A Trifecta of San Francisco Menus: Zarzuela, Hakkasan & Nopa

This was my second trip to San Francisco (first trip was in March) and I've decided that I really like San Fran. The weather was a bit too cool for me in June because it's usually nice and warm in NYC by this time, but apparently, it's cool all year round in San Fran, and that is where I would get annoyed. I like having seasons and I especially like my summers HOT!

I came back to San Francisco to do the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon that is a bucket list triathlon for most triathletes. It's a 1.5 mile swim in the bay, 18 mile hilly bike ride followed by an 8 mile run. You can qualify for this race, but usually the easiest way to get in is through lottery, which I was able to. It's not an easy race to get into as they only select about 2,000 entries. It's also not an easy race to complete either! It took me 3:38:37.

While here, I was able to dine at so many fantastic places with so many great friends. Before the triathlon, I met up with my friend, Susan, who I attended Columbia University with and who is from the Bay Area. She took me to Zarzuela, a Spanish tapas restaurant, and according to her it's always hard to get in because they take no reservations and it's always booked. Thankfully, we went on a weeknight so we were able to get seated right away, but it was still full.

After we ordered, I hung on to the menu because I figured since it's tapas, it's always great to come back to the menu to see if we want more. After all was said and done, I slipped the menu into my jacket on my backside. Luckily, we were sitting in a corner table so my back was facing a wall and away from everyone. The rest of the night was pretty much a blur, but a fun blur!

 

Zarzuela, 2000 Hyde St.

Russian Hill, San Francisco, CA

Website 

Zarzuela

During the trip, my good friend, Melissa, from Los Angeles came up to San Fran to support me throughout the whole weekend. Since Mark couldn't be with me because he was working and traveling, Melissa decided she would come up and enjoy the weekend with me and help with whatever I needed. I was so thankful she was here. Gracias, amiga.

She and I did a lot of sight-seeing, walking, eating, and more walking and a few Uber rides when our legs couldn't carry us any longer. Our post triathlon celebration took us to lunch at Hakkasan, a shi-shi Chinese restaurant. Alas, following the race, all I could do was rest and sleep the entire night into the next day because I felt really crappy and sick, so post celebration had to wait until the following day.

I brought my bag with me to the restaurant because I had my jacket with me in case I got cold, but I'm glad I did because I was able to stuff the menus in my bag while the staff were not looking. The drink menu is really extensive for an Asian restaurant and I loved all the different types of Asian inspired cocktails. The food was extremely delicious and presented very well.

Hakkasan, 1 Kearny St.
San Francisco, CA
Website

Hakkasan

Other restaurants of interest that Melissa and I went to and all of them were very good, but I wasn't able to collect the menu, but rather took a picture of them. Yes to all! And all are in San Fran, obvi.

Alioto's, #8 Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, CA Website
Bacon Bacon Truck, 2828 Jones St., Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, CA Website
Frascati, 1901 Hyde St., San Francisco, CA Website
Kitchen Story, 3499 16th St., San Francisco, CA Website

The last menu I collected was from Nopa. The day before my departure I saw my good friend Mena, who lives in San Fran, and we spent the afternoon catching up and drinking through the day then eventually ending up at Nopa for a hearty meal. Honestly, if it wasn't for the pictures I took of the food, I wouldn't have remembered what I ordered. And thanks to Mena, I didn't even have to be sly about collecting the menu. She simply asked the waiter if I could have it because I was visiting and thought it would make a good souvenir and he said, 'yes!' Easy peasy.

A few things I like about this menu: the raised lettering of their name and the font they use on the menu. It's a very simple yet classy menu with no splashy graphics printed on quality paper. It's a shame that they rubber stamp the date. I suppose they could print it on there, but it would be both time consuming and costly.

Nopa, 560 Divisadero St.

San Francisco, CA

Website

Nopa

Restaurant Tobogan

From time-to-time, Mark, and some of my friends, will collect a menu for me from their recent trip. I love it because, well, I'm not there so I can't do it, but it's always great when someone brings me a menu from somewhere I've never been even if it's in a foreign language. This is the case with this menu from a trip that Mark collected from Barcelona, Spain this past May from a restaurant called Tobogan.

