GrubGirl.

Grubgirl doesn’t want to pay for jook, but she doesn’t really know how to make it “just like Mom,”… so she found this recipe from Kathy Gibbons that offers up a method. We’ll give it a try here in our test kitchen and see if the folks in Northern Michigan can hold their own!

Update: It was pretty darn good, in terms of water-to-rice ratio! I must admit that I used Trader Joe’s “Better Than Bouillion” (blush). A really authenic cook would use plain water, and throw a chicken neck bone into the slow cooker. But alas, my craving was too much and I cut a few corners.

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Filed under: China, Meals under $5 per main course, Budget, Recipes | 1 Comment »

(415) 564-3481
Continuing on the Chronicle’s bargain bites path, I went with a couple friends to check out this restaurant. Did it really qualify for cheap eats, by San Francisco Chinese food standards? We went for a Saturday lunch, it was a nice day, and so we drove way out there to Vicente and the 40s.

First observations:

• No one else was there. It was high noon. Where were the diners? Hmmm.

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Filed under: Sunset - Outer, China, Meals from $5-15 per main course, Budget | No Comments »

Ok in Yelp the first reviewer has called this place Topz, and I believe that’s what the sign on the door says in the little strip mall in San Mateo, but I’m staring at the receipt and it says “Tops Burger & Grill.” Go figure.

Including tax, my Cheeseburger lunch special included almost McDonald-like fries, and a medium-sized (?) soda, for $4.32. Not bad. Or is it?

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The chain that bakes its own Vietnamese sandwich bread rolls, and sells a variety of Vietnamese sandwiches with other Asian snack delights, is set to open up a franchise in San Francisco. Looks like the store is slated to open in December 2006..no word on if they’ll be delayed or not.

I can’t wait. I discovered what everyone else living on the Peninsula already knows. Lee’s Sandwiches are pretty dang tasty. I visited the one in Fremont and ordered up 3 sandwiches for a team of us out helping with a team playing in a Washington High School volleyball tournament.

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Filed under: Tenderloin, Vietnam, Meals under $5 per main course, Budget | No Comments »