syrah girl

You will love Indian Springs Resort. A meal at the Wappo Bar & Bistro would be nice in this area. We just returned from four days in the Carmel area. The Carmel Mission Ranch Jazz Brunch was great, we sat outside and took in the gorgeous views of the green pastures and ocean. We enjoyed dinner in Carmel the first night at Little Napoli, a small restaurant right in the heart of Carmel. Very good and I highly recommend a meal here if you like Italian food. Lunch at Casanova was great, they have really good salads here and serve Georis wines which are very good. Save room for dessert here. For a casual meal, the Fishwife at the entrance of 17 Mile Drive was really good. We had an appetizer of crab tostaditos here and would love to return for dinner. We had an amazing dinner at Pacific's Edge at the Highland's Inn where we stayed. Very comprable to Sierra Mar at the Post Ranch Inn, we had three courses for $66/person excluding dessert. Everything was wonderful and the service is first class here. We have also enjoyed Bouchee for fine dining, right across from the Plaza in Carmel. The California Market at the Highland's Inn is also good for a casual meal, the fish tacos are great here. Sit outside and take in the beautiful views of the coastline from the outside patio. Hope this helps and enjoy Carmel!

We have only had lunch at clarklewis, but I loved it. One of the best sea scallops dish I've ever had. Park Kitchen is also great. We had dinner there and will definitely return to both of these fine Portland eateries. Cheers!

Olie e Limone, the SB Shellfish Co. and Los Olivos Cafe were all wonderful when we visited the area in December. Go for the lamb shanks at LOC!

Another big fan of Wildwood here! Our last dinner was really great. Gotham Bld. Tavern was also a wonderful experience. Patty Green wines are really good, they also serve them at Peerless in Ashland.

We have only dined once at the General's Daughter and enjoyed it very much. It went through a strange period of receiving bad reviews, then I believe they got a new chef. The reviews as of lately have been wonderful! It's a gorgeous restaurant with so much elegant charm. Glad to hear the food is matching the ambiance now. Keep the reviews coming!

HI diner girl! If you get tired of the greasy spoon places and want some really good food, check out one of the Ripe places. clarklewis or Gotham Bld. Tavern are both really great. Wildwood, Paley's Place, Park Kitchen, Higgins are all places for some very nice meals in Portland. My son honeymooned there this week and had nice dinners at the Portland City Grill (awesome views) and Jake's Grill at the Governor Hotel. We also like Jake's Crawfish and the Harborside down by the waterfront. Have fun!

Has anyone been here recently and how was it? We're looking for a great place to take my son's girlfriend for her upcoming birthday. She loves San Francisco and has recently been accepted to an interior design school in Union Square. Would love to treat her to a great place for lunch. Also, any suggestions for a more low-key place for dinner later on in the day? Scoma's on the wharf or maybe the Slanted Door? I have yet to see the Ferry Bld. at the Embarcadero. That's where we will probably be around dinner. We have already tried Farallon which we loved but want something different this time. TIA

Well, I found the gem I was looking for in Loomis, just a short drive from Roseville where we stayed. The Horseshoe Bar Grill was wonderful and I highly recommend it to anyone in the area. Ambiance is very romantic,hardwood floors,white linen tablecloths and red roses on the table. Water is flavored with lemon and cucumber which was very refreshing. I hadt the Wild King Salmon trio which was a selection of 3 salmon preperations. One grilled with sauce Diabloi, one poached with cucumber dill cullis and one seared with a lime thyme sauce and garnished with sweet pea and corn mased potato. A petite salad of greens came with the entree and an intermezzo was served between the salad and main course which was a very nice touch. Desserts were the creme brulee and hazelnut torte for my daughter back at her hotel with her water polo team. A bottle of Ponzi Reserve Pinot Noir was excellent with the salmon. Bon appetit!

Just was informed on another board to try the Horseshoe Bar & Grill in Loomis. I looked at the tasting menu and it sounds wonderful. Also Wine Spectator recognized. Anyone been here recently? May be just what I'm looking for, here.

Sounds like all the places we have here where we live, LOL. Tahoe Joe's is nice, but too bad there isn't a little stand-alone "gem"in the area. We'll probably go with Cascades. They are offering a 20% off your meal on their website. Will post back on how it goes. Ruth's Chris also sounds good, any opinions on this high-end chain?

I'll second Bluehour here. We have only been once for dinner,but I loved the place. Hip, swanky, great food and service. I need to return there again after we hit Paley's Place. Will probably be back in the area next month.

