Coffee Buzzzzfeatured
I love coffee. No, seriously. I really love it. There are few things as deeply satisfying as a rich, frothy, quality cup of coffee. I discovered my local Philz Coffee today in SoMa. When I took my first sip of the heavenly elixir I’ve come to think of as my liquid crack, it stopped me dead in my tracks. Wow. This was seriously good coffee.
The twenty hand-selected blends on the menu are the result of 25 years of “coffee alchemy and invention” by owner, Phil Jaber and his son Jacob. Each unique combination has its own personality and layers of flavors, and its own fun little description on the menu (I’m a sucker for things like that). So many tantalizing choices. There was the house signature blend, the original Tesora, the exotic Turkish, with its alluring hints of cardamom and mint leaf, and a slew of other blends that sounded delicious. I couldn’t decide what to get, so I trusted a fellow junkie and got what the guy in front of me got.
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Best Kept Brunch Secret in Sohofeatured
Looking for a quaint, country-fresh brunch spot without worrying about the deadly NY weekend brunch wait? Look no further. The Tasting Room offers a wholesome brunch menu, and will feed it to you before your stomach starts to eat itself from morning-after hangover hunger. The gentle prices will also take the sting off last night’s bar tab.
Simple and fresh, with a touch of decadence are the key themes at The Tasting Room. The organic free range omelet was fluffy and satisfying; buttermilk biscuits were full of hot, flaky, buttery goodness, and were accompanied by delightful little pots of elderberry jam and dark chocolate ganache; homemade chorizo sausage were killer, so much so that I was inspired to attempt to recreate them at home. A close replica was accomplished and was a great make-ahead dish for a large group.
Inspired re-make recipe: Chorizo Sausage Patties
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Oceana, Jump Shipfeatured
While the architecture and décor of this nautically themed restaurant is novel—inside I really felt like I was taking a little jaunt on a high-class steam liner…like I should be wearing red lipstick and gloves—I’m afraid the food was a bit underwhelming. Selecting from the 3-course Winter Restaurant Week lunch menu, I started with the seared scallops. Beautifully presented, the dish was simple and elegant. The plump scallops had a pleasing subtle smoky flavor to them, but did not have the sea-salt succulence expected of really fresh scallops. I did, however, enjoy the bright citrus garnish of blood orange segments and the candy-like jelly bits of pineapple added a sweetness and interesting textural component. While great in theory, this dish fell a bit flat and I was still craving a juicy taste of the ocean when I finished.
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Classy, Comfortable French Fare (Sans Pretention)featured
A great date place, Raoul’s has the warmth of an old French salon with eclectic touches like the spiral staircase leading to gypsy tarot card readings upstairs and the deck of cards they use for the coat check. For an extra treat, ask to be seated in the back “garden” room. You will be led through the kitchen (always fun to see behind the scenes, no?) and into a pretty, sky-lit and foliaged dining space.
I had the pleasure of sitting at what I think is the best seat in the house. Tucked in the corner of a slightly elevated section along the wall, my small round table allowed Hua and me to sit next to each other and enjoy the people-watching from a prime vantage point.
Our waiter was friendly and knowledgeable, and right away recommended their signature dish, steak au poivre served with matchstick fries. It was indeed a great steak, but my mind was still dreaming about the appetizer that had just stolen the show: butternut squash ravioli with seared foie gras in a brown butter sauce. I salivate just thinking about it again.
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