iharrison

Thanks for the help so far. Any more suggestions from the San Francisco restaurant experts here? Where do you guys love to eat in your city? Help!

I should probably credit the creative genius behind that title: Ian? ← Thank you Tony. I think I may have said "bukkake" instead of facial, but hey, why split hairs? Thick, lustrous, maple syrup encrusted lumberjack hairs, that is.

A friend of mine is going to San Francisco (and surrounding areas) alone at the end of May ... May 19 to May 30 specifically. She's a very adventurous traveller and foodie and came to me for advice on where to eat. So from high end to low end, from posh to grimy, from ethnic to traditional, where, in your opinions, would she be crazy to miss out on? Where should she absolutely eat? She's down for anything at any price, from a cheap fish taco to The French Laundry. Speaking of The French Laundry, I know it's virtually impossible to get a reservation less than two months in advance, but if she's alone and willing to eat at 6 pm for example, do you think she could get a table? She wants to go there between May 26 and 29. Any advice on how to get a reservation this soon in advance?

Great hotels with great bars in Old Montreal (the best 'hood) include: Hotel Gault on Ste. Helene Le St. James on St. Jacques Le St. Paul on McGill Le Nelligan on St. Paul Le St. Sulpice on St. Sulpice The Gault is on a beautiful, quiet street and is small and very boutique. It has a small bar and restaurant and a cute library where you can take your drinks and relax. Very nice. The best rooms in my opinion. The St. James is the most expensive hotel in town; where U2 and The Rolling Stones stay. Posh and gorgeous, it has a great spa, very decent restaurant in XO and attentive service. The St. Paul has a beautiful lobby area adjacent to a small bar and one of the best restaurants in the city in Cube. The rooms are modern and lofty. The Nelligan has the best bar, along with a rooftop terrasse with views to match. Verses is a good restaurant and much better value for your dollar than S across the street in the St. Sulpice. Rooms are decent, not excellent in comparison to the others. The St. Sulpice has a nice little spa and great rooms with a view, which you must ask for. They should have the outdoor terrasse ready by the time you arrive for al fresco dining. A definite celebrity hotel, if you care about that kind of thing. PM me if you want more specific information.

True that, Dante has pizza for tired folks who forgot to rise the crust but frankly it is not a great pizza place and it still difficult to find a good one in Montreal. Amelios is completely different pizza joint than the fine crusted 00 flour brick oven that Italy is so well known for (personnaly I find Amelios totally gross, the peperoni and cheese is an insult to Italians but I can see why they would have some fans in the cheese on top category)... I get a fine pizza in Saint Lambert at Primi Piatti, Prato offers one a step above Dante, they are still not mind blowing, there is also Il Focolaio downtown. We have pizza every week at home and take a lot of care in the science, I still have not found a restau in montreal that will match home made, even remotely. Quite a shame for Montreal... ← Again, try Friulano's Deli on 8365 Viau in St. Leonard.

Cleveland is closer to almost anywhere in Quebec than it is to Vegas, so it would be easier to get to than Saigon, or Fez, for instance. ← Right ... Interesting logic.

The insurance company would probably charge him two dollars for every dollar of coverage. I'd not be surprised to find out there was some nicotine in his oxygen tank. I hope Ruhlman shows up in the Quebec episode. It'd be a shame to waste all that good chemistry (NPI, keeping earlier posts in mind) when Cleveland is so close, relatively speaking. Here's some dialog I'd like to hear; MR: How do you do, Anthony? AB: How do YOU do, Ruhlman? (sharp emphasis on "Ruhlman") Jerry Seinfeld: Excuse me? Excuse me! We may be in Canada, but I do believe they still recognize intellectual property rights around here! Ruhlman makes the perfect nemesis for Anthony, what with the conscience and all. ← Not sure how Cleveland is "relatively" close to Montreal, let alone Inukjuak. Ruhlman does not make an appearance in the Quebec episode, needless to say.

Gramercy Tavern? That ain't right. Spice Market and Balthazar in previous years? That ain't right.

The fact that Vancouver made the list and not Montreal is absurd ... lazy journalism and ignorance if I ever saw it. This top 10 list on AskMen.com is much better: http://www.askmen.com/fashion/wine_dine_60/87_wine_dine.html

Tonight was off the hook at Joe Bizzle: A dozen oysters, roasted beet salad with caramelized bacon, deep fried smelts with tartar sauce, cold asparagus crab salad, foie gras with jam and toast, roasted veal marrow ... those were the starters. Which would have sufficed nicely for our party of four. The bacon and beets were insane, the smelts were "as good as in Greece" according to my Greek foodie friend, the crab fresh fresh fresh and the marrow meltingly ridiculous. Mains were a double rack of spareribs with sticky bbq sauce, side of coleslaw, their famous lobster spaghetti twice over and razor clams with pasta. Sides of fries with mayo and haricot verts with that. Pot de chocolat and pancakes with maple syrup "tire" ice cream and caramelized apples for dessert. With beers, wine, a Poire William cognac digestif and espressos, I'm about ready to explode. I'm seriously full. Best meal in ages. ← Man! I gotta go and eat with you! When are you going next? ← I owe you a visit at the store ... we'll talk!

