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CarlieInLA's Profile

Plum or Wood Tavern?

Thanks, I we love local, american, french. Based on what you said, Wood Tavern sounds probably like mroe our scene. Any other similar restaurant recommendations we might be missing? Or any specific dishes at Wood Tavern you recommend? I tried to do some research but the time is ticking away.

Plum or Wood Tavern?

Got a last minute babysitter and I have reservations at both, but need to pick one. From LA, haven't been to either. Which do you recommend? And any dishes you recommend?

Thanks!

Live Dungeness Crabs In SFV for today?

Please help. We planned to buy crabs at the 99 Ranch on Van Nuys and they are out.
Any other place you can suggest near Encino?

Dungeness crab East Bay. Where???

We are visiting my fam and always have crab this time of year. We can't find any!!

Any places in the east bay selling crab? We are in Danville.

Napa - Spring Mountain Wineries - Recommendations?

Thank you, we weren't able to get an appointment that worked with the other timing.
Thinking we might have to just stick to Pride and Schweiger. Some of the others had tastings starting at $60, which is a bit steep for us.

Napa - Spring Mountain Wineries - Recommendations?

Smith Madrone is also closed on Friday :-(
Any other thoughts?

Napa - Spring Mountain Wineries - Recommendations?

Thank you! I just found out that Keenan is closed on Friday so maybe Smith-Madrone is a good alternative.
We have appointments at Pride and Schwaiger, so looking for one more.
Thanks for the Corison info as well. I do have an appointment there, so if time permits we will def check it out.

Napa - Spring Mountain Wineries - Recommendations?

Thank you! Keena sounds great, also Domain Charbay. So many new places, might be hard for us to narrow down!

Napa - Spring Mountain Wineries - Recommendations?

If you had to pick 3 what would be your top choices? I have appointments at several but want to narrow down, as we also want to go down to the St Helena area as well.

Thanks!

Napa - Spring Mountain Wineries - Recommendations?

Hello -

Heading to Napa next week and wanting to try some new wineries, we have been to many around Napa so I was thinking to head up Spring Mountain. Based on some research, here are some we are considering, can you please give me any feedback?

Pride - Def want to go here
Schweiger
Smith Madrone
Sherwin
Any others?

Also considering visiting:
Corison
Milat

We like strong reds, cabs, zins, pinots. Any others you recommend in that area?

Thank you!

Morro Bay Visit - Dinner Ideas?

We ended up going ot Hoppe's for dinner. The garden is beautiful, food was pretty good. Nothing amazing, I had the foai gras appetizer which was pretty tasty. We had the lamb shank and duck. Duck was well prepared and good. Lamb was OK, nothing special. I would say for the prices, it wasn't amazing, and I would maybe go for lunch or some apps to enjoy the garden.

Chowtastic Recs for Tarzana/Reseda

Elephant Hut in Encino is delish. Really good thai food for that area, IMO.
Pretty new, I enjoyed the noodle dishes and the curry. Also loved the thai samosas.

http://elephanthutthaifood.com/

Morro Bay Visit - Dinner Ideas?

Oh thank you! That place looks really good. Never would have thought to look up in Cayucos. Definitely a contender. Any other recs besides the abalone there?

Morro Bay Visit - Dinner Ideas?

We are heading to Morro Bay for an evening after some wine tasting in Paso Robles. Last time we visited we went to The Galley and I enjoyed our meal. We have also been to Taco Temple for a casual meal and that was very delish.

We are now looking for a good seafood place, that is fairly nice, hopefully with oysters as an option.
We thought about going to The Galley again, also Windows on the Water looks nice. Or perhaps there is a new place?

Any ideas are greatly appreciated!

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Taco Temple
2680 Main St, Morro Bay, CA 93442

Where is a good resturant with the best bread pudding (preferably with liquor!)

I thought she meant liquor in the pudding. If not, then u are right, Barbrix only serves wine/beer. But they have delicious wine. And a tawny port with their bread pudding is so good!

Where is a good resturant with the best bread pudding (preferably with liquor!)

Barbrix has a dulce de leche bread pudding with a rum sauce that is DIVINE!

Want to buy oysters in the Valley...where?

Thx for the advice on Kumamoto's. I just also found out you can order then via Whole Foods if you give them 3 days notice!

Want to buy oysters in the Valley...where?

Anyone know were I might be able to buy fresh oysters, unshucked in the valley? We live in Encino, so anywhere close is helpful. We have bought them at the Whole Foods in Tarzana but their quality is mixed and they have only recently carried Fannie Bay which are not our favorites. We prefer smaller oysters like kumomoto.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Picca

Went to Picca on Saturday and LOVED IT! Everything was great, the cocktails were amazing.
Had several inticuchos, corazon, scallops, beef, chicken wings, cod, shrimp. The scallops, corazon and cod were my favs, but love the other ones.

Also had the ceviche crocante, really yummy. The yellowtail causa, really good, oysters were amazing. Jalea mixta was fine, but not as exciting as other options. Arroz de erizo was delish.

Can't wait to go back! So great. We sat at the bar and I really liked it, it was fun to see the bartenders making those amazing drinks. Our bill was pretty high $180, but i think it was because of the cocktails, we had 2 each.

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Picca
9575 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90035

Anniversary Dinner - Picca or Hatfields?

