amy l.'s Profile

We went to Stillwater Cove Ranch for belated-anniversary/valentines/presidents day weekend trip. my boss recommended this place, a small family farm that was homesteaded in the 1860s on the coast between Jenner and Gualala. *rustic*. they converted some of the old farm buildings into sleeping quarters. no restaurant, no hot tub, no TVs, no services. but i knew it was perfect when we turned off highway 1 and tried to pull into the driveway and couldn't because it was being blocked by LAMBS! and then peacocks! and all other sorts of cute animals. i was pretty excited. we stayed in the cook's cabin, which had a fireplace and a sort of view of the ocean, past the main original farmhouse.

we poked around the farm for a while until it got dark, talking to the farmers and cuddling the baby animals with our eyes, and then we drove up to gualala sunday night for dinner, ate at the "roadhouse", where i admit i felt like a weirdo for ordering a vegi burger in a place that specializes in ribs and other smoked/BBQ'd meats.

monday we slept in late, checked out, and then went across the road to check out the dangerous Stillwater Cove Beach. it was a bit cold and misty, but still really beautiful and full of kelp. the cove is also the mouth of a small river/large stream, which was overflowing and causing erosion on the beach that we could watch! little mini landslides everywhere. i wandered back to where the river came out, between highway 1, a redwood stand, and the ocean, and for a few minutes i thought i was in the most beautiful place in the world. and then i decided that i needed to CROSS that river, and climb the bank on the other side back up to the car, instead of take the somewhat-precarious hairpin coastal road with no room for pedestrians that we came down on. so we debated the best route for a while and then did it and only got a little bit wet and muddy. we forged that river! and then climbed the somewhat slippery and very steep bank back up through the redwood trees.

check out photos here: http://www.flickr.com/...

i'm not one for long lines and waiting around outside with my cup of Peet's with all the berkeleyite foodies to try out some little nook and cranny place where you wait forever for service.  generally, whenever anyone has suggested we go to La Note, that has been the experience, and thus, i had never been inside.

until Thanksgiving weekend!  a ha!  everyone was out of town, including students, and suddenly there was no line, and half of the tables were empty.  oh how nice it is to be a local.

we sat in the back corner of the sunny patio and took our sweet hungover time.  we ordered various rounds of caffeinated and alcoholic drinks.  i had the blueberry oatmeal;  it was divine. others had the egg dishes, and they looked savory and well-designed.  our waitress seemed relaxed and didn't push us at all.  it was lovely.

thus, yes, i recommend this place, but unless you LIKE doing the crowded restaurant with a huge line thing, go at a time when everyone else is at work or out of town.  the place is designed to be cozy, and the kind of restaurant you definitely want to be able to hang out in, not feel like the line-pressure outside is affecting your service.

the SF Chronicle quote they have on their website says "More car wash than spa -- you emerge squeaky clean",  and despite my friend's enthusiastic recommendation, after reading some of the other YELP reviews, i was a little nervous.  

true to the experiences of other reviewers, i walked in the door and after paying at the desk was handed a towels and a robe and a locker key and instructed to take off my shoes and then do....something, i'm not sure what because of the language barrier, but i figured how hard could it be? and just walked into the locker room. i was expecting something a bit more harsh, as many people had described it as "gym-like", but there were flowers and soft lighting and so it was more atmospheric than i was expecting. it was 40 minutes before my appointment as recommended and so i undressed and checked out the hot tub, the dry sauna, the wet sauna, the room with the bags of clay (tea?) hanging all over the walls and the bricks of salt that i presume you use to rub all over your body (?).  in standard lost-in-translation-format, the signage had all the right words but strung together in very odd ways, so i'm not quite sure what was going on there but it said something about high levels of oxygen from the fermentation being good for rejuvenating cells and making you younger and the clay pulling toxins from your body.  i finally got hot/sweaty enough to work up the courage to jump in the cold pool (it was ICE cold), and it was so heavily chlorinated it almost stung.  invigorating, yes.  clean feeling, no.

i heard my number called from the balcony above the pools, where the scrubbing/massage area was.  although i had read some of other reviewers describe the situation, i was a bit surprised at first to see that there were 4 other massage tables - covered in a thick layer of clear plastic - about 3 feet apart, and on those tables were other totally naked women being scrubbed and massaged by older asian ladies all wearing black lacy underwear. i'm neither shy nor a stranger to nudity, but the whole scene was just less....ambient than i was expecting. the car-wash analogy is pretty much right on for this particular part of the spa services.  i'm not sure what point the black lacy underwear serves instead of, say, a bathing suit, as obviously this isn't in any way an "erotic" spa, being women only, but whatever.

i lay face down on the plastic coated table and immediately a huge bucket of very warm water was splashed over my body.  then, the woman began scrubbing.  she had on both of her hands scrubbing mits exactly the same as the ones i have at home and use in the shower (bought on ebay; recommended by a korean friend), and at first i was wondering if paying for this service was going to be worth it, since i already had the tools at home, but after only 5 minutes into the 30 minute scrub i was definitely sure it was worth it and that i could never accomplish this grade of scrubbing on my own.  i was on my stomach. then on my back.  then on my right side. then on my left side. she scrubbed EVERY part of my body except for my face and the very insides of my nether regions.  she scrubbed my bikini line, my breasts, my armpits, my butt (including just a BIT into my crack but not too far), my feet, my hands, my toes - everything. 10 times. 30 minutes is an extremely long time to be continuously scrubbed head to toe, and while she applied a great amount of pressure on my wet but bare skin, it didn't hurt or sting at all, and you could actually SEE the dead layers of skin laying on the plastic sheeting next to me.  WHEW.

