Hermosa Beach: Ocean Diner / Chicken Shack

Recently, I've been hitting the beach cities with a friend, Leonard, a lot since I found a 24-Hour Fitness there with a 24/7 basketball gym. It's probably one of the buffest and fittest 24 I've seen since everybody there got guns the size of my thigh haha!

Of course, being in that area, I've also been exploring a lot more, trying out whatever I see and here's two restaurants I tried recently... actually in the same night :]

Oh and I took these with my iPhone. Sorry for the bad quality. Can't be carrying my camera everywhere!

Ocean Diner

959 Aviation Blvd

Hermosa Beach, CA 90254

www.oceandiner.com

Ocean Diner is this small little neighborhood diner, sorta hidden, with a WWII theme throughout the place. It's very much known for their breakfast items and since breakfast is served all day, why not get it for dinner?

Menu.

I was craving French toast and they had 3 different kinds. Eventually settled on the Cinnamon Roll French Toast. Sounds delicious, tastes delicious, just not enough :[ I want more cinnamon roll!

Leonard's Kapiko's Skillet with chicken, mushroom, onions, roasted red peppers, spinach, & jack cheese with home fries on the side! Definitely hearty.

Biscuit with gravy that came with the skillet. The gravy tasted like clam chowder, probably cause of the bacon. It was incredibly creamy.

Had to get something salty with my Cinnamon Roll French Toast so got chili cheese fries.

Cool neighborhood spot that's pretty well hidden. For the price, it isn't bad but I did expect to have a bigger portion since it's a diner. Nevertheless, must come back and try their other French toasts: Crunchy Granola and Vanilla! Maybe add a dinner entree in there somewhere :P

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Right across the street is another restaurant and since I was still somewhat hungry after the French toast and the chili fries, decided to pop in and check it out.

The Chicken Shack

1030 Aviation Boulevard

Hermosa Beach, CA 90254

chickenshackrotisserie.com

So apparently it is a Peruvian rotisserie spot! There's a lot of Peruvian food around South Bay but never knew that this was another. Awesome thing about Peruvian rotisserie chicken is that it's incredibly flavorful.

HAHA this had a chicken head and tail. Is this the same one that's around Santa Monica?? (photo: Leonard)

Unfortunately I wasn't hungry enough for a chicken platter so decided on a sandwich: Shack Sandwich with shredded chicken, lettuce, tomato, mayo and their signature yellow sauce, served hot on a roll. Great chicken but there was just way too much mayo... and I hate mayo. Yellow sauce is made with a Peruvian chile and man it's got a little bit of heat. Mustardy too.

I also got to try another sandwich, the Hermosa Beach Sandwich which is shredded chicken with caramelized onions, and the saltado sauce. Crazy addicting. Even better when you add the jalapeno green sauce. (photo: Leonard)

I love Peruvian food so I'm extremely happy that there's another one in the area. It's just unfortunate that Chicken Shack is way more expensive than all the other Peruvian restaurants. The sandwich itself runs at about $7-8 and about $14 for saltados, which is a dish stir-fried with protein, fries (yes, fries), onions & other veggies. Most of other places have it for about $8-12! It does look glorious though when others ordered it...

San Francisco: Nick's Crispy Tacos

I love tacos. I love fish.

When I heard there was a taco place with over 1400+ reviews on Yelp and still with a high rating, it immediately jumped to the top of the list for me for places to go, and luckily, right before my flight, we had some free time so went to Nick's Crispy Tacos.

I ended up ordering 3 tacos to try: grilled fish, fried fish, and shrimp with all of them "crispy". So what does it mean to get "crispy" tacos? For all tacos they give you two tortillas, like those street tacos. However, for "crispy," they fry one of the tortilla, so you get this great contrast in texture, and they also add this huge huge glob of creamy guac on top. Delicious.

To get it "crispy," it is around $4-6 per taco. Expensive in the world of tacos but these tacos are bigger than usual and are piled up... so it's worth it. Two will FOR SURE fill you up, but I had to get three :P

Nick's Crispy Tacos

1500 Broadway (between Polk St & USHighway 101)

Nob Hill, San Francisco, CA 94109

Nick's!

