Chambers Eat + Drink / Muka

this past weekend i played the usual 3rd  5th 7th wheel with a married couple (Jeff and Libby) and a newly engaged couple (Eva and Jared). Libby's just started law school (high five, ladyfriend!) and Eva is in a general sense always busy, so it was nice to get everybody together to hang out and catch up. Jeff bought a bottle of champagne to celebrate E&J's recent modification from boyfriend/girlfriend to life long loves. cheers to you two!! 

we had dinner at Chambers Eat + Drink, a spot i've been meaning to check out for a while now. it used to be Bambuddha Lounge for a long time but i'd say this is a nice upgrade. walking in, you might think it's uber pretentious, but then you look out the window and realize that there's a pool out there and attached to it is the funky Phoenix Hotel. but then again you've probably just dodged some of San Francisco's finest homeless as you walked through the tenderloin from your parking spot to the unmarked doors of Chambers. how pretentious could a place be if your car is being watched by a homeless man you've just paid $1 to "keep it safe?" nonetheless, our crazy homeless will never stop me from attaining good food.

plus, once you walk through the doors, this place tells you to "be amazing," and i'm for positivity!

we shared:

truffle dip

i wasn't sure what to expect but the dip itself seemed to be pure butter with truffle flavor. it was spreadable but not gooey at all. i probably wouldn't order it again. i like butter, but damn!

sizzling kobe tri-tip

the rock that the beef sits atop is really hot so that it sears the meat. eat this quickly as overcooked beef is always a shame. 

hamachi ceviche

this was quite lovely as a ceviche dish. the little blood lime pieces added a nice texture. i do, however question their decision to use such small yukon chips.you couldn't really fit a good amount of ceviche on any of those chips so i'm not sure what their thought process was on that one.

escolar with forbidden rice, charred avocado and maitake mushrooms

i loved this dish! it felt pretty light overall. the fish was cooked sort of medium rare. the rice came in the form of a patty. the maitake mushrooms along with the charred avocado gave it a nice smokiness. i didn't care for the red sauce along the sides though.

after dinner we weren't quite ready to part ways, so due to my quick Yelping skills, i found Muka. it's a (literally) underground wine and dessert bar. dark and bustling with people, it was a nice way to end the night out with a few beers for the boys and dessert for the girls.

chocolate mousse

this was surprisingly really good. i'm not typically a mousse person but it was nice and light. on the bottom there was a little bit of a crispity crunch which i'm not 100% positive on what to call it. it wasn't quite a cookie and it wasn't quite a wafer. this dessert essentially tasted like a giant Ferrero Rocher. and who doesn't love those??

salted caramel tart

this was more like a salted chocolate tart. overall i enjoyed it.