Koi Palace

365 Gellert Blvd
Daly City, CA 94015

(650) 992-9000
www.koipalace.com

It can lure you in with inexpensive prices. It once promised quality over quantity and consistently delivered the opposite. It can create 100 dish permutations with only three ingredients. It is the most overrated food in the world. I don't always eat dim sum, but when I do, I prefer Koi Palace.


Considered one of the best dim sum houses in the country, it easily made its way onto our agenda. And as our vacation was approaching we happen to try two of the most acclaimed dim sum restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley, Elite and Sea Harbour. After these two visits, I was beginning to think dim sum was just plain pedestrian. We were even contemplating whether to replace Koi Palace. Due to the day fast approaching and pure laziness, we kept it on the agenda. And thank god we did. There is such a thing as good dim sum.

The food was consistently well above average. Our favorites were the Coffee Glazed Pork Spareribs , X.O. Spicy Sauce Dumplings, and the Crab Meat filled Dumplings w/ Whole Crab. the har gow and crab, we have had before and Kio's version was hands down a grade above. The ingredients were fresher, more succulent, and the preparation was better executed. The BBQ pork buns were on par with Sea Harbour, but I would give the edge to Elite. And for $24, I would pass on the abalone. It reminded me of the bland flavors you get at most dim sum places.

$4.50 X.O. Spicy Sauce Dumplings (8)

$3.60 Baked BBQ Pork Buns (6)

$4.50 Har Gow (7)

$32 #436 Crab Meat filled Dumplings w/ Whole Crab (8)

$24 Garlic Steamed Abalone (4)

$6.90 #376 Coffee Glazed Pork Spareribs (8)

(The dining room)

(Sweatshop hard at work)

(Duck)

(The wait at 11:30AM on Sunday)

(Making dragon beard candy)

Dynamo Donuts and Coffee

2760 24th St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 920-1978

www.dynamodonut.com

Prior to coming to San Francisco, I posted on Chowhound requesting recommended dishes at Koi Palace and I mentioned we were going to The French Laundry later than night for dinner. A few people replied back that's too much food to have in one day. They would have thought I was crazy if I mentioned my girlfriend and I were splitting nine doughnuts and two desserts as a morning refresher at Dynamo. But that was exactly the game plan.

The line at 8:59AM

(The crew hard at work)

(The daily selection)

Overall, I liked the doughnuts. But a clear second to some recent experiences I've had at Bob's Doughnut in Los Angeles. Bob's has a fresh baked dough taste and the glaze impales within the doughnut's crevasses. Rather than walk through all the dishes, I listed the doughnuts in order of preference with some highlights.

The goods (in order of preference)

$2.50 Spiced Chocolate (8)

$2 Caramel de Sel (8)

$3 Chocolate Hazelnut Rose Geranium (7)

$2.50 Chocolate Star Anise (7)

$3 Passion fruit Milk Chocolate (7)

$2 Apricot Cardamom (6)

$3 Sticky Bun (6)




$3 Donut Bread Pudding (6)




$3 Strawberry Earl Grey (6)

$2 Vanilla Bean (6)

$3 Maple Glazed Bacon Apple (5)

After trying the entire inventory of doughnuts, how could one feel unfulfilled or empty? Well, it would have been nice to try at least one filled doughnut. A quota for future daily menu designs? Perhaps, but I'll have to stop in some time for a Banana de Leche or a Lemon Sichuan.

Note: No doughnuts were harmed in the making of this blog post. My girlfriend and I each tried a quarter of a doughnut and gave the other half to a homeless guy.

Sierra Mar - Post Ranch Inn

Highway 1
Big Sur, CA 93920

(831) 667-2800

http://www.yelp.com/biz_redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.postranchinn.com%2Fdining.shtml&src_bizid=eRo3X2jua8CVTWadRACIkQ&cachebuster=1284511192

I had, what I thought was, an ingenious idea to drive home down PCH from San Francisco to Santa Monica. We gave up mid drive, caught the 101 in San Luis Obispo, and it still took us nine hours in total. We did make one memorable stop along the way at The Post Ranch in Big Sur.  The hotel is widely recognized as the place in the middle of nowhere that charges $1,000 a night for a room.

If you don't budget for four digit hotel rates, Sierra Mar restaurant within the hotel or the adjacent bar is a cost effective alternative to take in the spectacular coastal views.

On our visit it was extremely foggy, but the views were still exhilarating. Although it was a little windy, we grabbed a seat outside on the deck and ordered a couple items while we took in the surroundings and watched the sunset. The food was a lot better than I expected, but I must admit I didn't go in with high expectations. We ordered oysters and Wagyu beef and enjoyed the final hour of a great weekend.

