The Little Chihuahua

photo - Yelp, Frank K.

The Little Chihuahua, Brunch, Lower Haight

June 26, 2016

P:

Breakfast Burrito

A toasted flour tortilla stuffed with scrambled eggs, chorizo, jack cheese, refried beans, fresh chopped cilantro & onions, Mexican potatoes, sautéed poblano chiles and onions and smoky chile salsa

J:

Stacked Enchiladas

Corn tortillas stacked and filled with jack cheese, sautéed poblano chiles and onions, Mexican potatoes, black beans and braised pork. Smothered in red guajillo sauce and topped with two over easy eggs, chopped avocado and cotija cheese

Notes:

We wanted Mexican food on this beautiful Sunday afternoon, and we pass by this place every so often, so it was time to give it a try (and their brunch menu looked fabulous).

The restaurant is small and a bit crowded; it's one of those places where you order at the counter and the food is brought out to you.  It's also a happy meat place (meaning, the meats and seafood used are raised/caught sustainably), so it's more expensive than average [Mexican food], but not overly so.

They have a self-serve salsa bar, so we got a bowl of chips because you can't sample all of those salsas without a bowl of chips.  Some of the salsas were better than others, we found the smokey chipotle salsa to be the most flavorful.

Patrick was expecting a burrito of the handheld variety, but it arrived plated with sauce drizzled across the top.  He was happy with it, though.  That flour tortilla was packed with all kinds of Mexican breakfasty goodness: scrambled eggs, chorizo, refried beans, cheese, salsa, yum. 

Mine, also pretty satisfying, consisted of corn tortillas layered with deliciousness (tender, roasted red potatoes, chiles, black beans and bits of tender pork), and smothered in smooth, earthy red sauce. Melted cheese and two fried eggs with runny yolks crowned that lovely monstrosity (it was huge).


We'll go back, though we'll try something off the regular menu next time.

Hawker Eats

photo by Patrick

Hawker Eats, Lunch, Inner Richmond
June 19, 2016

P:
Karaage Curry Rice - House marinated chicken fried bites, house made mild curry with carrots, potatoes, onion, curry aioli drizzle, garlic toast crisp
House infused water w/ pineapple, strawberry, mint, and cucumber

J:
KO Ramen - House made pork belly, house made tonkatsu, rich bone broth, black garlic oil, sous vide egg, seaweed, green onion
House infused water w/ pineapple, strawberry, mint, and cucumber


Notes:
We recently found this place while strolling through our neighborhood.  It's owned an operated by two people - one in the kitchen, one in the dining room.  While it was quiet on a Saturday afternoon, I've seen crowds waiting outside for a table on weekend nights.

Judy, the dining room half of the team, came off as a little pushy, or as I like to put it, "excited about their menu".  We were the only table in the restaurant at first, and she spent a good bit of time telling us all about, oh, everything.  The menu is HUGE, inadvisably large, given the number of people in the kitchen (ahem, one, remember?).  Case in point, we only ordered an entree each and my ramen was served several minutes before Patrick's curry, with no one else in the restaurant.  A table of 5 came in shortly after we were served; I watched as their dishes came out practically one by one.  Their last dish hit the table at least 5 minutes after the first, and unacceptably long period of time when guests aren't sharing entrees.  BUT, I'll stop going on about that because the food was pretty damn good.

My ramen was delicious.  Milky, rich pork broth was the star here, rich and full flavored but not heavy.  Bouncy ramen noodles were hidden inside the broth, beautiful slabs of roasted pork belly rested atop, and the sous vide egg floated off to the side, waiting to be broken, allowing the oozy yolk to enrich the broth.  The black garlic oil was earthy and pungent; sliced green onions added a fresh bite.  It was quite a dish, and I just about polished it off.

Patrick's curry was also very nice.  This wasn't like the curry we're familiar with at Volcano, it was more vegetal, smoother in texture, and spicier.  The chicken pieces were well-fried and super crunchy, and the meat inside incredibly juicy.  The steamed rice was a shorter, fatter grain, closer to sushi rice, and the little green salad piled on top of everything offered a refreshing pause every now and again.

The house infused water was a giant Mason jar filled with ice cold water, sprigs of fresh mint, and huge chunks of strawberry, cucumber, and pineapple.  While quite delicious, it was ridiculously expensive for what it was, and we're not sure we'd order it again.


Hawker Eats is a cute little neighborhood place, and we may go back.  I would want to avoid the place on a busy night; I just can't handle watching two people cook and serve food to an entire room of people, one by one.

Tommy's Mexican Restaurant

photo - Yelp, Frederick D.

Tommy's Mexican Restaurant, Dinner, Outer Richmond
June 17, 2016

P:
Enchiladas Suizas (with chicken), served with salad, beans and rice
Milagro margaritas, with salt

J:
Pollo Pibil, served with salad, beans and rice
Milagro magaritas, with salt


Notes:
Tommy's is close to my heart.  When I first lived in this neighborhood way back when, my friend and I would meet here on Friday nights after work and sit at the bar for hours, drinking margaritas and eating chips and salsa.  I brought my Dad here when he visited (he likes a good margarita).  Julio, the gentleman who runs (and maybe owns?) the place, knows his regular customers by name and thanks them for coming, every time.  The bar is always packed with Tequila aficionados and locals alike.  Patrick and I live practically right around the corner, and it's a place we're just in the mood for sometimes.

