syrah girl

I had the June menu faxed to my office yesterday and have been trying to decide on choices for us. I want to try the scallops, since I really enjoyed the ones at clarklewis awhile back. Trying to decide between the spaghettini, the asparagus ravioli or the tagiatelle with chicken liver ragu (it was highly recommended on another board.) Hmmm..... :) The arugula goat cheese stuffed dates, pancetta and almonds sound good. What is fregola with local favas, mizuna and preserved citrus all about? I want at least one green salad, possibly the simple greens with the sherry vinaigrette. The pan seared salmon sounds very good. Goat cheese souffle with morel sauce may prove to be interesting and I know my husband would love to try the Venison. Is there Pinot Noir (local) btg there? Dessert? I want to try the chocolate-plum torte. Still there? Should be a great time! :)

Next time! We'll be back in SF again soon for a few days. We were very happy with our choice. Gary Danko is also on my list for next visit! :)

Has anyone tried this new place in Portland yet? We have dinner reservations and I was wondering what's good to order here. I'm waiting for a menu to be faxed to my office from the restaurant. I've been hearing great things about this place. It is one of the sister restaurants to clarklewis which we are also fans of. :)

I was very excited to try Farallon and was anticipating great things. We were not disappointed. We were seated promptly at 5:45 in the main pool room where I was advised by several people to request. It's a gorgeous room, very elegant and upscale. We started with some appetizers and ordered several so we all could sample things here. Our first appetizer was the Ver Jus steamed Black Mussels with Pommes Frites, fennel, chervil, aioli. The pommes frites (french fries) disappeared immediately by our two teens that were dining with us. This was a really fun app and we loved every morsel of it. Next came the Cheaspeake Bay Softshell crab with potato gnocchi, porcini mushrooms and sweet 100 tomatoes. We also loved this appetizer and would order it again. The kids had the Cornmeal crusted Monterey squid with summer squash, basil, pesto, lemon aioli. This was a big hit even with the kids. My daughter had the asparagus soup with a crabcake and fresh crab. She loved it and I sampled a small taste and found it to be wonderful. The kids cut out at this point to do some shopping at Union Square. I had a glass of the Muscadet that went very nice with the shellfish and appetizers. A green salad followed the apps which was a small plate of organic greens with roasted apricots, feta cheese and orange-honey vinaigrette dressing. Very good! For our entree we shared the Roasted Local King Salmon with English peas, ravioli, bacon, lemon and mint coulis. This was a wonderful entree and very flavorful. Our server found our service to be slow (according to him, not us) and brought us a comp glass of Pinot Noir from Andersen Valley to have with our salmon. We were impressed with this as it goes for about $12/glass on the menu. Very nice touch. For dessets we shared the Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse with vanilla bean chantily, orange and Turkish spiced espresso granita. A perfect ending to our two hour meal. I will definitely return to Farallon and highly recommend it to anyone loving seafood and in the Union Square area. Valet parking was about $12. After dinner we walked around Union Square and shopped, enjoying the beautiful ambiance of this great city. We will be in Portland, Oregon soon and I'm anticipating trying some great new places there to report on. Farallon was a big thumbs up with us! :)

We had an invite to Aqua, but already had reservations at Farallon, which we really enjoyed. I'll post a full report a bit later. :)

Last time I was there I had the fried oyster and bacon salad that was simply wonderful. They had a trout special that day that I also had that put trout on a whole new level. The place is great! And even pizza and fish and chips that would appeal to our teens. My husband loved his Wildwood hamburger. I also love their btg Abacela table wine there. :)

Hi there! We really enjoy Chateaulin in Ashland. I really enjoy the fixed price meal for $32 which includes two glasses of wine. Everything we have had there has been excellent and the wines are outstanding. It is located right next to the Chateaulin wine shop. If you want to purchase a bottle of wine after hours, they will even open the shop for you after dinner. Excellent food, service and ambiance. Very intimate dining room. We also really like the Peerless. I believe they recently changed chefs and we haven't been since but have enjoyed several meals here in the past. We had an odd experience at Cucina Biazzi last summer. I dont' really don't want to go into it, but the owners have offered us a complimentary meal next time we're in the area, which will be very soon but we have reservations at Quinz. I have yet try Amuse or Monet but have heard good things about each. Lucky you with Sammy's. I hope to get there later in the month on our way back home when we pass through the area again. Have a great time! We won't have time for a play, but will definitely take in the Green Show at 7:15 for some great free entertainment. Just love Ashland! :)

I'm also considering a lunch at the Heathman Hotel. Any opinions? I'd also love to walk around the hotel since it is a Historic Hotel. Papa Haydn's is also another option. If we don't have lunch there, I have to go check out those yummy desserts I've been hearing about. :)

I also love Wildwood. Are they open on Sat?

