lavanda

palo alto, ca

website

an extremely varied menu includes mediterranean, italian, and croatian dishes. i've never had croatian food, so i decided to try something from the croatian menu. "sarma" -- stuffed cabbage with minced beef, onions, rice, fresh herbs, served on mashed potatoes. basically - meatballs wrapped in cabbage and doused in tomato sauce. it tasted fine, but it wasn't anything special.

i love cake, so, for dessert i ordered the cake with passionfruit sauce. the cake itself was okay, but it was drenched in overly sweet sauce. the menu had other items that sounded appealing - pastas, steak, schnitzel, and fish. although i didn't have a lot of success with the two dishes that i ordered, lavanda is a nice spot to have a glass of wine with some bar snacks. probably won't be back for dinner, but maybe for wine.

umami burger

san francisco, ca

website

i've wanted an umami burger ever since giada de laurentiis described it as her hometown favorite on the "best thing i ever ate" (video) two years ago. i love umami flavors. i love burgers. it sounded perfect. except it was located in los angeles. but last year, umami burger opened a san francisco outpost, appropriately located in the cow hollow neighborhood. vibe is extremely casual, the waitstaff seems genuinely enthused about the food they serve, and the menu is one of those menus where i just want to order everything on it.

i chose the famous umami burger - shiitake mushroom, caramelized onions, roasted tomato, parmesan crisp, and housemade umami ketchup. (that's the parmesan crisp sticking out in the picture). if you're a fan of sweet & salty - this is the burger for you. incredibly rich flavor - definitely hits all of the umami notes but the sweetness was almost too much. but i would happily eat this burger again. and again. the truffled beet salad was fantastic (i would put that truffled ricotta on everything). derek ordered the manly burger - beer-cheddar cheese, smoked-salt onion strings, and bacon lardons. excellent. there's a nice beer and wine selection and humphry slocombe ice cream sandwiches for dessert. amazing. if only it wasn't so far away from my apartment - i hope they open a south bay location next!

pampas

palo alto, ca

website

this is a favorite special occasion spot for derek and myself. peak times require a reservation, but we prefer to dine early when it's less crowded and everything is fresh. it's a churrascaria, similar to churrascaria plataforma in nyc - a set price for all-you-can-eat. they give you a disc that is green on one side, red on the other. flip it to red while you check out the salad bar (my favorites are the marinated mushrooms and the coconut couscous). flip it to green for servers to come by and slice you a piece of meat. my favorites are the top sirloin, the skirt steak, and the tri-tip. they also bring around filet mignon, lamb, spicy chicken, housemade chorizo, and grilled pineapple.

one of their tricks to keep you from eating too much expensive meat is to put really good sides on your table - gougeres, fried polenta, and fried bananas. the gougeres are amazing, especially fresh out of the oven. pacing yourself is key when you eat here - it helps to order a good bottle of red wine. we like the napa cabernet sauvignon from their wine list. flip the disc to red, take a wine break, maybe even a little conversation with your dining companion, then flip it back to green for more meat.

bon vivant

palo alto, ca

website

bon vivant is a new french restaurant that recently opened in downtown palo alto. the interior is bright and inviting, especially on a sunny day (which is about 90% of the time here in california). derek and i were in the mood for something new and different and decided to try this place. despite the fact that they stop service at 3, the kitchen graciously let us sit and order an appetizer and entrees at 3:15. yes, that's when we eat lunch.

my favorite was the appetizer that we shared - duck rillette, which includes shredded duck, wild arugula, red onion, shaved fennel, and toasted bread. the duck was deliciously fatty, but balanced well with the fresh greens. excellent. the crepes were also quite good - mine was filled with smoked salmon, but the duck rillette was definitely the highlight. overall - pricey, but tasty.

reposado

palo alto, ca

website

reposado is one of our favorite places to eat on university avenue ("the ave"). great raucous atmosphere - lots of people chatting and having a good time. excellent wine list and very good sangria. this is a good place to bring friends to - i brought anthony and his cousin here when they were in town.

my absolute favorite entree is the hanger steak. unfortunately it's not a very photogenic hanger steak, but it's delicious - perfectly grilled and served over an arbol chile demi glace. because i always get the guacamole (not quite spicy enough but perfect if you add their smoky salsa), i can never finish the entire steak. it's fantastic as leftovers, especially over some noodles. also - the chocolate gelato is homemade and amazing, but my favorite part of the dessert are the buttery mexican cookies they serve on the side.

