Here’s the beer garden area. It’s awesome because you bring your dog and hang out… love it so much! There are plenty of picnic tables outside, half of which are under a covered area.

But the star of the show is Telegraph’s Beer Brat sandwich. OMG. This thing is freaking amazing. I have to admit, I usually don’t go for sausage on the menu, but the first time I went to Telegraph it just sounded good, so I ordered it… and I’m so glad I did!

Here it is… they serve it on tray with kettle chips. I appreciate how they cut the sausage in half so that it is flatter in the bun. It also includes coleslaw (the tangy kind, not creamed).  I love this sandwich because the sausage has just enough of a spicy bite, it’s a little more on the sweet/hot side than the smokey kind. The bread is soft and light, not dense and overwhelming like some sandwich breads can be.  The slaw is tangy and compliments the sausage perfectly!

Have you noticed all of the trendy chicken + coleslaw sandwiches popping up everywhere?  Well this sausage + coleslaw freaking sandwich puts them all to shame.  There, I said it.  Eat this one instead. You won’t be sorry.

Oh, I forgot to mention, Telegraph also has frozen cider slushies. I’m serious… and they’re really good, especially on super hot Oakland days!  Here’s a photo of the slushie I took with my iPhone…

 I’ve been to a few beer gardens in the East Bay, and I have to say… I love Telegraph. It’s the perfect place to hang out – it’s casual and low-key, affordable and the food is great.

Unfortunately I’m the kind of person who orders the same thing all the time, but I’m really excited to try something new next time I go to Telegraph!

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The place is literally a window down the middle of Ritch St. which is kind of near the ballpark, off 3rd street. It’s really a hidden gem – unless you know it’s there, you would never go there.

The guy working the window was really nice, and I liked him even more because he was wearing a Phillies hat!

Here’s the window, so cute!

They had a tiny skillet of 1.25″ buttons… I took one of course.

Here’s the menu…

And here’s the little area next to the food window where the hot sauce and other condiments are.

I preferred the honey jalapeno hot sauce on the right… omg so good – sweet and spicy!  So for my meal I ordered the chicken and waffles with 2 pieces of chicken.

OH MY GOD. This is the BEST FRIED CHICKEN IN SAN FRANCISCO.  Actually no, it’s the BEST FRIED CHICKEN IN THE WORLD.  I’ve never had such good fried chicken in my life. The first bite sent me right over the edge… I took a bite of the wing first.  The meat was tender and juicy and the skin was super crispy and thin (no chewy bits, not soggy), it was seasoned absolutely perfectly. Turn on the vacuum, this box of food is ready to get inhaled.

The skin was awesome because it wasn’t oily and greasy like a lot of fried chicken. It was absolutely perfect – thin, not too much breading, the seasoning was flavorful, and I ate it all down to the bone. I usually don’t go so far as to eat every last crumb of breading, but I couldn’t stop myself.  The chicken was really good to dip in the hot sauce, in between bites of waffle (I preferred the green one).

The waffle was also very excellent. It was crispy on the outside and soft and moist on the inside, which was perfect for the syrup, which was absorbed right away after pouring it on. The waffle was savory and filling yet it was not heavy and soggy, even after being covered in syrup. Together with the chicken it was the perfect combination.

There’s not really anywhere to sit and only a 3ft counter to stand at… but there’s a loading dock across the street that people sit on to eat… everything’s to go so you can either sit there or go back to your car or office.

So, the chicken is like a DRUG.  It’s been a day now and I’m still thinking about it… I definitely see myself measuring all future chicken and waffles against the chicken and waffles from Little Skillet… paradise in my mouth! I can’t wait for this chicken to get back in my body, it was that good (holy crap!).

Little Skillet
360 Ritch St
San Francisco, CA 94107
website

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I usually only get over to Humphry Slocombe every few months or when my sister is visiting… haven’t been there in a while. It was awesome because I arrived around 2:30pm and there was NO ONE there. Ahhh the lucky off-hour… nothing better than having the whole freakin place to myself!

I peeped into the ice cream fridge scanning around for the watermelon sorbet… IT WASN’T THERE, ugh! So I tasted and then ordered a delicious cup of Bluebottle Vietnamese Coffee.

Since the place was empty and I was there to fryhole, I started taking some photos… and before I sat down to eat my ice cream I asked the guy when they would have the watermelon sorbet again – and he said they were out of it… ugh! Super disappointed… I came to late and it sold out!

