Restaurant Location
Sons and Daughters is a One Michelin star restaurant run by young chef/owners Matt McNamara and Teague Moriarty. (Gregoire) They have a 1 acre garden in Los Gatos that yields fresh produce and herbs.
Atelier Crenn is a one Michelin star French restaurant from Dominique Crenn (Formerly of Luce) located in San Francisco’s Marina District. (Atelier means workshop in French.) As she puts it, “An expression of taste, scent, and vision.” Seasonal and sustainable cuisine. We have been debating whether to dine here for a while. Our worries were whether this place was more style or substance. Some of the pictures of the dishes here looked too beautiful to eat!
Why did we dine here? – Great China is a popular Chinese restaurant in Berkeley right near UC Berkeley. A friend recommended this restaurant to us and Great China has been rated highly in Zagat’s.
Why did we dine here? – Kunjip is a top rated Korean restaurant in Santa Clara, situated in a Korean focused strip mall. They focus on soups and noodles, no BBQ unlike most other places.
Why did we dine here? – Tobang is located next door to the Korean restaurant Kunjip in a Santa Clara strip mall full of Korean merchants. We had enough soup and noodles there, and wanted some Korean BBQ.
Shenzhen Citizen Center Restaurant is a restaurant located underneath the ultra modern Shenzhen Citizen Center. This restaurant caters to Government officials and may not be open to the public. We were lucky enough to be invited by a friend and dined in a private VIP room. The food here was extra-ordinary when compared to Chinese food back in the San Francisco Bay Area. The service was very good as a waitress was assigned to our private room. Be sure to check out our review of Fu Gow in Shenzhen.
Shanghai Restaurant is a Shanghainese Chinese Restaurant in the Cupertino village shopping center, replacing the popular HC Dumpling restaurant. They have the usual Chinese dishes along with a fair amount of Traditional Shanghai dishes not served in most restaurants. Our last visit was December 2012.
We had dined at Chez Panisse Cafe almost 3 years ago.. Our last visit to the Main restaurant was decades ago. Tons of restaurants have come and gone since they opened over 30 years ago. It was time to see how Chez Panisse has stood the test of time.
Why did we dine here? – Cottonwood is one of the chief rivals of Moody’s in Truckee. We have dined so many times at their adversary, we decided it was time to try something new.
Sushi Sam’s is a popular Japanese restaurant in downtown San Mateo. We have considered them and Hotaru as the 2 best Japanese restaurants in this area that seems to have a Japanese restaurant on every block. There is a large Japanese and Asian population in this area. Our last visit was in January 2012.
Gialina Pizzeria is a small pizzeria named after the chef-owner’s grandmother. It is opened in January 2007 and is located in San Francisco’s Glen Park neighborhood right near BART. Chef Sharon Ardiana has help positions at well respected places including Lime, Dine, Garibaldis, Slow Club, and Boulevard. Her next restaurant, Ragazza in the Metro Kathmandu space on Divisadero, is their sister restaurant.
Buck’s is a quirky restaurant nestled in the small town of Woodside. The interior is full of off the wall models, toys, posters, and more. Even the front of the seasonal menu has a lecture on different topics. Their website is pretty crazy. Our last visit was in 2014. They have a separate lunch special menu that changes from time to time. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We came for lunch.
Nanling Restaurant in the French Concession is a restaurant in Shanghai, China serving Huaiyang cuisine, famous for its carving techniques using specialty knives. Nanling also serves Yangzhou specialties, including lots of fresh seafood dishes and the signature dish, roast duck. Interesting Asian art hugs the walls. Our excellent US$50 meal could feed six people or more. After dinner, hit one of the many bars down the block.
Subway: Hengshan Road Station
Why did we dine here? – La Costanera received One Michelin Star for 2012, raising the restaurant’s profile and putting it on our hit list. They focus on Peruvian cuisine and are located above the beach in Montara in a nice multi level building that housed The Chart House.
Joël Robuchon is a Haute Cuisine French Restaurant located in the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It was opened in 2006 and is the US outlet for most Michelin Starred Restaurateur in the word, Joël Robuchon. This Las Vegas location received 3 Michelin Stars in 2008 and 2009. A separate review is available for the lower cost restaurant next door, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon.
Wow, one of the top molecular gastronomy restaurants in the USA… é by José Andrés is a mysterious restaurant in the Cosmopolitan Hotel, Las Vegas that doesn’t even have a phone number. They take reservations by email ([email protected]) 30 days in advance for one of the 8 spots of counter seating. Seating are at 5:30PM and 8:30PM, meals typically last 2 hours. After you make a successful reservation they will send you a Golden Ticket in the mail.
