18419 Sun Jan 20 17:03:22 -0800 2002 20 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 58181 I was walking in the lower Haight heading for a sunday brunch (review of "Bloo" to follow) when on Fillmore just off Haight I spotted a small burger place called Metro, and they also serve Niman beef, I guess all the time and not just on Tuesdays. So, is the burger soooo much better at Rosamunde, or is this place a viable alternative in the neighborhood? Sun Jan 20 17:03:22 -0800 2002 0 derek 1 58213 Bottom Line - if you are in the neighborhood, its not Tuesday and you want a hamburger, by all means get one from Metro. Or go to Burger Joint up the block. But never, ever think that either is in the same ballpark as the Rosamunde burger. Its not. Not even close. Why? To start - less meat, plus Metro has a solid surface fry top instead of the real grill at Rosamunde. Further, Rosamunde's meat is fresh, loose, hand formed patties. Metro burgers have a machine-formed, "I-was-once-frozen" look to them. Generally, what I order from Metro are cheesesteaks, onion rings, chili-cheese fries. Their food is ok. Its reasonably priced and just around the corner from my house. But Metro has been around for years. The original owners are gone. And its gone a bit downhill. Frankly, others can tell me (and may) but I would have never thought to put Metro on this board as a chowhound find. That having been said - I am bitter about your breakfast at Bloo. Yesterday, in the name of trying new places and eating everywhere in our neighborhood - we debated trying Bloo, Mad Dog in the Fog or walking to the upper Haight. We tried the English breakfast at Mad Dog in the Fog. How was it? It was a long shot that didn't pay off. I got a simple "Thatcher's Thick Head" which is an English Muffin, Canadian bacon, tomatoes, egg, cucumbers & onion. The eggs were scambled so hard they were barely edible. At least we can say we've done it. And now Bloo can be next on our list. Sun Jan 20 22:21:33 -0800 2002 58181 0 Rochelle McCune 2 58214 In my opinion (and sorry, this is slightly divergent), you SF hounds don't rave nearly enough about Rosamunde, their incredible sausages (consistently terrific clear across their menu), their wonderful Miss Vickie's potato chips, and the presence, right next door, of one of the best craft beer bars in America. i just wanted to say it. ciao Sun Jan 20 22:35:39 -0800 2002 58213 0 Jim Leff 3 58216 Jim, this is the fourth thread about Rosamunde in two weeks! Sun Jan 20 22:39:11 -0800 2002 58214 0 Melanie Wong 4 58225 Still not enough! And why doesn't anyone talk about Anna's Butter Cookies? Or the obscurer flavors at Mitchell's? Or the saffron ice cream milkshakes at Bombay? Mon Jan 21 01:26:50 -0800 2002 58216 0 Jim Leff 5 58228 Jim, next time you're here, we'll take you for soupsop and jackfruit gelato at Marco Polo on Taraval. Mon Jan 21 02:24:00 -0800 2002 58225 0 Limster 5 58234 Jimmy, our dear Nancy Berry mentions Mitchell's ice cream at every opportunity and special seasonal flavors. Macapuno, anyone? Did you know that Sun Hong Kong in Berkeley offers mango, green tea or coconut Mitchell's for dessert? The debate over Persian flavors vs. Indian ice creams was a couple weeks ago. Guess you missed it. One of the problems is that San Francisco is the world's favorite destination and inquiries from visitors degrade our signal to noise ratio on this board. Some of the same questions get asked over and over again and the answers don't turn up much that's new. That wouldn't be so bad if the local 'hounds were out there sniffing around with the chowhound antennae up uncovering new worthy places. But I don't feel like that's happening that much despite the high traffic on the SF board. With the largest urban Filipino population outside of Manila, the largest Afghani population in the US residing in Fremont, and the largest Mexican underground in Northern Calif. population living in Redwood City, we've got some rich hunting grounds for these cuisines. Yet, we've had at most a dozen Filipino threads in my two years on this board, only one response to my question about the clusters of Afghani restaurants and grocers in Fremont, and maybe three mentions of Mexican in Redwood City even though there are scores of taquerias lining Middlefield and El Camino. Who knows about these places, where are the real chowhounds? Mon Jan 21 03:05:42 -0800 2002 58225 0 Melanie Wong 6 58246 melanie, the first great taco I ever ate was in redwood city when i was out there visiting a friend at stanford. some disclaimers, it was about 10 years ago, and i was a new to real tacos, but here's a lead. The place had three locations at the time, and was named something like el grullense. I remember sampling lengua, cabeza, and assorted others but the al pastor is what really stood out. First carved off the spit and then fried with additional spicing. The oil and chile level wasn't for the faint of heart, but the taste is still with me. I hope it's still there. Mon Jan 21 09:38:59 -0800 2002 58234 0 zim 7 58261 Never fear, Grullense is still around and growing. My brother works at Stanford, and it's one of his favorites. He says it's the real deal. There are several locations, plus a fleet of trucks that work the area. I haven't had the pleasure yet myself. Mon Jan 21 12:44:19 -0800 2002 58246 0 Melanie Wong 8 58276 Grullense has a really nice tacqueria in Redwood City on Middlefield Rd. right next door to one of my favorite vegetable vendors, Sigona's, and right across the street from Costco. It's very close