I had been meaning to check out 7 Adams as everyone kept telling me that it's a great value for what you get at $87/person for a 5 course tasting menu. When it was time to do a girl's night out, I suggested it to my girls and off we went. Yes, that is absolutely true! It's not too stuffy for fine dining, which I enjoy. And the price was right. It was dark in there so you get a picture of us celebrating Kelly Tunstall's birthday with their desserts.
torched hiramasa: yuzu, chive, ninja radish
braised lamb ravioli: paprika, pine nut, horseradish
seared black cod: coconut milk yuzu gel, confit sunchokes
chocolate pear: crème fraîche cake, almond shortbread, pear sorbet
market fruit sundae: lemon yogurt cake, brown butter, cranberry jam
One day, I was going on my walk and while passing by Aji Kiji, I noticed that there were actually boxes still at that time. I did a double take and returned to get myself one. Aji Kiji is take out only sushi for high quality sushi. They do sell out each day, so it's best that you order ahead for pick up. I got the omakase for my research and I was making up all sorts of fish songs while walking home to enjoy my sushi from my excitement. While I have my go tos for high end omakase here in SF, I find that we are lacking in mid range affordable great sushi overall, hence my excitement of perhaps finding one. Curiously, I was told by the chef when I bought my omakase ($54 for 10 pieces nigiri + 6 pieces maki) that I am to wait an hour for the fish to get to room temperature. This I found tricky, as great sushi is to be eaten fresh at room temperature. So I was even more curious about the quality of this omakase. By the time I walked home, it was my hour. It was very good, especially for that price point. However, as a regular true Japanese omakase diner, I then wondered how this compares to a similarly priced fresh sushi dining options.
To test my theory, I decided to go to Sanraku and see what that difference would be like. The first time, I got the chirashi ($60) because I love uni.
The second time I got the sushi tokujo ($55) which includes 7 pieces of nigiri with a blue fin tuna roll.
I do think you get your money's worth at Aji Kiji in this city lacking in great mid range priced sushi. However, getting it fresh at the correct temperature when your order arrives is my preference.
Then I had friends visiting in town; naturally I took them to Four Kings. I do try different things there each time I go, but I can say that these are my go tos and my high recommends:
green beans
eggplants
mapo spaghetti
hokkien fried rice
I was on another one of my epic walks another day and ended up at Sweet Glory in the Inner Sunset. Their crepe cakes were great. I loved the pandan coconut and I got the matcha to go. They used too much ceremonial grade matcha on that and it's too bitter. That is also why you typically do not bake with it. The couple next to my table were kind enough to let me taste their black sesame Basque cheesecake, which tasted like a regular cheesecake. He also happened to be a chef at Bar Crenn and we struck up a great conversation about food. A super sweet spot for a treat if you are in the mood.
As you may remember from my NY trip last year that I really got into BBQ pork pineapple buns (which led me to find the SF equivalent). Then I was wondering why there isn't amazing pineapple bun bakeries here like they do in Hong Kong, something I miss from my childhood. Then I realized I have not gone to Pineapple King. On another sunny day, I went on another epic walk and got myself a variety from Pineapple King to try. A traditional pineapple bun does not have the pad of butter, so I am not entirely sure when this new version with the pad of butter came to be. I got their original, one with butter, another with the pandan butter, a matcha red bean tart, and a taro coconut egg tart. This is still nowhere near the amazing pineapple buns you get in Hong Kong, especially warm out of the oven. I found the ones with butter quite interesting and the one with pandan my favorite. I thought the tarts to be too sweet for my palette. Peep it. And if you ever go to Hong Kong, go to one of the bakeries that make amazing pineapple buns and you will understand my lament.
Since I am such a matcha freak, I had to check out the Shoji soft opening. Shoji will be a cafe in the day and turns into a bar and restaurant at night. I cannot say no to a good Einspanner and Shoji definitely have the fanciest (and most expensive) one in town with all that kink powder on top. I will definitely go back when they are more settled in to see what else I can get my hands on.
Hope you get to check out some of these and give yourself assignments like I did! Wish me luck in Japan and I will definitely be doing a lot of walking off all those calories there and upon my return!
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