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Alexander’s Steakhouse We had a fabulous dining experience at Alexander’s Steakhouse when they opened last fall and were glad to hear that they were starting a Sunday Night Prime Rib Special for $35.00. The Special includes a Hamachi shot, Prime Rib and one side dish. |
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Bob's Steak and Chop House The Main Attractions, of course are the Steaks. Our favorite was the Prime Filet Mignon. This fabulous filet was perfectly prepared medium rare as ordered. It was served with a huge glazed carrot and Skillet fried potatoes topped with sautéed onions and peppercorn gravy. |
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Bocadillos Tapas and Wine Bar |
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Bistro Central Parc We always enjoy being one of the first to try a new restaurant, so we can report on it to our readers. Bistro Central Parc is a new Bistro in San Francisco that serves tasty French fare with California influences made with fresh, seasonal, locally sourced sustainable raised and organic ingredients. |
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Boulevard Each course was equally excellent beginning with a Savory Mixed Herb & Goat Cheese Sorbet followed by luscious Tomato & Strawberry Gazpacho. A unique Watercress Salad with Creamy Bacon & 62.5 Egg was our next treat. |
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Cadillac Bar & Grill The Cadillac Bar & Grill is back in San Francisco. Most of the new Mid-Market crowd would be perplexed since they never knew it was gone. Now located on 9th Street in the Twitter Building, the roots go back to the Cadillac Bar which started in 1926 in Nuevo Loredo, Mexico but we knew it for the nearly two decade run pre Y2K in San Francisco. |
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Castagna San Francisco has always been a City people from around the world come to visit and many inevitably decide to make their home. The City’s captivating style of architecture, fabulous food and broad range of activities casts a love spell that truly lasts. The influx of cultures also makes it an ever changing and growing city. |
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Chez Maman West |
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Chez Papa Bistrot We have dined at Chez Papa many times and always feel right at home. Actually, when asked to recommend an intimate fun restaurant in San Francisco we normally say “Try Chez Papa on Potrero Hill.” It is the quintessential French bistro with a casual interior, comfortable red chairs and metal tables |
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Chez Papa Resto We have dined at Chez Papa Resto on Mint Plaza in San Francisco many times over the last few years and have always enjoyed the excellent French cuisine, stylish décor which includes Murano Glass chandeliers and chic black color scheme and the upbeat fun City atmosphere. |
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Crab House at PIER 39 – Killer Crab in San Francisco We are very fortunate to live in the San Francisco Bay Area where Dungeness Crab is a staple. It is a symbol of the Golden Gate fishing industry and is caught seasonally in the nearby Pacific Ocean as well as all year long along the coast from Southern California to Alaska. We needed a crab fix and decided it was time to venture to the Crab House at PIER 39 which is on the upper level with great views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay. |
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Cortez Restaurant |
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The Dorian We love Chestnut Street in San Francisco’s hip Marina District. The restaurants and shops are always very active and the people watching is great. We recently learned that the popular Dorian restaurant at the corner of Chestnut and Fillmore had added Brunch so we knew we’d better check it out! |
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Dobbs Ferry |
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E and O Trading Company The décor recreates a trading warehouse in South East Asia at the turn of the Twentieth Century with an open kitchen and a 35 foot Dragon Bar on the first floor blending Asian and European feel and decor. We soon found that the Cuisine rivaled the décor. |
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The Epic Roasthouse which has been open for just over a year now has great steaks and offers even more! Restaurateur Pat Kuleto, Chef Jan Birnbaum and Managing Partner Pete Sittnick have assembled a winning team in this fabulous location which was built for more than $10 million. |
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Espetus -Churrascaria |
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Fog City-Excellent New American Cuisine in San Francisco Fog City has been a Dining Icon on the Embarcadero in San Francisco for more than 25 years but as with all great restaurants it was time for an update. The “Diner” was gutted and a new concept was created. The décor is welcoming with an Oval Bar in the center, an Exhibition Kitchen with Wood Burning Fire Pit and Oven up front, new booths, and both regular and high tables for drinks and dining. Every seat has big picture window views of the Embarcadero and Battery Streets. |
