farmersdaughter's Profile
Solo Dining in Rome?
Thanks! I would definitely be interested in meeting up with you for a dinner on Thursday the 12th or Friday the 13th if you are interested. Let's figure out how to meet up.
Solo Dining in Rome?
I am traveling alone to Rome in April for a week. I have been to Rome before, but not alone, and I'm a little hesitant about eating out alone and taking up a table for two with just me (I am a woman and not a big eater, although I love Roman food). Can anyone suggest some places to eat in the centro storico that would be appropriate for a single female diner? I would prefer places with entrees at $20 and under, as this is not a trip for extravagant dining. In the US when I travel alone, I just find places where I can sit at the bar and have a meal, but I am not sure I recall seeing much of that in Rome. If it matters, I'm staying between Piazza Navona and the Pantheon, so ideally would prefer places that are within a 30 minute walk from there (including Monti and Trastevere, and maybe Testaccio). Farther afield is OK as I am capable of figuring out the public transit particulars, but prefer to walk to and from dinners. Thanks for any advice!
Pepperplate menu planning app
I am using Pepperplate and my content is synching fine between my iPhone, iPad and laptop.
Restaurant rec for a group of girls?
Check out Bar Agricole (they have a nice private dining area where I had my most recent birthday dinner) and Zare at Fly Trap (had a celebratory dinner there about six or seven weeks ago). I think you can get away at both of those with $60/person but that would not include tax, tip OR drinks. I think DOSA on Fillmore is a great suggestion as I have seen groups of your size there.
Filet Mignon Rossini -- where to find this dish?
I have heard you can request it at La Folie, but I have not tried myself so cannot confirm this.
Ad Hoc or Redd???
You may want to check these two recent threads:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/839615
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/839757
I would go to Redd or Bottega.
Ad Hoc Review - March 2012 [Yountville]
Dinner at Ad Hoc on Friday night was disappointing and although I've eaten there a half dozen times before, I'm not sure I will be back.
We were seated promptly at a great table. Our server, however, seemed to be very unsure of herself, and I got the feeling she was pretty new. She apparently did not know the wine list because she asked me to point on the list to the bottle I ordered (a Crozes Hermitage) since she didn't recognize what it was (and I did pronounce it correctly). She was a little tentative in opening the bottle as well as if she was uncomfortable with her skills with the wine key.
Our first course asparagus salad with poached egg was brought out by the runner without one of the salad elements in it, which was shaved mushrooms. After it was placed on our table, another runner came by and told us what happened and said they were running out the shaved mushrooms separately. At this point I did not want to make a scene by rejecting the dish, so we accepted it; I think the proper thing to do would have been for them to remake the entire salad.
The main course was New York strip steak, and a "ragout" of peas, cippollini onions, spring onions, and spiced aioli. There were four coins of "crispy baked potato" in the ragout as well. Portions on the main were pretty skimpy compared to my recollections in the past. The steak was overdone. Most of the slices were medium to medium rare; none were rare and we weren't asked how we wanted the steak. The steak was undersalted. The peas in the ragout were much too undercooked, and not tender at all. They also had very little flavor and given that I am not seeing peas in the SF farmers market at the Ferry Building, I'm not sure where they came from, but don't think they should have been served. I asked our server what the spices were in the spiced aioli that came with the vegetables. She said she did not know, but she would ask and report back. She never did, and I didn't care enough to follow up.
The cheese course was fine. Dessert was a bread pudding that was very good, but would have been better if they had let it sit for a few minutes to allow the custard to come back together, instead of creating a soupy mess.
We were in and out of there in less than 90 minutes; they are very efficient (too much so, in my opinion) at moving people through. Fine if you are a local, maybe not so fine if, like me, you are taking a weekend away from the city to relax.
All in all, the concept still shines at Ad Hoc, but execution (both in the kitchen and the service) has really gone downhill. I'm sure if I had spoken up at some point during the meal to a manager about all the missteps, they could have corrected them, but frankly, given all the great restaurants in the Napa Valley, I lost interest in trying to do the right thing and just wanted to get out of a lackluster experience. I don't need to go back anytime soon.
