ah, October in San Francisco.  A couple eats from Hayes Valley coincidentally in the same week.  Boxing Room Thursday special - Duck and Andouille sausage jambalaya.  Mini cornbreads.  And a stein full of German beer from the simply named Biergarten.

Off the Grid Fort Mason Friday 3-Sum Eats truck.

Rice crispy fried chicken sandwich with sweet corn. One of the best ever in the city. Really. The sandwiches change every time but this has moved up to the top of the list of where I’m getting in line first the next time I’m at Off the Grid.

Fried macaroni and cheese. I was with two doctors when we ate this.

I visited Cape Cod for the first time just to see what all the fuss was about (and to visit KL who was working there for the summer). I think I can sum up the area by two things: ice cream shops and mini-golf places. That and I had lobster pretty much everyday and ate clam chowder at a chowder house. One place that stood out for me was in Harwich Port, a little off the beaten path, called Mooncussers Tavern. Small menu but everything was really good, and it had a good selection of well-made cocktails and beers. I would go back for the duck infused burger alone. It was one of the best meals my friends and I had that weekend. Photos were taken by my friend BT.

Tuna ceviche with crisped rice, fries with rosemary béarnaise sauce

After Cape Cod and a very long bus ride, I met up with a friend in NYC. We ate at Maze at the London, Gordon Ramsay’s place near the Theatre district. Great interiors and I just loved this carpaccio plating.-CW

I'll admit it. I didn't know much about Turkish food before I went to Istanbul. Luckily I got a crash course in it on my second day there by taking in a food walking tour with Istanbul Eats. It started as a blog by two guys who just really loved food, and then people started bugging them to do walking tours. It was really a whole day of eating and I really enjoyed getting to know my tour-mates (2 people from NY, one who lived in Turkey off/on over the years and comes back to Turkey all the time) and our awesome guide. Later on other days I learned that I really dig Anatolian and Kurdish food - who knew? And the lokum! I never really liked Turkish Delight before but it is incredibly good in Istanbul (and I'm guessing the rest of Turkey). It's really soft, comes in flavors like rose and sometimes there's nougat which is also soft and throw in some pistachios...yup I think I have a crush on it. - CW

Old Town Walking Tour
Simit cart, you see them all over town. Simits are usually called the Turkish bagel. It's lighter and thinner than a bagel with a crusty sesame seed outside. Usually eaten in the morning with a white cheese, which supposedly became a potato chip flavor at one point. The bread next to it is fluffier, like a soft Hawaiian bread.

Olives outside the Spice Market. Love the big spoon.

White string cheese. Makes me sad when I see string cheese in the supermarkets now.

Dried hollowed out eggplants for dolma. The lighter green necklaces next to it are mini-okra. Like a lei you could soak in water and eat.

Love the perfect arrangement of fruits by this one vendor.

Grape leaves.

My first Turkish coffee inside a Han. Hans traditionally provided places of rest for people travelling in caravans. Some developed into places focused around one trade. Many today are the back storage rooms for shops. We were in a multi-story Han. Younger guys run çay (tea) or coffee to all the vendors around the area. Here they have an intercom on the right where you can call in your order and they'll place your beverage in the little tray on the left that gets pulleyed up. awesome.

Baklava! I think the third photo is called Ladies' Lips.

Kokoreç - Sheep's intestines, wrapped around the biggest skewers I've ever seen, roasted with the juices dripping all over. Then chopped up, mixed with seasonings, lemon, tomato and put in a baguette. My tourmate described that it was like an Italian sausage sandwich. I think it's like that with more of that liver/organ taste. Ok but it's really good. It's so good, that someone made up a song and music video about it. Don't look for the video. I've watched it for you. It's 96% guy dancing in tight jeans, 4% people eating kokoreç.

Red Lentil Soup with lemon and tomato

Pide at Mavi Haliç Pidecisi. The baker looks just like his picture on the napkin.

Candy choices at Altan Şekerleme. Fourth generation owned sweet shop. Hard candy still made on site. I bought bergamot and strawberry for the office. They also have great helva.

Bereket Döner - Here they layer the veggies in between the meat so that everything soaks in the juices. Side note: The bread everywhere is amazing. They seriously have some of the best baguettes ever.

Vefa Boza - Boza is made from millet. It has a lemony taste, is served with cinnamon on top, and eaten with roasted chickpeas. Great on a hot day. Also something people drink after a late night out. I'm guessing it looks exactly the same since 1876.

