with red wine, brandy, seasonal fruit and spices at first. It was refreshing and superb with lots of fruity flavors. Later in the evening I tried a glass of Spanish wine, Legado Muñoz, Tempranillo, 2010 to sip with the tapas. That’s where Thirsty Bear really shines.

First we got the “yellowtail & Monterey squid salpicon, orange, jalapeño & micro cilantro.” The yellow tail was ceviche style and the squid was slightly sautéed: very good and fresh tasting. Next, we tried empanadas with oil-poached tombo tuna, potato, spicy piquillo sofrito & caper crème fraîche. My friend Mate called these empanaditas ‘cause they are smaller than the ones she remembers her mom made in Uruguay. We couldn’t go without patatas bravas: fried Kennebec potatoes, brava sauce and aioli. These yummy potatoes tasted just like being in Spain!

Thirsty Bear "empanaditas"

Mate and me enjoying our sangria

patatas bravas

We decided against the salads as we can always have those and we were trying to have an authentic Spanish experience. Salads are way to Californian! LOL! Since we were off the salads…we debated on desserts. Mate recently went to Spain and loved the churros with chocolate milk, so we got those and a second, apricot and almond cake with almond milk ice cream. Delicious!

This whole event was a wonderful treat. It was great to spend time with my friend, Mate. Thirsty Bear is cool because it’s walking distance to SFMOMA, the Contemporary Jewish Museum and Yerba Buena gardens. I can’t wait to go back again with some more good company, possibly after a trip to one of the many museums. Ciao! Adios!

apricot and almond cake

casino entrance to Oceano

Normally, I’m not into casinos—I’m convinced that the house always wins, so what’s the point? But when you’re talking restaurants that’s a whole other story. So I was delighted to find myself in the company of a good friend from school, her wife and two young children last week on my WorldCon adventure to Reno. I was staying at the Peppermill for the conference. Since my friend knows that I’m clueless about how to get around town on my own, she suggested dining “in” at the casino seafood place, Oceano.

glowing plastic seaweed surrounding our large booth

jellyfish lamp up close at Oceano

stimulating Oceano dining room

There’s something funny about dining at a casino. It isn’t the bright lights, loud noises of the winners on the slot machines, or even the dramatic over-the-top décor. No, it is the fact that we were able to walk for what seemed like miles with a ten year old girl and a three year old boy through the entire facility; past roulette wheels, poker tables, numerous and varied kinds of brightly glowing slots, security guards, bars and waitresses hurrying to deliver cocktails; and nobody even raised an eyebrow. Well, we sure weren’t in Kansas anymore.

Oceano is amazing, really. The food is ok but the ambiance, wow! Done up as if you were dining at the bottom of a shallow sea, we were surrounded by luminous jellyfish as lighting, sitting among fluorescent green plastic seaweed and blue neon that made the entire room feel like you were truly underwater. At our spacious booth, a friendly sea turtle was in the process of swimming by. I even saw a killer whale a few tables over, apparently looking for the right guest to sample.

Oceano entrance detail

friendly sea turtle swimming over our heads at Oceano

The menu was full of restaurant staples. You could get almost anything fried. There were some sushi offerings, lots of fish and shellfish. Feeling extra excited, I started with a Manhattan with Blanton’s bourbon, my absolute fave. Look how the drink reflects the ceiling as if it was the surface of the ocean.

shimmering Manhattan at Oceano at the Pepermill

sour dough bread and butter makes for a classic West Coast seafood meal

They brought out the obligatory sour dough bread and butter as we waited for drinks. I liked that since I rarely have this at home.

The Crustacean Celebration was just that: fresh oysters on the half shell, lobster, king crab legs, ceviche and jumbo prawns accompanied by six dipping sauces. I only remember five: butter, horseradish, cocktail sauce, cilantro and aioli. It was a fun interactive start, and really added to the party atmosphere.

