Beer and soup dumplings What is it about the Shanghai soup dumpling that impels the restauranteur to affix the name “King” or “Kingdom” somewhere in the title of his establishment dispensing of said delicacy? There IS a certain regal bearing to the soup dumpling, similar, you might imagine, to

Irving Street Cafe I have a fondness for diners, especially ones situated in working/middle class neighborhoods with a self-contained quality.  These diners aren’t self-consciously retro or ironic, they just ARE.  I’ve previously made mention of a few diners here among the cyber-folds of Broke-Ass Stuart’s Goddamn Website (Art’s Cafe and

 Jasmine Garden’s Bun Bo Hue Two doors down from what used to be called The Transfer on 14th Street is Jasmine Garden, a fairly un-assuming Vietnamese restaurant.  It is nestled right in the crook of one of S.F’s major transportation hubs (from which was derived the name of the above-mentioned bar),

They say that Valentine’s Day started to celebrate Saint Valentine of Rome, martyred in 269 AD, then became a sensation in 1797 when a British publisher issued romantic verses for young lovers…

Hakka Restaurant Most restaurants, or rather, most businesses tend to line up along urban trenches of varying size and length, barnacles barely clinging to the wave-buffeted crags of commerce. But, once in a while on a ride or walk about town you’ll come upon a singular little place wedged into

                Happy Garden Restaurant   One could argue that Chinese dim sum is the Grand Pu Bah of small plates traditions.  Because it’s Chinese.  And anything Chinese, be it pottery, noodle-making, basket-weaving or the serving of various little bits of food  to be

The Mission’s Red Cafe I few months ago, I “discovered” and subsequently wrote about San Jalisco in The Mission, a great spot serving fabulous and appropriately greasy Mexican-style breakfast all day.   Here’s another gem fashioned along similar lines: Red Cafe, situated in the same neighborhood a few blocks away on