Dish to Go: Zachary’s Chicago Pizza

Love It or Hate It, It’s a Neighborhood Institution
5801 College Ave., Oakland (two other locations in San Ramon and Berkeley)
Rockridge neighborhood
PH: 510.655.6385
Open daily, 11 a.m.–10 p.m. (until 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday)
No reservations, major credit cards accepted
www.zacharys.com

Before there were Pizzaiolo or Dopo, there was Zachary’s, the neighborhood joint dishing out Chicago-style, deep-pan pizza for 25 years.

You can always count on a crowd at this popular pizza restaurant, just as sure as you can count on the aroma of freshly baked pizza dough wafting through the area near the Rockridge BART station and now next door to the Trader Joe’s on College Avenue.

Because waiting for a table can be forever, as you jostle through parents with small kids or college kids from UC-Berkeley, I often just go to Zachary’s for take out. Since I live just 15-minutes away, it’s usually not a problem to get a piping hot pizza on my dinner table.

The take out system at Zachary’s is pretty impressive, although I’ve heard people complain about the service. Most times I’ve gone, I haven’t had a problem getting my pizza. There’s a take out counter in the front right before you turn right to wait for a table at the restaurant. You can order your pizza or phone ahead and pick up. There are also some pre-made pizzas of some of the popular kinds that are half-baked that you can buy and bake at home.

Once I ordered a pizza and then went to Trader Joe’s next door to shop, and 20 minutes later just returned to pick up my pizza. When you’re waiting at the counter, you can see the kitchen staff work like a well-oiled assembly line as they bust out pizza and pizza.

Here’s one of my favorite pizzas. It’s the Mediterranean ($12.45 for a small thin crust) made with red bell peppers, green olives, artichoke hearts, feta and jack cheese. I order the thin crust because I think they do that the best even though they’re originally known for the deep-pan. I love artichokes on all my pizzas and the jack cheese kept all the ingredients melded together. The crust has cornmeal flakes, which can feel odd if you’re not used to that.

Once I thought it might be interesting to try a half-baked pizza. When you pick it up, they give you instructions on what degrees to cook your pizza and for how long. Here’s a small Chicken Pizza ($12.45) coming out of my oven. OK, so the idea with the half-baked is that you can pick it up early in the day and then pop it in the oven right before dinner and you have a hot and tasty pizza. Problem is, if you get distracted like me you end up burning the crust a bit. Anywho, it still tasted good (with chicken, mushrooms, fresh basil, tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese) but I probably will leave the baking to Zachary’s since I live so close.

Here’s a sample of their “stuffed pizza,” which is the new way they’re calling their deep-pan. I don’t know why they felt the need to change the name from deep-pan to stuffed pizza, because as you can see, it doesn’t really look stuffed—just totally topped with a layer of tomatoes. This is the Spinach & Mushroom ($17.95 for the small stuffed pizza), which is considered Zachary’s famous pizza that is often ordered.

It’s like a lasagna pizza with spinach and thinly sliced mushrooms all covered with a gooey blend of cheese and, like I said, a lot of tomatoes. I liked it and it was very comforting, but it was a bit too much tomatoes for my tastes. I thought the deep dish was a nice change, but I still prefer the thin crust.

There are many people who will debate whether Zachary’s is the best pizza in the Bay Area (it’s often voted among the best by readers of those weekly papers). I think it has a festive atmosphere and it’s a perfect place for kids, although some people might describe it as a madhouse. For me, it might not be as fancy as Pizzeria Delfina, for example, but it does hit the spot for a quick take home dinner.

Single Guy rating: 3.5 stars (Mad rush but worth it)

Explanation of the Single Guy Chef’s takeout rating system:
1 star = Might as well cook yourself
2 stars = Nice to know it’s an option
3 stars = Definitely will return again
4 stars = I have its number on speed-dial
5 stars = Can I live here?

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Last Days of Summer: Be Kinder

There's just a few more days of summer left, so I decided to take the day off and catch one last baseball game. The Giants are out of town so I went to an Oakland A's game with the visiting Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (or whatever they're called now).

It wasn't a very competitive game because the Angels have already cinch the division. So instead, it was just a day to enjoy the beautiful weather, which was sunny but with the hint of a fall crisp air around the corner. It was perfect. To top it off, I decided to get a BBQ sandwich from Kinder, one of the new vendors at the Oakland Colisseum. (I may have talked about Kinder before, but I can't remember.)

Kinder has something called a Ball Tip Sandwich. I don't know if that's like tri-tip, but it's supposed to be thinly sliced beef. But I hardly eat beef, so I went for the BBQ Pull Pork Sandwich.

