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SF/Sonoma restaurants

Foodie-Girl

By Foodie-Girl
in California: Dining

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Foodie-Girl

Foodie-Girl

Posted
Posted

Hello all!

We will be in San Francisco and Sonoma for 5 nights (DINNERS !!) each in

October. Would greatly appreciate some recommendations. Not on a budget and don't mind dressing up (or down). We love French, Italian, eclectic- California style.

Looking for the best in food and service....not especially the most trendy places...unless they are one in the same.

I'll check back or you can email me at charcoop@yahoo.com

Thanks so very much!!!

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MatthewB

MatthewB

Posted
Posted
I'm very new to this board...can you tell me how to check existing threads..?

(sorry to be techno-impaired)

No need to apologize. :smile:

Click on the following link: eGullet California boards.

By looking at the titles of various threads, you'll come across discussions similiar to your query.

You might also click on this: Google results for search on "SF" and "restaurants".

Let us know if this helps.

Best wishes & welcome to eGullet!

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rshorens

rshorens

Posted
Posted

A few of my favorites in San francisco:

Antica Trattoria on Polk Street(corner of Union Street), pacific heights are: excellent Italian food, wonderful appetizers,pasta, entrees, desserts, service. I've been eating there once a month for 7 years. Very moderate prices, excellent value(around $30 for 3 courses plus glass of wine, excluding service)

Ton Kiang- dim sum on Geary Street near 22-24Ave. Specializes in shrimp/crab delicacies

Wonderful mango pudding and sesame balls for dessert

Farallon- in Union Square area(Post Street I think, around the corner from the St. Francis Hotel on Powell: excellent fish, a little more expensive (entrees $25-29) but well worth it. Great decor. Excellent wine list- I've even had wonderful bottle of wine there for $23(Trentino area of Italy) and of course there are more expensive ones too.

If you go to Healdsburg in Sonoma County(north of Santa Rosa) I would recommend Charcuterie and Dry Creek Kitchen.

Have a great trip!

Roz

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Foodie-Girl

Foodie-Girl

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Thanks for the great suggestions, Roz.

Of those you mentioned we've only been to Farallon previously...and that was for lunch shortly after it opened.

I forgot to mention that we also love seafood..and I think Farallon will be one of our choices to fill that longing.

We'll probably stick to Sonoma restaurants as we're attending meetings with early AM starts. These are the ones that look good so far...any commments: The General's Daughter, Cafe Le Haye, The Girl and the Fig and Le Poste.

Thanks!!!

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Carolyn Tillie

Carolyn Tillie

Posted
Posted

Agree that October is a lovely time to visit. Della Santini, on the other hand, is hit-or-miss. My first visit there was utter perfection. The second visit was definitely disappointing.

Stop by and see me at Gundlach Bundschu winery -- I pour there on weekends...

I MAKE FOOD JEWELRY!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Feast Blog

Fried Dough Ho Blog

Ultimate California Wine Blog

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tanabutler

tanabutler

Posted
Posted (edited)

Charcoop, there is a little town called Jenner in Sonoma at the mouth of the Russian River and the Pacific Ocean. It's quiet and remote and no cell phones (hooray!) and there is a perfect little restaurant (with cabins) called River's End. The owner is all about fresh/local/organic/seasonal, and we had a wonderful meal there. All Sonoma wines (why bother with anything else when you live in heaven?). The view and setting is just what you'd expect (oceanside with the overlap of the river's mouth). The staff is kind and smart, and the owner's photography graces the walls—all local nature scenes.

The clam chowder was incomparable, and I would just take anything they recommended.

Big, big thumbs up. It's worth the drive out, too, especially at that time of year. You might get a little fall leaf color action if you're lucky. Wildlife is abundant in the estuary. Bring a camera.

Article online

From the JennerInn.com website, a photograph from above the river.

Hours are seasonal.

russianriver.jpg

We think it's a very special place.

Edited by tanabutler (log)
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Foodie-Girl

Foodie-Girl

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It was years ago...but we have actually been to Jenner and I remember loving it.

I'm a California native (transplanted to WA) and have taken numerous driving trips all throughout Northern CA over the years. So much to love about it!

Back to dinner....I have all dinners in San Francisco booked, but I can't say that I've found a great Northern Italian restauant...and nothing I've been to previously comes to mind.

Any suggestions? Thanks so much !

Char

charcoop@yahoo.com (I check email throughout the day)

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Squeat Mungry

Squeat Mungry

Posted
Posted
Back to dinner....I have all dinners in San Francisco booked, but I can't say that I've found a great Northern Italian restauant...and nothing I've been to previously comes to mind.

