Remember Sarah? She’s finally getting married next month, so this past weekend, we surprised her with an awesome party, complete with hilarious spells to tear-jerking moments. Clad in bachelorette party favors, we roamed around downtown San Francisco for an awesome scavenger hunt, went Sonoma/Napa vinyard hopping in a fancy limo, and danced the night away at Infusion Lounge (with our fresh mani/pedicures). Pho was pretty much mandatory the next morning. Hope you had fun, Sarah!
Permalink to Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival!
Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival!
My birthday weekend started at happy hour at Palomino’s on Friday and ended at Cioppino’s by the wharf Sunday night. In between, there was wine and cheese at Amelie’s (which by the way, was fantastic and now my new favorite place in SF), table service at the Mezzanine with SabastiAn, even a BBQ at our boss’s posh mansion tucked away in the Orinda hills. The best part? Walking from booth to booth sampling various chocolate concoctions at the Ghirardelli chocolate festival, before sitting down for more wine and cheese at Cellar360. Life is gastronomically fatastic… and the gym is in order — I promise.
Thanks for all the birthday wishes and presents!
Permalink to Point Reyes Oysters and Cheese!
Point Reyes Oysters and Cheese!
Cheese in a barn
Working next to the Embarcadero means that our team heads over to the Ferry Building quite often for lunch. With all the options available, we still end up waiting in front of Cowgirl Creamery for a simple grilled cheese and cup of tomato soup — it never gets old. Last weekend, a group of us decided to escape the fog and head north to Point Reyes and meet at — you guessed it — The original Cowgirl Creamery, located in a humble barn with cute outdoor seating and such gorgeous weather!
My personal recommendations? The salmon bites and the ham&tam sandwich.
Permalink to A Great Start to Dine About Town!
A Great Start to Dine About Town!
In our apartment, Tuesday nights are lovingly dubbed “TND” for Tuesday Night Dinners huddled around the coffee table with The Voice playing on TV. This week, it was my turn to cook, so I prepared the one and only dish I’m decent at making: sushi.
Wondering where I got the ahi, salmon, and hamachi? Yum Yum Fish Market on 23rd and Irving — no joke about the name.
Wednesday, June 1, kicked off San Francisco’s 10th Annual Dine About Town event where over one hundred restaurants participate and offer special two-course prix fixe lunches for $17.95 and/or three-course dinners for $34.95. The foodie in me went a bit crazy and looked up every single restaurant on Yelp, eliminated any below 3.5 stars with less than 500 reviews or with 4 stars and <200 reviews (+ other metrics such as “Is this restaurant on OpenTable? Have we been here already?”), then ordered the decent restaurants into lists for Most Popular (1000+ reviews on Yelp), Best Deals ($$$$ on OpenTable), Closest to Work (for team lunches or crunch days), and The Remaining Contenders.
Day 1 of Dine About Town meant we went with the highest rated (and most popular) restaurant under the Best Deals list: Ruth’s Chris Steak House.
Having been to Ruth’s Chris (in Maui, actually), I thought the prix fixe menu was simply what we were paying for — a cheaper meal at a high end restaurant. The first course was a mixed greens salad (mainly arugula) with a few cherry tomatoes, some croutons, and literally, a splotch of balsamic dressing in the center — neither mixed in nor on the side. For the entree, I went with the petit filet with shrimp and a side of mashed potatoes. Decent, but smaller portions than usual. The dessert was a bit disappointing as it was just a chocolate cupcake and a custard topped with berries, nothing too special.
Day 2, Ryan chose Blowfish Sushi to Die For, since we’re huge on sushi and sashimi. On first impression, this place was more tacky than posh, considering there was a live DJ bumping Missy Elliott while anime was playing on the big screen behind the bar. However, once the food came out, I was deeply impressed. The ritsu roll was solid maguro (+ a little avocado, no rice), the steak appetizer was paired with salsa (unusual and surprisingly delicious) and avocado tempura (what!), and the chirashi was generous in portions (and selection!) and really fresh. Dessert was a green tea cheesecake with a scoop of green tea ice-cream and an almond cookie!
Considering that it’s Friday and we don’t have any reservations, we might just go the gym and eat Subway afterwards. However, I do have a reservation at Chapeau on Monday, which I’m definitely looking forward to! (It’s the highest rated restaurant on my Most Popular list, and highest rated overall!)
Which Dine About Town restaurants do you recommend?
Permalink to Cheers to Napa!
Cheers to Napa!
