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oakland barb

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Everything posted by oakland barb

  1. We will be in Paris only three nights and had hoped to re-visit Jadis and Le Severo. I've asked our concierge to verify that neither will be open Saturday night, but I'm assuming they won't. If we keep Jadis as our Monday night dining, is there anything that comes close to Le Severo that might be open on such a holiday? We are planning to eat Sunday night at Le Comptoir. Thanks so much for any help!
  2. I'm quite surprised there's no mention of Dick and Jenney's. I think that was the best, most "local" restaurant we ate in.
  3. Driving down from Oakland to Los Angeles and Palm Springs next week. We've eaten at Orso a few times (staying in Beverly Hills) and have enjoyed some of the food very much. I've heard about La Buca- any thoughts- and would love any other suggestions. I think this kind of food is far better in the south than north. We'll have an obligatory lunch at Zankou ( a big big favorite) and then...? Also any suggestions for Palm Springs (again the more low key, local spots) would be appreciated.
  4. Sorry Herbacidal, if I gave the impression that the service at the Four Seasons was poor. It was exemplary, as always. Very much my reason for staying there. Only bested in Vancouver by the time we stayed at the Metropolitan (which we have a few times) and left our young teenage kids at the hotel and took my mother to Villa del Lupo for dinner. My son (then age 13 ) wanted Chinese for dinner. The concierge told him the best restaurant didn't deliver but he (the concierge) would pick up whatever my kids wanted in his own car and bring it back- which he did, adding just the cost of the food to our room charge. That was beyond impressive. As I work in the travel industry I can tell you service is the last frontier in hotels. You can only add so much thread count to the sheets so the service is what counts. Keeps me traveling to Four Seasons Hotels whenever I have the opportunity. I expect a different level and quality of service in different kinds of restaurants. I never like incompetence but friendliness and sincerity go a long way to offset a lower level of professionalism in more casual restaurants.
  5. Please note that we did go back to West the following day and enjoyed lunch. The soups we had, a little saltiness aside, were excellent, as was the parfait. And, as Tighe has mentioned it, Babbo, one of my favorite New York restaurants, has it's up and downs as do most restaurants. I believe the disappointment in some of the food and the less than stellar service worked in combination to color my feelings about West. I also wasn't crazy about the dishes I perceived to be different just to be different. I do disagree with the waiter having a bad day scenario. I've worked in a service driven industry for way too many years and you just have to"get over it" and give the best service even on less than perfect days. If anyone cares for suggestions in the Bay Area (particularly the East Bay) let me know on the California forum. I'd love to know how my favorite places are received by Vancouverites. By the way, my kids thought "Cupcakes" sounded like just the place they'd want to visit (and they're 15 and 17). Fluffy white cake and fluffy, sugary icing certainly hit the spot at 3PM!
  6. I'm most surprised that my food observations were considered a "personal tirade" and "Vancouver bashing". I was surprised by many of the meals we ate as we have had consistently good meals in Vancouver in the past. In my first sentence I mention that I've always loved visiting Vancouver. Perhaps I'm mistaken in the purpose of this forum, being new to it. Is it devoted strictly to the positive? I have given you my impressions and not passed them off as anything else. It's wonderful to have a place to learn of good food at home and elsewhere, and in my opinion, to find out what others do and don't care for. I'd greatly appreciate if the forum moderator could let me know if my initial posting was out of line.
  7. Kokkari is very good but try to get yourselves seated in the front dining room- it's far more appealing with a huge fireplace. Their mezethes are excellent- we like their Pikilia.. with extra home made pita. The grilled lamb chops and moussaka are dinner favorites. Another suggestion is Piperade. It's a Basque restaurant owned by Gerald Hirigoyen who owns Fringale. We had a wonderful dinner there around Christmas. Prices are reasonable but reservations are difficult.
  8. I think the food has been sufficiently commented on at Susur. We ate there on my first trip to Toronto last August. My husband, although born in the city hadn't visited in some time. We opted for the late seating and were surprised that the dining room did not fill (this was a Saturday night). Despite that fact, as previously noted, service seemed very rushed and promised descriptions of courses were not forthcoming. The service was below par. We had the seven course tasting menu- perhaps that's what seemed to put us behind the other diners we were close to the last people in the restaurant that night. Now, for my biggest problem. It was freezing cold in the restaurant! I had not worn anything over my shoulders- it was very very hot outside- and I was miserable. As I got up from the table to go to the ladies room I slipped on a very wet floor- condensation due to the extreme cold. Staff came running and apologized put told me- and this is one for the books- that they had to keep the air so cold to protect the ostrich skin banquets. Evidently when they were first installed in the dining room inconsistent temperature would make them crack- loudly and scare the patrons! Can't imagine I'll ever come across another restaurant with that issue!