THEN… a guy appeared in the back holding a white tub and said “you want watermelon?” OMG! He had a secret extra tub of it! Holy crapola, it was my lucky day!! So I bought a cup of that too, hehe.

It took me about a half hour to eat both cups of ice cream. The Vietnamese coffee was AMAZING. I would definitely get that again – super smooth, sweet, and just a hint of coffee flavor, not overpowering like some other coffee ice creams out there. Definitely had that condensed milk sweetness that Vietnamese coffee has… super creamy and freaking awesome.

The salted watermelon sorbet was definitely worth it!! It tasted exactly like the watermelon from the salad I make every summer with watermelon, feta, mint and sea salt. OMG. It was crumbling everywhere because it was extra frozen so I kind of made a big mess all over the counter… but I ate the whole cup and boy did I have a huge brain freeze when I was finished with both cups.

If you haven’t gone yet, GO. And if you want to avoid lines, go between 2-3pm.

Humphry Slocombe
2790 Harrison St
San Francisco, CA 94110
website

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We arrived right before it started to get really dark… it was only open for an hour and already the place was packed.

There weren’t as many food trucks there as I thought there would be… in fact there were about 6 or 7 and a drink tent.  The lines for all of the trucks were super long except this adorable truck on the end, El Sur empanadas artisenales. I was standing pretty close to it and the buttery smell wafting out of the window was making me kray… I HAD TO GET ONE.

I got a “champignones” (mushroom) for $4 and it came warm and piping hot!

OMFG. This thing was freaking AMAZING. For the love of freaking bejeezus if you like mushrooms and cheese, you need to find this truck asap and get your paws on one! It am kicking myself now for not trying more flavors.

When I bit into it, mushrooms and cheese oozed out from a flakey buttery awesome crust. There’s really nothing like cheesy goodness stuffed inside a flakey pocket… the mushrooms were sliced very thin so it was nice to not have to really chew too much and I really did appreciate that it was warm because then it felt more “meal-like”, if you know what I mean.

This $4 empanada really made my night. I also had an “artisenal” mini burrito (hot slop in an eggroll wrapper) from the truck next door which was NOT GOOD, but we won’t go there.

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Find out where El Sur will be on Twitter and here’s their website.

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The thing that makes Weezy’s Shed special is that is specializes in MINI BURGERS,  YAY! This place is awesome because it’s a burger joint that’s healthy! Yes, grass-fed, antibiotic-free organic, local beef. But that aside, it’s awesome because the burgers are 2oz. and you can order more than 1 of them so you can try all the flavors. What a great idea!

Here’s the outside it’s really cute and has a full length covered patio in the front. There was only 1 other person eating there at the time because we went around 2:30pm. I guess that’s a weird hour to eat lunch in Marin.  Better for us though, can’t complain about having the whole place to ourselves!

We sat outside because we had Harley and Penny… the ketchup, mustard, salt/pepper and napkins were on each table looking so cute….

One of the main doorways into the restaurant leads you into a small dining room with a few tables and this awesome cutout seating.

Here’s the menu when you walk in… love how rustic everything looks! Remember, this place is all about mini burgers… between me and hav we ordered the “6-Pack” and got 3 each and a basket of fries. FYI, Weezy’s has a veggie patty for vegetarians. I’m the meat eater so I got beef… went for these burgers:

• B-Rad Tillamook cheddar & apple cured bacon
• Contiki Kikkoman teriyaki glaze & grilled pineapple
• Bloody Hell BBQ & pepper jack cheese

The food came to our table… it looked AMAZING!

Here they are – from left to right is Bloody Hell, Contiki and B-Rad.

A large basket of mixed fries – regular french fries and sweet potato fries! I have to say, these were up there with some of the BEST FRIES ever. Why? Because they were thin cut, piping hot, super crispy and fried to perfection. They are fried in rice-bran oil instead of regular old vegetable oil… maybe this has something to do with it? I’m a french fry snob (hence fryhole) and I have to say, these fries RULE to the nth degree, even the burnt cripsy ones (that i usually leave behind)!!

Here’s the inside of the B-Rad burger. The bacon was crispy and the burger was cooked perfectly – a very nice medium well. I was very impressed by the buns – they are of course homemade and triangular in shape. It’s the perfect amount of bread, not too thick or dense, slightly sweet and soft on the inside, toasted on the outside. You can also substitute for a potato bun or they do “lettuce” buns for people who don’t want bread.

