Culinary Muse

Sunday Brunch at Citizen Cake

Is there a better meal than Sunday brunch at a good restaurant?  Oh, sure, a candlelit dinner with a loved one is nice as is a picnic in Golden Gate Park, mid-week.  But what the Muse loves best is to sleep in late on Sunday, shower, put on her Sunday finest (a la casual SF) and head over to CITIZEN CAKE. The mood is relaxed, the room is light and bright and the staff is accommodating and doesn't hover.  My friend S ordered just two poached eggs (not on the menu) and they delivered. Try the granola with fresh fruit and Strauss yogurt, $6.50.  Then a stop next door to MAC (MODERN APPEALING CLOTHING) to check out the latest Belgium designers and to pet the puppies.  You will go home with that glowing feeling inside that comes from knowing how lucky you are to live here.

BIG DAY UPDATE

It is 9 a.m..  Yes, I did drag myself out of bed, even put on lipstick, and rolled down the hill to Market Street.  Lots of people but it hardly looked like the 25,000 - 50,000 they were expecting.  All seemed to be going well, especially the moment when one of the Earthquake survivors revealed to Mayor Newsom that she had been raised by prostitutes. Then the singing began, sort of.  Note to future organizers: spend some money and get yourself a professional singer and a few musicians to help the crowd sing-along. This is not the moment to reveal that our political leaders in SF are tone deaf. But soon this moment of embarassment passed and the Muse was sipping a Mimosa at the Palace Hotel with other revelers.  The breakfast was a fundraiser for the Chinese Historical Society of America and the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society.  The food was your usual big hotel breakfast buffet fare.  But the coffee was very good.  Simon Winchester, writer, historian, geologist and author of A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906 spoke.  Gotta go...the parade starts soon...

Our BIG Day

A tourist from Australia asked the flower seller on Market Street today why our city was having a parade to celebrate a disaster.  The flower seller replied "Lady, this is San Francisco.  Any excuse to party is a good excuse..."

So, tomorrow will be our big party day.  The Muse will be at the 5:12 a.m. festivities downtown and then on to the Palace Hotel for the "Gala Brunch" complete with entertainment, buffet breakfast and, we hope, lots of champagne.  Join us? Any excuse to drink champagne at 6 a.m. is a good excuse, lady.

La Parrilla Grill

We saw the line of people outside on Thursday night.  Then again on Friday and Saturday night.  Sunday morning we knocked on the door and asked the hostess if we could make a reservation for dinner that night, menu unseen.  We sensed that something was up on this corner of Polk and Washington.  Dinner last night proved us correct.  Finally, San Francisco has a fine Mexican restaurant that is so well priced you can even go during a week that does not contain a payday.

We studied the menu while sipping great minty Mojitos.  And, as you can ask my Palm Springs pals, I am a gal who knows a great Mojito when it crosses my path. We started with the QUESO FUNDIDO ($7), melted Oaxacan cheese with chorizo, which arrived bubbling in a mini cast iron skillet.The melted cheese gets spooned on handmade corn tortillas then topped with a creamy chipotle sauce, guacamole and salsa. Oh boy. The BIRRIA ESTILO JALISCO ($16), slow cooked lamb stew with fresh oregano, onions and radish, was perfect for the rainy evening. And the house cured pork chop special ($18) served with spinach and mashed potatoes cooked with chorizo (you can never have too much chorizo in one meal) was superb.

You know when you look into the eyes of a small child and you realize at once that they have been here before?  That is the lasting impression of our evening at La Parilla Grill. For a restaurant to feel so right after only being open for four days (grand opening soon), there could only be one explanation - it is an old soul restaurant. Hurry while you can still get in.

La Parilla Grill, 1760 Polk Street (at Washington), 415-359-1212.