maya
new mexican

tonight, i went to maya for the first time. i had dinner with sunhee and maria.

maya has a 3-course prix fixe menu for lunch and dinner all the time. nearly all of the items on the menu are included in the prix fixe. i, of course, opted for something that was not included. i had the lobster and shrimp entree, which was divine.

we started out with the spicy guacamole, which was wonderful. the chips were even warm. we also shared the spinach salad with pomegranates and spicy walnuts. this was delicious. sunhee had the hangar steak, of which i had a taste. it was prepared well with grilled onions. maria had the red snapper, and i had a taste of that, too. also yummy.

for dessert we had the chocolate tres leches, which was topped with a little vanilla bean ice cream and strawberries.

the margaritas are also not to be missed. i would definitely go back again.

amber india, mountain view
indian

this was my third time at amber, i think. actually, it might have been my second. tonight, there were 20+ people assembled for todd's bday.

i have not been very good about keeping up this part of the site. i'm going to try to do this right.

10.28.03
cote sud, castro
french

i'm kind of a snob when it comes to french food. i like really really great french food. bad french food is just that: bad. i was a little skeptical about trying this place, as it's been written up a lot locally and i thought it would be all hype. i was wrong.

the main room is a bright yellow with blue trim. it feels mediterranean, but also reminded me of provence.

we had a table by the door, which was fine, considering we needed the breeze that evening. it wasn't too close to the door, but i definitely noticed people walking up from the street.

cote sud has a prix fixe menu option. it was impressive to see that everything on the menu was available with the p.f. and specials were the only items that required supplements. the menu was vast and even a sea vegan like me had a multitude of choices.

also impressive: the warm, crusty bread. yum.

i was with two friends, and we all got unique p.f.'s. here's what we sampled:

appetizers: escargot prepared similar to a gratin, beef tar tar, and seared tuna nicoise salad

entrees: pork with a red wine reduction, fish cassoulet, and scallops

desserts: strawberry soup, napoleon, and peach tart

with a bottle of viognier ($25), the total with tip and tax was $50/pp. we ordered a few of the specials, which drove up the price. i thought that was pretty reasonable.

the service was a little lacking in that they were slow to bring us water and bread as we were waiting for the third in our party. however, once we all present, the service was attentive and cute!

i would go back, as there were definitely other items i would like to try.

matsuhisa (los angeles)
sushi and more (i actually went to this restaurant on friday, june 27.)

i have been to nobu's restaurant in nyc. it is by far one of the best meals i have had in my life. probably second only to french laundry. the amazing thing about my experience at nobu in ny is that it was over 6 yrs ago that i went, and i can still remember most of the meal.

matushisa is his first restaurant. it's on la cienga, and it's definitely more modest than his ny branch. however, it's definitely still interesting and serves great food.

i went there with raaf. he noticed that there were shadows of people as if they were sitting at the tables, painted on the walls. we both got the mid-tier omakase (chef's menu). there were three from which to choose -- $75, 95, and 125. i think the meal was five courses. i'll have to confer with him to verify. the meal started with a monkfish pate. next was seared toro. i saw a table next to us get it, and i could have sworn it was meat. lucky me -- it was fish. gorgeous. we had seared clams, and some other small dishes that i can't remember at this point. it ended with a simple, set of nigiri sushi. then came dessert. we got two different ones, and i enjoyed the chocolate covered "log". i'm not sure what was in it, but it was yummy.

with the bottle of sake, the bill was about $135/person. yeah. it's a bit much. however, the service was great, and the meal was pretty amazing. although, i think i am spoiled by the french laundry.

musha (los angeles)
japanese tapas (izakaya)

i actually went to musha on thurs, june 26 with linda and junki. it's a block away from the 3rd street promenade.

the environment was fun; they yelled a welcome to us as we passed through the cloth drapes. they sat us in a room that fit just our table. this was actually to our benefit, as the rest of the restaurant seemed pretty loud.

as we sat down, our waitress gave us the three menus that we would all share. each was unique. there was way too much from which to choose.

we decided to chose a couple of of small dishes each to share. we ordered a crab stuffed japanese eggplant, which was awesome, tofu fries, mackerel sashimi, mgc (mushu fried chicken), tuna croquettas, and maguro wasabi poke. there might have been more, but i can't remember now. everything we tried was delicious. i'm not sure that i would order the mackerel again, although the presentation was great. they actually had a butane flame that they used to sear the fish at the table.

