I supposed I could have titled this post "Going Down on 18th" or "Eating Out in the Castro"... but let's leave the cheeky puns to the Sit 'n' Spin and the Sausage Factory. This one time, in the Castro... I went out for an afternoon and stopped at four restaurants on my way to and from Dolores Park. Oh, and there was a pause for puppies in there too.
Stop #1. Queen Malika, a neighborhood cafe and crêperie that also has Hong Kong-style dim sum. I stopped for two things: a savory crêpe and a sweet crêpe. And I was informed very apologetically that they were slammed earlier in the day (go figure - sunny winter Saturday in SF) and only had batter for one more crêpe. (Ignore the fact that you and I both know how easy it is to make crêpe batter). What's a girl to do? Order the Nutella crêpe with fresh strawberries, that's what. Tasty start to the day (yeah, I didn't leave the house until 2:00ish).
Also, I sat at a sidewalk table and saw a lot of puppies because the other guy at the other table had three dogs with him. Also, there are a lot of dogs in the Castro. Mostly tiny.
Stop #2. Kasa Indian Eatery. I actually stopped at Takara Sushi to try and get some real lunch, but they were closing at the time (2:30) for the afternoon changeover. This is sort of a foreign concept in the areas I've lived in the Midwest, certainly in Madison. Most restaurants stay open between lunch and dinner, or they just open for dinner. Anyway.
This is a food court-style "build a combo plate" type of restaurant, where most people build combos and you can still order a la carte if you wish. I built a combo plate with chicken tika masala and saag paneer. The plate also included roti, basmati rice, chutneys, raita, daal, and the iceberg lettuce salad-like thing you'll see on many Indian lunch buffets. I thought it was pretty good, but I would put it last on the list of Indian food I've ever had, particularly in San Francisco. I still think about that place next to Bourbon and Branch where I ate in January 2008, and (as mentioned previously) I liked Tandoor on Haight very much. But this was a good place to watch people go by from the storefront window counter.
PAUSE FOR PUPPIES!
On my way from Takara Sushi to Kasa, I passed a Bank of America branch. Where there were puppies. For adoption. I should clarify that in this case the "puppies" were not, in fact, juvenile dogs - they were simply small cute dogs that needed families. I am such a sucker for this kind of thing. And so are all people in the Castro, particularly those walking their equally tiny dogs. I fell for this one named Biscuit (which I like to pronounce "biz-cue-it"), mostly because she was tiny and calmed right down the minute I started holding her - swoon. I tried to get this couple who already have a pomchi (pomeranian/long-haired chihuahua) to adopt her, but no go.
And then, I left the puppies and walked by the biggest Newfoundland dog I've ever seen. So puffy-fluffy. Chocolate brown, looked kinda like a Wookie-bear-dog. Named Dexter. If I could take a dog home, it would be Dexter; I love big fluffy dogs. And he'd get a cuter nickname. But Dexter's too big to bring on the plain without putting him in cargo, and also he belongs to someone who seemed disinclined to give him to me. At least I got to pet him. And get a slobbery kiss. No photo, sadly.
Stop #3. Samovar. After hanging out in Dolores Park for a while, the strong wind finally made me chilled, even in the sunshine, so I started walking back the way I came and grabbed a table at the incredibly popular and crowded Samovar Tea Lounge. I'd actually had tea at the Zen Valley location on a previous SF trip, but didn't remember until just now looking up the website link. This is a place for die-hard tea people, the kind of people who like food with their tea in a themed kind of way (aka, tea service). English Service, Russian Service, Japanese Service... the list goes on. But I was still full from lunch, so I simply ordered a pot of Golden Phoenix tea. Amazing. But not amazing enough to keep me from becoming even more chilled as the sun went behind the buildings and the wind picked up, making my sidewalk table a bit too cold to keep. So, I moved on.
Stop #4. Takara Sushi. Will and I stopped here to grab sushi carryout for all of us back at the apartment. I'd seen it on Yelp, had tried to eat there earlier in the day when they were closed for the afternoon, and I was happy that I could still make it happen and share the experience with someone else. We ordered some rolls (Shrimp Tempura, Spider - with fried soft-shell crab, not spiders, Volcano, yellowtail) and the Nigiri sampler. The only thing that we didn't consume was the octopus nigiri (none of us really care for octopus) and a shrimp nigiri (just too full, actually). It was tasty, and no time for pictures because I think Will was just going to inhale it all himself he was so hungry.
