The enormous "Triple Threat Burrito" from Papalote

I’m a semi-frequent watcher of Throwdown with Bobby Flay on Food Network.  I like the concept of an Iron Chef challenging and surprising other cooks and chefs to make what they do best, while he does his own interpretation of their specialty. I also like that sometimes Bobby wins and other times he has to concede that these chefs are just top notch at making this one dish. I was really excited to hear that Throwdown was coming to my neighborhood and Bobby would be challenging Papalote, a well-known and one of the beloved Mission district taquerias. The throwdown – burritos.

The Mission District of San Francisco is famous for its Latino culture and food. And Papalote is a favorite with long lines of people waiting at all times of the day and night to eat their great Mexican food. I live about a block from Papalote and I’ve eaten there dozens of times over the years.

However, I had never tried the burrito they would be making for the Throwdown – the Triple Threat Burrito. The Triple Threat is named after legendary Bay Area DJ crew, Triple Threat DJs. It is a massive delight of carne asada, chicken and shrimp, rice, beans and that special (and top-secret Papalote salsa).

Papalote defeated Bobby’s Green burrito, which I totally wished I could have tried. It looked amazing. It had spinach rice, and white beans in a green chile stew and guacamole. I hope Bobby puts in on the menu at one of his places in New York, so I can check it out on my next visit to Manhattan.

The Throwdown aired on February 17 and for days after I was thinking about both of burritos. I’m normally a little burnt out on Mexican food. It happens when you live in a neighborhood with more than 50 taquerias within five blocks of your house. But I was determined to try the Triple Threat.

Earlier this week my husband and I decided we didn’t want to cook and I figured this was my chance to experience the Triple Threat. I went online to get Papalote’s number and order the burritos to be picked up. I ordered two Triple Threats with the addition of sour cream, guacamole and cheese on both. Why not really go for it? When I asked how much, just to make sure we had the cash on hand, I was told by the person taking my order it would be $46. Excuse me! I only ordered two burritos. The person taking my order informed me that it was not a mistake and my total was $46. I quickly changed my order to just one Triple Threat. My husband and I decided to split one since we weren’t about to pay $46 dollars for burritos that we didn’t know if we would love.

By the way, the price for the Triple Threat was not on the online menu and my husband, who picked up the order, confirmed that the price is not posted in the restaurant either. Most of their other burritos cost about between $5 and $10. I had total sticker shock. Now, I have plunked down some serious cash for dinners in the past at nice places, but I am in disbelief at the cost of this burrito. You can get a regular, and very delightful, burrito at any number of authentic taquerias in the neighborhood for around $8 or $9. The Triple Threat is actually $19.99, but making it super (adding guacamole, cheese and sour cream) added another $2 dollars – bringing the total a whopping $23 for a single burrito.

For me, paying that much is akin to being in New York and paying $30 dollars for a room service burger. It’s just against my nature. I might pay $30 (maybe even a little more) for a gourmet burger at renowned chef Hubert Keller’s Burger Bar, but that is only because I’ve eaten several times at his high-end French restaurant , Fleur de Lys in San Francisco and loved it.

So would I order another Triple Threat? Yes, but with the caveat that I split it with someone. It was delicious. I liked the idea of having three kinds of meat. I always have a hard time choosing what to get, so this was a good way to avoid that dilemma and get everything at once. And, it was huge. It could easily feed two people. Although, my husband was eyeing my half and I had to munch quickly to avoid his fork on my plate. However, I think it will be a while before I order another Triple Threat. It’s a little more of a novelty than an everyday (or every week) grab and go burrito.

This review is more than a little overdue, but sometimes the pleasurable things in life, like blogging, take a back seat to the day to day grind.

This past summer while Joel, Wade and I were in New York City, we made the pilgrimage to that foodie mecca, Chelsea Market. While I was actually underwhelmed at what was there…it was nice, but in my opinion we have larger places with greater selections out here on the west coast…we did find this fabulous little restaurant right in the middle of the market called The Green Table. 

