33461 Mon Jan 03 10:27:45 -0800 2005 10 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 149227 [link to same article illustrated with pictures can be found at the bottom of this page] 1 Market St San Francisco, CA 94105 Date of our visit - December 2004 O V E R - P R I C E D Such is the curse of having a boyfriend with an unadventurous palate. Christmas shopping at San Francisco's Ferry Building we found ourselves to be peckish and in need of some quick nourishment. There are many places there I would love to try, but none of these appeal to the carnivorous Frenchman who loves nothing more than a slab of medium-rare cow lying in between two wads of cushy carbohydrate with a pile of crispy carbohydrate to the side. To appease him I suggested Taylor's Automatic Refresher, even though I had tried it in the summer with a couple of English friends (when the weather was more clement and we could, at least, enjoy sitting outside). On that occasion we determined that their Fish and Chips (Fresh Mahi Mahi served with fries, slaw, & tarter sauce), were mediocre at best. Despite the steep prices (for what they deliver) there is no waitress service at Taylor's. Pick up one of their huge menus and peruse it as fast as you can before you reach the front of the queue. On this occasion there was no line at all, causing our decisions to be more hurried than they might have been. For example, we didn't notice that fries weren't included with the burgers. This is one place where I might actually have liked the server to enquire "Would you like some fries with that?". Once you have paid, you are given a strange device (pictured above), that will bleep and flash at you, in irksome fashion, once your meal is ready to be picked up from the counter. If you find yourself a free table, the chances are that it won't have been cleared or wiped and that discarded bits of food are trampled on the floor underneath. Despite, the clean, sharp looking graphics above the kitchen and the attractive stainless steel counters, the setting for your meal might actually verge on grimy. Despite it's allusions to grandness, this place uses plastic cutlery. Is it trying to be a glorified fast food chain? PATTY MELT On grilled rye with Swiss cheese, grilled onions, mayo, & dijon mustard 6.99 Fred asked for this dish with something other than rye. He asked for a regular bun, not sourdough. He ended up with sweet white toast. Fred thought it tasted awful. He complained all afternoon about the burger repeating on him. I can quote him as having said, I ate it because I was hungry, otherwise I wouldn't have gone anywhere near it. AHI BURGER Fresh Ahi tuna seared RARE with ginger wasabi mayo & asian slaw on a Sciambra bakery egg bun 11.99 To be fair, this was actually tasty. The portion was unbelievably small (despite the close-up beauty shot which might kid you into thinking it was enormous). The tuna tasted good and was thick. The bun, despite being toasted, was soft and slightly shriveled. The slaw was crunchy and spicy and a great contrast to the mushy bun. My main complaint would be that there is something watery in the sauce used, causing the bun to turn "wet" and making liquid dribble out all over the place whilst you are trying to eat it. In conclusion: The Ferry building is obviously a destination for both tourists and locals alike. The plaza is aware of its appeal and I can't blame for the stores inside, who no doubt paying large rents, for cashing in on their captive audience. However, I think Taylors is pushing it a bit too far. At those prices they should at least provide a clean environment, staff with a little more savvy, decent utensils, larger portions and a more interesting wine list. Link: http://becksposhnosh.blogspot.com/2005/01/taylors-automatic-refresher-ferry.html Mon Jan 03 10:27:45 -0800 2005 0 Sixy Beast 1 149232 Thanks for the informative report. I always love your postings! Mon Jan 03 13:18:48 -0800 2005 149227 0 Tuberose 1 149248 You know, there used to be something charming about the Taylor's Refresher in St Helena. On a hot day, it was a fun place to stop for a food break with friends. It's so sad that it's so horrendously overpriced. The quality has gone downhill, too. Mon Jan 03 15:00:01 -0800 2005 149227 0 Fatemeh 1 149309 While I agree in general with your comments about Taylor's, I don't think you can hold it completely responsible for the patty melt. A patty melt is supposed to be served on rye -- asking for anything else is defeating the purpose. Since it is supposed to be grilled, a bun is not appropriate. So by asking for no rye and no sourdough, you pretty much left white sandwich bread as their only option. If you want a cheeseburger with grilled onions, then that's what you should order -- don't mess with the perfection of a patty melt! Fortunately, my patty