then, once she poured a few buckets of warm water over me to get rid of the dead skin, she covered me in something that smelled a bit like baby oil and started the massage.  while it wasn't the BEST massage i've ever had in terms of her really getting in deep, it was applied with  strong hands and consistent pressure and she did really massage every single part of my body multiple times, and yes, did climb on top of me to do so.

for the finale, as i was lying flat on my back, she gave me a quick but vigorous facial massage and then covered my face with a thick layer of cucumber paste, and then proceeded to wash and condition my hair and give me a head massage.  then, finally, i sat up, and she poured HOT MILK all over my body.  seriously.  she then rinsed me off with some more pouring from the bucket.

i left feeling light, clean, warm, invigorated, and refreshed, and i think also that the process toned my muscles and skin quite a bit. i mean, i felt like i lost weight.  i can see why this is something one might do before hitting the red carpet.  i hear it's very popular for strippers, but in any case, if you can check your your body issues at the door and get over some strange woman manhandling you like she's tenderizing a piece of beef, it's WORTH IT.

i don't know anything about the food, but i know that if you roll into the bar on a foggy sunday evening and order a pitcher of margaritas, you might as well call in sick for monday morning right then and there, cuz they don't stop pouring the tequila until you say when. and then they might not stop.

i just wanted to get a quick drink, but when we were greeted with a drunken cheer by the other patrons when we walked in the door, i knew it was gonna be that kind of party.

the margaritas were spectacular and the ambience was rambunctious.  the bar tenders were super friendly (maybe too friendly) and everyone in the place was having a deliriously good time.

it's probably a bad thing that my friend took us to this place, cuz now i'll be ducking in there for margaritas way too often, although i suspect on a friday or saturday night it's a bit too crowded and noisy for my taste.  i'll probably stick to the sunday afternoon crowd.

best quote heard while there:
"oh, you don't go out with him anymore?"
"no.  it's amazing what whiskey can do to a relationship."

a friend recommended this to us saying that it was the best hummus he'd ever had, even in israel.  

true authentic slow-cooked mediterranean food in a diner-style setting . we had vegetarian and falafel plates (the waiter asked me what i wanted on my plate, and made it special - it's not on the menu), and OMG i was so saturated with flavor by the end of it i had serious food coma.  i'm usually not a fan of falafel cuz it's always so greasy, but this was lightly friend and sort of fluffy and delicious. the hummus and baba ghanouj were RIDICULOUS, and the dolmas were served WARM. YUM.

we were sitting there moaning we were so full and we couldn't even finish what was on our plates, and then the waiter pulls a pan of fresh baked baklava (!!!) out of the oven and offers us some, on the house.  i can't say no to fresh baked baklava, but i would have enjoyed it a lot more had i not already been stuffed to the gills.  

i can't believe i never knew wally's existed, and now that i do...i'm gonna be there a lot.

it's a bit hard to find - it's behind the bar across the street from the Pak-N-Save.

this is the best nepalese restuarant i've eaten at in the bay area.  however, it doesn't taste much like "authentic" nepalese food.  it tastes A LOT BETTER.

we ordered all vegetarian food, and everything we had was well-spiced and well-cooked.  i got the daal bhat with paneer, and OMG that was some of the tastiest homemade cheese i've had in a really long time, and the vegetables were great.  i don't know what other people who say this food is bland are talking about;  i guess they've never had real nepali food, which is hella bland (but when you're starving and freezing at 15,000 feet in the himalaya you don't really complain about the lack of spices and fresh vegetables, which are hard to come by in the highest mountains in the world).  

the menu states that they use as many local and organic ingredients as possible, so 2 thumbs up for that.

my only regret is that we didn't order any momos.  next time!

no good veg/vegan food.
super expensive/trendy california cuisine (oysters and fancy beef)
if you're gonna thrown down that much cash, i like levende east across the street better.
but the "LOVE ON" cocktail drink was awesome.

great place to take a date for a nice dinner, especially if you try going to Flora first like we did and it's jam packed with an hour wait, head a few blocks over to Levende East.

swanky. well lit. artsy. great drinks (mmmmmmmmm Pom Pom).  upscale food (sustainable/local/organic as much as possible) - limited for vegetarians, but i had the mushroom risotto and it was excellent.

pricey - so won't be going there often, but when i want to sink into a velvet couch with a yummy fruity drink in my hand, this is the spot.

i haven't been there on the weekend night yet so i can't comment on the night scene / DJs.

i'm eating the vegetarian, dairy-free (does that = vegan? i hope so...) Caribbean Sweet Potato soup right now, and it is AWESOME.  one of the tastiest soups i've ever had - thick, spicy, full of flavor.  this soup is not low carb or fat free -  i do wish they'd list the ingredients online or somewhere - people have mentioned they use lots of corn starch, which i'd like to know...

i have the reusable bowl (which i use for other things too), and i like that they provide biodegradable utensils.  

overall - great soup. a little pricey, but unfortunately when you're trying to eat well and vegan you don't have too many other options downtown besides salad.

"San Francisco's premiere East German Restaurant."
menu: http://www.walzwerk.co...

as a vegetarian i generally avoid german food restaurants unless all i really want is chocolate and beer and not a good meal.  however, walzerk totally delivered in the veg food department - i had the vegi stuffed cabbage roulade and it was better than my mom used to make, and the accompanying mashed potatoes were so heavenly i could barely believe it.

the food was top notch but the restaurant wasn't stuffy or pretentious or trying too hard. the waitstaff and decor/atmosphere were also awesome - historical and kitchy - not your standard german restaurant theme and way mission-style. i loved that they just stapled stretch velvet to the walls instead of having them properly wallpapered.  it's what i'd do too.

i finally found a restaurant i think my midwestern germanic meat-and-potatoes parents will love in SF, and i'll probably be going back more than once just for the mashed potatoes.