-----
Ad Hoc
6476 Washington St., Yountville, CA 94599
Suggestions for 2 dinners in Napa area plus The French Laundry
I just ate at Ad Hoc on Friday night. Execution was poor, service not so good either, so while I have loved it in the past, based on this most recent visit, I would consider something else. Had a great meal at Bottega on Saturday night and would recommend it highly. I was not expecting to be as impressed as I was. I didn't find it heavy at all. My gnocchi with spring vegetables was light and refreshing and my husband's giant raviolo with egg yolk, while rich, was not too large a dish. Morimoto would be another place to consider just because I don't really think there is much of a Japanese influence in TFL (we were there on Sunday) and I think it would be a nice counterpoint of flavors to TFL. If you want to do something more casual, Oenetri is great and I liked Redd Wood also. I also would pick Bouchon over Jeanty - although both are good, if you want a French bistro.
How about La Condesa for well executed Mexican food? That would be a nice counterpoint to TFL.
Dinner near Marsh Theatre on Valencia?
Rice Broker would definitely be your best bet. It's only open Wednesday - Sunday for dinner, though, so check their website to confirm it's open before you go. I have tried a couple of the bowls and have been happy with the price quality ratio, and you'll be able to get in and out of there within your 90 minute request. There are a few other restaurants nearby (like The Crepe House, Zaytoon, etc.) but I think the food at Rice Broker is better. Beretta would be another nearby choice, but if Range is too loud for you, Beretta probably would be as well.
Kimchi in SF
Rainbow has several brands of kimchi - I haven't noticed the brand names. They are in the long refrigerated aisle across from the yogurt.
Tres leches cake in SF?
Dianda's in the Mission has a very good tres leches cake. I just had one at a birthday party this weekend.
Pepperplate menu planning app
I'd love to know if anyone has experimented in Pepperplate with PDFs. When I pull recipes out of magazines, I three hole punch them and put them in a three ring binder until I try the recipe. Once I try it and "approve" it, ideally I'd love to be able to scan it into PDF format and then import it into Pepperplate. Any feedback?
Best lunch spots in the mission??
-Mr. Pollo is now open for lunch
-Local Kitchen
-Luna Park
-Mission Cheese
-Zaytoon
-Pica Pica
-Limon Rotisserie / Limon
-Venga Empanadas
-Beretta and Foreign Cinema (weekends)
Best Cocktail Bars
Has anyone been to Tosca lately? I have not, but it might have the old fashioned vibe that the OP wants.
Chicago Italian - Spiaggia, Picclo Sogno, or ???
I will be in Chicago in June for a small family reunion. We are a group of 8, with the siblings and their spouses ranging in age from 40 - 50, and the parents in their mid 70s. The family members are coming from different US cities (Boston, San Francisco, Washington DC area). The group wants one night's dinner to be Italian food, and Spiaggia was suggested by a friend in Chicago who is not a food oriented person. A co-worker suggested Piccolo Sogno. Thoughts on these two or another Italian restaurant to consider instead? We are looking for entrees in the $25 - $35 range, and would prefer something that is a little refined although fine dining is not the goal, we just want to avoid something super casual that might be too loud for a good conversation.
Just to give you an idea of what we are looking at for the dinners, we are considering Topolobampo for one of the nights, since authentic Mexican is hard to come by for most of us, and possibly Blackbird, Boka or Takashi for the third night, or going a little more casual at Girl and the Goat.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Cannoli shells in SF?
Dianda's sells them (no pre-order required) by the dozen. They are available every day and the price for the dozen was $13.50, I believe. They were great.
BobB, I posted an update on the DCS range on the thread that Robert linked to below.
