Pearl’s Deluxe Burgers

I had been craving beef all week, whether it be a huge chunk of steak or a thick juicy burger. Since I was going to San Francisco on Saturday, I figured I might as well hit up a burger joint. At my friend Steven’s recommendation (yes, him again), I paid a visit to Pearl's Deluxe Burgers.
The diner was quite literally a hole in the wall, with only 5 small metal tables and 3 stools at the window counter. When I first walked in, all the seats were taken and there was a line waiting for their orders. This was past 2:30 PM. I had purposely gone at an off time so I could snag a seat, but I almost had to take my food to go. The man at the register assured me that there would be tables open by the time I get my food though, so I agreed to dine in.
My order: 1/2 lb buffalo deluxe burger with American cheese and bacon, “Springs”, and mandarin orange shake with malt. I originally wanted to try the Kobe burger, which was an extra $3.99, but I just had to try buffalo meat once in my life! Also, I read good things about their bacon, so I couldn’t pass that up, but with all the extra fat, I figured I should go for the buffalo meat since they claimed it was leaner. Plus it was only around $2.50 extra. “Springs” is a half-and-half order of crinkle-cut sweet potato fries and onion rings. I really wish more places would do this, because I hate to choose one and not be able to try the other.

Does that burger make your face melt or what? Just looking at it now makes me hungry, and I already ate lunch. This is the only photo I took because, frankly, I didn’t want to wait any longer to dig in.
The buffalo patty was thick, as expected for a half pounder, but not quite as juicy as I like my burgers. Of course, it is supposed to be lean, and less fat means less juicy goodness, so I can’t fault them on that. The vegetables make an abundant pile, made more awesome by the fact that they are all organic, as is everything else cooked up at the diner. The real highlight here is the bacon – they are not thin deli slices of wimpy half-meat-half-fat what-have-you’s; these are what I can only describe as the manliest bacon I have ever seen. The piece of meat you see on that picture sticking out the front and side of the burger is actually the bacon, not the patty. They are almost 2 inches wide and very thick and meaty, but still crispy on one side, and flanked by flavorful fat on the other. Normally, I avoid eating bacon at all costs because the greasiness turns me off immensely. This bacon though, I would eat even without the burger!
As I mentioned, the “springs” is a half-and-half combo of sweet potato fries and onion rings. They also offer “frings”, which is regular cut fries instead of sweet potato. This is the first time I had crinkle-cut sweet potato fries, usually they’re just regular cut. They were perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, simply delicious, and I’ll leave it at that. The other greasy food I avoid, aside from bacon, is onion rings. They are usually good for the first two bites, then the smell of oil and grease overwhelm any taste left on the limp broken mess of frying batter and onions. The first thing I noticed about Pearl’s onion rings is the thinness of the batter. The second thing was the delightful crisp crunchiness. Even with the largest rings, the batter stuck to the onion and the ring maintained its shape – nothing was limp or falling apart. They also were not as greasy as expected, or at least the smell did not overwhelm me even after the food had cooled down a bit.
The icing on the cake was the mandarin orange shake with malt. It was one of their “special shakes” of the day, which can change anytime and are slightly more expensive than the “regular” shakes. There were many other flavors such as “Black Forest” and many sweet-sounding ones, but being a person who does not like sweets very much, I went for the citrus. It actually came before my food did, in a tall paper cup with a huge straw. I took a sip and almost died of happiness and absolute bliss. The consistency of the shake was not too thick, but certainly not watery. The sweetness was subtle, with just the right amount of mandarin orange and milky flavor. Some people may complain that it is indeed not thick enough (compared to McDonald’s triple thick shakes, for example, this would seem very diluted) or the flavor not strong enough, but this is just how I like my shakes. It was perfect.

Wish You Were Here

Pearl’s Deluxe Burgers is located at 708 Post St, San Francisco

Le Cheval

The last time I ate at Le Cheval in Old Oakland was in 2003. I was curious to see what had become of it six years onward.

Toâm Kho Toä - Prawns Stewed in Claypot

This claypot featured prawns and mushrooms in a light tasty stew that reminded me of the kind that comes with dishes of steamed fish. The texture of the prawns was just right, and the prawns came in a decent amount for this pot.

Möïc Rang Muoái - Salty Calamari

Calamari on a menu always jumps out at me. This was no exception. The dish was listed under the entree section too, and its size portions matched. All that pan fried goodness will fill you up easily though.

The calamari dish came in a lettuce leaf with onions leaning on the less cooked end, and a dash of chili peppers.

Boø Taùi Chanh - Marinated Raw Beef

These were thin slices of raw beef marinated with lemon juice and toppings of peanuts and onions.

Wish You Were Here

Le Cheval is located on 1007 Clay St in Oakland, California.

COCO500

What can I say about this place? Wow, just wow. My cousin treated me to a lovely dinner here on Friday (I can't thank him enough!), and let's just say that I will definitely come back for more.

