state bird was really fun, and the menu must vary alot so that would be a definite, and we just loved the food at out the door as well, and would go again and try other things. The pastas were so good at SPQR, would like to go again and see if the service was off on our trip there, and just a freak thing.

My wife & I and our 2 sons who are 8 and 10 recently spent 6 days in SF, here is where we went, and thanks tom all of you for your suggestions.
We stayed in Pacific Heights, so many of the places we went were walking distance:

Pizzeria Delfina - had some pizzas and mozerella in carozza, and a few other apps as well, nice spot, relaxed for the kids. Waitstaff were uneven though, taking dishes away without asking when there was sauce for crust dipping

Tacoliciuos - Loud young crowd, good mole tacos, nice rib app, and negra modelo on tap, whats not to like. had a wait about 30 minutes but we had fun.

Out the Door - went to the one on the edge of Japantown, really nice space, sat at the bar. got pork buns, sweet sticky rice, pho and noodles, our kids love this food and try chop sticks everytime

State Bird Provisions - Got in line at 5:30 and were told there would be a table at 7. recieved a text and was seated just before 7. nice space, great concept and very friendly waitstaff. really enjoyed ourselves. some hits and misses on the tray items, but the duck liver mousse was outstanding, beets and steak tar tar were great too. pancakes were fun. not as expensive as one might think and lots of fun.

Zuni cafe - Had lunch there and had a few pizzas, salad and a lamb dish, limited menu but they went off the menu for kids pasta which was nice, good deserts too. love the space as well

The 5th floor - Had a great time there. lounge type of seating with great food and a really welcoming fun staff. had oysters, charcutierre, pastas, a burger and nice deserts all small plates and shared, nice wine and cocktails too.

La mar - Met friends there for drinks and some apps. good happy hour, had some empanadas, chips and other apps and a real good moscow mule (or 2). real nice staff who totally enjoyed the kids.

SPQR - Had a kind of wierd experience there, had a reservation, but it was not written down, not feeling the love, but waited and had some real nice pastas, not very kid friendly and the waitstaff was pretty aggresive. the food was great but not a super expierience.

A -16 - had to wait a little here, very crowded. The bartender entertained the kids with his "moves", had a pizza and some pastas and also felt a little hustled her as well.

over all the trip was great, and the city is beatiful. thanks to all who gave us suggestions.

You mean in Cambridge? Yes many times, we know Anna (and Chris), will check out Aziza.

thanks, really looking forward to Out the Door

What can chowhounders tell me about the 5th floor at the palomar hotel?

Any good places to eat or grab something in this area?

Also, we are staying in the Pacific Heights area, anything local there would be appreciated.

yes we are from Boston, We like all the Barbara Lynch outposts, also Cragie on main, Hungry Mother etc. tell me more about the 5th Floor.

thanks, I know the post is general, will get more specific, Flour & Water? thoughts? and The 5th floor at Palomar?

Each August our family (which includes 2 very foodie young boys) chooses a city to explore. This august it's SF. Iam interested in whats new and exciting, some hole in wall type places and some more hip places. My wife and I have been to SF and had great meals at Slanted Door and Zuni, but haven't been back in a while. Any fun places or new discoveries would be welcome.

I want to relate a great trip experience to your wonderful city, Toronto. For background, my wife and I enjoy good food and take trip each summer to a city with our children who are 9 and 7 to see a ballgame and experience what is new in food in variuos cities. The children have grown up around good food and have eaten at many nice places, and are used to trying new things. I always check out posts on this website and see what looks good etc from various posts here.So we were in Toronto this past weekend and here is where we went.

Entoca Sociale - We love to go to small places like this, we get out early because of the kids and its easier obviously to get a table. we sat on the patio which was very nice, we loved the room also. we had hand made pasta and ravioli, octupus, flank steak, a rib special and of course the cheese selections at the end, everything was fabulous and the waitstaff was friendly and attentive. they had an awesome "donut" desert the kids loved, and they would make a dish of pasta for a child if they wanted something "off the menu"

Woodlot - This place was amazing, they were booked, but they have a communal table that seats 8 that is open for walk ins. we sat there. what a cool space, small open kitchen, woodfire oven and more seating upstairs, loud and bustling and the communal table is fun! We had amazing swearbreads, halibut, steak, and a corn pasta that I can't remeber the name of all amazing, the chef was working the floor and was very friendly and so was the staff.

we tried to get in Black hoof but it was closed and the cafe across the street has been reinvented as a bar more or less so we didn't eat there.

