Kati Rolls Made it to San Francisco!

Ok, ok.  I admit it could be unfair to think that San Francisco wouldn’t have a Kati Roll, after all, San Francisco is a melting pot of cultures and cuisine.  But I was super surprised that while walking on 18th street last week, I walked by the restaurant Kasa, and saw the sandwich board out front advertising their Kati Roll special.

This is what caught my eye...

Maybe it was my own ignorance, I’d walked by Kasa 100 times before and always ignored it, thinking this storefront was doomed (I remember 2 other restaurants here prior to Kasa that went out of business).  But given the fact that I was 1) hungry and 2) thought 2 Kati Rolls for 7.95 was a great deal, decided to try it.  I ended up ordering a paneer kati roll and a chicken one.  The chicken tikka was marinated in fresh Indian spices and chutney.  Toward the back of the kitchen, I saw a Caucasian fellow rolling the dough for the fresh Roti made in house.

I sat outside to savor my Kati Rolls and masala chai tea (black tea with milk, sugar, and Indian spices).  And boy was everything delicious!  Served with Raita, the two Kati Rolls were little bites of heaven. 

Chicken Tikka and Paneer Kati Rolls, Raita

The best things about the Kati Rolls were that the bread and fillings were not greasy at all.  The Kati Rolls I wrote about in a previous post were delicious, yes, but they tasted like fast food and you can see the grease glowing off of them.  These actually felt (somewhat) healthy.  I’d definitely go back here again, and soon.  Kasa will be a new go-to for me, instead of the neighborhood taqueria.

My Work Husband

So, I must confess that I had a work husband named W.S.  He was working with me on my project in NYC, but rolled off in the middle of December, so we were forced to get divorced.  W.S. and I got along fabulously and some of our favorite activities was to eat and go out drinking.   The Ex-Work Husband and I used to love to go to our office cafeteria in the JP Morgan Chase Building and eat the $1.50 slices of Whole Wheat Crusted pizza.  We would also regulary crave and schlep to Coco Roco in Brooklyn to get the $8 lunch special of skirt steak, beans, rice and free soda.  Admittedly, my work marriage to W.S. was not good for the waistline and between the two of us, we definitely gained some lbs.

Since my Ex-Work Husband left NYC though, he’s been watching his diet and working out  - a crucial combination.  I’ve been training for a 1/2 marathon the past 5 weeks, but as you can tell by all of my recent food posts, have not been watching my food intake and some could even argue I’ve indulged.

Late Night Birthday Eats

Ok, so I realized today that taking a photo every day of something and posting it here, might be more of an undertaking than I thought.  Never one to give up that easily, I am just full of new resolve to be diligent about this…

 

I had the tuna melt here on rye with swiss... yum

 

 

So here is a photo from yesterday, 3/26 of the Veselka sign.  Veselka has been around forever and is prominently located on 2nd avenue at 9th street.  My friends and I went there last night for eats around 11 PM after going out at Boxcar Lounge in the East Village.

The Fanciest Street in the Mission

I want to start this post by telling you about a homeless person my sister named “No Way”.  No way, is a person that has lived on and about 18th street for the past 3-4 years or so.  PHD educated, and always sitting around and reading big novels, non-fiction, etc, we think it is interesting that a homeless person with such an affluent background chooses to live on one of the streets in the Mission with the best food.  We don’t think this is by accident.

For my New York readers, the Mission District is akin to Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  A place most people in the City hear about, but typically locals to the neighbor hood frequent the bakeries, coffee shops and bars.  The only difference is, in NYC, Brooklynites tend to be the ones that go out in Williamsburg at night.  In SF, people from all over the City hit up the Missions bars and resturants, but I digress.  Will save this for a different post.

Back to the fanciest street – in just one block, you can find the best bakery in town – Tartine, famous for their morning buns that you can smell baking at 7 AM every morning on the street and ham and cheese croissants.  There is Delfina Pizzeria and Resturant, as well as Bi-Rite Grocery Store and Creamery.  I actually told my sister Diana the other day that I would die if I left SF without going to the creamery.  

Tartine on the far left corner and Patrons in front of Delfina

NYC Food Frenzy March 3-11

I realized this week, that I have not updated my Blog in a few weeks.  I also realized, that the original intent of my Blog was to document my coast to coast travels, adventures with my friends, and any insights I gain in between. 

Unfortunately, in the past few weeks, I’ve hibernated in NYC, where I’ve been working insane hours, in an effort to make my client happy.  I have no new insights, no new travels, and the only adventures I seem to have these days are of the gastronomic variety. 

So this issue of my blog will be to chronicle the last 2 weeks of my NYC Food Frenzy. 

• Tuesday, March 3, I ate at Ruby’s in Nolita, followed by B-Bar in the East Village;
• Wednesday, March 4, I ate at Momofuku Noodle Bar in the East Village;
• Thursday, March 5; I ate at Joe’s Shanghai (again) (See post below);
• Friday March 6, I ate at Peasant in Nolita;
• Sunday March 8, I ate at Café Bianca on Bleeker, followed by a bunch of bars I can’t recall.
• Tuesday, March 10, I ate at Inoteca in the LES, followed by Schillers, Sugar Sweet Sunshine and Donutplant (a busy night)!
• Wednesday, March 11, I ate at Seoul Garden in Korea Town

Ruby’s Cafe and Bar | 219 Mulberry Street @ Spring | Nolita

On the way to Ruby’s last week, my cabbie got into a car accident.  I was so hungry and late that I just jumped out of the car and ran in Ruby’s to meet my friends Ben and G.  Ben used to live in Nolita and he chose the place.  Owned by an Austrailian ex-pat who has one or two other restaurants in the City, Ruby’s was a cute little gem in the heart of Nolita on Mulberry and Spring Street.  

Walking in, there were only about 4 tables there.  It was small and cozy and crowded.  Ben and G were already there and we were all starving.  Ben and I each ordered a glass of house wine, and G a beer.  To share, we started with a delicious arugula salad with goat cheese, pine nuts, squash and the magic ingredient, pumpkin, all drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette.

For dinner, Ben ordered the creamy chicken penne pasta, G the Bronte burger, and I had the pesto chicken pasta. Ben’s dish was scrumptious (can’t really go wrong with cream).  Both pasta dishes were served in big, overflowing bowls, and as people were walking in, they were admiring our bowls of carbs.  The chicken was tender and plentiful.  The pasta perfectly al dente.  I didn’t try G’s burger, but he said it was pretty tasty.  The total bill was only about $75 for 3 people.  Not bad, for 3 entrees, 2 rounds of drinks and a shared appetizer.

After Ruby’s G headed uptown to mid-town and Ben and I went a few blocks over to B-Bar.