Restaurants

Executive Lounge @ Gatwick Hilton

The dollar to pound exchange rate, for those of us who love to get away to England and the UK can be a little hard to digest, something to really take note if you are planning to head to London for the Summer Olympics in 2012.

Except for the availability of certain brands that you cannot find in the US, I cannot recall any visit where I didn’t have a moment or three where I cringed at the cost of something.  However my recent overnight stay at the Hilton London Gatwick Airport hotel just gave me my first moment of joy, after we decided to spontaneously upgrade our room.

Deciding to upgrade to the Executive “business” Floor during check-in, gave us the best meals, the newest rooms and the most amenities for only £50 extra.  This hotel has two restaurants but since we were there less than 24 hours, we thought those menus were a bit “spendy”, as the Brits say.  Read More »

San Francisco Landmark Tadich Grill

Another “must see and eat at” for any San Francisco visitors or new residents, is Tadich Grill in the Financial District.  I read somewhere that Tadich was referred to once as, “It’s kind of like the Peter Luger’s of Seafood”. Having eaten at both The Palm Restaurant on Second Avenue in New York and Peter Luger in Brooklyn, I have to agree.

When you dine at Tadich Grill be prepared to be served large portions by sometimes grumpy but always no-nonsense waiters. This is not your trendy super-friendly chain restaurant, this is a piece of San Francisco history that has survived a hundred trends. If you close your eyes, the atmosphere is a little Nick and Nora in The Thin Man, especially if you hear a cable car clang its bell on the up/down California Street outside the restaurant.

Now for lunch but especially for dinner, you have got to try the Cioppino, white bib around your neck and all. Read More »