JojoSF's Profile
Best Bakery: Parker-Lusseau in Monterey
Last weekend I was in Parker-Lusseau (731 Munras Ave). The baked goods were easily the best I've ever had. EVER.
They are starting to make macarons. It's a new item for them, so you might expect that they would still be developing their recipes. But no...these macarons (lemon, passion fruit) beat the pants off the more famous makers (watch out Laduree.) The item that was the biggest revelation was the brioche roll with a vanilla custard center (all fresh with vanilla bean flecks). We also had a wonderful crusty cheese and dried tomato ciabbata that we took hiking with us. Perfect.
Look for the buche noel at Christmastime, as well.
Carmel
La Bicyclette! I was just there (twice!) this weekend. I had the prix fixe three course dinner (starter of goat cheese and aspargus terrine, creole shrimp bisque and filet mignon with caramelized onion puree and savory mashed potatoes) as well as two drinks and the chocolate budino dessert - all for $54. It was so great, that we made our Saturday reservation before dessert. Saturday we had the charcuterie platter, salads, pizza, wine for $34 each. Excellent! Great atmosphere, casual. It's small, so you should reserve. I didn't go at lunch, but I can't imagine it's bad.
Coffee in Aspen?
Just back from Aspen. The coffee was 'ok' at Cache Cache and at our hotel (Limelight) but was otherwise fairly horrible. Far cry from the west coast.
Coffee in Aspen?
Where can I get a good cup of coffee in Aspen in the morning. If I can find a place that will do lattes/mochas, even better!
Help with "Vernors"
I buy Vernor's in SF at the Marina Safeway on Marina Blvd across from Fort Mason and at Mollie Stone on California St at Fillmore St. It isn't hard to find now that Schweppes owns them. Each grocery store gets a fairly small allotment, so you could call before you go (although they don't seem to sell out and I haven't had a problem.) It often is hiding on the bottom shelf. The usual price is just under $5/six pack.
Birthday dinner in Ann Arbor after Ohio State game
We like Common Grill, but we're looking for something in AA for this particular dinner. I think we'll try Logan and see for ourselves. I'll post back afterwards. Thanks!
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Common Grill
112 S Main St, Chelsea, MI 48118
Birthday dinner in Ann Arbor after Ohio State game
Hello!
We'll be in AA to visit relatives for Thanksgiving and have tickets for UM vs OSU. After the game, we want to go out for a family birthday celebration. Currently, we have reservations at Logan. We're trying to cut back on eating massive amounts of meat, so Chop House is out. Not too interested in going to Gandy Dancer or the Earle on this trip. Any opinions about Logan? Any other places we should consider without driving more than 30 minutes? Thanks!
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Gandy Dancer Restaurant
401 Depot St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Chop House
322 S Main St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Napa Valley without an expense account
I'm looking for restaurant recommendations for people who find the food loses its taste if the price is too high! We'll be based in St Helena, but can travel if required. Preferably main dishes in the teens or low 20's. Any ideas? A good atmosphere would be an added plus.
Need recs for SF/Napa for 2 NYC vegetarians who are serious about good food
Where did you end up going? What stood out (for better or worse)?
Hipster dinner out for the Middle Aged!
Fantastic lists.
I think I'm going to go on a reconnaissance trip in the next few days to check the places that are catching my interest most: Barbacco, Commonwealth, Bar Agricole, Ragazza and maybe more. I was really underwhelmed by Beretta. I like Range but the last time I went there I stumbled upon an acquaintance with the wrong woman! Bad karma, for now. Maverick has always intrigued me, too. It's a petite place, though and may be lacking in that extra buzz. Any other opinions on Maverick? Also, any opinion about Heirloom Cafe? We may need to the push the date back because of the babysitter, so I might have breathing room.
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Bar Agricole
355 11th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
Barbacco
230 California St, San Francisco, CA 94111
Ragazza
311 Divisadero St, San Francisco, CA 94117
Mom needs roadtrip help into the city
There's parking at Presidio Social Club and the food is good. Look at the menu and see if your kids will like it. It's located across from Lucas Films in the Presidio. If you get into town early enough, you can take the kids down to Crissy Field which is about two blocks from the restaurant. It isn't in your hotel's neighborhood, but it's a lot closer than Oakland and the parking lot is right in front. As safe as if you were in the suburbs.
