Rosamunde Sausage Grill

Friend, there are fewer finer things in this world than well made pork products. Sausages to be precise.

Yes, crafted from humble ingredients in a laborious and painstaking fashion, sausages are among my favorite porky products. It takes a certain finesse to transcend a good sausage into a great sausage. Arguably, Rosamunde has been able to achieve this. I've been excited to go to Rosamunde for quite some time now. The web has been buzzing about it ever since the Haight Street location made a name for itself. The newer Mission location couldn't be in a better spot and fits in with the cheap eats of the neighborhood.

I made the journey to the Mission spot on a late weekday afternoon. The lunch rush had long passed so only a few patrons were sitting at the bar. With no one waiting in line I asked the lady at the register a little bit about the selection. She was super informative and knew what the qualities were for each variety. She asked whether I wanted something on the savory, sweet, or spicy side.

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Purple Kow

San Francisco seems to be going through a sudden tapioca ball phase. I've noticed a boom of shops popping up all over the place. I am all for this new customized handcrafted approach that started with Tea Way. The unique twist on flavors and premium ingredients has definitely been long overdue.

Purple Kow is in a quite part of San Francisco not far from George Washington High School. In terms of location they picked a fantastic location that generates just enough foot traffic. The interior is brightly lit with a modern feel crafted only by the finest workers of Ikea. It's a tad cramp and the room can feel rather narrow during peak hours.

Speaking of peak hours, this place is notorious for having a ridiculously long wait. I really don't understand why this place hasn't fixed the issue despite being open for quite some time. It's pretty simple, stagger the line by adding another register to take more orders at once. Then set up drink making process in a factory line format. Sigh. The efficiency worker in me cries while watching the folks behind the counter.

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Mission Chinese Food

"Man this is good, but... it's definitely... different"

I can't think of a better quote to describe this place. It's exactly what I was thinking while digging into lunch here. Mission Chinese Food sums up the spirit of San Francisco by being different and not exactly following tradition, while all at the same time still paying respect to cultural roots. Chef Danny Bowein's take on Chinese food has really taken the city by storm in the past several years. Bowein has really caught the eye of the food world by making the food he wants to eat.

I popped in with a friend on a late weekday afternoon to see a moderate sized crowd. Luckily there was no wait as we took a table on the far end of the dim christmas lights lit room. The notorious over sized dragon is quite a sight to see up close and really does bring the place alive. I couldn't help but smile seeing the original owners from Lung Shan still working the tables. It seems nowadays its just a way for them to keep busy which I admire.

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Momofuku You!

I think it's the restaurant's name that caught my eye initially. The little kid inside me couldn't help but laugh obnoxiously at the silly sounding title. But it's the man behind the restaurant that kept me reading more. David Chang is definitely a down to earth character and another chef I admire. After reading and watching interviews about him, it's clear he has a unique style and doesn't care what other people think.

I love his thoughts on creativity in the kitchen and I totally agree on authenticity being overrated. There's no point in chasing after authenticity because it's already not being made in it's home country- or something along those lines. I liked how it was the pressure of running out of money that forced him to be more creative. Creative to the point that he created a entirely new pork product. And when his brussel sprout dish grew too popular he had the courage to take it off the menu. Who does THAT? But I completely agree. Chefs, or anyone for that matter, lose their creativity if they keep doing the same thing. Chang didn't want to be known for one single dish, so he tossed it out the door all together.

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Impossible Chinese Mission

I've had more time on my hands as of late. I thought it'd be fitting to pick up where I left off on this blog as a way to keep my mind occupied. I'll be sharing some great finds that I've wanted to read or watch over the past year but only found the time to do so now.

Mission Chinese Food.

Danny Bowien's Mission Chinese caught my in the early summer of last year. I read up a lot of articles about him and watched plenty of random interviews. He's a soft spoken character and is careful with his words. For some reason he reminds me a Andy Warhol type of guy, not sure why to be honest. I still haven't had the opportunity to try his food yet. You can read my review of Mission Chinese here.

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