It's OK, we decided to go to Picca, and I am sooo glad we did! We had 2 rounds of heart anticuchos as well as, wings, beef filet, shrimp, scallops (so good!). We also had the oysters, ceviche and paella.

It was delicious and we will definitely be back. We sat at the bar which I really liked because we weren't crammed in and got a good view of the amazing cocktails they made.

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Picca
9575 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90035

Anniversary Dinner - Picca or Hatfields?

Thx for the insight. I had a feeling that might be the case. I assume it's also super loud so we won't be able to really hold a good conversation?
Those heart anticuchos are calling my name though!

Anniversary Dinner - Picca or Hatfields?

Need some help. I know the restaurant vibes/food etc are completely different, but I think that is why I am having a hard time deciding.

We have a baby, so we don't get out much, so I want to have a great experience. I went to Hatfields prior to their location change and loved the food. I have heard great things about food/service and I think it will make it a very nice "special occasion".

On the other hand, I love trying new places, and am hearing great things about Picca, and I am from South America so Peruvian food is a love.

I am all about the best food, but also want some ambiance since its our anniversary. Thoughts?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

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Picca
9575 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90035

Sonoma/Napa Review - Thanks for your help!

Thanks to some great advice from hounders, our trip to Sonoma/Napa was great. Here is the original post:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/764644

For lunch, we went to Girl and The Fig which was great. I had the cauliflower/celery root soup which was creamy and delicious. Also had the duck confit which was a great version. Not greasy at all, and the beans and tomato really helped round out the dish. Others in my group had burgers which had mixed reviews. My sis in law had a hard time eating hers b/c the bread was so thick.

For dinner we went to Oenotri which was amazing! Had the chef's selection of salumi, all meats were absolutely delish, we wished we ordered the selection of 10. I had the beef tartare which was one of the best I have had. The meat/spices/nuts all blended perfectly and it was served with an egg that was creamy and really accented the flavors. The bread was perfectly toasted and smoky which really went well with the beef. My husband had the squab with farro which was also delicious. For entree I had the lamb sausage with wild nettle radiatore. Perfectly cooked pasta, delicious sauce, and lamb. Others at the table had the strozzapreti with lamb ragu, pizza, and ravioli. Everyone raved about their dish. We had a delish panacotta to finish out the meal. Service was good. Overall a wonderful meal and I will be returning.

Wineries we enjoyed:
Gunlach Bundschu - excellent reds
Ravenswood - We tasted the non-commercial side and really enjoyed the whites. Their zins were Ok , but don't compare to Paso Robles
Benziner - Didn't love the atmosphere, very touristy, but I did enjoy some of their wines, esp the Sav Blanc.
Frog's Leap - I loved Frog's Leap in Napa. The gardens are beautiful and I love that they serve you the tastings and then let you enjoy at your leisure.

Thanks everyone for your great advise, as always.

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Oenotri
1425 1st St, Napa, CA 94559

Help! Overwhelmed by Sonoma/Napa Information

Thanks Vday and Cortez, we have our reservation at Oenotri and I will be sure to report back!

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Oenotri
1425 1st St, Napa, CA 94559

Help! Overwhelmed by Sonoma/Napa Information

Thanks Chow! Since we have some out of towners, its probably good to have a mix of good wines and nice views. I will take your rec on Schug and have also heard Gunlach mentioned several times so I think we will head there too. Wellington also seems nice and we do love a good port!

Help! Overwhelmed by Sonoma/Napa Information

We do not want to go on the bus route!! Please let me know about good wines, we don't really care about the gift shop. V. Sattui is my worst nightmare.

Help! Overwhelmed by Sonoma/Napa Information

Thanks for the info, I looked on their website and couldn't find any hours. Might be a good option.

Help! Overwhelmed by Sonoma/Napa Information

Wow! Thanks so much everyone! I will be doing some major research based on all the recs. We are actually staying in Napa, but my SIL will be there for a few days before doing the Napa side. We have done it many times so we wanted to taste in Sonoma this time. Vineyards Inn looks interesting, but we will only be around for lunch. I have a reservation at Girl and the Fig for a possible lunch option.

I have read a lot about Healdsburg but the drive is just too much from Napa. We will have to book a separate trip another time just for this area!

For dinner we are going to stay on the Napa side where our hotel is. I am still tossing around ideas, but liking Oenotri the more I read about it.

Thanks again everyone, and any further info is greatly appreciated!

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Vineyards Inn
8445 Sonoma Hwy, Kenwood, CA 95452

Oenotri
1425 1st St, Napa, CA 94559

Help! Overwhelmed by Sonoma/Napa Information

Thanks all, but as I mentioned in my original post, we have some picky eaters. They don't like mushrooms, tomatoes, eggplant, ect. A pre-fix is not going to work for us.

I think I have narrowed down to :
Oenotri
Angele

Any feedback on those specific restaurants?

Also any recs for Sonoma wineries please???

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Oenotri
1425 1st St, Napa, CA 94559

Help! Overwhelmed by Sonoma/Napa Information

Thanks Jasmine. I thought about that, but with a seafood allergy, a tasting menu option only probably won't work.

Has anyone been to Oenotri? How is that place?

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Oenotri
1425 1st St, Napa, CA 94559