savory-bites

San Francisco | Swensen’s, Kara’s Cupcakes, Gott’s Roadside

by Jessie on May 15, 2012

This post is overly due, mainly because I was too lazy to hit the publish button…

Many, many weeks ago, I made an impromptu trip to San Francisco. Nearly everyone who you talk to who’s visited will gush about how awesome San Francisco is- the temperate weather, all the awesome food, the unique characteristics of each part of the city and the vibrant culture. The bar was set pretty high; despite gusty winds and a downpour for the first day, I fell in love with the city.

Transamerica Pyramid- I need a wider lens!

Chinatown

Day 1- This was a very hands-off-the-camera trip. Most of the wandering was done on foot, helped by a couple of friends who were gracious enough to take me around to their favorite sights and restaurants. But there were some moments when I just couldn’t resist taking out that camera. The first was when we arrived at Swensen’s. It was an unexpected visit, but we happened upon this popular ice-creamery as we were walking to the cable car.

There were enough intriguing flavors to make you stop and seriously think- I mean, bordeaux cherry? turkish coffee?! almond chocolate malt?! I ended up sampling the turkish coffee, which reminded me of Starbuck’s Java Chip ice cream but less sweet and slightly more bitter, as well as the swiss orange chip.

Holy cow.

Swiss orange chip. Talk about a perfect harmony of rich and velvety chocolate cut through by the acidic orange.

It was to die for.

Swiss Chocolate Orange Chip- 1 scoop for $2.95

This is a must try for any chocolate/orange lover!

About a ten minute walk from Swensen’s was the cable car stop by Lombard St (home to the most crooked and windiest street in the world). Shielded by a barrier of trees is actually a public tennis court that offers majestic views of the bay, including the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf, and Ghirardelli Square.

Day 2- After brunch with a friend at Samovar Teahouse, I was determined to explore the city on foot. By the time I reached the wharf, I was exhausted but I knew the real prize was ahead- Ghirardelli Square. I mean, I could sacrifice my feet for some chocolate, yeah? Of course, I had no idea what was in the Square- I figured there had to be some chocolate.

I get there and I realize that there’s a GIANT line for the cafe. That’s out of the question. Then I see a little cafe with no line. Why? Cause it sold ice cream.

Low 50 degree weather with whipping wind. Do I get ice cream?

Then I look up and the heavens smiled at me. CUPCAKE SHOP!!!

I practically glided to the entrance with glee. Inside there was an assortment of red velvet, chocolate velvet, passion fruit, banana caramel, passion fruit, meyer lemony lemon and fleur de sel. It was such a tough choice, choosing between the last two. I finally opted for the lemon, given that I had just consumed a giant loaf of sourdough bread at Boudin’s and was craving for something fruity.

Meyer Lemony Lemon Cupcake ($3.25)

To be honest- it was the filling that saved the day. The frosting was very light (which is good as it wasn’t terribly sweet) but the cake itself was on the drier side. I think that Sprinkles triumphs Kara’s with the cake but Kara’s wins frosting and filling.

HOWEVER, Howard had been raving about Blue Bottle Co., and lucky me, Kara’s carried it! The lady at Kara’s spent a bit of time explaining to me that the coffee is made through a drip process and Blue Bottle offers classes to its distributors to teach how to properly brew the coffee. She also offered me decadent heavy cream, which I graciously took. That cup of coffee is by far the best filtered coffee I’ve ever had!

A 12oz coffee is $2.00

Overlooking Ghirardelli Square and the Bay

As I marveled at just how rich and creamy that cup of coffee was, the weather started to change and tiny drops began to rain. In the process, the wind picked up, and with my inability to multitask, balance a camera, and carry my shopping bags, I spilled a good chunk of the coffee. Sadness.

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Phensri’s “Fantastic” Thai New Year’s Party

by Jessie on April 28, 2012

The pull and tug between winter and spring has finally marked its toll on me. After my daily morning run on Monday, I stepped out of the shower with a seemingly endless leaky nose. I thought I had outsmarted my symptoms with plenty of rest, but alas, on Thursday, the throat began to itch and the bones started to ache. Luckily, the onset of Friday brought an opportunity of uninterrupted sleep. On this lazy Saturday, nothing gives me more pleasure than the excuse of curling up in bed with my laptop, next to a cup of tea for some seriously overdue blogging.

A couple of Saturdays ago, Rachel invited me to a Thai New Years party, hosted by Phensri of “Fantastic Thai Cuisine.” If you know Rachel, you know that she loves all things Asian. Combine that with cooking, and you have a perfect match made in heaven. Needless to say, Rachel raved about the Thai class at our weekly Friday gatherings.

A little background on Phensri’s classes- She offers them in various locations in New Jersey (including Old Bridge and Princeton) as well as in NYC (Greenwich Village). Her regular classes range from $60-$100 depending on the location and all ingredient fees are included. Classes are structured so that every individual gets to prep, cook, and of course, eat!

We arrived at around 3:30pm to help prep for the official 6:30pm feasting. No hands were spared. While I dawdled a bit, snapping shots here and there, Phensri eventually entrusted me with the Chicken Satay. It was my job to put them on skewers. In general, we were able to get two pieces of chicken breast onto the skewers, as you want to leave at least 1.5-2 inches on the bottom for handling purposes. The top of the skewer should be buried in the chicken (we don’t want anything burning on the coals).

Chicken Satay: grilled aromatic chicken marinated with Thai herbs, served with Thai peanut sauce

We let Justin handle the grilling. No comments there…

Just kidding. Look at how wonderfully that batch came out!

Meanwhile, as I was skewering, Rachel shared the task of making these curry puffs filled with beef. They’re similar to samosas and empanadas, but to be honest, they’re the most bangin’ version I’ve ever had. The spice from the curry is an awesome explosion in the mouth. I think I overdosed on these, which led me to become incredibly full before dinner even started. It also didn’t help that I was sitting next to the fryer. Oops.

Curry Puff: Pastry dough stuffed with grounded beef, curry powder

Pre-frying. Because they were so good, I forgot to take pictures post-frying. Silly me.

Following the curry puff making, we started on vegetarian spring rolls. Despite how they look, they’re super easy and quick to make. You can buy a pack of spring roll wrappers at your local Asian mart for under $2, and fill them with whatever you want. Scoop the filling onto a bottom corner and fold up to cover the filling. Then, sweep in the left and right fold so that only one corner is left and roll upwards. Eventually, you’ll end up with a spring roll!

Vegetable Spring Roll: Deep fried with stir fried vegetable and glass noodles wrapped with spring roll skin, served with sweet chili sauce

The lady of the night who made everything possible- Phensri!

The last of the appetizers was the most anticipated and took the longest- Shrimp in a Blanket! Phensri literally bought a giant box of shrimp. They come frozen and you defrost them by running through cold water. You have to shell and devein them and in this case, pare them in half so that they can lie flat on the spring roll wrappers. Phensri then scooped a chicken mixture that she premade before rolling. To seal the “blanket,” mix a bit of cornstarch and water, and dunk your fingers and apply on the tip of the wrapper.