Limon Rotisserie

Limon Rotisserie, a classy Peruvian restaurant in San Francisco, specializes in its roasted chicken along with small, traditional entrees. The deals are reasonable, with any chicken combination two side choices are included. The quality of the food, according to many acquainted with Peruvian cuisine, is authentic. Most of my friends, including myself, thought the meat dishes were salty. However, I have recently discovered that the saltiness is a characteristic of the recognized Peruvian chicken.


In San Francisco, Peruvian food is rare to find, and even more rare to find a good quality one. Limon Rotisserie lives up to its expectation of serving well-made food at a price range of $10-$20 for entrees. The small hot and cold plates are also worthy of trying. The beverages were fresh and flavorful. My friend had a mango lemonade, which was overpowering with mango, but it was nice and refreshing. The rest of us had sangria, which tasted great with the tiny pieces of apples. The service wasn't the best or friendliest, but for the most part was tolerable. The place is spacious and the vast windows provide a great view of the streets on sunny days, but it's advisable to make reservations ahead of time, especially in big groups.


Yelp Review
1001 S Van Ness Ave
San Francisco, CA 94110

Crepe Temptations

Crepe Temptations is a new cafe located on Judah and 30th. The sunset district of San Francisco has always been blessed with great Asian food, including desserts and cafe. I found Crepe Temptations to be comparable to Sophie's Crepes, located in San Francisco Japantown. Crepe Temptations feature a green tea crepe batter, which unfortunately, I cannot speak for since I have not yet tried it yet. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the plain crepe I got with red bean, green tea ice cream, strawberries, and mochi. It was delicious and filling. Since I'm more inclined to get a dessert crepe, I cannot speak for the savory crepes. Whenever I got a savory crepe from Crepes-A-Go-Go in Berkeley, I was never quie satisified with the quality. Nevertheless, Crepe Temptations is a cute shop with ample seating, a place I will likely pay more visits. The service is good and the prices range between $5-$7.

Yelp Review
2575 Judah St
San Francisco, CA 94122

Lou's Cafe

Lou's Cafe is a new deli that opened up in the Richmond neighborhood of San Francisco. After heartbreaking news of Ike's San Francisco location eviction (which at the same time is understandable), I wasn't sure if there was any other sandwich shop that can rival with Ike's. Surprisingly, during the time Ike's eviction was coming to a final decision, Lou's Cafe appeared on the top listings on yelp. Based on the reviews, I was excited to try the special sauce and jalapeno sauce, which reminded me of Little Lucca (located in South San Francisco). I am pleased to say that Lou's Cafe serves extremely tasty and delicious sandwiches. The style of the sandwich reminds me more of Little Lucca than Ike's. Like Little Lucca, Lou's Cafe features a dutch crunch roll that's a little tougher, and the sandwich size is no match for the enormous Lucca sub. The assortment isn't as huge as Little Lucca as well, but they have roughly the same number of specials. So far, I've tried the Roma sandwich (which I'm still uncertain why it's called Roma, considering it's a pesto aioli turkey sandwich) and the LLB special (roast beef, turkey, ham with both sauces on dutch crunch), and they were both succulent and satisfying. The prices are also reasonable, roughly $6-$7 a sandwich, and they have cafe beverages, salads, and soups. Seating is limited, but is nice, clean and cozy. The place isn't crowded, like those long waits for Ike's and Little Lucca, but I'm pretty sure it'll gain more popularity soon. I'm excited to try more of their selections and potentially do a comparison between Lou's Cafe and Little Lucca.


Yelp Review
5017 Geary Blvd
San Francisco, CA 94118

Penguino's

Penguino's, located inside the San Francisco Metreon, is a small food stand with lots of sweet selections. This small stand has a great variety of smoothies, ice cream, and frozen yogurt (both soft and hard). I wouldn't consider it the best in desserts, but I think it serves well for sweet tooth craving. I have yet to try their frozen yogurt, which I am hoping is not too sweet. Featured in the photo is a chocolate smoothie infused with nutella and peanut. It was very rich and tasty, but I can tell it wasn't entirely great for my health. The flavor was just right, but the pricing seems a bit expensive $4-$5 for most items on the menu. Although I'm a bit apathetic towards the place, the desserts aren't that bad.

