Calf's brains

Restaurant: Incanto (San Francisco)
Food description: Calf's brains with white chanterelle mushrooms, capers, and lemon
Food rating: 8 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

Sorry if brains gross anyone out, but I think it's fun to get a little avant-garde with my cuisine. I had all these bad brain jokes lined up for this post, but then I remembered I actually want to keep my readers. So for those of you who never had brains, here's your chance to live vicariously through mine (I couldn't resist). I've been dying to try them for a while and was advised against it by an ex-Incanto chef friend. His organ of choice is sweetbreads, which I'll admit, are definitely better. But dowse anything in chanterelles and it's tough to go wrong, no? Anyway, after first cutting into a brain, the inside was white and soft like silken tofu--no muscle fibers to speak of. The texture was incredibly smooth and basically melted in your mouth the same way uni does. It's extremely fatty and rich like pâté, but milkier and only a tad livery. With the wonderful chanterelle gravy and a little lemon and capers to cut the heaviness, it turned out fantastic! I'm sure there's places where you should and shouldn't order brains, but Incanto can definitely be trusted with a tricky dish like this. I encourage all you squeamish ones to try it just once here. Just close your eyes and you won't be disappointed!

Food review: Andouille sausage eggs benedict

Restaurant: Maverick (San Francisco)
Food description: Two poached eggs atop grilled andouille sausage, crawfish and jalapeno hollandaise, English muffin, side of home fries
Food rating: 9 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

Wow--what can I say--yet another superb brunch dish from Maverick. Not only did it taste amazing, it was inventive and I'd say the best seafood eggs benedict I've had in San Francisco. I loved the creole flair of this dish, and the meticulously-balanced ingredients. To allow the crawfish to really shine, the chef knew exactly how much to tone down the smokiness and spiciness of the andouille and jalapeno. The creamy hollandaise and egg yolk brought out the flavor of the crawfish and tasted like fresh crab drenched in butter. Add a little kick to that plus some smoked meat, and life is good. I've been looking for a loooooong time for an eggs benedict that's worthy of a 9.0. I wouldn't change a thing about this dish aside from maybe the home fries. They were just slightly crispy and not greasy, but just a tad dry here and there. That's just filler anyway and I'm not really rating those. But as far as eggs benedict is concerned, this is the reigning champ. Anyone up for a challenge?

Food review: Duck confit hash

Restaurant: Maverick (San Francisco)
Food description: Two poached eggs atop duck confit with crisp hash browns, oyster mushrooms in a mushroom cream sauce
Food rating: 9 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

How 'bout I cut to the chase and just say 'Holy crap! This dish was f*#&n incredible!' Definitely the best breakfast hash dish I've had in San Francisco. It's what happens when chefs put the same about of effort into brunch as they do for dinner. In case you didn't know, mushrooms and duck melt together like hot-butta-on-a-breakfast-toast. Something about the gameyness of the duck and the funginess of the mushrooms really work amazing together to create this deeply rich and hearty flavor without the grease of fattier meats. To make things even better, they threw in some crispy hash browns which retained their crispiness despite being drenched in mushroom sauce. This is a feat very rarely accomplished in a hash brunch dish! And mix all that together with the two poached eggs and it's simply perfection. Ok, nothing's perfect, and I'll admit that one of my eggs was slightly over-poached, but I'm a forgiving person and they can get another chance at that. There were also pieces of duck here and there a tiny bit dry, but it wasn't a big deal after the mushroom sauce kicked in. What really amazed me about this dish is that, given how heavy the ingredients were, how non-greasy the whole thing tasted. It was nice to finally eat a hash where your face and didn't end up covered in grease. Absolutely loved it, and what a 180° from the donut holes!

Food review: Maverick donut holes

Restaurant: Maverick (San Francisco)
Food description: Five doughnuts dusted with cinnamon and sugar
Food rating: 5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

After just eating at Maverick for dinner, I remembered someone telling me their brunch was rumored to be great, so I made a second trip to scope it out. As I walked up, I noticed a 7x7 award for "Best Brunch" in the window, which typically is a good sign, not to mention the exiting restaurantgoers raving about how awesome it was. I perused the menu and, after resisting donuts all week after a workout marathon, I finally caved and ordered the donut holes. Now that my expectations had been all built up, I was assuming they'd be amazing, but sadly, that was not the case. I was expected an airy, light-and-fluffy donut that was delicately dusted with powered sugar. What I got was a heavy, doughy, 1/4 inch-of-granulated-sugar-coated donut hole--well actually...five of them! They were so dense that they were scalding hot in the center, so I burnt my fingers pulling it apart! Ouchie! I had to brush off a good portion of the sugar before they could be in edible form. There was also too much cinnamon for me (I'm not a huge fan). So the donuts ended up being a total upset and wasn't a very good start to brunch...