Siirt Şeref Büryan Kebap Salonu near the Roman Aqueducts in Fatih. Pomegranate molasses, salad. Çiğ köfte - classically raw and kneaded until 'cooked', this version is actually a cooked one. Perde Pilav, a "curtain" pilaf with rice, currants, almonds and chicken inside a pastry shell and baked inside a mold. Meat inside bulgar. Not pictured - their specialty of pit-roasted lamb.

Lunch and snacks on Istikal Street
Otantik Anadolu Yemekleri - mini-chain serving Anatolian food. Mince meat dumplings, chicken and cheese, potato dumplings (handmade in the front window).

Lokum in its many varieties from Hacı Niyazi Efendi

Fancy dessert plating at Safran. I like the use of the Chinese lantern.

Çiya - I made it to the Asian side of Istanbul. Always fun to be able to say you travelled to a different continent and back again in the course of a few hours. Specializing in Kurdish food, with a daily rotating menu. I realized when I sat down I ordered a lot of food for one person. Even better, they brought me a spicy cheese condiment and lavash the size of 2 rugby balls. And free juices! (nevrooz sherbert - sprouted barley and honey; sumac sherbet) Everything was delicious. The best - I managed to eat everything. Okra and lamb stew with chickpeas and lemon, sour lamb stew (shallots, eggplant, ground lamb, pomegranate juice, pepper). Fried meatball.

 

They've been teasing us for months. Sandwich boards in Potrero Hill saying a food truck was "coming soon!" with a picture of a pig on it. Finally, Sanguchon arrived and I managed to stop by and check it out. They have the special Peruvian sandwiches, wraps, snack sides, cookies and drinks. I got a Chicha Morada drink - a dark red purple drink made from juices left from boiling blue corn and sweetened with some lime. I really liked it although I was overly worried I would spill it on my white sweater (it did manage to stain my white office desk a little). I also started with Tequenos - fried wonton wraps with Oakaca cheese and avocado puree on the side, and with honey and powdered sugar. The cheese was gooey and melded well with the sweetness of the honey and avocado. I ended up getting the roasted chicken sandwich. The chicken was well seasoned, not dry and not overly fatty. Overall, definitely a happy addition to the neighborhood. I would love
to go back and and try their pulled pork or pork loin sandwiches and yucca fries. - CW

Went to Sociale for Dine About Town last week with CH. I was really surprised that the place isn't more packed but I'm guessing it's because the weather has been not-so-sunny and the place is deemed more of a "neighborhood" restaurant. Up in Presido Heights, Sociale is tucked away down a small path off of Sacramento Street. Both CH and I went off menu even though the DAT choices looked pretty good. Even their beers looked good (reminds me of a quote DP said last week that kept making me laugh: "Do you like Belgians?"). We started off with their Fried Olives. I liked the concept but I think I would've liked it more if I was a salt person. Even so, they take large olives, fill with cheese and fry it up arancini-style with a thick batter coating. Not pictured - duck pappardelle was so amazing I even ate CH's last bite when she couldn't finish hers. - CW

Brunch, Village Pub in Woodside. More down to earth place than I expected, just with nice white tablecloths. Small sesame seed housemade bagel, smoked trout salad, pickled onions and I believe watercress. - CW

I made plans to meet up with Ggirl since she was days away from having her baby and we hadn’t hung out in a while. We tried out Poquito, one of the newer places in the Dogpatch. It just so happened that AS was there recently and recommended a few dishes to try. Anyway, overall I think another great low-key addition to the neighborhood. Croquettes were pretty good - small, but creamy inside - kind of reminded me of little croquettes I had in Spain. Ggirl never had one before so really liked them. Liked the sangria, housemade chips (plantains, yucca and yam), tacos with jicama wrappers instead of tortillas. Empanadas weren’t my favorite but only because I tend to like mine with a little more…I guess baked bread crust is how I would describe it, whereas these were fried and crispy. (Ironically, I am the complete opposite with McDonald’s Apple Pies.) Brick pressed chicken with patatas bravas was excellent - even the side spinach salad with
cranberries and goat cheese tasted good. Very flavorful sauces in many of the dishes. Free fried Fava beans.

We decided to go to Rocketfish Lounge for dessert (also a new favorite happy hour food place). Chocolate and Dutch crunch ice cream with MOCHI DONUTS! - CW