321303 Mon Aug 28 06:26:47 -0700 2006 0 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 1837350 I thought I'd give a quick update of our recent trip up to the wine country and beyond. DH had business up in Eureka so we slowly made our trip up and down the state and had some really good meals in the process. First day: Lunch at the Sonoma Visitor's Center, Garden and Gallery. Don't miss this little gem. The food is very good, it's on the main route in from SF and so it's easy. It's right across the road from the beautiful Gloria Ferrer Wine Caves. DH had a flat bread with cheese and figs, I had a tuna sandwich that was so fresh with capers and more. Easy, peasy and quick! Dinner was at Zin in Healdsburg. I wish I remembered better what we ate, but I do recall that over all it was quite good. Not amazing, but very good. DH had the shortribs and the bean soup. He loved the soup and while we thought the ribs tasted good, I could have done without the fatty taste, but I do realize that goes with the dish. We shared some cheese stuffed, pastry wrapped figs and something else to begin. Next day we had lunch at Oakville Grocery in Healdsburg. Good food, but not as good as the day before. Hugely busy, so lunch took a bit longer than we liked. Dinner in Mendocino at Cafe Beaujolais. I had the salmon which was good, but not exceptional. DH had the sturgeon which was out of this world. Don't miss it! DH had a starter, but I'm not recalling which one. It was good, but not earthshaking. Dessert was fabulous! He had clafouti with a lemon cream fraiche topping. He all but licked the plate! I had the sorbet sampler which featured 3 fruit sorbets. They were outstanding too! Breakfast was so filling at our B&B (Brewery Gulch) that we didn't eat a meal until dinner. Oh what a mistake. Our hosts suggested the 'dining room' at the Red Lion Hotel. Ick! Overcooked salmon, mushy baked potato and oooey gooey pasta sauce. Not a meal to remember. Unfortunately breakfast at Marie Callendar's was much the same. The single worst waffle I've ever tasted!! I was determined that dinner would be better. I sussed out a cute perky place in the Old Town portion of Eureka called Hurricane Kate's. The service was not the greatest, our young waitress definitely had an attitude. But most of the food was creative and distinctive, with the sole exception of the terrible chicken tikka. The naan was inedible! Lunch the next day was at the Sea Galley, passable to good but I was yearning to get back to the wine country and the good food! Ukiah offered Applebee's the next night. Again, passable. The following day in Sonoma we missed lunch and were hungry for dinner. We decided to eat at "the girl and the fig" which was very nice. My heirloom tomato salad with feta cheese, smoked sea salt, mint and drizzled syrupy balsamic was practically an orgasmic treat! DH had a salad with figs, mussels and frites and half of my pork chop. The mussels were small but good. The frites were the thinnest, crispiest matchsticks and served with a garlic aioli. The were outstanding! My pork chop with a mustard verjus sauce was succulent and perfectly prepared. We had to pass on dessert as we were too full, but our last meal in wine country will be fondly remembered! Mon Aug 28 06:26:47 -0700 2006 16640 compucook