San Francisco - New Years Eve Free and Holiday Mass Transit Schedule



If you are planning on going downtown San Francisco tonight, don’t plan on driving over! Critical Mass will be in full effect, and SFMTA will be having free service. For those of you closer to a BART station, there will be extended holiday hours. I urge everyone to purchase their return ticket ahead of time just so you won’t be waiting in line at the ticket machine.

SFMTA

  • Muni travel, including cable cars, is free from 8 p.m. New Year’s Eve until 6 a.m. New Year’s Day.
  • Customers are encouraged to use the Metro to get into and out of the Downtown area.
  • Additional Metro service from 8 p.m. to 2:15 a.m. from West Portal to Caltrain and until 4 a.m. from Embarcadero to West Portal Station.
  • J, K, L, M, and N Metro lines are operating on their regular weekday schedule, until shortly before 1 a.m.
  • Owl service: Extra service on Muni Owl Lines (1 a.m. to 5 a.m service): 5 Fulton, 14 Mission, 22 Fillmore, 24 Divisadero, 38 Geary, 90 Owl, 91 Owl, and L and N Owl motor coach service. Frequency will be shortened from 30 to 15 minutes.
  • Extra Owl service is subject to change, based on operating conditions.
  • The San Francisco 311 Customer Service Center, is open all night, as ususal, for travel assistance.
  • The F Market and Wharves Line is using buses after 4 p.m. There will be reroutes only if necessary.

BART

  • BART travel will run until 3am tonight.
  • TheCultureBite tip: Buy a round trip ticket first.
  • East Bay Customers - Pittsburg/Bay Point and Richmond lines - Embarcadero station closed.
  • East Bay Customers - Dublin/Pleasanton and Fremont - Montgomery station closed.
  • TheCultureBite tip: Try to get on and off stations away from Embarcadero and Montgomery stations.

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Harry & David Royal Riviera Pears

Every Christmas, a family member of mine can expect a box of these Harry & David Favorite Royal Riviera Pears ($29.95). These pears are the juiciest, sweetest, and most tender-ess pears I’ve ever had. You might ask, “Why would someone want a box of fruit for Christmas?” But trust me… no one will be disappointed.

I know it’s after Christmas and that I’m super late with this post, but hey, why not try a box yourself? Harry & David also sells Maverick Pears which are the less pretty version of their Royal Riviera pears. They do have a few imperfections on the outside, but the taste is exactly the same on the inside.

Use the code FSDEL to get 30% off ($18.86 for the Maverick Pears).

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Cafe Mo’z - San Francisco

Cafe Mo’z
36 5th St
San Francisco, CA 94103
Neighborhoods: Union Square, SOMA

Rated: ♣♣♣♣

Sneaking in a shopping trip during lunch, my co-worker and I found this cute little cafe just outside the SF Shopping Center. I was initially looking at the falaffel sandwiches, but what is this? They have breakfast! Breakfast for lunch is always a preference of mine. Cafe Moz looks like your typical cheap take-out lunch place for the busy professional, but if you really sit down and enjoy the meal, you’d be pleasantly surprised.

The scene:

It seems like Cafe Moz serves 2 different kinds of food - Mediterranean and breakfast. An odd combination, but it works.

The service is very friendly. The server could’ve passed for borderline flirtatious, but hey, I won’t complain. Good service and good food is all I ask. My coworker even forgot her leftovers at the table and the server chased her out the door with her doggie bag.

The food:

Huevos Rancheros - I cannot turn down huevos rancheros. It’s a good brunch plate because it embodies elements of both breakfast and lunch. This common breakfast plate consists of hearty black beans mixed with fluffy scrambled eggs, salsa and chewy corn tortillas. I added a few douses of Tabasco for a good kick. One thing I look for in a good huevos rancheros is chewy tortillas. Soggy tortillas are no bueno.

The reason why I’m giving this 4 clubs rather than 5 is because I think they use a jarred salsa rather than a fresh one. Nothing wrong with that, but I’d appreciate it more if it was made from scratch.

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Sam’s Kitchen - Green Tea Matcha Shakes

This is my all time favorite shake to make at home. It’s healthy, refreshing and guilt-free because I use a green powder filled with tons of antioxidants, low fat milk and a little bit of honey.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp green tea matcha powder
3 cups low fat milk
1.5 tbsp honey
4 cups ice

I’ve searched high and low for green tea matcha powder and the only place I can find it is at Whole Foods. Whole Foods does have a variety of green tea matchas ranging from $30 to $7. I opted for the $7 pack. The Rishi Sweet Matcha that I’m currently using tastes great and is slightly sweetened with sugar.

Directions:

Dump the ice, milk, matcha powder and honey in a blender. Usually I eye-ball the ingredients until I get the consistency and flavor that I like. Blend until the ice is crushed into tiny little pieces. One trick is to use tons of ice and less milk because the milk will try to separate from the ice when it starts to melt. More ice also means a thick consistency.

If you want to add a little richness, try adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream before you blend.

Try this:

Mix a teaspoon of green tea matcha powder to hot milk or water for a cozy latte or cup of tea!

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Sumika Grill - Los Gatos

Sumika Grill
236 Central Pl
Los Altos, CA 94022

Rated: ♣♣♣♣

The rave in Japan is all about yakitori (skewers). And it’s not your typical beef, mushroom and bell pepper skewers. It’s more like heart and liver skewers! Don’t be scared. If you’re less adventurous, there’s also the usual chicken, shrimp and veggie options. So, a group of friends and I got together to try Sumika Grill in Los Gatos for their… you guessed it! Yakitori!

The scene:

Sumika Grill is very traditional Japanese. They have pictures of sumo wrestlers on the wall and the master Japanese chefs are working the grills at the center of the restaurant where the kitchen is situated.

The caveat with yakitori is that portions are small, so it takes a lot to get full. The skewers start off at $3.50 each, but you’d be surprised at how much it adds up. For a table of 8, we each paid about $30.

The food:

Veggie Tempura - I didn’t get much of this, but I do remember it not having much of a crispy skin. The tempura was swimming in a light sauce, making the veggies soggy. I wouldn’t order this a 2nd time around.

Chicken Karage - I’m a huge fan of chicken karage, Japanese fried chicken. Some how, Japanese restaurants are able to make fried chicken that’s incredibly tender and juicy. The karage at Sumika Grill was exceptionally mouth-watering. The pieces are larger than your typical karage, but I won’t complain about the size.

Fried Garlic - This, on the other hand, was amazing! Fried garlic - who wouldn’t love that? The cloves were so soft, creamy and sweet. Not a hint of sharpness from the garlic in sight. The bulb also came with a creamy and tart sauce. I have no idea what’s in it other than Kewpi (Japanese mayo), but it’s good.

Yakitori - We had an array of yakitori - chicken thighs, shitake mushrooms, scallops, hearts, livers, shrimp, bacon-wrapped asparagus and bacon-wrapped enoki mushrooms. All were very good, but I liked the enoki mushrooms wrapped in bacon the most. The saltiness from the bacon and the juices from the mushrooms made for one tasty skewer.

Grilled Rice - I was so full at this point, but I had to try the grilled rice. These rice patties are super crispy on the outside and is packed with sticky soft rice mixed with sweet seaweed. A little sweet and a little salty. So good. I could eat these and the fried garlic all day.

I am a fan of this place and I’d definitely come back again. A well deserved 4 stars! By the way, I have not tried their famous sister restaurant, Orenchi Ramen in Santa Clara, but I’ve heard it is the best ramen in the Bay Area.

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