Food review: Grilled Broken Arrow Ranch antelope

Restaurant: Maverick (San Francisco)
Food description: Grilled peppercorn crusted Broken Arrow Ranch antelope loin with grilled black mission figs, creamy Texas long grain wild rice with carrots and leeks
Food rating: 8 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

Well...as an antelope virgin I'm not totally qualified to review this dish, but I'll definitely give it a shot. The flavor of antelope falls into a happy-medium spot somewhere between venison and steak--not too gamey and not too bland. The texture of the loin cut was excellent, tender and gristle-free, and on the lean side. It was cooked medium, which turned out juuust right, very pink and juicy but not bloody. The portion was sizable, and larger than expected, given the modest price of $28. Though the antelope was grilled, I prefer a little more char and felt that the grilled flavor was completely overtaken by the intense sweetness of the mission fig reduction. I learned to avoid overdrenching each bite with the fig sauce--it only needed a teeny smidgen and could've been toned down a lot. So you can imagine what it was like eating the figs braised in their own reduction. I had to pass on dessert after that. I actually enjoyed the rice because it was a refreshing alternative to those heavy sleep-inducing mashed potatoes typically served with steak dishes. Definitely a winner in my book.

Food review: Creekstone Farm short ribs

Restaurant: Maverick (San Francisco)
Food description: Braised Creekstone Farm beef short ribs with homemade tater tots, Vedure Farm cherokee tomato slices, watercress, and braising reduction
Food rating: 7.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

Short ribs always hit the spot on those brisk nights when you're in the mood for some comfort food. Such was the case at Maverick, with their California-cuisine-meets-Southwest rendition of this dish. The dish was hearty and heavy but I thoroughly enjoyed everything in all it's fatty glory. The the short ribs had a little crispiness to the edges but juicy and tender inside, giving it a unique but nice texture contrary to what I was expecting. The flavor was basically what you'd expect from short ribs: savory, salty, and buttery goodness. Though fatty, it was definitely not overly greasy. The braising reduction was thin but potent and added that necessary gravy requirement. I was excited about the homegrown tater tots, which were crispy and tasty, but came out a little on the greasy side. I get what the chef was trying to do with the tomatoes but I didn't think it really needed them. I guess it was necessary to appease the veggie complainers. Overall, the dish was simple but very well done and worthy of a second go.

Food review: Baltimore crab fluffs

Restaurant: Maverick (San Francisco)
Food description: Fried lump Maryland blue crab cakes with tartar sauce
Food rating: 6 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

Being from the east coast, I'm going to be a little hard on this dish because I've had Maryland blue crabs straight out of the Chesapeake and know how good they can be. That being said, I don't feel these crab cakes represented properly, but it was a good try. On the good side, there was a lot of crab meat and hardly any fillers. On the bad side, the meat was more shredded than lumpy. I was looking forward to some big old chunks of crab and instead got more of a crab mashup. That wasn't a huge deal though, it was actually the flavor that was the dealbreaker for me. The sad thing about blue claw crabs is if the meat is more than a day old, the flavor suffers and becomes more fishy than sweet. I noticed this immediately because I am used to eating whole blue crabs caught fresh that day, compared to crabcakes which are processed. I also thought that deep-frying the crab and serving it with tartar sauce was overkill on the heaviness. Perhaps something lemony instead could work better. Maybe I'm being too critical, but this dish not live up to my expectations and I know that Maverick can do better.

Food review: Sweet corn pudding

Restaurant: Maverick (San Francisco)
Food description: Sweet corn pudding with roasted red pimiento peppers over bed of baby lettuce and anchovy vinaigrette
Food rating: 8 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

Corn pudding is one of those simple pleasures in life that Maverick really nailed. It's California cuisine, so the secret was in the super-sweet local corn. The corn was so good, I was immediately hooked and demanded a side of grilled corn-on-the-cob to accompany my entree. Not only was it sweet, but it was also decadently creamy. I liked that the sweetness came naturally from the corn instead of adding a ton of sugar. The chef tried to balance things out with an anchovy-dressed side salad, but I felt that it was fine by itself. I did like the addition of roasted red peppers. It helped give the dish a little character. The texture of the pudding was thick and held its shape, and neither pasty nor soggy. The corn was perfectly cooked--crisp and not chewy or mushy. As a side note, this is one of the few dishes that I refrained from adding salt to. It's a shame that I rarely see corn pudding on the menu at other restaurants.

