BigE1967's Profile
Norcal Cooking Classes
My wife and I have taken several classes at Ramekins in Sonoma. Among our favorites were the Pasta class and the Tapas class.
http://www.ramekins.com/
Best Dining Option for party of 9 males (bachelor party)
I used to work in the city and about once every two months got together with a group of 12-15 guys for a steak dinner in different spots around the city. SInce we were frequently loud, we almost always had a private or semi-private room. Granted this was several years ago but the best I can remember were Bob's Steak & Chop House at the Omni. I love the butterflied filet mignon and Bob's potatoes are really good. I am not saying that Bob's is a "Chowhound" experience, but as a group of 30-something guys that wanted a great steak served in a upscale atmosphere with great cocktails it is tough to beat Bob's
House of Prime Rib was another solid place we went to several times.
Hidden Gem found in Ukiah
My business occasionally takes me up to Ukiah, and I recently came across a small gem of a lunch cafe called Kilkenny Kitchen. It is primarily a catering business, but they are open 10-3 on weekdays at their charming location on Dora Street. Appearantly Ross Kilkenny attended CIA in NY and has worked at several well known restaurants including French Laundry.
It is a soup, salad, sandwich lunch cafe. Everything is made from scratch, very reasonably priced and DELICIOUS. My wife and I had lunch there yesterday.
I had the Chicken Ceasar Sandwich on a "Dutch Crunch" roll. The Dutch Crunch is the best I have ever tasted, the chicken tender and moist, the ceasar dressing homemade and perfect. Generous portion and only 7.25
My wife had the half sandwich, half salad for 7.00 with the chicken salad sandwich and apple, pecan, spinach salad, both of which were excellent.
We also split a bowl of creamy tomato basil soup which was really good as well as a few excellent homemade cookies which were only $0.50 each!!!!
This place is only open for lunch on weekdays, but WOW is it a true hidden gem. Soups, Salads and Sandwiches the way they should be done in fresh, made from scratch food, served in generous portions at reasonable prices. I am sure the catering food is top notch as well.
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Kilkenny Kitchen
1093 S Dora St, Ukiah, CA 95482
The Big Eat SF: 100 things to try before you die
I too have tried many of what it is listed. I would make a few edits/additions;
The Taylor's Ahi sandwich instead of the cheeseburger and add an order of sweet potato fries to go with it.
A meatball sandwich from Viking Giant Subs on the corner of Lombard and VanNess
A vanilla ice blended from the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (i know its rather "mainstream" but to a generation of people that somehow think that a starbucks frappacino is any good, one sip of an ice blended from coffee bean and they will never have another frappacino)
A plate that smoked ham dish from Henry's Hunan
Sheer Bliss brand ice cream
That thread was from almost 3 years ago........companies and quality can change quite a bit in 3 years......
Sheer Bliss brand ice cream
A friend of mine brought some to my house for my birthday...all I have to say is OMG!!!!!!! The flavor I had was pomagranate (sp?) and it was pure heaven. Tasted more like some kind of berry mix. It is both light and creamy in texture with perfect, subtle balance of flavor.
She told me it is sold at Whole Foods. Has anyone tried it?
Cheese-making classes?
I was just looking through the catalogue for the Ramekins Culinary School in Sonoma and saw that they have a beginning cheesemaking class.
www.ramekins.com
Napa / Sonoma Trip Next Week
A couple of thoughts on your proposed agenda;
- In my opinion, Taylor's in St. Helena for lunch is a MUST on a nice day
- If you are looking for a quick bite during a day of wine tasting, Oakville grocery along 29 or the location in Healdsburg makes a great sandwich and they have a great selection of cheese, bread, crackers, etc
- Dean & Deluca in St. Helena is way overpriced on everything, but it is like a Disneyland for foodies
- Jordan winery gives a great tour and they have one of the most beautiful wineries in the area. The tour is free, but it is in small groups and by reservation only. You need to call the winery to make a reservation. (just google search Jordan winery)
- I have not been yet, but people seem to be raving about Redd as a place to have a nice meal.
- Tra Vigne is not what it used to be food-wise, but it still has an amazing outdoor patio setting, great for long (expensive) lunch on a nice day.
- If you like Opus wine, stop by and pick up a bottle or two of their "Overture" wine, which is only sold at the winery. Around $50 per bottle its expensive, but hard to tell the difference from Opus which is much more expensive.
Boston hound needs recs for great dining at the bar
I have been to Fog City in San Francisco as well as the location in Las Vegas. Fog City is as much of a "chain" restaurant as Houston's, but WAY overpriced, with a scattered, mediocre menu. Maybe that is why Houston's has so many locations and Fog City has so few. Houston's may have numerous locations, but to call it a "chain" when compared to the TGIF, Olive Garden, Red Lobster or even CPK's of the world is simply not fair.
