Range

Thursday night, an old friend from work had made plan with us to try this restaurant - Range - since it's in her neighborhood and she's been dying to try it out. it was funny we didn't have any reservation because of our own communitcation glitch but we got in last minute anyhow.

the restaurant is on the ground floor of an old 3 level flat, a typical San Francisco building, narrow and long. the ground floor had been rennovated and has that Mission district industrial bistro vibes, with simple decor and materials such as wood and brush stainless steel table tops, clean lines and not fussy. the front section is the bar with high bar tables and a couple bistro tables. the mid section of the restaurant is a long corridor with the kitchen on the left, a short row of bistro tables on the right and the 2 bathrooms also on the right. And the back section is - i guessed - the main dinning area.

the crowd here is eclectic on this thursday night. the staff or our waiter is friendly, very knowledgeable about the food, ingredients and how it's prepared as well as the drinks/wine list.

we started off with the drinks since we were still waiting for 1 more to come. one had the rose bubbly as usual. one had the special drink of the night - vodka with white tea, i didn't try but she said it was very good. i ordered one from the cocktail list - Vin de Pamplemousse - that has vodka, viognier, grapefruit juice, vanilla bean and lemon. that drink was so good! it tasted very light, i could hardly taste the liquour but felt the impact after 5 minutes. and our last guest showed up! She ordered ice tea for the evening.

for starters, one friend and i shared the seared scallops with pea shoots. this one is new on the menu and was not on their online menu. fresh dayboat scallops, perfectly seared, still stranslucent on the inside, a good starter indeed. the other had the white tuna tartar with orange and herbs, looked very interesting but i didn't try. she said it waw very good and i had no doubt. the last one ordered the escarole puree soup with gruyere and crouton. i had half a spoon to taste and it was excellent. it was fresh and had that leafy green after taste. we were all happy with out staters.

for the entree, one had the roasted chicken. she said it was very good. the table next to us also had the chicken and the lady finished everything on the plate. it was 1/2 of a good size chicken! she said it was the best chicken she'd ever had, enough said! the other 2 ordered the same dish which was not on the online menu neither. it was the fluke, a type of white fish and it looked delish! and they said it was delish! i had the coffee rubbed pork shoulder. it was tantalizing! i thought i would be grilled but not the case. it was slow cooked, the meat came in 1 piece on the plate but as soon as i touched it with the fork, it fell apart like pulled pork. it was tender and flavorful, i could only taste a super light hint of coffee afterward. it reminded me somewhat of a mole dish, but not as intense in flavor. it came with some kind of starch, i couldn't tell if it was potato??? and mustard green i think. i had the pork with a glass of syrah from santa ynez valley, in santa cruz. this wine was not on the online menu neither, so you do get a few nice surprises with the restaurant updated menu. it was a very good red, with deep burgundy color, nice bouquet and has a nice mix of spicey peppery taste, very hearty, perfect with this stronger flavor pork dish!

Desert, we were stuffed but had to try the desert since everything was good so far. And desert was no exception. we decided to shared the chocolate crepe with pink grape fruit and pink peppercorn vanilla ice cream. a perfect concoction again, all the tastes of sweet, sour, bitter and the rich flavor of chocolate balanced well with the delicate fragant grape fruit and a hint of pepper in the vanilla ice cream. a perfect way to end an excellent meal, really!

resvervation reccommended, and the restaurant does request credit card info for resv. sounds fussy with the reservation but it was the complete opposite once you step inside the restaurant.

