Off the bucket list...Duck Larb at Lers Ros Thai

Hayes Valley, or "yuppie central" as I'd like to call it, is home to Lers Ros Thai -- I've written about this place previously.

This time around, though, I had their Larb Phed Yang (duck larb) -- chunks of roasted duck mixed with rice powder, chili powder and lime based salad dressing, served alongside pieces of lettuce. 

Duck larb, $9.95

You wrap the fatty, vinegary, ducky bits into the lettuce like a mini wrap. It cuts the greasiness and has a clean finish. The standard level of spiciness of the meat is "medium-spicy" but you can ask for it to be mild. 

This appetizer is just enough for four people, which will leave you wanting more...

Location: 

307 Hayes Street 

San Francisco

415-874-9661 

10:30am-11pm

Off the bucket list...Mitchell's Ice Cream; Ube Ice Cream

With warm weather creeping up on us – while we hold our breath of course, this is San Francisco after all – ice cream joints become increasingly busier.

One place that has been busy regardless of rain or shine has been Mitchell's Ice Cream, which has been a praised local establishment since 1953.

Their ube ice cream is the most notable flavor, as it has found a place in 7x7's Big Eat list. Ube is the Philippine term for purple yam. Philippine bakeries serve ube in all forms – cakes, rolls, and rice muffins. It's sweet and somewhat chalky, but in Mitchell's ice cream-form it's incredibly creamy without being too decadent. 

Other Philippine flavors pepper their menu such as buko (baby coconut), halo halo (buko, langka, ube, pineapple, mongo, and sweet beans), lankgka (jackfruit, relative of the fig), and macapuno (sweet coconut).

The traffic is controlled pretty well via a “please take a number” system, so don't be too intimidated, as turnover is fast.

A single scoop is pretty hefty for $3.25.

Location:
688 San Jose Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94110


Open daily 11am-11pm