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Presidio Social Club
563 Ruger St., San Francisco, CA 94129
Easter Brunch in San Fran?
I've heard the brunch at the Ritz is good. You would need to walk a few blocks uphill, but it's close. It books up early for Easter, so you would need to call soon. Pricey, too. You'll have to take a cab away from Union Square in order to get a decent price on a good brunch.
Hipster dinner out for the Middle Aged!
I like the Valencia spot much better, but I think we want something a little more special for this eve. My friends' have two little kids so I want to make it worth it for them to get a babysitter. More buzz, better cocktail/wine choices, better ambiance. Not to knock Dosa; I do like it. Do you have an opinion about Commonwealth?
Hipster dinner out for the Middle Aged!
Excellent ideas! Quite a few of these are places I haven't been yet. I think that Foreign Cinema would fit the bill, but we've been already, and Dosa just isn't good enough for this evening (you know, the weirdly high ceiling and vaguely office building ambiance). I've not had good luck at Nopa. Does anyone think that Commonwealth would fit? I'm not sure if it would fit the bill (style/walking/price). I think that Mission Chinese is off the mark, Prospect looks like it's going to be pricey, Serpentine isn't in a walking area really, I think Bar Bambino might be too dicey outside. I'm intrigued by Bar Agricole and Barbacco, too.
Thanks for the help.
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Nopa
560 Divisadero St, San Francisco, CA 94117
Bar Bambino
2931 16th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
Foreign Cinema
2534 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94110
Bar Agricole
355 11th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
Barbacco
230 California St, San Francisco, CA 94111
Hipster dinner out for the Middle Aged!
I think Bix is a little too quiet/romantic for this eve. I like it, but usually we go as a couple.
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Bix
56 Gold St., San Francisco, CA 94133
Hipster dinner out for the Middle Aged!
There are 4 of us. My friends live in the Oakland hills and would rather come over here for the eve.
Hipster dinner out for the Middle Aged!
OK I'm going to bare my soul...
I'm in my 40's, married and no longer hip! I want to go to dinner in SF with my friends. We'd like to find a good restaurant with some style and buzz, preferably somewhere we can walk around before/after and not break the bank. Can't get into Contigo, SPQR, Delfina. Suppenkuche won't take a reservation. Saturday night, about 50-60 per person including one bottle of wine. Having good veggie options is a plus, too.
So, any ideas?
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Delfina Restaurant
3621 18th St, San Francisco, CA 94110
Suppenkuche
525 Laguna St, San Francisco, CA 94102
SPQR
1911 Fillmore Street, San Francisco, CA 94115
Contigo
1320 Castro St, San Francisco, CA 94114
Carneros Inn or Solage??
Solage! The restaurant is great there, too. I know the wineries up there are more oriented to big reds. However, the concierge there was very helpful telling us about off the map wineries just when I thought I'd been everywhere. I suggest you call him and get a list, maybe even have them make appointments at places without tasting rooms, tell him what you're looking for. I think you'll have a better weekend there. I've been in the Bay Area for almost 20 yrs and I was tired of Napa until I went to Solage.
Food Finds, CA from OR border to Monterey, off I-5 and I-101
Can you give a report? I'm going from SF to Redding this weekend. I'd like to eat somewhere other than the seafood buffet at the Rolling Hills Casino!
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Rolling Hills Casino
2655 Barham Ave, Corning, CA 96021
Best Bay Area bagels?
I'm not sure what time of the day you went to Katz' but I usually go at 7am and only to the 16th St location. I think they're darn good. (As a point of reference, I like H&H in NYC - http://www.hhbagels.com/)
Just Back: Zurich, Zermatt, Bern, Geneva
This board needs more reviews, so here we go:
I just returned from two weeks traveling in the named towns. My goal was skiing, so my budget was not an expense account! My wardrobe was jeans and sweaters, as well. Usually my goal is to 'eat local' and 'find coffee'.