It appears that all of my favorite places in Portland are closed on Sat. for lunch. Any suggestions? Is Mother's Bistro decent? The menu items look very ordinary. TIA :)

It's the Pacific Way Bakery & Cafe. I hope to try it this month. Yes, the chocolate-orange wine is very good. For many years this was the only tasting room in Astoria. Now there is also the Cellar on 10th Street and the Vintner's Room at the Hotel Elliott where you can taste flights of wines. If you're into wine, don't miss the Vintner's Room. www.hotelelliott.com Cheers! :)

Thanks all, I've made a note of all the great suggestions. We're considering driving a bit to SF. I haven't been there in a couple of years. Boulevard is full on the night we need, tho she suggested trying to walk in to eat at the bar. Any opinions on Farallon or the Waterfront Grill? Fifth Floor? Would love to dine at a Zagat rated place. :)

We have reservations here soon and I was wondering what's great to order here? Would love to hear of recent experiences here, also. TIA

You will love Cannon Beach and the Stephanie Inn. We have a beach cottage in Seaside, so I haven't stayed there but toured the property in March. I have heard great things about their dining room there and hope to it next month. We really enjoyed our dinner at the Wayfarer at the Surfsand Resort. Food is above average and the views of Haystack rock are nice from the dining room. We have also enjoyed meals at Cafe Mango, located in downtown CB. Mo's is a family favorite of ours, very casual but some pretty good clam chowder and I like the way they prepared their peppered salmon here. My next place I want to try in CB is the Bistro, have heard great things about it. In Seaside, check out McKeown's for a great meal. I had a yummy breakfast here. They make a mean crab cake benedict and scones and fresh pasteries are served complimentary. Down on Avenue U is Corpeny's, another great place for breakfast or lunch. If you are looking for ribs, check out the Bigfoot Pub and Grub in Seaside. We can't find any place that makes the ribs like this place does. Only served on Sun. night. I would also recommend checking out Astoria. The Cannery Cafe, the Ship Inn, Fulio's (Italian) and the Silver Salmon Grille are a few of my favorites. It's worth it to go over the bridge to Chinook, WA and have a meal at the Sanctuary. It's located in an old church and they have salmon that is caught fresh from the boat that day and they make a really good Swedish meatball here. Then go to Seaview, WA a bit up the road to the 42nd Street Cafe. A quaint little place that serves salmon, pasta, salads that is just wonderful. Better than any place in CB or Seaside, IMO. I used to recommend the Shoalwater at the Shelburne Inn, but our last meal there was very disappointing. Manzanita is also very nice. I like the Fireside Cafe for their marionberry stuffed french toast. I hope to try Blue Sky Cafe soon and I'm also going to make it to Nahalem to the Nahalem River Inn which I have heard raves about on the www.portlandfood.org food board. Have a great time and please report back on your experiences. :)

Thanks, Amy! How far is Los Gatos from Palo Alto? We are considering staying at Dinah's Garden Hotel, that is where Trader Vic's is, so I would love opinions on that place. :)

We will be in Palo Alto soon attending a luncheon for a 95th birthday at the California Cafe. Are there any great places for dinner later on in the day? We like nice ambiance, great food and pampering service. Any places like that in this town? I've never been to Palo Alto. TIA :)

We dined at Higgins and Wildwood in March. The food is much more innovative at Wildwood. I had lunch there and really enjoyed the crispy oyster and bacon salad and my trout entree put this fish on a whole new level. Higgins was nice, a bit on the ordinary side. I had a salmon special that was really good. With other options such as Paley's Place, Hurley's, clarklewis, Park Kitchen,Wildwood and Bluehour, Higgins is probably at the bottom of my return list. I was glad I tried it tho. :)

