San Francisco Wrap Up: Brenda's French Soul Food, Zuni Cafe and Fleur de Lys

Brenda's French Soul Food

With no real agenda on our last day, MW and I trekked from our hotel through the Civic Center area of San Francisco to Brenda's French Soul Food. Albeit a bit skeptical about finding authentic Creole food on the west coast, this restaurant intrigued me after reading numerous positive reviews, but we ultimately decided to go due to our craving for some beignets. We arrived to no line and immediately grabbed two seats along the wall that sat adjacent to the kitchen. Service was fast and efficient throughout the meal, and as with any veteran waitstaff, our coffee cups were never empty.

Undecided on which beignets to choose, we naturally decided to split a Beignet Flight which consisted of one of each of the following: Plain, Ghirardelli Chocolate, Granny Smith Apple with Cinnamon Honey Butter and Crawfish with Cayenne, Scallion and Cheddar. Definitely not the best beignets I've had, but solid nonetheless, these thoroughly satisfied our beignet craving. The plain served as a control and was good, not too sweet but not as delicate as others. The crawfish came dusted in cayenne pepper but lacked any real crawfish. However, the granny smith apple was very good, reminiscent of the fried apple pies I enjoyed during youth, only better. But the favorite was the Ghirardelli chocolate-filled beignet that was sweet and rich.

Gary Danko: The People's Choice

Without question, Restaurant Gary Danko is San Francisco's preeminent fine dining establishment. Similar to Gramercy Tavern's status in Manhattan, Gary Danko is the most popular San Francisco restaurant, and with good reason, the food and wine are both excellent and the service is remarkable. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, chef Danko was named one of Food and Wine's best new chefs in 1989, won a James Beard Award for Best Chef California in 1995 and was awarded a Michelin Star. Fusing French technique with seasonal ingredients, Gary Danko's mix-and-match menu allows diners to create personalized three, four or five-course meals and exceeded all expectations.

West Coast Brunch Bets: Dottie's True Blue Cafe

Each morning, as dozens of San Franciscans line up for breakfast at Mama's on Washington Square, an equally strong contingent can be found waiting outside Dottie's True Blue Cafe. Dottie's was the first restaurant referral I received when I told friends about my trip to San Francisco, and after eating there its easy to understand why this down-to-earth breakfast cafe has such appeal. Although both restaurants are legendary egg-cracking, pancake-flipping and hash-flinging San Francisco institutions, they couldn't be further apart both location wise and stylistically. Everything about Mama's exudes warmth, located in the attractive North Beach district, the restaurant is perfect for tourists or for a breakfast with the parents. Then there's Dottie's, located deep in the Tenderloin district whose streets are littered with broken glass and reeking of urine, this gem sacrifices ambiance in return for incredibly solid and filling breakfasts, perfect for any working man, or woman for that matter.

Manresa: Where Art Imitates Life

Tucked away in the sleepy suburbs of Los Gatos lies arguably the best restaurant in the entire Bay area, Manresa. Located 40 miles outside downtown San Francisco is this restaurant led by 2010 James Beard Award winning chef, David Kinch. The award is just the latest in a long line of accolades earned by chef Kinch, as Manresa has become a destination restaurant for foodies around the world. Celebrated for his uncompromising demand for only the freshest and absolute best ingredients, chef Kinch was motivated to form a relationship with bio-organic Love Apple Farm, an arrangement whereby the farm supplies Manresa with literally, the "fruits" of their labor. Having been awarded two Michelin Stars, featured on Avec Eric and championed by countless food bloggers, MW and I were especially excited that our reservation came right on the heels of chef Kinch's James Beard award victory.

Left Coast Vacation 2010: Day 5 - In-N-Out Burger

Growing up in New York, I've heard the praises of In-N-Out Burger my whole life. Far and away considered to be the pinnacle of fast food, I've longed for the day I could finally sink my teeth into a Double-Double "Animal Style." Fast forward to April 1, 2010 when multiple New York blogs initially reported breaking news that In-N-Out Burger would be coming to Manhattan later that summer. Near hysteria threatened to erupt as it was later revealed to be a clever, albeit cruel, April fool's prank. But as fate would have it, I would have the last laugh and enjoyed my first In-N-Out Burger two months later.

West Coast Brunch Bets: Mama's on Washington Square

Throughout San Francisco a great brunch debate rages on. The source of this friction can be attributed to two restaurants: Mama's on Washington Square and Dottie's True Blue Cafe. Both restaurants serve up delicious brunch staples such as fluffy pancakes, french toast and countless varieties of eggs, and each morning legions of fans line up outside to get their fill. Since Dottie's menu doesn't change, coupled with the fact that we were staying until midweek, MW and I decided to try Mama's first and sample their brunch specials. Located on Stockton Street, Mama's is renown for their long lines, homemade jams and fresh seafood specials.

The Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton: Survival of the Fittest

If food trucks were last year's hot trend, then this year may be remembered as the rise of hotel-restaurants. The likes of Bloomfield (The Breslin/Ace Hotel), Chang (Má Pêche/Chambers Hotel) and Vongerichten (The Mark Restaurant/Hotel) are just some of the culinary titans to recently embrace this movement in New York. But San Francisco also boasts their own array of such ventures, with Michael Mina's flagship restaurant located in the Westin St. Francis and since 2004, chef Ron Siegel has run the kitchen at The Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton after having spent time at Aqua, Charles Nob Hill and Masa's. Thomas Keller's original sous chef at The French Laundry, Siegel made a name for himself in 1998 by becoming the first American chef to earn a victory in the original Iron Chef series, defeating Iron Chef French, Hiroyuki Sakai in a lobster battle. Siegel is known for combing French techniques with Japanese elements and although I tend to be reluctant about eating at hotels, positive review after positive review prompted me to see first hand what all the fuss was about.

Left Coast Vacation 2010: Day 4 - Trefethen Winery and Swan Oyster Depot

It should come as no surprise to readers of my posts (that is, if there are any) that MW and I enjoy Rieslings, so for our final morning in Napa we decided to visit arguably, the best in the valley. In spite of the phrase, "cab is king," the dry rieslings from Trefethen Winery have gained some impressive endorsements, along with being featured in this New York Times article. The Trefethen estate is massive in size, dwarfing all of the other wineries we visited. After being led on a short, but informative tour we got to down to business and began the tastings. While neither of us fell in love with any particular wines, even the oft-written about dry riesling, I'd recommend a visit if you are looking for something different than sampling cab after cab.

Left Coast Vacation 2010: Napa and San Francisco

Two plane tickets from New York City to San Francisco: $430. Hotel, rental car, winery tours and Alcatraz tickets: $2,056.21. French Laundry reservations: priceless. After months of planning and with all of my reservations confirmed I'm excited to announce that I'll be taking a vacation to Napa and San Francisco for a week in early June. Although international travel is more exciting, MW and I decided to stay domestic this year and visit northern California. Maybe all of those Arnold Schwarzenegger commercials (see below) urging us to visit California worked on a subliminal level but I like to think we had other reasons.



In total we'll be spending three nights in Napa and four in downtown San Francisco. MW and I thought it prudent to focus this vacation solely on northern California instead of splitting time between both L.A. and San Francisco. Attempting to eat through an entire city in the span of a few days is an impossible task, but one thing was for sure, we would be eating at the French Laundry if we got reservations. Long story short, I was able to get a dinner reservation at the French Laundry and am looking forward to eating at the only American restaurant with three Michelin stars located outside of New York.