Gigi's Sotto Mare Seafood Restaurant to Tupelo Bar on a Saturday Night

Sotto Mare

552 Green Street

San Francisco, Ca 94133

www.sottomaresf.com

North Beach... the little Italy of San Francisco sitting between Chinatown and Fisherman's Wharf is fully loaded with restaurants, bars, locals, and tourists.  With so many establishments within such close proximity you can always expect a good crowd and a good time almost anywhere you go.  You want to dine, you got plenty of options. You want to grab a slice of pizza, you got Golden Boy and North Beach Pizza.  You want authentic Italian, you got it.  You want the new Italian, you got it.  Bored at one bar, just walk right on over to the next one.  One thing I don't recommend is driving there for dinner on a friday or saturday night unless you are ready to miss your reservation or if you absolutely must.  If you do drive, go an hour early... you'll thank me later.

This past Saturday we came to North Beach for Gigi's Sotto Mare Seafood Restaurant.   Stepping in is almost like walking into a time machine... The smell, the colors, the decor, the staff, the music takes you back. To your right you'll see a wall full of pictures highlighting the past of North Beach and decorative pieces you would consider tacky if you were to find them at any of the new restaurants... but somehow it works perfectly here giving it authenticity.  To your left you see bar top dining like that of an old diner with the open kitchen on the other side also heavily armed with old decor.  The aromas from the kitchen fills every crevice possible with a little bit of Italy.  Their music, all 80's classics... and if you are lucky, you'll get to witness the entire restaurant, patrons and employees alike, singing and dancing.  If you didn't know better you'd think you were caught in the middle of a flash mob.  If you are a 70's or 80's baby, there's a huge chance we can all catch you singing along with the mob.  Don't believe me?  All you have to do is just give them a visit.

For the history of the cioppino:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cioppino

Dishes at Sotto Mare are as unpretentious as their entire restaurant suggests.  They are popular for their cioppino.  A good cioppino is a must when in SF.  Both locals and visitors alike should at least have it once.  The recipe of a cioppino holds as much history as North Beach itself since SF is where it originated when the first Italians settled here.  A good cioppino must first and foremost start off with fresh seafood and that is exactly what they offer here at Sotto Mare.  In your cioppino here, you can expect to find shrimp, dungeness crab, mussels, clams, calamari, fish, and pasta all in a delicious tomato broth.  The freshness of the seafood beautifully enhances the flavors of their robust broth without losing its spotlight.  I guarantee you're appetite will go wild as the aroma of the combination of spices hit your nose. 

Seafood Risotto enlarged for detail. I can almost smell it just looking at it.

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Other things that are a must here are their Clam/Oyster shooters and seafood risotto.  I love how their shooters are simple, traditional, and down right perfect.  Call those shooters old fashioned but I don't see shooters too often these days like the ones I grew up having... simple combination of oyster/clam, tomato cocktail, vodka, lemon juice, and a little kick with fresh horseradish.  Their risotto... freshness of the seafood infuses into the rice along with the spices packing each bite full of flavor.  It wouldn't be a surprise if you were to find yourself replacing the job of the dishwasher because this place will leaving you cleaning off your dishes down to that very last piece of bread.  

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Where to go after dinner?  You're in North beach.  You can go anywhere.  There is no shortage of life around this part of town before 2am.  On this particular night we walked around the block to Tupelo where we found ourselves delving into some live music amidst a plenty of dancing feet.  No cover, awesome band, fun crowd, and a couple of drinks was the perfect treat after a wonderful dinner with friends.  I grew up in this neighborhood so memories swell up each and every time I'm here.   

FYI: Just 2 blocks away, Saints Peter and Paul church makes for great photography regardless if you're religious or atheist.  Next time you are in North Beach let us know about your experience!  

