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Place to eat in Cali

Autumnovember

Autumnovember

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Apr 28, 2010
Messages
4,384
Specifically San Fran, Napa Valley, San Diego, and Los Angeles


Gogogogogogo!

I'm flying out on Friday and I plan to eat...eat...and eat myself silly.

I like sushi (entirely too much) in particular but I do like trying new foods!
 
Los Angeles: Sushi Sasabune. Do the omakase. There's a sign. No tempura, no California rolls. You will kindly be asked to go elsewhere. Awesome place if you do the omakase.

San Francisco: Tekka. Tiny hole in the wall. Only open on weeknights, not on weekends. Get there at 6:30 or 8:30 and camp out for a spot. If you can do it ahead of time, make reservations for the omakase. They do not do reservations otherwise. Again, do not ask for coke, tempura, or california rolls. You will be asked to leave. The owners are a grandma/grandpa. Grandpa plays Bee Gees on his tiny tv. When I first went there, it was an old monitor. Now, he has upgraded to a flat screen, haha. If you can read Japanese, also a plus. Half his menu (which isn't much), is in Japanese. Ask for deep fried oysters, or some cooked special. Request a sashimi combo plate. CASH only.

San Francisco: Acquerello: Prix fixe restaurant, Italian food. You must try the pasta with the black truffle and marsala sauce. To die for! Also love: Hog Island Oysters (head to the one up north for oysters to pick up and take to a beach to shuck or bbq), Cyrus (if you have the budget), Santa Ramen (down on the SF Peninsula, worth the 25 min drive to San Mateo), R&G Lounge (salt & pepper crab), Koi Palace (in Daly City, just south of SF for dim sum), Harris' steakhouse...oh man, SF has tons of places to eat. Bi-Rite ice cream in the Castro, Ici Ice Cream in Berkeley. Ferry Plaza Building in SF on Saturday morning has a ton of street vendors. Try the Roli Roti for their sandwiches!

Oh man, I'm hungry now.
 
YUM!

San Francisco:

-Little Star Pizza (in the Mission) Best deep dish EVER, amazing flavors, so good. Get their signature pizza, called (duh) the "Little Star"
-House of Nanking (near N. Beach/ Fin District) Has a huge reputation, and has earned it. Chinese, but very inventive. Decor and service are bare bones, but the food more than makes up for it!
-Greens (Fort Mason) High-end vegetarian. They do veggie food like no other. Add on the fact that they have a breathtaking view of the golden gate and SF Bay, and a fantastic wine list, and it all combines into an amazing experience

Los Angeles:
-A.O.C. High end, tapas style, with a world renowned chef. Fantastic ambiance, and every dish that comes out is spectacular. A little pricey, so be prepared for that.
- Real Food Daily (locations in Santa Monica and Melrose, melrose is a little roomier) Amazing homestyle vegan food. I actually had my rehearsal dinner here. Pretty casual, but you do pay slightly more for the local/organicness of it.
-Pinkberry! The original "tart" frozen yogurt. If you come to LA and don't try it, well, you might as well have not come to LA. There's a million locations, so you have no real excuse.

San Diego
-Isabel's Cantina (Pacific Beach) I've only been in SD a few months, but I'm sad to say the food overall doesn't compare to SF & LA. However, Isabel's is a welcome exception. Latin-Asian fusion...sounds slightly strange, but it WORKS. So good...
 
For the Napa/Sonoma area I would recommend (in this order):
Redd
The Girl and the Fig (equally fantastic for lunch or dinner)
Le Haye
Angele

None of them are sushi places, but they're all fantastic. The Girl and the Fig focuses on southern French food, cheeses, and wines - there's nothing like having a glass of Viognier with your ridiculously good grilled cheese for lunch in their little backyard patio area. The other three are more typical restaurants for the area. Le Haye seemed to be the most casual and focused on local foods, Angele was in the middle, and Redd was the most upscale (and had the best food out of the group).



In San Fran, I love the Fog City Diner for lunch. Their truffle fries are awesome. I can't remember what else we had for lunch, but I remember it all being good. For a fun Chinatown experience, The House Restaurant was amazing. The food was pan-asian, and pretty inventive (and very well presented) for being in a cramped little store front in a seedy part of Chinatown. A total surprise.


I'll also second Pinkberry. I go often when I'm in NYC. It's not for everybody, and my LA friend thinks I'm nuts for liking it, but those who like it can't get enough!
 
I loved JoLe in Callistoga. They let you put together your own tasting menu from every menu option and it is SO reasonably priced, even with wine pairings. 3 weeks after we ate there I am still dreaming about their foie gras...
 
