Scowl, Nu?

A Ferry Plaza Taqueria

Review of: Pancho Villa Taqueria

By: Avery Glasser

Rating: 4

Read review on Judy’s Book.

Like their main location at 16th and Valencia and their sister shop, El Toro, Pancho Villa Embarcadero is a good spot for a well made burrito or quesadilla. The carnitas are flavorful, the carne asada (chopped steak) is smoky, and the al Pastor (spicy pork) is just perfect when wrapped up in a fresh tortilla with rice, beans, cheese, sour cream and guacamole.

Are there better burritos? Sure – but not in the Embarcadero/South Beach area and especially not after 4pm or on the weekends when everything by our apartment seems to close down.

The food is a definite 3 star, but the fact that it brings affordable food to the Ferry Building area is worth a fourth. Sorry Mijita – I just can’t justify your wallet draining tacos any more.

Best Coffee in SF

Review of: Blue Bottle Coffee Company

By: Avery Glasser

Rating: 5

Read review on Judy’s Book.

One of two destination coffee houses in The City, Blue Bottle has dramatically improved the consistancy of their roast since bringing in a new roasting machine, making Blue Bottle arguably the best beans produced in the Bay Area (though I am still a Ritual fan for the luxury of their cappuccinos).

Blue Bottle has made me start to hate to-go coffee. If you don’t have a few minutes to get a gibraltar or cappuccino and talk with the barista, enjoying a perfect coffee out of a proper ceramic cup – you probably shouldn’t be allowed to have one. Spend your time in line contemplating what you are going to have, wait with exhilirating anticipation as you see the barista making your drink, and spend a couple of minutes in pure contemplation while you enjoy it. Such a drink shouldn’t be rushed – sloshed into a paper cup and chugged as you rush to your next appointment. As they do it in Italy and France, slow down and take a quick pause with a coffee and actually engage in conversation, or read the newspaper, or just take a minute to enjoy a perfect cup.

The consistancy issues that plagued them initially seem to be gone with the new roasting equipment, but at the same time, the individual character of the beans haven’t been impacted. For coffee purists, it’s Mecca, Medina and the whole Magillah.

If you think that coffee only deserves hot pressurized water and a little whole milk foam – get ready to stand in line with the rest of the coffee junkies. If, however, you want an eggnog-cinnamon-dolce frappuccino coffee-type beverage, go back to Starbucks.

Great Cocktails in Hayes Valley

Review of: Sauce

By: Avery Glasser

Rating: 5

Read review on Judy’s Book.

5 stars for the bar
Food not reviewed yet

On the recommendation of Isotope owner James, my wife and I decided to head over to Sauce for a quick cocktail on the way back home after picking up some comics at his shop.

The bar is warm and inviting, and the drinks are both strong and well poured. An “el Diablo” was well made, with a distinct tequila flavor typically missing in most tequila cocktails. My wife’s “Pink Pearl Necklace” (gotta love that name) was also quite good.

The cocktail highlight was the negroni – quite possibly the best I have had in the United States. Made with Nr. 209 gin, it was strong, herbal and perfectly balanced in its sweetness.

If you’re looking for good cocktails in Hayes Valley, Sauce is highly recommended.

Visit Date: 2/5/06

The Coffee of Despair

Review of: Cafe Du Soleil

By: Avery Glasser

Rating: 2

Read review on Judy’s Book.

Ah, Cafe du Soleil, or as I have been calling it, Cafe Desole… or Cafe of Apologies. Every time I have stopped in, the barista or server is apologizing for making a mistake: making a large instead of a small coffee, pouring something into a ceramic cup instead of a to-go cup, or in one case, overcharging us a couple of dollars (wish we caught that before leaving).

The coffee is ok… some of the best in the neighborhood, but nothing amazing. The barista steams a good pot of milk, but the coffee tends to be a little undertamped leaving an astringent espresso to be used as a base. The bread products, being from La Boulange/Bay Bread, are very good – the almond croissant is actually one of the best I have had in the city.

The decor is fantastic, and the selection of beer is quite nice – about a dozen taps with some intereting choices available.

Nothing amazing, but it’s a great addition to the Lower Haight – better than another damned Starbucks opening up.

Delivery Pizza in SOMA

Review of: Goat Hill Pizza Delivery

By: Avery Glasser

Rating: 3

Read review on Judy’s Book.

Lately I have been getting a little depressed about the quality of delivery pizza in the neighborhood (Mission Bay/Ballpark). I mean, Amici’s is good, but is 100% better when you eat it at the restaurant. North Beach is pretty much inedible in my book – like a doughy sponge covered in gloppy cheese. I guess it’s the Noah’s Bagels of pizza. Extreme? Nice, but I don’t feel cheddar has any place on a slice. Over the years, I’ve pretty much tried them all.

Except for Goat Hill, which I had for the first time today based on local reviews of the Harrison street location. For this test, my wife and I went with both a cheese pizza and a combo pizza – loaded to the hilt with pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, green peppers, green onions, black olives and whatever else they could fit on the pizza.

The delivery: In the driving, pouring rain, the pizzas came here in 45 minutes, still very hot and without the dreaded cheese-slide that results in all of the toppings shifting over to one corner of the pie. It came with a bag full of paper plates, cheese packets and pepper flakes.

The Food: This is what I would call a standard “California Pie” – sourdough crust slightly dusted with cornmeal and covered with a slightly sweet sauce and a good layer of cheese. It’s not what I would call world class pizza by any means, but it’s a great delivery pie – able to hold up to the weight of the toppings and the potentially sogginess typically caused by the delay caused by delivery.

The pizza is a 4 out of 5. One point comes off due to the $3.95 delivery charge, bringing the final score down to three stars.

Overall, if you’re a SOMA dweller looking for a good delivery pizza, you could do much worse than Goat Hill.

Soju Cocktails, Wine and Beer

Review of: Magnet Bar & Lounge

By: Avery Glasser

Rating: 3

Read review on Judy’s Book.

When walking by at 6:30 on a Saturday, the bar was completely dark, with a pair of homeless people sitting in the stoop, so I figured it was another casualty of the”hipper than thou” 2006 bar and restaurant scene. Needless to say, I was happily surprised to see that when walking by at 10pm that the bar was open.

Magnet is not a full bar – serving only beer ($4 per pint), wine, sake and soju cocktails. Personally, I am not a fan of soju as a mixer except in a highball (chu-hai!), but when in Rome…

The bar staff was extremely friendly, the crowd was tolerable (until 11pm when it got flooded), and the beer (Deschutes Mirror Pond) and cocktail (mango-infused soju with Red Bull – the bartender’s current favorite) were fine.

Nothing exceptional – just a nice sort of lounge (with an Apple driven music system) with friendly staff and a happy dog that visited everybody in the loft-styled bar within the hour I was there.