Crustacean Celebration

Cioppino with toasted ciabatta

I ordered the West Coast cioppino. This was a calculated risk on my part, as I usually find it is best to try things that you’re not too familiar with when attempting a new restaurant. It decreases your chances for disappointment. Fortunately, this cioppino was good. Sadly, hardly any of my clams opened, but the lobster more than made up for it in my mind.

The kids got fried things. Veronica had what to me looked like oversized crab cakes with huge fingerling potatoes. Karen tried the Louisiana gumbo, which I had considered too, but declined for the andouille, which is not currently on my personal menu.

oversized crab cakes with fingerling potatoes

We shared an ice cream sundae for dessert, though I have to say I was so stuffed by then, that I could only have a few bites.

The service was fine; the food, reasonable. I found it to be tremendously enjoyable to visit friends undersea. You can’t say something like that every day, can you?

breathtaking view from Mt. Tamalpais State Park

Whenever most people think of dining out, they’re fantasizing about that favorite restaurant or trendy new place that they’ve been dying to try, don’t you think? I know that’s what we usually mean here in the pages of weirdcombos. So today, to get away from that trend and stop being so rigid in our thinking, I’m writing about this dining out experience that we attended last weekend with our great friend, John P.

He planned the event in honor of two out-of-town visitors from Portland, OR, Susan and Lee. They love Northern California and travel here often. Since we’re having summer weather even in notoriously cool and damp San Francisco, John thought that a picnic in the Mt. Tamalpais State Park would be superb.

we've become the view at Mt. Tamalpais State Park

I was initially skeptical when he indicated that he hoped to hike the park for a while. I’m not a fan of that traditional past-time. Fortunately, it turned out to be optional. The picnic itself consisted of grilled salmon on brioche buns with a dill yogurt-like sauce; corn and sundried tomato salad from the blog; sliced ultra ripe and fresh Early Girl tomatoes, and this incredible kale salad marinated in a lemon, garlic and anchovy dressing with parmesan. That kale dish was really good. John promised me the recipe to try out at my place. We enjoyed everything with white and red wines and afterward some sweets for dessert.

perfect picnic lunch

cheers everyone!

The company was really congenial. The views from the peak were stunning. I found it especially fascinating to be above the fog. The meal was really tasty and good. We all had a wonderful time. Hegui even got a little crazy and started dancing around with a big cape blowing in the wind—see the video below–sorry that there’s no sound.

Like a good restaurant, picnics offer the potential to experience good and interesting food in a stimulating atmosphere. This one was five-stars. Where do you enjoy picnicking?

rocky outcropping at the top of the mountain

fog blowing into the park

welcome to Ruchi

The core of the weirdcombos tasting crew met the other day for lunch at Ruchi, a hole-in-the-wall place in the South of Market neighborhood, quite near where I work. It is popular at lunch, undoubtedly for its tasty foods at very reasonable prices. In fact, “ruchi” or “taste” is the name of this place, as a small flier at our table proclaimed. It went on to describe six tastes or flavors from Sanskrit literature: “sweet, salt, sour, chili hot, bitter and tart,” which collectively are known as “shad-ruchi,” or the six tastes. We were getting quite an education for a short lunch.

Ruchi is sort-of cafeteria-style. You stand in line to place your order and pay in advance. Then as dishes are prepared in the open kitchen, a server will deliver them to your table. The three of us all opted for the vegetarian thali. If you’ve never tried a thali before, you’re surely missing out. These usually come in metal trays filled with many little metal containers featuring numerous tastes of different yummy foods. Analogous to Spanish tapas or perhaps more like a Japanese lunch box with all those little openings in a large tray, these are smallish bites with lots of exciting flavors and textures. The word “thali” itself apparently means “plate” in Hindi.

vegetarian thali at Ruchi

Ours had dhal, basmati rice, naan, a potato dish in a green sauce that we thought must be spinach-based, a tiny cup of salty lassi, a carrot and pea dish, yogurt, some spicy chutney and a sweet rice dish. The presentation is lovely. This was not the best thali we’ve ever had but very nice nevertheless. We detected all six tastes, though I’m still hard-pressed to distinguish between sour and tart. Hegui thought that the meal might be Ayurvedic. I’ve no idea myself.

