I originally asked for advice regarding two restaurants in Montreal. I received several tips for other restaurants so I decided to post my "review" of visited restaurants.

First night in Montreal, our plane was late as we had 9:00 reservations at La Loux. I called at 9:15 to let them know we would be late. Got stopped by police not one block from hotel for turning right on a red (who knew it wasn't legal??? lol) After checking my DL, they let me go without the $150 ticket, but we were now very late for dinner. Loved the decor of the restaurant. Staff couldn't have been nicer about our being tardy. I had the Duck and Fois Gras that was perfect, but all the food was perfect (with another couple). Service was wonderful and friendly.

Second night was Quebec City. E Chaude- This was our 5th visit to our favorite restaurant. We have always loved the food and service. However, we had a most unfriendly waiter this time. We dined late, so it wasn't like they were swamped. The food couldn't have been better, but he not only wasn't friendly, but rushed us to order even though the special nor soup of the day had been mentioned. We had to drag it out of him.

Third night was forgettable.
Fourth night was fondu. Not much to say, but other couple chose.

FIfth night was L'Affaire Est Ketchup. We fell in love with this place. Very local. VERY small and VERY hot. In fact, my only complaint would be to open a window a crack or something. Everyone at our table was sweating.... lol I was amazed how they can put out such quality food from two home model stoves. Prices were reasonable and quality of food was top notch. The waiter was very good about translating for us and funny to boot.

Sixth night was La Patriache-this was our second visit. Loved the trio scheme for every main and dessert. I had the Symphony of Foie Gras and Wild Game Trio. The Foie Gras items were fabulous except the "fried egg". I think this was his attempt at molecular cooking. Wasn't loving it. The Game was wonderful. Tender, great flavors, etc. The dessert trios were great. Loved the spicy churros with caramel the most. Service was the best we had in the city. After we finished, he gave us a tour of the wine cellar, etc.

Seventh night was in Montreal. Had reservations at Garde Manger at the bar. I went with a lot of anticipation and wasn't dissapointed. I have read great and bad reviews of the place so here is mine. Originally sat at the bar. Too close to a speaker playing some bad old music. Eventually music got better though. A nice Montreal couple sat next to us and had a great visit. They ended the night with some flaming drink called a Russian Roulette. I notice the bar tender had one as well which was different. We had our apps. Lobster Poutine. Was fabulous. Others complain about lack of lobster, etc, but ours had plenty. Sauce had great flavors and cheese was hot and melted. Have had other poutine and they tend to use the "squeeky" variety of curds that never seem to melt.
I had the Green Goddess salad with fresh fried sardines. I LOVE fresh sardines and these melted in your mouth. My only complaint of the food all night was this salad. There was something that added way too much salt and I LOVE salt. It wasn't the fish either. Never figured it out. Wife had the tomato salad with fried cheddar and it was perfect. I had the braised veal cheeks on a waffel with foie Gras on top and it was to die for. What I loved about the place was the vibe of the staff and guests. The staff all danced and sang to the music as did many guests. As we finished our meal, the bartender served us the Russian Roulettes as the couple paid for us to try. Eventually two girls arrived at the bar and noticed we were enjoying the music. They came over and bought us shots of brandy and got us to dance to Barry White... I don't often say a restaurant is FUN, but this place was the complete package.

Hope this helps anyone planning a trip to Quebec. We adore this place and return over and over again.

We will be in Montreal one night at the beginning and end of a trip to Quebec City. I was all prepared to try for a reservation at Garde Manger, but my first night is a Monday and discovered they aren't open. I was able to get a reservation at their sister location called Le Bremner. Is this a good second option or would I be better off with a different restaurant? Will be with another coupld for their first trip to Montreal. Also, I really do love au pied cochon for the end of the trip, but maybe there is a new great restaurant I don't know about.

Hendricks is my favorite for martinis just for that reason, but oh my, it is smooth and delicious.

Thanks to a lot of chow friends on here for giving advice for my 50th Birthday Week. I thought I would take time to post my report of choices, etc.

First Day: Drinks and small plates on the balcony of Le Colonial. This was our second visit and really love the place. The drinks are strong and creative and the bar small plates are a bargain and delicious. Especially the ribs.
We moved on to Medjool for dinner. The place wasn't very crowded (it was a Tuesday), but the food couldn't have been better. Sea Bass in Filo, Baba Ganoush and Lamb Tagine were my favorites.

