Coming Soon!

As you can see I took a break from posting about restaurants but I have not stopped going out. I've been distracted by other things happening in my life and I haven't found the time or motivation to sit down and write about all of the wonderful and not so wonderful meals I've had lately. My goal over the next few weeks is to finally review all of them. Be sure to check back for my thoughts on the following places:

Bistro10 UN

La Parilla

Pacific Catch

Garibaldi's

Pier 23

Chestnut Street Diner

Da Flora

Foreign Cinema

Giordano Bros.

La Fitte

The Brixton

Cha Cha Cha

Tacolicious

The Grove

Town Hall

location: 324 howard street (at fremont), soma

town hall is a really great dining experience. it's delicious, comfortable and has great service. the new-american inspired menu offers food with a big southern influence, particularly louisiana. there are no vegetarian options, so i recommend this spot to people who are series about a great piece of meat or fish and who are willing to shell out some money. town hall is great but it is expensive. the portions are small but they are tasty and memorable and it is obvious that careful consideration goes into each dish. like i said, it's a experience.

i met c at the bar for a couple of beers before we headed to our table. the first thing i noticed were the amazing chandeliers, the restaurant is dimly lit with wide open windows to peer outside and provide light in the early evening.

i started with the bbq shrimp covered in worcestershire sauce atop garlic herb toast ($15). for a starter the shrimp was pretty pricey but i'm still thinking about the sauce. c and i dipped the rest of our table bread in it because it was so flavorful. for my entrée i had the blackened salmon with white corn maque choux, okra & red wine sauce ($26). my meal was absolutely wonderful. the salmon was cooked to perfection and paired with the okra and maque choux it made for perfect bites. although it was very expensive i thought it was worth it.

the bill came in the middle of a novel and people had signed it to leave their mark on the restaurant. apparently willie brown has been there!

i probably won't go again unless it's for a special occasion but i absolutely recommend this place for anyone looking for a great meal in sf.

tastiness: yay!

food vs. price: okay!

service: yay!

Submarine Center

location: 820 ulloa (at claremont), west portal

commonly known as west portal subs, this sandwich shop is a traditional sandwich shop that has been on the same corner in west portal for over 25 years. it's not trying to be fancy or special and that is what makes it so great. it's just good.

the decor is old and outdated with salamis and sausages hanging from the wall and old SF memorabilia on the walls. the old school menu provides basic meats and cheeses and some other specialty items. the sandwiches are priced either mini, center, or super. the super being a reasonable price of about $7 or $8 for a huge sandwich.

all sandwiches are toasted in the oven and then covered in a fantastic italian dressing like sauce which is what people have come to love so much. i went with the super turkey & cheese with everything and it was huge, delicious and i ate every bite.

the men working at the sub shop were friendly and didn't mind me taking photos and asking lots of questions. they know my friend L by name and were happy to see her face when we walked in. the kind of service you expect to find at your neighborhood sandwich place. west portal subs isn't super convenient to get to unless you live near it, but there is a muni station nearby and i certainly recommend making the trip.

tastiness: yay!

food vs. price: yay!

service: yay!

American Grilled Cheese Kitchen

location: 1 south park ave. (2nd, between bryant & brannan), soma

american grilled cheese kitchen is a quick, casual lunch spot in soma. it's been there for a little over a year, started by a woman who won a grilled cheese contest and quit her job to start her new life calling. the food is tasty and quick, perfect for a lunch break, although too far away from my office to enjoy it often. i had a day off so i met up with d and we had lunch on the patio outside the restaurant. there is a limited amount of seating inside but because it's so quick the spots in and tables outside seem to open up pretty fast.

the menu has several different unique grilled cheese sandwich options. word on the street is that they also have a secret menu, but i'm guessing if you don't see what you want on the menu you could probably just ask for it and they'd put it together for you. it's a very fun and relaxed environment. i had the jalapeño popper which has chevre & monterey jack cheeses, bacon, & jalapeño-apricot relish. the cheeses melted together to creat a very creamy texture. the sandwich was amazing until about half way through when the jalapeno became very overwhelming. the portions are pretty small so i was able to finish the whole thing. the apricot provided a nice refreshing compliment to the hot jalapeño.

for the size of the sandwiches they're a little expensive. my sandwich was $9 and our total lunch was $24 (two sandwiches, 2 lemonades). i certainly couldn't afford that for lunch everyday or even every week, but it seems like a nice treat if it's convenient to you!

follow american grilled cheese on twitter.

tastiness: yay!

food vs. price: okay!

service: yay!