Here’s the Contiki burger. This one was my favorite. There’s nothing like grilled pineapple on burgers… the teriyaki sauce was so good and warm… the burger was juicy and the bread of course was so good I ate the extra bits after my burger was gone.

And of course I had to order 2 burger patty’s for my kids!

Good thing I work over there in Marin sometimes, can’t wait to hop back over to Weezy’s for lunch or dinner!

Weezy’s Shed
507 Miller Ave
Mill Valley, California
website

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farmer’s scramble 9.35
with chard, caramelized onions, bacon, potatoes and cheddar cheese

This is one of those places where you order first and then they give you a number and then you sit down and they bring the food to you.  There was a white barking dog on the patio above the restaurant and some really bad fist pumping techno music blasting out of the windows which was kind of annoying… but the racket seemed to dissipate once the food was delivered and it looked GREAT.

I was pleasantly surprised with this scramble.  It was extremely flavorful and there was the perfect proportion of egg with the other ingredients (bacon, caramelized onion, chard, potatoes).  The sweetness of the onions went really well with the salty bacon and the chard added a nice extra leafy bite.  The scramble was also nice and hot.  It’s so annoying when you go somewhere for eggs and they come out warm but not hot – not this place.  This whole scramble was nice and super warm/hot not scalding, you could tell it was delivered straight from the kitchen, no warming lamps on this plate!  The scramble even stayed warm through the last bite, I really enjoyed this meal and would definitely order it again!!  It was the perfect amount of food, I left feeling comfortably full.

Mixing Bowl
4920 Telegraph Ave.
Oakland, CA 94609
(510) 655-5630
www.mixingbowloakland.com

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I ordered the Meatball Sandwich.  I also arrived at an off-peak lunch hour so there was no line which was nice.  The sandwich was ready in about 5 minutes, during which I had time to pick out a bag of chips and grab a soda.  I will blog about the chips in another entry, as they were 5 fries themself!

Ok so here’s the sandy:

It looks like any old meatball sandwich.  Actually, the meatballs were small, and you could tell there was more bread or filler in the mix than beef (or it was just shredded up ALOT) because the consistency gave the meatballs that softer, “smooth” kind of bite vs. meaty/chunky kind.  Actually, they look frozen, like the cafeteria kind… (they’re probably from costco) – I hope I never find out the truth!

Anyway, I thought the sandwich was amazing.  The combination of the softish meatballs (which were very flavorful btw) with the really good marinara sauce on the toasted soft roll was to die for.  The roll was kind of sweet, and they toasted it just enough so that the outside layer had a little crunch, but soft enough that it was easy to bite into and chew.  The marinara sauce was on the sweeter side and there was the perfect balance of tomato and spices.

Another thing, it’s very rare to find a good sandwich that is heated up so much that the cheese is actually soft enough to ooze out.  This sandwich was perfect and the mozzarella was melted perfectly and strings of cheese did ooze out when I got near the “inside” of the sandwich.  It was awesome. This meatball sandwich was heated perfectly and you could even see the steam waffing out of it up til the last bite.

Overall, this sandwich rocked and I really can’t think of anything that would make it better.  I finished it pretty quickly, as it was so good that I couldn’t resist slowing down for fear it would cool off too much… i didn’t even get around to drinking my soda or eating my chips, it was THAT good.

…this sandy was HISTORY!

Here’s a shot of the cool wall of toasters:

…and lastly a shot from outside.

The Toaster Oven
145 2nd St
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 243-0222
www.thetoasteroven.com

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There are 3 things I need to point out about Mixt Greens before I reveal my actual lunch selection…

Mixt Greens:

• uses all biodegradable/compostable utensils and containers
• the tables inside are made from recycled laundry detergent bottles
• the food is organic, sustainable and local

Nothing not to like about that!

I was feeling adventurous so today I ordered the Maui Salad instead of my favorite “Bachelor” salad.  The Maui salad is comprised of: butter lettuce, coriander-encrusted seared ahi tuna, avocado, cherry tomatoes, mango, cucumber, red onion, mango citrus vinaigrette topped with crushed macadamia nuts.  That is the exact menu description.  It also comes with a half slice of bread.

