In
San Francisco, Bix is a fantastic dining experience with its Super
Club atmosphere. Bruce Hill, the Executive
Chef, wowed us with his creations and we loved the live jazz.
We were impressed with the Sautéed Sweetbreads, the Apple
Frisee Salad with Calvados Sauce, Sebastopol Garden Lettuces,
Mission Figs and Toasted Walnuts and the favorite signature dish,
Maine Lobster Spaghetti. This entree was truly in a league of
its own and don’t miss out on the Bananas Foster with Vanilla
Ice Cream and Dark Rum! We asked Bruce why some of the better
restaurants go “down hill”, no pun intended. He said
that quality and flavor must constantly be monitored by the Executive
Chef and it is essential that they taste their own food. We also
asked how a chef feels about keeping a restaurant’s “favorites”
on the menu, especially the ones they have inherited. Bruce advised
us that it is important to keep your regular customers happy by
continuing to serve “favorites” and the Chef can use
the daily specials for creativity!
Mark
Franz, Executive Chef at Farallon, prepared
a fantastic French influenced Coastal Cuisine Lunch in a private
room upstairs for The Handley Cellars 20th Anniversary
Tasting Event. It included Nantucket Bay Scallops, celery
root, tarragon, and American black caviar which paired perfectly
with the Handley 2001 Dry Creek Valley Sauvignon Blanc and Grilled
Monkfish with Sugar Pumpkin Risotto, cipollini onions and fresh
Italian White Truffles which paired well with the Handley 2000
Anderson Valley Pinot Noi.
We enjoyed a terrific
Northern Italian dinner at Café Tiramisu on the
ever popular Belden Place, which is a favorite dining
locale offering European atmosphere with outdoor dining. We enjoyed
the warm hospitality of Pino Spinoso and Giuseppe Scoppetta. The
Risotto with lobster, wild mushrooms, asparagus and lobster bisque
sauce and the Roasted Saddle of Lamb with fine herbs and garlic
chips were great Entrees. Also a must, are the desserts including
fabulous Cream Profiteroles and of course Tiramisu!
Congratulations
to Bruno Viscovi on the 16TH Anniversary of Albona Ristorante
Istriano. We enjoyed his gracious hospitality and a terrific
meal. The Stracotto alla Triestina (braised veal shank) was delicious.
No wonder Albona continues to make the “Best of San Francisco”
lists year after year. Chef/Proprietor Christen Shepherd
also has a lot to be proud of as well celebrating the 11TH Anniversary
of his Italian Restaurant Aperto on Potrero Hill. This
friendly local restaurant was packed on the Saturday night we
were there! We loved everything about this small restaurant from
the pleasing pastel colored walls to the vibrant art to the open
exhibition kitchen. And yes, the cuisine was great, too. For Antipasti,
we enjoyed the Dungeness Crab Cakes with Chick Pea Puree, Pomegranates,
Micro Greens, Frisee and Spicy Aioli. As a Grande Piatti you must
have the Housemade Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage, Pancetta,
Brown Butter and Shaved Grana Cheese. Save room for the scrumptious
Warm Chocolate Soufflé Cake for dessert.
We love Las Vegas
and recently stayed at the ultra luxurious Bellagio. You
must have room service for breakfast and try the fabulous Eggs
Bellagio. Dinner at Nobhill in the MGM Grand is a sophisticated
San Francisco experience. Executive Chef Jay Wetzel,
previously with Aqua has brought the best of San Francisco to
Las Vegas. Michael’s Lobster Pot Pie and the Roast Filet
of Beef Rossini with seared Foie Gras were two of the best entrees
ever. Also save room for the Scharffenberger Chocolate Pudding
Cake.
Over in The East
Bay, in Montclair (Oakland) we dined at Canvas which offers an
upscale dining experience with excellent cuisine prepared by
Chef/Owner Peter Jackson and Chef Frank D’Fate
who adds his New Orleans flair. We loved the Foie Gras Torchon
and Seared Diver Scallop with Red Wine Syrup and roasted fingerling
potatoes appetizers. The Grass Fed Beef, Grilled Western Grasslands
Rib Eye Steak, Blue Cheese mashed potatoes and bone marrow red
wine sauce and the Grilled Hoffman Farm Pheasant with braised
greens, smokey spicy rice, and sherry jus were great Entrees!
The menu changes daily. They are popular so be sure to make reservations.
Coming up on their First Anniversary is Beauregard’s
California Bistro in Albany on Solano Avenue. They feature Wine
Country inspired Cuisine prepared by Chef/Co-Owner
Gary Beauregard, formerly of Spago in Beverly Hills.
Gary and his partner Barry Gilmartin spent over a year renovating
the restaurant and have created a spacious inviting atmosphere.