For sushi in in LA, the best place to go is affectionately known as Sushi Alley-- or in easier terms, Studio City in the Valley (just north of Hollywood, named for being near the Warner Bros/CBS/Disney/Universal studio lots). Big fan base for:
--Sushi Nozawa, yelp review here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/sushi-nozawa-studio-city
--Asanebo http://www.yelp.com/biz/asanebo-studio-city
--Katsu-ya http://www.yelp.com/biz/katsu-ya-studio-city

As for great LA restaurants, I'm a big fan of both Pizzeria Mozza and Osteria Mozza (side-by-side restaurants helmed by Mario Batali and Nancy SIlverton), Hatfields, and AOC. All can be found on yelp with Los Angeles, CA as the city. For breakfast, BLD is fantastic; if you're staying in Santa Monica, they have lovely brunches and breakfasts at Shutters on the Beach (the hotel). Hope this helps!
 
For more low-brow LA dining to fill the time between your sushi lunches and sushi dinners, I'll toss out there for your consideration:

--Phillipes the original (inventor of the French Dip sandwich, downtown, near Union Station)
--Pinks Hot Dogs (LA institution, wear comfy shoes because the lines are long even at 1a.m.-- yet the chili is fantastic)
--Fathers Office for burgers (small location in Santa Monica, larger location in Culver City)
--In n Out Burgers for a double double
--the originator of the LA Food Truck phenom, Kogi BBQ-- follow their Twitter feed for locations http://kogibbq.com/
 
Our fave place for sushi in LA is Echigo on Santa Monica Blvd. near Bundy. It's straight up sushi. No hot food, except it recently added miso soup. No rolls, except for a blue crab hand roll that's TDF. Its sushi rice is warm and if you've never tried that, it's really out of this world. We've eaten our share of sushi around LA and have been going to Echigo for years. The thing that impresses us most about it is that the quality of its fish is so consistently outstanding.

Gosh, there are just SO many places to eat in LA depending on what kind of food you want. We love hole in the wall places. Here's a couple to try:

Korean soon tofu: Young Dong (don't laugh!), there's a number of them scattered throughout LA.
Lebanese: Sunnin, 1779 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024
Chinese vegetarian: Happy Family, 111 N Altantic Blvd, #351, Monterey Park, CA 91754 (DH loves meat but LOVES this place)
Cuban: Versailles, 1415 S La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90035
Hong Kong style cafe: Tasty Garden, 288 W Valley Blvd, Ste 110, Alhambra, CA 91801
Southern: Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles, 1518 N Gower St, Los Angeles, CA 90028

Bon appetit!
 
San Fran: Pier 23 for roasted crab-yum- This was on Drive-in,Diners, and Dives
Estepas- Brazillian style bbq. They carve all kinds of meat at your table
Dottie's True Blue Cafe.-go for breakfast, plan to stand in line for a half hour. It is worth the wait. Another DDD winner
 
sf:
a 2nd for the ferry building....any day of the week. while you're there try out the Slanted Door.

also another vote for House of Nanking: not fancy at all and opens at 4p.....there will be a line if you're there after that [no reservations but they will do take out. this is not a place to eat, converse and linger. they count on the turnover and if you don't get up and out in a reasonable time, they'll let you know. don't forget that line at the door.]

DOSA on Filmore is also worth a munch or two....there are others around but this is the one we've eaten at.

A16 another place that if you don't go early, make sure you have a reservation. also a good bakery on Clement Street on the same side of the street and a block or two towards the ocean.

and if you go to the saturday farmers' market at the ferry building [or just into the ferry building any other day] try and score a loaf of Acme Bread's walnut bread.

Mo-Zo

ps for a martini or manhattan go to Zam Zam: "One step into Zam Zam and you're back in the 1940s. The infamous Martini Nazi has passed on, leaving only the stories in his wake, but although martinis are still the drink of choice, it's no longer a faux pas to ask for a cosmopolitan, a margarita or any other cocktail. The tables in back are open again (Bruno had closed them off years ago), and the old name, Persian Aub Zam Zam, has been shortened. Ask new co-owner Bob Clarke about his college years playing basketball with Dubya. 1633 Haight St., (415) 861-2545."

you might call to make sure they're open....used to be whenever the martini nazi decided sometime in the afternoon....and he would kick you out if you asked for a vodka martini..... when i asked for a manhattan, i was not scorned but told it was the 2nd best drink they made.....and they were mighty fine [yes, i had more than one.}

for irish coffee go to 2765 Hyde St (@ Beach), the Buena Vista, which Herb Caen declared many years ago had the best irish coffee in the US. certain times of the day will see a lot of tourists but other times its a lot of locals. great view of the bay.

have fun!
 
Head to 30th Street on the blocks north and south of University in San Diego (the neighborhood is called North Park, it's about 10 minutes from downtown). It was recently named one of the top 25 neighborhoods to eat at in the country by one of the big foodie rags. Sea Rocket Bistro, Urban Solace, The Linkery, Alexander's, True North, El Take It Easy and The Smoking Goat are all amazing. It's casual, and a fun place to bar hop as well (most of these restaurants have bars).

In Hillcrest (just west of North Park) on University I'd go to Ortegas.

In La Jolla I'd go to Nine-Ten. Downtown I'd eat at The Grant Grille. These are both upscale.

I'm on my phone so I can't post links, will do so tomorrow.

