daybaker

Yes, Hamako has been mentioned a couple of times on this thread already. I don't know if I would call the couple very kind and personable. The wife is lovely, but the husband/sushi chef is definitely temperamental, especially with new customers. But the sushi itself can be very good, and his saba is definitely my favorite in town. Note that he's been talking about retiring imminently for the last couple of years, so if you like the place you should get over there soon. Ino is also solely a husband and wife operation, as is Tekka in the inner Richmond. The nice thing with Tekka is that the wife also makes cooked dishes, which are often better than the sushi. But there's no English menu for them, so you have to prod her to get the list of dishes for that night. And they only open weeknights, usually not until 7:30pm, and there's almost always a wait for a seat. It's quite possibly the smallest restaurant I've been to in San Francisco. ←

thai house express- on larkin near geary also tenderloin (right?) lots of people think it's the best cheap thai food in sf myself included for specific things like the special pork leg stew over rice their common thai dishes are much better and hotter than what you get at most other places as well- seemingly much more authentic- green papaya salad with dried shrimps and chilis, etc. the catfish dishes have been recommened to me but I have not tried them there is another location at 19th and castro- good as well and they both serve all through the day and late if you specify hot it is very much so- med hot it usually just right

seems to be restaurants that opened last year I wonder if anyone has tried fifth floor with the new chef though?

just ate a load of crab cooked live at home from the fish market across from hog island in the ferry building- very alive and fighting great dinner and some leftovers for omelettes in the morning sorry for the bad news reporting but it matters- friends don't let friends waste crabs eat up and happy holidays

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...1358EST0182.DTL from today's chronicle

that ducasse is uncompromising and people hate him for it as steven noted cannot be understated I was at the restaurant for the book release party (the book- harvesting excellence hastily put together to coincide with the ADNY opening is a joke compared with the other french volumes- masterworks in my opinion- ducasse is putting out in the Les Editions d'Alain Ducasse) the same week of the pink paper story called 'the man who fell to earth' (ny post?) or something close to that written seemingly to endear him to nyc dining public shortly after the fallout just after opening even in the midst of all that he seemed well insulated (noticebly confused as well) and after a few good reviews following months later it seems the backlash repeated and has continued over the last couple of years back then during a tour of the kitchen I'll never forget the pale faces of the chef and cooks as well as the resolute nature of the ducasse institution that was in full force- it's tough the food was excellent and that brioche for the next morning was indeed some of the best I've had in this country it does seem to be a factor that ducasse is much more an international chef than his 'peers' here and not based in nyc

just heard a report on kqed radio yesterday concerning the early overfishing of dungeness crabs in the bay area- mostly from larger non local boats subsequent flooding of the market and *lots* of dead crabs being thrown out or not even making it off the boat before being thrown out and how they may be harder to get as the season progresses because of all this made me think of the lifeless looking crabs piled almost to the top of the tank in the ferry building as I like my crabs to be moving around a bit sorry for the bad news- big drag and such a pointless waste can only hope it was overstated in the report

I wonder if anyone enjoyed quince or delfina truffle dinners- quince last week and delfina tonight (friday) and tomorrow as well I believe very different and excellent meals both-true to form for each restaurant- both very generous with the truffles tableside with quince being a (substantial) bit more expensive for the 5 gram shaving supplement common to both restaurants and delfina maybe having better truffles by a small margin missed the oliveto dinner but have definately had my fill here with my favorite neighborhood places- will post more detail but I need to have quince fax me a menu to be accurate in a post- there was a truffle wine pairing flight menu offered there too so the details are vague at this point- excellent wines any one else sample the sf offerings?

foreign cinema brunch can be excellent http://foreigncinema.com/food/brunch.php it often gets overlooked because of it's affiliation with the crowd that left town a couple of years ago but I've had consistently very good meals there- for dinner, etc...on the right day sitting in the courtyard is quite nice for brunch and maybe a little raucous in a good way there's always swan oyster depot on polk near california open at 8 am (closed sunday)- not really traditional breakfast for all but one of my favorites

a very thoughtful reply- thank you don't know what to say about the vibe- it's a definite mission vibe- but not too cool or too european- if you lived around here it might be easier to understand- it's just a neighborhood in transition now with some tension and a lot of apathy tempered with aimlessness and an abundance of very highly educated people trying to make lattes (biding their time) which they don't have the discipline or historical tradition in mind to do properly too bad about the coffee- I don't drink drip- only espresso but I know they were talking about switching to blue bottle but the only option for drip was drip (filter) made to order which is not a good scenario for tartine bottom line is - the whole point of exceptional food.... ...and the sheer sensual pleasure- agree- if you aren't getting that at tartine go elsewhere sheer sensual pleasure is a lofty and elusive goal for any restaurant and by nature an interactive state of operation- look around you next time and note if others are enjoying themselves while you are not and you might say to yourself- what does it all mean? easy answer fresh bread for lunch would be ideal- can't argue there but still not possible ps don't try to park nearby on a weekend- it's bad- walk or take a cab- sf is a very small town and please do let the owners know- it's the right thing

re: marlena's experience at tartine I really don't get the "who do they think they are" rants on tartine- pretty far off base if you get to know the people who work there as a regular- not even close in fact it's a busy place with lines out the door lots of the time and the counter staff trying to handle the mostly chaotic situation as best they can- with many demanding customers and a fair amount of tourists and first time visitors who don't know the way to navigate the throngs people do get angry when they come in for bread early and find out it's not out of the oven until the afternoon- 4 pm is a safe bet- but this has been the baking schedule for a long time now there is no oven space in the morning for bread- so it's just not possible- fresh bread for dinner and toast for breakfast- to some this makes perfect sense let the owners know if you're treated rudely so they can remedy the problem

so lunch at casa mono this tuesday- my only experience there no loud music- none at all that I noticed- half full if that and the bar jamon next door is not open during the early day now- opens later now at 5 or so bacalao was perfectly fried deep golden and crispy with good orange mayo anchovies were still sort of salty and not very crispy which was curious considering the perfectly fried bacalao fritters that came out at the same time- I ate them but they were not in the best form- the batter was not right terrin de lengua- this was really very good- sliced thin on the plate with some favas and shaved fennel and well dressed with good acid to balance the tongue- well seasoned too lamb with favas and mint- best lamb preparation I've had in a long time- tiny chops perfectly cooked with a sauce of favas, crushed mint, and whole grain mustard plus boar w/ escalivada- not bad but not great- the boar was a little dry and the escalivada was too oily (and I don't mind the oil if it's in balance but this was not) pequillo peppers stuffed with oxtail- rich and really good to my taste- also very oily bread is still stale but this seems kind of the norm in nyc- correct me if I'm wrong excellent espresso and decent service. first post- I've been reading this site for awhile- and enjoying