We loved the Smoked Salmon Pizzetta appetizer which was a personal-sized
red onion pizza crust topped with dill-shallot crème fraiche,
smoked salmon, tomato and scallions and the hearty Entree Tuscan
Farmhouse Oven- Roasted Chicken rubbed with garlic, rosemary,
thyme, oven roasted with house-preserved lemons and Mediterranean
olives, served in its own pan juices. For dessert, we loved the
Apple Crisp prepared with Granny Smith Apples, slow baked with
just a hint of Tuaca and a crispy brown sugar and cinnamon crust
which was served with warm whipped cream!! All the fare is fabulous
with reasonable prices which makes Beauregard’s a
worthy destination on a regular basis.We dropped by Gregoire,
Berkeley’s Gourmet Take-out and found fantastic French inspired
cuisine by Chef/Owner Gregoire Jacquet
formerly of the Ritz Carlton. He creates lunches and dinners made
with fresh ingredients, locally grown, natural and free range
with superior flavors, aromas and perfect taste making a great
alternative to dining out. We enjoyed several items from his lunch
menu which were incredible! We look forward to returning to enjoy
the dinner menu, perhaps when we have guests who we want to impress!
We ventured to California Café in Walnut Creek and had
a superior lunch from Chef Charles Hochman’s
Café All Day small plate menu. We enjoyed the
Jamaican Pick’n Chicken which was juicy, moist and terrific,
served with golden pepper molé. The Grilled Lamb Chops
with toasted coriander, cilantro, honey and mint was a larger
small plate and delicious as well. Pastry chef Erin Moore brought
dessert to a new level with Banana Brulee Napoleon, a creation
with rum pastry cream, caramel and chocolate sauce. Absolutely
unbelievable!
In The North Bay,
we enjoyed a terrific Country French dinner with some old friends
at Roland Passot’s Left Bank in Larkspur. We met
Steven Obranovich who is the talented Executive
Chef. In addition to the excellent cuisine, the highlight was
seeing local Marin celebs Jill Eikenberry
and Michael Tucker (L.A Law) arrive
for dinner. We were great L.A. Law fans, so this was a treat for
us, too. Everyone respected their privacy which is why celebrities
are drawn to Marin. At Mary’s Apple Creek Café
in Sebastopol, Chef Andrew Lujan created
a fantastic entrée …Mahi Mahi with Jumbo Prawns Baked
in Puff Pastry with Lobster Bisque Sauce. Also, Mary bakes the
best Apple Pie we have ever had! Cuchina Paradiso’s
Chef Dennis Hernandez impressed us with Pesce del
giorno tonno alla griglia, a grilled Ahi Tuna Filet. We also had
a great dinner at The Vintage Caffé at Manka’s
Corner. Caroline & Nicola Critelli owners
created excellent cuisine that we totally enjoyed with a large
group of friends celebrating Carol’s birthday. The Ross
Valley Brewing Company with new chef James Lloyd,
previously at Paragon, is making people think better of brew pub
food. We enjoyed the Crispy Polenta with Wild Mushrooms as a starter
and the spicy Southern Style Jambalaya entree. Our desert was
a fabulous Chocolate Banana Cream Pie! Of course, they brew some
excellent beer, as well as root beer and orange cream soda. We’ve
heard good things about Mirepoix in Windsor with Chef
Matthew Bousquet.
We also attended
The 5TH Annual Private Dining Showcase at Jillian’s. This
event promoted the Event and Private Dining Menus from over 20
great San Francisco restaurants including Aqua, Fifth Floor,
Momo’s, Masa’s, Harris Steak House and Red Herring.
Any reason for a party is a good one and contacting The San Francisco
Private Dining Group is a great start. We enjoyed the 12th Annual
Family Winemakers of California Event at Fort Mason which had
over 350 Wineries participating. We really appreciated that the
wineries were set up in alphabetical order so that we could easily
find the one’s we wanted to make sure we tasted. Some of
the wines we enjoyed included Jordan Cabernet, Hagafen kosher
wines, Emmolo Rutherford Merlot, and Chalk Hill Chardonnay. We
didn’t need it but were intrigued by a new product, Chaser
for Wine Headaches.
www.doublechaser.com/
a sponsor of this event.
Rapidly approaching
will be the Third Annual “Dine About Town”. San Francisco
really knows how to do things “right” as shown by
The Second Annual Dine About Town 2003 www.SFDineAboutTown.com/
promotion for Fine Dining. Special Three-Course Menus $19.95
for Lunch and $29.95 for Dinner were offered by over 160 Restaurants
who participated including; Boulevard, Bix, Fog City Diner,
Tommy Toy’s Cuisine Chinoise, Forbes Island Restaurant,
The Magic Flute, Hornblower Cruises, Roy’s, MC2, Moose’s,
Palio d’ Asti, Acme Chophouse, Le Zinc, Fog City Diner,
and….more. The Kick-Off featured a tasting of 50 World
Class San Francisco Chef’s cuisine in the newly renovated
Union Square. The Chef’s included Bruce Hill
from Bix, Todd Davies from MC2, Daniel
Scherotter from Palio, and Max Braud
of Le Zinc, Moose’s Jeffrey Amber,
Hornblower Cruise’s Daniel Smith, Bistro
1650’s Ramni Levy and Asia De Cuba’s
Chef Todd Wilson. The
event had a fabulous turnout and the tastings were superior.
Until we eat again……. |