melt cravings are now being met by the little Mexican-American place around the corner from my house which makes a respectable patty melt and serves it with decent fries for $5.25 (plus a complimentary basket of chips and salsa). Mon Jan 03 20:29:39 -0800 2005 149227 0 Ruth Lafler 2 149322 I think you are right there, Ruth. Unfortunately there was no queue when we went (rare), and so we were feeling rushed with our choosing, my boyfriend who is French and not very au fait with American culture beyond the level of a burger, probably saw that and thought that was the only burger thing they had (it's first on the menu). Had the staff been a little more savvy they might have noticed his strong foreign accent, his desire for a patty and a bun and suggested the burger instead. Ususally, I spend more time helping him but because of the immediacy of being in the front of the queue and holding up others I didn't on this occasion, as i was selecting my own choice. Needless to say, patty, burger or not, he thought the meat was awful. Mon Jan 03 21:28:23 -0800 2005 149309 0 Sixy beast 3 149342 So, Sam, was there a line *behind* you? I only ask because I wonder why you and Fred wouldn't just step aside and examine the menu at your leisure? I am one of those people who won't order 'til I'm good and ready (thus my husband's reluctance to take me to The Varsity in Georgia). I'll gladly step aside and let whoever is behind me place their order first, particularly when I'm in an unfamiliar place... Sorry that you guys had such an awful experience. Mon Jan 03 23:35:20 -0800 2005 149322 0 Fatemeh 4 149351 umm - I can't remember - i think at first, no, then yes, you are right of course, but i guess we were flustered and over hungry and unused to fast food style eating. I guess standing looking at a menu isnt ideal for us, especially as their menu is quite long and detailed. I will remember your advice next time in that situation. If I'd have had a clear head and had been paying more attention, I am sure I would have realised Fred wasn't making the choice that was best for him, and guided him toward the real burgers. Tue Jan 04 00:48:10 -0800 2005 149342 0 Sixy Beast 5 149461 Poor SB! I hope you don't feel like we're blaming the "victim" here. Just trying, chowhound like, to help you not make that mistake again. Maybe your French boyfriend would have liked Mistral better. Tue Jan 04 20:26:05 -0800 2005 149351 0 Ruth Lafler 6 149468 Actually we tried Mistral once. it didn't fare well in his book. I wasn't over impressed either. we tried Lulu's Take out - that was a no no no too. the place he likes most is to go for a glass or flight at the wine merchants. next time we'll try their pate picnic box. I didn't realise they'd started doing those. Otherwise when i go by myself (more often than not!) its Boulette's beignets for me. See how difficult life is for a foodie like me with a fussy non-fish eating Frenchman to contend with, who likes to eat in the very same restaurant every week without fail. I can't get rid of him thogh, he bought ne a Kitchen Aid for Christmas and I can't get much better than that! Tue Jan 04 20:39:04 -0800 2005 149461 0 Sixy beast 2 149364 i'm always up for a good patty melt... what's the name and location of this mexican-american place, if you don't mind sharing the info? Tue Jan 04 02:16:48 -0800 2005 149309 0 artemis 2 149460 Araujo's on Park St. in Alameda, across from the Alameda Marketplace. I haven't posted about it because it's not a "destination" by any means. Small, minimal decor. Friendly but occasionally clueless staff. The menu is a rather odd conflation of coffee shop food (basic breakfast, burgers, salads, weird lunch specials like country fried steak with mashed potatoes, etc.) and taqueria food. Several things have brought me back: it's cheap; it's around the corner from my house; they bring you chips and salsa no matter what your order (at least at dinnertime); but mostly: the guy can cook. It's not fancy food with high-quality ingredients, but it's always well-prepared and occasionally outstanding. I like his chile rellenos a lot, and I'm picky about chile rellenos. The rice and beans are well above average. The agua frescas are great. My housemate has been there a couple of times for breakfast and loves whatever it is she's ordering with chorizo (an omelette? scrambled eggs?). The best part: ordering the chile rellenos a la carte, foregoing rice and beans so I can order fries and dip them in the salsa -- now that really hits the spot. I suspect the guy worked as a short order cook for a while before opening this place. But I think he has real talent, and I'm hoping once they settle in (they've only been open a few weeks), I can convince him to add some more unusual Mexican specials. Tue Jan 04 20:22:56 -0800 2005 149309 0 Ruth Lafler