Bar Agricole: Great place for cocktails in SOMA

Bar Agricole is a great addition to the SOMA bar and restaurant scene. Bar Agricole advertises as a modern urban tavern but it's much much more than a simple bar. It's a blend of San Francisco foodie heaven and an ultra-hip mixologist bar scene. Bar Agricole's inconspicuous outer facade tells nothing of its beautiful and creative use of space. Once you enter the front door off busy 11th Street, you are immediately greeted by an open courtyard of tables, rare in San Francisco let alone SOMA. Past the outdoor drinks area (sadly the don't allow food outside) is the actual restaurant. The restaurant's decor is impeccable. The refurbished wood tables, brushed concrete and savvy shapes of the furniture really make Bar Agricole stand out from other restaurants in town.

I'd say the booze is the main reason people come to Bar Agricole. The mixologists behind the bar are excellent at mixing up delicious concoctions. The drink menu has exotic drinks such as the Knickerbocker Swizzle, Whiz-Bang and Monkey's Gland and some steady favorites like the Scotch Sour and Old Fashioned. It's a real treat to sit at the bar and watch the bartenders whip up these creative drinks.

We had a vastly different experience with the food. We ordered a few appetizers at the bar as we enjoyed our drinks but unfortunately the bartender did not "warn" us what we were ordering. We ordered the king salmon gravlax which was delicious but when the second plate came out it clearly wasn't risotto balls. At this point, the Maitre D' approached us and said, "It's good to see adventurous eaters." We knew we were in trouble as he went on to explain the dish in front of us was boiled sliced cow's head. Yes, cow's head, cartilage and all. We didn't want to crush his heart so we decided to be adventurous and give it a try. It tasted like boiled cow's head, but oddly enough my friend ate it up. All in all, the food at Bar Agricole is too foodie and pretentious for me. I like to be able to read the menu and know what I'm ordering thus Bar Agricole is a drinks-only establishment for me. I do wish our bartender had said something when we ordered, because boiled cow head is just not a normal dish to have on a menu. If you are going to have exotic menu items in another language, the entire staff, bartenders and all, should be trained to discuss (I mean warn) the menu with customers.

Pho Vietnam: Great Pho Open Late

Pho Vietnam is a great place to escape the cold winter (I mean summer) days in San Francisco. Conveniently located on Polk Street between California and Pine, Pho Vietnam is the perfect place to stop in for a quick bite when running errands or carry-out after work. Their Pho has also been known to magically cure hangovers and the flu, like all good Pho should.

Pho Vietnam is open everyday from 10am -10pm and run by a nice family who seem to always be at the restaurant. The service is friendly and the food is served fast. The restaurant is minimally decorated and screams neighborhood gem. I don't think the interior has been updated since the restaurant was first opened sometime in the 80's (or at least that's what decade the decor is from). The photos on the walls of different palces in Asia are good eye candy and quite entertaining if you've traveled there before.

The Pho really is fantastic. My favorite is the chicken broth base the beef broth is a close second. Each Pho comes with a bountiful side dish of bean sprouts, mint, jalapenos, and lemon slices. On the table is an assortment of sauces to dress up your Pho from Sriracha sauce and soy to vinegar and fish sauce. Also on the table are two types of chopsticks, green plastic reusable chopsticks for the environmentally conscious and wooden disposable chopsticks for the germ-a-phobes.

Pho Vietnam is the best Pho available in Nob Hill. With so many competitors in the Tenderloin's Little Saigon, its good that Nob Hill has its own go-to Pho place open late. Stop on by Pho Vietnam and you will not be disappointed in their Pho, Pho Sure!

Another Monkey: Great Thai Food in the Mission

Another Monkey is a hip and fun place to grub on delicious Thai food in the Mission. The restaurant fits perfectly with the hipster vibe of the Mission with its modern open dining room and stylish decor. The restaurant always seems to be busy (but in a good way) and has a high-energy vibe reminiscent of a restaurant in the Sukhumvit in Bangkok. The restaurant is a great place to host a party, I hosted a birthday party for my fiance there a few weeks ago and our party was given a private room free of charge and wonderful attention from multiple servers.

The food at Another Monkey is a mouthwatering blend of modern and authentic Thai recipes and flavors. The menu offers many types of selections from individual sized appetizers and entrees to elaborate dishes meant to be shared. Some of the stand out appetizers are: Bags of Gold (minced chicken and shrimp wrapped in rice paper sacks), Crispy Imperial Rolls, Fried Sweet Corn Patties, Vegetarian Samosas and Stuffed Mushrooms with chicken and shrimp. The to die for entrees are: Gang Pumpkin Curry Chicken, Northern Thai Hung Le Curry of Pork Belly, Crispy Soft Shell Crabs (literally melt in your mouth delicious), Asian Sirloin Beef, Spicy Tofu and the always popular Pad Thai.

In addition to the great food, Another Monkey has a fantastic bar with a hip urban vibe. The bar is literally a work of art, with the tables and stools crafted from authentic Thai drums. The bar has great Happy Hour specials: Sunday- 2 for 1 beer and wine, Monday- 1/2 off bottles of wine, Tuesday- Thai Taco Night with $2 Thai tacos, $3 burritos, $3 Thai beer, Wednesday- $6 Manhattans, Old Fashions or a combo shot of Jameson & a beer. The bar also offers Bangkok-Style Street Food for $7.50 during happy hour from 5-7pm.

Another Monkey is a great Thai restaurant and is my go-to for Thai in the Mission. Check it out, you won't be disappointed in the delicious flavors and spectacular Thai themed cocktails at the bar.

