First up we have Ernest, which is one of the best restaurants in SF. It's such a great meal that I decided to do one of my birthday dinners here. It is Japanese inspired and I love that the menu isn't too big that it overwhelms and there is something for everyone. The 2 of us did the smaller tasting menu and it's quite a lot of food as you can see. I added the uni toast and for dessert we added the creamisicle kakigori. The kakigori is easily Japan level good. I would know having been to Azuki to Kouri in Tokyo. And yes, I also chose Ernest for one of my birthday dinners because I want a different flavor kakigori! Busted. I can confirm that Ernest is in fact well worth the hype and the ingredients and flavors are well put together and balanced and go well together as a menu. I look forward to my returns for each different seasonal kakigori. Additionally, I am noticing that they do a variation of many of their dishes with seasonal ingredients to keep this menu interesting. Another great reason to be a regular!
Uni Toast
Jidori Egg Yolk, Brioche
Hog Island Oyster
Cranberry Verjus, Meyer Lemon
Sushi Rice
Ikura, Raw Beef, Toasted Nori
Parker House Rolls
House Cultured Butter & Its Milk
Smoked Fish Dip
Cranberry, Wonton Chips
Delicate Squash Tempura
Hibachi Hot Mustard
Koshihikari Fried Rice
Sunchoke, Sunflower Seed Chili Crisp
Chicories
Beets, Meyer Lemon, Stracciatella
Grilled Matsutake
Pine Nut, Asian Pear
Roasted Carrots
Vadouvan, Curry Leaf Salsa Macha
Roasted Hanger Steak
Shio Kombu Au Poivre, Frites
Hazelnut Soft Serve Sundae
Creamsicle Kakigori
Right before Christmas my gay husband #1 Derrick Carter headlined with DJ Sneak. Naturally I booked us a table at Four Kings. Sadly Derrick did not land early enough but I kept my table of 6 because it's now my new favorite size of table and it would be easy to find friends who have not yet been to take up their spots. 6 is the perfect number for dinner out as it's not too big so that everyone can't talk to each other and you can order a good chunk of a menu (unless it's one of those MASSIVE menus). Everyone at the table was so impressed with Four Kings. As you may know from following me here and on IG, I have eaten here a bunch of times and it's always consistently great. My musts are below. I would stick with savories and skip dessert here.
Mapo Spaghetti
Chiuchow Olive Green Beans
Fish Fragrant Eggplant
Chong Qing Hawt Fried Rabbit *super banger
Singaporean Style Chili Crab
Met up with my friend to catch up on NYE AM at Sohn finally to check out this space. I had no idea that the old Daily Driver space they took over was so massive! Seeing that we are both designiest of design freaks, we loved the space. To no one's surprise, I got a hojicha cream top latte and the galbi patty melt. Paul got the gyeran jjim and I think I would have preferred that one. We both also got the gochujang caramel cookie, which I thought had too much umami going for it.
Since Aji Kiji moved downtown near me, I decided to get another box to go. This time, I got the Tekka Don. You can order ahead and pick up so they don't sell out, as they typically do. I did like it. Still on the fence on this one versus Sanraku for what you get at that price point... For me, the fresher rice from Sanraku makes this a bit better.
My cousin and I talked about going to San Ho Won one time, and sadly we did not get our reservation and I had completely forgotten about it for a while. This being a brain child of Corey Lee and likely the fanciest K BBQ in America, I made this top of my list as of last year and booked a table of 6 with mostly chefs so we can eat almost the entire menu. Ha. We got a few of the larger dishes since ordering every single one of those would be too much for the 6 of us, but despite that, our waiter did think we ordered too much food. He was wrong. We only had little bites of banchan and some vegetables leftover. Our special guest Jeppe was in from Denmark as he worked at Henne Kirkeby Kro and they did a residency at Ritual at Manresa. Since Jeppe is now at Evett South Korea working under Joseph Lidgerwood (white spoon chef in season 1 of Culinary Class Wars), it was a hilarious coincident before he landed in Seoul. San Ho Won is a top restaurant in SF for good reasons. Despite getting this enormous amount of food, it was still only $110 each with gratuity included. I would also argue that this is a great value for what you get here and perhaps a better way to order than the house menu as you get more variety. I look forward to my return soon with another big group as they have a new ssuk bingsu and I love ssuk!!! You like how the 6 of us got 8 desserts? Thank you pastry chef for hooking us up. We were incredibly happy with our entire meal and it will not be soon forgotten. All the savories were excellent, which is a rare comment coming from this industry table with so many Michelin stars, and we loved the black sesame soft serve and the injeolmisu the most from the dessert menu. And that may be the best tteok I will have in my entire life. How can something so simple with so little ingredients be so impactful? Go try for yourself and see.