Not a stop this time. Anchor Oyster Bar. I still haven't been to the famed Swan Depot Oyster Bar, but it's on my list; I'll probably hit it up the next time I'm here with a weekday to kill waiting in line. In the meantime, I will recommend this place for seafood (particularly oysters and fresh in-season crab) in the Castro.
Stop #1. Queen Malika, a neighborhood cafe and crêperie that also has Hong Kong-style dim sum. I stopped for two things: a savory crêpe and a sweet crêpe. And I was informed very apologetically that they were slammed earlier in the day (go figure - sunny winter Saturday in SF) and only had batter for one more crêpe. (Ignore the fact that you and I both know how easy it is to make crêpe batter). What's a girl to do? Order the Nutella crêpe with fresh strawberries, that's what. Tasty start to the day (yeah, I didn't leave the house until 2:00ish).
Also, I sat at a sidewalk table and saw a lot of puppies because the other guy at the other table had three dogs with him. Also, there are a lot of dogs in the Castro. Mostly tiny.
Stop #2. Kasa Indian Eatery. I actually stopped at Takara Sushi to try and get some real lunch, but they were closing at the time (2:30) for the afternoon changeover. This is sort of a foreign concept in the areas I've lived in the Midwest, certainly in Madison. Most restaurants stay open between lunch and dinner, or they just open for dinner. Anyway.
This is a food court-style "build a combo plate" type of restaurant, where most people build combos and you can still order a la carte if you wish. I built a combo plate with chicken tika masala and saag paneer. The plate also included roti, basmati rice, chutneys, raita, daal, and the iceberg lettuce salad-like thing you'll see on many Indian lunch buffets. I thought it was pretty good, but I would put it last on the list of Indian food I've ever had, particularly in San Francisco. I still think about that place next to Bourbon and Branch where I ate in January 2008, and (as mentioned previously) I liked Tandoor on Haight very much. But this was a good place to watch people go by from the storefront window counter.
PAUSE FOR PUPPIES!
On my way from Takara Sushi to Kasa, I passed a Bank of America branch. Where there were puppies. For adoption. I should clarify that in this case the "puppies" were not, in fact, juvenile dogs - they were simply small cute dogs that needed families. I am such a sucker for this kind of thing. And so are all people in the Castro, particularly those walking their equally tiny dogs. I fell for this one named Biscuit (which I like to pronounce "biz-cue-it"), mostly because she was tiny and calmed right down the minute I started holding her - swoon. I tried to get this couple who already have a pomchi (pomeranian/long-haired chihuahua) to adopt her, but no go.
 |
| Biscuit and me, enjoying a moment in the sunshine |
Stop #3. Samovar. After hanging out in Dolores Park for a while, the strong wind finally made me chilled, even in the sunshine, so I started walking back the way I came and grabbed a table at the incredibly popular and crowded Samovar Tea Lounge. I'd actually had tea at the Zen Valley location on a previous SF trip, but didn't remember until just now looking up the website link. This is a place for die-hard tea people, the kind of people who like food with their tea in a themed kind of way (aka, tea service). English Service, Russian Service, Japanese Service... the list goes on. But I was still full from lunch, so I simply ordered a pot of Golden Phoenix tea. Amazing. But not amazing enough to keep me from becoming even more chilled as the sun went behind the buildings and the wind picked up, making my sidewalk table a bit too cold to keep. So, I moved on.
 |
| After drinking water out of a cocktail shaker at my friends' (due to lack of clean glassware) and this stainless steel tumbler at Samovar, I' think I've decided to get some stainless steel drinking vessels when I'm back. They're cool. |
Stop #4. Takara Sushi. Will and I stopped here to grab sushi carryout for all of us back at the apartment. I'd seen it on Yelp, had tried to eat there earlier in the day when they were closed for the afternoon, and I was happy that I could still make it happen and share the experience with someone else. We ordered some rolls (Shrimp Tempura, Spider - with fried soft-shell crab, not spiders, Volcano, yellowtail) and the Nigiri sampler. The only thing that we didn't consume was the octopus nigiri (none of us really care for octopus) and a shrimp nigiri (just too full, actually). It was tasty, and no time for pictures because I think Will was just going to inhale it all himself he was so hungry.
Not a stop this time. Anchor Oyster Bar. I still haven't been to the famed Swan Depot Oyster Bar, but it's on my list; I'll probably hit it up the next time I'm here with a weekday to kill waiting in line. In the meantime, I will recommend this place for seafood (particularly oysters and fresh in-season crab) in the Castro.
Puppies and food!?! Sounds like a fantastic day to me.
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