Lunch at Chez Maman West

Tea Time Adventures is lunching at an old favorite today. Chez Maman has two restaurants in the City, and Angela first ventured into the Potrero branch with a visiting friend years ago. They found a warm neighborhood spot which was tiny, bustling and featuring a delicious menu. Since the Hayes Valley branch is on our side of town, Tea Time decided to check out and make a comparison.

We arrived in time for a late lunch (fortunately they aren't a restaurant that closes between lunch and dinner) so there was no wait for a table. The sun was warm and there wasn't a wind so we opted to dine alfresco*. After a quick gander at the menu we decided to share an appetizer and panini with a side of mac n cheese.

Roasted Garlic with delicious baked camembert cheese, toast points and a taste of greens. Perfection!

Mac n Cheese at the next level- just add truffles

The smoked salmon panini with side salad.

Later when we walked back over to J.K.'s hood, we stopped in and got delicious dangerous housemade gelato for a delightful dessert. She had been talking about Lush Gelato since the construction signage went up because Angela loves gelato. The running joke is that if you need Angela to go somewhere simply leave a trail of gelato bowls and she'll crawl right into your kidnapper van asking for more. (Please be prepared to continue to give her gelato once she's inside the van as well, or there will be trouble. Fair warning.)

Tea Time really enjoyed their flavors-- Chocolate and banana for J.K. and Salted Caramel for Angela. Lush has some exotic combos too, so get your tastebuds ready, any sunny day weather could be perfect for an afternoon of eating and walking.

*J.K. has a blowing napkins fear

Rangoon Ruby

I had dinner at the newly-opened Rangoon Ruby on Polk with another friend who missed the Forbes Island expedition. The restaurant is very elegant and dimly lit, but this time I remembered to use the flash.

We started with the Tea Leaf Salad ( A mix of Burmese tea leaves, fried garlic, yellow beans, peanuts, sesame seeds, lettuce, tomato, jalapeno peppers and dried shrimp). A vegetarian option of this salad is available, but we are omnivores. The salad was brought to the table unconstructed, so we could see  that all the ingredients were there, and then the waiter combined them before serving us.

My friend chose the Shrimp Kabat (Marinated shrimp stir fried with paprika, masala, tamarind, green chilis, mint leaves, tomatoes and cilantro). Unfortunately (for me), he likes his food very hot, so there was no more than a taste of this for me. It was very tasty, but just too hot for me to enjoy it.

I would have preferred no heat in my meal, but I just couldn't resist the Village Catfish (Bone on catfish fried and served with onion, garlic, red chili and tomatoes in village style sauce), which had to be at least mild. due to the red chili being an integral ingredient. It is also necessary to eat this very carefully, as all the bones are there. If you're worried about swallowing a bone, this dish is not for you.

After all this, we just didn't have room for any of the intriguing dessert options. They are all very rich and all involve ice cream.