Cafe Casera

What a great local restaurant.

I've had my eye on Cafe Casera for a while after hearing that a New Mexican restaurant has opened near me.

The husband and wife behind the counter were friendly and happy to explain their menu when we walked in. They went into detail about their family recipes with pride, so we were excited once we ordered.

The food was as good as we expected. Spicy and flavorful. I ordered the green chile chicken enchiladas and my fella had the CC sizzler on sopapilla. The homemade tortillas, chile and sopapillas were amazing. I can't wait to make this place a regular spot on my restaurant rotation. I'll be back again soon to try more of their menu. 

Items sampled:

Green chile chicken enchiladas, cc sizzler on sopapilla.

Location:
7720 S Jones Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89139
(702) 722-6005

Brenda's French Soul Food - San Francisco

Reviewing all the great spots I tried while in San Francisco recently, I look back over my favorite meals and the one that stood out the most was my meal at Brenda's French Soul Food.

We arrived around 9am on a Sunday morning and put our name on the chalkboard. This is a great process, let's you know exactly what number in line you are, so we kept our eyes on the board. Not too long later, our name was called and we were seated.

Our server was so great and friendly. She welcomed us quickly, took our drink order and gave her recommendations while we perused the menu. My fella and I decided to share the beignet flight and the pork belly and grits.

The food and drinks arrive quickly. You can tell they have efficiency down pat here. All the servers and were on point and with how quickly everyone's food came out, there must be a great assembly line going on behind the scenes as well.

The pork belly and grits were absolutely amazing. I could have eaten two of this dish. It was so cheesy and gooey and the pork belly was perfectly cooked and seasoned. Every part of this dish was exceptional. My fella and I both actually got sad as we finished the dish. We licked every last morsel from the plate, so we wouldn't miss a bite.

The flight of beignets consisted of a crawfish, apple and cinnamon, chocolate and plain beignet. My favorite was the apple and cinnamon and my fella was in love with the crawfish beignet. Neither of us loved the chocolate or the plain, but they had a good variety. I would recommend ordering just one beignet to go along with your entrée. That's what I'll do the next time I visit.

Service was exceptional. Despite how busy they were, our drinks were refilled swiftly and dirty plates were bussed quickly. I love this place, I'd come back in a heartbeat.

Location:
652 Polk St
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 345-8100

 

Harvey Slocombe

After a very filling visit to many different stalls I couldn't resist having a little dessert. What better place for some ice cream than the famous Harvey Slocombe.

I  sampled a few of their options, including Secret Breakfast, which I didn't love (or even really like, guess I'm the only one). I opted for the salted chocolate. It had a salty, smoky flavor that I loved. It was rich and silky smooth. It had a savory and sweet combination that I loved. 

It was the perfect way to cap a very successful Saturday morning of eating and shopping.

Location: 

Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, 1 Ferry Bldg, San Francisco, CA 94111

Bella Luca Pizza - Union Square San Francisco

Bella Luca is clearly a place that survives completely on drunk food visits. Located in Union Square, I couldn't resist getting a slice when everyone else was partaking in pre-dinner za. What can I say, I always succumb to food peer pressure. 

The slices were absolutely nothing special. Warmed up slices of pizza that were clearly made well in advance and sitting around. 

I took a few bite and didn't feel much need to finish my slice. Very mediocre pizza.

Cako - JapanTown San Francisco

Cupcakes are really not my thing. For the most part, I typically find cupcakes to be very overrated. I had had a few drinks during happy hour and needed a little something to snack on.

We happened to be shopping on the area and my friend had mentioned how Cako offered free cupcakes when you download their app. I downloaded the ap and filled and walked up to the counter to make my cupcake selection. 

They had a few unique flavors and I decided on the strawberry margarita. The flavor was really great. 

I scraped all the frosting off as I didn't care for it, but the cake was moist and pretty flavorful. It had a fruity and tangy flavor that encompassed the essence of an actual strawberry margarita. It wasn't the most amazing dessert I've ever had, but it had solid flavor.

Babystacks - Henderson

I have to admit I haven't been the biggest fan of Babystacks, so when my OG wanted to check this place out now that they've opened a location closer to him, I was reluctant, but always up a food expedition.