This is a close up look of my sandwich, which cost $8.75, the average price for the various Kinder sandwiches. It doesn't really look that pretty, huh? Looks like the sandwiches are put together somewhere else and then placed in a steam bath to reheat it. So that's why it looks a bit pressed up together. The thing about a pull pork sandwich, though, is it always look messy anyway. The pork was tender with a very strong smokey flavor. The BBQ sauce was a tad sweet for my taste, but overall it hit the spot.

I bought a ticket on the field level but in the cheaper sections farther out instead of those closer to home plate. What that means is I found myself right behind the visiting club bull pen, where the relief pitchers hang out. I was so close I could hear them talking with each other and goofing around. In fact, I was sitting right behind Angels pitcher Scot Shields, who was busy taunting the A's fans. All I have to say is, Scot, you crack me up! Too funny.

Looks like a sad baseball season for the Single Guy. Not only did the A's lose today, but the Giants and Yankees both will end their seasons without a perch in the playoffs. So I'm not sure who to root for in the World Series. On to 2009!

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Food Gallery: Global Moon Cakes

This past Sunday was the Chinese Moon Festival and I totally blew it. I was too lazy to go into Chinatown to hunt for moon cakes, the sweet round cakes made of a paste and surrounded by a baked shell with intricate designs. I know, I'm a bad Chinese boy. Anywho, I decided to share some photos from the Web of different kinds of moon cakes from around the world (well, mostly Asia). Some of these are just wild. Happy belated Moon Festival! Enjoy!

These moon cakes are from Japan. I didn't realize they bother to make moon cakes, but I guess they appreciate a full moon like anyone else. Of course, these moon cakes look more like mochi.

Here are more Japanese moon cakes. Those Japanese sure love pretty colors.

Now these are just darn cute. Mini moon cakes! I've actually seen this at Eastern Bakery in San Francisco's Chinatown. But never with that weird baby doll.

OK, if you don't like eating traditional moon cakes, then why not one made of Jello? I don't know where this is from but it's gelatin shaped as a moon cake. They even made the yellow duck egg yolk for the center.

Even Starbucks make their own moon cakes. This is probably at the Starbucks in Hong Kong or Shanghai, I'm guessing.

Apparently, these are the most popular couture moon cakes in China. They're from the Raffles Hotel in Beijing and Shanghai and they're made of white chocolate exterior and a gooey center of different flavors, including champagne truffles. Now that's a fancy moon cake. (BTW, I love the tin can it comes in.)

Here's a closer look at the Raffles' candy mooncakes. Hmmm, I don't know if I can wait till next year to get some moon cakes!

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Monday Dinner with George Morrone

Last night I made a rare trip into San Francisco for dinner. Mondays are hardly the big night for eating out, but only the likes of Chef George Morrone could get me onto BART and across the bay for a fine dining experience.

For the last few Monday nights, Fish & Farm has been hosting what’s been dubbed “Mondays with George.” It’s a special four-course prix-fixe dinner (for only $48) conceived by Morrone and Fish & Farm’s chef, Jake Des Voignes. (When I arrived, the signs actually read “Dinner with George and Jake” to give Des Voignes equal billing.)

Morrone, of course, is the originating chef of the San Francisco classic Aqua restaurant. For the last couple of years, he hasn’t been attached to a particular kitchen, so San Francisco diners have been deprived of his culinary genius. That’s why it wasn’t a surprise that when I made reservations for dinner, the night was nearly fully booked.

This was the first time for me at Fish & Farm, a restaurant that promotes sustainable dining and tries to source its ingredients from Bay Area suppliers. People also call it a Tenderloin restaurant, almost to give it an edge. But when I arrived, I discovered that it was right across the street from the San Francisco Hilton in an area that I consider more to be the theater district.

Anywho, Fish & Farm is a handsome place with a mix of rustic charm and elegant lines. The distressed wood displays reminiscent of San Antonio or Sedona pops against the royal blue walls.

My dinner companion was Foodhoe, ’natch. She and I are always gamed for a special occasion dinner. Foodhoe had dined at Fish & Farm once before and warned me of the dim lighting. Indeed, the lighting from one tiny votive candle on our table wasn’t enough to illuminate the wonderful dishes that arrived. After I desperately used a flash to photograph my starter dish of quail, the neighboring table chided us so there are no adequate photos for the rest of the dinner. (I don’t blame him. I probably would have done the same thing. But he could have sounded less like my dad.)

