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| TOQUE
OF SAN FRANCISCO |
By
Carol and Joe Davis - Dining Detectives |
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Winter 2007
Happy
Holidays to All!!
2007 was another great year for incredible Dining Experiences.
We look forward to a great 2008.
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Click
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The
Plumed Horse
Elegant World Class Fine Dining
The
new Plumed Horse is open once again in the quaint and Historic
Village of Downtown Saratoga. Their Contemporary California
cuisine is prepared using locally sourced, sustainable, seasonal
fresh and luxury ingredients along with French techniques. The
décor is modern and the new owner's goal is to personalize
the art of elegant upscale dining. The new Executive Chef/ Owner
Peter Armellino has honed his skills at some of the finest restaurants
in the Bay Area including Aqua, Campton Place and Jardiniere.
Once
we were seated we were immediately impressed by their Champagne
Cart Service. We love Champagne and chose two of their fabulous
offerings, the Heidsieck Monopole Blue Top Brut and Louis Roederer
Brut. Our dining experience was exceptional! We particularly
enjoyed the Black Pepper and Parmesan Soufflé with its
Dungeness Crab and Sea Urchin fondue. You must have the Maine
Diver Scallops in "cocotte lutte" saffron lemon sabayon.
This was the most exquisite seafood entrée we had enjoyed
in a long time and came to the table in the pot and was plated
tableside. It was an absolute perfection! Meat eaters will love
that they can choose their knife for the Dry Aged Colorado Lamb
Rib-Eye with French green beans, shallots and red wine jus.
Save room for Dessert as you shouldn't miss out on the fabulous
Grand Marnier Orange Soufflé with sweet and sour Yuzu
marmalade. Adding to this world class restaurant is Paul Mekis
who is their Cellar Master. He manages the 28,000 bottle Wine
Cellar which includes 1,800 International Selections. He assisted
us with tastes of wines to accompany each course which really
helped us to enjoy our superior dining experience. Our favorite
wines included the 2005 Joseph Swan "Cuvee de Trois"
Russian River Pinot Noir, the 2006 Isidoro Polenic Collio, Doc
Italy Pinot Grigio and the 2006 Bonny Doon Le Vol Des Anges
Dessert Wine.
The
Plumed Horse redefines Fine Dining in the South Bay with its
newly remodeled multi-million dollar upscale interior, a world
class Cellar Master and an Executive Chef with the culinary
credentials, vision and techniques to please. This winning combination
also includes superior enthusiastic service which takes sophisticated
dining to new heights. Reservations are a must as the word is
out that this is the place to dine. We expect that Michelin
Stars will soon be bestowed.
The
Plumed Horse
14555 Big Basin Way
Saratoga, CA 95070
Personalizing the Art of Fine Dining
408-867-4711
www.plumedhorse.com
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Palmetto
Contemporary
Mediterranean Cuisine
Dining
on Union Street just got a whole lot better with the addition
of Palmetto. You can't miss it as it is just behind the giant
Palm Tree that was planted over 150 years ago. The interior
décor is warm and we loved the teak floors. There is
a communal table which is always a fun way to meet new people.
The cuisine is Contemporary Mediterranean and is done well by
the new Executive Chef Andy Kitko. He combines his old world
Italian heritage with California cooking techniques he learned
as the Sous Chef at Aqua. The Appetizer that we really enjoyed
was the Warm Blue Cheese and Almond stuffed Dates wrapped in
Serrano Ham. It was unique and delicious. We also loved the
Seared Rare Ahi with tonno sauce, caper berries, lemon confit
and nicoise olives, white anchovies. Definitely try the soups.
We had the excellent Wild mushroom Soup with garlic chives and
crouton. It was heavenly. Our favorite entrée was the
Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder with creamy polenta, haricot vert
and figs. Be sure to try the Sides. The Sautéed Spinach
with pine nuts and raisins was exceptional. Be sure to save
room for dessert. Pastry Chef Anny Wohn created a fantastic
warm bittersweet chocolate cake with white chocolate-pistachio
bark and vanilla bean gelato. We enjoyed a double Espresso which
was a fine finish. Palmetto is the caliber of restaurant that
the neighborhood deserves. It brings excellent dining to Union
Street with an active upscale comfortable modern atmosphere
and friendly prices that gives everyone a chance to dine on
quality cuisine.
Palmetto
2032 Union Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
415-931-5006
www.palmetto-sf.com
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Pete's
Tavern
San Francisco's new favorite Sports Bar
Pete's Tavern which is directly across from A T & T Park
is San Francisco's new favorite Sports Bar. Peter Osborne who
also owns Momo's right down the street just opened this classic
Tavern that combines reasonably priced food and a fun atmosphere.
As you enter you see the large horseshoe-shaped bar and the
Twelve Flat Screen TVs. Upstairs you can enjoy music from the
Juke Box as well as the Pool tables and Arcade games. The Fare
is Pub food but better. You can have sandwiches, ribs, brisket,
burgers, rotisserie chicken and more. There are 12 Beers on
Tap and an extensive wine by the glass list. We started out
with the Pete's Ale and the 2006 Columbia, Washington Pinot
Gris. We were immediately impressed by the Hummus with Grilled
Pita Bread. Both the House Smoked Pork Spareribs with baked
beans and cole slaw and the House Smoked BBQ Brisket Sandwich
on a soft roll were excellent choices. We were too full but
noticed another happy diner who had an Ice Cream Sundae. Pete's
Tavern is a casual place for good food and a good time.
