MagicMarkR's Profile
Last minute trip to San Francisco for First Timer - Approve my Itinerary Please
I Haven't heard how Gioia is in SF, but if it is anything like the one in Berkeley, then yes, yes, yes! Have your snacks at the Ferry Market: you really do not want to waste your first (short) stay in SF standing in line on a non-picturesque street for snacks, or even a meal at Swan.
A completely different option to mission Chinese might be to have a meal at the bar at Limon in the Mission. It's Peruvian, and pretty lively.
http://www.limonsf.com/limonsf/valencia/
I'd do early dinner at Slanted Door, if that is where you are planning to go. If you do lunch, you will be tempted to skip it and fill up again at the Ferry Market (as you probably know, SD is in the Ferry Bldg.) Or you could go the opposite direction from your hotel to Lers Ros (a Chowhound favorite), and while there get a glimpse of the non-picturesque street you would be treated to were you to wait in line at Swan.
Fun group dinner in Berkeley?
Maybe T-Rex, but it depends on how friendly you want it to be towards vegetarians.
http://www.t-rex-bbq.com/
Otherwise +1 Gather.
Family Trip to San Fran...need recs
Do you have an itinerary of thing you know you will be doing (more to the point, where you will be location-wise)? How advernturous are the eaters? As you have noticed, locals, most especially Chowhounders, readily trash chains and anything touristy --usually for good reason of course. (e.g. AG Ferrari is fine for a decent sandwich, but is nothing particularly special or memorable.)
Be sure to check out the Ferry Building market especially on saturday. It has great food options (for breakfast/lunch especially), and is a place where tourists and locals mix. It is a perfect start to a day stolling along the wharf. It is near the financial district.
La Ciccia is probably not a good choice: it is really too small for a party of 8, and given the options you mentioned you are considering, may be a bit on the overly "exotic" end. It is not your italian-american grandmother's sort of food.
You should consider Aziza (moroccan), which is a lot of fun, and accessible to a variety of tastes (would require car or cab).
+1 on dim sum: inexpensive and also fun. Also near the Financial District you might try Amber India where they have a really nice lunch buffet (I recall).
You might try Scoma, a seafood place on the wharf. It is sort of a San Francisco classic. Cant say I loved it the one time I went, but a lot of people do.
Best restaurant view of Golden Gate Bridge fireworks
Quick non-restaurant related thing to keep in mind, here. I frequently go to a neighbor's place for fireworks. They live in the east bay with a perfect view across to the Golden Gate. Beautiful, huh? Well, there's one problem: fog. I think something like 3 of the last 4 years, the fireworks across the bay were completely covered in fog. And I agree they are too far away anyway if you like the booms and bangs that go with the display (and what's the point otherwise?).
Oakland Chinatown takeout snacks/dim sum recs?
Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I'll check them out.
Oakland Chinatown takeout snacks/dim sum recs?
Hello Hounders,
I've been working in downtown Oakland for awhile now and have occasionally explored eating options in Oakland Chinatown, with the idea of finding places where I could pop in and pick up snacks (dumplings, buns, ribs, dim sum and other delicacies) to take out for lunch. I've found a couple places randomly that I have walked into and rather ignorantly picked out a few items, and I have been to Cam Huang many times for their banh mi.
However, I have never done any systematic search to find what places or snacks are particularly worth going to or getting. (Doesn't help that I do not know a word of Mandarin or Cantonese.) I wonder if anyone could give recomendations?
I'll eat most things, but I'd like to find some non-fried snacks and some prepared vegetables in the mix. Cam Huang has prepared items other than banh mi but most look so greasy and the vegetables they have are so overloaded with garlic, I'd prefer to go elsewhere.
Thanks!
looking for the perfect representation of California cuisine for one night in SF
Perhaps a trek to Gather in Berkeley?
