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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Antica Trattoria: Reviews \u003c/strong>| \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/?p=9\">restaurant info\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/?p=11\">recipe\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/antica7.jpg\" alt=\"Antica Trattoria\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/antica9.jpg\" alt=\"Antica Trattoria\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/antica8.jpg\" alt=\"Antica Trattoria\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cbr>\nGamberoni Grigliati, Costoletta di Maiale, Panna Cotta\u003c/p>\n\u003chr noshade size=\"1\">\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/michael101.jpg\" alt=\"Michael\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Michael\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Music Promoter\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> Oakland\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Antica Trattoria\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Antica Trattoria:\u003c/strong> Thursday, September 22, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I love the comfort of a neighborhood restaurant with great food, a great atmosphere, and one that locals frequent. Those kinds of places are the jewels of any city and those which I will immediately recommend to visitors and locals alike. Antica is one of those finds in San Francisco. Chef Ruggero Gadaldi has carved out a slice of heaven on a quaint corner of Russian Hill. While I dread the parking, especially in that part of town, valet is available at a local theater, and I quickly forget the driving woes once inside Antica’s doors. Vikki, the hostess, does an amazing job of making you feel at home whether you are a walk-in or have a reserved table. In fact, the entire staff has the perfect balance of making everyone feel at home — stopping by your table for a quick visit, and to check in without cramping your space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That space is inviting with its classic white tablecloths, warm tanned walls, dark rich floors, and long cushioned benches — classic in a Mediterranean sense and modern in its starkness. One drawback is it can be somewhat noisy and crowded, especially on weekend nights, and the place can feel cramped, but that is also part of the coziness and charm of a true trattoria or bistro that I like in places like France and Italy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The menu, which modifies itself and is seasonal by way of ingredients, always surprises for the simplicity of the preparations and, at the same time, is innovative, creative and, taste-wise, never disappointing. The starters, such as the marinated and grilled gamberoni, which I ordered on a recent visit, only made me wish I had placed two orders. The prawns, grilled to perfection came seasoned with chili pepper, olive oil, and simple herbs, and are arranged on a colorful combination of a summer bean salad, arugula, and topped with a ground mustard vinaigrette with toasted almonds. The soft and chewy morsels were perfect and not overcooked. Equally exciting was the mozzarella salad, which takes an ordinarily ordinary tomato mozzarella salad and elevates it to new heights. Arriving in a small, rounded, soup-like tureen, the small, perfectly ripe, and sweet heirlooms circumnavigated the tangy pieces of white mozzarella slices, while sitting on top of a purée of roasted heirloom gazpacho. The combination of the cool purée was a slice of heaven in and of itself, and I was obsessed with not leaving any remnants in the bowl. Thanks to the wonderful crusty Italian baguettes that were plentiful at tableside, not one drop was wasted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The entrees were equally pleasing. Farro, a spaghetti noodle, was served with a rich but light bolognese (meat) sauce. The sauce was threaded evenly through the noodles and each bite had a hearty balance of meat and sauce. The Tagliata di Manzo, thinly-sliced sirloin, was flavored and seasoned evenly, so that each bite was tender and mouthwatering and perfect with the side of roasted potatoes provided. I have never left Antica without my favorite side dish. The sautéed spinach with raisins and pine nuts is a vegetable must-have — a sweet/savory combination that complements any of the fish/meat or pasta entrees. I am also never able to push away the dessert menu — completely begging anyone at my table to share the creamy custard panna cotta or one of the best tiramisus in town.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vikki, the hostess, and the staff are always on hand to help with wine selections. The two bottles our group decided on for this particular evening were Italian. A Costello Lengue from the Piedmont region, a blend of Barbera, Nebbiolo, and Cabernet varietals, and, Carmignano, a Super Tuscan of Sangiovese, Canniolo, and Cabernet blends. Excellent coffees and teas round out any good Italian restaurant, and their fine roasted espresso is worth capping off a sure hit until you come back next week to try something you regret not having this go around.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/dion101.jpg\" alt=\"Dion\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Dion\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Director of Admission at High School\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Isa\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Antica Trattoria:\u003c/strong> Friday, September 23, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Normally, I would not first mention service when reviewing a restaurant, but the service I received at Antica Trattoria was impeccable. From the moment we entered the restaurant, located on Polk and Union, they took care of us. At one point, the service was so good that I wondered if somehow they knew I was with \u003cb>Check, Please! Bay Area\u003c/b> but there was no way!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For openers, they serve a complimentary bowl of sliced vegetables surrounding a dish of garlicky pesto for dipping. I asked our server, Domenico — who to me looked like Furio of \u003cb>The Sopranos\u003c/b> — for a recommendation for a reasonably-priced wine and he suggested a spicy Italian red with a long name that ended in “San Gregorio.” At $32 per bottle, it tasted as he described it and matched our food perfectly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My party of three started with two appetizers: a special-of-the-day, $8 heirloom tomato salad (it is that time of year), and the Gamberoni Grigliati ($8.50), which is four grilled prawns served over summer beans, almonds, and a grain mustard vinaigrette. Not only were both dishes very tasty, but they also were beautifully presented. The bright colors of the greens, beans, and heirloom tomatoes matched the brightness of the taste. The prawns, with the heads and tails left on, making them appear very authentic Italian, were encircled with a drizzle of whole grain mustard, which complemented the prawns perfectly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We then shared a pasta dish — Umbrichelle ($12.50) — which is square pasta tubes with sausage, peas, and mushrooms. Our server dressed the plate of pasta with fresh Parmesan cheese. Although Domenico did not grate the cheese in front of us, it was so aromatic when he sprinkled it, you knew someone had just grated it. After the three of us served ourselves, the waiter came back again with the cheese and added cheese to each individual’s preference. The sausage and peas made this dish sweet, yet savory. It would be too sweet for me to have the whole dish as a main course for myself, but to share between the three of us after the salads, it was just right.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When we finished the pasta, Domenico asked us if we would like a short break before he brought our main course. How often does that happen at a bustling restaurant? We did need a respite and the 10 minutes he gave us before the next course just whetted our appetites perfectly. Carole ordered the Salmone ($18.00), a filet of salmon served with roasted artichokes, oven-dried tomatoes, and an olive vinaigrette, while her husband James had the Costoletta di Maiale ($18.00), which is a grilled Niman Ranch pork chop with fresh corn polenta, kale, and applewood-smoked bacon. I decided to have the evening’s special of sand dabs served picatta over mashed potatoes ($18.00). For both the salmon and the pork chop, the main ingredient was good, but the vegetables they were served over were the stars of the dish. The roasted artichokes and dried tomatoes were perfectly moistened with the vinaigrette and were lovely, but the fresh corn polenta mixed with bacon and kale was out of this world. I’m not a big polenta fan, but this was very different. Because it was made with fresh corn, the texture was very coarse, while the bacon added a sweet smokiness and the kale contributed a kind of herbal freshness. My three whole sand dabs were good, but nothing exceptional.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Afterwards, we ordered two very good desserts: the panna cotta ($8) and the affogato ($8). James decided to have a vin santo port ($10), and Carole and I decided to share a glass of the same port. I asked to have an espresso also, but Domenico kindly chided me to have my espresso at the very end. When he served the port, he brought three empty glasses and the bottle of port to our table. (Remember, Carole and I wanted to share a glass). I reminded Domenico, and he said he knows, and poured Carole and me smaller portions than James. Perfecto!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ambiance of the restaurant is very warm and rustic with tall dark wainscoting and the food was excellent. What left me feeling warm and very happy was the absolutely superb service. When we complemented Domenico, he smiled and said, “Thank you, I feel very good working today.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/fanci101.jpg\" alt=\"Fanci\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Fanci\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Veterinary Nurse / Actress\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> Danville\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Salang Pass\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Antica Trattoria:\u003c/strong> Saturday, September 24, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To start out this experience, when I made reservations over the phone, the hostess was so nice and helpful that I was already looking forward to my visit. We arrived, even though we had major parking problems! And a detour to boot! When we arrived, the hostess (Vicky) was so nice that she gave me a complimentary glass of wine, because I was a little frazzled from the drive over. She really knows how to start you off having a great time!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I began by ordering the mozzarella di Bufala with gazpacho and basil oil — it was delicious! Buffalo mozzarella is so much tastier. I sopped every last bit up with the complimentary French bread, which I think they should heat a bit, but it is still very good. I ordered a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, which was so rich and such a wonderful likeness to great grape juice. Their wine list is much larger than their menu! Our waiter was very nice, he is from Sicily and he recommended the Eggplant Parmesan next, which was so good, and not breaded. I ordered the orecchiette pasta with rock shrimp and broccoli. The pasta was cooked to perfection and tasty. I also ordered the gnocchi with yellow tomato sauce, which was a nice change from red sauce. It was delicious and the gnocchi was also cooked to perfection. The highlight of the visit was the tiramisu — oh, my gosh! I do not usually enjoy tiramisu, either it has too much espresso or it is too soggy. Not Antica’s tiramisu — it is what I think of as perfect tiramisu. I did not want to stop eating it! We (my boyfriend and I) really enjoyed our entire experience — everything was so authentic and wonderful. I felt comfortable the entire visit. We will definitely return to Antica and we have already recommended it to several friends.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Antica Trattoria: Reviews \u003c/strong>| \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/?p=9\">restaurant info\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/?p=11\">recipe\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/antica7.jpg\" alt=\"Antica Trattoria\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/antica9.jpg\" alt=\"Antica Trattoria\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/antica8.jpg\" alt=\"Antica Trattoria\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cbr>\nGamberoni Grigliati, Costoletta di Maiale, Panna Cotta\u003c/p>\n\u003chr noshade size=\"1\">\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/michael101.jpg\" alt=\"Michael\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Michael\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Music Promoter\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> Oakland\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Antica Trattoria\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Antica Trattoria:\u003c/strong> Thursday, September 22, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I love the comfort of a neighborhood restaurant with great food, a great atmosphere, and one that locals frequent. Those kinds of places are the jewels of any city and those which I will immediately recommend to visitors and locals alike. Antica is one of those finds in San Francisco. Chef Ruggero Gadaldi has carved out a slice of heaven on a quaint corner of Russian Hill. While I dread the parking, especially in that part of town, valet is available at a local theater, and I quickly forget the driving woes once inside Antica’s doors. Vikki, the hostess, does an amazing job of making you feel at home whether you are a walk-in or have a reserved table. In fact, the entire staff has the perfect balance of making everyone feel at home — stopping by your table for a quick visit, and to check in without cramping your space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That space is inviting with its classic white tablecloths, warm tanned walls, dark rich floors, and long cushioned benches — classic in a Mediterranean sense and modern in its starkness. One drawback is it can be somewhat noisy and crowded, especially on weekend nights, and the place can feel cramped, but that is also part of the coziness and charm of a true trattoria or bistro that I like in places like France and Italy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The menu, which modifies itself and is seasonal by way of ingredients, always surprises for the simplicity of the preparations and, at the same time, is innovative, creative and, taste-wise, never disappointing. The starters, such as the marinated and grilled gamberoni, which I ordered on a recent visit, only made me wish I had placed two orders. The prawns, grilled to perfection came seasoned with chili pepper, olive oil, and simple herbs, and are arranged on a colorful combination of a summer bean salad, arugula, and topped with a ground mustard vinaigrette with toasted almonds. The soft and chewy morsels were perfect and not overcooked. Equally exciting was the mozzarella salad, which takes an ordinarily ordinary tomato mozzarella salad and elevates it to new heights. Arriving in a small, rounded, soup-like tureen, the small, perfectly ripe, and sweet heirlooms circumnavigated the tangy pieces of white mozzarella slices, while sitting on top of a purée of roasted heirloom gazpacho. The combination of the cool purée was a slice of heaven in and of itself, and I was obsessed with not leaving any remnants in the bowl. Thanks to the wonderful crusty Italian baguettes that were plentiful at tableside, not one drop was wasted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The entrees were equally pleasing. Farro, a spaghetti noodle, was served with a rich but light bolognese (meat) sauce. The sauce was threaded evenly through the noodles and each bite had a hearty balance of meat and sauce. The Tagliata di Manzo, thinly-sliced sirloin, was flavored and seasoned evenly, so that each bite was tender and mouthwatering and perfect with the side of roasted potatoes provided. I have never left Antica without my favorite side dish. The sautéed spinach with raisins and pine nuts is a vegetable must-have — a sweet/savory combination that complements any of the fish/meat or pasta entrees. I am also never able to push away the dessert menu — completely begging anyone at my table to share the creamy custard panna cotta or one of the best tiramisus in town.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vikki, the hostess, and the staff are always on hand to help with wine selections. The two bottles our group decided on for this particular evening were Italian. A Costello Lengue from the Piedmont region, a blend of Barbera, Nebbiolo, and Cabernet varietals, and, Carmignano, a Super Tuscan of Sangiovese, Canniolo, and Cabernet blends. Excellent coffees and teas round out any good Italian restaurant, and their fine roasted espresso is worth capping off a sure hit until you come back next week to try something you regret not having this go around.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/dion101.jpg\" alt=\"Dion\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Dion\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Director of Admission at High School\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Isa\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Antica Trattoria:\u003c/strong> Friday, September 23, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Normally, I would not first mention service when reviewing a restaurant, but the service I received at Antica Trattoria was impeccable. From the moment we entered the restaurant, located on Polk and Union, they took care of us. At one point, the service was so good that I wondered if somehow they knew I was with \u003cb>Check, Please! Bay Area\u003c/b> but there was no way!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For openers, they serve a complimentary bowl of sliced vegetables surrounding a dish of garlicky pesto for dipping. I asked our server, Domenico — who to me looked like Furio of \u003cb>The Sopranos\u003c/b> — for a recommendation for a reasonably-priced wine and he suggested a spicy Italian red with a long name that ended in “San Gregorio.” At $32 per bottle, it tasted as he described it and matched our food perfectly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My party of three started with two appetizers: a special-of-the-day, $8 heirloom tomato salad (it is that time of year), and the Gamberoni Grigliati ($8.50), which is four grilled prawns served over summer beans, almonds, and a grain mustard vinaigrette. Not only were both dishes very tasty, but they also were beautifully presented. The bright colors of the greens, beans, and heirloom tomatoes matched the brightness of the taste. The prawns, with the heads and tails left on, making them appear very authentic Italian, were encircled with a drizzle of whole grain mustard, which complemented the prawns perfectly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We then shared a pasta dish — Umbrichelle ($12.50) — which is square pasta tubes with sausage, peas, and mushrooms. Our server dressed the plate of pasta with fresh Parmesan cheese. Although Domenico did not grate the cheese in front of us, it was so aromatic when he sprinkled it, you knew someone had just grated it. After the three of us served ourselves, the waiter came back again with the cheese and added cheese to each individual’s preference. The sausage and peas made this dish sweet, yet savory. It would be too sweet for me to have the whole dish as a main course for myself, but to share between the three of us after the salads, it was just right.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When we finished the pasta, Domenico asked us if we would like a short break before he brought our main course. How often does that happen at a bustling restaurant? We did need a respite and the 10 minutes he gave us before the next course just whetted our appetites perfectly. Carole ordered the Salmone ($18.00), a filet of salmon served with roasted artichokes, oven-dried tomatoes, and an olive vinaigrette, while her husband James had the Costoletta di Maiale ($18.00), which is a grilled Niman Ranch pork chop with fresh corn polenta, kale, and applewood-smoked bacon. I decided to have the evening’s special of sand dabs served picatta over mashed potatoes ($18.00). For both the salmon and the pork chop, the main ingredient was good, but the vegetables they were served over were the stars of the dish. The roasted artichokes and dried tomatoes were perfectly moistened with the vinaigrette and were lovely, but the fresh corn polenta mixed with bacon and kale was out of this world. I’m not a big polenta fan, but this was very different. Because it was made with fresh corn, the texture was very coarse, while the bacon added a sweet smokiness and the kale contributed a kind of herbal freshness. My three whole sand dabs were good, but nothing exceptional.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Afterwards, we ordered two very good desserts: the panna cotta ($8) and the affogato ($8). James decided to have a vin santo port ($10), and Carole and I decided to share a glass of the same port. I asked to have an espresso also, but Domenico kindly chided me to have my espresso at the very end. When he served the port, he brought three empty glasses and the bottle of port to our table. (Remember, Carole and I wanted to share a glass). I reminded Domenico, and he said he knows, and poured Carole and me smaller portions than James. Perfecto!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ambiance of the restaurant is very warm and rustic with tall dark wainscoting and the food was excellent. What left me feeling warm and very happy was the absolutely superb service. When we complemented Domenico, he smiled and said, “Thank you, I feel very good working today.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/fanci101.jpg\" alt=\"Fanci\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Fanci\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Veterinary Nurse / Actress\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> Danville\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Salang Pass\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Antica Trattoria:\u003c/strong> Saturday, September 24, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To start out this experience, when I made reservations over the phone, the hostess was so nice and helpful that I was already looking forward to my visit. We arrived, even though we had major parking problems! And a detour to boot! When we arrived, the hostess (Vicky) was so nice that she gave me a complimentary glass of wine, because I was a little frazzled from the drive over. She really knows how to start you off having a great time!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I began by ordering the mozzarella di Bufala with gazpacho and basil oil — it was delicious! Buffalo mozzarella is so much tastier. I sopped every last bit up with the complimentary French bread, which I think they should heat a bit, but it is still very good. I ordered a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, which was so rich and such a wonderful likeness to great grape juice. Their wine list is much larger than their menu! Our waiter was very nice, he is from Sicily and he recommended the Eggplant Parmesan next, which was so good, and not breaded. I ordered the orecchiette pasta with rock shrimp and broccoli. The pasta was cooked to perfection and tasty. I also ordered the gnocchi with yellow tomato sauce, which was a nice change from red sauce. It was delicious and the gnocchi was also cooked to perfection. The highlight of the visit was the tiramisu — oh, my gosh! I do not usually enjoy tiramisu, either it has too much espresso or it is too soggy. Not Antica’s tiramisu — it is what I think of as perfect tiramisu. I did not want to stop eating it! We (my boyfriend and I) really enjoyed our entire experience — everything was so authentic and wonderful. I felt comfortable the entire visit. We will definitely return to Antica and we have already recommended it to several friends.