Dinner at Devon’s

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Devon’s

We stopped by Devon’s for dinner recently when wanting dinner before we took in one of Ryan Landry’s & the Gold Dust Orphan Sunday show Snow White and the 7 Bottoms.

While we had an early seating – from the moment we entered we were made to feel welcome without any fussiness. Devon himself was on deck that night pitching in on the floor, which added its own special energy to the place.

With a nicely diverse menu, we opted for starters of organic Chicken Liver Pate ($13), the Mizuna Lettuce with Shaved Fennel, Radish and Carrots, Shallot -Thyme Vinaigrette salad ($10) and the house special soup being offered that night, which was a melon based puree with candied cashews. The starters had that perfect blend of savory, sweet, and crunch that opens up a meal.IMG_1757 IMG_1758

For entrees, two of us went with the fresh halibut with roasted corn relish, cherry tomatoes on a bed a pepperonchini mashed potatoes.

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I’m a huge fan of monk fish (aka poor mans lobster when I was a kid) so went with the Pan Seared Monkfish Medallions, Mojo Isleno Sauce, Creamy Polenta –($27) – an earthy, rustic dish that took the monk fish and paired it with a salty, spicy caper, olive and roasted pepper stew reminiscent of a puttanesca style, but with such a nice balance that it took on its own complex dimension that clearly made it its own dish. They serve is on creamy grits with the “stew” ladled around the mountain of grits like a castle surrounded by its moat.

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All the dishes that night rocked our praises. Nicely portioned and with clear intentions that Devon’s and his chief is enjoys an understanding that comes from the love of blending clean fresh flavors with rustic and hearty delivery. Well worth the walk to the East End for those West Enders that never seem to get much past the Boastslip. They offer both and indoor and outdoor seating option. Heat lamps are available as well as offering a rain covers on its outside deck for those adventures souls who want to eat outside during some of Ptowns occasional showers.

 

Devon’s:

401 1/2  Commercial Street

Provincetown, Ma., 02657

Call for dinner reservations

Devon’s: 508-487-4773

You can also follow them on Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/devonsrestaurant

Now I wish this was around years ago

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Seems that Coppertone has launched a new line of sunscreen products that cater to yet one more niche consumer; those of us with tattoos. In retrospect – this shouldn’t have been rocket science – many of us knew we needed or wanted a skin cover up – but never thought about a special blend.

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Changes… even on vac a with @PopandDutch

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Pop+Dutch (@POPandDutch) rolls out in the West End.

One of our fav “goto” spots for breakfast sandwiches had been the Angel Grocery at the corner where we stay while in Ptown. But this year the place had both a new vibe, with a new name and menu. Now called Pop+Dutch they offer a simple clean fresh take on sandwiches (regular, breakfast and gluten free) snacks and fresh in house made cookies and salads and fresh brewed teas and lemonade. The new folks working in this pint-sized general store, which some other reviewers label as a gourmet sandwich shop are friendly, easy going and fit the “go with the flow” vibe of Ptown while also not using that as an excuse for poor service a few other similar places lean towards.

They also came out with a cute reusable shopping bag with a fitting theme that caught my eye at day one.IMG_1645

 

 

Pop+Dutch

http://popanddutch.com
147 Commercial Street
Provincetown, MA
(774) 538-6472

Twitter: @POPandDutch
Facebook: Pop+Dutch
Instagram: POPANDDUTCH

Patxis Chicago Deep Dish Pizza – San Francisco Style

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I finally got a chance to try Patxi’s last weekend.

I will have to say – from the moment we walked in – until we left – the service and attention they offered balanced any minor challenges we experienced due to the abundance of screaming kids that night.IMG_1435

One of the things I liked right off the top was that in addition to a vegetarian option -they also offer dairy free “cheese” for those for whom dairy may be an issue. I blogged about the Daiya brand line of cheese and its one that I often use at home and its the same one they use at P for those not wanting the real stuff.

On this visit we went full out and got full cheese. Ordering the Matt Cain and the BBQ chicken. IMG_1436Both were good – I tend to not like sweet style pizza sauces that San Francisco shops favor, so the smokiness and bite of the jalapeños on the BBQ chicken one ended up as my preferred version.

I think when we go again I will need my red pepper flakes to balance the sweetness. But over all great food, and even greater staff.

Especially the ever sexy Erik who worked the front bar with all the skill one should have when one is the first you see.

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Patxi’s Pizza

4042 24th St
San Francisco, CA 94114
b/t Noe St & Castro St in Noe Valley
Get Directions
Phone number (415) 285-2001
Business website: http://www.patxispizza.com

Hole In The Wall; Road Trip

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We did a “jump in the car” roadtrip to get out of the city today. First stop was the always friendly Hole In The Wall. It continues to be one of our favorite “go to” spots.

Friendly staff & good solid food makes for a destination worthy meal or while spending time in the Northern California region. Known for a great breakfast; biscuits, gravey and hash rock thoseorning branches, but the hamburger & sandwiches make for a full belly. On this trip I tried out the ground duck burger on server recommendation, and will say- it was right on the money.