In a certain sense, "innovative" and "perfect representation of California cuisine" are contradictory: I love Zuni, and is a good choice for Cal cuisine, but i would not call it "innovative." I suggest Gather because it combines the California cuisine (agreeable) obsession with local/fresh/sustainable with what I think are actually fairly innovative dishes. And it is reasonably priced. Alternatively, how about a great bowl of cioppino? And, no need to apologize: this IS your research, and is exactly why boards like Chowhound exist.
TONIGHT We need Restaurant Reqs for Hamburger only guy & people who love good food.
You might try someplace around Jack London Square. Not sure how many you are, but these places tend to have the space for groups, will have a basic burger. e.g. Kincaid's, Scott's Seafood? I would not call these great, but for your purposes (and after all, these are no worse than Mua or Luka's), they might do also because they have the added benefit of good times looking at the boats.
Chez Panisse 2012
I had bought some a few weeks ago at Monterey Fish (the first and only time I've seen them there). Half I put in a risotto, and the other half I did a quick deep fry. The guy at M.F. suggested I should not bother peeling, which was what I suspected already. If you deep fry them, there is really no need anyway, as the shell adds to the crunchiness. On the risotto it was a bit more of a problem, and I probably should have fussed with peeling.
Seafood resto in East Bay needed
Hong Kong East Ocean in Emeryville, or if you are willing to sacrifice on food, atmosphere and service, there is Spenger's in Berkeley. Both could accomodate a group and both are on the I-80 corridor.
Itinerary for our honeymoon in SF/Napa. Thoughts?
Someone below mentioned murals in passing. i'd go further than that: for your walk around the Mission, I would strongly recommend a mural tour. Take a look for example at Precita Eyes (http://www.precitaeyes.org/). I and my parents did the tour last year, and it was fascinating. At the very least, stop by the Precita Eyes center and pick up a mural map. The tour will give you a real inside look at the neighborhood as more than a bunch of bars, restaurants and (frankly) litter.
Breakfest East Bay
Jodie's in Albany. It's a long wait and only space for a few groups of 2, but worth the experience.
http://www.jodiesrestaurant.com/
Cheese pairings for a sweet wine tasting party
I'm not sure what the "technical" means -I had a similar question myself. I think it refers to what category they are placed in. It is like a dog show, for sure. Also, I think that how much weight one puts on the ranking has to depend on the category, i.e. who showed up for the contest. It is not surprising to see lots of Scandinavian cheese competing alongside a lot of WI cheeses, given the Scandinavian connection WI has culturally to that part of Europe. On the other hand, when Bel Gioioso wins for best Parmesan and another WI cheesemaker wins for best Camambert, well, they may be good cheeses, but some key potential participants were missing.
Date Night - Classic California Cuisine?
I'd vote for Zuni, as suggested by others. Or for more upscale, perhaps Masa http://www.masasrestaurant.com/
Firstly, reading above, how is Aziza "classic" California (I love the place, but I do not think it really fits the bill)? From things you have indicated about your husband's preferences, I'd say a problem with some of the very high end places for him may be the time involved if you do a tasting menu: the meal can drag on for hours. Zuni may not be a fancy-shmancy as other places, but it seems to capture the idea of "Classic California" as well as any place. I have never had a bad meal there and only had the chicken once (which I loved). Just because you have an unlimited budget does not mean you have to spend it all, but at least at Zuni you could splurge in some areas like good wine and champagne, which could easily swamp a budget at the super fancy places.
Cheese pairings for a sweet wine tasting party
Ok, well it is too late for this, but I was just in Madison, WI the week after the World Champion Cheese contest held there, and the big news was that a Dutch gouda won (a gouda!?). Perhaps for your next party you could serve championship cheeses, if you can find them.
http://www.worldchampioncheese.org/
Floridians coming to Cali for the first time.
