Tavern Law

1406 12th Ave
Seattle, WA 98122

Occasion: For a city that's known for their gastropubs, we just had to check this one out after dining at Quinn's which was a few blocks away.  Absolutely cute little pub/lounge that makes unique and amazing drinks. 08.29.12

His Moscow Mule and my English Fizz

OMG their drinks are delicious here!  My first time trying a moscow mule and I love it.  It's a better version of a dark and stormy where they use a white liquor instead of a dark liquor. It's made with vodka, lime and ginger beer. Refreshingly good.  I was also very very pleased with my English fizz which was made with an earl grey gin, lemon, honey and soda.  I love earl grey everything and anything and this was definitely the perfect drink for me to end the night with.

Quinn's

1001 E Pike St
Seattle, WA 98122

Occasion: Our first meal after landing in Seattle.  It was late and we were hungry and this was on our list of places to hit up. 08.29.12

Some kind of citrusy cocktail for him and a Dark and Stormy for me.  I love any mixed drink with ginger beer, so the first thing I asked for was a dark and stormy.  It's not quite what I expected; there's something missing from what I'm normally used to.  Perhaps there was too much rum.  Boy was it a strong drink.

SCOTCH EGG

Soft-Boiled Egg, Housemade Sausage, Brussel Sprouts, Mustard Crea

I love eggs and I've always wanted to try a scotch egg.  When I saw this on the menu I just knew I had to try it.  You definitely got to appreciate the way it's made; wrapped with homemade sausage and then deep fried.  Since I have nothing to compare it to, it was pretty good. Now I need to go to Wexler back in San Francisco to compare.

WILD BOAR SLOPPY JOE
Fried Onion & Sage, Grilled Fresno Pepper, Brioche Bun 

Something very unique on the menu that I had to order. No worries, it didn't taste like any sort of wild gamey meat.  The sloppy joe was not overly greasy and pretty tasty.  One thing that turned me off was how spicy it was. The BF loved it though.

CRISPY SKIN HALF CHICKEN

Toasted Brioche, Oyster Mushrooms, Spinach, Chicken Liver Mousse, Madeira Jus 

By the time we landed and checked in to our hotel we were starving. The BF needed to have some meat to satisfy his hunger.  I wouldn't normally order chicken as I've mentioned in previous posts, but I'm so glad we did.  It was so freaking delicious.  The skin was slightly crispy yet the meat inside was tender and juicy.  The sweet madeira jus was the perfect sauce to complement the meat. In my opinion, a very well executed chicken dish.

ROASTED BONE MARROW 

Marrow Bones, red onion marmalade, French Baguette, Parsley Salad 

I love love love bone marrows so I had to get this.  I've had my fair share of bone marrows and I don't think I've ever tried bone marrow from a place that I wasn't happy with. I think this is the first place I had it with the sweet yet tangy pickled red onion marmalade.  It balanced out the richness of the marrow and toned it down a bit.  I thought it was good. 

Jasper's Corner Tap and Kitchen

401 Taylor St
San Francisco, CA 9410

Occasion: Happy hour before dinner at La Folie 06.22.12

Mini burgers

shropshire blue cheese, sesame bun 

I love the idea of mini burgers because it's not as heavy and you don't feel as guilty eating a mini burger than  an actual burger.  The buns were nicely toasted and the meat was so juicy.

Bay Bridge Buck

Hangar One Buddha’s Hand Vodka, strawberries, orgeat, lime, ginger beer. 

I'm always sold when there's ginger beer involved.  It was absolutely delicious. Citrusy, but sweet.  I loved the combination of everything.

Chez Panisse Restaurant

1517 Shattuck Ave
Berkeley, CA 94709

Occasion: Henry booked a celebratory dinner for us in celebration to being done with our paper and the past weeks of no life.  They buy all their ingredients fresh, therefore, the menu is different and pre fixed everyday.  One of the top restaurants in the bay area! Friday date night: June 1, 2012

**As featured on http://www.thedailymeal.com/101-best-restaurants-america#ixzz1wnl5JEQb as one of America's top 5 restaurants.**

Prosciutto with olives

It came out as our free appetizer and it was such a tease.  The prosciutto were thinly sliced, flavorful with the perfect chewy texture.  The olives were not overly salty and paired really well with the prosciutto.  It was a great first dish to warm our palates up.