Overall, the dinner was complex and rich, which reminded me of a wonderful dinner I had a few years ago at The Fifth Floor, which also happens to be a restaurant Morrone worked at and where Chef Des Voignes also called home right before moving to Fish & Farm.

The night’s prix fixe dinner ($48 or $70 with wine pairings) started with a course of Morrone’s creamy portabella mushroom soup. Morrone has made a name for himself with his signature soups, and has even a cookbook out all about soups. And I can see why. This was a flavorful savory soup with so many different textures it was a fantastic overture to the evening.

The portabella soup came with a garlic flan in the center that was very garlicky and good. On top of that was a chanterelle fritter, which was basically like a big fluffy crispy croutons with bits of the chanterelle mushroom inside. Despite mixing the soup with the fritter, it remained crispy and light, creating a perfect contrast to the creamy soup and smooth flan.

The second course was a choice between the Grilled Sonoma Quail and Citrus Coriander Gravlox. I got the quail and Foodhoe went for the gravlox. (We decided that she would be “fish” while I would be “farm” for the night.) The quail was beautifully presented, and also complex with a variety of ingredients, including softened radicchio and a bed of smoked heirloom tomatoes. The quail was tender and nicely browned in all the right places.

Foodhoe’s gravlox was a playful presentation of colors with the gravlox (or smoked salmon) dressed in a citrus cream sauce and dotted with perfectly squared croutons, tiny bits of apple and small flicks of dill. While it looked interesting, the gravlox tasted nice but nothing earth-shattering.

Our entrees included the Alaskan Black Cod for Foodhoe and my Boneless Rack of Lamb. Foodhoe’s black cod was topped with a creamy light green dollop and sat in a broth of smoked chorizo and Manila clams. Everything was perfectly cooked, including the partly raw fish that retained a silken texture.

My rack of lamb was so tender that I thought they were medallions of loin since they were also circular in shape. They were served on top of creamed potatoes and were accompanies by perfectly cooked heirloom eggplant. Now, some of you know I’m not a big fan of eggplant and I did pass on a few pieces to Foodhoe. But the piece I did try was nicely cooked and tasted like eggplant. So there.

The dessert course was a choice of a tasting of local artisan cheese, crème fraiche fritters or a German Chocolate Cake. After some debate, Foodhoe and I both went for the same dessert—the German Chocolate Cake. It came in this interesting plating with a chocolate smudge and the chocolate cake on one side and a dollop of Bi-Rite Creamery’s coffee-toffee ice cream on the other. (I should note that the German Chocolate Cake is on the regular menu, so it’s probably more an invention of Chef Des Voignes.)

The chocolate cake was very rich, a mix between a mousse and a brownie. It really seemed more like a decadent chocolate cake than one of the German persuasion. Still, I loved the red chili oil drizzled around the edges so you can slide your piece of cake onto it to get that nice mixture of sweet and hot. The ice cream was a no-brainer since I love Bi-Rite and the flavor was a perfect match for the chocolate cake. The only criticism I would have was the overly coconut flakes sitting like a nest underneath the ice cream. I felt the dish could have done without it and still be good, albeit not German chocolate.

In the end, it was a filling night of elegant and complex food that left Foodhoe and I dissecting and guessing, which always leads to a fun night. Chef Morrone acted like the perfect host at a dinner party, coming out after each course to check how everything is. He was very gracious and it was an honor to eat at his table.

No rating since this isn’t a regular review. The last scheduled “Mondays with George” is Sept. 22. But if you can’t get a reservation, don’t worry. Morrone says that the dinners have been such a success, he and the restaurant are talking about extending his run until the whole month of October! If they do, do not miss a night with George Morrone.

You can read Foodhoe's rundown of our dinner here, and I would suggest you check out her photos. Her camera was able to catch more decent shots of the meal than mines, so definitely worth seeing.

Fish & Farm, 339 Taylor St., San Francisco. PH: 415.474.3474. www.fishandfarmsf.com

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Horton Hears a Pluot

Sometimes you wonder how farmers come up with names for their creations. Say, for example, this pluot called "Elephant Hearts." WTF? How do you get elephant from this? Well, I can see the hearts part because inside these spotted-liked pluots are these extremely red flesh. And I guess if you really want to see it, the skin of the pluot is a bit spotted and possibly grey like the skin of an elephant? I think I'm giving the person who named this fruit a wee bit too much credit. Anywho, stone fruit season is nearing an end as summer's end approaches in just a week. So there's only a few more weeks of enjoying odd-named stone fruits like this Elephant Heart pluots that I got at the farmers' market. They're speckled outside but sweet and red inside. I can't say the sweetness is sublime as my favorite Flavor King, but it's a nice alternative on weeks when I'm in Flavor King overkill. (Oh, what am I saying? I never get tired of Flavor Kings. But you need a change now and then.) Have you discovered a new pluot this season?

