Foodie Digest

Celebrating a beautiful sunny Sunday in San Francisco Big and Small ventured out with a final destination of Bi-Rite Creamery in mind. That, combined with the desire to sit outside, led us to Farina. We’ve gone to Farina for lunch one time before and remembered really enjoying it.

We head to the Mission and drive around the church-infused parking lot streets. As luck would have it church was just getting out and parking spaces were freeing up. We drive past Farina and into a parking lot across the street. Score!

We pop in to Farina and ask for 2 seats outside. We get prime seating right in the sunshine. We’re given glasses and a bottle of water, and we each order iced teas. We lean forward to relax and read the menus and OUCH. The outdoor tables are topped with steel and can get very hot. Well-placed napkins become your friend here. Big immediately orders a Salumi plate to get us started. 

We’re also served some nice bread. We ask about the daily specials (there’s always a pasta and soup of the day) and order our entrees. Service the entire time is warm and friendly. Our iced teas are constantly refilled and silverware is changed out between the salumi course and our main courses.

Our choices:

• Tagliere Di Salumi Misti this was the salumi plate. It came with normal thick slices of salami and shaved thin slices of both speck and bresola(sp?). The salami was fine but could have used more pepper or spice. The speck was my favorite. The bresola (dry cured beef) was Big’s. Both of these were very lean pieces of meat with great flavors. 
• Taglierni with meat sauce the sauce on this was more a braised beef sugo. Very rich flavor and perfectly prepared pasta. This was Big’s main.
• Spinach tortellini This had a much more interesting Italian name. It was handmade tortellini that were a cross between tortellini and ravioli. Filled with spinach, cheese and nuts. The recommended sauce for this was a walnut cream sauce but Small (in an attempt to make it slightly healthier) asked for tomato sauce. I was happily accommodated. I LOVED this dish. The pasta was perfectly prepared; it was delicate with robust flavor. I’ll dream about this.

Overall thumbs: Two thumbs up. Service is great, the pastas are incredible and the patio is really comfortable.

Tastiness rating: Very high. I think these are some of my favorite pastas in the city. The salumi plate also had some interesting additions. Oh! and they gave us cookies with meringue along with our check that were also very tasty.

Service: Very good. Our server was warm and friendly. Our iced teas were constantly refilled and we had plenty of water. Plates were cleared quickly and fresh silverware was provided.

Dog friendliness: Very good. We’ve been here before with our two big dogs. They also have a dog bowl outside.

WW points: 8 for the ravioli, 2 for the salumi (small avoided the salami).

Sunday workouts have left both Big and Small hungry. The planned exploration to a new to us vietnamese restaurant finds the restaurant closed, so the backup plan—a return visit to Poc Chuc—is put in place.

We’d first gone to Poc Chuc a few weeks ago. It was closer than our original destination of El Metate. The first time around Small (me) ordered a turkey taco and a ground pork taco. Big ordered the signature Poc Chuc. The combination of these 3 things was quite substantial. And given that the tacos were under $3 each, the meal was quite economical and incredibly satisfying.

This time around Small stuck with the two taco combo, this time opting for turkey mole and carne asada. Big ordered a pork pibil (I can’t remember the exact menu description). 

Even though the selections below spanned two visits, I’ll do my best to remember the details of each.

• Housemade tortillas: I break this out because this was the base for each of the tacos and also served on the side of the main dishes. These were some of the best I’ve had in a while. Perfectly prepared with a great texture.
• Shredded turkey taco: This was served with pickled onions. Good flavor.
• Ground pork taco: Served on a black bean puree with a roasted tomato sauce and avocado. The flavors of this were Small’s favorite and her motivation for a return visit.
• Poc Chuc: Grilled and marinated pork served with a side of black bean puree. The citrus flavor of the marinade comes through wonderfully here. The portion is substantial and the accompanying tortillas let you make your own tacos. This was another favorite.
• Carne asada taco: This has the same presentation as the ground pork taco above. On a black bean puree with roasted tomato sauce. This also has roasted peppers and satisfying Small’s craving for the return visit (the ground pork weren’t available).
• Turkey mole taco: This was Big’s favorite. The mole was more a black pepper sauce than what we’d consider a traditional chocolate based mole. The flavors were great and very unique. The turkey was shredded (same as the turkey taco above). 
• Pork stew: because I can’t remember the exact menu selection. This was a large bowl of shredded pork and broth. It comes with a side of bean puree and tortillas. This was rich and flavorful. Between the two I preferred the poc chuc, but that may be because I really loved the poc chuc.

