Mick Ruthven's Profile
New Himalayan in Santa Rosa - Himalayan Grill & Curry House
>He's the same chef who has started all of the other himalayan/nepalese places in this area.<
Including the one in Jack London Village in Glen Ellen?
Sonama area, great food!!!
Water Street Bistro in downtown Petaluma, with a patio on the river, is (to me) a cross between a deli and cafe and owned by a credentialed chef. It's a place I take visitors to. Viva Cocolat is also in downtown Petaluma if you're a chocolate lover; great European Sipping Chocolate.
On Hwy 116 as you near Sebastopol is La Bodega Kitchen/Sonoma Wine Shop where the chef makes ravioli from scratch (and other great food) and you can taste their very-well-selected wines. It's a no-glitz friendly place with very good food and wine.
-----
Water Street Bistro
100 Petaluma Blvd N Ste 106, Petaluma, CA 94952
Viva Cocolat
110 Petaluma Blvd N, Petaluma, CA
Sonoma Wine Shop
2295 Gravenstein Hwy S, Sebastopol, CA 95472
The Secret Wine Shop (SF)
The Secret Wine Shop is a soon-to-open (any day as soon as all the permits are in place) wine shop in a San Francisco SOMA live-work loft specializing in small, high quality, California wineries. I was there tonight ("friends", meaning really anyone who wants to go, are invited to Monday evening tastings (free with $5 donation requested) until the shop officially opens. It's the brain-child of Christy Bergman, a Stanford-grad mathematician turned wine buff via UC Davis. I met her two weeks ago when she was pouring at Muscardini's annual barrel tasting. I went there tonight to see what was going on and was impressed with the selection of five reds and one white in a very interesting space. This is a different type of operation completely and those who find it interesting should give it a look. I'd suggest calling before you go.
http://thesecretwineshop.com
-----
The Secret Wine Shop
1097 Howard St, San Francisco, CA 94103
A little slice of Falafel heaven
That sounds great. Do they still barbecue in the cooker outside?
Report: Brick & Bottle in Corte Madera
A friend and I went there tonight. We split a beet salad (very good), the ricotta ravioli (also very good), and the Petrale Sole. We both thought the whole sole presentation was tasty and we ate it all, but (1) the serving of the sole itself was very small and (2) the crabmeat was pretty much undetectable. I wouldn't order the sole again.
The physical place was like a dimly-lit barn (maybe an exaggeration but not by much) and neither one of us liked it. This place will not be on my go-back list except possibly to eat something at the bar.
News Washbag closes again comes on day Ed Moose dies
When was Rose Pistola in that location?
-----
Rose Pistola
532 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94133-2802
Cow Hollow and Union Square - Odd Request
You'll have to decide for yourself about the suitability for your wife, but Ristobar, a relatively new restaurant in the Marina by the owners or Rulli's, has excellent food served in small-plate style so it's easy to select for various preferences. I was there recently and found the food to be stunningly good.
-----
Ristobar
2300 Chestnut St, San Francisco, CA 94123
News Washbag closes again comes on day Ed Moose dies
Yep, I spent my share of time there a long time ago. It definitely was a slice of San Francisco. Really never went after it changed owners.
Curry Dive Chowdown Report: Viva Goa in San Francisco
Were you able to get an impression of the quality of the food in the lunch buffet?
Marin Burger Wars
I definitely don't agree with the negative opinions here about Phyllis's in San Rafael. About the price, they're a half-pound-of-beef burger for $5, extra for extras, and cooked to your specification. Yes, the burgers drip juice like a good burger should. They'll give you sauteed onions on your burger at no extra cost. They're so much larger and better than those tiny In-and-Out fried-to-death fast-food wafers there's no comparison. I don't like the burgers at their newer Novato location as much. They're the ones that seem boring to me; maybe not enough juice dripping :-)
Caveat... I haven't been in about a year. Did the main cook leave?