It’s a quaint little place tucked slightly awkwardly into a crooked corner of the main path through the market, but we were intrigued by the large family style table out front. We sat down and ended up sharing the table with other diners which was rather fun. It’s owned by The Cleaver Company and their daily menu enlists the freshest ingredients from local farms and greenmarkets. Their company is committed to sustainable agriculture and they try to use certified organic products whenever possible. 

To start the meal, I had an absolutely divine cup of Earl Grey tea from Arbor Tea and when I asked for some cream (I prefer my tea cambric style), the waiter brought me a small prechilled flagon of cream and a dish of sugar. It was a very simple and elegant touch. We shared a bowl of Crawfish Bisque which I found to be absolutely delicious…a nice balance of heat to cream and with easily recognizable chunks of crawfish. For our entrees, I ordered their Classic Chicken Pot Pie, Joel had their Vegetarian Mushroom Pot Pie, and Wade simply had to sample their New York Bánh Mì. 

The pot pie was really quite well done. A lot of the time, pot pies can have heavy pastry and have more sauce than anything for contents, but this pot pie was light and airy and full of delicious chicken and vegetables in a savory sauce that complimented theingredients instead of overpowering them. It was served along with a small salad of market  greens which for the most part was good, but there were a few pieces in it that were incredibly bitter, so much so that I decided to not finish it. 

I’ll let the guys talk about their dishes, but over all, I would definitely recommend stopping here for a meal if you’re in the area with some time to kill and a thing for people watching. Our server was very competent and did a fine job and we were full, but not uncomfortably so when we were done. I also appreciated that he didn’t try to rush us to vacate the table. That speaks volumes about what they find important in a dining experience.  

Happy eating!
~Karen

An integral part of the Holidays is sharing food with friends and family. Yesterday we kicked things off with savory recipes, so today we thought it would be fun to share recipes from friends that were both sweet and brought back memories of home. Enjoy.

Caramel Pretzel Turtles
submitted by @catango

Ingredients

•    50 pretzel nuggets
•    1 bag of caramels (10 oz.)
•    1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips (12 oz.)
•    1/4 cup finely chopped almonds

Directions:
Lay a sheet of waxed paper over a smooth surface. One by one, unwrap each caramel, reserving the wrapper. Place one caramel down on the waxed paper. Then, using the wrapper as a barrier between the candy and a rolling pin, roll the caramel out to a thin layer about 1/4″ thick, and about 1″ long. Wrap and smooth a layer of caramel around a pretzel nugget and set aside. Continue until all caramels have been used up.

Pour the semi-sweet chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl. Nuke chocolate chips for 40 seconds at medium-low heat. Stir chips. Repeat procedure until chocolate is smooth and evenly melted.

Lay out several sheets of wax paper. Using a wooden skewer, dip each nugget into the chocolate to coat, tapping off any excess chocolate. Place chocolate covered pretzels onto the wax paper, sprinkle with finely chopped almonds, and let dry until chocolate is no longer shiny, about three hours.

Cranberry Sauce with Crystallized Ginger
submitted by @polishphotog

Ingredients:

•    2 – 12 oz. bags of fresh cranberries
•    1 1/2 cups of Sugar
•    1 cup of water
•    1 cup of Orange Juice
•    1 tbsp. of grated orange peel
•    1 tsp. of ginger
•    1/2 cup (about 2 oz.) minced crystallized ginger

Directions:
Put first six ingredients in a heavy, medium to large saucepan. Bring to boil and stir until sugar dissolves. Continue boiling until cranberries pop, stirring occasionally. [It might boil over at this point so keep an eye on it!] About 5 minutes. Let cool down then add crystallized ginger.

Can be made three days ahead and stored, covered, in refrigerator.

