Radius

i had a Gilt City voucher for brunch-for-two at Radius. i hadn't heard much about the place and when i looked up their brunch on Yelp, the reviews didn't make it sound too promising. many people complained that the food was to sparse or that the service wasn't great. too bad for them. i'm happy to report that i had a pretty good experience there. while my coffee was never refilled, it didn't really matter because i didn't really need an extra cup anyway. i thought the service otherwise was adequate and the food was delicious. i really want to go back for dinner one day.

pork belly benedict

the pork belly was placed on the side. not really sure why that was the case, but it didn't bother me. also, the base of the benedict was a tasty biscuit rather than your typical english muffin. the potatoes were perfect and everything had a lot of flavor.

french toast with glazed quince, almonds and whipped orange butter

super buttery and just right. the choice of bread was nice. i think it was brioche. personally i'm not loving all of this quince that i've seen on nearly every menu lately. it's not bad, it's just not my favorite. overall it was a good dish though. 

Navio brunch buffet at the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay

anybody need a place to take their girlfriend for a nice anniversary brunch? maybe a birthday brunch? i've got the place for you! sunday brunch at the Navio at the Ritz Calrton Half Moon Bay. let me start of by telling you it's about $100/person for a buffet style brunch. and this does not include endless champagne or mimosas or anything like that. this is strictly food, presented very nicely and with high quality ingredients. many of the dishes are served individually so that what you're getting still looks appetizing. how many times have you reached the potato gratin at a buffet only to find that someone's scraped up all of the delectable top portion for themselves (greedy jerks!)? oh, and on a nice sunny day, the location is beautiful. right along the water with nice greenery. yeah, take your girlfriend. she'll thank you and then you'll thank me, mmmkay? and because i don't have a boyfriend, i took Marjie for her birthday this year. 

salmon with parsnips puree

lemon garlic shrimp

beef with potatoes and blue cheese

i loved this...even the potatoes were exceptionally flavorful

pumpkin custard with caramelized apples / fennel gazpacho 

shrimp cocktail and crab claws

three kinds of caviar with all the fixins

ahi tuna tartar

an awesome selection of cured meats, cheeses and breads.

this included duck proscuitto which was yuuuuuum! 

very fresh nigiri. 

they also had sashimi and rolls but there was too much to eat to get that stuff

chocolate mousse with caramel, lemon meringue tart, chocolate raspberry cake, tiramisu

creme brulee and a coffee eclair

various truffles

including rocher, salted caramel, pumpkin, apple, etc.

peanut butter bar

one of my favorite things there! so good! there's a little extra crisp on the bottom that you wouldn't expect. 

i likely only tried about half of the stuff there. there were also the obvious brunch eats like eggs, bacon, waffles, pancakes and eggs benedict. at the seafood section there were also fresh oysters, mussels, smoked salmon, trout, etc. at the hot food section there was a roasted lamb and prime rib as well as polenta and other sides. there was a chinese section with dim sum (though as a Chinese, i couldn't imagine they'd be great so i opted not to eat any of it). and the dessert section is insane! i probably only tried about 1/3 of the desserts, if that. 

oh, and the service here is great. plus, if you tell them it's someone's birthday they send them home with a box of chocolates. if you tell them it's your anniversary they line your table with rose petals. cute, no? i only know the second one because the folks sitting near us were obviously celebrating their love. anyhow, enjoy! and when your girlfriend is ecstatic because her boyfriend found such a nice place to take her, remember that it was my idea! 

Serpentine

i know i said that Red Door Cafe was my new favorite brunch spot, but that was more for the sake of experience rather than food itself. my actual favorite brunch spot is probably Zazie in Cole Valley. you can't really go wrong with any of the dishes there. Canteen also ranks up there for my favorite brunch spots as their blueberry french toast is outstanding. but today i went to Serpentine and found a new one to add to the list. i caught up with Kim today over loads of food and it was awesome. we split everything because that's how we do. 

country fried steak and biscuits with gravy. i typically don't ever order country fried steak but for some reason i felt this calling my name and i'm glad i ordered it. the gravy was really good and the biscuit was moist, crisp and buttery. the dressed arugula helped to cut through the richness quite nicely.

buckwheat pancake with fruit and candied walnuts. holy yum! i'm pretty particular about my pancakes. i typically think they're dense discs (disks?...just wiki'd it and it seems there's no differentiation) of pointlessness but this one was super light and the buckwheat added a nice texture. the fresh whipped cream and seasonal fruit was nice, as was the not-too-sweet-syrup that accompanied it. 

wild smoked salmon benedict. served with fried capers and fried lemon slices. i liked this dish, though i could have done without the sauteed spinach. this was served atop one of their biscuits. the dish was a bit salty but i don't really mind salty. 

sorta can't wait to come back!