Do It Yourself: Homemade Hot Pastrami Sandwich w Secret Sauce

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Possibilities for sandwich ideas are could perhaps easily exceed the amount of combinations for Powerball.  That's because you can make anything into a sandwich.  For each and every sandwich imagined and created, I believe the winners are always going to be the ones created with attention to details and a secret sauce.  A huge part of a great sandwich its secret sauce!  Let me know a sandwich that has an amazing sauce and I can already tell you that's more than half way to a great sandwich.  I'm all about that SAUCE!  Now, I'm not a gourmet chef, but I do believe in putting some thought and love into anything I make at home.  This homemade hot pastrami sandwich was made for my mother before she left for work yesterday.  After her first bite of many first bites into all the sandwiches I've ever made for her... she excitingly blurts out,"Why don't you open a sandwich shop!?!"  Food is my hobby and I'm very passionate about my hobby but it wouldn't fair well as a job I think.  After I took my bite, I just couldn't stop thinking about that sandwich!  I wanted more and I still do as I'm sitting here right now in a cafe about to give up my recipe on this post... I'm going to hate myself for posting this because I'm going to drool all over my macbook.  Remember... anyone can make a great sandwich as long as you put some thought, love, and SAUCE into it!  There's nothing to it!  This just happens to be one I made up on the fly yesterday for my mother before she went off to work.

Ingredients:
(Organics Preferred)

2 Slices Whole Grain Wheat Bread
(You can use any bread you prefer.  Fresh, fluff, and a slight crunch on the outside are my favorites.  Properly heating up or toasting your breads make a huge difference in the taste and texture as well.)

1-2 Pieces from a head of lettuce

2-3 Slices of organic tomatoes
(I like heirloom tomatoes and Roma. You can use any you like.)

4-8 Slices of organic pastrami
(I get mine at whole foods prepackaged in the Deli Meat section.)

2-3 Eggs

1-2 Slices of American Cheese

Olive Oil

Sea Salt


Secret Sauce Ingredients:
(This is my secret sauce.  Feel free to play around with the portions or add/take away ingredients to create your own secret sauce!  Please share your favorite secret sauce with us!)

Parts to the Secret Sauce

2 Tablespoons Light Mayo
(I use Olive Oil Mayo)

1 Tablespoon Yellow Mustard

1 Tablespoon Sriracha Sauce

The Secret Sauce 

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
(There is history behind this sauce.  Goes well with meats.  Check it out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worcestershire_sauce)

1/3 Tablespoon/1 Teaspoon Wasabi/Horseradish

Steps:

1. Toast your slices of bread.  Brush or spray each slice of bread with oil to toast on a pan at medium heat.  Toast each side for about 30 seconds or until golden/browned.  Take off the pan and put aside on a plate.


 2. Eggs.  However you like them done.  I like over easy or scramble with yolk still runny.  Add sea salt to taste.  Put your eggs aside to piece your sandwich together later.
(Whatever you do, do not overcook your 

Wait for the white to cook half way
before breaking and stirring the
yolks for a runny scramble.

eggs.  A little undercooked is always better than overcooked in my book when it comes to eggs because they are so temperamental.  If you have not made eggs before it will take a little bit of practice to get them the way you want.)




3. Lightly oil or spray your pan.  Put a slice or 2 of American cheese in between your slices of pastrami and throw them on the pan on medium heat.  20-30 seconds on each side should melt the cheese making it gooey.  No goo... no good.  Put your pastrami aside.  (If the heat is too high or you leave your pastrami on the pan too long, your pastrami will become dry.  The key is to keep it tender and juicy.)

4. Put your slices of tomatoes onto the still hot pan on medium heat.  Lightly salt.  Just 20 seconds on each side should warm up your tomatoes and bring out the juices.  Put our tomatoes aside.


5. Spread the secret sauce on your each of your slices of bread.  Don't be stingy.

6. Put your eggs, cheesy pastrami, lettuce, and tomatoes on top of your olive oil toasted bread with secret sauce.  Slap your second slice of olive oil toasted bread with secret sauce right on top of it all.

7. CHOMP away!

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P.O.V.

