bar agricole

san francisco, ca

website

vanita found this great space for the gang to get together for dinner. it's a beautiful restaurant with wood panels, high ceilings, and a cool atmosphere. originally they were going to place us in the back of the restaurant, which was dark and depressing. instead, we waited an extra half hour and got a better table in the front of the restaurant (vanita, rajesh, and i had to wait for the rest of the gang anyway). next time we'll know to request a front table.

waiting gave us the opportunity to explore their cocktail menu. i had a planter's punch - white agricole rum, lime, grapefruit, and bitters. then a rye gin old fashioned - rye gin, gum syrup, bitters, and two zests. both were excellent, although the old fashioned was quite strong. then i think i had another planter's punch. the rest of the night is a little fuzzy - the anchovies i started with were okay, but needed bread. (what kind of restaurant doesn't give a bread basket?) i ordered an entree too, but i can't quite remember what it was.

b restaurant & bar

oakland, ca

website

b restaurant had that upscale farm-to-table rustic look that usually indicates good food and good drinks. my drink was called "high hopes" (which i thought was good to have before the final day of my exam) with gin, benedictine, grapefruit, and lime. don't worry, i was still able to study after one cocktail. derek's cocktail, called "love on" tasted like a mix of cough syrup and lotion. bad.

the tables were turned when it came to the food. i ordered the fish, served on saffron risotto with squid ink and oyster buerre blanc. sounds delightfully fishy, doesn't it? it wasn't. it was bland. derek, however, really enjoyed his housemade fettucine with rainbow swiss chard, garlic, peas, cranberry beans, and pecorino. we shared the excellent caesar salad with amazing housemade croutons and white spanish anchovies. for dessert, the pecan tart with bourbon whipped cream was delicious. overall, it was kind of hit-or-miss, but the hits were very good.

joya

palo alto, ca

website

one problem with living in the south bay is trying to convince your SF friends to drive an hour down to meet you for dinner. lennon and april graciously made the trek to meet derek and i for dinner at a spanish tapas place a few blocks from our apartment. i loved the vibe of this restaurant - modern interior, fun atmosphere, interesting menu items, and lots of great drinks.

the food itself was just okay. guacamole with taro chips was alright, but i've had better guac (i.e., jinny's homemade guacamole which is amazing). paella was kind of soggy, missing the crispy rice edges that should be a paella requirement. but i loved their homemade white sangria with fruit - delicious. the sangria and the fact that it's walking distance from the apartment (which means we can drink as much sangria as we want without worrying about the drive home) will probably be sufficient for me to come back here, but i'll try something different from the menu.

bohemian

great jones (bowery/ lafayette)

link to yelp

a few months ago, jenny, derek, and i were wandering around noho, trying to find a good spot to eat. along great jones street, we noticed a brightly lit japanese butcher shop. right next to it was a long narrow corridor with a locked door at the end. through the glass door at the end, we saw a woman carrying a pitcher and assumed that it must have been a restaurant. we stepped back out, checked the door, checked above the door, looked around, trying to find the name of the restaurant. we even walked around the block trying to find the entrance before arriving back at strange corridor again. we decided to just give it a go and walked down the corridor. a woman let us in, then asked if we had any reservations. of course we didn't. just then, the chef comes out of the kitchen and introduces himself and his concept. its a "secret" restaurant. there's only 4 tables and a couple of seats at the bar. reservations can only be made if someone passes on the secret phone number to you, and the chef graciously gave us that number.

and so we made reservations a few weeks later, snagging three seats at the bar for a 10 pm reservation. the black miso cod with mushrooms was incredibly buttery and rich. each of us got a kobe burger - solid. my favorite part of the meal, however, was the cocktails. the bartender clearly took a lot of pride in his craft. i had a delicious slushy drink with fresh strawberries, basil, champagne, and rum. derek had a bloody mary with corn-infused vodka, house-blended tomato juice, fresh lemon juice, and fresh oregano and thyme. amazing. at the end of the night (after asking how we found out about the place), the bartender treated derek to a small glass of his home-made limoncello. wow.