1. Zurich:
Zeughauskeller - http://www.trymarket.ch/zeughauskeller/index.htm
We went here on Monday eve after the start of Lent. Apparently Zurich has a tradition of celebrating Lent at this time (similar to Carnival) so there was a large group of musicians dressed in medieval jester outfits drinking and eating and then getting up to play music (perhaps not a symphonic performance after the beer, but quite entertaining.) All in all, great atmosphere. Antique beer hall style with WIlliam Tell and WW2 artifacts scattered amongst the circa 1500's drawings. Resto was full at 8pm. Mostly locals after work, might be more touristy in the summer months. Shared a table for the first few minutes. We had the breaded wiener schnitzel with rosti and the smoked sausage (similar to a kielbasa) with rosti. Also had the best beer of the entire trip which was an amber draft of house beer. The food was good, but was not the high point of the eve. Bill was less than 70CHF including 2 beers.
Hotel Adler's restaurant - http://www.hotel-adler.ch/restaurant-swiss-chuchi/
Well located in the old town. We went for cheese fondue, as it had been recommended by different people (hotel reception at the Marriott and the foodie at the Bahnhof tourist bureau). Nice typical atmosphere, very nice staff. Fondue was good (not mind-bending) but was available for one person (most places insist on doing it for two). Also got their house made mushroom ravioli with cream wine sauce which was quite good. Green salad and wine. Our main courses were in the low-20'sCHF. (FYI - we ended up coming back to stay at the Adler on the way home. They did a nice breakfast and good clean rooms.)
Conditorei Schober/ Peclard Patisserie - Napfgasse 4 Zurich, Switzerland
044 251 51 50 http://peclard-zurich.ch/cafe-colonial
This is the iconic Swiss cafe. It's been here since the 1800's and doesn't appear to have changed or to have relaxed their standards in the least. The cocoa was rich and the pastry was fresh and flaky - perfection. The atmosphere alone is worth the visit, but they don't coast on the draw of history. I think we paid about 25CHF for two drinks and one pastry. Completely worth it. Make sure you walk through the different rooms to get a feel for the place. Located in the old town.
2. Zermatt
Restaurant Stockhorn - http://www.grill-stockhorn.ch/stockhorn/Hotel_Stockhorn.html
This was our best meal in Zermatt. We reserved a table for 7pm and pre-reserved a meal of roasted chicken. Our other meal was the mushroom vol au vent. Both dishes were fantastic, with an edge to the chicken which had nicely crisped skin and herb/salt seasoning with moist meat, roast herb potatoes on the side. (FYI - I preferred the chicken but my husband thought it a touch salty and preferred the mushrooms.) Green salad to start and glass of wine. Main dish prices were approx mid to high 20's CHF. The meat dishes are cooked over an open fire in the front room. The atmosphere is quite cozy and comfortable. There were a couple children (well-behaved and not too young) but mostly couples and small groups of adults.
Whymper Stube below the Monte Rosa hotel - http://www.whymper-stube.ch/restaurant.html
Popular, must reserve. Cozy and pleasant. Recommended for their cheese fondues (traditional fondue 24CHF per person, must have a portion for two people.) This was the best fondue of our trip, in my opinion. Served with potatoes as well as the bread.
Restaurant Pizzeria Roma - across the street from Restaurant Stockhorn
Riedstrasse 20, 3920 Zermatt, Switzerland +41 27 967 32 29
We ended up here when the Stockhorn was full. It was a nice break from rosti and cheese/sausage, but not the sort of pizza that you would seek out at home. I think the prices were in the low 20'sCHF for pizza. Also tried lasagna which was ok, not as good as the za. Pleasant atmosphere. Pizza oven in front as you enter.
Restaurant Swiss Chalet - http://www.swiss-chalet-zermatt.ch/eng/index.htm
Not recommended. Pleasant staff, forgettable food, a few tourists, a few locals with dogs, one drunk local lady. I must say that my husband really liked his mushroom pasta with wild mushrooms (pfefferlingen and boletes). My dishes were green salad with fried pike and mushroom soup (too salty). It was just okay and not a nice enough atmosphere to make up for the food.
Papperla Pub - http://www.papperlapub.ch/
Best bar in town with live music. Non-smoking indoors. Lively. We stayed on the front patio with everyone still in ski boots, drinking and chatting even at 8pm.
