Carolyn Tillie

An old friend came to town and has a tradition of celebrating his birthday at Bix Restaurant (56 Gold Street). Kevin and I joined Jerry at the bar, starting with what could arguably be considered the best Sidecar I've ever had. Served in smallish martini glasses, dusted with sugar and made with Germain Robin brandy, it was the perfect apertif to start the evening. For me, much of the draw of Bix (and a reason I would definitely go back) is its old-world charm. A piano and torch singer providing background ambience and white-coated waiters providing impeccable service only adds to the charm of what would otherwise be considered a flash from the past. For Jerry's birthday, we ordered a bottle of '95 A.R. Lenoble Grand Cru Brut to accompany half-a-dozen oysters and warm, crunchy gougères. This segued nicely into a round of hors d'oeuvres that we all shared; potato pillows with crème fraîche and American sturgeon caviar, Kampachi crudo with blood orange, fennel, daikon, and Fiordolio olive oil, and a torchon of foie gras with French brandied cherries. Hard-pressed to pick a favorite of the three with the potato pillows most definitely billowy and light, the crudo fresh and flavorful, and the foie gras silky and elegant. Jerry and Kevin opted for full entrées and I for another, smaller dish served with an '01 Gevry-Chambertin Premiere Cru Lavaux Saint Jacques Esmonin. Jerry chose the fish selection of the day, Diver scallops with favas, fennel, fresh parsley oil, and a variety of other flavors... Kevin ordered the rack of lamb which we are having as a left-over breakfast this morning, served with Lentils du Puy and minted carrots, they were tender enough to be eaten like lollipops -- picked up and bitten freely at will with easy tenderness. My weekness and third course? Tableside-prepared steak tartare. I love tableside service and watching our lovely waiter, Douglas, deftly hand cut and blend the Creekstone Angus beef with dijon mustard, capers, shallots, and quail egg was truly amazing. A note on service -- the first bottle of Gevry-Chambertin was not entirely corked but a tad off. I expressed my concern that there was a bit too much barnyard funk and there was nary a fuss on bringing a second bottle. Both Douglas, the waiter, and the sommelier, another Kevin, agreed there was some bottle variation and enjoyed tasting along with us to compare. For Jerry's birthday, he chose the Meyer lemon pana cotta with huckleberries and a glass of Armagnac. I was concerned that the lemon and huckleberry might be too sweet, but there was more an essence of candied lemon rind with darker, pronounced lemon flavors. Kevin and I shared a cheese plate; he with a 1970 Graham port and I with a '96 Rieussac. I mentioned to Douglas my waffling on wanting a bite of chocolate and our cheese plate had a small dish of Vahlrona sauce and a few chocolate tablets, just to appease my craving. The perfect end to a perfect evening.

Where else are you considering? My gripe with all these restaurants is that they are so much alike; variations of Sonoma Duck Breast with Lentil du Puy and a reduced port wine sauce, blah-blah-blah... When I travel, I look for cuisines that are different than what I can normally find. Here in San Francisco, we have such a wide variety of really interesting foods that might not be available where you live. Although if you want to stick with haute cuisine, the Ritz IS getting rave reviews...

I watched my new boyfriend do it on an early date and I was flabbergasted. I guess it was something he was raised with. He does it well, I have to admit; discreetly and non-chalantly with a sort of panache I had only seen in movies. I have since been surprised at how our level of service is increased across the board within a restaurant and throughout the meal. Seems word gets around that we are heavy tippers when service warrants...

The Farmers Market on Third and Fairfax is open daily and a great place to have lunch. I can't recommend any specific stand as I always made a point to eat at a different one each time I went; everything from Louisiana Gumbo to tacos to fish-n-chips.

The Slanted Door is a big favorite amongst the wine chat lists -- mostly because they have and showcase a decent selection of German wines. Because of that, all my experiences there (with one exception) have been with lots of other people as an "offline" wine tasting. Still, the restaurant NEVER rocked my boat and I began to pull away from attending those tastings and the restaurant in general. Too kitchy and mediocre and the thread, while old, is still very timely.

You don't indicate where you are visiting from which would tell us what you might not be able to get. I would heartily suggest a jaunt to the little hamlet of Gardena (basically, on the corner of the 110 and 405 freeways). The BEST Japanese food in California is in this town which houses the American corporate offices of Honda, Toyota, Mitsubishi, etc... Since you are obviously looking for an Asian bent, consider dropping one of your Korean meals for a Japanese one? My favorites in Gardena include Shin-Sen-Gumi for Yakitori and Sen Nari for Sushi.

