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Maybe Again

Maybe Again

San Ho Won, San Francisco

San Ho Won, San Francisco

Why did we dine here? – San Ho Won is a super popular Korean Restaurant which opened in the fall of 2021 and is a collaboration between Corey Lee and Jeong-In Hwang. They use tock for their reservation system, in which you have a pre-pay
a $25/person deposit. It was very hard getting a reservation here.

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Estiatorio Ornos, San Francisco

Why did we dine here? – Estiatorio Ornos is Michael Minas Flagship restaurant’s latest reboot, this time to Greek cuisine. The decor is more warm and modern, with contrasting whites and oranges, and a lot less fine dining edge. There was definitely a buzz in the year, after two months of opening, the audience was well dressed and ready for some revenge dining.

How does this new eatery stack up to long time long time stall worth Kokkari?

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Ernest, San Francisco

Ernest, San Francisco

Why did we dine here? – Ernest is a hot restaurant in the Potrero Hill area not far from KQED. We had to set multiple alerts on Resy to get a reservation. They have outdoor seating in their courtyard, complete with heat lamps. We dine here twice, once inside and once outside.

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Yauatcha Soho, London

Yauatcha, London

Why did we dine here? – Yauatcha is a fancy Chinese restaurant chain with several locations in London. They are the more inexpensive sister of Hakkasan. We came for dinner and found it packed, with a loud clubby atmosphere. There are locations in India and Saudi Arabia.

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Izakaya Mai Restaurant Review, San Mateo

Izakaya Mai Restaurant Review, San Mateo

Izakaya Mai is a Japanese Izakaya or Japanese drinking establishment that also serves food. They are more small plate oriented restaurants. This restaurant has an extensive drink menu. They’ve been here for years. Several similar restaurants have opened over the years, but this still packs them in.. (Izakaya Ginji, Kokko)

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McDonalds Next, Hong Kong

McDonalds Next, Hong Kong

McDonalds opened this Next Generation store in Hong Kong in 2016, making it the only one of its kind in the world. Sleek modern black interior, self ordering kiosks, special Create Your Taste customizable burgers, special make to order salads, special items, table service, wireless chargers in the tables and more!  They are open 24 hours. We returned to this location in 2020.

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Dragon Beaux, San Francisco

Fab Chinese in SF.

Dragon Beaux San Francisco Exterior decor

Why did we dine here? – Dragon Beaux is a new restaurant from the folks who run our favorite Chinese restaurant, Koi Palace. This location is in the Outer Richmond district and focuses on Dim Sum during lunch and Hot Pot/Cantonese food at dinner.  We came here when it first opened in 2015, and recently returned in the Spring of 2019.

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birdsong, San Francisco Review

Birdsong San Francisco Exterior decor

Why did we dine here? – Birdsong is a nature and heritage inspired restaurant, that is currently focused on the Pacific Northwest region. Its located in AQ’s old spot. Dishes highlight key ingredients from this region; such as cold-water shellfish, wild game, berries and mushrooms. They serve prix fix menus that are not cheap.

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Pine and Crane, Los Angeles

Pine and Crane Los Angeles Exterior decor

Why did we dine here? – Pine & Crane is a fast casual Taiwanese Chinese restaurant in the hip Silver Lake area of Los Angeles. It has 4.5 stars on Yelp with almost 2000 reviews. We had to see what all the hype was all about.

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Redbird, Los Angeles

Redbird Los Angeles exterior decor

Why did we dine here? – Redbird is a trendy restaurant in downtown Los Angeles that was on our short list to try. This is Chef Neal Fraser and Amy Knoll Fraser’s flagship restaurant is a follow up to popular Grace and BLD. Historic
former rectory building of Vibiana – the cathedral-turned-event-venue.

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Alinea, Chicago

Alinea Chicago exterior decor

Why did we dine here? – Finally a chance to dine here! Alinea is a legendary three Michelin star restaurant in Chicago. It has four times been named the Best Restaurant in America and is one of only 13 restaurants in the U.S. to earn the coveted Michelin 3-Star rating. This is Chicago’s only 3 star restaurant.

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Le Diplomate, Washington DC

Le Diplomat Washington DC Exterior decor

Le Diplomate is a popular French Brassiere in Washington DC’s posh Logan Circle neighborhood. You need to reserve well in advance, otherwise come early for a seat in the bar or patio. This restaurant has a high 4.5 stars on Yelp. They serve brunch, lunch, and dinner.