With the exception of the Poc Chuc, everything we’ve ordered is from the daily specials menu. There are no tacos on the regular menu.

Overall thumbs: Two thumbs up. The food is consistently good and flavorful. The prices make this place a great value. Both time we’ve visited there’s been no wait for a table.

Tastiness Rating: High. The flavors are unique for a mission Mexican restaurant. 

Service Rating: Good. Service is friendly and accommodating, though sometimes a teeny bit slow. 

Dog friendliness factor: No outside seating. No spot for dogs.

Weight watcher points (Small’s selections): 6.5

We’re lucky to live in a neighborhood with a bunch of weekly lunch options. Unfortunately we don’t work in this neighborhood, but on the coveted Work at home days we can pretend we’re the dot.com hipsters we used to be.

This past Friday I (Small, that is) was feeling a little under the weather and craved some healing Asian soup. The closest holder of my elixir? Grab n Go Vietnamese restaurant. I stress Vietnamese because Grab n Go used to be Grab n Go Italian (which was also a purveyor of healing soup but has been replaced). I called ahead and ordered a chicken noodle soup.  It’s a version of pho (usually beef) made with grilled chicken.

The soup is packaged much like a bun (Vietnamese grilled meat served on rice noodles with assorted stuff). Noodles and chicken are in one container. A second container holds steamy broth. And a third container, a plastic bag, contains mint, bean sprouts, and a lime. I’m also given a small container (yes, a fourth container) of 2 different sauces (rooster sauce and a brown sauce).

I head home and dump container one in a bowl. Then, I pour on the contents of container two. I’m using a large bowl but there’s so much broth I need to reserve some of the liquid. I top it off with the contents of the bag and keep the sauces on the side.

And… inhale. The broth is either really salty or spicy or something, (or I’m even more on the verge of a cold than I think) but I go through many glasses of water. Useful if you’re catching a cold to stay hydrated. The chicken is grilled almost teriyaki-style and is quite flavorful. There are a huge amount of bean sprouts. I’m almost full eating sprouts and chicken before I even get to the noodles! I have to say the dish is immensely satisfying and really reasonably priced.

Overall thumbs: Up. Service is warm, the soup was nourishing but I’ve also had the banh mi (vietnamese sandwiches) in the past here and really enjoyed that. Location can’t be beat.

Tastiness rating: Grilled dishes, soup, and sandwiches are all hits here. Not the best in the city but combined with the location and flavors a pretty solid win.

Service: Good. Not white tablecloth wait on you service (though I’ve only done takeout) but definitely bend over backwards make sure you’re happy service.

Dog friendliness: Fair. There are sometimes tables outside but the location on 6th street isn’t a winner. They do always smile at the dogs, tho, so I know they’d be welcomed (outside).

Beautiful Sunday and Big and Small are hanging in the park with the dogs. We decide it’s almost time for a bite to eat so we head over to Piccino Cafe. Piccino Cafe is in Potrero Hill right near Just For You.