So, the salad was good.  When I read the ingredients for the first time I was expecting nice, soft lettuce, with a light, mango-esque dressing… light, healthy with a little salty kick from the macadamias… Well, it was good but it wasn’t really what I was expecting.  Overall, I think the avocado made the salad a bit too mushy for my liking… and I know the crushed macadamias were supposed to be the textural, “crunchy” part of the salad, but even macadamia’s are soft too… coupled with the soft fish and the soft mango… just a bit too mushy for me. The ahi was good and seared perfectly, but I think overall something is a little off, and I’m not sure what kind of suggestion I would have to make it better…oh well.

Aesthetically, all of the salads at Mixt Greens look fantastic, including this one, but I’m not sure I’d order it again.  Also, some people say that the price is a little steep, but honestly, the salads you get are so big (I can rarely finish an entire one unless I’m starving)… so I think there is definitely value in the price, in addition to the other great “green” features of the place and operation.  I also have to mention that the people who work at this location are particularly awesome.

Thank you to Michael Poulton for taking this shot of me!

Sorry Mixt Greens, today I give you 3 fries.

Mixt Greens
560 Mission St
(between Anthony St & Shaw Aly)
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 543-2505
www.mixtgreens.com

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Something I really like about Working Girls is their selection of bread. Although you have the option of choosing your bread (see photo below), most of the sandwiches are already designated with a bread selection so you don’t really need to worry about choosing one… but it’s nice to see them all lined up anyway.

The chicken Parm sandwich is really good though, and I think most of it has to do with the fact that it’s on a soft roll with sesame seeds. Those sesame seeds really give the sandwich a nice “nutty essence” and the top isn’t crunchy per se but it has a nice texture (not as hard as dutch crunch, not as soft as a soft roll). Otherwise the chicken and the parm (cheese, marinara sauce) are pretty standard, nothing too special about it. I have to say though, the chicken is nice and tender and I really appreciate it because sandwiches on hard bread usually instigate a bat with my TMJ, a lifelong annoyance.

I do recommend this sandwich. It’s good. Not so “Italian” the way you might think, they put a California twist on it by throwing in a slice of tomato.

Working Girls Cafe
122 New Montgomery St
(between Minna St & Mission St)
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 537-1170

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Fenton’s is a classic diner/ice cream shop that has withstood the test of time and is still chugging along. Parking is a nightmare and unless you wait for one of their 8 or 9 spots, you’ll be circling around the block and up and down the street looking for a spot, especially if it’s a warm night out when everyone and their mother wants a scoop of ice cream.

We usually sit at the counter because it is faster and our friend goes there so often that she knows all of the cooks by name so she likes to chat it up… It does not surprise me that every time we go there I eat way more than I planned. This time I thought I was under control by agreeing to share an appetizer sampler and eat only the smallest sundae, but I ended up eating half of an deviled egg sandwich which was ordered by mistake, ate a handful of onion rings, the jalapeno poppers and 2 chicken fingers from the appetizer sampler and a small cup of mocha almond fudge ice cream.

This egg salad sandwich was good. I can’t remember ever ordering an egg salad sandwich anywhere ever in my lifetime, and I’m not really a huge egg salad person, but this sandwich was good. I credit most of it to the bread – perfectly toasted sourdough. Leave out the olives next time, too many!!

These are some killer onion rings. You know, the regular frozen kind in a bag – so good… cooked perfectly golden brown and comes with ranch dipping sauce. YUM!! I also like how the onion inside is soft enough so that you don’t have to really gnaw on it when you take your bite… don’t you hate when the whole onion slice comes out of the breading?

Alas, the appetizer sampler for $8.99. Included are mozzarella sticks (the fat kind), zucchini sticks, jalapeno poppers (with cream cheese), chicken fingers and 3 dipping sauces. When I come to Fenton’s I’m notorious for ordering poppers and chicken fingers, so this platter is good for sharing the other stuff (and cheaper than ordering each item individually). Can’t complain here, it’s fried and FRIED = GOOD.

Lastly, my dessert. A “petite” scoop of the Mocha Almond Fudge ice cream. All of the ice cream is hand made in small batches right at Fenton’s. It’s all very good. I think I prefer this flavor over the Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch because the almonds are chopped up in small pieces whereas the peanuts in the CPBC are whole, and it’s just too much peanut!

Fenton’s is a classic and I’m sure I’ll be back there soon.

Fenton’s Creamery
4226 Piedmont Ave
Oakland, CA 94611
(510) 658-7000
www.fentonscreamery.com

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