bdl's Profile
Enough rustic italian!
L'ardoise is a nice, cozy place but I never understood the accolades. The food is solid unimaginative French with hit or miss execution. Most entrees come with the same accompaniments. I also find it odd to find "tiger prawns" and "angus beef" advertised on the menu.Reads kind of like a chain or a restaurant from the 80's. NIce for the neighborhood but not worth a trip IMO.
Non-vegetarian restaurant that does great vegetarian?
If I were only looking vegetarian, I would choose Udupi palace over Dosa. Equally good food (if not better) at a fraction of the cost. Also at Firefly two out of seven entrees are always vegetarian, well thought out and executed.
Need a Tasting Menu for GF Birthday Dinner
Ha! I must be a true San Franciscan. I thought GF was gluten free, not girlfriend.
SF Restaurant for Birthday Dinner
I would say Range or Firefly would be closest to Rivoli on this side of the bay. Jardiniere is more formal and maybe a bit stuffy. If cocktails are part of the equation than I would say Range.
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Rivoli Restaurant
1539 Solano Ave, Berkeley, CA 94707
Finding the Best Fried Chicken in San Francisco !!
Got an email from Firefly saying that starting tonight they're doing fried chicken every Tuesday. Until now it would just come and go. Had it once and it hit all the right notes.
Good gluten-free hamburger buns in the Bay Area?
Udi's buns (both hamburger and hot dog) are now stocked at Whole Foods and Rainbow Grocery.
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Rainbow Grocery
1745 Folsom St, San Francisco, CA 94103
La Ciccia
I have found that New Zealand lamb is generally less flavorful (and less expensive) than Domestic lamb. On a somewhat related note, can anyone tell me if La Ciccia is committed to using sustainable seafood and hormone/antibiotic free meat? It seems like a lot of restaurants that are insanely popular (and especially French ones, which makes no sense to me since French chefs are historically fanatical about the sourcing of their ingredients) get a free pass on this and it bugs me. Perhaps also another thread.
Joe Johnson of Johnson's BBQ passed away
Just saw this...
http://d10watch.blogspot.com/2011/04/joe-johnson-of-johnsons-bbq-will-be.html
All Seasons in Diamond Heights--really good take out dim sum. How is the restaurant?
Agreed that the dim sum is good to very good, albeit expensive. Dinner there is also good but beware that they have several menus. If you are Caucasian they will automatically give you a menu with all the usual generic Chinese choices, i.e. Mongolian Beef, General Tsao's Chicken etc. Ask for their regular menu and you will receive a large book with a glorious assortment of exotic delicacies. Stir fried Silk worms, a whole page of Abalone choices, Frogs, Turtles, Live Shrimp Etc. They also have a specials menu that is in Chinese so I can't speak to that. Service was also kind and efficient. Certainly worth a try. Quite a different world than Yet Wah was, but sorry, no Karaoke.
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Yet Wah Restaurant
2140 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94121
SF Chron top 100 restaurants 2011
"it's nice to see he realized it too". Like House of Prime Rib, Greens, Nopalito, O Chane, Town Hall, Dosa etc. etc. If he got some right, I think it just the law of averages. The list still seems for the most part arbitrary.
Bugs - Where to Go To Eat them.
At the All Seasons restaurant in Diamond Heights they have a stir fried silk worm dish. Wasn't sure at first if that's what they meant but there was even a picture of them on the menu and they looked very "buggy".
Annual birthday dinner dilemma
Firefly has a relatively new chef with a nice pedigree and the food seems a bit more interesting and refined
http://www.fireflyrestaurant.com/menu.html
Fried Chicken in San Francisco
The server there told me the chickens they served were commercial Texas birds.
Long time Nancy Oakes fans underwhelmed
Not to discount your Prospect experience, but comparing it to L'Avenue is not really fair. I can think of countless high profile chefs whose current grand venues couldn't compare to their original endeavors. At L'Avenue, Nancy was cooking on the line and had her hand in every plate, and it was indeed something special. Even at Boulevard (certainly in its later days) I'm sure Nancy did not do much actual line cooking; and while good, it never really measured up to what she was able to do on a smaller scale. As for the pricing, L'avenue existed in a totally different time. The cost of doing business in S.F. as well as the cost of ingredients were fractions of what they are today. I'd be surprised if the profit margins at Prospect were any greater (and I suspect much less) than at L'Avenue. I ate at prospect and thought it was pretty good and a decent value. I didn't love the space and the service had issues but the food was consistently good and precise for a restaurant of that scale. I remember eating at "Elka" when Tracy Des Jardin was doing most of the cooking and it was sublime. I don't think to would be fair to compare my experience at Acme Chop House 15 years later.