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Foodnut Cancun Restaurant Reviews

Last Update: 2018

Foodnut travels, eats, and tells.  We’re based in San Francisco but have flown all over the place. We love Mexican food and find some of the best in Cancun.

We recently finished up our latest culinary tour of Cancun in 2018. Other reviews farther down are from previous trips. Cancun is a world class destination full of great food. Most of the Mexican food was superior to that in the San Francisco Bay Area. The service is on another level here.

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Taverna, Palo Alto

Taverna Palo Alto exterior decor

Why did we dine here? – Taverna is a recently opened Greek restaurant in Palo Alto by some alumni of nearby Evvia restaurant. They brought in a Chef from Village Pub to execute their dream. We had good experiences at Evvia so we decided to give this less formal place a try.

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Xiringuito Escriba, Barcelona – Beachfront Paella

Escriba Barcelona Exterior decor

Xiringuito Escriba is a beachfront paella restaurant that several people recommended to us. The Yelp reviews are not good, so we were worried. To its credit, the restaurant was pretty full by 8pm, while others nearby where not. The posted hours show that it opens at 7pm, but we found people eating there before this. (No doubt foreigners like us!) Any restaurant that has such a good view is always red flagged by us.

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Rave Burger Restaurant Review, San Mateo

Better burgers!

Rave Burger San Mateo Exterior Decor

Rave Burger is a burger joint that opened October 2008 in downtown San Mateo. We were walking by and decided to give it a try to see how it rated. The provide sit down service in addition to to go food.  They serve hamburgers, vegan burgers, hot dogs, and salads and a lots more now.  We have been to Rave Burger several times over the years with our last visit in 2019.

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McDonalds, Barcelona

McDonalds Sagrada Familia Barcelona Spain 2017

We like dining at McDonalds at different countries around the world. What interesting items will we find. Our last trip was to Spain. We checked out the local McDonalds in Barcelona and found some interesting items.

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Cassia, Santa Monica

Cassia Santa Monica exterior decor

Sexy Asian in Snap Chat’s turf. Why did we dine here? – Cassia is a restaurant from the folks at Rustic Canyon and Spice Table. A new Metro station (eminent domain), caused the shuttering of The Spice Table. Cassia has dishes from across Asia: Singaporean, Vietnamese, Taiwan, etc..

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Chili House, San Francisco

Chili House San Francisco exterior decor

Hot Stuff! Why did we dine here? – Chili House is a Chinese restaurant in the SF Richmond district. It is special because in November 2015, Tong Gang Wang became the chef at Chili House. He has cooked for several Presidents in China. This is a sister restaurant to Z&Y Sichuan restaurant in SF’s Chinatown. With the new chef, there is more Beijing food on the menu, like hand-pulled noodles, Beijing pot stickers and lamb hot pot. This restaurant reminds us of China Village in Albany.

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Bird Dog, Palo Alto

Why did we dine here? – Bird Dog is a popular new restaurant in downtown Palo Alto. This brings some sophisticated SF style innovative dining to the Peninsula. The interior is impressive, especially for a restaurant down here. Robbie Wilson was the chef of Matsuhisa in Aspen, Colo., and most recently headed up the kitchen at Mattei’s Tavern in Los Olivos (Santa Barbara County)

Insider Tip – On the fence? Especially about the prices. Eat at the bar.

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In Situ, San Francisco

In Situ San Francisco Menu

Why did we dine here? – In Situ serves the best dishes from famous chefs around the world. Corey Lee (Benu, Monsieur Benjamin) gets recipes from cooks and replicates them as he best can. The dishes may not be the same as ones being served at those restaurants today. Older variants might be when is being copied.

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Lincoln Ristorante, New York City

Lincoln Ristorante New York City exterior decor

Why did we dine here? – Two words: Lincon Center. Lincoln Ristorante is located right in the middle of Lincoln Center next to the reflecting pool, making it a super convenient place to dine before a play, performance, show, ballet, movie etc. Wish we had so many fantastic activities like this in San Francisco!

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Brodard, Westminister

Brodard Westminister Exterior Decor

Why did we dine here? – Famous Vietnamese restaurant Brodard, in Southern California. Home to the largest Vietnamese population in the US, you would expect to find some great restaurants. Many Yelp reviews mention dining here whenever they are down here. We had to give this place a try on our latest SoCal trip. The place was packed and very loud.

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Stella Alpina Osteria, Burlingame

Stella Alpina Burlingame exterior decor

Gnocchi and Salmon to die for. Stella Alpina Osteria is a small Italian restaurant located a block from the main Burlingame Avenue shopping area. Located below ground level, most people would never know it was here. The restaurant opened in May 2005, and was featured on PBS’ Check Please TV show. This was our 3rd time dining here.

