Generation Y, Millennial, Generation Me. If you were born anytime between 1980 and 2000, you're a self-obsessed, arrogant, entitled, smartphone-toting, anti-social, social media-driven jerk. Like me.
You could certainly argue that xiao long bao (Shanghai soup dumplings stuffed with pork) are right up there in the pantheon of chocolate truffles, soft poached eggs, and molecular gastronomy's beloved liquid center amuse bouches for the one bite treat that sends out a flood of powerfully flavored liquid after the outer surface has been punctured. They sport the ultimate adrenaline rush of eating. In a meal of many dishes, they are the boom moment, the one concentrated bite that's like scoring a game-winning header after 86 minutes of a tight World Cup match.
Having just recently sampled various examples of xiao long bao at its historic source in Shanghai, I hustled over to Millbrae's quaint Main Street USA-style downtown in the shadow of SFO, home to one of the Peninsula's gold standards for the subject since 2000, Shanghai Dumpling Shop.
Southpaw BBQ's smoked pulled goat is a dish that simultaneously makes no sense at all and all the sense in the world. Goat, not exactly the first meat that comes to mind when one thinks of Southern BBQ, is accompanied by frybread, pineapple relish, salsa verde, and a side of bread and butter pickles. Though it may sound like someone was seriously stoned in the kitchen while creating this dish, the eclectic components somehow manage to tie together.
The western end of SOMA manages to be lively at night and fairly humdrum during the day, minus the traffic coming on and off the freeway (or possibly Costco). Aside from Vega, the little coffee stand selling Blue Bottle on Folsom between Eighth and Ninth Streets -- and which has no seating -- there isn't much of a café scene between Sightglass and Coffee Bar. So in spite of coffee's current ubiquity, Sextant Coffee Roasters fits in quite well on Folsom and 10th.
See Also: The Perfect Five-Minute Drip Coffee at Home (and Other Fun Facts) From Mr. Espresso
