Gussie’s Chicken & Waffles – Got Half of it Right

My husband’s favorite food is fried chicken, so he loves that the ‘chicken and waffles’ concept allows him to eat it for breakfast…nothing like some good ol’ fried chicken to get your morning started! After the quality of Little Skillet’s waffles went downhill, he wanted to give Gussie’s Chicken & Waffles a try…

Unfortunately, their waffles weren’t very good either. They were soft and limp, like they had been sitting out for a while. (B got the sweet potato waffles, which were a lot better). However, the fried chicken was excellent - delicious crisp skin and nice, salty flavor. Finger lickin’ good!
I have a soft spot for biscuits and gravy, so we also got an order to share. The gravy was tasty with bits of ham, but the biscuits were too doughy.
Overall, the restaurant was ok, but not good enough for me to want to come back.

BITE METER: Gussie’s Chicken & Waffles– 2.5 bites (out of 5.0)

Little Skillet - TBD

Little Skillet has a cult following. Tons of people line up in front of their little shop-window for their beloved chicken and waffles, and then squat along the sidewalks in their alley to chow down. B had been raving about Little Skillet’s chicken and waffles, so I was anxious to finally get my hands on some. And frankly, I was underwhelmed – the fried chicken was good, but the waffle was soggy. Even B said he prefered their square waffles from before and the quality wasn’t as good this time. Since I am also a huge fan of farmerbrown (their main restaurant), I’m hoping this was just an off-day for them.
Fortunately, their grits were on-the-money. Stoneground grits with BBQ pulled pork and chedder…Mmm, mmm, good!!

I'll have to give this place another go around. Especially because of the way B described his previous experience, with that starry look in his eye as he talked about the perfectly toasted waffle and juicy fried chicken. However based on this experience, I won't wait in a long line for it.

BITE METER: Little Skillet – 3.5 bites (out of 5)

farmerbrown – Food that Warms the Soul

First it was fusion, then tapas, and now the new fad is gourmet comfort food. These restaurants are springing up all over the place, and many of them have been disappointing. However, I was thrilled to finally find a restaurant where the food was actually ‘comforting’ and the use of high-quality ingredients was evident. farmerbrown lives up to their claim of “farm-fresh soul food” by serving lip-smackin’ good food while supporting local African-American farmers…everything is organic or sustainably-raised when possible.

farmerbrown is off a small side street between Union Square and the Tenderloin. The restaurant is pretty large by San Francisco standards and has a paid parking lot in front. The interior has a dark, tavern-like ambience, but is updated with interesting artwork, rust-colored tables, and industrial accents.

[Note: I didn’t include pictures in this post because I only had my camera-phone and wasn’t able to take decent pictures in the dark restaurant.]

Fried Okra with Cajun Remoulade – warm and crunchy cornmeal coating. It wasn’t overly battered, so the taste of the okra shone through. I often find okra to be too waxy or mushy for me, but the texture was pretty good in this dish (the okra fans at my table loved this appetizer).

Cayenne Dusted Potato Steak Fries with Aioli – French fries are more up my alley, so I enjoyed this dish much more. Temperature is crucial with fries, and these steak fries were perfect…right-out-of-the-fryer hot without being greasy. The thickly cut potato sticks had a light, spicy crust and a warm, pillowy center – nicely complemented by the tangy aioli.

Seafood Jambalaya with Red Fish, Mussels and Prawns – lots of bold flavor and plenty of kick. The seafood and chopped vegetables were fresh. The texture of the rice was just right…thoroughly cooked and absorbing the Creole flavors, but not overdone and mushy.

I also sampled two other delicious entrees from my friends (sharing is a must when dining with me!) and would recommend them as well:
Rocky Range Fried Chicken with Macaroni and Tillamook Cheddar Cheese, Collard Greens – three pieces of fried chicken with crispy, golden skin and juicy meat. The leafy collard greens and creamy mac’ n cheese were fantastic.
Cajun Crawfish, Shrimp and Grits with Parmesan and Orange Butter – hot and delicious…and adding the smoked ham hocks is a MUST!

