Papito, 317 Connecticut @ 18th, Potrero Hill (EOPB)

Another fabdelish find in Potrero!  Rosalie and I decided it would be a great idea to further investigate this "steep & hilly" San Francisco neighborhood and blog about the many unique places to dine when you find yourself in Potreo.  Just two minutes off 101 at Vermont and "Voila", you are in a restaurant and bistro mecca!!!!
Now for our third Potrero neighborhood find, "Papito"..........

"Papito" is not your typical Mexican taqueria.  Chips and tasty salsas are just the beginning and we warn you now, don't eat too many, especially if you want to try the specialty "Elote asado" (grilled Mexican corn-on-the-cob slathered with Mexican mayo, sprinkled with qeso cotija (cow's milk cheese), lime and  homemade chili salt.  OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! Delish is not even the word!!!!!
The corn is served skewered on a fork, so it's finger-lickin' good (without you actually having to lick your fingers).
I had a beer on ice with a salted rim and a squeeze of lime.  Rosalie had an iced watermelon acqua fresca.                       

Ahora, con el espectaculo!!!!!

I ordered the tacos.  I had one "Carnitas De Pato", duck confit carnitas, homemade pickles, mint and chipolte tamarind sauce & one "Bajaco", deep fried rock cod in negra modelo batter, chipolte remoulade, salsa roja and guacamole with purple cabbage slaw.
Rosalie ordered one of "Papito's" highly recommended quesadillas, "Polo Empanizado", fried chicken, chipolte remoulade, salsa roja, guacamole and purple cabbage slaw.
Then, for dessert,.........................................no, we didn't....only kidding!

This fabdelish place is tiny, but there is outdoor seating and we loved eating at the counter.  " Papito" has a real neighborhood feel and that's part of it's charm. " Eighteenth off Vermont" is the new "bistro row" for these food bloggers.

We know that Potrero is going to get crowded after this posting, so grab your hat (sombrero or beret) and meet us for a bite.  If you're lucky, our staff photographer may snap a shot of you, that could end up on "More is Less Mula"!

ihausta luego!

>2100 JPY

 

Cafes Chez Papa & Chez Maman, 18th Street, Portreo Hill (EOPB)

This was one of the most successful food-blog trips we've ever had!!  "Excellente cuisine et très bon service."
What a find!  "Chez Papa" for a lovely lunch and "Chez Maman" (several doors down) for a dessert of crepes and cappuccinos, while of course, perfecting our French.  (You speak in English, but the staff responds in French.....It works out quite well!!!)
Anyway........ it was a rainy Wednesday in San Francisco, so what could be better than a cozy little French Bistro, "fabdelish" french food and a lovely glass of Pinot Noir.

This Potrero neighborhood is a little hidden gem in our city.  There are tons of European & Urban restaurants, bistros, bakeries, and little flower shops lining 18th Street. Everyone we passed on the street had an umbrella, a smile and a greeting.  What a fab place to be on a rainy day!
"Maman & Papa" certainly created some great recipes with that true French "Bistrot" feel. 
As starters, the menu offers typical French small plates (petites assiettes), such as local grilled sardines, fresh chick pea salad and pistou coulis or roasted bone marrow, garlic confit, parsley, capers and cronichon salad.  If this is too French for you, (Rosalie & I are not that French either) there are many other selections that include lamb dishes, warm goat cheese salads, beef tartar (a Chez Papa specialty) and many, many more.

Our staff photographer ordered mussels, served with the highly recommended "frites, aioli".  (Check out those fries!)  I had the Salade Nicoise with rose pepper crusted ahi.  What can we say????
Pictures are worth a thousand words and I'm exhausted from all that French translation (Merci Microsoft!!!) , so..................... just look below.

Let's not forget Chez Maman!!  Next time Rosalie and I find ourselves near 18th Street, we'll definitely have lunch there.  We're dying to try their famous onion soup.  It looked delish!!!!!!  After our lunch at Chez Papa on this blog-day, we just had dessert and great cappuccinos! I had crepes with fresh berries and creme fraiche and Rosalie had the very French "crepes with nutella and bananas".  We're still stuffed!!!!!!!!!!! 

