Bistro Jeanty, Yountville

One of our mainstay restaurants in the Napa Valley, this is a place that we frequent regularly. This is a lovely French Bistro in the heart of Yountville, a food lover's paradise, home to French Laundry, Bottega, Redd, Bouchon and other great restaurants. Over the weekend we went to Domaine Carneros for a champagne pickup and we ended up here for lunch again....but this time, I was here to try the Cassoulet. I have heard rave reviews of the cassoulet for years now, but have always shied away because of my fear of the duck confit. Having gotten over that fear, I was ready to venture this dish.....BUT, they had taken it off the menu just days before we showed up. It will not be back until the fall. So what to order now?? So we shared the smoked trout and potato salad...delicious. I always get the mussels, which are delicious, but I was here today to try something new. So against every last natural instinct in my body, and totally only because my brother had raved about it several times, I ordered the quiche and butter lettuce salad for lunch. Quiche. In a restaurant. What was I thinking?? Emmentheler cheese and ham. Quiche redefined....ham redefined.....who knew this was what quiche was supposed to taste like? Noone told me before.....AMAZING. DELICIOUS. Yes, quiche in a restaurant. Yes, I will order it again. And it did not stop there....rum raisin bread pudding for dessert....I am hungry just thinking about it! This is why we always go back. One of my favorite restaurants!

Wood Tavern, Oakland

Last weekend, Frank and I wanted to go out to lunch...but we wanted a good meal. So we decided to go through the Caldecott tunnel over to the border of Berkeley and Oakland on College Avenue....right across the street from College Avenue liquors (I am a Cal Alum) to Wood Tavern. I first went here with my friend from college, Ardith, who suggested that we meet there to have dinner (I hadn't seen her in almost 15 years). She lives in Marin, I live in Danville, this was a midpoint. Since then, Frank and I have been twice, never disappointed. We started with a cheese plate with Explorateur, a french triple cream cows milk cheese.....$4. What a great deal. Wonderful artisan bread from La Farine, a bakery next door.....great start to an amazing meal. Then we shared an asparagus salad....fantastic. Served with frisee, diced egg, couscous, chives and a hint of truffle vinaigrette....best, most creative salad I have had in a long time. Then we shared the Hot Pastrami sandwich.....wait, a melt-in-your-mouth hot pastrami sandwich, the best I have ever had.....and we also shared the fresh rigatoni with a braised pork sugo, with chili flakes, garlic and fresh parsley. What a treat!! This is a cozy, neighborhood restaurant with fresh and delicious homestyle food. One of my favorites in a long time!

Macelleria, A Rustic Italian Steakhouse, Meatpacking District, NYC

Yes, the last night in New York City and the Vice President of Sales for my company wants to take us all out for dinner...we had drinks at a cozy spot on the Upper East Side, and then ventured out for dinner. One young gal from from Washington DC, another from Miami, and my VP and myself. We wound up in the Meatpacking district, a la Samantha Jones from Sex and The City. An Italian restaurant, Macelleria, where the matches have a picture of a cow/steer on it. The young gals were both pescatarian, so I believe they ordered the fettucini with clam sauce, but myself and Mary shared the pappardelle al cinghiale (wild boar sauce).....AMAZING. Truly, I feel quite fearless after ordering a dish like that. I don't really even know what a wild boar is....and after dinner, being that it was our last night in New York, we ordered dessert. Yes, that's right, we ordered the cheesecake. New York Cheesecake. The kind of cheesecake that you can only get in New York....what a wonderful trip...

Tropisueno, San Francisco

Tropisueno is in the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, right around the corner from my work. Frank came in to work on a Saturday, and we opted to go try the Mexican place down the alley. First off, it was really crowded. We decided to sit at the bar and have a drink and appetizer before dinner. Great atmosphere, almost feels like you could be in Mexico! Frank had a Dos Equis (draft) and I had the house margarita. Okay, very possibly the best margarita I have ever had...good tequila and fresh lime juice. Don't people know that is the key to a good margarita?? Most people do not. We shared the tacos al pastor- they were soft tacos with gilled pork and a pineapple cilantro salsa....pretty good, but good enough to sit down and have dinner. I had a chile relleno and shredded beef enchilada...this is absolutely delicious food. The beef was totally spiced with a sweet cinnamon flavor and the chile relleno was divine! A poblano chile! Frank had an old-school combo as well, a chicken and cheese enchilada, both of which he loved. Yes, this restaurant is going on our regular rotation list for sure!

Big Nick's Burgers and Pizza, Upper West Side, NYC

This joint was right across the street from my hotel- open pratically all night, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Didn't feel like a burger (because I was having fine dining burgers), but I could NOT come to New York City without having a slice of pizza from a joint like this....walked in, tight small quarters, but lots of people! I ordered a slice of cheese pizza to go, maybe $2.50 or so, and walked back across the street to my hotel room, and had a late night snack while studying material for work the next day. The slice was crispy, but gooey cheese, the crust was so, so thin. I wondered how the pizza could be so crispy while being so thin....I guess that is the secret...the sauce was flavorful and tomatoey, without being overpowering. Yes, I wish I had another slice right now! If you are in the neighborhood, stop by Big Nick's!

Jet Blue Terminal Dining, JFK

I know it is strange that I would talk about airport dining, but hey, you have to eat at airports, too! So after being told that I could not check my luggage onto an American Airlines flight at JFK because I was not there too late, I had my employer get me on another flight home. This time Jet Blue. JFK-SFO....I had an hour or two to wait....checked in, passed through security, now where can I get a glass of wine and some decent food? The answer is ANYWHERE in the Jet Blue terminal! I chose the steakhouse venue...again at the bar, glass of Pinot Noir...and some kobe sliders. Yes, kobe sliders at the airport! Really pretty good, but I am still hungry, a long flight ahead of me, and some more time to kill....so I ordered up another glass of wine and an order of sauteed spinach and mac and cheese....yes, in an airport I am eating homemade macaroni and cheese and some delicious spinach of all things. Very happy with the Jet Blue JFK experience....they even had a sushi bar. Maybe next trip...

