San FranCelia

For a fun girl’s (or guy’s) night out, with excellent happy hour specials on drinks AND food until 7pm, a definite Marina hot spot to check out is Ace Wasabi. While the staff is kind of that overly hip, more–snobby-than-the-clientele type of crew, the food and drinks (and price!) are worth ignoring them for.  If you get there before 7pm, you will enjoy draft beer at $3 and 6 different types of rolls for $3 a piece.  There are other specials on Nigiri, etc. – what a deal!  I have thus far left stuffed, and all for under $20, including tip.  I could get used to that.  To add to the fun, they offer up Happy Hour Bingo, and if you win, you get a free food certificate!  Not bad in the posh surrounding that envelope it.

Keep in mind that this place in some aspects is more a place to be scene than a place to get the best sushi, and I don’t know if I would seek it out as a normal sushi place if they didn’t have such a great happy hour, but as it’s located cattycorner to the fantastic Chestnut Street shopping district and is in the middle of it all, it’s a place I’m sure I’ll be visiting time and time again – hopefully, though, each time it’s a weeknight… and before 7pm.

Peace and love Xo

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I hit up Florio Café on Fillmore St. the other day for a birthday dinner, and it’s a really cute little (and I emphasize, little) spot. However, for the price, there is much better fare that fills you up and makes you feel like you’ve had an experience, especially in the city by the Bay. We ordered the fried asparagus to start, which was pretty tasty, but for the whole table of 5, they brought out maybe 6 or 7 pieces, and that was the large order. I feel like if something is an appetizer (and maybe this is just me), they should ensure the amount they give out is at least sizable enough for a small to medium sized party – I know they can’t customize (which would be awesome!), but come on.

We then moved on to salad, and while the Caesar that the others at our table ordered looked really good (if you screw up a Caesar, you don’t deserve to run a restaurant in the culinary Mecca that is San Francisco, I say), the salad we ordered was an endives, blue cheese, cabbage, and apple salad, that left me feeling a little sick. It was flavorful in all the wrong ways. It was sort of sour and bitter all at the same time, and I’d rather not have a bunch of cabbage and that lettuce that looks like the human circulatory system (what’s it called?) in a salad, if I can at all help it. I am pretty generous with my reviews, and I have to say this salad was really not good.

This spot does offer size options similar to the Bistro portion style that has become popular, and while this is a great idea, their sizing was off. I ordered the Butternut Squash ravioli after the waiter assured me lots of people order it and it was

really tasty, so in keeping with our style, I ordered the large. Once it came, I got 6 small raviolis in a shallow bowl with no other accoutrements, just the ravioli. This was the large order? What if someone who wasn’t, say, a small to medium sized woman, came in and wanted a real meal? There was practically no food on my plate! It was also slightly cold, which is one of my pet peeves at a restaurant. It’s like – if someone is ordering a steak and I’m ordering ravioli, start mine after theirs, will ya? The waiter was nice, but very quiet and not really around enough to fill glasses (the bus boy gave us plenty of water throughout the evening. We went in at around 6:30pm, and it was calm inside for sure). At the time we went in, we should have been made more of a priority, as far as I’m concerned. I’ve waited tables before, and if no one else is in the restaurant, it’s like… come on! I think, in fact, (besides the going to bed a 9:30pm part) this is why old people go to restaurants so early – so they can give you more hell and know that you have to do it because they are the only ones there.

Dessert was equally as average. We ordered two things for the table to share: the “molten chocolate cake” and an apple, caramel fritter type dessert. The “molten” part was off since the cake was cold, and instead of getting a warm chocolate cake à la mode which is what I thought the norm was, it came with whipped cream. Cop-out. I’ve had better molten chocolate cake at Chili’s for half the price. The fritter was really tasty and home-made-esque, so that was a pleasant surprise, at least.

Overall, I’d say this spot was pretty unimpressive. Nothing was so bad I couldn’t eat it, but that’s not saying a lot. Humans have been known to eat some crazy shiz (you’ve all seen Man vs. Wild… that guy can eat a raw camel testicle for Christ’s sake!), so you do the math. It was pretty pricey, as well, being in the trendy Fillmore/Pacific Heights neighborhood, and I didn’t think it was worth the cost at all. Good food is worth spending a little extra on, and this trade off didn’t quite equate. The company and conversation, on the flip side, was awesome, so that really did help with the overall evening. I think the birthday girl had a lot of fun, and I guess that’s really the point after all is said and done.

Peace and Love Xo

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What a great weekend in San Francisco! Busy, busy (as always!) with a touch of rain for effect. I had a great time (of course!) going to the movies and checking out several new restaurants.

First let me tell you about the movie I went to see – “Push” starring Dakota Fanning and several other actors I have never heard of. It looked

like it has so much promise but let me tell you… no. Just, no. Don’t go see this movie. The premise is that there’s a world full of people with psychic abilities that the U.S. government (why isn’t it ever like, the Polynesian government?) is trying to use as lab rats to create a superhuman army. One group of them tries to stop this with their various abilities (Dakota’s character being able to see the future, for example). It had a couple of interesting plot twists (it wasn’t a horrible train wreck, just close), but for the most part it was bad acting with of touch of bizarre 13 year old sexual tension (and may I add, it was with a 28 year old… weird). I think Dakota Fanning only took this role because she got to act like she was drunk in one scene and didn’t have to play a 10 year old again. What a Friday night date night bummer. Dinner, however, was MUCH better.

Went to Naked Fish on Chestnut for sushi and it was delicious! The staff was super nice and welcoming and the ambiance was wonderful. Plus, for the guys, and even some girls…myself included, the Warriors game was on (but not distracting or intrusive), so that was cool. Everything was incredibly fresh and when you watched the sushi chefs making the rolls, you could tell how much of an art it was for them. Try the Dragon roll and the Firecracker Spicy Balls in particular – they were both to die for.

The next spot on my weekend restaurants tour took me out of the city. I went to La Hacienda Mexican Restaurant in Novato, just 25 minutes North of San Francisco. It was authentic and delicious. Was a fun spot – the staff is great and so is the décor (there’s a whole wall mural that is gorgeous)! They have all the tasty authentic Mexican fare such as burritos, flautas, and fish tacos, and of course the great true Mexican touches such as Jarritos and Horchata. I definitely recommend this place. It’s the best Mexican food I have had in California (not as good as Arizona, but close). Check it out if you can make it out to the burbs.

Two more places to let you know about (because everyone should know the go-to spots). Magnolia, on Height and Masonic, although a very cool location and great service, was overpriced and heavy. I ordered a burger, took one bite, and it’s like an entire glass of water spilled out. It was juicy alright – too juicy. The fries were undercooked and the whole meal was just “blah” – I also feel like I gained 20 pounds (so not fabulous). It was very, very pricey too – I paid $25 for a burger, fries, and iced tea. Hey, at least the iced tea was great.

Last spot was The Grove on Chestnut in Cow Hollow. I had the Mac and Cheese and the Tomato Basil soup, and both were delicious! The

Mac and Cheese was especially amazing with several types of cheese and this awesome crust on top that just made it all the better. I definitely

recommend this place. There are two locations (one on Fillmore) and it’s an amazing spot for a rainy day to play cards or Scrabble (they provide the games), reading, doing some work (wifi ready), or just hanging with friends. The atmosphere is great and the crowd fun. As a bonus, they serve huge lattes that can seriously last for like, three hours.

Hope these spots give you a few places to try. Check them out and comment on what you think if you have an opinion, as you know I do. J

Happy eating!

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