to Woodside Rd. (just south) Mon Jan 21 13:52:44 -0800 2002 58261 0 Nancy Berry 8 58357 I'm glad the tacos measure up to my memory. When I visited we went to two locations. One was slightly nice and the other was in a converted franchise (KFC maybe?). I remember the KFC one being distinctly better. Tue Jan 22 10:01:27 -0800 2002 58261 0 zim 6 58251 I agree to some extent. Especially, I think we need more hounds from the Southern parts fo the Bay Area (not only San Jose, but southern Alameda county and the Peninsula). I think one of the problems is that those areas are geographically challenging for chowhounding because they are not designed for foot traffic: you can't wander down the street and check out all the offerings, read the menus, stick your head in to see if it smells good, etc. Unless you already have a lead on a place, every small strip mall restaurant looks pretty much like every other as you drive by. Maybe we need to recruit more South Bay chowhounds. I know I've been working on some sources. Mon Jan 21 12:17:39 -0800 2002 58234 0 Ruth Lafler 7 58260 Good point about foot traffic lending itself to food exploration. Yet, if someone is stuck in auto commute traffic every day in front of the same strip mall with the sandwich board outside that says "homemade tamales", I'd think that curiousity would eventually drive one to try it! Anyway, maybe this will inspire more intrepidness among our community to follow their noses. Mon Jan 21 12:40:05 -0800 2002 58251 0 Melanie Wong 6 58262 Thank you, Melanie. Here's a list of some of the tropical flavors at Mitchell's: macapuno buco tropical four halo halo mango coconut pineapple Other San Francisco ice cream places that offer tropical and exotic flavors are Polly Ann's on Noriega and another favorite of ours, Marco Polo on Taraval (1447 Taraval Street (between 24th and 25th Aves.) Marco Polo makes gelato that is out of this world! Flavors like lychee, canteloupe, ginger, green tea, durian(!), mango, red bean, jackfruit, soursop, chestnut, taro. Mon Jan 21 12:47:25 -0800 2002 58234 0 Nancy Berry 7 58336 What's the name of the place on Clement that has been mentioned as having very good ice cream in tropical flavors? Clement tween 5 & 6th Aves? Tue Jan 22 00:20:26 -0800 2002 58262 0 gordon wing 8 58341 Gosh - I go there all the time but never looked up at the sign. Their ice cream comes from Marco Polo, but they sell some of the more interesting flavors (jackfruit, guava etc.) only by the pint. Tue Jan 22 00:38:51 -0800 2002 58336 0 Limster 8 58456 km just mentioned it on the gelato thread - it's sweet delite Wed Jan 23 00:53:39 -0800 2002 58336 0 Limster 3 58221 OK - we've gone on and on about the burger. Let's take about their reason for being open. The Sausage. Merguez - quite tasty. The Knockwurst - your basic all beef, we ask for extra grilling time. Bratwurst - Michael loves the pig. Its a sacred animal. Bockwurst - "yum, veal is so sweet and lovely" sez Michael. Provance (sp?) - not a big fan of it but, really, when ya got choices like this just 'cause something is at the bottom of the list, it doesn't mean its bad. They have other sausages but these are our regulars. Their grilled onions are a nice touch. They make their own tasty sauerkraut. Their chili is meaty but it could be spicier. Hey, they even have a nice selection of crazy European condiments. And, yes, as Jim says - Miss Vicky's & Toronado next door. If you go at the right hour, over half the patrons of Toronado will be chowing down on sausages and there's a cool feeling of brotherhood. It just doesn't get much better than this. In fact, I had a NIGHTMARE last night, I was standing in the hall of my home (If Noc-Noc weren't in the way Toronado would be the closest bar to my house) and I realized that we were moving out. To Oakland. I was suddenly filled with rage. I turned to my husband and said "It better be a F@$#%^ nice house!" Then I woke up. I told Michael about my hideous dream - he promised that as long as the restaurants stayed, we would stay and that we would not be leaving the city. I'm not bashing the East Bay or anywhere else, we just know where we belong. Sun Jan 20 23:43:35 -0800 2002 58214 0 Rochelle McCune 4 58232 Wow! Thank you. This is going to be a memorable tuesday, I'll hit Rosamunde for lunch and then welcome the Year of the Horse at our Chinese Banquet for dinner! I live on Duboce between Noe and Walter across from the park, obviously I need to explore more of lower Haight. I've been to Memphis Minnies, Burger Joint and had Soul Food at Hahn's Hibachi (only in S.F.!) & B'fast at Kate's. Are there any other places I must go to? Mon Jan 21 02:55:05 -0800 2002 58221 0 derek 4 58289 Don't forget the Chicago Beef Sandwich. I finally had one last night. A roll filled with thin sliced roast beef (marinated in what?), peppers, and onions. Tasty, although I was hoping for a bit more flavor to the meat. Not having had the real thing in Chicago, I can't make a proper comparison. Next time I'm going back for the sausages. They looked great in the display case. Between fries at Frjtz and the Chicago Beef, plus God knows how many nibbles that Fancy Food Show, I couldn't eat another bite! -Peter Link: http://chowhound.safeshopper.com Mon Jan 21 16:18:34 -0800 2002 58221 0 Peter Yee 4 58346 I love your dream! As we were driving away from Jeanty today, my girlfriend said "hey, there's a house for sale... maybe you want to buy it so you can always eat lunch here" We laughed, but she was half serious. Tue Jan 22 02:18:30 -0800 2002 58221 0 Syre