The Harrison, Tribeca

It had been 25 years since I had last been to New York...and 25 years since I last saw my friend Doug Fields. We were friends at Cal and he moved to NYC and we lost touch. BUT, then Facebook came around and we reconnected as FB friends. Before my impending trip to the Big Apple, I asked him if he wanted to get together for a drink or dinner....he suggested that we go his friend Amanda Freitag's restaurant, The Harrison. She is the Executive Chef there, and participated in Food Network's last season of "The Next Iron Chef." Being the food lover and Food Network lover that I am, I was totally excited to see Doug and try this new restaurant in Tribeca. Well, this was quite a bit longer cab ride, but I saw some sights along the way, The Empire State Building, Chelsie Pier, New Jersey across the river. What an adventure I was on....I got to the restaurant before Doug (remember, I haven't seen him in 25 years) and waited at the bar. Of course we recognized each other immediately (we both look amazing)and basically had an wonderful evening of fine flavorful dining, reminiscing over funny memories and more flavorful dining. Let me start by saying this is a very comfortable restaurant, has a very cozy neighborhood feel and was packed! Let me also say that I had the privilege of meeting Amanda (photos to follow), and she is a warm, kind, unpretentious and lovely woman. Where to start...allright, from the top...Char grilled octopus- I was anxious to taste hers after having the octopus at Michael Chiarello's Bottega. Delicious. This was different, but very good, with a great smoky flavor. Amanda sent over a small beet salad and an amazing troutling appetizer as well. I have never had troutlings before...they were flash fried and tender and crispy. Really nice flavor and texture. We may have had something else as well, but at this point I have forgotten...Doug and I shared the Skate, duck fat fries and truffled orzo....you had me at duck fat fries, Amanda:) And did I say truffled orzo? We shared another seafood entree as well....I just can't seem to remember what it was- I will update when I recall...we just had so much yumminess that night and Amanda sent us things to try, so I was getting confused and just enjoying myself! Dessert....a black and white pear bread pudding made with brioche and chocolate and pear caramel yummy sauce (yum!) and a lemon and rhubarb tart....lots of wine....did I say duck fat fries? Thank you for a wonderful evening, Doug and Amanda!

eighty one

Second night in New York City. Dinner by myself again, but maybe the only opportunity to venture out and choose my dining venue, so I couldn't just go back to Fatty Crab again (though I must admit I considered it!). So I checked on the Michelin Star rated restaurants in New York....Daniel, Per Se, Picholine? Where to go? Then I checked the Michelin Star rated restaurants near where I was staying, maybe even walking distance, and I found Eighty One....I was on the corner of 78th and Broadway, and Eighty One was on 81st and 3 or 4 blocks up from Broadway....yes, either walking distance or a short cab ride! So I walked to the restaurant (feeling quite brave, I might add, that I was willing to be so independent and willing to explore) and sat at the bar. This is a beautiful restaurant- the decor is elegant, hip and very stylish. I was very comfortable here. I had a choice to either order off of the bar menu or order a dinner prix-fixe for only around 30 bucks. I opted for the deconstructed nicoise salad, with raw tuna, capers, egg, fresh parsley and herbs all served up in an elegant and sparse manner. Then I had the kobe burger...quite good, but I have to say I prefer the kobe burger at Martini House in St. Helena to this one. The bartender was nice, very friendly, but the restaurant was not busy at all....Elliot Spitzer and his wife were there that evening, and Woody Allen had been there the night before. I was reading an article earlier today...this restaurant is closing- it doesn't surprise me. It was good, but very few patrons and a not so accessible location. Fun night, nevertheless....

Fatty Crab

All right, I am about a month behind on my updates, but here goes....went to New York for a week of training for my new job. Of course, researched restaurants in my proximity. Fatty Crab was literally downstairs and around the corner from my hotel- perfect location for dinner on my first night after a day of travel. A funky Southeast Asian joint...I believe there is a location in the Village as well, but I went to their newer locale on the Upper West Side. It was a Monday, and hence it was All-You-Can-Eat Crab Monday. And by crab, I mean that Asian saucy yummy dungeness crab served up with rice and a bib....but I was dining alone at the bar, and I thought it would be kinda weird to have all-you-can-eat anything by myself (though in Houston about 8 years ago at a restaurant called Pappa's Seafood, I did eat 4 lobsters on an all-you-can eat evening). Well, I opted to order off of the menu. I started with a light pinot grigio type white wine by the glass and ordered the Fatty Sliders. The bartender said that they were unlike any other sliders anywhere else. He was right. There were 3 mini pork/beef burgers flavored so intensely and yummy and spicy and fatty Asian....delicious! I was still a bit hungry, so I ordered the Malay Fish Fry, a dish with tempura catfish, crab curry and fresh green chili...served over rice. This dish was fantastic, and if I had another free night I would have gone back again and had exactly the same thing. Fantastic deliciousness accompanied by a chili infused muddled mojito cocktail...a spicy, sweet, minty cocktail concoction. The guy sitting next to me ordered a Fatty Dog and mentioned that it was the best hot dog he had ever had...something for next time, along with the all-you-can-eat crab. There WILL be a next time. I love this kind of dining! I am a Fatty Crab fan for sure!!