dolcevita_sf's Profile
Cooking Help -- Oven Broken, Options?
You might try posting this on the Home Cooking board: http://chowhound.chow.com/boards/31
I'd suggest the Sauteed Chicken Maison from Julia & Jacques - Cooking at Home:
http://www.labellecuisine.com/archives/poultry/Sauteed%20Chicken%20Maison%20-%20Jacques%20Pepin.htm
Zinc or Pewter Bar?
Terzo has a zinc bar. http://www.terzosf.com/
Le Central, I think. http://www.lecentralbistro.com/
Copper, if I recall, at Absinthe. http://www.absinthe.com/
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Terzo
3011 Steiner St., San Francisco, CA 94123
Disappointing meal at Locavore
Thanks for the update! This place is in my 'hood and I was hoping it would find its feet and be worth a try. I plan to check it out soon and will report back.
What should i order at mission chinese food? [San Francisco]
"It's like people who rave about a croissant at some bakery here or the pasta at some restaurant there -- if you've never tried the same things in France or Italy, how can you help us put your critique into reference and perspective?"
I respectfully disagree with this statement. And agree with david kaplan's post above.
Although I've tasted both croissants in France and pasta in Italy, I don't get the opportunity to do so nearly as often as I'd like. Regardless, I think there are many excellent renditions of both available right here in the Bay Area - which we've all had the chance to try on a more regular basis.
Local versions of ethnic/regional foods may or may not be truly "authentic". But that doesn't mean they can't be delicious. Nor does it mean that those who aren't regular world travellers aren't fit to judge whether the dishes they're eating (be they French, Italian, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc.) taste good.
fish question
I often see them at Sun Fat Seafood. http://sunfatseafood.com/default.aspx
Goose on restaurant menus -- Suppenkuche, where else?
Jardiniere had goose on their Xmas eve menu last year. Website says they're serving dinner this year, but the menu isn't posted.
Molly Stone's is selling goose, if you're willing to cook it yourself.
christmas in SF
Loads of restaurants are serving Xmas eve, and quite a number on the day. Best place to check for availability is on Open Table http://www.opentable.com/start.aspx?m=4
Larger supermarkets like Safeway are open 24/7, even on holidays. So they will definitely be open on the eve. You can find the location and hours of the one nearest you by entering a zip (postal) code on their website http://www.safeway.com/IFL/Grocery/Home
Enjoy your holidays in SF!
Best Monday night special (anniversary) dinner with somewhat fussy husband?
Chez Spencer, maybe? Foreign Cinema? Isa or Range? (The back rooms at both of the latter are cozier/more romantic than the tables in front, and I've always enjoyed the food at both.)
Haven't yet been to Cotugna, but hear good things and they currently have an 8:30 on OT.
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Chez Spencer
82 14th St., San Francisco, CA 94103
Foreign Cinema
2534 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94110
Fleur de Sel Caramels.
As of Sat, 12/18, the Westlake TJ's still had the fleur del sel caramels (round wooden box, no chocolate coating).
Best neighborhood for restaurants?
"I will be there for 4-6 weeks...." "The company will pay for a short term rental...."
That's great, but I think you'll find those are few and far between in nearly all the SF neighborhoods suggested to you, and many desirable residential areas elsewhere in the Bay Area. Within SF, a car can also be more of a liability than an asset in many neighborhoods, where a garage space may well not be provided even if you do find a rental, and street parking is challenging even for a local.
Although they're not the "foodiest" parts of town, areas in SF that might have short-term rentals and feel less "urban" would include Pacific Heights and South Beach.
Peruvian Wedding Catering?
Fresca also does catering: http://www.frescasf.com/noe-valley/catering/
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Fresca Restaurant
2114 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA 94115
Vegetarian catering for offbeat Napa wedding
Ann Walker Catering is based in Marin but will work events in SF and Napa/Sonoma.