http://www.rangesf.com/

Tuesday night at Two, Hawthorne lane

A couple friends at work and i made plan to try out different restaurants monthly. March is my month to pick a restaurant and i picked Two on Hawthorne Lane. i dined here a few times in the past, back when the restaurant was Hawthorne, named after the short little street that it was on. Recently, it's been remodeled with a new name, new chefs and of course, new menu.
i love the exterior space with the giant iron gate leading up to the private parking court yard with overgrown bourgainvillia. it was too early in the year for the bourgainvillia to bloom but comes summer time, it'd be really pretty. the interior now has been walled with varigated color wood, dimly lit with antler chandeliers and hanging pendants with shades. there's a seperate section in the back for private party i guessed.
the bathroom has the art nouveau wallpaper with rectanglular tile wall, hex tile floor and marble counter. i have to admit i prefer the old layout with the exposed kitchen. there's quite a bit going on with the decor which gave me mix feelings. it was not crowded on this tuesday night and the crowd was much more mixed and casual than the old Hawthorne.
on with the food, i had the royal hound cocktail which has vodka, grape fruit juice and champagne. my friends had a riesling and a champagne to start. the royal hound was good, very light in taste but not so light afterward. then came the bread plate which includes flat bread crackers and savory mini scones. i didn't try the scones but was told that they were a bit on the dry side. i like the crackers and i had that with my first course - beef carpaccio with mustard aioli and spinach salad. that was excellent!
for the main dish, i had the seared scallop with trumpet mushrooms, parsnip and arugula. the scallops were a hair over seared as i personally prefer mine still translucent on the inside. it was good and i washed that down with a glass of chenin blanc from the Loire valley. my 2 friends shared a pizza that looked like it was topped with procciutto, squash and pesto. that pizza looked really good but i did not have room to try. along with the pizza, they shared 2 sides, the mac and cheese and the french fries. the mac and cheese got 2 thumbs up and i like the fries with salt and pepper.
for deserts (no we weren't done yet), two of us shared the mini ice cream sandwiches with 3 flavors - oatmeal cookies with vanilla cinnamon ice cream, chocolate cookies with espresso ice cream and butterscotch cookies with peanut butter ice cream. our favorite was the espresso ice cream. my other friend has the vanilla semifreddo with tangerine granita. i had a bite of the granita, it was so light, refreshing and fragrant, delish! it was a very good dinner and a nostalgic one for me.

http://www.two-sf.com/

Nectarine up side down chiffon cake

i was going to make the cardinal slice this week but i messed up the buttercream last night, so i started to look for something easier to bake and voila - the nectarine up side down chiffon cake. this cake was adapted from "baking with Julia" book.
i got some white nectarines from japan town, they were so fragant - almost like a nectarine jolly rancher if there's such a thing.

on with the cake - the recipe called for 10" srping form round, 3" high. preheat oven at 350F

for the streusel:
75gr sliced almond - spread out on a jelly roll pan bake for 5-10 minutes until golden brown. let cool completely.
50gr dark brown sugar
50gr flour
60gr butter, cut in 1/4' cubes, chilled.
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder

In the food proccessor bowl, add sugar, flour, cinnamon, ginger, pulse for 5 seconds to mix. add butter pulse for about 5-10 seconds to get crumbly texture. on a parchement line pan, spread out the crumbs and bake for about 15 minutes. set baked crumbs on cooling rack, add toasted almond immediately, toss well and spread out to let the streusel cool down completely, set aside.

for the fruit:
3-4 nectarines, i used 3 since the nectarines were large. cut into 8 slices per fruit vertically.
60 gr butter, slice into 4-5 slices
200 gr dark brown sugar

wrap bottom of spring form pan with foil to catch any dripping later. add butter to spring form pan, place spring form in oven until the butter just melt. add sugar, pack it down evenly. add nectarine slices, arrange in concentric circles, set aside.

for the cake:
4 yolks - about 65 gr
85gr safflower oil
85gr lemon juice

155gr flour
180gr sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon extract optional, i used peach flavor.

6 eggwhites - about 200gr
90gr sugar
pinch cream of tartar
pinch of salt

whisk yolks, oil, lemon juice together until blend.
mix flour, 180gr sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt well.
sift the flour mixture over yolk mixture in 2 portions, whisk to mix well. set aside.

beat eggwhites on low for 30 seconds, add salt beat until frothy. increase to medium speed, add cream of tartar beat until soft peaks, about 1 minutes.
add 90gr sugar in a small steady stream beat until all sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. increase to high speed, beat to stiff peaks, about 2 minutes.
fold 1/3 of meringue into yolk batter, fold gently with a flexible spatula until everything is incorporated. add batter back to the remaining meringue and fold gently until homogenous. the batter should not be deflated in volume.
pour 1/2 batter into fruit line pan, spread out evenly. sprinkle evenly with streusel, pour in the rest of the batter, smooth the top evenly. set spring form on a jelly roll pan and bake for about 50 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. set the whole thing on cooling rack and let it cool down for about 30 minutes before invert the cake on to a serving plate.

