Dining (and Spilling) In The Dark--Opaque

So I had a milestone birthday on the horizon and I knew that I wanted to do something memorable for dinner. As I searched for options, I stumbled onto the Opaque restaurants. There are three locations: San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles. The concept is that with all of the visual sensory overload--an hour or two eating in the complete dark gives you a completely different dining experience focusing on taste, touch and sound. And when they say dining in the dark, we are talking pitch black, you can't see your hand in front of your face. So accompanied by a few close friends who only agreed to the concept in honor of my birthday, we plunged into darkness and a very unique dining situation. The Opaque in SF shares its kitchen with INDIGO Restaurant located in Hayes Valley. This means your food is prepared and plated in a full-functioning and lit kitchen. After sticking my hand in the butter dish (3 times), I managed to fortunately get most bites of my Baby Greens tossed in a White Balsamic Vinaigrette. I then gave up on the fork and knife and used my hands to eat my Grilled Beef Tendorloin cooked to a perfect medium rare, at least the texture and taste were perfect as I couldn't see it. The food is served assembly line from the end of the table, take one and pass it down. Given the lack of lighting our party of seven only dropped one salad on the floor. Not too bad, and no wine was spilled only drank. This restaurant was a great experience, not one that I need to do more than once, but I definitely had a memorable birthday, thanks to the company and the restaurant. One thing to note, one of my friends is a bit claustrophobic and it was not quite as enjoyable for her. The meal is one that lingers, they don't rush you and we were there enjoying the event for over two hours.

Feelin' Irie At Coconuts

As an everyday foodie, I am always looking for a good place to eat. I was walking to my car after lunch with one of my "froodies" (friend and fellow foodie) in downtown Palo Alto. We passed by a Caribbean joint called Coconuts at 642 Ramona. This owned and operated by the well-reviewed and much liked Back-A-Yard in Menlo Park another great Caribbean joint. We decided to stop and check-out the menu and figured that any restaurant that serves "Big Tings", "Little Tings" and "Favorite Tings" required a visit. Happy Hour here we come! Now to note, we thought we would meet at 4:30pm for a bit of happy hour. Happy Hour starts at 5:00pm and the restaurant is closed between lunch and dinner, so we hung out and chatted for a bit until the black gate lifted and allowed us entry at 5:00. For those of you who know Palo Alto, this space used to be Hukilau and is across from the police station. So we belly up to the bar for some food and fun. There we met William (from St. Thomas so he knows his Caribbean fare) and not only was he our entertaining bartender, but he is the restaurant and bar supervisor as well. Happy hour is a fine way to spend an hour or two in this place. Draft beers were $2 which included Stella Artois. I know, I know we should have had the Red Stripe and we almost did, but at the last minute we switched our order. We also contemplated indulging in some tropical refreshments from their specialty island drink menu, but beer seemed the right choice with spicy food. Although, we did get a couple of small sample island drinks to try on the house. For happy hour three of the "little tings" were on special 50% off. And as every good foodie does...we ordered them all--Codfish Fritters, Irie Jerk Wings, and Jamaican Mini Patty Sampler. The wings, we, when asked, we ordered spicy and to that note, William gave us a little side dish of habanero sauce so we could kick it up a notch. We learned that they make their own jerk seasoning in house and they were some of the best jerk wings--ever! The Jamaican mini patties came in chicken and beef with a tomatillo catsup. Think of them as Jamaican empanadas and they were delicious--especially the beef ones. We put a little habanero sauce on these to add a little kick as well. Last but not least, were the codfish fritters. The decadent fried balls of fish and batter were very good and the Creole sauce they were served with was excellent on them. We were there on a Tuesday night and it was not too busy allowing us to relax and chat with fellow patrons as well as William. We are told that Thu-Sat nights are packed especially when the steel drum musician plays which I think is on Friday nights. I need to return to this little piece of Caribbean paradise and have some "big tings" and listen to some steel drum music on the patio under the lite-up plastic palm tree.

Mooove Over Steak House, Here Comes The 5A5 Steak Lounge

The "everyday foodie"  hits San Francisco to try the new 5A5 Steak Lounge located in the the Financial District at 244 Jackson in the space that used to be Frisson was a scrumptious but pricey experience.  The "steak lounge" is becoming popular in other metropolitan cities especially for our neighbors down south, but this is the first in SF.   5A5 opened in May, and the ambience is relaxed but social.  The gas flames  in the wall as you walk in the door tie into the large video projection of flames over the bar.   The circular ceiling over the dining area is cool with its lit pink polka dots and the woven plexi-glass partitions which separate the dining area from the kitchen. Happy hour was going on when we arrived and the bar was crowded.  As I understand, the happy hour specials are well priced and by the size and liveliness of the crowd I would guess it to be true.  We sat at a table in the dining section, but remember the name, this is a lounge so the tables are all more laid back than your standard steak restaurant with low-back cream colored semi-circular booths.  This is definitely a cross between an upscale restaurant and cocktail lounge.  Our waitress was super sweet and quite attentive.  Her attention did wane a little bit as the dining area got more crowded, but we were never neglected.  Now this is a place for high-end steaks and next time I will have to order one. The website boasts "US Certified Angus Beef, American and Australian 'Kobe', and 100% A5 Wagyu imported from Japan (highest grade of beef in the world)."  But my friend and I could not resist ordering from the amazing small plates that they offer.  To start, the bread served at the table is this sinfully delicious house-made cheese and bacon bread -- I would have been happy to eat that all night.  The Edamame is amazing cooked with sake and garlic.  We were advised that we had to try a Shooter; they have five different types Hamachi, Poke, Caviar, Oyster and A5 Wagyu.  Per our server's recommendation, we had the Poke Shooter.  But we chose to eat it with our fork rather than have poke tumble down our cheeks out of the shot glass.  It was fabulous the seawood and sesame oil gave the fish great flavor.  The Kobe Sliders were out of this world, good thing there were only two; one for each of us because I could have eaten a plate full.  Now onto the Truffle Fries......Yum!  Not shoe string and not wedge-cut fries, they were the perfect size with the perfect flavor.  Dip those truffle fries in the sriracha aioli served with them and have at it.  The beef tataki was delicious and tender.  But the best small plate on the menu, by far, was the Lobster Tempura with a sweet and sour shitake dipping sauce.  I thought I had died and gone to heaven and I don't even like lobster!!!  We didn't have room for dessert but when I go back for my steak dinner, I will definitely get some.  One thing to note, the bathrooms are downstairs and unisex so don't be confused when a person of the opposite sex comes out of the stall at the same time as you to wash their hands.  San Francisco's first "steak lounge" is a great place to hang out and have some great food with great friends.  I'd like to come back for happy hour on my next visit and sit in the bar.