Swarup "no one on the corner has swagga like me" B.'s Profile

4.5 stars but i'll bump up to 5

i've been hearing a lot about the return of michael mina, metaphorically and physically, and i would have to agree.  we haven't been to michael mina since 2007 but had heard about the lowering quality of the food and of course the loss of michelin stars.  i believe it's safe to say that those stars will be back.

the dining room is gorgeous.  i've never been to aqua so i don't know how different it is but everything about this dining room felt modern and comforting.  the ambiance is both bustling and elegant at the same time.  the bar area was teeming with fidi professionals meeting for drinks and the dining room had a feeling of a casual fine dining restaurant.  i think the general manager put it best when he described the restaurant as casual elegance.

enough, on to the food.

we were started w/ an amuse bouche.  we both got mini grilled cheese sandwich with a potato soup.  the grilled cheese was tasty and the soup was rich but tasty.

for starters i got the hamachi crudo which was incredibly fresh.  she got a green salad that was not on the menu.  this had mixed greens, beets, goat cheese croquettes with an onion vinagrette.   very nice with the croquettes being the star.

between apps and our mains we split the kabocha squash souffle.  this was almost quiche-like but still very tasty.  the squash tasted a lot like a nice sweet pumpkin.  what took this to another level was the black truffle cream.

for mains, wifey got the truffle stuffed jidori roast chicken.  this came w/ a fried rice, cabbage and a roulade of thigh meat.  this was outstanding.  she loved it but i think i loved it even more!  the chicken was perfectly moist and flavorful.  the fried rice and cabbage worked very nicely with the chicken.  i got the braised kurobuta pork short ribs with green polenta, apple puree.  this was good on so many levels.  the presentation was great too.  the ribs come out in the skillet they are made on and plated in front of you.  the ribs were cooked so well that they just came off the bone w/ out a knife.  the sauce and all other components just were beautiful together.

dessert was a very interesting ordeal with the only option being a 5-course tasting menu.  at $15 this is an absolute steal.  the standouts from this menu were the coffee-chocolate marshmallow, the white chocolate-grapefruit crisps and the passion fruit panna cotta.  this is rotated each month so i can see this be a fun place to come to dessert every month, not that we'll do that for sure :-)

service was on point.  the entire night our waitress checked on us, gave great suggestions and made sure we were comfortable.  the general manager was out and about and making sure everyone was OK.  and the other servers in the dining room made sure that everyone's water was always filled.

the ambiance again was great.  the ideal of a casual elegant fine dining restaurant is a great idea and something that has been building up in the industry over the last few years.  with this concept, i'm glad to see michael mina back and we'll definitely come back!

what a way to close off a weekend!  we drove by to check out the line and even though it seemed to be close to an hour wait, my wife's recollection of a great brunch here w/ her closest friends from months before.  we put our name down and watched the very eclectic host make his way thru the list, tracking down folks for open tables and keeping us all entertained w/ his banter.

when we were finally called upon, we immediately ordered. it was a no brainer for me.  the red velvet pancake was delicious.  the texture was spot on.  the flavor was great and the cream cheese topping was decadent!  my wife had the baked potato omelette and our friends had the nutella french toast and the some like it hot scrambled eggs.  everyone was in heaven w/ their dishes.

side note, the red velvet pancake was so good that we decided to buy the mix that they sell on the spot.  unfortunately they don't sell it on premises but thankfully for modern technology we bought it via http://amazon.com on our iphones.  incredible :-)

given the opportunity, we'd go back in a heart beat.  maybe a bit earlier to try to not wait in line for so long.  word to the wise, follow them on twitter so that you can get passwords to get ahead in line quick!

to say that i was excited about eating here would be an understatement!  when our friends and us were planning our new year's getaway and the notion of beverly hills was introduced and not even booked, i without hesitation made a reservation here.

our first impressing of the bazaar was the bar area, bar centro.  for folks, who want a few snacks and drinks, this seemed like the right place to be.  the crowd was pretty chic and hip and the music helped round out the ambiance.  we were seated in one of the main dining areas, blanco (the other is rojo).  our table was very unorthodox for a "haute cuisine" restaurant w/ a couch and a few chairs with armrests.  immediately we were swept into jose andres' world of the bazaar w/ impeccable service.

we opened the menu and felt overwhelmed.  granted that it is a tapas restaurant at heart so a large menu is not out of the norm, but this was insane.  there was even a water menu.  after a good 15 minutes and multiple visits from our waiter, we were ready to order.  first a few drinks were in order.

