3431 19th St(between San Carlos St & Mission St) San Francisco, CA 94110
Neighborhood: Mission
A fantastic dinner to end my San Fran trip. I made some fantastic new friends too! awesome people =)
So here's HOGS AND ROCKS, a restaurant specialising in hams and oysters, but honestly. every dish there was so special, i was left drooling for more! And their ambience was really cosy too =)
White dessert wine to accompany the meal! This wine was sweet, light, and didn't have the alcoholic sharpness, I have never tasted any wine so smooth, not even the ice wines I've tried can compare! It was not dry either! went great with the food, and the tanginess helped to revitalise my palate occasionally, especially since some of the dishes were very heavy!
So first came the hams, prosciutto ham, danielle and serrano ham. Bottom is a salty harder ham with cheese that was creamy, and the middle ham had some dried tomatoes which blended nicely with the dry saltyness, and at the top, a softer lighter flavor. the hams were extremely tasty, a fantastic appetiser, eaten with the pita bread =)
Duck heart and purple cauliflower. salty, chewy, and the green sauce was basil puree and had some light oils in it which glazed the dish well.
APHRODIZZY OYSTERS! there were 6 different kinds, with lemon and a red wine and vinaigrette dressing to accompany it that was light, fragrant, yet not overpowering like Tabasco, complementing the freshness and sweetness and creaminess of the oysters =)
They all tasted slightly different, yet all yummy, so I cant comment much because they were all fantastic!
BONE MARROW WITH GREMOLATA AND TOAST:
Next was bone marrow. The marrow was piping hot, and fatty. the decadence of the fragrant oils was cut through by the tangy dressing on top, called gremolata, which is a mixture of lemon zest, garlic, parsley and olive oil, coming together in an absolutely amazing dish. SLURPSSS! scooped out and eaten with a toasted bread that was fresh, light, slightly buttered and crispy!
BURRATA CHEESE WITH FRESH BASIL LEAVES, TOMATOES, and CROUTONS!!
The tomatoes were very fresh, and apparently, taste unique because they are 'mixed with fruits' somehow! anyway, they were very sweet, juicy, and didn't really taste like tomatoes. more like a mix between the texture of a tomato with the juicy sweetness of a fruit! =) the burrata was soft, creamy and cold, creating a refreshing dish!
CIDER STEAMED MUSSELS WITH OCTOPUS CHORIZO.
Chorizo is a spanish sausage, so yeap, what looked like taco filling was actually bits of octopus, explaining the chewy, fresh texture of the lumpy sauce that went with the black mussels. The seafood in San Francisco is super fresh! must be from the bay =) and the toasted thick bread slices were covered in a yellow creamy sauce that tasted like tapatio, creamy yet spicy like hot sauce =) balancing uniquely with the octopus.
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DEVILLED EGGS WITH COUNTRY HAM AND FRIED OYSTERS! and some dill.
devilled eggs are hard boiled eggs that have their yolks taken out, mixed with mayonnaise and herbs, and squeezed back! it had such a creamy yolk mixture, slightly pepperish, and topped with a fried oyster, fried ham that was crispy and salty, and some dill! thick creamy goodness. yums!
and lastly, LAMB MEATBALLS WITH A STEAMED WILD RICE PILAF, TOPPED WITH A PEPPERY LEMON YOGHURT SAUCE!!
even the peas were yummy and i usually hate peas. i pick em out of my food. here i was picking them out to eat them!! creamy deliciousness with lamb meatballs that were succulent, and didn't have that bad game taste that lamb usually has. the cream blended in with the pilaf, contrasting against the juiciness of the meat, to create a gastronomic explosion of hearty greek-ish food =) definite yums!
i loved this meal. definitely a meal to remember =) great company made it even more awesome! with the night ending with a great plum wine, that wasn't sharp at all, but had a strong plum taste.
