593804 Thu Feb 05 15:11:37 -0800 2009 10 3 California 0 4391278 Here are my reviews from visiting Gold Country over the 2008 holiday season. Susan's Place Wine Bar & Eatery 4 stars (out of 5) I think we were the youngest people here by about 30 years, but this place doesn't give off a stuffy or antiquated vibe. There's a nice patio and the interior is all twinkly lights and twisty vines. It's quite pretty. My husband and I both ordered the Moroccan Chicken. The sauce covering the chicken was too gloopy but the flavors were there. It came with a salad that was very good. We had a table with a full partition from the next table, which made our nook seem very private. The server was really sweet and friendly. This was the hands down the best meal we had in our 5 days in Gold Country. Susan’s Place Wine Bar & Eatery 15 Eureka St Sutter Creek, CA 95685 (209) 267-0945 Grilled Xpress 4 stars (out of 5) This place tastes better than it looks. Inside are a few dated orange banquettes and a couple orange tableclothed tables. My husband was very happy with his steak sandwich for $8. I had the salmon burger which seemed like a bargain for $7. We also shared a side of perfectly crisp thin fries for an extra $1.50. (I was disappointed that they didn't have deli mustard on hand for dipping, only French's which I hate with the intensity of a thousand suns.) Unfortunately my salmon was very fishy tasting. Some thought went into the slaw and dressing of the burger though and that part was tasty. I could see if the salmon was better, the burger would have been perfect. The soft drinks were self-serve. The server was a Euro chick and very friendly. Grilled Xpress 147 S Washington St Sonora, CA 95370 (209) 588-8796 Alfredo’s Mexican Restaurant 3 ½ stars (out of 5) Our Christmas Eve dinner was at Alfredo's this year because a) we were staying in Sonora, b) there were good reviews online, and c) it was open. This last one was key. Since Alfredo's was only one of a handful of restaurants in Sonora open Christmas Eve there was a pretty big dinnertime crowd. In fact I think there was only one waitress for the entire restaurant. The meal started well with chips and salsa that were darn near perfect. The salsa was of the non-chunky variety and spicier than usual. My dad ordered Albondigas (meatball soup). It arrived and he had the following exchange with our server: "Where's the stuff?" "The stuff?" "You know, the stuff." "What do you mean, sir?" "You know, the *stuff* - the onions, cilantro, and everything that comes with it." "Do you want me to bring it?" "YEAH." (After exchanges like this I'm always worried I'll get spit in my food. I felt sorry for her having to deal with my dad. And he said this to a really *good* server - he even said so at the end of the meal.) Anyway, once "the stuff" arrived, my dad was very pleased with his Albondigas. He also loved his Fish Veracruz enough to continue to rave about it the following day. My mom and brother ordered the Enchiladas with Carne Asada. They were surprised the dish consisted of an enchilada with a small steak. (I could have told them that.) The steak wasn't very tender and didn't look it. I had the Carne Asada Tacos which came with rice and beans (I recommend the whole beans). Two small soft tacos for $10.50? I wasn't very impressed. Extra points for using corn tortillas, but the beef (steak chunks) wasn't very good quality. In fact I only ate one. My husband had the $14 Fajitas with beef and chicken. The fajitas are big enough for two people so I ate his scraps which looked more appealing than my remaining taco. Again, the beef in the fajitas was not so good (a beef recurring motif), but the chicken was nicely seasoned (in some sort of red spice rub). My family loved this place but I wasn't as impressed. I'm reviewing it though, not them, but I'll still include their ratings so you get a more complete picture. Chips and Salsa - 4 1/2 stars Albondigas (after "the stuff" arrived) - 5 stars Fish Veracruz (according to my dad) - 5 stars Enchilada with Carne Asada (according to my mom) - 3 1/2 stars Carne Asada Tacos - 1 1/2 stars Fajitas - 3 stars (according to my husband, 5 stars) The moral of the story is don't go to Alfredo's and order beef. Also, when you order for Pete's sake, ask for "the stuff." Alfredo’s Mexican Restaurant 123 S Washington St Sonora, CA 95370 (209) 532-8332 Hong Kong Garden Restaurant 3 ½ stars (out of 5) My parents arrived in Sonora one day before us and raved about Hong Kong Garden so much they almost returned here with us the following night for dinner. We actually ended up waiting two extra days before returning instead, and they ordered the same exact meal again. My family is all about the old school set Chinese menu and they got the cheapest one for $11 which includes wonton soup, veggie eggrolls, and three entrees (one per person ordering), Sweet and Sour Pork, Mongolian Beef, and Almond Chicken. Before my husband and I ate here with them my family talked about how the Sweet and