Yelp Review
101 4th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103

Joy Sushi

When it comes to unique ingredients and concoctions, I am genuinely impressed. Like past blogs, I tend to enjoy places that have something different, such as a special sauce. With Joy Sushi, it's definitely their special sauce that they pour over and glaze on their sushi rolls. The variety of rolls they have and complementing combination have always satisfied me. I've ordered at least eight different rolls and have never been disappointed with any of them. Recently, I tried the Geisha roll, with fried calamari topped with white tuna and a speck of hot sauce, and I enjoyed it immensely. It's rare for me to find a roll with white tuna, as most rolls are made with either salmon and/or red tuna. Besides their rolls, I also enjoy their entrees. Although whenever I come, I have a tendency of just ordering rolls. The salmon entrees tend to be good; I tend to be apathetic towards the chicken and beef, only because there is nothing truly spectacular about the way it's prepared. I'm not entirely sure of how their katsu is prepared, but based on their other entrees I would assume that it's either standard or really good. The service is wonderful and the staff are extremely friendly. A few years ago, I'd say you should either make a reservation or go a bit early (around 11 am for lunch and 5 pm for dinner). However, the restaurants in this part of San Mateo has grown primarily with Japanese cuisine. Nearly every block on a 5-block radius has at least one Japanese restaurant. That being said, with the competition of other restaurants, the wait at Joy Sushi is no longer an issue. I'm glad to see that Joy Sushi is still around even with all the new Japanese restaurants surrounding it.


Yelp Review
30 S B Street
San Mateo, CA 94401

Koi Palace

My feelings towards Koi Palace is somewhat mixed. Although I find the food superb and worth trying, at the time same time I have this personal angst towards the restaurant. Living less than half a mile away, normally I'd be thrill to have such a restaurant near my house. However, it's rarely possible to get seating right away for dim sum, unless you come a little before opening. Otherwise, the wait can exceed to nearly two hours (especially when groups arrive at 12 and are seated by 1:30). The food is good and the atmosphere and decor of the place is charming. I do love the indoor koi pond with its semi bridge platform (mainly for use of weddings and bigger events). The service is mutual. The staff are not overly friendly, not are they mean. The portions are fair for the price and quality of the food. However, the price of dim sum is higher than most places (small-$3, medium-$5, etc.). I don't mind paying the price only because of the way the food is prepared. It's good quality dim sum, and for a nice gathering or outting it's worth it. If you plan on a more casual outting, then other dim sum places are suitable enough. I highly recommend trying their xiao long bao, which are really juicy. Other notable dishes include shrimp dumpling, shrimp rice roll, crispy tofu skin wrapping, and egg yolk tarts. If you love chicken feet, my friend who tried it told me that it was tasty and delicious. Overall, fantastic and food, fair prices, but wait time can be pretty horrible.


Yelp Review
365 Gellert Blvd
Daly City, CA 94015

Pizza Orgasmica

When I was a teenager, I loved coming to pizza orgasmica. The pizza is always made fresh and the toppings blend extremely well. I've never been disappointed with the quality of their food. My personal favorite is the Serpent's Kiss, which to me is like a Cheeseboard pizza (those of you from Berkeley) except with meat. A lot of my high school friends come here for late night pizza. It's an ideal place for group settings and is also a brewery for those of you who like a drink or two. The portions are fair, not too much nor too little for the price. There are three locations, including one at the Embarcadero Center, which is nice on slightly sunnier days. Living close to the smaller peninsula cities, I often go to the one located on Clement. The service is great and theatmosphere is nice for a casual outting. The third location, in Marina/Cow Hollow, I haven't been to, but I heard that it is comparable to the other shops. As one may tell by the store name, their pizza selection also possess intriguing names. If you love good pizza and don't mind paying a fair sum, I think Pizza Orgasmica is a great choice.

Yelp Review
823 Clement St
San Francisco, CA 94118

Fish and Chips -- Half Moon Bay Style

Growing up as a kid, my grandmother loved to go to the fish market in Half Moon Bay. My recollection of these outings have vanished over the years, only trusting my dad's mere words. My dad, like his mom, loved coming here, not only for the food but the scenery. His beloved fish and chips place, once served wrapped in newspaper has moved to a new location, only a few blocks away from the former market. Johnson Pier is a small and quaint marina area in Half Moon Bay. Like my previous entry, this place can be found as you go further on Hwy 1. Princeton Seafood Company sells great quality fish and chips along with other seafood entrees to go and dine-in. The price is standard for fish and chips, but for calamari it's a really cheap deal. Calamari comes with a side of chips for only $5 + tax, which is one of the lowest prices I've seen for good-quality calamari. Although it hasn't completely won my heart, like the calamari I had in Boston, it's definitely a good resort to satisfy my calamari craving. Since Johnson Pier isn't a top tourish site, most of the people here are local and thus it's not too busy throughout the day. It's nice to come here and enjoy some seafood and take a cool breezy walk along the marina.


9 Johnson Pier
Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
Yelp Review