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Salang Pass: Reviews \u003c/strong>| \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/?p=12\">restaurant info\u003c/a> |\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/salang7.jpg\" alt=\"Salang Pass\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/salang8.jpg\" alt=\"Salang Pass\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/salang9.jpg\" alt=\"Salang Pass\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cbr>\nMantoo, Borani Kadoo, Quabili Pallaw\u003c/p>\n\u003chr noshade size=\"1\">\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/fanci101.jpg\" alt=\"Fanci\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Fanci\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Veterinary Nurse / Actress\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> Danville\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Salang Pass\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Salang Pass:\u003c/strong> Monday, September 19, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by a very friendly young man, who seated us on pillows in our favorite section. The music was nice. We removed our shoes and got comfortable. I ordered a Turkish coffee and tea — they were both OK. I thought the nutmeg in the coffee was a little too strong for my liking, and the tea was OK. We ordered Borani, with is sautéed pumpkin with a special yogurt sauce on top. You first get a good green salad with wonderfully sweet cherry tomatoes and an Italian-type dressing along with pillowy Afghani naan and two types of Afghani chutney, all of which is delicious. Then came our pumpkin appetizer, which was wonderfully prepared — this is a great choice for pumpkin lovers. It is so hard trying to decide what my main dish choice should be. I chose Quabili Pallaw, and for the side dish I chose Vegi Aushak, both of which were absolutely divine! I could not stop eating. Then, I ordered dessert. Firni and mango ice cream. Yes…okay, I was indulging! I traditionally do not care for rosewater, but decided it sounded tempting, and it was worth it. The Firni was heavenly, and the mango ice cream was the best I have ever had because there were chunks of mangoes in it. What a wonderful experience. The waiter (Mo) was such a pleasure to talk with and his stories of cooking and Afghanistan were quite a treat! Did I mention Afghan food is my favorite?\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/dion101.jpg\" alt=\"Dion\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Dion\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Director of Admission at High School\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Isa\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Salang Pass:\u003c/strong> Wednesday, September 21, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Salang Pass restaurant is located in Fremont and specializes in Afghani cuisine. It was the first time I have ever had food from Afghanistan. Fremont apparently has the largest Afghani community in the United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The décor and ambience of the inside of Salang Pass is in no way reflected in the neighborhood/storefront. After exiting Interstate 880 onto Fremont Boulevard, one travels along three miles of strip mall and cookie-cutter housing developments. It reminded me of why I decided to live in the city! But, on the other hand, I was very pleasantly surprised when my companion, Debbie, and I entered Salang Pass.\u003cbr>\nThe restaurant has two distinct sections. To the right are standard tables and chairs, and to the left is a slightly raised floor and with low tables and cushions to sit on. We decided to sit on the floor. This area is draped with tent-like fabric, so you feel like you are reclining in a tent in the middle of some oasis. Painted on the wall, where the standard tables are, is a slightly kitschy mural of the actual Salang Pass with the year 1919 (date of revolution from the British) highlighted. Sitting on the floor, the tables are long and narrow and people sit side by side. If you were with a party of more than three or four, you would never be able to have a conversation with the people at the other end. For two it is intimate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We shared four dishes and one dessert between the two of us. The first two dishes served were Borani Bademjan ($5.50), which is eggplant sautéed with fresh tomatoes and garlic and topped with a yogurt sauce; and Bolani, which is described as an Afghani calzone stuffed with leeks and topped with ground beef and yogurt. Both were fantastic! The eggplant Borani Bademjan was savory and while the tomatoes and spices added a nice tartness, the cooling yogurt tied it all together. The Bolani is basically flat bread filled with leek and potato. I would recommend that people order this as a side dish and use it like bread for many of the other dishes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next two courses were Mantoo ($5.50) — another appetizer of dumplings stuffed with beef — and Chopan Kabob ($13.00), which is lamb served over a bed of basmati rice. The Mantoo was very good with a sweet, yet spicy flavor. The kabob was, unfortunately, the only dish that I did not care for. The lamb was overdone and tough. The rice, however, was perfectly cooked and flavored with cilantro and other spices and then drizzled with lemon — that worked well. The ubiquitous yogurt sauce was on these dishes as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Service was good, but maybe a bit too enthusiastic. I think if the two of us ordered ten dishes on the menu, they would have served us without a peep. I believe good service should suggest appropriate portions of food. After the first two courses were served, they were too quick with the following dishes. Perhaps because we weren’t prepared to eat the lamb kabob, it toughened while it waited for us. Two dishes on the menu were not available — one being a dessert — so Aref, the server, gave us their homemade ice cream ($4.00) gratis. The rosewater ice cream topped with pistachios was good, but just not for me. We also ordered Turkish coffee ($2.00) that literally tasted like mud. When we asked for milk and sugar and commented that it wasn’t to our liking, he did not charge us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In keeping with the Islamic faith, alcohol is not served at this restaurant. We did bring bottle of wine, and they placed glasses and a corkscrew in front of us. They never touched our wine bottle to fill our glasses, but neither did they charge a corkage fee — yay!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cost of the dinner, which would have easily fed three people, was $39.69. Service and food were so good that we left $50.00 total. I would again visit Salang Pass if it wasn’t so far from San Francisco, and I’m glad this restaurant was selected for my introduction to Afghani food!\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/michael101.jpg\" alt=\"Michael\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Michael\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Music Promoter\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> Oakland\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Antica Trattoria\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Salang Pass:\u003c/strong> Wednesday, September 21, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you have any inkling to venture out and try a new ethnic cuisine and you have a sense of adventure, Salang Pass, a unique Afghan restaurant in Fremont, is a good place to try. Not everything is outstanding, but there are many notable dishes, the people are warm and friendly, and the service, though not perfect, would also bring you back again. The atmosphere, though nothing to write home about from an aesthetic viewpoint, is decorated with an array of traditional Afghan fanfare. Upon entering from an ordinary storefront, there is the option to sit at one of the 15-20 tables or to embark up the platform to a tented covered area. Nasser, our waiter and an immigrant to the United States following the Soviet invasion, explained the multi-colored tented curtains, long cushions, and low tables. Sitting close to the ground under a tent is traditional in living rooms to make guests feel welcome in Afghani homes. And even though the restaurant looks somewhat tired, the walls are painted in cheerful mango and orange tones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The menu consists of tasty appetizers including the Borani Bademjan — a zesty dish of steamed and baked thinly-sliced eggplant with a tomato sauce and light yogurt sauce on top. The tender eggplant was seasoned with some wonderful Middle Eastern-type spices that gave a hint of it being a Mediterranean-style dish, yet it was clearly distinct from anything I had eaten. The second appetizer, Borani Kadoo — a pumpkin dish cubed with spices — was somewhat less impressive. I’m a big fan of pumpkin, but the vegetable seemed a bit overdone, either from a lack of freshness (possibly frozen) or simply from being overcooked. Saffron, a delicious spice when used judiciously, overwhelmed the dish, making each bite somewhat acrid. Included with the entrees is a simple salad of mixed greens and vegetables, which is placed quickly on the table upon ordering. The bread, a naan style meets focaccia, was underwhelming and possibly on the stale side. A better choice would have been to order the calzone-style bread made with leeks and potatoes that looked fresh and appetizing and got lots of smiles from our neighbors. The salad, though fresh in terms of the lettuce, had a dressing that resembled something straight from a bottle on a grocery store shelf. Other salads included the seemingly more interesting Salata, a mixture of red onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, and mint with a special dressing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most impressive part of the dinner, and one that would bring me back, were the entrees. Several were noteworthy, including the Mantoo, which was a sort of dumpling/ravioli hybrid stuffed with beef, onions, and a nice array of spiced seasonings. The tart yogurt sauce on top gave the dish an almost Eastern European flair, reminding me of my background. It makes sense, given that Afghanistan straddles many borders, including the former Soviet Union. The Afghani meatballs were also memorable, tangy with a rich cilantro and tomato sauce. The sauce was plentiful, but not overdone in terms of richness. Finally, the kabob, which comprised a main section of the menu and needed to be tried, was another winner. Tender chunks of lamb shank off the bone were cooked just right. They were tender and flavorful and served with a mild, but slightly seasoned, basmati rice and grilled tomato. For a group, I would recommend ordering at least one kabob, which gives you a choice of lamb, chicken, beef, or combination, because it will balance out the richer and more complex dishes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The desserts are a combination of ice creams and a baklava-style pastry, which we opted not to try. Instead, when we requested a typical Afghan dessert, Nasser suggested the Jala — a homemade ice cream over rice noodles with syrup flavored with rosewater and cardamom. I can’t say I fell in love with this dessert, but I found myself eating it nevertheless. Perhaps the refreshing and cool ice cream and the unusual spice of the cardamom piqued my interest. In any case, it was exotic and worth trying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All in all, I would recommend Salang Pass for its charm, ethnicity, and overall interesting and tasty select dishes — especially in the entree category. With advance notice, this location will accommodate private parties of up to forty people, and they also have room across the street for even larger parties. The prices are fair with appetizers and salads in the $3-5 range, and entrees between $11-15. The restaurant doesn’t have a liquor license, but you can bring your own, and there is a store right around the corner has a selection of beer and wine.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Salang Pass: Reviews \u003c/strong>| \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/?p=12\">restaurant info\u003c/a> |\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/salang7.jpg\" alt=\"Salang Pass\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/salang8.jpg\" alt=\"Salang Pass\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/salang9.jpg\" alt=\"Salang Pass\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cbr>\nMantoo, Borani Kadoo, Quabili Pallaw\u003c/p>\n\u003chr noshade size=\"1\">\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/fanci101.jpg\" alt=\"Fanci\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Fanci\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Veterinary Nurse / Actress\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> Danville\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Salang Pass\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Salang Pass:\u003c/strong> Monday, September 19, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by a very friendly young man, who seated us on pillows in our favorite section. The music was nice. We removed our shoes and got comfortable. I ordered a Turkish coffee and tea — they were both OK. I thought the nutmeg in the coffee was a little too strong for my liking, and the tea was OK. We ordered Borani, with is sautéed pumpkin with a special yogurt sauce on top. You first get a good green salad with wonderfully sweet cherry tomatoes and an Italian-type dressing along with pillowy Afghani naan and two types of Afghani chutney, all of which is delicious. Then came our pumpkin appetizer, which was wonderfully prepared — this is a great choice for pumpkin lovers. It is so hard trying to decide what my main dish choice should be. I chose Quabili Pallaw, and for the side dish I chose Vegi Aushak, both of which were absolutely divine! I could not stop eating. Then, I ordered dessert. Firni and mango ice cream. Yes…okay, I was indulging! I traditionally do not care for rosewater, but decided it sounded tempting, and it was worth it. The Firni was heavenly, and the mango ice cream was the best I have ever had because there were chunks of mangoes in it. What a wonderful experience. The waiter (Mo) was such a pleasure to talk with and his stories of cooking and Afghanistan were quite a treat! Did I mention Afghan food is my favorite?\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/dion101.jpg\" alt=\"Dion\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Dion\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Director of Admission at High School\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Isa\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Salang Pass:\u003c/strong> Wednesday, September 21, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Salang Pass restaurant is located in Fremont and specializes in Afghani cuisine. It was the first time I have ever had food from Afghanistan. Fremont apparently has the largest Afghani community in the United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The décor and ambience of the inside of Salang Pass is in no way reflected in the neighborhood/storefront. After exiting Interstate 880 onto Fremont Boulevard, one travels along three miles of strip mall and cookie-cutter housing developments. It reminded me of why I decided to live in the city! But, on the other hand, I was very pleasantly surprised when my companion, Debbie, and I entered Salang Pass.\u003cbr>\nThe restaurant has two distinct sections. To the right are standard tables and chairs, and to the left is a slightly raised floor and with low tables and cushions to sit on. We decided to sit on the floor. This area is draped with tent-like fabric, so you feel like you are reclining in a tent in the middle of some oasis. Painted on the wall, where the standard tables are, is a slightly kitschy mural of the actual Salang Pass with the year 1919 (date of revolution from the British) highlighted. Sitting on the floor, the tables are long and narrow and people sit side by side. If you were with a party of more than three or four, you would never be able to have a conversation with the people at the other end. For two it is intimate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We shared four dishes and one dessert between the two of us. The first two dishes served were Borani Bademjan ($5.50), which is eggplant sautéed with fresh tomatoes and garlic and topped with a yogurt sauce; and Bolani, which is described as an Afghani calzone stuffed with leeks and topped with ground beef and yogurt. Both were fantastic! The eggplant Borani Bademjan was savory and while the tomatoes and spices added a nice tartness, the cooling yogurt tied it all together. The Bolani is basically flat bread filled with leek and potato. I would recommend that people order this as a side dish and use it like bread for many of the other dishes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next two courses were Mantoo ($5.50) — another appetizer of dumplings stuffed with beef — and Chopan Kabob ($13.00), which is lamb served over a bed of basmati rice. The Mantoo was very good with a sweet, yet spicy flavor. The kabob was, unfortunately, the only dish that I did not care for. The lamb was overdone and tough. The rice, however, was perfectly cooked and flavored with cilantro and other spices and then drizzled with lemon — that worked well. The ubiquitous yogurt sauce was on these dishes as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Service was good, but maybe a bit too enthusiastic. I think if the two of us ordered ten dishes on the menu, they would have served us without a peep. I believe good service should suggest appropriate portions of food. After the first two courses were served, they were too quick with the following dishes. Perhaps because we weren’t prepared to eat the lamb kabob, it toughened while it waited for us. Two dishes on the menu were not available — one being a dessert — so Aref, the server, gave us their homemade ice cream ($4.00) gratis. The rosewater ice cream topped with pistachios was good, but just not for me. We also ordered Turkish coffee ($2.00) that literally tasted like mud. When we asked for milk and sugar and commented that it wasn’t to our liking, he did not charge us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In keeping with the Islamic faith, alcohol is not served at this restaurant. We did bring bottle of wine, and they placed glasses and a corkscrew in front of us. They never touched our wine bottle to fill our glasses, but neither did they charge a corkage fee — yay!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cost of the dinner, which would have easily fed three people, was $39.69. Service and food were so good that we left $50.00 total. I would again visit Salang Pass if it wasn’t so far from San Francisco, and I’m glad this restaurant was selected for my introduction to Afghani food!\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/michael101.jpg\" alt=\"Michael\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Michael\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Music Promoter\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> Oakland\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Antica Trattoria\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Salang Pass:\u003c/strong> Wednesday, September 21, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you have any inkling to venture out and try a new ethnic cuisine and you have a sense of adventure, Salang Pass, a unique Afghan restaurant in Fremont, is a good place to try. Not everything is outstanding, but there are many notable dishes, the people are warm and friendly, and the service, though not perfect, would also bring you back again. The atmosphere, though nothing to write home about from an aesthetic viewpoint, is decorated with an array of traditional Afghan fanfare. Upon entering from an ordinary storefront, there is the option to sit at one of the 15-20 tables or to embark up the platform to a tented covered area. Nasser, our waiter and an immigrant to the United States following the Soviet invasion, explained the multi-colored tented curtains, long cushions, and low tables. Sitting close to the ground under a tent is traditional in living rooms to make guests feel welcome in Afghani homes. And even though the restaurant looks somewhat tired, the walls are painted in cheerful mango and orange tones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The menu consists of tasty appetizers including the Borani Bademjan — a zesty dish of steamed and baked thinly-sliced eggplant with a tomato sauce and light yogurt sauce on top. The tender eggplant was seasoned with some wonderful Middle Eastern-type spices that gave a hint of it being a Mediterranean-style dish, yet it was clearly distinct from anything I had eaten. The second appetizer, Borani Kadoo — a pumpkin dish cubed with spices — was somewhat less impressive. I’m a big fan of pumpkin, but the vegetable seemed a bit overdone, either from a lack of freshness (possibly frozen) or simply from being overcooked. Saffron, a delicious spice when used judiciously, overwhelmed the dish, making each bite somewhat acrid. Included with the entrees is a simple salad of mixed greens and vegetables, which is placed quickly on the table upon ordering. The bread, a naan style meets focaccia, was underwhelming and possibly on the stale side. A better choice would have been to order the calzone-style bread made with leeks and potatoes that looked fresh and appetizing and got lots of smiles from our neighbors. The salad, though fresh in terms of the lettuce, had a dressing that resembled something straight from a bottle on a grocery store shelf. Other salads included the seemingly more interesting Salata, a mixture of red onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, and mint with a special dressing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most impressive part of the dinner, and one that would bring me back, were the entrees. Several were noteworthy, including the Mantoo, which was a sort of dumpling/ravioli hybrid stuffed with beef, onions, and a nice array of spiced seasonings. The tart yogurt sauce on top gave the dish an almost Eastern European flair, reminding me of my background. It makes sense, given that Afghanistan straddles many borders, including the former Soviet Union. The Afghani meatballs were also memorable, tangy with a rich cilantro and tomato sauce. The sauce was plentiful, but not overdone in terms of richness. Finally, the kabob, which comprised a main section of the menu and needed to be tried, was another winner. Tender chunks of lamb shank off the bone were cooked just right. They were tender and flavorful and served with a mild, but slightly seasoned, basmati rice and grilled tomato. For a group, I would recommend ordering at least one kabob, which gives you a choice of lamb, chicken, beef, or combination, because it will balance out the richer and more complex dishes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The desserts are a combination of ice creams and a baklava-style pastry, which we opted not to try. Instead, when we requested a typical Afghan dessert, Nasser suggested the Jala — a homemade ice cream over rice noodles with syrup flavored with rosewater and cardamom. I can’t say I fell in love with this dessert, but I found myself eating it nevertheless. Perhaps the refreshing and cool ice cream and the unusual spice of the cardamom piqued my interest. In any case, it was exotic and worth trying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All in all, I would recommend Salang Pass for its charm, ethnicity, and overall interesting and tasty select dishes — especially in the entree category. With advance notice, this location will accommodate private parties of up to forty people, and they also have room across the street for even larger parties. The prices are fair with appetizers and salads in the $3-5 range, and entrees between $11-15. The restaurant doesn’t have a liquor license, but you can bring your own, and there is a store right around the corner has a selection of beer and wine.