good food, great deals in san francisco

 

We all know San Francisco is a wonderful place to live, with culture, creativity and culinary delights. But all that can be challenging to the bank account.  Here are a few great restaurants with delicious food for a super value.

The Mission is loaded with great eats and two of my favorites are Lolo and Limon.  Lolo, located at 974 Valencia is a family-owned restaurant in San Francisco that utilizes local ingredients and offers non-traditional and uniquely inspired Mexican food.  Stop in for the tacos tropical or grilled beef tacos for between $9-$10.  Walk down the street to 524 Valencia for Limón's Peruvian Pollo a la Brasa, marinated free-range rotisserie chicken, slowly roasted over open flame. A quarter chicken with a choice of 2 sides and sauces will set you back about $11.  On upper Market, head to Hecho.
Located at 2200 Market, this energetic space with a great bar mixes classic and new Mexican cuisine.  Order the braised Meyer Ranch beef short rib quesadilla and be ready with your $12!
If you are on Union Square and need a quick bite, stop in Hubert Keller's Burger Bar on the 6th floor of Macy's. Minus the wait and lines of Cheese Cake Factory, enjoy the fish and chips with 3 pieces of fish, slaw and garlic fries for around $9.

 

 

 

hacienda el coyote restaurant in cabo san lucas

 

 

 

I went to Cabo earlier this month with my friend Brendan and stayed at his parent's fractional, the Monte Cristo Estates at Sunset Beach.  As usual, it is the most peaceful and relaxing week, with a little sun, a good book and lots of exploring all the delicious food around town. We have our favorites, like Lolita's, La Fonda, and the taco stand with the marinated pork that is to die for, but I have to tell you about a place I tried this year where the food was as delicious as it was beautiful--Hacienda El Coyote.

 

The restaurant features a tequila bar to the side, an interior dining room that has a pond running through it and an outdoor covered patio. You are gently serenaded by traditional singers, the service is excellent, waiters use tray service and silverware is quietly changed between courses--but the place is comfortable and not stuffy and the prices modest.

We started with thick homemade chips with guacamole and three amazing salsas.  I moved on to the house salad, an eye catching mix of lettuce with corn, pepita seeds, beans, black olives, cranberries, cotija cheese dressing, garnished with a crisp cheese wafer.  Brendan's corn chowder was silky smooth, perfectly seasoned and had the most delicious garnish--a little dumpling filled with huitlacoche (a corn fungus similar to mushroom--they were also served as an entree stuffed in crepes and topped with poblano chile sauce--next time!)  My entree--a juicy piece of marinated pork topped with grilled cactus, spring onion, chorizo and re-fried beans served with warm house made tortillas.  A stop for ice cream cones topped off the balmy night!

beso hollywood and more . . .

Had a great time in LA recently, visiting my best friend, Brendan and helping him celebrate another great birthday.  (Last year we went Las Vegas).

We had his birthday dinner at Beso Hollywood, co-owned by Eva Longoria.  It is a very cool space located right in the heart of tourist mecca on Hollywood Boulevard, one block off of Vine.  The place, with it's huge high ceilings and dimly lit glass fixtures feels smoky/noir, a bit of another era, especially with the cool booths and diamond tuck upholstery.

Food was delicious, we started with Eva's guacamole, continued with lamb rack w/rosemary and pepito paste and sea scallops with truffle oil mashed potatoes and pomegranate sauce.  We ended with a deconstructed banana split.  The restaurant gets more interesting later in the evening, when the bar scene turns into a full blown night club, very LA.

The weekend continued with a great off, off production at the Ruby Theater at the Complex on Santa Monica called Geeks vs Zombies.  This wacky production about the end of the world was great fun and had a packed house on Saturday night.  On Sunday, we drove down to Malibu and had a delicious lunch at Malibu Seafood, Market and Cafe.  This casual outdoor picnic table spot features really fresh seafood--our fish and chips perfectly cooked and washed down with fresh lemonade.

You know we couldn't go without a Mexican fix, and Brendan has found an amazing new taco place on Beverly at Stanley called Escuela Taqueria.  A simple concept--a small menu with daily original combinations of mouth-watering tacos.  Think braised beef short ribs with dill pickle, shrimp with chorizo or pork belly with pickled onion.  Add sides of rice and beans and voila!  Yum.

new year's eve at maya

Alot of you know that in the hunt for great Mexican food, Brendan and I have fallen for the delicious food at Maya.  Maya, located at 2nd and Harrison in SF, has a warm, inviting interior, loads of windows, a semi-private dining area, full bar and room to dance.  And they really excel at modern Mexican.

On New Year's Eve they offered a four course meal with party hats, champagne toast and dancing to a DJ for $60.00 per person. So, along with our friends, Chris Gill and Larry Sepe we booked the 8:30 seating. The tables were decorated with black and silver balloons and the generous menu featured several choices for each course.

I started with the tacos de pork belly, a melt-in-the-mouth 12 hour marinated pork belly taco topped with pickled habanero/red onion relish and ancho salsa.  Brendan and Larry ordered an equally tasty treat, tacos de langosta, with poached lobster topped with avocado, black bean puree and chile de arbol rouille.  Next up, I had the sopa de langosta, a lobster chipolte bisque with roasted corn/crab truffle dumplings.  The guys enjoyed a salad of field greens, pear, caramelized walnuts, blue cheese and radish-chile de arbol vinaigrette.

The entrees were large portions that ranged from a vegetarian option to filet mignon. The camarones azteca, a sauteed shrimp dish with a tequila-lime marinade, huarache stuffed with black beans and a chive-goat cheese crema fresca was a great choice as was the piramide de filete, a tower of grilled filet mignon with grilled tomatoes, sauteed onions, black bean puree, guacamole and crispy tortilla strips.

I enjoyed the tequila bread pudding with raspberry Cabernet sorbet, Brendan had the chocolate tres leches cake with pear, vanilla bean ice cream and cinnamon creme anglaise.  Chris and Larry chose the banana stuffed empanadas with walnuts and coconut ice cream.  We were close enough to the Embarcadero to head out after midnight and watch the incredible fireworks.

maya excels at modern mexican cuisine

Well reader, if you are looking for the more elegant side of Mexican cuisine, Maya is the place for you. Maya is a destination restaurant. What I mean by that is that you have the feeling as you enter and look around the reserved, warm room that everyone has a celebration--a birthday or anniversary--there is an air of anticipation. You do feel special. You are greeted warmly by either the hostess or the manager, Eric Flores. Service is quiet and quick and the manager is very hands on, either pouring water, making recommendations or delivering food.

You must try the guacamole and chips. It is probably the best I have ever had. Brendan approves--the salt, garlic and cilantro level are perfect. The chips are flour tortilla fried to order. We next share their take on a chili relleno, a seafood stuffed pablano accompanied with creamy black beans and manchego cheese, roasted to creamy deliciousness. Entrees are no less interesting. I had the Langosta Y Camarones, a lovely almost broth like combination of lobster, shrimp, roasted corn, habanero chili and chive rouille. How does that sound?! Brendan's entree is what I am going to order next time--Tampiquena, a butterflied filet mignon that turned into an outrageous large steak so tender you could eat it with a fork. Add to it a melt in the mouth potato gratin with a petite mole and cheese enchilada on the side....all this plus fresh muddled fruit margaritas. The house special, the Mayapolitan, is an up drink of pineapple infused silver tequila and cranberry juice. I know I had a great dessert, but by this time I was in such a food coma I can't remember--Ha ha.

Thank you Richard Sandoval, chef/owner of Maya and the concept of Modern Mexican.