California Restaurants
 

Hi; Our California trip is now set and we are looking for good restaurants in the following areas. Our price range is moderate, by that I mean anywhere between $75-$100., with wine. Some ambiance is always nice. We leave Boston on the 31st of July and return on the 16th of August. These towns/cities are in the order of our trip. Palo Alto [4 nights], San Francisco [2] {looking for a place on the wharf and one in North Beach}, Napa [2], Sutter's Creek [1], Yosemite [3], Pacific Grove [2], Cambria [1] and San Mateo [1], before we fly back to Boston. Many Thanks Iris

See the thread regarding restaurants near SFO -- all of those are very near San Mateo, too (which is just one town south of Burlingame). There are other decent restaurants in San Mateo -- Amici's for very good for brick oven pizza, and pasta (casual).

May I ask why you're staying in Palo Alto for 4 nights?

I can help with Palo Alto. Downtown, University Avenue area is filled with restaurants. You can just walk around and pick one that looks good to you.

Here are some moderate restaurants with a nice atmosphere, in my opinion.

Osteria: Cozy, traditional, fresh and tasty Italian

Rangoon: Relaxing Burmese. Inexpensive & tasty.

Mantra, Junoon: Creative Indian. Upscale and sometimes varying degrees of success.

Gordon Biersch: Noisy beer place. Sports crowd, good food.

Peninsula Creamery: Quintessential Palo Alto restaurant/fountain. Almost always open, and everybody goes there. Food is good diner food.

Evvia: Delicious Greek, noisy, usually need reservations.

NOLA: Crazy in the evenings, quiet for a late lunch

Pampas: Meat orgy. 14 types of meat paraded around on skewers.

St. Michael's Alley or Empire Grill on Emerson: Californian style creative casual cuisine.

Reposado: New Mexican, just opened.

Zibibbo: interesting variety.

Andale: Fresh, inexpensive California style Mexican with sidewalk seating near the Stanford Theatre.

Pluto's: Casual, fresh salads & grill.

Ken Zamen: Casual Meditarranean with outdoor sidewalk seating.

Outside of downtown: The Fish Market, Straits (Singapore), La Bodeguita del Medio (Cuban), Counters (gourmet burgers)

Calafia: new, just opening today, in fact, in Town & Country, the health fast food restaurant by the former Grateful Dead/Google cook.

Do yourselves a big favor and don't bother to have a meal at the Wharf. The prices are high[er] and the food is mediocre. It is close enough to go to way better places.


Head back over to town and have a quintessential San Francisco meal at <b>Tadich Grill</b>. No reservations[ no website either] , but oh my! the food and the brusque waiters. You can get seats at the counter pretty fast and watch the fun. Sand dabs and cioppino to die for. 240 California ST [between Front St and Battery St and easy to get to from Fisherman's Wharf.

<b>Passionfish </b>is really top notch in Pacific Grove. &quot;<i>freshest, sustainable seafood, slow-cooked meats, organic greens </i>
passionfish.net

Deb

If you're in the mood for Thai (and Kailani gave you a terrific list for Palo Alto), Krung Siam (also on University Avenue) is a personal favorite.

Great list for Palo Alto, Kailani.

We like Osteria for dinner.

For lunch, I'd add the cafe in the art museum on campus (pricey, though).

And Hobee's for breakfast.

If you're going to Napa, stop off in St Helena and try Taylor's Automatic Refresher. Its the ahi tuna burger, friend!

http://www.yelp.com/biz/taylors-auto...r-saint-helena

Hi; Thanks for all the responses. sf7307; We staying in Palo Alto for four nights as were playing in the Senior Olympics in basketball. The games are being held at Stanford and it's one of the highlights for this trip. But good food is also a highlight along with good wine. With all these suggestions, we will have no problem enjoying California's food, wine and the 'games'. Of course San Francisco, wine country, gold rush towns, Big Sur, Carmel and Monterey are also highlights. Our only previous trip to California was to SF. Now we will see much more.-WOW Iris

Wow, that sounds like a lot of fun! The Stanford campus is great. Do you know what gym you'll be using?

In Sutter Creek try either Susan's Place http://www.susansplace.com/ or my favorite - Caffe Via d'Oro http://www.caffeviadoro.com/home.php

Both offer Californian style creative cuisine.