Kinda tacky logo haha.

Their red and green salsa. Not that spicy but the red had a strong chipotle flavor and the green salsa was very refreshing.

See the "crispy" fried tortilla on the inside of the two tortillas layer? GENIUS.

Shrimp taco. Best eaten without any salsa and get that shrimp flavor :]

Fried fish taco, which turned out to be my favorite. Great large piece of fried fish with a really light and refreshing cream sauce. Add some of their house salsa and I'm in taco heaven. Don't know if it's beer battered but man that fish batter was good.

Grilled fish taco. Definitely the healthier option and really good too. Fish is marinated really well and for sure they don't try to jip you. Nice creamy dose of guac on top.

Great place to grab food. They also have a bar so you can get beer or the drink of your choice to go with the food. I heard the quesedillas are out of this world and didn't opt for any meat this time since I was craving seafood but for sure must try next time!

Grab a Mexican Coke or cerveza, a few tacos, and enjoy :]

PS. apparently it's a club/lounge at night so the place can feel a little groggy and sticky...

San Francisco: 'wichcraft / Philz Coffee

For the last day of the SF trip this past Labor Day weekend, we decided to take it easy and go for a little shopping. Going from our hotel to the Westfield in Union Square, we walked by 'wichcraft, which is a gourmet sandwich spot by Top Chef judge, Tom Colicchio. The goal of this place is to "change the perception that exceptional food should be “experienced” in a formal atmosphere and with great ceremony, so ’wichcraft guests enjoy their meals in a casual setting at an affordable price."

Of course, being a Top Chef fan, decided to check it out and see exactly what I'm missing in LA. Currently 'wichcraft has three locations: SF, NY, and Vegas.

'wichcraft

868 Mission St. (between 4th St & 5th St)

SOMA, San Francisco, CA 94103

wichcraftnyc.com

Menu at 'wichcraft.

After being indecisive, finally decided on the Pastrami, with sauerkraut, swiss cheese, and whole grain mustard. Of course, organic.

The pastrami itself was great, lean with a little fat. Good kick from the mustard, and the cheese melds everything together. Sandwiched between rye bread.

Marinated Eggplant with chickpea puree, roasted peppers & watercress on ciabatta roll. Now... to be honest, I HATE eggplant. I really can't stand that texture BUT, this sandwich was absolutely delicious. Everything goes together so well and the marinated eggplant was so full of flavor that I forgot I was eating eggplant.

Great spot for a quick and delicious lunch. 'wichcraft does the basics well and their more unique items totally surprised me. Will have to try more the next time I'm in... Vegas haha.

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After meeting up with a few people, we all needed coffee and they brought us out to Philz Coffee, another famous coffee shop that brews via the single drip method!

Philz Coffee

201 Berry St.

SOMA, San Francisco, CA 94158

philzcoffee.com

Sorry for the bad shot, but I was in the car when I took this haha.

I ended up getting the Tesora, which is their house blend, and man... it's some good stuff. I think I really am addicted to this single drip brewing. Every cup is guaranteed fresh. Also got to try the Philharmonic and that cardamom makes such a big difference. Very intense flavors.

Philz is one of those very eccentric coffee houses which great characters working there. I think for the short duration when I was inside the shop, I just... barista watched and it's fascinating. My barista was a little weird but once you start talking to him about coffee, it's like he had this endless amount of energy. It's a good thing when people are this enthusiastic about what they do, especially food & drinks :]

San Francisco: Tartine Bakery

Around Dolores Park, there are a lot of famous spots, such as Bi-Rite Creamery that I wrote about yesterday. Another is the Tartine Bakery and its popularity is off the charts. It's also one of those spots where there's a constant line, no matter what time during the day.

Tartine is known for pretty much... EVERYTHING. They do everything well, from croissants, pies, artisan bread, to sandwiches. I've only heard that their macaroons could be better. Of course, I marked Tartine down as one of the "must" for my trip this past Labor Day.