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Lark Creek Inn: Reviews \u003c/strong>| \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/?p=28\">restaurant info\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/?p=29\">recipe\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/2005/11/10/check-please-bay-area-episode-2-102/\">full episode video\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/bayareabites/sets/1339318\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener\">photo gallery\u003c/a> (flickr.com) |\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/larkcreekinn9.jpg\" alt=\"The Lark Creek Inn\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/larkcreekinn10.jpg\" alt=\"The Lark Creek Inn\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/larkcreekinn8.jpg\" alt=\"The Lark Creek Inn\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Wild King Salmon Gravlax\u003c/strong> over a warm blini with Meyer lemon crème fraîche, sliced Persian cucumbers, and fennel bulb; \u003cstrong>Braised Yankee Pot Roast\u003c/strong> with carrots, young onions, English peas, baby turnips, and horseradish crème fraîche; \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/?p=29\">\u003cstrong>Butterscotch Pudding\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> with whipped cream and house made cookies\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/mark102.jpg\" alt=\"Mark\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Mark\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Art & Antique Dealer\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Lark Creek Inn\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed The Lark Creek Inn:\u003c/strong> Tuesday, October 4, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> If treating yourself to a great meal in a glorious setting, nestled amongst the redwoods is what you are after, then Lark Creek Inn should be your dining destination. Walking up to the restaurant, you stroll through a grove of redwood trees to your left, and a country garden, complete with birdbath is to your right. Up the path appears the inviting, lemon yellow Victorian country house that is the Lark Creek Inn. The beautifully designed interior first takes you through the cozy front room, where there are several small tables and the gorgeous wood bar. There is also a brick fireplace, which, if you are lucky, will be lit and crackling, giving the room a warm glow on a blustery day. You then enter the large main dining room with its tall, pitched ceiling and angled skylights. On a long wooden farmhouse table, which sits in the center of the room, is placed an enormous and spectacular flower arrangement. Everywhere you look is beauty — the art on the walls, the immaculately set tables, and the views of gardens and majestic trees. It feels as though you have been welcomed into a friend’s elegant, impeccably appointed, yet unpretentious country house for dinner. This place really has that “WOW” factor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The convivial host sat my dining companion and me at a large, round linen-covered table in the garden room, which is adjacent to the main room and a bit more intimate. We were soon greeted warmly by our waitperson and her “waitperson in training,” who was her helper for the night. Both were very attentive, helpful, and professional throughout the evening. The menu was diverse with choices of meat, poultry, fish, and one vegetarian entree. My first course was a very creative presentation of prosciutto and melon called “Heirloom melon Carpaccio.” Peppery arugula is laid on thin slices of prosciutto and then rolled into a log shape. It is then set onto thinly-sliced melon that has been fanned out on the plate, and all is drizzled with fruity olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Interesting presentation, great combination of greens and prosciutto, but the dish’s namesake, the heirloom melon, was underripe and lacked flavor. I tasted my friend’s wild King Salmon gravlax, which was served over warm blinis with Meyer lemon crème fraïche, and laced with sliced Persian cucumber and fennel bulb. This was a much more successful dish. The generous portion of salmon was delicately cut and super fresh. The combination of flavors was perfect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My entree of slow-braised Yankee Pot Roast with carrots, young onions, English peas, baby turnips, and horseradish crème fraïche was an improved, updated version of an American classic. The fork-tender beef was caramelized on the outside, succulent and flavorful on the inside. The accompanying vegetables were a mix of beautiful colors — orange, bright green, and soft purple. The vegetables were finished to be al dente and surrounded the beef in a light, savory broth. A dollop of horseradish crème fraïche was melting on my beef as it arrived at the table and it blended into all the vegetables, giving the dish a light, piquant accent. It was the ultimate in comfort food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of my favorite desserts is pudding and the butterscotch pudding at Lark Creek Inn is not to be missed. This thick and creamy treat is presented in a tall parfait glass, topped with a spoonful of billowy whipped cream, and served with two small house made cookies. It never disappoints. I methodically savored each decadent bite until I heard my long spoon clinking on the bottom of my empty glass! The staff at Lark Creek was knowledgeable and engaging, helpful with my wine selection, and attentive, without being obtrusive. The wine list is extensive and almost entirely comprised of domestic labels. It tends to be a bit on the pricy side, but the staff will guide you to a fine wine within your budget. We had a well-balanced Pinot Noir suggested by our waitperson that went nicely with our meal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We left the restaurant completed satiated, smiling as we spoke of the marvelous experience we just shared. Outside, we were serenaded by a symphony of crickets as we breathed in the distinct scent of the redwoods in the evening air. This place is fantastic for special occasions — I have seen more than one marriage proposal at Lark Creek, not to mention the innumerable number of birthdays and anniversaries being celebrated there over the past fifteen years. If you have friends or family visiting from out of town, take them to this little corner of Marin for the quintessential Northern California dining experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/bryan4.jpg\" alt=\"Bryan\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Bryan\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Musician\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Everett & Jones Barbeque\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed The Lark Creek Inn:\u003c/strong> Tuesday, October 4, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My fiancé and I arrived a bit early to meet another couple for drinks. I loved the location of this restaurant, nestled as it is in the redwoods at the base of Mt. Tamalpais. Although we were just minutes outside of the big city, I felt we were at a secluded inn somewhere up the coast on Highway 1. We met the maitre’d, and he was a very pleasant man. He stated we were early, but he would do what he could to sit us right away. We went to the bar and waited a long time to get a drink. The bartender seemed a bit surly, but she didn’t seem to be that busy. Believe me, I’ve sure met up with some mean and surly bartenders — she had nothin’ on some o’ these folks. I still don’t know what the big deal was. We really didn’t get a chance to find out, nor did we care, ’cause we were sat promptly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I liked the fact that there were a lot of families celebrating birthdays and I overheard someone mention an engagement. Generations getting together for a fine repast — I dig that! We heard a few out-of-tune “Happy Birthday” songs followed by the kick-a-rock, “Aw, shucks,” red-faced, “Don’t make a fuss…,” comments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So…on with the meal. Our server, Angie, was very nice, attentive, polite and professional. She also laughed at my jokes, and that counts extra, ’cause my jokes stink on ice. Anyway, we started with some appetizers. I ordered the ham hock raviolo. My soon-to-be wife chose the potato leek soup with crabmeat — oh, boy! Well, to be quite honest, the pasta of the raviolo was a little bit weird. It was kinda rubbery and crunchy on the outside, like it was under the heating lamp too long. I must say that the filling and sauce were quite tasty, so I ate it all up. I tasted the soup and was not impressed. I was really looking forward to that but it was a letdown. It wasn’t that flavorful and I was picking crab shells out of my teeth for some time — bummer! But! We got a great bottle of wine. We went with the Rafanelli Zinfandel. Let me explain something first: I’m not a big wine guy, but I’m learning. I do know a good bottle of hooch when I taste it, though and I sure liked this one. I think this paired up nice with the pot roast my lady ordered. I went with the chicken. I love roasted chicken! On the bone! With crispy skin! And moist and meaty! This did not let me down. All the things I love. It’s no easy trick to get the “crispity” skin without drying out the white meat. My entree was ripping! It was served with these wonderful Italian green beans and roasted red and purple new potatoes. Loved it! My good friend, who is an excellent cook by the way, got the pork porterhouse. It was killer! Seared on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. We were told by other friends to “get the meat!” — no duh!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Things didn’t go so well with the rest of our party. My wife’s (I know we’re not married yet, but this just makes it easy) pot roast was bland. The texture was good, but the flavor was lacking. The other lady at our table had big problems with her seared tombo tuna. The presentation — with this and all of the dishes — was very nice, but…(and a big “but”), it was cold, mealy, and tasted like it had turned. Uh-oh!! We all had a taste to make sure no one was insane. Sadly, Charlie Tuna had good taste, but didn’t taste good. We politely informed Angie, our nice server, she spoke to the manager, and Viola! “We will take it off your bill.” What a relief. Although I did want to see some drama unfold, that might have gotten interesting. Alas, no.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On to the real stars of the evening. Bring on the desserts! Oh boy, oh boy! It was a real hard choice. Somehow we got through it. The cocoa butter brownie sundae with vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate ice cream, and fudge and nuts was a big hit. As was the sorbet sampler, with Meyer lemon and pomegranate sorbet. My favorite was the butterscotch pudding. It was a good thing my fiancé\u003cbr>\n(okay I’m back to that) couldn’t finish her puddin’, ’cause I sure did!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’d have to say quite honestly, that…after I recovered from the sticker shock… I’ve had better. Our server was excellent, as well as our host. I don’t know what crawled up our bartender. The décor was warm and homey, and I loved the Colonial/Craftsman architecture. Some of the food was great, some just okay, and one just outright nasty. I’m glad I went, but I don’t think I need to go back. I was told by a number of people that this place is “THE” top restaurant in Marin. If this is true, Marin foodlovers are in big trouble.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/tonya102.jpg\" alt=\"Tonya\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Tonya\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Owner of Women’s Clothing Boutique\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> 1550 Hyde Cafe & Wine Bar\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed The Lark Creek Inn:\u003c/strong> Thursday, October 6, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You get the sense that you’re being transported to another romantic land as you drive through the redwoods to this gorgeous Victorian. While the décor is formal and elegant, the plush furniture and soft lighting make you feel relaxed and comfortable. Each dish offers balanced portions and well-prepared ingredients. A few dishes are uneven (I encountered a rather bland appetizer of heirloom tomatoes), but some dishes truly soar, like the fig tartine appetizer. Be sure to have dessert — the chocolate bread budding is the best I’ve tried anywhere, and the gingerbread with apples is fantastic.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong>\r\n234 Magnolia Avenue\r\nLarkspur, CA 94939\r\n\u003cstrong>Phone:\u003c/strong> 415-924-7766\r\n\u003cstrong>Website:\u003c/strong> \u003ca href=\"http://www.larkcreek.com\">www.larkcreek.com\u003c/a>\r\n\u003cstrong>Type of Cuisine:\u003c/strong> Farm Fresh Seasonal American\r\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed:\u003c/strong> Fall 2005",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Lark Creek Inn: Reviews \u003c/strong>| \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/?p=28\">restaurant info\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/?p=29\">recipe\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/2005/11/10/check-please-bay-area-episode-2-102/\">full episode video\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/bayareabites/sets/1339318\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener\">photo gallery\u003c/a> (flickr.com) |\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/larkcreekinn9.jpg\" alt=\"The Lark Creek Inn\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/larkcreekinn10.jpg\" alt=\"The Lark Creek Inn\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/larkcreekinn8.jpg\" alt=\"The Lark Creek Inn\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Wild King Salmon Gravlax\u003c/strong> over a warm blini with Meyer lemon crème fraîche, sliced Persian cucumbers, and fennel bulb; \u003cstrong>Braised Yankee Pot Roast\u003c/strong> with carrots, young onions, English peas, baby turnips, and horseradish crème fraîche; \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/?p=29\">\u003cstrong>Butterscotch Pudding\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> with whipped cream and house made cookies\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/mark102.jpg\" alt=\"Mark\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Mark\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Art & Antique Dealer\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Lark Creek Inn\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed The Lark Creek Inn:\u003c/strong> Tuesday, October 4, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> If treating yourself to a great meal in a glorious setting, nestled amongst the redwoods is what you are after, then Lark Creek Inn should be your dining destination. Walking up to the restaurant, you stroll through a grove of redwood trees to your left, and a country garden, complete with birdbath is to your right. Up the path appears the inviting, lemon yellow Victorian country house that is the Lark Creek Inn. The beautifully designed interior first takes you through the cozy front room, where there are several small tables and the gorgeous wood bar. There is also a brick fireplace, which, if you are lucky, will be lit and crackling, giving the room a warm glow on a blustery day. You then enter the large main dining room with its tall, pitched ceiling and angled skylights. On a long wooden farmhouse table, which sits in the center of the room, is placed an enormous and spectacular flower arrangement. Everywhere you look is beauty — the art on the walls, the immaculately set tables, and the views of gardens and majestic trees. It feels as though you have been welcomed into a friend’s elegant, impeccably appointed, yet unpretentious country house for dinner. This place really has that “WOW” factor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The convivial host sat my dining companion and me at a large, round linen-covered table in the garden room, which is adjacent to the main room and a bit more intimate. We were soon greeted warmly by our waitperson and her “waitperson in training,” who was her helper for the night. Both were very attentive, helpful, and professional throughout the evening. The menu was diverse with choices of meat, poultry, fish, and one vegetarian entree. My first course was a very creative presentation of prosciutto and melon called “Heirloom melon Carpaccio.” Peppery arugula is laid on thin slices of prosciutto and then rolled into a log shape. It is then set onto thinly-sliced melon that has been fanned out on the plate, and all is drizzled with fruity olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Interesting presentation, great combination of greens and prosciutto, but the dish’s namesake, the heirloom melon, was underripe and lacked flavor. I tasted my friend’s wild King Salmon gravlax, which was served over warm blinis with Meyer lemon crème fraïche, and laced with sliced Persian cucumber and fennel bulb. This was a much more successful dish. The generous portion of salmon was delicately cut and super fresh. The combination of flavors was perfect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My entree of slow-braised Yankee Pot Roast with carrots, young onions, English peas, baby turnips, and horseradish crème fraïche was an improved, updated version of an American classic. The fork-tender beef was caramelized on the outside, succulent and flavorful on the inside. The accompanying vegetables were a mix of beautiful colors — orange, bright green, and soft purple. The vegetables were finished to be al dente and surrounded the beef in a light, savory broth. A dollop of horseradish crème fraïche was melting on my beef as it arrived at the table and it blended into all the vegetables, giving the dish a light, piquant accent. It was the ultimate in comfort food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of my favorite desserts is pudding and the butterscotch pudding at Lark Creek Inn is not to be missed. This thick and creamy treat is presented in a tall parfait glass, topped with a spoonful of billowy whipped cream, and served with two small house made cookies. It never disappoints. I methodically savored each decadent bite until I heard my long spoon clinking on the bottom of my empty glass! The staff at Lark Creek was knowledgeable and engaging, helpful with my wine selection, and attentive, without being obtrusive. The wine list is extensive and almost entirely comprised of domestic labels. It tends to be a bit on the pricy side, but the staff will guide you to a fine wine within your budget. We had a well-balanced Pinot Noir suggested by our waitperson that went nicely with our meal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We left the restaurant completed satiated, smiling as we spoke of the marvelous experience we just shared. Outside, we were serenaded by a symphony of crickets as we breathed in the distinct scent of the redwoods in the evening air. This place is fantastic for special occasions — I have seen more than one marriage proposal at Lark Creek, not to mention the innumerable number of birthdays and anniversaries being celebrated there over the past fifteen years. If you have friends or family visiting from out of town, take them to this little corner of Marin for the quintessential Northern California dining experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/bryan4.jpg\" alt=\"Bryan\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Bryan\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Musician\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Everett & Jones Barbeque\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed The Lark Creek Inn:\u003c/strong> Tuesday, October 4, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My fiancé and I arrived a bit early to meet another couple for drinks. I loved the location of this restaurant, nestled as it is in the redwoods at the base of Mt. Tamalpais. Although we were just minutes outside of the big city, I felt we were at a secluded inn somewhere up the coast on Highway 1. We met the maitre’d, and he was a very pleasant man. He stated we were early, but he would do what he could to sit us right away. We went to the bar and waited a long time to get a drink. The bartender seemed a bit surly, but she didn’t seem to be that busy. Believe me, I’ve sure met up with some mean and surly bartenders — she had nothin’ on some o’ these folks. I still don’t know what the big deal was. We really didn’t get a chance to find out, nor did we care, ’cause we were sat promptly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I liked the fact that there were a lot of families celebrating birthdays and I overheard someone mention an engagement. Generations getting together for a fine repast — I dig that! We heard a few out-of-tune “Happy Birthday” songs followed by the kick-a-rock, “Aw, shucks,” red-faced, “Don’t make a fuss…,” comments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So…on with the meal. Our server, Angie, was very nice, attentive, polite and professional. She also laughed at my jokes, and that counts extra, ’cause my jokes stink on ice. Anyway, we started with some appetizers. I ordered the ham hock raviolo. My soon-to-be wife chose the potato leek soup with crabmeat — oh, boy! Well, to be quite honest, the pasta of the raviolo was a little bit weird. It was kinda rubbery and crunchy on the outside, like it was under the heating lamp too long. I must say that the filling and sauce were quite tasty, so I ate it all up. I tasted the soup and was not impressed. I was really looking forward to that but it was a letdown. It wasn’t that flavorful and I was picking crab shells out of my teeth for some time — bummer! But! We got a great bottle of wine. We went with the Rafanelli Zinfandel. Let me explain something first: I’m not a big wine guy, but I’m learning. I do know a good bottle of hooch when I taste it, though and I sure liked this one. I think this paired up nice with the pot roast my lady ordered. I went with the chicken. I love roasted chicken! On the bone! With crispy skin! And moist and meaty! This did not let me down. All the things I love. It’s no easy trick to get the “crispity” skin without drying out the white meat. My entree was ripping! It was served with these wonderful Italian green beans and roasted red and purple new potatoes. Loved it! My good friend, who is an excellent cook by the way, got the pork porterhouse. It was killer! Seared on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. We were told by other friends to “get the meat!” — no duh!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Things didn’t go so well with the rest of our party. My wife’s (I know we’re not married yet, but this just makes it easy) pot roast was bland. The texture was good, but the flavor was lacking. The other lady at our table had big problems with her seared tombo tuna. The presentation — with this and all of the dishes — was very nice, but…(and a big “but”), it was cold, mealy, and tasted like it had turned. Uh-oh!! We all had a taste to make sure no one was insane. Sadly, Charlie Tuna had good taste, but didn’t taste good. We politely informed Angie, our nice server, she spoke to the manager, and Viola! “We will take it off your bill.” What a relief. Although I did want to see some drama unfold, that might have gotten interesting. Alas, no.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On to the real stars of the evening. Bring on the desserts! Oh boy, oh boy! It was a real hard choice. Somehow we got through it. The cocoa butter brownie sundae with vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate ice cream, and fudge and nuts was a big hit. As was the sorbet sampler, with Meyer lemon and pomegranate sorbet. My favorite was the butterscotch pudding. It was a good thing my fiancé\u003cbr>\n(okay I’m back to that) couldn’t finish her puddin’, ’cause I sure did!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’d have to say quite honestly, that…after I recovered from the sticker shock… I’ve had better. Our server was excellent, as well as our host. I don’t know what crawled up our bartender. The décor was warm and homey, and I loved the Colonial/Craftsman architecture. Some of the food was great, some just okay, and one just outright nasty. I’m glad I went, but I don’t think I need to go back. I was told by a number of people that this place is “THE” top restaurant in Marin. If this is true, Marin foodlovers are in big trouble.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/tonya102.jpg\" alt=\"Tonya\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Tonya\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Owner of Women’s Clothing Boutique\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> 1550 Hyde Cafe & Wine Bar\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed The Lark Creek Inn:\u003c/strong> Thursday, October 6, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You get the sense that you’re being transported to another romantic land as you drive through the redwoods to this gorgeous Victorian. While the décor is formal and elegant, the plush furniture and soft lighting make you feel relaxed and comfortable. Each dish offers balanced portions and well-prepared ingredients. A few dishes are uneven (I encountered a rather bland appetizer of heirloom tomatoes), but some dishes truly soar, like the fig tartine appetizer. Be sure to have dessert — the chocolate bread budding is the best I’ve tried anywhere, and the gingerbread with apples is fantastic.