ad hoc
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Ad Hoc (Yountville, CA) [2]

There’s plenty of good restaurants in the Napa Valley, but for me a trip just doesn’t feel complete without a stop at a Thomas Keller establishment. There would be no French Laundry on this brief trip, but a stop here at the more casual Ad Hoc was in order. The restaurant serves a 4-course fixed menu for $52, although there’s regularly a supplemental dish offered as well. Since the menu isn’t published until the morning of the meal, it’s a little bit of a crapshoot depending on what you’re looking for. We lucked out this time as this evening’s menu featured steak – a ribeye to be exact.

hog island clam chowder
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Hog Island Oyster Co (Napa, CA)

Hog Island Oyster Co. is based out of Tomales Bay, just north of San Francisco, with oyster bar locations in both San Francisco’s Ferry Building and Napa’s Oxbow Market. As its name implies, the restaurant serves up fresh oysters and other shellfish of all varieties, prepared very simply.

I’ve been to both the SF and Napa locations a couple of times. They’ve been very popular with both locals and tourists; lengthy waits are commonplace at this no-reservations spot especially on weekends. While spending the long holiday weekend in Napa, I stopped in for a lunch meal.

halibut @ lord stanley
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Lord Stanley (San Francisco, CA)

Lord Stanley opened about a year ago and has garnered some high praise in its first year. It received a Michelin star in October and was added to Michael Bauer’s Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area list in April after getting 3 1/2 stars from him.

The food is from the husband/wife team of Carrie and Rupert Blease, formerly of Commonwealth and Central Kitchen. At Lord Stanley, they are cooking a refined cuisine described as modern European/Californian. A seven course tasting menu is available ($83), but we went a la carte on this evening.

great eastern san francisco
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Great Eastern (San Francisco)

I’ve been to Great Eastern countless times. It’s been a staple for family gatherings on my dad’s side for decades, serving up banquet-style Chinese food. I don’t come here nearly as often since I’m no longer local, but squeezed in a meal on a recent trip.

The restaurant is best known for an impromptu takeout order by Barack Obama in 2012, which reliably brings Chinatown tourists through these doors. I’d like to think the food continues to draw locals into the restaurant too, though.

simbal
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Simbal (Los Angeles, CA) [2]

I first dined at Simbal in February but recently returned for this second visit. Coincidentally, the restaurant celebrated its first anniversary this past week. The restaurant is still going strong serving up its modern southeast Asian-inspired cuisine.

We got seats at the kitchen counter again providing a view of the action. In terms of ordering, we opted to order entirely different things this time just to try more of the menu.

breakfast sandwich @ republique
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Republique (Los Angeles, CA) [3]

It’s been over a year since I last visited Republique; I’ve been twice for dinner, but this was the first time for brunch. I’ve heard great things about brunch here, the combination of Walter Manzke’s cooking and Margherita Manzke’s pastry program.

Brunch service is very different from dinner with a focus on efficiency – no reservations are taken and there is no table service. Rather, you place your order at the front, grab a number, find a seat and wait for your food to be brought to you. It’s a very popular brunch, indicated by the lengthy line at 10:30 on a Sunday. It moved pretty consistently and we were able to place our orders in about 30 minutes.