Nojo

Nojo is Chef Greg Dunmore’s Yakitori (Kushiyaki) restaurant on Franklin at Linden in Hayes Valley. Thank goodness for another thoughtful and simple, but great Japanese eatery. This dining place complements the budding proliferation of Izakaya places around the city, such as Izakaya Sozai (Sunset) and Izakaya Yuzuki (Mission.)

Big windows provide great lighting for this spartan dining room. With the beautification of Franklin street (read: New trees), the view to the outside is improved, too. There are the usual tables in addition to the counter dining. An average yakitori place in Tokyo is smoky

BasoCup™: On-Demand Beef Ball Soup

In Indonesia, for as long as I can remember, in residential neighborhoods in cities big and small, vendors of all kind have been known to sell their goods using push-carts or motorbikes equipped with a mini-cart at the back. This system works well, with the seller passing by in front of houses, hoping someone will notice and flag him to stop.

Until now, however, buyers are at the mercy of the sellers. Normally sellers would go through similar routes and around the same time of the day; but if a particular vendor for a

Pasión

Quatro Ceviche, a photo by bloompy on Flickr.

Sunset district near the UCSF Campus, along Irving Street and 9th Avenue, has always been a wonderful place for gastronomical exploration. What the area lacks in fine dining is compensated by plethora of comfort food places.

Many eateries have come and gone, but there are those who had been there for more than two decades now: Italian, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, and Eritrean restaurants have existed

Mourad Lahlou on the Martha Stewart Show

Moroccan Cooking comes to the Martha Stewart show by way of Aziza Chef Mourad Lahlou. Click HERE to view the videos of Mourad showing Martha how to cook Couscous and Roast Chicken.

Dumplings and Buns

Dumplings and Buns, a photo by bloompy on Flickr.

Earlier this morning while looking for La Boulangerie in the Fillmore area, I wasn’t sure whether it was on Pine St or California St. As I walked a few steps on California Street past the Fillmore intersection, I came across a place I had never seen before. Granted, I have not been in this area for a while now, coming here occasionally for Curbside Café or Delfina Pizzeria, and even that was already more than a year ago.

Dumplings and Buns sounds very much an Asian fare, but looking at the façade and a quick peek through the glass window into the interior revealed no clue of what to make of the place. For sure it was not a traditional dumpling place, although one side of the store’s

Aziza: Golden Squash Soup

From Mourad Lahlou’s AZIZA San Francisco:
Golden Squash Soup: Green Charmoula, diced raw Zucchini, Marash Pepper emulsion, Chickpea Panisse

Mourad Lahlou: A Triple Threat

Aziza San Francisco fans will be delighted to read about their favorite homegrown Chef at a recent article in the New York Times. Chef Lahlou will be a triple threat with his first book coming out this Fall (“Mourad: New Moroccan” by the book publisher Artisan), his new restaurant in the San Francisco Financial District opening early 2012, and a KQED series on Moroccan cuisine and culture broadcasting next year.

Soto Daging

Soto Daging (also known as Soto Madura) is a turmeric-based beef soup. There are different kinds of Soto in Indonesia, and this one is the East Java and Madura variety.

The soup is served in a bowl, and it can be supplemented with rice that has been wrapped in banana leaves. The banana wrap adds a certain scent to the rice. Diner can either put the entire chunk of rice inside the bowl, or he can scoop a spoonful of rice, and then dip the spoon inside the bowl to get some broth prior to eating it.

de Soematra 1910

Salade de crevettes , a photo by bloompy on Flickr.

At the main entertainment house de Soematra 1910 the meals are promising. The place, a restored 1910 Dutch Colonial architecture in Surabaya (Indonesia), has been converted into an entertainment house. For more information on this, read this blog entry.

The place is not a walk-in restaurant, although that is in the works and will occupy a new annex, separated from the main house; instead, reservations must be made at the latest two-days in advance, at which time the guests must also express his/her preferences for the menu. There are plenty to choose from, beginning with Asian (Indonesian, Chinese, Thai, etc.) to Western (French, Italian, American, Mexican). As of this writing, price starts

Épicerie Boulud

A couple of days ago on the way to the Reebok Sports Club LA in Upper West Side, I passed by Bar Boulud, and thought of eating there that night before going to the Met Opera for Ariadne auf Naxos. No such luck; I could not get decent lunch reservation for the following day either.

But I noticed that there was a new venture right next door, owned by Daniel Boulud: Épicerie Boulud, a so-called “eat-in and take-out market” that featured house made charcuterie, artisanal cheeses, baked goods, as well as an array of sandwiches and sweets/desserts.

Yesterday, immediately after the gym, I marched straight into that place, and got myself a DB Smoked Salmon Mauricette, a Tarte à l’Orange, and some drinks. I sat