When I asked what they saw down there...
They said a city.
When they asked me what I saw...
I said "a bubble full of flavors... food."

-iChompSF
Point of View

Point Of View Telescopes on top of Twin Peaks

 

10/15/2013 Vegas and LA guests in town

Sausalito

I had some very special guests come to SF to celebrate a very special birthday.  So where do I bring someone who works in the Vegas nightlife?  They've seen it all already!  Fortunately, here in SF is all about familiar faces and not large clubs packed with tourists.  Anywhere we go, we run into friends, family, and plenty of good times.  On a Tuesday, my friend took them for a bike ride over the Golden Gate Bridge while I was at work... Biking over the GGB is best on warm days like yesterday otherwise it's windy, foggy, and cold.  They biked into Sausalito, a nice little town right across from San Francisco with an amazing view of the San Francisco skyline.  There are many good restaurants there with patio ocean views.  I'll take you guys over to that part of town soon... it's nice and quaint there.  Instead of biking back up the mountain to GGB after lunch, they opted to take the ferry back which is another experience in itself.  

Everyone deserves an unforgettable birthday.

Some familiar faces.

I met them up for dinner after getting off work.  We went to Ozumo for some Japanese which I just featured.  It was a pleasure to have Nicole Fox join us for dinner.  You probably know her from TV... a winner of 'America's Next Top Model' and you probably also know her as Miss Hawaii.  You can check out my review on Ozumo by clicking the link labeled 'Ozumo' in the right sidebar.  We then went to visit some friends in the nightlife industry at Infusion Lounge SF where they were kind enough to send over a bottle of champagne for the birthday girl.  My friend DJ Weapon was on deck... I guess his name suits him since he's always killing the crowd with his mixes.  You can always recognize him with his red mohawk.  You can track him down @djweapon.  Infusion has some of the best bartenders in town, all of them trained by SFMixology.  I love tuesdays there because it has a nice mixed crowd and it's not too busy.  I'm not a fan of tight spaces in a club or lounge on the weekends unless the occasion calls for it.  It was also nice running into my friend DJ Jose Melendez... if you are a local and you grew up listening to the radio, you would surely know he is a legend to us SF 80's babies.  Follow him on Instagram @djjosemelendez.   He's been dishing up hip hop and dance music since any of us can remember for one of the most prevalent radio stations of all time.  Sorry Jose... don't hate me for it but I'm team Spotify these days.

Infusion Lounge SF.  DJ Jose Melendez to the left.  DJ Weapon in red
and is easily spotted in any pic with that same signature hand pose. 

A few drinks in and a bottle of champagne later, we decided to pay DJ Romeo Reyes a visit at The CellarSF located just a few blocks from Infusion Lounge.  Romeo commands a cult following in SF known for his uncanny ability to make a crowd jump and go nuts.  Congrats to Romeo for also landing gigs in Las Vegas recently.  You can find him at Marquee Boom Box Room in the Cosmopolitan there... one of the most popular clubs on the Las Vegas strip owned by the Tao Group.  Or you can just stalk him @romeoreyes1 like the 10 thousand others are... I'm one of them.  Everyone had a blast especially the birthday girl on her last night in SF.  It was safe to say at that point everyone's had enough to drink.  After some good laughs with our friends we left because what's a night out without the late night grub.

The Cellar SF alley way exit.
That's how you know you're way past
closing time.

We found ourselves at Grubstake where most locals go to top off their nights with some grease n milkshake.  I know what you are thinking... grease sounds disgusting but I assure you that you will not feel that way when you leave the bar or club late at night.  It's like the best frickin thing after a few drinks and hours after your dinner.  I personally love their Portuguese wine marinated NY steak.  For 17 bucks that's a steal and their portion is good.  Besides, it's marinated in alcohol... isn't that the theme for a night out?  It's not fine dining so don't sue me but it's definitely a good joint to hit up with your friends.  My friends love their burgers and seem to always order the milkshake to go along with it.  I love to eat but at that time of night... even I have my limits.  One thing you won't regret doing while you are there at Grubstake is keeping the camera rolling.  Alcohol + friends = conversations to relive the day after.  We have our fair share of footage from our tuesday adventure.  Whoever holds that holds the advantage over any of their friends.  Trade them for a meal if you love food like me or just keep it so you can play it on their wedding night... haha!  Whatever you choose to do just keep the camera rolling!!!