Ruchi isn’t much to look at, but it is pleasant. I’ve been several times before and always enjoyed myself. Whether or not you make it here, I highly recommend that you try a thali sometime soon.

Ruchi interior

welcome to Locanda Osteria and Bar

We were thrilled to try Locanda in the Mission District over the July 4th weekend. We’ve been long-time admirers of Delfina in the same ‘hood, and when we learned about this “child of Delfina” we had to go. Unlike the parent, Locanda is in a sketchier part of town: Valencia between 16th and 17th Streets. It was a gorgeous Independence Day so I insisted we go early to window shop before the reservations at 7:30PM. As we walked by the City-run garage on 16th towards the Wells Fargo ATM machines, these two guys right in front of, then, right around us got into an argument apparently about the fair price for “two rocks” of crack. It got heated as I got anxious. One pushed the other into the street, which fortunately, didn’t have much traffic. They both continued arguing. That’s way too much reality-TV-come-to-life for me.

Locanda interior

We made it to the restaurant and I was ready for a cocktail right away. They’ve a gorgeous bar here and it was packed! The cocktails looked great, too. I planned on ordering a “Smoke and Spice,” some gin, scotch drink with citrus, but the waitperson took so long to arrive, that I gave up and ordered a bottle of wine instead, thinking that would keep Hegui and me happy and reduce my impatience with further delays.

The staff there are as you might expect at a stylish place in the Mission: young, attractive, covered in tattoos and, since this place is fairly new, a bit disorganized. We saw several chatting with one another throughout the evening but not a lot of serving action. Isn’t that often the way with new-ish restaurants? Though I had kind of thought since Delfina is run so well, that they’d have worked out the kinks by now. Oh well.

Jewish style artichoke

Carciofi Crudi

fresh porcini salad with grilled romaine

Locanda is Italian with a focus on Roman style food. They cure their own meat, which is interesting, but didn’t really appeal since we’re pescatarian. The menu does have enough to offer vegetarian diners choice without feeling like an afterthought, which is nice. We tried a few appetizers, a pasta dish and dessert. All were veggie except the Pizza Bianca.

The Jewish style artichoke was really tasty. It was fried but didn’t seem especially oily. I liked the fact that there were some small crunchy leaves that remained attached to the tender heart to nosh on. We had the fresh porcini salad which came with grilled romaine and cheese. It looked more braised than grilled as there was a fair amount of sauce. The dish was fun and tasty. The Carciofi Crudi was our favorite starter: a salad with some greens, shaved raw artichoke and avocado; this was ultra fresh and subtle.

spaghetti with fava and ricotta salata

Pizza Bianca with egg and anchovy

Hegui tried the Pizza Bianca with egg and anchovy as his main. This was less of a pizza than a focaccia sandwich with egg salad. He liked it though it didn’t really work for me. I had the spaghetti with fava beans and ricotta salata. I’ve been keen on that type of cheese ever since H made Devaki’s pasta alla Norma. And this was good. Yet I felt disappointed. It didn’t taste at all like that spicy spaghetti in tomato sauce from Delfina or like the one from home. Just goes to show that I need to stick with my best food advice: Don’t ever order something at a restaurant that you make at home or know that you like from somewhere else. We shared side orders of green beans and sautéed greens.

Not fully cheesed out yet, I ordered the cheese plate (unnecessary) and the yummy ricotta fritta (necessary) with a glass of delightfully bitter Cynar—made from artichokes—to finish.

The physical space of the restaurant is eye-catching: modern but relaxed. People were really excited to be there, which gave it an excellent energy. We thought that the food and service were just OK.

ricotta fritta