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Fog Harbor Fish House Fall is a great time of year to enjoy the best that San Francisco has to offer. The Summer crowds of cold tourists in shorts with recently purchased Alcatraz sweat shirts are gone, as are this year’s hard partying America’s Cup attendees. So we thought it was time to enjoy what the tourists have been enjoying! We hadn’t dined at PIERS 39 in years and decided it was time to try Fog Harbor Fish House. |
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Fog City Diner A Classy Classic American Diner Small Plates:Crab Cakes with Sherry- Cayenne Mayonnaise-Spicy and fluffy, you can’t find better Crab Cakes anywhere; we also enjoyed the side of Black – Eyed Beans. |
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Garcon! We knew that we had to try the French Onion Soup made with Gruyere, a little Cajun spice and croutons. It was divine! The Beet Salad with endive, watercress goat cheese fondue, crispy shallots and sherry vinaigrette was refreshing and one of our favorites. |
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Home Restaurant The Deviled Eggs with honey cured ham, red peppers, Dijon mustard, chives, parsley and aioli are also delicious, fresh and light. You must try the soups. We loved the Italian Butter Bean Soup with bacon and sausage in a tomato broth! The cornbread with honey butter was very light and the best we have ever tasted. |
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Harris’ The San Francisco Steakhouse and Seafood Restaurant Harris’ on Van Ness Avenue has gained a reputation as an institution since 1984 where you can find anything from Mid-Western Corn Fed 21 –Day Dry-Aged Steak to fantastic Maine Lobster. |
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House of Prime Rib The House of Prime Rib is famous for carving your Roast Prime Rib of Beef, to your specifications from a unique stainless steel serving cart at your table. Over 150,000 meals are served each year with the happy diners eating over 225,000 pounds of the best Prime Rib you’ve ever tasted! |
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Hyatt Regency Eclipse Restaurant |
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Ironside- West Coast BBQ in San Francisco Baseball season is coming up so we thought we’d better do some recon to see where we could eat or get take out before a game. We had heard that Ironside which is located in the Historic Chronicle Books Building right near A T & T Park in San Francisco’s South Beach/SOMA neighborhood had just updated their dinner menu and decided to check it out. |
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Il Fornaio |
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Original Joe’s -
Fine Italian Dining & Cocktails |
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We loved the Fresh Baked Breads and the breadsticks which accompanied the Salami Mista which are House Cured Meats. We also enjoyed the Carpaccio di Tonno which was tasty thinly sliced Ahi tuna with horseradish aioli and Sausalito Springs watercress. |
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La Mar -Weekend Brunch-PeruvianCuisine |
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Le Colonial We have enjoyed dining at Le Colonial on Cosmo Place many times over the past twelve years. So, we were quite pleased to hear that they started to serve Weekend Brunch. Their A La Carte menu created by Executive Chef Joe Villanueva features contemporary twists on traditional Vietnamese French Cuisine. |
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Local Kitchen &Wine Merchant We ordered The Tasting Flight of European Rieslings and were pleased to see that they use Riedel wine glasses which make a big difference in the taste of wines. . We started out by ordering a delicious Pear and Cheese salad that consisted of Caramelized Bosc pears and local Point Reyes Blue Cheese with Black Pepper Gastrique. |
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La Provence Cuisine Soleil |
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You can also tell how good a French bistro is by way they prepare Mussels. Here they lived up to our expectations, they were perfectly cooked and the broth of wine, butter and garlic was fabulous. The entrée that we loved was the Filet of Beef Rossini topped with Foie Gras and Truffle Oil.
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Le P’tit Laurent Bistro Francais
Country Style French Cuisine We love to venture into the different sweet neighborhoods of San Francisco and invariable find restaurants that are gems! We heard from friends that there was a French Bistro in Glen Park that we had to try. When asked about our favorite type of restaurant, we always say French Bistro and Le P’tit Laurent is the perfect example.