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Back for Seconds: Wood Tavern

This is an occasional report on return visits to restaurants that I’ve already reviewed.

Pure Pastrami Bliss
6317 College Ave., Oakland
Outer Rockridge neighborhood
PH: 510.654.6607
Lunch, Mon.–Sat.; dinner nightly from 5:30 p.m.
Reservations, major credit cards accepted
www.woodtavern.net

Original visit: February 2008

At times when I feel like indulging on the weekend, I make my way to one of the best restaurants in my Rockridge neighborhood, the charming and handsome Wood Tavern right near the Oakland-Berkeley border.

This was the restaurant that won me over when I finally visited earlier this year after being rebuffed a few times when it first open. So now I know the trick of eating at earlier or later times. For lunch, that means getting there when the door opens at 11:30 a.m.

I don’t know if it’s the poor economy or whether it was just too hot for people last week to stay inside a restaurant, but on this Saturday Wood Tavern was near empty when I arrived, which is a bit unusual for them. When I asked for a seat at the bar, the host gave me a look as if to say: “Don’t you want a table? We’ve got plenty of them.”

As a solo diner, I still prefer the copper-trim bar where I watched some U.S. Open tennis action and chatted with the bartenders. I also started my lunch with a Cool Breeze, which sounded great on a hot day. It’s a mix of grapefruit and other juices along with alcohol (gin, I think) but I asked to get a virgin since it was too hot a day for alcohol.

The lunch menu changes with the seasons, but Wood Tavern stays true to their categories. So even though the ingredients change, you still can expect selections of charcuterie and cheese, a soup and something with pork belly, sandwiches, and entrees (the Niman Ranch hamburger seems like a regular standby).

Of course, I already knew what I was ordering, and that’s my indulgent lunch of the hot pastrami. I’ve heard a lot about this sandwich as being one of the best in the Bay Area, and while I rarely eat pastrami because of all the fattiness, I so love the aroma of hot pastrami. Just writing about it now after the fact is making my mouth water.

The description for Wood Tavern’s Hot Pastrami sandwich ($10)—another consistent menu selection over the seasons—is pretty cryptic, with only notes of emmenthaler cheese and Dijon-horseradish dressing. It comes with the Tavern slaw.

When it arrived, I just marveled at the thin layers of pastrami, which I’m guessing is Niman Ranch. Just looking at it I could tell that it’ll taste so tender because all the slices looked like they melded together while still creating the look of individual slices.

I couldn’t tell what kind of bread it was on. I’m guessing a crusty French roll. While the bread was fine, I don’t think it’s the perfect match for the pastrami. It did its job of keeping all the meat together, but I think some kind of rye bread would better serve the luscious and tasty pastrami inside.

The pastrami was indeed tender, and amazingly they all held together when I would bite into the sandwich. Sometimes pastrami can be chewy so your bites would tear the rest of the sandwich apart, but at Wood Tavern the pastrami is so perfectly tender that it easily tears away with each bite, leaving the rest of the sandwich in tact for your next bite. The dressing was very minimal although it had a kick from the horseradish, and the cheese pretty much melted from the heat of the pastrami so that it was basically just goo keeping everything together.

The Tavern slaw was a simply shredded cabbage with green specks that tasted like basil. I thought it was refreshing but the dressing tasted primarily like lemon juice. It needed a bit more sweetness to balance the tart. It didn’t compare to the perfection of the pastrami meat.

Still, the pastrami itself—the way it’s sliced, the taste of the flavors, the warmth of the meat—all combine to make it one of the best in the Bay Area. And it’s a real value lunch at only $10 when you consider the quality and the ambiance of the elegant Wood Tavern.

Update experience (previous 4.25 stars): Still going strong

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Ask Ben on AskMen

Just wanted to let you all know that I’m spreading my wings a bit and am contributing restaurant reviews to a men’s site called AskMen.com. That’s right. I’m a Single Guy. I eat out. They called.

You can read my first review here, where I featured one of my favorite places Bar Tartine in the Mission District. I’ll probably have a review up once a week in the beginning and eventually just one a month as they build up their cadre of bloggers in San Francisco. But for now if you read about a place in the Bay Area on AskMen.com, it’s probably by me. (If you see my reviews, be sure to leave a comment!)