My husband and daughter raved about their fish and chips at the Hall Street Grill in Beaverton, OR. My favorite in this area is actually in Astoria, OR at the Ship Inn. It is an authentic pub located right on the Columbia River with beautiful views of the bridge from the dining room. It's been a locals favorite for over twenty years, always great! :)

We enjoyed a very nice lunch at clarklewis. I had the sea scallops that were just about the best I've had anywhere and we dine out quite a bit. I found the food here to be very good and the menu items innovative. I've had one dinner at Paley's Place last summer and really, really like this place. Ambiance is very romantic and we dined out on the front porch. My wild salmon was perfectly prepared and basically melted in my mouth. Park Kitchen was a big hit with us also. Very small dining room but everything we sampled was flavorful and very, very good. I've only had dinner here but hear the breakfasts and brunch are also great. Hurley's is an excellent fine dining establishment in Portland. The muscovie duck breast was excellent served with garlic cottage fries and the cucumber heirloom salad was awesome. We also enjoyed a nice dinner at Higgins. A bit on the ordinary side but my salmon special was flavorful and very good. Wildwood is one of my favorites. We had lunch here and I had a trout entree that put trout on a whole new level. Excellent flavors and very good chef here. My bacon and oyster salad was also a big hit. You may want to also consider Bluehour. I've only had dinner here but will back in Portland the end of the week and am considering lunch here. Also want to try Gotham. Pho Van Bistro in the Pearl is also wondeful for Viatnamese food. So many great choices. I hope you enjoy Portland!

Yes, sand dab. I had the sand dab sandwich at the Forge in the Forest that was very good, packed full of fresh and nicely prepared sand dabs. We enjoyed the ambiance of the Forge but Casanova beats it hands down in the food and innovation department. :) Our meal at Bouchee was excellent! I would like to try Grasings next visit in August and the Sardine Factory in Monterey is on our list. Cheers!

We visited the Paschal Vineryards last summer. The Peerless in Ashland is also very, very good but I hear they now have a new chef. I first tasted the Paschal Pinot Gris at Peerless and just had to visit the tasting room. It is a gorgeous winery, located on very pretty grounds with fountains and the tasting room has a nice lounge and outdoor patio to enjoy your tastings. We also very much enjoy the Abacela wines in Southern Oregon. I'll have to check out New Sammy's next month when we visit this area.

We dined our way around Sonoma for two days in March. We went to the Harmony Club at the Ledson Hotel. It was very good. A very small dining room, it is actually the lobby to the hotel. The ambiance is very elegant and food quite good. I had the rabbit ravioli with a glass of the Ledson Pinot Noir. It was a very nice meal and I highly recommend it. We also love the girl and the fig. We have had several nice dinenrs at the Swiss Hotel on the plaza. In Kenwood, we had a very nice lunch at small place called Doce Lunas. They made a really nice wok-seared calamari salad there that we enjoyed. The Farmhouse Inn in Forestville was the hit of our trip. www.farmhouseinn.com Cozy, quaint ambiance with delicious food and first-class service. Cheers!

We really enjoyed Paley's Place last summer. We dined out on the front porch and had the steamed mussles with the pomme frites for an appetizer. It was very good and beautiful in presentation. My wild salmon entree was perfectly prepared and the service was very attentive and professional. Last March we enjoyed meals at Park Kitchen, Higgins, Wildwood and Pho Van Bistro. All were excellent, with Park Kitchen being my favorite for the innovative menu items and flavors that were put together. I have only been to clarklewis for lunch, but my sea scallops were wonderful. We'll definitely return to clarklewis for lunch and dinner next month. Hurley's is also excellent, fine dining in Portland. If you are a chocolate lover, check out the Vendun chocolate shop in the Pearl. Bluehour is also a favorite of mine. I have yet to find a place that prepares gnocchi with black truffles like they do. Portland is a culinary delight, I hope you find some great places.

We will be celebrating my birthday here soon. Does anyone have any recent experience here? I'm expecting great things. We also have meals at Forge in the Forest and Marinus at the Bernardus Lodge planned for Carmel/Carmel Valley.

In Ashland, we really like the little French restaurant, Chateaulin. It offers a fixed price meal for around $32/pp. This includes a salad, entree, dessert and two glasses of wine. Excellent service, too. They have a small wine shop next door to the restaurant, featuring some of the best wines from around the world. Cheers!