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Le Soleil Restaurant San Francisco has great neighborhoods like Clement Street in the Inner Richmond. The diversity of people, shops and restaurants makes it very special. Le Soleil is part of this special culture as they have been on Clement for twenty years. Owner/Chef Dennis Wong, known for creating innovative dishes with balanced and diverse flavors using authentic and unique ingredients, has updated his New Vietnamese Cuisine menu so we were excited to see it. |
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MacArthur Park Real American Food! World Famous MacArthur Park Oakwood BBQ Baby Back Ribs- slowly smoked to perfection grilled over mesquite and served with housemade coleslaw, French fries and "Mac Park" barbecue sauce. |
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Machka Restaurant |
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Marchesi De’ Frescobaldi - 700 Years of Italian Wine Making |
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Market & Rye Market & Rye opened in 2012 and quickly became known as a great casual San Francisco Potrero Hill neighborhood restaurant, which serves tasty and reasonably priced Breakfast, Lunch and Weekend Brunch. Beer and Wine are also available all day at very reasonable prices, as well. As you enter, you see that you order at the Register. |
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Michael Bauer - Too Much Power The announcement that Michael Bauer the San Francisco Chronicle's Restaurant Critic, is retired sent cheers and head scratching throughout the Restaurant and Foodie Communities. Those who mortgaged their homes to go to Culinary School to open a restaurant preparing their grandmother's recipes, only to be trashed before they were even able to get in a “groove” cheered! |
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Moussy’s Moussy’s is a new friendly casual San Francisco French Restaurant that was named after the small village in the Champagne region of France. It is located on Bush near Polk, just downstairs from The Alliance Francaise which has French classes and events. The atmosphere is warm and inviting in this subterranean cool location! |
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McCormick & Kuleto’s We learned that all of their salmon was flown in on ice daily from Alaska and that there are five species of wild Salmon. We also learned that salmon can be prepared grilled, broiled, poached, baked, smoked or sautéed. It is filled with Omega 3 Fatty Acids which makes it a heart healthy meal and that the high oil content contributes to the rich and intense flavors. |
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Metro Kathmandu San Francisco has some great casual and friendly neighborhood restaurants. We found one in the Lower Haight called Metro Kathmandu. They serve excellent Nepalese cuisine with an Indian influence prepared by their talented Executive Chef Vishnu Chuddar. |
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Mexico DF When it’s time for a Margarita and some authentic Mexican Cuisine in an upbeat lively and friendly atmosphere Mexico DF is the place to be. Start with their Margarita Tepito on the rocks with 100% Agaves Tequila but beware that one might not be enough as they are habit forming. |
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MoMo’s A Friendly Grill Balsamic Braised Beef Short Ribs with Garlic Mashed Potatoes-This hearty dish is prepared to perfection….the meat was so tender and flavorful. Great comfort food and our favorite entrée! |
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Nob Hill Grille One of the desserts that we loved was Peaches and Cream Crepes which consisted of bourbon macerated peaches with hand whipped cream in homemade sweet crepes. It was light and delicious and not too sweet. The team of Fabio Stefani, Rich Paez and Executive Chef Heli Samaniego has created a focused menu with something for everyone. |
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Netties Crab Shack To start you must try the fresh, just shucked Raw Oysters which come with a tasty light minuette sauce. Next we had a near perfect New England clam chowder, with smoked bacon. It was lighter than most and we loved the taste and consistency. |
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Oola Restaurant & Bar Our first course was the Caesar Salad with Boquerones. The White large anchovy and the fabulous lemon anchovy dressing, basil and parmesan cheese made it a superior salad. Next, we had an order of Hamma Hamma and Kumamoto Oysters on the half shell which were fresh and tasty. |
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Origen Origen is a new Berkeley restaurant on Telegraph Avenue not far from Ashby. It has a Farm to Fork Mission bringing what is fresh in the markets daily... to the table that night. The interior décor features a sleek marble topped bar, interesting Botanical Prints, a semi open kitchen with an In-Kitchen Chef’s Table and lovely pendant lighting. |
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Osso Steakhouse- Sophisticated San Francisco Dining. It is always exciting to see a new sophisticated restaurant open in San Francisco especially a Steakhouse that features 4-6 week Dry Aged Prime Beef Bone-In (Osso) Steaks. Osso Steakhouse whichrecently opened on Nob Hill in Gramercy Towers has both an elegant Art Deco interior and a lovely view of Grace Cathedral and the California Street Cable Cars. |