And if you’re visiting my blog for the first time from AskMen.com, welcome! I can’t guarantee a lot of photos of scantily clad women, but you’ll definitely see lots of food porn. ;-)

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In the Kitchen: Making Paella in Two Parts

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a demo video, and today I’m posting two! Well, it’s actually just on one topic but I had to split the video into two parts to upload onto YouTube. (Dang 10-minute limit!) I’m showing you how I make paella, one of my favorite dishes to make for Sunday dinner. People think it’s labor-intensive, but I find it pretty easy and nice to cook since everything’s in one pan. Plus you can bring the pan onto your table and eat right out of it.

Below are the two videos (don’t forget to watch them in order or you’ll totally get confused) and I’ve reprinted the recipe below. I actually posted the recipe a long time ago on the blog, but I’ve tweaked it a bit because, as you know, when you cook something again and again, you always find ways to refine it. Plus, I think these steps are a bit more authentic to a traditional Spanish paella. Well, as authentic as a Chinese-American guy making paella can do it! Enjoy!

I TAKE REQUESTS: OK, so I'm running out of ideas for kitchen demos. If you'd like to see something demonstrated or want to watch me cook something, I welcome your suggestions in the comments section! You can have a video dedicated to you!

FYI: YouTube might be acting up in watching videos, especially if you're using the Firefox browser. So if you don't see a video, click on the title to go to the direct link where the video sits in YouTube. Sigh, technology!

Paella Part One



Paella Part Two

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Chicken, Chorizo, Seafood Paella

Copyright 2008 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients:
4 oz. chicken thighs (2-3 pieces, whole or cut into cubes)
3 oz. Spanish chorizo (one link, diced into small cubes)
1 cup Bomba Spanish paella rice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bellpepper, small dice
¼ cup frozen green peas
5-6 mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded
3 jumbo shrimps
1 ½ cups chicken broth (or 1 can of Swanson chicken broth)
1 tomato, skin removed and deseeded, diced
1 t saffron
1 T smoked sweet paprika (pimenton)
2 T olive oil
salt and pepper

In 11-inch paella pan (or large skillet), brown chicken and sausage with 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat (about 3 minutes for each side of the chicken, leaving the chicken partly rare). Remove meat from pan and set aside. Drain excess oil.

Add another tablespoon of olive oil and saute tomatoes and green bellpepper. This is your sofrito, which is a vegetable paste that’s your base for your paella. (Sofrito can include carrots but never onion.) Cooked until mushy, about 10-15 minutes. Add broth and season with salt and pepper, saffron and paprika. Then add rice evenly around the paella pan. When all the ingredients have been blended, do not stir the rice any more. Add the chicken and chorizo back to the pan by nestling them into the rice. Cook at a medium heat or rolling simmer for about 15 minutes. Cook covered with some newspaper or piece of alumninum foil.

After the rice has been cooking for 5 minutes, remove foil and add the shrimp. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes, then add mussels and peas. Cook uncovered until done. (The rice should look plump and the broth should be dried out around the edge of the pan. To help get the crispy bottom known as the saccorat, turn up the heat for the last two minutes of cooking but be sure not to blacken your rice.)

Makes two to three servings. Garnish with lemon wedges and chopped parsley.

Serve with a glass of pinot noir or shiraz.

TIPS: Bomba is the premium paella rice from Valencia. You can find various brands at gourmet stores in the United States. If you can’t find bomba Spanish rice, some recipes suggest using the arborio (short grain) rice used for making risotto. However, I’ve never tried it so can’t fully recommend it as a decent substitute. I figure, if you’re going to make paella, use everything Spanish.

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Dish on Drinks: Clock Bar

Time Stands Still at this Hotel Bar
335 Powell St. (first floor of the Westin St. Francis), San Francisco
Union Square
PH: 415.397.9222
Daily, 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. (food until 10 p.m. nightly except 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays)
No reservations, major credit cards accepted
www.michaelmina.net/clockbar

In a city that’s turning bartending into an art (I think this is where they came up with the term “mixologist”), it was only a matter of time that some of the biggest names in the restaurant business paid attention to the drinks. And you don’t get any bigger than Michael Mina. (OK, maybe Thomas Keller might trump him.)

This summer, Mina opened Clock Bar at the Westin St. Francis—right across the lobby from his two-star Michelin restaurant that bears his name. Clock Bar gets its name from the grandfather-looking clock that stands ornately right outside.