2 of us got the LN2 caipirinha and one of us got the magic mojito.  The LN2 was a traditional caipirinha but made w/ liquid nitrogen that made it more of a sorbet/slushy than a mixed drink.  the magic mojito used cotton candy as the sugar part of the drink rather than sugar.  the cotton candy was in a martini glass and the alcoholic part of the drink is poured on top cotton candy and it disappears, like magic.

for food, we got silly.  it almost felt like we ordered the entire menu!  here are the highlights:

- tuna ceviche: light and refreshing, this was wrapped in avocado and had a micro cilantro and coconut dressing.  very tasty
- foie gras cotton candy: the light airiness of the cotton candy w/ the rich foie gras was a nice textural contrast that was very pleasing
- modern "caprese" - perfectly ripe tomatoes w/ mozzarella spheres.  total mind trip of an interpretation of a classic dish!
- baby japanese peaches w/ burrata: sweet baby peaches w/ milk burrata... great combo!
- foie gras brioche sandwiches: highlight of the night...the quince paste was made to be w/ foie gras.  we should've ordered more of these
- "philly cheesesteak": nice rare pieces of wagyu beef on top of an air like bread.  heavenly!
- zucchini three ways: steamed, pureed and foam.  three ways that shouldn't go together but do!
- chicken croquetes: lovely little nuggets filled with a rich bechemel and chicken!

for desserts we were taken to the patisserie section and got a separate menu to order our desserts.  once again, we went a little nutty when it came to ordering.  here are some highlights:

- chocolate pop rocks: just as you would think.  starts off as tasty cocoa pebbles and then becomes a traditional pop rock candy
- rice crispy bon bons: wafers of chocolate and rice crispy cereal.  simple sounding but super tasty
- passion fruit marshmallow: perfectly made marshmallow w/ a great taste of passion fruit
- chocolate "cupcake": moist cube of cupcake w/ a decadent chocolate flavor.

the patisserie section also had a candy bar of sorts where you can see everything they have to offer on display and can watch to pastry chefs make the number of desserts that need to be made to order.

with el bulli bowing out of the restaurant game this year and jose andres being a close and person friend of jose andres, this was as close as i would get to el bulli.  sure it was gimmicky at times, but that's the whimsical nature of the place.  it's supposed to wow you and make you have good tasting food.  i would come back here over and over again and can't wait for the next time i go!  there's still the SAAM room to check out here!

4.5 stars

perfect for a post NYE part meal.  too bad the wait was almost excruciatingly long!  we got here after checking out of our hotel and before we left palm springs for beverly hills.  thankfully, all of us were awake enough so that we could have a decent conversation w/ each other.

once seated we were knew what we wanted to order since we had a good chance to look at the menu.  my dish was downright great.  i got the grits with a pork stew in chile verde.  superb dish that had everything right from texture, seasoning and overall flavor.  other folks had a slew of stuff.  french toast, pancakes and 2 orders of the flight of bacon.  this was a pure indulgence and while tasty, not all strips were great.  the one standout was the thick cut bacon.  i had a taste of my wife's french toast and thought it was great.

the service was quick, efficient and fun.  we were also seated outside which had great views of the mountains around.  i'd come back here in a heartbeat next time i'm in palm springs!

great place for a fun dinner w/ fun folks, especially on new year's eve!  by the time we had arrived, the place was already packed with tons of folks ready to ring in the new year.  we were promptly seated and started to peruse the menu.

for starters we got the calamari and the mozzi carozzi.  the calamari was well made and came with a pretty awesome jalapeno jelly.  the mozzi was basically fried caprese with bread instead of tomato.  didn't get to try any of this but heard it was good.

for mains, i got the seared scallops with fried green tomatoes.  the scallops were cooked just right and the tomatoes went well with them.  we all split a pizza but don't remember which one.  it was that great.  everyone else seemed to enjoy their dishes.

we were at that point ready to head back to our hotel and party the rest of 2010 away.  our server though took forever to bring us the bill.  she was also quite slow throughout the evening.  overall, a very nice place to kick off a night of partying.

we got here late at night after braving socal traffic.  the ambiance and feel of the restaurant was quite nice and there were still a decent amount of folks eating here.  since we were starved, we jumped right in and started ordering.  we started with a few margaritas and some chips and salsa.  the margaritas were decent and the salsa was nice and spicy.

for the main course i got the 3 item combo which consisted of a chicken tamale, a chicken taquito and a chile relleno.  the tamale and taquito were pretty good but didn't care too much for the chile relleno.  everyone else seemed happy w/ their respective dishes.

we all shared fried ice cream for dessert and this left much to be desired.

overall, we had some decent mexican food and a decent time.  the service was slow but i guess we could attribute that to the time we got there.

4.5 stars

wow...  wayfare tavern totally lived up to the hype!  we met up with our friends who were equally as excited to come here as we were.  the scene is vibrant here with an old school charm.  the dining room is divided between the two floors of the restaurant and we were seated downstairs and were in direct sight of the kitchen which is always nice.

the surprise of the night were the complimentary popovers.  these things could've easily been a paid-for appetizer.  after having to exact extreme will power, we ordered our appetizers.  my side of the table got the steak tartare and the other side of the table got the mac and cheese.  the tartare was a classic dish that was excellently executed.  i could eat this every day.  i had some bites of the mac & cheese and it was pretty good in its own right.

for mains, i was the odd one out.  everyone else ordered the fried chicken and i got the braised short ribs.  the ribs came w/ a potato puree and a black truffle jus.  this was heavenly and the ribs were so tender and flavorful.  everyone liked their fried chicken.  i liked the bite i had and definitely enjoyed it cold and w/ hot sauce the next day.

