By Patrick McDermott

Why did we dine here? – Venticello is one of those restaurants that was within blocks of where we use to live, but we never found the time to visit. The place has been here for decades, right next to the cable car line.

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Why did we dine here? – Parallel 37 is the new restaurant from Chef Ron Siegel in the Ritz Carlton San Francisco. This restaurant replaces the fine dining establishment known as the “Dining Room”. This new more casual eatery should attract a more mainstream audience.
We were fans of the chef and came for a visit shortly after they opened. Parallel 37 focuses on contemporary American cuisine utilizing the freshest, local ingredients available.
This is a hotel restaurant, so you’ll see families in addition to the regular fine-dining crowd. Read the rest of this entry »

Canteen is a small restaurant in San Francisco’s Tenderloin/Nob Hill area, right next to an Academy of Art location. Open in 2005, they have a weekly changing menu and serve American cuisine. The menu is very compact so make sure they have what you like. Chef-owner Dennis Leary used to work at Rubicon. Read the rest of this entry »

Acquerello Restaurant (which means “watercolor” in Italian) is an upscale Italian restaurant in the Polk Gulch Area of San Francisco, just off Van Ness. For over 20 years, they have been serving traditional dishes from all regions of Italy in a lighter, more contemporary style. Co-owners Giancarlo Paterlini and Chef Suzette Gresham-Tognetti work together to provide an unparalleled Italian dining experience.

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