I visited the Clock Bar for the first time last week on a warm summer night. If it wasn’t so warm, I probably would have appreciated the enclosed bar that has no windows and just lots of gold touches. The space is actually the size of my studio apartment, so in a strange way I felt right at home.

Two glowing podiums dominate the space, which looks like a mix of modern with a beautiful glass encased fireplace and touches of ‘70s geometric shapes highlighted on the shelves at the bar.

Early on the crowd is a mix of tourists, hotel guests and conventioneers in an almost sports bar-like atmosphere. But as the evening goes on, you get the young professionals and bar hoppers looking for a fun time in more of a lounge atmosphere. Clock Bar tries to keep them happy with delicious drinks and a mini bar menu designed by Mina and executed by Clock Bar’s Executive Chef Chris L’Hommedieu.

First a disclaimer: The lighting was such the typical mood lighting of a lounge that it was really difficult getting shots of the food. Ironically, my photos of the drinks didn’t turn out half bad.

Clock Bar’s food menu is reasonably priced between $12 and $15 for eight selections, with a typical bar food attraction to fried things and a nod to Mina’s signature seafood flair. There are two desserts (chocolate panna cotta and blackberry custard) for $8.

The guy sitting next to me was raving about the tuna tartare ($12), which I read is assembled in front of you. But I’ve had so many tuna tartars that I’m a bit tartared out. So I went for the black truffle popcorn ($12), which I heard is quite addictive.

OK, you might think (just like the guy next to me) that $12 is a lot for a bowl of popcorn, but I have to say it smelled wonderful. The mustiness of the few black truffle specks mixed with the fragrant chives were all illuminated by the heat of the popcorn. Even though I’m not a frequent popcorn eater (bits undoubtedly always get stuck in the back of my throat), I can see how these are addictive. But don’t expect the black truffles to be the winning flavor; I think it was more the chives that sealed the deal.

Then I tried the Lamb Tenderloin Panini ($15). It was made up of four quaint pieces of panini almost like finger sandwiches, served with harissa aioli, Sylvetta arugula, and roasted sweet peppers smashed between a nicely toasted panini-style roll. While everything melded nicely together, I couldn’t really detect a strong lamb flavor. It was tender, but it could have been any other meat.

But really, I felt the food was just a supporting act for the drinks. The 14-page drink book included several interesting featured cocktails and then a variety of classics cocktails along with alcohol-specific drinks focused on the likes of gin, vodka, and even absinthe. It’s the type of complete drinks list that would serve well the cast of Mad Men.

I tried a couple of the specialty drinks, created by head bartender Marcovaldo Dionysos. Up first was the Uptown Manhattan ($11). Manhattans are one of my favorite drinks, mostly because I love the amber color. I typically see them served in martini glasses and the bourbon makes you feel like a real man. But they can often be too strong because of that.

Dionysos’ twist on the traditional Manhattan is that he blends in Amaro Nonino instead of vermouth and adds cherry-infused brandy. This is all served in an old-style champagne glass with a burnt orange peel that the bartender lights up right before he serves it to you. (Don’t worry, it just makes a crackling noise and doesn’t light up the rest of the alcohol like a flambé.)

The blend is a bit easier to swallow than the traditionally potent Manhattan. I could probably even drink two of these, but I decided to try another special: the Napa Sour ($11).

I occasionally like a sour drink, like a Lemon Drop. So if you like those types of citrus-based drinks that lean more sour than sweet, then you’ll love Clock Bar’s Napa Sour because I do. I wish this could be my new drink, but it’s only served here. Guess I just have to come back more often.

The Napa Sour is made with Bulleit bourbon, fresh lemon, sugar and egg white all froth up and then topped with a bit of Napa red wine (usually a cabernet sauvignon). It just looked beautiful to me how the bartender was able to keep the red from mixing in with the rest of the drink. And the taste was just a perfect balance of sour and subtle sweetness.

I think it’s too early to really get a sense of what kind of bar Clock Bar will be. At times it feels like a sports bar while other times it’s a trendy lounge. And early on it often feels like a waiting area for diners with reservations at Michael Mina across the way.

Whatever it turns out to be, it has definitely raised the bar on how a hotel bar should be designed and delivered. The food is noteworthy although not necessarily amazing, but the specialty drinks are worth watching the mixologists create and for you to consume.