Tommy's takes margaritas (and tequila, generally) very seriously.  They're prepared on the rocks (though they'll make 'em frozen, if you insist), as this is the best way to taste the nuances in the tequila.  Giant bins of half cut fresh limes sit on the bar, waiting to be squeezed into every glass.  And you'll find no sweet and sour here, only agave syrup.  Tequila, lime and agave syrup, that's all; they make a fantastic margarita.

The food is okay.  It's not the best Mexican food you'll ever have, but it definitely satisfies a craving.  I find their chips and red and green salsas addicting, though some might argue their salsas are not much more than just spicy.  They serve a little salad before the meal consisting of whacked up iceberg lettuce, a couple of slices of carrot and radish, topped with a splash of red salsa.  Gourmet, no, but delicious, yes; I love that simple little salad.  Their guacamole is pretty tasty and generously portioned.  Patrick usually gets the Enchiladas Suizas, which hits the spot for him.  I don't have a usual, but often go with a chicken quesadilla.  On this particular evening I went rogue and ordered the Pollo Pibil, chicken breast and onion marinated in savory achiote (think earthy red pepper), wrapped in a banana leaf and grilled.  The chicken was completely overcooked, but the smokey flavors imparted by the charred banana leaf were really fantastic with that marinade.  Although, I'd probably go back to the quesadilla next time - it goes better with a margarita.


As they say at Tommy's: "If you live in SF, please do not forget to remember how lucky you are."

House of Bagels

photo - Yelp, Hui U.

House of Bagels, Lunch, Inner Richmond
June 11, 2016

P:
Jalapeno cheddar bagel, toasted with cream cheese
Raisin bagel, toasted with cream cheese

J:
New York Bagel - Everything bagel with cream cheese, nova lox, tomatoes, capers, red onion, not toasted


Notes:
This is our neighborhood bagel place.  It's a homegrown place that's been in operation since 1962, and at this very location since 1964.  I'm no bagel connoisseur, but they make a good bagel here, and it's a nice stroll from our apartment, so win-win.

Usually, I just get an Everything bagel toasted with cream cheese.  This time, I got bold and decided to try the New York Bagel, one of my favorite combos.  And, speaking of bold, I went also went untoasted; I haven't had a bagel since reading all about the virtues of untoasted bagels while writing about our visit to Beauty's Bagel Shop in Oakland.  I was happy with the toppings; the cream cheese is a little thin, but has a nice flavor, the lox is average but good, and the capers, red onion and tomato were in proper proportion.  I'm not sure I liked the untoasted bagel.  I felt it was harder to eat, and whatever it is I'm supposed to appreciate about the untoasted bagel, I couldn't here - there were just too many things going on.  I haven't given up, though; next time, I'll go back to plain ol' cream cheese on my Everything bagel, and I'll try it untoasted.

Patrick often gets two bagels, and when he does, one of the two of them is always raisin.  He's definitely a fan.


We hit this place up about once every month or so.  It's good for a fix, especially now that I know I can get a decent bagel with lox and cream cheese, toasted or not.

Lou's Cafe

photo - Yelp, Bailey N.

Lou's Cafe, Inner Richmond, Lunch

June 4, 2016

P:

Loquito - Chicken Breast, Avocado, Lime Juice, Jalapeno Rings, Sour Cream, Tortilla Chips, Monterey Jack Cheese, Lou's Special Sauce, on a Soft and Sweet Roll, toasted

J:

Design your own - Soft and Sweet Roll, Turkey, Everything (Lettuce, Tomato, Red Onions, Pickles, Lou's Special Sauce, Jalapeno Spread), Avocado

Notes:

Lou's is open 6 days a week, and on the weekends at least, there is always a line out the door - which may have been the reason it took us so long give it a try.

I am VERY into sandwiches, I always have been.  For some reason no one here in California seems to know how to make a good, basic, regular ol' submarine sandwich.  Instead, sandwiches around here are always on some fancy bread or roll, with wacky fillings, and they're toasted.  They're always toasted, for the love of Pete, always.  What is so wrong with a cold sandwich?  Now, I have nothing against those wackadoo sandwiches, or toasted sandwiches, but sometimes I just want a basic sandwich, with basic fillings on a soft white roll.

Well, I may have hit the mother lode at Lou's.  I had to build my own, but I was pretty happy with what I got.  The bread-to-everything-else ratio was a little off (the roll was a tad too big), but that was my only complaint.  Okay, yeah, and the green leaf lettuce may not have been shredded iceberg, but I still enjoyed every bite.  I heeded the advice of the menu board and went with their sauces, versus my preferred mayo+mustard (and oil & vinegar, when it's offered), and I regret nothing.

From their menu board:

Lou's Special Sauce is an aioli base spread which consists of garlic, mayonnaise and other natural herbs blended to perfection.  The Jalapeno Spread has an olive oil base designed to complement Lou's Special Sauce to add a hint of spice!  Ask for extra Jalapeno Spread to elevate the level of spiciness!!!

"TRUST US, YOU WANT LOU'S SPECIAL SAUCE AND THE JALAPENO SPREAD TOGETHER ON YOUR SANDWICH!!! TASTY AND DELICIOUS!!!"

Trust us, it says!  Tasty and delicious, it says!!  (Trust them.  They don't lie.)

Patrick isn't into sandwiches.  Patrick was...well, he'll have something else next time.  He picked one of Lou's menu board options - and Lou's has alot of 'em.  This one just seemed to have too much going on for him, and it didn't hit home.  I didn't care for it so much, but I was there for basic, and this one was wackadoo.  Though, I will say that soft and sweet roll toasts up nicely.


We will definitely brave that line again for a delicious Lou's sandwich.  Someday.