Happy New Year! The end of the year brings, again, a welcome vacation which made me feel relaxed, happy, and inspired. To recap all the delicious happenings in my second trip to Palm Springs and first trip to Cabo, read on.
Palm Springs
This time, we rented a sweet retro house in a sleepy little desert neighborhood just outside Palm Springs. We made a lot of our own great food, but also hit up some restaurants in Palm Springs, a few of which I’ve added to my list of PS favorites.
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I had dinner at Padrecito last weekend — a newer, stylish Mexican restaurant in Cole Valley. My experience was so-so. While the decor, atmosphere, and menu are well done, I simply wasn’t terribly impressed with what I ordered, nor with the service. As this was my first time in the restaurant, I’ll give the latter the benefit of the doubt, but my lack of enthusiasm probably won’t have me returning terribly soon.
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Happy New Year!
You might think, oh, she hasn’t blogged in a few weeks, she is probably just being typically neglectful of her beloved blog. Wrong! I was on vacation, nerds.
good morning
Since I often speak in math: I wanted to go somewhere warm for the holiday break + I booked to late = Hawaii and Mexico were outrageously expensive + Florida is kinda far away + I’ve never been to Palm Springs. If you carry the one, it works out. Trust me, I’m an engineer.
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La Urbana is the newest schmancy Mexican joint to open up in SF — it’s on Divis and Grove, right next to Bar Crudo and a skip away from Nopa. A friend of mine heard the buzz and made a reservation, and I was happy to check it out.
Quesadillas “Tijuana” – Smoked Goat Cheddar, Summer Vegetables – $8
The space is really cool. It’s open and bright and sufficiently posh for upscale SF dining. It’s pretty loud, however, and toward the end of our meal, we were struggling to hear each other. Now, regarding everything else, apparently Eater SF has already got it covered. Though their article really does just quote Yelp reviews… so I’m going to one-up them and do my own drawn-out Yelp review on something called a blog. Read on!
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Don Pisto’s, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
Yes, this is brunch. You want to eat it.
Don Pisto’s is quite literally the closest restaurant to my house. It’s a block away. It’s hard to ask for a better restaurant to be so close to, honestly. Indeed, let me count the ways:
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I’m thinking I should shorten my food reviews. Sometimes I take notes after I go to a place since I don’t review it for a while after. My notes on this place were as follows*:
Russian Hill, corner of Broadway and Polk. Totally radical space looks like a 70’s swinger’s club or something. Red velvet everywhere, round booths in the wall, dozens of crystal chandeliers from the ceiling, large bar. Apparently a club at night. Apparently an attendant in the men’s room who will hold the water faucet on for you. Ladies room normal, no attendant. Taco selection good. We ordered fish, fried fish, and veggie. Get it “Nick’s Style” with guac and a crispy taco. Which apparently means they just fry it up a bit.
Inside Nick’s (during the day).
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Wow. For so many reasons. Let’s quickly explore the wows about Roosevelt’s:
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Update: La Imperial is now closed.
Atmosphere: 1/5 ♦ Service: 4/5 ♦ Food Quality: 2/5 ♦ Value: 3/5 Times Visited: One ♦ Will I Return?: No, Thank You ___________La Imperial* in Hayward has been around since the ’70s as per the dot matrix printing on the front of their menus. This is a difficult review for me because, like some other Hayward favorites (case #1, case #2), I don’t really like it. But some people are wholly devoted to this place, per their Yelp reviews. And since there’s nothing wrong with disagreeing, I’m going to tell you my side of the story….
You may have noticed Pepe’s Taqueria on one of your millions of trips down Mission Boulevard (if you’re a Hayward frequent-driver, that is); it’s on the west side of the street between Harder and Tennyson (across and down a few blocks from Moreau). It’s a smaller place, but it’s got its own parking lot and it’s painted bright yellow so that it blends in a bit less with the flooring stores, consignment furniture lots and appliance outlets.
The interior has a dated, fast-food feel to it; nothing special there for sure. But what did you expect from a taqueria in the bowels of Hayward? I was just excited that there was no bullet-proof glass between me and the cashier. The menu is posted above the counter and offers all the taqueria-style favorites (burritos, tacos and the like) for pretty cheap prices….
Ever drive down Mission Boulevard (in Hayward) and see the the droves of Mexican restaurants that line the street? There are a great many of them, it’s true. Los Dos Hermanos is one of the many choices on this lonesome, long strip of road and resides on the west side of the street between Tennyson and Harder….