South is another restaurant I visited during the Appetite Stimulus Plan event. I was there with two of the guys I work with for a quick lunch and we had a fabulous time.

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I hate drippy salads and this one was just perfect. My only tiny small complaint is when the lettuce leaves are just so darn big. But I think I can get over that.

The previous time I was here I had the fish and chips, which are outstanding and bursting with flavor. I particularly enjoy their wine list as it’s totally unique and not the same old California and French wines. They’ve got wines from Tasmania and Australia and the way the break it up on the wine list is really fun.

Why is South so festive?
(All ratings are out of 10.)
Food: 8
Drinks: 8
Atmosphere: 8
Price: $30/person
Summary: Must go!

So here’s the deal…we wanted to try out a new brunch spot outside of SF. What we ended up with was hanging out at the retirement home for all of Marin county. Don’t get me wrong, I love and respect the elderly population, but I just wasn’t expecting this!

The food wasn’t memorable, but it wasn’t bad. I had some salmon with a very salty sauce to go with it and Heston had a club like sandwich. His bread was too hard to bite into so he ended up taking it apart. The best part of the meal were the mimosas.

The atmosphere just didn’t do it for me. People were looking at us and it was like we were in the middle of a game of “Which one of these things doesn’t belong?”. We’re just a quartet of twenty somethings looking for some classy brunch in Marin!

I’ll try anything twice….but I don’t know if I’d do this again.

Why is Murry Circle so festive?
(All ratings are out of 10.)
Food: 6
Drinks: 7
Atmosphere: 4
Price: $30/person
Summary: Skip it.

Three words: Beef Short Ribs. They’re simply to die for. If you remember one thing about this post it would have to be that. They change the menu monthly usually to incorporate what’s in season. When I had them they were served with very light mashed potatoes and what seemed like a balsamic reduction with spinach. Oh…snag some oysters while you’re there too.

I’ve been to Salt House several times. I even had my birthday dinner there this past year. What a fabulous place full of flavors. I think by now I’ve had almost everything on the menu. Every time we go it’s just an all around great experience. Try the Old Cubano drink. It’s their take on an Old Cuban…which is my favorite cocktail!

See if you can figure out what the lights hanging from the ceiling are made of.

Why is Salt House so festive?
(All ratings are out of 10.)
Food: 8
Drinks: 9
Atmosphere: 7
Price: $25/person
Summary: Must go!

French and fabulous. Fringale is in my neighborhood of SOMA so it’s a quick walk from work for lunch and an even closer walk from my house for dinner.

I went to Fringale for lunch during the Appetite Stimulus Plan that Open Table did this month. Three course lunch for $21. Not bad. My mixed greens salad was crisp with just the right amount of dressing. I hate salads that have really drippy dressing. That was the most memorable part of the meal. My main course was a pasta dish that was good, but not great.

The atmosphere makes you feel like you just stumbled into a secret place only the locals know about…which is sorta true.

My only complaint is the size of the dessert they offered for lunch! It’s so darn big! I hate wasting food, but who can eat like that and then go back to work?! I just want a taste!

Anyway…you should go if you’re in the neighborhood.

Why is Fingale so festive?
(All ratings are out of 10.)
Food: 7
Drinks: I had water. The wine list looked great though.
Atmosphere: 8
Price: $20/person
Summary: Worth a visit.

Heston and I went up to Napa with my mom to spend some time and went to one of her favorite Napa restaurants, Bistro Jeanty. This is one of the most French places I’ve been outside of France. I loved our waiter. He reminded me of Javier from the TV show Felicity. (I adored that show.)

We couldn’t decide which bottle of wine to order so we ordered our meals first. I got the Salade de Betteraves, which was beet and mache salad with feta cheese and citrus dressing. It was perfectly balanced with sweet and savory flavors. My mom got the Salade de Laitue, which was a butter lettuce salad with a mustard vinaigrette. I tried that one too and it was very yummy.

At this point we had finally decided on a bottle of wine. We ordered a bottle of 2005 Rafanelli Zin that was just outstanding. It tasted like plum and black cherry. Soo yum!

For our main courses here is what we got: (I’ll comment on all since we all tried each others.)

Heston had the Cassoulet, which is baked beans with duck confit, sausage and apple smoked bacon. He loved it and I thought it was simply amazing. The portion was rather large though. I think 2-3 people could have had one!

My mom enjoyed the Coq Au Vin, which is chicken, mushrooms, bacon and red wine stew. I grew up having this dish and this was a fabulously flavorful rendition of it. I think the key is cooking the chicken on the bone.

I had the Sole Meuniere, which is a sole fillet, mashed potatoes with a lemon caper butter sauce. This was very rich and was also the first time that I’ve ever enjoyed capers! They really added a lot to the dish.

All in all it was a great lunch and I wish we could go back. The only thing I might change would be the portions, because they were so large! I can’t really find anything else to complain about. The atmosphere was just so warm and welcoming. I felt like I was sitting in my great aunt’s kitchen in Orleans, France.

Why is Bistro Jeanty so festive?
(All ratings are out of 10.)
Food: 8
Drinks: 8
Atmosphere: 8
Price: $50/person
Summary: Must go!

My new obsession. Nothing else really needs to be said. Blue Barn is quite possibly the best lunch place in the entire Bay. It’s in the notoriously difficult to find parking area of the Marina in SF. As most of you know, I live in the Easy Bay. Even with gas being as expensive as it is my little Prius and I have no problem making the trip across the bridge to dine at this haunt.

They make sandwiches and salads using organic and sustainably grown meats and produce. They also have an option to build your own salad and they let you pretty much create any variations to any of the sandwiches too. My favorite sandwich is the grilled Burrata. (Burrata cheese is also one of my newest obsessions…)The tostada salad is also amazing as well. I can never choose between the two. Add steak to it and it’s positively wonderful.

