In San Francisco, Bix is a fantastic dining experience with its Super Club atmosphere. Bruce Hill, the Executive Chef, wowed us with his creations and we loved the live jazz. We were impressed with the Sautéed Sweetbreads, the Apple Frisee Salad with Calvados Sauce, Sebastopol Garden Lettuces, Mission Figs and Toasted Walnuts and the favorite signature dish, Maine Lobster Spaghetti. This entree was truly in a league of its own and don’t miss out on the Bananas Foster with Vanilla Ice Cream and Dark Rum! We asked Bruce why some of the better restaurants go “down hill”, no pun intended. He said that quality and flavor must constantly be monitored by the Executive Chef and it is essential that they taste their own food. We also asked how a chef feels about keeping a restaurant’s “favorites” on the menu, especially the ones they have inherited. Bruce advised us that it is important to keep your regular customers happy by continuing to serve “favorites” and the Chef can use the daily specials for creativity!

Mark Franz, Executive Chef at Farallon, prepared a fantastic French influenced Coastal Cuisine Lunch in a private room upstairs for The Handley Cellars 20th Anniversary Tasting Event. It included Nantucket Bay Scallops, celery root, tarragon, and American black caviar which paired perfectly with the Handley 2001 Dry Creek Valley Sauvignon Blanc and Grilled Monkfish with Sugar Pumpkin Risotto, cipollini onions and fresh Italian White Truffles which paired well with the Handley 2000 Anderson Valley Pinot Noi.

We enjoyed a terrific Northern Italian dinner at Café Tiramisu on the ever popular Belden Place, which is a favorite dining locale offering European atmosphere with outdoor dining. We enjoyed the warm hospitality of Pino Spinoso and Giuseppe Scoppetta. The Risotto with lobster, wild mushrooms, asparagus and lobster bisque sauce and the Roasted Saddle of Lamb with fine herbs and garlic chips were great Entrees. Also a must, are the desserts including fabulous Cream Profiteroles and of course Tiramisu!

Congratulations to Bruno Viscovi on the 16TH Anniversary of Albona Ristorante Istriano. We enjoyed his gracious hospitality and a terrific meal. The Stracotto alla Triestina (braised veal shank) was delicious. No wonder Albona continues to make the “Best of San Francisco” lists year after year. Chef/Proprietor Christen Shepherd also has a lot to be proud of as well celebrating the 11TH Anniversary of his Italian Restaurant Aperto on Potrero Hill. This friendly local restaurant was packed on the Saturday night we were there! We loved everything about this small restaurant from the pleasing pastel colored walls to the vibrant art to the open exhibition kitchen. And yes, the cuisine was great, too. For Antipasti, we enjoyed the Dungeness Crab Cakes with Chick Pea Puree, Pomegranates, Micro Greens, Frisee and Spicy Aioli. As a Grande Piatti you must have the Housemade Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage, Pancetta, Brown Butter and Shaved Grana Cheese. Save room for the scrumptious Warm Chocolate Soufflé Cake for dessert.

We love Las Vegas and recently stayed at the ultra luxurious Bellagio. You must have room service for breakfast and try the fabulous Eggs Bellagio. Dinner at Nobhill in the MGM Grand is a sophisticated San Francisco experience. Executive Chef Jay Wetzel, previously with Aqua has brought the best of San Francisco to Las Vegas. Michael’s Lobster Pot Pie and the Roast Filet of Beef Rossini with seared Foie Gras were two of the best entrees ever. Also save room for the Scharffenberger Chocolate Pudding Cake.

