I love Beretta because it’s good food served til 1am everyday. Phil was in town and we needed to grab a late dinner, so we went there. Every time I go I always have to order a pizza. I haven’t been too fond of their pizza because their crust would always be too soggy, preventing me from actually holding a slice up; however, this time, I had their prosciutto di parma, tomato, arugula & mozzarella pizza. The thin crust came out nice and crispy, and it was loaded with prosciutto. I’m never ordering another pizza from there again. I also always order their chicken liver crostini. I really don’t care much for chicken liver, but I like theirs.

Neighborhood: Mission
1199 Valencia Street
(between 22nd St & 23rd St)
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 695-1199

Our next meal in LA was at Orris on Sawtelle where we had some Japanese-French fusion tapas. This was my second time here, and I’m still digging their tempura anchovies and salmon croquettes, two of my favorite items there. I also really liked their burrata bruschetta, which I got to try for the first time this time.

It’s so hard to find restaurants (not bars) that close late night. Ramblas Tapas Bar closes at midnight, which is better than nothing. I’m definitely a fan of their patatas bravas and would go back even just for that. It’s crispy and tossed with crispy leeks and spicy garlic-harissa aioli, unlike other places where it’s just deep fried and with dipping aoili sauce.

Jennifer and I were supposed to grab a sandwich at Ike’s Place, but the line was incredibly long. At the rate its popularity is soaring, I’ll never get to eat there again. So, we went to Esperpento for tapas instead. It was pretty good, especially at about $5 a dish. My favorite was their “Tortilla De Patata”, a potato and onion omelette, though I’m sure I’ll find plenty of other things I’ll like even more since they have so many things to choose from.

Happy Birthday Karen! We celebrated Karen’s birthday at Starbelly. I didn’t think we were gonna get full at first, but all those little bites added up, and given some time, food started to settle. I’m pretty sure the group consensus favorite was the burger. It was just so juicy and well-seasoned. As for dessert, we all liked the crumb cake.

Of everything I ate this weekend, Starbelly was my favorite meal. Everything was delicious.

I just passed my motorcycle riding exam earlier in the morning and since Mae is one of the only few people I know who likes to eat and has a M1 license, I thought it would be a good idea to celebrate together. I’ve been wanting to go to Starbelly since I first heard of its existence and I finally got to try it today.

We got there close to 11 pm (I had to hit the gym first), and it was a Sunday, so it wasn’t crowded at all. (Usually there’s a long waiting list.) We went with our waiter’s suggestions: rancho gordo heirloom bean puree & fried capers, heirloom tomato gazpacho with spicy avocado & basil oil, local corn with mascarpone & garlic, and Prather Ranch burger, house cut fries & pickle, grilled brioche bun. The beans dish was nicely pureed, the gazpacho was very refreshing, the mascarpone was better than any other corn chowder I’ve had, and the Prather Ranch burger was thick and juicy. We ended with their lavender pot de creme, and we all know I love lavender.

Lunch today was not very healthy, but all those calories were definitely worth it. After church, we went straight to Phat Philly since none of them (Steve, Jann, Mae and Veronica) have been there before, and I’ve been raving about it since forever. They all enjoyed it. I went with their Italian beef sandwich this time, and though it was good, I definitely wished I had their a cheesesteak with cheddar beer sauce instead.

After lunch, we dropped by Anthony’s Cookies for some cookies. They’re so nice there and let us sample any cookies we wanted. It’s not as crazy as it was a couple months ago when I last went, but it’s still pretty busy there. I finally got to try their cookies and cream cookie, which felt like an Anthony’s Cookies cookie – thin, crispy, chewy – but with an Orea flavor.

Our last stop was Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream. We had to go there since Jann’s been wanting to go there since I first mentioned it months ago. The flavor that they had today that I haven’t had before was cinnamon brittle, so that’s what I had, plus a scoop of their hibiscus beet. I’ve been coming here at least once a week now for the past month or two. So this is where my money has been going!

Dinner was at Beretta with Jimson. It was way too dark there to get decent pictures, but we had bruschette of fava beans & pecorino, meatballs in spicy tomato sauce, and a grilled vegetables, tomato, pesto & mozzarella pizza with an egg on top. I always order pizza with egg whenever possible now.

I spent my afternoon in the Mission, but I didn’t think the rest of the night was going to be spent there as well. Karen, Jessica and I just kept eating, kicking our night off with ice cream …

First stop: Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream where I got their new flavor, peanut butter curry ice cream. It sounds weird but didn’t taste weird at all. It was more towards the peanut butter side with a hint of curry. I also had a scoop of their Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee ice cream since I haven’t had it in a while.

Second stop: Cha Cha Cha for some sangria and tapas. This place is great for two things: sangria and deep-fried foods – tapas style.

Third stop: Antojitos San Miguel truck where we just shared a bacon-wrapped hot dog with everything on it.

Fourth stop: La Oaxaquena Bakery and Restaurant for some street tacos. We didn’t plan on going here (actually nothing was really planned) but it was along the way to …

Fifth stop: Bi-Rite Creamery where I had a scoop of their salted caramel and a scoop of their balsamic strawberry.

It felt kind of like a mini-vacation because that’s pretty much what I do when I go on vacations – EAT.