neighborhood sushi

We had a great meal earlier tonight at tataki, a great small sushi place on California. A more full write-up on the great ambiance and excellent food (ahi tuna poke, shrimp tempura/spicy tuna roll, a signature tataki dish, seaweed salad, and more). Nice selection of sakes plus friendly peeps working there round it out.

Stay tuned!

Many, many posts coming soon about favorite restaurants in and around SF. I've got a lot of them stored up.

Brenda's French Soul Food

Tucked away in the Tenderloin, is a tiny (I counted 7 tables + a bar) breakfast and lunch spot. Brenda hails from N'Awlins so the food has a Creole bent to it. Here's the link - http://www.frenchsoulfood.com/

We went on New Year's Day and they had the classic Southern options of black-eyed peas and collard greens. We opted for the collard greens, which even had bits of bacon in it.

We went savory / sweet. For the savory, we had a shrimp po'boy - slathered with spicy dressing, fried shrimp, on a baguette. For sweet, we went with pancakes with butter pecan sauce (as if someone had melted the inside of a pecan pie, added butter to it and poured it over the pancake).

While we waited outside (at times mingling with the homeless), we popped in to bring a coffee outside to warm us up. With brunch, we sampled some of the watermelon iced tea - a great refreshing way to start the day.

We skipped the beignets for now, as we were so full. But we will be back to try all four kinds: original, chocolate, granny smith/cinnamon, and the intriguing crawfish!

Mmmmmm...Dosa on Fillmore!

Last year, I ate at Dosa in the Mission and you can read all about it right here.

A little bit ago, Dosa opened up their second branch over on Fillmore. It's a much bigger space, in the former Goodwill store. You can look in the windows and see a mix of foodies, pre- and post-Kabuki moviegoers, and the general assortment of people you see in SF.

You walk in the door, are greeted by the hostess and then it's a bit strange. There's a long banquette along one side of the hostess area, which in the back of it has a large empty space. There are tables set aside near the bar, but those are not first-come-first-serve.

The bar, though, is first-come-first-serve and is a great spot to grab a bite. They also have a liquor license (the Dosa on Valencia only has wine and beer) and they have a tremendous bar lining one side of the restaurant. The drinks were strong and inventive: the former Absinthe and Nopa mixologist has created the cocktails and took hints from the food. Therefore, expect spices and fruits and exotic ingredients, Indian twists on classics.

The menu is more expansive, but the dosas are still here as well as other favorites from the menu in the Mission. We had the dahi vada (which was curiously not as good as the one on Valencia - too much yoghurt we felt), but the rest of the food was fantastic. We had one of the dosas of course.

We also tried a lamb curry: succulent, spicy, and a great balance of flavors. We also had a chicken biryani and the meat fell off the bone. While we had cocktails before eating, we paired the food with Indian beer. They have an extensive wine list. We were too full for dessert.

One final thought: I love that they make the following claim on their website, "DOSA is the only Indian restaurant in the Bay Area that has a holistic commitment to primarily organic, bio-dynamic and sustainable ingredients and products."

For a more intimate setting, go to the Mission. For a grander experience, go to Fillmore and then go see a movie (perfect pairing would be with slumdog millionaire, of course).

Free visit to the California Academy of Science

There are SAN FRANCISCO NEIGHBORHOOD FREE DAYS in 2009

For example, if you live in 94115 like I do you can visit for free on May 15, 16, 17 and again on Oct. 2, 3, 4, 2009.

Go to their website (click on the title of this post) to find out when living where you do lets you in for free.