Gastro Monkey // 美食家

Last month, I found myself with a free day with absolutely nothing that I needed to do. I haven't had one of those days in a long time so of course, I made my way to the beach to relax. Of course, before the relaxing can officially start, I needed to eat some greasy goodness that could only be made on a griddle, with some coffee that is only referred to as "regular" or "decaf." Pork Store Cafe 1451 Haight St. San Francisco, CA 94117 From 8:00am-9:00am every morning, the Pork Store Cafe has an early bird special. All of the reviews said to try the Pork Store Special which consists of two massive slabs of pork chops, two eggs any style, a generous serving of hash browns, and two slices of toast. If you go during the early bird special, this meal comes with a drink (mimosa, bloody Mary, juice, or coffee) for $10.99. If you miss the worm, you lose out on the drink and it's $15.95. Pretty solid discount if you make it early enough though. Just depends...

I have been to Japantown countless times, and each time I pass On the Bridge I think, I'm going to try that place one of these days. I am proud to say that I finally did make that stop! In fact, I have gone twice now. They serve a wide range of items from loco moco to curry to spaghetti. It's all done Japanese style, do don't go in expecting it to be like Olive Garden but with comics. My favorite so far, has been the nameko spaghetti.  The location is exactly as the name is, on the bridge. There are two main buildings (plus a few smaller ones) in San Francisco's Japantown. This is the bridge that you can take to get from one to another. For example, if you want Belly Good Crepes but also want some Sophie's Crepes, this would be the bridge to go over.  Katsu curry don. The breading is crispy, and the curry is not overwhelming like some curries can be. Nameko Spaghetti  - Japanese style spaghetti made from a soy and garlic based sauce rather than tomato. ...

While I have a sizable list of my own for places I want to dine at in New Orleans, I am not one to discount suggestions from like minded friends. One of my friends, when I told her I had gone to Shaya , sent me a link to  a YouTube video of another New Orleans chef who ate there. She said that because of this particular video , she wanted to try Shaya. Because of that video, I wanted to try Compère Lapin! It jumped to the top of my list. On the Compère Lapin website, if you have a party over 5, you have to call to make a reservation. We didn't get the exact time we wanted, but it was still at a reasonable dinner hour (6:30pm).  I definitely felt the pressure for my fellow dining companions to also enjoy the meal. I am happy to report that everyone seemed overall happy with dinner though! The majority of my fellow dining companions also tried something new, which is always a plus for me. Am I the only one who has that dilemma when being tasked with picking a...