Monday, December 17, 2007

French Laundry in February...



Oh...

My...

GOD...

I feel like I just won the Epicurean Lottery... I just scored reservations for the French Laundry in February! I can barely contain my excitement! I have been dying to go there... Not just because it is the ultimate dining experience next to El Bulli in Spain, but because I am so fascinated with Thomas Keller after reading Michael Ruhlman's book, The Soul of A Chef. And also, now that I am leaving the Bay Area next Spring it is all about doing or rather, eating at all of the places that have been on my most coveted list.

Here's how it went down:
I had heard all of these tips about how to get a reservation, you know, like calling 2 months to the date, booking on OpenTable.com at 12 midnight, etc. etc...

I tried calling for a reservation at 10am this morning and could not get through... Then after lunch, I started doing the old redial and connected... After being on hold for five minutes or so, I got a live person/reservationist and was able to make a rez for the weekend after Valentine's Day week. It is exactly 2 months to the date...

Unbelievable. But I got it!

I will now be counting down the days...

Please pardon me in the meantime while I go do some cartwheels...

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

South Food + Wine Bar



Neighborhood: SOMA

Wow. Two new Restaurants two nights in a row (Laiola the night before...) and Another great hit for me tonight. Nice, I love when that happens... And by 'Hit' I mean, Good Food, Great & Friendly Service and Great Atmosphere that will have me coming back...

So we finally went here at the prompting of my girlfriend Jen, who had been wanting to come here for quite some time, but a rez had been difficult to get up to this point. Surprisingly, I actually scored a table for 6 on OpenTable that same morning... Must've been the Thanksgiving weekend... Whatever the case, I am so glad that we got in for Dinner.



First of all, it is a Beautiful Space... The Place is very Modern Oz/Kiwi with Warm Brown Woods, Maori inspired Floors and my Favorite Part is the Molded Australian Wood Lighting Fixtures hanging from the Ceiling which cast Intricate Curvillinnear Shadows onto the Entire Space.. The Effect is Gorgeous.

We were greeted warmly and our group was sat in front of the window. Our Server was extremely friendly and introduced herself, and although it was busy in the Restaurant what she lacked in attentiveness at times, the Bartender picked up, so we were never left hanging. Our Bartender was very knowledgable about Australian & New Zealand Wines and very easy on the eyes too. The Wine was really flowing that night and the one Wine that he suggested that stood out for us was the Arlewood, Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River, 2003 which went really well with the Food.

So here's the Raptor Food Breakdown:
For Starters we shared the Bushman's Plate - a Combination Plate of Olives, Salami, Marinated Veggies, Lamb Sausage, Shrimp in Herbs, Hummus and Such... A nice start...




We also had a dozen Oysters with Buttery Leek and a Wasabi Vinaigrette to start and the Coconut Broth with New Zealand Green Lip Mussel Dumplings which were both lovely. One last Starter Dish that we had was the Salmon Sashimi in Curry & Lime, which I thought made for a really nice Flavor combination which my Dining Companions would more than likely agree with...



For our Mains, we had the Pan Roasted Barramundi with Crispy Skin rubbed with Rozelle Spices and paired with Cauliflower Puree and Sunchokes. I really liked the combination of Flavors in this Dish as well...



We also had the New Zealand Lamb Cutlets with Mint Chimichurri and a Snow Pea and Almond Salad. I liked the Lamb with the Chimichurri, but the Salad, I just didn't get. It was a bit bland and didn't really add anything to the Dish for me.




Lastly, we had the BBQ Australian Beef Fillet with Mushrooms, Salsify and Truffled Verjus which was really great. Very Flavorful and a definite hit amongst all 6 of us.


I did not know what to expect from an Australian Food & Wine Bar and this place exceeded my expections. And the Food, the Food was all pretty spot-on. No misses here and the Staff is incredibly friendly. Try this place...