Chez Panisse plus this year's other Michelins
Agree re Frances. Fine neighborood joint, but booked months in advance and a Michelin star? Don't get it.
dining with a toddler - suggestions?
Second the Lotus Garden Recc. I often bring my kids there and they love it. Plusses are, there is hardly ever anyone in the dining room (unfortunate for L.G.), Lots of kid friendly food (our favorites are the 5-spiced bbq chicken and garlic noodles), they have all plastic stuff for the kids to eat and drink with and often the owners own kids are hanging around playing or doing their homework. Oh yeah, and the food is delicious (if not a tad overpriced).
Where can I find Bison meat in San Francisco?
Whole foods (at least the Potrero one) usually has at least one steak cut, usually New York strip
Help! Need a first date restaurant for Saturday
I don't think it was the chef who died. Vincenzo is the chef and Paulo (who died) ran the front of the house. At least I'm pretty sure about this.
Show Dogs?
I had a "Let's be Frank Dog" there a couple of weeks back, and although prepared well, this was the worst excuse for a hot dog, or any kind of sausage, that I've ever had. It was almost tasteless with an unpleasant grainy texture. These dogs used to be good but they seem to be getting worse and worse. So while it seemed to be prepared correctly, Show Dogs loses points with me for choosing to serve such a poor product.
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Show Dogs
1020 Market St, San Francisco, CA
Where can I get good challah bread in San Francisco???
Okay...I originally suggested the challah at Canyon Market which is certainly adequate. But today I tried the Challah from Destination Bakery because of Kmanlove's recommendation. This blows the socks of Canyon's and is the best I've had so far in the city (okay, I haven't had that many, but still). A truly beautiful loaf!
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Canyon Market
2815 Diamond Street, San Francisco, CA
Po Boys in the Portola
So it looks like after at least a solid year of preparation, this place is opening this Saturday. A friend who stopped in and talked to the owners who said they will have a huge assortment of Cajun food including gumbo, beignets, and poboys. They are also selling Louisiana products such as Zapp's potato chips, Community Coffee, and eventually Abita Beer. They also said the place looks "real nice". The Website is now working...menu looks good but still no prices.
Where can I get good challah bread in San Francisco???
Canyon Market in Glen Park makes Challah on Fridays only and I like it quite a bit. Certainly better (imo) than Noe Valley Bakery and very fresh. They have plain, poppy and sesame.
Bistro 24 - Noe Valley? Anyone tried it?
I tried it once...Commendable that with the quality of the food I was served, they survived that long
Flying Saucer Chef Albert Tordjman
Especially at the start of the restaurant. It was about one quarter of its eventual size, and it was only Albert and his girlfriend at the time, Donna Meadows (future pastry chef at Hawthorne Lane) doing all the cooking...breakfast, lunch and dinner. Think Canteen on steroids. They had these big, irregularly shaped marble tables and they were ALL communal. You sat where there was space. I remember being on a date there and being sat at a table with a 4 top celebrating a birthday. All the food was cooked and plated by Albert and it was spectacular. This was the former chef of Auberge du Soleil cooking in the Mission and the entree prices topped out at $11.50.
Flying Saucer Chef Albert Tordjman
If it DID still exist, I'm sure they would be doing something no one else had thought of yet. Everything about that place was ahead of its time, at least while Albert was still cooking there. He was an amazing talent.
Corned Beef and/or Jewish Catering in SF or East Bay
Any recommendations for buying lots of sliced corned beef brisket to serve at a party.
Also, on that note, any good Jewish style caterer (not nec. Kosher) in S.F. or the East bay to cater a party of 100 or so. Or better yet, a Jewish caterer who can bring loads of great corned beef as well as knishes and other small passed type hors d'oeuvres.