dessert could've been a hit except for one thing.  i got the chocolate mousse w/ figs.  the misstep here was that there were some house made potato chips.  while i can see what they were trying with the saltiness of the chips along with its texture, it just didn't jive for me.  the mousse itself was pretty darn good as were the figs.  unfortunately i don't remember what the rest of the table had.

overall, i'd say that wayfare tavern is the latest in a long string of great new restaurants in SF.  i'd say that i could be a bit more accessible if the food prices were a tad lower but it's good for that once in a while splurge.  also, you can spot chef tyler florence there from time to time.  we didn't see him there that night but i'm sure that in itself is a major attraction for wayfare tavern!

i have heard plenty about morimoto's legendary outpost in philly (and to an extent in NY) and was very excited when it was announced that he was opening up a spot up in napa.  after a few months of waiting, our friends and us finally decided to check it out.

the entrance is a lil confusing as there are some seats, bookshelves, a counter that show cases some of the fish and meats and the hostess table.  once checked-in, we were taken past the kitchen and then to the main dining area which is pretty large.  the bar area and sushi counter are located here as well.  the ambiance is definitely more on the festive side.

for food, we tried quite a bit of stuff.  i don't remember exactly was ordered on the wives' side of the table but the meatie side tried out the spicy king crab legs and some yellowtail sashimi.  the crab legs were excellent and had great spice and flavor.  the sashimi was nice but nothing incredibly special.  for mains, i got the duck duck goose dish which was a quadruple of duck (foie gras fried rice w/ duck egg sunny side up, duck confit leg, roasted duck breast and duck meatball soup).  each component was executed very well though it was on the cusp of being a bit much.  tasty stuff overall.  other dishes ordered were the angry chicken (said to be tasty but a tad dry), roasted lobster (incredibly tasty), steamed halibut (moist and good flavor) and uni carbonara (everything nice about a carbonara with uni serving as a flavor enhancer rather than being overbearing).

dessert was incredibly crazy.  i don't remember everyone else's dessert but i had gotten the chocolate and bananas.  this was composed of a banana shake, banana/chocolate creme brulee and a house made banana "breakfast" bar.  creative, fun and tasty!

the service was hit and miss.  we had to flag our server down here and there when we had questions while on the flip side the rest of the service staff was attentive.  i think a few more kinks need to be worked on.

there's a lot going on here.  the menu is huge and i feel it could be scaled back.  it could help out both the kitchen and the front of the house.  give it more time and i feel it could evolve into a destination restaurant in napa!

we wanted some good italian food and since we were staying at the aria, we decided to try the sister restaurant to le cirque.  the dining area is very elegant and the service compliments the suaveness of it.

the food ranged from average to excellent which was a bit disappointing.  we split the caprese salad and it was decent except for the roasted red peppers which felt out of place.

for our mains, she decided to go for the risotto w/ white alba truffles and i went for the rack of lamb in a pistachio crust w/ semolina gnocchi.  she had high expectations for the risotto and they fell flat.  it was cooked a bit too al dente to here and unfortunately they used truffle oil along with the truffles.  the oil over powered the taste of the truffles which were excellent on their own.  the rack of lamb on the other had was quite good.  i asked for it medium and it came out closer to rare in some parts.  the crust was quite good too.  the gnocchi provided some nice texture to the dish and was cooked very nice with a pillow like texture.

she opted out of dessert and i almost did to until i read that they had a strawberry souffle.  never had heard about a strawberry souffle so i had to try it.  what we got was a very well executed souffle that had great flavor.  the souffle held together well and the strawberry flavor worked perfectly.  not to be missed!

we enjoyed it overall but as we'd rather try some place new rather than coming back and trying sirio again.

over-hyped much like its NY sister spot.  we came here for lunch on a nice saturday during our trip and opted to sit outside near the strip.  great spot to people watch and take in some good weather.  too bad the food doesn't match.

we had heard about how good the grilled cheese was and given how much my wife loves grilled cheese sandwiches this seemed like a great fit.  unfortunately it was on the lunch menu and we barely missed it but we figured that we could ask and they could whip it together.  they told us that there would be absolutely no way they can do it.  we asked the waitress to ask the kitchen to see if they could but it and they said that there was no way.  mind you this is only about 15 minutes after the lunch menu was closed.  if they were out of ingredients they could've told us and we would've left it be but they just came off as there is no way we can do it.  so my wife ended up ordering a cheeseburger with no burger.  when the waitress came back after taking the order, the chef told her that they can make a grilled cheese.  awfully a lot of back and forth for just a grilled cheese sandwich!  so after all that, how was it?  meh.  we've had better and especially for a lot less money and hassle.  it was pretty oily from what we remember and the cheese wasn't at that nice melty stage that it should be at.

i ended up w/ a chicken open-faced and the frozen hot chocolate.  the sandwich was OK but nothing i'd die to go back for.  the frozen hot chocolate was pretty good and better than the one i had in NY.  but it's just a slushier version of a milkshake.

it did the job.  we were hungry and it sustained us but the annoyance with getting a grilled cheese sandwich along with the mediocre food left a bad impression with us.  don't go here unless there's no wait and you just need something to tide you over to something better.