Tartine Bakery

600 Guerrero St. (between 18th St & 19th St)

Mission, San Francisco, CA 94110

tartinebakery.com

Beautiful day in SF means a hella long line at Tartine.

Some of the pies, tarts, and cakes... omgaaah.

Quiche, pound cakes, and bananabread. Many of their items were also sold out by the time I got there... sigh.

Really wanted to try their croissants but the Lemon Poppyseed Pound Cake caught my eye. If you like poppyseed muffins, then this is a must get. Great soft and moist pound cake with a hint of lemon. Makes you forget you are eating a pound cake. The crust on the outside is probably the best part.

Giant Chocolate Chip Walnut Oatmeal Cookie. Yes, it's a huge chocolate chip cookie with walnut and oatmeal throughout the cookie. Walnut with any cookie instantly make the cookie better, but when it's added with oatmeal... it's complete.

Of course had to get a cup of latte to wash it all down. Beautiful latte art.

Also got to try their open face hot-pressed sandwich. Ham, cheese, tomatoes completes the sandwich on a great slice of artisan bread.

A great spot by Dolores Park. I can definitely see why so many people rave about Tartine and that its popularity has not diminished at all. If I lived in SF, I would totally come here on a sunny day to grab a few things to have a picnic at Dolores.

San Francisco: Bi-Rite Creamery & Bakeshop

Bi-Rite is one of those crazy spots in SF that demands lines all the time. Known for their handmade ice cream with exotic flavors, it's an extremely popular spot with both the locals and tourists. Of course, organic!

You can get ice cream, frozen yogurt, ice cream sandwiches, pastries, cookies, brownies, and even ordering a wild sundae with all their exotic flavors. They are known for their Salted Caramel ice cream so of course I opted for the ice cream.

Bi-Rite Creamery & Bakeshop

3692 18th St. (between Dolores St & Oakwood St)

Mission, San Francisco, CA 94110

biritecreamery.com/

Store front.

Logo.

The line for frozen yogurt and other baked goods. Waaaay shorter than the ice cream line.

All sorts of sauce on sale to pour on your ice cream at home.

Inside of the store is really small so the line goes out the door. Average wait is about 30-40minutes.

Flavors of the day! They even have vegan ice cream haha.

Free samples! :]]

After trying about 5 flavors, I picked the Salted Caramel and the Strawberry Balsamic. The Salted Caramel is just.. at the top of one of the best I've had. Creamy, sweet, and just a little bit of salt. As for the Strawberry Balsamic, can't really taste the balsamic, but it enhances the strawberry flavor, which is a good thing. I love Haagen Daz's strawberry ice cream the best and now Bi-Rite has topped them!

Melon Sorbet. Love melon? Love those Korean melon gum? Get this!

Snickerdoodle, which is essentially peanut butter ice cream, and is a must with peanut butter lovers, with Honey Lavender. Was very interesting. Not a big fan of lavender but most girls love it..

After finishing mine, I could've probably just bought a quart, sat on the sidewalk and have the time of my life haha. But really, if you're in the area and haven't tried it yet, do it. Who cares if it is raining or if it's hella cold in SF, it's worth it.

San Francisco: Mission Beach Cafe

Seriously... San Francisco is crazy about brunch. Almost all the restaurants serve brunch and almost all are packed beyond belief. Origanlly planned to go to a place called Lime, we had to change our plans cause the wait was gonna be 2 freaking hours long. After a bit of research, we decided on Mission Beach Cafe in Mission, and man... one of the most delicious brunch I've had.

Oh and had to wait over 45minutes here too. Craziness.

Mission Beach Cafe

198 Guerrero St. (between Brosnan St & 14th St)

Mission, San Francisco, CA 94103

missionbeachcafesf.com

Didn't opt for the HUGE glass of mimosa and got a cup of the single drip Blue Bottle Coffee instead.