Over in The East Bay, in Montclair (Oakland) we dined at Canvas which offers an upscale dining experience with excellent cuisine prepared by Chef/Owner Peter Jackson and Chef Frank D’Fate who adds his New Orleans flair. We loved the Foie Gras Torchon and Seared Diver Scallop with Red Wine Syrup and roasted fingerling potatoes appetizers. The Grass Fed Beef, Grilled Western Grasslands Rib Eye Steak, Blue Cheese mashed potatoes and bone marrow red wine sauce and the Grilled Hoffman Farm Pheasant with braised greens, smokey spicy rice, and sherry jus were great Entrees! The menu changes daily. They are popular so be sure to make reservations. Coming up on their First Anniversary is Beauregard’s California Bistro in Albany on Solano Avenue. They feature Wine Country inspired Cuisine prepared by Chef/Co-Owner Gary Beauregard, formerly of Spago in Beverly Hills. Gary and his partner Barry Gilmartin spent over a year renovating the restaurant and have created a spacious inviting atmosphere. We loved the Smoked Salmon Pizzetta appetizer which was a personal-sized red onion pizza crust topped with dill-shallot crème fraiche, smoked salmon, tomato and scallions and the hearty Entree Tuscan Farmhouse Oven- Roasted Chicken rubbed with garlic, rosemary, thyme, oven roasted with house-preserved lemons and Mediterranean olives, served in its own pan juices. For dessert, we loved the Apple Crisp prepared with Granny Smith Apples, slow baked with just a hint of Tuaca and a crispy brown sugar and cinnamon crust which was served with warm whipped cream!! All the fare is fabulous with reasonable prices which makes Beauregard’s a worthy destination on a regular basis.We dropped by Gregoire, Berkeley’s Gourmet Take-out and found fantastic French inspired cuisine by Chef/Owner Gregoire Jacquet formerly of the Ritz Carlton. He creates lunches and dinners made with fresh ingredients, locally grown, natural and free range with superior flavors, aromas and perfect taste making a great alternative to dining out. We enjoyed several items from his lunch menu which were incredible! We look forward to returning to enjoy the dinner menu, perhaps when we have guests who we want to impress! We ventured to California Café in Walnut Creek and had a superior lunch from Chef Charles Hochman’s Café All Day small plate menu. We enjoyed the Jamaican Pick’n Chicken which was juicy, moist and terrific, served with golden pepper molé. The Grilled Lamb Chops with toasted coriander, cilantro, honey and mint was a larger small plate and delicious as well. Pastry chef Erin Moore brought dessert to a new level with Banana Brulee Napoleon, a creation with rum pastry cream, caramel and chocolate sauce. Absolutely unbelievable!

In The North Bay, we enjoyed a terrific Country French dinner with some old friends at Roland Passot’s Left Bank in Larkspur. We met Steven Obranovich who is the talented Executive Chef. In addition to the excellent cuisine, the highlight was seeing local Marin celebs Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker (L.A Law) arrive for dinner. We were great L.A. Law fans, so this was a treat for us, too. Everyone respected their privacy which is why celebrities are drawn to Marin. At Mary’s Apple Creek Café in Sebastopol, Chef Andrew Lujan created a fantastic entrée …Mahi Mahi with Jumbo Prawns Baked in Puff Pastry with Lobster Bisque Sauce. Also, Mary bakes the best Apple Pie we have ever had! Cuchina Paradiso’s Chef Dennis Hernandez impressed us with Pesce del giorno tonno alla griglia, a grilled Ahi Tuna Filet. We also had a great dinner at The Vintage Caffé at Manka’s Corner. Caroline & Nicola Critelli owners created excellent cuisine that we totally enjoyed with a large group of friends celebrating Carol’s birthday. The Ross Valley Brewing Company with new chef James Lloyd, previously at Paragon, is making people think better of brew pub food. We enjoyed the Crispy Polenta with Wild Mushrooms as a starter and the spicy Southern Style Jambalaya entree. Our desert was a fabulous Chocolate Banana Cream Pie! Of course, they brew some excellent beer, as well as root beer and orange cream soda. We’ve heard good things about Mirepoix in Windsor with Chef Matthew Bousquet.

We also attended The 5TH Annual Private Dining Showcase at Jillian’s. This event promoted the Event and Private Dining Menus from over 20 great San Francisco restaurants including Aqua, Fifth Floor, Momo’s, Masa’s, Harris Steak House and Red Herring. Any reason for a party is a good one and contacting The San Francisco Private Dining Group is a great start. We enjoyed the 12th Annual Family Winemakers of California Event at Fort Mason which had over 350 Wineries participating. We really appreciated that the wineries were set up in alphabetical order so that we could easily find the one’s we wanted to make sure we tasted. Some of the wines we enjoyed included Jordan Cabernet, Hagafen kosher wines, Emmolo Rutherford Merlot, and Chalk Hill Chardonnay. We didn’t need it but were intrigued by a new product, Chaser for Wine Headaches.
www.doublechaser.com/ a sponsor of this event.

Rapidly approaching will be the Third Annual “Dine About Town”. San Francisco really knows how to do things “right” as shown by The Second Annual Dine About Town 2003 www.SFDineAboutTown.com/ promotion for Fine Dining. Special Three-Course Menus $19.95 for Lunch and $29.95 for Dinner were offered by over 160 Restaurants who participated including; Boulevard, Bix, Fog City Diner, Tommy Toy’s Cuisine Chinoise, Forbes Island Restaurant, The Magic Flute, Hornblower Cruises, Roy’s, MC2, Moose’s, Palio d’ Asti, Acme Chophouse, Le Zinc, Fog City Diner, and….more. The Kick-Off featured a tasting of 50 World Class San Francisco Chef’s cuisine in the newly renovated Union Square. The Chef’s included Bruce Hill from Bix, Todd Davies from MC2, Daniel Scherotter from Palio, and Max Braud of Le Zinc, Moose’s Jeffrey Amber, Hornblower Cruise’s Daniel Smith, Bistro 1650’s Ramni Levy and Asia De Cuba’s Chef Todd Wilson. The event had a fabulous turnout and the tastings were superior.

Until we eat again…….