Monday morsels: Gnomes, frog legs, Sweet 16 and more!

Today, "Flavors of San Francisco" kicks off Small Business Week at City Hall, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Great networking along with nibbles from restaurants like Absinthe Brasserie & Bar, Chez Papa Resto, Meze's Taste of Greece, and Nectar Wine Lounge. Registration required.

Suppenküche is celebrating its Sweet 16! In honor of this occasion, they are hosting Gnome Gnight, a costume ball on Thursday, May 21st, from 5:00 - 11:00 p.m. Dress up like a gnome and enjoy beer and food specials, music and dancing.

There were several exciting openings in the past few days, including Flour + Water where they are turning out fresh pastas and pizzas; farmerbrown's sibling little skillet, bringing you comfort food like chicken and waffles; and Chez Spencer's new French take-away truck, Spencer on the Go, where you can get fancy snacks like frog legs and curry, escargot puffs and truffle boeuf bourbuignon terrine. Looking forward to checking them all out.

Have a lovely week, people!

Fun in the sun at SF Oyster Fest and Uncorked! Wine Festival today

Aww shucks, I know you don't want to miss O'Reilly's 10th Annual Oyster Fest today at The Great Meadow, Fort Mason. All sorts of fun is lined up, including an oyster shuck and suck competition, an oyster pairing room, and cooking demos. The cool music line up includes Michael Franti & Spearhead, The Greyboy Allstars, Poor Man's Whiskey, Ignus Verma and Shantytown. Opens at 11:00 a.m. Tickets are $23 in advance, $30 at the gate, $60 for reserved seating and kids under 14 get in free.

Also happening today is the Uncorked! Wine Festival at Ghiradelli Square. From 1:00 - 6:00 p.m., enjoy wine seminars, live demonstrations and music for free. Chef Alicia Harper of Rose Pistola, chef David Lawrence of 1300 on Fillmore, and chef Kasey Passen of Cellar 360 are doing wine-centric cooking demos. Over 55 local wineries are participating. Tickets are $50 for wine tasting.

See you there, people!

Tajine - solid Moroccan food in disco environs

The other night, my husband and I joined a couple of foodie friends for dinner at Tajine which reopened on Thursday on VanNess at Pacific. We were in the mood for something casual, inexpensive and relatively kid-friendly since we were bringing our three year old daughter with us. We had never eaten at Tajine’s previous locations but had heard good things about the food.

Let’s see. There’s friendly staff including chef/owner Mohammed Ghaled personally welcoming us at the door? Check. You can bring your own wine without a corkage fee? Check. They have decent, if not large, portions of affordable Moroccan food? Check. Kid-friendly? Check.

Those are the pluses. The decor and seating configuration, on the other hand, reflected more of a lounge vibe and was not very conducive to having a relaxed, liesurely dinner. Or maybe I’m just an old, forty-something fuddy-duddy. There were black and silver couches, orange ottomans, disco balls, spotlights and a glowing, neon-lit bar. My husband and I sat on the sofa and towered over a very low standing table to eat while our friends sat opposite us on round ottomans that were better suited to the height of the table, but were seemingly not very comfortable. My friend said it reminded her of the way people crouch and eat at street vendors in Asia.

Tables around us were literally folded up and rolled away just before 10:00 p.m. to make way for the nightclub that Tajine transforms into on Friday and Saturday nights. It was a little off-putting to see and hear the staff putting away furniture as we tried to finish our meal. I imagine it would have been better if we sat on the floor on pillows, because we all would have been at the same eye level with each other and it would have felt a tad more homey.

That night, it appeared that more emphasis was placed on the Heights nightclub aspect than on the restaurant itself. It’s unfortunate because most of the food was delicious. We all agreed that one of the highlights were Merguez sausages which were flavorful, slightly spicy sausages atop cucumber slices. It was the perfect size to share between two people and whet our appetite for the entrees. We also enjoyed the lamb tajine, succulent pieces of lamb, that were moist, tender, and falling off the bone. Prunes added sweetness and brightened the dish. The chicken with olives and preserved lemon was a winner, too. There were really tender pieces of chicken bursting with flavor from the briney olives and tangy preserved lemon. You have to soak up the sauce with the bread they pass out, delish! Our friends also thoroughly enjoyed the chicken bastilla which was enormous! It was made of phyllo stuffed with ground chicken and sprinkled with powdered sugar and cinnamon.

The two dishes that fell short were my lamb couscous which had generous portions of couscous and vegetables but no so much lamb and was pretty bland overall; and the lamb kababs which also came with couscous and veggies. The two skewers looked good but were overcooked and dry.

I might go back with a group since it’s inexpensive, you can bring your own wine and it’s kid-friendly, but not on a Friday or Saturday night.

Cafe Nordstrom has good, quick eats

I just got back from running errands at Stonestown Galleria and grabbing a quick bite at the cafe at Nordstrom. I have been craving their caesar salad with salmon lately and I finally got my fix.

