Category Archives: Coffee/Cafes/Tea

Berkeley… 9 years after graduation

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I had the sudden desire to visit Berkeley and have lunch at Intermezzo on Telegraph Ave, dreaming of their green salad and honey wheat bread sandwich.

On the way to campus, we got off the freeway at Ashby Avenue so stopped by Urban Ore. It’s a really cool place where they sell lots of reusable goods, including but not limited to: doors, blinds, sinks, tubs, toilets, wood, clothes, computers, chairs, desk, tables, cabinets, dishes, kitchenware, electronics, etc. It’s really useful if you need some stuff for home remodeling and don’t want to pay an arm and a leg for it but you also have to be patient and dig around for the gems. We got some simple stuff like plates and cups for me to keep at work but next time, I’d like to get a dresser, sand it down, and repaint and decorate it… I think it’ll be a fun project.

Afterwards, we headed to Telegraph Ave to find Intermezzo. We found the location but the restaurant has changed to Cafe Mattina but with the same menu as Intermezzo. Apparently ownership had changed and the name changed in December.

I ordered my favorite combo of half a green salad with poppy seed dressing and half a chicken salad sandwich. Plus a strawberry lemonade with free refills (the cashier was kind enough to let me know refills were free so that I didn’t have to order the large size). Lots of strawberry and lemon pulp in their strawberry lemonade, a good thirst quencher.

The salad seemed a bit smaller and the dressing a bit thinner but overall, still the same. It was missing the extra chunk of bread though that comes with the salad.

The chicken salad sandwich was thick with filling but the bread sliced thinner than usual. It’s still sufficiently too large to fit the entire sandwich into your mouth for a full bite but I remember it being at least 1cm thicker. Ron didn’t like this as much because it was too sweet, not enough dijon mustard is my guess.

After lunch, I went for a little walk on Telegraph and was sad to see how many of the stores that have changed. The Gap is now a Walgreens. Bath & Body Works is now American Apparel. The hair salon was closed. There’s a Subway Sandwich in one of the cafes. There was a Beard Papa’s on the corner. A lot has changed in the 9 years since graduation.

But some things remain the same, like Sather Gate (apparently newly restored). Beautiful weather at Sproul Plaza today.

After some additional shopping on Bancroft Ave, I met up with Ron at Caffe Strada. I ordered the drink that got me started drinking coffee: Strada Bianca Mocha topped with a dollop of whipped cream. I loved it back then but I think it’s too sweet for my taste now… but made me very nostalgic.

Good ol’ Berkeley. We bought Zachary’s Pizza for dinner to top off a great day. Yum yum. Order for pick-up, it’s the best choice if you don’t want to wait for a table.

Can’t wait for the next visit to Berkeley…

Urban Ore
900 Murray St

Cafe Mattina
2442 Telegraph Ave

Caffe Strada
2300 College Ave

Zachary’s Pizza
5801 College Ave

Lazy Sunday

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Spent a relaxing Sunday at home after just going out for lunch. Thought I’d take a break from eating my way through San Francisco and let Ron catch up on work.

In the morning, we shared the croissant we got from Tartine yesterday. We toasted it in the toaster oven so it got a little burnt on top. It was super buttery but oh so good.

Also, I got the new camera Ron bought for me so hopefully my pictures will be a whole lot better from now on. My new camera is the Canon PowerShot SD960 IS in the lovely blue color. Check out BeachCamera.com!

So new picture of the kitties:

For lunch, we went to Hai Ky Mi Gia in the Tenderloin. I ordered the Beef Stew Ho Fun Soup.

It came with lots of tendons (which I love) and beef. A strong tomato-like flavor and a bit oily but overall not too bad. Not sure I like the neighborhood though.

Ron ordered the duck with dumplings and noodles.

Ron’s dish was served with pickled vegetables. Nice and tangy and Ron says there was a bit of spice.

Plus we shared some Chinese donuts. It was a bit too much…

Hai Ky Mi Gia
707 Ellis St

Dynamo Donut, Tartine Bakery, Bi-rite, Rosamunde Sausage Grill, and Three Twins Ice Cream

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Today was quite the busy eating day around San Francisco. We tried so many great places… let’s start at the beginning at 1pm.

We first started out at Dynamo Donuts in the Mission. Our friends said they sometimes have this maple bacon donut but sadly, not today. Instead, we tried their ginger orange (on the left) and lemon pistachio (on the right) with a Gibralter (a very strong but mini cappuccino). The donuts were okay but not something I’d try again, I’d want other more unique flavors. The coffee was delicious though and kept me going all day long.

Next stop, something salty for lunch at Tartine Bakery. The line was out the door but we were lucky enough to secure a table for 5 inside the bakery. The hardest part was for Ron to find parking in the area. I took about 15 minutes to place our order and another 15-20 minutes for our sandwiches to arrive. I ordered a lemon cream tart and a croissant to go and two pressed sandwiches for Ron and I to share. They serve sandwiches starting after 12pm.

I ordered their spicy turkey sandwich with provolone and broccoli rabe pesto. The sandwiches were huge and good enough for two meals (there are 3 pieces in these boxes). They are served with a spicy pickled carrot. I couldn’t really taste any spiciness but I loved the broccoli rabe pesto and the toasted bread itself was so delicious.

I ordered Ron the Jambon Royale and Gruyere which is Niman Ranch smoked and cured ham with dijon mustard on country bread. Gruyere so yummy.

