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Style Asian |
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31st Union Restaurant |
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Atlantis Steakhouse- Reno’s Finest Dining We rarely have the opportunity to go to Reno but are always pleasantly surprised by how well we can dine and how much fun we can have! The Atlantis Casino & Resort is only a few miles from Downtown and has a superb Steakhouse which has been open for five years and draws both locals and tourists alike. |
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Anaheim Restaurants 2013… Better than Ever There is always a good reason to visit Anaheim. Most go to Disneyland, a convention or to see the Angels play baseball. For years the dining scene was quite limited. Of course there was Mr. Stox , which unfortunately will be closing soon, but there was never much else that we were aware of. |
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Aubergine Restaurant We love staying in Carmel-By-The-Sea on weekdays when it is a bit quieter and especially on rainy days. The town looks quite quaint and the ocean is rougher and even more beautiful. We had heard that the cuisine at Aubergine which is in the classic L’Auberge Carmel Hotel was exceptional and decided that we had to see for ourselves. |
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Bardot Brasserie French Bistro Cuisine at the Aria Resort in Las Vegas We love Las Vegas, French Bistros and Michael Mina restaurants, so the odds were 100 to 1 that we would dine at Bardot Brasserie, while we were staying at The Aria. |
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Baume Restaurant We dined at and reviewed Baume in Palo Alto about a year ago and predicted that they would get a Michelin Star. We are pleased to report that we were correct. Restaurateur and Executive Chef Bruno Chemel, who has now received stars and accolades from Michelin, The New York Times |
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Bentley’s Restaurant on 27 |
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Blue Restaurant & Bar |
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Brio Tuscan Grille Brio Tuscan Grille Italian Cuisine www.BrioItalian.com is another good choice especially since you can dine outdoors on their patio. We were there on an evening when they had a Salsa band which made it even more fun as many people got up and danced. Once again the drink of choice was a Classic Mojito. They are so refreshing on warm nights. |
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Café Pinot We asked the concierge at our hotel, The Westin Bonaventure, where to have dinner in walking distance? He recommended Café Pinot. It is located in the heart of downtown adjacent to the historic L.A. Central Library overlooking Maguire Gardens. |
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Carmine’s Family Style Italian Restaurant Just off Times Square you’ll find a great Italian restaurant called Carmine’s. Places like this are why we love New York ! They serve Classic Italian cuisine, family style with generous portions that are perfect for sharing. Founded in 1992 by Restaurateur Artie Cutler to be similar to an Italian wedding feast |
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Capo’s Italian Steakhouse & Speakeasy We love Las Vegas and were quite pleased to find great drinks and cuisine on a recent visit both on and off the Strip. We had a fun and truly unique dining experience with one of our best pals off the Strip on W. Sahara at Capo’s Italian Steakhouse & Speakeasy. |
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Carnegie Deli |
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The Capital Grille-Charlotte NC |
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Chandlers Prime Steaks & Seafood We always enjoy going out to dinner on Sunday Night as it is generally not as crowded, gives you something to look forward to and lengthens your weekend. We had heard that Chandlers Prime Steaks & Seafood in Downtown Boise was offering a Prix Fixe three course Prime Rib Dinner for only $27.00 and knew we’d better check it out. |
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Circa 59 Restaurant-Palm Springs We love our short trips to The Desert where we always enjoy the heat, great food and poolside living. We normally stay at small B&Bs but this time decided to stay in the heart of old Palm Springs at The Riviera Resort. It can only be described as an Ultra Chic, glamorous 1960’s inspired Rat Pack swanky Hollywood glam Resort and Hotel. |
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Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse |
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Dining and Drinking around Las Vegas Believe it or not we love Las Vegas and always enjoy our short trips to what used to be known as Sin City. We do appreciate the Celebrity Chef restaurants but try to seek out more reasonable and fun places to eat and drink which is much easier now that the metro area has grown to over 2 million people. |
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Dining in The O.C. We had the opportunity to be in Orange County just south of Los Angeles for a day and made the most of our dining and shopping opportunities. We shopped at the ultra-upscale South Coast Plaza and had some excellent Italian Cuisine at Quattro Q4 Caffe, which is located between Emporio Armani and Jimmy Choo. |
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The Dish The Boise area is truly becoming “Boomtown” as more and more people find out how nice it is the live here in the Treasure Valley. Over the past few years, new restaurants have been opening to accommodate the tastes of both newcomers who are relocating from both the West & East Coast, as well as those who have lived here for their entire lives. |