Second Day: Ferry Plaza Seafood-I know.. tourist. But had pretty good food and great view. Did Slanted Door on a previous trip and didn't want to shell out $100 for lunch. Dinner was Nob Hill Cafe. We love this place because it has a great neighborhood feel and they do a great job with most of their dishes. Besides, you might even catch "The San Francisco Twins" on a Friday night. I had gnocchi with Italian Sausage sauce. Drinks at the Big 4 after dinner.

Third Day: Dim Sum at Yank Sing. Tried several around town and keep coming back to this one. Not one dish was off. All delicious. Drinks at the Franciscan for the view. Couldn't have been nicer. Gave us bread and butter with our drinks to watch the bay. Dinner was at Iluna Basque (had tickets to Beach Blanket so needed close by). I noticed before we left for the trip that this place was getting mixed reviews. Ate there a year ago and was impressed. This time... not so much. Place was almost empty except a TERRIBLE child sitting behind us that yelled and screamed the entire meal. Child was old enough, but not behaved and parents just kept telling her she needed to "tone it down". The food was bland and unexciting at best. It will be my last trip there if they even make it.

Fourth Day: Winery tours at Bundlach Bundschu, Seghesio, Farrari-Carrano, and Medlock-Ames. Would suggest all of these. All very different. Had the food tastings at Seghesio and Medlock.
Dinner at Poc Chuc. After much difficulty getting there by bus, we found it and thought it was great. Had three variety of tacos. Only one I didn't like was the "mole". NOT the mole I'm used to in the South.

Fifth Day: Lunch at Ferry Bldg. Had a fabulous Korean Taco and then the best salumi sandwich ever at Boccolone. Dinner was the big party for us and was held at Fleur De Lys. While I have read mixed reviews, I thought it was absolutely perfect. Each course was special and perfectly prepared. The servers were patient and attentive. I chose the Beef Cheeks for entree and they melted in my mouth. Too many other courses to list here, but we had the private wine room and it was truly a special night.

Sixth Day: Took ferry to Tiburon for brunch at Sam's. Great crab cake benedict and fabulous view.
Dinner at La Lola's on Mason. Small neighborhood bar with great happy hour deal and food was delicious. Also make note of really good sangria.

Last Day: Went back to Le Colonial for Dinner. Again, their menu is wonderful and the food worth the search for this back alley place.

Hope this helps others planning a big trip.

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Slanted Door
Ferry Slip, San Francisco, CA 94111

Medjool
2522 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94110

Yank Sing
49 Stevenson St Ste Stlv, San Francisco, CA 94105

Fleur De Lys
777 Sutter St., San Francisco, CA 94109

Iluna Basque
701 Union Street, San Francisco, CA 94133

Poc Chuc
2886 16th St, San Francisco, CA 94103

I hope I don't get "admonished" about this post, but I need help with some suggestions for eating out in the Mission District. I know you guys always need parameters, so here we go.
Price:-mid to cheap
Type of food-open as long as ethnic
Time: Will be in SF for a week.

I know there are multiple places to eat, but was hoping for a limited list from you guys who live and dine in SF.

I have tried searching the board for this topic, but wasn't successful.

I watched this show a while back and Giada described some fabulous spicey/sweet nuts. Can't remember what was in it, but they sounded mouth watering. I seem to remember a little cayenne. Anyone see it and remember???

I'm an avid Chow reader and have read way too many reviews at this point. Seems every time I pretty much settle on a place, I read something bad, or see a better place. That being said, I'm going to put this on finally to the Board.

My wife is planning (or shall I say I am) a 50th Birthday party in SF for me and 10 other friends. I have narrowed the choices to:
Dining Room at Ritz Carlton
Acquerello
La Folie
Fleur De Lys
Gary Danko

Please help give me thoughts. Of course I want it to be a special night in both atmosphere, food and service. Not a lot to ask.. :-)

You may think it isn't worth the trouble and get it closer, but look up War Eagle Mill in War Eagle Arkansas. A true working gristmill and they sell in bulk very cheaply and shipping is very low. If you can use the larger amounts, worth the trouble. They call them yankee grits. For a real treat, buy their yellow corn mill and the grits. Then mix them equal parts and make buttermilk corn bread (recipe on the back of aunt jemima cornmeal) and you will think you have died and gone to heaven. The grits have bits if corn you can actually see and baking it brings out the corn flavor.