Well, we found a little bit of Paris on 18th and Vermont.  Where does it all end????? 
Our staff photographer and I will be back on the streets of your city next Wednesday, looking for  more "fabdelish" places.  If they're out there, we'll find them! (For those of you who don't know.....Rosalie and I did complete a Saturday, all-day course on "how to become a private investigator".  We knew that someday those skills would come in handy.)  This investigation turned up two "fabdelish" and unique spots.  Rosalie and I will definitely be dining again at both "Chez Papa" & "Chez Maman".  We hope we run into you!

"Bon Appetit!"

                                                                                                                                                                      

Park Tavern, 1652 Stockton, North Beach (BDYW)

This post is dedicated to all of you who live anywhere near San Francisco!
If you haven't left your local eateries and enjoyed the neighborhood restaurants in San Francisco, you really are missing out on all the great affordable dining opportunities in your "City by the Bay".  Just start by going to "Park Tavern" in California's North Beach neighborhood. 

Rosalie and I decided to switch it up a little in this food-blog-game and do a Sunday brunch instead of a Wednesday lunch.  It was a beautiful, sunny day and North Beach was our destination.
If any of you remember "Moose's", you won't be disappointed to find its been replaced by a sophisticated, non-fussy, rustic/modern American bistro.  Not only does Park Tavern have a great open kitchen, it has a huge bar where the "cocktail" has not been forgotten, but instead is featured, along with an  exclusive wine list.  A typical brunch suggestion at the Tavern is veal schnitzel & eggs and a bourbon smoothie.  You gotta love it!

Sounds like New York, but it's definitely SF.  (Just look out the huge sliding glass windows at North Beach's Washington Square or look at Coit Tower up on Telegraph Hill.) 
This place put everyone in a good mood.  Easy valet parking for only $10.00, excellent and unique food, fab decor, great service and friendly staff!  We loved this place!!
Okay, now on to the food............ 
Our staff photographer and I started this fab brunch adventure with a mimosa. (It was a Sunday and you know we deserved it.) Rosalie ordered the "Crisp Polenta Cakes" with sauteed wild mushrooms, poached egg, arugula, salsa verde and shaved Parmesan. O....M.....G!

I ordered the "Demons on Horseback" salad (grilled prawns, wrapped in lardo), served on shaved watermelon radish, butter-lettuce leafs and black pepper-buttermilk dressing. I added a grilled baguette with butter to my order and believe me, this dish was beyond delish..................................
Are you in the car yet?????
Park Tavern is "fabdelish"!!!!!!!!! (new food-blog term combining the meaning of "fab" & "delish")

After we enjoyed our dining experience, we took full advantage of our "valet" situation. 
We checked out the art festival in the park where Rosalie snapped a few pictures of the local art.  The backdrop is the gorgeous and historic Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, known as the "Cathedral of the West".  As we walked around the neighborhood, our staff  photographer pointed out the famous Italian bakeries. We did a little shopping and thoroughly enjoyed that beautiful weather.
Well, we had another great food-day in San Francisco and only hope these pictures inspire you to have your own fabdelish experience in the "City by the Bay".Where else can you drive home on the Embarcadero and see a bride in flip flops walking down the street?

b.t.w:........Neighbor Debbie just informed me that in the latest issue of "Elle Decor" magazine (page 66),  "Park Tavern" is featured as a new "classic cool" San Francisco Restaurant.
Do you think "Elle Magazine" has started following Rosalie and me, trying to get our food blog scoop before we go to print?  I would hope not!

Brenda's French Soul Food, 652 Polk, Tenderloin (EOPB)

