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Wayfare Tavern

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 [...]

The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen

An eatery that only sells grilled cheese sandwiches. Brilliant concept. Why didn’t I think of that? Food & Wine calls AGCK one of the Best U.S. Restaurant Openings of 2010 and I agree! This was the first stop on my mega birthday weekend in SF. We rolled up on Friday (11/12/10) at noon and it [...]

BarBersQ

If you’re looking for Memphis style BBQ in Napa look no further than BarBersQ. The place is rockin’  — literally. Mike couldn’t stop shimmying his shoulders as classic R&B and Neo Soul tunes piped through the restaurant. You’d think this being a barbecue joint I would order ribs or pulled pork but I had heard [...]

Sato Sushi

I’ve eaten at a lot of Japanese restaurants and I gotta say this is my favorite if I’m in the mood for Teriyaki and Tempura. This was my go-to birthday/special event dining spot while growing up and every time I get a chance to go back I do. The food, decor and sweet female owner [...]

Gary Danko

My birthday week ended with dinner at Gary Danko in San Francisco. It was time to try the #1 Bay Area Zagat rated restaurant. When we arrived we were seated in a cozy corner booth. We were surprised to see that the place was packed on a Thursday night in November. I guess you don’t [...]

Bottega

Mike and I took my sister and her husband to Napa for a weekend before they moved from the Bay Area to Hawaii. We decided we would dine at Bottega, Michael Chiarello’s newest creation. On the night we arrived he was actually in the house. While waiting for our table he walked through the bar [...]

Purple Onion Los Gatos

About a month ago we were at a party that was catered by Purple Onion. There were salads, little sandwiches and desserts. Everything was super tasty. Mike and I decided we had to try the place out. We arrived on a Friday just after noon and it was fairly full. We actually bumped into Mike’s [...]

Luke Restaurant

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 [...]

Cochon Butcher

When I read about a new hot spot in the warehouse district of New Orleans that featured the pig I put it on our list of things to do. Cochon butcher is the tiny sister cafe for Cochon Restaurant. It serves up house made meats in different forms, beer, wine and also has a full [...]

NOLA Restaurant

You can’t go to New Orleans and not eat at one of Emeril’s many restaurants. We decide to try NOLA located in the French Quarter. It’s a 3 story building so we needed to take an elevator to get to our table on the 2nd floor. Mike thought this was so cool. The cuisine is [...]

Dante’s Kitchen

So I wanted to go to a neighborhood gem. Something away from the French Quarter. After doing some research I came up with Dante’s Kitchen which is located in Uptown. The best way to get there is to hop on the St. Charles streetcar and get off at Carrollton & Maple (close to the end [...]

Joanie’s Cafe

We decided to try a bfast joint in Palo Alto on our way to IKEA. I looked on Yelp for a highly rated place. When we arrived at Joanie’s there was a line. When we left, there was a line. I guess there were a lot of 4+ person parties because we were seated immediately. [...]

Manresa Los Gatos

Instead of going on a trip for our 3rd wedding anniversary we chose to have dinner at Manresa, a well established restaurant in Los Gatos. It has had a resurgence of popularity because the owner/chef David Kinch destroyed Bobby Flay in a recent Iron Chef “cabbage” battle. This was our first visit to Manresa. We [...]

Opa!

Just a quick review of the new Opa! restaurant that opened in Los Gatos. Opa! is a small chain of Greek restaurants in the South Bay. We had never been to one before so we went without any expectations. Finally a place I can get a gyro that doesn’t look seedy. On our first visit [...]

Casa De Cobre

Finally a Mexican restaurant in the Saratoga Village. The town is slowly getting revitalized. The owner of “The Basin” recently opened Casa de Cobre in the old Gervais location. The interior has gotten a Latin makeover with copper/turquoise painted walls and handmade tables and chairs (Cute — but I give these things 6 months before [...]

Go Fish Restaurant

We were excited to try chef Cindy Pawlcyn’s restaurant Go Fish since we had a fantastic meal at her other establishment Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen earlier this year. When we arrived the decor was similar to other Pawlcyn joints — homey and comfortable. The menu was a cross between a Pier 39 seafood shack (with items [...]

Tra Vigne

For 20 years Tra Vigne has been a Napa staple serving up classic Italian cuisine. When we arrived we were seated in a large booth in the gorgeous open air dining room. We started our dinner with the hand made mozzarella and garlic crostini. It’s as fresh as you can get as it is made [...]

Sent Sovi

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 [...]

The Happy Hound

I’ve drove past The Happy Hound countless number of times and never had the urge to stop but the reviews on Yelp changed my mind. I love a good hot dog. This place is a dive but is always packed. Mike and I both tried the cheese hound (seen below). The dogs are big and [...]

Tapestry

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 [...]

Tanglewood

Tanglewood serves up modern American cuisine. Located at the very end of Santana Row (across from the Crate and Barrel) the restaurant can be easily overlooked which is unfortunate. After a lovely dinner here a few weeks ago it is now my favorite dining establishment on the row. Their seasonal menu can be eaten on [...]

Slanted Door

The Slanted Door is a modern Vietnamese restaurant located in the newly renovated Ferry building in San Francisco. It has a nice simple, clean design. If you can get a seat by the window (which we did) it has great views of the bay. Along the main wall to maximize space tables are situated tightly. [...]

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