Northern California Itinerary
 

Going to San Francisco for 2 nights. No dinner reservations yet. Will visit Muir Woods on the way to Healdsburg for 2 nights. Reservations at Dry Creek Kitchen and Santi. Will visit a number of wineries. On to Half Moon Bay for 1 night. No reservation yet. On to Carmel for 2 nights. Reservations at Christopher's and Rio Grill. Then a last night back in San Francisco with dinner at Delfina's.

Would welcome any comments on exisitng reservations, wineries near Healdsburg and restaurants for my open nights.

Any thoughts?

Some of us Nor Californians are still waking up after an Easter weekend so...

((O)) ((O)) ((O))

I had dinner at Gary Danko in SF during my visit last weekend and thought was absolutely terrific--and while it's definitely not inexpensive, it's a good value when you look at what many restaurants are charging these days (I paid as much or close to it on this trip for meals in Mendocino and Eureka that were quite good but not on the same level as Gary Danko).

Centrella is our favorite in Half Moon Bay.

Too many options to list for SF. We dined at Range on Sat & were rathar disappointed. Our next reservation is at Aziza, which we've dined at many time & is one of our favorites. We dined at Foreign Cinema a few weeks back & were disappointed there also. Bushi Tei was great (dined there twice recently). Love Incanto, but it's somewhat similar to Delfina. Thep Phanom is our favorite Asian place.

Stu Dudley

Not positive, but I think it is spelled Cetrella.

Love Incanto, also - but it is definitely for sophisticated palates.

So, is a sophisticated palate the difference between "dining" and "eating". :-?

Another vote for Cetrella. I've also heard good things about Sam's Chowder House in HMB, by the Cetrella people.

In the city, Nopa's fun (though loud), A-16 is good, and the retro renovation of the Presidio Social Club combined with their to-die-for beignets make a fun evening.

Here is what I had at Incanto:

Flight of 4 Itilian white wines from some region (don't remember).

Roasted tuna heart, which was shaved over some pasta made with some type of flour/grain I've never heard of. Very interesting dish

Roasted lamb neck - crispy on the outside & very moist on the inside. Served over a bed of bok choy (or something like that) with lamb au jus. Excellent.

Bottle of red wine (don't remember label).

yes - it's Cetrella - thanks

Stu Dudley

Thank you all for the suggestions.

StuDudley - I had sardines - they were way too big for my taste - I like small ones - or at least grilled ones - my sister had the lamb neck, brother had the pork knuckle?, nephew had green risotto, I wavered over the tuna heart but switched at the last second to wonderful bolognese pasta, and a, odd but interesting salad..and a not too expensive but very enjoyable red wine from Italy...somewhere. Delicious Panna Cotta. I loved the restaurant and the service...more than Delphina because it was not as cramped.

Kal, perhaps the difference between sophisticated and not would be the shaved tuna heart vs the bolognese ;-)

Your drive from Dry Creek to Half Moon Bay has the portential for hitting lots of traffic, especially between Windsor and Petaluma, and then north of the Golden Gate, so time the trip to miss the rush "hour". Perhaps don't start your drive south until 10 am, and defintitely get on the road by 2 pm.

Near Carmel, I like Rio Grill. We used to go there every year before the Big Sur Marathon.

For Muir Woods, get there early in the Day if possible (I'd go right at opening). You can have breakfast at the Dipsea Cafe on Hwy 1 just a mile or less west of hwy 101. After Muir woods, you can head back to 101 or go up the coastal route, which will take you much longer. But if you do go up 101, remember to avoid the afternoon commute and get on the hwy by 2 pm, if possible. The part north of Novato (where it squeeeeezes down to 2 lanes) can get very slow by 3 pm. The good traffic radio station for the Bay area is am 740. Traffic every 10 minutes.
At Moss Landing between Santa Cruz and Monterey, I like Phil's Fish Shack for a good lunch with artichokes, sourdough and very fresh seafood. It is acroos the one lane bridge. Have a great time.

Thanks suz12. I'm planning to do most of the driving between 11-2. I like the idea of going to Muir Woods early and stopping for breakfast.

Question for Stu: Just how big is a tuna heart? Or maybe you did not see it, since it was in shavings?

How about Piperade for one of your open S.F. dinner nights? French/Basque but not the rustic Basque all you can eat type. The chef's first restaurant, Fringale, was more classically French but always had touches from his Basque background. At Piperade, those flavors are in the foreground - anything with lamb,seafood and cheeses is stellar there. I recall the wine list as being full of interesting things too.
The neighborhood is on the east side of Telegraph Hill.
http://www.piperade.com/

Didn't see it - just shavings on the pasta.

Stu Dudley