Pete's
Tavern
128 King Street
San Francisco, CA. 94107
415-817-5040
www.petestavernsf.com
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De
Schmire Restaurant
BFrench and European Continental Cuisine
De Schmire Restaurant
has been pleasing diners in Petaluma for over two decades.
We started our dining experience by ordering Michel Servin Brut
Champagne from Vallet in France. The cuisine is Country French
and is prepared well by Dan Eastman Executive Chef / Owner and
his able Sous Chefs. We ordered a few appetizers as we enjoyed
our champagne. The Smoked Salmon arrived and was particularly
delectable. It was a delightful thinly sliced hickory smoked
salmon served with horseradish sauce. The two large Crab Cakes
were almost all crab meat and served with fresh aioli, red pepper
and an interesting spicy Thai salsa. For our next course we
tried a number of Soups which were all incredible. We loved
the French Onion Soup which was excellent. It was a true Classic
with toasted sourdough rounds and browned Gruyere cheese. We
also recommend the Roasted Garlic Mushroom Soup which was also
fabulous. We then relaxed and enjoyed more champagne.
The Entrees are
all large portions so make sure you save room for dessert. We
had to try the signature entrée De Whole Schmire and
were quite pleased that we did. It consisted of a medium rare
perfectly prepared Char-broiled filet mignon with Bernaise Sauce
and jumbo savory Prawns Portuguese. This was the Best Steak
we've had in a long time and the Prawns were delicious. We also
loved the Grilled King Salmon Hollandaise which was served with
a velvety Hollandaise sauce and garnished with caviar. Both
the garlic mashed potatoes and the broccoli which accompanied
the Salmon were cooked to perfection with just the right tenderness.
Another great entrée which was a bit lighter was called
Paris Nights. It was a medley of delicious fresh seafood including
scallops, jumbo prawns, sea bass and mussels served in a creamy
saffron sauce.
The Wine List
offers something for every one's taste and budget. The 2004
Kenwood Yulupa Cabernet Sauvignon paired perfectly with the
filet mignon and the Michel Servin Champagne paired well with
the seafood. The Desserts were delicious. We had an incredible
Apple Crisp Ala Mode and a tasty Crème Brule. Coffee
was the perfect finish to our excellent meal. After all these
years De Schmire Restaurant continues to live up to it's high
accolades as one of the best in Sonoma County. You will enjoy
the cuisine which is prepared with fresh local produce, the
atmosphere which is friendly, and the service which is professional.
We had a very enjoyable dining experience and look forward to
returning soon.
De
Schmire Restaurant
304 Bodega Avenue
Petaluma, CA. 94952
707-762-1901
www.deschmire.com
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The
BLVD
Beverly Hills
We
love our trips to L.A especially dining and shopping in Beverly
Hills. There is nothing like a late lunch at The BLVD in the
Beverly Wilshire Hotel for excellent cuisine and of course people
watching. From our table we could see the bustling shoppers
on Wilshire Boulevard. As we perused the elegant room we saw
sophisticated diners who appeared to be both tourists and locals.
We were happy to see that they had Prosecco by the glass on
the wine list and ordered the Santa Margherita from Valdobbiadene,
Italy. We like the fact that they offer The Big Pour for a little
extra as a small glass never seams to be enough. Our first course
prepared by Blvd Chef Brian Moyers was a delicious Shrimp Pizza
with calamata olives, basil, pesto, fresh mozzarella and argula
salad. We shared it as an appetizer and were impressed by the
delicate taste and the paper thin crust. Next we enjoyed the
luscious tastes of the Grilled Tandoori Chicken Breast with
tomato, onion and cucumber salad with mint yogurt. Another hour
of star gazing, another Big Pour and we were ready for dessert.
The fabulous Strawberry Shortcake was created by Pastry Chef
Aaron Lindgren. It was made with farmer's market strawberries,
strawberry sorbet and vanilla ice cream swirl. A double espresso
allowed us to linger a little longer. The BLVD is a must on
your next visit to Beverly Hills!
The
BLVD
Beverly Wilshire Hotel
9500 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA. 90210
310-385-3901
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Zagat
Survey 2008
Results for San Francisco
Gary
Danko won two 2008 Zagat Survey Awards including Most Popular
Restaurant and Top Food Restaurant in San Francisco. Tim and
Nina Zagat announced the results of their 2008 San Francisco
Bay Area Restaurants Survey which rates restaurants on Food,
Décor, Service and Cost. The Awards were presented at
the Westin Hotel in San Francisco where more than 100 local
Celebrity Chefs, Restaurateurs and media dined on a delicious
Eggs Benedict breakfast. Other survey results which are all
in the new 2008 Zagat Book and at www.Zagat.com
included The City's Top New Restaurant which went to Perbacco
,Top Décor which went to Pacific's Edge in Carmel, and
Top Service which went to Erna's Elderberry House in the Chateau
du Sureau in Oakhurst near Yosemite. Tim and Nina Zagat explained
that their survey results found that diners in the San Francisco
Bay Area are spending more than ever with costs at the upscale
restaurants averaging $103.00 per person. Diners were not complaining
about the value and are quite pleased with their Dining Experience
and the Cuisine but that Service still appears to be an issue
both here and nationwide. Over 8,000 locals were part of the
survey that included more than 1,100 Restaurants. The Zagat
Survey was started in 1979 in NYC and the guides are now available
in over 70 markets. Sometimes called "The Food and Travel
Bible" Zagat is the leading provider of consumer survey-based
Dining and Travel information.
www.Zagat.com
Until we eat
again............
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