dvs

you might be a cocktail snob if... ... you walk into some bars and only order beer or wine

when i go to TFL, i like to only go for lunch as eating a 5 hour meal late in the evening really doesn't appeal to me... the experience is just the same.

the Fountain Cafe in the Crocker Galleria in SF has a great salad bar... http://www.fountaincafe.net/pages/1/index.htm

I have a Peninsula suggestion if you're ever down that way-- Pezella's Villa Napoli in Sunnyvale on El Camino. They actually make a nice ham/ricotta/mozzarella calzone. I'm not sure if it comes with tomato sauce but I always get a side of that as well to eat with it. In classic New England style, the "small" calzone is huge! They use nice ricotta also. This may be pushing it, but by any chance has anyone run across a New England style white clam pizza pie anywhere in SF? It would have freshly shucked clams, olive oil, oregano, garlic and parmigiano. (I grew up 30 min from Pepe's in New Haven, CT... ) ← it looks like you can create your own at orgasmica: http://www.pizzaorgasmica.com/sub_pages/create.html their serpents kiss pizza i ADORE!!!!

my all time favorite pizza in the city is at Pizza Orgasmica. They have locations on fillmore street & clement street.

thanks for all the replies! the visit will have to wait until sometime in july (and it looks like la folie will win out)... going local instead to redd... will report back.

it's also called the "knoberloin"

congrats!! if you need any thoughts / help with san francisco, give me a shout... i used to help w/ food reviews for a weekly in the city.

Was the Paris tasting a scam? http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/indexn?blogid=26

marco you rock!! thank you... d & i appreciate it! xo els

i need to make mai tais for 20 people next friday. i'm looking for fresh ingredient preperations and amounts. cocktailgeek, your input is much appreciated if you see this... (xo your friend up in y-ville) thanks for any & all help!!

Then please tell her to add my "open letter from the cooks" I sent her like a week or two ago. Kthnxbye. ← i'll tell him

bitter (who runs the BW site) is a good friend... its a great & funny site!

what is this "powered cooler" of which you speak? can anyone link me to a good one?

anyone? bueler?

i have a b-day coming up. my choices are one of these 2 restaurants (i know poor me...) the question is, WHICH ONE?? tia!!

the best way to avoid tasting room fees is to either consult the concierge at the hotel you are staying at (many have passes to free tastings at boutique wineries) or find out about smaller "by appointment only" wineries where you may just be tasting with the owner or winemaker and where they rarely charge a fee!

not sure if anyone has mentioned it yet, but usually restaurants are devided into sections that a particular server is responsible for. servers "in times" are also staggered to control costs. so, 2 tables of early diners are very likely to be seated together for this reason - no one (servers) wants to be running accross the dining room to wait on 2 different tables. and another server may not be coming on shift for 15 minutes or so... so, next time you have an early reservation, let the reservationist know if you prefer to sit away from other diners. otherwise, don't be surprised when this happens.

i realize this question was asked back in feb, but i believe the boudin noir is seasonal... mainly served in colder months. at least this is what they do in yountville.

i was in there just for drinks on friday night and the bathroom was totally littered with trash. very unappealing. ← Yuk.... Maybe this is silly to ask still--but was the food and drink good? I remember great selections of wine. ← i didn't have any food and my drinks were fine, but that could be because i knew the manager...

i'm there a lot and i rarely see leftovers... but i think thats because whatever IS left over can be taken by the staff. i see them walking the bread over around 4:30 or 5p, so i'd remember to peek into the baking part or the bakery next time you happen by at that time... and the roll was delish!! lightly dusted w/ salt & all

ooohhh!!! i can't stand to see servers/hosts/bussers, etc drinking or eating in plain sight of the guest!! also, i don't want to see anyone counting their wads of money at the bar. keep the business of the restaurant out of sight of the guest!

I'm actually quite an attentive parent--probably too much so--but clearly I did something really bad in a previous life, as the following will attest: The whole family has gone out to dinner at a new, funky restaurant. One of the specialties of the house is a kids' drink that's super bubbly and produces lots of smoke (courtesy of dry ice.) Naturally, my kids think this is the coolest thing ever. My 7 year old daughter takes a sip of her green apple concoction and pronounces it "Yummy!" Then she burps REALLY loudly. (We try not to laugh, because we know it's not funny to be impolite--but we really can't help ourselves.) Then my 5 year old son takes a sip of his bubbly, smoky, cherry drink. "Ooooooh," he says, a little too blissfully. "That's so good, it tickles my pee-pee!" Needless to say, we made all the other parents feel very proud of their offspring. ← wonderful!! simply wonderful!! you need to send that one into parenting magazine!!

Please educate me on this. What is the problem with bottles facing forward at the bar? How else will I know what is in them? ← the lables of the bottles should be facing forward so they can be clearly read. it also looks neater.

having run restaurants for many years now, i have many "pet peeves" that while i don't always seek out, if i see them i get annoyed... 1. lightbulbs burnt out 2. debris on the floor 3. dirty/improperly stocked bathrooms 4. lipstick on the glass / chipped glassware 5. bottles facing forward at the bar 6. proper temp of wine 7. when timing is off - food arriving before drinks, etc. 8. when silverware / plateware is missing or not replaced i'll keep adding more as i think of them... 9. dirty storefront - fingerprints on windows, trash on sidewalk, overflowing ashcan