They also have tons of natural tea and chips to choose from to go with your meal.

I enjoy people watching and this place is my favorite place to do that. It’s located on Chestnut St, which not only makes for great people watching, but it really makes me wish I had a dog to walk!

If you try one place in SF….try Blue Barn.

Why is Blue Barn so festive?
(All ratings are out of 10.)
Food: 9
Drinks: 8
Atmosphere: 8
Price: $15/person
Summary: MUST GO!

I’ve been back to CandyBar and Boulevard since my reviews of both of them. They both got much better the second time.

While I still think Candybar is a bit misguided, they did tell me that they are in the process of re-doing the menu to improve it even more. It’s a great place to go after dinner to have one more drink and something sweet. The atmosphere just can’t be beat either.

I know my review of Boulevard was rather shocking since Boulevard seems to have quite the following around here. I think their filet is just a bit of a let down. I got the short ribs this second time and really enjoyed them. They just had so much more flavor than that silly filet! It could also be that we were able to have some fabulous wine since it was a special occasion. Patz & Hall Durrell Chardonnay and a Hope & Grace pinot noir. The wine alone made the experience.

That’s all for now.

Heston and I had our first apartment in downtown Berkeley and really enjoyed the wonderful nightlife that Berkeley had to offer. It’s casual and we both liked that. Come in your Cal sweatshirt if you like! Here are just a few of our favs:

Jupiter: See my earlier post on my favorite place in downtown Berkeley.

Beckett’s: I’ve been here more times than I can count, but we recently did St. Patricks here. It was crazy nuts crowded but pretty festive. The food here sucks…it’s bland and boring, but the drinks are great. I love a good Stella on tap. The Irish Car Bombs will leave you hurting the next day, but are oh so yummy in the moment. Live music almost every night too, which is awesome.

Raleigh’s: The food here is better than Becketts, but not as good as Jupiter. If it’s your birthday they put you on top of the bar with a glass of Guiness and make you be the pace car in a boat race with the entire staff. I would know. They’re generally pretty nice except for one random night when they were trying to close and they made us leave before we were done.

Triple Rock: Food is just okay here. On Thursday nights they have $9 one liters of Monkey Head Ale. It’s festive to come with a group…but beware that it gets really packed really quickly and the Monkey Head can sell out pretty fast.

Check ‘em all out. Beers are generally about $4 a piece at all these places. Berkeley does beer well.

Heston and I went to Slanted Door because everyone we talked to said it was the greatest thing ever.  It’s written up in Zagat and all the travel books and food blogs.  People rave about this place.  How can we go wrong, right?

Well let’s just say I think people talked it up too much.  The food wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t really memorable either.  They had Hanger One Lime, which is always a plus for us. 

I think what really got me about Slanted Door was the atmosphere.  I just can’t handle the loud, touristy, crazy cafeteria feeling that this place induces.  I like to relax and enjoy my dinners and talk with Heston, but we had to practically yell to hear each other.  Plus they sat us at those silly two-person tables that are all in a row and very close.  We basically got to listen to the couples on either side of us the entire time.  I just HATE sitting at those tables.  I feel like I’m sharing my meal with strangers!

I do want to point out though that if they made the place not so sterile and actually inviting then I think the food might taste better too.  That sounds weird I know, but I’m going for the whole experience here.  They just have to fix that and I’ll be back. 

Why is Slanted Door so festive?
(All ratings are out of 10.)
Food: 7
Drinks: 8
Atmosphere: 3
Price: $35/person
Summary: Maybe just get take-out!

Candy Bar just opened about a week ago. It’s in Western Addition area of SF, which I’m sure most of you know has a horrible problem with parking. We drove around for 40 minutes looking for parking. I’m no exaggerating either. We finally parked at Fulton and Masonic in the Lucky parking garage and took a cab down there since it was raining.

Their big idea is to do dessert with a new twist of flavors. A lot of those flavors ended up being savory. They have a dessert tasting menu as well as a very limited savory menu.

We had made a reservation when we called and asked if they had valet parking about 20 minutes prior. It was mostly full of people when we walked in on Friday around 8pm. Heston and I decided to each do the dessert tasting menu so we could try the most dishes. ($14/each) You each get to choose two desserts to try, plus an amuse and mignardise. Here is how it went:

Amuse - Sparkling Meyer lemonade- It tasted a bit minty kind of bubblegum like. Heston’s first reaction was a toothpaste taste. Not that impressive.

Chevre Cheesecake- Coconut sorbet, nicoise olive, caramel- This was the best thing all night, but it was still lacking. It definitely wasn’t cheesecake like. You expect there to be some sort of crumbly crust and there isn’t. It was more of a custard. The taste was unique though.

Warm Vanilla Cake- pickled mango with olive oil- It was just okay. Not much wow factor here. It was warm, which might have been the best part. The pickled mango was nice and added a very different contrast of flavor.

Chocolate Brioche- Balsamic, caramel ice cream, lime yogurt- Everyone is going to laugh, but this tasted totally burned. It looked great, but it did not deliver in your mouth at all! Something was just off. The flavor profile was not dessert like in the slightest.

Blood Orange Baked Alaska-candied fennel, hone comb- Surprising…ly good. Seemed a bit unfocused though. The candied blood orange was again a nice contrast. The fact that the entire thing was so cold took away from it.

Overall Candy Bar was just okay. I’m not sure if I’ll be back though.

Why is Candy Bar so festive?
(All ratings are out of 10.)

Food: 5

Drinks: 5.5

Atmosphere: 7.5

Price: $22/person

Summary- Check it out if you’re in the area!