Red Velvet Cake with Belgian Chocolate Shavings – this was the only dish that didn’t hit the spot. Instead of being moist and velvet-like, it was cold and dense…like it had been sitting in the fridge too long. The cream cheese frosting had the proper sweet tanginess though.

Although the restaurant was loud and the service was a bit rushed, the famerbrown’s soul-satisfying food more than made up for it. It was hearty and comforting without feeling too heavy. I will definitely be back for dinner…AFTER I check out their $15 all-you-can-eat weekend brunch (what an amazing deal!).

BITE METER: farmerbrown – 4.0 bites (out of 5.0)

Max’s Wine Dive – What Happened to Attention-to-Detail?

While I like the “gourmet comfort food and wine” concept of Max’s Wine Dive, their food still leaves something to be desired. Last time, I tried their fried chicken and Kobe beef burger (among many other things), but wasn’t really wowed. This time I went for brunch so I could have their signature fried egg sandwich…

The description on their menu reads: three pan fried eggs drizzled with truffle oil and Maldon sea salt, topped with three slabs of apple wood smoked bacon and Veldehuizen gruyere, organic bibb lettuce, hot house tomato, and black truffle aioli – all sandwiched between two pieces of artisan sourdough and served with hand-cut chips

Sounds good, right? Unfortunately, there was a big misstep from concept to execution. They failed by making the sandwich way too oily and didn’t have the correct proportion for the ingredients. My bread was soggy…not something you want went it’s brimming with stuff on the inside. So of course, it fell apart as I ate it. If there are already so many oily components to the sandwich (bacon, fried eggs, cheese, aioli), why not just toast the bread instead of grilling it on butter? Amidst all that grease, the bacon was the only ingredient that I could really taste. The sandwich needed more acidity/tomatoes to cut the grease, and the subtle gruyere and truffle flavors were lost. While the potato chips were nicely seasoned, they were also drenched and glistening with oil…what’s so hard about draining off the extra oil?! This had the potential to be a great meal, but it wasn’t due to simple mistakes. They need to put more care into making the food.

To sum it up, this was like a greasy sandwich that I’d get at any diner…ok, maybe slightly better, but definitely not “gourmet”. One thing Max's has going for them is their HUGE portion sizes (my sandwich was at least 8 inches long) and reasonable prices (average brunch item was about $12). However, does any of that matter if I don’t care to ever eat that sandwich again?

BITE METER: Max’s Wine Dive – 2.0 bites (out of 5)

Front Porch – It’s Best to Stay Outside

Growing up in Texas, I’m all about comfort food. Front Porch had promise, but ended up being a let down. I heard they recently changed chefs which is why their popular crab and grits is no longer on the menu…seems like the rest of the food has suffered from this as well.

Baked Mac & Cheese – really oily and bland. They should have added a sharper cheese for contrast or at least something to give it some punch. Not sure how long the dish was sitting out before we got it, but the cheese was hard and congealed when they served it. I’m not picky about mac and cheese and usually love it in all forms, but this was the first bowl of mac and cheese that I did not finish (nor did even I want to).
Spicy Shrimp & Grits - it had a nice spicy flavor but the texture was all wrong. The grits were overly mushy and literally drowned in the sauce…it felt more like I was eating shrimp and mashed potato soup – the whole essence of the grits was completely lost. [Recommendation: If you ever want amazing shrimp and grits while in the Boston area, go to Harvest – the BEST shrimp and grits I’ve had. Ever.]
Momma Clara’s Fried Chicken – finally, a good dish. The fried chicken was crispy on the outside and super juicy on the inside. I also enjoyed its citrus flavor. However, the mashed potatoes and vegetables on the side were lackluster.
Needless to say, the food at Front Porch didn’t provide much “comfort” at all. The service wasn’t great either. Ironically, the best thing about the restaurant actually is their front porch – a cozy space with a rocking chair and two small tables.

[Recommendation: For a much better comfort/soul food restaurant in San Francisco, go to Farmer Brown, which I've written about here.]

BITE METER: Front Porch – 1.5 bites (out of 5.0)