It's all about the good life!

Every time I travel to San Francisco, I am compelled to make a trip to wine country. But there are so many wine tours and cars and blah blah blah. Well like most first timers, I didnt know what to do either. But I did find one company that is at least my favorite and have become a returning customer: Beau Wine Tours

I usually travel by myself or with a friend, and for $99/person at this posting, you will travel in a stretch limo throughout Napa with 4-6 of your newest closest friends to 3-4 wineries. The tour is based on the personality of the group with the friendliest drivers. The last time I went, I met up with 6 other great people and we instantly bonded, well after a couple bottles of wine, but still. And, you even get a gourmet lunch at a winery. How cool is that??

So if you are up for suggestions and want to hit wine country, check out Beau Wine Tours. Best $99 of your vacation. (No, this doesn’t include the wine)

Now this was a nice surprise. On our way to another restaurant suggested by the concierge at the hotel, the hike was a little too much, so we stopped at a place just across from the JW Marriot called Zingari.

This place was a little unexpected, its hard not to miss.  You are greeted by these unassuming doors and with just the name as you walk right on by it, but when you travel up the stairs, its a whole new side to San Francisco dining that I am not used to.  I would call it upscale casual, because when you walk in not expecting to eat, you do feel a little underdressed.

Apart from everything being a solid surface with nothing to absorb the noise, this was a nice place.  When you walk up, you are flanked by dining rooms on each side of the splitting stair.  Their menus range from traditional to the artistic, and it may take a couple of visits to really get a sense of the diversity of the menu.  But, being the food lover that I am, I tried as much as I could.

I started off with Marscapone Ravioli, which was more of a dessert item than an appetizer.  These ravioli were as delicate as they were tasty in a merlot reduction topped with brandied cherries.  I think these would be just as at home at the end of your meal as the beginning.  Taking the bites in small portions helps bring out the sweetness of the filling and sauce, but it is tamed by the light dough that holds it.  Next time I will leave this to the end.

I think its sacrilegious to be in the City without going for seafood, which always leads me to mussels!  These were some of the best mussels that I have ever had.  No flavors were overpowering, and the broth let the flavor of the mussels come through.  Side this up with a slice of the crusty sliced bread that is served up to the table and it made for a great intermediate for the main course.

ossobuco

I have always seen braised lamb or pork on the menu, but couple ossobuco that with “wild boar,” well that’s a natural selection.  This wild boar was served up on a bed of mushroom risotto which provided a compliment of flavors.  The boar was braised to perfection that fell off the bone and was not gamey as I would have imagined.  The risotto provided a bit of saltiness and cheesy flavor to the savory meat which danced in my mouth.  Im not a huge fan of mushrooms, but I didn’t mind that they were in this dish.  Something I have to remember for next time.

All in all, I liked this restaurant, and would give it 3.5 out of 4 stars..  (I would love suggestions on what I should use for my ratings system.)  Its a great change of pace for local restauranteur like myself, but anyone that loves upscale dining would love this place just as well!

Last year when I was here, I went to this great little Dim Sum place somewhere in the heart of China Town.  And now that I am back in the city, I am making it a ritual to have my first meal of the trip there.  Unfortunately, whether from hunger or no luck, I didn’t find that place, but what I did find is the Far East Cafe.   One piece of advice that I have taken with me is that if the locals eat there, it must be good, and I would think there would be a larger chinese clientele, but when I got in, it seemed all flash and bang.  It seemed like they were going a little overboard with he chinese theme, so I knew it was probably a tourist trap.

Anyway, I sat down to a family style table, which in this case sat one, and when I asked the my chinese waiter about recommendations, he mentioned the dim sum combo.  Word of advice, if its a combo, then its probably not as authentic as one would think, but I had it anyway since my stomach was growling.  And it was just as I had expected, a little more geared to the “white man” taste as he put it.  It was nothing special, it came in 2 courses and had a little pork and beef dim sum and a couple shrimp, which was pretty tasty.  All in all, it was a good hearty meal for $10, and got me pretty full, but the walk back up the street kinda killed me afterwards.  And no, I didn’t use the spoon!