Food is delicious and beautifully presented, staff are terrrific, and cost is very reasonable compared to other Bay are caterers. http://www.annwalkercatering.com/
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Ann Walker Catering
40 Kensington Rd, San Anselmo, CA 94960
Best Local Meat
We are members of Marin Sun Farms meat CSA, and have been very pleased with the quality and flavor of their offerings.
This thread might be of interest: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/739667?tag=boards;topic-739667
Dungeness Crab Prices '10
Sun Fat Seafood (Mission near 22nd, SF) was selling live crabs for 2.99/lb and cooked for 3.99/lb this past Wednesday. The larger ones were already gone by mid-afternoon.
I bought 3 medium sized live ones, and they were lively, sweet and delicious.
small romantic restaurants in outskirts of SF?
Second both La Ciccia and P'tit Laurent. (Though if your goal re "outskirts" is relatively easy parking, it can be a challenge near the former.)
Other thoughts: The Richmond, or maybe Firefly.
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La Ciccia
291 30th Street, San Francisco, CA 94131
Marin Rehearsal Dinner
It was four years ago, but we had our rehearsal dinner at Sabor of Spain in San Rafael, which was quite reasonable as I recall. Our party size was only about 12 people, but they should be able to accomodate a larger group.
http://www.saborofspain.com/
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Sabor of Spain
1301 Fourth St, San Rafael, CA 94901
Best place to buy a fresh turkey in San Mateo/Burlingame area?
I've had good results with the fresh kosher turkeys from Trader Joe's, which are already brined.
Here's a therad re TJ's turkey from the Home Cooking board: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/572836
Great roast chicken in SF?
As a result of the article below, I am planning to head to Marlowe for the poulet vert.
http://sanfrancisco.grubstreet.com/2010/10/where_to_find_the_best_roast_c.html
They also like the "open flame" chicken at Goood Frickin Chicken, but I prefer the moister, herb-infused rotisserie style.
The Due Drop In chicken looks awfully good in the photos, too.
Commonwealth SF Report
I went to Commonwealth in early September, and like most others here, thought it was an exciting meal with great service for a very fair price.
I returned last night, a bit nervous about whether it would live up to my high expectations. And am happy to report that it did.
They are transitioning to a fall menu, so there were some new items for us to try. We also decided to have some of the remaining summer items, while they were still available. We had:
Grilled chicken livers, brown rice-black pepper cracker, saba. This is a new menu item, and these were lovely. A nice hint of smokiness from the grill, with the light crispness of the cracker and the tang of the saba to cut the richness.
Garden tomatoes & basil, black olive crumble, etc. I rarely order salads at restaurants because I make them a lot at home and consider them overpriced for the cost of the ingredients and labor involved. But the raves about this dish were warranted and I enjoyed every bite. Those gorgeous tomatoes with the crunchy, lacey smoked bread were a treat that will have to last me until next summer.
Scallop crudo, grapefruit, celery root, mint. This was a more delicate dish than the sort I'm usually drawn to, but I loved it. The silky texture of the raw scallop and the subtle flavors of the accompaniments that accented, rather than hid the sweetness of the fish were brilliant.
Coconut poached halibut, sea beans, grapes, little gem lettuces, Thai spices. Very sophisticated interplay of flavors and textures, And I could have eaten a whole plateful of the lightly grilled lettuce.
Grilled lamb cheeks, chanterelles, cauliflower, hazelnut, douglas fir. This was also a new item - a very rich and earthy dish that we enjoyed a great deal. The lamb had a melting texture similar to confit, with roasted cauliflower and crisp chanterelles in a fairly light jus-type sauce, and a pool of the douglas fir oil off to the side.
We finished with the cinnamon mille-fuille - the only repeat dish from our first visit, and also the only dessert besides pie I've ever seen my husband even care about. Although I am generally neither a chocolate nor a marshmallow person, I like this a lot. The not-too-sweet marshmallow, with the warm spiciness of the cardamom, is really delicious. I could eat a whole bowl of just the burnt honey ice cream that's served with it.
Service was excellent, and it was a special evening out, as we'd hoped it would be. My only regret is that in our desire to try new items, we did not order the squid this time. I hope it remains on the menu for our next visit.
