VinDivine - Living it Up John & Janine Style

Nopa - North of Panhandle

So we came here the other night with our rock-n-roll friends Dave & Shari. Located at Hayes & Divisadero in the not-quite Hayes Valley, not quite Panhandle area of SF. So I guess it is North of the Panhandle. Hence the name. Doi.

I actually caught a taxi within a couple minutes (in SF!?) and got here a bit early solo and grabbed a drink at the bar to get my take on the place. First, a really good, friendly and kinda hip vibe. Great space, a big open rectangle with super-high ceilings, a wrap-around mezzanine, open kitchen and a looong bar. Who woulda thunk it used to be a laundromat? Shows ya what a coat of paint can do for a place. And why isn't laundromat spelled with 'y'?

So, anyways, good first impressions continue. I find a solo stool at the bar, and the people on each side of me are really nice. A couple on one side, a single woman from the 'hood on the other, sits right down and orders a 1/2 bottle - yeah! Nice bartenders too, and a killer drink list. How killer? Johnnie (almost) never drinks bourbon. Basically just f's me up, and I'm more of a tequila or vodka person if I'm hitting the bottle. But NoPa has this great house specials drink menu. Drinks like the Elderflower Gimlet (vodka, elderflower syrup and lime juice), the Forbidden (gin, Gewurztraminer juice, mezcal & preserved lemon), and The Derby, which had my number from the get-go (Nopa bourbon, benedectine, reychauds, and orange). No, I don't have a clue what reychauds is. Who cares?! This is like a Manhattan on crack. And tastes better too. Yummy.

Anyway, I was saved from downing more of these when Janine and Dave & Shari showed up, and we moved on to our table.

Nice kinda cozy layout, but enough room you can have your conversation or pretty easily eavesdrop on a neighboring table's chatter. We like choice! Anyhoo, our server was great - just about all of 'em have these super-cool hairstyles. Can't remember our guys name, but funny, nice and on the ball. So we ordered up some vino and vittles.

We started with...what the hell did we start with?! Maybe that Derby was taking effect...I do remember the Flatbread of Bacon, Carmelized Onions, Radicchio and Gruyere. Excellent blend of tastes and a nice thin crust. Next we had the Warm Goat Cheese, Crostini & Pickled Beets. Looove good goat cheese, so it was hard to go wrong. I think we also had the Marinated Olives. Tasted like...olives. Dave was understanding enough to let us skip the Giant White Beans (thanks Dave), those things freak me out.

Onward - for din din I ordered up the Pan Roasted Black Cod with Lentils and Chicory.I usually don't order that fish (I think it reminds me of cod piece) but it is a most excellent fish. Mellow, firm and tender, blended great with the lentils and slightly bitter chicory. But I do detest having skin on the fish. I know, that's where all the good stuff is, but it's gross. Janine had the Rotisserie Chicken with Escarole and Rosemary Croutons. Rocking croutons! Good bird, kinda smoky and very tender. Good portion too. And those croutons were really tasty. Dave had the Moroccan Vegetable Tajine with Almonds and Lemon Yogurt. Shari ordered it too, after a slight freak-out that they were having the same dish. I stole some bites and it was excellent! Great curry, not too strong and it seemed like you could taste every individual veggie, as opposed to one train wreck like those things usually are, that just taste like 'vegetables'.

For dessert? Doughnut Holes, naturally! Warm Doughnut Holes with Rum Caramel. On the house, too, from our cool server. I personally wasn't that interested in doughnut holes, but that god damn rum caramel should come in coffee mugs.

Good wine list, go check it out yerself. We had some cool small-lot mixed rhone-style varietals (wine-snob Dave called them 'Field Blends', I call them kitchen sink wines)...the Thackery Pleiades and the Margerum M5, both outstanding wines and only ~$40 per bottle.

So, sum it all up, J&J? NoPa gets a solid 8 in our opinion. Good times, good eats and a solid wine list, none of it overpriced!

One hint: Taxi it over there, parking can be a real bitch.

NoPa Restaurant
560 Divisadero @ Hayes
San Francisco, CA
(415) 864.8643

Citizen Cake - Hayes Valley

OK so here I was this afternoon with some of my fave clients. Super cool, down to earth peeps. I'll plug their business somewhere else 'cuz y'all know I protect the names of the innocent. Brent & Alison. Dammit! Couldn't help myself. Anyhoo, dat's 'dem. Their business I will gladly (and only where it provides true value, my furry friends) link to them elsewhere. They have great wine buys...

