jaweino's Profile
New England Style Hot Dog Buns
I've bought them from OPLS in Redwood City. They are the real thing.
Wodhouse Fish Co. on Fillmore has them now, but they won't sell them as of last week.
Porchetta at Poggio in Sausalito
We became big fans of porchetta off "taco trucks" in Le Marche and Tuscany, so we were thrilled to hear about the Monday night porchettas at Poggio. While it was a lot fancier than the versions we had in Italy it was wonderful and definitely worth the trip over the bridge to Sausalito. Their version is a whole roast pig stuffed with pork sausage and served over a wood fire roasted bed of fagioli. The flavors and textures were heavenly. We accompanied it with a 2003 Damilano Barolo which matched up wonderfully.
We started off with an excellent house made Buratta and finished with a Montenero chocolate cake, a lemon adn pisachio mousse and Hazelnut and chocolate mouusse all of which were outstanding.
We look forward to going back and trying some of the other items on the menu.
Monterey for French foodie relatives - Help!
Chris's is basically a bakery with two tables. They also have good sandwiches especially their homemade meatballs or pulled pork with coleslaw. Their lunch special is great with a sandwich, chips, drink, and a cookie for about $7. It is on Soledad in Monterey next to the Monte Vista Market.
Monterey for French foodie relatives - Help!
For a memorable breakfast or lunch try The Marketplace at the Highlands Inn. It has the best view in the area and a good breakfast or lunch. It is pricy though. Some offbeat places for lunch with very good food, but unique to the area are Phatburger (not to be confused with Fatburger in LA), Chris's Fine Confections, and Mi Tierra.
The best place for a memorable dinner is Citronnelle at Carmel Valley Ranch. I've also had some memorable meals at L'Auberge de Carmel, but I haven't tried it since they've changed chefs and format recently.
Road Trip up the Coast! Need recs, please!
The best place to get up to the minute info on road closures throughout the state is the Cal Trans web site. http://www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi.
Hwy 1 has been closed for about a week now. As of this morning the fire was only 3% contained. I live about 20 miles north of the fire and am considering evacuating because of a constant rain of ash and very poor air quality.
Monterey area gourmet food stores?
I don't know where you got the idea that there's a lot of traffic in Carmel. Parking can sometimes be a little problem on the weekends. The Cheese Shop in Carmel Plaza is well worth the trip into Carmel. I also like Bruno's Market on Junipero. It has a parking lot. However if you are willing and able to walk 2 blocks there never is a parking problem that I've observed.
Lichee Garden S.F., Unterman review from Examiner
The won ton soup had no noodles.
The pork chops definitely weren't salt and pepper.
I forgot to mention that the total bill came to just under $50.
Lichee Garden S.F., Unterman review from Examiner
Four of us had lunch at LG yesterday, and were very happy. The place was very crowded with funeral banquets. We found the owner, Annie, to be extremely helpful once she had time to devote to us, which was toward the end of the meal. She was recommending dishes to try the next time we came. We were amazed at how cheap it was. The food was very good and the portions large.
BBQ Pork Won Ton Soup: This was very good. The won ton wrappers were very delicate
Pressed Duck with Taro: This was also very good pretty much as PU described.
House Special Pork Chop: This was my favorite dish. It was slightly sweet and delicious.
Shrimp in Minced Pork Lobster Sauce: This wasn’t the lobster sauce of my Bostonian dreams, but it was good.
Beef and Oyster Sauce: This was a well executed version of one of my old favorites.
Sweet and Sour Chicken: This was much better than I was expecting. It wasn’t too sweet as it usually is.
The service was a little disjointed. Things came out in seemingly random order. The soup was served last. I suppose because we ordered it last and it was on the bottom of the order form.
Breakfast Taco in Monterey
The only place I can think of within walking distance is Papa Chano's on Alvarado, about 1.5 blocks away. You could get in your car and drive to Mi Tierra in the market at the corner of Fremont and Broadway.
HELP!! Need fun/casual restaurant in Monterey
Either Tarpy's or Montrio has a separate area that could accomodate your group.
Pac Heights Recommendations?
1300 Fillmore is really good. It's only a few month's old, but has caught on very well and has become one of our favorites.
