Loro

Was having a super late lunch, and I park myself at the bar in Loro.

I decided to order a Blackberry Thai Margarita which is zero proof.  It wasn't as good as I'd thought it'd be.  It has tequila alternative (which is zero proof), pomegranate, and mint.  What I was hoping for was a hint of blackberry.  

Then my lunch arrived. 

First off, I got the Sesame Rice Noodles - it has glass vermicelli noodles, with chili vinaigrette, sesame, green onion, and cilantro.  I love the taste, it's not too spicy, and I love to mix it all up.  The flavors are so good together. 

Then of course, I will not say no to queso anywhere.  Smoked Shishito Queso with kimchi flavored seasoning added in brisket.  I mean, go big or go home, right?  It's so good, and this is just filling all by itself.  The meat was just right, add cheese it just was sooooo ooey and gooey.  The chips are hardy and strong and it doesn't break easily, makes it so good together. 

I like sitting at the bar, it's full service there.  Versus, you can order with the cashier, and they will bring your food to you once you get your table.  I liked chatting with the bartender and they give pretty good recommendations too.

Loro Houston

5333 Kirby Dr

Houston, TX 77005

713-930-2330

https://www.loroeats.com/locations/houston/kirby/

 

Garden Creamery

On the way to dinner we saw an ice cream shop.

What drew our attention was that the line was out the door and then some.  Vow to save room after dinner and come here.  Except the line was even longer.

Apparently, they pasterize on site with Strauss Family organic milk and cream and organic farmers' produce. 

I got the 3 scoops, I mean, YOLO right?

I got: Salty Kaya, Übe Pandan, and Black Sesame.  The Salty Kaya has coconut milk with eggs and pandan leaf but it has a tad of saltiness to it.  The Ube Pandan has coconut milk, pandan leaf and purple yam. And Black Sesame.  I will say, I liked the Salty Kaya more than I thought.  And I knew I would liked the Black Sesame already.  Ube was exactly what I thought it was.  

All of them are yummy and made the waiting in line worth it.   If you're in SF definitely go check them out.

Garden Creamery

3566 20th Street 

San Francisco, CA 94110

https://gardencreamery.com/home/

 

Okaeri Japanese Bistro

So this is a great internet find.

 

Originally, I only saw notice about Tadaima, which is a to go type that serves sando, onigiri, lattes and the like.  

Right next door is Okaeri, which is a full sit down restaurant and I've been drooling since I found out.  

For a hot day, I started with a Yuzu soda.  Wish our restaurants would serve that too.

This is one pretty appetizer plate.  It has: Spanish mackerel, Yuzu Miso Chilean seabags on taro chip, Uniga and egg with caviar on top, and Seaweed ika tempura & daikon. 

Let's go through the 10 pcs of nigiri: 

We started with Shima Aji (striped jack fish) - their wasabi was a tad strong that over powered the flavors.

Akami Bluefin Tuna - super yummy.

Madai (Japanese Red Sea Bream) with miso 

Abruri Saba - sea mackerel

Artic Chaar with pickle kelp.

Engawa + Flounder - definitely never had Engawa before, it's a fin muscle which has lots of collagen, and chewy.

Black snapper with ginger on top.

Kamasu - Japanese Barracuda

King Salmon Belly - this is the most memorable one for me it literally melted in my mouth.

Fatty Tuna with Uni from Santa Barbara - you can taste the texture goes down easy, but the after taste is strong here.

Additions we asked for: 

Uni (sea urchin) from Hokkaido because we can.  They are pretty sharp and goes down well, no after taste on this one.

Tamago - egg-y goodness.  Just needed something as a palette cleanser.

As promised, seafood chawamushi - it was very delicious, but by then I was pretty full. But it has Hokkaido scallop and truffle oil.  So you smelled alot of it before you even taken a bite. 

We were super lucky that we got squeezed into dinner.  That was better than the yakitori dinner for sure by 10 folds.  We were also lucky to get a seat at the bar and watch the chefs in action.  They brought us our food very quickly and definitely see how it's made and chat about what we're eating, how they get it, and if the dishes are popular or not.  Overall, it's a great experience, the food, the atmosphere, and the service from the chefs were awesome. 

Okaeri Japanese Bistro

3515 20th Street

San Francisco, CA 94110

415-655-9588

https://okaerisf.com/

Maruwu Seicha

My friend insisted on coming here, I have not a clue what I'm here for.

After twists and turns in the mall inside Japantown, here we are. 

I checked out their 'specials' - Yuzu Matcha latte.  You do taste it citrus-y, and the matcha (the real kind) cut the sweet.

Then, here's the real reason she wanted to come here....

From left to right, Hokkaido cheese tart (very cheesy indeed).  Uji Matcha Cheese Tart (it really deepens the matcha taste in the cheese).  Then we had the Yuzu Matcha (it is creamy citrus with a bit matcha to cut the zing).  All of then are rich in texture. 

