Pictures of the Remains

At Santana Row this weekend, I took about five thousand pictures of my almost-bride friend, Frances Sun, as she tried on her wedding dress and Joyce and I learned how to help her put it on.  But all the white taffeta and invisible mini-buttons and small, tricky strings that are impossible to find seemed to muddle my brain because I forgot to take pictures of our delicious dinner after, only remembering when the food was almost gone.  Hopefully pictures of empty plates will do justice to our meal at Village California Bistro & Wine Bar.  But first, a picture of the beautiful setting:

We went family style, ordering a halibut ceviche, the seafood risotto and one order of the "Sunset 3 course dinner" for $29, which included the seasonal soup, Twice Cooked Cubano pork, and a peach cobbler dessert.

We started with the seasonal soup, a creamy corn soup with plenty of spices, topped with a medley of garnishes.  It was warm and full-bodied and delicious to sop up with the sides of bread.  Along with the soup, we ate a halibut ceviche with thick, generous pieces of halibut, The ceviche wasn't too amazing - I like mine with lots more acidic juices and more spices, but the purple potato chips, that accompanied the ceviche, stole the show.  The crispy, salty purple potato chips prompted Fran to ask if we thought the chips came from potatoes that were actually purple.

The question was too loaded for Joyce and I to respond to at the time, and Frances probably cared more about the fact that purple potatoes would go well with her purple wedding colors and our purple bridesmaids dresses.  But to answer Fran's question, the purple potato chips did in fact come from purple potatoes.  Purple potatoes have a dry, starchy and nutty flavor, are believed to have originated in Peru, and are high in antioxidants - similar to berries and pomegranates.  Hopefully, they will appear on Fran's wedding menu :)

Next, we shared the seafood risotto and the Cubano pork.  The pork was great - it was tender and aggressively spiced with sweet potato hash and pickled vegetables complementing it.  The risotto was my favorite - it was creamy, smooth, and cheesy, and you can never go wrong with mussels, clams and a variety of fish thrown in.  I somehow managed to take a picture before every morsel was eaten:

We ended with peach cobbler dessert - the peaches were plump and juicy and the cobbler crust was sweet and crunchy.  Every bite was warm and complemented by thick peach juices and the cobbler bits were buttery and chewy.  The scoop of ice cream on top provided a welcome, contrasting coolness.  It was refreshing and evocative and left us serene and stuffed and Joyce may have drifted into temporary unconsciousness afterwards.  Have I described the dessert well enough?  Hopefully so, because this is all you'll get in the way of a picture:

The Missing Avocado

On Friday night, our friend Michael Flanagan, who was crashing on our couch, and I went down to Polkers Gourmet Burgers on Polk Street for some burgers.  Polkers is one of my neighborhood favorites as it was the place my roommate and I had our first dinner in San Francisco four years ago.  Their burgers come with fun, unique variations and their satisfying brunches draw long waits on the weekends.  I still remember eating huevos rancheros here one New Year's day in a state of bliss.

Friday, however, the fog must have settled in a little too thickly over Russian Hill.  We both ordered the Habanero Burger "Extremely Spicy" because the extremely spicy moniker seemed like a good challenge.  The burger came with jack cheese, avocado aioli, and a habanero salsa on the side, which appeared to be a mixture of tomato paste, chopped up habanero peppers and onions.

We both selectively had overlooked the word "aioli" in the description and spent about two minutes looking for some avocado, before realizing that it was in fact a very thinly spread aioli on one bun which did not contribute to the taste of the burger.  I was disappointed because I love avocados and Michael was disappointed because avocados are green and that is one of Notre Dame's colors.

In addition, applying the salsa separately seemed like a smart idea, but the clumpy nature of the salsa caused the burger bites to vary from no salsa bites to fiery hot bites.  The patty itself was cooked well and was perfectly medium.  The side salad that came with it wasn't amazing but that's what you get for ordering a side of salad with a hamburger.  Overall, we left feeling satisfied but not too impressed with the meal.  I would still go back to Polkers but will change up my order.

On another note, I ordered an Arnold Palmer, my non-alcoholic beverage of choice, at dinner.  An Arnold Palmer is a drink made up of half lemonade and half iced tea and is named after a famous golfer.  It can also be called a half and half and the alcoholic version (using vodka or sweet tea) is called a John Daly.

When I ordered it, Michael was Super impressed.  He used words like "wow" and "bold choice" and almost switched his drink order as well.  I think he was being sincere.  I would have found it strange, but I've faced similar reactions when I order the drink with a group.  I don't know why - it's lemonade and iced tea mixed together and it's really quite simple.  Anyways, the point of this sidenote is that if you'd like an easy way to impress a table at a meal, order an Arnold Palmer and you will be a hero and I cannot give you a good reason why.

Restaurant:	Polker's Gourmet Burgers
Location:	2226 Polk Street, SF, CA
Items ordered:	Habanero Burger "Extremely Spicy"; Arnold Palmer
Pricing:	$10-$30
Grades:	Taste: B-; Cleanliness: A-; Service: A