Bandera

This post is also from my Chicago trip last week. I was in town just for a couple of days and invited my friends from twitter to lunch. Luckily, the locals picked Bandera, which turned out to be great.

I was told I had to have the corn bread there because it was the best in town. I must admit that corn bread is not my favorite thing and prior to coming to the US I had never had it, but French Fries makes it often enough that I've gotten used to it. Still, not my favorite dish. Then I tried this:



I dont' know if it really is the best in Chicago, but it's definitely the best I've ever had. And I know that if I went back there I'd definitely have it again.

Since I couldn't just have corn bread for lunch (though I may bend that rule next time I'm there), I ordered their Bandera-style Roasted Chicken with Spanish rice:




The bird was tender and soft and though we talked way too much over lunch, I managed to eat most of the plate, which was quite large (half breast and drumstick-thigh combo). I didn't care much for the rice -- seemed a little overcooked -- somewhere between Spanish rice and risotto. The chicken was very moist so a more lose rice or even some farofa would have been better (but I'm biased, of course).

The restaurant itself was very pleasant. Reminded me a lot of churrascarias I used to go in Sao Paulo -- large display of rotating roasting chickens right as you come in and a oak decorated ambient with low lights and lots of waiting staff zooming around.

Farofa: *** out of 5

Forks Down Verdict: Excellent American Cuisine, perfect for lunch-time get together.

Delica rf-1 (2/11/07)

Coming soon to this very spot, a review by the traveling Farofa of her lunch at Delica rf-1 in San Francisco 's inimitable Ferry Building. (French Fries didn't get to go along to San Francisco, and is shamelessly hoping that Farofa picked up some toothsome goodies that will survive the trip back well). In the meantime, nosh on these yummy pictures.

Farofa(F): As a first timer in San Francisco I was overwhelmed by the possibilities of places to eat, but having only one day of leisure I had to place my bet on a few options; I decided to spend the day walking around and ended up by the water at the inimitable Ferry Building, where I had lunch at Delica rf-1. Despite the bizarre name, it is a pretty outstanding place to eat.




Delicia rf-1 is the brainchild of Kozo Iwata, apparently inspired, as many other restaurateurs before him have been, by the Alice Waters 'fresh, local, delicious' mandate. The whole 'Japanese Deli' concept sounds a little funny at first, but it breaks down into a little bit bento, a little bit blackboard, a lot of very good produce made into very good food. It's in an ultra-modern space in the high-rent district of the Ferry Building just south of Chinatown), and the prices reflect that to a certain extent, but are overall pretty reasonable.

Though I generally don't care about vegan options, this might be a good place for those into non-dairy meat-free cuisine. The menu is vast and I wanted a little taste of everything... but restrained myself to a few samples – something fried, something soupy, something veggie, and something weird/different.


Above: Miso soup, Fried Oyster, Kakiage Tempura and Roast Beef Sushi

I like tempura and it’s often a sure bet for comfort food. There is only one way for tempura to be bad: if it's cold. The Kakiage Tempura (mix of shredded burdock root, carrots, onions, and edamame with white shrimp) was cold tempura. Is it too much to ask for tempura to be fried shortly before serving? Maybe I've been spoiled by the other 4,782 Japanese restaurants I have been to in my life, but it was most disappointing because the produce used was clearly fresh and good.

Fortunately, that was the only bad thing about Delica rf-1 (my mother would add that the tableware was also lacking, but I was hungry enough to not care). The fried oyster had a perfect crunchy outside and soft warm inside. I almost got another one because It had been a while since I had good fried Oyster (warning: stay away from Reading Terminal's Pearl's Oyster Bar in Philly). And while the tableware may not have been much, the view was spectacular.




I ordered Roast Beef Sushi for fun, it just sounded weird (and I’ve had successful experiences with weird-sounding sushi - fois-gras sushi being the best). The menu said “Our original sushi dish with Meyer Ranch natural, hormone-free beef, topped with baby arugula, minced shallots, and julienne radish, wrapped with Nori seaweed. Wasabi is included.” – and the result was a tasty sushi, though it had also been sitting on display a little longer than I would have liked. Interestingly, even though it was a two-bite investment, it filled me up the way a good roast-beef platter fills you in. I felt a bit like Alice in Wonderland.



Miso soup with Shimeji mushrooms, brown mushrooms, and age tofu. ($3.25)

I don't think anyone would consider Miso soup the highlight of a meal, but this one was a star. It was by far, the tastiest miso soup I have ever had - and I love miso soup. Miso soup is supposed to be served with sashimi to clean your palate in between different fish (among other things), but this one was made to shine: The miso was high quality, the shimeji and brown mushrooms were fresh, and even the age tofu (which I'm not a big fan of), was filled with the flavorful broth, making every bite as pleasurable as the last. I had a big smile on my face.

French Fries Note from Afar: Some bonus linkaliciousness with a recipe to duplicate Chef Iwata's sesame dressing (it says for over asparagus, I say for over anything)

Farofa: **** out of 5
French Fries: "Whining at the unfairness of the universe."

Forks Down Verdict: Farofa says YUM to this great lunch spot, but she hopes that if she ever goes back the tempura is hot.

Delica rf-1
1 Ferry Bldg
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 834-0344

Apamate (12/29/06)

Farofa and I had wanted to try Apamate for a while - it's just a few blocks from the house and I had been getting good tummy-feelings about it from the reviews I'd heard, so on a cold December day a few days before New Year's we wandered down that way for bunch-time tapas.



The ruddy red/orange walls and industrial fixings made the cold day seem less biting, and the wall of Spanish specialty products (including salt-packed anchovies for Farofa and yummy-looking Mebrillio for French Freis) made our mouths water before we even opened the menu. Farofa and French Fries are both kinda little, and have gotten spanked with the greedystick at tapas places by ordering above & beyond what their bellies can manage in the past. Determined not to make this mistake, Farofa stuck to a mere 3 tapas from from the list of about 15. French Fries always hopes for happy eggs to be a part of her brunch-time occasions and so was dissapointed to learn that they were out of the Spanish tortillas and was convinced to settle on quiche by the incusion of her favorite drunken goat cheese.





(Counterclockwise From L-R):
Setas Al Ajillo Shitake & Portabella mushrooms sautéed with olive oil, garlic, parsley & a Rioja reduction ($2.25)
Esparragos Con Jamon Asparagus wrapped in Serrano ham, lightly breaded and sauteed in olive oil ($3.25)
Carne Con Patatas Al Cabrales A slice of griled rib eye served with a cabrales reduction sauce & crispy potatoes ($3.25)



Quiche Vegetariano asparagus, piquillo peppers & drunken goat cheese from murcia semi soft goat cheese bathed in red wine ($7.95)