Monthly Archives: June 2017

Crustacean – San Francisco, California

Like my other favorites in the Bay Area, this restaurant holds a lot of good memories. I took Beans here when he was 3 years old. He did not care much for seafood so I fed him at home. While in the restaurant, the waiters were kind enough to get him some brownies for him to munch on while we were eating. But instead of eating it, he decided to break it  in crumbs and scatter it all over the chairs and floor. The huge clean-up necessitated a generous tip, far more than what those stupid brownies were worth….

The Roast Crab– an entire dungeness crab roasted to perfection with garlic and spices.

This has been my bench-mark on how a crab needs to be cooked. High quality crab seasoned to perfection. Worth ruining your manicure for.

When it comes to crabs, I DO NOT SHARE. So D, and to have his own.

Drunken Crab an entire dungeness crab simmered in a broth of three wines,
cracked black pepper and scallion

This is what he got. Which is almost as good as my order. That thing was cooked in thre kinds of wine, what could go wrong?

An’s Garlic Noodles egg noodles infused with An’s famous garlic sauce

I strongly advised against sharing this too.

What a nice, non-crabsharing couple we make!!!

Crustacean San Francisco
1475 Polk St San Francisco, CA 94109

 

 

 

Spinnaker – Sausalito, California

I have so many good memories associated with food. That’s why I became a food blogger. For some reason, I selectively remember places and events with the food I ate with the experience. Classic example: I cannot name a single pagoda that I have been to in Thailand but I can tell you the specific street corner that sells the most amazing skewered chicken in the country (possibly the world).

Going back to Spinnaker invokes these memories. This is my favorite brunch place in Sausalito. D and I used to take Beans here back when he was just about 5 years old. He loved looking at the kayakers passing under the restaurant. This was also the place where D proudly boasted that he was able to get Beans to eat fish for the first time. The fact that the said fish got puked out in D’s brand news Mercedes later on, makes that memory even more precious.

This is me, Beans,  and my mom, circa 2008
This is me and Beans, 9 years after!!!

When doing reservations, always try to get a table with a view. In Europe, most restaurants would have you pay extra for that. In the US, all you have to do is ask…
Specialty margarita and D with his Syrah, Dumol, Russian River 2012
My favorite—BOUILLABAISSE
Prawn, scallop, clams, mussels & fresh fish in a rich broth. I have tried (unsuccessfully) to make this at home, I can never make the broth to carry that much flavor. I need a better recipe, or just keep coming here.
D had SALMON FILET STUFFED
WITH MUSHROOMS
Portobello, Shiitake & Crimini mushrooms in a shellfish & cream Besciamella
Beans had QUESADILLA WITH CRAB, SHRIMP & FRESH BASIL
Served with tomato-cilantro salsa
& French fries
Dessert – Bread Pudding Cake
With a tunnel of Rich Custard … Served with an Old Fashioned Jack Daniel’s Whiskey Butter Sauce. So you know me by now, the best thing about this is the whiskey sauce.

Our favorite dessert here was cherries jubilee. We were informed that they have stopped making it due to some fire hazard decree. For crying out loud. Now I remember why I left California…. hehe.

It was great to revisit our old haunts.Even better to note that not much has changed, food-wise. Quality is always consistent. Progress requires change. But there’s nothing like familiarity that anchors you down to your history and in this fast-changing world, we need that.