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>1550 Hyde Cafe & Wine Bar: Reviews \u003c/strong>| \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/?p=7\">restaurant info\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/?p=16\">recipe\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/2005/11/10/check-please-bay-area-episode-2-102/\">full episode video\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/bayareabites/sets/1339318\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener\">view photo gallery\u003c/a> (flickr.com)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/1550hyde3.jpg\" alt=\"1550 Hyde\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/1550hyde2.jpg\" alt=\"1550 Hyde\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/1550hyde1.jpg\" alt=\"1550 Hyde\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Grilled Dayboat Scallops\u003c/strong> with fennel-rucola salad and romesco sauce; \u003cstrong>Fried Rabbit\u003c/strong> with seme di melone, cucumbers, butter lettuce and lemon; \u003cstrong>Scharffen Berger Bittersweet Chocolate Pot de Crème\u003c/strong> with shortbread cookies\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/tonya102.jpg\" alt=\"Tonya\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Tonya\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Owner of Women’s Clothing Boutique\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> 1550 Hyde Cafe & Wine Bar\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed 1550 Hyde Cafe & Wine Bar:\u003c/strong> Saturday, October 1, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The restaurant is located at the top of the hill on Hyde Street, so you get an impossibly romantic view of Russian Hill, with the cable car going by every fifteen minutes. The charming server presents you with a one-page description of tonight’s wine flight, which is written in way that instantly entices and gives an education to the novice and the expert. You get a vivid description of each of the three wines (color, “notes,” and finish), as well as insider information about the region and the family of winemakers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s clear that every dish is prepared with care and love. The ingredients are fresh and the elements of each dish come together to maximum effect. This is refined rustic fare, which is on par with pricier restaurants like Hawthorne Lane or Boulevard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I can’t say enough good things about 1550 Hyde — every aspect of the experience is memorable.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/bryan2.jpg\" alt=\"Bryan\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Bryan\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Musician\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Everett & Jones Barbeque\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed 1550 Hyde Cafe & Wine Bar:\u003c/strong> Thursday, October 13, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a classic San Francisco evening. The fog had rolled in, and it was chilly and a bit windy. As we walked up Pacific we heard the foghorns and my lady’s teeth chattering up a storm. I had a good feeling about this place after I had done some research online. We entered 1550 Hyde and found it to be warm and comfortable — perfect for this night. A young woman greeted us with an inviting smile and asked us if we would like a glass of wine at the bar while we waited. Looking over the wine menu, I was a bit overwhelmed. I really don’t know too much about wines and this list was intimidating. So… I decided to try something I’ve never heard of before: a 2003 Castaño Hécula from Spain. It was quite tasty and a bit spicy. My fiancé chose the Scharffenberger sparkling wine; she liked that. About halfway through our wine, we were seated at a cute table in the front corner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was checking out the clientele as we strolled through the place. There was a good mix of middle-aged folks in Dockers and sweaters and a young hipster club vibe. However, one woman — a new mother — was in sweats. The décor was very minimal; not much on the walls. Low lighting made for a very intimate setting. The building was a renovated Edwardian with wainscoted wood walls, small crown shelving about four feet up, and warmly painted plaster for the ceiling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On with the show. They had some interesting selections on the menu like rabbit liver terrine, fried rabbit, wild local salmon, and stewed lamb leg. To start with, I chose the heirloom tomato and Bibb lettuce salad with Green Goddess dressing and grilled bread. This was very tasty. The tomatoes were perfect — they were not soft and mealy at all. They were ripe and bursting with flavor. The Bibb lettuce was delicate with just the slightest crunch. All coated (not drowned) in the dressing, so I could taste the food. Fantastic! My lady ordered the grilled Dayboat scallops with a fennel-rucola salad and romesco sauce. She absolutely loved it. I tasted it, and I wasn’t crazy about it, but I also didn’t order it. At this point, we were ready for more wine. I like Zinfandel, so I got one. It was a 2003 Ridge “Three Valleys” from Sonoma County; I really liked it. My favorite person in the world selected a 2004 Le Pigeoulet Syrah blend from France. She thought it was yummy. However, she should’ve asked our server for a better selection because it didn’t match up well with her meal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For our main entrees, I ordered the Hoffman Farms chicken, which was cooked under a brick and served with chanterelles, potato purée, and caramelized onions and Bloomsdale spinach. One word…AWESOME! My chicken was boneless, in one piece, and had both white and dark meat. It had that “crispity” skin on it that I love so very much, and the meat was moist and flavorful. The mushrooms were an excellent complement to the fowl and the potatoes and spinach were a great contrast, both in texture and taste. My soon-to-be wife opted for the fettuccini with braised Berkshire pork, Bloomsdale spinach and pecorino. She loved hers as well. The pasta tasted homemade and was cooked to perfection. My girl can get a bit fussy when it come to pasta, but this passed the test with flying colors. All in all, four stars so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And now the true test: the dessert. I got a sweet tooth. I’m not gonna beat around the bush. My sweetheart chose the stonefruit bread pudding with goat’s milk ice cream. The bread pudding was out of this world — sweet and cakey with just the right amount of tartness from the fruit. The goats milk ice cream, on the other hand, was…well…gross. This is a flavor that may be for someone with a refined palate, but it was just too strong and it overpowered the brilliant flavor of the bread pudding. I thought it tasted like the barn floor — yeech!! I ordered the Scharffenberger dark chocolate pot de crème, which is basically some fancy uptown puddin’. Man, oh, man! I thought I died and went to heaven. This was so, so good it should be illegal. You can taste the fine dark chocolate smothered in thick whipped cream in every bite. The texture was rich and full-bodied, and the cream tempered the strong chocolate flavor to perfection. A great end to a great meal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I would definitely recommend 1550 Hyde to many friends, and we plan on coming back in the near future.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/mark102.jpg\" alt=\"Mark\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Mark\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Art & Antique Dealer\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Lark Creek Inn\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed 1550 Hyde Cafe & Wine Bar:\u003c/strong> Saturday, October 1, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As I walked up Pacific Avenue towards Hyde Street, this little gem of a restaurant came into view. It is located on a picturesque, tree-lined San Francisco street, which is on the cable car line, so you can watch the cable cars go clanking by while you dine. One thing is for certain — this small, tucked-away, neighborhood eatery knows about fine food and wine. Upon entering, the host promptly greeted us and sat us at one of the coveted window seats at the front of the restaurant. The place is U-shaped with both of the main seating areas flanking the centered, beautifully lit, marble wine bar. The interior is tastefully minimalist with painted gray wainscoting and beautiful, curved mica covered sconces, which dot the otherwise empty walls. The handsome bar is truly the centerpiece of this small restaurant. Placed off to one side of the bar was a very large galvanized vessel filled with exotic Bird of Paradise and other glorious flora, which made for a great focal point to an otherwise stark interior. Soon after being seated, our waiter greeted us, and to my surprise, he was an acquaintance from many years ago. We shared a mutual friend who was in the restaurant business, and he had worked at several places where I had dined over the years. We were both pleased that our paths had once again crossed. Needless to say, we had impeccable service. He guided me through my first visit at 1550 Hyde. He knows what he’s doing and it shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I started with the grilled Dayboat scallops, topped with a romesco sauce and surrounded by a fennel-rocket salad. Two perfectly grilled scallops came on wooden skewers — each garnished with some of the spicy red romesco sauce — and they were surrounded by a lightly-dressed arugula and fennel salad. The scallops were cooked completely through, yet they were still supple and delicious, and the tangy red sauce had just the right amount of heat to complement them. My only suggestion would be to remove the skewers in the kitchen before serving (The angst starts when I see something served on a skewer in a restaurant. I have visions of food flying across the table upon skewer removal, though this was not the case this time.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There was a nice selection of six entrees, but if I see rabbit on the menu it’s almost always my choice. So, when I saw the fried rabbit with semi di melone, cucumbers, butter lettuce and lemon, I knew that had to be mine. A rabbit half was cut into three pieces and encrusted with a crisp, non-greasy cornmeal coating. As you cut through the crust, you reveal the juicy and delicious rabbit meat. The semi di melone (short-grained, rice-shaped pasta) was placed to the side of the rabbit and served in a leaf of Bibb lettuce. It was a less heavy version of a risotto but it was made with pasta and served at room temperature. The cool slices of cucumber were a nice balance to the hot, fried rabbit and the tasty creamy texture of the pasta. A squeeze of fresh lemon added a bit of brightness to the dish. This mix of flavors and textures was sublime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My dinner guest had the fresh fettuccini with braised Berkshire pork, Bloomsdale spinach and pecorino. This dish was just a bit off the mark. Though the pasta was perfectly done, and the braised pink-colored pork could not have been more tender, all of these subtle flavors were overpowered by the heavy-handed use of the distinctly flavored pecorino cheese. Being raised in a southern Italian family, I was fed pecorino cheese at a very early age and I love the taste. Many times I prefer using it instead of the more popular Parmigiano-Reggiano in pasta dishes. In this instance, it was a bit too much and the delicate flavors of the other ingredients were lost. It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t great.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My dessert — the chocolate pot de crème — was great. It was incredible! It is a rich, smooth, dense, dark chocolate pudding with a bit of whipped cream on top and two shortbread cookies on the side. That, and an espresso, was the perfect end to an absolutely delightful meal. The wine our waiter suggested was a French Burgundy — the 2001 Olivier Guyot, Marsanny, “La Montagne.” It was fantastic and had black fruit flavors, a hint of plum, and a wonderful, slightly smoky nose. It was a terrific match for the rabbit and pork dishes and it was organic to boot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This restaurant has superior quality organic food, which is well priced and creatively prepared. They have an extraordinarily diverse, and also very reasonably priced, wine list (Try their “Flight Plans,” which is a sampling of three 4 oz. pours of different wines from a particular wine-growing region.) The staff and owners are friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. When we arrived at six pm, the place was virtually empty but by seven pm, every table was full, so I strongly suggest making reservations since it is a fairly small establishment. 1550 Hyde is a terrific find and I encourage anyone who loves great food and wine to try this little neighborhood treasure.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong>\r\n1550 Hyde Street (at Pacific)\r\nSan Francisco, CA 94109\r\n\u003cstrong>Phone:\u003c/strong> 415-775-1550\r\n\u003cstrong>Website:\u003c/strong> \u003ca href=\"http://www.1550hyde.com\">www.1550hyde.com\u003c/a>\r\n\u003cstrong>Type of Cuisine:\u003c/strong> California-Mediterranean\r\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed:\u003c/strong> Fall 2005",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>1550 Hyde Cafe & Wine Bar: Reviews \u003c/strong>| \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/?p=7\">restaurant info\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/?p=16\">recipe\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/2005/11/10/check-please-bay-area-episode-2-102/\">full episode video\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/bayareabites/sets/1339318\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener\">view photo gallery\u003c/a> (flickr.com)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/1550hyde3.jpg\" alt=\"1550 Hyde\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/1550hyde2.jpg\" alt=\"1550 Hyde\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/1550hyde1.jpg\" alt=\"1550 Hyde\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Grilled Dayboat Scallops\u003c/strong> with fennel-rucola salad and romesco sauce; \u003cstrong>Fried Rabbit\u003c/strong> with seme di melone, cucumbers, butter lettuce and lemon; \u003cstrong>Scharffen Berger Bittersweet Chocolate Pot de Crème\u003c/strong> with shortbread cookies\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/tonya102.jpg\" alt=\"Tonya\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Tonya\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Owner of Women’s Clothing Boutique\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> 1550 Hyde Cafe & Wine Bar\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed 1550 Hyde Cafe & Wine Bar:\u003c/strong> Saturday, October 1, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The restaurant is located at the top of the hill on Hyde Street, so you get an impossibly romantic view of Russian Hill, with the cable car going by every fifteen minutes. The charming server presents you with a one-page description of tonight’s wine flight, which is written in way that instantly entices and gives an education to the novice and the expert. You get a vivid description of each of the three wines (color, “notes,” and finish), as well as insider information about the region and the family of winemakers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s clear that every dish is prepared with care and love. The ingredients are fresh and the elements of each dish come together to maximum effect. This is refined rustic fare, which is on par with pricier restaurants like Hawthorne Lane or Boulevard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I can’t say enough good things about 1550 Hyde — every aspect of the experience is memorable.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/bryan2.jpg\" alt=\"Bryan\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Bryan\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Musician\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Everett & Jones Barbeque\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed 1550 Hyde Cafe & Wine Bar:\u003c/strong> Thursday, October 13, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a classic San Francisco evening. The fog had rolled in, and it was chilly and a bit windy. As we walked up Pacific we heard the foghorns and my lady’s teeth chattering up a storm. I had a good feeling about this place after I had done some research online. We entered 1550 Hyde and found it to be warm and comfortable — perfect for this night. A young woman greeted us with an inviting smile and asked us if we would like a glass of wine at the bar while we waited. Looking over the wine menu, I was a bit overwhelmed. I really don’t know too much about wines and this list was intimidating. So… I decided to try something I’ve never heard of before: a 2003 Castaño Hécula from Spain. It was quite tasty and a bit spicy. My fiancé chose the Scharffenberger sparkling wine; she liked that. About halfway through our wine, we were seated at a cute table in the front corner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was checking out the clientele as we strolled through the place. There was a good mix of middle-aged folks in Dockers and sweaters and a young hipster club vibe. However, one woman — a new mother — was in sweats. The décor was very minimal; not much on the walls. Low lighting made for a very intimate setting. The building was a renovated Edwardian with wainscoted wood walls, small crown shelving about four feet up, and warmly painted plaster for the ceiling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On with the show. They had some interesting selections on the menu like rabbit liver terrine, fried rabbit, wild local salmon, and stewed lamb leg. To start with, I chose the heirloom tomato and Bibb lettuce salad with Green Goddess dressing and grilled bread. This was very tasty. The tomatoes were perfect — they were not soft and mealy at all. They were ripe and bursting with flavor. The Bibb lettuce was delicate with just the slightest crunch. All coated (not drowned) in the dressing, so I could taste the food. Fantastic! My lady ordered the grilled Dayboat scallops with a fennel-rucola salad and romesco sauce. She absolutely loved it. I tasted it, and I wasn’t crazy about it, but I also didn’t order it. At this point, we were ready for more wine. I like Zinfandel, so I got one. It was a 2003 Ridge “Three Valleys” from Sonoma County; I really liked it. My favorite person in the world selected a 2004 Le Pigeoulet Syrah blend from France. She thought it was yummy. However, she should’ve asked our server for a better selection because it didn’t match up well with her meal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For our main entrees, I ordered the Hoffman Farms chicken, which was cooked under a brick and served with chanterelles, potato purée, and caramelized onions and Bloomsdale spinach. One word…AWESOME! My chicken was boneless, in one piece, and had both white and dark meat. It had that “crispity” skin on it that I love so very much, and the meat was moist and flavorful. The mushrooms were an excellent complement to the fowl and the potatoes and spinach were a great contrast, both in texture and taste. My soon-to-be wife opted for the fettuccini with braised Berkshire pork, Bloomsdale spinach and pecorino. She loved hers as well. The pasta tasted homemade and was cooked to perfection. My girl can get a bit fussy when it come to pasta, but this passed the test with flying colors. All in all, four stars so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And now the true test: the dessert. I got a sweet tooth. I’m not gonna beat around the bush. My sweetheart chose the stonefruit bread pudding with goat’s milk ice cream. The bread pudding was out of this world — sweet and cakey with just the right amount of tartness from the fruit. The goats milk ice cream, on the other hand, was…well…gross. This is a flavor that may be for someone with a refined palate, but it was just too strong and it overpowered the brilliant flavor of the bread pudding. I thought it tasted like the barn floor — yeech!! I ordered the Scharffenberger dark chocolate pot de crème, which is basically some fancy uptown puddin’. Man, oh, man! I thought I died and went to heaven. This was so, so good it should be illegal. You can taste the fine dark chocolate smothered in thick whipped cream in every bite. The texture was rich and full-bodied, and the cream tempered the strong chocolate flavor to perfection. A great end to a great meal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I would definitely recommend 1550 Hyde to many friends, and we plan on coming back in the near future.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/mark102.jpg\" alt=\"Mark\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Mark\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Art & Antique Dealer\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Lark Creek Inn\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed 1550 Hyde Cafe & Wine Bar:\u003c/strong> Saturday, October 1, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As I walked up Pacific Avenue towards Hyde Street, this little gem of a restaurant came into view. It is located on a picturesque, tree-lined San Francisco street, which is on the cable car line, so you can watch the cable cars go clanking by while you dine. One thing is for certain — this small, tucked-away, neighborhood eatery knows about fine food and wine. Upon entering, the host promptly greeted us and sat us at one of the coveted window seats at the front of the restaurant. The place is U-shaped with both of the main seating areas flanking the centered, beautifully lit, marble wine bar. The interior is tastefully minimalist with painted gray wainscoting and beautiful, curved mica covered sconces, which dot the otherwise empty walls. The handsome bar is truly the centerpiece of this small restaurant. Placed off to one side of the bar was a very large galvanized vessel filled with exotic Bird of Paradise and other glorious flora, which made for a great focal point to an otherwise stark interior. Soon after being seated, our waiter greeted us, and to my surprise, he was an acquaintance from many years ago. We shared a mutual friend who was in the restaurant business, and he had worked at several places where I had dined over the years. We were both pleased that our paths had once again crossed. Needless to say, we had impeccable service. He guided me through my first visit at 1550 Hyde. He knows what he’s doing and it shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I started with the grilled Dayboat scallops, topped with a romesco sauce and surrounded by a fennel-rocket salad. Two perfectly grilled scallops came on wooden skewers — each garnished with some of the spicy red romesco sauce — and they were surrounded by a lightly-dressed arugula and fennel salad. The scallops were cooked completely through, yet they were still supple and delicious, and the tangy red sauce had just the right amount of heat to complement them. My only suggestion would be to remove the skewers in the kitchen before serving (The angst starts when I see something served on a skewer in a restaurant. I have visions of food flying across the table upon skewer removal, though this was not the case this time.