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Last week, as I prepared for a trip to New Haven, I read enviously about the wonderful Spanish restaurants in the Norwalk area. Lo and behold, my daughter's apartment in New Haven turned out to be across the street from Meigas' sister restaurant, Ibiza. We ate there for lunch, and had a marvelous selection- raviolis de bacalao(3 ravioli pillows stuffed with shrimp and codfish in pil-pil sauce,a codfish, olive oil, and garlic emulsion), pimientos de piquillo(wood-roasted piquillo peppers stuffed with saffron rice, shrimp, chicken, served with saffron aioli), gazpacho served with avocado, cucumber and tomato garnish, grilled yellow fin tuna served over Serrano ham-carrot-onion cake, sauteed fresh corn,with passion fruit vinaigrette, and for dessert flan de dulcede leche(reduced milk flan with miniature pears poached in Rioja red wine and garnished with coconut foam). In addition, we had delicious fried codfish balls with aioli, miniature madeleine-type cookies, and tiny chocolate milkshakes as complimentary extras. The food presentation was beautiful without being fussy, and the service was unobtrusive and excellent. Appetizers at lunch ranged from $6-9.50(averaging about $7.50), main courses at lunch ranged from $12.75-$15.75, while desserts were $8. I felt that this was a great value for the extraordinary quality of the food. Highly recommended- I only wish there was one near me in California! Roz

Stale or ordinary bread. I've been to some lovely restaurants with excellent food that serve the most awful characterless bread. Roz

Isa at 3345 Steiner Street between Lombard and Chestnut is always good Enjoy your trip! Roz

That sounds like a great idea! Maybe some Sunday in January, after we recover from the holidays! Roz

What are the addresses/neighborhoods of Bayona and herbsaint? I'm going to be there in April and want to try both! Roz

One comment on trains- you should reserve if you plan on taking the super fast trains(e.g. from Venice to Rome)-these get booked up. When renting a car, bug the car rental company to give you REALLY GOOD DIRECTIONS AND MAPS to the place where you will be RETURNING the car. That has always been the most hair-raising part of any trip I've had. Have fun! Roz

It's hard to add to Tana's excellent recommendations, but I would mention Theo's restaurant in Soquel for dinner. For the best quiche, try The Farm bakery on Soquel Drive in Aptos; they also have beautiful fresh fruit tarts. The Buttery on Soquel Avenue near downtown Santa Cruz has the best chocolate cake as well as flourless Black Forest cake. My vote for sushi is Pink Godzilla, mentioned by several others. Marinis on Pacific Mall has the best walnut caramel apples. There- that sounds like a balanced diet, right? Welcome to Santa Cruz! Roz

A cute place in Cortona with reasonable food is Trattoria "La Grotta", Piazza Baldelli, 3- it's just off the main square. There is a small stationery store a few stores down from Bar Signorelli that has an excellent selection of locally made hand bound books(great for photo albums)- best prices in Italy. I have found that the local coffee houses in Cortona are hang-outs for locals, not just tourists. I've gone back several years in a row and greeted the same group of older women- they're quite friendly if you can speak a little Italian. Bevagna is a lovely little stone town not far from Assisi. It has a very nice hotel(Hotel Palazzo Brunamonte(www.brunamonti.com) phone 07422361932- great double room for 86 Euros including breakfast) Very good restaurant we enjoyed was Enoteca Locanda Piazza Onofri(0742361926). 5 course tasting menu with 5 wines was 39 euros last year. There's also an excellent bakery in town. The only problem is there's never enough time to go everywhere! Buon viaggio Roz

I agree about driving into Italian cities, but getting out to the autostrada is usually pretty easy. If you're not bypassing Milano, take the train into the city- it's reasonable and quick. Then either take the train or drive to your next destination. I've driven into and out of many italian cities, including Roma, Firenze, and Venezia. Probably the most confusing time I had was driving from Piemonte back to Malpensa! I followed some airplane signs and ended up at an air force base! Anyway, it pays to invest in some good city maps. Corragio! Roz

I've eaten twice at Ristorante Riviera, Dorsoduro 1473 (phone041 5227621) It's a little off the beaten track near the Zattere but easily reached by walking or by vaporetto. Excellent bacala, pasta with black squid, the usual assortment of excellent Venetian seafood delicacies. The restaurant is small, non-touristy, cordial service. Other diners were Venetians. If they're in the right mood, you may get complimentary prosecco or limoncello, a taste of typical Venetian appetizers. Also, a short walk to the best gelato place in venice(I forget the name but it's just a little east down the same street along the grand Canal) Lunch for 2 cost 128,000 Lire in 2000($60 or so) Roz

A reasonably priced and well-located hotel in Milano is: Hotel Gran Duca di York ,Via Moneta 1(near Piazza Duomo and across the street from the Ambrosian Gallery, a fantastic but uncrowded museum in a cardinal's palace) phone: 02 87 48 63, Fax 02 869 03 44. Best reason to overnight in Milano: pick up gourmet goodies to eat on the train to venice at Gastronomia Peck, 9 Via Spadari. Too bad they don't have a branch at the airport. Have a great time Roz