Sour Pork was superb. I have trouble trusting anyone's judgment who orders Sweet and Sour Pork, so initially when they suggested this place I had my doubts. While my family had their repeat order, my husband and I got the Sizzling Chicken and Garlic plate ($8) and the Chicken with Basil ($8). Both dishes were good but a bit on the bland side. The sauces actually were quite similar. if I were to return I'd choose some dishes that were spicy, since I felt like the spicing of the food was generally toned down. The chicken quality had been talked up, but it was still dark meat chicken, albeit the good kind. (There are three times of chicken meat in Chinese restaurants: 1) white meat, 2) fatty and weird dark meat, and 3) good dark meat.) We paid an extra $2 for rice, soup, and veggie eggrolls to accompany our meals. The veggie eggrolls were good and not too greasy. I don't care for hot and sour soup but the husband liked his. For some reason they wouldn't let me sub it out for the wonton soup that came with the set meal. I tried my family's soup and they were correct in raving about it. (My dad proclaimed it the best part of his meal.) The broth had a nice subtle kick. The people who worked at Hong Kong Garden were really nice and recognized my familiy from a few days before. They brought us a plate of Orange Chicken, which we didn't order and confused us for several minutes. We asked about it and the servers didn't seem to know why we had it. Eventually one came over and said it was a gift from the chef for the New Year. It seemed more like a dish that was misdelivered to us instead of another table, but it was nice of them all the same. The Orange Chicken - lightly fried chicken in a sweet orange sauce - ended up being the best entree we tried. Overall, it was pretty good. If I lived in Sonora I'd definitely go back. Hong Kong Garden Restaurant 267 S Washington St Sonora, CA 95370 (209) 532-1544 Devon’s Delectables 3 stars (out of 5) When you get sick of the crowds of tourists on the main street of Columbia, go one block east for a tourist free (and actually, totally empty) cafe. It looked nice and cute and clean, and had a small Christmas tree full of kitchen related ornaments. It was a nice place to duck into while my family watched the entirety of some boring video at the Columbia Museum. The bakery cases were full of lemon squares, linzer tarts, and gingerbread cake (the latter looked particularly good). My husband god a gingerbread "boy" which was unfortunately a bit dry and on the hard side. They also carried $8 giant gingerbread boys. The gingerbread boy deserves 2 stars, but the really nice counter people and cute cafe bumped it up a star. Devon’s Delectables 11256 State St Columbia, CA 95310 (209) 588-8130 Willow Steakhouse & Saloon 3 stars (out of 5) I'm still bitter we ate here. It was put up to a family vote, and half of us wanted to go to Banny's in Sonora. (Banny's had better online reviews (especially for filet mignon), and the menu sounded delish (chicken marsala, rack of lamb, and a $20 prix fixe). They seemed to care more about seasonal ingredients and their pasta was touted as homemade. Stop reading this review and go to Banny's instead since I never got to. It is too late for me, my son...) Anyway, it was a tie vote, and Mr. Kathy (my father) declared, "There's something for everyone at Willow. Let's eat there." I didn't really understand that justification since Willow's menu is basically steak (in all forms), a couple chicken dishes, and fish, and my dad later said "I would never get fish in a steak restaurant." So basically Willow's menu is just steak and two chicken dishes so it's more diverse? I learned you should never debate between two restaurants when you're standing in front of one of them because that's where you will go. I'd already learned my lesson about my brother and dad picking a restaurant they'd been to before and loved (and they were the two votes in favor of Willow): http://www.yelp.com/biz/caffe-italia-davis#hrid:2XcgUf-R1-0OAmgak0mvsg/query:italian (Now that I know my mom reads my reviews, I hope she'll enjoy that one as well.) Anyway I'll try not to let the bitterness cloud my opinion of Willow. In reviews people mentioned the sense of history they felt sitting inside Willow. The building has a great Gold Rush look from the outside, the bar has a great old feeling to it, and the menu has a nice summary of the history of the place. However, the dining room is pretty nondescript. It's not decorated in "old timey Gold Rush", and if you didn't know that this place was historical, you wouldn't have been able to tell while eating there. Willow has complimentary bread and fondue (no forks here - you swipe it in the cheese). While I like the attempt to do something new with the bread and butter course, the fondue was not good. (Unfortunately the bread was really average, not hot, and not worth eating on its own.) The cheddar cheese fondue was really one dimensional - like if you took a block of cheddar