I'd keep the rental car up in wine country, as the rest of my comments to follow make clear. I would suggest, though some may disagree, that you can only do so much wine tasting before it becomes boring/tiring. Honestly, I find that 3-4 wineries in a day is my max, and doing that for more than 2 days in a row can also be tiresome: a) your body just gets tired from all that wine; b) your tastebuds lose the ability to make distinctions in wine. So, you might consider say, a day dedicated to wine tasting, say along the Silverado trail in Napa or some of the wineries tuck in near Mayacamas, and then the rest of the time, mybe limit yourself to a couple places on your drive to do other things. The nice thing about Sonoma, in my opinion, is that there is a bit more to do outside of the wineries. if you have a rental car (which I think you would want/need), you can make your way to the Sonoma coast which is so beautiful; Guerneville and floating down the Russian River on inner-tubes; look into other sorts of tastings at farms that do more than just grapes.
However, if your preference is to gorge on wine the whole time, well then yes, driving is something to be avoided. Maybe you could find a small winery tour in that case.
Floridians coming to Cali for the first time.
Offense, really? My grandfather, who was born in SF in 1903 always called it "Frisco" (as they did in his day), which now gets a laugh and a roll of the eyes. You only say you are staying in Napa Valley, which is a pretty big place (and to locals is not to be confused with the City of Napa, which is at the south end of Napa Valley --just so you do not start insulting them too :-) ). Also you may want to look into Sonoma county as well (which for my $ is a bit more interesting than Napa). Renting bicycles in Healdsburg -a sickeningly charming and romantic little place- is a lot of fun: you can bike up Dry Creek Rd and stop at some nice little wineries, if memory serves. No doubt you can find similar in Napa Valley, tho the traffic is heavier and more dangerous. You also do not mention when you coming, but if it is summertime, I'd save winery visits for during the week: crowd are horrendous on weekends, and also, wineries are going to be up and functioning during the week, which makes it a lot more interesting, especially if you are contemplating a tour about how wine is made.
now that Oakland's B- Restaurant is closed... [CORRECTED BELOW- RESTAURANT IS OPEN]
Sounds like you are looking for a bit more formal, but you might check out Cosecha Cafe. It is a great and fun taco stand. You order at the register and they bring your food to the table. Limited menu, but worth the visit.
http://www.cosechacafe.com/
Intergalactic foodies
Why is it always foggy when space aliens arrive? Anyway, send 'em out for abalone, dungeness crab, and give them a meyer lemon tree. Oh, and a case of Anchor Steam.
Restaurant rec for a group of girls?
I recall a few years ago I went with a group of about 12 to Farralon. They had a lovely and cosy private room intended for groups (I imagine most upscale restaurants have something similar). I recall that rather than a fixed menu, we had a fixed budget that we had arranged with the restaurant --it may have been part of the requirement for reserving the room since it was apparently a minimum (I did not make the arrangements). The minimum budget I think was about $1000 total and we could each order what we wanted given budget (we could go over the budget, I think). I also recall we were about $100 below the budget so ended up all ordering after-dinner drinks to reach the minimum, and they threw in a Farallon cookbook at the end because we were still about $50 short. For a large group, a private room may be the way to go --just thinking of the other customers, 'cause you know how boisterous a large group can get.
Tasting menu prices in Bay Area
Also, these restaurants are competing on quality (defined broadly), and not on price. When that happens, prices rise, since demand is driven by quality which adds to a restaurant's cost --same phenomenon can be seen in higher education and certain types of health care, but that is for another discussion board. For example, it seems there has been a trend towards adding more and more amuse-bouches to fill in between the courses listed on the menus. Customers like this because they think they are getting something for "free," and the amuse-bouches also tend to be sort of fun/exotic/creative. Preparation of these additional items drives up cost in ingredients, kitchen capacity, waitstaff time, etc. These also take what used to be a 2 hour experience and turn it into a 3 or 4 hour experience, meaning less turnover at the tables. And of course the trend towards locally grown, organic/free-range/grass fed/gold plated/etc contributes to increased food costs, which would affect all menu items, not just the tasting menu.