3. Bern
Volver - http://www.barvolver.ch/
This is a stylish tapas and wine bar next to the Rathaus in the old town. We got a sampler platter of 5 tapas for 27CHF which included a pinenut tart, marinated octopus, grilled fennel, sliced soft cheese with preserved lemon, and another that I forgot. Great atmosphere, too. Recommended. Good looking crowd. (see the tapas photo below)
Lotschberger - http://www.loetschberg-aoc.ch/en/accueil.html
This was a recommendation from one of the young receptionists at our hotel. It's a casual wine bar and restaurant that also has bottles of wine for sale. Mostly college kids and 20-somethings after work. We really enjoyed the large well made salads, a rarity in Switzerland. We shared a breaded wiener schnitzel with spatzle. That dish was also quite good and the spatzle was house made and was nicely caramelized.
Cafe Glatz - http://www.mandelbaerli.ch/de/ueber-glatz/willkommen.php
Coffee shop and pastry shop with casual seating upstairs. The coffee was good, but not great. Quite a bit better than the horrible ubiquitous Starbucks across the plaza. Also had a pastry which was fine, not great. It's a nice place to rest and drink coffee, kid friendly. (see the coffee photo below)
4. Geneva
Cafe La Navigation - Restaurant Navigation
Rue du Môle 1, 1201 Genève, Switzerland +41 22 732 29 17
Wow. Like a movie set. We were taken here by a a local for a 'classic Genevoise' cafe. Excellent fondue at 20CHF (when the other restaurants were charging high 20's) and the other dishes around us looked good as well. The atmosphere was fantastic - bright lighting, wood chairs, lace cafe curtains, nicotine stained walls and very nice man running the bar and helping to serve. Great value and very authentic. (FYI - all restaurants and bars are non-smoking now in Switzerland.) In the Paquis neighborhood.
Chez Ma Cousine - http://www.chezmacousine.ch/
Also great value and recommended by our local friend. The menu is pretty limited to roast chicken with roasted herb potatoes and green salad for 15CHF. They also have some salads with different toppings. We were there for lunch and there was a short wait. The crowd was a mix of business men, women with kids, and a few construction guys. The chicken was well roasted and seasoned, as were the potatoes. I thought the salad dressing had a touch too much mustard, but that could be preference. Highly recommended.
Restaurant Little India - Restaurant Little India
Rue du Prieuré 20, 1202 Genève, Switzerland +41 22 731 11 71
Located in the Paquis, good standard Indian food at a fair (but not rock-bottom) price. Popular place. We had eggplant pakora (too greasy), palak paneer (my favorite dish here), tandoori salmon (good wood-fired tandoor flavor but small portion), and baingan bharta (eggplant dish), also rice/naan. Everything seemed bland and under spiced to me, but maybe this is how the Swiss prefer things.
La Caravane Passe - http://www.lacaravanepasse.ch/
Supposedly Libyan and Egyptian food, but not really either. Strange smell in the air (cleaning fluid?) and college kids. We were convinced to go here by a positive New York Times review and the fact that Libya was in the news at the time. Skip it. Not as cheap as it should be and pretty pedestrian to boot. Also located in the Paquis.
Kauai - north shore coffee shop
Does anyone have a rec for good coffee on the island? Preferably north shore (we're going to be in Princeville). If it's elsewhere (Waimea, etc), I'm still interested in knowing.
Thanks!
Hoppers, lamprais and other Sri Lankan fare at Kadupul
We went for lunch on Saturday, arriving at 2pm. There was a curry lunch special for 14.99, including saffron (or plain) rice, a choice of many meat or veggie curries, three side vegetables, dhal and papadum. My choice was the fish curry made with mahi-mahi, sides of jackfruit, polos (a more mature jackfruit - still savory not sweet) and spinach. My husband got a dish of chicken and red curry with milk rice (made with cocunut milk). We also had the passion fruit juice. I wanted to try the hoppers but the chef who makes them wasn't in. Apparently they are offered at dinnertime predominately. The menu was laminated and bound and specific to lunch. The waitress was excellent - knowledgable and attentive without hovering. She also answered questions about the food and gave us some advice where to find ingredients.
Food review: polos was excellent with a smokiness (perhaps from the black citrusy fruit that they described above), spinach was also excellent with a cardomom under-note, jackfruit was okay, fish curry and chicken curry were good, milk rice was excellent, passionfruit juice was refreshing (suited my sweet tooth). All in all, highly recommended.