Lavender Infused French Toast with fresh strawberries, banana, honey marscapone, and bourbon syrup. Generally not a big fan of lavender but wow did it transform the french toast. French toast by itself was good but the thick slices of bread, most likely brioche, and the honey marscapone totally sends this over the top.

Caramelized Peppered Bacon. Yes, must get bacon for breakfast. And yes, it is bacon coasted with sugar then caramelized. Too good.

Meat quiche with mixed baby greens. It's also available in a vegetarian option... but c'mon.. meat all the way :]

Dungeness Crab Benedict with avocado, hollandaise, with an orange reduction, and potatoes. Everything tasted fresh and light, especially the crab. Great hollandaise sauce and the orange reduction is unsung hero here!

Do you like truffle? Yes? Then get this: Wild Mushroom Benedict with spinach, caramelized onions, truffle mornay sauce, and potatoes. It's a little heavy but damn the truffle sauce is good beyond words. As for the caramelized onions, I could probably each a plate of that by itself.

Mission Beach Cafe is now officially one of my favorite restaurants. It's small and quaint but everything is done well. Service was also great here which definitely made it a pleasant experience. Now... time to find an excuse to go back up to SF and try their dinner menu.

San Francisco: Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market & Marketplace

I've always heard a lot of good things about the farmer's market at the Ferry Building in SF, near the Embarcadero, and it is actually one of the more famous ones on the West Coast, so of course, I had to check it out, since I was already (thanks to the Southwest 6:30am flight). There's also the Ferry Building Marketplace, which is a spot known for its food vendors, so it's like killing two birds with one stone!

Ferry Building Farmer's Market

1 Ferry Building

Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94111

www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com

The famous Ferry Bulding :] The farmer's market is set up around the building itself, in the front, back, and the sides.

On the right side, it has the majority of the food vendors. Each one demanded a line. Crazy stuff.

Mexican breakfast. Chef's cooking some potatoes.

Sold all sorts of products having to do with dried cured meats.

Of course, I had to try the famous Blue Bottle Coffee in SF. They are known for how particular they treat their coffee and the way it is brewed, via the single drip method.

Crazy line just to get coffee. I had to wait about 20 minutes.

Some of the coffee beans they were selling. I tried to read the description and the uses for each bean. I'm way too much of a coffee n00b to understand :P

Finally decided on a New Orleans Iced Coffee, since I already had about 3 cups of espresso/coffee that morning. It had such a nice distinctive coffee aroma and none of that sour aftertaste. After I finished, my hands were actually shaking haha. Too much caffeine = no bueno for me.

Got a little bit cold so decided to head inside the building. Saw this crazy shop selling all sorts of fresh and dried mushrooms.

Where's the truffle at??

Crazy... I would get so lost shopping here.

Saw an empanadas stand so decided to grab something small.

El Porteno Argentinian Empanadas.

Asked for recommendation and got the beef empanadas. They brush it with a chimichurri sauce on the top.

It's actually stuffed with seasoned ground beef, cheese, olive, and raisins! Very delicious. The sweetness of the raisins balances out the salty olives really well! I didn't know you could get it hot so I actually ate mine cold... next time!

Shop selling vinegar and all sorts of flavored olive oil. Free sample time!

Boccalone, a meat shop inside the building, owned by Food Network chef, Chris Cosentino.

Lots of awesome looking salami.

Decided to get a salami sandwich, with tomato spread, cheese, and lettuce.

Lots of fat on the salami, but it wasn't fatty to the taste at all! It's also not overly salty. Great hand-crafted salami. One of the best salami I've had. Should've got the muffuleta sandwich to taste a wide range of their dried cured meats.

Saw this Sprinkles-esque patisserie called Miette. Didn't buy anything but their macaroons looked gorgeous.

We didn't really get to stay there that long because of parking. We didn't want to pay $15 for a parking garage and opted for street parking instead but that also meant kept on going back to put more coins in. Eventually we can out of coins and I was too full to try anything else and too tired from waking up so early. Next time hopefully I can really take the time to check out all the shops and all the vendors at the market.

Awesome farmer's market for people living in the city though, even though prices are a bit high!