That would be Cheval Blanc, the wine made infamous by the Sideways film...

Probably too short of notice for this Sunday's dinner, but Paula Wolfert gave me one of these Römertopf Chicken Roasters and I swear there is no way to NOT have a succulent, juicy bird. With even roasting all the way around, the clay to provide inner moisture, and the circular dish to catch all the fat dripping, I have gone from cooking poultry once a year to bi-monthly. I throw some fingerling potatoes in the bottom about half-way through the bird's cooking, and the fat beautifully sautees the potatoes. Edited to add -- I guess in light of the time constraint, I'd go with the beer can concept; similar to the Römertopf without the glitz and glamour. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Re-reading their site, one has to laugh at their lack of a proofreader or editor (the bold is mine):

Great thread - and very timely! Kevin and I just started talking about making a new starter as he lost much-beloved, 8-year old starter in a divorce several years ago. I do want a clarification, please... In this thread, you indicate about 17 apples but on your blog, you say 7 to 8. As I will be measuring to get about 300 grams, I'm sure I'll figure it out, but wanted to make sure.

Clarification -- Yountville water is delicious as it is from a local well. In general, Napa Valley water sucks big giant rocks. Don't assume that every restaurant in the valley has the same quality water as what you experienced as there are wells all over the valley from which the wineries have to pull for irrigation. Some are exceptional and some are quite hideous. My time living in Napa involved commercial filters and Britta water systems because my local water was undrinkable.

Go to a local bookstore and flip through Martha Stewart's Hors d'Oeuvre cookbook -- I kid you not. Hundreds of brilliant ideas in the pictures alone.

Along with Sam's suggestion of Marinus, another favorite in Carmel is Cassanova; exceedingly romantic, great wine list, and very memorable food.

Only open during the day (mostly for those who work in downtown) is my favorite restaurant, Angelique Cafe. Although I moved out of LA almost four years ago, I still make this a stop to pick up much-loved Charcuterie Basket (homemade Country Pate, Rillette, Persille, Garlic Sausage & Saucisson). I used to buy these to take to the Hollywood Bowl and their Persille is to-die-for. The last time I drove by, I purchased two "to go" and they obligingly shrink-wrapped them for with their sous vide equipment since I was driving back to San Francisco. For just over $20, I had a decent stockpile of charcuterie that I thought was well worth more than double that amount. I miss eating there in person -- try and get a table upstairs to overlook the street.

an inexpensive family one ← Or anything REMOTELY ethnic (besides the local taco joint...) Chinese? Japanese? Lebanese? Algerian? Turkish? Moroccan? etc...

Doesn't really surprise me -- when I reviewed it, I had some scientists alongside me conducting experiments on alcohol levels (god bless, WNissen!) Read my notes here.

Surprisingly, the Napa Rose restaurant on the Disney-grounds of The California Adventure is quite good... I say surprisingly because most theme parks are not known for their cuisine -- this is the exception.

Best if you start by telling us where you are coming from -- doesn't make any sense to recommend great SoCal Mexican food if you are coming from Mexico, etc... L.A. has some fabulous ethnic cuisines that can't be rivaled in other parts of the country, depending on where you are coming from (the most amazing Japanese, for example). Standard haute cuisine would include Spago, Patina, Lucques, Bastide, A.O.C., or L'Orangerie - all quite decent...

Drove through the city last week and had an amazing lunch at Kinkead's (seafood) at 2000 Pennsylvania. It came highly recommended and I was dutifully impressed.

The real interesting story will be the infighting on "the list" -- this is a winery who is known for having shut down their waiting list several years ago. Obviously, the new owners will have "friends" who will want (and probably get!) the wine and what will that do to those who have been on the list, acquiring the wine for years, or those who were close to the top of the list, hoping to purchase some of this illusive liquid...

I freebase cocoa....

Chocolate. 'Nuff said.

I would send the whole group to Belden place and advise them to wander around until you find a restaurant that suits you. The atmosphere and quality at most of the restaurants there are pretty decent, great atmosphere, and within your price range. I'm a fan of the mussels at Plouf and of the paella at R44.

Hands-down concur - Cellartracker...

Personally, I can never get enough garlic. Adore the stuff and will usually double or triple whatever a recipe calls for, if cooking for just myself. Freshly roasted garlic with a dash of salt on fresh crustry bread accompanied with a glass of wine is a great dinner for me...

was the jelly a Mayhaw jelly? ← Now THAT sounds familiar.... What the heck is it -- and would I want to order some???