We arrive just as they begin their lunch menu for the day. A little confusion as to ordering inside or staying outside at our seat. We figure it out (stay outside) and a friendly server brings us menus and water. Our two good-sized dogs fit comfortably around our table. They don’t stand out as there are many good sized dogs hanging out. This place is definitely high on the dog friendliness factor, tho no special accomodations—such as snacks or water—are provided for the dogs

Still, it’s a beautiful day to be outside. We order an antipasti plate and two pizzas. We get

• Antipasti plate This is an interesting combination of fresh peas (fresh in the pod), pickled baby carrots, olives, cheese, chickpea spread, some fatted calf speck and some flatbread. The highlights here: the chickpea spread is light and lemony. Doesn’t fall into hummus flavors at all. The olives are well flavored and rustic. The peas are a nice touch but I wanted more.
• Margherita pizza This was a very simple pizza. The crust is very homemade tasting and almost pretzel like. Rustic, again, would describe the food. The sauce is inoffensive but nothing special. The cheese is lightly applied. The pizza is almost what one would order if they were trying to conserve calories. It’s not greasy or oily whatsoever and there’s only a small amount of cheese. We both thought the pizza tasted fine, but wouldn’t proclaim it tasty or special.
• Broccolini pizza This looked very much like the margherita pizza but has small amounts of broccolini and shredded cheese instead of slices. Again, a very calorie friendly pizza. Still the two pizzas were so similar we would have been better off with one of the white pizza combos.

Overall verdict? There’s nothing wrong with the pizza here and it really is kinder to your waistline than most of our other options. The corner location was pleasant and relaxing and very dog friendly. Still, pizzas at places like South Beach Cafe are similar in size, a little bit cheaper, and offer much more flavor (and calories).

Overall thumbs Flatlined. There was nothing we didn’t like about the place, but there was nothing to rave about, either.

Tastiness rating A slight increase from flatlined. The olives and chickpea spread were standouts but not enough to lift the place up. Still, nothing was bad.

Service rating Good. Service here was very warm and friendly.

Dog friendly rating Good. Dogs are accommodated outside and have many friends nearby.

Big and Small are lazy during the week and like having a good standby place to eat.
And, of course, Small is a big fan of conserving calories.

Live Sushi Bar has become our regular Thursday night dinner. So much so that we confuse them when we come in some other night during the week.

Since this is quick bites, we’ll give you a list of why we love Live.

• They greet us when we arrive. They even gave us our own chopsticks (that they store with our names written on the chopsticks boxes).
• They have live uni. This is by far the best uni we’ve had in the bay area. Add to the awe-factor it induces in spectators at the sushi bar. Yes, they serve it on its shell. And yes, you can poke the quills and it’s still moving. Yes, it’s very cool (and a bit sadistic).
• The sushi is always fresh. They don’t necessarily have the uber intriguing selection you might find at Sakae, but they do have great takes on the standbys. Usually a few types of toro. The aji is always amazing here and the live scallops always impress our friends.
• It’s easy parking and usually easy to get a seat. But they’re on Open Table so you can plan in advance!

Overall thumbs: always up.

Tastiness rating: consistently good.

Service rating: Good. Service is warm and friendly.

Sometimes food is just, well, food. But calories are too precious to eat food that’s not tasty. Welcome to our weekend lunch dilemma. Big wants a satisfying meal; Small wants to optimize for proper calorie intake. Today’s breakfast/lunch satisfied. We chose one of our regular standby’s—Rocco’s.

Rocco’s is a favorite because of the expansive list of options. Weekends lets you choose breakfast, lunch or dinner-type entrees. Even better, you can mix and match as you please.

Today’s feast: Small chose the heart-healthy (and calorie-conscious) veggie egg white omelet, served with grilled tomatoes. Mmm. breakfast. Then added the lunch option of a pastina soup. The omelet contained sauteed carrots, mushrooms, and zucchini, and was much more flavorful than a typical healthy-ish omelet. The soup arrived less hot than Small expected so her usual addition of ice cubes rendered the soup, um, cold. (Small’s fault). Still, homey, tasty, healthy. Big opted for blueberry pancakes with a side of meatballs. The pancakes came doused with melted butter. The meatballs were a little on the crispy side but still quite good. Service was friendly as usual. And Small and Big giggled—as admittedly they usually do—when the bill included “side balls”.

Overall thumbs: Pointing skyward.

Tastiness rating: High. As long as you know to expect hearty standard fare, you won’t be disappointed. Not a gastronomic wonder but always a good use of calories.

Service rating: High. This isn’t a cloth napkin tablecloth kind of place. But service is always warm, friendly, and accommodating.