An aside: Rockzilla, you should explore some of these places too, unless you have and just weren't pleased. I've been lucky enough to eat at some of the best restaurants in the US, and find these restaurants to be pretty impressive.
 
If you like steak, I would recommend Bobo's in SF. I used to eat there once a week and I miss it. If I remember correctly, Acquerello is also quite good.

I'll second the Girl and the Fig recommendation, and would also like to add Cyrus (in Sonoma). That was one of the top 5 meals of my life, but it's very hard to get a reservation if you don't have any pull.
 
autumn - if you have time get thee to Ghiradelli in San Fran. I loved touring the factory and came home with a ton of chocolate.
 
Another vote for Osteria Mozza. It's fabulous and you'll need a reservation.

I'm friends with a fish wholesaler, who sells to many of the great sushi restaurants in LA. His recommendation to me is Sakura in Culver City. This is the ONLY sushi place we'll go to now. Massive cuts, yummy fish, great prices. Opens at 5:30 and if you are there at 5:40, good luck getting a seat. It's a hole in the wall, and not in the best part of town, but boy is the sushi worth it. Oh, and nothing fancy about the sushi either, so if you like all those yuppie rolls, this place is not for you.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sakura-japanese ... c&start=40

Another hole in the wall is Aki in Santa Monica. http://www.yelp.com/biz/aki-restaurant-los-angeles No ambience, but good, fresh sushi. Only one guy behind the sushi bar (Dean) so if it's busy, service can be slow. Sushi bar is tiny, but they don't have the wait that Sakura does. The mussels appetizer is my fav. This was my go-to sushi place until we went to Sakura, as Sakura is closer to where we live.
 
fleur-de-lis said:
For sushi in in LA, the best place to go is affectionately known as Sushi Alley-- or in easier terms, Studio City in the Valley (just north of Hollywood, named for being near the Warner Bros/CBS/Disney/Universal studio lots). Big fan base for:
--Sushi Nozawa, yelp review here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/sushi-nozawa-studio-city
--Asanebo http://www.yelp.com/biz/asanebo-studio-city
--Katsu-ya http://www.yelp.com/biz/katsu-ya-studio-city

As for great LA restaurants, I'm a big fan of both Pizzeria Mozza and Osteria Mozza (side-by-side restaurants helmed by Mario Batali and Nancy SIlverton), Hatfields, and AOC. All can be found on yelp with Los Angeles, CA as the city. For breakfast, BLD is fantastic; if you're staying in Santa Monica, they have lovely brunches and breakfasts at Shutters on the Beach (the hotel). Hope this helps!
Click to expand...

Re: Sushi Nozawa. IIRC, that's the sushi nazi, right? I've never been, but a few of my friends eat there since they work in the area. Apparently excellent sushi, but you can find that quality in other restaurants without the attitude.
 
Just thought of this... if you like steaks, try Cut or Mastro's in Beverly Hills.

Oh, and if you really want the uber sushi experience, there's Urasawa. It's super $$$$ (I'm still saving up to try it), at last check, its omakase is $275, but my brother says it's one of the best meals he's ever had.
 
THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!!
 
Autumnovember said:
Specifically San Fran, Napa Valley, San Diego, and Los Angeles


Gogogogogogo!

I'm flying out on Friday and I plan to eat...eat...and eat myself silly.

I like sushi (entirely too much) in particular but I do like trying new foods!
Click to expand...

Come visit me! :tongue: (kidding, but just had to say it!)

You'll find LOTS of nice places in those areas. If you're willing to wait and LOVE breakfast, you have to try Dottie's True Blue Cafe in SF. It's this tiny little restaurant that *always* has about a 45 min to 1 hr wait...and since it's so small, they just line up outside. Seriously, the place has 1100 (yes, eleven hundred) reviews and 4/5 stars. It's that good!

For Napa, I'd suggest Ad Hoc. It's in Yountville but definitely close enough. It's a little pricey, and they just have a daily menu so hopefully you like what they're serving that day. The food is ridiculously good and they also have excellent reviews (323 with 5/5 star rating)! We went there to celebrate our engagement. If I remember right, the music was a little loud, so if you can sit outside go for it!
 
Thanks, Kim H. I've only been in SD for 10 weeks, so not really a chance to get a feel for what the city has to offer. My guess is that the gems are there, but its a little harder to find them than in LA or SF. I will definitely check out your list!
 
Uh, I've eaten at House of Nanking. I don't really care for it and found it way too touristy. Actually, most of us don't bother to eat Chinese food in Chinatown - we head over to Clement St. or Irving St. in San Francisco, away from the downtown area.

The only Chinese food places I'll eat at near Chinatown (and I happen to work in SF Financial District) is the R&G Lounge, and Henry's Hunan. Anthony Bourdain had the salt and pepper fried crab at R&G, it's really really good. Henry's has a good pork dish special as well, plus some good cold spicy noodles.

Some people may suggest Yank Sing for Chinese food and dim sum. Personally, I think you can get better for a cheaper price.
 
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