Red Wine and Complimentary sweet champagne

Perfect compliment to our delicious meal.  I loved the red wine. Don't remember what exactly it was, but it was some kind of pinot noir, a light red, just what I like.

Antipasto of little fish with herb salad and flowering coriander

It may not look aesthetically pleasing, but my goodness were we raving about the flavors.  The little fish reminded me of sardines and prepared in two ways.  There were a couple of pieces that seemed to be deep fried, with a flaky skin, but with super tender meat inside.  There were also a couple of pieces that seemed to be just pan fried.  Everything just tasted so fresh and the herbs used just brought out the flavors of the fish and greens so distinctly.  It was one the of best salads I've had in awhile. 

New garlic and thyme consomme with Parmesan custard

It almost reminds me of how my parents used to make steamed egg, but a lot more flavorful. Don't let it's simplicity fool you because it was absolutely flavorful.  I loved how the flavorful garlic and thyme broth complemented the custard so well.  We were taken away by how something so simple could taste so good.

Spit-roasted Salmon Creek Ranch duck with sage and apricot chutney, tatsoi, new onions braised in the fireplace and fried potatoes

Perfectly crisp potatoes, super tender duck meat that was nice and lean.  Apricot chutney was surprisingly not too overpowering and complemented the duck meat quite well.  It was amazing and super filling.

Blueberry tart with Meyer lemon gelato

Henry was not as big of a fan of this dessert, but I loved it.  It was a little bit tart, perhaps our batch of blueberries weren't as sweet, but the crust was buttery, crumbly, flaky and amazingly delicious. Loved the lemon gelato, as it was the perfect ending to the meal.  I like that the dessert was on the lighter side. I was such a fan!

Town Hall

342 Howard St
San Francisco, CA 94105

Occasion: Celebrating Phil's Birthday! 04.28.12

Dark and Stormy's for everyone
My choice of drink, but they made it super strong here.
Complimentary Hush Puppies

Because we had to wait over an hour to get seated, they served this to us while we were waiting. It had a cornmeal texture and was kind of dry, but I guess it helped with holding down our hunger. Tuna tartar

cornmeal fried green tomatoes, garlic chips, tobasco green onion vinaigrette

BBQ Shrimp with Worcestershire sauce and garlic herb toast

Cornmeal Fried Oysters

with Herbsaint spinach puree, Hobbs bacon and preserved lemon

House smoked St. Louis ribs

Texas Jack BBQ sauce, corn muffin and Stevie's coleslaw

Tender meat with a delicious tangy coleslaw and a moist corn muffin that was so good that I could have had another one.

Bacon wrapped red trout

with red quinoa, asparagus, rhubarb, english peas, pine nuts and meyer lemon

My dish, that I regret getting.  It's kind of a soul food type restaurant and I should have stuck to those types of dishes.  My fish was definitely not what I had expected and was quite disappointing.

Buttermilk fried chicken

ham hock collard greens, smashed potatoes with bacon gravy

Moist and juicy chicken with some tasty mashed potatoes.  I loved this dish and wish I had gotten this instead of the fish.  This dish was the highlight of all the entrees I tried. A great place for fried chicken.

Park Tavern

1652 Stockton St
San Francisco, CA 94133

Occasion: Dinner date night before a big event.  I've been wanting to give this place a try! Too bad it was raining cats and dogs and I had crazy allergies that day.  I think when you're body is feeling down, it's hard to fully be able to enjoy the food.  I had itchy nose and throat with post nasal drip and uncontrollable sneezing.  You try to enjoy a meal when you're feeling miserable.  It's hard, but still grateful. 03.24.12 

Mclaren 

Hendrick's gin, cucumber juice, lemon, ginger beer

With the amount of sneezing and blowing my nose, I needed some kind of alcohol in my system to easy the misery of it all.  I wanted something refreshing and the waitress recommended this.  It was a little bit too citrusy and sour for my liking, but I did enjoy the hint of cucumber flavor in it.  Definitely added a refreshing feel to the drink.  Oh and ginger beer, one of my favorites.