Cracker Nut Pie
submitted by @GeekMommy

Ingredients:

•    3 egg whites
•    1 cup granulated sugar
•    28 Ritz crackers (plain), ground or rolled
•    1 tsp. vanilla
•    1 1/2 cup pecans
•    1 small tub Cool Whip – or Cool Whip Free
•    Butterflavor Pam Cooking Spray (or regular)

Directions:
Beat egg whites until stiff. Add sugar gradually. Beat like a meringue. Add vanilla and beat again until blended. Fold in Ritz cracker crumbs and nuts into egg meringue. Pour into 9 inch pie plate that has been sprayed with Pam or Butter-flavored Pam. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool. Spread cool whip on top, refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

The Rutland
submitted by @durjoy

Ingredients

•    4 oz. Absolut Pear Vodka
•    2 oz. Licor 43 (classic Spanish vanilla herbal liquor)
•    1-2 oz. Galliano (or other anise flavored liquor)
•    the zest from orange (or any citrus fruit)
•    bottle of decent cava or prosecco

Directions:
Pour Absolut Pear Vodka, Licor 43 and Galliano over cubed ice.  Zest orange over the glass (to include the valuable oils) and then top with Cava.  Orange slice to garnish.

Hope you enjoy trying these dishes out. If you have dishes that remind you of home and family that you would like to share OR if you want to share you variations on these dishes please do so by an sending email to angel (at) ultimatefoodie.com. From our family to yours, have a great Holidays!

An integral part of the Holidays is sharing food with friends and family. So we thought it would be fun to share recipes from friends that were both yummy and brought back memories of home. Enjoy.

Edith’s Maryland Crab Dip
submitted by @LisaP

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Ingredients:

•    1lb. fresh crab meat (sometimes I put 1.5 lbs)
•    2 8oz. packages of cream cheese (softened)
•    1/2 pint of sour cream
•    4 heaping tablespoons of mayo
•    1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
•    3 teaspoons of worcestershire
•    1 teaspoon of mustard (Dijon is good)
•    3 shakes garlic powder
•    1 cup grated cheddar cheese
•    a splash of milk
•    sprinkle of paprika
•    sprinkling of Old Bay seasoning

Directions:

Mix together all the ingredients (except about 1/4 cup of the shredded cheese, the Old Bay and the paprika). Once mixed, together put in oven safe baking dish (like soufflé dish). Put the rest of the cheese on top. Sprinkle with paprika and Old Bay. Cook for 30-40 minutes until bubbling.

How to Serve:
Serve with crackers or sliced baguettes.

Vicky’s Paella
submitted by @affiliatetip

Ingredients:

•    Chicken pieces (optional)
•    1 lb. shrimp (you can buy them already peeled if you want)
•    1 lb. scallops (medium sized, preferably)
•    1 lb. calamari (they come in long strips usually, cut them into small pieces)
•    1 lb. clams
•    1 lb. mussels
•    Olive Oil (preferably from Spain)
•    1 medium onion, chopped finely
•    2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
•    ½ green pepper, chopped finely
•    8 oz tomato sauce
•    Fish bouillon – 1 envelope or 1 cube
•    1 little envelope of “Sazon Goya con Azafran” (these are sold in little pouches)
•    Azafran (seasoning) – a few pinches
•    Short grain Rice – quantity depending on how many you plan on cooking for
•    Canned sweet peas
•    Red Pepper – chopped, the kind you buy in a jar
•    Lemon slices

Directions:

First boil clams, save water to use for broth later – set clams aside. If you buy the shrimp with the peels, you can also boil the shrimp peels and use the broth from that. Steam mussels – set aside.

Sauté chicken pieces in olive oil, when done set aside (this is optional, some people prefer all seafood paella).

Dissolve Azafran in boiling water – 1/4 cup of water is usually enough with a few pinches of Azafran.

In flat paella style pan:

Sauté onion, garlic and green pepper in olive oil. Once soft, add tomato sauce. Add rice and proportionate amount of seafood broth. The amount of broth you use depends on taste. Some people like their paella rice on the dry side; I like mine so that it’s moist, so I add more broth.
Add fish bouillon. Add Azafran. Add Sazon Goya con szafran. Simmer so that rice cooks until it is about ½ way done.
Add Shrimp, scallop, calamari.

Continue to cook on medium heat until rice and seafood is done. Does not need to go into the oven at any time – all stove top. Once done, garnish with sweet peas, and red pepper. Add clams and mussels. Add chicken pieces. Add lemon for garnish.

