= 
Who knew that it was harder to get a reservation at Chez Panisse than the French Laundry? I had no idea that it was still so popular. We attempted to reserve a table for my birthday about 3 weeks prior but they were fully booked. The reservationist said I had to call exactly at 9am [...]
Filed under: East Bay, Northern CA, PLACES TO EAT/DRINK, TOP RATED RESTAURANTS | Tagged: alice waters, Berkeley, Chez Panisse, farm to table, food, forkandtell, Organic, restaurant, review | Leave a Comment »
What did we do for our 5 year wedding anniversary? We went to one of the best restaurants in the world…the French Laundry owned by Chef Thomas Keller!! How did we get a reservation? See below. It was a gorgeous July day in the Napa valley when we arrived for our three hour lunch. As we entered [...]
Filed under: Napa Valley, Northern CA, PLACES TO EAT/DRINK, TOP RATED RESTAURANTS | Tagged: best restaurant in the world, food, how to get a reservation at the french laundry, napa, review, The French Laundry, thomas keller, travel, wine, Yountville | 1 Comment »
Mike and I hit up Town Hall before checking out a screening in the City. I had heard good things about Town Hall especially the fried chicken and the Pot de Crème. After looking over the New Orleans inspired menu Mike immediately decided he wanted to start off with the Buttermilk biscuits with Johnston family country [...]
Filed under: Northern CA, PLACES TO EAT/DRINK, San Francisco, TOP RATED RESTAURANTS | Tagged: Butterscotch and Chocolate Pot de Crème, fried chicken, restaurant, review, San Francisco, Town Hall | Leave a Comment »
2010 has been a stellar year for Tyler Florence in the Bay Area. He has opened restaurants in San Francisco and Napa within the last 6 months with a third to come in Mill Valley in early 2011. Best know for his 14 year run on the Food Network with shows like “Food 911″ and [...]
Filed under: Northern CA, PLACES TO EAT/DRINK, San Francisco, TOP RATED RESTAURANTS | Tagged: food, fried chicken, restaurant, review, San Francisco, travel, Tyler Florence, Wayfare Tavern | 1 Comment »
For our one big night out in Maui we took my sister and husband to Merriman’s to thank them for hosting us. Mike and I became familiar with Merriman’s on our honeymoon in Kona where we had a fantastic meal so we were excited to try the Lahaina location. We arrived at 6pm just as [...]
Filed under: Maui, Outside the Bay Area, PLACES TO EAT/DRINK, TOP RATED RESTAURANTS | Tagged: HI, Lahaina, Merriman's, Peter Merriman | 1 Comment »
This was my overall favorite dinner in New Orleans. John Besh’s Lüke is a French brasserie paying homage to NOLA’s past. The decor is bright & simple with a business casual vibe. We were seated in the back room in front of the kitchen. The menu reminded me of Thomas Keller’s Bouchon (which is a [...]
Filed under: New Orleans, PLACES TO EAT/DRINK, TOP RATED RESTAURANTS | Tagged: brasserie, business district, food, french, john besh, luke, New Orleans, NOLA, restaurant, review | 1 Comment »
A visit to Nick’s on Main in downtown Los Gatos was waaaay overdue. Mike and I had heard rave reviews about Nick’s American bistro for months. To celebrate a year of blogging and pigging out we decided to make a reservation. Nick’s has a very cozy atmosphere. Be prepared to get to know your neighbors [...]
Filed under: Los Gatos, TOP RATED RESTAURANTS | Tagged: bistro, food, Nick's on Main, review | Leave a Comment »
For my birthday this year I decided to return to the place Mike asked me to marry him…Sent Soví, a small, romantic French-California restaurant located in downtown Saratoga. We hadn’t been in for a meal since the summer of 2006 and I was surprised to find many changes had occurred over the last 2 years [...]
Filed under: Saratoga, TOP RATED RESTAURANTS | Tagged: food, Josiah Slone, restaurant, review, sent sovi | Leave a Comment »
Tapestry holds a special place in my heart as this was the location of our rehearsal dinner. Tapestry is a California bistro situated in a 100-yr-old remodeled bungalow in Los Gatos. We rented the entire house for that one special night. Mike and I dine here twice a year and each time the memories come [...]
Filed under: Los Gatos, TOP RATED RESTAURANTS | Tagged: bistro, california, food, restaurant, review, tapestry | 1 Comment »
For our 2 year wedding anniversary Mike and I dined at Le Papillon. Mike’s parents had given us a gift certificate for Xmas and we decided this would be the perfect occasion to use it. Le Papillon opened in 1977 and was one of the first fine dining French restaurants in Silicon Valley. As we [...]
Filed under: San Jose, Silicon Valley (all cities), TOP RATED RESTAURANTS | Tagged: food, french, Le Papillon, review, san jose, wine | Leave a Comment »
Conduit [kon-dwit, -doo-it, -dyoo-it, -dit] –noun : a pipe, tube or the like, for conveying water or fluid. Photo credit: Eater SF We ended up at Conduit not because we heard rave reviews but because of its location. Mike and I were going to be in the Mission for an event and this was only [...]
Filed under: San Francisco, TOP RATED RESTAURANTS | Tagged: conduit, Conduit Restaurant, food, mission, review, San Francisco | Leave a Comment »
For our first night in Napa we decided to check out Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen in St. Helena. The owner Cindy Pawlcyn, is the James Beard award-winning cookbook author, Chef and owner of Mustards Grill, so we knew it would be good. It was a beautiful evening so we chose to sit outside on the small [...]
Filed under: Napa Valley, TOP RATED RESTAURANTS | Tagged: Cindy Pawlcyn, cindy's backstreet kitchen, duck, food, James Beard, jazz, mustards grill, napa, review, St. Helena, wine | 1 Comment »
For our “Big” night out in Las Vegas we decided to dine at Picasso which is located in the Bellagio Hotel. Mike had always wanted to go. Picasso named after artist Pablo Picasso serves elegant French cuisine with a Spanish influence and is prepared by chef Julian Serrano. The award winning restaurant has paintings and [...]
Filed under: Las Vegas, TOP RATED RESTAURANTS | Tagged: art, bellagio, food, french, Julian Serrano, picasso, spanish, vegas | Leave a Comment »
My favorite cuisine is Italian. All my life I have been searching for the perfect bowl of ragu. I have found it (well at least the best so far). If you stroll the streets of downtown Saratoga you will find a handful of quirky stores and upscale/expensive restaurants. To our surprise last year a quaint [...]
Filed under: Saratoga, TOP RATED RESTAURANTS | Tagged: Bolognese, food, italian, ragu, Ristorante Da Mario, Saratoga, tiramisu | Leave a Comment »
La Fondue in Saratoga recently re-opened down the street from the old location. The restaurant is much bigger and the dark medieval theme is gone . When you walk in you will not recognize the place. I think the only thing they kept from the old spot were the fondue pots. The new decor is [...]
Filed under: Saratoga, TOP RATED RESTAURANTS | Tagged: food, la fondue, Saratoga | Leave a Comment »