This is our only "re-do" from 2011.  For whatever reason when we first went to Brenda's, we did not order Louisiana creole food.  Don't ask me why, but this time, we did, and it was fab!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
In true French creole style, I had the hot Louisiana sausage sandwich with cheese & tomato on a fresh-baked french roll, with a creole sauce to DIE for!!!!!
Rosalie had the very French " Croque Monsieur", with a little touch of jam (French-Louisiana Soul style), suggested by our fab waitress. Pickled watermelon is always served on each plate and Brenda's offers "half fries/half coleslaw" as a side.
Our staff photographer had to practically slap me to keep me from biting into that sausage before she snapped the picture of our food.  Needless to say, we both found it delish!!!!!!!!!
Brenda's is a really cool restaurant, recently expanded, but still not too big to keep that neighborhood feel.  The staff was fantastic and the place was buzzing.  It has a sophisticated urban style and clearly attracts the young, San Francisco professional crowd.  It has to be the "coolest" place in that Tenderloin neighborhood.  An outrageous find, really!
When you enter the restaurant, you write your name on a huge chalk board that serves as the official "waiting list".  There are a few seats for waiting inside, but people line up outside after they sign in, and believe us, it's worth the wait. 
We think our "peer and food critic", Guy Fieri needs to try Brenda's.  We wouldn't want to upstage him with this great find, but that's the way we roll in the food blog game.
Y'all need to enjoy this place,  We did!!!!!

 

Rocco's Cafe, 1131 Folsom, SoMa (EOPB)

Rocco's is already pretty famous, thanks to  "View from the Bay" and the fab Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-ins & Dives".   But............if you don't know about this great spot, let us tell you it's soooooooo worth a trip to SoMa. 
This cool and casual, eclectic Italian restaurant is serving original Italian recipes handed down for three generations.  Famous for it's crab cioppino, I doubt there's a sandwich or pasta dish on Rocco's extensive menu that wouldn't make them famous.  Owner ("Chef Don") is clearly running the show and making sure each dish is perfection and each customer is happy when they eat it.
I splurged and had a Patty Melt on Rye with homemade Thousand Island dressing and a mound of perfectly crisp-fried french fries.  That "melt" was huge, juicy and required more than a few napkins, but oh, so delish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Our "Italian" staff photographer chose the eggplant sandwich on a fresh-baked roll (just delivered from a little North Beach bakery) with Provolone and Parmesan.  Rosalie said it brought back memories of her grandmother's cooking.  This is the real deal! You can't fool our photographer when it comes to "authentic" Italian cuisine.
This cafe's ambiance is fantastic, with wall-to-wall pictures of family, customers, movie stars and memorabilia.  (We thought it was reminiscent of a casual "Sardi's" in NYC.)  Even the bathroom walls were covered in movie star posters and old "33" record covers.  Rocco's is clearly filled with history, including a huge sign over the front door, welcoming Mayor Alioto to San Francisco.
After the lunch-time rush, one of the customers at the counter performed a magic trick for Rocco's popular, hard-working staff.  They invited us to watch, so we eagerly accepted.  UNBELIEVABLE!! He turned 6 one-dollar bills into 6 one hundred-dollar bills over and over again. Rosalie snapped a picture of the trick, but we have NO idea how he did it!
This wasn't just lunch. This was a kick!..................and worth every minute and calorie.
Mama Mia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go to Rocco's. It's a top pic for us.
(Just for clarification, that's Liz's picture at the end, not our own staff photographer in her twenties - common mistake.)

 

Farley's Bar, Cavallo Point, Sausalito (BDYW)

Our last blog-lunch of the year was fabulous!  Rosalie and I enjoyed a light, mid-afternoon lunch at Farley's bar at Cavallo Point. 
The bar was gorgeous inside, with old leather club chairs, big stone fireplaces and pounded tin ceiling. Since it was such a beautiful day, our staff photographer and I chose to dine on the porch, looking at the spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge.  Across the green, you saw the historic Fort Baker's officer's quarters, now used as guest lodging at the Cavallo Point Lodge.  
The Lodge's restaurant (Murray Circle) is Michelin star rated, so you can imagine just how delicious our lunch was.  Although Farley's is famous for it's oysters and champagne, Rosalie and I decided on salads of fresh leafy greens, goat cheese, roasted hazelnuts and persimmons, dressed in a lovely champagne vinaigrette.  I added herbed chicken to my salad and we both enjoyed the fresh-baked sourdough bread and European butter.
Absolutely delish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Farley's is a place you have to try.  The combination of causal dining elegance with fab food prepared by a famous chef and breathtaking views, ranked Farley's Bar #1 in 2011 on our blog.
Rosalie and I know that we're only as good as our last "blog-find", so watch out for 2012. We are on a mission!