  9. Guess I got so carried away with how good everything was I neglected to mention it! I was very impressed with the chai offered to me as I stood at the wine bar. The area wasn't crowded (it was a Wednesday night) but bustling. We were served 3 different vegetarian hors d'ouvres brought around on a plate by one of the waitresses. The first was a tiny fried crispy samosa kind of thing that had been broken at the top and filled with tiny chopped sautéed vegetables, second was a little potato puri and I can't for the life of me remember the third! The wine list was fun in that all wines cost 8.50 a glass or 32.00 a bottle. Most impressive for me was the Merridale Cider they offered. We'd visited Merridale many years ago and were so impressed I spent some time trying to figure out if there were a way to import it to California. Now I can tell you I'm glad I brought home a menu. We began with the Louisiana prawns in serrano pepper and coconut masala- wonderful tastes and prawns perfectly cooked (boy, am I tired of mushy crustaceans!). Along with that were the cauliflower and spinach fritters in coconut coriander curry (very good, crispy and fresh) and my favorite- "khoa" paratha with ginger-lemon chutney- this sounds simple but came with a sautéed green (dinosaur kale?) and was wonderfully tasty! First main course was the tamarind marinated beef tenderloin with sautéed mushrooms, zucchini and shallots with roasted, spiced whole almonds. Beautifully sauced, excellent quality meat and the whole almonds - wow. Then the lamb popsicles in fenugreek cream curry with turmeric spinach and potatoes. I can't remember when I had a more delicious lamb dish. Although we could not move we gave in to ladoos for dessert. I'm generally not crazy about Indian sweets but these were delicate rather than leaden with a traditional, but not too sweet rose water flavoring. Hope I haven't gone on at too great a length, I enjoy food!
  10. We've always loved visiting Vancouver- such a nice change of pace and so close to the Bay Area. And the food has always been great. This trip (we gave in and stayed at the Four Seasons) had more ups and downs than past trips. First night we ate at Vij's. Not only was the food superb and ambiance fun but we were treated like long lost friends. We gave very serious consideration to returning but with only 3 nights decided to keep trying new things. One of my biggest complaints is that so few of the restaurants I wanted to go to were open for lunch. Ate a poor room service breakfast at the Four Seasons (although the crab cakes in the bar later were great!). Four Seasons usually do a great job with their food and we'd had a wonderful breakfast here a few years ago but this was almost inedible. My husband and I spent some time trying to figure out just what the hollandaise was made from. Skipped lunch, then the crab cakes and then dinner at West. It was amazingly empty for all I've read about the restaurant (and certainly compared to Vij the night before). I don't believe there were ever more than half the tables occupied. Dinner began beautifully with an "amuse" of a foamy asparagus soup with truffle oil (what's not to like?). My husband had the house salad (fine) and I went on to a few smaller preparations. I began with the foie gras parfait which was divine- when I got it. The waiter (who had a distinct attitude) brought the wrong dish insisting that he remembered my asking a question that made him assume I'd ordered it. I hadn't and had been clear (I know I'm not always and gladly admit it, but this wasn't one of those times). I don't like arguing with a waiter! There was a very pleasant young woman who seemed to be "helping" our waiter out and fortunately we saw more of her than him. Next course for me was the coq au vin- excellent! But the osso buco that followed must have marinated for days in rosemary as the whole dish was so overwhelming I found it inedible. My husband was hungry and ate it. I didn't complain because I was loath to incur the wrath of the waiter again. My husbands rib eye was very good but we were perplexed by the fact that it came "ready sliced" which not only cooled it rapidly but let the juices flow from the meat. Maybe there was something about this I missed. I ordered the sugar pumpkin ravioli after being told it was a house signature dish. One bite and back it went, waiter be damned!! Amaretti cookies. I felt like I was eating a strange dessert! It was again overwhelming in flavor and I don't like amaretti cookies. The waitress removed it this time, quickly and returned a few minutes later to tell me they were preparing the alternative ravioli of the night as we spoke. I was not asked if or what else I might want! We skipped dessert. Determined to give the place another try given the reputation we went for lunch the next day. Same fabulous foie gras parfait (although this time it had a nice sprinkling of salt over it- something I'd had to do the night before), onion soup- very good but reduced to the point of saltiness and my husband had a parsnip and apple soup- wonderful flavor but it cooled so quickly it must have been heated equally so. I don't think I'd go back. Dinner that evening was Cioppino's. The restaurant was busy with the owner greeting only the tables of people he knew (or so it appeared). I had an asparagus and morel starter with "truffle mousse"- don't know how it was prepared but not the slighted hint of truffle taste despite the black shavings and the mousse was, well I don't know quite what, but tough and white. I had a crab and lobster pasta that was good- not great. My husband had venison "osso bucco"- again, fine. No dessert and wouldn't bother going back. Most of this was a great surprise. We've eaten at Villa del Lupo many times but had heard it had slipped and wanted to try something new. Would have tried lunch at Lumiere, had it been open. Next visit Vij's, Vij's Vij's!! I'd love to know if anyone has had similar experiences at these restaurants!
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