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Ditka’s Restaurant-Chicago It is impossible to think of the Chicago sports scene without hearing the named Ditka. Mike Ditka, NFL Hall of Famer, feared tight end and Da Coach of Da 1985 World Champion Bears is a Chicago hero and legend. His popular downtown restaurant and bar was packed on the Thursday night that we dined there. |
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Donato
There is no better way to spend the afternoon than to enjoy lunch while dining al fresco in a lovely setting on a warm summer day. Downtown Redwood City has seen a renaissance over the past decade and has turned into an upscale dining and shopping area. |
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Eatz We had a fabulous seared Diver Scallop appetizer which had a lovely presentation, arrived piping hot and was fresh and tender. Next, we had the Grilled Chateau Steak au poivre served with sautéed spinach and garlic pomme frites with sea salt and aioli which was prepared medium rare as ordered and was quite delicious. Sorbet was the perfect light dessert. |
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The Eagle Food & Wine Festival We were pleased to attend the Ninth Annual Eagle Food & Wine Festival which was held at the scenic Banbury Golf Club. The evening event flowed both inside and outside the Clubhouse overlooking the stunning golf course. The weather was absolutely perfect and the colorful sunset provided a beautiful view of nature. |
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Empire Steak House The Empire Steak House which seats 200 was able to offer us a reservation at 8:00 PM. The reviews were good so we took cabs to Midtown and were ready to dine. The Restaurateurs are the Sinanag Brothers who had worked at Peter Luger SteakHouse in Brooklyn for twenty years before being able to realize their dream of opening their own steakhouse. |
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Enrique's Mexican Restaurant We have had lots of fun dining at both the old and new Enrique's Mexican Restaurant in Kuna over the past 5 years and were pleased to attend Enrique's sold out 1st Tequila Tasting Dinner with Herradura. Their Casa 1884 Banquet Room features comfortable soft grey suede chairs and tables built by Enrique. |
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Espetus Churrascaria San Mateo Dining on the Peninsula just got better with the addition of the new stylish Brazilian Steakhouse called Espetus Churrascaria San Mateo. It was recently opened by Grill Master/ Owner Paulo Kleinwho is a native of Novo Humburgo, Brazil, his wife Maris Klein and their partners Eli and Val Nascimento. |
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Faith & Flower-Upscale Dining in Los Angeles We Love L.A. and were pleased to spend a few nights recently downtown at the Omni Hotel. Los Angeles has truly transformed over recent years to become more vibrant than ever. The economy is booming again and the streets were filled with happy people stylishly dressed out for the evening. |
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The French Poodle |
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The Grill at Knob Hill We are often asked what time of year is best to visit Sun Valley. Ski season is always lively, Summer time is beautiful as is the Spring and Fall, so our answer is always anytime! This fall we spent a lovely weekend in Ketchum and Sun Valley for the Trailing of the Sheep Festival. |
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Havana 57 We dined at Havana 57 www.Havana1957.com where we enjoyed Cuban Cuisine. Kiwi Mojitos made with Bacardi Rum, muddled fresh lime, sugar , soda and fresh mint got us started out just right as they were quite refreshing. The Mariquitas which were crispy green Plantains with mojito garlic sauce was a worthy appetizer. |
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Las Vegas Tequila Patrol visits Hecho En Vegas |
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The BLVD We love our trips to L.A especially dining and shopping in Beverly Hills. There is nothing like a late lunch at The BLVD in the Beverly Wilshire Hotel for excellent cuisine and of course people watching. |
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La Bicyclette We always enjoy our trips to Carmel to dine, shop and walk on the beach. Our favorite lunch spot has always been Casanova Restaurant which serves country French & Italian Cuisine, has a World Class Wine Cellar including 10 vintages of Opus One and serves the most fantastic Spinach Gnocchi which we crave! |
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L.A. Prime We have roots in both Los Angeles and New York so the logical place to dine in Los Angeles would be a New York Steakhouse. Add to that, we were staying at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel downtown there was no better choice then go up the enclosed glass elevator from our comfortable 29 th floor room to L.A. Prime on the 35 th floor. |
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LB Steak We were pleased to hear that Restaurateur Roland Passot had recently opened LB Steak MenloPark to serve the Peninsula, as we had enjoyed many fabulous meals at his LB Steak SantanaRow in San Jose. Opening a restaurant these days is generally considered risky business. Even the best business people know that they must be on their game with the right location, menu, execution and chef to be successful. |