A bit about the decor (straight from the website because I couldn't have said it better myself): "chocolate, blue, and caramel toned walls of new and century old douglass fir set the mood in this 1906 wood structure. adding to the warmth of the restaurant is artwork by local artists scott reilly and son nguyen." They also have these delightful long cylindrical light fixtures that hang from the ceiling in rows, which look very much like floating candles that give off a soft glow in the summer evening.

We started off with two appetizers, or as listed on the menu, "for the table". The "house cured duck proscuitto" with fruit compote was exquisite. Six paper thin slices of the salted duck were complimented by a mash of sweet diced apricot. The balance of flavors was every bit as delicate as the presentation in this dish.

The second appetizer was "truffled squash blossom flatbread" seasoned with sea salt and chili. The entire flatbread was about 12 inches in diameter and maybe 2 to 3 millimeters at its thickest. The center was slightly doughy, soft and chewy with melted parmesan cheese topping, while the perimeter was crispy and browned, but not burnt. The squash blossoms were evenly spread out and each leaf beautifully arranged. They provided a hint of sweetness, contrasting with the sea salt, chili, and cheese on the rest of the flatbread.

I had a tough decision to make for the main entree. On one hand was the special plate of the day which involved fancily-prepared scallops that made my mouth water just listening to our server describe it. On the other was beef cheek with horseradish and watercress. Due to my immense appetite that night, I went with the beef. When the plate came, I was surprised because the cheek was encased in a crust with horseradish poured over the top and a brown sauce on the bottom. The entire chunk of beef cheek was at least a full inch thick and five inches at its widest. As I sliced it open, steam practically billowed out of the beef! This was exactly how I like my food - so hot that it steams. Each bite of the beef was tender, moist, steamy, and literally melting in my mouth. A minor flaw was actually the crust, which looked like a rub with bread crumbs and some sort of seed. After the first few bites, it had an overpowering taste which interfered with the original lovely flavor of the cheek, so halfway through I simply scraped it off. I dipped each bite of beef in the brown sauce, which was slightly sweet, and might have been the broth it was cooked in. With this, the beef cheek was pure heaven.

We had also ordered a side of corn, most of which I spooned onto my watercress to eat the mix as a salad. The corn kernels by themselves was perfectly sweet with perhaps a hint of butter. There was still much of the beef sauce leftover, however, so I simply used it as dressing for the vegetables. Needless to say, the result was absolutely delicious and better than any bottled salad dressing I have ever tasted.

My cousin ordered "the catch" for his own entree, which according to our server was a whole grilled Mediterranean sea bass. The fish was a little over a foot long, topped with what seemed to be watercress and cilantro. He cut out a middle section for me to try, and just like my beef cheek, the sea bass was steaming hot. The meat was salty but extremely tasty, and the skin had a slight crunchy crisp. The fish tasted as if I had gone into the kitchen and stolen a bite straight from the grill. It was also cooked to perfection such that the bones had gone soft, but the meat retained its juiciness. I know this because I failed to pick the bones out before putting it in my mouth, and frankly did not wish to for fear that all the heat would escape. Fortunately for me, the bones were so soft I could chew and swallow everything.

I finished my plate early because it was just too good, and because I was hungry. My cousin asked if I needed another piece of meat, and I actually contemplated ordering another appetizer. In the end, we decided to order from the dessert menu instead. He went for the angel cake with meyer lemon curd, local strawberries, and wild huckleberry sauce. It was supposedly very good, but also very sweet, so I did not try it. I usually prefer desserts which have a delicate sweetness, not overwhelming my taste buds with sugar. Unfortunately, all but one of the sweet items fell in this category, and it came with cookies, which I had no desire to eat that night. I finally opted for the "tasting of three artisanal cheese" instead, which was actually present on the appetizer menu as well.

The very long plate of cheese triangles consisted of (from left to right) - blue cheese surrounded by walnuts, aged goat cheese underlined with what seemed to be either balsamic vinegar or chocolate syrup, and white cheddar with a side of sliced peaches. Our server also gave me a third of a baguette with olive oil in case my palate needed some calming down from all the cheesiness. Not being a huge fan of blue cheese, I decided to eat that first to get it over with. Apparently, I have been eating it wrong my entire life - not that I eat it often - the bitterness of the walnuts neutralized most of the unpleasantness of the blue cheese and left a very distinct but surprisingly good flavor in my mouth. After washing down the remaining taste with water and some bread, I went on to the white cheddar. Even with a clean palate, it was underwhelmingly mild and the sweetness of the peaches covered most of its taste when I ate them together. Last but not least was the aged goat cheese. I don't why I have never tried it before, but I am certainly going to start eating goat cheese from now on. The crust and semi-transparent parts near the edge had a brie-like taste and texture, quite soft and chewy. The goat milk flavor was the strongest in the middle solid white area. The dark brown sauce which I assume to be balsamic vinegar enhanced both flavors, and the entire piece made for a fantastic melting pot in my mouth.