Manzanita Lake Tahoe is the new restaurant by Traci Des Jardins in the posh Ritz Carlton Highlands at Northstar Lake Tahoe. It opened in Decemeber 2009. Rooms here start at $350 a night. She is best known for Jardinière and Mijita Cocina Mexicana in San Francisco. Manzanita serves French inspired California cuisine with a focus on organic, sustainable, seasonal ingredients. Free valet parking for dinner guests. Our last visit was in early 2012 where we found prices had increased significantly.
Poggio is an Italian trattoria Restaurant situated in the Casa Madrona Hotel, right on the main touristy street of Sausalito. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They focus on Northern Italian cuisine using local ingredients, sustainable products, and property-grown organic herbs and vegetables. The founder Larry Mindel has a long history with restaurants including Ciao, Prego, and Il Fornaio. Peter McNee is the executive chef. Our last visit was at the beginning of 2012.
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.
Parallel 37 is a hotel restaurant, so you’ll see families in addition to the regular fine-dining crowd.
Why did we dine here? – Six Peaks Grille is located at the Resort at Squaw Creek In Squaw Valley and focuses on sustainable, biodynamic produce and seafood. We were skiing nearby and decided to give this restaurant a try.
Plump Jack Café and this restaurant seemed to be the best bets around here. (Unless you want to drive to Moody’s in Truckee) The Squaw Valley Village was extremely crowded for the Fourth of July holiday, with most restaurants packed full.
Why did we dine here? – Bistro Jeanty was one of the last major restaurants in Yountville that we have not reviewed. Has any foodie knows, this town is an eaters paradise. As good a reason as any to give it a try! They lost their Michelin star a couple years back, so we did not have high expectations. Would this place make up for not going to Redd?
Why did we here? – This restaurant is located in the brand spanking new Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong, making it a no-brainer for those seeking out beautiful new restaurants. They received a surprising 2 Michelin stars in 2013. Guess the food has improved since our visit in 2011.
A taste of the fish market in Guangzhou, China. The market has hundreds of vendors similar to these. Not as beautiful as most food markets, but worth a trip for foodies like us. There are some restaurants located upstairs.
Morimoto Napa is a Japanese restaurant run by world famous television Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto. This celebrity chef, who also worked at Nobu, is known for his whimsical twists on Japanese cuisine. The restaurant has gotten lukewarm reviews from the major San Francisco food critics, so we came expecting a lot of flash and little substance. He has outposts around the world including in India and Hawaii. We had lunch at Morimoto Napa.
Why did we dine here? – Fu Gow is a excellent restaurant located near the Shenzhen airport. Our local friend highly recommended this restaurant, which is frequented by many government officials and is way under the radar.
The Foodie bible Zagat San Francisco Bay Area Restaurants 2011 is available starting today at $10 from Amazon. $14.95 list. Data comes from people like ourselves, voting.
We recently finished up our latest culinary tour of China in the Summer of 2011. Cantonese Chinese cuisine originated from this area, making it a must visit for those serious about Chinese food.
Here are some quick mini reviews of places we ate at. We feel this will be useful as more people visit this up-and-coming area. We found few reviews on Trip Advisor and Dianping.
Solbar is a beautiful restaurant located in the Solage resort and Calistoga. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner and received one Michelin star in 2011.
Tony’s Coal-Fired Pizza and Slice House is a new San Francisco North Beach takeout place from Tony Gemignani, 9 time Champion Pizza Tosser, certified pizziaolo. He also runs Tony’s Pizza Napoletana next door. This location serves a wide range of food; New York-style pizza, Roman-style pizza, Chicago-style Italian Beef Sandwiches, and New York deli sandwiches. Our last visit was in September 2012.
Fleur de lys is a long-standing French restaurant from Hubert Keller, who also owns Burger Bar and is featured on a PBS television show. They received one Michelin star in 2011. The last time we were here, perhaps 8 years ago, we were very impressed, so we had high expectations.
Best buffet in San Francisco? Palace Hotel Garden Court Sunday Brunch was next on our list of high-end buffets. We are suckers for lavish spreads of high-end food in addition to our mainstays of regular fine dining! Sadly we have found the best Sunday brunches outside of San Francisco, in far off places like the Wynn buffet in Las Vegas, and Conrad Sunday brunch in Hong Kong.