When you go to Yosemite, check out the Ahwanee hotel - at least go for a drink and a snack in the bar. It is a really neat old lodge. They also have meals in the restaurant, however I am not sure of the prices - they are high, but I am not sure how high. Otherwise in Yosemite, the dining options are limited.

I second Kailani's recommendations of Evvia and Pluto's. I love both of them and make of point of eating there every time I'm in the Palo Alto area. Pluto's is very casual--order at the counter--and the salads are so good. Evvia is fun and the food is delicious.

I would also highly recommend the Cool Cafe at the Cantor Art Center right there on the campus at Stanford. It overlooks the Rodin sculpture garden and is a wonderful place for lunch. Unlike enzian, I didn't think it was &quot;pricey.&quot; It's just soup, sandwiches, etc., and while you could probably find lunch for less a lot of places, it's not particularly expensive. It is open only Wed-Sun from 11-5 (Thur from 11-8). Lunch there was a real treat.

maryanntex---thanks for the correction. I meant &quot;pricey&quot; in comparison to casual lunch places. I believe my lunch was around $10, and it was well worth it.

I do think the food was great and I highly recommend it to anyone who is on the campus around lunchtime. (The Cantor Center is well worth a visit too).

For Yosemite--I hope you have your lodging reservations. Dinner at the Ahwahnee is a treat for the experience of dining in the great room, but we thought the food in the Mountain Room (at Yosemite Lodge) was just as good.

Hi All; The response has been overwhelming. But we have many months to decide. We will not eat [or drink]anywhere other than what you all have suggested. It will take a while to digest what everyone has offered. Thanks Iris P.S. sf3707- We will be playing at the Maples Pavilion. Very excited to be playing at Stanford.

Ahhhh, Maples. My graduating class assembled there, and then walked to Frost Amphitheatre.

When are these Senior Games? Maybe I could talk DH into participating (he is a swimmer)---or I could have a go at a 5K.

Hi enzian; My goal now is to TRY to use a suggestion from everyone who has recommended a restaurant. We are staying at the Yosemite Lodge at the Falls, so we will eat at the Mountain Room as you suggested. The games start on August 1st and run thru August 15th. Age brackets start at 50 and up. We are in the 70 to 74 bracket. There are 18 different sports and swimming is a big part. Web site is nsga.com Iris

In Cambria, &quot;The Sow's Ear&quot; or &quot;Brambles.&quot;

There are so many great restaurants in the Napa Valley, it is hard to recommend only a few. Do you want restaurants in the city of Napa? Or anywhere in the Valley? A lot depends on what kind of food you will be in the mood for when you get here.
Some recommendations (by town) that can feed you well at moderate prices:

Calistoga---
*Wappo Bistro (sit outside on the vine-covered patio; serves the best-ever complimentary water)

St. Helena---
*Go Fish
*Market (less expensive)

Yountville---
*Bistro Jeanty

Napa---
*Bistro Don Giovanni
*Pearl (less expensive)
*Celadon
*Analien (Vietnamese)
*ZuZu (tapas)

Hi elnap; Our thought when leaving San Francisco is to go north up the coast and then drive into Healdsburg. Have lunch. Then double back to Napa [via Calistoga] visiting two or three wineries. So, the first night, after a long day, we would eat in Napa. Our second day, we may take a 'balloon ride over the countryside. Our second night, we could go to Yountville and try the 'Bistro'. Thanks Iris P.S. november_moon. We will have a drink at the Ahwanee. Debit; We have our fish meal covered, how about 'pasta' at North Beach? monik; Sutter's Creek now done, especially after a long day. We will drive to Nevada City, have lunch and then to our overnight in Sutter's Creek. boom_boom; Thanks, you have covered Cambria. Thanks Kailani; We have four nights in Palo Alto and now have many choices. sf7307; We are staying at the Marriott and if Amici's is close, we will eat there. Well, that just about wraps up our plans for 2009. Now we will start planning our 50th anniversary trip to the Scandinivian countries.

