D&D Restaurant Rating | Hard Knox Cafe

It's been awhile since I last did a restaurant rating. Ryan's on summer break from Stanford and when I have a day off we typically like to check out thrift/antique stores or enjoy some of our favorite breakfast and lunch spots throughout San Francisco. One area of the city that I think people can tend to forget is the incredible Dog Patch neighborhood. It's got a cool mix of industrial spots like Building REsources and hands-down the coolest garden shop in the city Flora Grubb, both of which can be dangerous for me, financially that is. This particular restaurant came to Ryan and I's attention sometime in the fall but with multiple locations throughout SF we found ourselves dining at the Hard Knox Cafe located in the Dog Patch this past week.

A brief history from their site:

In 1999 Chef/owner Tony Hua opened the first Hard Knox Café with one simple concept in mind and that was to offer guests a taste of soul food and lots of it. He believed that food is a medium that brings people together to enjoy not just the food but each other. His passion for food and people transformed Hard Knox Café into what it is today. After 9 successful years in the Dog Patch district of San Francisco, Tony opened a second location in the Richmond district of San Francisco. Hard Knox Café serves one purpose and that is to feed your appetite and soul. We welcome your feedback and depend on it to better serve you. Please email us if you have questions or comments and we will promptly reply. Thanks for visiting our site and restaurants!

Like I said, Ryan and I discovered Hard Knox Cafe last fall, but stumbling upon this second location made our day of thrifting and plant shopping that much better! I so rarely get soul food - unless I'm making my Mac & Cheese - but the entire ambiance of Hard Knox is something I just can't duplicate at home. The tin walls and combination of vintage street and food signs gives Hard Knox an authentic feeling that reminds me of my childhood. I did not grow up in the south but I will say that I was raised on some pretty comforting recipes that were passed down through generations of southern grandparents and great uncles/aunts.

Drinking a coke out of a glass jar or ordering a fried chicken sandwich with a side of mashed potatoes isn't easy to come by in San Francisco. And that's exactly what I ordered. The joy of Hard Knox is that you don't just get the option of fries or salad on the side. The list of sides is practically endless, consisting of but not limited to: Collard Greens, Potato Salad, Candied Yams, Mac & Cheese, Corn, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, or Red Beans and Rice!

My sandwich and side were a fantastic combo of savory and spice. The chicken was perfectly fried and the bread was flaky and delicious! I even went as far as dipping my sandwich in my mashed potatoes for that extra level of indulgence. I think the only downside to lunch was Ryan's Shrimp Po' Boy - which I found to be very good - but he struggled with do to the spiciness.

Dish | Roasted Corn with Manchego & Lime

This incredible salad of sorts comes from the August issue of Bon Appétit. I was so happy to be featured in their What People Are Cooking section the other day so I was delighted when my August issue came in the mail this week. In fact, I was so excited that I brought my copy to lunch with Ryan so we could figure out what to make for dinner. Since then I have made this salad/side dish two times in the last four days! It's a keeper!

ROASTED CORN WITH MANCHEGO & LIME  |  Recipe inspired by Bon Appétit August 2011

3 ears of sweet white corn, unhusked
3 ears of sweet yellow corn, unhusked
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 jalapeno, seeded, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 lime, cut into 4 wedges
1 cup finely grated Manchego cheese
1/4 cup thinly sliced chives
2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest

A side-note: The original recipe called for 6 ears of yellow corn but I like the combination of white and yellow.

1  |  Preheat oven to 450°F. Roast unhusked corn on a baking sheet, turning occasionally, until heated through and crisp-tender, roughly 15 minutes. Let cool. Shuck corn and cut kernels from cobs. Discard cobs.

2  |  Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add corn kernels and sauté until heated through and light-golden in spots, 3-5 minutes. Add butter; stir until melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3  |  Transfer corn to a large wide bowl or deep platter; sprinkle jalapeno and crushed red pepper flakes over. Squeeze lime wedges over; sprinkle with cheese, chives, and lime zest.

Design | National Trust

This project comes from London based Studio h. About the studio they write:

"Studio h operates as a boutique design studio producing practical and elegant design solutions that fit all budgets, without compromising on creative excellence or professionalism. We work mainly in the area of brand identity, print, packaging and website design, but are always happy to expand our brief to fit new models. Studio h is a venture founded on a seasoned enthusiasm and a sincere desire to elevate and expand the way our clients think and present themselves."

Project description from their site:

As part of their ongoing strategy to refresh public perception and engage more with members and visitors, Studioh is working closely with National Trust on the re-design of their retail packaging. With a brief to update their image and bring coherence to a large and diverse product range, the first part of a phased programme involved the creation of a range of icons that reflect National Trust's culture and can be flexibly applied across different product ranges from chocolate to stationery.

Adrian Johnson was commissioned to produce a range of architectural based illustrations for National Trust biscuits

Sarah Box's naive drawings emphasise the homemade quality of National Trust preserves

D&D Would like to thank...

Joanna Sciarrino at Bon Appétit for posting my version of their delicious Peach, Prosciutto & Ricotta Crostini recipe in their What People Are Cooking section. I still consider myself to be very much an amateur in the kitchen and Design & Dishes was created with a simple goal in mind: to showcase beautiful things. Without the monthly inspiration I receive from Bon Appétit , it is certain that D&D would not be what it is.

A million thank yous!

