Kat's 9 Lives

After hearing all the hype about Little Skillet, I thought it was about time I ventured out and tried Little Skillet. It's literally across the street so I was hoping to find a new favorite spot that's convenient and delicious. At least that is what I hoped. Maybe I had too high of an expectation, which led to a great fall. I thought they had huge potential when I saw the line waiting for their food. As you walk down the alley to a quaint window that was just so picturesque. It almost feels like there should be a pie cooling on the window sill. The staff were very friendly when they took my order.
Couldn't miss the chance to snap a quick pic of the inner works. You can clearly see they have a very clean kitchen and work with the small space they have. I love their little sign that points to where you should order. If you have never been down this little street, you just might miss them.
The first sign that this meal might not turn out the way I had hoped was the Hibiscus drink. Everyone online raved about it so Ms. Lin definitely wanted to buy one to try. Maybe it's just personal flavor but I didn't quite like the flavor. It was more bitter and had that dry after taste than anything else. I have had hibiscus before but not pure juice, so maybe I don't like it so potent.
They were out of some specials, which I guess was a blessing in disguise. I decided to only get the 3 pc Chicken & Waffles. Here they use free range petaluma chicken. I thought the chicken was a bit dry and that there was nothing special about their batter. Since the apt is really close, it is convenient to walk back and dig in without losing the essence of the food. Maybe the few mins it took to get back made a difference, but the chicken wasn't that crispy and the waffle was a little soggy. Sure, hot food can make a big difference but there really isn't any place people can sit and eat on the spot. The walk back is so close that the food was still hot but apparently it can't hold up? Or maybe it just comes that way. Either way, not worth the $9.50 I spent.
Another thing that people rave about here were their Angel Biscuits with Sausage Gravy. This was the worst thing IMHO because that is not a good biscuit! I expect biscuits to have layers that really melt in your mouth. Here, I felt it was tough and chewy. Having just been to Animal in Los Angeles, I can't help but compare the difference. At Animal they offer a delicious biscuit with maple sausage gravy and a nicely seared chunk of foie gras on top. **drool drool** A million times better! For $5, their biscuit was sorely disappointing. I would rather use that money to eat a nice flaky biscuit at KFC.
All in all, I definitely won't be back any time soon. When people ask me where is a good breakfast place in SF, I make sure to say not here. Sorry, there are many better places to eat in SF and this is definitely not one of them.

Little Skillet
360 Ritch St
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 777-2777

Newly opened Caffe Pascucci is located across AT&T Park, home of the SF Giants who just won the World Series. It's close and convenient especially for anyone attending the games. They offer free wi-fi for customers to sit back and relax on their computer. I love the clean and elegant decor. As you open the door and walk in, you feel like you have stepped back into Italy. The vibe is really relaxing yet posh.
They offer some desserts and pastries to enjoy with your custom designed coffee. At Caffe Pascucci they supposedly serve a rare Italian coffee. Their menu is nicely done with great photos of each drink. They all looked so pretty that it made it hard for me to decide. Then came the descriptions of each drink... so much information to process but in a good way.
For my inaugural cup I chose the Gianduio. They smear Nutella around the cup and fill it with cappuccino, Gianduio whipped cream, and topped off with chopped hazelnut. I enjoyed the bits of Nutella intermixed with the coffee. Anything tastes better with Nutella. As for the drink, it was just alright. The drink looks and sounds very nice but it wasn't anything I'd ever crave or all that memorable.
PK was being very adventurous and decided to try the Ciaobello Pistachio made from their classic cappuccino with pistachio cream that's topped off with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles. The drink was very light and you couldn't taste as much of the strong coffee flavor. I was not a big fan but PK liked it and that is all that matters.
Apparently the trick here is to tip. Ms. Lin gave a small tip and the better barrista made the drink and it definitely looked better like the photos on the menu. She chose the other drink I was looking at, the Caffe Confuso Caramel. It's made with their gold espresso with their original confuso cream, caramel, and topped off with amaretto biscuits. The drink was sweet and flavorful. Now this was more like it. I'd come back for this to enjoy on a cold day to sip and people watch through the windows as if I was back in Europe.
All in all it is a cute new addition to the area. I enjoy that on most any given day the owner is sitting in the corner enjoying the day. Yes, it is Italian owned and it is great to see them enjoy their own product. It's local and a good place to just hang out with friends and relax, so I will definitely be back.

Caffe Pascucci
170 King St
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 957-1100

So I heard from Ms. Lin that a new restaurant was having a great deal for their Grand Opening. Spire was offering $1 oysters and Free bubbly to celebrate until they run out. Sounds great, no? Well they were HORRIBLE! The only time I blog super fast, especially when I am sick, is when I love love the place or am super pissed... Guess which one? O=D
They were super busy which was great for a grand opening and we got ourselves a nice seat in front of the guy shucking oysters! At first I thought, LUCKY! The guy talked to us and was friendly. I was feeling the vibe and it seemed like it would be a great start of the night. The server came by and took our order. All was going fine. I watched as the guy kept shucking and kidded with him about how I want to steal the tray of oysters. In retrospect, I should've taken them all for myself!