Great Brunch at Toast Eatery on Polk

Toast Eatery on Polk recently opened its doors to the hungry brunch crowd of San Francisco. Brunch in San Francisco is a "must-do" for locals and visitors on the weekend. Most brunch places are super busy and overpriced, but not Toast. I was pleasantly surprised to find a brunch place that wasn't pretentious like Red Door or expensive like Olea.

As the name suggests, breakfast is Toast's specialty. Toast offers traditional breakfast items as well as some house specialties. House specialties include eggs benedict, lox benedict, trendy chicken and waffles, and hash brown hill (a massive plate of hash browns with everything but the kitchen sink). They also have delicious scramblers and omlettes as well as fresh from the griddle waffles, toasts and banana-nutella pancakes. Although Toast only has a beer and wine license they do offer classic breakfast cocktails such as a bloody mary and screwdriver made with han soju. Mimosas are also available, not bottomless, made with prosecco, the cheaper cousin of champagne.

Toast is a great new addition to the brunch scene in San Francisco. The lines are short and the rush doesn't hit until 11:00am, so if you can manage to get out of bed before noon, you won't have to wait. The restaurant is clean and has that classic diner feel. The hipster waitresses are super nice and service is fast and efficient. Toast also offers lunch and dinner but breakfast is clearly the best!

B Restaurant and Bar's Killer Happy Hour

Last Friday we ventured to B Restaurant and Bar for Happy Hour and it was a fantastic find. B restaurant is a not-so-hidden gem atop Yerba Buena Gardens in SOMA. B Restaurant is a contemporary bar and restaurant offering delicious cocktails and food with killer views. The restaurant sits at the top of Yerba Buena Gardens overlooking the gardens and waterfalls as well as offering panoramic views of the city. The best part is B Restaurant has a spacious terrace opening off the main dining room with plenty of room to relax and take in the sunshine after work.

B Restaurant's Happy Hour specials are amazing. Happy Hour begins at 4pm and ends at 7:30pm Tuesday through Friday, providing plenty of time for you to sample their specialty cocktail list and appetizers.  Happy Hour drink specials include a "Ginger Ricky", a concoction of gin, fresh lime and house made ginger ale; $5 well drinks; $4 Trumer Pilsner and $5 red wine sangria. In addition to individual drinks, you can also get a table side pitcher of red, white or sparkling sangria for $40. The table side sangria presentation is sure to please everyone at the table (and get them a bit tipsy). Happy Hour food specials are just as tempting as the drinks and include dollar oysters and your choice of small $5 plates such as truffle fries, confit honey-mint chicken wings, marinated olives, baby gem ceasar and salmon rillette.

B Restaurant is a great Happy Hour for locals as well as out of town guests. The stunning views and relaxed atmosphere are a great way to decompress after a hard day of work or shopping.

Yabbies Costal Kitchen's Sunday Brunch

Yabbies Costal Kitchen has one of the best Sunday brunches around. I haven't found a brunch spot that has come close to the delicious flavors of their menu. Seven days a week for dinner Yabbies serves up tasty fresh seafood such as sesame crusted ahi tuna and oysters from Bodega Bay but on Sundays from 10:30am until 2:30pm, Yabbies transforms into a magical brunch spot.

The brunch menu is diverse and features lunch type items in addition to traditional breakfast. Popular items are the French Toast, Breakfast Sandwich with pancetta, fresh Crab Cake Benedict, Grilled Asparagus Salad and the Classic Shrimp Louie. But by far the stand out choice is the Mushroom Scramble Frittata. I haven't stopped thinking about this frittata since I had it. The perfect balance of goat cheese and delicately sliced mushrooms with a drizzle of truffle oil is enough to make me crazy in anticipation of Sunday mornings.

Yabbies is a charming little restaurant in Russian Hill on Polk Street. It's busy for brunch on Sundays so be prepared to wait 20-30 minutes for a table at peak hours. Yabbies also offers a few outside tables for those few days when it's warm enough in the city to eat al fresco. Next time you need a brunch spot on Sunday head over to Yabbies for the most delicious frittata ever!

Myconos: Not as good as the island

I was craving Greek food on Saturday and after much Yelping we decided to venture to Myconos Greek Restaurant on Polk Street. On the way, we almost got side tracked by a Thai restaurant but we kept our focus and made our way to Myconos. I should have taken the Thai diversion as a sign because our experience at Myconos was horrible. After being a server for 5 years, it takes a lot to annoy me at a restaurant but Myconos sure knew how to push my buttons.

First off, it seemed as if they were understaffed or not staffed at all. The entire restaurant was being served and bussed by who seemed to be the male owner and a busboy. The female owner sat us but did so while also trying to wrestle a pen out of her kid's hand, whom she was holding. Not professional at all. She left shortly after so I can only assume the kid needed to be put to bed. After seeing the family drama going down, we should have left, but I really wanted Greek food!

It took about 10 minutes to get someone's attention to take our order. We never got the coke we ordered. The hummus and pita bread was straight out of the freezer. The pitas were way too chewy to be fresh. The only positive out of our experience was the Kotopoulo, the half roasted chicken, that we had as our entrees. The chicken was roasted to perfection and the Greek salad delicious. I wasn't impressed with the roasted potatoes that came with the meal, as they had zero taste. And it took 25 minutes for us to get our check. All we wanted to do was pay and get out of there, but after asking about 5 times for our check finally we got one with an attitude, as if we were inconvenience to them.

All in all, Myconos is a mess. Certain aspects of the menu are good but for the most part they just don't seem to have their act together. I've been a few times before and I always thought, "oh they will be better next time", but sadly Saturday was my last time. Myconos' slogan is they "treat everyone like family" but sadly we were treated like a red-headed step-child. There are far more Greek restaurants in San Francisco to explore that have the service to go along with the tasty menu.