Bursa Kebab

60 West Portal Ave

San Francisco, CA 94127

Review: Bursa Kebab is a Mediterranean/Turkish/Middle Eastern Kebab restaurant located on the last block of the West Portal stretch..close to Pete's, Noah's Bagels and the Tunnel. It's easy to miss, but so delicious. They usually have $7 kebab plates during lunch time, but when I went recently, it was back to normal price.

Here's what we ordered:

1) Complimentary Bread with mixed seasonings & olive oil.

2) Hummus & Pita Bread

3) Lentil Soup- more of a creamy Lentil soup, but still very tasty.

4) Shrimp and cherry tomatoes kebab plate w/salad and rice.

5) Chicken kebab plate w/salad and rice.

Rating: This place never disappoints me! I always order the same dishes and it's always a party in my mouth. I'm not sure what exactly is in the seasoning, but it sure is addicting. The chicken is nice and moist and the shrimp is perfectly seasoned and doesn't take fishy at all. Everything here is so delicious and I encourage you to try this little gem on West Portal. For the service, cleanliness and quality of fresh ingredients, it's granted a 5/5 rating from me.

Pizza Delfina- I heart you

3611 18th Street
(between Guerrero St & Oakwood St)
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 437-6800

I love Neopolitan Style Pizza and cafe places! What's your favorite style of pizza? Well, this is a small, but bustling place out in the heart of the mission. It's right near Bi-rite Creamery and a block away from the lovely Dolores Park. 

Review: I've heard lots of great things from friends and have read a bunch of great reviews on yelp (4 solid stars from 903 reviews). When you first walk in, you can see the kitchen and counter top and are then quickly escorted to either the outside or one of the small tables inside. There are a few staples I check out when I eat Italian food and that is a nice cold glass of their best iced-tea and a light salad with some sort of citrus vinaigrette. Here's what we ordered:

1) Ice Tea- Probably one of the best iced-teas I've ever had. Why? Well, not only did it taste freshly brewed, but it gave off a really nice orange zest in the after taste. Yum!

2) Insalata Tricolore- w/ lemon vinaigrette and grana padano.

3) Margherita Pizza- tomato, fior de latte mozzarella and basil. 

4) Special of the day: stuffed cannelones with tomatoes, cheese and something else?! Not sure.

Rating: The insalata tricolore was amazingly simple, yet amazingly delicious! It was spinach, red cabbage and a white cabbage with a wonderful lemon dressing. It was fresh and so healthy. In fact, I almost ordered another plate (had it not been for the $8 price tag).

I really do enjoy thin crust pizza with lots of toppings, tomato sauce and bubbly crust. This was the best margherita pizza I've ever had and polished off the whole pie in less than 10 min.!!! My friend enjoyed the cannelone dish and she said it was amazing and since there were vegetables involved, she felt like it constituted as being a "healthy choice". The service was awesome, the complimentary breadsticks were wonderful and the food was wonderful. The prices are a little steep for the serving, but it wouldn't be right to just dock a point off of that. So, all in all, 5/5. I will come here again and sit outside on a sunny afternoon.

Ambrosia Bakery- Offering the best cinnamon-twist I've ever had

2605 Ocean Ave
(between Lagunitas Dr & Woodacre Dr)
San Francisco, CA 94132
(415) 334-5305

Ambrosia Bakery- I have been going to this neighborhood bakery ever since I was a kid and it's located in the cute little town of Lakeside. They offer all your usual suspects ( muffins, fruit tarts and made-to-order cakes), but their Cinnamon-Twist is absolutely divine. Now, the trick is to come on a weekday/weekend before 10 am to ensure the freshest twist they have.

Review: This bakery is so adorable and welcoming with their art on the walls and what I like to refer to as the little French window because it looks like something you would see walking down the streets of Chantilly. They offer pesto twists, sun-dried tomato twists, hot-crossed buns, muffins of all sorts and anything you would expect a bakery to sell. 