my note after tasting this cake. i really like the texture of this cake. personally, i would cut back on the sugar since i like things not too sweet. and second, if i make this again, i would caramelized the fruit seperately and bake the cake with streusel in a regular round pan instead of spring form. the fruit makes the bottom of the cake a bit soggy. and caramelized the fruit seperately is the only way to control the texture of the fruit, not over or under cooked. if so, it wouldn't be up side down cake but i imagine it would taste better.

Gummy Choco snack

a friend at work introduced me to this japanese gummy choco candy. it's a flavored jelly/gummy ball covered in chocolate. tasty! so today, along with my grocery at the japanese market, i picked up a couple tubes of gummy choco. the market carries 4 flavors - strawberry, muscat grape, apple and peach. i got the muscat and the peach, that will be my sugar for the week.

Saturday lunch at Osaka

i have not been back to Osaka sushi in the Castro for a while and i was kind of craving my favorite roll at Osaka - the "Osaka fantasy" roll. so off to the Castro i went.

i ordered the miso (of course) to start. my next dish was the agedashi - soft tofu tempura with agedashi sauce. it was yummy... hot soft tofu with a delicate crunchy skin, mmm...

my next dish was, of course, the Osaka fantasy roll. it has scallop, mango, shrimp, tobiko, shiso and rice all rolled up in a delicate egg crepe and drizzled with special sauce - i think it's some kind of mango mayonaise??? it was so good! i always have the Osaka fantasy everytime i come here. it had been ok (not as perfect) a few times since they had different sushi chefs but the one i had today was delish, just as i remembered it. the presentation got fancy with a strand of chive balancing across the roll, that was new to me!

and finally, the last dish was the ichiban roll - a white tuna roll with avocado and unagi (bbq eel) drapping on top, drizzled with unagi sauce. yummy! that's it, i got my fill of sushi for the day.

http://www.osakacastro.com/

Caramel fleur de sel Sables

there'll always be leftover. this time it's the caramel fleur de sel. so i decided to make sable sandwiches with the caramel, dip in chocolate.
for the sables, i used the exact same recipe as last time only switched out the extract. i used vanilla this time.
for the caramel (leftover), same recipe from chubby hubby that i always use.
chocolate for dipping, about 300gr of dark/55% cocoa chocolate. i used callebaut brand. chop and melt over simmering water.
i used 1-7/8" round cutter this time. and i rolled the dough a bit thinner than 1/8".
let the sables cool down completely after baking. spread about 1/2 teaspoon of caramel on half of the sables, put the other half on top to make sandwiches. dip in chocolate and rest them on parchment lined pan until the chocolate is solid.

Sunday brunch at Suzu

my little japanese friend called me up sunday morning to go grocery shopping in Japan town, i suggested Suzu for brunch before shopping since i got up late and didn't have time to eat anything.
i was introduced to Suzu a while ago by an old friend from work. it's a little restaurant in the Japan town mall and they serve only the freshest noodles among other things. my friend was not too hungry so she got the agedashi (fried tofu) and i ordered the tempura for starter and the pork ramen for entree. The tofu looked yummy, i'll try that next time. the tempura was perfect, all vegetable and shrimps were fresh, crunchy tempura batter outside and the inside was cooked just enough. the ramen was ummm... good as always! the pork was tender, the dried bamboo shoot adds a very mild pungent flavor to the broth and the bamboo shoot texture has a lot of bite to it. the noodles were fresh and perfectly cooked, aldente! umm... more please!


Suzu opens for lunch (11:30 - 3) and dinner (5-10)everyday, closed tuesday. And there's always a line outside of the restaurant...

Suzu in the Kinokuniya building
1581 Webster st. #105
san francisco, ca 94115
tel: 415-346-5083