Tonight was off the hook at Joe Bizzle: A dozen oysters, roasted beet salad with caramelized bacon, deep fried smelts with tartar sauce, cold asparagus crab salad, foie gras with jam and toast, roasted veal marrow ... those were the starters. Which would have sufficed nicely for our party of four. The bacon and beets were insane, the smelts were "as good as in Greece" according to my Greek foodie friend, the crab fresh fresh fresh and the marrow meltingly ridiculous. Mains were a double rack of spareribs with sticky bbq sauce, side of coleslaw, their famous lobster spaghetti twice over and razor clams with pasta. Sides of fries with mayo and haricot verts with that. Pot de chocolat and pancakes with maple syrup "tire" ice cream and caramelized apples for dessert. With beers, wine, a Poire William cognac digestif and espressos, I'm about ready to explode. I'm seriously full. Best meal in ages.

Agree with Bon Appetit on all fronts. Was there last Friday with a friend at the bar. Split six wonderfully plump oysters, a delicious salmon tartare beautifully presented with a stack of thick homemade potato chips, a mega rack of lamb, rare to perfection with fat crisp asparagus spears, incredible frites with tangy mayo and a savoury mint sauce. Chocolate creme brulee was sinful and a wonderful finish. Good beer, great wine, great scene as always. Going back tonight in fact :-)

Friulano's Deli on 8365 Viau in St. Leonard has the best pizza in my humble opinion. Reminds me of Italy every time I go there. The subs and cannoli are also first class.

Skip Wilensky's ... not worth it for a New Yorker. Go to La Binerie, Chez Clo or La Banquise instead, for a different take on "quaint" and "rustic" Montreal fare.

I love how nobody got your April Fool's joke Francois ... genial.

Les Caprices de Nicolas has the most professional service in town, in my experience. Le Mitoyen in Laval is up there as well.

I understand that Beauty's is a staple and all but man oh man, the prices are completely irrational and insane in my opinion. When you figure out the cost of a bagel with lox and cream cheese and scan your bill a few times, you will LOSE it. So forget Beauty's. It was great when I was five and my Bubbie took me there but no more. Like ever. I don't hate on L'Avenue as long as I don't freeze my ass off in line. The dejeuner Costaud is a great deal and the four-egg omelets rock. As do the potatoes. Olive & Gourmando in Old Montreal of course is not a brunchy, breakfasty place per se, but damn their sandwiches and brioches and croissants and pretty much everything are great. But my favorite, favorite breakfast place is Le Cartet, on McGill in Old Montreal. The dejeuner Canton is the best hangover cure I know of. Phenomenal.

I heard through the grapevine that Anthony Bourdain's Decoding Ferran Adria is finally available on DVD through ZeroPointZero Productions ... I went to check out their website and lo and behold ... http://www.zeropointzero.com/ferran.html Great news indeed.

Ate at Joe Beef tonight again, frog's legs, gnocchi, steak, wild hare, chocolate creme brulee, key lime pie ... all superb. I'll spare you the long-winded food porn descriptions, just go if you haven't been already.

The massive Pharmaprix on St. Laurent had two issues left ... the magazine store next to Laika on St. Laurent and Duluth had several left as well ... What can you complain about really? This is terrific publicity for our city. To nitpick on this and that (pg. 58 with the maple syrup, seriously now, how can you have a beef with that?) is ludicrous. This is a great time for Montreal! Celebrate or shut - the - hell - up.

Rx it is!

Amazing. Thank you everyone for your help. To answer some of your questions ... the baby is 7 months old and relatively well-behaved, I have had great dim sum in Toronto (and Montreal), the Vietnamese food in Montreal is quite decent and our group is not too finicky about what they eat. So with all that in mind, the suggestions here are all great. Rx looks real strong right now as a contender. So if anyone has any other choice spots, speak now or forever hold your peace ... I just hope we won't be too hung over from our night at Amada Saturday to enjoy brunch. Oh and the El Vez brunch controversy stems from this webpage: http://cityguide.aol.com/philadelphia/dini...?sbid=118129748 If you scroll down, it contains the info Sun. Brunch 10:30AM-3PM. Sounds like a better lunch or dinner bet anyway.

Thanks for the reply ... I did think of dim sum but after going through the dim sum thread here, I was not too encouraged by the selection and potential quality. But if you have suggestions, lay them on me! Area is not a problem, we have cars. What about Fork? Is it baby friendly? Is El Vez? Sabrina's Cafe looks quite good ... what are your thoughts, if any?

I know there have been some brunch discussions here before but I need a place for this Sunday that can accomodate 9 people with relative ease, with a young baby. Yikes. Everybody here came through big time when this Montrealer was in need of Philadelphia restaurant advice ... now I need a great brunch place! There are too many for me to choose from ... El Vez, Standard Tap (would prefer not, because I want to eat dinner there Sunday night), Carman's Country Kitchen (looks small), La Croix (looks expensive), Jones, Rx ... what do you all think?

Meatmarket's take on bavette and frites is superb. Definitely worth a visit, for lunch or dinner. http://www.voir.ca/restos/chronique.aspx?iIDArticle=37977