Sausalito, San Francisco – It is actually almost one year ago when we were there. But I came across some pictures from this lovely place and thought this MUST be in my blog – the pictures speak for themselves, right?
Santa Barbara – During our California holidays last December we ate in a really nice restaurant my best friend recommended to me. Again we were treated with delicious seafood and chose oysters as starter. Unfortunately the big seafood platter was out….maybe the cat? The restaurant has “siblings” in Santa Monica and Hollywood.
At this point I wanted to recommend a friend’s lifestyle blog called Citybabble that provides tips around the world for good places to go and see and much more interesting subjects. I really loved her latest post about the grand brunch in Zurich.
Yountville Napa Valley – When we visited some wineries in Napa we did not want to miss the ad Hoc….we heard so many good things about it. Although we were quite filled already from the day wine tasting we could not resist ordering an additional fresh bass (see Bob on the pic). The concept of the chef is to put food on the table that the people are sharing….a little bit like at the kitchen table at home – but on a very high level!
A place to go back….
http://www.adhocrestaurant.com/
Palo Alto – Silicon Valley does not only offer the latest technical devices but also a lot of good restaurants. In one of them we spent our New Year’s Day brunch. After a long night dedicated to a lot of bubbly stuff we needed some real food and my burger with juicy meat and freshly cut avocado was just perfect to regain energy.
They also serve great milkshakes – 5 seconds in mouth, 5 months on the hips….
http://www.paloaltocreamery.com/
San Francisco – On our first night out in San Francisco we booked a table at La Mar. First we had pisco sour – one of my favourite drinks -at the bar. The pisco was just as it has to be with the whipped egg white on top…yummy but really strong!
Then we moved to the restaurant and ordered some ceviche and other typical Peruvian food that treated our taste buds really well. The atmosphere in the restaurant is really cool and modern in a historic building at the wharf.
if you are in SF you NEED to go.
San Diego – After all the fast food we wanted to go for a posh dinner. We read about this exclusive place already at home. They serve various set menus of which we took the 6 course surprise menu.
The atmosphere is very elegant and you feel as in a historic building from the early 20ties.
The food was extraordinary delicious and service very attentive. The room is huge and as heating is not very popular in California we decided to take our dessert at the warming fireplace.
http://www.thegranddelmar.com/san-diego-dining-addison/
Santa Barbara – I got this restaurant tip from my best friend that lived in California for about 3 years. It is located behind the main street so it is not overran by all the tourists.
As a starter we had a dozen oysters from Washington as the local ones were sold out They serve really nice food platters – on one I even saw a sea urchin.
I went for the monk fish Asian style….you do not want anything else anymore 🙂 and my hubby took the sea trout which was a good choice as well.
http://thehungrycat.com/santa_barbara.html
Carmel – After a beautiful drive from San Francicso to Carmel on Highway No 1 we watched the sunset at the beach. We were still a little jetlegged and wanted to go for dinner earlier than booked. But the small restaurant was packed with people so we went to the bar around the corner.
Our table was prepared right below the pass for food so we could sneak with an eye in the kitchen. We couldn’t believe how quiet is was as there so many hungry people and just two cooks in the kitchen.
I had bruschetta with chicken liver and gorgonzola as a starter. My husband went for the gnocchis – both amazingly good.
Of course we had to try the osso bucco when it is on the menu and as well the ravioli filled with boar. It was fantastic and we had to admit, that it competes with many restaurants in Italy.
sybillesbeenthere 