This Sunday brunch cost about $68 with unlimited, average quality Piper Sonoma champagne. Coffee, tea, orange juice were also complimentary. Special brunch menus are offered on holidays and throughout the month of December.
Madera Restaurant is located in the Rosewood Sand Hill Hotel, just across the way from venture capital central. This is a high-end hotel that opened up just a couple years ago. Chef Peter Rudolph used to work at Campton place in San Francisco. He uses a wood-burning grill and explores artfully-crafted, market-driven cuisine of bold flavors. Sustainably harvested and produced seafood and meats. Madera means wood in Spanish.
Hong Kong East Ocean Seafood Restaurant is located in Emeryville, right by the Bay. It has excellent views of San Francisco. The restaurant is popular for dim sum and for large banquets, especially on the weekends. Our last visit was in the middle of 2011.
Excellent food in Noe Valley. La Ciccia is an intimate restaurant located in San Francisco’s Noe Valley that focuses on food from Sardinia, especially seafood. The husband and wife team operate this popular and homey restaurant.
The restaurant was featured on Check please in 2008.
Shangri-La Li Cafe Buffet is located in the Shangri-La hotel in beautiful Guilin, China. Guilin is famous for its unique scenery featuring beautiful limestone rock formations and the Li river delta. This area is a mecca for Chinese tourists and needs to be on more Western travel destinations.
We recently finished up our latest culinary tour of China in the Spring of 2011. Sanya, a beautiful city on China’s Hainan Island, has become essentially China’s Hawaii with beautiful sandy beaches, palm trees, and warm weather. Many Chinese tourist flock here during Chinese New Year and other holidays, packing the beaches until there is no room left!
Here are some quick mini reviews of places we ate at. We feel this will be useful as more people visit this up-and-coming area. We found few reviews on Trip Advisor and Dianping.
Guilin is famous for its unique scenery featuring beautiful limestone rock formations and the Li river delta. This area is a mecca for Chinese tourists and needs to be on more Western travel destinations.
We recently finished up our latest culinary tour of China in the Spring of 2011. Guilin a beautiful city in China’s South, is one of the top destinations for Chinese tourists. A quick glimpse of the scenery with the karst formations tells you why. Yangshou is a couple hours from Guilin, just as beautiful, and far less touristy.
Here are some quick mini reviews of places we ate at in Guilin and Yangshou. We feel this will be useful as more people visit this up-and-coming area. We found few reviews on Trip Advisor and Dianping.
Legendary crispy chicken wows us.
We recently visited Hong Kong and dined on excellent Cantonese Chinese food and more. Hong Kong is a modern city like New York, that is progressive, packed with energy, and filled with top-notch restaurants.
Piacere means Pleasure, to please, a source delight or joy in Italian. This restaurant is located in San Carlos in the Laurel Street shopping area right across the street from restaurant Town and near Spasso. Piacere focuses on modern California-Italian cuisine using local and organic ingredients. One last visit was in May of 2011, where we sensed food quality slipping.
Din Tai Fung is a popular Hong Kong dumpling restaurant with locations in Bellevue, Los Angeles, Taipei, Japan, China, Singapore, and several other countries. We had previously dined at Din Tai Fung in Shanghai’s touristy Xintiandi. The Los Angeles location is in Arcadia with Yelp reviews unfortunately indicating it is a step down from the ones abroad.
We recently visited Hong Kong and dined on excellent Cantonese Chinese food and more. Hong Kong is a modern city like New York, that is progressive, packed with energy, and filled with top-notch restaurants.
Hog Island Oyster Co. is located in San Francisco’s Ferry Building. They have an oyster bar that serves sustainable seafood, chowder, and salads. Fresh oysters brought fresh from their Tomales Bay farm each morning. They served baked oysters and cooked seafood for those that do not want raw items. You could drive up to their farm and get oysters even fresher. Our last visit was in May 2011.
We recently visited Hong Kong and dined on excellent Cantonese Chinese food and more. Hong Kong is a modern city like New York, that is progressive, packed with energy, and filled with top-notch restaurants.
Buffets: Conrad Nicolini’s Sunday Brunch Buffet, Harbourside Buffet,, JW Marriott Hong Kong, Tiffen Buffet Grand Hyatt Hong Kong.
We recently visited Hong Kong and dined on excellent Cantonese Chinese food and more. Hong Kong is a modern city like New York, that is progressive, packed with energy, and filled with top-notch restaurants.