Napa Valley Wine Train...please comment
To be fair, the article didn't say the wine was any good but was instead about the founder and the success he's made of the operation. I've always avoided the place like the plague, but one time eight years ago through poor planning on my part a visitor and I arrived in Napa Valley just after most tasting rooms closed. We were directed to V. Sattui as the only place open so went there and had a surprisingly good time with OK wine and very gracious staff. But I haven't been back :-)
Emil Villa'a barbeque sauce
>I just hope that if the remaining branches close, a cook will have pity on us and give us the recipe.<
Does that mean that you think the real thing is being made in some restaurant now? I didn't get that impression from reading this thread.
Underwhlemed at Zuni
On my occasional visits to Zuni over a lot of years I've always found the service great; personable, knowledgeable, and helpful. I guess I'm puzzled by the service complaints.
-----
Zuni Cafe
1658 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
Marin Breakfast
I'll second Pier 15 for breakfast (better than lunch). Old bar in front, nice light dining room in back and a patio outside (if it's warm enough) overlooking the slightly-seedy San Rafael boat harbor.
-----
Pier 15
15 Harbor St, San Rafael, CA 94901
Marin Breakfast
The Half Day Cafe in Kentfield has been serving good breakfasts for a long time. Bright space inside with a patio outside.
-----
Half Day Cafe
848 College Ave, Kentfield, CA 94904
Very good lunch at Thai House (Santa Rosa)
Aroon Thai Market on Cleveland Ave. recently started serving cooked food. I haven't been there to try it yet so I won't start a new thread about it. The owner/chef Jackie Bentall owned Lotus Thai restaurant on the square in Healdsburg for several years, then started Bangkok Thai restaurant in the Cleveland Ave location before turning it into an Asian market. She loves to cook and just started that at the market. I don't know if all the menu items on the website are served. Give it a try. It will definitely be casual :-) (Full disclosure - Jackie is a friend of mine.)
http://aroonthaimarket.com
-----
Aroon Thai Market
2770 Cleveland Ave, Santa Rosa, CA 95403
en route from Davis to Petaluma
If you're near Schellville Grill, you're near Fremont Diner on Hwy 121with wonderful food and picnic tables bordering a vineyard.
A few pics: http://ruthvenphotos.com/fremontdiner
-----
Fremont Diner
2660 Fremont Dr, Sonoma, CA
Very good lunch at Thai House (Santa Rosa)
I was in downtown Santa Rosa about 11:30 this morning without my chowhound-derived cheat sheet and decided to just walk along and see what appealed to me for lunch. I almost missed the sign for Thai House because its storefront is only a narrow doorway leading to a flight of stairs, but it got my curiosity aroused and I walked up to the restaurant. I had their Holy Basil from the regular (non-lunch-special) menu, "Sauteed fresh garlic, carrots, onion, bell pepper, zucchini, mushrooms, green beans, bamboo shoots, baby corn and sweet basil" (whew) with chicken (pork, beef, and tofu also offered) and brown rice. It came quickly, beautifully arranged, piping hot, and plentiful. It was very good, with the sparkling flavors of Thai food, and medium hot to my taste. I liked it very much and will stop back when I've up there again to try something else.
Both the young-woman owner and the chef were very gracious. The owner said the restaurant had been there for 15 years but that she became the owner a year ago. I was early for lunch and it was Monday; I was the only customer there when I left just before 12. This place deserves to be tried by any lover of Thai food so you can make up your own mind. The place itself could use some refurbishing but hey, in this economy I see why it's not upgraded and that's OK with me.
