Detox

Last Saturday pretty much went like this: catching the Cal game at the Australian over bar food and beer, banana pudding from Magnolia and a stop at 53rd+6th for chicken and rice before heading to Quality Meats for an aged rib steak dinner (with bone marrow and sides), then a happy ending at Happy Endings and another stop for chicken and rice.  The following days were not much better – brunch at Jane, and, yet again, another stop at chicken and rice (that makes 3).  My body is hating me right now so I’ve been on super detox and it feels so gooooood!

Totto: definitely not in Kansas anymore

… unless Kansas has 2-hr waits for authentic and hip Japanese food.

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I’ve done a little bit of sampling of the Totto empire – Yakitori Totto and Totto Ramen, both conveniently situated very closely to me.  While I do enjoy izakayas, I’ve never been a huge yakitori person mainly because I don’t think grilling is all that difficult.  I also love ramen, but it’s one of those things that I love despite how good or bad it is (like mac n cheese, cheesecake, etc).  I’ll eat it AND probably like it even if it’s bad, but this doesn’t mean I don’t think it’s bad (liking and thinking something is bad are two separate entities).  What can I say, discerning palates can have guilty pleasures too!

Despite these personal preferences, I thought both were really good!  At Yakitori Totto, the Shirauo Kara-age, or deep-fried silver fish with a matcha salt (essentially matcha powder with salt), was particularly tasty.  You couldn’t really taste the fish, but it was nice snacking on fried bits with a yummy salt.  Dessert was lame – a matcha “affogato” was conceptually interesting, but the tea was so weak it really didn’t add anything and was definitely not even close to an espresso’s role in a real affogato.

At Totto Ramen, I’ve had both the chicken paitan and miso ramen bowls, both satisfying.  Again, I love all ramen so I might not be able to give the critique some may be looking for.  Even though it’s a chicken broth, it’s still super thick, rich, and fatty.  Noodles have a great bite to them, and pork slices are torched with some char.  Really perfect for these random rainy days and SF weather we’ve been having.  The only downside is the wait, ughhh.  Today I called during lunchtime and asked what the wait time was – very short, they said.  Barely any wait at all, they said.  Well, if 30 minutes is short, that says something about how long it usually is.  And yes, I’ve experienced that too. Good thing I have all the time in the world! =P

Beef: it’s what’s for dinner (and lunch)

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Gilt City apparently has this deal for DB Bistro – $36 brunch prix fixe which is really great considering that you can select from some of their entrees that cost about the same alone.  This would’ve been awesome had our party of 4 had 4 coupons instead of 2, so I forked over the $32 for my burger.  Word has it they initiated the whole gourmet burger craze, and let me tell ya, foie and braised short ribs inside the patty is more than just gourmet – it’s just unnecessary.  It’s also piled so high that it can’t stand on its own and you have to fork and knife it.  Gluttony can be classy too.

To top it off, I decided to go to Prime Meats that same day for dinner.  They’re also known for their burger, but how can one eat 2 expensive burgers in one day?  Naturally, I opted for the expensive pork chop instead.  It had a great char and rich flavor without cutting it too close to bacon-status.  Served with grilled peaches and some wilted greens, and eaten after an heirloom tomato salad, it was a great shout out to the waning days of summer.  The fries to the burger were also salty and soggy – just the way I like them.  It was a really great meal that reminded me A LOT of SF and Nopa, that is, if Nopa had to make do with sub-par ingredients.

I’ve Arrived!

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My first meal off the plane was chicken and rice from the 53rd/6th halal cart. Lunch the next day included kati rolls from the Biryani Cart and a balsamic fig & mascarpone/snickerdoodle ice cream sandwich from Coolhaus… then dinner at Shake Shack (note to self: the Jelly’s Last Donut concrete is gross).  I also stopped by the summer Greenmarket at Rockefeller. Pretty lame, but I did pick up a few mediocre peaches.  Midtown is quite convenient!