i'd definitely go there again.

i have no idea how much everything cost, cuz junki picked up the tab. however, they had a beer special -- large sapporo for $3, and they gave me and linda goodie bags as we left, which included candy and free drink coupons. gotta love that.

ramblas (16th and mission)
tapas

last night i went to ramblas in the mission. it was probably the third time i was there. the last time i was there was with robert, and i think the first time was with spencer and some of his friends.

ramblas is owned by the same people as thirsty bear. they have some of the same brews and food. the atmosphere at ramblas is a little different, though, and in my opinion better than thirsty bear. apparently, thirsty bear turns into a *club*, with a cover charge. i think i was there one night for dinner and it made it's transformation as i was leaving. thank god.

ok, back to ramblas. we ordered 6 different dishes:
1. sea bass (new zealand, not chilean) - 2 orders
2. spinach with raisins and walnuts - 2 orders
3. sherried mushrooms
4. fried potatoes
5. zarzuela (seafood stew)

the sea bass was hands down the best dish. it was slightly crispy on the outside and came over a ratatouille-like mix of bell peppers, eggplant, and onions. i know that ratatouille has tomatoes, and this didn't, but it still reminded me of it. the spinach and mushrooms were a close second. since jane and i have the same weirdo diet (we eat veggies, fish, seafood, and avoid eggs, unless they are already cooked in whatever has been put in front of us), it was a perfect meal. interestingly, she did not try the mushrooms. i enjoyed them.

we ordered a pitcher of sangria, which was also tasty. it filled about five glasses. ashley only had half a glass, so we had to top everyone else's off. too bad.

we finished off the meal with an unsatisfying chocolate cake with raspberry coulis and ice cream. the ice cream was good, but the cake was dry. also, as matte says, raspberry coulis is overused these days. i can't blame willo for ordering it, though, as the description did sound delicious, and it was by far the best option on the dessert menu.

ramblas was inexpensive, as well. for $18 a person, it was quite the value.

tonight i went to clementine in the richmond. they don't seem to have a site of their own, but there is a listing in citysearch.

anuja's going be gone all summer and she wanted to try this place with a bunch of us. so, joanne, mel, tina, laura, anuja, and i had dinner there.

i was totally running late -- yoga let out late -- but it turned out that the restaurant had screwed up the reservations. instead of confirming it, they thought anuja was cancelling it. however, it was worth the wait.

mel, tina, and i shared the escargot appetizer. yum. i cannot pass up escargot. i mean, it's one of those things i'll never make at home, and it's just a vessel for butter and herbs. yum. it was perfect actually cuz we eat had two.

tina and i both had the seared dayboat scallops and lobster risotto. i am a huge fan of day boat scallops. its generally an easy decision if i see those on the menu. combined with risotto ... can't go wrong. i think the sauce around the risotto was a port veal stock, but i can't be sure. it was delicious, but a bit on the salty side. however, it wasn't overpowering.

mel had the quail, and the rest had lamb. i did have a taste of the lamb, and it was good, but not fantastic. mel's mushroom raviolis were also yummy.

five of us shared a bottle of wine; a nice pinot from oregon.

we had theh apple tartin, the chocolate gateau, and the formage plate. all very nice.

dinner was about $40 a person, which i thought was very reasonable.

i'd go there again, although it was pretty loud. i felt like i was screaming, but maybe that could be helped with more wine.

i have been meaning to have a restaurant reviews section for my site, and it just occurred to me that using blogger would be an easy way to do this.

so, if i went in chronological order, the last place i went to was slow club.

i've been to slow club probably five times now.
5. with willo, rebecca, wes, and michelle
4. with jonas
3. with sunhee and her cousin
2. with patrick (and i think others, but i can't remember who)
1. with sunhee, andrew, and nate

i think there's another time, too, but it escapes me.

i've had the salmon or the salmon substitute (steelhead) a couple of times, and it is consistently delicious. it's flavorful and usually has great accompanying vegetables.

we had a fava bean appetizer that was delicious.

slow club also has great cocktails. the mojito is a favorite, but my standards (cosmopolitan and grey goose martini up with olives) are done very well.

we didn't have dessert the last time we were there. i do remember having a fruit crisp or some sort before and feeling a little unsatsified by it.

slow club is a reliable place for good food, although it can get a little loud at times. the other drawback is that they do not take reservations. however, since the bartenders are usually good, you don't mind waiting.