Joyful Meals During SiP
The past few weeks (months?!) have been totally and utterly surreal. I have a lot of anxiety about the long term implications for the restaurant industry, but I’m also very impressed by how restaurants have innovated to operate with safe distancing and to create dishes that travel well for takeout and delivery. I wanted to share a few of the meals that have recently brought me joy and reminded me why I rarely cook for myself.
American / Italian
Cotogna (Meat sugo, rigatoni, tequila & vermouth cocktail, rice pudding)
I’ve tried most of Cotogna’s menu, but this simple meal is my favorite comfort food. The meat sugo contains ~3-4 servings (depending on how saucy you like your pasta), so I’ve been portioning it out and freezing it. If you’re not a rice pudding fan, their chocolate chip cookies are addictive as well.
Spruce (Beef bourguignon & egg noodles)
Spruce is offering a different family meal each night, and it always comes with something sweet (often a HUGE cookie). They bring back favorite items every few weeks, which is good news because I’m definitely planning to order their delicious, hearty beef bourguignon again.
Asian
Ju-Ni (Chirashi bowl)
This chirashi bowl was unbelievably good, which isn’t surprising since Ju-Ni is one of the best omakase restaurants in the city. While I hope that Ju-Ni will keep offering these bowls after the shutdown is over, I’m pretty sure this is a limited time offer — so make sure to order it now! A perfect lunch.
Mamahuhu (Mapo tofu, wok’d vegetables, rice)
Mamahuhu is the casual sister restaurant to Mister Jiu’s. They have a fairly limited menu, but it’s all made with high quality ingredients. I ordered a few things, but the Mapo Tofu was the standout. It’s good to order early (they open at 4:30pm) because they can sell out.
Nari (Vegetable panang curry)
Nari’s menu has changed a bit since I ordered, but they still offer their curry in bags for easy freezing or reheating at home. One bag of curry over rice is ~2 servings. I’m planning to try their khao soi next. Bonus is that they have super easy contactless curbside pickup.
Rintaro (Satsumaage Udon & Kurobuta Gyoza)
I was a little nervous about how Rintaro’s food would travel, but I had nothing to worry about. To warm up the food, I quickly pan seared the gyoza and brought the udon broth to a low simmer. Their portion sizes are best for sharing with one other person.
San Ho Won (Preview menu)
The Benu team was planning to open San Ho Won this summer. In order to keep paying employee benefits and continue R&D for the new restaurant, they are offering a multi-course preview menu that changes each week. Our week included short rib, fresh tofu, rice cakes, and broth. It was the most fun meal I’ve had recently!
Middle Eastern
Aziza (72 hour short rib, chickpea stew, basteeya, and couscous)
This Aziza dinner was one of my very favorite meals so far. The take-and-bake basteeya takes ~20 minutes to finish in the oven and everything else can be reheated quickly. This order is enough for 2 very generous meals (… maybe more like 3).
Breakfast
Tartine (Morning bun, breakfast sandwich, pantry items (muesli & dukkha))
Most of Tartine’s locations are offering takeout and delivery, but they all have different menus (cakes at the original bakery, savory foods at Manufactory, pantry items in the Sunset). Whatever you do, add one of their incredible morning buns to your order.
Plow (Soft scramble with mushrooms and goat cheese, lemon ricotta pancakes)
Plow is accepting takeout orders via phone Thursday-Sunday. It took me a few calls to get through, but once I ordered the food was ready in 20 minutes. It’s not listed, but you can order a single pancake on the side (which I obviously did).
