Hest88

Thanks for the review! Do you mind commenting on the value? Did your bill seem too expensive or just right for the amount of food?

I really want to try Antidote. I wanted to try both Tartare and MM, but the recent mixed reviews have dampened my enthusiasm. I haven't tried Quince yet either but that's also on my list. Oh, never been to Kabuto A&S and hoping to make it there soon. Eventually I'll get into the French Laundry. I haven't been there in at least 7-8 years. I just can't get past the phone system though.

The new ones sound hideous. I only eat the regular ones but I eat the fat-free ones now. They taste exactly the same but no trans-fatty acids.

Very creative. Desperate, but creative.

Do you guys eat at nothing but fine restaurants? We're on a budget, so I've been cooking a lot but: 1) Tsar Nicoulai Caviar at the Ferry Building for a gorgeous and scrumptious brunch 2) Joy Luck - cheap Oakland Chinatown dinner 3) Golden Flower - pho for lunch. Does lunch count?

1) Service. Unless you're a celebrity or odd niche restaurant, great service will mask so-so food. And poor service will send a customer fleeing faster than poor food ever will. 2) Food. Naturally, good food is important! 3) Price. Not cheap food, but a good price/value ratio. The quality of the overall experience--service, presentation, creativity, atmosphere, ingredients--has to correspond to the price. 4) Then decor... 5) Uh, and I'm sure there are other important factors, such as location, easy transportation/parking, that are important as well, but I haven't had my coffee.

I just finished Jeffrey Steingarten's latest essay in the Sept Vogue. He proclaims Chris Bianco's pizza as the best pizza in the world. Now I'm curious, in spite of the mixed reviews here. Should I make a trip out to Phx just for the pizza?

Yeah, my husband hates gentrified comfort food, so he was really happy to see Red Tractor go--especially when we heard it would be replaced by an oyster bar. After our two experiences at Pearl, though, he's not really raring to go back. Both times he got iffy oysters, which we've never had at Cafe Rouge, or Grasshopper, or anyplace else that routinely serves oysters in the area. Eh, maybe they just don't like us!

Squeat, it's Pearl Oyster Bar (or whatever it's real name is) across from the Rockridge BART station. It just got a great Chronicle review, but the two times we were there (once the week it opened and once a few weeks ago) left us rather underwhelmed. It's bustling and busy all the time though, and really has quite a vibe to it.

I was thinking about this in terms of a newish seafood place and raw bar that opened up a few months ago in our area. This is an area chock full of hip, small plate restaurants and widely acclaimed restaurants in a homey enclave of a largish city, so it's hardly suburban. Yet, when I walked into the restaurant I immediately remarked to my husband that it had a distinctly San Francisco feel that none of the other restaurants in the area had. The food is a bit more inventive than other restaurants, but not so much. Really what made it seem so completely urban was the decor. Hard, shiny edges, glass, stainless steel, angles, cool colors. No warmth, no wood, no creamy lighting. The food adds to that feel but I wouldn't say the food is really all that different from many other restaurants. It's the presentation---arty and inventive plating---that makes the difference. So, if it were me, I'd be less worried about the food (though small plates and offbeat spicing might help) and focus more on getting cool china and creating interesting presentations.

Huh, I don't think I've ever eaten anything from AA Bakery. Maybe I'll try them this year.

Thanks Gary. Last year, here in SF, I was too lazy to stand in the Golden Gate Bakery line so picked up mooncakes at Dick Lee. My parents and aunt was NOT impressed and my aunt took me aside and told me that this year I should get their mooncakes at Great Eastern. I'm still not eating more than a sliver, though.

No, I've been picking up nectarines at Market Hall so I bypassed the BB peaches last week. I'll be sure to grab some when I go tomorrow. Thanks for the tip! Nectarines are all well and good, but I do miss the fuzz.

I always let waiters know if there is a time constraint. Anything less than three hours I consider a tight timeframe. You never know what might happen and you can never assume that other people operate with the same assumptions you do. I would have left a tip, but a perfunctory one due to her huffiness.

Star anise. I never connected my love of Chinese roast duck and duck wings with my headaches a few hours later until I read somewhere that star anise is a common trigger. Duh! Hasn't stopped me from eating them, though. Just means I have the Excedrin handy.

I'd never had proper shaved ice until I vacationed in Hawaii. I ate lots of snow cones, of course, but I didn't realize shaved ice was so incredibly different! Shaved ice with ice cream is heavenly on a hot day.

Thanks everyone. They smelled fine and I cooked them until they were rubbery. However, my husband didn't like the way the casings had bubbled so he threw them out. Personally I think the bubbling had more to do with the overcooked, burnt casings than any weird gaseous emissions, but oh well. So, no health problems and I have no idea if they were really edible.

Bong, you're right about the nectarines. I've always preferred peaches, but this year the nectarines were much better than the peaches. I may be a convert!

I admit; I'm not good with sausages. I think of them as preserved items so I was under the impression they last a good long time. Anyway, we bought some bockwurst a week ago and have had them in the frig. I just took them out of the butcher wrap and the casings are all slimy now. Does that mean we shouldn't try cooking them?

I'm just heartbroken. Part of me thought she'd live forever.

It's certainly something I noticed in Portland as well. I'm not talking about rudeness or snottiness; I'm talking about service at higher-end restaurants. We were at Wildwood and Higgins and found the waiters friendly but really poorly trained.

Oh wait, I lied. I just talked to my mom and she indeed says oil AND salt. I just blanked for a bit there, in the same way I often blank when my mother is telling me what a good Chinese daughter is supposed to do.

I took my DH to Chez Panisse for the first time last year and gave him the usual warnings I give any newbie. I told him not to expect Gary Danko or Fifth Floor or Boulevard. I told him not to expect elaborate platings or imaginative creations. I told him that what he *could* expect was food that tasted more like the essence of the ingredient than any place he'd been to previously. When we went he told me I had prepared him for a subdued, conservative experience and instead he was blown away by how perfect everything was. No bells and whistles, but perfect flavors, perfect seasonings, perfect food. He enjoyed it so much he chose it as his birthday restaurant later that year. I think too many people go to CP expecting a haute cuisine experience and are disappointed at how down-to-earth it really is. If you go expecting a more Berkeley experience, though, you'll find your expectations exceeded many-fold.

My mother never mentions salt, but she does say I should use oil for the rice. Basically, the "washing" is just massaging oil through the rice before using.

Well, that's totally justifiable. Of course. Why waste his skills when he knew she would be spending her money on worthless items bound to depreciate in value?