cheese and melted it down without adding anything to it. If you've had fondue at a fondue restaurant you'd immediately recognize the suck-itude of this fondue. Once I told my brother how the pizza at one restaurant had too much cheese. He said, "No such thing." Not surprisingly, he loved the fondue. We all had some form of steak or prime rib. They were all around $20 and included vegetables, and a choice of potato. They cooked my Prime Rib a pretty good medium rare. It tasted pretty good, but only about a quarter of the beef was the best quality meat, another quarter was the brown but still edible meat, and the other half was fat, gristle, and other unseemly parts. My husband who also had the Prime Rib experienced the same thing. We didn't blame Willow for this as I think this is pretty common. We just think in the future when we want beef that Prime Rib's not our thing. The veggies were pretty non-descript. The best thing of the whole meal were the Roasted Red Potatoes with Parmesan (my father, beef lover surpreme, agreed). They were pre-made so my husband couldn't get them without Parmesan, but there wasn't much on there so he still ate some from my plate. The service was only okay. I remember a long period of time where we needed something from our server but we couldn't find her and we ended up asking another server for help. Why are you still reading this? You should be at Banny's! Willow Steakhouse & Saloon Willow & Main Jamestown, CA 95327 (209) 984-3998 Thu Feb 05 15:11:37 -0800 2009 10992 katya 1 4392191 I can see Willow has not changed. It was pretty bad - but a trip down memory lane when this was standard for dining out in America. Yes, agree it was a huge disappointment. But this whole area knows who they are catering too and it is not the gourmet crowd. They are selling meat to the meat eater and overkill calories on everything else in grand American fashion. Thu Feb 05 23:10:35 -0800 2009 4391278 12522 glbtrtr 1 4392892 I was expecting Chinese Italian with Alfredo's Hong Kong Garden. Fri Feb 06 08:15:36 -0800 2009 4391278 12082 PeterL 2 4393385 I kept trying to add 2 lines to separate the reviews from each other, but Chowhound kept changing it back. But yeah, Alfredo's Hong Kong Garden sounds pretty intriguing. Sadly, glbtrtr, the description you give for who Willow's target audience is fits the men in my family to a tee. No wonder we ended up there... Fri Feb 06 10:28:18 -0800 2009 4392892 10992 katya 1 4393644 Nice report, Katya, it stirred me to dig up my somewhat old notes on the areas. Wondering if you happened to notice if the following places are still around, have changed, or folded? TIA In Jamestown, I have refs for Solomon's in the Jamestown Hotel, and the Main St. Grill (same owners as Sonoma?) In Sonoma, the Diamondback Grill (on Washington), Peppery Gar and Brill on Mono Way in East Sonora (frmly Hwy 108), and Backstreet Bar and Grill (wood fired pizzas, etc) on Stewart Street one block up from Washington. We also ate at Alfredo's and had decent food on our last trip, however after returning home discovered the following information posted on CH: Comacho's Taqueria is ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL - open for lunch, chile relleno Cocino Michoacana - carne asada w/chile verde on Mono Way in East Sonora (also in Groveland and Oakdale) Garcia's Taqueria - fish tacos, upstairs at 145 S. Washington Street I'm afraid this one might have closed not too long ago. One poster mentioned they thought the taco truck was better than Alfredo's or Pablito's. Fri Feb 06 11:38:15 -0800 2009 4391278 18150 PolarBear 2 4394354 I didn't see many of the places you mentioned so if I don't refer to them here it's because I didn't see them. (Of course that doesn't mean they're closed.) The Diamondback Grill - Hour+ long waits for small groups (6 people). People waiting outside whenever we walked by. Backstreet Bar & Grill - I think I saw this place. Garcia's - Looked closed. Fri Feb 06 14:55:03 -0800 2009 4393644 10992 katya 2 4527809 Most of those places have been closed. We no longer have: Soloman's Backstreet Bar & Grill Camacho's might have moved Garcia's was wonderful, but closed some time ago Cocina Michoacano burned down last year, but is opening in the sonora Plaza shopping center very soon. Sonora can't wait. It has been missed. Sun Mar 22 13:24:43 -0700 2009 4393644 276499 KKatt 3 4528239 Thanks for the update, KKatt, much appreciated. Sun Mar 22 16:42:14 -0700 2009 4527809 18150 PolarBear 1 4393663 Katya, what has happened to the hotel/bar/restaurant in Columbia? Fri Feb 06 11:43:08 -0800 2009 4391278 13118 Gail 2 4394358 I'm not sure if I saw this place. I think I remember a hotel in the middle of the historic district with a restaurant in the front window. Fri Feb 06 14:55:49 -0800 2009 4393663 10992 katya 3 4394469 This is it. Just wondered if it is any good....anyone? http://foreverlodging.com/foreverinfo.cfm?PropertyKey=165&ContentKey=168405 Fri Feb 06 15:41:16 -0800 2009 4394358 13118 Gail