Unless you're sick of pizza, the best meal I had in Siena a few years ago was at La Pizzeria di Nonno Mede. It is a small place across the street from the Sanctuario Santa Caterina on Via Camporegio. My daughter and I had a nice table outside under an awning on what we thought was a beautiful evening...until a tremendous summer thunderstorm with thunder, lightning, and drenching rain came out of the blue. Luckily, a large party of students celebrating their completion of a secretarial "temp" course took us under their wing at a table inside. The pizzas were all crisp and perfect, and the rest of the party had very tempting looking antipasti. Price was inexpensive and we had a lot of fun. Buon appetito! Roz

I miscalculated on the price- I think 200,000 Lire was closer to $100, although that was 3 years ago and before thearrival of the euro.

Dear VivreManger, You trip sounds great- i hope you post your experiences when you return so I can plan my November trip! Roz

I would strongly recommend Albergo Hotel real Castello (phone 011 39 01 72 47 01 25) It's in Verduno, a lovely village not far from Alba in the heart of vineyards. We stayed there in late October, 2000. it's run by 2 sisters in a family of vintners- the building is an old aristocratic hunting lodge/castle. Rooms are large and furnished in country antiques. The food in the restaurant on the first floor is fabulous and a great value-their own red wines are available when you eat dinner. The price for double room including service and breakfast was around 200,000 lire or arounb $160. Our room had lovely views of hillsides and vineyards. Their website is www.castellodiverduno.com. The restaurant we enjoyed most in Alba was Il Vicoletto, Via Bertero, 6, Alba. Tel. &Fax: 0173363196 Buon viaggio! Roz

Trader Joe's just bought either the entire wine inventory(or the winery itself) of DeLoach in the Russian River area of Sonoma/Healdsburg area. I bet they'll be selling a lot of these wines soon in TJ stores.

As an ex-New Yorker, I must pipe in that, for you diet-conscious folks, dark brown deli mustard also serves to "lubricate the bread" and the corned beef. Deli's in northern California tend to serve very lean corned beef. Cheers! Roz

My family is making a day trip to Oxford in November to see the city and visit 2 friends of my daughter's from Yale who are studying at Oxford now. Looking for restaurants for lunch and dinner with historic atmosphere, frequented by students and faculty, good food, good value. Thanks! Roz

Wilfrid -- The squirrel's brain was not served; neither was its tail. I read an article in the New Yorker awhile back on squirrel hunters in Kentucky/Tennessee. Apparently the brain is considered the best part, although there was concern that eating squirrel brain could cause a disease similar to mad cow disease. Anyone worried about mad cow anymore in the UK? We stayed away from beef last time we were there. Roz

Don't worry about smoke-unless the kitchen catches fire- because there's NO SMOKING in San Francisco restaurants!!

Another place to consider is Cafe Claude, on Claude Lane(a tiny alley between Bush and Sutter Streets) It has a zinc bar, very reasonably priced French cafe/bistro food and drinks, superb bread(for me a very telling sign about a restaurant), everything very home-made and delicious. Most of the staff is French. There's often jazz on weekend nights. Open for lunch and dinner, some outdoor tables. Not at all touristy. They have a website for details. Claude Lane intersetcs Bush Street right across the street from the French church and French Consulate in SF, several blocks closer to Union Square than Belden Place is. Bon appetit! Roz

Great topic, as I'm going to NO in April. But on a slightly different tack, if one would like to splurge on one fantastic meal, where would you'all recommend? Or should I just stick to the cheap and good? Merci! Roz

I've only been to Herme's shop 3 times during a trip in July, 2002. I found the metaphor with the clothing collection quite amusing. If the new items are as superb as the things I tasted, then I welcome the new desserts! And it was one shop in Paris where the sales staff was courteous and patient. I wish they would open a branch in San Francisco. Roz

A few of my favorites in San francisco: Antica Trattoria on Polk Street(corner of Union Street), pacific heights are: excellent Italian food, wonderful appetizers,pasta, entrees, desserts, service. I've been eating there once a month for 7 years. Very moderate prices, excellent value(around $30 for 3 courses plus glass of wine, excluding service) Ton Kiang- dim sum on Geary Street near 22-24Ave. Specializes in shrimp/crab delicacies Wonderful mango pudding and sesame balls for dessert Farallon- in Union Square area(Post Street I think, around the corner from the St. Francis Hotel on Powell: excellent fish, a little more expensive (entrees $25-29) but well worth it. Great decor. Excellent wine list- I've even had wonderful bottle of wine there for $23(Trentino area of Italy) and of course there are more expensive ones too. If you go to Healdsburg in Sonoma County(north of Santa Rosa) I would recommend Charcuterie and Dry Creek Kitchen. Have a great trip! Roz

Is New Tayyeb open for lunch, or just dinner? Is it closed any day of the week? Thanks for the info! RRRoz