We had lunch at Jumbo Empinadas and now the kids want to open a Chilean restarunt in our small hometown?!

I just want to say to anyone ?family tha tToronto is a very FRIENDLY city, people were genuinely happy and helpful.

Myers & Chang - tokyo car bombs

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Myers + Chang
1145 Washington St, Boston, MA 02118

we had made reservations well in advance. there were 3 or 4 couples at the bar, and I am not sure if they had a reservation or walked in. we were 45 minutes late and were still seated. now that I think of it, I don't think anyone else came in after us. commerc24 is definetly a special night out, to sit and enjoy - not a tapas bar type place. tapac24 we walked in and they line you up against the wall so there is some order of turn, so you don't have to "fight" for a table. we waited about 20 minutes for dinner and 10 minutes for lunch there. For something still very good but not formal I would recommend tapac24. easy walk from placa catalyuna if you are staying near there.

we were just there as well and the previous poster was right on, in the middle of the boqueria there is a place, they had 3 different types/brands? varying in price. My wife was looking at them so I am sketchy on the prices, but there is a place to buy it there.

comerc24 and cata 181 had nice presentations.

Just got back from 5 days in Barcelona. What a great city. Will give you a brief run down on where we ate and some general impressions. please ask about anything and I will be glad to help if I can.
Comerc 24 - amazing, beautiful tasting menu. lots of fish,monkfish, sardines, codfish, sea bass, lots more, everything was right on. sleek room - good staff. only one seating, about 50-60 covers. got there at 9:30 and left at 1:00. tasting menus 65 euros or 95.
Tapac24 - great as well. ate there once for lunch and once for dinner. they have the same menu and prices for both . ordered off the specials menu each time. the chocolate desert that is often mentioned on the posts here were at both places. tapas 5 to 8 euroes. plates 14 to 16.
El Quim - in the boqueria. fun little place for a snack. good and lively. only about 15 seats around a counter with 2 guys cooking/waiting. menu on board on wall, so you can point to things or just wing it if you don't know spanish.
cerveseria catalana- went for lunch. real fun place to get down and dirty, fight for a seat at the bar, and eat your heart out, we spent under 35 (for 2 people)euros for a ton of tapas and beer, very good only a notch down from the tapac24, but more challenging to order.
Barceloneta - on the water in the barceloneta section. more old school and traditional but very good. the english menu is easy, unlike many other english menus which don't really help all that much.
el vaso de oro - another informal lively tapas bar reasonably priced. more meat tapas. long bar and only 4 or 5 tables. loud and can spend under 30 euros(for 2 people) and eat and drink alot
La vinya el senyor - wine bar, tapas were very ordinary, sent down by dumwaiter. nice outdoor seating in old barcelona the best part of this place.
cata 181 - small 12 table wine bar with great tapas, asian influences and moderate pricing. communal tables make for fun too.
textile cafe - right across from picasso museum, had lunch 11 euroes 3 courses including wine or beer. more americanized and pretty outside seating.
had drinks at AGUA and CDLC down at the beach. both pretty pretentious bars that were overpriced - more a place be seen and look at the ocean than a great place to eat.
some general info:
crossing the street, be careful, the green man signal(meaning to cross) is short and when the man starts flashing it only lasts 2 seconds before going red, not like NYC where you still get at least 5 to 10. saw 2 accidents.
graffiti - it is everywhere but don't let it be of a concern.
buses and the metro. you can buy 10 trips for 7,70 euros, single rides 1,35 euros. buses will accept cash. took buses far more often because they get you closer to where you want to go. if you are going to parc guell take the 24 bus rather than metro and save yourself alot of walking. metro shuts down reletively early and buses change schedules after like 11:30, so look for the N buses (night) if out late.
taxis - small stickshift cars. 2,25 to start and pretty expensive after that. don't assume the driver knows where they are going, as 2 out of the 3 times we took a cab, they used a map to find places. Commer 24 and Barcelonetta, both common restaraunts they didn't know.
safety - seemed really safe never saw or experienced any trouble, some homeless and people trying to sell you things, but not pushy.
airport - huge, lots of walking. used the aerobus 5 euros from the airport to placa catalyuna where we stayed, they run all day.
have fun if you are going and ask about anything if you want info.

