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Los Pastores/Yelp
Well hello there, kids, I'm your Restaurant Examiner, a.k.a. The Restaurant Whore. I am known as such because a) I love to eat, b) I love the people who make it possible for me to eat, and c) I will try anything once.
I've put together a little list for you, so you can catch my flavor. Without further adieu, I present you with my top dozen eats in SF (in no particular order):
1. The chilaquiles at Los Pastores. Irma will tailor them to your liking, and set you up with some free salsa while you wait. Hell, she'll even play with your kids while you eat.
2. Zuni's caramel pot de creme. It's elusive. If you're there on a day that they have it, do not pass go or collect $200, just order it.
3. Fatty tuna nigiri at Sebo. I have honestly thought about taking out a 2nd mortgage to support my o-toro habit, and absolutely nothing compares to the cuts they get at Sebo.
4. Tagliarini with butter, parmesan and white truffles at Delfina. I call on a daily basis in early December so I know which nights it's available. Other restaurants serve these jewels of Alba as well, but Delfina does it the best and at the best prices.
5. You'll know SPQR is one great spot once you hear which dish I'm going to single out. Brussels Sprouts. Yep. FRIED Brussels Sprouts, with garlic, lemon and all that is good in the world.
6. I'm a sucker for french fries, and my favored taters are at sister restaurants Serpentine and The Slow Club. Crispy on the outside, potato-y on the inside and salty all over.
7. Speaking of Serpentine, Dogpatch also houses Just For You, a sassy, no nonsense breakfast joint. They serve beignets that are dusted with a healthy coat of powdered sugar. It satisfies the three best food groups: fried, sweet and bread.
8. Holy crap, I just realized the past three items were fried. That's a little ridic. I will correct this issue with my next tasty: The fiery fruit salad at Dosa. I just think it's freakin' brills to put cayenne, mint and ginger on super fresh fruit. I loves me some spice, and this salad doesn't wuss out on me like a lot of dishes that claim to be spicy often do.
9. Any soufflé that Jacqueline of Cafe Jacqueline puts in front of me. It can be a standard gruyère soufflé, or a tricked out lobster soufflé or a summer fruit soufflé and I will unhinge my jaw and shovel it in. A little secret: if you manage to save any of your chocolate soufflé, take it home. It is a remarkable breakfast treat the next day.
10. The great burrito debate is one that no one can win (not even me), so I won't even try to convince you I am right. Still, when I am in charge I'll always choose El Farolito for my Mexi-eats. I love how they melt the cheese in my tortilla, and I am convinced that they put just a smidge of highly addictive narcotics in their rice since I crave it 24/7. Just don't look at the health score on the wall.
11. OK, so, you know how in the Blair Witch Project the characters wander around and around and expect you to think it's highly spooky and entertaining except that you just find it lame and annoying and vomit inducing? This is a little bit how I feel whenever I'm in the line at Saigon Sandwiches (minus the vertigo). The only difference is that a banh mi from Saigon Sandwiches is more than worth the aggravation, where as TBWP was not. I'm a fan of the roast pork, but my baby daddy swears by the shu mai.
12. I have to hand it to them, Shanghai Dumpling King is, in fact, the King of Shanghai Dumplings. Besides being $4 for 10 (10!), the dumplings are a serious shade of delicious. I almost feel like I should eat them in private considering how excited I get about those little pouches of ginger spiked pork and hot soup broth.
13. Since this is about food, I figured I'd make it a baker's dozen. So it is fitting that an item from Tartine completes this list. The passionfruit bavarian -- a genoise soaked in lime that sandwiches a passionfruit bavarian cream and is enrobed with a sweet cream frosting and large unsweetened coconut flakes is positively dreamy. It is also the cake I have enjoyed on my birthday every year since Tartine hit the city.
So that's that. One of the reasons I most love living in San Francisco is that it is a city that is filled with people passionate about food. I happen to be one of them and I'm guessing that if you are reading this, you are too. Now let's eat.
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