Green Chile Kitchen

Green Chile Stew w/pork

A friend of mine turned me on to this Nopa New Mexican restaurant.  I'm always wary of Mexican restaurants, not because I don't like Mexican food, but because it's usually very unhealthy.   I mean, I love a super burrito with sour cream and guacamole as much as the next person, but one of those is 2 days worth of calories for me.  Most Mexican restaurants use lard and pile on the cheese.  Green Chile Kitchen's food is clean, healthy "New Mexican inspired food with an emphasis on organic, sustainably grown, and local ingredients".

The spacious interior

Their signature dish, Green Chile Stew, is full of flavor and light and healthy.  My picture looks like brown stew, but it's really green!  You can order the stew with either Niman Ranch pork, chicken, or vegetarian.  The pork is really the best because it is braised slowly and very tender.  The chicken can be a little tougher.  Either way, the heart of the dish is the green chile stew which is almost soup like. It's pleasantly spicy with chunky bits of green chiles, tomatoes, potatoes, and some beans.  It's not greasy at all, and sour cream on top is optional.

Green Chile Kitchen also offers tacos, burritos, quesadillas, tamales, and rotisserie chicken.  All are of high quality ingredients but are pretty standard Mexican food.  What really stands out are the homemade tortilla chips.  Both yellow and blue corn tortilla chips are housemade and you can tell!  So crispy, salty, and warm - need I say more?

Apple Slice

Recently, Green Chile Kitchen moved into a large airy space so there's lots of seating.  The original location, just a block away is now Chile Pies (& ice cream).   At Green Chile Kitchen, there's always an incredible homemade looking apple pie in a glass dome.  The owners have probably branched out based on their success of their apple pies.

After dinner we walked down the hill and had dessert at Chile Pies (& ice cream) just to try it out.  We had the apple slice which had a very homemade taste.  The kids had the organic ice cream - there was a killer lemon cookie flavor and chocolate orange chip (!!!) just like Swiss orange chip from my Swensen's Ice Cream days.  Anyways, I'll eat there a few more times and post about it!

Green Chile Kitchen is located at:

1801 McAllister Street @ Baker
San Francisco, CA 94115
415 440 9411

Hours:  Sun - Thurs 9:00 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
             Fri - Sat       9:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

www.greenchilekitchen.com

Bushi-Tei Bistro

Maguro Donburi

Donburi (rice bowls with meat or fish on top) are simple, standard Japanese food.  Bushi-Tei Bistro in Japantown makes a Maguro donburi with a western twist that keeps me going back for more.  Seared and sliced tuna sit atop perfectly cooked short grain rice drizzled in a sesame oil dressing with minced bell peppers, black sesame seeds, shredded carrots, and pine nuts.  I love this combination!  The dressing is mild, but over the rice it is refreshingly delicious.  A wonderful twist on donburi bowls that are usually seeped in shoyu (soy sauce).

We usually go to Bushi-Tei Bistro for lunch because of the ramen combos.  You can order ramen with either a miso or shoyu base and then choose a side dish to go with it for $10.95.  The ramen is tasty and comes with sliced chashu pork (slow roasted pork).  One of the side dishes you can order is Chirashi donburi, which is basically the Maguro donburi but with a piece of shrimp, salmon, scallop and tuna.  This is a bargain - I highly recommend ordering this.   For the kids, we usually order the ramen and gyoza combination.   You can never go wrong with gyoza - thin wonton wrappers filled with pork and vegetables that are fried and then steamed.   If you haven't tried Japanese gyoza, believe me, they are so much better than Chinese potstickers!

Chirashi Donburi

Miso Ramen

Gyoza

Zaru Soba

Bushi-Tei Bistro also offers pastas, salads, and other noodles such as udon and soba.  All of the dishes are of high quality, especially for the Japantown mall.   Most restaurants in the mall are cookie cutter average, but Bushi-Tei Bistro is an exception.  This is probably because it is the casual, inexpensive version of the French/Californian fusion Bushi-Tei restaurant located just up the street (I've eaten there twice and the food is creative and unique - at one time it had a Michelin star).    Bushi-Tei Bistro is the perfect place for a Japanese lunch with western influences.

Bushi-Tei Bistro is located at:

1581 Webster Street
San Francisco, CA  94115
In the Japantown Mall at Post and Webster
415 409 4959

Hours:
Open 7 days 11:00 a.m. - 9:30 p.m. 
http://www.bushiteibistro.com/

Lovely Boy

My lovely boy

I know this is a little cruel because I am not laughing with him, but at him (I do love him and he doesn't read this blog).  And I did cut off his head in the picture so he remains anonymous (sort of).  My son loves wearing Chinese outfits for some reason and put together this whole look by himself.  The white socks with black sandals complete the outfit.  Then he wore it to school.