Serve with bread and Spanish wine.

Johnny Marzetti
submitted by @JasonFalls with special thanks to Steve Spooner

Ingredients:

•    1 and 1/2 pounds of ground beef
•    4 cups macaroni
•    8-10 ounces of shredded cheese
•    1 diced yellow onion
•    1 diced green pepper
•    1 tablespoon of oregano
•    1 teaspoon of garlic
•    1 teaspoon of salt
•    A couple of shakes of crushed red pepper
•    15 ounces of tomato sauce
•    1 can of diced tomatoes

Directions:

In a skillet brown 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef with 1 diced onion and 1 diced green pepper.
In a pot boil 4 cups of macaroni to softness and drain. In large baking dish combine  the following:
- 1 tablespoon of oregano
- 1 teaspoon of garlic
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- A couple of shakes of crushed red pepper
- 15 ounces of tomato sauce
- 1 can of diced tomatoes (large can if you really like tomatoes)
Layer top with 8-10 ounces of shredded cheese (mozzarella, provolone mix recommended)

Bake at 35-degrees for one hour. Salt/pepper to season to taste, if needed.

Nanny’s Sausage & Herb Bread
submitted by anonymous purple haired scientist

Ingredients:

•    2 packages of quick yeast
•    ½  teaspoons of sugar
•    ½  cup of milk, scald and cooled to body temp
•    4 eggs
•    3-4 cups flour
•    ½  teaspoon of salt
•    ¾  cup butter, melted and cooled
•    3 green onions, finely diced
•    4 oz of shredded sharp cheese (jack or cheddar is tastiest)
•    1 ½  teaspoons of each of the following minced fresh herbs: sage/thyme; rosemary; tarragon. Note: if using dried herbs reduce to 0.5 teaspoon each)
•    1 ½  pounds of sausage (any hearty kind, like polish or kielbasa)

Directions:

In large bowl dissolve yeast and sugar in cooled milk. Let stand for 10-15 minutes until top is foamy. Add three well beaten eggs one at a time,  incorporating each. Add butter then three cups of flour, one cup at a time.  Add salt midway through. Mix well. It’s best to work the yeast with your hands (be sure to wash them very well first) or with a dough hook. Once flour starts to incorporate add herbs and green onions. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of flour over the cheese, mix well, and then add to dough. Work ingredients in then turn dough onto floured board. Work in enough remaining flour until dough is  elastic and slightly sticky to the touch.  Round up in a greased bowl, cover with a dish towel, and let proof.
Let dough rise until double in size, about an hour; “punch down” then let rest 10 minutes. Roll dough into rectangle 1×11×18 inches. Remove sausage casings and place sausage in a line down the center of the dough. Roll up tightly, seal ends by pinching dough together and brush the whole length of bread with remaining egg (slightly beaten).

Bake on greased baking sheet 1 hour @ 375 degrees F.

Serving Recommendations:
Super yummy with a Dijon mustard.  Little pickled vegetables are also tasty with this.

Hope you enjoy trying these dishes out. If you have dishes that remind you of home and family that you would like to share OR if you want to share you variations on these dishes please do so by an sending email to angel (at) ultimatefoodie.com. Be sure to join us tomorrow when we share a few sweet recipes.

Consistency is perhaps one of the hardest things to achieve in a restaurant. Tom Douglas, owner of six restaurants in the Seattle, puts out some consistently excellent restaurants. This is why the Dahlia Lounge is one of my favorite places to have dinner. This is not just because they are attached to the Dahlia Bakery and thus have some amazing deserts in their arsenal. It is because Dahlia’s has brought fine consistency to an art form.

Located in Belltown, the Dahlia Lounge is essentially the brilliant center piece of what should be renamed Douglas Corner on 4th and Virginia since four of Tom’s six restaurants are there. A restaurant doesn’t survive to celebrate its 20th anniversary without this. Often one of the hallmarks of consistency  for a restaurant is when  it is difficult to get into without reservations. But on this night that was taken care of by our gracious hosts Allison Fried and Dan Cole of the Consumer Electronics Association.