We really like SOQR, but their tiny space and no reservations policy makes eating there tricky. I think the long waits at SPQR have ended up being a boon to Florio right next door, a solid bistro, but not particularly memorable.
cow hollow
We had a terrific lunch and a pleasant walk today in Cow Hollow and the Marina. We started with hot dogs at What’s Up Dog corner of Fillmore and Filbert. They use Schwartz’s 8” all beef dogs. The NY Dog and the Chili Cheese Dog were both very good. They also have hot links, linguica, bratwurst, kielbasa, tofurkey and more. www.whatsupdogs.com
We then took a pleasant stroll over to Kara’s Cupcakes on Scott between Lombard and Chestnut. We had the chocolate salt and the chocolate coconut with good Flying Goat coffee. These cupcakes may be the best I’ve ever had. They were messy however, since they were so fresh they all but fell apart when we tried to share them. They are a bit pricy at $3.00 each, but we were so impressed, we walked out with another six in a box. http://karascupcakes.com
Christopher's in Carmel
Walter Manzke left Bouche and Auberge over a year ago. Christopher's is an allright place, but not memorable. I would definitely recomend the California Market at Highlands Inn for breakfast or lunch. I'll second the fish tacos and I also really like their burger. The view can't be beat. I don't know what Pacific's Edge is like since Rick Edge left. He was quite creative.
LaPlaya and Forge in the forest are mediocre at best. I like Marinus a lot, but the place I'd really recommend for a memorable meal while you're in Carmel Valley is Citronelle at Carmel Valley Ranch. I know that both Bouche and Auberge have changed their menus recently, and I haven;t tried them since. Their sister place, Cantinetta Luca has wonderful food, but an uncomfortable noise level.
Solo dining in Monterey?
I think you'll be fine at Passion Fish. If I were dining alone, I'd probably go to Cantinetta Luca in Carmel, because the food is great, but the noise level makes conversation very difficult, so solo would be an advantage.
Asilomar
I've was there in November for their rather extensive Thanksgiving Dinner, which they do annually for several thousand people. They did a very adequate job of it. Nothing was great, but nothing was awful, and everyone had a good time. Some of the people we talked with have been coming back for years. We will consider doing it again. In addition to Turkey they had roast beef and salmon Wellington, plus numerous salads and desserts.
Monterey
For the kind of group you describe I'd recommend Citronelle or L'Auberge de Carmel. Both are a little bit of distance from Monterey, but worth the effort to get there.
If you want to stay in Monterey, Stokes Adobe can provide you with a private room for your group. Montrio would be another option.
Rehearsal Dinner in Monterey...
Three places come to mind. Casanova, Rio Grill, and Stokes Adobe. I'n not sure if Stokes has a room large enough for that many people, but the other two definitely do.
Pasta Mia in Monterey?
It was on Lighthouse in PG. It closed down a few years ago, then reopened about a year later, only to close down again. Something else is now in that location, but I don't remember what it is, and I haven't tried it yet.
Buying Fish in Monterey?
The Community College FM is Thursday afternoon. The downtown Monterey is Tuesday afternoon. That's the biggest one in the area. I think the Marina one is Saturday morning. I've never been to it.
You can often get fresh fish on the pier.
Volcano Grill & Mai Tai Bar in Carmel Valley
I think you have the wrong Carmel Valley. This one is in Monterey County.
03/08 Carmel Italian Report:Cantinetta Luca and Il Fornaio
I'm very fond of the food at Luca, but the noise level is seriously offputting. I am not at all fond of Il Fornaio, and prefer Piatti any day.
Citronelle in Carmel Valley
The prices were high. The appetizers ranged from $12 to $19. The salad and escargots were $12, the Scallops $16 and the Lobster $19.
The entrees we had ranged from $27 to $35. The Sweetbreads $27, duck $28 and Lobster $35.
Desserts were from $7 to $12 with most being at $12. The berry tart was $7.
They have a 5 course Prix Fixe tasting menu that seems to be a bargain at $65, given the ala carte prices.
Citronelle in Carmel Valley
We had a very good experience at Citronelle this evening. We've been fans of Michel Richard since his tiny bakery days in LA.
The short story on Citronelle is that the ambience was great, the food was wonderful, and the service needs some work.
AMBIENCE: The room is small with a nice view overlooking the golf course. We saw wild turkeys and deer from our table. Althought he place was pretty full it was not at all noisy. A large looped sail cloth covers the whole ceiling and softens the noise.
Wine: They have a good wine list with a large choice of California and French wines. They also had a very good selection of half bottles. Their corkage charge is $30 which gets waived if you order a bottle from the list too. We had couple of glasses of very good '05 Gachon Cotes de Nuit.
APPETIZERS: We had Nantucket Cape Scallops which were tiny scallops with a little poached onion in a buerre blanc sauce very tasty if not too adventurous.
Lobster w/ "Begula" pasta. (not a typo) Which consisted of a New England lobster tail with hollandaise sauce, a poached egg, a slice of potato, and squid ink colored couscous, piled in a bowl egg on bottom , potato, lobster covered with black couscous that looked like caviar. It was a real hit with a variety of flavors and textures that blended very well.
Escargot "Crumble". This was 4 little cups each containing two escargots, bread crumbs, pistachios, and macadamias in a kind of custardy concoction like a cobbler. Mrs. J who was very skeptical of such a complicated sounding presentation was practically licking the little cups.
Finally the least adventurous of us had an excellent Caesar Salad.