So... time goes by.... it just gets worse and worse. Trekkie and I sat there trying to chat through the loudness, which was fine. As we continued catching up... time is slowly passing by. No drink.. no order... no server... everyone is running around with their head cut off. Albeit that is to be expected on opening night and I wasn't too upset. We just sat there and chilled.... almost an hour goes by.... nothing... nobody to take an order for food or getting our drinks.... we've been ready to order when he took our drinks but nothing.... We are just watching the guys shuck the oyster. Finally the server comes back to take our order... we said we wanted to start out with just a dozen oysters... he tells us that the kitchen just 86-xed the oysters... we are like what?? Keep in mind they opened at 4:30 PM and we were there by 5:30 PM... within a 2 hr window for their opening night celebration they ran out? WHAT? That is super poor management and the fact that I sat there watching the guy shuck for an hour and nothing??? This is what's worse, the people next to us came in after us and the guy took their order a few minutes before us got oysters and were DENIED! WHAT THE EFFFFF! We have been there for an hour and got nothing?
At this time I was more annoyed but not really angry... we ordered a few appetizers to try out. It really bothered me that the people next to us got their food and had oysters! What? Then we just sat there... I think the appetizers we ordered came out before the drinks! The worse part was the drinks were FAIL! Trekkie got a Cadillac Margarita and they suggested the South End Vanilla Latte. I left my drink there. It was just a coffee liquor with probably bad Vodka... or that is what it tasted like. Trekkie wouldn't even finish my drink and he just drank his, which he thought was nothing special.
Oddly enough they have Three Baked Oysters with Spinach and Garlic Shallot Cream. The server was confused but came back from the kitchen and said they were good. This was actually the last appetizer to come back because it takes time to bake. I drizzled it with lemon juice and ate the oyster first... **crunch!** OMG there's rock salt in the oysters itself?? Chewing continues.. **CRUNCH** Even though I was being super careful, owwww! I regret ordering this and the worst part was I wanted this dish. I didn't even bother consuming another one.
We decided to try the Two Beef Short Rib Sliders with Horseradish Cream, Arugula, and Pickled Onions. The meat was not badly cooked, but the flavor was just alright. Trekkie left most of his bread on the plate, not a good sign. I am really glad we decided to get the Shrimp Ceviche. It was the only redeeming factor. I loved loved loved this. They actually use barely cooked shrimp with avocado and jalapenos accompanied with tortilla chips. Both Trekkie and I noticed that we only got 2 tortilla chips while everyone got 3. I didn't really care but I guess he did because he wanted more lol! The citrus flavor was wonderful and really jazzed up the shrimp. One of the best shrimp ceviche I have ever had. For the longest time this was what made us happy...
The mood didn't turn sour really until the end. After finishing the 3 small plates, we just sat there. Even though we are in plain sight and near all the staff, it felt like we were off in a ragged corner that gets no service or anything. They had plenty of employees for a small place and it seemed like they didn't know how to work the machines? We were waiting for a while to get our check because we were ready to go. Trekkie had to work really hard in getting one of their attentions to even getting the check! We've had enough of the bad service, bad drinks, and bad food. Even after we put our cards out at the edge, right next to the computer station, no one took it. Finally we flagged down the guy to charge us, then more waiting. At this point the ceviche was no longer enough to save the experience. During our appetizers I actually discussed how I want to return Saturday to catch the deal. Slowly... I noticed all their faults as we sat there bored and getting more annoyed. I was astonished to hear from Trekkie, "I am actually hungrier than before I came here!" Poor him! I feel bad exposing him to such a travesty! He wasn't even hungry to begin with but after this meal he was ready to wash this horrid experience away with some real good food. What really bothered me is that we were there early and they ran out? If you plan to offer a "SAID" special of $1 oysters and free bubbly, you should provide! This is your "grand opening" but I feel that this was just a ploy or just really POOR management. Either way it was sad and disappointing. We questioned why they didn't give us a normal menu to order oysters... still .. as a "promotion" you should have at least enough to last for more than 2 hours! Trekkie even asked the server about the bubbly and he never even came back. This is probably one of the rare times that I actually suggest a lower tip because it was just such a bad experience. As soon as I left the restaurant, I called up Ms. Lin to tell her how horrendous it was. You don't show a woman oysters the whole time and give her none! In the 2 + hours we were there... we only got 3 appetizers and finally 2 drinks... Poorly done... I am writing this for my readers to warn them about the false advertisement to entice customers. Just go to Hog Island for Happy Hour. It is about the same wait with better oysters, better service, and ACTUALLY give oysters that they promised!

Spire
685 3rd Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 947-0000