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Josh's Reviews: California
 Each link includes the first part of the review. Many of the reviews also include pictures of the individual dishes.
2011
For Beef Lovers: Bryan's Fine Foods, Corta Madeira, California (No, you don't have to go there!)
Friday, December 30
Bryan’s Fine Foods is a wonderful location to shop on line for products that are shipped overnight, to any location in the continental USA. For my Canadian readers, if you are fortunate to rent or own a residence in the United States for a time, and love to cook, Bryan’s is for you!!
Napa Restaurants: French Laundry; Tra Vigne; Bistro Jeanty; Oenotri; Rutherford Grill, Hurley's, Mustard's Grill, Baldessono Brunch, Oxbow Market.
Saturday, September 24
The French Laundry, Yountville, California
The French Laundry is on any serious eater's hit list and probably the number one on anyone's list of important restaurants to eat at in North America. Finally, I made the list of reservations! There are only 2 menu's, one having everything including meat and fowl, the other, "a tasting of vegetables".
Tra Vigne, St Helena, California
Tra Vigne is a an always jammed, people friendly place with a rather somber inside room and an arbored, leisure encouraging outdoor eating area. A good friend, former Toronto epicure, food writer Jim White, now a Napa resident, praised the bistecca fiorentina at Tra Vigne.
Bistro Jeanty, Yountville, California
This casual bistro owned by chef Philippe Jeanty is where one can experience classic examples of well prepared, rustic, French influenced cuisine with a contemporary twist. The cuisine also well represents local produce and a good selection of regional wines.
Oenotri, Napa, California
Oenotri has an ambitious menu and that attracted me to try the restaurant. The menu is rustic but sophisticated.
Lunch at The Rutherford Grill
Lunch at the Rutherford Grill is said to be the time that many vintners and area farmers attend. It was certainly a convenient place to eat in the area that we were tasting wines.
Dinner at the Rutherford Grill
I ordered roast beef with high expectations. The owner of the Grill is reputed to be the owner of Huston's Steak House and apparently this resto is his "baby". He should know beef. The menu read well: slow roasted, roast beef.
Mustard's Grill
We began with a very tasty tomale made with sweet creamy corn, wild mushrooms, and accompanied by pumpkin seeds and a terrific tomatillo, avocado salsa.
Hurley's
We began with lightly breaded crisy mix of calimari, rock shrimp, red onion and cauliflower florets accompanied by a caper remoulade.
Baldessano Hotel Restaurant: Brunch
The Baldessano is a very attractive, modern and cleanly designed hotel that is so respectful of a natural habitat. I ate outside on a lovely, clear skied, sunny morning.
Oxbow Market: C Casa and Pico Pico Bar
My friend Jim White, now a native of Napa, highly recommended a sojourn to this market full of different food a craft purveyors. At certain times of the week there is also a farmer's market that I did not make.
C Casa
C Casa specializes in creatively made tacos with very wholesome, tasty ingredients. I just had to order 3. I began with a rotisserie duck taco with baby spinach, orange wedges, goat cheese, cilantro and serrano salsa. This delicious taco went down quickly!
Pica Pica Bar
Still hungry, I wandered down to Pica Pica Bar. Their display looked very appetizing. I enjoyed a "maizewich" of grilled sweet corn bread "pernil", a wonderfully spiced, slow roasted shoulder of pulled pork, with sliced tomato, sliced avocado and a garlic aioli.
Pizzaiolo and Plum Restaurants, Oakland, California
Tuesday, September 20
Brunch at Plum restaurant
Plum was suggested to me by several friends. On my first visit, I was inspired by the ambitious menu for both the brunch, and dinner which I attended on a visit later in the week.
Pizzaiolo Restaurant
Pizzaiolo and it's sister restaurant, Boot and Shoe Service, are suggested as being 2 of the top 4 pizza places (the others being Cafe Panisse and Olivetto) in the Berkeley/Oakland area to enjoy pizzas made in a wood burning oven.
Recent San Francisco restaurant experiences
Sunday, February 27
Perbacco
We arrived at Perbacco in the heart of the truffle season and the restaurant had a special truffle menu prepared featuring Alba truffles in 10 courses consisting of antipasti, primi and secondi...
Incanto, San Francisco
Incanto is one of those great "discovery" restaurants. Very simple ambiance, but, Chris Consentino...what a chef!! The food that we enjoyed here was true visual, gustatory and olfactory comfort food!! NB-- this is a restaurant that you can call ahead for a group of 6 or more and order "leg of beast", ham in hay or a whole pig!!
Zero Zero
Zero Zero is restaurant and bar, with a very good selection of starters, salads, pastas and desserts. It also features very good pizzas made in a wood burning oven.
SPQR
The character of this restaurant is to present many small dishes with lots of rustic flavours and textures and they did that well.
COI
Coi is clearly one of the great restaurants of San Francisco and perhaps the United States. The cuisine is world class. The menu changes regularly and reflects the best of what is seasonal and available locally.
Contigo
Contigo is a Spanish influenced resto specializing in small plates. The cuisine is authentic, rustic and very satisfying.
Berkeley and Oakland, California Restaurant Experiences
Tuesday, February 8
Chez Panisse Restaurant Cafe, Berkeley
Chez Panisse restaurant has been around for a very long time. I chose to eat at the cafe upstairs, a less formal establishment that has a very special interest in comfort food.
Bakesale Betty's, Oakland
Bakesale Betty's is a very small room with no seats inside and a big lineup outside if you come during the prime times. They are particularly known for their southern fried chicken sandwich and it is known throughout the area, hence the long lines.
Saul's Restaurant and Delicatessen, Berkeley
Saul's is mentioned in many guidebooks and in David Sax's book, Save the Deli. So, I decided to try it out.
Tacos Sinaloa, Oakland
This tacos truck was a trek and probably not worth it, but once I received my food, I enjoyed it for what it was, good local real food.
Everett and Jones BBQ, Oakland
Everett and Jones is a well known highly regarded local bbq resto that uses white oak for smoking.
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