ENTREES: Two of us had "Lobster with Potato Fried Rice No Rice" It was a lobster claw and tail cooked with ginger (very subtle) and served on a bed of riced potatoes fried with vegetables like fried rice. I'm from New England, and I'm usually not very patient with anyone messing around much with lobster, but this was very good. The flavor of the lobster was the main show and did not have to fight with the other ingredients. It was cooked just right. The vegetables in the "Fried Rice were fresh and crisp.
Sweetbreads was a little bit of a misnomer since there was only one delicately breaded and fried perfectly. It came with two pieces of veal medallion, which were also excellent.
Duck. The dish calls for a leg confit and a breast that is very slow cooked. However, the person who ordered it requested and got two confit legs and no breast. The confit was removed from the bone and was delicious.
DESSERT: We had Orange Souffle, Le Kit Kat Bar, and a Berry Tart. All three were excellent.
The Orange Souffle (takes 8 minutes) came on a huge plate with a little dish of whipped cream, a pitcher of orange sauce and caramel ice cream.
Le Kit Kat Bar was ordered by Mrs. J who doesn't like Kit Kat Bars. She loved this one. It came with two bars, chocolate ice cream and a macadamia nut tuile.
The berry tart was a base of a very good shortbread cookie covered with a paste of dates, then a layer of fresh blueberries and blackberries, with the whole thing covered with fresh raspberries. On the side was pistachio ice cream and a pistachio tuile.
Bread: there were miniature baguettes and multigrain rolls, both of which were very good.
SERVICE: This is the place that needs some work. We quickly finished off our first round of breads and it wasn't replaced until we asked. Ditto for the water. We had to ask twice before we got a refill. Someone ordered an iced tea half way through the meal, and it didn't get delivered until we asked again.
03/08 Restaurants with Greatest Views: Rocky Point,Carmel
Three places with good views and food are (N to S) The Marketplace at the Highlands Inn, Post Ranch, and the Ventana.
GOING ON A FOODIE TOUR OF CARMEL AND MONTEREY
In Carmel I'd try Patisserie Boiserie on Mission St. for lunch and Flying Fish which is right below it for dinner. For the best place to visit in the area make sure you go to Point Lobos, about 2.5 miles south of Rio Rd. on Hwy 1.
A little outside of Carmel City, but handy if you're going to Pt. L for lunch, try RG Burgers in the Crossroads shopping center ( Rio Rd and Hwy 1) or Ricky Ann's on Carmel Rancho Lane accross from the post office.
For lunch in Monterey, try Chris's next to Monte Vista Market on Soledad, Mi Tierra Taqueria in the back of a market on the corner of Broadway & Fremont, or get a great sandwich at Randy's on 10th St. and eat in the picnic area of El Estero Park.
A couple of places I like in the downtown area for lunch are Papa Chano's on Alvarado and Wild Plum on Munras.
For dinner in Monterey try Amir's Kebob House on Lighthouse near the Aquarium.
We just had excellent Dim Sum at the Oriental Pearl, 760 Clay St., SF. It's order off the menu, but the quality was very good and the prices reasonable.
Carmel/Monterey Advice
I wouldn't really call Da Giovani Italian. Mediteranean would be more apt. Given a choice between DG and Casanova, I'd go with Casanova. We had a very good dinner there last night.
Bouchee has recently changed their menu to a bistro style, and I haven't tried it since the change. I am a real fan of Cal Staminov of Marinus, so I'd recommend it. I haven't been to Fresh Cream in quite a while, because I find it rather pretentious. I wouldn't recommend it for 20 somethings.
Mi Tierra Taqueria in Seaside
I'll have to add Mi Tierra to Baldemeros as my favorite taqueria's. It's located on the corner of Fremont and Broadway inside a Mexican Market. When I stopped there for lunch yesterday, I was the only Gringo in a good sized crowd. They spoke to me in Spanish until they heard my accent and then switched to perfect English.
They had a large assortments of meats to choose from and Plattillos of Chivo and Barbacoa. The barbacoa seemed to be shaved from a shawarma type of unit. I had a Torta al Pastor which was very satisfying with tasty meat lettuce tomatoes and peppers on a large roll. At $4.99 it was one of the more expensive items on the menu.
I will definitely be back.
Carmel/Monterey Advice
White House is no longer here. You should add L'Auberge de Carmel and Cantinetta Luca, both under the same ownership as Bouchee, to your list.
Citronelle at Carmel Valley Ranch is just a few weeks old, but should be excellent, based on Michel Richard's previous efforts. I will report on it after my sampling on the 18th.
1 Night in Carmel/Monterey, please help me decide!
Michel Richard has just opened a new Citronelle at Carmel Valley Ranch. I know the room is very cozy and romantic from its previous incarnations. The new Citronelle is just a few weeks old, and I haven't had a chance to try it yet
