Restaurants

Buckhorn Grill in San Francisco

When you go to the movies, who doesn’t love a big bucket of popcorn, with all that sweet butter and salt? Nowadays though, the price of that popcorn is approaching ten bucks, especially if you add in a large drink to help wash it down. If you’re like me, sometimes you want more than the salty goodness of that popcorn. You want something meaty, like a good burger or a steak sandwich.

Here in San Francisco, there is a place where you can get that tasty sirloin with your movie ticket, at the Buckhorn Grill. In the Westfield Metreon Shopping Mall, besides its huge selection of movies, you will find a variety of delicious food options. Recently before our show time, I wanted to grab a bite of something substantial. Their tri-tip sandwich turned out to be one of the best reasons to skip the popcorn I have ever had. 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 »

Fried olives at Sociale

Sociale in one sentence: Neighborhood Italian trattoria tucked away down an alley off Sacramento Street, featuring a four course menu of local, sustainable and delectable dishes.

Who you’ll see there: Dressed up, slightly older, well-heeled (sorta rich) “Heights” crowd.

Make sure to try: the fried olives stuffed with fontina, the pasta Amatriciana with Guanciale, and the braised pork shank with maple glaze.

It’s okay to skip: it’s all delicious, so I have to go with “anything except dessert”

Best dessert: chocolate oblivion cake with olive oil, sea salt, amaretti cookie crumbles or the incredible house-made doughnuts with espresso shake — the doughnuts come out warm with the sugar melting off them.

Service: Unobtrusive but professional and attentive. You will never have a chance to pour your own wine.

Average meal price: On the medium/pricey side, with appetizers in the $8-12 range, pastas $15-18, and meat dishes $22-28. Desserts under $10, but the wine list will tempt you to overspend.

Chocolate oblivion cake

Sociale Logistics:

• You absolutely need reservations on the weekend, and most week nights
• Beer and wine only
• You will be tempted by the charming patio with twinkling lights, but even heat lamps have a hard time competing with cold San Francisco fog
• There are no high-chairs in evidence at Sociale. If you’re spending this much, it’s worth it to get a babysitter, too.

Parking:

Give yourself a few minutes to look, but street parking is surprisingly doable.

Location:

Laurel Heights
3665 Sacramento Street between Locust and Spruce Streets
San Francisco, CA
415.921.3200

Hours:

Lunch: Tues-Sat 11:30-2:30 PM

Dinner: Mon-Sat 5:30-10:00 PM

Photos: Cat Lincoln

Spicy Vegan Pad Thai @ Loving Hut in San Francisco

Though my dislike of vegetables evaporated decades ago, I cannot really say that I search for vegetarian restaurants for my meals when I’m hungry.  However today I was with a girlfriend looking of a nice clean spot offering noodle dishes for a good bargain.  Not only did I walk into a delicious restaurant, but now I have a great recommendation for my vegan friends and family!

The Loving Hut is a relatively new addition to Chinatown in San Francisco.  This corner restaurant has a 100% vegan menu.  They cleverly disguise their meat or seafood with soy shaped substitutes.  I had Pad Thai for $7 that was out of this world. Spicy but not hot, and a huge portion!  The “shrimp” included was actually soy though it totally looked like medium size ocean shrimp. Read More »

There are times that you just have to eat out. There is nothing in the refrigerator and you don’t want to go out for a fancy expensive lunch or just drive thru. I have the solution for you. Fatburger!

Read More »

Ceviche Mixto @ Fresca

Fresca serves up some of the tastiest Latin American food I have eaten.  The owners brought the flavors of Peru to San Francisco many years ago with the opening of their Fillmore Street location, followed by restaurants in both West Portal and the Sunset neighborhoods.  A few years ago they finally arrived in Noe Valley, one of my favorite areas of San Francisco and opened on 24th Street across from the new Whole Foods Market.

This particular location of Fresca showcases beautiful blue mosaic tiles and deep rich wood details.  They created a cozy layout for the tables so that you walk in and realize that the room stretches from the vibrant street, all the way back into intimate seating areas.  The window seats in the front are great for lunch, and for lots of people watching along 24th Street.

We stopped in on a sunny afternoon to check out their well known ceviche, and wow!  We had the Ceviche Mixto for $13 and had our socks knocked off by the incredible flavors and pile of fresh fish! The citrus flavor, the fish with the crunchy corn kernels along with the red onion shavings were amazing. Yum! Read More »

Seafood Combo Lunch @ Yet Wah

Looking for some seventies kitsch with your meal? Do you know that old saying “never go grocery shopping when you’re hungry”? If you like tasty Chinese food with a view, Yet Wah is just the place for you!