Dahlia’s tends towards the upscale,  with a very posh ambiance with deep reds and dark stained wood pillars. Service is quick and friendly but doesn’t linger, understandably because the place is often packed.

My appetizer was an excellent venison tartare with pickled huckleberries. It had a fresh, luscious, surprisingly non-gamey taste with the gin mustard providing the perfect counter-point.

Dungeness crab cakes over a lemongrass aioli were my main entree. Now, in the Pacific Northwest nearly every restaurant with seafood on the menu serves Dungeness crab. It’s a staple. Crab cakes as a menu item  often provide lesser restaurants an opportunity to mix in mediocre ingredients. This is not the case with Dahlia. These crab cakes were sumptuous and understandably  a signature dish. Perfectly seared on the outside, non-greasy, with perfectly cooked Dungeness crab flavor  not lost in the “cake”.

Let’s take a moment and talk about the side of wok seared vegetables. Many restaurants often forget to take time with their sides focusing solely on the main component of a dish. This is a mistake because a poorly executed side can distract from the dish as a whole. Again, not the case here. The side was perfectly seasoned and provided a slight pepperiness that served as a counter point to the lemongrass aioli.

With the Dahlia Bakery next door you have to save room for desert. Usually, for breakfast at Tom Douglas’ other restaurant, Lola’s, which is directly across the street, I get the mini fried to order doughnuts. They are served in a paper bag with housemade jams. In this case, I was leaning towards having one of their  homemade ice creams, I tried the toffee brioche with a cider glazed roasted apple. It came with a scoop of cinnamon streusel ice cream.  Heavenly, although I should note for those not seeking crunch they are serious about the toffee as a texture not just a flavor.

As part of their 20th anniversary celebration Dahlia is offering a variety of daily prizes. They are also doing something very cool for the holidays. In conjunction with Food Lifeline, which helps feed the hungry in Western Washington, Dahlia will take $10 off your tab if you bring in a bag of food with at least a $10 value. Tom Douglas calls it their, “You feed your neighbor and we’ll feed you” program. It’s a great program and worth indulging yourself in a dalliance.

I’m back in Las Vegas this week for yet -another- conference and I thought I’d take some of my quiet down time (that I never seem to get at home) to let you know about one of the great dining spots we visited last month.

When we were in Las Vegas in October for Blog World Expo, we met up with some lovely twitter foodie people at the conference (Hi Chef Mark Tafoya & Jennifer Iannolo!) that in turn invited us out for a Chef’s Tasting at Michael Mina’s Seablue at the MGM Grand where the chef is Chef Stephen Hopcraft.

We started the meal with a lovely glass of Proseco Nunofranco Rustico and a delicious seafood appetizer of oysters, shrimp and the most succulent King Crab legs I believe I’ve ever tasted. I really appreciated that the shells on the crab legs were pre-scored so they were easy to remove and completely mess free.

This was followed by a glass of white wine and the most innovative salad presentation I’ve seen at a restaurant in awhile. They provide a list of salad ingredients and you select up to 10 and they craft your salad for you. It’s an elegant solution to the salad bar concept. Everyone was able to select their favorite items and felt satisfied with their salad. Rather than do the “create your own” salad course, I actually chose their Heirloom Tomato salad which was fantastic. It was a traditional combination of tomato slices, mozzarella, basil and a drizzle of balsamic dressing. The tomatoes had wonderful flavor and it was easy to tell that they were actually heirloom varities and not just an underripened yellow tomato and the mozzarella was so fresh, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was just a few hours old.