Last week started off horribly with nightmarish apartment troubles and ended with such a bang as one of the best weekends of my life… in Napa Valley. The father of a friend of ours is a pretty big player in the food and beverage industry, so we got to stay in Silverado’s four-bedroom guesthouse, dine at the Franciscan (with our personal chef), and tour Opus One and taste their 2007 vintage — nobody could wipe the smiles off our faces all weekend. In addition, we also ate at Chandon’s restaurant Etoile, Top Chef Michael Chiarello’s Bottega, as well as Go Fish, which was present at Toast of the Town two weeks ago. We wrapped up our trip nicely by visiting my favorite sparkling wine maker, Mumm Napa. I acquired so many new corks (each one embodying a moment and memory) to add to my cork collection — cheers!
Friday night, we arrived around 7:30, dropped off our luggage in the guesthouse, and headed to Etoile, where Ryan managed to make a reservation last minute on the drive down. This turned out to be one of the best meals of my life:
Etoile Restaurant (in Domaine Chandon Winery)
1 California Dr
Yountville, CA 94599
Permalink to Wine Enthusiast’s Toast of the Town!
Wine Enthusiast’s Toast of the Town!
Yesterday night, our company had a blast eating and drinking our way through the Toast of the Town in City Hall. I made sure to coat my sore throat with a lot of honey and tea beforehand, though all the painful swallowing was well worth the delicious food. At each table we visited, I took a bite (and a swoosh), snapped a picture of the dish, and then took another of the menu (which is how I remember everything). My favorite dishes are bolded and I’ve included the restaurant addresses for anyone interested in journeying on a culinary escapade with me one day!
A. Smoked white sturgeon with ginger-meyer lemon marmalade & avocado brioche (The Ahwahnee)
B. Ahi tuna cracker, wasabi creme, house-made sesame cracker (Cindy Pawlcyn Napa Valley Catering & Restaurants)
C. Various cheeses for guests to sample
D. Pickled eggs with oyster dressing and crisp bacon (Comstock Saloon)
Permalink to Bon Appetit, Berkeley!
Bon Appetit, Berkeley!
Saturday, Berkeley boasted of beautiful, warm weather, so we drove up for lunch at our favorite destination:
Cheeseboard Collective
1512 Shattuck Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94701
This was yesterday’s flavor-of-the-day and that box was gone before the german shepherd three feet away stopped drooling. poor pup.
Next, we visited my favorite stationery and letterpress studio before buying cupcakes from Love at First Bite and doggy toys from Holistic Hound. I spoil myself — I spoil my dog.
Nourished, we set off on our hike towards Indian Rock and the Rose Garden for breathtaking views of the Bay:
Permalink to A Weekend Getaway in Monterey!
A Weekend Getaway in Monterey!
Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa
400 Cannery Row
Monterey, CA, 93940
Despite the age of the building, this place truly values customer service. The first night, I made a passing comment about the extinguished lobby fireplace (“Aww…”), and a bell staff member overheard me and offered, “I can turn it back on for you if you’d like!” The second night, I ended up bringing a book downstairs to read next to the warm fireplace as a live performer serenaded us with hits from Stevie Wonder to John Mayer. Afterwards, I was craving some calamari (not listed on any of the resort menus) and room service offered to special order it for me late at night! Not the mention, the ocean view from this resort is drop-dead gorgeous. Easily 5 stars.
Permalink to One day, we’re opening our own sushi restaurant.
One day, we’re opening our own sushi restaurant.
Yesterday, I spent all afternoon making sushi for my family with the typical ingredients: imitation crab, avocado, and cucumber:
That got kind of boring, so then Ryan, Daisy, and I went to Cook’s Seafood Market in Menlo Park and bought a pound each of sushi-grade King salmon and Ahi tuna — best decision ever. (Also, super economical for anyone into sashimi.) Then the party began at Chris’s place as we invented our own rolls topped with jalapeno and lime (paired with a bottle of Riesling!):
Permalink to Concrete Jungle Where Balls Drop
Concrete Jungle Where Balls Drop
I truly enjoyed New York the last time I visited, but this trip was as stressful as getting to Times Square on New Year’s Eve in heels. We had to walk all the way up to Central Park and enter 7th Ave from there because all the horizontal streets were blocked off. Not to mention, we also paid exhorbitant amounts for hotels in Times Square, where everyday, I had to fend off the stand-up comedy club flyers and walk away from the smell of roasted peanuts and halal carts (mixed with trash bags piled on sidewalks — a post snowstorm nuisance).
Another item to cross off my list:
[X] Watched the ball drop on New Year’s in Times Square with a million people!