It’s always clean, efficient, and consistent here so when my kids want to eat at the food court, my husband and I order food to go from the cafe and bring it over there. My husband likes their tuna melt on marbled rye bread. One of these days, I want to try their French dip sandwich and the lime & cilantro chicken salad. But for now, I always find myself ordering that same citrus salmon caesar salad – guess I’m a creature of habit. It's refreshing and satisfying and always has the right amount of dressing.

It felt nippy out this morning so a cup of tomato basil soup sounded good. It was nice and hot, and had a rich and tangy tomato flavor. It was served with a big piece of cheesy, crusty bread which was perfect for dipping. I tend to like my tomato soup a tad sweeter and with a bit of melty cheese on top so that’s why I can't rave about it.

In addition to their regular menu, they serve breakfast all day and have a kids’ menu with familiar items like macaroni and cheese, a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup, chicken breast tenders, a turkey sandwich, and buttered noodles.

They also have a dessert menu featuring carrot cake, chocolate turtle cake, New York style cheesecake, tiramisu and red velvet cake.

They’re open Mon-Sat from 11:00am to 7:00pm and on Sundays, they close at 5:00pm.

Oyaji - sushi and izakaya style fare in the Outer Richmond

There's a little gem tucked across the street from the Lincoln Park Golf Course on Clement Street that serves good izakaya style dishes and sushi. I like the hot towels they pass out when you sit down, and enjoy eating in their cozy, semi-private booths. They have a killer crab and cucumber salad (kani su), delicious skewered chicken meatballs (tsukune) and great nigiri. My son loves the shrimp tempura as well as the Oyaji beef which is grilled rib eye with sauteed onions and Oyaji sauce served on a sizzling platter. It's not on the menu, but my daughter usually starts with a takuwan roll. She enoys the skewered duck (aigamo), too.

We've happily devoured the fried whole flounder (karei karaage), eyeballs and all. Cabbage rolls, stewed pork belly (butano-kakuni), and steamed clams in sake (asari no sakamushi) are pretty tasty, too. I always have saba sashimi, it's my favorite.

Last night, we tried skewered chicken gizzard (sunagimo) which, all I can say is, truly an acquired taste. The crunchy texture totally threw us off. I can't say that I'll be ordering that again anytime soon. We also sampled sautéed squid in butter and soy sauce (ika sauté) which my husband devoured - I got one little bite. The cha-shu ramen had great chewy noodles and tons of tender pork but was a little salty.

Oyaji always seems to be bustling, even on a weekday night. Last night, there were a mix of locals and Japanese people in business attire. Take a look at the photos of all the food we ate. Our bill came to a respectable $66.80 - it also includes tea and a soda.


For more info: Oyaji Restaurant

5A5, San Francisco's first 'steak lounge,' opens today

A couple of months ago, my family and I went to the soft opening of what was then called A5, a new steak lounge in Jackson Square named after the highest grade of beef. This is where old-school steak house meets modern cocktail lounge. It was a fun experience for the whole family.

Their renovations weren't complete yet and they gave us feedback cards since they were still formulating their menu. One of the owners (Circolo and Bin38) came out and chatted with us for a while which was nice. My son particularly got a kick out of being able to submit his comments about the food, service and ambiance. He talked about our server who was super friendly, but forgetful. He gave two thumbs up on the lamb lollipops which he's glad to see is on their new menu. He also mentioned how spooky dark it was in their co-ed bathrooms downstairs.

We enjoyed many of the items we tried. In addition to the tasty lamb chops, we are pleased to see that the hamachi shooters, macaroni and cheese, and truffled fries also made the final cut. There used to be a delicious beet salad with blood orange but now they have a version prepared with capers, mache and Caciotta al Tartufo. They have added delicious sounding small plates including king crab legs, lobster tempura, beef tataki and Hokkaido scallops.

The one kink that we hope they have worked out is timing - all of our beef entrees came out room temperature instead of hot. And, I wonder if they still cut the beef into dainty slices for you. Personally, when I eat steak, I prefer to cut it myself. We'll just have to go back and see how the whole project has turned out.

For more info: 5A5 Steak Lounge

Monday morsels

7x7 highlights Laïola's Sciabica olive oil dinner on May 13th. Chef Ron Pei is preparing a four-course meal for $75 including olive oil poached tuna conserva, braised pork shoulder with candied olives, and an olive oil cake with lemon-rosemary ice cream. This feast includes Spanish wine pairings with each course. Call now to book your reservation. 415.346.5641.

It's Wild Game Week again at The Big 4 Restaurant starting tomorrow, through May 16. Some highlights include Brazilian piranha "ribs," wild boar "crispy tacos," pan seared rib eye of llama, and buffalo short ribs. 415.771.1140.

Don't forget that SF Cocktail Week kicks off at Le Colonial tonight, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Do you have fun noshing and imbibing plans around town? Share them with me at grubalicioussf@gmail.com. I love getting your emails!