Oola 860 Folsom St San Francisco, CA 94107 Dining date: 12/27/12 This past year for my grandmother’s birthday, my cousins and I took her to dinner at Oola in San Francisco’s SOMA neighborhood. It’s a tradition we’ve been doing a number of years now, and something I look forward to each holiday season. This year,…
Rich Table 199 Gough St San Francisco, CA 94102 Dining date: 12/26/12 Rich Table was one of San Francisco’s bigger restaurant openings of last year and continues to be one of the hot tables in town. Evan and Sarah Rich are the couple behind the restaurant, whose collective resumes include San Francisco’s Quince, Michael Mina…
Tar & Roses 602 Santa Monica Blvd Santa Monica, CA 90401 Dining date: 2/16/12 Tar & Roses opened late last month, one of the bigger restaurant openings so far this year. Andrew Kirschner is the chef behind Tar & Roses, formerly the executive chef of nearby Wilshire Restaurant. He brings with him food that’s been…
Nopa 560 Divisadero St San Francisco, CA 94117 Dining date: 12/22/11 I’ve wanted to try Nopa for a while, a consistently highly-regarded restaurant since opening in 2006. The food is rather comfortable modern American and reasonably priced with starters between $5-15 and generously-sized mains in the $13-27 range. The food, combined with a trendy bar…
Hatfield’s 6703 Melrose Ave Los Angeles, CA 90038 Dining date: 2/5/11 I had been wanting to have dinner at Hatfield’s since they opened last February. I did have a chance to come for lunch in November, and that strong meal only piqued my interest more. So finally, I found myself at dinner with Christina of…
Bar Agricole 355 11th St San Francisco, CA 94103 I’ve been curious about Bar Agricole for a little while. Opened in August, much of the hype was around the fresh, artisanal cocktails. I wondered – how about the food? It’s called a ‘bar,’ so it sounds like the emphasis is on drinks first, food second….
Coi 373 Broadway San Francisco, CA 94133 Coi is currently San Francisco’s only Michelin two-star restaurant (and one of two in the Bay Area, Manresa being the other). It’s been open since 2006, and somehow neither I nor my parents have yet paid a visit. A large part of it is due to my mother’s negative experience at…
Commonwealth 2224 Mission Street San Francisco, CA 94110 In my opinion, one of the most exciting dining trends is chefs cooking serious fine dining in reasonably-priced, casual environments. These chefs are focusing on putting good food on the table – that’s what everyone’s there for; and, because they’re cutting out the expensive decor and extra waitstaff, the…