I was strolling down Market Street when I passed by The Market, that new amalgam of grocery store and mini-food service spots in the ground floor of the Twitter building. I wasn't really hungry, but I thought since I was in the hood I would at least check the place out to see what all the buzz was about. It is a market, mostly for grab and go stuff, but it also has places to get quick bites to eat circling the shopping part. It reminds me of a smaller, diverse version of Eataly in Chicago. After rounding the store I came across what I believe is their coffee shop at the front and spotted this cookie in the case. Now, I'm all about a big ass cookie and this was definitely it. I know it is hard to tell from the pic but it was bigger than my hand and thick around the middle too. At $3 (plus tax) it was a decent price considering the size. I took my prize and sat at a nearby counter to see if it tasted as good as it looked. Without drawing out the suspense here, my answer to that question is, no, no it didn't. Doing big cookies can be difficult if not done right, but they are possible. My favorite at Cafe Madeline is a good example of a big tasty cookie. While the look and the browning on the outside were nice, the inside of the cookie was dry, dry, dry and thick, thick, thick. It's like they thought because it is thicker in the middle they needed to cook it a little longer, leading to over baking and a crumbly, not very tasty mess. And to top it off, it could have used a little better chocolate dispersement. Ultimately, after a few bites, I just couldn't finish it. Maybe if I'd also had a giant glass of milk or scoop of ice cream to trade off the dryness, I could have soldiered through it but, alas, I could not. Oh well, lesson learned, bigger is not always better, at least where this particular cookie is concerned.
- In big, maybe not so surprising or possibly surprising news, Richie Nakano is out at Hapa Ramen--his, mostly, own restaurant concept.
- As casual as San Francisco can be, sometimes you gotta' respect the restaurant and at least make an effort to spruce up. Staffan Terje of Perbacco shows you how.
- Upcoming spring restaurant openings to be on the lookout for from SFEater.
- Bay Area craft beer continues to bloom. Now you don't need to go to Portland.
- And not to be left out, 7x7 ranks The City's 10 best beers.
- It's Starbelly's bacon jalapeno spaghetti. Yeah, I had to look too.
- If you find yourself out late at night in Oakland, well, good luck with that! Though, if you are hungry, East Bay Express says this is a good sandwich option.
- Sadly closing this past week Ironside and Jumpin' Java.
- San Francisco Magazine goes on the search for the best soup dumplings in town.
- Oakland is getting their own super fancy food market and deli thingy.
- Blue Bottle is heading to Pac Heights. Maybe this will mean less lines elsewhere, or not.