there is a series at IKEA that works great, and is affordable, bring a magnet with you and see if it sticks to the bottom of the pan. that tells you it will work on induction.

four of us are going to be in the city this weekend and looking for a lunch spot near the met. any ideas?

we have an induction cooktop, and anyone who has one knows you need a certain type to make it work. my question is, does anyone out there know of a particular brand that works on these cooktops? when I surf the web, they never list if they will work. when shopping in person, we bring a little magnet with us and if it sticks to the bottom you know it will work, but over the internet you can't do it. We know all clad and Le Crusset work, but we are looking at less expensive brands for some items, would appreciate help.

Beehive? myers & chang?

borders is really bad, cheese cake factory is the worst though

Russell orchards donuts are great they are made right in front of you. clambox and woodmans very close. also many antique shops, and cranes beach if you like the ocean in the fall.

wife and I went wednesday night. was really great! we sat at the bar, which is what we generally do. they have a bar menu and a regular menu availble from the bar, so more options, and generally we order and share some apps, etc this is usually the way we go. had fried calamari, fried oysters, beet salad and a pizza. prices were not out of this world high. certainly not by "city" standards. place was lively. walking up to it from parking lot you would think it was closed, once inside you are reminded of being in the city, loud vibe, professional staff, modern room. we were very pleased.

Hi, returned home, and thank you to all who posted. we had some great fun and meals. went to cafe atlantico - very friendly and great food. went to the cafe at the native american museum - great! tried BLT steak, not a great experience, but had a good steak. pizza paradiso in g'town was really fun, great beer list. bens chili bowl was ok, overall very good. tried twice to get to CENTRAL but waits were prohibitive.

my in laws have taken us to lucianos, they love it, it is fun in that old eat, eat itialin way. check out 3, more hip than most around here, we sit at the bar and eat. (our prefered m.o.) varied menu but servicable. old lous legacy on 140 (we liked that) closed but re opened as something else but havent been yet. went to redwing, (that is totally divy and not good) stone forge tries but misses. that wicked opened on rte 1 tried it? some one mentioned the flatbread pizza in franklin, and that is good up near 495, but strictly take out really. want to try mint cafe in norwood next

hi there, my wife and I recently moved from boston down to this area and are looking for good food nearby. love teatro and via matta from your post, had a similar so so not that good experience at davios boston. was hoping for better here, but just opened may get better. saw your other posts on franklin. we like 3 way better than incontro(over rated) but we live right near toms tavern and have been 3 times and not had a good meal yet. slim pickins. seriously any hidden gems around?

really relaxed fun place, great food and very reasonable price wise, was full on a tuesday night, and although we had reservations waited a little bit. definetly "in" right now and worth the trip to kendal square (cambridge) they will set you up with movie tickets/parking at the indie cinemas next door if you want them to.

definetly go the butcher shop. lots of fun, and lots of other great places near by. on tremont street.

thank you so much! will look into your suggestions. we live in the boston/providence area and if you are coming this way we'd be happy to help

Hi, this is my 1st experience at chowhound; seems like it will be a great place to get advice on DC dining. my wife and I and our 2 sons (6 and 4) will be in DC for the week. the kids travel very well and have eaten at lots of high end places many times. Is it restaraunt week? (we will be in town the 9th - 14th) and will reservations be hard to come by? we are looking at a couple of nicer meals and then some fun more laid back - "pubby" places. any thoughts would be welcomed. short list of what we have looked at include:Zatinya, Komi and Oyamel. And then Five Guys Burgers and Ben's Chili Bowl. thanks!