1331 bar & lounge

washington, dc

website

in town for a week of meetings, i managed to escape long enough to have drinks and snacks with anthony at 1331, located inside the marriott near the white house. it was surprisingly spacious and modern for a hotel lounge. instead of booths, the lounge has small couches set up that face eachother, with a coffee table in between. it's a little awkward for eating, but theoretically we were only there for snacks.

but we were hungry, so we ended up ordering grilled vegetables, hummus, bruschetta, and buffalo wings. it didn't sound like a lot at the time, but our little coffee table was overflowing with food. everything was good, the bruschetta was probably my favorite. 1331 also had a decent and reasonably priced list of wines by the glass. overall, a nice quiet spot to hide from the summer DC heat and catch up with a friend.

bistro le clochard

curacao

website

curacao doesn't have that many fancy restaurants. remember that couple that i mentioned in the pane e vino post? well, we saw them again at pampus the following night (where i forgot to take a picture). then we saw them AGAIN at bistro le clochard on the next night! turns out, one of the guys is originally from curacao but studied hospitality abroad and had returned to take his partner to some of the best restaurants in curacao.

bistro le clochard is definitely one of the best - everyone at the resort recommended it and it's been around since the 1970s. the restaurant is located inside an old fort from the 1800s and includes includes a little outdoor ledge on the water. we sat at a corner of the ledge, where we could look up at the old fort looming above us and out into the ocean to watch ships passing the island. great romantic atmosphere, solid french cuisine, excellent wine, and great steaks.

village bistro

san jose, ca

website

santana row is a massive outdoor shopping complex located in san jose, california. in addition to the shopping (standard mall fare), there are hotels, spas, restaurants, and even apartment complexes. although derek remarked that living above a shopping mall would be like living in disneyland, removed from reality. palo alto gets pretty sleepy at night, but santana row is always buzzing. village bistro, which refers to itself as a "california bistro" did not look inviting. it looked fancy and stuffy. but once inside, the atmosphere was fun, light, and vibrant.

too bad the picture is terrible, because the food was amazing, some of the best that we've had since we moved to california. fantastic cocktails. in typical california style, all of the ingredients are local and sustainable. i had wild salmon - perfectly cooked, buttery and delicious. the sauce was spectacular. derek ordered the burger (of course) - he loved it. we went back again and ate outside on a sunny day and had fantastic make-it-yourself bruschetta. they serve crunchy grilled crostini with a selection of housemade ricotta, roasted garlic, tomato marmalade, and candied olives. mmmm.

la toque

napa, ca

website

sorry for the lapse in blogging, things have been very busy, but now the big event is over and i will try to catch up with the backlog so that my new posts will be more timely. the lag has caused me to forget many details about prior meals. i'll skip the meals where i can't even remember which restaurant we ate at. hopefully moving forward i'll be able to post right after the meal rather than months later and give my devoted reader(s) more accurate information.

derek and i decided to take advantage of our new norcal locale and venture up to napa valley to check out what the fuss is about. unfortunately we also decided to stop by the car dealership while we were up there and ended up spending most of the weekend getting a new car rather than touring wineries. we did make it to la toque, however, which is a michelin star restaurant. derek and i were missing the fancy new york food scene and thought we could relive the experience at la toque. unfortunately, the only thing amazing at la toque were the desserts. the panna cotta was incredibly light - somehow floral and fruity all at once. the food was good, but not worth the price. the sommelier was engaging and gave us intriguing backstories on each of the wine pairings, but one of the wines was undrinkable. overall, not worth the trek but perhaps it was an off-night.

mayfield bakery & cafe

palo alto, ca

website

i'm sure you're starting to see a pattern in my south bay posts. lowering my dining expectations. hampered by geographical limitations. being surprised when food is actually good. having wine with every possible meal. well, here's another one. derek and i had been to calafia way too many times at this point, so we decided to try its neighbor - mayfield bakery & cafe.