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Left Bank There are several quaint towns on the Peninsula that are perfect for shopping and dining. Menlo Park is one such town that has both upscale shops and some excellent restaurants. Left Bank Brasserie is a perfect restaurant for this stylish, yet non pretentious town. They recently brought in Executive Chef Brendy Monsada |
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Ling & Louie’s We enjoy Asian Cuisine and are especially fond of Sushi and Sashimi. We had driven by Ling and Louie’s numerous times and decided that we’d better check it out. The décor is very attractive with a Full Bar area to the right, and a Sushi Bar with a unique glass wall waterfall to the rear. |
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Louis’ Basque Corner-Family Style Dining in Reno Family Style Dining is always intriguing as you dine with people that you don’t know. Tables are filled up, and then the multicourse dinner begins. Louis’ BasqueCorner in Downtown Reno is almost 50 years old and if the walls could talk one would hear how appreciative everyone was with the plentiful food and the random chance to make new friends! |
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Mon Ami Gabi
We love to dine at French Bistros and one of our favorites Mon Ami Gabi is in the Paris Hotel on the Strip in the heart of Las Vegas. The vibe is lively and fun with the sounds of clinking glasses and the laughter all around. |
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Morimoto Las Vegas
We certainly love dining in Las Vegas and find it exciting when Celebrity Chefs open signature restaurants. It feels like every great Chef just has to be in Vegas! We were pleased to see that Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, who we had met a few years earlier at the Flavor Napa Valley tasting event at the C.I.A, had just opened his newest restaurant in the MGM Grand. |
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Moss Beach Distillery The Moss Beach Distillery is located a short drive down the coast from San Francisco, just north of Half Moon Bay off of Highway One. Built in the 1920’s the restaurant is rich in history and folklore, as it was supposedly a Speakeasy during prohibition and some contend that it is haunted as well. |
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The appetizers and small plates were all quite fresh and tasty. We enjoyed the Little Moroccan Cigars Phyllo stuffed with chicken and Crispy Flatbread Zattar and roasted garlic hummus. |
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Mantra Restaurant and Lounge |
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The hearty portion of Steak Frites was very tender. This Grilled hangar steak was topped with herb salsa verde, a side of crisp frites and fronds of fresh Sausalito watercress. We saved room for dessert which was called Chocolate Milk and cookies. |
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Nobhill - Las Vegas The Roast Filet of Beef Rossini with seared Foie Gras and mushroom potato cake and red wine reduction was so tender you would have not believed that it was beef. The Foie Gras melted in your mouth. I can’t remember a better Filet Mignon period. |
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Noe Restaurant - Los Angeles We took a short trip to Los Angeles and decided to stay at The Omni Hotel on Bunker Hill, as it is in the heart of Downtown. We were also interested in dining at their restaurant, Noe which features California Cuisine with French techniques and Japanese influences. We like to dine where we stay as it adds to our enjoyment of the hotel and is also very convenient and extremely relaxing. |
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Palo Alto Grill- Modern Steakhouse Cuisine We always have fun strolling down University Avenue in Palo Alto and popping in the interesting upscale shops and enjoying the diverse dining scene. We were pleased to hear that accomplished Executive Chef Ryan Shelton is now working with popular Restaurateur Bruce Schmidt at the his new restaurant on University Avenue, the Palo Alto Grill. |
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Pappas Bros. Steakhouse A recent business trip brought me to Houston where I had only one night to dine on my own. I asked a friend who travels constantly and is very knowledgeable about restaurants where I should dine in Houston ? He quickly said you MUST go to Pappas Bros. which is a Classic Steakhouse that has been open for over 60 years serving excellent steaks. |
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Dining in Park City, Utah We love to take short weekend get-a-ways and had never been to Park City, Utah and decided it was time to go. The winter snow had receded and the spring weather was just perfect. Park City is a resort destination nestled in the mountains just outside of Salt Lake and the scenery is truly spectacular reminding us of the Alps! |
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Pastis Restaurant- New York City We love to dine out in New York City especially late at night in the Summer time. The streets are filled with happy locals and tourists who really enjoy the great weather and by 9:00 PM it is usually just perfect. Located in Manhattan’s Meat Packing District Restaurateur Keith McNally’s Pastis is a hot spot which features hearty Provencal dishes that you can enjoy while dining either indoors or outdoors. |
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Pebble Beach Food & Wine 2013 One of our favorite annual Food Events now in its sixth year is Pebble Beach Food & Wine which was held April 4-7, 2013. This year featured 300+ Wineries, 75+ Celebrity Chefs, Cooking Demonstrations, Dinners, Celebrity Golf as well as Wine and Spirits Tastings. The weather is always spectacular in April and the coastal views are magnificent at Pebble Beach as well as on our drive from San Francisco. |