Dish | Mac & Cheese

I have been meaning to post this for awhile. One of my all time favorite dishes is Mac & Cheese. I grew up eating the classic Kraft Mac & Cheese, but occasionally - mostly holidays - my grandmother would make classic homemade Macaroni & Cheese. Whenever I see recipes in cookbooks, magazines or on websites of this classic American dish, I like to take notes and jot down anything that catches my eye. Over the past few years and through many rounds of experimenting in the kitchen I have finally come to a recipe that I consider all my own.

MAC & CHEESE  |  Recipe inspired by my grandmother.

6 tablespoons butter, divided by 1/2
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound cremini (brown) mushrooms, stems removed
1 red bell pepper, stem removed, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
3 cups 2% milk
2 cups grated smoked gouda cheese
2 cups grated fontina cheese, divided by 1/2
1/2 tablespoon fresh ground pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cumin
12 ounces cavatappi pasta
1 cup breadcrumbs

1  |  Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, sauté until translucent, roughly 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, mushrooms, red pepper, then flour. Stir constantly for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in milk. Cook and whisk occasionally until mixture begins to boil, roughly 5 minutes. Add 2 cups coarsely grated gouda and 1 cup fontina. Stir until cheeses melt, about 2 minutes. Stir in cayenne, nutmeg and cumin. Season sauce with salt and pepper.

2  |  Preheat oven to 350°F. Boil water in large pot over high heat. Add pasta and cook until tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Stir macaroni into warm cheese sauce. Place half of macaroni in dish; smooth top. Top with remaining 1 cup fontina cheese. Top with remaining macaroni mixture; spread evenly.

3  |  Melt 3 tablespoons butter. Place breadcrumbs in medium bowl. Pour butter over; toss. Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture over mac & cheese. Bake mac & cheese until breadcrumbs are golden and edges are bubbling, roughly 30-40 minutes.

Design | Booki.sh

From Melbourne based studio A Friend Of Mine:

"Booki.sh is a complete web-based platform for distributing, selling and reading ebooks. With the intent to make reading ebooks fun and approachable, Booki.sh takes away the technical barriers. The identity had to reflect this ease in a warm and welcoming manner. A quirky bespoke typeface based on a pair of spectacles was created, lending a playful approach which was flexible enough to work as a stand-alone mark and housed within a ribbon device. We took reference from classic literary production techniques such as gilded page edges on the side of books as a nod to the past and used bookmarks as promotional collateral, adding a whimsical sense of irony to the identity. Inventive Labs designed the online environment with illustrations by Lachlan Conn and Ben Sanders."

Be sure to check out the Booki.sh website!

Dish | Slow Roasted Tomato BLT's with Avocado + Baked Pomme Frites

Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday today. Ryan and I are getting out of the city today and heading to Sonoma for some small town festivities and fireworks with close friends. I'm really excited that we can finally use the vintage cooler I got Ryan for his birthday last month! It looks so handsome full of beverages and snacks and I plan on filling it with just that...

I made this meal the other night for a Summertime dinner and aside from the long cooking time, it all came together so quickly and with very little preparation. I saw this recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Not Without Salt, and have been waiting to make it for a few weeks. Now that the weather is getting nicer and the tomatoes are looking more delicious by the week I felt it was time to finally attempt slow roasting these beauties.

SLOW ROASTED TOMATO BLT'S WITH AVOCADO  |  Recipe inspired by Ashley E. Rodriguez of Not Without Salt

8 barely ripe roma tomatoes (or any tomato of your choice)
6-10 sprigs of fresh lemon thyme
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 teaspoons kosher salt

1  |   Cut the tomatoes into 1/4" thick slices. Place those on a parchment lined sheet tray with a few sprigs of thyme. After a very light drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt (these will reduce by quite a bit so don’t overdo it with the salt) they go into a  225°F oven for about 4 hours or until shriveled around the edge while still maintaining a bit of juice. Because of the low oven heat these do not color at all but rather slowly concentrate their flavors and intensify.

Ashley makes a great recommendation: "If you don’t use all of your tomatoes simply cover the leftover with olive oil and place in the fridge. In fact, I highly recommend making a very large batch as these little beauties will find many great uses (pasta, antipasti, straight from the jar, cheese tray, grilled cheese, etc.)"

I feel kind of bad for assuming that the average reader will know how to make a BLT so for the actual sandwich I lightly toasted some potato bread, spread a little garlic lemon aioli on each side and layered butter lettuce, bacon, the slow roasted tomatoes and some avocado slices with a pinch of freshly ground black pepper to finish it off.

Now for the side dish! Baked pomme frites! I thought about frying these but figured baking would be a healthier option. As this was my first time making pomme frites it was a learning experience and I already have so many things I would do differently next time. For example, discarding the thinner outer pieces and using only the thick cuts that come from the center of the potato would be advised. The thinner pieces cook too fast and in my case ended up a little too crispy.

BAKED POMME FRITES

6 russet potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1  |  Preheat the oven to 450°F. Peel potatoes and cut lengthwise into quarter-inch thick slices. Cut again into 1/4-inch thick fries. Place the potatoes into a bowl with cold water; this will help keep the fries crisp. Just before cooking, drain water and place on paper towel, pat dry.

2  |  Put the potatoes in a bowl; add olive oil, 1 tablespoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Toss well and lay out in 1 layer on nonstick baking sheet. Bake until light brown. Cook for approximately 30 to 40 minutes, turning frequently until golden brown. Remove from oven, allow to cool for 1 or 2 minutes and serve.