Robin

Uni, uni, uni, uni rocking everywhere

Scallionpancake Travels:  
San Francisco, California, is a favorite travel destination of ours. Jason frequently has conferences and work events in San Fran, and, naturally, I tag along. Robin is located in super-hip Hayes Valley, which is filled with many great restaurants and boutique shops. 

San Francisco is a great place for fresh sushi and quality Japanese cuisine, as it is home to a large population of Japanese-Americans. Also, many tourists visit Chinatown, as it is right in the heart of the Financial District, but Japantown is hip, super clean, and worthy of your time on your next visit. In fact, Japantown is totally walkable from Hayes Valley & Robin. Insider tip: check out Benkyodo in Japantown for an amazing selection of mochi and manju in a cozy cafe setting.  

Check out my manju

Background: 
Chef Adam Tortosa opened Robin in July 2017 on Gough Street in Hayes Valley, San Francisco. Chef Tortosa previously worked in several well-known restaurants, including Kiwami and Ink in Los Angeles, and Akiko's and 1760 in San Francisco. Robin's concept is innovative in that there is no menu with prices, and no set tasting menu, either. Diners can give their waiter a price point from $79 up to $179 per person, and the sushi chefs will devise a unique menu based on that price, as well as diners' specific preferences. Our waiter asked what types of fish we prefer, and if we were fans of uni. We were assured that even if we weren't fans of uni, that the chef would prepare it in such a way as to make us converts. You may have heard our thoughts on the pod previously about uni, but suffice to say, we fall firmly in the camp of "not fans," but we said we would try at least one uni dish to stretch ourselves. Also, the waiters will let you keep your options open and decide as you go how much sushi you are up to eating. Below is everything we enjoyed--we left perfectly full with this amount of food.

Although they ship in seafood from Japan & Chile, Robin serves as much as local fish as possible. Our waiter explained that there is so much great fish off of the coast of San Francisco that so few chefs utilize, and that Tortosa takes advantage of that proximity whenever possible. 

Eat This: 

Cured local cod

Wrapped in seaweed, served with traditional Mexican-style ceviche with pistachios, pomegranate, lime juice, and microgreens

Assorted Nigiri

Including steelhead trout with peach (middle)

Wagyu tartare

On a toasted nori chip topped with uni and Asian pear

Assorted Nigiri

Closest: Yellowtail, middle: New Zealand King Salmon with tomato confit and whipped tofu, back: Golden Eye Snapper

Toro Tartare

Assorted Nigiri

Sesame noodles with black truffles

With black truffles

Assorted Nigiri

Onsen jidori egg

With shiitake soy sauce, ikura, and wasabi

Smoked caviar nigiri

With potato chip and grilled ramp aioli

Dessert: 
This guy below was good (not great), but we both agreed we wouldn't have hated one more dessert course! This dish was made using sake lees, which is the solid byproduct left over after sake ferments. Pretty cool!

Sake lees custard

with pomegranate and pistachio

Drink: 
Robin offers beer, wine, and sake. We enjoyed sake, and they had an awesome selection of (cold only) sakes. 

Atmosphere: 
The decor was lovely, and Jason particularly enjoyed the modern vibe, like the coral and black backsplash on the sushi bar and the metallic wall. Stand-outs included dishes (and chopstick holders!) made by a local potter, and the bathroom floor, which had tiled inlaid with pennies! Too cool. Oh--and the bathroom had an essential oil diffuser. Can you tell I really liked the bathroom?

That sushi bar, tho/image courtesy of Eater SF

Hayes Valley Hospitality: 
Our waiter was awesome about checking in to check our fullness level and to see if we were enjoying everything. We really loved the pacing of this meal--the courses came out quickly (but not rushed), so that we were done with this meal in under two hours. We were relieved, as we were not in the mood for an extra long tasting on this particular night. 

Frankie's Notes: 
We wanted to bring home the cool pottery chopstick holder, but we reined in our kleptomaniacal tendencies; Uni will never be something that Scalliopancake craves, but Robin made us like it more than we ever have before; Frankie's favorite essential oil scent is cheddar cheese; We always need at least two desserts to feel emotionally fulfilled. 

Rating: 

5 out of 5 plus one Michigan Pug

 

Animal

Exterior of Animal/image courtesy of The Mei Lai Project

Background: 
Animal is owned by LA powerhouse restaurateurs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo. The duo also owns Petit Tois, Trois Mec, Son of a Gun, and Jon & Vinny's. Animal, opened in 2009, was Shook and Dotolo's first restaurant, and it still makes nearly every "best of" list for Los Angeles cuisine. 

True to its name, Animal focuses on meat-heavy dishes and adventurous ingredients for the hungry cave man inside of us all. Their menu staples include crispy fried pig ear, veal brains, rabbit larb, sweetbreads, and foie gras biscuits. For dessert they don't let up and their most notable offering is a bacon chocolate crunch bar. So, basically, vegans should stay far, far away from Animal, but I am guessing they would have figured that out based on the moniker alone. 

We visited Animal for brunch, so we kept our fare a little lighter than the options listed above, but our experience left us eager to come back for the full dinner experience whenever we are in the area again. 

Why were we in LA for all of this great eating? Why, so Jason could run a race, obviously. Here he is rocking the Disneyland Star Wars Half Marathon!

Go, Jason, go!

Eat This: 
Tamago Scramble
Bone marrow sushi rice, Japanese pickles, arare

My favorite breakfast dish of all time

I loved this dish so much. It was light but filling, and the tangy soy flavor meant I could not stop eating it. What's arare? You've probably seen them a million times--they're those little soy rice crackers.

Image courtesy of Snack Treasures Hawaii

Hamachi Tostada
Fish sauce vinaigrette, peanut, avocado

There's fish under there!

The tostada was described by our server as one of the most popular (and lightest) dishes on the menu. Its bright, fresh flavors did not disappoint!

Chicken Liver Toast

Art

My love for chicken liver toast is undying, and this was the hands down best I have ever had. I always feel like my body is getting healthier and stronger when I eat chicken liver, and while that immediate feeling is most definitely in my head, organ meats are legitimately filled with so many good nutrients and healthy fats. Those of you who still believe in the fat/cholesterol myth? Put down your fat free yogurt and get #woke. It's not the 90s anymore, ya'll. 

Dessert: 

Cinnamon Roll

Do you hear that? It's the sweet siren song of BREAKFAST DESSERT

Drink: 
It was brunch, so it was all coffee, all the time. They also had a mint infusion (just straight up mint and hot water) that changed my life. I started buying mint on the regular when we returned to NC. Mint is great for your digestion!

Atmosphere: 
Hip and cozy spot. It was a sleepy Sunday morning, and even though we had reservations we probably didn't need them as it wasn't crowded at all. The vibe was very relaxed and inviting. 

LA Baby Hospitality: 
Our service was a little slow, which was odd considering they weren't busy, but we weren't in a rush, so we didn't mind just relaxing with our coffee/tea and enjoying the morning at a leisurely pace. The servers were super friendly and offered great recommendations. 

Frankie's Notes: 
Jason bought the bright green race shirt so he would be easy to spot; Apparently literally everyone else had the same idea--all races now seem to be a sea of bright green, at least from this spectator's perspective; Disney security is no joke--I tried to jump a barrier to follow Jason to the finish and I almost got tazed; Don't taze me bro; Fat is your friend and his name is Bob the Fat Fairy; LA is a super awesome place filled with the best food and art; But seriously, why do we chase that cat?
 

Check out this pretty picture of Laguna Beach! And no: I didn't see Lauren Conrad; yes: I am still upset about it.

Rating: 5 out of 5