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There was a nice selection of six entrees, but if I see rabbit on the menu it’s almost always my choice. So, when I saw the fried rabbit with semi di melone, cucumbers, butter lettuce and lemon, I knew that had to be mine. A rabbit half was cut into three pieces and encrusted with a crisp, non-greasy cornmeal coating. As you cut through the crust, you reveal the juicy and delicious rabbit meat. The semi di melone (short-grained, rice-shaped pasta) was placed to the side of the rabbit and served in a leaf of Bibb lettuce. It was a less heavy version of a risotto but it was made with pasta and served at room temperature. The cool slices of cucumber were a nice balance to the hot, fried rabbit and the tasty creamy texture of the pasta. A squeeze of fresh lemon added a bit of brightness to the dish. This mix of flavors and textures was sublime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My dinner guest had the fresh fettuccini with braised Berkshire pork, Bloomsdale spinach and pecorino. This dish was just a bit off the mark. Though the pasta was perfectly done, and the braised pink-colored pork could not have been more tender, all of these subtle flavors were overpowered by the heavy-handed use of the distinctly flavored pecorino cheese. Being raised in a southern Italian family, I was fed pecorino cheese at a very early age and I love the taste. Many times I prefer using it instead of the more popular Parmigiano-Reggiano in pasta dishes. In this instance, it was a bit too much and the delicate flavors of the other ingredients were lost. It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t great.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My dessert — the chocolate pot de crème — was great. It was incredible! It is a rich, smooth, dense, dark chocolate pudding with a bit of whipped cream on top and two shortbread cookies on the side. That, and an espresso, was the perfect end to an absolutely delightful meal. The wine our waiter suggested was a French Burgundy — the 2001 Olivier Guyot, Marsanny, “La Montagne.” It was fantastic and had black fruit flavors, a hint of plum, and a wonderful, slightly smoky nose. It was a terrific match for the rabbit and pork dishes and it was organic to boot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This restaurant has superior quality organic food, which is well priced and creatively prepared. They have an extraordinarily diverse, and also very reasonably priced, wine list (Try their “Flight Plans,” which is a sampling of three 4 oz. pours of different wines from a particular wine-growing region.) The staff and owners are friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. When we arrived at six pm, the place was virtually empty but by seven pm, every table was full, so I strongly suggest making reservations since it is a fairly small establishment. 1550 Hyde is a terrific find and I encourage anyone who loves great food and wine to try this little neighborhood treasure.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Everett & Jones Barbeque: Reviews \u003c/strong>| \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/?p=15\">restaurant info\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/2005/11/10/check-please-bay-area-episode-2-102/\">full episode video\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/bayareabites/sets/1339318\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener\">photo gallery\u003c/a> (flickr.com)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/ej-food1.jpg\" alt=\"Everett and Jones\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/ej-food2.jpg\" alt=\"Everett and Jones\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/ej-food3.jpg\" alt=\"Everett and Jones\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cbr>\nBBQ Chicken Salad, BBQ Pork Ribs, Sweet Potato Pie\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/bryan3.jpg\" alt=\"Bryan\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Bryan\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Musician\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Everett & Jones Barbeque\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Everett & Jones Barbeque:\u003c/strong> Sunday, October 9, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> It’s no secret — it’s the very best barbeque in the Bay Area and possibly the world. No joke! We arrived at a good time this evening, and we lucked out and got seated quickly, which doesn’t happen all the time. There have been many occasions in the past when I’ve had to wait for quite a while. First off, it was LOUD! Really LOUD! It definitely has a party atmosphere. Hip-Hop and R&B music was piped in, across the bar on either side a football game was blaring from two TVs, and the place was packed. It has a very down-home southern vibe — like you’re eating in a big barn with all of your friends and neighbors. I like the fact that it is a very diverse crowd with people from all walks of life. Saturday nights they have live Jazz and Blues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We started with some drinks. I had a Saucy Sistah Ale, which is a local, brewed special for E&J. I didn’t ask who made it, but I found it to be very refreshing and not too heavy, like some microbrews can be. My girlfriend ordered a margarita that was on the “too sweet” side. Our server was a very friendly young man, casual but not unprofessional. He was very prompt and polite.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We decided to split the #3 Combo of pork ribs and beef brisket. This is a lot of food even for two. I have to say, this time I was a bit disappointed. The ribs were a little over-cooked and crunchy on the ends. E&J’s consistency can be a bit off sometimes but that never stops me from going, because a bad day at E&J is better than the best day at most places! The beef was excellent. It was tender and juicy and the smoky flavor was not overpowering. Their BBQ sauce is outstanding, and we always order the medium with the hot on the side. Sometimes the hot can be too hot, again with the consistency! For our sides, we chose the greens, beans, and candied yams. The greens, I believe, are a mix of collard and mustard greens, boiled for days with ham hocks. I always give ’em a good solid coating of Crystal red pepper sauce — mmm-mmm. The beans are quite good as well: they are a cross between those sweet syrupy beans and Texas style chili. They are sweet enough to be served with the BBQ, but I like the earthiness of the cumin and chilies. The candied yams were a bit too sweet for my taste.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After washin’ the whole thing down with another beer, I swear I was too full to order dessert. Another solid outing to E&J. My bass player is gonna be bent outta shape that I didn’t invite him this time; he is like a madman when it comes to this place. I bet he’d eat there every day if he could — what a kook!\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/tonya102.jpg\" alt=\"Tonya\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Tonya\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Owner of Women’s Clothing Boutique\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> 1550 Hyde Cafe & Wine Bar\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Everett & Jones Barbeque:\u003c/strong> Sunday, October 2, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You get a family atmosphere at Everett & Jones: high ceilings, sports TV, large tables and lots of space. While waiting to be seated (no reservations), you can check out the gift display (t-shirts, E&J mugs), and go over the straightforward menu of barbecued meats and sides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Expect generous helping of barbecue, and mostly sweet flavors; sauces are sweet, potato salad is made with sweet dill, and desserts…well, you know. Still, the meats are tender, the portions are generous, and your family will love the fun, happy atmosphere.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/mark102.jpg\" alt=\"Mark\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Mark\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Art & Antique Dealer\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Lark Creek Inn\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Everett & Jones Barbeque:\u003c/strong> Wednesday, October 5, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Being raised in the Midwest, I love good barbeque. So, when I heard about Everett & Jones, I invited my brother to join me to experience some down-home, finger-licking, lip-smacking BBQ food. We were sorely disappointed. I should have known something was off when I called the restaurant to make a reservation. When my first call was answered and I was immediately put on hold. I stayed on hold for almost ten minutes, which, on the phone, seems like ten hours, until I finally hung up and redialed the number only to get a busy signal. The next day I called again and a very confused-sounding person answered. When I requested a reservation he wasn’t sure how to take one, he put me on hold twice, and then finally took my name and my reservation for two people at 7:30 on Wednesday night. I also took his name and thanked him for his help. The day of the dinner a close friend called and asked if she could join us, so I said sure and promptly called the restaurant to change the reservation to a party of three. Good thing I did, because when the person at the restaurant checked the books, she said there was no reservation for me under that name for tonight. I gave her the name of the person who took the reservation, she put me on hold and when she came back on she said they would seat my party of three for this evening. This phone fiasco was the foreshadowing of things to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The restaurant is located a few blocks from Jack London Square and has large windows and an outdoor eating area surrounding the front and side of the building. It is brightly lit and has a lively, colorful interior with all kinds of memorabilia strewn about. It was abuzz with people. As you approach, your mouth starts to water as you inhale the smoky, sweet smell of BBQ. When we entered there were two long pew-like benches where people were seated, waiting for a table. At the end of the benches was the host’s stand, where there was a clipboard with a name list attached to it, but no host. People were clamoring to put their name on the waiting list, but there was no pen. The frantic search began through everyone’s pockets and purses for a writing instrument. We were not quite sure what to do — put our names on the list, or pray that this time we actually did have a reservation. Finally, a completely deadpan-faced, lifeless girl stood behind the host stand. Upon seeing my confused look, she blurted out, “What do you want?” I said I had a 7:30 reservation for three under my name. She pulled out what looked to be a torn piece of toilet paper with infinitesimal writing on it from her pant pocket, examined it, then grabbed three menus, and barked, “Over here.” Some people waiting for tables glared at us as we were seated at a table directly behind one of the long benches. She tossed our menus on the tables and left, and we all said in unison, “That was odd.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As we were looking over our menus, we realized that hair and hat brims of some of the people who were seated on the “waiting bench” were dangling over the edge of our table, in particular, a beautiful long ponytail on a well-dressed woman. We spotted another table that had just emptied in the corner and asked the hostess as she passed if we could move to that table. She sighed and said, “Yeah,” and so we did.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tables are covered with varying colored, checkered cloths, which are then covered with clear plastic (BBQ can get a bit messy). The silverware is piled into copper teakettles at the end of the table, and next to the silverware sat a brightly-colored mini watering can, which held a little bunch of feathery plant greens and a single dead flower. When I say dead, I mean completely shriveled, brown as dirt, can’t tell what it was when it was alive, Addams Family dead flower! I felt compelled to pick it up to try and figure out what it was in its former life and concluded it had been a sunflower. I looked around and saw that each table was adorned with the same pathetic arrangement. Suspended from the ceiling were large umbrella canopies, and interspersed between them and scattered throughout the dining room and the bar, were television sets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The menu is fairly basic and set up in a multiple-choice format. There is BBQ chicken, ribs, links, and brisket, and a selection of sides to choose from: coleslaw, potato salad, baked beans, greens, etc. If you order a dinner of one item or a combo to two or three items, you choose two sides and get a cornbread muffin. We sat at the table a good ten minutes before the person we assumed was our waiter came to us. I say “assumed” because he did not utter a word, he just pulled out his order book and stared at us. There was no “Hello,” no “Have any questions?” Just a blank, emotionless stare. So, we started ordering to see if we could evoke a response. We ordered two plates of chicken and ribs and one plate of the three-meat combo: chicken, ribs, and brisket. He suddenly mumbled, “Mild, medium or hot?” We assumed he meant the BBQ sauce. We had the three-meat combo with hot sauce and the rest with medium. He then said, “Sides?” and we ordered coleslaw, baked beans, and potato salad. Finally, he mumbled, “Drinks?” and we ordered a pitcher of beer and a lemonade. While still writing, he turned and left. The busboy brought us water, which came in jelly jars with a lemon slice, which was a nice touch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When our food arrived, it was brought to us by the stone-faced hostess, who barked out, “Chicken and ribs!” We said, “Yes,” and she set the plate on the table. Then she barked out “Ribs,” and we said it wasn’t ours and that we had ordered another plate of chicken and ribs. She glared at us and in an even louder voice she yelled “RIBS!!!” We again politely stated we had chicken and ribs. She then raised the plate to her eyes, and said, “Oh, this is chicken and ribs” set it on the table and left, after which my friend stated, “That girl is downright surly.” Another, friendlier person brought out the triple combo and all our sides. After she left, we realized we had no napkins and we could not get anyone’s attention, so I got up, went to the serving station, grabbed a pile of paper napkins and brought them back to the table.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The portions are more than generous, but I could now see why the “surly” hostess could not discern what was on the plate; it was all drowning in BBQ sauce. You could barely tell a piece of chicken from a rib. So here’s the rundown of the meal: the ribs were tender, but a bit fatty for my taste. The chicken, once some of the sauce was removed, was burnt black on the outside, but the meat was still juicy. The medium sauce was tasty and tangy, though there was way too much on the plate. On the other hand, the combo of three meats with hot sauce was almost inedible to me. The sauce was basically the medium sauce with a jar, no kidding, a jar of red chili pepper flakes thrown into the mix. Thousands of pepper seeds were suspended in the sauce, which completely obliterated your mouth. This use of heat was obviously for shock value and certainly not to enhance the food. I can handle hot, but this was ridiculous. The sides were all forgettable: cement potato salad, wet and limp coleslaw, and OK baked beans. The cornbread muffins were fine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We ordered two desserts, which were individual sized pies, one pecan and one sweet potato. They were one of the best parts of the meal with tender crusts and flavorful centers. When the waiter gave me the bill to sign at the end of our meal, he uttered, “Got a pen?” We had come full circle, searching for another pen as we did when we entered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This place is a service nightmare. Unfriendly, uncaring, rude people, who act as though this job is a punishment, are handling the food you are about to eat, NO THANKS. There is a general lack of care and pride in this dining establishment, which is evident in the apathetic people who work there. The food is mediocre at best, so why bother? Everett & Jones Barbeque doesn’t hit the bull’s-eye — it doesn’t even hit the dartboard!\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong>\r\n126 Broadway (at 2nd Street)\r\nOakland, CA 94617\r\n\u003cstrong>Phone:\u003c/strong> 510-663-2350\r\n\u003cstrong>Website:\u003c/strong> \u003ca href=\"http://www.eandjbbq.com\">www.eandjbbq.com\u003c/a>\r\n\u003cstrong>Type of Cuisine:\u003c/strong> American-Barbeque\r\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed:\u003c/strong> Fall 2005",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Everett & Jones Barbeque: Reviews \u003c/strong>| \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/?p=15\">restaurant info\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/2005/11/10/check-please-bay-area-episode-2-102/\">full episode video\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/bayareabites/sets/1339318\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener\">photo gallery\u003c/a> (flickr.com)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/ej-food1.jpg\" alt=\"Everett and Jones\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/ej-food2.jpg\" alt=\"Everett and Jones\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/ej-food3.jpg\" alt=\"Everett and Jones\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cbr>\nBBQ Chicken Salad, BBQ Pork Ribs, Sweet Potato Pie\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/bryan3.jpg\" alt=\"Bryan\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Bryan\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Musician\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Everett & Jones Barbeque\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Everett & Jones Barbeque:\u003c/strong> Sunday, October 9, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> It’s no secret — it’s the very best barbeque in the Bay Area and possibly the world. No joke! We arrived at a good time this evening, and we lucked out and got seated quickly, which doesn’t happen all the time. There have been many occasions in the past when I’ve had to wait for quite a while. First off, it was LOUD! Really LOUD! It definitely has a party atmosphere. Hip-Hop and R&B music was piped in, across the bar on either side a football game was blaring from two TVs, and the place was packed. It has a very down-home southern vibe — like you’re eating in a big barn with all of your friends and neighbors. I like the fact that it is a very diverse crowd with people from all walks of life. Saturday nights they have live Jazz and Blues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We started with some drinks. I had a Saucy Sistah Ale, which is a local, brewed special for E&J. I didn’t ask who made it, but I found it to be very refreshing and not too heavy, like some microbrews can be. My girlfriend ordered a margarita that was on the “too sweet” side. Our server was a very friendly young man, casual but not unprofessional. He was very prompt and polite.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We decided to split the #3 Combo of pork ribs and beef brisket. This is a lot of food even for two. I have to say, this time I was a bit disappointed. The ribs were a little over-cooked and crunchy on the ends. E&J’s consistency can be a bit off sometimes but that never stops me from going, because a bad day at E&J is better than the best day at most places! The beef was excellent. It was tender and juicy and the smoky flavor was not overpowering. Their BBQ sauce is outstanding, and we always order the medium with the hot on the side. Sometimes the hot can be too hot, again with the consistency! For our sides, we chose the greens, beans, and candied yams. The greens, I believe, are a mix of collard and mustard greens, boiled for days with ham hocks. I always give ’em a good solid coating of Crystal red pepper sauce — mmm-mmm. The beans are quite good as well: they are a cross between those sweet syrupy beans and Texas style chili. They are sweet enough to be served with the BBQ, but I like the earthiness of the cumin and chilies. The candied yams were a bit too sweet for my taste.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After washin’ the whole thing down with another beer, I swear I was too full to order dessert. Another solid outing to E&J. My bass player is gonna be bent outta shape that I didn’t invite him this time; he is like a madman when it comes to this place. I bet he’d eat there every day if he could — what a kook!\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/tonya102.jpg\" alt=\"Tonya\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Tonya\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Owner of Women’s Clothing Boutique\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> 1550 Hyde Cafe & Wine Bar\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Everett & Jones Barbeque:\u003c/strong> Sunday, October 2, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You get a family atmosphere at Everett & Jones: high ceilings, sports TV, large tables and lots of space. While waiting to be seated (no reservations), you can check out the gift display (t-shirts, E&J mugs), and go over the straightforward menu of barbecued meats and sides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Expect generous helping of barbecue, and mostly sweet flavors; sauces are sweet, potato salad is made with sweet dill, and desserts…well, you know. Still, the meats are tender, the portions are generous, and your family will love the fun, happy atmosphere.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/mark102.jpg\" alt=\"Mark\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Mark\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Art & Antique Dealer\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Lark Creek Inn\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Everett & Jones Barbeque:\u003c/strong> Wednesday, October 5, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Being raised in the Midwest, I love good barbeque. So, when I heard about Everett & Jones, I invited my brother to join me to experience some down-home, finger-licking, lip-smacking BBQ food. We were sorely disappointed. I should have known something was off when I called the restaurant to make a reservation. When my first call was answered and I was immediately put on hold. I stayed on hold for almost ten minutes, which, on the phone, seems like ten hours, until I finally hung up and redialed the number only to get a busy signal. The next day I called again and a very confused-sounding person answered. When I requested a reservation he wasn’t sure how to take one, he put me on hold twice, and then finally took my name and my reservation for two people at 7:30 on Wednesday night. I also took his name and thanked him for his help. The day of the dinner a close friend called and asked if she could join us, so I said sure and promptly called the restaurant to change the reservation to a party of three. Good thing I did, because when the person at the restaurant checked the books, she said there was no reservation for me under that name for tonight. I gave her the name of the person who took the reservation, she put me on hold and when she came back on she said they would seat my party of three for this evening. This phone fiasco was the foreshadowing of things to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The restaurant is located a few blocks from Jack London Square and has large windows and an outdoor eating area surrounding the front and side of the building. It is brightly lit and has a lively, colorful interior with all kinds of memorabilia strewn about. It was abuzz with people. As you approach, your mouth starts to water as you inhale the smoky, sweet smell of BBQ. When we entered there were two long pew-like benches where people were seated, waiting for a table. At the end of the benches was the host’s stand, where there was a clipboard with a name list attached to it, but no host. People were clamoring to put their name on the waiting list, but there was no pen. The frantic search began through everyone’s pockets and purses for a writing instrument. We were not quite sure what to do — put our names on the list, or pray that this time we actually did have a reservation. Finally, a completely deadpan-faced, lifeless girl stood behind the host stand. Upon seeing my confused look, she blurted out, “What do you want?” I said I had a 7:30 reservation for three under my name. She pulled out what looked to be a torn piece of toilet paper with infinitesimal writing on it from her pant pocket, examined it, then grabbed three menus, and barked, “Over here.” Some people waiting for tables glared at us as we were seated at a table directly behind one of the long benches. She tossed our menus on the tables and left, and we all said in unison, “That was odd.