Whoa 2012, slow down! It’s already December and all year, I haven’t written about the one thing that makes my life complete. That single thing that gets me out of bed every morning (seriously). This year would not be complete without posting an article (or in this case, more like a love letter) to my all-time favorite bakery, whose name any regular KelsEats visitor should know by now. Yep, you guessed it! Knead Patisserie.
Before proclaiming my love for this bakery once again, I browsed through my previous articles, wanting to ensure that I didn’t repeat anything I’ve written in the past. Although I’ve publicly given most of Shauna des Voignes’ pastries piles of compliments, there is a noticeable, gaping hole: I left one MAJOR item out of all of my writing. Therefore, I’m dedicating this piece to the #1 pastry Shauna does better than any other patisserie in the world: the croissant…Continue Reading
Tags: bakery, cheap food, dessert, french food, pastries, the mission
Rating: 
Dear Mr. Pollo,
I owe you an apology. No, it’s not for what you might be thinking – I’ve never written unsavory remarks about you or slandered you to my friends. In fact I only had positive things to say in my previous write-up of your business. But I did make one mistake in that first review – one big mistake. I underestimated you.
See, even after publically endorsing your Pork and Cheese Arepa as one of the best I’ve ever tasted, I still wrote you off in my mind as a simple specialty shop – my go-to place when I’m in the mood for no-fuss Venezuelan cuisine. But then, one fateful night earlier this year, I finally opened my mind up enough to look past your arepas and venture into tasting menu territory. Now, after making countless return visits for your nightly-changing menu, it’s obvious that my initial perception of you was wrong. Completely, embarrassingly wrong, and for that, I’m sorry…Continue Reading
Tags: california cuisine, cheap food, latin american cuisine, the mission, venezuelan cuisine
Rating:
San Francisco is obsessed with perfecting the Neapolitan pizza. Actually, a better way to say it is San Francisco is obsessed with adding their own unique twist to the most classic definition of Neapolitan pizza, instead creating variations that almost classify as the original but more closely resemble a close cousin. A16, Flour and Water, Ragazza, Delfina Pizzeria, Beretta, Una Pizza Napoletana, Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, Zero Zero…the list goes on. It’s so prolific that, other than a few, well-known deep-dish pizzerias I began thinking that this was practically the only non-chain type of pizza available in this city….Continue Reading
Tags: cheap food, pizza, the mission
What was your single favorite thing that your parents cooked when you were growing up? Was it some kind of special pasta? Or maybe your mom cooked chicken a way that no one else has ever been able to replicate? Because my parents happen to be quite adept in the kitchen, I could probably list 20 different dishes that are deeply ingrained in my memory. However, if I had to name just one, there’s a particular dish that has always stood out: I grew up eating the best eggs benedict most people have ever tasted…Continue Reading
Tags: brunch, california cuisine, eggs, lunch, the mission
9) Whole-Roasted Poularde, Saison
2010 also marked the year that I was introduced to the high-end chicken dish. No more of those traditional marinated, grilled, or fried preparations that I’d been used to – no, no. Instead, “poularde” replaced the common “chicken” on upscale menus, and techniques like “slow-cooked” or “Hung for 3 days to intensify flavor” started popping up. In just one year this mild, overlooked, household meat transformed into a tender, moist, must-order entrée, and nobody did it better than Saison. In 8 extraordinary dishes, it was the Whole-Roasted Poularde with berbere spices, smoked date milk, and roasting juices, paired with a chard leaf rolled with foie gras mousse, that stood out…Continue Reading
Tags: 100 best of the bay, fine dining, joshua skenes, Michelin-rated restaurant, the mission, Top 10 of 2010
Below is my latest article for ScoutMob SF!
PBR, we can never get enough of it, right? I mean, there’s a reason it has an award ribbon on the can. We’re used to gulping them down three, I mean, one at a time, but the Mission’s B3 has found a way to use one of our favorite refreshments to make one of our favorite foods: onion rings. But there’s way more to the menu than just Pabst Blue Ribbon beer-battered onion rings. As Local Scout Kelsey Elliott explains, before you go anywhere else, go to B3.
Let’s talk onion rings. I think we all know what we don’t like: super greasy batter covering scalding hot onions that come out whole as soon as you take a tiny bite. Unfortunately, for the most part, this is the world of onion rings we live in…Continue Reading
Tags: b3, burgers, the mission, wines
Philz has completely ruined me. I used to be happy with a regular grande coffee from Starbucks. I used to pay $2, $2.50 max for a cup of coffee. I used to be ignorant and happy. But now that I know how incredibly delicious coffee can be, now that I know its true potential, there’s no going back to the naive bliss I once had.
Now if I don’t start every single morning with Philz coffee I’m a bitter, angry person. It sounds arrogant, but it’s honestly become difficult to drink anything else. It’s just too. damn. good….Continue Reading
Tags: coffee, the mission
It all began one cold January night at Frances. I ordered a dessert featuring Humphry Slocombe’s olive oil ice cream, which was so shockingly good I set out to discover what other treats this little ice cream parlor had to offer. Little did I know that only 4 months later I’d be calling to ask about their flavors 4 times per week, have their phone number into my contacts, and eventually find myself living a mere 4 blocks from their front door…Continue Reading
Tags: dessert, ice cream, the mission
If someone would’ve told me five months ago that, by October, I’d be craving a chilled suimono salad once a week, I would’ve looked that person right in the eye and said, “What the hell a chilled suimono salad?” After hearing that it’s made with sea bean, cucumber, squash blossom, wakame seaweed, tofu, and served in a dashi broth ($14), I would’ve politely explained that I’m not the biggest fan of cucumber, seaweed, tofu, or dashi broth and proceeded to laugh at such a ridiculous prediction. Ah, silly, silly girl.
This unique salad, the ultimate expression of freshness, is one of many reasons why in a very short span of time Nombe has become one of my favorite restaurants. It was in the spring when Nombe first impressed me with its California-inspired take on traditional Japanese izakaya fare, offering both a fixed selection of dishes, as well as many that evolve with the season. Now five months later, even with the summer’s proliferation of much-hyped restaurants, Nombe has continued to stand out from the crowd…Continue Reading
Tags: california cuisine, japanese cuisine, sf examiner review, the mission
\
Following Jonathan Kauffman’s footsteps, my quest to find San Francisco’s best arepa led me to Pica Pica Maize, a relatively new Mission eatery located at 15th and Valencia. Although Kauffman was rather critical of many of Pica Pica Maize’s menu selections, his description of his arepa led me to believe that I would have a similarly satisfying arepa experience. I was wrong. Comparing Mr. Pollo to Pica Pica is like comparing McDonald’s to In&Out – the menu selection may be similar, but the quality of food is radically different…Continue Reading
Tags: cheap food, jonathan kauffman, latin american cuisine, the mission