For a very romantic meal, I would go to Paley's Place or Hurley's. As much as I love Wildwood, it is a bit noisy at times. Paley's Place is very intimate, excellent food and a great all-around romantic time. Hope to try Olea next visit but I'll cast my vote for Paley's Place.

Hi! We're going to Rocklin soon for a two day water polo tournament. Staying at the Larkspur Landing. (Good?) Is Cascades in Roseville a good choice or maybe Ruth Chris Steakhouse? Would love any and all suggestions for a nice, casual lunch place and one fine dining for my husband and myself. TIA

We had an offer to be treated to dinner Aqua in June, but I really wanted to try Farallon. We had a wonderful time. Great food, excellent service and really cool, funky dining room. Request a table in the main pool room there. Cheers!

Glad Wildwood worked for you. I'm a huge fan of Burgerville. No In n Out's in Oregon, so that's my burger-fix place when we're in the PNW. Just love those Walla Walla onions rings!

Jeans are fine for clarklewis. Have only had lunch here, but loved the place. You might want to consider Gotham Building Tavern, also. We had a great dinner here. Wines on Broadway is a nice place to buy/taste wine in downtown Portland. If you're really into wine, head over to the wine country in Dundee and Newburg. Have lunch at the Dundee Bistro. Archery Summit and Domaine Drouhin are producing some excellent Pinot Noirs right now. Have to get over to the Carlton/McMinville area next visit. Cheers and enjoy Portland!

Wildwood is a great suggestion. We dined there on Fri. night and had been before for lunch. Just love the menus here, had a very friendly server and they serve Patricia Green wines! I had the tuna entree here that was delicious. We passed on desserts here (tho I hear they're wonderful) and went to Papa Haydns for dessert. Very yummy stuff here. I would like to go for lunch next time we're in the Nob Hill area. Higgins is also very good. Not as innovative as Wildwood, tho. Had a really good Wild Salmon entree here and it is a Portland classic in a sense. Enjoy Portland and please report back.

We finally made it to the Nahalm River Inn. It was wonderful! I think this place and Stephanie Inn are the two top places on the coast right now. We very much recommend a visit here to anyone in this area. It's only about a 30 minute, very scenic drive from Seaside and about 20 minutes from Cannon Beach. www.nahalemriverinn.com

Looking forward to your report upon your return! We had another great meal at Gower St. Bistro a couple of nights ago. The caprese salad, Painted Hills beef fillet mignon and chocolate pot de creme were all very yummy. The place isn't cheap,but it's worth it. Beautiful ambiance here also, located in the Cannon Beach Hotel. Cheers!

We're back on the coast again and have had some more great meals. In Seaside, Bigfoot Pub ad Grub was again great and we enjoyed a nice dinner at Lil Bayou, a cajun place here in Seaside. The eggplant dressing with crawfish and butter cream recipe was featured in Bon 'Appetit a couple of years ago. We had a fun lunch at Sam's Seaside Cafe. Shrimp melt and fries for only $6!!! In Cannon Beach, we enjoyed Bistro last night for dinner before surfing at Indian Beach. We shared the pear and walnut salad, the Greek Lemon Soup and the Baked & Marintaed King Salmon with chantrelle and garlic sauce. Very good! For dessert after surfing we had two chocolate pot de creme which were excellent from the Gower St. Bistro. Hope to try Driftwood Inn in CB soon and will report on that when we return. Cheers!

WillaKenzie makes a really nice Pinot Gris that was recommended to us the the somellier at Chateaulin in Ashland. I also really enjoy the Broadley wines, but I don't know exactly where their vineyard is located.

We like the Ponzi wines. I have been to their tasting room but I also believe they have a cafe somewhere, also. If you like Pinot Noir, I think Ponzi has a great selection. We also like the Raptor Ridge wines. Cheers!

Just got an e-mail from Wappo and they stated that they are open and plan to stay that way! That's great news! :)

Did Wappo really close? It was one of my favorites, as was Catahoula's. Hey,90 degrees is nothin, we've been experiencing 108 degree weather here in the Central Valley. Can't wait to get over to the PNW for a couple of weeks! :)

Sardine Factory is on our list for a four day visit to the area next month. Please report back on how you like it. Our last meal there was when we were first married (oh, about 23 years ago) and I cringed at spending $40 on a meal, but my husband insisted. We haven't been back since. For a long time this place wasn't spoke of too often on the food boards, it seems to be picking up again, I'll bet it's great for their business. Tarpey's is also on our list! Have a great time in Monterey!