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As we were looking over our menus, we realized that hair and hat brims of some of the people who were seated on the “waiting bench” were dangling over the edge of our table, in particular, a beautiful long ponytail on a well-dressed woman. We spotted another table that had just emptied in the corner and asked the hostess as she passed if we could move to that table. She sighed and said, “Yeah,” and so we did.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tables are covered with varying colored, checkered cloths, which are then covered with clear plastic (BBQ can get a bit messy). The silverware is piled into copper teakettles at the end of the table, and next to the silverware sat a brightly-colored mini watering can, which held a little bunch of feathery plant greens and a single dead flower. When I say dead, I mean completely shriveled, brown as dirt, can’t tell what it was when it was alive, Addams Family dead flower! I felt compelled to pick it up to try and figure out what it was in its former life and concluded it had been a sunflower. I looked around and saw that each table was adorned with the same pathetic arrangement. Suspended from the ceiling were large umbrella canopies, and interspersed between them and scattered throughout the dining room and the bar, were television sets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The menu is fairly basic and set up in a multiple-choice format. There is BBQ chicken, ribs, links, and brisket, and a selection of sides to choose from: coleslaw, potato salad, baked beans, greens, etc. If you order a dinner of one item or a combo to two or three items, you choose two sides and get a cornbread muffin. We sat at the table a good ten minutes before the person we assumed was our waiter came to us. I say “assumed” because he did not utter a word, he just pulled out his order book and stared at us. There was no “Hello,” no “Have any questions?” Just a blank, emotionless stare. So, we started ordering to see if we could evoke a response. We ordered two plates of chicken and ribs and one plate of the three-meat combo: chicken, ribs, and brisket. He suddenly mumbled, “Mild, medium or hot?” We assumed he meant the BBQ sauce. We had the three-meat combo with hot sauce and the rest with medium. He then said, “Sides?” and we ordered coleslaw, baked beans, and potato salad. Finally, he mumbled, “Drinks?” and we ordered a pitcher of beer and a lemonade. While still writing, he turned and left. The busboy brought us water, which came in jelly jars with a lemon slice, which was a nice touch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When our food arrived, it was brought to us by the stone-faced hostess, who barked out, “Chicken and ribs!” We said, “Yes,” and she set the plate on the table. Then she barked out “Ribs,” and we said it wasn’t ours and that we had ordered another plate of chicken and ribs. She glared at us and in an even louder voice she yelled “RIBS!!!” We again politely stated we had chicken and ribs. She then raised the plate to her eyes, and said, “Oh, this is chicken and ribs” set it on the table and left, after which my friend stated, “That girl is downright surly.” Another, friendlier person brought out the triple combo and all our sides. After she left, we realized we had no napkins and we could not get anyone’s attention, so I got up, went to the serving station, grabbed a pile of paper napkins and brought them back to the table.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The portions are more than generous, but I could now see why the “surly” hostess could not discern what was on the plate; it was all drowning in BBQ sauce. You could barely tell a piece of chicken from a rib. So here’s the rundown of the meal: the ribs were tender, but a bit fatty for my taste. The chicken, once some of the sauce was removed, was burnt black on the outside, but the meat was still juicy. The medium sauce was tasty and tangy, though there was way too much on the plate. On the other hand, the combo of three meats with hot sauce was almost inedible to me. The sauce was basically the medium sauce with a jar, no kidding, a jar of red chili pepper flakes thrown into the mix. Thousands of pepper seeds were suspended in the sauce, which completely obliterated your mouth. This use of heat was obviously for shock value and certainly not to enhance the food. I can handle hot, but this was ridiculous. The sides were all forgettable: cement potato salad, wet and limp coleslaw, and OK baked beans. The cornbread muffins were fine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We ordered two desserts, which were individual sized pies, one pecan and one sweet potato. They were one of the best parts of the meal with tender crusts and flavorful centers. When the waiter gave me the bill to sign at the end of our meal, he uttered, “Got a pen?” We had come full circle, searching for another pen as we did when we entered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This place is a service nightmare. Unfriendly, uncaring, rude people, who act as though this job is a punishment, are handling the food you are about to eat, NO THANKS. There is a general lack of care and pride in this dining establishment, which is evident in the apathetic people who work there. The food is mediocre at best, so why bother? Everett & Jones Barbeque doesn’t hit the bull’s-eye — it doesn’t even hit the dartboard!\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Old Krakow: Reviews \u003c/strong>| \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/?p=22\">restaurant info\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/2005/11/03/check-please-bay-area-episode-1-103/\">full episode video\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/bayareabites/sets/1339318\">photo gallery\u003c/a> (flickr.com)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/oldkrakow-food2.jpg\" alt=\"Old Krakow\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/oldkrakow-food3.jpg\" alt=\"Old Krakow\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/oldkrakow-food4.jpg\" alt=\"Old Krakow\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cbr>\nPierogis, Mixed Grill Special (Chicken & Kielbasa), Apple Cake\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/eileen103.jpg\" alt=\"Eileen\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Eileen\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Software Support Sales Operations\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Old Krakow\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Old Krakow:\u003c/strong> Friday, September 30, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> Old Krakow is a wonderful escape from the world of minimalist restaurants wrought of steel, glass, and concrete. Instead of the cold warehouse atmosphere so prevalent today, you feel as though you have been transported far away to another time and place — perhaps your grandmother’s childhood home. And, like home, you are spoiled with good, nourishing food in abundance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this neighborhood spot, easily accessible from the West Portal tunnel, you will not leave hungry. If you fill up a touch too much, a nice stroll up and down West Portal and its antique stores, flower shops, old and new businesses, and cafes, will round out a perfect evening. If it’s a foggy evening, and it often is, that extra bite or two of dumpling will protect you from the chill. Remember it’s FREEZING during the winter in Poland, so you are in good hands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Old Krakow satisfies the need for comfort food that is flavorful, not just filling. Because this is a Polish restaurant serving authentic dishes, you most likely will find the experience to be an adventure to an unknown land. The selection of beets, cabbage (red and sauerkraut), pickles, winter veggies, etc., pushes you into picking things you may have never tried, yet find you like quite well. If this is the food mother made, it will be a welcome hug.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Food textures and flavors are just right. The steamed veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots) are cooked to perfection. The pork cutlets are pounded paper thin, tender, and tasty with the burn of a grill mark and have a succulent pile of mushrooms to go with it. The meat stuffing, be it in the dumpling of the borscht soup or the pierogi, is packed with peppery flavor. This food is not to be confused with the boiled to death, bland diet of the UK and Ireland (and I can say that because I’m Irish and Scottish). It has spice and tang in equal amounts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If there is one thing that you should have at Old Krakow, it’s the soup. We often forget how great soup is. After all, soup is THE comfort food of all comfort foods. Here, the soups are full of flavor and tender bits of this and that. I ate the pickle soup because I never knew such a thing existed. It was a fabulous blend of potato, carrots, dill, and chopped pickle. The flavor was almost lemony.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If there is one thing you could skip, don’t cry if you cannot manage to fit dessert. They are good but the desserts at Old Krakow will not make you swoon. Maybe the Polish cheesecake is worth the plunge. Otherwise, save those calorie coupons for your favorite bakery or ice cream elsewhere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, don’t be shy, say “thank you” in Polish (\u003cem>dziekuje\u003c/em>, pronounced: dsyen-koo-yeh). I promise the server will know exactly what you said and feel touched that you did!\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/bruce103.jpg\" alt=\"Bruce\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Bruce\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> CEO, founder of a wireless healthcare company\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Incanto\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Old Krakow:\u003c/strong> Friday, September 30, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When thinking about fine dining, and one intersects the word “boiling” with the word “flavor,” unfortunately, flavor typically loses that battle. My recent dining experience at Old Krakow did not persuade me from that notion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It seems that one of the main avenues of cooking traditional, simple, Polish food is to boil everything and then begin to assemble the meal. While their ingredients are first rate, and they care about what they are doing/serving, the food (flavor and texture) could not survive the effects of the boiling cooking technique.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The one way they try to compensate for this is to give you so much food, that at some point either the slight flavors are likely to emerge, or you simply give up because you are too full from trying not to disappoint them by leaving too much food on your plate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With all the other food/dining options in the Bay Area, I would have not rushed out for Polish food. However, the whole point of this KQED experience is to try new venues, and on that note, it was fun. Overall, the vibe of the joint is a bit too stiff and staid. I would neither return to this restaurant nor recommend it to my friends.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/gary103.jpg\" alt=\"Gary\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Gary\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Dean, Science, Technology, & Allied Health Programs\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> Oakland\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Hard Knox Cafe\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Old Krakow:\u003c/strong> Sunday & Monday, October 2 & 3, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Old Krakow is a lovely bright neighborhood restaurant in the West Portal. It is one of many ethnic restaurants, but, as you can imagine, the only Polish restaurant around. A restaurant with a name like “Old Krakow” evokes an image of Gothic darkness and Socialist drab, serving a slab of pork with potatoes or sausages and sauerkraut, but because this was a \u003cb>Check, Please!\u003c/b> assignment, I knew it couldn’t be that kind of restaurant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Large windows invite you into a well-decorated room with a small gazebo at the doorway and nice modern decorator touches highlighting traditional paintings on the walls, including one of a famous twentieth century Polish general. On the Sunday night we visited, every table was full and most of the patrons were older but they seemed to be really enjoying the experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was clear that soups were a feature because there were several offered, so we tried the borscht and a cream of mushroom soup. The borscht — as clear and as beautifully deeply magenta as you can imagine — was an intense beef broth with no beets floating about, not a speck of fat, and with three or four tender meat dumplings slightly submerged in the soup. The sweetness of the beets and the stock were ideally matched. The mushroom soup was thick and foresty and so rich that it was hard to believe it was all vegetarian. We also had a simple beet salad, and it was a pleasure to eat beets without the canned taste that we remember from many buffet lines. Two or three kinds of bread came to the table. I had imagined big slabs of crusty and rye-y bread, but we received thinly-sliced baguette, and a sort of dark bread that was cut into small pieces.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The entrees were mixed. Three crepes ($12.95), folded square and fried crisply, seemed more like blintzes. They were packed with a mushroom filling that was…well, mushroomy. I felt like more variety (three crepes, three fillings) would have been more interesting, and would have better showed off the skills of the kitchen. The garnish of three slices of tomato did not do anything to highlight the dish. The side order of homemade grilled kielbasa had no garnish, so it sat on the plate pretty lonely except for a tasty mustard in a small dish. It was very meaty, but I kept thinking how delicious it would be if I had a good sourdough roll and a bit of sauerkraut and a little more fat bursting from each bite. But maybe that’s not how a real Polish sausage is eaten at dinnertime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One entree — cabbage rolls in tomato sauce ($14.95) — included two really large rolls and two scoops of mashed potatoes with a tomato-based sauce poured over the top. (The cabbage rolls also come with a white mushroom sauce as an alternative). The filling was a mixture of meat and rice and would have been even better had it come to the table steaming hot instead of simply warm. The potatoes were fine. The other entree, a hunter stew, was also served with two scoops, but the presentation would have been improved if there had been a casserole-type server, so that there was more height to the plate. As it was, it seemed as if the stew was a sauce for the potatoes. Both entrees tasted fine — they were hearty and representative of what I imagined to be “typical” Polish cafe fare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The servers were friendly, but when we asked what Smacznego! meant (it’s on the menu), he said that he was Russian and really didn’t know! All in all, Old Krakow is just what it claims to be: a charming place to try traditional Eastern European food. I think that I would like to try all of the soups because they seemed to be made with considerable care and they are unlike soups served elsewhere. The entrees seemed a bit too familiar — maybe it’s because the cooking styles have been integrated into what we know as American cooking.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong>\r\n385 West Portal Avenue\r\nSan Francisco, CA 94127\r\n\u003cstrong>Phone:\u003c/strong> 415-564-4848\r\n\u003cstrong>Website:\u003c/strong> \u003ca href=\"http://www.oldkrakow.us\">www.oldkrakow.us\u003c/a>\r\n\u003cstrong>Type of Cuisine:\u003c/strong> Polish Gourmet\r\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed:\u003c/strong> Fall 2005",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Old Krakow: Reviews \u003c/strong>| \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/?p=22\">restaurant info\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/2005/11/03/check-please-bay-area-episode-1-103/\">full episode video\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/bayareabites/sets/1339318\">photo gallery\u003c/a> (flickr.com)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/oldkrakow-food2.jpg\" alt=\"Old Krakow\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/oldkrakow-food3.jpg\" alt=\"Old Krakow\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/oldkrakow-food4.jpg\" alt=\"Old Krakow\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cbr>\nPierogis, Mixed Grill Special (Chicken & Kielbasa), Apple Cake\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/eileen103.jpg\" alt=\"Eileen\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Eileen\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Software Support Sales Operations\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Old Krakow\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Old Krakow:\u003c/strong> Friday, September 30, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> Old Krakow is a wonderful escape from the world of minimalist restaurants wrought of steel, glass, and concrete. Instead of the cold warehouse atmosphere so prevalent today, you feel as though you have been transported far away to another time and place — perhaps your grandmother’s childhood home. And, like home, you are spoiled with good, nourishing food in abundance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this neighborhood spot, easily accessible from the West Portal tunnel, you will not leave hungry. If you fill up a touch too much, a nice stroll up and down West Portal and its antique stores, flower shops, old and new businesses, and cafes, will round out a perfect evening. If it’s a foggy evening, and it often is, that extra bite or two of dumpling will protect you from the chill. Remember it’s FREEZING during the winter in Poland, so you are in good hands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Old Krakow satisfies the need for comfort food that is flavorful, not just filling. Because this is a Polish restaurant serving authentic dishes, you most likely will find the experience to be an adventure to an unknown land. The selection of beets, cabbage (red and sauerkraut), pickles, winter veggies, etc., pushes you into picking things you may have never tried, yet find you like quite well. If this is the food mother made, it will be a welcome hug.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Food textures and flavors are just right. The steamed veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots) are cooked to perfection. The pork cutlets are pounded paper thin, tender, and tasty with the burn of a grill mark and have a succulent pile of mushrooms to go with it. The meat stuffing, be it in the dumpling of the borscht soup or the pierogi, is packed with peppery flavor. This food is not to be confused with the boiled to death, bland diet of the UK and Ireland (and I can say that because I’m Irish and Scottish). It has spice and tang in equal amounts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If there is one thing that you should have at Old Krakow, it’s the soup. We often forget how great soup is. After all, soup is THE comfort food of all comfort foods. Here, the soups are full of flavor and tender bits of this and that. I ate the pickle soup because I never knew such a thing existed. It was a fabulous blend of potato, carrots, dill, and chopped pickle. The flavor was almost lemony.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If there is one thing you could skip, don’t cry if you cannot manage to fit dessert. They are good but the desserts at Old Krakow will not make you swoon. Maybe the Polish cheesecake is worth the plunge. Otherwise, save those calorie coupons for your favorite bakery or ice cream elsewhere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, don’t be shy, say “thank you” in Polish (\u003cem>dziekuje\u003c/em>, pronounced: dsyen-koo-yeh). I promise the server will know exactly what you said and feel touched that you did!\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/bruce103.jpg\" alt=\"Bruce\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Bruce\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> CEO, founder of a wireless healthcare company\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Incanto\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Old Krakow:\u003c/strong> Friday, September 30, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When thinking about fine dining, and one intersects the word “boiling” with the word “flavor,” unfortunately, flavor typically loses that battle. My recent dining experience at Old Krakow did not persuade me from that notion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It seems that one of the main avenues of cooking traditional, simple, Polish food is to boil everything and then begin to assemble the meal. While their ingredients are first rate, and they care about what they are doing/serving, the food (flavor and texture) could not survive the effects of the boiling cooking technique.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The one way they try to compensate for this is to give you so much food, that at some point either the slight flavors are likely to emerge, or you simply give up because you are too full from trying not to disappoint them by leaving too much food on your plate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With all the other food/dining options in the Bay Area, I would have not rushed out for Polish food. However, the whole point of this KQED experience is to try new venues, and on that note, it was fun. Overall, the vibe of the joint is a bit too stiff and staid. I would neither return to this restaurant nor recommend it to my friends.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/gary103.jpg\" alt=\"Gary\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Gary\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Dean, Science, Technology, & Allied Health Programs\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> Oakland\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Hard Knox Cafe\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Old Krakow:\u003c/strong> Sunday & Monday, October 2 & 3, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Old Krakow is a lovely bright neighborhood restaurant in the West Portal. It is one of many ethnic restaurants, but, as you can imagine, the only Polish restaurant around. A restaurant with a name like “Old Krakow” evokes an image of Gothic darkness and Socialist drab, serving a slab of pork with potatoes or sausages and sauerkraut, but because this was a \u003cb>Check, Please!\u003c/b> assignment, I knew it couldn’t be that kind of restaurant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Large windows invite you into a well-decorated room with a small gazebo at the doorway and nice modern decorator touches highlighting traditional paintings on the walls, including one of a famous twentieth century Polish general. On the Sunday night we visited, every table was full and most of the patrons were older but they seemed to be really enjoying the experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was clear that soups were a feature because there were several offered, so we tried the borscht and a cream of mushroom soup. The borscht — as clear and as beautifully deeply magenta as you can imagine — was an intense beef broth with no beets floating about, not a speck of fat, and with three or four tender meat dumplings slightly submerged in the soup. The sweetness of the beets and the stock were ideally matched. The mushroom soup was thick and foresty and so rich that it was hard to believe it was all vegetarian. We also had a simple beet salad, and it was a pleasure to eat beets without the canned taste that we remember from many buffet lines. Two or three kinds of bread came to the table. I had imagined big slabs of crusty and rye-y bread, but we received thinly-sliced baguette, and a sort of dark bread that was cut into small pieces.