Now, I know my Blackberry doesn't always take the best photos, but I had to show you what I had left of the cinnamon twist. Now, I have gone in while they weren't piping hot and they are still good, but will not compare to when they are fresh out of the oven. I have two words to describe: life changing!! The outside is nice and crispy/flaky and the inside is lightly seasoned with cinnamon and is pure ooey-gooey delight! Their chai tea latte isn't so bad either, but it's not one of those chai lattes that are 3 parts chai and 1 part milk. It's more like half and half. 

Rating: You really can't beat the smiling ladies, the quickness of their stride or the happy patrons all around you. This has been around for a long time and you can see why. The cinnamon twist alone grants it a 5/5 rating. Everything I've tried there is tasty and fresh. You really can't beat quality service and food.

Zaza-Zaza-Zazazie

941 Cole St
San Francisco, CA 94117

(415) 564-5332 

Zazie- One of the best brunch spots in San Francisco (rated 4 solid stars by 1,095 people to date). This is a bold statement, but you have to come here on a beautiful morning and experience French infused brunch dishes at its' finest. I have to warn you, they don't take reservations and you'll have to put your name on the list and enjoy a nice Tully's beverage while you wait. When you finally get in, request the lovely outdoor patio area to dine and people watch. Don't worry if it's a cooler morning, they've got heated lamps all around to warm your bum!

Review: A friend of mine and I decided that we were going to try everything that was highly rated (well almost everything) and wouldn't put us into complete food comas. So, we started the meal off with freshly squeezed orange juice and water. Here are the dishes we ordered and boy were they delish!!!!

1) Gingerbread Pancakes:  with pears (in season) and lemon curd $6/ 10/ 13 (1, 2 or 3).

2)Florentine: with spinach and portobello mushrooms 8/ 11/ 14.

Served on an English muffin with our fabulous light lemon hollandaise, with home fries or salad

3) Croque Monsieur 11: grilled black forest ham and gruyere sandwich made in the traditional French style

Rating: There aren't enough words that can do justice to how amazing our dining experience was. The gingerbread pancakes were infused slightly with ginger, but not enough for you to feel like you were eating whole slices. The poached pears and cinnamon on top was such a delight. The Eggs Florentine was cooked to perfection and the spinach and portabello mushrooms kept us feeling nice and light. I have never been a huge fan of Eggs Benedict simply for the hollandaise sauce, but I went on a whim and found their sauce to be very light and seasoned with a little parprika. Finally, the Croque Monsieur was to die for. I unfortunately didn't take my lactaid beforehand so I felt the aftershock of the gruyere cheese. All I can say is that I have no regrets and that it was well worth my stomach ache and $. The service was amazing and the servers came to check-up often enough. All in all, 5/5. We actually didn't wait too long (15 min) and our experience left us wanting more. Go try and see if you like it! Next time, I'm going to order the French Toast Tahiti!

Banh Mi up Scotty!

 

2146 Irving St.

San Francisco, CA 94122

I LOVE VIETNAMESE SANDWICHES! Do you? I've been going to this small,bustling shop ever since high school. My favorite sandwich of all time is the Fancy Pork sandwich with extra cilantro and carrots. To me, any place can have their own variation of bbq chicken, pork, combination pork etc. But it all comes down (for me) to the bread. Some places give you the kind of french bread that looks like a crescent, some give super flaky bread and some give the perfectly toasted french baguette. 

Review: Most people flock here for the BBQ pork sandwich and for the combination pork sandwich. In my opinion, they are all good. However, the fancy pork sandwich always makes me happy and is a comfort food for me. What is "Fancy Pork" you ask? I'm not completely sure, nor do I really want to know what parts go into making this cream colored sausage. You can pair this with pate or leave it as is. Either way, it's delish with the pickled daikon & carrots, cilantro, home-made egg mayo and their special sauce (fish sauce, soy sauce and sugar combo). This place averages $2.75 a sandwich and for $.50, you can add pate, extra veggies and $1 for extra meat. There are also other types of food items on the menu as well as many other traditional desserts.