Galbi Mandu 갈비 군만두 Griddled Beef Dumplings
Savory Egg Soufflé 뚝배기 계란찜 Rock Seaweed Sauce, Spicy Anchovy Broth
Savory Egg Soufflé 뚝배기 계란찜 Rock Seaweed Sauce, Spicy Anchovy Broth
Sanma Pajeon 산마파전 Mountain Yam and Green Onion Pancake
Kimchi and Bacon Pancake 베이컨 김치전
Beef Tartare with Asian Pear 육회 Bugak, Egg Yolk
Hwe Muchim 계절생선 회무침Fluke, Fish Roe, Rock Seaweed, Chojang
Kimchi and Bacon Pancake 베이컨 김치전
Beef Tartare with Asian Pear 육회 Bugak, Egg Yolk
Hwe Muchim 계절생선 회무침Fluke, Fish Roe, Rock Seaweed, Chojang
SHW x JONGGA Original Kimchi 산호원 종가 배추김치
SHW x JONGGA White Kimchi 산호원 종가 백김치
Dongchimi with Preserved Green Plum 매실 동치미 Radish, Mustard Leaf
Sesame Leaf Kimchi 깻잎김치
Chonggak Kimchi 총각김치 Salted Shrimp and Anchovy Seasoning
Spicy Pig’s Ear Salad 돼지귀 초무침 Bellflower, Minari, Chojang
House Double-Cut Galbi “더블컷” 갈비 Marinated Prime Beef Short Rib
Center Cut Beef Tongue 우설
Center Cut Beef Tongue 우설
Ssam - Assorted Lettuces to Wrap Your BBQ 모둠쌈
Scallion Salad 파채무침
Pacific Mackerel Fillet 고등어구이
Western Mushrooms 양송이구이
Grilled Tteok 떡구이 Homemade Rice Cakes, Maple-Soy Sauce
Sweet Potato
Mugunji Kimchi Jjigae 묵은지 김치찌개Pork Jowl and Tofu
Seasonal Vegetable Bibimbap 계절 비빔밥 Bibimjang, Preserved Squid, Pollock Roe Mayonnaise
Soft Serve Ice Cream
-Black Sesame Sundae, Huckleberry
-Tangerine
Injeolmisu Tea and Chungju Soaked Lady Finger, Mascarpone, Misugaru, Rice Cake
Makgeolli Bingsu
Then one weekend I ate out 3 nights for dinner because I went to 3 Improvised Shakespeare Company shows 3 nights in a row with different people, so we also had dinner before/after the show. This is one of the funniest shows I have ever seen and laugh so hard that my face hurts each time. I HIGHLY recommend it.
First up was Liholiho Yacht Club. I had been a regular here but I had not gone for a minute; also, I love their baked Hawaii. We got their classics here to share. Always great. Yes, I did notice that you have to order the roasted broccoli separated from the game hen now. Whereas they were a single dish before.
Poppyseed Steam Bun
beef tongue, tare glaze, LYC kimchi, miso aioli
Roasted Broccoli
avocado-sesame, crispy mung bean, celery root, chili almond
Fried Game Hen
sweet & sour glaze, snowy cabbage, yuzu kosho ranch, pickled carrot
Baked Hawaii
orange chiffon cake, coconut POG sorbet
The next night, my friends and I checked out Maritime Boat Club per my other chef friends' recommendation, and it had already made it on my list. Maritime Boat Club is on the second floor of the Palihotel on Stockton Street in Union Square. It is helmed by Felix Santos (Quince, Atelier Crenn, etc.). It is a seasonal seafood centric small menu done to perfection. There is also a charming Bar Maritime connected to it with an excellent alcohol selection for those that partake. And had my chef friends did not tell me to get the grilled cabbage, I probably would not have ordered it (you should definitely get it, unless you loathe cabbage). Everything was superb and well cooked. The heavenly chocolate cake was moist and smokey. It was so good that we ordered another slice to share.
The Kraken
4 classic hog island sweetwater oysters
4 dressed hog island highwater oysters
5 jumbo blue shrimp
hokkaido scallop aguachile
yellowfin tuna curd
Brandt Top Sirloin tartare Toast
parsley, mustard blossom
Salt Baked Sweet Potato
toasted nori crema, salsa macha, scallions
Front Porch Grilled Napa Cabbage
valmar's arugula walnut pesto, preserved lemon
Mt. Lassen Trout
lonely mountain winter squash, farro, trout & squash dash
Chocolate Cake
For the 3rd night of dinner, we had to go before the show so choices were a bit more limited. We decided to go to Zzan for a quicker and more affordable Korean meal. I got the soft tofu soup with beef, ramen and mushrooms. It's a great hearty meal on a budget and I was happy to have tried one of the Korean restaurants near me. There are a few right near Union Square and a few open late if you are ever in need of some great late night options.
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