All-you-can-eat Cupcakes at Cake Moda’s Cupcake Wars - 9/25

August and September must be the months for food and drink festivals! Recently there was the SF Street Food Festival and the Eat Real Fest (I went to both); next there is the Gheradelli chocolate festival and Oktoberfest. One to look out for is Cake Moda’s Cupcake Wars, a cupcake bake-off at Fort Mason on Sept 25 from 4-9pm.

You can enter to participate in the contest as a professional or amateur, but for those of you who just want to eat, like myself, it’s a hefty $45 to enter. But if you go with 5 people, it’s $20/person. Isn’t that a sweet deal? Pun intended…

Winners will be judged for the following categories:

Best Overall Cupcake Design
Most Creative Use of ingredients
Most Likely to Be Eaten
Best Use of Theme
Best Overall Taste

Location: Fort Mason Center, Herbst Pavilion San Francisco, CA 94123

When: September 25th

Time: Open to the public 4pm to 9pm

Ticket Price: $45 Advance, $55 at the Door (4pm to 9pm)

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Zazie - San Francisco

Zazie
941 Cole St
(between Carl St & Parnassus Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94117
Neighborhood: Cole Valley

Rated: ♣♣

I really want to give this place 4 clubs, I really do. The food was great, the ambiance of the outdoor seating is beautiful, but Zazie well deserves 2 clubs because of the lack of service and wait for it…. mice. Yes! Mice! I had my back turned against a fence covered in ivy and I heard rustling going on behind me. I dismissed it thinking it was a bird, but after we left the restaurant, K informed me that it was 2 little mice! Gross!

The scene:

In addition to Jack and Gus Gus, service was just plain terrible. I saw every other customer in the restaurant receiving amazing service from the staff, but we were getting no love. First of all, the host completely skipped our name when he was seating guests. The host said it was probably because the parties after us had a different group size, but I pointed out 2 other names on his list with the same party size as me. And then his response was, “Oh, well I guess I did skip your name then.” No apology, no offer for a discount or free item, nothing.

After we were seated, we were in and out of the restaurant in 1/2 hour. No joke. They even gave our check when we were still eating our entrée. Did I mention, this was on my birthday?

The food:

As I mentioned earlier, I really hate that I loved the food at this place. What I liked about Zazie is that you have the option to order small, medium and large portions - each about $1 difference. Since it was my birthday, K and I were doing a food tour around SF and we had to save our appetite for our next venture.

Gingerbread Pancakes - This was probably one of the best pancake dishes I’ve ever had. The pancake was topped with a very ripe bosc pear and a dab of lemon curd. The spiciness of the chewy pancake was balanced by the tartness of the lemon curd and the sweetness of the pear - a great combination indeed.

Forentine Benedict - Atop of an English muffin lies a bed of spinach, sautéed portabello mushrooms and a poached egg. Although the egg was a little overcooked, the freshness of the ingredients is what celebrated the dish. No need for fancy seasonings and toppings on this one.

Lemonade - What goes great with brunch on a sunny day? Fresh squeezed lemonade. But, you’ll have to make your own lemonade here. Zazie hands you 2 cups with an ounce of fresh squeezed lemon juice, a container of simple syrup and a jug of water. It’s up to you to make the perfect combination. I would much rather prefer them to make the lemonade since I always overdo the sugar.

I will probably come back to Zazie to give them another shot, but it will take some time for my wounds to heal.

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Tony’s Makes its pizza even hotter, 1000 degrees hotter that is

Photo courtesy of SF Eater

Only a year old and Tony’s Pizza Napoletana has made a killing in the pizza business. The award winning Tony Gemignani will open his latest establishment, Tony’s Coal-Fired Pizza and Slice House, Friday, Aug 20, next door to the famous North Beach location.

Pies at this location will be fired in NorCal’s only 1,000 degree oven and items on the menu include New York style pizza, Roman style pizza, Chicago Italian beef sandwiches and New York deli sandwiches. You can even order pizza by the slice.

Eric Corbin, who worked at Grimaldi’s in Arizona, will be running shop.