#17) Steam Rice Cake with Shredded Pork & Fancy Pork $5.50 

  

#6) Fancy Pork Sandwich $2.75

#20) Spring shrimp Rolls (Cold) $ 4.00

Rating: Everything here is so cheap, it's conveniently located on Irving and is always consistent in value/taste. What more can you ask for? If you love fresh, made-to-order Vietnamese sandwiches w/ crispy french baguettes, you will love this place. I think this is one of the best Banh Mi joints in San Francisco and definetely deserves a 5/5!

XLB - Xiao Long Bao Part 2

 

1713 Taraval

 (between 27th Ave & 28th Ave) 

San Francisco, CA 94116

Review: I was in the mood for a nice plate of piping hot dumplings and found just that in this hole-in-the wall shop. You might pass this by because it's hidden away on Taraval (on the same block as Taraval Okazu-ya). This restaurant only fits maybe 15 people and the service is slow due to a small kitchen with just a few cooks.

Here is what I ordered from the "wake up breakfast" menu: Green Onion Pancake, 2 orders of XLB.

 

 

 

Rating:

Green Onion Pancake: 5/5 I love my green onion pancake to not only be infused with lots of green onions, but for the dough to be chewy and crispy at the same time. Well done!

Xiao Long Bao's:  4/5 The dumplings themselves took about 15 minutes to make and they were shaped correctly. The meat was flavored just right and there was just enough soup in them. Although they tasted wonderfully, I don't know that I could stand to wait 15 minutes everytime! I get so hungry!

Overall: I'd have to give this a 4.5/5. It's a much smaller place, but you can smell everything and the green onion pancake really won me over.

XLB - Xiao Long Bao

 

3319 Balboa Street

        (between 34th Ave & 35th Ave)  

  San Francisco, CA 94121

 I love Shanghai Dumpling shops (Xiao Long Bao) and always want to find the best of the best! This review will compare two shops in San Francisco: Shanghai Dumpling King (Balboa) and Kingdom of Dumpling (Taraval). I have been to Joe's of Shanghai (NY) and Shanghai Dumpling Shop (Millbrae), but I'm only focusing on the shops in San Francisco.

Review: When I go to a dumpling shop, I can usually gauge how satisfying my meal will be by the number of people in line. Whenever I've stopped by this Balboa eatery, I've always had to wait about 10-15 min. for a table. A few stellar reviews from newspapers/magazines have been clipped out and posted on the wall for hungry patrons to see. It's safe to say that you need to order the Shanghai dumplings, Lion's head meatballs, green onion pancake and their famous flash-fried doughnuts with powdered sugar on top for dessert. Here's what I ordered the last time I visited: hot & sour soup (since my nasal passages were plugged), 2 orders of XLB's, green onion pancake and the doughnuts with powdered sugar.

  

Ratings: 

Xiao Long Bao- 4/5. When I order XLB's, I expect to have them piping hot with just enough soup inside, perfectly seasoned pork and thin skins. I've had them here when they were perfect with the above criteria and this time, they weren't piping hot and the skins were falliHot & Sour Soup- 4/5 . Not the best hot& sour soup I've ever tasted because I feel like it lacked a certain spice of something. However, it still did the trick and within a few minutes, I was able to smell all the disheng apart in the bamboo basket. Don't get me wrong, they are super delicious and were gobbled up instantly.

Green Onion Pancake- 4/5. The green onion pancake here isn't the most impressive dish here, but sure does the trick. I know that many restaurants have version of making all of their dishes, but it's my own preference to have the pancake doughy inside and crispy on the outside (but not like it was deep friend, just pan fried). The texture of this pancake was pretty much just crispy..a little too crispy for my liking. I did appreciate the taste of green onion and the scent of it as well.

Dessert Doughnut w/powdered sugar - 5/5. To be honest, I'm not a dessert fan, but these little balls of flaky/doughy/powdery delight, can be really satisfying after a salty meal. I shared these with a friend and devoured them in just a few minutes. They are nice and light and you don't feel 5 lbs. heavier after. What's nice is that you can catch servers showcasing them on their platters while you are finishing up the last few bites of your XLB's. 

All in all, I'd have to rate my experience a 4/5 and have continuously visited for my XLB fix.