the waitress really knew her wines and recommended an excellent white to go with my roast chicken. i was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the chicken - juicy meat, crispy skin, and a tasty risotto on the side. as we were leaving, the manager thanked us for coming, then called us over to the corner of the restaurant. there, he invited us to choose a loaf of bread from their basket. maybe they had leftover bread? maybe we looked like we needed more sustenance? i chose a large round loaf of olive bread. since we didn't have a toaster yet, i heated up slices in a pan and drizzled a little olive oil over them. a delicious snack that lasted us all week.

howie's artisan pizza

palo alto, ca

website

finally, good thin-crust pizza! town & country village is a very posh strip mall (somewhere along the lines of seattle's u-village) with some excellent eats, like calafia. howie's serves a really good neapolitan style pizza. neapolitan means a thin, bendable, crust, hopefully with just the right amount of char and chew. i could have used a little bit more char on our pizza, but it's probably best to minimize the carcinogens.

howie's also has an excellent wine list with helpful descriptions of their wine. i'm really getting the hang of this wine + pizza thing. pictured are the spicy meatballs, which were good, but not actually spicy. do people in the south bay have an aversion of spice? i'm not sure what's going on here. i may have to start storing hot sauce in my purse.

vero

palo alto, ca

website

oh vero. the first time i walked by your white table-clothed, dimly lit restaurant, you reminded me of the amazing italian restaurants that i used to frequent in manhattan. i dragged derek through your doors, desperate for a bowl of classic linguine con vongole. and you dazzled with freshly steamed clams, in a winey buttery sauce, perfectly al dente pasta, and an unexpected hint of fire from calabrese chili peppers. service left much to be desired, but that only heightened the manhattan-like experience. i was thrilled and convinced that you would be a frequent destination.

i similarly dragged my dear friends vanita and tina on a second occasion, expecting them to be similarly dazzled. oh vero. how disappointed we were. tina and i ordered the linguine con vongole. clams were filled with sand. the sauce was okay, but the calabrese peppers (which really made the dish) were missing. we vacillated over whether or not to complain, but i had such high hopes i wanted to give you a chance to redeem yourself. we discussed whether or not the peppers were supposed to be there. you insisted that they weren't. we insisted they did. you finally checked the menu and realized they were and apologized for the "new" chef, handing me a pepper on a plate. sigh.

patxi's pizza

palo alto, ca

website

i miss new york city pizza. not only are there fantastic sit-down pizza joints like batali's otto, angelo's, or lombardi's, but nearly any slice joint is going to have a good slice of thin crust, great sauce, perfect cheesiness. i have yet to find to a good new york style spot in palo alto, but i have found a great spot for chicago style pizza. i mean, it's no giordano's, but i have to work with certain geographical limitations.

patxi's does do chicago-style well, good cheese, good sauce, nice buttery crust. one of my favorite things about patxi's (and one benefit to my geographical limitations) is that the wine list is fantastic. i usually have a soda with my pizza, but i'm starting to get used to the amazing wines that you find in every restaurant in the bay area. patxi's wine menu has descriptions of flavors, notes, etc. so a vino novice like me can find something i'll like. wine with pizza -- try it!

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.

los altos grill

los altos, ca

website

we were at the at&t store in mountain view, buying derek a new iphone (hey, he's in the valley now - no more blackberry for him). while i waited for his iphone to get set-up, i decided to find a nearby spot for dinner with non-asian food. using one of the sample ipad's yelp app, i searched for "american" food near mountain view, california. nothing. the closest spot was in los altos, so we decided to drive out there and check it out.

turns out it's a hillstone restaurant! derek and i frequently visited houston's, another hillstone restaurant, in manhattan, so it was a little piece of home here in the south bay. very similar menu. with one big difference. their "famous cornbread in a skillet." sounds simple, but it's amazing. moist, crunchy, buttery, and spicy goodness. derek, not normally a cornbread eater, devoured half of the massive skillet of cornbread. delicious. everything else was standard houston's fare - great ribs, burgers, french fries. if only it wasn't all the way in los altos ...

