Carlsbad

I had an interesting experience at Cafe Constant in June. During a lazy afternoon, I was sitting alone at the bar, drinking a glass of wine and watching the people go by, when the doors of the lower cabinet behind the bar mysteriously opened by themselves. The next thing I knew, a man who worked there crawled out from behind the doors, having come from what appeared to be the cellar of the place. The man left for a while, and when he returned, he disappeared into the cabinet again.

3 days in Bologna sounds like rough duty. I'll try Trattoria Boni next time I am near there.

Try them both and tell us what you think. I'd love to have either of them in my neighborhood.

After reading Pim's review, it's on my list for next June.

I think Le Violon d'Ingres http://www.leviolondingres.com/eng_home.htm is an excellent choice in you want a restaurant with a star. Their lunch menu is 39 euros, and a very good value. It's fairly elegant, but not stuffy. You might also consider the Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurants, for lunch or dinner. They are good value restaurants without stars, but they are generally very interesting foodwise. If you go to the Michelin website http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichelin/gbr.../MaHomePage.htm and then set up an account (no cost), you can explore all their restaurants, starred or not. You can get an idea of the cost of each one, along with a brief description. It is also a good source for maps, driving directions, and hotels.

I've only had drinks at Moose's, although I used to visit the WashBAG when Moose owned it. The location is great. I'm usually only in SF for a long weekend these days, and there are so many other choices. I say go for a drink, and check out other places in the area.

In San Francisco, you might consider Piperade. Nice, casual atmosphere, great Basque food, interesting wine list, and reasonable prices. http://www.piperade.com/

The mention of Cody's brings back fond memories of days long gone bye.

Chez Panisse is a great choice. You may have to change trains to get home on BART at that hour, but that shouldn't be a problem. Check the BART website before you go. I wanted to put in my vote for best Italian: Acquerello. We've spent several anniversaries there, and have always loved it. The food is very refined, the wine list is unsurpassed, and it is very intimate and I dare say romantic. The co-owner, Giancarlo, is the ultimate host. Let him choose your wine if you decide dine there. He will pick a gem in your price range. http://acquerello.com/ (Hope I don't sound like a broken record with this recommendation.) If you don't go to the Top of the Mark before Chez Panisse, or if you want to go again, you can take the California line cable car after Acquerello- it's only a short walk to the other end of the line. Or just ride it back to your hotel. It's hard to go wrong with any of the suggestions that have been made. Have a nice trip and Happy Anniversary.

Monday lunch is tough and in August it's worse. I think Au Bon Accueil is open on Mondays and Michelin doesn't mention it's closed in August, but some other references say it is closed part of August, and some say it's closed Monday lunch. It looks like Maupertu is open on Mondays and that it will be open on the last Monday in August (closed Aug 8-22). I had a very nice dinner there two years ago. http://www.restaurant-maupertu-paris.com/

I'm not much for doughnuts or bagles, but we get some excellent bread in the San Diego area, the best of which I think is from Bread & Cie.

Thanks for the interesting post. If you get a chance to try them, I would be interested in your impressions of L'Ane Rouge and L'Univers in Nice.

Isn't a bushel basket about 18 inches in diameter and about a foot tall?

I agree wholeheartedly, Pouncy.

We were just in Provence in June for the second time. The TGV will take you to either Aix or Avignon. I agree that Aix is more charming and beautiful than Avignon, but the area around Avignon is beautiful and there many things to see. On both of our trips to Provence, brief as they were, we split the time between the two areas. I did quite a bit of research on hotels and restaurants in both areas. If you want, send me a personal message or email, and I'm happy to share what I learned.

The last quote attributed to me wasn't mine, but that's okay. Thanks to all for not pointing out my glaring typo, which I have now fixed. And Hest88 explained it better than I did anyway.

WHS, I've heard this reaction to Chez Panisse from others. I think different people just have different reactions to the cooking and the style of the place. Personally, it is one of my favorite restaurants anywhere. It can be expensive, but so can a lot of mediocre places. I don't know the two restaurants you mention, but I think Chez Panisse compares more to a small place in Italy than to most French restaurants. Our most recent visits have been for lunch upstairs- our big meal of the day. Sometimes, I order two first courses and no main course. Sometimes we split dishes, so we can try more things. I like the casual ambiance, and the servers are all well-trained and interesting to talk to. They make good suggestions. The cooking is obviously quite simple, designed to let the quality of the produce come through. The wine list is well-chosen. The cheeses have always been terrific. The desserts include what I like- simple, very good fruit, usually enhanced slightly in one way or another. I also like the herbal infusions. Just one opinion. Edited to fix a typo.

The mention of Buca di Beppo makes me shutter a bit, although I have to admit I've never been there. Within walking distance of the convention center, there aren't a lot of great choices, but I think you can certainly do a lot better. Athen's Market has good Greek food and the atmosphere is nice. http://www.athensmarkettaverna.com/ They can handle groups of 15 easily if you call ahead. Royal Thai http://entertainment.signonsandiego.com/profile/87501 is close to the convention center and has has decent Thai food, somewhat Americanized, but that shouldn't bother people who are considering Buca di Beppo. If you are willing to walk about 10 blocks, La Gran Tapa http://entertainment.signonsandiego.com/profile/90989 has some interesting Spanish food and can probably handle your group. Candelas http://www.candelas.signonsandiego.com/ is close, very good and quite unique, although you will pay alot more than you will at the Buca. I think we have pretty much covered the choices in La Jolla and elsewhere in other posts.

Just to set the record straight, we get very high quality, local organic produce in San Diego County. You just have to look around a little bit. And while I don't think that there are any truly great restaurants in and around San Diego, to be fair, I don't think that there are truly great restaurants in very many places.

I think you were right in trying to salvage the night. I also think you are right in thinking the restaurant has a lot of work to do. I live about 45 minutes south of Laguna Beach, and I have heard about French 75 (most bad), but never eaten there. Laguna Beach is an extremely beautiful place, but not really known for cuisine. You are lucky you mostly ate in. The new hotel toward the south of town (I'm forgetting the name right now) is getting good reviews, but I don't know if it is good for Laguna Beach or actually good. I hope you at least had good weather.

I think if you work at it, you can find something "decent" in La Jolla.

Yes, very clever.

How big a group?

Of course it is rue Cler. And I don't think I can edit it to hide how incredibly stupid I really am.

I'm jealous.