Boston hound needs recs for great dining at the bar
I agree to a certain point, however, they have great burgers, ribs, fish and salads, great service especially at the bar, it is not THAT expensive, and it has a location that is uniquely "san francisco" to an out-of-towner. It would put that person on the Embarcadero for a nice walk or ride on the F-line to head one way to the Fisherman's Wharf area or the other way to the Ferry Plaza Terminal building. When traveling on business and eating alone, Houston's is a welcome site for me. Just my opinion.....
If you could recommend a restaurant at any airport with food as good as Houston's, I am all ears.......
Boston hound needs recs for great dining at the bar
Try Houston's on the Embarcadero. Always good food as well as service. Full menu is available at the bar.
Hard Tacos in SF
Personally, I am a big fan of the crispy style tacos at LaTaqueria They are not on the menu, so when ordering ask for "_____ taco (1 each of Carne Asada, Carnitas and Pollo if you are me - I do have a big appetite) crispy with cheese." You will not regret it ;-)
Mom Treating College Boys
Nick's has GREAT food, but it does close and turn into a nightclub at 9:00 pm (which may not be a bad thing with your group ;-)
Mom Treating College Boys
Steps of Rome in North Beach is touristy but cheap and fun, with decent food. The waitstaff/host are usually Italian (or try their best to make you think they are italian) and really play the whole "Italian" thing up. Very open, crowded and lively atmosphere.
baby blues bbq opening in SF. any word?
I just moved to Napa from the LA area, and I travel to Texas and Memphis for work fairly frequently, and I do LOVE good BBQ as does my wife. The Los Angeles/Venice Baby Blues location is our absolute favorite BBQ in the LA area. When we heard that Baby Blues was now open in San Francisco, my wife and I agreed that we need to make a trip to San Fran from Napa to try it and see if it's as good as the LA location. I'll post soon after we try it.
LA Hound's First Time in SF (aka "Help!")
It looks like many bases are covered by the other replies, but I wanted to throw in a few of my favorites for eats "on the cheap"
- Taylor's Refresher" at the Ferry Plaza Terminal Building - the Ahi burger is $14, but worth every penny and the sweet potato fries are not to be missed
- La Taqueria in the Mission - 2889 MIssion Be sure to order the tacos "Crispy style with cheese"
-Henry's Hunan - cheap chinese food at its best. An institution in San Fran with 3 or 4 locations around downtown. Go there for lunch and make sure to split a "Diane's Meat Pie" as an appetizer. My favorite is the shrimp with string beans, but some people swear by the BBQ pork dishes
Gary Danko, Quince, or La Folie
I have not eaten at Quince, but I have eaten at LaFolie and Gary Danko. I found the food at both GD and LF to be excellent. However, despite the hype surrounding GD, there are a few things that set it apart from LF. 1) The service - service that is so good, you don't even notice that your silverware for each course has been placed, or that your water glass has been filled or that the service staff always seems to show up at the proper moment with the next course. In addition, the hostess (if it is still the same one) is known to be one of the best in the country. 2) The artisan cheese plate for desert - if you are a cheese lover, or even if you choose to go to LF or Quince, go to GD some time, sit in the bar area after dinner and have a nice glass of wine and order the artisan cheese selection. It is out of this world.
Simply put, LF is an excellent restaurant that is small and intimate. GD is an experience that every foodie must have at least once in their lives. You really can't go wrong with either.
the best hamburger...where is it?
Taylor's Automatic Refresher. The St. Helena location is my favorite with all of the picnic tables. Bring your favorite bottle of red wine and have your own version of the Carl's Junior "$6,000 combo meal" (a bottle of bordeaux and a burger for those who do did not see the commercial from a few years ago). My wife and I followed up our tour of Opus winery by having a burger & Opus combo at Taylor's......absolute heaven!!!!!
New to the Bay Area, looking for good Italian Importer
I recently moved to Napa from the Los Angeles area. I was used to getting my essential Italian food supplies from Guidi Marcello's in Santa Monica. I was hoping someone could recommend a good place to pick up Spinosi pasta, Star mushroom bullion cubes, high-quality aged parmesan, imported olive oil, Balsamusse, Parma, etc all in one spot at reasonable (not AG Ferrari) prices. Any suggestions?
Where's the Beef (Wellington)?
Flemings Prime Steakhouse does a real nice version of Beef Wellington called "Beef Flemignton" Individual size with a filet mignon and mushroom duxelle (no Pate' inside which suits me fine) inside a puff pastry shell with Marsala reduction sauce. I believe they have locations in Walnut Creek and Palo Alto
