I want some naan!

Original Naan

     My life is full of flavor. All it took was a simple comment about naan and I was ready for some Chutney; Indian / pakistani gourmet curries. Yum! They have really good naan for cheap.  For anyone who doesn't know what naan is, it's a generic term for flatbread across the world. It originated in Persia. Super delicious bread freshly made. Every time I've had it its been warm and soft, easy to tear apart and dip in your curry.    

     Chutney's address is 511 Jones st. between O'ferrel and Geary st. Even being in the Tenderloin, business is not slow for them.  On a Sunday night at about 8:00 pm the restaurant was packed. Luckily there was a place for us to sit in the back. At Chutney you order before you sit. So the menus never leave the counter and you're food is started almost immediately after you sit. Plain naan is $1.00. They make stuffed naan with spicy ground beef, garlic naan, Paneer naan which is made with homemade cheese and Aloo naan thats stuffed with potatoes. All the fancy naan's are a dollar or two more.

Chutney's entrance

Chicken Tikka Masala

I ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala which was recommended by the nice man that took my order. The description says its boneless chicken cooked with special Bombay sauce. Its bright orange yummy sauce. Very filling. I usually dip my naan in it.
Delicious.

If you're really hungry, order some rice with it. All this is about $12 dollars. Cheap and filling. Can't get much better. I've looked this restaurant up on yelp.com and found nothing but great reviews. So I'm not the only one that thinks this place is all that. They also cater to you! That can come in handy when you want to bring this food to your home.

Again, I recommend this place to everyone ready to try a great Indian / Pakistani restaurant. Authentic and flavorful Chutney knows what's up. Go try it.

Thanks for reading.
Happy eating.

Make it extra hot!

     Sushi Rika on the corner of Bush and Taylor st. is one sushi restaurant I've found in San Francisco that I love. If you're looking for a place to eat sushi for an early afternoon lunch, this isn't the place for you. Sushi Rika's hours are for the early dinners or late night eaters. They open every day at 5 pm and stay open until midnight on weekdays. 
     I've been there many times before and have always devoured my plate and sometimes plural, plates. Every time I'm in there, they have the latest tunes playing on a big screen in the back. It's a very casual restaurant and the crowd that I usually see there is younger. 


Enough about that though. The sushi is amazing! I love spicy foods and anything that can be hot; I will make it hot. I always get the Lion King roll, california roll, Kamikaze roll, and spicy tuna roll. All very delicious. I'm sure that all the others are great too, I have just yet to venture out and try them all. The california roll and spicy tuna rolls are fairly cheap. For eight rolls, you pay five bucks. Not too bad compared to some of the other places in the city. The other more fancy rolls run about $10.00 to $12.00 dollars. You got to love it, especially for the students out there. 

They really accommodate to their customers also. I always ask for extra spice to my rolls. Last time they added jalapeños and more Sriracha sauce. I don't like the tobiko very much and they are happy to take that off for me.   


So good people. I recommend this place to everyone that wants a great experience with sushi. They have other dishes besides sushi. So don't cross this off your list of restaurants too quick if you're not a fan of sushi. They have stuff for you too. 


Feel free to comment, ask questions. Anything. 
Thanks for reading.  
Happy eating. 

"This for FULL Asian."

     "This for full Asian." The waiter said. I was sitting across from my roommate staring at the menu with total confusion. I laughed and said, "Oh, well I guess that's not me. So what do you recommend?"
     The Borobudur Indonesian Cuisine; "A Journey of Taste" is their slogan. My roommate and I were standing outside the restaurant excited to taste this journey. We sat down and the waiter brought us our menus. My first glance at the menu I thought to myself, "I have no idea what is good, or what will I even like?" I immediately go to the spicy signs (little chiles next to the name, the more there was, the spicier it was). I saw the Nasi Goreng Terasi Pedas (two chile symbols) and thought it looked good. The description read, "Traditional Spicy shrimp paste fried rice with egg, onion and choice of: Chicken, Shrimp, or Mixed Vegetables" Yum! So I thought.
     My Roommate orders first. Then I say, "I'll have a number 58." There was no way he would understand what I meant if I attempted to pronounce Nasi Goreng Terasi Pedas. 
     This is when he informed me, "This for full Asian." Pointing to what I wanted. He then informed me that a lot of people don't like the dish because they say it is too fishy. Apparently the shrimp paste can get pretty strong smelling. He offered to make it for me and if I didn't like it he could take it back. I just couldn't do that, so I asked for a suggestion. I instead ordered a more mild dish. The Nasi Goreng. Everything the same, just no shrimp paste.
    The waiter was intrigued by my curiosity with the shrimp paste, so he brought some out in a jar for me to try with my food. I smelt it first. Not too fishy... Dipped a cucumber, and took a bite. BAM! Talk about some flavor. It was a flavor that I've never had before. A slight fish taste to it, but not as over powering as the waiter had made it sound. It was very spicy. Instantly my nose was runny. But the sauce was actually good. I liked it.
    When the waiter checked in with us, he asked if I had tried it. I told him I thought it tasted good. His face  lit up with surprised. He just smiled and said good for you.
     The shrimp paste was what made that meal. I can see how not everyone would enjoy it though. It has a distinct flavor, and its quite spicy. I recommend bringing tissues along for your runny nose. That's all I could think about when I was eating. "Should have brought tissues..."

Find out what Shrimp Paste is.

Living in San Francisco

     Living in San Francisco has changed my life completely. I'm originally from Veneta, Oregon, a super tiny town outside of Eugene, Oregon. If anyone knows where Veneta is at, I'm impressed. The town has about 3,500 people living in it, and has only one stop light.
     I moved to San Francisco two years ago for school. I was told I would not need a car. This is very true. I couldn't imagine having one in the city. I've become accustom to walking, or taking public transportation everywhere for things that I need. Living downtown makes things a little easier to access stores, but not always. I live about 25 minutes walking distance from the nearest large grocery store. There are small ones here and there that carry almost everything, but their prices are ridiculous.
     As you know I am a college student and would love to save some money, so those small markets just won't cut it. Some large grocery stores near me are Cala Foods (25 minute walk), and Safeway (15 minute bus ride plus 10 minute walk). Either way I'm spending almost a half hour dodging traffic.
     I'm going to be trucking around the city searching for great foods and awesome people. If  there is something that I've learned, San Francisco has the some of the most interesting people around. There are so many different cultures living in one area, how can one not take advantage of learning something from all the awesome people they could meet. Even if it is just about food. I love it when someone is passionate about what they love, and most people enjoy talking about what kind of good food they like.
     So... With that said, I'm going to challenge myself along with my roommate, to indulge in some of the great food out there from different cultures. We will walk the streets of SF in search of every ingredient needed to make an amazing meal.  We hope to also meet some pretty cool people along the way.

Sincerely,
Savory Endeavors