Your experience w/Jade Range or Viking Range, 30 inch, all gas
Updating this thread at the request of BobB. I bought a 30" DCS all-gas range in 2007 and used it until 2011 when I did another reno and moved into the newly remodeled house. DCS had just recently been bought by Fisher & Paykel so I was a bit worried but I have to say that I absolutely loved that range. I don't do a lot of baking so didn't really feel the need for an electric oven, but now that I have a double electric wall oven I have to say I like electric a lot better. I loved how easy the DCS range was to clean, which was helped by the sealed burners but also by the design of the way the racks over the burners disassembled easily for big wipe downs. The range was as powerful as I expected/needed and I would definitely recommend it. In my newly remodeled place I put in a Capital Maestro cooktop (I have a double wall oven) which I don't think is quite as powerful as the DCS, although the BTUs are the same. I would recommend checking out Capital as well. Good luck everyone.
cocktails near Le Méridien
The Hidden Vine is a nice wine bar very close to Le Meridien. I don't know if they have a full bar. I have only had wine there and was not paying attention.
Cannoli shells in SF?
Is there any place in SF where I can buy freshly made cannoli shells to stuff myself?
Galette 88 - SF
I went for lunch today and had the "basique" as described by Robert above. I thought the crepe had good flavor, not as good as Ti Couz in the mid 90s when it was amazing, but still pretty good. Interesting that they say the batter has no flour in it, as the texture was so light to me such that I would have assumed it had a little bit of wheat flour. The room is a little bit too dark for my liking, making it a bit hard for a solo diner to read. Friendly and quick service means this will be in my regular rotation for a quick tasty and inexpensive lunch.
-----
Galette 88
88 Hardie Pl, San Francisco, CA 94104
Cheap eats in Castro after 9-9:30PM
Canela on Market at Noe serves until 11 p.m., midnight on Friday and Saturday. Prices aren't in their online menu, but were in line with Thai House Express. Food is not stellar, but good enough to recommend.
Enough rustic italian!
Good suggestions in this thread. Definitely check out Quince. Their four course menu is $95 and definitely not rustic. The pastas are amazing.
Mid to High range restaurants/dishes that is good for takeout?
I get take out from Dosa frequently. The dosas travel pretty well and all the curries are great.
Best sommelier in the Bay Area 2011
I think the premise of Heirloom Cafe, at least as I perceive their message, is that it's a "neighborhood" restaurant with a strong focus on aged wines. I don't think it is a destination restaurant with respect to the food, and in fact I think most of the food on the menu is stuff that a decently skilled cook could prepare at home. The food is there to enhance (or at least not compete with) the aged wine and the wine program generally. I don't see the restaurant as being a destination wine geek restaurant, though. Given their fantastic corkage policy for aged wines, it's a place I choose to go when I have a great bottle that I want to open but don't feel like cooking. The wines by the glass (and bottle) are interesting enough that I always read the list to see what's there even when I bring my own, just for the enjoyment of seeing what they are collecting.
Best sommelier in the Bay Area 2011
David Lynch - Quince and Cotogna
Shelley Lindgren - A16 and SPQR
-----
A16
2355 Chestnut St., San Francisco, CA 94123
SPQR
1911 Fillmore Street, San Francisco, CA 94115
Cotogna
490 Pacific Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133
Healthy, walkable North Beach?
There is Loving Hut on Stockton and Vallejo. It is healthy, but I don't think it tastes good. YMMV. http://lovinghut.us/sanfrancisco/index.html
Lotus Garden reopens
I was just going to post this too! I got a call from Kathy Tang, the owner, to let me know. Going to head over there this week. I have missed their excellent food, especially the banh xeo.
Atelier Crenn vs. Commonwealth
You really can't go wrong with either one. Crenn is a little more upscale in feel but I think the food, while technically brilliant, lacks soul. Commonwealth is much more convivial and the food there has a purpose and a sense of place that I find missing at Crenn. Whatever you do, I urge you to choose quickly (i.e., by this afternoon) so you can let the reservation at the other restaurant go. It's only fair to the restaurant to give them enough time to book the table that you won't be using.
Charlotte - Business Dinner for a Group - Uptown
Thanks all - we're going to book Halcyon. I'll report back!