Any suggestions?  Thanks so much !

Charcoop,

For first rate northern Italian, you can't go wrong at Acquerello, where they have a newish pasta chef who has brought the pasta up to the first-rate level of their other offerings, or at the legendary Delfina.

Cheers and enjoy your visit!

Squeat

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Gary Soup

Gary Soup

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For first rate northern Italian, you can't go wrong at Acquerello, where they have a newish pasta chef who has brought the pasta up to the first-rate level of their other offerings, or at the legendary Delfina.

Isn't it a bit of a stretch to call a restaurant that's been around for barely 5 years "legendary"?

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Squeat Mungry

Squeat Mungry

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Isn't it a bit of a stretch to call a restaurant that's been around for barely 5 years "legendary"?

Perhaps you're right, Gary, but I was trying to convey a note of how impressive (to me, anyway) Delfina's (well-earned, IMO) rise to fame has been. When out-of-towners ask me about specific restaurants in the city, Delfina is hands down most likely to be named.

Renowned would probably have been a more accurate choice, in hindsight.

Cheers,

Squeat

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Stone

Stone

Posted
Posted
For first rate northern Italian, you can't go wrong at Acquerello, where they have a newish pasta chef who has brought the pasta up to the first-rate level of their other offerings, or at the legendary Delfina.

Isn't it a bit of a stretch to call a restaurant that's been around for barely 5 years "legendary"?

5 years is ancient in San Francisco.

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Gary Soup

Gary Soup

Posted
Posted
For first rate northern Italian, you can't go wrong at Acquerello, where they have a newish pasta chef who has brought the pasta up to the first-rate level of their other offerings, or at the legendary Delfina.

Isn't it a bit of a stretch to call a restaurant that's been around for barely 5 years "legendary"?

5 years is ancient in San Francisco.

Maybe in Dot-com time, but not in North Beach time. There are lots of places that have been on my "To Do" list for 40 years, and I know they will be there when I get around to them.

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Gary Soup

Gary Soup

Posted
Posted
For first rate northern Italian, you can't go wrong at Acquerello, where they have a newish pasta chef who has brought the pasta up to the first-rate level of their other offerings, or at the legendary Delfina.

Isn't it a bit of a stretch to call a restaurant that's been around for barely 5 years "legendary"?

5 years is ancient in San Francisco.

Maybe in Dot-com time, but not in North Beach time. There are lots of places that have been on my "To Do" list for 40 years, and I know they will be there when I get around to it.

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Squeat Mungry

Squeat Mungry

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To clarify my original choice of words (and I suppose a bit to defend myself -- even though thereby admitting to "common journalistic hyperbole"), I will quote the following "Usage Note" from the American Heritage Dictionary, 4th Edition (aka www.dictionary.com). Emphasis is mine:

"Usage Note: Legend comes from the Latin adjective legenda, “for reading, to be read,” which referred only to written stories, not to traditional stories transmitted orally from generation to generation. This restriction also applied to the English word legend when it was first used in the late 14th century in reference to written accounts of saints' lives, but ever since the 15th century legend has been used to refer to traditional stories as well. Today a legend can also be a person or achievement worthy of inspiring such a story -- anyone or anything whose fame promises to be enduring, even if the renown is created more by the media than by oral tradition. Thus we speak of the legendary accomplishments of a major-league baseball star or the legendary voice of a famous opera singer. This usage is common journalistic hyperbole, and 55 percent of the Usage Panel accepts it."

It was indeed in this sense that I employed the adjective.

Cheers,

Squeat

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Squeat Mungry

Squeat Mungry

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OY VEY what have I started...LOL

Just wanted some restaurant advice...please...not fighting over this....LOL

Charcoop,

Not to worry. Mr. Soup was perfectly within reason to question my use of the word. I am not offended, and hope I have not offended him by my explanation.

My apologies to you, though, for waylaying this thread. To bring it back on topic, do you think you'll give either Acquerello or Delfina a try?

Cheers,

Squeat

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Foodie-Girl

Foodie-Girl

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Squeat...we'll be trying Acquerello I believe.

Bye the way..here is our current reservation list. I'm still undecided on the dim sum lunch...between Yank Sing, City View and Gold Mountain it's hard to decide. At any rate...we will be going to:

One Market

Jardiniere

Gary Ganko

Fleur de Lys

Elizabeth Daniel

Masa's

and either Farallon OR Acquerello.

I know....it's a LOT...but we no longer live in California and miss the wonderful restaurants...so, when we go...we really do it up!

Charcoop

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