syrah bistro

santa rosa, ca

website

derek and i decided to spend the night in napa valley, rather than driving through the night to get to the south bay. i IM'd danielle on my blackberry and she found us a great hotel in the area - the hyatt vineyard creek hotel and spa in santa rosa. perfect location - just off the 101 and within walking distance of the historic railroad square area with shops and restaurants. after 2 days of driving, it was nice just to get out and walk. the concierge at the hotel recommended the syrah bistro, a cute but small restaurant a few blocks away. the restaurant was a little cramped, so when the hostess asked if we wanted to be seated outside, we gladly said yes. but turns out that "outside" is really a hallway between the restaurant and a hair salon.

it was a little odd to be seated next to a display of hair products, but the food and wine made up for it. derek and i shared a terrific bottle of wine, which was from a nearby winery - a 2008 desmond pinot noir. we started with the wild arugula and escarole salad - very good, derek especially liked the crispy shallots and i liked the white anchovy on top. i ordered the pan roasted duck breast, with risotto style farro, oregon chanterelles, and black garlic-sour cherry jus. delicious. definitely a great little spot if you ever find yourself in santa rosa.

st. michael's alley

palo alto, ca

website

the best part of this restaurant is its proximity to vanita's apt. vanita and i might have had half a bottle of wine between the two of us before reaching the restaurant. we might have put the cork back in it and carried it with us in the restaurant. hey, at least we weren't drinking straight from the bottle, okay? tina eventually joined us and another excellent bottle was ordered by vanita. which we didn't finish, but did take with us after dinner. ah, california.

the outdoor seating looked particularly inviting, but it was too chilly. next time, when its warmer, we'll get a table out there because the three of us + two bottles of wine = a bit of a ruckus. the food was hit or miss. vanita has had some excellent dishes there, but unfortunately my entree choice was a miss. my "new york" steak was full of gristle and doused in an unnecessary veal reduction. left me longing for a real new york strip steak. dessert, however, was a hit. wonderfully moist pumpkin spice cake soaked in caramel sauce. delicious.

bar pilar

washington, dc

website

my meeting ended up getting extended to a second day so i had time for a quick late night snack with anthony. we went to bar pilar, a drinking spot in his hood. i had an excellent glass of wine and anthony enjoyed his cocktail. he had already eaten, so i just ordered a couple of tapas for my meal - arugula salad, sausage, and octopus.

my favorite was the grilled octopus (pictured). it's hard to cook octopus correctly, but this was done perfectly. just the right amount of char on it, the texture was chewy and tender, and it had a hint of spice from the smoked paprika. delicious. this is definitely a good spot for some late night snacks and drinks.

gemma

bowery & bond

link to yelp

jenny, derek, and i were wandering around noho looking for a good spot to try for dinner. walking along bond street, we noticed a corner restaurant lined with christmas lights and what looked like a nice outdoor deck. turns out it was gemma, a restaurant that jenny heard was good. in fact, it was great. it was a lovely space - lots of tables, nice outdoor seating. it was a cozy italian hideaway in a rather industrial-looking neighborhood.

the bread basket was some of the most delicious focaccia bread i've had in a while, served with excellent olive oil for dipping. we ordered appetizers to share - a cheese plate with fresh grapes and polenta fries. my favorite cheese was the caciotta al tartufo - flavored with black truffles. for the entrees, jenny had pasta with zucchini and shrimp, while derek had the homemade pappardelle with oxtail ragu - both of which were far superior to my boring scallops. next time i'll stick with the pasta.

stella manhattan bistro

front (beekman/ peck slip)

website

derek and i braved the throngs of tourists at south street seaport on saturday. we avoided the tourist traps at the actual seaport and walked along front street trying to decide which of the restaurants to try. derek had been here before for work and had enjoyed the charcuterie plate, so we decided to stop in stella.

excellent wine by the glass and the charcuterie plate was pretty good too. derek's favorites were the sliced turkey and the pate. service was a little slow, but the staff was friendly. our entrees, however, were unfortunately below par. so if you're in the area, stop by for some wine, cheese, and meats, but not for dinner.