Food review: Halibut salad crostini

Restaurant: Zuni Cafe (San Francisco)
Food description: Halibut salad crostini with niçoise olives, kumquats, crème fraîche, shallot vinaigrette, with side of lamb's lettuce salad
Food rating: 7 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

The halibut salad crostini highlights the benefits of California cuisine with its freshness and fusion of ingredients. I always like it when a chef gets creative and can combine unlikely ingredients in a complementary way--in this case--kumquats, olives, and fish. I really liked how the acidity and sweetness of the kumquats balanced the saltiness and strength of the olives. The halibut and crème fraîche mellowed everything out and the crostini supplied the necessary crunch. I'd describe the flavors as light, tangy, salty, clean, and citrusy. I also loved that there was no mayo used in this dish, but a light shallot vinaigrette instead. It was the perfect alternative to a salad and didn't weigh me down afterwards. Although there was nothing bad about this dish (aside from an oily side salad), after having the amazing burger and other dishes at Zuni, I've come to expect more from them, especially for $13 they were charging. It's a shames because I really enjoyed and appreciated the uniqueness of this dish but, for what it was, I don't think it's worth ordering again.

Food review: Zuni burger

Restaurant: Zuni Cafe (San Francisco)
Food description: Mesquite-grilled house-ground chuck burger on rosemary foccacia with gruyère, garden lettuce, red onion, aioli, and Zuni pickles
Food rating: 9.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

Ok, so I'll get right to the point on this one: As of right now, this is the best (insert expletive here) burger I've eaten in San Francisco. Period! I've never had a burger so juicy, flavorful, and of this quality until now. I have since become obsessed with finding out the secret to these burgers and learned that Judy Rogers (the chef and owner) grinds the chuck in-house after marinating it with salt for 24 hours and voilà! The perfect burger. Sounds easy enough, so I intend on getting my hands on a meat grinder and testing it out myself.

So anyway, let me attempt to describe why this burger was so good. #1: The texture. This was by far the juiciest burger I've ever had, and when I say juicy I'm not talking about greasy. Huge difference there. The meat wasn't overground, resulting in a delicately constructed patty that was tender and easy to chew. I was worried about the foccacia not being able to support the weight of the burger, but it held strong and was a welcome variation on the traditional burger bun. #2: The flavor. It was deep and smoky with a touch of char, amazingly fresh, and didn't leave the palate greasy at all. Made from pure chuck, the flavor was greatly improved, and free of any sketchy bits of cartilage or other questionable beef parts typically found in ground beef patties. I'm not an Atkins fanatic, so when I say the burger patty was tasty enough to eat by itself, I mean it! No need for any cheese or onion or bread messing up this masterpiece! In all seriousness though, this burger is truly amazing and no matter what you put on it, it'll still be great. I've heard people complain that the burger was too rare, and my response to that would be: think of this burger as you would a steak. It's not your average bacteria-ridden ground beef, but premium house-ground chuck with very little processing, so you can afford to eat it a little rarer (the chefs know best). So sorry, if you're waiting for me to say something negative about this burger, you won't find it here!

Food review: Mussels poulette

Restaurant: Plouf (San Francisco)
Food description: Steamed Prince Edward Island mussels in a shallot, bacon, and white wine cream sauce
Food rating: 6 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

Plouf is one of the better joints on Belden Lane because they know how to do one thing well: mussels. Plouf's mussels come straight from Prince Edward Island, which are cultured (farmed) rather than wild. Because they never touch the ocean bottom, the mussels end up sweeter, more tender, plumper, and sand-free. Yum! So now that you've got the low-down on P.E.I., let's get into the sauce. Since Plouf serves mussels galore, you can choose from a selection of seven sauces, from traditional to mariniere, to even gratinee. I wanted to try something different and chose the "poulette" sauce, which I unfortunately would not choose again. The mild flavor of the mussels was no match for the heavy smokiness of the bacon and the intense sweetness of the shallots. Not to mention the heaviness of the cream. I prefer a sauce that's much more subtle because I actually wanted to taste the mussels, ya know? That's not to say the sauce wouldn't be great on a pasta or something else, just not with this dish. It was a shame too, since the portions were very generous and the sauce just got too sickening for me to finish it. So there you have it: great mussels + not-so-great sauce = a 6.0. Better luck next time!

