665100 Thu Nov 05 22:40:38 -0800 2009 0 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 5160105 After pouring over posts here on Chowhound and checking that other site that begins with a Y (it did start in SF), hit up the following places: Aziza: Excellent meal, the best seafood I've had since my Bouley tasting lunch in NYC 1 1/2 yrs ago. Had the the sea bass which had a super crisp skin and the spot prawn was perfectly cooked, fresh, and tasted like the sea. Wonderful carrot sauce on the bottom with brown butter couscous. The quince dessert was fantastic. Quince wrapped in a little crepe purse with apple fritters aka little donut orbs size of marbles with a piece of apple inside. Portions a bit small since my entree was seafood, definitely need at least 2 courses to be full here. Quality food though. Boccalone: Salumi cone with some type of ham, prosciutto, and fennel and orange salami. Everything melted in my mouth and made me rethink the salty bomb crap I buy from the grocery store. Acme Bread: Just grabbed an olive and cheese roll, so delicious and dense. Taylor's Automatic Refresher: I hoped to grab some prepared food from one of the farmer's market vendors, but they didn't have too many on a Tuesday. I got their signature Ahi sandwich which was actually quite good with the wasabi and ginger laced coleslaw. Kinda pricey though. Sotto Mare: Sand dabs, sand dabs, sand dabs! Loved the awesome, lightly breaded and perfectly seasoned sand dabs. The bf's seafood linguine with pink sauce chock full of seafood, and not to fishy tasting at all. Weather was mild so dined al fresco, very nice. Alembic: Grabbed some drinks and dessert here after Sotto Mare. Drinks are interesting and different here. Liked my Pisco Sour although a bit light on the amount. The creme brulee brioche was divine. The brioche was milky almost like tres leches and brulee'd on the top. Came with diced apples, a creamy anglaise type sauce, and caramel sauce. Tartine: HEAVEN! I've never had a better croissant in my life. So flaky, buttery, and delicious. Also had the ham and leek quiche, morning bun, chocolate croissant, and gougere. Everything absolutely divine, especially the gougere which looks like a dense roll but it hollow and tender like a popover on the inside. A bit pricey, but everything is large and it's damn well worth it. If this was in LA/OC, I'd be 20 lbs heavier. Overall, got a good sample of high and low, and all delicious stuff. Can't wait for my next trip, well worth the 5.5 hour drive each way! Thu Nov 05 22:40:38 -0800 2009 63444 groover808