Now that I live in the East Bay I only get to go to Sightglass when I happen to be in SOMA. Having the most amazing tax accountant ever just a few blocks away helps, which gives me an excuse to come to SF early to hang out/work and get caffeinated before I have to go talk about money.

Here’s the front of the building. Isn’t it cool?

Here’s the front counter where you order drinks and pastries. The roasting equipment is also right there too and a few places to sit along the window in front.

I ordered my usual, a cappuccino. Regular, with no sugar or anything. Kind of a purist when it comes to drinks with steamed milk.  I used to put sugar in my drinks but now I only put it in coffee. If you haven’t had Sightglass before, you’ll find the flavor is a little nutty, a little sweet and super smooth. Not too overpowering but yet still strong, and will definitely make you wake up. I like to call it “gettin dizzy”, LOL.

All of the seats in front were taken so I went upstairs. First time ever up there actually, and that too was crowded, even at 12:30pm. Found a seat along the railing looking down below. You can see the roasting equipment to the left and the seating along the window.

Unfortunately I didn’t have much time to stay and hang out… wish I did.

If you’ve never been to Sightglass, GO. It’s a true San Francisco coffee experience.

Sight Glass
270 7th St
San Francisco, CA 94103
website

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Let me be completely frank and tell you that I’ve been to this restaurant a handful of times before… each time I go there I’m not sure why I ever decided to eat there – but for some ungodly reason I always go back when I’m craving greasy chinese, because it’s simply the best.  This was one of those days – BUT… it was extraordinarily awesome this time, and you know why?  Because I went long after the lunch rush – around 3pm, and they made it FRESH for me!  Now that I know the secret, I only go there after 2:30, when it’s almost a guarantee that the food is empty behind the counter, and they are forced to make my dish from scratch (or almost).  It really makes a difference, and this orange chicken was well worth it (see below).

As you can see,  I got a healthy portion of rice and chicken, and let me tell you – the chicken was fried perfectly and had a nice crunch, with a nice piece of chicken inside… the sauce was light and a little spicy – not too gooey like some orange chicken sauces.  It was awesome, and totally hit the spot!!

New Ming Chinese Restaurant
641 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94105-4126
(415) 989-8544

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I had Shrimp Tempura Maki, Hamachi and Yellowtail Sashimi and Chicken Donburi with egg.

The shrimp tempura maki was pretty good.  The only issue I had with it was that the shrimp tempura wasn’t freshly cooked — either they pre-cooked the pieces to use in the maki or they didn’t fry it long enough because the tempura had no crunch… (but the finely sliced pieces of cucumber did).  It was interesting to me to have cucumber in the shrimp tempura maki – most places either do a simple shrimp tempura with nothing else or sometimes with avocado, but I’ve never really seen the basic shrimp tempura maki with both avo and cucumber.. Anyhow I was very impressed with how fine the pieces of cucumber were sliced.

Above is the sashimi.  It was super fresh, nice and chilled and just melted in your mouth.

I really liked the chicken donburi at Sanraku.  Not only were there very fresh ingredients (onion, pepper, green beans) but the chicken was also nice breast meat and was juicy and tender.  I’ve had bad chicken donburi at places that use gross rubbery dark meat and I have to say that Sanraku really does a good job with this dish.

For those of you who have never had this dish, there is rice underneath these sauteed veggies and meat (and egg).  On top of the rice is a sweet donburi sauce and it is traditionally covered on top with a fried egg (in my case it was scrambled and wasn’t included with the dish).  Anyhow, it was really good, and I definitely suggest getting it with a nice fried egg on top – totally rules.

Thank you Sanraku for a great lunch!

Sanraku
101 4th St
Inside Metreon
(between Howard St & Minna St)
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 369-6166
www.sanraku.com

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