663505 Fri Oct 30 08:23:54 -0700 2009 34 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 5142768 I'm going to be there for the weekend in November, collecting on a bet with a foodie friend who is buying dinner wherever I want.... I have to pick and I need help! Fri Oct 30 08:23:54 -0700 2009 183493 hungryinwdc 1 5142801 If I had one meal in San Francisco, I'd spell it right :-(. Sorry, couldn't resist. Just a few pointers to ensure that you tap into the amazing resources available here from this Board's intrepid Chowhounds.You are going to get better responses if you narrow it down. There are about 5,000 restaurants in the SF Bay Area, in all price ranges and most every type of cuisine and the poor Hounds here get questions like yours literally dozens of times a month. You need to provide more info. Where are you staying? Are you willing to travel for food? What price range? What kind of food are you looking for? What day of the week (lots of places are closed Sun and/or Mon)? Have a great time! Fri Oct 30 08:33:55 -0700 2009 5142768 169233 grayelf 2 5142957 oops. that's embarrassing (and fixed now- thanks!) it will be a friday night, yes, we're willing to travel, (we're staying downtown but dining with friends who live near Palo Alto). as for price, the sky's the limit -- we just want to have the best possible meal we can have! Fri Oct 30 09:29:56 -0700 2009 5142801 183493 hungryinwdc 3 5143107 Manresa. Fri Oct 30 10:14:11 -0700 2009 5142957 11369 Robert Lauriston 3 5143165 I think Manresa is a good choice, especially since your friends live on the Peninsula. Plus, it's a very California restaurant, compared to most of the high-end places in San Francisco which are similar in style to high-end restaurants in other parts of the country. The other hothothot place right now is Commis in Oakland. You can impress your friend, who probably hasn't even heard of it, by knowing about an amazing restaurant in a little storefront in Oakland. Fri Oct 30 10:29:35 -0700 2009 5142957 10159 Ruth Lafler 4 5143191 Right now I want to go to La Folie as I haven't been able to make it there yet. Been to both Manresa and Commis and right now I'd probably pick Commis as the place to go. Afterwards you can head up Piedmont Ave to Adesso and have some of their fine salumis. If price is no object (and you are willing to travel a bit) then why not try The French Laundry? Btw why is the display of my post removing the capitalization of The French Laundry? Fri Oct 30 10:37:06 -0700 2009 5143165 280762 skwid 5 5143203 Thanks for all the input! Unfortunately, we haven't planned it far enough in advance to get reservations at french laundry... Fri Oct 30 10:40:11 -0700 2009 5143191 183493 hungryinwdc 5 5143251 It also removed the capitalization of "Manresa" in all our posts. They should disable this feature until the get all the bugs worked out (or permanently) Fri Oct 30 10:53:03 -0700 2009 5143191 10159 Ruth Lafler 4 5144521 It says on the website that the chef at Commis used to be chef de cuisine at Manresa -- so sort of two birds with one stone?? ETA: I did not add the "old style" resto links here -- is that something new in the program. Fri Oct 30 21:32:15 -0700 2009 5143165 169233 grayelf 5 5144595 Yup. Annoying, buggy new "feature" that turns every word that matches something in the database into a link, whether the post actually refers to the place or not. Fri Oct 30 23:24:16 -0700 2009 5144521 10159 Ruth Lafler 6 5144905 I know about the inline links Ruth -- this is the first time I've had it add the old style links "below" my post with the red squibs (which I actually prefer as they standout and you can see who is recc'ing them, unlike the places mentioned squibs on the right side). Sat Oct 31 08:07:13 -0700 2009 5144595 169233 grayelf 7 5146760 I don't see them. I did have an experience where I manually put in the links, they showed at the bottom, and then they disappeared when I actually posted. Do you still see them in your post above where you mentioned them? Maybe it's some weird quirk on my browser? Sun Nov 01 09:00:55 -0800 2009 5144905 10159 Ruth Lafler 8 5146838 Yup, still there for me. Weird. Sun Nov 01 09:43:29 -0800 2009 5146760 169233 grayelf 3 5143693 A 3rd on Manresa. I liked it more then the French Laundry. Mind stretching is what I experienced. Besides being convenient to the south bay, it's also a "bargain" compared to French Laundry. Get the tasting menu. Order some local wines and you should have a fine meal and save a little in the process. Fri Oct 30 13:32:24 -0700 2009 5142957 27275 ML8000 1 5142827 I've always loved Fleur de Lys and Julius Castle. I'm out of the loop now as I moved out ten years ago though. Others I think fondly of are Boulevard, Zuni Cafe, Washington Bar & Grill, North Beach Restaurant. Fri Oct 30 08:42:58 -0700 2009 5142768 66022 bronwen 2 5142889 Julius' Castle is currently closed. Fleur de Lys has gotten mixed reports in the past year or two. The Washbag has gone through major changes but the latest owners (since March) reportedly have tried to bring back the original style. North Beach Restaurant gets more pans than raves here. Boulevard and Zuni haven't changed much in the past decade. Fri Oct 30 09:03:27 -0700 2009 5142827 11369 Robert Lauriston 3 5152074 Robert, thanks for an update - I also used to go to Moose's which is now closed, I udnerstand, Did anything open up in that space? Tue Nov 03 09:27:06 -0800 2009 5142889 66022 bronwen 4 5152090 Yeah, it's an East Coast-style Italian place. Tue Nov 03 09:31:00 -0800 2009 5152074 11369 Robert Lauriston 1 5143590 My favorite restaurant in San Francisco is La Folie. The PROBLEM with La Folie is that it is an excellent, classic French restaurant, the type you might find in NYC... or France. It is not unique to SF. If I wanted a unique-to-SF experience, I would go to Coi or Ame. Coi is experimental small portions 11 courses and you might leave needing more food before the night is through. But it really is something. Ame is a Japanese/Italian/French fusion restaurant unlike any you will find elsewhere. In terms of "dinner" vs. "culinary experience" I'd probably prefer Ame to Coi... but Coi is the more significant "culinary experience". Fri Oct 30 12:52:56 -0700 2009 5142768 50041 whiner 2 5144042 Second Coi. I did not leave hungry at all - maybe I ate a lot of their delicious bread. I still dream about my dinner at Coi. But I've never been to Ame. Fri Oct 30 16:18:55 -0700 2009 5143590 44619 mariacarmen 1 5143751 I thought long and hard about your dilemma. I love La Folie and that's a documented fact. Still, if I were to select one restaurant that puts the biggest smile on my face, that place would be Incanto. Not the fanciest, not the most expensive, just satisfying. Taking the J-Church from downtown to the Noe Valley just makes it better. Fri Oct 30 13:53:03 -0700 2009 5142768 10627 steve h. 2 5144159 The wine list is wonderful and with perseverance can make up for the food not being so expensive. Fri Oct 30 17:19:48 -0700 2009 5143751 11369 Robert Lauriston 3 5144214 the only thing better would be bringing in a half-dozen friends so you could share the entire menu. incanto is time well spent. Fri Oct 30 17:56:00 -0700 2009 5144159 10627 steve h. 1 5144031 I'd vote for Manresa as well. As its location has not been mentioned, I think, I would mention to you that Manresa is in downtown Los Gatos, about a 20-40 minute drive from Palo Alto, depending on traffic and where in Palo Alto you will be. Manresa is our favorite restaurant in the area, enough so that we venture there 4 to 5 times a year at least. Although taste is certainly subjective, I personally like it better than many of the area's other best restaurants, including The French Laundry, The Restaurant at Meadowood, Gary Danko, Coi, Boulevard, etc. I do have to admit that I have not been to Commis before. I also like the suggestions for La Folie and Incanto, very good for French and Italian food respectively, but neither is of the quality of preparation or presentation of Manresa. Fri Oct 30 16:08:42 -0700 2009 5142768 277520 Paris Dreamin 2 5144078 What do you like at Manresa? Fri Oct 30 16:35:56 -0700 2009 5144031 10627 steve h. 3 5144163 The menu changes daily, but the "Into the vegetable garden ..." is a must. I'm planning to do the four-course next time, nothing specific to Manresa but I'm through with tasting menus. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/548333 Fri Oct 30 17:21:24 -0700 2009 5144078 11369 Robert Lauriston 4 5144247 I look forward to your report. Tasting menus can be problematic in the sense of too much food, too much presentation, too much pretension. Done right, a tasting menu can be special but when everyone does it, it's just not that big a deal. Just my $0.02. Fri Oct 30 18:18:17 -0700 2009 5144163 10627 steve h. 5 5144283 There is nothing that I have ever had at Manresa that I haven't liked, but I would note a few things that I find to be incredible, with obviously things being seasonal. The vegetables are out of this world, due to Kinch overseeing their growth and cultivation. As Robert Lauriston said, "into the vegetable garden" is probably the best salad that you will ever have. Also, I love Kinch's Tidal Pool, lamb, and sucking pig dishes. But the best of them all, when it's available, is the abalone in brown butter, which I still rank as one of the top ten things that I have ever put in my mouth. Fri Oct 30 18:42:20 -0700 2009 5144247 277520 Paris Dreamin 6 5144304 I'm a big fan of abalone. Fri Oct 30 18:53:53 -0700 2009 5144283 10627 steve h. 7 5144386 Better eat it (but sparingly, save some for me) before it no longer exists in the world. Fri Oct 30 19:47:21 -0700 2009 5144304 277520 Paris Dreamin 8 5144419 there's a little island off the coast of hong kong island that serves a very good abalone. they're kind enough to sail me home after a day of excess. Fri Oct 30 20:05:25 -0700 2009 5144386 10627 steve h. 8 5147393 The abalone served at Manresa is local Monterey abalone, is sustainably farmed, and is listed as a "best choice" in the Seafood Watch guide -> http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_search.aspx?s=abalone It was also, hands down, the best dish I had there on a visit a couple months ago and generally just a fantastic dish, even though I did not love everything we had at Manresa (i.e., we were more impressed by the concept and presentation of the "into the vegetable garden" than by the flavors). Sun Nov 01 14:16:23 -0800 2009 5144386 35525 Frodnesor 5 5145180 The tasting menu I had at Manresa last year was extraordinary. If you like to eat that way, it's great. I've just realized that I have a better time when I eat larger helpings of fewer courses. Sat Oct 31 10:42:11 -0700 2009 5144247 11369 Robert Lauriston 6 5146382 Me as well. That is why I prefer La Folie to Coi. 4 or 5 courses, for me, is perfect. Sun Nov 01 05:10:03 -0800 2009 5145180 50041 whiner 6 5153286 Manresa sounds very good. I look forward to dining there. Tue Nov 03 15:12:25 -0800 2009 5145180 10627 steve h.