More San Franciso Eating Adventures

I really dislike coffee but wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to see the $20,000 coffee machine at Blue Bottle Cafe. The barista had such an intense focus the whole time, and told us that creating the coffee can be really stressful. He tasted each pot like 4 times, so I can only guess how hyped on on caffeine he must be by the end of the day.

James thought the coffee was delicious. I thought it was terrible (no surprise there) and got toast instead:

These were huge chunks of Acme bread with butter and strawberry jam. After 1.5 slices, I was stuffed.

For lunch, we went to Swan Oyster Depot, which was AWESOME.

The entire restaurant is a slender counter with really helpful waiters behind the bar.

Solid New England clam chowder. They put huge bowls of oyster crackers in front of every few seats–smart touch.

Calamari salad. One of the few things I think celery actually tastes good with. Really good squid.

Raw scallops with ponzu sauce and sriracha.

More raw scallops with olive oil, capers, and red onion. Both were absolutely delightful.

The guy who was serving us was excited that we liked sashimi, so he gave us some raw local halibut for us to try. It was really light and refreshing and had I had any room in my stomach, would have definitely wanted more.

The next day, I apparently did not have enough seafood, so I took myself to lunch along Fisherman’s Wharf for more clam chowder and fish and chips.

I wish everyday was vacation.

One If By Land, Two If By Sea: Does Not Like The Little People

I had been looking forward to my Restaurant Week reservation at One If By Land, Two If By Sea for weeks–it’s not every day that I get to eat at a former estate of Aaron Burr. Moreover, everyone prides the place for the romantic decor and great seafood.

I do understand that food served on a Restaurant Week menu may not be quite as nice as what might be served on their typically $75 Prix Fixe menu. Still, Restaurant Week benefits both customers and the restaurant–us common people get to eat at places we can normally not afford and the restaurants get more reservations. Therefore, customers still deserve to be treated just as nicely as they would if they were ordering the more expensive menu. After all, if the food is really that good, then can’t restaurants expect repeat business?

Although I do commend One If By Land for the romantic ambiance (piano player, warm carpeting, candles, fireplaces), the expedited pace in which our courses were served, as well as the food quality overall, is simply not forgivable. There were too many small mistakes, like never serving butter for our bread and serving a melting dessert when I was in the bathroom. Neither of those mistakes would have occurred if the time between courses was more than 30 seconds. As soon as we were seated, the waiter asked us for drink orders before we even picked up the menus. There was simply no mistaking the fact that they were pushing us out as soon as we walked in the door.

Appetizers

Seared Gulf Prawn with zucchini, tomatoes, and roasted almonds: two measly pieces of shrimp with dry pasta and definitely a store-bought tomato sauce.

Golden Tomato Gazpacho with shrimp, sweet peppers, and cilantro: once again, barely any seafood in the too salty broth.

Entrees

Steamed Wild Strip Bass with couscous and olive tapenade: Bass was chewy, tapenade was salty. The couscous was actually quite good but there was very little of it.

Anise Scented Seared Pork Tenderloin with sour cherries and polenta: Very good, especially the creamy polenta. Pork was nicely flavored (a tad less salt would have been better though). Small portion, however.

Desserts

Warm Chocolate Mi Cuit: No complaints. Solid.

Frozen Peach Parfait: There was one (one!!) slice of what must have been a canned (canned!!) peach amongst a parfait that had a nice flavor but was too frozen in the middle.

I’ve had much better meals at much supposedly worse establishments for less than $35. It’s 24 hours after our dinner and I am still upset (mostly at myself) for expecting so much and receiving so little.

www.oneifbyland.com, 17 Barrow Street

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