Ozumo - Contemporary Japanese Cuisine

Ozumo

Harushika Daiginjo Sake
fragrant fruity and buttery

161 Steuart Street
San Francisco, Ca 94105
415.882.1333
www.ozumosanfrancisco.com


Whenever hosting larger group of guests (5-8 people) who have a larger travel budget in SF, this is one of my favorite hot spots to hit.  Last night wasn't going to be any different.


Ozumo is a contemporary Japanese restaurant that highlights their creative take on traditional Japanese flavors while entertaining a fast paced modern hip crowd.  Their decor and ambiance is clean, zen-like, and breeds a white collar crowd that knows a thing or two about fine cuisine.  Their front bar is great for winding down after a long day at work.  It's more of a lounge at the front bar while dining is also available there so everyone can be seen mingling over cocktails and sushi.  They have a great selection of fine sake and their staff is very knowledgable in case you want to know what type of sake suits you best to go along with your dinner.  



The back dining room features a large open sushi bar where 3-6 sushi chefs can be seen working your orders.  Fish is always fresh at Ozumo... always.  Their foot traffic is so busy and consistent that it would be near impossible to have any fish that wasn't fresh.  Personally, I love traditional sushi made by a traditional sushi chef who has fine tuned his craft through years of experience.  At the end of the day amazing sushi to me is the refined combination of fish, rice, wasabi, and sometimes sauce created by the chef.  With that said, I'm not a big fan of their sushi... fish is super fresh which I love but for some reason their rice is never consistent.  Sometimes it's too wet, sometimes it's perfect, and sometimes it's undercooked.  I don't get it.  You would think that a Japanese restaurant would know how to make the perfect sushi rice... especially if you are charging premium prices.  Luckily, for us patrons, their service is usually stellar so all you need to do is let them know.



So if they are a Japanese restaurant and their sushi is not the highlight then what is right?

Gindara: Sweet miso and sake kasu black cod
Can be described as.... heavenly.

Well you mustn't lose your high hopes of tantalizing your tastebuds because you are definitely at the right place.  Their kitchen menu is to die for.  My fav as well as everyone else's (I'm sure I can speak for EVERYONE who has ever ordered it) is the GINDARA: Sweet miso and sake kasu Black Cod.  Excuse me... I hate saying these 3 letters... really I do but OM(F)G... and for those of you who don't get offended easily I added a 4th letter.  Probably one of the best Miso anything ever.  The texture is always perfect... each section of the black cod flakes off perfectly and is ever so buttery.  The sweetness of the miso and the sake kasu perfectly enhances the fresh flavor of the black cod as it melts in your mouth.  My mouth waters just talking about it.  Their Miyazaki Gyu, a grilled A-4 marbling wagyu beef from Miyazaki Japan, is also a must try if you don't mind spending a little more for an unforgettable foodie experience.  Portion is small but worth it if you are one of those who just can't live without a good steak.  My blog is still new so I'll feature some of their dishes here n there as we go along.  Definitely have to go back a few times to get all my favorite dishes featured on here. 

Toro: Fatty Tuna
From the belly of a tuna.
Well marbled and melts like butter.

Overall, you can't go wrong coming here if you don't mind the premium prices.  If not then just stick around for some of my other favorite sushi spots I'll be featuring where you can go to for a more budget friendly night and have a great experience at the same time.

Guests always return home with
treasured memories.

