January 21, 2005
Luna Park
Luna Park has always been one of my favourite restaurants, even before I discovered that my girl Sarah G. worked there. I'm particularly fond of stopping by at night, hanging out at the bar, and drinking the tastiest mojitos in the city. And, I've got a particular weakness for their tuna poke -- fresh as fresh raw tuna, marinated in sesame oil, mirin, a little soy, mixed up with some cucumber, tomatoes and macerated soft onion, and topped with black sesame seeds and chives. It's served alongside fried wonton chips, and I swear to god, I often don't feel like sharing... but I do, as I'm usually with a friend or two.
I was there with Davey Dave before New Year's, right before I purchased my new Canon 20D. I had asked to see his new home, his Canon EOS Rebel, and all his accountrements: lenses, extra battery, etc. In exchange for letting me pick his brain about cameras & accesories, I bought him dinner.
We had Tuna Poke, of course, although I am also quite fond of their warm goat-cheese fondue served with crisp green granny smith slices and grilled bread.
Dave ordered the oven roasted sea bass with roasted broccoli rabe, garlic and chile flakes, and I opted for a standby: the breaded pork cutlet stuffed with mushrooms and gruyere, served with mashed potatoes, string beans and apple-cranberry sauce. It was rich and heavenly, but just the teeniest bit too greasy this time... (when I've had it in the past, it had been perfect).
For dessert we had tried-and-true creme brulee, served with some buttery shortbread cookies.
It's a lovely restaurant, with a rich warm interior of deep red walls, darkish wood tables and benches, and gorgeous Damon Soule pieces on the walls...
411
694 Valencia St, right at 18th
San Francisco, CA 94110
Phone: (415) 553-8584
OpenTable reservations
www.lunaparksf.com
Posted by claudine at January 21, 2005 01:18 PM
you got a 20D? you lucky duck! how are you enjoying it? i'm ready to upgrade!
Posted by: anna marie at January 21, 2005 09:00 PMHey Claudine,
Glad to hear that you got the 20d. I also got one just a few days ago and trying to learn the quirks of it. I'm excited and I'm going to shell out a few more $$$ to buy the 17-85mm lens soon.
Posted by: John at January 23, 2005 12:00 PMThanks for the food temptations.. can't wait to get to SF next week!
Posted by: Jonny Angel at January 23, 2005 03:04 PMHi Claudine,
Oooh...creme brulee. I haven't had this in ages and it looks so good! I can almost taste it now. OK...let me stop drooling all over the monitor! LOL! =P
BTW...the tuna poke looks interesting. We don't normally have it with sesame seeds, cucumbers or tomatoes. The most popular additions to the raw ahi are inamona (roasted kukui nuts), limu kohu (seaweed) and 'alaea (red sea salt).
Posted by: Reid at January 24, 2005 02:37 AMAM & John, this is gonna sound really sad but the furthest I've got with the 20D is ... charging the battery. I seriously have not made myself sit down with it since Monday the 17th! part of it, i think, is fear... weird, huh?
Jonny, do let us know how your food adventures go ... do you have restaurants lined up?
Reid, thanks for the tip on Hawaiian poke -- someday I'll make it there ... *sigh...*
Posted by: claudine at January 24, 2005 10:29 AMYep -- Indo or Malaysian on Thursday night, Seoul Garden on Friday. Alas, it's only a short trip this time around. Far too short for all that I would prefer to consume. ;-)
Posted by: Jonny Angel at January 25, 2005 06:31 AMhey claudine
we got the 20d too, just before christmas. it's wonderful, though I don't fully understand all the knobs and dials just yet...
(I don't take it to restaurants, too big, but I use it for my home cooking shots most of the time)
sam