Brussel sprout chips

I've had them before at Marlowe, and based on the menu, I knew these two restaurants had to be related.  I was excited to have these again.  Perhaps it was my taste buds, but I thought it was too salty for my liking, though it was very much enjoyed by my date.

Deviled eggs

with bacon, pickled jalepenos and chives

I could tell that it wasn't freshly made as soon as I bit into it.  I've made enough of these things to be able to tell what's fresh and what's not, so that was a little disappointing.  It was too cold to bite into, I would have liked it more if it was put out for a little bit longer before serving us.  Bacon bit and the chives added a nice flavor, but still not up to par for me. Sorry, it just didn't do for me.

Dungeness crab and Maine lobster bisque

with crisp puff pastry and bronze fennel fronds

Besides the fact that there were remains of crab shell in the bisque, I enjoyed this dish a lot!  Lobster bisque with chunks of dungeness crab meat. I can't say no.  I loved the puff pastry stick it came with, as I dipped it into the soup. Flaky and salty.

Wild Alaskan Halibut, English peas, fiddlehead ferms, crushed potatoes and savory clam parsley broth

With my allergies acting up, I knew I wanted something more simple and comforting.  Our waitress informed us that this was new on the menu.  The halibut was poached and was velvety soft.   Healthy and not too greasy or heavy.  Loved the clams that added flavor to the dish.

 Grilled Pork chop with sauteed baby turnips, caramelized apples, Nueske's bacon and mustard jus

Big generous portion with tender and juicy meat.

Boulevard

1 Mission St
San Francisco, CA 94105

Occasion: Celebratory birthday dinner for Zoe and I. 03.07.12

We had originally planned for dinner to be at Chaya, as Zoe was craving their foie gras dish and I was reminiscing about their chocolate bread pudding (best I've ever had).   We planned to get there right when they open with no reservations. Big mistake because they were closed for a private event.  Luckily, Boulevard was just around the block, so we settled for this restaurant, which has been on my food bucket list. YAY!  We walked in at about 5:30pm. With no reservations. Luckily, the hostess was nice enough to seat our party of 6 near the bar area.  They squished together two small round tables and made it work.  We were stoked.  Service was great and the food was even better. Thank you Chaya for being closed, it was such a blessing in disguise.

**One Michelin Star**
 

ROYAL SWEET SCALLOPS

Cauliflower Spaetzle & Smoky Ham Hock

Orange Cauliflower Florettes, Roasted Bird Jus

Sweet with a hint of smokiness to it.  Delicious. Nice pairing, buttery soft scallops and crunchy cauliflower florettes.

AHI TUNA TARTARE

Hodo Soy Tofu & Pickled Lemon Ginger

Brokaw Avocado & Umeboshi Aioli, Horseradish Rice Cracker

Pickled Plum Wasabi Tobiko

It came out in thin shreds that kind of reminded me of a beet salad.  I almost thought the wrong dish came out, but when I bit into I knew it wasn't beets.  Loved the added crunch of the rice cracker, which looks like lotus root.

 SONOMA FOIE GRAS

Pan seared and cocoa torchon

Wild rosechip and fresh red currant preserve, negroni gel. Sorghum pecan cracker jacks. Maple oat toast

We all love foie gras, so it was a must that we order this.  It came as a duo; torchon and seared. The torchon was creamy and divine.  The seared decadent and delicious. The marriage of flavors here was great and very well enjoyed by all.  Sweet red currant jam with the rich savory foie gras.  We loved using it as a spread on the maple toasted bread.  Roasted pine nuts added flavor and texture to the dish that worked really well.  The marriage of sweet and savory flavors were enjoyed and appreciated. We all need to enjoy this while we still can.

