Home // fine dining

Tag: fine dining

With RN74 You Can Take Trip to Burgundy Without Ever Leaving San Francisco

[rating: 4]

I would skip the food car on Amtrak and take the RN74 any day of the week. The restaurant was clearly decorated with the Route Nationale 74 (french road/railway that goes through Burgundy) theme in mind. With luggage tags around the napkins, numbered tables, french dialogue playing in the bathrooms, and a wine board that actually flips like the signs in a train station, the attention to detail (at least in terms of design) is impressive to say the least...

Read more

Degustation: One of NYC's Best Kept Secrets. Doesn't Advertise, Doesn't Need To.

[rating: 5]

First, the breakdown. The restaurant's concept: creative. The dining experience: unique. The cuisine: exceptional. The execution: flawless. The service: impeccable. The cost: cheap, considering the quality of what's being served. When you take each of those pieces and put them all together again, you get Degustation, a restaurant that ranks amongst New York City's finest...

Read more

Eleven Madison Magic, or, The Best Meal of my Life Part 2

[rating: 5]

In my review of the French Laundry I wrote that, in terms of my culinary experiences, I hoped that I hadn't peaked at 22. Two years later, I'm happy to write that after indulging in the 11 course tasting menu at Eleven Madison Park, that fear is completely gone...

Read more

Eleven Madison Magic, or, The Best Meal of my Life Part 1


[rating: 5]

This is part 1 (lunch) of 2 reviews, otherwise it would be too long...

Let me start from the beginning...My love affair with Eleven Madison Park actually began at lunch last Thursday, where I limited myself (and my credit card) to 2 courses, dessert, and a couple glasses of wine. Instead of going into depth about every single course I had, let me say now that the dishes weren't just delicious, or even great, but that every dish blew me away. Every. Single. Dish.

Read more

Pomp and Circumstance at Acquerello? Hey! I Thought this was Supposed to be Italian!

[rating: 3.5]

Never having been treated to a full tasting menu (+ wine pairing) at an upscale Italian restaurant, I was quite excited to finally get in touch with my Italian roots and try (what I had heard to be) the best in this field in SF. While parts of the dinner were outstanding, my overall impression was that the food was very hit and miss...

Read more

Innovative Cuisine That Puts the "Je ne Sais Coi" in Fine-Dining

Let’s face it, there are some restaurants that a diner can’t help but enter with high expectations. Many of these restaurants live up to said expectations; a select few exceed them. Then, once in a blue moon, you stumble upon a restaurant that doesn’t just go above and beyond, doesn’t just become another entry in the book of memorable meals, but redefines your concept of food. Coi is one of those restaurants...Continue Reading

Read more

The Garden Comes to Life on Saison's Seasonal Menu

In a sense, Saison is a play of contradiction: a sophisticated restaurant tucked into what looks like the back alley of a Mission warehouse, a French country-side interior with Led Zepplin and Lynyrd Skynyrd serenading diners in the background, and seemingly simple food which, in actuality, requires an astonishing amount of patience and technique to prepare. And when I say patience, envision a chef carefully balancing tiny flower petals, one by one, onto a bite-sized piece of sashimi with tweezers. And that’s just the amuse-bouche...Continue Reading

Read more

Last-Minute Valentine's Day Ideas

Valentine's Day is next weekend, and if you're like half of the people I know, you're scrambling to find that idea that is sure to shock-and-awe that special person in your life. While most restaurants have been booked for weeks, if you're looking for more than a cozy night indoors watching movies, there are still a couple of fine-dining options.

Please check out my latest Examiner article for all of the juicy details.

Read more

One Market: So Much More Than a Power Lunch

Dungeness Crab Salad One Market

One Market. One Michelin star. One hell of a good lunch.

From the outside, One Market resembles many of its Embarcadero neighbors – a conspicuous, sprawling, posh space dotted with white tablecloths and men in suits. But don’t let the exterior fool you. Unlike many waterfront restaurants, which exude a Power Lunch confidence but have little substance, the quality of the food being served inside far surpasses its nearby competitors...Continue Reading

Read more