apiary

new york, ny

website

third avenue between 10th and 11th has a lot of good restaurants. derek and i have walked this block many times. although apiary has a very cute logo (with little bees), it looks a little out of place in the east village. you think evill, you think cheap eats. this place isn't cheap. it is, however, very good with excellent vegetarian options. (a nice contrast to casa mono).

vanita, jenny, and i had a fun girls night out. this place has excellent cocktails - not too sweet and with a good kick. we all started with the corn veloute (pictured). the chilled corn soup was excellent - with very fresh ingredients. for our entrees, i had the asparagus with mushroom sauce (which was very rich, but delicious), vanita had the veggie platter which was very good, and jenny had the chicken - also very good. i liked the atmosphere of this place, chill but upscale. the waiter was extremely attentive and friendly. great location, great food - we'll be back.

haru

new york, ny

website

everyone needs a local sushi place. in new york, it should be within walking distance, preferably just a few blocks. there should always be a seat available. and the sushi should be reasonably priced (for sushi). although you can't expect the sushi to be flown in daily from the tsukiji market in tokyo, the sushi should always be fresh and tasty.

despite the fact that derek and i have lived in the gramercy/flatiron area for over a year, i have yet to find the perfect local sushi place. instead, i've settled for haru. it tends to be a bit too trendy for me with loud music, an unnecessary waterfall, and expensive rolls. but it does have very good cocktails and unique rolls. my new favorite roll is the double toro roll - yellowtail toro, salmon toro, asparagus, carrot and cucumber. sounds strange to be sure, but it turned out to be a perfect combination of fresh fish and crunchy veggies.

6/19/2010: reposted with photo of giant platter of sushi

barbounia

new york, ny

website

my favorite thing about barbounia is that it's only a short walk away from my apartment. my least favorite thing about barbounia is the fact that derek doesn't like eating there. fortunately jenny was willing to try it - especially when i told her that their mushroom gnocchi is amazing. unfortunately i forgot to take a picture until i was almost done eating, but see the picture for the last few bites of my gnocchi.

the restaurant serves mediterranean cuisine with a pretty good wine list and a very extensive bar menu. every table also gets warm seasoned flatbread with olive oil that is delicious. both jenny and i ordered off the prix fixe menu. i started with the red snapper ceviche (very good) and jenny had the crispy calamari (also very good, although quite filling). the gnocchi is perfectly light and fluffy with a creamy mushroom sauce. yum.

the redhead

new york, ny

website

tonight jenny, r.g. and i managed to escape from our respective offices for a night of good fun, great food, and strong drinks. the redhead is famous for receiving a rave review from frank bruni, his last as a ny times food critic. so we were worried about the wait when we showed up to the tiny restaurant at 8 pm on a thursday night (thursday being the new friday). the hostess said it was a 30-45 minute wait, but it didn't seem that long. it was just enough time for me to finish a redhead fizz (absolut mandarin, elderflower cordial, fresh lemon juice) and start on a revival (beefeater gin, white lillet, triple sec, fresh lemon juice). by the way, i recommend the fizz if you want something light & refreshing and the revival if you want a real drink.

properly liquored up, the girls and i sat down at the corner table (nice) for our meal. which was amazing. even the little dinner roll and soft butter they serve were delicious. i highly recommend starting with the mushroom flatbread and definitely add the sausage if you're a meateater. the consensus at the table was that the best entree was the shrimp with andouille sausage and grits. everyone in the restaurant was ordering the fried chicken, so we tried that too. good, but lacked flavor. the trout was good for a "lighter" entree. no need for dessert - they give complimentary chocolate espresso cookies at the end of the meal. this place definitely deserves the praise that it has received and i look forward to returning.

5/13/2010: updated with better photo of the mushroom flatbread.