"AURORA" RAVIOLI WITH GOAT CHEESE AND RICOTTA

Artichoke hearts with parsley and thyme, crushed almonds and olio verde olive oil

So freaking delicious. The pungent goat cheese with the slightly sweet ricotta cheese wrapped in a pasta noodle was absolutely divine.  It was so simple, yet so delicious.  Creamy goodness filled my mouth with each bite. I could have had a plate of that all to myself.

NEW ZEALAND BASS- GROUPER

Pan roasted with garlic thyme

Baby collard greens with shallot cream and bacon

French fingerling potatoes "Lyonnaise"

Mustard Seed Vinaigrette, chives and thyme

Buttery soft meat, with a slightly crispy skin. Yum.

CALIFORNIA LAMB PRIME T-BONE

Wood oven roasted on the bone, served off the bone

Carrot Spaetzle and rainbow carrots

Morel mushrooms in sperry shallot cream, baby tokyo turnips

Leek and fennel soubise, erbette chard and roasted lamb jus with savory

Tender meat that was cooked perfectly and went very well with the chewy spaetzle.  Loved that the meat wasn't overly cooked.

BERKSHIRE (KUROBUTA) PORK PRIME RIB CHOP

Wood oven roasted

Fingerling potatoes fondant with cipollini onions, parsley, pistachio, kumquat, currants with sour orange agrodolce broccoli di ciccio and roasted pork jus

I don't usually like ordering pork chops, but they were so good. Meat was juicy and not dry; which is always a concern of mine. I loved that the fingerling potatoes were sliced thinly, almost reminding me of squash. Another well put together dish.

Waterbar

399 The Embarcadero
San Francisco, CA 94105


Occasion: Dinner date with my big sis! 02.29.12


A restaurant with a spectacular view of the Bay Bridge, high ceilings and aquarium columns for us to enjoy while chatting away to delicious seafood, jaw dropping conversations with great company.  It's my third time here and I've enjoyed it each and every time. Great date spot, happy hour spot and a place to catch up with one of your girl friends.

Hearts of Palm

grilled and stuffed with either shrimp or crab (I forget which one) garnished with watercress and slices of grapefruit

I remember thinking the artichoke palms were really tough and just whatever to me.  I didn't really think it was a very well executed dish, though I did enjoy the slices of plump and juicy grapefruits it came with.

Cider braised pork cheeks

soft polenta, poached ranch egg, cipollini agrodolce
sustainably raised at the Hill Family Farm in Pendleton, Oregon 

Delicious dish, with soft, tender and flavorful pork cheeks.  The polenta was delicious and reminded me of something between mashed potatoes and grits.  Soft like mashed potatoes, but not as rich and grainy as grits. Loved the yolk gushing out of the poached egg, which added a creaminess to the dish.  The combination of the green sauce, pork cheeks and carmelized onions were also delightful. Savory mixed with tangy.

1 Dozen Oysters

We both love raw oysters and you just can't go wrong with these.  They were fresh and chilled and I drizzled each one of mine with lemon juice and the vinaigrette. The acidity of the sauce and the lemon really takes away the fishiness of the raw seafood.

Pan Roasted Black Cod

spring garlic jus, grilled baby leeks, romesco sauce

trap caught aboard the “Salmon Stalker” out of San Francisco, California 

Crispy skin with soft meat. So good. Probably my favorite dish of the night.

Hazelnut Profiteroles

fudge sauce, milk chocolate candied hazelnuts 

Like a cream puff, except instead of a cream filling it was an ice cream filling. Fluffy puff pastry with the perfect amount of ice cream drizzled with hot chocolate fudge and little pieces of hazelnuts sprinkled in it.  It was seriously the perfect dessert to end the night, as it was perfectly sweet with nice crunches of hazelnut. I am a fan of anything hazelnut flavored. YUM!