Wish You Were Here

COCO500 is located at 500 Brannan St, San Francisco

Zao Noodle Bar

The Asian fusion restaurant has a rather interesting decor, to say the least. Box lanterns hang above tables and dark wood shelves on the walls hold various food items from the East. One of the shelves holds a bag of crispy rice snacks that my good friend Steven claims has been there since the noodle bar opened its doors. I took the picture on the left because of the huge bag of rice stuffed precariously into the rightmost shelf, hoping that it doesn't actually contain 20 lbs of rice because it hangs directly over one of the tables. Common sense would suggest that the bag was emptied and filled with foam, but the bag looks completely unopened. Here's to hoping an earthquake doesn't happen during dinnertime!

Now, on to the food. I deliberated between the "seared cilantro beef salad" and the "chicken in lemongrass coconut broth" for a long while, but ultimately ordered the latter due to it being a "Zao specialty", as proclaimed on the menu. The presentation of the dish was rather interesting, as there was a foot long stalk of lemongrass jutting out of the bowl. As for the ramen noodles, I was right to not expect much; it seemed almost undercooked. The chicken was mildly spiced and tender enough. Vegetables included cut carrots, sprigs of cilantro, and 2 slices of tomatoes, all very fresh. My favorite part, however, was the broth - thinner than coconut milk, thicker than water, perfectly infused with the flavor and aroma of lemongrass, and just spicy enough to overcome the oiliness of coconut milk. Slurp-a-licious!

Steven ordered the "Dan Dan noodles", which is a traditional Chinese Szechuan dish, normally made with ground pork and served a bowl of soup. Zao's version not only comes on a plate without broth, but has strips of chicken and beansprouts instead. I can't comment on the taste since I didn't try any, but just knowing the ingredients is probably going to steer me away from ordering this dish at Zao unless someone claims that it's practically heaven on earth. I'm quite sure I can stir fry chicken strips and noodles just fine in my own kitchen.

Wish You Were Here

Zao Noodle Bar is located at 5614 Bay Street, Emeryville.

Demon Lover

The 900 Grayson Restaurant version of the classic chicken and waffles is possibly the best I have ever tasted. That's not to say it's perfect, but for the price, it certainly beats Jack London Square's Home of Chicken and Waffles, hands down. The Demon Lover comes with 2 large pieces of fried chicken, which are actually made from chicken breasts, not legs and wings. I thought I wouldn't like it much because white meat is usually so dry, but these were very hot and juicy, comparable to Popeye's chicken strips except much bigger.

The server had asked if I would like gravy or syrup, and being one who avoids sweets whenever possible, I chose the gravy. Apparently I should have asked for it on the side, because the massive amounts of gravy, while very good, was poured all over the chicken and the waffle underneath, which made both soggy after a while. It also tasted heavy, so I got full and tired of it even faster. For the second piece of chicken, I had to pour hot sauce in my ketchup and slather the mix over the gravy and meat so I could actually finish the entire thing.

As for the waffle, I must say I have had better ones in the Dining Commons at Berkeley. Not only was parts of it soggy from the gravy, the parts that were dry tasted unbelievably bland. I suppose that's where the syrup should have come in, but if I'm supposed to eat the waffle with syrup and chicken with gravy, then please don't make me choose only one! They can afford to give me a new bottle of hot sauce and what seemed like an entire can of gravy, but can't give me even a tablespoon of syrup? And no, the waffle did not taste any better with gravy, it just tasted like gravy on a chewy piece of cardboard. As I already couldn't stand all the heavy gravy on the chicken, I didn't attempt to down the rest of waffle, and left almost three quarters of it uneaten. It was possibly the first time I did not finish an entire plate of food or at least get the rest to go.

Overall, my biggest mistake was probably not ordering the gravy on the side. That would have saved everything from becoming soggy and tasting so heavy. I would definitely come back for the chicken, but I don't think anything could save the waffle for me. If I have to drown something in syrup to tolerate eating it, I'm probably better off eating a huge slice of cheesecake...at least the calcium would be good for my bones.

900 Grayson

The Grayson Burger

The Grayson Burger was 1/3 pound of guilt pleasure, with its beef patty and bacon and fried onion rings between two very hard buns. I'm talking pound-nails-into-the-table hard, but crunchy like croutons.

Idaho Hashed Browns

The Idaho hashed browns were my first ones, at least with the "Idaho" descriptor. You know those hashed browns that come in little strings? Well, its texture was like a cross between that and the patty-type hashed browns. Very refreshing.

The Demon Lover

The Demon Lover comes with an option of syrup or gravy. We chose the latter, and it was a great choice because the gravy and chicken together were scrumptious. Nothing was too dry. Everything was just right.

Wish You Were Here

900 Grayson is located on 900 Grayson in Berkeley, California.

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