Wayfare Tavern

location: 558 sacramento street (between montgomery and sansome), fidi

when tyler florence touches food you can guarantee it will be good. the expectations were pretty high for my dinner at wayfare tavern and they were met and exceeded! from the minute the doorman let us into the restaurant to the time he put us in a town car after our meal i felt like i was being taken care of. wayfare tavern is a dimly lit, two story, homey restaurant on a random corner in the financial district. there is large bar downstairs with brown leathern bar seating and a more formal dinning room upstairs. exposed wood table tops, a fire place and deer heads mounted on the wall give the atmosphere that you're right at home, although it's nothing like my home.

the food at wayfare tavern is american comfort with a little kick. the bread they start each table off with is crispy on the outside like a croissant and flaky and fluffy inside like a biscuit. j and i had the mac 'n' cheese as a starter and we were amazed by how delicious a bowl of mac n cheese could be. it was perfectly crisp on top and cheesy in the middle. the chives & breadcrumbs added the extra flavor that set them apart from other mac n cheese i've had and loved. a simple dish that would be difficult to replicate. for dinner i had the grilled santa maria tri -tip with slow roasted heirloom onion, truffle butter, and Kennebec potatoes. i ordered the meat well done and it was cooked to perfection. very little red but still as juicy as possible. the onion, potatoes and truffle butter all mixed together with the meat on my plate for one of the best meals i've had. ever.

the restaurant is all about wine. with a long list of wines available the menu separates the wines and makes suggestions for the kind of thing you might want for your meal. the cocktail menu has several different artisan choices with fresh and exotic ingredients.

the wait staff at wayfare tavern are there to serve you. like it's homey atmosphere the waiter almost made me feel as if he was our butler. he was happy to answer questions about the menu, the food, cocktails and the restaurant itself.

if you're planning a dinner at wayfare tavern make a reservation and be prepared to open your wallet. we each had only one cocktail with our meal and it was still over $100.

recommendation: have the mac 'n' cheese, no matter what else you do.

tastiness: yay!

food/drink vs. price: okay!

service: yay!

Gialina Pizzeria

location: 2842 diamond street (between bosworth & chenery), glen park

gialina pizzeria is located in the cute business area of glen park, a neighborhood i have ventured to only two times. it has been on my list for quite some time so i had to take full advantage of my dinner there, ordering several things on the menu. L took me to dinner for my birthday and we were greeted by a warm, friendly wait staff who sat us at an adorable corner window. even on a wednesday night gialina was crowded but they allowed us to take our time and didn't make us feel rushed. it was a particularly warm october night so we had a bottle of crisp, white italian wine and started dinner.

we started with the farro salad with heirloom tomatoes, basil & burrata which was wonderful. the two pizzas were had were the atomica which had mushrooms, mozzerella, chilies and red onions and the black mission figs with fontina, caramelized onions and speck. both pizzas were fresh and flavorful. we ordered two thinking we would carry something home but finished both. the pizza are traditional neapolitan-style thin crust. we finished the meal with a slice of ricotta cheesecake with figs and pistachios which was, to my surprise, one of the best pieces of cake i've ever had.

gialina is a hidden gem. i'm sure many people are aware of it's amazing food but it wouldn't be the same in another location. it's definitely worth the travel from the other side of the city for a great pizza dinner.

recommendation: make the trek.

tastiness: yay!

food/drink vs. price: yay! (although i didn't pay the menu is moderately priced)

service: yay!

Woodhouse Fish Co.

location: 1914 fillmore street (between pine & bush), lower pac heights

i've been wanting to try this place for a while now and thought it would be fun to invite l to the city to enjoy some lunch with me. her treat of course! we went to woodhouse for a saturday afternoon lunch and it was very delightful. it wasn't too loud or too crowded and there was no rush for us to finish our meal, so we took our time. both of us decided trying everything on the menu was out of the question although i think we would have accepted the challenge. we opted to share the items we were most interested in so that we could sample the most of the menu.

the fried calamari is accompanied by a fantastic chipotle aioli. it was a delicious starter although l felt it was pretty similar to all of the other fried calamari she's had. we shared a cup of the clam chowder which was nearly perfect. it was thick but still creamy and didn't have an overwhelming amount of potatoes. i was glad we opted for the cup because i don't think we had any idea what was next.

we ordered two different sandwiches because the entrées all seemed like too much for lunch. i had the toasted-buttered dungeness roll while l opted for the bay shrimp & avocado roll. and we ordered a side of onion rings to share, although we never really got to them as we were so full. the crab sandwich was a more than generous portion of fresh crab in a delicious hot, toasted & buttered roll. it required nothing else because the crab alone was amazing. the bay shrimp & avo sandwich was great as well. l couldn't figure out how to eat it because it was such a heaping sandwich. it was covered in a sweet & tangy sauce that accompanied the shrimp and avo wonderfully.

the menu is very reasonably priced ($11-20 for sandos, $14+ for entrées) considering the portions and everything is fresh and delicious. the lunch was paired with a great glass of oyster bay sauvignon blanc.

the view out the window onto fillmore street makes for a lively dining experience and the interior decor brings you right to the ocean. they even have a tv (with a gorgeous frame) showing fisherman out on their boats or docked at land. the wait staff was extremely friendly and they offered suggestions for next time!

this was one of the best lunches i've had in a long time. i'm looking forward to going back for a dinner date.

recommendation: perfect for a date with your mate or your best friend.

tastiness: yay!

food/drink vs. price: yay!

service: yay!