Hi Iris---thank you for the link to the senior games. I see one must qualify to attend the national games by finishing 1st, 2d, or 3d in one's state games. Congratulations to your husband!

for Yosemite, in addition to the Mountain Room and a drink at the Ahwahnee, you might consider a dinner at Tuoloumne Lodge in Tuoloumne Meadows. Since you have 3 days in Yosemite you'll want to drive up that way on your park explorations anyway. The Tuolumne Lodge dining room is a tent! They seat people with others at 10-person tables, so you meet and talk with your table companions. They have a varied menu for the entree (steak, chicken, trout, pasta, and a vegetarian entree) and serve the salad family-style. It's fun---we generally eat there once or twice while camping up there. You need to make reservations a day or two in advance, as they have specific seating times. The number to call will be in your park brochure that you get upon entering the park. Make your reservation fairly early (6 pm or earlier) because you will have a 90-minute drive back to the Valley to your hotel.

For a North Beach restaurant we like Rose Pistola. It's mainly seafood (Ligurian) but of course they have pasta as well:

http://www.rosepistolasf.com/pdfs/ro...inner-menu.pdf

I am sure the locals will have some good suggestions too.

If you get to Nevada City try http://www.thenewmooncafe.com/ for 'Big city dining with a small town atmosphere'. Outstanding!

Hello iris, you have a beautiful trip planned!

For North Beach here is the website for the Mona Lisa Restaurant which is a favorite of many Fodorite's when in SF and also SF residents. We have had some small Fodor's GTG's there too with Fodorite's that always want to return to the Mona Lisa. Reasonable prices for very good food, good service from the waiters who are from Italy (the owner is from southern Italy), interesting wine list and good parking (if you will have a car) around the corner and up a couple of blocks on Vallejo St.,..right above the SFPD station.

http://www.monalisasf.com/

Hi LoveItaly and monik; The day we go to Sutter's Creek we will go to Nevada City first and have lunch at the suggested restaurant. Then in North Beach I love the name of the restaurant, Mona Lisa. We will probably do both of these. Our lunch usually is a salad or fruit with feta. Our trip is seven months away and I'm already gaining weight. NO PROBLEM THANKS Iris

I've had good luck searching for restaurants on www.chowhound.com
Go to California message boards and click on areas you're interested in. Great resource for seeking restaurants.

You might really enjoy eating at Celadon in Napa. The food is excellent and their brick courtyard patio has a nice atmosphere. Otherwise, it you just want a casual meal (with fresh ingredients, delicious) try Pearl.
Have a wonderful trip, Iris!

Tadich Grill in SF
Taylor's Refresher in St.Helena/SF
Redd Napa
Boulevard SF
Sierra Mar Big Sur
Passion Fish Pacific Grove/Carmel

I'd agree with other posters about Bistro Jeanty in Yountville, and Market in St. Helena.

Another way to help your dinner budget - If you do any tastings in Napa or Sonoma during the day, buy a bottle of something you like and take it to dinner with you. It seems to me that the corkage fees in most of the restaurants were around $10 to $20 per bottle. And some of the wineries will credit you with the tasting fee if you buy a bottle.

Hi; I'm now at the mind-boggling stage with all these suggestions. But we will have the pleasure of selecting where we dine with all this help. Many Thanks to All Iris

Hi; A little more help.Many of the restaurants you have sugested, we will be eating at. Now, just wanted to ask about the following restaurants. For the past 20 years I have had a Rewards Network dining card at no cost, joining when our local newspaper had a promotion. The offer is anywhere from 5% to 15% off the total bill. So I am asking your opinion on the restaurants that are included. 1. El Sinaloense [San Mateo] 2. Billy Quon's Volano [Carmel] 3. Baylief [Napa] and 4. Flaming Fresco [Redwood City] All have been rated very well on Rewards Network. Thanks Iris P.S. One previous sugestion in Cambria, is included and we will eat there [The Sow's Ear].

I've eaten twice at Bayleaf in Napa. It was very good and the service was excellent. Usually the owner is there and he takes great pride in what he offers. They have their own vegetable and herb garden out back and he might even give you a tour of his facilities if you show an interest. Be sure to ask him what he recommends on the menu. We really enjoyed a lamb dish on the menu.

Thanks elnap; I'm also onto your other suggestions for Napa, Bistro's Don Giovanni and Jeanty. But we like 'tapas' too, so it will be a difficult decision with only two nights' Iris