The Slanted Door, 1 Ferry Building/Market St. (415-861-8032)Sister restaurant;www.slanteddoor.com. Out the Door (Westfield San Francisco Centre (Old Emporium); 845 Market Street. 11-9 Monday-Saturday; 11-8 Sunday. Charles Phan's urbane Vietnamese is the standard setter for this upscale neck of the woods in the heart of downtown San Francisco. A few of the phos I spoke with fear throngs of tourists. Their fears have been realized. Do you remember The Slanted Door in the Mission (on Valencia) in years past, when the Rolling Stones ate there. Phan has come a long way.
Les, stay-at-home bookseller, chef extraordinnaire, my wacky lacky, and I made our way to this crowded, beautiful restaurant in the Lower Level Food Court. We were greeted by a French-speaking hostess and we celebrated Les' "27-again" Birthday lured by Saigon sensations. He was disappointed; I was not. He can cook; I can not! Afterwards, I asked him what the best part of lunch was: the MOTION ACTIVATED WATER FOUNTAIN/SPIGOTS inside the Centre. Awesome! Here's what Les/I would recommend:
Rolls/Salad:
Fresh vegetarian spring rolls with tofu, shiitake mushrooms, cabbage, mint and peanut sauce (7.5)
Vermicelli/Noodles:
Alaskan halibut with turmeric, peanuts, fresh dill and pineapple-anchovy sauce over rice vermicelli (11.5)
Meat
Chicken clay pot with caramel sauce. This is Phan's signature dish and a must-have! It was tremendous in my opinion. "Bland"; "dumbed down cuisine for white guys" (Les)
Vegetables
Star Route baby chard, kale, and mizuna with garlic. (7) I've had better that I've sauteed myself.
Dessert:
Ginger tapioca with spicy ginger syrup and Asian pear (6).
Les: Let me show you how to write! (Hastily scribbled in my notebook):
"He: I was married for seven years and one morning, he stopped touching
me.
Me: He stopped touching me because he was dead. There was a knife sticking
out of his chest."
Wacky lacky, indeed.
Did you know Garum is fermented fish, and when mixed with lime juice, white rice vinegar, sugar, garlic, shallots, fresh chilies is called NUOC CHAM, a wonderful dipping sauce? Look for Squid Brand Fish Sauce, which is the best, in Asian markets. It should read, CA COM, made only with anchovies.(Life is Meals; Salters)
May Out the Door continue to thrive!
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BACCHUS KIRK: TRIVIA NIGHT : May 8, 2007.
Met Chris, who works as a software developer for MOFO, a large SF law firm. We made a date for the following week: Farallon! He wants to humor me with seafood and lots of lawyer jokes! It should be fun!
1. What is the tunnel north of the Golden Gate Bridge?
2. North Star found on which Constellation?
3. Julius Caesar or Caesar Augustus: Who was Roman Emperor at Christ's birth?
4. John C. Leavy Tunnel in San Francisco: What's its other name?
5. Term that means to pickle in vinegar or brine?
6. Torso of women with wings and feet of bird?
7. Fire breathing monster: goat, snake, lion?
8. Boy of man with head of bull.
9. Jayhopper State.
10.Young and Rubican: One of the largest firms in which industry?
11.Russian abbreviation equivalent of U.S.S.R.?
12.Name song/group that sang about having to shout above din of eating rice crispies.
13.Microsoft system: "system is busy" symbol?
14.Al Gore is President of what TV channel?
15.Boiling point of water on Centigrade scale?
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