In the photo, the chicken curry is upper right, spinach middle right, fish curry bottom right, polos on bottom left, and jackfruit upper left.
Metro Detroit / Bloomfield - BEST INDIAN BUFFET!
The Temptations site doesn't mention them by name. Do you still recommend the restaurant? Or do you have a new place to recommend? We will be visiting MI next week from San Francisco. Our base will be Ann Arbor and Birmingham, but we 're happy to travel for good food! Over here we usually drive 45 minutes to Mountain View and Santa Clara for Indian food, aside from Tamil Nadu cuisine, which is better in SF!
Tulum, Tankah, and Playa report
Sorry for the delay. I just checked back into the thread. I wasn't at Chamica in the middle of the day, it was about 430pm. However, it had the appearance of being open all day and there was one small bare lightbulb hanging over our table for dining after dark. It's a sweet little place on a pretty beach. Just a few tables. It looked like they might have snorkels and kayaks to rent.
Tulum, Tankah, and Playa report
Enjoy yourself! Don't forget the sun block! The tequila makes it hard to feel the burn!
Barcelona in early May, 2010.
We're going to Barcelona, too! We are going to be there for the few days of the Formula One race plus a couple days to relax. Where did you get such a great list of restos? I want to do some more research.
In addition, we have about a week at the end of our trip. Do you recommend another good food city that we should visit (must be transportation accessible as we aren't renting a car)? Some people are saying Valencia for paella, and others Sevilla for general ambiance. Do you have an opinion?
Thanks!
Tulum, Tankah, and Playa report
Just back from Tulum. Here's the update:
1. Best new find for location (and fish): Chamica on the beach at Solomon's bay (aka Tankah 4, few minutes north of Tulum pueblo, turn to the beach at the Oscar Y Lalo sign. When you get to the guard shack, tell them you're going to Chamica and they'll let you through. It's at the very end of the road, right on the beach.) They do an excellent fried boquineta (fried pescado entero, 150 pesos). Best I've ever had, not greasy, includes rice and beans and green salad and tortilla. I recommend getting there when it's still daylight to enjoy the beach view. It's just a small wood shack on the sand. Excellent fish and excellent ambiance!
2. Best food for the pork lover: Taqueria Tony (aka the cochinita pibil guy next to the bus station) We just had Easter brunch at Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc restaurant in Yountville, where they were serving pulled pork. Tony beats Keller hands down! Basically, he cooks pork wrapped in banana leaves in the ground early in the morning. The restaurant opens at 6am and he usually runs out at noon-1pm. He also has chicken , but we didn't get any as he was already out. Tacos are 60 pesos, garnished with homemade pickled onions if you want. To find the restaurant, look for the Ado bus station in downtown Tulum on the inland side of the road. Tony is immediately next to the station on the right side. The 'restaurant' is 5 feet wide. Unbelievable! Don't miss it.
3. Los Pepes is still excellent for local style 'Mexican' food. Don't expect enchiladas, that isn't Yucatan style. I usually get the fried boquineta, 150 pesos. Excellent (but not quite as good as Chamica on my visits). However, still highly recommended! Nice guys, no tourists. It's located one block off the main street, heading inland, just past the large panaderia.
4. In Playa: We went to Nativo which is kitty corner to the Mega store on Constitution (it's actually on the street which is perpendicular to Constitution). We had steak tacos with green salad on the side (75-ish pesos) and large smoothies from fresh fruit. Superb! Also locals, no tourists. This place was recommended by one of the local lawyers. It's across the street from a good local market (and the Mega is good for a big-box store).
In Tulum town, we also tried La Nave (Italian/pizza) which was decent and Da Gigi (Italian) which was so-so. Also tried the ice cream shop at the end of the main street on the left which I thought was a bit too sweet and somewhat flavorless, but still good in a pinch. They have flavors like sweet corn and hazelnut! I'm not a big fan of Don Cafeto or Charlie's, but we didn't go this trip. We also didn't go to any 'fancy' places like Cetli, Tabano, Hechizo. It doesn't seem like the place for fancy!
Enjoy!
