We meant to meet up earlier this year but our schedules didn't quite match up but this time, the stars were in aligment. Remembering she hadn't tried Georgian cuisine yet, I suggested Kafe Sobaka over in Golden Hill...
As you can see above, the restaurant now has an outdoor seating area. I'm not sure how recent it was but I know it wasn't there back in January this year.
I thought this 'pomegranate' bike rack was cool! At least that's what I thought it was!
Also new were the whimsically painted tables with Russian figures on them (babushkas and bearded/mustachioed men). The seat covers were made with burlap sacks, some with the labels still on them.
We decided on the salad appetizer platter (six different salads), a few other items that I've had before and recommended and lastly, the Satsivi, chosen by WC.
Two types of bread with herbed butter and our salad appetizer sampler (descriptions can be read on their online menu and in a previous post, liked at the end):
A pair of Piroshki - one mushroom and one meat, served with a side of beet salad. In the past, we've only ordered the meat. Both were excellent. I loved the flaky crust. I think I can even make that mushroom version myself. Puff pastry can be your best friend!
Khachapuri (sliced) - cheese filled pies.
Derevenskaya Skovorodka - potatoes, onions, garlic and mushrooms roasted in duck fat and served in a skillet. This wasn't as good as the other times I've had it. The potatoes were cut rather large and some pieces weren't as soft.
Pelmeni - dumplings served with caramelized onions and sour cream. Bert and I thought these would be smaller because of the tinier verions we were served at Lezzet Cafe (a Russian/Turkish cafe next to a nasty Adult store at the outer edge of Barrio Logan).
This was the Satsivi, which the menu described as Chicken with walnut sauce. WC was expecting chicken pieces like a legs or thighs or something, not shredded (and dry) chicken breast. The sauce was a thick pesto-like paste. This was a bit disappointing because we both expected it to have a more 'stew'-like consistency. There was also a big piece of hard and hollow bread served with the Satsivi. It was really dry and none of us really like it. When turned over, you could see the rough gritty corn meal at the bottom. Oh well, now we know NOT to order this next time.
For "dessert", WC chose a savory one, the pumpkin filled Manty (sounds like "man" and "panty" put together, ha ha), namely because of its origin, Kyrgyzstan. The dumplings, which were accompanied by sour cream, were large and had a nice strong but pliable skin. The filling was not too sweet either. I was game to try this since it was Kyrgyz cuisine.
While I wasn't a big fan of this, I thought of my other foodblogger friends like Kirbie, Mary and Cathy who might have enjoyed the pumpkin flavor of this dumpling.
Our check was, cleverly tucked in a book by Chekhov!
On our way out, I saw the specials board that featured tge pumpkin manty...
Cool tree stump stools and folk art drawings on the patio table...
We were all up for dessert at nearby Hammond's in North Park.
Both Bert and TC opted to get one single flavor in a cup, Mocha Almond fudge for Bert and Mango sorbet for TC. WC and I both had the flight trio.
I forgot what exactly WC had but I know she had passionfruit sorbet and mocha almond fudge (that first one, I don't remember)...
while I had the ginger cream, raspberry sorbet (surprise! I got a fruit flavor!) and the strawberry cheesecake. All of my colors looked so pretty!
My favorite was the strawberry cheesecake flavor!
These tiny scoops should be a little bigger!
Previous visits to Kafe Sobaka:
September 2013 Last summer for TORC's birthday
January 2014 with MFH
Previous visit to Hammonds:
June 2014 with TORC during our North Park food crawl
It was quite nice seeing WC again after three long years! Comic Con weekend was drawing to a close. We would part ways so she could meet up with her baby nephew while we headed back home to relax...
4 comments:
I would like to try those Manty's! They sound good to me. I would not want to sit on that tree stump haha, looks too uncomfortable. Those cheese filled pies look soooo good!
Hi Mary - You can also get manty's at Lezzet Cafe. The kachapuri was quite cheesy. One time we ordered it, it was already pre-sliced. This time it wasn't.
What a nice visit with great food. Another place on my list to try.
We had a nice waitress this time, not like the snatchy one from when I went earlier this year with MFH, the one who tried to keep all the money and not give me change. :(
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