The Well-Fed Bong

Vir Sanghvi's Sunday column in the HT Cafe, about chocolates and chocolate snobbery , set me thinking. I'm not as convinced about chocolate and terroir as Vir Sanghvi is, but his column triggered my thoughts about where I've had the best chocolates or chocolate confections. Here, then, is my top 5 chocolate list. I'm not claiming any particular chocolate expertise here, but I doubt you will be disappointed with any of the choices. #1 My favourite chocolate experience has to be the city of Brugge. I know it is no longer fashionable to say that Belgian chocolates are great, but I cannot avoid putting this city at the top of the list nevertheless. Most people benchmark their idea of Belgian chocolate from the boxes of Godiva that grace every supermarket shelf, but that is doing the chocolatiers of Brugge grave injustice. Small, famous, historic Brugge is full of not chocolate stores that merely dish out mass-manufactured stuff, but c...

Vir Sanghvi has described in his column in yesterday's HT supplement his dining experiences in San Francisco, which got me to thinking. I know San Francisco quite well, having spent generous amounts of time there cycling up hills and running down reviews in the SF Chronicle. Indeed, this blog started four years ago in San Francisco, while I was wondering what to eat and no one had any good advice for me. I''ve just realised, however, that the two reviews written, " Salsa Time " and " Afternoon and tea " are my only two posts in so many years about that city. That put me to wondering... What are my favourite places to eat in San Francisco? Mr Sanghvi had a very different set of choices (some did not even exist when I was there), but below are my Fav Five, rated mostly on the wow factor of the food. This is not intended as a comprehensive list, just a personal list of favourite places to have a meal. #1 Number one is easy - its the pla...

White tea, that's what is filling my insides as I type this blog. Yes I'm again at the Golden Gate Perk, partaking of free wireless along with one of ten odd types of tea they sell. And watching Leonard Nimoy being Spock on a silent television. First, about Golden Gate Perk . Ok I'm partial to this place because I helped paint the toilet here (as in, I gave useless advise to the people who were actually doing the painting), but I've been coming here long before that. Basically, it has great tea, and great value in tea. This is no teabag destination - here you get real leaf, teapot, hot water, the whole deal. Each pot makes two cups, but if you're shameless enough you can ask for hot water to make another round for free. And, there's table service if you're nice to the people behind the counter. You get herb and special teas too, including a rather nice ginger tea topped (Korean style, I'm told) with pine nuts. They even have coffee, but I've never ...

I did, finally, go mexican - Taqueria Andale near the hotel. It is, like so many things American, a chain - leading to the usual touches of 'traditional' decor, slicked up homecooking look (down to handwritten menus), and all the staples on offer. The working fireplaces (there are two) and the outdoor seating was nice, though. The food (I had a fish burrito) was not bad. Character is too much expect in a fast food chain, but this was definitely tasty stuff; a nice tomato and chipotle sauce that had all kinds of smells and tastes leaping out of a slightly leathery burrito. Not quite the standard (or genuine local attitude) of La Taqueria in the Mission District, but satisfying enough if you want to avoid a bad meal. Of course, not to say the every chain is boring. Chipotle Grill , for instance, is as fastfoodchain as they come - it's even owned by McDonalds. However, there's something distinctly infectious about their burritos, enough even to brave the lines ...

The magic hour of dinner looms. I sit in all nicely tead up (early grey, if you must know) at my favorite cybercafe searching for where to eat. This cybercafe has some claim to a food blog too; Golden Gate Perk sits hidden in a corner of Bush and Kearny, serving free wireless and some great great tea. I think I'll go mexican. This is california, after all...