'inoteca

new york, ny

website

'inoteca was one of the first small-plates restaurants that i found in the city. the LES original is better than the gramercy version, but tends to be more crowded and lacks the "liquori" drink selection. when we first started going to 'inoteca, the entire menu was in italian and we had to have the waiter explain every single item. the waitstaff was always friendly and helpful, but its an unwieldy system. now they have a translation guide, but it only translates certain terms. oh well. by now, i've been here enough times for me to know what to order.

and that would be - the truffle egg toast with asparagus (pictured). it has declined in quality lately, but it's still good. derek likes the spicy spaghetti with pomodoro. my favorite drink is the luce del sole - grapefruit vodka, aperol, honey, freshly squeezed lemon & orange juices. it's served with these absurdly large ice cubes which i love and which keep the drink icy cold. so good. 'inoteca is reliable and close, but i think alta, sorella, and casellula are better choices for small-plates restaurants.

irving mill

new york, ny

CLOSED

derek and i really like this place. inside, the rustic cabin feel and friendly service (and beer selection!) remind us of the pacific northwest. i'm disappointed that they took the pork toast off the menu - deep fried "toast" made out of pork covered with egg-salad and caviar - so i hope that comes back soon. derek was very impressed with the burger and fries. he said that it tastes almost as good as shake shack's, but has a bigger portion of meat and better gooey cheese.

another reason it doesn't feel like nyc - the space is cavernous and the tables are spread out so there's room to breathe (thus the first-ever stroller-friendly tag). note: there's no t-mobile blackberry service in the back of the restaurant, so it's also a good spot to hide from the powers-that-be.

initially posted 8/1/2009 -- reposted with better photo.

zarela

new york, ny

CLOSED

one of my favorite close-to-work spots and possibly my favorite mexican restaurant in the city. the cuisine is apparently authentic oaxacan, but all i know is that it's yummy. my go-to dish here is the chicken mole enchiladas. best mole ever. note that it appears as an appetizer on the dinner menu but is definitely enough food for an entree. if the waiter balks because of the $15 table minimum, just assure him that you'll make up the difference in alcohol. unfortunately the enchiladas didn't translate well with my blackberry camera so i took a picture of my last flauta and a pile of guac instead. sorry.

i have been here a lot, so i also recommend the flautas, tamales, sangria, watercress salad, and arroz con crema. i don't drink tequila, but my friends enjoy the flavored margaritas. definitely save room for desserts - they're AMAZING. the peanut butter pie, the chocolate pecan pie, and the crepes with caramel sauce are the best, imho.

inside park at st. bart's

new york, ny

website

derek and i took his parents to "inside park" which is the restaurant adjacent to st. bartholomew's church on park avenue. it's a unique setting -- that and the 10% off coupon from derek's firm are the main reasons we went. again, outdoor seating -- that's the theme of the summer, apparently. it's a bit pricey but the food was pretty good. the small plate appetizers were too small and not memorable, but my scallops and derek's rib-eye were very well done.

the waiter informed us that their mulberry and pecan bread pudding was one of the top 3 desserts in new york city. so of course we ordered it -- although the waiter was unable to name the other two desserts on the list. i thought it was very good, but not as good as the a voce doughnuts. derek preferred the bread pudding and ended up eating the entire dessert! so we can add another one to the list of derek-approved desserts.

back forty

new york, ny

website

based on this recommendation from TONY, derek and i walked allll the way to avenue b to try the burger at back forty. i really enjoyed the outdoor seating in the back, although the dead bugs clinging to my blueberry rickey glass (blueberry rum + lime + seltzer = yum) were a little disconcerting. i thought the burger was alright, the proprietary ketchup was pretty good, but the spicy mayo was excellent. derek really liked the burger, thought it had high quality meat, but that it lacked a good sauce.

however - the highlight - as you can see from the photo - was the doughnut dessert! for $7, three freshly cooked doughnuts with blueberry sauce. the sauce was perfect, not too sweet not too tart. the doughnuts were crispy on the outside and steamy and soft on the inside. delicious! notice that derek's fork was in the picture -- a dessert he actually likes!