It’s great there were five of us so we could mix and match pieces of sandwich. I also got to try the Proscuitto and Provolone, the pastrami, and the mozzarella and tampenade. All very good and unique. The tampenade was especially interesting. It’d be great to take this away to the park and have a picnic.

Afterwards, we went to Bi-rite Market just down the street from Tartine. I realize now that there is the Bi-Rite Creamery probably just a few doors away but in my eagerness, we missed it. But no matter, the market still sells their famous salted caramel ice cream. We also picked up a pint of the balsalmic strawberry ice cream. We went back to our friend’s place to try them out.

Even after putting them in the freezer for an additional 15-20 minutes, the ice cream was still creamy and not as solid, just as their warning mentions (on the door of the market freezer, they warn because of the sugar content, the ice cream probably won’t be as hard as you’re used to. The salted caramel was so creamy and yummy, almost like a very thick milkshake. At first it overpowered the strawberry but after finishing off the salted caramel, the strawberry flavor is quite light with the hint of balsamic at the finish.

Dinner for the evening as at Rosamunde Sausage Grill in Lower Haight. I ordered the beer sausage topped with sauerkraut and grilled onions. You order your sausage types first then when they’re done on the grill, they ask for your desired toppings and you pay. They also have hot pepper and chili. Plus a variety of mustards (including wasabi mustard) plus ketchup. Reminded me of Germany.

They have a few seats inside but you can also take to go or to the bar next door to eat. The sausages range from $5-6.50 each I think. I’d like to try the wild boar with apple and spice or the duck with fig sausages if we ever get the chance to go back.

Our last stop for the night (at least for Ron & I) was Three Twins Organic Ice Cream which is just down the street. Yes, more ice cream, can you believe it? Ron and I ordered the kids’ cone of the toasted almond and peanut butter crunch. You can tell their ice cream is really fresh and clean. The story of the company is pretty amazing, read it on their website.

This was the end of the eating for us but our friends went to get ribs…. I’ll have to ask them how they were.

Dynamo Donuts
2760 24th Street

Tartine Bakery
600 Guerrero Street

Bi-Rite Market
3639 18th Street

Rosamunde Sausage Grill
545 Haight Street

Three Twins Organic Ice Cream
254 Fillmore Street

IHOP, Tal-y-Tara, Kushi Tsuru & Joyce’s Visit

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A relaxing and beautiful San Francisco day. Ron & I started out early in the morning with breakfast at IHOP. We had a very filling breakfast.

I ordered the strawberry stuffed French toast combination with bacon, eggs, and hash. The filling was a bit like a Toaster Strudel that you can toast at home and it wasn’t really like French toast, more like a donut, but not bad overall. I love bacon and eggs over-easy.

Ron ordered the Colorado omelette with a side of Butterscotch Rocks pancakes. The Colorado omlette has bacon, pork sausage, shredded beef, ham, onions, green peppers, and cheddar cheese. It’s supposed to be served with salsa but I just realized they probably forgot.

Later in the afternoon, I had tea at Tal-y-Tara Tea & Polo Shoppe. Joyce is visiting from Singapore and we needed to catch up! Lisa & Patsy came to join in the fun.

The front of the shoppe sells things for horse riding including saddles and clothing. We were seated right away and had a few moments to look at the menu. We were seated inside but they do have a small patio in the back which would have been nice if it wasn’t so windy, great for a small party.

We decided to order the Classic Motorloaf which is a variety of tea sandwiches that include cream cheese and cucumber, egg salad and capers, cheese and chutney, smoked turkey and watercress, black forest ham with mustard, and lox, cream cheese and capers. The center of the bread is cut out and made into sandwiches then put back into the bread. The bread was a little sweet and nutty.

We also ordered the motorload bread with fruit and cheese, served with cream cheese and chutney.

We ordered two types of tea, each of these large pots serve two. The tea pot cozies were really cute. We tried the English Breakfast and Rhumba Rooibos Chai. I liked the spiciness of the Chai.

After the sandwiches, we tried their blueberry scones and the crumpet. The blueberry scones were served with blueberry preserves and cream cheese. The scones were a bit bready for my taste.

The crumpet came out nice and toasty but I still don’t really care for it much.

I was surprisingly full and was ready for a nap but ended up going to buy Misu some new cat food and some groceries. I hope he’ll eat the chicken wet food.

Ron and I then met up with Joyce for dinner in Japantown. We ended up at Kushi Tsuru.

We ordered the Pink Lady roll, agedashi tofu, the large sashimi plate, and tempura appetizer. Plus I ordered the katsu-don and Joyce had the oyako-don.

I would say the sashimi was good while eating but left a strange aftertaste. It was probably the squid with shiso that left the aftertaste rather than the fish. Overall the rest was pretty standard and this restaurant is a bit cheaper than the rest in Japantown. Too bad they don’t have ramen, only soba and udon.

So it’s been a full day of eating and it was good to catch up with Joyce, I’m hoping we can go to Singapore to visit soon!

IHOP
2398 Junipero Sterra Blvd
Daly City, CA

Tal-y-Tara Tea & Polo Shoppe
6439 California Street

Kushi Tsuru
1737 Post St (in Japantown)

Starbucks Pairings

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http://www.starbucks.com/retail/new-in-stores.asp

Starbucks has been having this new “pairing” menu. It starts at $3.95 for a coffee and breakfast item. I’ve had it twice now and it’s a pretty good deal and healthy. I go treat myself when I don’t have time to grab breakfast from home.

This is a talle latte paired with their perfect oatmeal. I really like the oatmeal because they give you brown sugar, a nut medley, and dried fruits. All things warm and good for the tummy.