Single guy rating: 3.5 stars (for the elegant food); 4.25 (for the delish drinks)

Explanation of the single guy's rating system:
1 star = perfect for college students
2 stars = perfect for new diners
3 stars = perfect for foodies
4 stars = perfect for expense accounts
5 stars = perfect for any guy's dream dinner

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Bumpy Bittermelons at U.N. Plaza Farmers Market

I can't tell if the vegetable above is unusually beautiful or if they remind me of rats. Eeek! They're actually bittermelons sold at the farmers' market at the United Nations Plaza on Sunday. And it wasn't just sold at one stand, several farmers were selling these bumpy bittermelons. Bittermelons are pretty popular in Chinese cuisine. My mom used to love stuffing them with fish cake and pan-frying them. I, however, am not my mom so I'm not a big fan of the bittermelon. But they are definitely oddly interesting looking. The farmers market near San Francisco's Civic Center is actually filled with several Asian farmers, so you can find a lot of Asian vegetables for cheap, cheap prices. But no matter how cheap, I can't cut into these bumpy melons.

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Tutti Tutti Fro-Yo in the Marina

When I was traveling in Italy, one of my favorite words I saw around was “tutti.” It just sounded like so much fun, especially when you say it twice, tutti tutti. But what it has to do with frozen yogurt, I can’t tell ya.

But there I was on Chestnut Street in the Marina district of the city at Tuttimelon, another fro-yo shop in the Bay Area. This is actually the second location of Tuttimelon; the first one is in the outer Sunset on Irving Street (and there are three more planned for North Beach, Russian Hill, and Noe Valley and one in Alameda across the bay).

Tuttimelon is a mixed breed of frozen yogurt shop and gelato stand. I guess they’re trying to live up to its Italian-sounding name. (They also sell smoothies.) But I was there in my continuing search for the best fro-yo in the area.

I’ve basically been doing taste-tests with the original flavor, usually topped by strawberries. But I was feeling adventurous on this day so I got Tuttimelon’s mango fro-yo. Other flavors include blueberry and chocolate. I topped my mango fro-yo with strawberries at least, for some consistency.

The sign warns that the mango is tart, and they weren’t kidding. It was more tart than some of the tart original flavors I’ve tried. It was unusually pleasant in a weird shock-to-my-senses good kind of way. But what really impressed me was the thick and creamy texture, which was very nice (and yes, not at all icy). It actually is very similar to the texture found at YoCup. (In fact, in my rankings below I give Tuttimelon a slight edge over YoCup, mostly because I like their mango better than YoCup's and it's slightly cheaper.)

Tuttimelon’s fro-yo is priced at $1.95 (small), $2.95 (medium), and $3.95 (large) for the original while the other flavors cost $2.45 (small), $3.45 (medium), and $4.45 (large). Toppings are 75 cents for one, $1.15 for two, and $1.45 for three.

In its marketing, Tuttimelon seems to emphasize its product’s non-fat status more so than any of the other yogurt shops. It claims on its Web site that its fro-yo is only 30 calories per ounce (and they do give the ounces in their signage so you can figure it out). So for my small mango fro-yo, I ate 150 calories. Hmm, sounds like I could eat five more!

Tuttimelon seems to draw a mixed crowd of those who want the yogurt and those that want the gelato. It’s perfect for the neighborhood (and funny it has the same walls with wavy yogurt swirls like at Fraiche in Palo Alto) and go for the mango if you’re into puckering. ;-)


Single Guy's Fro-yo Rankings:

1. Red Mango, Palo Alto
2. Pinkberry, Southern California
3. Tuttimelon, San Francisco
4. YoCup, San Francisco
5. Fraiche, Palo Alto
6. Icebee, San Francisco
7. Jubili, San Francisco
8. Yogurt Harmony, Berkeley
9. Yogen Früz, San Francisco

Tuttimelon, 2240 Chestnut St., San Francisco (second location at 2150 Irving St.). Opened 7 days a week from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. (later to midnight on Friday and Saturday). www.tuttimelon.com

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Dish on Dining: Chef Lin’s Top Café

Home-style Meals on a Budget
370-372 12th St. (between Franklin and Webster Sts.), Oakland
Chinatown/Downtown
PH: 510.251.2662
Open for lunch and dinner
No reservations, major credit cards accepted

It’s always fun to discover a dive, those out-of-the-way places that isn’t all that in appearance but offers good food and good prices. It’s like your own little secret.

I can’t classify Chef Lin’s Top Café as a dive. It’s a little brighter than a dive, the food is moderate-to-good, and the secret may already be out judging by the mix of customers eating at this spot serving up basic Cantonese-style dishes.

I noticed Chef Lin’s a few months ago while walking to Oakland’s Chinatown for lunch on a workday. Since then I’ve tried it a few times, and can always count on a filling lunch under $6.