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The entrees were mixed. Three crepes ($12.95), folded square and fried crisply, seemed more like blintzes. They were packed with a mushroom filling that was…well, mushroomy. I felt like more variety (three crepes, three fillings) would have been more interesting, and would have better showed off the skills of the kitchen. The garnish of three slices of tomato did not do anything to highlight the dish. The side order of homemade grilled kielbasa had no garnish, so it sat on the plate pretty lonely except for a tasty mustard in a small dish. It was very meaty, but I kept thinking how delicious it would be if I had a good sourdough roll and a bit of sauerkraut and a little more fat bursting from each bite. But maybe that’s not how a real Polish sausage is eaten at dinnertime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One entree — cabbage rolls in tomato sauce ($14.95) — included two really large rolls and two scoops of mashed potatoes with a tomato-based sauce poured over the top. (The cabbage rolls also come with a white mushroom sauce as an alternative). The filling was a mixture of meat and rice and would have been even better had it come to the table steaming hot instead of simply warm. The potatoes were fine. The other entree, a hunter stew, was also served with two scoops, but the presentation would have been improved if there had been a casserole-type server, so that there was more height to the plate. As it was, it seemed as if the stew was a sauce for the potatoes. Both entrees tasted fine — they were hearty and representative of what I imagined to be “typical” Polish cafe fare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Incanto: Reviews \u003c/strong>| \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/?p=13\">restaurant info\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/?p=27\">recipe\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/2005/11/03/check-please-bay-area-episode-1-103/\">full episode video\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/bayareabites/sets/1339318\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener\">photo gallery\u003c/a> (flickr.com)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/incanto12.jpg\" alt=\"Incanto\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/incanto15.jpg\" alt=\"Incanto\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/incanto13.jpg\" alt=\"Incanto\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cbr>\nAntipasto Platter, Spicy Grilled Poussin with Sicilian-Style Eggplant and Mint, Chocolate Pot de Crème with Malted Hot Chocolate and Triple Chocolate Cookie\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/bruce103.jpg\" alt=\"Bruce\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Bruce\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> CEO, founder of a wireless healthcare company\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Incanto\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Incanto:\u003c/strong> Thursday, October 6, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> This is my second visit to Incanto. One of the keys to any fine dining restaurant is consistency, and they deliver/execute on that note. At the end of the day, the best rustic Italian dining experience should feel like eating in someone’s home. Without having to close your eyes too hard, Incanto does get you there; the diners seem to sense that a good meal is under way. Parking aside, that is why it is on the cusp of transitioning from a favorite neighborhood joint to a destination Bay Area restaurant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Incanto does some of the small touches in a nice way. For example, they offer complimentary still or sparking filtered water, and between courses, they remove and replace all of your silverware, clean the table, and offer fresh small plates and serving spoons in anticipation of people sharing some of the courses. The room — especially the front — still feels is a bit stiff; it either needs to develop a lived-in patina or soften up a bit. All the dishes (flavor, texture, presentation) are solid/good — it is just a question of which dishes are ready to rise above to the “excellent” arena. Over time, I bet that over 80% of the dishes will get to the excellent arena. Perhaps more intriguing than the food is the compelling wine list, and the restaurant’s commitment to bring the diner into the Italian wine experience. For example, Incanto is offering flights of wine to expose the diner without the diner having to commit to a whole bottle too early.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I have recommended this restaurant to friends who want try a new restaurant and who are searching for a very solid Italian meal.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/eileen103.jpg\" alt=\"Eileen\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Eileen\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Software Support Sales Operations\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Old Krakow\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Incanto:\u003c/strong> Monday, October 3, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My best friend and I used to live in Italy, so I was delighted to invite her along for my clandestine Incanto experience. She only had one night free, and we managed to get reservations for 5:45pm on a Monday night. It turns out the reason the reservation openings were few and far between was because we stumbled into a cookbook signing honoring Michael Recchiuti’s (Ferry Building) new book on chocolate. In fact, the entire prix fixe menu had a chocolate theme except for the walnut pasta dish. We were in for an adventure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I am already a fan of Incanto. I have even purchased a gift certificate from them to share my appreciation for their good food and elegant dining experience. Without having to drive downtown, Incanto is right up there with Rubicon, Zuni, etc. So, for this evening, my friend and I were very discerning about everything we ate, because for the price, you want perfect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Having already addressed my appreciation of the “monastic” architectural features in line with the name and style of food, I will focus on our evaluation of each dish. The shaved apple salad was fantastic. The flavors complimented each other beautifully. Tart and sweet apple, salty chewy pancetta, and smoky crunchy nibs of cocoa gave our mouths the full spectrum of taste experience. Great opener.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next course was the spaghettini with walnut pesto. We liked the garlic and expert preparation of the cooked, crushed walnut (easy to over heat and bring out a rancid flavor — this, fortunately, did not happen). The letdown of this dish was that the cheese was so salty, it was a bit overpowering. We like cheese but if we were to fix this recipe ourselves, we would have added fresh chopped parsley to lighten the palate, or added a sprinkling of currants to sweeten the dish while adding more texture. Ironically, we overheard the chef, Chris Cosentino, proudly explain that the pasta dish was from his family. It did have a comfort food quality, but it was our least favorite dish that evening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drum roll. The pork in chocolate agrodolce was outstanding. It was a thirteenth century stew recipe, which grew out of the crusades whereby the crusaders learned to preserve meats with spices. The chocolate gravy was mouthwatering. The sultanas and shredded fresh mint added so much character to the chunks of tender, falling-apart pork. It was totally new and fantastic. I loved that it was a meal inspired from the very distant past. The wine pairing was sensational and the quantity of food just right. Straight A.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the rich stew, we slowly made our way to the desserts. It was time for Michael Recchiuti’s chocolate star to shine. They served a triple threat of chocolate treats. We really loved the malted hot chocolate because it was so decadent to drink and served in a cute little glass. The pot de crème was great because it wasn’t overly sweet. The chocolate cookie came alive when dipped in coffee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We found out they were signing the chocolate cookbooks, so we had the two authors sign our menus instead. In the true spirit of chocolate, they insisted on using a chocolate-colored Sharpie to sign and were willing participants in my silly signing request. They must have been thinking, “Lady, buy my book.” But I’m thinking, “I just bought your dinner and I have more cookbooks than I can handle.” So, I felt really naughty because they could see me on TV and freak out. Really, everyone was nice — especially Chris Cosentino, who was on a restaurant party high. He was out of the kitchen in chef attire and mingling with his little tow-headed boy — 18 mos — in his arms. He seemed to know a lot of people there. He even chatted with us — we’re moms. Ultimately, I felt like we crashed a party and had a devilish smile on our faces for the remainder of the day.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/gary103.jpg\" alt=\"Gary\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Gary\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Dean, Science, Technology, & Allied Health Programs\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> Oakland\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Hard Knox Cafe\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Incanto:\u003c/strong> Thursday, October 6, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Can a restaurant and wine bar hold its own when the reviewer doesn’t drink wine? If it’s Incanto, the answer is yes!!! Incanto is a stylish, corner restaurant that feels like a destination site, but it’s situated right in Noe Valley. It’s just a stone’s throw from the Mission Dolores, so you can imagine that it has a regular clientele of people coming in to have a bite and a glass of wine after work, who are also within walking distance of their home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The floor-to-ceiling windows welcome in the community and prospective diners with a promise of an interesting and fun dining experience. What attracted me right away was the glassed-in cooler near the entrance with sausages and hams hanging for curing. The high ceiling and Italianesque columns suggest a modern trattoria. Waiters were bustling about with bottles of wine and decanters of the advertised and much appreciated complimentary “filtered Hetch Hetchy water, still or sparkling!” No need to buy Pellegrino here!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the hostess seated us at a requested table by the window, I asked her for the antipasto platter for two ($18), which included the house-cured meats. It arrived as we were reviewing the menu with the waiter along with a plate of the most delicious house made, pencil-thin breadsticks, focaccia, and a coarsely ground olive tapenade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are so many wines to order by the bottle or glass, that I’m sure many would enjoy a very nice meal of just the antipasto platter and a glass or two of wine, along with the bread. The platter included two thick slices of pâté, an assortment of olives, numerous slices of sausages and meats, and the tiniest pepperoncini, carrots, and radishes with their green tops a colorful garnish for the plate. Mixing the olive spread with the roast garlic made a rich accompaniment for the focaccia. My partner had a glass of Italian sparkling wine, and the water was just as fine an accompaniment for me. The hostess, the waiter, and the servers were all very knowledgeable about each component of the plate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We ordered two entrees, a braised pork dish with polenta ($18) and a grilled poussin (like a large cornish hen) with eggplant ($19). They came right on cue (it took us about twenty minutes to finish the antipasto) and were just delicious. The pork was especially succulent with just enough rendered pork fat left to give the meat a smooth, contrasting texture. My partner never orders polenta (she thinks of it as just like Cream of Wheat) and she found it to be creamy, buttery, and the ideal complement to the pork. The escarole, slightly bitter but a very vibrant green, added a tasty and colorful contrast for the dish. The poussin was also beautiful — split in half, and wonderfully grilled. I usually don’t like the breast meat because it’s often dry, but this one was juicy and full of flavor, as were the legs. The tiny bones could be chewed on to get the last bits of the taste from the entree. The accompanying eggplant was a little dark for the plate and, although I liked the eggplant, I actually left one last piece on the plate…too much of a good thing to be the only pairing for the meat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The desserts all sounded great, and we shared one: a cupcake-sized date torta. It was fine — reminiscent of a gingerbread my mom used to make, nice and moist –but the star of the dessert was the orange-scented crème fraîche.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The entire experience of a late dinner in a bustling — but not too noisy — restaurant, where folks seemed to be enjoying life after work, and with a view of a real street with a streetcar, and neighbors walking their dogs, and where the service was professional and not too pushy, made this a restaurant we would come back to soon. We can’t wait to try some of the other appetizers and interesting-sounding pastas.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong>\r\n1550 Church Street (at Duncan)\r\nSan Francisco, CA 94131\r\n\u003cstrong>Phone:\u003c/strong> 415-641-4500\r\n\u003cstrong>Website:\u003c/strong> \u003ca href=\"http://www.incanto.biz\">www.incanto.biz\u003c/a>\r\n\u003cstrong>Type of Cuisine:\u003c/strong> Italian\r\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed:\u003c/strong> Fall 2005",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Incanto: Reviews \u003c/strong>| \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/?p=13\">restaurant info\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/?p=27\">recipe\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/2005/11/03/check-please-bay-area-episode-1-103/\">full episode video\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/bayareabites/sets/1339318\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener\">photo gallery\u003c/a> (flickr.com)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/incanto12.jpg\" alt=\"Incanto\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/incanto15.jpg\" alt=\"Incanto\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/incanto13.jpg\" alt=\"Incanto\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cbr>\nAntipasto Platter, Spicy Grilled Poussin with Sicilian-Style Eggplant and Mint, Chocolate Pot de Crème with Malted Hot Chocolate and Triple Chocolate Cookie\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/bruce103.jpg\" alt=\"Bruce\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Bruce\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> CEO, founder of a wireless healthcare company\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Incanto\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Incanto:\u003c/strong> Thursday, October 6, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> This is my second visit to Incanto. One of the keys to any fine dining restaurant is consistency, and they deliver/execute on that note. At the end of the day, the best rustic Italian dining experience should feel like eating in someone’s home. Without having to close your eyes too hard, Incanto does get you there; the diners seem to sense that a good meal is under way. Parking aside, that is why it is on the cusp of transitioning from a favorite neighborhood joint to a destination Bay Area restaurant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Incanto does some of the small touches in a nice way. For example, they offer complimentary still or sparking filtered water, and between courses, they remove and replace all of your silverware, clean the table, and offer fresh small plates and serving spoons in anticipation of people sharing some of the courses. The room — especially the front — still feels is a bit stiff; it either needs to develop a lived-in patina or soften up a bit. All the dishes (flavor, texture, presentation) are solid/good — it is just a question of which dishes are ready to rise above to the “excellent” arena. Over time, I bet that over 80% of the dishes will get to the excellent arena. Perhaps more intriguing than the food is the compelling wine list, and the restaurant’s commitment to bring the diner into the Italian wine experience. For example, Incanto is offering flights of wine to expose the diner without the diner having to commit to a whole bottle too early.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I have recommended this restaurant to friends who want try a new restaurant and who are searching for a very solid Italian meal.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/eileen103.jpg\" alt=\"Eileen\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Eileen\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Software Support Sales Operations\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Old Krakow\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Incanto:\u003c/strong> Monday, October 3, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My best friend and I used to live in Italy, so I was delighted to invite her along for my clandestine Incanto experience. She only had one night free, and we managed to get reservations for 5:45pm on a Monday night. It turns out the reason the reservation openings were few and far between was because we stumbled into a cookbook signing honoring Michael Recchiuti’s (Ferry Building) new book on chocolate. In fact, the entire prix fixe menu had a chocolate theme except for the walnut pasta dish. We were in for an adventure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I am already a fan of Incanto. I have even purchased a gift certificate from them to share my appreciation for their good food and elegant dining experience. Without having to drive downtown, Incanto is right up there with Rubicon, Zuni, etc. So, for this evening, my friend and I were very discerning about everything we ate, because for the price, you want perfect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Having already addressed my appreciation of the “monastic” architectural features in line with the name and style of food, I will focus on our evaluation of each dish. The shaved apple salad was fantastic. The flavors complimented each other beautifully. Tart and sweet apple, salty chewy pancetta, and smoky crunchy nibs of cocoa gave our mouths the full spectrum of taste experience. Great opener.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next course was the spaghettini with walnut pesto. We liked the garlic and expert preparation of the cooked, crushed walnut (easy to over heat and bring out a rancid flavor — this, fortunately, did not happen). The letdown of this dish was that the cheese was so salty, it was a bit overpowering. We like cheese but if we were to fix this recipe ourselves, we would have added fresh chopped parsley to lighten the palate, or added a sprinkling of currants to sweeten the dish while adding more texture. Ironically, we overheard the chef, Chris Cosentino, proudly explain that the pasta dish was from his family. It did have a comfort food quality, but it was our least favorite dish that evening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drum roll. The pork in chocolate agrodolce was outstanding. It was a thirteenth century stew recipe, which grew out of the crusades whereby the crusaders learned to preserve meats with spices. The chocolate gravy was mouthwatering. The sultanas and shredded fresh mint added so much character to the chunks of tender, falling-apart pork. It was totally new and fantastic. I loved that it was a meal inspired from the very distant past. The wine pairing was sensational and the quantity of food just right. Straight A.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the rich stew, we slowly made our way to the desserts. It was time for Michael Recchiuti’s chocolate star to shine. They served a triple threat of chocolate treats. We really loved the malted hot chocolate because it was so decadent to drink and served in a cute little glass. The pot de crème was great because it wasn’t overly sweet. The chocolate cookie came alive when dipped in coffee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We found out they were signing the chocolate cookbooks, so we had the two authors sign our menus instead. In the true spirit of chocolate, they insisted on using a chocolate-colored Sharpie to sign and were willing participants in my silly signing request. They must have been thinking, “Lady, buy my book.” But I’m thinking, “I just bought your dinner and I have more cookbooks than I can handle.” So, I felt really naughty because they could see me on TV and freak out. Really, everyone was nice — especially Chris Cosentino, who was on a restaurant party high. He was out of the kitchen in chef attire and mingling with his little tow-headed boy — 18 mos — in his arms. He seemed to know a lot of people there. He even chatted with us — we’re moms. Ultimately, I felt like we crashed a party and had a devilish smile on our faces for the remainder of the day.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/gary103.jpg\" alt=\"Gary\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Gary\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Dean, Science, Technology, & Allied Health Programs\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> Oakland\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Hard Knox Cafe\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Incanto:\u003c/strong> Thursday, October 6, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Can a restaurant and wine bar hold its own when the reviewer doesn’t drink wine? If it’s Incanto, the answer is yes!!! Incanto is a stylish, corner restaurant that feels like a destination site, but it’s situated right in Noe Valley. It’s just a stone’s throw from the Mission Dolores, so you can imagine that it has a regular clientele of people coming in to have a bite and a glass of wine after work, who are also within walking distance of their home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The floor-to-ceiling windows welcome in the community and prospective diners with a promise of an interesting and fun dining experience. What attracted me right away was the glassed-in cooler near the entrance with sausages and hams hanging for curing. The high ceiling and Italianesque columns suggest a modern trattoria. Waiters were bustling about with bottles of wine and decanters of the advertised and much appreciated complimentary “filtered Hetch Hetchy water, still or sparkling!” No need to buy Pellegrino here!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the hostess seated us at a requested table by the window, I asked her for the antipasto platter for two ($18), which included the house-cured meats. It arrived as we were reviewing the menu with the waiter along with a plate of the most delicious house made, pencil-thin breadsticks, focaccia, and a coarsely ground olive tapenade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are so many wines to order by the bottle or glass, that I’m sure many would enjoy a very nice meal of just the antipasto platter and a glass or two of wine, along with the bread. The platter included two thick slices of pâté, an assortment of olives, numerous slices of sausages and meats, and the tiniest pepperoncini, carrots, and radishes with their green tops a colorful garnish for the plate. Mixing the olive spread with the roast garlic made a rich accompaniment for the focaccia. My partner had a glass of Italian sparkling wine, and the water was just as fine an accompaniment for me. The hostess, the waiter, and the servers were all very knowledgeable about each component of the plate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We ordered two entrees, a braised pork dish with polenta ($18) and a grilled poussin (like a large cornish hen) with eggplant ($19). They came right on cue (it took us about twenty minutes to finish the antipasto) and were just delicious. The pork was especially succulent with just enough rendered pork fat left to give the meat a smooth, contrasting texture. My partner never orders polenta (she thinks of it as just like Cream of Wheat) and she found it to be creamy, buttery, and the ideal complement to the pork. The escarole, slightly bitter but a very vibrant green, added a tasty and colorful contrast for the dish. The poussin was also beautiful — split in half, and wonderfully grilled. I usually don’t like the breast meat because it’s often dry, but this one was juicy and full of flavor, as were the legs. The tiny bones could be chewed on to get the last bits of the taste from the entree. The accompanying eggplant was a little dark for the plate and, although I liked the eggplant, I actually left one last piece on the plate…too much of a good thing to be the only pairing for the meat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The desserts all sounded great, and we shared one: a cupcake-sized date torta. It was fine — reminiscent of a gingerbread my mom used to make, nice and moist –but the star of the dessert was the orange-scented crème fraîche.