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Michael Mina - San Francisco

Michael Mina
335 Powell St
(between Geary St & Post St)
San Francisco, CA 94102
Neighborhood: Union Square

Rated: ♣♣♣♣♣

So, in my last post, I mentioned I didn’t make it out to Michael Mina with my whole group of friends. However, K decided to take me for some 1:1 time the night before my birthday. Michael Mina is definitely a special occasion restaurant, so I think it’s much more appreciated by a party of 2 rather than a large group.

The scene:

I had no idea Michael Mina was in the Westin in Union Square. The restaurant looks more like a lobby bar than a restaurant, but the ambiance absolutely screams big-price-tag.

Service was phenomenal. Our waitress, Sam, was always attentive. She observed my need to take photos of every meal and advised me when to take photos of certain dishes (i.e. the lobster pot pie before it’s been assembled.)

The food:

After Sam described the menu, K and I quickly flipped back to the first page with the cheapest menu option, the prix fixe menu ($105/pp).

Amuse Bouche Trio - This was the opening number for every meal at Michael Mina and it definitely impresses. The trio is consisted of a shrimp tempura, an uni (sea urchin) flan, and hamachi tartare. It has a great “wow” factor. Each little item is packed with big flavor and it plays with each of your sensory buds on the tongue. A fun way to start the meal.

Tuna Tartare - If I had to choose my last meal on earth, I don’t think this would be it, but it came pretty darn close. The tartare is initially served with the ingredients - tuna, egg yolk, chili pepper, salt, basil, pine nuts, pears and sesame oil -Â laid out on the plate and then they mix it right there in front of you. The combination of ingredients in this dish is brilliant. It’s both sweet and nutty. And the fish is incredibly fresh, it was like eating straight butter.

Spring Rabbit / Foie Gras - It is very rare to find rabbit on the menu. Â From the left, we had the pea tortellini, leg confit, and tarragon. Â I found this dish to be creamy and delicious. Â I would definitely look forward to having this again. Â In the middle, there was the Loin Terrine, California Asparagus, Â Meyer Lemon. Â I found the Loin Terrine to be slightly game-y but the Asparagus was delicious! Â And on the right, I had the Foie Gras Mousse, Radish, and Chive Wafer. Â I had no clue how to eat it, so, I placed the Chive Wafers into the Foie Gras Mousse like crackers in soup. Â This was the highlight of this dish. Â The Foie Gras was a little cold, but it tasted awesome.

Lobster Pot Pie - Wow, this is sinful. The pot pie is presented by one of the chefs in a copper pot. He then cuts off the top and assembles the entire lobster on your plate. The rich, creamy sauce along with the thumbelina carrots, potatoes, radishes and pearl onions is poured on top of the perfectly tender and succulent lobster.

Brandt Farm Beef - Fava Beans and Spring Potatos - From the left, I had the Filet Mignon, Laratte Potato Puree, Ramp Jus.  I barely remember the Filet Mignon, but the Potato Puree was really rich and creamy.  Just my style.  In the middle, I had the Grilled Ribeye, Crushed Fava Beans, and Potato Gaufrette.  The Grilled Ribeye was a bit on the dry side.  On the Right, there was the Braised Ox Tail, Morel Mushrooms, and Herb Salad.  The Braised Ox Tail was really good.  Definitely my favorite out of this dish.

Root Beer Float - I initially ordered the dessert trio, but in mid-lobster, I switched it to the root beer float because I knew I would be pretty sad watching K eat his, while I had something else. The root beer float is made of 1 scoop of sassafras ice cream and 1 scoop of root beer sorbet with IBC root beer. On the side of the float are 2 warm cookies - 1 chocolate chip and 1 chocolate chip pecan. I was way too full to eat the cookies, but I was able to finish mine and help finish K’s. I took the cookies to go and ate them warm 2 days later. Mmm, so good.

At the end of the meal, we spoke with Sam, our waitress, and she told us they were closing down that location and reopening a boutique version of it at the old Aqua location on California. In place of the space in the Westin will be a steak restaurant also branded with the Michael Mina name. A grand opening party is supposed to happen in mid-October, but I’m not sure of the details. Â I hope I can get my name on that press list. 🙂

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