We arrived on Memorial Day and it was not busy. We were seated quickly and I decided to finally order the adobo omelet I've had my eye on for a while. The rice was flavorful, but just a little on the dry side. I would have probably preferred if it was just the rice and skipped the egg, but I enjoyed it. 

I also ordered the red, white and blue pancakes that were on special for the day. Topped with blueberries, strawberries and whipped cream, I wish I had gone with my first instinct and asked that they forego the white chocolate chips. The pancakes would've been better without them. The pancakes were good, but like the other locations, they are small and not very fluffy. They did taste good, however.

We had a good meal and I got to spend time with some of my favorite people, so that's a plus. It's a good addition to this location and I see them being successful here.

Sweet Maple - JapanTown in San Francisco

We came in on a Monday morning for brunch. We had made reservations since they don't take reservations during weekends, but they were not busy at all so reservations weren't really necessary. 

We were seated quickly and we took a while to peruse the menu. I had heard a lot about their famous bacon so opted for the Blackstone Benedict which consisted of millionaire's bacon, asparagus, cherry tomato, meyer lemon hollandaise. The flavors were great. The hollandaise was much more subtle and less rich than typical benedicts, which I liked. All the flavors worked great together and I really enjoyed it. The bacon wasn't my favorite. I don't really know what I expected but it was more like very rich and overly flavorful jerky. I'm not the biggest bacon fan typically, so I'm probably not the best judge. For me, I would have preferred a different protein with my entree. 

They used a variety of potatoes, which is what I usually prepare at home, so these were a pleasant surprise from the typical hash browns or home fries that most breakfast spots serve. 

The iced tea was strong and freshly brewed and the homemade preserves, which were probably my favorite part of the meal, were absolutely delicious. I couldn't get enough of them, I could have eaten them without bread, that's how good they were.

This was not the best breakfast place I've ever been to, but it's extremely solid and I enjoyed all the fresh and well-prepared ingredients.

Roli Roti - Ferry Building Farmer's Market in San Francisco

Three days in San Francisco and this was definitely one of the top two meals during our entire visit. 

I have wanted to check out the Farmer's Market at the Ferry Building for so long and this was my number one stop while I was there. I had to get my hands on that porchetta sandwich, and boy, did it live up to my expectations. 

We got there relatively early on Saturday and there was no line at all, score! My fella and I ordered the porchetta sandwich and a rosemary lemonade to share and after devouring our "snack" we were each equally disappointed that we didn't get a whole one to savor all to ourselves. It was for the best, since we wanted to try many different vendors while we were there, but man, sharing is not caring here... 

The porchetta was on point. Moist, fatty and absolutely melt in your mouth delicious. The bread sopped up all the flavorful grease. The greens help me pretend I was  eating something healthy. They kept their integrity and did not get soggy by the time I was finished with my last bite. 

The rosemary lemonade was definitely a must. Refreshing and complemented the flavors in the porchetta nicely. I definitely wouldn't share this beverage next time as I'll likely be greedy and get one all for myself. 

I can't sing the praises of this place enough. Get some!

Kippu Japanese Cuisine - SF JapanTown

We were in Japantown for the Soy and Tofu Festival and decide to get a quick drink and snack in the area. We walked in the place was pretty empty.

They had pretty good drink specials and the food seemed reasonably priced. We ordered a pitcher to share and I ordered a salmon skin handroll to tide me over until dinner. The drinks were cold and delicious but the sushi left quite a bit to be desired. It wasn't bad, just wasn't great and that the was the consensus around the table. 

I would recommend the place for great drink specials, but skip the food.

Sushirrito - SF Financial District

The concept of Sushirrito is much more exciting than the end product here. I was was wandering around the Financial District and got a little hungry. Having remembered that Sushirrito was nearby I decided to get a little something. 

I arrived about 15 minutes before closing time and the service was very good. Everyone was helpful and very friendly. I opted for the Geisha's Kiss roll and I wish had paid more attention to what the ingredients were. I would probably have has then exclude the lotus chips and lettuce from my order. I love those two ingredients but it ended up added a weird textural element to the end product. 

For the most part the ingredients were fresh, but nothing was particularly memorable about my roll. Flavors were ok, but I didn't have the temptation to eat every last bite. I ate a little less than half and ended up throwing the rest away.

Overall, I'm glad I have them a try, but I don't see myself going out of my way to give them anther try.