-----
Thai House
525 4th St, Santa Rosa, CA 95401
Anyone been to Bistro Ginolina (San Rafael)?
http://www.pacificsun.com/news/show_story.php?id=1803
Great meal at Ristobar (SF, Marina)
On Sunday night I went to Ristobar, the place the owners of Rulli opened in place of Gran Caffe Rulli on Chestnut in the city. Both of us were pretty much stunned by the quality of the food. We had a salad (not on the online menu and can't remember the name) but the flavors were so fresh you'd think they just picked everything.; a pasta dish (also not on the online menu), large flat pasta with pork and wonderful flavor; bietole al forno (oven roasted beets, melted fontina cheese) that was stunning; another vegetable dish that I can't remember enough about except that we both loved it. These are relatively small plates priced from $5-$15. We had four of them (didn't have a "FISH, POULTRY & MEAT" course) and we had enough food without overeating. The wine list is all Italian and the very helpful young waitress brought a few samples. Both of us remarked that we didn't see how food could be much better.
http://ristobarsf.com
-----
Ristobar
2300 Chestnut St, San Francisco, CA 94123
Unfortunate food trend: the "cornbread" scone.
>Can anyone suggest decent Bay Area sources?<
Fat Angel bakery in Fairfax makes the best scones I can remember having. I don't know how they compare with those in England, but to me they're just great and are moist and flavorful enough that I never put anything on them.
-----
Fat Angel Bakery
71 Broadway Blvd, Fairfax, CA 94930
Kao Soy - Sonoma County [moved from Ca. board: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/389173#5400652
I asked the woman serving me (I assume she was Lynn) about the "new owner" application sign in the window and she said the new owner was a niece. It's staying in the family.
Kao Soy - Sonoma County [moved from Ca. board: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/389173#5400652
I stopped there today for lunch and had the ginger chicken salad. It was delicious, with lots of small bits of chicken, red onions, cabbage, lettuce, and lots more tossed with a very good spicy dressing. All very fresh. I'll be stopping again to try some other things.
REVIEW (w/Foodie Porn Pix and Flix!): Fremont Diner - a Gem in Sonoma
I forgot to mention the small side of pickled fennel which was just perfect with the barbecue.
Here are a few pics. The one of the pulled pork sandwich doesn't make evident the generous portion of the pork.
http://ruthvenphotos.com/fremontdiner
REVIEW (w/Foodie Porn Pix and Flix!): Fremont Diner - a Gem in Sonoma
I had their pulled pork sandwich today and it might be the best one I've ever had. It came with their barbecue sauce on the meat and cole slaw on top, both of which I usually avoid, but this time it all worked and was just about perfect. The barbecue sauce is possibly the best I've ever tasted; quite rich and complex with some sweet notes and some hot notes, just great. The smoked pork flavor came right through the sauce; great meat.
Robert Lauriston's New Restaurant in East Bay - "Locanda da Eva"
From the restaurant website ( http://locandadaeva.com ):
hours will be: Tues.-Sat. 5pm-midnight, Sunday 5pm-10pm, closed Mondays
Is there any reason to think food would not be served throughout those hours?
Sonoma wine tasting recommendations (NOT Russian River Valley or Healdsburg)
Thanks for that NYT article. I loved Thomas Keller's “I’m very elementary, I usually drink the wine that I want to drink with the food I want to eat.” I've been saying that for a long time when I drink zins with seafood :-)
Is it still not possible to change names?
If we sign up with a new name, can we use the same email address as is used for the old name?
Is it still not possible to change names?
There's a January 2008 post saying "No, it's not possible to edit nametags. A name change means losing your entire posting history, and there's currently no way to associate your new name with your old one."
Is that still true?
Sonoma wine tasting recommendations (NOT Russian River Valley or Healdsburg)
I remember the time I was driving on Hwy 12 and saw the Imagery sign and decided to stop since I had never been there. As I tasted their pretty-expensive wines (reds) I just wasn't liking them at all and then I discovered they were the high-end wines of Benziger. Some things don't change for me.
I'm sure Enkidu wines seem overripe to some people. I have to admit to liking that type more than some people do. Hey, who need subtle when you have have blockbuster. I'll definitely be at their open house on the weekend of July 17-18.