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Babbo, New York City

Babbo New York exterior decor

Why did we dine here? – Babbo is celebrity chef Mario Batali’s and Joe Bastianich’s flagship restaurant serving regional Italian classics. How could we pass up trying his Italian food? We had never been to one of his restaurants and figured he better know how to cook his native food. Alas he was not in the house. This place is very busy, with them asking Opentable reservations to call and get a token. They received 1 Michelin star in 2016.

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Trestle, San Francisco

Trestle San Francisco exterior decor

Why did we dine here? – Trestle is a small restaurant in San Francisco’s Jackson Square district. Their claim to fame
is a three course prix-fixe menu for $35 per person, with an option to add an additional pasta course for $10. $60 for bottles of wine! The team behind this popular restaurant also runs Stones Throw on Russian Hill and Fat Angel.

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Himawari Restaurant, San Mateo

Himawari San Mateo Outside

Himawari is a Japanese Ramen Noodle house located in downtown San Mateo. Every block down here has a Japanese restaurant. Their chief rival, a couple miles away, is the legendary Santa Ramen along with its sister Ramen restaurants. They have a broader menu than Santa Ramen, with Rice Bowls, lots of appetizers, and many ramen options. We came on hot day and noted no air conditioning, just ceiling fans cranked up. Last visit September 2017.

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Espetus Churrascaria Restaurant Review

Espetus Churrascaria Exterior

Espetus Churrascaria is a Brazilian steakhouse serving Rodizio style food. They focus on meats straight from the fire brought to your table, continuously through the meal! You can stop the meat parade by flipping the table card to red. They have a salad and hot plate bar with lots of different options including asparagus, bean salad, eggplant, rice, beans, cod, and much more. Do not eat too much of this stuff otherwise you wonder have room for all the meat. Vegetarians should stay away.
Espetus Churrascaria has locations in San Francisco and San Mateo. We tried the brand new San Mateo location for dinner. It is all you can eat, with lunch going for $25.95 with 7 meat options, $37.95 on weekends. Dinner is $54.95 with 14 meat options. Kids are 50% off. Our last visit was in the Summer of 2014.

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Little Sichuan Restaurant, San Mateo

Little Sichuan San Mateo Exterior

Little Sichuan is a Sichuan Chinese Restaurant located in Downtown San Mateo next to legendary foodie hangout Draegar’s. It has been around for many years but changed hands in 2007. The former co-owner and chef used to run Classic Sichuan Restaurant in Millbrae. Do not confuse this place with others with similar names. Many folks stopped coming after the change in ownership including ourselves. It was time to check Little Sichuan out again in October 2010, after another year. This is a place to come for Sichuan dishes like noodles, not for generic Americanized Chinese food such as Beef Broccoli. classic Cantonese Chinese dishes that are better down the block at Champagne Seafood or HK Causeway Bay. Our last visit was in March 2014.

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California Pizza Kitchen Restaurant Review

California Pizza Kitchen Exterior Decor

California Pizza Kitchen started back in 1985 in Beverly Hills by two attorneys. It is now International and publicly traded. Their BBQ Chicken pizza is their signature dish. We were passing by the San Mateo location and decided to refresh our memories. Fate has lead us to eat here, more than we would like to admit..

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Osha Thai Restaurant Review, San Francisco

Osha Thai San Francisco exterior decor

Osha Thai is a popular Thai restaurant in San Francisco that has grown to seven locations and was started in 1996 by sisters Wassana Korkhieola and Lalita Souksamlane. Osha means delicious in Thai. We visited the third Street location near Moscone Center. They focus on fresh, seasonal, local ingredients while serving both traditional Thai cuisine and modern interpretations. Our last visit was in April 2013 where we saw quality had fallen off. Be sure to try Kin Khao.

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Everett and Jones BBQ Restaurant Review

Everett and Jones Exterior

Everett and Jones is a Barbecue restaurant with locations in Berkeley, Hayward, Sacramento, and Oakland’s Jack London Square. We ate at their Berkeley location, which is much more informal than their flagship Oakland one, which has live music. Our last visit was to the Berkeley location in 2013.

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Burger King Bacon Sundae

We had to indulge in all the hype..

Burger King Bacon Sundae

Burger King Bacon Sundae – $2.49 and 510 Calories. A Guilty Pleasure! Sweet as heck and remarkably – Not Bad.

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