The restaurant is by itself east of Chinatown and it’s one of those places that hang colorful papers of the day’s special dishes written in Chinese characters. While most of the servers speak Cantonese, an increasing non-Chinese clientele seem to have no problem ordering in English.

They have a special lunch menu, but it can be confusing because there’s one sheet with lunch specials that’s priced at $6. These include special dishes like clay pot and fresh fish. But on the regular menu, there are also lunch specials listed for $5, often rice dishes topped with things like beef stew or curry chicken. All lunch specials come with the daily soup—often a clear broth with vegetables and herbs like the kind my mom used to make when I was a kid.

Since I speak Cantonese, I often would ask for dishes that may not be on the lunch special menu. Here’s an example of some of the dishes I’ve tried so far:

During my first visit, I ordered their won ton noodle soup. But I wanted some protein like roast duck. But Chef Lin’s, ironically, doesn’t serve duck. The server suggested adding a traditional Chinese beef called ngo lam, which is a five-spice braised beef with a lot of fatty parts. My mom loves eating ngo lam.

My order was a nice bowl of big won tons and pieces of the beef. The won ton was packed with ground pork and the ngo lam was tender and aromatic. But the real winner to me was the noodles—they were surprisingly thin like angel hair pasta, or dare I say it, even thinner? I’ve never had noodles like this before and I’m a big fan of thin, light noodles. I just wished they gave more. Still, I really enjoyed it.

Next I tried something off of the special lunch menu and ordered the Peking Spare Ribs. The menu offers many of these Americanized dishes, such as Mongolian Beef and Kung Pao Chicken. But growing up, the tangy but crispy taste of Peking Spareribs was one of my favorites.

Chef Lin’s version came out in a big plate with rice, but not much greens. Like many Chinese dishes, meat is emphasized more than a balance with vegetables. The texture was also a bit more wet and mushy than I typically like my spareribs, so it was closer to Sweet and Sour Pork than Peking Spareribs.

During one visit, I thought I saw Singapore Fried Rice Noodles on the menu, and this is one of my favorite dishes. Again because the thin rice vermicelli noodles fried up with egg and shrimp in a curry sauce make a nice and tasty meal. But on one visit, I couldn’t find it on the menu.

When the server came to take my order, I just asked if the kitchen could make Singapore Fried Rice Noodles and she said ok, even though they don’t offer it regularly. What came out was this huge order of freshly fried noodles with chunks of shrimp, bell pepper, ham and egg. It was such a hearty dish with a lot of what’s called “wok hay” or “breath of the wok,” which is often the sign of an expert hand in using the high heat of a wok. The only negative thing I would say about this plate of Singapore Fried Rice Noodles was the processed ham used and that it had a wee bit more oil grease clinging to the noodles than I preferred. Still, that didn’t stop me from making two meals out of this one order.

In my most recent visit, I wasn’t sure what an item on the menu was. It was listed as Pork and Dry Mustard Vegetables and I wondered if it was the pickled cabbage that I love. When I asked the server, she told me it was not pickled. She briefly mentioned the pork as “kau yuk” but I think my brain zoned out on what that was and I felt pressure to order the dish after my server convinced me that it was delicious.

When the dish arrived, I realized that I’d ordered one of my mom’s favorite dishes and one that I’ve generally avoided all my life for health reasons. Kau yuk is braised pork belly and when it comes out, people wet their lips looking at the fatty portions of the sliced pork belly. Growing up, I never liked the fatty portion because it was like eating a tub of Crisco. But my mom loves it because, of course, fat is flavor, and it’s braised in a rich, intense marinade of spices and soy.

Since I already ordered the dish, I went ahead and ate at least the lean meat part of the pork belly. An old Chinese man at a nearby table saw my order and salivated at the idea of eating all that fat. He told the server that he’s too old now to eat kau yuk and only young people like myself can handle all that fat.

I didn’t want to disappoint him so I ate most of my kau yuk, which despite the fat was indeed rich in beefy flavor. It’s the kind of dish where the sauce is so good you pour it over your rice to get all of it.

Chef Lin’s dishes are the kind of hearty Cantonese meals of my childhood. And while I’ve avoided many of these dishes in recent years for health reasons, it’s nice to go back to my youth occasionally. I know this is a place my mom would love when she visits me because it’s casual, cheap and comforting.

Single guy rating: 2.5 stars (Home-cooked goodness)

Explanation of the single guy's rating system:
1 star = perfect for college students
2 stars = perfect for new diners
3 stars = perfect for foodies
4 stars = perfect for expense accounts
5 stars = perfect for any guy's dream dinner

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