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Ozumo Restaurant It’s hard to believe that Ozumo in San Francisco has been open for ten years. We have dined there numerous times enjoying the Japanese cuisine and were interested to see what changes may have occurred as they recently appointed a new chef. Executive Chef Alex Morgan is a graduate of The California Culinary Academy’s Le Cordon Bleu program |
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Pasion It is always fun dining out on warm San Francisco nights, especially in October. Everyone was so happy that the Giants were in the Playoffs and Won the World Series! the 49ers were winning and a few even remembered that it was the 23rd. Anniversary of The Loma Prieta Earthquake. |
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Piperade |
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Pres a Vi We started out with a delicious Beet Salad with red and yellow beets, baby arugula, Cypress Grove “Bermuda Triangle” chevre and excellent sherry vinaigrette. Next, we enjoyed the soup of the day which was a delicious Sweet Corn Bisque. A favorite appetizer that was just as good as on our previous visit was the steamed Duck Buns with Peking duck confit, hoisin, watercress and cilantro. |
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Palio D’Asti It’s hard to believe that Palio D’Asti has been open for 20 years! It seems like yesterday that we had lunch there with our friend Alex. Located in San Francisco ’s Financial District, the restaurant features an interesting décor including fabulous posters, Tuscan plaster, metal sculptures and stone pillars. |
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Papito Restaurant Potrero Hill continues to add interesting affordable restaurants and is a fun dining destination. Papito which opened recently serves Organic Mexican Cuisine made with fresh local ingredients and was the perfect casual restaurant for dining outside on a warm San Francisco night. |
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Paragon American Brasserie-Restaurant & Bar King Salmon Roasted With Charmoula With a Ragout of White Beans, Calamari and Manila Clams. The clams were stacked on top of the lucious King salmon. Just Great. |
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The Plant Cafe Organic Chef/Owner Khai Duong who is also the Executive Chef at Ana Mandara and graduated first in his class from the Le Cordon Bleu Academie De Paris creates the Pho and other dishes from family recipes. The décor features a 1960’s era Pho Street Cart adorned with colorful depictions of Vietnamese mythology, bird cages and scenes of Vietnam on the walls. |
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Pot de Pho Chef/Owner Khai Duong who is also the Executive Chef at Ana Mandara and graduated first in his class from the Le Cordon Bleu Academie De Paris creates the Pho and other dishes from family recipes. The décor features a 1960’s era Pho Street Cart adorned with colorful depictions of Vietnamese mythology, bird cages and scenes of Vietnam on the walls. |
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Pete’s Tavern Pete’s Tavern which is directly across from A T & T Park is San Francisco’s new favorite Sports Bar. Peter Osborne who also owns Momo’s right down the street just opened this classic Tavern that combines reasonably priced food and a fun atmosphere. |
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Rosa Mexicano We have always enjoyed Mexican Cuisine and of course Tequila. So, we were very interested when we learned that Rosa Mexicano had opened a new location in San Francisco. Rosa Mexicanofirst opened in New York in 1984 and they now have locations around the globe serving farm fresh traditional and contemporary Mexican food, using seasonal fresh ingredients from local purveyors. |
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Rocketfish The Potrero Hill neighborhood continues to be one of the most popular dining areas in the City. It is very centrally located to SOMA and AT&T Park plus they enjoy some of the best weather in The City. The newest restaurant is Rocketfish which features international Tapas and Sushi using seasonally fresh and locally sourced ingredients. |
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Rouge et Blanc |
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Roy’s Restaurant |
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Scoma’s Restaurant Fisherman’s Wharf We love to dine at trendy, upscale, nouvelle cuisine restaurants in San Francisco but we also have a soft spot in our hearts for the old school “tried and true” as well. Scoma’s Restaurant has been serving fresh right off the boat seafood for almost 50 years at Fisherman’s Wharf. |
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Shanghai Restaurant We are always intrigued when a new restaurant opens in San Francisco. Shanghai recently opened on upper Market Street and we knew we had to try it. They feature authentic Shanghainese Cuisine prepared with locally sourced and seasonal ingredients. As we entered, we were impressed by the elegant decor of the dining room which included very attractive Bar as the centerpiece. |
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Sauce Restaurant San Francisco is known for interesting urban neighborhoods where you can find great restaurants. One such area is Hayes Valley , where we recently dined at Sauce Restaurant which has been open since 2004. Executive Chef Ben Paula serves innovative American Cuisine made with fresh, local and sustainable ingredients. |