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The entire experience of a late dinner in a bustling — but not too noisy — restaurant, where folks seemed to be enjoying life after work, and with a view of a real street with a streetcar, and neighbors walking their dogs, and where the service was professional and not too pushy, made this a restaurant we would come back to soon. We can’t wait to try some of the other appetizers and interesting-sounding pastas.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Hard Knox Cafe: Reviews \u003c/strong>| \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/?p=23\">restaurant info\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/bayareabites/sets/1339318\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener\">photo gallery\u003c/a> (flickr.com)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/hardknox-food1.jpg\" alt=\"Hard Knox Cafe\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/hardknox-food2.jpg\" alt=\"Hard Knox Cafe\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/hardknox-food3.jpg\" alt=\"Hard Knox Cafe\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cbr>\nOxtails with Red Beans and Rice and Yams, Fried Chicken with Mixed Vegetables, Barbecued Spare Ribs with French Fries, Macaroni and Cheese, and Corn Muffins\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/gary103.jpg\" alt=\"Gary\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Gary\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Dean, Science, Technology, & Allied Health Programs\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> Oakland\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Hard Knox Cafe\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Hard Knox Cafe:\u003c/strong> Tuesday, October 4, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As an Asian-American growing up in Oakland, I did not taste soul food cooking until I went to Boot Camp in Texas in the 60s, but I surely do remember my first bite of barbecued beef, sliced from the brisket, served on butcher paper, and eaten with sides of corn and macaroni and cheese. Yet Texas and Louisiana cooking is what many Bay Area residents may have grown up on before they came to California during the 40s and 50s. Yet, except for a few small cafes around African-American neighborhoods, like Emmitt Powell’s or Lois the Pie Queen’s, there weren’t many where you could sit down and have a great entree, like ox tail, pork chops, or gumbo, with two sides, like greens and red beans and rice, accompanied by cornbread and a PBR. And you would never find one where the ambience is authentic and the chef is Vietnamese-American!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s Hard Knox Cafe — a wonderfully down-to-earth Texas cafe, transported to China Basin, where the owner is a Vietnamese guy, who learned to cook soul food from the best Texas chefs. The night we were there, the counter patrons were a mixture of blacks and whites just off work, having a beer and an order of crisp, flavorful, and notably ungreasy fried chicken; eating at the worn counter; and watching baseball on a plasma screen over the bar. People drop in to pick up their take-out orders. The walls are cleverly decorated with corrugated steel sheeting, a recycled gym floor, a large Coke logo, and a signed Giants jersey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every entree — and they all come with a choice of two sides — is under $11, and unlike many soul food kitchens, they come quickly. My three huge chunks of braised oxtail, slathered with gravy, came with creamy mac and cheese and sweet and chunky yams. My dining partners had: turkey wings, barbecued ribs (baked and then grilled), and smothered pork chops. My fried chicken needed a little salt, but it had the required hot, light, ungreasy, crispy crust and juicy interior (even the breast) that you can’t get from the Colonel. The cornbread is so good, you don’t need butter and honey. You drink the lemonade out of a Mason jar, and PBR out of the bottle. Probably the best dinner deal in town is the five-dollar veggie plate, which is any three sides. If you choose the mac and cheese, the red beans and rice, and any veggie, you absolutely will leave satisfied! And ask about the gumbo: the chef only makes it when he has time, because, he says, it takes two days to prepare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My wife and I have been married for thirty years, and I would say that Hard Knox is the kind of place that’s great for a date — either a first one, when you don’t want to spend too much money and you want to have a lot to talk about or to look at if there’s nothing to say; or a married one, where you don’t need to impress anyone, yet you know her well enough to know what counts over the long haul: honesty, creativity, quality, and fun.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/eileen103.jpg\" alt=\"Eileen\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Eileen\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Software Support Sales Operations\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Old Krakow\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Hard Knox Cafe:\u003c/strong> Friday, September 30, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today was one of those perfect days to wander into the Hard Knox Cafe. Indian summer is in full swing and the Blue Angels are practicing above. My best friend since I was a tot, also a native San Franciscan, joined me for our review. Half the treat was breaking up the day in super-casual attire to go to a part of town we both knew well, but hadn’t visited in a while. 3rd Street is ripped up in the final stages of laying down trolley tracks, but heading toward its big, new era. Lucky for Hard Knox, it will be a quick jump on the streetcar to the park, as it sure beats their food and prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It pains me to say this, but I could not help but compare Hard Knox to my favorite Southern food restaurant in Houston, \u003ca href=\"http://www.treebeards.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Treebeards\u003c/a>. Hard Knox is good, don’t get me wrong, but the food wasn’t fantastic. As a package, the atmosphere, the lazy “I am Jimmy Buffet today” feeling, was awesome. (I was kind of put off by the Asian staff serving soul food — kind of like, “What the heck do y’all know about soul food? Is this going to be authentic?” I also noticed that the clientele was a mix of races, but mainly white. Hmmm.) The blues music and killer flat-screen TV made this a place you didn’t want to leave. I really, really wanted to be unemployed and twenty-one again, bad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I would return for the flavorful ribs and because I want to try more of the twelve different side dishes. There are tons of appetizing choices on the menu, and I know that I would find a handful of favorites that would have me come a’ cravin’ sooner or later. So, the food didn’t blow my mind as a whole because of the sides we picked. Again, I was heavily comparing this to my many visits to Treebeards (whenever I had to go to Houston for work, I would insist that we lunch there. We had to get down to the tunnel location by 11:15am as the lunch line starts to form before they open. So, my reference point is a really great place by many standards — long line before opening: dead give away it’s good.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The collard greens were slow-cooked, but there was not a lot to them. I make mine with bits of potato, carrot, and bacon. These were onion and greens, and I’m not sure what they used to slow-cook them, but they weren’t inspiring. Needed more salt or something to perk them up. The yams were deadly. They were a shocking sugar concoction with a packet of pumpkin pie spice dumped in. The texture was fine, but the sweet spices were overpowering. After a couple of bites, I was done. The macaroni and cheese was out of a box. Yes, like Kraft mac and cheese for kids, except the pasta size was larger. If you’ve ever had homemade macaroni and cheese, you want to see and taste some cheese and have bits of breadcrumb topping browned and crunchy on top. Sorry, not here. Finally, the red beans and rice were nice. They were on the watery side, but I’d rather have watery than dry any day. The beans were firm, but there wasn’t much going on in terms of flavor with this dish, much like the collard greens. We tried the Cajun meatloaf, and that was interesting. Spicy and hearty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My friend adored the place. And she liked the food just fine. She was less forgiving of the meatloaf. She felt that meatloaf and Cajun had no business together after all. I was disappointed by the side dishes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The best thing about Hard Knox Cafe is the package: huge menu selection of inexpensive favorites, great easygoing atmosphere, and super-nice and efficient staff. If the food isn’t just right, who cares — it’s cheap and good enough. But if you know better, it might really bug you that they didn’t pull it off with flying colors. I’m going back but expecting good, not great.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/bruce103.jpg\" alt=\"Bruce\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Bruce\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> CEO, founder of a wireless healthcare company\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Incanto\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Hard Knox Cafe:\u003c/strong> Sunday, October 2, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What is a quaint Southern cookin’ roadside joint doing in the middle of the Dogpatch? Who cares — it belongs. And, in fact, it probably helps define that scrappy stretch of town. My bet is that once that 3rd Street line finally goes live (who the heck knows when that will be), they will have steady stream of UCSF Mission Bayers filling up the tables at lunchtime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The place has an engaging layout, décor, and vibe about it. It feels like a cross between \u003cb>Driving Miss Daisy\u003c/b> and \u003cb>Fried Green Tomatoes\u003c/b> inside — providing that you do not look at the nice flat-screen TV showing the latest ballgame.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The protein in the center of your plate is solid — good flavor, temperature, texture, execution. The side dishes, which are all carbs, hold great premise and promise but are a real weak link in the meal — no zip. For example, the mac and cheese: once it cooled off a bit, it could be used to fill some of those potholes on 3rd street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When we asked for dessert, they were out of their one offering, bummer, so the meal then ended on a shortened note. I would take some of my adventurous Southern friends out there and get their read.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Hard Knox Cafe: Reviews \u003c/strong>| \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/?p=23\">restaurant info\u003c/a> | \u003ca href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/bayareabites/sets/1339318\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener\">photo gallery\u003c/a> (flickr.com)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/hardknox-food1.jpg\" alt=\"Hard Knox Cafe\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/hardknox-food2.jpg\" alt=\"Hard Knox Cafe\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/hardknox-food3.jpg\" alt=\"Hard Knox Cafe\" hspace=\"3\">\u003cbr>\nOxtails with Red Beans and Rice and Yams, Fried Chicken with Mixed Vegetables, Barbecued Spare Ribs with French Fries, Macaroni and Cheese, and Corn Muffins\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/gary103.jpg\" alt=\"Gary\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Gary\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Dean, Science, Technology, & Allied Health Programs\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> Oakland\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Hard Knox Cafe\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Hard Knox Cafe:\u003c/strong> Tuesday, October 4, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As an Asian-American growing up in Oakland, I did not taste soul food cooking until I went to Boot Camp in Texas in the 60s, but I surely do remember my first bite of barbecued beef, sliced from the brisket, served on butcher paper, and eaten with sides of corn and macaroni and cheese. Yet Texas and Louisiana cooking is what many Bay Area residents may have grown up on before they came to California during the 40s and 50s. Yet, except for a few small cafes around African-American neighborhoods, like Emmitt Powell’s or Lois the Pie Queen’s, there weren’t many where you could sit down and have a great entree, like ox tail, pork chops, or gumbo, with two sides, like greens and red beans and rice, accompanied by cornbread and a PBR. And you would never find one where the ambience is authentic and the chef is Vietnamese-American!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s Hard Knox Cafe — a wonderfully down-to-earth Texas cafe, transported to China Basin, where the owner is a Vietnamese guy, who learned to cook soul food from the best Texas chefs. The night we were there, the counter patrons were a mixture of blacks and whites just off work, having a beer and an order of crisp, flavorful, and notably ungreasy fried chicken; eating at the worn counter; and watching baseball on a plasma screen over the bar. People drop in to pick up their take-out orders. The walls are cleverly decorated with corrugated steel sheeting, a recycled gym floor, a large Coke logo, and a signed Giants jersey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every entree — and they all come with a choice of two sides — is under $11, and unlike many soul food kitchens, they come quickly. My three huge chunks of braised oxtail, slathered with gravy, came with creamy mac and cheese and sweet and chunky yams. My dining partners had: turkey wings, barbecued ribs (baked and then grilled), and smothered pork chops. My fried chicken needed a little salt, but it had the required hot, light, ungreasy, crispy crust and juicy interior (even the breast) that you can’t get from the Colonel. The cornbread is so good, you don’t need butter and honey. You drink the lemonade out of a Mason jar, and PBR out of the bottle. Probably the best dinner deal in town is the five-dollar veggie plate, which is any three sides. If you choose the mac and cheese, the red beans and rice, and any veggie, you absolutely will leave satisfied! And ask about the gumbo: the chef only makes it when he has time, because, he says, it takes two days to prepare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My wife and I have been married for thirty years, and I would say that Hard Knox is the kind of place that’s great for a date — either a first one, when you don’t want to spend too much money and you want to have a lot to talk about or to look at if there’s nothing to say; or a married one, where you don’t need to impress anyone, yet you know her well enough to know what counts over the long haul: honesty, creativity, quality, and fun.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/eileen103.jpg\" alt=\"Eileen\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Eileen\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> Software Support Sales Operations\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Old Krakow\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Hard Knox Cafe:\u003c/strong> Friday, September 30, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today was one of those perfect days to wander into the Hard Knox Cafe. Indian summer is in full swing and the Blue Angels are practicing above. My best friend since I was a tot, also a native San Franciscan, joined me for our review. Half the treat was breaking up the day in super-casual attire to go to a part of town we both knew well, but hadn’t visited in a while. 3rd Street is ripped up in the final stages of laying down trolley tracks, but heading toward its big, new era. Lucky for Hard Knox, it will be a quick jump on the streetcar to the park, as it sure beats their food and prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It pains me to say this, but I could not help but compare Hard Knox to my favorite Southern food restaurant in Houston, \u003ca href=\"http://www.treebeards.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Treebeards\u003c/a>. Hard Knox is good, don’t get me wrong, but the food wasn’t fantastic. As a package, the atmosphere, the lazy “I am Jimmy Buffet today” feeling, was awesome. (I was kind of put off by the Asian staff serving soul food — kind of like, “What the heck do y’all know about soul food? Is this going to be authentic?” I also noticed that the clientele was a mix of races, but mainly white. Hmmm.) The blues music and killer flat-screen TV made this a place you didn’t want to leave. I really, really wanted to be unemployed and twenty-one again, bad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I would return for the flavorful ribs and because I want to try more of the twelve different side dishes. There are tons of appetizing choices on the menu, and I know that I would find a handful of favorites that would have me come a’ cravin’ sooner or later. So, the food didn’t blow my mind as a whole because of the sides we picked. Again, I was heavily comparing this to my many visits to Treebeards (whenever I had to go to Houston for work, I would insist that we lunch there. We had to get down to the tunnel location by 11:15am as the lunch line starts to form before they open. So, my reference point is a really great place by many standards — long line before opening: dead give away it’s good.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The collard greens were slow-cooked, but there was not a lot to them. I make mine with bits of potato, carrot, and bacon. These were onion and greens, and I’m not sure what they used to slow-cook them, but they weren’t inspiring. Needed more salt or something to perk them up. The yams were deadly. They were a shocking sugar concoction with a packet of pumpkin pie spice dumped in. The texture was fine, but the sweet spices were overpowering. After a couple of bites, I was done. The macaroni and cheese was out of a box. Yes, like Kraft mac and cheese for kids, except the pasta size was larger. If you’ve ever had homemade macaroni and cheese, you want to see and taste some cheese and have bits of breadcrumb topping browned and crunchy on top. Sorry, not here. Finally, the red beans and rice were nice. They were on the watery side, but I’d rather have watery than dry any day. The beans were firm, but there wasn’t much going on in terms of flavor with this dish, much like the collard greens. We tried the Cajun meatloaf, and that was interesting. Spicy and hearty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My friend adored the place. And she liked the food just fine. She was less forgiving of the meatloaf. She felt that meatloaf and Cajun had no business together after all. I was disappointed by the side dishes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The best thing about Hard Knox Cafe is the package: huge menu selection of inexpensive favorites, great easygoing atmosphere, and super-nice and efficient staff. If the food isn’t just right, who cares — it’s cheap and good enough. But if you know better, it might really bug you that they didn’t pull it off with flying colors. I’m going back but expecting good, not great.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr size=\"1\" noshade>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/09/bruce103.jpg\" alt=\"Bruce\" align=\"left\" hspace=\"4\">\u003cstrong>Name:\u003c/strong> Bruce\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Occupation:\u003c/strong> CEO, founder of a wireless healthcare company\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Location:\u003c/strong> San Francisco\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Favorite Restaurant:\u003c/strong> Incanto\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Reviewed Hard Knox Cafe:\u003c/strong> Sunday, October 2, 2005\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What is a quaint Southern cookin’ roadside joint doing in the middle of the Dogpatch? Who cares — it belongs. And, in fact, it probably helps define that scrappy stretch of town. My bet is that once that 3rd Street line finally goes live (who the heck knows when that will be), they will have steady stream of UCSF Mission Bayers filling up the tables at lunchtime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The place has an engaging layout, décor, and vibe about it. It feels like a cross between \u003cb>Driving Miss Daisy\u003c/b> and \u003cb>Fried Green Tomatoes\u003c/b> inside — providing that you do not look at the nice flat-screen TV showing the latest ballgame.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The protein in the center of your plate is solid — good flavor, temperature, texture, execution. The side dishes, which are all carbs, hold great premise and promise but are a real weak link in the meal — no zip. For example, the mac and cheese: once it cooled off a bit, it could be used to fill some of those potholes on 3rd street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bay-Curious-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/baycurious",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 3
},
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"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious",
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}
},
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"id": "bbc-world-service",
"title": "BBC World Service",
"info": "The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
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"source": "BBC World Service"
},
"link": "/radio/program/bbc-world-service",
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"rss": "https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"
}
},
"californiareport": {
"id": "californiareport",
"title": "The California Report",
"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
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}
},
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"id": "californiareportmagazine",
"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/",
"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/",
"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
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"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 1
},
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"id": "code-switch-life-kit",
"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"meta": {
"site": "radio",
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},
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast/id976334034?mt=2",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
"link": "/forum",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"freakonomics-radio": {
"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
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},
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"id": "fresh-air",
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"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
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"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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},
"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0MxSpNYZKNprFLCl7eEtyx"
}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
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