Our main course began with a beautiful red wine and I must give mad props to our sommelier, Charlie Townsend. He was very knowledgeable about the wines he selected for our meal and they paired so wonderfully and brought out the flavor accents of the food so well that they became a subject of discussion at the table. For the main course, we had several selections: Dayboat Scallops, John Dory (a fish) and a Bone-In New York Strip Steak. I saved my scallop for last, as it’s one of my favorite items and it was actually one of the most delicious things I tasted at Sea Blue. Unfortunately, because I saved it for last, it was just luke warm at that point, but honestly, it was still incredible. The strip was good, but not the best cut of beef I’ve had. That being said, the place is called “Sea Blue” and seafood is definitely a specialty here…and with family raising organic beef…well, let’s just say I’m very critical of beef dishes. Others at the table really enjoyed it. The John Dory was served whole, which I thoroughly enjoyed as it allowed us to sample the cheeks of the fish and Chef did an excellent job at it. My piece of it was unfortunately a little dry, but I had a piece near the tail on the topside of the fish. My husband had a piece nearer to the center on the bottom and his was perfect. The entrees were accompanied by several side dishes of olive oil smashed potatoes, a medley of mushrooms, chickpea and lentil rice and jumbo asparagus with citrus relish. They were all nice in their own fashion (although I didn’t really care for the potatoes much), but the asparagus held the most surprise for me. Topped with sectioned grapefruit, it honestly tasted like Christmas. If you’ve ever had pine needle tea or bitten into a pine needle, you know exactly what I mean. It was unexpected and completely delicious.

Our five desserts were accompanied by a really lovely Auschleze Riesling that wasn’t too sweet and went exceptionally well with the apple tarte tatin. We also had a traditional root beer float with homemade rootbeer and warm chocolate cookies, a fresh creme brulee, some delicious chocolate filled cream puffs, and a selection of seasonal sorbets. I am a total sucker for a good root beer and I have to admit, this one ranks high with me. It tastes like root beer should…not that sickeningly sweet soda that is out on the market, but a traditional bitter taste with a crisp, clean finish. Delicious end to a delicious meal.

If you ever find yourself in Las Vegas and you’re looking for a lovely restaurant, I would definitely recommend checking them out.

(I have some great photos that I’ll upload upon my return home. Also, in the interest of full disclosure, this was a complementary meal.)

When a place has a menu that is 2/3 tapas and 1/3 entrees and you order an entree you should consider yourself pre-warned. Perhaps the owners are strongly trying to suggest a smaller bite. In the case of Andina, a Peruvian styled restaurant located in Portland’s Pearl District, I apparently wasn’t paying attention to the telltale signs.

The place was packed, loud, brightly lit and bustling. Not the kind of place to have a romantic dinner but perfect to bring friends or business if you are in the mood to share. The tapas menu ranges from cheese stuffed yucca, to avocado stuffed with crab and prawns, or beef heart kabobs. There were also five house cebiches. All of the tapas can be ordered in small or medium sizes for one or two diners or feed the whole gang with a large plate.

Again, Andina’s is a place built around sharing. Too bad I wasn’t in the mood to share this particular evening.

Instead of sticking with the tapas a tempting key set of words drew me in: “old family recipe”. From the entrée menu I ordered the Seco a la Norteña, which is a slow cooked braised lamb shank served with the braising vegetables. You see, I am a sucker for meat that falls of the bone. And the addition of ají Amarillo chilies coupled with a black beer sauce advertised a plate that sounded exactly like something I wouldn’t want to share.

And in a bad way, that’s what it turned out to be.

This is not to imply that the lamb was not impeccably cooked. It was and the meat did indeed fall off the bone. And the dish looked great with the black beer sauce looking and smelling similar to a mole. Problem was the flavor profile was flat. Where was the promised taste of cilantro, onion, garlic, much less the heat from the ají Amarillo chilies? Each bite tasted like the first. There was no depth to the flavor.

Not that I was there for the sides but frankly they didn’t help. The bean stew and the salsa were bland. And for goodness sakes if you are going to call your rice “garlic” rice have at least a hint of garlic in it.

But let’s return to the main course.  Some feel whether a steak or a burger, the meat should speak for itself; the fewer ingredients distracting from the flavor of the meat the better. I tend to agree. But the beer, chilies, herbs and spices were all things that should have enhanced the flavor of the lamb, not taken away from it.  Had they not been on the menu I would not have missed them.

