urseberry's Profile
I need help! Suggestions for dinner for a large party (30)
What is your budget? Can you be more specific about what you have in mind? Type of cuisine, ambiance, rouge geographical location? Your question is too broad.
uhockey reviews The Bay Area 9/2-9/7 Including: Meadowood, Cyrus, Saison, Atelier Crenn, Commis, Redd, Benu, Plum and more.
Thank you so much for the detailed reviews. I especially appreciate that you take a picture of the entryway and dining room of each restaurant. I am glad you had some great meals in the Bay Area and hope to hear more from you in the future.
Looking for Delitia Butter of Parma / Parmigiano Reggiano Butter
Oops, sorry! I remember buying the butter from them years ago, but perhaps my memory is faulty, or it was so long ago that they no longer carry it.
Looking for Delitia Butter of Parma / Parmigiano Reggiano Butter
The Milk Pail Market in Mountain View occasionally has it. Give them a call.
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Milk Pail Market
2585 California St, Mountain View, CA
Venice near Accademia / Zattero
I second La Bitta. Had some nicely cooked pork there on a Monday last October, when many restaurants in Venice are closed. A branch of the wonderful Grom gelato is on the same square.
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La Bitta
Dorsoduro 2753A, Calle Lunga San Barnaba, Venezia 30123, IT
Bitter orange marmalade
The two Trader Joe's I frequent (Mountain View and Sunnyvale) still carry it.
White Truffles in Rome
Trattoria Monti had them when I was there in early October. Didn't try them, so can't comment on the quality.
Torino Salone del Gusto Review - Looking for impressions of others
I live in San Francisco and arranged my vacation to Italy this fall around the Salone. It was the highlight of my trip. I got there shortly before 1:00 on Thursday, just in time for the Theater of Taste event I had reserved with Eneko Atxa of Restaurante Azurmendi. The demonstration was fabulous and Eneko seemed happy to be there, sharing his cooking. The unlimited wine during the demonstration didn't hurt either!
I don't know where to begin describing the rest of the event, since it was so large, but by the time we left in the evening, my husband and I felt like we had seen enough of it. My primary regret is that customs regulations prevented me from buying some Lardo di Colonnata to bring home.
I was a little shy about approaching the producers at first, but once I got up the nerve to talk to them, I found them all very friendly and quick to offer samples. I don't speak any Italian, but most of the producers know some English, and gestures were enough to make up the difference. I am glad that I went on Thursday, as it was full of people but not unpleasantly crowded.
Padrón me.
A vendor at the Mountain View and Los Altos farmers market has them for $6/lb. It's the vendor that always sells lots of peppers, and some zucchini and berries. In Mountain View, they're way at the end near Acme and Heirloom Organics. In Los Altos, they're also at the end, across from the flower booth.
Need fresh Garbanzo beans in the Los Gatos/San Jose area
Wow, I went to the Mountain View farmers market yesterday and totally missed these. Can you please provide some hints as to their location within the market? Were they on the branch or off?
Awesome bakery between Sunnyvale and Los Altos??
Margaret's French Bakery in Campbell does excellent fruit tarts. They are available at the Sunday Mountain View Farmer's Market. They do not have much of a retail store front, so definitely call ahead to reserve a tart if you're going there.
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Margaret's French Bakery
240 Dillon Ave, Campbell, CA 95008
Where Can I get Hoshigaki?
We Love Jam, a small local producer, sells hoshigaki by mail order, 4 for $15. http://www.welovejam.com/shop/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=16&ccSID8643dd60547e611052421a6659ed64d2=b0405769cb02d8843ea11c0ff80464d8
Cav Wine Bar
Three of us had an evening snack at Cav a few months ago and were pleased. My torchon of foie gras was faultless and came with nicely toasted brioche. I didn't get to try another companion's lamb dish, but it looked good. The cheese plate, however, stole the show. As the original poster mentioned, Cav offers an astounding number of cheeses for such a small restaurant, and all three of the cheeses we tried were delicious and correctly stored. Also noteworthy were the many different accompaniments provided, including honey, dark bread, marcona almonds, quince paste, and plumped dried fruit. The full menu can be found on the Cav web site at http://www.cavwinebar.com/.
