Favorite Food Programs

10/04/2011

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Watching people cook and eat food is almost as enjoyable as cooking and eating for myself. Aside from living vicariously through others, the shows I enjoy most give me new ideas on ingredients I would love to try and local restaurants I want to plan a day around.

Its not a surprise than that many of the shows I watch are on the Food Network and Cooking Channel. And anyone who has been watching the Travel Channel over the past 4 years will not be surprised some of my other favorites can be found there,. (At this point the Travel Channel is really Food Network 2 with would be Ghost Busters.)

Anyway check out my list below:

PBS
Food Network / Cooking Channel
Travel Channel
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Infographic: Coffee Fun Fact by The Oatmeal

09/23/2011

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Coffee is my drug of choice. I also happen to be a fan of the web designer turned comic guru known as The Oatmeal. 
So when The Oatmeal released an infograph summarizing the fancinating history of coffee I knew I had to pick it up. 
Note: All links to The Oatmeal are a different comics I like
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By way of The Oatmeal
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Food Review: Halu an Izakaya in the Richmond

09/20/2011

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I love Japanese food and in the past year I've come to especially love izakayas. The most recent one I tried was Halu.  We got there a little after 10pm and the place was packed. Always a good sign if a place is closing in an hour and people are still jamming to get in. 

I don't normally talk about decor since price and taste are usually the deciding factors for me, but I have to say I loved the Beatles, 60s, Rock N Roll motif. The small restaurant was packed wall to wall with memorabilia ranging from ticket stubs, guitars, comics, posters, and flip books. Any other space was functional or served as a reminder it was a Japanese joint and not Mel's. 

Wanting to get a representative sampling of of the menu we took the shotgun approach and (randomly) hit various items: Fried Stuff Mushrooms and Scallops on skewers, an item called Japanese Pizza, and Spicy Chicken Katsu Ramen. 

The small plates were $4 a serving and the ramen was $12. All in all the food was fantastic but I would opt out of the ramen (which was good but I've had better) and load up on their skewer items. 

Quick Review: Love @ Great Price 
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Food Review: Papito

09/13/2011

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Dinner with parents + Mexican restaurant ran by French owners = a dinner at Papito. 

Papito is a sister resturant to Chez Maman and Chez Papa all of which are located within the same block in Potrero Hill in San Francisco. 

My favorite item from Papito is the Hambergersa which is a hamburger made with chorizo. Tonight however i opted for the Tempura Chicken Quesadilla. It's a fair amount of food but a tad pricey for $10. The rest of the menu is reasonable for what it is. 

Quick Review: Like @ Fair Price
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Seattle Coffees

09/06/2011

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When in Seattle drink as the locals drink. 

I managed to hit up three different coffee shops while I was in Seattle. I generally order a white mocha if I'm trying a place for the first time. I prefer them hot, not to sweet, and with a clear taste of espresso. 
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Zeitgeist Coffee  

The first place I had coffee while I was there and it was also the best. 

I stumbled upon the coffee shop when I got lost following directions from Google Maps. I didn't really know what to expect so I went with my default of the white mocha. 

It was served just how I liked it and at $3 for a large it was a great deal.

I wish I had the chance to go back there and try out some of their other drinks. 

Quick Review: Love @ Great Price
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Uptown Espresso

I tried uptown my second day in Seattle and it was quite drab when compared to Zeitgeist. I tried a white mocha from there as well.

The drink was far from bad but it almost $4 for a small. 

Quick Review: Like @ Over Priced  


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El Diablo Coffee

The final coffee shop I visited was El Diablo which was located in a section of the Queen Anne district that had the neighborhood vibe of Berkeley, CA. 

The shop took inspiration of Mexico's Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) and bright red chilies. 

I ordered a Mocha Diablo and as you can see from the picture they barista was able to draw an image of a smiling devil in the foam.  

The drink was the most expensive of the three at $4.5 but the peculiar surroundings and craftsmanship of the barista was worth the visit. 

Quick Review: Love @ Fair Price
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My Mom Birthday Dinner at Serpentine

08/22/2011

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Quick Review of Serpentine: Love @ Fair Price

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We went to Serpentine with my parent and a friend of mine and we all ordered their burger. 

The burger was rated the best in San Francisco 2010 by SF Weekly.

These was the third time I've had it and it does no disappoint. Amazingly juicy, organic toppings, with great fries, its a fair price at $12 from a higher end joint.  

We capped off the meal with a coffee ice cream sandwich made with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. 
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New Way to Eat Ketchup

08/19/2011

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Dip & Squeeze Ketchup
I was eating at a Jack in the Box a few weeks back. Somewhere during the usual social exchange of 
Small Talk > Order > $ > Food 
I was handed packets of ketchup that threw me off guard. 

Ketchup that can be squeezed out of a container that doubles as a dipping tray. Sauce pack that at the time sounded like the single greatest idea the Heinz has had in last 50 years. 

Dipping Ketchup is a true step to innovation when compared to the company's previous attempt to remain relevant and capture the X-Games crowd with "Xtreme" colored ketchup. 

The new package proved to be effective but I have suspicion that I had done this before. I soon realized I have been doing this for years! The only difference was instead of fries I dipped Chicken nuggets. 

Thank you Heinz for inventing nugget sauce containers (for fries)
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How I Plan to Review Meals and a Quick Review of Ganim in Potrero Hill

08/18/2011

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I was having a length discussion with friend back in April, who was visiting the San Francisco Bay Area for the first time.  Though he grew up in the States he is currently based out of Poland and we got on to the topic of comparing foods from the places we've lived. 
He brought of the notion of food tasting dramatically better from non-chain restaurants if the price was relatively cheap. 
He thought was one i had shared but never actually put into words, "Cheap Food Tastes Better." 
Its a feeling a satisfaction that is similar to enjoy a great home cooked meal because 
  1. You know (or are familiar) with the people who made it
  2. Its tastes great
  3. You save money compared to going somewhere else for the same meal 

When it comes to reviews on food I love sites and articles that break things down quickly. I hope to do the same here but with an added dimension to address cost. 

On the ratings for the quality of the food and the service the scale will be. 
  1. Love 
  2. Like
  3. Dislike

To reflect price:
  1. Great Price
  2. Fair Price
  3. Over Priced 

As an example I've been eating quite a bit at a place called Ganim's. 
It's a bit of a hole in the wall but its hard to beat the burgers that can be had there for the price. 
All burger are 1/2 a pound and come with fries or onion rings. The cheapest one is only $6 bucks. 
It's no Kobe Beef but you'd be hard pressed to find a better burger at the size in the city for the price. 
If your not feeling burgers you can also get fish and chips with the cheapest one starting at $4.
My personal favorite item is the Surf and Turf which combines the best of both worlds. A big piece of fried fish inside the burger. 

I give Ganim's :Like @ Great Price
Surf and Turf
A whole piece of fried fish in a giant burger
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