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San Francisco Chefs 2013 - Celebrating Bay Area Cuisine It’s been quite interesting to see the evolution of SF Chefs, since it first began five years ago. It has always been well produced and allowed the “Foodie” Public to have access to great Chefs, Cuisine, Wine and Cocktails, as well as allowing the Food industry to celebrate the San Francisco Culinary scene. Now, there are many more events and dinners throughout the year but the highlight is still The Grand Tasting Tent on Union Square. |
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SF Chefs 2012 The tent was up in Union Square and the Chefs had prepared fabulous tastes. The Wine was being poured and this year the Cocktails were flowing. For the fourth year in a row San Francisco shined! As advertised there was Tasting, Pairing, Mixing, and Engaging as thousands celebrated local flair & regional flavor in the epicenter of culinary innovation in San Francisco. |
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SF Chefs 2011 There were five Charities that benefited from the proceeds including Meals on Wheels, SF Food Bank, Open Hand, Feeding America and GGNRA Scholarship Foundation. The festivities started on Thursday night with Chef and TV personality Tyler Florence as M.C. for the ribbon cutting ceremony with San Francisco’s Mayor Gavin Newsom. |
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SF Chefs. Food. Wine There were five Charities that benefited from the proceeds including Meals on Wheels, SF Food Bank, Open Hand, Feeding America and GGNRA Scholarship Foundation. The festivities started on Thursday night with Chef and TV personality Tyler Florence as M.C. for the ribbon cutting ceremony with San Francisco’s Mayor Gavin Newsom. |
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Skool Restaurant Skool Restaurant and Bar is now almost two years old and has been a favorite of ours since it opened. We just learned that Restaurateur Andy Mirabell and Executive Chef Toshihiro Nagano had added some new Winter Menu items and were excited about trying them! We have dined at this “Hip” Design District restaurant many times and have always enjoyed their fish focused International Cuisine with Japanese flair, which is prepared using fresh, seasonal, locally sourced, sustainably raised and organic ingredients. |
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Shabuway |
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Blowfish Sushi To Die For has been open for over 15 years in San Francisco serving Japanese Fusion Cuisine with European and California influences. Executive Chef Ritsuo Tsuchida who is originally from Japan, recently saw the palates of his customers start to change and decided to revise the menu keeping “Favorites” but adding new menu items to stay ahead of the curve. |
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Troya |
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Verbena Restaurant-Fine California Cuisine in San Francisco The Restaurant Business is thriving in the San Francisco Bay Area and the trend is for successful and talented Chefs to open second locations. Executive Chef SeanBaker, who was Esquire Magazine’s 2010 Chef of the Year, opened a very successful vegetarian, vegan, omnivore restaurant called Gather in Berkeley near U.C. Berkeley about four years ago. Now, he has just opened Verbena in San Francisco in the Russian Hill neighborhood on Polk Street across from the deco Alhambra Theatre. |
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Unicorn Pan Asian Cuisine is all the rage in San Francisco and we were happy to dine at a new restaurant called Unicorn in the Financial District that was opened recently by Proprietor Kiet Troung who is originally from Saigon, Vietnam. |
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Urban Tavern
Happy Fourth Birthday to Urban Tavern in San Francisco!! We’ve been there many times to dine and for cocktails and were pleased to hear that they had just added a weekend Brunch Menu which is available from 11:30 A.M. until 2:30 P.M. on Saturdays and Sundays. |
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Waterbar Restaurateur Pat Kuleto and Executive Chef Mark Franz created this wonderful restaurant with its modern playful décor including huge fish tanks in the dining room and casual outdoor patio dining. Both indoor and outdoor dining allows you to enjoy watching the world go by including sailboats, joggers, walkers, skaters and incredible Bay Bridge views. |
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2014 Winter Fancy Food Show – San Francisco We always enjoy attending the Winter Fancy Food Show! This year’s three day massive trade show filled two halls at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco. Now in its 39th year, it was attended by almost 20,000 members of the Food Industry and showcased 80,000 Specialty Food & Beverage Products displayed by more than 1,300 exhibitors from around the world. The goal of exhibitors always includes catching the attention of Buyers from major retailers, collecting some Intel on their competition and of course getting press on their products or services! |
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Winter Fancy Food Show 2013 |
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Zagat Survey 2008 Gary Danko won two 2008 Zagat Survey Awards including Most Popular Restaurant and Top Food Restaurant in San Francisco. Tim and Nina Zagat announced the results of their 2008 San Francisco Bay Area Restaurants Survey. |
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TOQUES (MORE REVIEWS) |
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