High on a hill, just below Twin Peaks in the Diamond Heights Shopping Center of San Francisco is where you will find this delicious dining artifact. This particular Yet Wah Chinese Restaurant is for those willing to walk up two flights of cinder block stairs, to enter a world that time hasn’t touched for decades, just look at the old linoleum. Read More »

Nectar Wine Lounge in San Francisco

Looking for a place to have a relaxing conversation with your friends or a date in the Marina neighborhood of San Francisco, while sipping on a nice glass of wine?  If you want to skip the busier people watching sideshow of this wine bar on Chestnut Street, Nectar Wine Lounge is the perfect place.

Read More »

Ah, Malibu! It’s one of the most upscale, yet completely mellow and casual beach towns in Southern California. One restaurant that perfectly encapsulates the dual nature of Malibu is Geoffrey’s, right off Pacific Coast Highway. A meal here is accompanied by some of the best views a restaurant can have.

Pull into the driveway and parking lot of Geoffrey’s Malibu, and you know you’re getting a special meal. A valet will quickly take care of you, parking your car carefully amid a sea of shining BMWs, Mercedes, Audis and even a Bentley or two. These mega-deluxe autos belie what awaits inside: Jeans, t-shirts, and California casual attire along with a relaxed, happy atmosphere. Geoffrey’s reflects Malibu in other ways, as well. Subtle mirrors panel the rear wall, bringing the ocean views from the front to everyone (reflects Malibu, get it? Well, I like it anyway). There isn’t a “bad table” in the restaurant. Read More »

NCL Gem chef

Because I’m a travel agent, the industry subtly expects me to oooh and aaah over every little detail a cruise ship comes up with as a differentiation point. Take, for instance, the idea of an ice bar where the temperature never gets above 16 degrees.

Say it with me now: “Coooool!” As in so cool, who in their right freakin’ mind would go in there wearing the shorts they packed for a cruise? Who’s luggage has enough space to haul along a parka?

Obviously, I have issues with setting aside my consumer mindset when it comes to selling vacations. So my first thought when NCL began trying to upsell us on making reservations at its premium restaurants aboard the Gem this spring was, “Shut up. I’ve already paid for my meals.” (Princess, likewise, offers restaurant alternatives with a cover charge.)

But that, of course, isn’t true research, just an opinion. That’s why my husband and I broke down and made dinner reservations for Cagney’s, NCL’s signature steakhouse, for our anniversary despite the $25 per person cover charge. (For the record, we also devoted an evening to testing the Tex-Mex Tequila restaurant at $10 a head. Well, at least I can write it off as a tax deduction. I don’t know how other people learn to live with their mistake; we’ve eaten better for less at On the Border.)

True to the “freestyle dining” mentality, we had made reservations for 7:30, but showed up 2 hours earlier hungry and wondering if they could squeeze us sooner. Why of course! When you pay extra for your meal, they bend over backwards to accommodate your every wish. Our table had a stunning view, the wait staff was almost overly attentive, and my husband and I settled in for what we expected to be one heck of a stand-out meal.

Cruisin' and dining = heaven

We ordered filet mignon with a baked potato (heavy on the butter), the entree that has been pounded into our generation’s psyche as THE special occasion celebration item. They prepared my medium rare request properly … but you know, the main dining room cooked my steak correctly as well. They kept our water glasses full, just like they do in the main dining room. They kept the bread basket full, just like the main dining room.

So far, we were hard-pressed to figure out what our $50 bought beyond the fact the hostess didn’t ask us if we’d like to share a table or dine alone tonight.

And then the difference tapped my husband gently on the shoulder. “Sir, would you like to buy flowers for the lady?” asked the young lady wearing an NCL shirt and holding bouquets for sale. Yes, for a premium price, we were the target for roaming vendors who would have been thrown out of a Burger King in any other setting in the world.

NCL's main dining room

To be fair, if the ship’s main dining rooms are showing a long wait time, you’re hungry and in the mood for something out of the mainstream — say, suishi or teppanyaki — I wouldn’t blame you for checking out Le Bistro or Orchid Garden. But steak or chicken? Keep your money in your wallet until you hit the casino or dock at port the next morning.