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Cav Wine Bar
1666 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
Chocolate Salon 7/14-7/15, Fort Mason
From the website at http://www.sfchocolatesalon.com/ : The first major chocolate show on the West Coast in two decades takes place this summer at the San Francisco International CHOCOLATE SALON on Bastille Day Weekend, July 14 and 15, 2007 at the Fort Mason Conference Center in San Francisco.
This sounds fantastic, but I'm balking a bit at the $20 a person price. It includes chocolate demonstrations and lectures, and over 30 exhibitors. Most of the exhibitors (see http://www.tastetv.com/chocolatesalon/Layout-ChocoSalon.jpg ) appear to be chocolatiers, but there is a smattering of wineries and at least one chocolate maker.
Anyone planning on attending?
Charles chocolates fans - elighten me
I'm not sure if I've tried the Charles Chocolates fleur de sel caramels, but I can recommend the peanut butter butterflies. I purchased a box of them from Whole Foods and loved the slightly crunchy texture of the finely ground nuts and sugar in the filling. I found the pate de fruit bland and too soft. Perhaps I've been spoiled by the Citizen Cake pate de fruit.
Pea eggplants, coriander roots, makrut limes in Bay Area?
The Asian vegetable vendors at the Sunday Mountain View Farmer's Market sometimes include the roots in their bunches of cilantro.
clairesquares
I tried a dark Clairesquare at the Ferry Plaza market on a local blogger's suggestion, and I have to say I thought it was too sweet.
Isa in the Marina?
I've eaten at Isa twice, most recently about a year ago. I ate early (6-ish), had no problems with service, and still remember the duck with creamy polenta and generous serving of grapefruit granita. Prices seemed reasonable to me considering the location and quality of the food. It's not a destination restaurant, but I consider it one of the best choices in the area.
The Pig Dinner at Manresa
Blue Bottle refers to the coffee: http://www.bluebottlecoffee.net/. Fantastic coffee roasted in SF.
Bacalao / Dried Salted Cod in the Sunnyvale area?
I've bought salt cod at the Los Altos Whole Foods. It is in a one pound wooden box in the refrigerated, packaged seafood section.
Duck Fat
The Milk Pail Market in Mountain View has duck fat. It's from Fabrique Delices. I don't remember the price, but I think it was around $4 a cup.
Amazing Non-Tasting Menu at Manresa
I don't think there ever was a three-course. I mistyped above where I mention it - I meant to say four-course.
Amazing Non-Tasting Menu at Manresa
Thank you so much for the wonderfully detailed post. Tasting menus generally provide too much food for me, and I've been thinking about trying a 3-course dinner at Manresa. I'm especially glad to hear that the 3-course dinner includes two amuse bouches, including the egg.
Bistro Jeanty - French Dorm Food !?
Having just spent a few minutes puzzling over some of the acronyms, I thought I'd take the time to elaborate and save others the trouble.
CBK = Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen.
BDG = Bistro Don Giovanni.
BJ = Bistro Jeanty
The Counter (burgers, Palo Alto)
I was there this evening as well. I really enjoyed the 50/50 mix of fries and onion strings, although my dining companion suspected both of being previously frozen. The burgers were good but not great. I liked the toppings, and thought the meat quality was about average. The large quantity of toppings and thick patties make eating a very messy process. The roasted garlic aioli I tried packed a powerful garlic kick in a pleasantly creamy base and was one of my favorite parts of the meal
We sat at the bar and had a great view of the kitchen and pass. The servers and busboys were friendly and efficient, but the expediter fell to pieces whenever more than 4 burgers appeared at the pass at once. We witnessed many burgers getting tragically cold as she spent long minutes figuring out what sauce went on which plate, with servers standing around waiting for their dishes. My boyfriend and I debated whether we should say something to the manager, but decided in the end that we didn't want to get her fired, and perhaps over time she would improve or be reassigned.
Best Bread Pudding in the Bay Area
The bread pudding at Tartine in the Mission district is very popular.