They actually gets busy during the day, we went after dinner, so it's less busy but they are very fast with our drinks.  And by the time we got there most tarts already sold out.  So do catch the in a decent time frame.

Marabu Seicha

SF Japantown

1737 Post Street

#368

San Francisco, CA 94115

https://www.maruwuseicha.us/

 

Dandelion Chocolate

We were walking around Mission district in SF.

Saw the word Chocolate, of course, we had to stop in. 

First, you see a small seating area, and backed by boxes upon boxes of chocolates.  There are some truffles, bars, bonbons. 

They even have some yummy looking pastries.  I ordered a Nibby Horchata. 

It has hazelnut, almond, cinnamon, cocoa nibs, and rice.  The whole thing on ice.  It sure was nice walking in a warm day with a cool chocolate drink.  

They also do workshops, tasting, and making of chocolate, bonbons, truffles.  Some locations do tours, and some location host special dinner.  Definitely worth checking out artisan chocolate. 

Dandelion Chocolate

740 Valencia St

San Francisco, CA 94110

https://www.dandelionchocolate.com/pages/valencia-street

 

Rituals Coffee

We were shopping in the Mission District and it was a warm day and we were dying for a drink.

We ended up at Ritual Coffee.  Yes, I did not get a coffee at a coffee shop.

I got a Peach Fuzz, since it was hot out.  They actually has slices of peaches in the drink.  It has syrup and Topo Chico as a mix, and it worked out so nicely and easy going. 

At the shop, they have pour over, canned, dripped, and of course made to order.  They also sell beans here and you can make it at home. 

Ritual Coffee

1026 Valencia Street

San Francisco, CA 94110

415-641-1011

https://ritualcoffee.com/location/mission/

 

Tartine Manufactory

One of my friends that lives in the area recommended Tartine.

At first, I was worried because have heard about lines out the door and it's always popular.  But then, we have the advantage of being early because of our bodies still in Texas time, which is 2 hrs ahead, so we were up earlier and went to brunch earlier. 

When you walked in, you're greeted with loaves and loaves of bread, and then the pastry case.

They got plenty of sweet and savory all on display.

First thing first, coffee!  Just a vanilla latte, but that did the job. 

Strawberry tart, so good....

We split the ham and cheese croissant.  So flakey, full of cheese and ham, yummmm...

We also had order an omelette to share. 

There's sharp cheddar, eggs, veggies, side of salad and side of toasted country bread, which is dang good!

Since we split everything, it wasn't too overwhelming. 

We took to-go: savory scone - which has jalapeño and corn.  It's definitely different, and flavors I've never had before, but I don't hate it. 

Then for the cookie, we split a salted chocolate chip cookie.  I loved it so much because the salt cut the sweet, and it neutralizes the flavors, it was very well done.

We went quite early, so we had no issue going thru the line to order and grabbing a table.  But as we leave, and more and more people arrived, the line was indeed wrapped outside.  They are serving dinner which has pizza as the main feature, but of course, variations.  For dinner, however, they will take reservations, and having one can only serve you well.

There are 2 other locations of Tartine in the Bay Area, but definitely not as big as this location in terms of seatings.  But if it's convenient to where you are, they are definitely worth checking out. 

Tartine Manufactory

595 Alabama St

San Francisco, CA 94110

https://tartinebakery.com/san-francisco/manufactory

 

Yakitori Edomasa

We were shopping in SF Japantown.

In the 2nd floor of the main shopping center, we were hungry and that's a bad thing because so was everyone else.  And the other places were about an hour wait. 

This is mainly photo dump....

Mushroom skewers, I feel like they can do a better job on the sauce, the mushroom already has a good texture and ready to absorb any flavors, so that was missing the mark. 

This is leeks, and as far as the middle of the vegetable goes, this is pretty decent.

Then comes the proteins...

We got Chicken Skin app, it came with ponzu sauce.  So it's not just the skin, alot of the bites has meat to it, so it's like fried chicken nugs in some ways.

Unagi - that's a must, since they're skewering.  I will say the flavors are average on this one.

Miso glazed pork belly.  It's pork belly, how can you go wrong?! And it didn't.  

Hotate - Scallops with creamy chili sauce.

Not pictured, Waygu - it's supposed to be A5, but it was chewier than smooth and marbled and flavorful.  

The whole experience was meh for us.  The service was spotty, the flavors were touch and go and not consistent.  Besides appetizers, truly all they serve is skewers dishes.  And if they are all consistently flavorful, I would've been a happy girl, but some opportunities missed in the dishes.  So that was a meh.

I think the lesson here is that we should've make our reservations at any place earlier than wait till the last minute.  That said, there are plenty of delicious places nearby, but since we're not familiar and super hungry, didn't get to do a decent research.  So, let this be a lesson. 

Yakitori Edomasa

San Francisco Japantown

1581 Webster St

Ste 270

San Francisco, CA 94115

415-872-7646

https://www.edomasa-us.com/