Anyhoo, here we are in Hayes Valley on a rainy, dreary Tuesday to have a productive :) lunch meeting. But wait, it's MATINEE TUESDAY AT THE SYMPHONY (lots of sweet folks our parents age, if ya know what I mean). It's basically the equivalent of the early bird special at the House of Prime Rib (hey I woulda said Sizzler, but this is SF, and we are talking post-symphony). Woo Hoo! "Hey Agnes, grab your walker, pull those curlers outta your hair and let's hit the sim-fo-nee. Then we'll strap on the feed bag. Pack a zip-lock for the leftovers! We'll be back in time for Golden Girls re-runs"

I woulda had a better chance walking into a Chingy after-party than Citizen Cake after a Matinee! But, fortunately for moi, my clients made resies. Love ya! Plus, they paid:)

Ok, enuf mindless rambling. Great lunch menu! Varied choices as they say. And not just soft food;) Something for anyone.

But First! The Award for The Most Annoying and Un-Useful Restaurant Website, come on up, Citizen Cake! Dang, lay off the Flash my friends. Hint - just as too much Chèvre can wreak havoc on ice cream too much Flash is very un-sexy.

OK. Food. Like I said awhile ago, I think it's a great lunch line-up. 4-5 salads, a few pizzas and 5-6 sandos. Nice!

Between the 3 of us, we had:

Salad: Chèvre crotin, peach, frisèe, almond vinaigrette. THE LOW DOWN: Well, we all know Frisée can be a bit challenging. Tickles the uvula a bit too much sometimes. 'Nuf said. But this was tasty, there is also some bacon (Looove bacon) and the vinaigrette was excellent. Nice dollop of mellow, tender Chévre as well.

Sandos: Not the most strategic decision, but two of us ordered the same meal - the Croque Savoyard - a most awesome Croque. Heirloom Tomatoes and Gruyère on great bread, with gobs of Gruyère melted on top. A real artery-clogger. Dig it! Really, fellow Croque fans. This was gooooooood. I was stuffed and just kept on carving out little bits til it was gone daddy gone. The Heirloom Toms (almost outta season now, so sorry) were great and the cheese was perfectly gooey. This was a special sando.

Dessert: Hells Yeah! This place is called Citizen CAKE. I bowed out but my clients are no quitters (plus I think they knew I'd sneak a bit or two). And talk about funky desserts! Out there. I mean...where's the Cake, Citizen? Not a mention of boring old cake. Weird and wild stuff? Yessir. We enjoyed the Grilled figs with Chèvre ice cream  - figs rock. Not too sweet as fruit goes, and grilled, it almost took on a meaty vibe. Scoop a little bizarro goat cheese-flavored ice cream on, and you are good to go! (read: not bad at all). We also enjoyed the Plum Tart with Guiness ice cream - Me likee. Plums are a nod to the matinee demographic, I presume, but that's OK. Wait, that's Prunes! Regardless, the Guiness beer I.C. was good, although, if I hadn't known it was Guiness, it would have had just a  faint 'different' flavor. Still, good and as with the Figs a very nice contrast in flavors.

Need I say more? (ok, ok, I'll shut the hell up). I can't speak for the cake, but CC rules for lunch - Go! I give it a solid 8 outta 10.

Citizen Cake
399 Grove (@ Gough)
San Francisco, CA

(thanks Yelp, for the pic)

(props to the senior citizens out there, they've seen and done way more than most of us!)

Sauce - Hayes Valley

What a great idea, shared dipping food! It's diptastic! Chef Ben coined the term "Social Cuisine" I say the more condiments the happier a life you lead, variety hmmmmmmm?

Go there after 8 on a Saturday night - the place gets jammed with Opera/Symphony goers. Then it clears out a bit with more of a fun party crowd'.

OK, Robert Kohler, our bud, is a part owner of this place. Got Best New Restaurant (SF Mag). We took our friend Candida there for her birthday and it rocked! She's a veggie and we're carnivores so it's always a little tricky with shares. Not here. The portabello mushroom fries might make us convert.  The coconut shrimp and the crab pillows were unreal. and the beggars purses with chicken more than covered for the lack of meat on the table. 

Usually "share" means "put as few things on a really really really small plate so it looks like a lot but they'll have to order about 10 more plates". Not here. The helpins are slammin' and you don't feel ripped off.

Kudos to Kohler, Trip, Ben and team. And, Kohler: who knew a lawyer and dot-com biz dev guy could turn up a place like this?

Keep 'em comin and keep 'em dippin'.

Sauce
131 Gough St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 252-1369