We did an jump in the car roadtrip to get out of the city today. First stop was the always friendly Hole In The Wall. It continues to be one of our favorite “go to” spot.

Friendly staff & good solid food makes for a destination worthy meal or while spending time in the Northern California region. Known for a great breakfast; biscuits, gravey and hash rock thoseorning branches, but the hamburger & sandwiches make for a full belly. On this trip I tried out the ground duck burger on server recommendation, and will say- it was right on the money.

Our new pals Adrian & Julie stopped to swap food dish in between serving up our meals.

Got a chance to have a dinner at Kitchen Story a few weeks back.

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Got a chance to have a dinner at Kitchen Story a few weeks back.

We went midweek and ended up getting seating just as the crowd hit. FYI – I have to say even with a mixed crowd – the people were in that “extra cool with each other place” that night.

We went as a group to catch up and to sample the goods. Several of us had eaten there for brunches and liked it so were eager to try dinner. The vibe and feel of the place is comforting and works hard to ease you along and relax you.

We sampled a bunch of the apps including the rocken Millionaire’s Way; the sadctive marriage of  bacon, grilled organic asparagus and homemade smoky maple syrup sauce on a plate.IMG_0925 This was one of my fav tastes of the night – but if you are a fan of crisp bacon-  they use a meaty thick cut – you ask your server to make it more well-cooked for you.

Kitchen’s Pumpkin fries, Ahi Scoops and Castro Tower all took home good ratings that night as well.

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For entrees – we had a mixed bag of reactions. The Castro Sea (20$) was vibrant and a great size, offered lots of solid flavor.

 

Two of us went with the fried chicken variations, aka the Finger Lickin’ (18$).IMG_0937 IMG_0947
While the chicken was nicely cooked it somewhat lacked flavor and the coating itself was bland. While not bad tasting – it paled what compared to the vibrant flavors of the other dishes.

 

We also tried East Feeds West (22$)– which was both visually and taste wise pretty good. Textured with a balance of heat, gooey, sticky, and solids all blended for a great place. It also was a substantial portion. I would order it again on a future visit.IMG_0957

 

 

 

  • 3499 16th St
    San Francisco, CA 94114

    b/t Dehon St & Sanchez St in Castro

  • Phone number (415) 525-4905
  • www.Kitchenstorysf.com

Catch up with Old Skool

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A few weeks back we went to a local joint that has been well spoken about for some time. I have first heard about it from Check Please, one of our fav local food shows then it came up among friends who live out in the Bayview. Old Skool cafe is a concept resturant that take youth and trains them to work all the roles in the food service industry while at the same time putting out some pretty great food.20140615-083623-30983226.jpg
The resturant itself on the outside doesn’t look like much – but once you walk in, you get a very jazz meets speakeasy feel. The staff is friendly and eager to practice freshly learned skills – but we didn’t find it pushy or amateur.20140615-083618-30978003.jpg20140615-083620-30980904.jpg

We were seated quickly and while looking over the menu they left us with some sweet potato biscuits which are not to be missed. We ended up ordering20140615-083619-30979478.jpg another order with our meal.

Not knowing how the food was we decided to order creatively to get a nicesampling. For our starters we went with a black-eye pea salad ($7) – this southern style salsa had great textures and tasted nice – but lacked a bit of zig and was a little dry. I think it might have needed an acid to the dressing or more dressing mixed (maybe stirred more) before serving. A squirt of lemon on it for me freshened it up nicely – so I am leaning towards a simple oversight to mix the salad before plating.

We also opted for Abu’s Peanut Butter Stew (8$, 14$). We decided to get a cup sized order as a second app – served over rice with chicken – this was magic. I might have to say this is one of those “sex” foods you hear people talk about – it have all the right curves – taste, texture, aroma and pop! As is one of the two favorite dishes from the night.

For our entrees we went with the Jordans fried chicken dinner (24$) and pan seared smokey shrimp and cheesy grits (16$). The fried chicken was hot, crisp and moist inside. So good that we eyed the two large pieces thinking maybe take home one for lunch the next day – umm – no! They deserved to be eaten now. Oh and when I mean hot – I mean “fresh from the oil” hot. The chicken comes with a few sides of mashed potatoes, slaw and gravy .

On a side note -all three of these were underwhelming. The mashed potato were barely warm so was a contrast wight he chicken in a way that didn’t work, The slaw has nice texture – but was bland. It needed more zip to it, felt like was mayo and cabbage than anything else. The dipping sauce  – I didn’t get. It was very loose and white but didn’t really have any flavor. it also come cool so wasn’t sure it was supposed to be a “gravy” or something – but we essentially ignored it. 

20140615-083622-30982127.jpgFor for my option – I went with those smokey grits and shrimp — I could have slathered it on me it was so good. Again as the primary point of focus – I enjoyed every bite. I can see eating that again for sure. The shrimp have a spicy rub on them that has some kick – so may not be to everyone’s liking. I liked it – but I could be as happy eating it with a simple smokey grilled shrimp too  along side those wonderful grits.

Menu: oldskool