Visiting Berkeley for the First Time - Need Critique's
It may be too late and/or your plans may be set, but I do get the sense that you may be missing the "ethnic" component, except for maybe Ippuku (which I agree is a good choice).
You might consider, for example, some good Korean or Ethiopian. For example, Sahn Maru
http://www.sahnmarukoreanbbq.com for Korean and perhaps Ethiopia Restaurant http://www.ethiopiarestaurant.com
These are very good, and are South of berkeley campus: you'd pass them both if you were driving on Telegraph to Commis. (Lots of bandwidth has been used on Chowhound debating which of the Korean and Ethiopean restaurants located in that same area are the best: I offerred a good example of each.)
I would not do Chez Panisse, Commis, AND Plum. I'd skip Plum (which I like, but I think the others are more "special" for your experience).
I'd suggest a stop at Gather if you can squeeze it in: it has I think a really interesting menu which I have found really good and well-executed.
If you can't fit them in, put the ideas in your back pocket for your next visit.
Have fun!
SF treats that ship well
Darn this globalization thing! 15 years ago I could surprise family and friends living in colder climes with treats they otherwise could not find. Now you can find almost anything anywhere.
I like to send Scharffenberger Cacao "Nibs," which I munch on, use for cooking, ice cream topping, and have even used them in making homebrew. And I do not know where else to find them outside of the bay area (not that I've looked). I buy them at Monterey Market
http://shop.scharffenberger.com/Roasted-Cacao-Nibs/p/SFB-HBNIBS&c=ScharffenBerger@Baking
Maybe something made with persimmon?
Need foodie advice
Not quite sure what a "foodie influencer" is (who is influencing whom about what?), and therefore along what parameters are you hoping to impress?
Supposing that the group are people with some culinary clout in some respect, I'll second Gather in Berkeley. It is a nice open space that is perfect for a group. The food is interesting and in my opinion very tasty. It also perfectly captures the bay area food "politics" without being obnoxious about it. Sunday would be their brunch.
(Cheeseboard is closed on Sundays)
Adagia > Free House (Berkeley)
I noticed it had changed name. In what respect is is a "very much welcomed addition"? Not doubting you; just curious. Curious especially given yours and "pkt63"'s reviewss: to me a cassoulet with a "distinct offal flavor, whicjh was not an ingredient" is bad, not "not bad."
Please critique my itinerary for 5 night trip to San Francisco (DID LOTS OF RESEARCH)
Sounds like quite a well-planned trip. You should certainly enjoy yourselves. If you are into this sort of thing you might consider doing a mural tour in the mission from Precita Eyes
http://www.precitaeyes.org/
I think you will have no problem finding food in Sausalito as a snack. Throw caution to the wind on that one and see what you are in the mood for at the time.
Zachary's Crust [Berkeley] --Tough, boring
I agree. I've never much liked Zachary's, and the crust is a big reason. The "stuffed" aspect is also unappealing, because I always find the upper crust layer to be doughy and gummy (though "hyperbowler" found it too dry). I much prefer a true deep dish (non-stuffed crust) like so-called "Chicago" style. I also find their sauce rather bland. So thumbs down for me for Zachary's.
Mexican Restaurant Suggestions in Oakland/Berkeley..
I particularly like their braised pork tacos. The pozole and the jicama salad are great. Unique quesadillas though I'm not a bit quesadilla fan. A great cup of cofee as well.
Mexican Restaurant Suggestions in Oakland/Berkeley..
you might check out Cosecha cafe, one of my favorite drop-in lunch spots. It's the perfect drop-in spot, friendly and excellent food.
http://www.cosechacafe.com
Cosecha Cafe dinners [Oakland]
Cosecha Cafe in "old" Oakland has become a favorite lunchtime spot for me. They occassionally have Saturday dinners by reservation. Have any readers checked it out? What did you think?