Looking at the menu, it looks like it is a tapas eatery and has pictures of the food.  The menu items are listed in columns in Spanish, French and English. It also looks like they serve a lot of different tapas. If you're not familiar with tapas, it's basically small plates or appetizers you can share amongst your guests. If you were in Hawaii, you would call this 'pupu' or 'pupu platter'. I suppose every culture has its own version of dishes.

Restaurant Tobogan, Placa Reial 10, 08002
Barcelona, Spain
Website

Restaurant Tobogan

Nando's Peri-Peri

During a race weekend in March in Washington, DC, my running friends and I stumbled upon Nando's Peri-Peri Restaurant right after coming from the Expo to pick up our bibs. There were many restaurants in the area, but many of them were crowded because it was a Friday and happy hour. We also had a baby with us so it was tough to find a place that could accommodate all of us and a stroller.

When we entered the restaurant, none of us had any idea what Peri-Peri or 'Piri Piri' was. Apparently, Piri piri is a sauce that is Portuguese in origin and huge in Brazil. We were instructed to order at the counter and sit anywhere and they will bring the food to us when it's ready. It didn't take very long at all. I ordered Peri-Peri wings just to get a sense of the taste and cashew nuts seasoned with Peri-Peri. My friends ordered heartier meals. I had to eat lighter because I was meeting other friends for dinner much later.

Peri-Peri sauce tasted spicy with different kinds of seasoning. I could really taste the char on the wings, but overall it was good. In the future, if I ever end up back there, I would get a hearty meal with loads of Peri-Peri sauce to get a better sense.

The menu was fairly easy to collect. No one was paying much attention to the tables as this wasn't a formal sit down restaurant, where the wait staff collect the menus after you order, so I simply put a menu in my bag I got from the Expo and that was that.

Another place I visited, which I HAVE to mention here, is Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken. While I didn't collect the menu (really can't because it's a grab and go kind of place), I have to notably mention this spot because the fried chicken is OUT OF THIS WORLD! Why? Just because. The crispy skin, the moist and tender meat and the greasy taste-oh so good! I love that part! Oh, and I ordered some doughnuts too. They were good.

Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken, 1308 G Street NW
Washington, DC
Website

Nando's Peri-Peri, 7th Street NW
Washington, DC
Website

Nando's Peri-Peri

Singleton's Seafood Shack

Happy New Year!

I know it seems like months go by before I collect a menu and post the story, so in this new year, I'll try to be more active, but I can't make any promises. :)

A week before it turned 2015, we headed down south to Amelia Island, Fl, but not before heading to Paris, France first. It was a whirlwind of a trip flying back to NYC internationally with a one night stop at home then head to Florida the following day, but this is what we did. It was much harder than I expected, but we survived. Sadly, I wasn't able to collect any menus from Paris. Maybe next time.

During our Florida trip, we visited Singleton's Seafood Shack. We've come here before and enjoyed it, but this time around the service wasn't that great. We had to wait a while for our food because they were so busy.

The restaurant is located in Mayport. It's a half hour car ride from Amelia Island to the ferry then a very short ferry ride over to Mayport. I'm not really sure what there is to do in Mayport, really, but I think it's home to a Navy base.

Singleton's has charm. It's not a very fancy place nor does it try to be, but I think that's why people love this place. The seafood is fresh and caught daily. The food is inexpensive and they sure love to fry everything, but then again, it's the south. Their are long tables with long wooden benches inside and a nice deck for outdoor seating.

We ordered some appetizers to share: fried squash (this was so good), hushpuppies, and fried corn nuggets. Hushpuppies are so good! I could eat that every day. For my meal, I chose the blackened Mahi fish taco, which was good. It had a lot of shredded cheddar cheese on top so I gave most of it away because it was too much.

Since we gave all the menus back after we ordered, it wasn't until we started to leave that I mentioned something to Mark about if I had the menu from Singleton's or not. The Littman parents overhearing our conversation decided to take matters into their own hands. They went back inside to retrieve a takeout menu, and while getting a takeout menu, they somehow managed to swipe a real menu under the takeout. I was so impressed! However, Bill, their son, said a staff member saw the whole thing go down but didn't say anything. I thought it was so hilarious! Bravo, Littman parents.

Singleton's Seafood Shack, 4728 Ocean Street
Atlantic Beach, FL
Website

Singleton's Seafood Shack