If you are bringing a date, ask to be seated 
next to the window for a gorgeous view of the bridge

Note: Ozumo is perfect for a lovely date or for parties up to 8 (personal preference).  Usually, I go to my favorite traditional sushi spots in the city for real authentic Japanese dining.  At those spots, having more than 4 people in your party wouldn't be as great of an experience.  Ozumo is spacious and has high ceilings so it works well for larger groups.

Do It Yourself: Sake Steamed Manila Clams

Eating in can be just as fun as eating out.  We love easy home cooking recipes perfect for a date night or good time with friends.  Nothing better than having friends over for football.  Here is what we made for our own little happy hour at home while we watched the SF forty-niners take another win for our city.


Sake steamed Manila clams with green onions cilantro and lemon zest.











Ingredients:
Serves 4

2 lb. Live Manila clams (try to pick out the larger ones for a juicier bite)

2 cups dry sake

1 lemon

1 bunch cilantro

1 bunch green onion

Note: You can get all this at once by going to an asian supermarket.


Before making your Manila clams soak them in fresh water for about 15-20 mins either in a pot or in a sink to get them to spit any sand that they have collected in their shells.  Throw away any clams that won't close or if the shell is cracked.  Clams that cannot close their shells are no longer fresh.

1. Pour 2 cups of dry sake into a pot and turn stove on high.

2. When sake comes to a boil throw the Manila clams in.  The clams will cool the sake a little.  Put the lid on the pot as the sake comes back to a boil.

3. Once boiling turn the stove down to med-low and let it steam for a few minutes.

4. Turn off the stove once the Manila clams are done.  You know when the clams are done once they open up.  Keep an eye on them.  You don't want to over cook the clams.  Over cooking the clams will leave you with small tough bites of clams and you don't want that.  You want to keep them juicy and tender.

5. Pour your Manila clams and sake broth into a large bowl.

6. Grab a handful of cilantro, chop it up (doesn't have to be finely chopped), and throw it in the bowl.

7. Do the same with the green onions.

8. Take the lemon and slice off just the top of the rind with a vegetable slicer (that yellow part of the lemon peel: 2-3 slices).  Squeeze the slice of the lemon peel on top of the Manila clams to release the aromatic oils of the lemon and throw the peels into the broth.  Feel free to use a grater and grate off the lemon peel to zest.

9. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze a little lemon juice to complete your Sake steamed Manila clams.

There you go!  Delicious Sake steamed Manila clams in less than 10 minutes.  Enjoy!

NOPA

Goat cheese persimmon on a crostini.

Nopa

560 Divisadero

San Francisco, Ca 94117

It's impossible for anyone to not like Nopa.  We invite you to test that theory. Their menu changes daily depending on what is fresh, organic, and in season in the local markets. @sandramaaaa treated to happy hour and to our surprise they had coonstriped shrimp which one would normally find at a Chinese restaurant or Chinese supermarket. The texture has a lighter n crisp bite while the flavor is naturally sweeter than the usual shrimp we get at most restaurants. Even though their menu changes daily you can't go wrong with any of it! Shown here is persimmon goat cheese on a crostini for the *amuse-bouche and crispy coonstriped shrimp with lemon n Harissa aioli. Delicious! We weren't here for dinner this time so you will see dishes from their ever changing menu as our blog grows.  

Crispy coonstripe shrimp with lemon n Harissa aioli.

Coonstripe shrimp without shell. 

If you decide to try Nopa... which we highly recommend by the way... reserve a table way in advance because getting one is hard if you are used to eating dinner at normal people hours.  On our days off we go right before their dinner menu which starts at 6pm so that we get the last of their happy hour menu and hang out through dinner.  We usually get off work late so we love going at 11pm/12am when the wait is much shorter if there is any.  They close at 1am and if you are in the mood for a quality tasty meal late nights NOPA is one of few great places to go.

For more info on NOPA visit www.nopasf.com

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Note: They are known for their pork chop and rotisserie chicken.  Their rabbit is a must when available.

*amuse bouche - a small complimentary appetizer offered at some restaurants

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amuse-bouche