Luckily desert mends all wounds. I had a chocolate ganache and crushed cocoa meringue topped with a lucuma (a traditional Peruvian fruit) and espresso mousse. It was damn fine and I even shared.

As with most other thirty-ish people we know, our day starts with the sweet nectar of morning coffee. It’s what makes us ready to face the pile of email that shows up at 8am. It’s what keeps us awake for that mid morning meeting that is so incredibly booooooring. It’s what makes us a little jittery around 3pm.

We’ve gotta have it.

And this morning, we didn’t.

I’ll be the first to admit, our current coffee pot is just short of garbage to start with…a friend gave it to us when he ended up with an extra freebie from an online coffee purveyor. Yeah, you know the one. Since our old coffee pot had just died an inglorious death by me accidentally breaking the glass carafe, we took it and used it faithfully nearly every morning. I would occassionally deep clean it since we have hard water and things tend to grit up after awhile. Well, today we started the coffee at 7:15am. It’s now 10am and IT JUST FINISHED. We didn’t even brew a full pot! Arg!

So, my fellow foodies…I need your help! I’m not looking for a $20 fix nor some fancy machine that will break the bank, but it’s time for us to graduate from the kiddie coffee pot to something more refined. Can you recommend a good coffee maker for us in the comments below? My hubby will thank you once I have my coffee fix…

In my lexicon the term “favorite dive” usually doesn’t extend to sushi restaurants. Often I forgo nondescript places for flashier well-lit places. San Francisco is chock-full of high flash sushi joints that a place like Akiko’s Sushi Bar is easily overlooked. Located on Bush Street, half-way between Grant and Kearny, Akiko’s looks less like a sushi mecca and more like a place you might pick up a bento box for lunch. Don’t be deceived.

Now despite the word “bar” in their title, if you are craving a large variety of saki, Akiko’s is not the place. If are seeking saki in San Francisco go to Ozumo’s. Ozumo’s is the perfect contrast to Akiko’s. Ozumo’s is a trendy, open-concept sushi joint. Someone hired both a PR team and an architect to put it together. The sushi, while good, is obviously not the top priority. It’s the kind of place designed for venture capitalist types to entertain for business.

On the other end – Akiko’s is solely about the sushi. The restaurant’s cramped interior would make a nice dinner for two or maybe four, it’s not the kind of place you could entertain, unless you were renting out the whole restaurant. Even then, the flow of conversation would be poor.

So enough about the ambiance –let’s get to the food.

The menu features several kinds of toro, belly commonly refers to tuna, including salmon and hamachi. Along with ordering one of each for the first course I also tried the masago, kanpachi and sawara. All were excellent cuts and very fresh. My only complaint about the initial course was that the miso was of the very forgettable out of the box variety.

I had room for one roll for the second course which was their Volcano Roll (pictured to the left). Again the presentation was not pretty, not that my camera phone helped, but the taste was outstanding. The crunchy tempura bits had pieces of smoked salmon skin in them and were soaked in chili paste. The roll itself had well prepared spicy salmon, avacado, cumber, and thinly cut radish for an extra crunch, with a generous helping of tobiko and topped off with crab. The dish, like its namesake provided an excellent amount of heat while providing several layers of texture.

The service was very attentive, helpful with suggestions, and there was no attempt to rush us through the second bottle of house sake after we were done. If you want an inexpensive sushi joint that’s light on flash but heavy on freshness and taste, next time you are in San Francisco give Akiko’s a try.

Photo Courtesy of CoastTravel.com

UltimateFoodie.com is live and local in Las Vegas this weekend for BlogWorld and New Media Expo and as foodies we’ve not been disappointed.  We’ve had some awesome meals, appetizers and entertainment experiences so far that we’ll be blogging on in the near future.  Here are some items to watch for:

• Review of BLT Burger at Mirage
• Review of LOVE by Cirque du Soleil at the Mirage
• Review of Daniel Boulud Brasserie at Wynn

We’ve had some awesome times and great food with our friends here in Vegas and can’t wait to share our reviews and pictures.

Stay tuned!