Help me impress my cousin from NY! - In North Bay

[Jeni Bean]

My 27 year old, sushi-fiend cousin, is coming to visit me tomorrow night. I don't know if sushi is right, considering the North Bay's issues. He is a Nor Cal guy at heart, loves Mexican, and mises it, but would also love an amazing experitence. Considering Willi's, etc.... HELP!

[tvham]

If you decide to forgo sushi you can take him to Pizzeria Picco in Larkspur to prove to him that you can get great pizza in the Bay Area!

[Melanie Wong]

How'd it go, Jeni?

[Jeni Bean]

They screwed up my plans by having a gutbuster at Yank Sing, so I didn't want to go over the top. We went to SeaThai in Montgomery Village, which I really like. I think their actual dishware is a little enormous, which can cause some crowding, but my Cous and his fiancee were highly impressed with the "not gluey" pad thai. The pumkin red curry could have used more heat, but then again, it always can. My Cousin's fiance had some apple salad that she said was inedible, which stinks. All in all I think they have lost a bit of their first high quality/fresh flavors, but it is still nice Thai. If only it weren't so freaking expensive. As a former San Franciscan, it is really hard to pay 12+ for pad thai, etc. no matter how good!

Thanks for asking!

As an aside, Hubby and I went to Kebab and Curry. Food was good, service was hysterically attentive BUT ALSO they had a beer called 10,000 Monks, which was new to me. It is fabulously alcoholy, but a little sweet, a perfect match to the spicy (medium was "American Spicy" and had some nice heat) food we were served.

Happy chowing!

[steve h.]

we new yorkers like incanto. we're also pretty fond of taking the j-church line out there. something about mass transit that really resonates.

[tupac17616]

I think a good way to impress a New Yorker is Ubuntu. I lived in NY for four years, and I know I certainly never got vegetables like that...

[sfbing]

I love meat and I don't really like cheese. Plus, I thought that whole biodynamic garden/yoga studio deal was a lot over the top. And yet...I was blown away by Ubuntu. The food is wonderfully creative, it is a nice space with a lot of families dropping in for a pizza, and the service is excellent.

Plus, I don't know how many people know this, but for a party of four or more, they will happily craft a tasting menu of everything on the menu that day.

[rworange]

Nice tip

It took me a long time to get their due to my perception of what it might be. It is a restaurant that despite a majority of positive reviews is never going to have it easy because of the image that it is something else.

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Ubuntu Restaurant & Yoga Studio
1140 Main Street, Napa, CA 94558

[Xiao Yang]

Isn't there a Nepali/Sherpa community in the North Bay, and two or three Himalayan restuarants? He might enjoy something along those lines more elaborate than a Roosevelt Avenue hole-in-the-wall.

[Robert Lauriston]

Namaste Kitchen in Petaluma, Taste of the Himalayas in Sonoma, Himalayan Tandoori & Curry House in Sebastopol, but they have that cuisine in NYC.

[Xiao Yang]

Yes, but it's rather thinly reperesented. Probably the only ethninc cuisine in the North Bay that could stand up to its NY counterparts.

[extrasalty]

Here's another vote for Sushi Ran.

[saffrongold]

I second Hana in Rohnert Park and for non-sushi Sol Food in San Rafael. Delicious plantanos, housemade limeade and more

[Civil Bear]

I like Sol too, but I am guessing you could find a lot more choices for Puerto Rican food in NY.

[Robert Lauriston]

Taking a visiting New Yorker to Sol Food would be like taking a San Franciscan visiting New York to El Loco Burrito III.

[rworange]

Seriously, not Sol Food unless you want to be mocked. I like Sol Food, but my NY friends would not be so kind.

[Melanie Wong]

Find out his favorite sushi place, he might not be that hard to please. If he's not into authenticity, then you might be safe with sushi, but generally, sushi is not a strong point in the entire Bay Area compared to the top spots in NY or LA. I would not go to either Willi's if I werer trying to impress someone.

Have you considered Eloise in Sebastopol? Not sushi, but he'll recognize the pedigree of the chef/owners from Prune and reports have been uniformly good.

Note that Hana is in Rohnert Park, not Santa Rosa.

[Sarah]

If North Bay includes Sausalito, there's the incomparable Sushi Ran. Ummm - what are the "issues?"

[MangiaSophiaMangia]

How far north are you thinking of traveling? I really like Hana Sushi in Santa Rosa if you are going that far north.