Food review: Filet mignon beef carpaccio

Restaurant: Plouf (San Francisco)
Food description: Thin slices of rare filet mignon with black truffle vinaigrette, topped with baby arugula, shaved parmesan, and fried shallots
Food rating: 8 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

Since Plouf's claim to fame is their mussels, I was skeptical about whether their other menu items would deliver. Luckily the beef carpaccio turned out to be a wise choice and had me longing for more. Texture-wise, it's tough to go wrong with filet mignon, as it barely required any chewing at all. It sorta just fell apart on its own as I barely nudged it with my fork. To help bring out the flavor of a typically flavor-lacking cut, a small stockpile of parmesan and fried shallots were there for the rescue. In my book, you can never have enough cheese, so the puny shavings of parmesan left something to be desired. The shallots, on the other hand, though small, were quite potent--not a biting potent--more like a mellow concentrated flavor. They also provided the "crunch" factor, which wouldn't have been as satisfying without it. The arugula was nutty as usual, but was slightly on its way out and didn't quite work together for me. It worked as a little side salad I guess. I love how the carpaccio wasn't drowning in olive oil, it was tastefully drizzled on top. One downside is that the beef was cut so razor thin that it didn't end up being very much food in the end, and certainly didn't last very long! But I guess that's a good thing, given the enormous pot of mussels that followed!

Food review: Butterscotch pudding

Restaurant: Acme Chophouse (San Francisco)
Food description: Butterscotch pudding topped with whipped cream and candied macadamia nuts, served with blonde brownies
Food rating: 8 out of 10
Times ordered: 2

This is the only desert I've had at Acme so far, and pretty much the only dessert I need to have. Normally when I see/hear/read anything regarding butterscotch, I avoid it like the plague, but thanks to a rec from my outstanding server Charles, I went out on a limb and went for it--been hooked ever since. The "butterscotch" part was actually more like a creamy caramel flavor similar to a crème brulée without the egg or the crunch. Though rather sweet, it was still light enough to polish off with no trouble. To help with the sweetness, it's served with two blonde brownies and some candied macadamia nuts. The nuts helped and added a little crunch, but I didn't care much for the brownies. They were a little dry, but also tasted slightly old/frozen/refrigerator funky. Whatever the case, they were easy enough to not eat. So overall, this dessert made for a great alternative to my usual dark chocolate addictions and just as satisfying. And if you're like me and put off by the though of butterscotch, don't be. I assure you it resembles nothing of those disgusting yellow-orange hard candies from your childhood.

Food review: Porterhouse steak

Restaurant: Acme Chophouse (San Francisco)
Food description: 22oz grass-fed porterhouse steak (medium rare)
Food rating: 9 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

This steak has magical properties, and eating it will instantly teleport you into one of those rare moments of dining bliss, foodie heaven if you will. There are few places with steak of this caliber, so enjoy it while it lasts. The flavor was inexplicably amazing. Since the steak was grass-fed instead of grain-finished, it was much leaner, accentuating the actual flavor of the meat over the flavor of fat. The only thing you tasted was the fabulously rich flavor of the seared oak-smoked steak. No greasy aftertaste lingering around like in the rib eye. Though I ordered it medium-rare, the grass-fed steaks tend to be served on the rare side since they get tougher faster. Based on looks alone, I expected it to be fleshy and chewy, but I took a bite and the texture was beyond tender. I consider this being cooked to perfection, still juicy but not bloody at all. It was simply remarkable how flavorful, tender, and juicy the steak was without tasting the slightest bit greasy or heavy. There were a couple of pieces of gristle that I had to cut around toward the top of the T-bone, but I'd say that's pretty standard given the cut. Other than that, the porterhouse was pretty much flawless. It's a well-spent $52, though dangerously habit-forming. I'm dying to see if the 40 day dry-aged rib eye can top this masterpiece.

Food review: Ribeye steak

Restaurant: Acme Chophouse (San Francisco)
Food description: 22oz grain-finished bone-in rib eye steak (medium rare)
Food rating: 8 out of 10
Times ordered: 2

The ribeye is the only grain-finished steak on the menu at Acme (aside from specials), so I thought I'd compare it tete-a-tete against one of their esteemed grass-fed steaks: the porterhouse. The verdict? Let's just say the rib eye was quite good, but was no match for the porterhouse. Sure, certain aspects are a matter of personal preference--some people prefer the fattiness of the rib eye--but in terms of texture and flavor, the porterhouse was far superior. If you're big on rib eye though, you won't be disappointed with Acme's. All of their steaks are grilled in an oak-burning oven, the key to their characteristic deep smoky flavor. The rib eye itself was as juicy as it was greasy, due to the extra marbling from the grain-finishing. That makes the rib eye the heaviest richest steak they offer. If you're in the mood for something leaner and lighter-tasting, then grass-fed is the way to go. Though the flavor of the rib eye was delicious, I was less impressed with the texture, and found it to be slightly on the tough side. The outer lip was tender and just fine, but the inside required a bit more chewing effort. The porterhouse was much more tender. I'm itching to try their special 40 day dry-aged rib eye and see how it stacks up (but someone else nabbed the last one from my clutches). So until then, it's the porterhouse all the way.