The Week's Local Eats:
It was a big week around here. My parents came to visit and with the crummy weather, there wasn't much for us to do other than eat, drink, eat, and drink some more. Here are some thoughts on the places I checked out this week.
Hog Island Oyster Co:
No trip to the ferry building is complete without a stop in at Hog Island. I came in with a girlfriend on a Tuesday evening for a couple of cocktails and oysters. We went with the Oysters Rockefeller, a dish I can't remember having for the longest time, but it certainly met expectations. The sweet briny oysters were perfect with the warm, creamy spinach and with four to a serving, it was the perfect pre-dinner treat. Our cocktails were fabulous, both of mine being super complex combinations I didn't know were possible. Hog Island, you never disappoint!
Al's Place:
I have to admit, I was nervous coming here. With all the hype, I wasn't sure it could live up to expectations, and it was the first meal I'd be enjoying with my parents in town. I didn't want to let them down either! Luckily, none of that was the case. Our meal was delightful, full of fresh produce and crisp flavors. The standouts for me included the mushroom broth chawanmushi, the black kale with hedgehogs, the smoked brassicas with burrata, and the campanelle with turnip/kale pesto.
Front Porch:
Another place that I wasn't convinced would live up to expectations. My mom loves fried chicken, and when I say love, I mean L-O-V-E. We've gone to place after place in San Francisco and she has yet to find a place that really meets her standards. After searching for almost 6 years, I think we finally found it at Front Porch! The place was adorable, perfectly Southern feeling outside, with plenty of charm in the service we found inside. We came for brunch and while Mom and I leapt at the chicken & waffles, Dad went for the hangover helper and my friend Steve opted for the spicy shrimp and grits. Thank goodness he did! It was maybe the best shrimp and grits I've had in SF, and certainly the best dish that day, though the chicken was pretty awesome also. My only complaint? The bloody mary was lacking in any flavor or spice, though I liked the okra on top.
Swamp:
My parents wanted seafood so I did some research on where to get good seafood at a reasonable price. Swamp came up at the top of the list - it got pretty good Yelp reviews and it's out in the Richmond, a neighborhood I rarely visit, so this seemed like as good of a time as any. I went into it with fairly low expectations, and in some ways, Swamp really delivered. In others, less so. The good - the boils. We got the dungeness crab, shrimp, and clams, and all were excellent, as were the two sauces we got them in, the hurricane sauce (like cajun seasoning, in sauce form) and the coconut curry sauce. Also, the alligator sausage. Sliced thin, seared, super tender and juicy but leaner than your standard sausage, subtly but well seasoned. The okay - the cajun fries were properly crispy like fries should be and well seasoned on the cajun side, but FAR too salty. The green beans were tasty, perfectly blistered, but fairly standard for Asian style green beans. The bad - the hush puppies were too dense and the crawfish beignets were bready, like mini calzones instead of pillowy stuffed doughnuts. Overall, I'd come back, but I'd steer away from anything that isn't a straight boil.
The Gipsy Darling:
Our original Sunday brunch plan was dim sum, but when we woke up and the sun was actually shining, we decided to stay in the neighborhood so we could walk around and enjoy some time outside. After wandering towards Chesnut and finding most of the go-to places full, we walked into Gipsy Darling. The place was crowded but there was a table available for the three of us and we were seated immediately. The food was ok, it all sounded good though in execution was too heavy, but the place was adorable. It was staffed by one big family - they were super friendly, and despite some service issues, I'd go back just to support the family and their new business venture.
Rangoon Ruby:
This place basically lived up to expectations. We looked outside the hotel when the rain started coming down again, picked the first place we saw, and went. Perfectly run-of-the-mill Burmese food. Absolutely nothing to write home about, but nothing bad. The tea leaf salad was unremarkable, missing the complexity of flavors found in better tea leaf salads. The pork and pumpkin stew had no flavor outside of pork and pumpkin... no spice, no nothing. Chicken and shrimp biryani was the most solid dish of them all, great spice and flavors, but it tasted classically Indian, there was nothing that stood out to make this dish "Burmese" for me. Same of the samosas we had to start. I'm glad I tried the place, as I had always wondered how it was, but I can't see coming back. I didn't even take a single picture!
MyMy Coffee Shop:
What a way to end my parents' visit! I had heard about this place from a few different people, but each time I heard about it, I also heard about the line. I was a bit intimidated, but since my parents were leaving Monday afternoon, I figured we had a shot of getting there early Monday while normals were at work and getting in. I was right! We arrived at 9am and the place was empty, though by 9:30am, that was no longer the case. Everything we ate was awesome, and I'm still blown away by their scrambles. I've never had a scramble with such light and fluffy eggs! Despite the chorizo, avocado, cheese, peppers, onions, pico de gallo, and other heavy ingredients in my Tex Mex scramble, the eggs remained really light, really fluffy, and not weighed down AT ALL. I want to know their secret! I had never had savory pancakes but the zucchini pancakes were so tasty, also very fluffy with a light parmesan crust. The creaminess of the egg yolk was the perfect addition, no syrup desired! One other fun thing - I'm convinced the hash browns were fried in coconut oil. They tasted like coconut, which I actually loved, though I could imagine others not reacting as well. All in all, this place is BOMB.
So, that was my week! Can't wait to see what next week has in store!