Beautifull

3401 California St
San Francisco, CA 94118

Occasion: Lunch delivered by the bf. Beautiful day out with lunch from Beautifull. 02.16.12

Salmon, green beans and fruit salad

A delicious healthy meal on a nice sunny San Francisco day.  Salmon was moist and flavorful. Green beans garlicy.  Finished off with healthy fruits.  Perfect lunch with my <3

Cheese cake factory

251 Geary Street
San Francisco, CA 94102

Occasion: Saturday night dinner. Night of the CNY parade. Wined down to some Malbec and Chicken Marsala. 02.11.12

Chicken Marsala 

It was so delicious to me.  I've ordered just about every pasta dish there is at Cheese cake factory, but I think this was my first time  having this.  I'm not sure if I was just hungry, or if it was really just that good. I need to eat it again to see how I feel about it.  I just loved the sweetness of the marsala sauce in the pasta.  It was light and not creamy mixed with mushrooms, my favorite. Yum!

Fish & Farm

339 Taylor St
San Francisco, CA 94102

Occasion: Catch up and dinner with the college roomie for Dine about Town. Definitely long over due. 01.25.2012

 Complimentary shot of soup

Not exactly sure what it was, but it was nice to have something warm and free to start the meal off to.

 

Gem Salad

Simple, but delicious and refreshing.  Seemed to be seasoned with some salt and pepper and some kind of vinaigrette.  I also loved the chopped cherry tomatoes.

Salmon entree

Absolutely delicious.  It was cooked perfectly and flavored very well.  The skin was slightly crispy and the meat was soft.  Portion was generous and was laid on a bed of potato chunks and sauteed veggies.  It was delicious and filling.

Chocolate lava cake with vanilla bean ice cream

I am not usually a big fan of chocolate desserts, but this was truly something special.  The cake was warm, moist and filled with molten chocolate.  It was rich and decadent. A bite of the chocolate goodness and a spoonful of the vanilla bean ice cream combined was definitely the perfect marriage, but eating it separately was just as good. One of the best molten lava chocolate cake's I've ever had!

Luce

Inside the St. Regis Hotel

888 Howard St San Francisco, CA 94103

Occasion: Celebrating Fanny's Birthday. December 2011

Tartare of tuna with slow cooked jidori egg in dashi broth with sea urchin and buckwheat 

It was served in a bowl filled with the egg and the broth.  It almost reminded me of an appetizer soup.  The sea urchin was not overpowering and complimented everything really well.  A great choice of appetizer that opened up my appetite and palate.

Sauteed foie gras with chestnut crepe, quince syrup and peppercorn game sauce

I did not order this as an appetizer, but I heard it was just mediocre and nothing to rave about.

Tempura Poke

with Ogo seaweed, Hawaiian sea salt and green onions

This was Vickie's appetizer and it was so freaking amazing!  The tempura seaweed not only adds a nice flavor, but also a little crisp.  The seaweed is wrapped around the poke and it complements each other very well.  Combination of soft and crispy is pretty good.

Grilled Half maine lobster and Hokkaido scallops on potato gnocchi on lobster sauce with forest mushrooms and carmelized cipollini mushrooms

Everything about this dish appealed to me. Lobster, scallops, gnocchi, mushrooms. YUM!  The sauce was just a tad bit too salty for me and I wish there would have been more scallops.  Over all a decent dish filled with color and texture.  It was enjoyable, but not mind blowing.

Broiled Sake American Black Cod and Shrimp Dumplings in Shiso Broth

Shiso broth has never been a favorite of mine, so that was a negative.  However, the fish was super soft and flavorful and melted in my mouth.  Since it was sitting on a bed of the shrimp dumplings, the fish wasn't soaking in the shiso broth (thank goodness).  Shrimp dumplings were not memorable and I probably could have gotten something better at a hole in the wall restaurant in Chinatown.

Trio of tea beignets: earl gray, chai and green tea

All of which was delicious.  It was light and not too rich and it was the perfect way to end our meal.  I am definitely a fan of all these tea flavors as they're not overly sweet. My favorite would have to be the Chai then the earl gray followed by the green tea.