Most of you are all experts at dining in New York, but wanted to "report" about my visit a couple of weeks ago.

Our first night was at Momofuku- We were taken back by the noise and shoulder to shoulder dining (we are from the South and you just don't eat that close to anyone but your mama). Ended up have a top notch dinner of pork buns (to die for) , sugar snap peas and a spicy chinese sausage dish with fried rice cakes (not the styrofoam version). Everything was delicsious and such different flavors. The service however was totally lacking. The only drinks you could order were what was listed on a VERY limited drink menu. Had to flag the waitress down for a drink, silverware, etc. For the price, they should have been more attentive. That being said, I would return for the pork buns alone. Topped off with a visit to the Milk Bar.

Next day we walked around the village and ate lunch at Caracas-Arepas Bar. Had Surea and an eggplant arepas. Wow. Rich flavors, great crust. Even tried their so called national drink what was a beer mixed with some dark colored mixture that included lime juice and jalapeno. Served with salted rim. While it was odd, it is worth a try. We then got on the Subway and went to Brighton Beach where we walked around and visited the Russian pastry shops that were wonderful. We ended up going to Al Di La in Brooklyn (side note: sat next to a woman at Momofuku who used to be a chef at Babbo. I told her I couldn't get in. She said it was the best ever, but try Al Di La. Almost as good and half the price.) I really loved the neighborhoodie feel of Al Di La and our meal was fabulous. I had lamb chops, but the grilled chard stems were out of this world. You could taste the smoke from the grill.

Next day we took the famous LES walking tour. We LOVED the tour. Visited with the folks from Russ's and Daughters. Did the knish, donut planet, egg cream and gelato. We were so full, we didn't eat before seeing Billy Elliott. Topped the night with cheesecake from Juniors.

On Saturday, we took a Cheese Haven Tour through the Fancy Food Show people. Fell in love with Murray's. Toured 3 other stores around Manhatten and Brooklyn. Didn't get to spend enough time so plan to return on our own on our next visit. Dinner was at Tabla. Friends chose this restaurant. Service was great. Food was very good, but we didn't feel really worth the sticker price. They seem to have two types of food and we would have probably preferred the more Indian food downstairs. I had what was called suckling pig. I was served a very mundane square of pork about 3 by 3 inches with skin that should have been crispy, but had long since given up.

Sunday night we went for a return trip to Banjara. I guess we made a mistake by sitting outside. They brought out our appetizers quickly, but no silverware. We asked three different people and never got help. Our waiter just went MIA. It took 10 minutes, but we finally got a fork. Just as we were about to take our first bite, they brought the main course and took away the sauces used for appetizers. We asked for the sauces and after 5 minutes, it appeared. The food was very good, but there are too many good Indian restaurants out there to deal with poor service.

Monday night we did the touristy visit to Lombardi's. We thought it was just great, but I'm sure you guys have better options. The cash only thing caught us off guard, so had to use their oh so convenient ATM to pay.

Tuesday night, due to a timing issue, we ended up at Yum Yum Too on 45th. I had the yellow curry and loved it. Really the entire meal would be worth a return visit and service was great.

This note is probably too long, but liked to pass on reviews. Thanks for listening.

I know NYC offers SO many choices, but would like some input on the following:

Best inexpensive (for NYC) food experience!

Best ethnic (any type but Mexican-get all I want from home) restaurant!

Arriving in a week and have reservations for Babbo, but 6 nights of no plans.

Would appreciate any suggestions about the above for dinners.

Sorry.. thought "at the Mark" would sound drop dead tourist..
of course being from out of town, I WILL be a tourist, but don't want to sound or act like one.
Thanks for the list. Love this site so have spent half the day reading about restaurants and narrowing down to 6 dinners and lunches with a few breakfasts dropped in..... lol

I know you guys get tired of newbies asking for help with suggestions... but here I am doing it.
Wife and I are spending a week in SF soon. Staying at the MH.
Would love two areas of suggestions.

One would be the best restaurant that locals frequent that are not so touristy and is not knock your head off expensive. Paying big tabs isn't a problem, but we tend to prefer moderate priced/quality places.

The other would be the best ethnic restaurants. We live in the south and get excellent Mexican so not interested in that, but love anything else and open to any ethnic type.

Thank you all in advance for your help. Love this site.

In case you didnt get enough of those little mush chicks, there was a recipe I found for chocolate fondu using peeps as the dipper. Better take some chill pills after all that sugar.