Eat Like Ushi

San Francisco has changed a lot since my last visit in 2011. Or maybe I have. Or both.

2011 was staying near the Ferry building, going to Fisherman's Wharf and riding bikes along to the Golden Gate Bridge. 2021 was staying near Union Square, surrounded by homelessness, drug addicts, and people peeing/pooing in plain sight on the street. How it has all turned.

Anyway, from a food point of view I was delighted to find an Uzbek place on Google mapsnear the hostel. And visiting Russia turned on my palate to Uzbek food (https://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/depo-moscow-and-batman-and-uzbeks-moscow-06-2019, https://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/uchkuduk-st-petersburg-06-2019).

There were so many items I wanted to try; lamb, rice and noodles in all their forms. But alas there is only limited stomach space and nowhere to store leftovers.

- Beef somsa (crunchy bun stuffed with lamb, onion, spices) USD6
- Manti (central Asia style dumpling, ground beef, flour, onions, spices) USD18
- Sofi osh (lamb, carrots, onion, rice, raisins, chickpeas, garlic, cumin, black pepper) USD15

Not better than what I had in Russia, but very good nonetheless.

I started to discover the beauty of West African food when living in London (mainly from Nigeria or Ghania). When the opportunity arises to eat it again, I will jump at it. 

Kabba's Kitchen specialises in Senegalese food, which I think was a first for me.

- Thiebou Yapp (lamb and rice topped with onion sauce and vegetables) USD12.5 - delicious and spicy;
- Fataya meat pies (3 deep fried empanada filled with beef and spices) USD 6.95.

A burger after a nearby walk up toward some falls.

- Grilled Veggie & Portobello (swiss, balsamic tomato, squash, basil pesto mayo, whole wheat roll) USD14.5
- High on Fire (Angus beef, fire mayo, candied jalapenos, pepperjack, bacon) USD16.25

We were making the long drive from Yellowstowe to Portland and decided it was best to breakup the journey with a stopover. It was our final night during our several week journey starting from Nashville, south to New Orleans, across to San Diego, then up through the national parks. Finally 10000km would take us to Portland.

We weren't craving any particular food that night, and surely Boise wasn't known for anything particular either. Something that was unique (and walking distance from our Airbnb room) was a burger place that specialises in fries. Or should I say a fries place that also has burgers?

I don't know anywhere that lets you pick your spud (yam, sweet, purple, red, gold, russet) and also lets you choose your cut (regular, curly, homestyle, shoestring). There's also a huge sauce and seasoning station for self-service too.

Burgers-wise we ordered one The Classic (crisp lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles, smoked special sauce) and The Heat (crisp lettuce, blueberry compote, habaneros, spicy ketchup). I can't remember if we got both beef, or if I tried my hand at bison again. Either way the burgers were nice, The Heat had a heaty sweet creativity to it, and the fries were great.

Would definitely go back (although it's hard to know when I'd be in Boise again...)

It might sound morbid but after seeing all these bison around Yellowstone, including a relatively angry one that was probably way too close to the walking circuit on the way to Hayden Valley, I wanted to try a bison steak. It isn't everyday you come across that opportunity, and could be the last in my foreseeable lifetime.

There were a few places in West Yellowstone with this on the menu, and for no real reason I settled on Old Town Cafe.

Although there were people waiting outside, we only did for a short time. Maybe it's one of the benefits of being tourists and only having 2 of us.

- Bison top sirloin 8oz USD29 - ordered it rare but was served medium rare. Identical to beef with no additional flavour. Not very tender. It came with mash with gravy, beans in sweet tomato, a biscuit.
- Rainbow Trout USD23.95 - a bit overcooked but ok. Potato was chalky and plain. Green beans soft beyond texture. Bread with butter. 
- Salad with garlic croutons. Nice beef vegetable barley soup. Alcoholic 5% Montana huckleberry lemonade was nice also.

Overall a bit disappointing, maybe because the cooking wasn't that good, but also because I had recently had an excellent steak enroute to Zion (https://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/balcony-one-virgin-07-2021).

When all of Yellowstone was booked up and there were limited options nearby, Jared's was still there. The reviews are mixed and the available mini did look tiny. And it was. A single room with a double bed, kettle and little wall TV squished in a way you had to arrange your bags tactically or keep some in the car. But it was comfortable and functional enough for a few days. They also have a shop and this excellent 80s-90s retro games room to keep yourself well entertained.

The restaurant is convenient, but let's be honest. It's not a restaurant. I think the teenager who took our order and the one (same one?) who cooked our food probably hadn't done it before. It was very basic. Food is food sometimes.

I would actually stay here again. I mean, ideally somewhere closer to Yellowstone is better but this is fine and not too far away and much cheaper (and available). But make sure to get food in West Yellowstone instead.

After "checking in" (ie. thinking about how dire it looked but accepting this was it), we went to the Colter Bay main village area to the pay showers (actually a lot better than I anticipated) and then the limited food options which was pizza down the end of the road.

After a short wait for the 18" monster pizza, we drove a short distance to watch the sunset over Jackson Lake, finding a table on the stone beach area. The pizza - average but acceptable. The overall experience - not too bad at all.