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Puerto 27 Peruvian Kitchen &Pisco Bar |
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RA Sushi |
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Riverside Grill and The Sapphire Room Delicious Dinner and Fun Music Venue at the Riverside Hotel!! Boise has a wide variety of restaurants and bars and we are always looking for something new that we haven’t tried yet. We have enjoyed lunch several times outdoors at the Sandbar Patio Bar & Grill at The Riverside Hotel and have also attended events where the food was very good. |
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Roy ’s - Rancho Mirage We’ve always enjoyed our trips to the Palm Springs area for rest, relaxation and of course the excellent dining. We know Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine Restaurants well, as we have met Roy and dined at his restaurants in other cities. We even own one of Roy ’s beautiful cookbooks and have recreated the cuisine fairly successfully but only after several hours of preparation. |
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Saffron Indian Bistro |
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Sippin’ In The City 2017 |
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Savor Idaho 2017 |
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Savor Idaho-2015 We were pleased to attend the Seventh Annual Savor Idaho at the Idaho Botanical Garden in Boise where we sampled some of the best wines from Idaho and some tasty local cuisine! It was a spectacular June day as the weather was 82, sunny and there was a slight breeze which made it perfect for this outdoor event. |
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The Sea We have dined at Alexander’s Steakhouse in San Francisco many times and always enjoyed the steaks and prime rib. They recently opened a seafood restaurant called The Sea by Alexander’sSteakhouse in Palo Alto which features fresh sustainable seafood and wild fish with seasonal, quality ingredients prepared with a Japanese flair. |
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Shokolaat Palo Alto now has a new restaurant to serve the discerning diners on the Penninsula called Shokolaat. It was recently opened by Executive Chef/ Owner Shekoh Moossavi and Pastry Chef/ Owner Mark Ainsworth and serves Contemporary European Cuisine in a modern, sleek and inviting atmosphere. |
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Sippin’ In The City Sippin’ In The City is the type of Wine and Food event that we really like! You get to mingle with just the right amount of people while tasting a limited number of wines and dining on a limited food selection. We particularly enjoyed the Crossing Winery’s 2013 Bubbles SRV and the Williamson Vineyards 2011 Homestead Red SRV. |
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Sparks Steak House We always love to dine at classic Steak Houses. The concept is simple, a great steak and a bottle of Cabernet. Sparks Steak House in New YorkCity was established almost fifty year ago and has been pleasing steak lovers at the current location since 1977. |
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Dining Around Sun Valley We always enjoy our short vacations in Sun Valley where we find some fun and interesting things to do, as well as excellent shopping and dining. A great excuse to go in October is The Trailing of the Sheep with events in Sun Valley, Ketchum and Hailey. We didn’t stay to see the sheep being herded through town on Sunday (we saw it on YouTube) |
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Taste Restaurateur Tracey Berkner and her husband Executive Chef Mark Berkner have a passion for food,feature fresh, seasonal local ingredients and offer a memorable dining experience. The décor is very inviting with red interior, pendant lighting, hardwood floors and nicely spaced tables where you can choose to visit or not. |
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The Plumed Horse The new Plumed Horse is open once again in the quaint and Historic Village of Downtown Saratoga. Their Contemporary California cuisine is prepared using locally sourced, sustainable, seasonal fresh and luxury ingredients along with French techniques. |
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Whitehall 10014 Bar and Ktichen We sat at the bar, ordered some Fanny Bay Oysters on the half shell and enjoyed a few House Concoctions. We enjoyed an Old Speckled Hen Draught Beer and our favorite cocktail which was the classic Vesper made with Cocchi Americano, Plymouth Gin, Vodka, and Lemon Bitters. It’s fun to note, we were told that this classic cocktail was James Bond’s favorite “Martini” which should be shaken, not stirred. |
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Wolfdale's Tahoe City Lake Tahoe is beautiful year round and a great getaway from the Bay Area. Hikers and boaters love it in the spring, summer and fall and skiers love it, as it affords them a spectacular winter wonderland. All visitors and locals have one thing in common and that’s right, they appreciate excellent cuisine. Wolfdale’s in Tahoe City has been open since 1978 serving East-West Fusion Cuisine created by Restaurateur/ Executive Chef Douglas Dale using fresh, seasonal, local ingredients |
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Zoom Roadhouse Grill Zoom Roadhouse Grillis located in the Union Pacific Depot that was originally built in 1886 and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Zoom was opened in 1995 by Robert Redford and the décor features posters of Sundance Film Festivals, as well as photos of actors. |
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TOQUES (MORE REVIEWS) |
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