$28 Half Dozen Oysters on the Half Shell with Sambuca Mignonette (6)
Nothing special, but an ideal choice after all the food we had this weekend. Light, refreshing and complemented with a glass of wine. Good appetizer to take in the view.

$56 Wagyu Beef (6)
Standard 1980's upscale dining at its finest. The meat was obviously American wagyu. For the price, I would pass on entrees and just order some more wine.

Boccalone

1 Ferry Bldg

San Francisco, CA 94111(415) 433-6500

http://www.yelp.com/biz_redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.boccalone.com&src_bizid=U0MKYrh42QUSRprC9dt_Iw&cachebuster=1284102794

We stopped by a few specialty shops at the Ferry Plaza, one that pleasantly surprised us (me more than my girlfriend) was Boccalone. An Italian handmade artisan meat and sandwich shop with over 20 varieties of salumi. Once inside, the crowd favorite appeared to be the Mixed Salumi Cone. Now, this is how a specialty shop should operate. Rather than have to commit to a pound of one salume. You can taste a sample of a few salumi. Very San Franciscan ; )

We got two custom cones, six meats for under $10 and packed it along with the Cowgirl Creamery cheese and some Acme Bread for the long drive home down the PCH.

(The busy store front)

(One of the meat cases)

$4.50 Custom Salumi Cone (9)
(left to right) Capocollo, Mortadella, Porchetta di Testa


Lardo was on the menu. And with its recent rise to fame, I had to get an order. Our favorites, though, were the Brown Sugar & Fennel Salami and the Proscuitto Cotto. They were all something to tweet about. Back to the lardo, it's great as an accent to dishes. But the fat content is overwhelming on its own. Look at that white fat below. Not even half a loaf of bread could match up against this beast.

$4.50 Custom Salumi Cone (9)
(left to right) Lardo, Brown Sugar & Fennel Salami, Proscuitto Cotto

Keep in mind, Boccalone sells its products online and after this experience, I'd much rather see Boccalone in my stocking than Rite Aid's signature Hickory Farms.

Tartine Bakery

600 Guerrero St

San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 487-2600

www.tartinebakery.com

I first heard about Tartine on the Food Network where they were showcasing their Double Pain au Chocolat. I read about the husband and wife team of Chad Robertson and Elisabeth Prueitt and was impressed by their extensive experience, not to mention the natural intrigue of their training in France.

(line about 30 minutes after opening time)

We arrived a few minutes after opening time and there was already a line out the door, albeit a steadily moving one. Our original plan was to try three or four pastries. I’m not sure what happened to that plan. Either impulse set in with the smell and sight of the pastries in full view teasing for a new home or maybe we grew hungry waiting for almost 10 minutes to get to the front of the line. As expected the seating was limited; by the time we ordered the only area available was the standing counter in clear view of the passing line outside. We placed our six pastries, each a meal in itself, on the counter knowing we still had two savory treats coming from the kitchen. I must say our gluttony may have stirred a little bit of awkwardness. One can only imagine the conversations being had outside, “Hey Becky, come look at what this fat ass ordered!”

The rundown

$3.50 Gougere (6)
Although it looked grand and had a decent flavor. I find that the smaller counterparts have a more intense cheese distribution.

$3.75 Morning Buns (4)
I'm not sure why we choose this one. It's made with their croissant dough, but the light sugary topping was not pronounced enough to compliment the dough.

$4.95 Eclair (10)
Pure heaven. Just look at how much vanilla custard filling is inside this thing. It's finished with a glaze of Valrhona chocolate.

$4.25 Frangipane Croissant (7)
Tartine's take on frangipane, or almond pastry. While this one was very good, I can't say I crave it.

$3.50 Small Bread Pudding (8)
Great quality bread pudding. Fairly simple with fresh ingredients. That seems to be the theme at Tartine.

$4.25 Double Pain au Chocolat (6)
I had high expectations for this pastry since it was the first one that attracted us to the bakery. While the croissant was light and flaky, I didn't find that the chocolate melted well enough into the buttery croissant.I would have preferred a plain version to the Pain au Chocolat.

$4.75 Ham & Cheese Quiche (8)
Quiche has its limitations, but this one shined through with quality ingredients. It was heightened with Niman smoked ham and crème fraiche.

$9.75 Croque Monsieur (10)
Open face sandwich with béchamel, gruyere, thyme and pepper topped with smoked Niman Ranch ham. What an ending to the meal, it's the simple comfort food that we seem to remember most. Just bread, béchamel, cheese, and ham, but the quality of the components were excellent and came together beautifully. The best croque monsieur I have had to date.

I got a copy of the Tartine Bakery cookbook when we got back to Los Angeles and can’t wait to try a few of the pastries we had, maybe this holiday season. I only wish they had their recipe for the croque monsieur in there.