Absinthe - Has the service improved?
Had a weekday lunch there about a month ago, and although they couldn't find our reservation, we were seated quickly and service was quite good. As were the food and cocktails.
Can't speak to what it's like for dinner, as it's been years since I've been there at night for anything more than a drink at the bar.
Attention Perbacco lovers
I've had two wildly different experiences at Perbacco.
My first visit with my husband and a friend late last year was fantastic. We loved every bite of every dish, and service was also excellent. I considered it great value, and was excited to return.
I organized dinner for a group of six there in July. And was actually embarrassed to have done so. Pastas were swimming in water, which of course diluted the sauce. Flavors/textures were just lacking all around. Service was not especially great - one of our guests had to wait quite some time for his entree after the rest of the table had been served, and then his side dish was not delivered until several minutes after that. Prices felt high for an extremely lackluster experience.
We might have just caught an extremely off night, but there are just too many places that are reliably good. Perbacco is now off my list.
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Perbacco
230 California St, San Francisco, CA 94111
Disappointing Lunch at EMP
We were extremely disappointed with my birthday dinner at Gary Danko. Food was fine but not at all special, and though the service was excellent, the room looked tired. Not at all good value, from my perspective.
Have not been to EMP since the menu change, but have enjoyed both lunch and dinner there in the last year, and thought it worth every penny. Service is very attentive, but friendly/relatively informal, and I didn't consider it intrusive. It's a rare pleasure to be somewhere where the staff genuinely enjoy their work.
Best lasagna in Manhattan?!
Not sure if it's the best in Manhattan, but I really, really enjoyed the Lasagne Cinghiale at Apizz.
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Apizz
217 Eldridge St., New York, NY 10002
high quality grass fed meat clubs/csa/animal sharing
We're about 3 months into a 6-month CSA membership from Marin Sun Farms, and plan to renew, probably for a year. What works well for us is the fact that you can create your own "package" of as little as 5 lbs/month. There are lots of pickup locations, one of which is pretty convenient for us. http://www.marinsunfarms.com/
San Rafael?
If you have a car, you're also close to Larkspur. Pizzeria Picco, Emporio Rulli, and Left Bank are all good bets. I have not yet been to the Tavern at Lark Creek, but have heard good things.
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Pizzeria Picco
320 Magnolia Ave, Larkspur, CA 94939
Emporio Rulli
464 Magnolia Ave, Larkspur, CA
The Tavern at Lark Creek
234 Magnolia Ave, Larkspur, CA 94939
The best romantic dinner in the Mission
Bar Tartine, Chez Spencer, Woodward's Garden, or Range - in the back room.
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Chez Spencer
82 14th St., San Francisco, CA 94103
Bar Tartine
561 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
Woodward's Garden
1700 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94103
Incanto 2.0
http://www.incanto.biz/letters_-_a_leg_up.html
The website indicates the following: "...the new photos hide heavy-duty acoustic panels to further dampen the noise of a busy dining room. We've also hidden a few more panels around the dining room to help take the din out of dinner. If you're curious, ask us and we'll be happy to point them out. They're pretty well hidden."
We'll be there tomorrow night. I'll try to make note of the noise level, and report back on the food.
Anniversary Dinner please help narrow them down!
For what it's worth, my husband and I were quite disappointed with my birthday dinner at Gary Danko this past September, particularly for the price. Service was excellent, but we were underwhelmed by the food and decor. Both of which were fine, but not in any way exceptional.
Here's My Dancecard...
Motorino not only serves lunch, they are running a pretty good special M-F: $12 for your choice between 4 pizzas, and either salad or the soft serve of the day.
http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/Motorino02/menus/main.html (Scroll to bottom)
Skate Wing
I've enjoyed skate in the past, both in Europe and in NY. Have rarely seen it on a menu in San Francisco (where I live), so was unaware of its Seafood Watch status.
Will probably choose something more sustainable from now on.
For those interested, you can get more info, including a little wallet card, here:
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_recommendations.aspx
