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If any of you remember "Moose's", you won't be disappointed to find its been replaced by a sophisticated, non-fussy, rustic/modern American bistro.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!

Ferry Building, The Embarcadero, San Francisco (EOPB)

For foodies, the Ferry Building is a must!  Not only can you dine at a restaurant like the "Slanted Door" or try one of the gourmet delis, you can shop for everything you need for a dinner party and cocktails.  High-end meats, truffles, cheeses, baguettes, olives & olive oils, confections, etc., and tons of specialty gift shops line the entire building, making your holiday chores for entertaining really quite glamorous. The Wine Merchant is stocked with the finest wine and the staff know exactly what to recommend for that "Rombauer" taste, without the "Rambauer" price.  Excellent staff!!!!!!
One last comment on the shops, then on to the restaurants. The house-made mascapone from the cheese shop was too good to even try to describe.  OMG!

 

Soooooooooooooooo, Rosalie and I decided to take advantage of writing a food blog at Christmas in San Francisco, so we have been devouring all the Ferry Building has to offer. We had to go two Wednesdays in a row to even make a dent in the casual, but fantastic food and festive ambiance!
We first dined at "Il Cane Rosso", which is one of the deli style cafes.  The food was fresh, organic and delish!
I had the parsnip soup and an endive salad with herb roasted chicken and Rosalie had their famous Petaluma Farm's warm egg salad sandwich, served open-faced.














When you dine at one of these little cafes, plan on wearing a jacket,  because the cafe seating is along the huge isles where the doors open out onto the pier.  But............... you're in the Ferry building, so a good hot cup of "Blue Bottle Coffee" is right around the corner.

The second Wednesday, we tried "Boulettes Larder".  This lovely little gourmet deli served a delish special that day that Rosalie and I both decided to order.  (All the little cafes serve local organic fare, so the menus are usually decided on in the morning of the day you enjoy it.)  The dish was an herbed chicken with a brussels sprout puree, butternut squash and a tangy cranberry chutney.  A glass of Prosecco for the staff photographer and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc for me, topped our festive blog- lunch.  Fresh baked bread and European butter was enough to stave off dessert.
It was absolutely exquisite.
Now........., it was the Holidays, so we weren't trying to be so easy on the pocketbook.
Everybody deserves a little splurge at Christmas!!!!!!

Gorilla Barbeque, West Coast Hwy, Pacifica EOPB)

Gorilla BBQ is a fab find!  First it was featured on "Dinners, Drive-ins and Dives" and then neighbor Steve told me about it, so Rosalie and I are not exactly "Lewis & Clark" here.
If you don't know about it, let us tell you that the food is delish.  The venue is in a class of it's own and the staff and customers are "home-town" friendly.  As you can see, out staff photographer was snapping like crazy.
This place is famous for it's BBQ ribs, brisket, and pork.  (Supposedly, they cook up a mean chicken too.)
I had the pulled pork sandwich with BBQ sauce on the side and a side-order of coleslaw.  Rosalie had the brisket and both were unbelievable.  (Enough food for at least 4 people.)  When it comes to barbeque, this is the real deal.  You order in the caboose and dine up on the hill. It's freezing cold, so bundle up your appetite and enjoy!  Guy, Rosalie and I give it a huge "thumbs up"! (I wonder if Rosalie and I should have left our stamp on the wall?)