Just sharing the joy.

Maine Lobster

I think they like Maine lobster

There is something so special about eating an entire Maine Lobster by oneself. If you are a fan of seafood, you know that there is nothing quite like the sweet, succulent meat of a Maine Lobster.  If you purchase live lobsters and bring them home, it can actually be an affordable meal!  And just as tasty as at a restaurant.  The best way to prepare the lobsters is to just boil them.  No fancy preparations or sauces, just the meat please.  Clarified butter is a must for dipping, but that's it.  YUM!

For you local people, there is a place called New England Lobster in South San Francisco that sells live Maine lobsters year round.  1 to 1 1/2 lb is the perfect size lobster for one person.  Check out the website:  http://www.newenglandlobster.net/shop/index.php   and try it yourself at home. 

Japanese Onsen

"Doesn't look real" view at Wakatake onsen

I haven't traveled recently but I was hoping to post a blog entry unrelated to food.  So I got to thinking about some of my travel experiences that I really want to share.  The first thing that came to my mind was the Japanese Onsen (hot mineral spring baths).

The first time I went to a Japanese Onsen was in 2006 with my Japanese friend.  She was planning our Japan trip and asked me if I'd like to go to an onsen.  "Uh, ok" was my response, secretly fretting about being naked in a communal bath with men and women.  After a couple of more conversations with my friend I learned that the genders are separated.  Ah!  Of course I'd like to go!  No problem!

This is an experience I think everyone should have.  Completely foreign, different, interesting, weird, and oh so Japanese.  The Japanese LOVE onsen.  I have never heard a Japanese person say otherwise.  Because of the life they live - existing in small, crowded, noisy spaces, they need an escape of peace and relaxation.   Onsen is embedded in Japanese history and culture and has a deep meaning to the Japanese that I will probably never understand, but I do truly enjoy visiting onsens!

Generally, going to an onsen is an overnight getaway.  Most onsens are inns or hotels with traditional Japanese food included.  We stayed at the Wakatake no Sho in Nikko in 2006 (very fancy) and Setsugetsuka in Hakone in 2008 (not so fancy).   I will write about Wakatake no Sho as it was the most incredible experience.  Nikko is picturesque and every shade of green, and there were even wild monkeys around the onsen.  When we entered the onsen we were greeted by impeccably dressed women in kimonos and offered tea and mochi.  So civilized!  We were also assigned an English speaking attendant which was fortunate as no one else at the inn spoke English.

The boys in their yukatas

We were guided to a room where we were given yukatas (casual kimono robes) and zori (slippers) to wear for the duration of our stay.  You can were your yukata the entire time at the onsen - even to the dining room!  It is so comfortable and I loved not thinking about what I should wear every day.  In some tourist areas, people even walk around town in their yukatas!

At the onsens I have visited all of the signs are in Japanese, and I couldn't understand them.  Occasionally I would recognize the kanji character for "water" and follow the path.  Somehow, we always found the onsen baths.

My experience, of course, is the women's baths.  When you enter there is a changing room where you leave your clothes.  You only take a clean washcloth with you, so most people hold the towel to strategically cover themselves.  A challenge with a tiny washcloth, but Japanese people are small :)   You then enter the indoor onsen bath area.  There are washing "stations" that you must use before entering any bath.  Each station has a faucet, round wooden bucket, soaps and shampoo, and a small wooden stool.  Sit on the stool and fill the bucket with water.  Wash your hair and your body vigorously with your towel.  I did this and thought I was squeaky clean.  I was about to stand up but then realized the women next to me, who were there scrubbing themselves before I sat down, were STILL scrubbing themselves.  Apparently, one should scrub herself two or three times!

Our balcony at Wakatake

After scrubbing yourself clean, you are fit to enter a bath (hot spring).  There is usually an indoor bath and an outdoor bath.  I personally love the outdoor bath because they are usually set in a garden with views.   The setting is always serene and peaceful, think of a beautiful Japanese garden with large, natural pools.  I can't do the setting justice so check out the pictures on the website:  http://www.wakatakenosyou.co.jp/spa/index.html

As one enters the bath, it is so warm, hot actually, and so soothing.  There is a continuous flow of water from the hot spring into the bath.  The other people in the bath are  happy and relaxed, often talking quietly or sitting back with closed eyes and their towel on their head.  Oh, an important note - never ever let your towel touch the bath water.  The towel has been dirtied with your scrubbing so it is not fit to enter the bath. 

Anyways, what I am trying to express about the onsen is that it is a peaceful oasis that is filled with happy people enjoying themselves.   A wonderful place to just be.  Please put visiting an onsen in Japan on your list of things to do in your lifetime.  Thanks for reading.