Wayfare Tavern

Shame on you, Tyler Florence! Your new San Franciscan venture is a place of "no".

In anticipation of the hyped new opening of a celebrity chef's restaurant, I studied the menu online to prepare myself on what to order. But when we dined, there was:

no bone marrow

no escargot

no pineapple upside down cake

no sticky toffee pudding

Anyway, we chose alternative selections from the menu and hoped for the best. The popovers were quite good. Light and flaky on the outside with the soft eggy center.

We had the steak tartare and the deviled eggs. both were subpar, especially the steak tartare which had the oddest texture. After a couple bites, my gag reflex kicked in. It was either the fat ratio or the way the steak was cut up, whatever it was, it was awful.

The curried jidori deviled eggs were not impressive. The flavors were strange and I've never imagined having curry, pickled carrots, and olive oil all together. It was simply off-putting.

Then we waited for the berkshire pork hash and the fried chicken. After a 40 minute wait...NO entrees. The floor manager noticed our abysmal wait and was pleasant about the snafu. He offered us desserts on the house later. The entrees came and the fried chicken was nothing special, the pork hash was rather tasty but drowning in oil.

For desserts, I was highly anticipating the pineapple upside down cake and the sticky toffee pudding, but to my dismay as mentioned earlier, they were taken off the menu. So we went with the summer berry shortcake and the chocolate cream pie. The presentation was nice but the desserts were unsatisfying.

Wayfare Tavern, it was plain and simple - no good.

Old Port Lobster Shack

This catch can be found in Redwood City, California.

A buttered and toasted roll in the likeness of Texas toast, filled with large knobby chunks of lobster. For the naked lobster roll, the little side of clarified butter is the key. I dunked my naked lobster in that golden buttery goodness and it was so heart-clogging good!

We also tried the Maine lobster roll which was mixed in mayo and green onions. The seasoning is very light, barely existent. So I'd recommend dunking this one in butter too. Overall, you really can't tell a major difference between the Maine and naked roll.

The regular side of fries were average but we had an order of their cheese fries which was covered in melty cheese and bacon. And I don't mean bacon bits. It was crispy, crunchy, chunks of bacon!

Don't miss out on the lobster bisque in a mug. This nice and creamy lobster soup can be made into a combo with your roll for an addition of $4.

The decorations include fishing nets, water rings, buoys, and the like. They play happy bouncy quirky songs on repeat to get you into a good mood because table space is cramped and you will have to squeeze onto a picnic bench. This is definitely one of my favorite places to get a satisfying fill of delicious LOBSTAH.

That Takes The Cake

These are some of the best cupcakes I have ever tasted. I was lucky enough to be gifted with a dozen of these amazing creations for my birthday. Since I couldn't eat the entire dozen in one sitting, I rationed them over the week, and the very last bite was still as good and moist as the first!

With flavors like "gentlemen prefer reds" (red velvet), prom queen (strawberry), over the rainbow (rainbow sherbet), bunny bites (carrot), chocolamento (chocolate mint), you simply can't resist. I tried about 9 different flavors and they were all spectacular.

The frosting was creamy and not too sugary. It was perfectly piped in the right proportion to the moist, buttery, tender cupcake. I am still in awe of how heavenly each bite melted in my mouth, down to the last crumb.

gentlemen prefer reds (red velvet)

prom queen (strawberry) 

over the rainbow (rainbow sherbet) 

key lime-licious 

opposites attract (peanut butter and chocolate) 

tuxedo 

bunny bites (carrot) 

apple filled 

fresh banana 

chocolamento

That REALLY takes the cake!

You too can take the cake (home): http://that-takes-the-cake.com/

Bistro Maxine

A combination of my two favorite things: crepes and hot chocolate. Find Bistro Maxine in Palo Alto, a stone's throw from University Avenue.

Hot chocolate in a massive bowl with whipped cream and chocolate sauce for $2.75. Yes, that's what I said. I'll say it again for dramatic effect: hot chocolate in a massive bowl with whipped cream and chocolate sauce for $2.75!

Maxine's crepes are likened to stuffed wraps and tend to be more substantial than the traditional French delicate crepe. The crepes were nicely crisped on the outside yet still had that soft and spongy texture. My maxine crepe was filled with spinach, mushrooms, egg, and cheese. It could have used a little more salt and the side salad could have used a little less dressing. 

I was far too full to try a sweet crepe but I didn't need dessert when a massive bowl of hot chocolate was on my table.

37 Degrees

Ever heard of snow ice? Now you will.

Snow ice is not really icy. It is more like shaved ice cream. Imagine a creamy texture that tastes just like - shaved ice cream. It is an evolved variant of shaved ice, popular in East Asian countries due to the humid and hot weather. And there you have it. Snow ice.

At 37 degrees, snow ice is available in flavors of mango, green tea, strawberry, chocolate, and original. They were out of mochi the night we visited so we topped our ices with an array of fruit, red beans, jellies, and condensed milk.

It comes out looking like a head of cabbage leaves or a wilting salad. The menu ticket is a bit archaic as they erase previously pencil marked orders.

It is something different to try. Add it to the list of ever growing Asian novelties.