Brown Owl Coffee - San Francisco

Rated: ♣♣♣

I am in love with milk-based coffee drinks, and I’m pretty sure I have recently developed an addiction to coffee. K and I have become furniture scavengers ever since we purchased our house. After checking out an estate sale in the Sunset, we were on our way to Quickly to pick up some milk tea. On our way there, we ran into a brand new gourmet coffee shop called Brown Owl Coffee. And with my recent obsession with birds and coffee, I had to try out this place. If you’re interested in eating a little something with with coffee, they also serve baked goods made from local bakers.

I ordered a latte, while K got a drip coffee. The latte was strong and dark, the way I like it. Though, the froth was a little too foamy for my taste. K loved his drip. The first thing he noticed was the roast (which Brown Owl does themselves). The flavors tasted like cocoa and spices. A very unique cup of coffee.

Brown Owl Coffee
1131 Taraval St
(between 21st Ave & 22nd Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94116
Neighborhood: Parkside

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Cupola Pizzeria - San Francisco

Rated: ♣♣♣♣

While doing some damage at the SF Westfield mall, Cupola quickly caught my eye. At the very top of the shopping center is a brand new Italian restaurant from the Lark Creek Steak Restaurant Group serving up gourmet pizzas and pastas. If you’re planning on dining here, be prepared to wait. We waited about an hour for a table of 3, but you can also make a reservation. Though, it seems kind of silly to make a res for mall food, but here, it’s necessary and worth it.

Believe it or not, we were trying to eat light, so we decided to skip the pizza and order gnocchi with lamb ragu, fried calamari salad and warm mozzarella with broccoli rabe.

We started off with Warm Pulled-to-order Mozzarella with broccoli rabe and crusty crostinis. So rich, creamy and amazing. The toasted chili flakes were a nice compliment to the heavy dish.

Next, we had the Fried Calamari Salad. A generous portion of deep fried calamari was topped on a bed of well-dressed arugula, red onion and thinly sliced lemon. The calamari was fried perfectly without tasting too greasy.

For our entree, we split the Potato Gnocchi with braised lamb, red kabocha squash, honey thyme vinegar and pecorino cheese. As if I couldn’t be more pleased, they bring me this dish. The gnocchi was light and airy, the lamb tender, the sauce sweet and creamy while still savory. The dish was completely amazing and I’m definitely ordering this again when I come back.

Overall, I was thoroughly wow-ed by Cupola. For mall food, this was pretty darn good. Though, I’ll need to eat the pizza in order to tell if this is legit. Can’t wait to come back!

Cupola Pizzeria
Westfield Shopping Centre
845 Market St, 4th Fl, Ste 400
San Francisco, CA 94103
Neighborhoods: Union Square, SOMA

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Downstairs Family Room Finally Coming Together!

Occasionally on The Culture Bite, I’ll write a house post to share how the furnishing is coming along. Today, I wanted to share our downstairs family room because it’s finally coming together. Slowly, but surely. K and I spend most of our time down here entertaining, watching movies and playing games. We wanted this room to be comfortable and cozy while still being stylish.

  1. Room and Board couch, $1399
  2. Persian rug from thefoundary.com, $350
  3. Organic chairs from thefoundary.com, $350
  4. Side table from Room Service (Hayes Valley), $145
  5. Hanging floor lamp, free!
  6. Wicker chest, free from my aunt when she moved to Washington DC.

My favorite part of this room is the hanging floor lamp. K and I found it on the sidewalk waiting to be picked up from the garbage man. Yes, K and I have dumpster diving lamp next to our Room and Board couch and we absolutely love it.

We’re still looking for a media console to go with our brand new 55″ TV we purchased after Thanksgiving. We’re currently in love with this one from BDI, but we’re waiting it out until we find something similar and more affordable. Stay tuned for more!

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El Toreador - San Francisco

Rated: ♣♣♣

When most of my Mexican food intake consists of ordering from a truck, I sometimes want to sit down at an incredibly themed Mexican restaurant with loud colors and frozen margaritas. That’s exactly what you’ll find at El Toreador in West Portal.

This West Portal landmark has been around for forever. They also have the most random things hanging on their wall and ceiling like cowboy hats and stuffed parrots. I love the old autographed celebrity photos on the wall. Not only is this place quirky, it’s also a part of history.

The best part about this place is the house chips and salsa. The salsa is completely different than any other kind of salsa I’ve ever had. It’s smooth, rich and spicy. No chunks whatsoever, and I actually like that! The only bad thing about this is that this is served prior to your meal. So, if you do not have any self-control (like me), you’ll end up getting really full on this before receiving your entree.

For lunch, I had the carnitas burrito. K got the scrambled egg and chorizo burrito because he absolutely loves chorizo and will order anything with it in it. My burrito was stuffed with carnitas (deep fried pork), rice and pinto beans with salsa and guacamole on the side. The caranitas was moist, but cubed. Usually, I like my carnitas shredded, but if it’s moist, I’m not complaining. K’s chorizo burrito wasn’t too bad. The egg and chorizo was ground really fine. We would prefer the sausage and egg to be a little chunkier so we can taste each ingredient separately. I didn’t find any hot sauce on the table, so I lathered up my burrito with the house salsa that was served with the chips. I’m sure I wasn’t the first person to think of that.

I love El Toreador. It’s fun, wacky and serves some pretty good Mexican fare. Enchiladas seem to be the hot item on the menu, so I’m sure to order that on my next visit.

El Toreador
50 W Portal Ave
(between Claremont Blvd & Portola Dr)
San Francisco, CA 94127
Neighborhood: West Portal

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CocoaBella Chocolates- San Francisco

Rated: ♣♣ (This review is solely on their hot chocolate.)

K and I have sipped a ton of hot chocolate in our time. From instant packets of Swiss Miss to Cacao Sampaka in Barcelona, we’ve probably consumed enough hot chocolate to fill a swimming pool. I was told that CocoaBella Chocolates in the Westfield Shopping Center in San Francisco has a notable sipping chocolate.

The little chocolate stand at the front of the shopping center sells little pieces of gourmet chocolate, but if you walk to the back of their stand, you can order a full cup of rich, piping-hot liquid chocolate. They have a handful of flavors to choose from - peanut butter hot chocolate, spicy hot chocolate, mint hot chocolate, and a few others. You even have the option of ordering dark or milk chocolate for your drink. I tried to order the peanut butter, but they ran out, even before 12pm! So, instead I got the hazelnut and K got the mint. Ten dollars later, we each had 2 tiny cups of the thick drinking chocolate. I was a little disappointed by the size, but then concluded that I probably shouldn’t be drinking anymore than what I had.

After my first sip, it tasted like I was drinking liquid Nutella… and that’s a good thing. Though it was a little too watery to my liking, the flavor was still pretty good. The hazelnuts weren’t too overpowering and the texture of the drink was really smooth. K’s mint hot chocolate was okay. The mint was more of a fresh mint than a peppermint. It almost tasted like I was drinking regular hot chocolate after brushing my teeth with toothpaste. Not a great flavor.

Overall, I was disappointed with CocoaBella’s hot chocolate, especially since they’re charging $5 per cup. If you’re looking for some stellar sipping chocolate, try Christopher Elbow Artisanal Chocolate in Hayes Valley for $4.50. Their chocolate is rich, velvety and topped with a home made (and complimentary) marshmallow.

CocoaBella Chocolates
Westfield San Francisco Centre
865 Market St
San Francisco, CA 94103
Neighborhoods: Union Square, SOMA

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