Weekend Getaway in Wine Country

A weekend full of good eats, good vino and good pool time in Sonoma, Dry Creek Valley, Alexander Valley, Healdsburg and last but not least Napa. 

First nights dinner was at Zin Restaurant & Wine Bar in downtown Healdsburg...a favorite we discovered on our last  trip.

Started off with the Mexican Beer Battered Green Beans with Mango Salsa.  This may look like plain old tempura but the light perfect crisp sets it apart.  Our other appetizer was the grilled squid..the sauce in this was just amazing...an unexpected sweet and spicy taste.

Our latest trend is to bring our own bottle of vino.  Zin waives the corkage fee if you purchase at least one bottle from their wine list.  Thanks to Lydia and Cary for sharing the great bottle of Artemis from Stags Leap.

And now on to the entrees, I had the Applewood Smoked & Grilled Homestead Farms Natural Pork Chop with Fresh Apple Sauce over Braised Greens and Andouille Sausage & Cornbread Stuffing.  If you love smokiness this is your dish!  Probably the moistest thick piece of pork I've ever had.  

Others had the Zinfandel Braised Short Rib with Potato puree and fresh Corn Salsa, The Sonoma Grilled Duck Breast and the Grilled 'Certified Angus' Hanger Steak with Sauteed Mixed Wild Mushrooms and Mom's Potato & Onion Casserole

And last but not least, the famous Zinfully Decadent Brownie Sundae
with Homemade Chocolate Chunk Coffee Ice Cream! Really enough to serve 4 but we were such pigs we ordered two for the 4 of us and still managed to empty the glass...enough said!

 

The following night we dined at the famous Michael Chiraello's Bottega in Yountville.  Another place that did not disappoint!  

We started with the Truffle-parmiggiano fries...gone in literally less than 5 mins! Nothing you can't possible NOT love...french fries, fresh shaved cheese...just pure yummilicious!

The other two appetizers were the Wood Grilled Octopus olive oil braised potatoes, pickled red onion, salsa verde and the Polenta Under Glass, caramelized wild mushrooms, balsamic game sauce...can I just say smooooothe?!

For our entrees, I had the special of the day roasted pork shoulder over risotto topped with grilled leeks....I didn't expect a pork steak which turned out to be a bit dry but the tasty risotto and grilled leeks still gave the dish a big plus.

The others had the Smoked & Braised Natural Short Ribs with preserved Meyer-lemon spinach, smokey jus which is super tender but a bit fatty (but well worth the taste!) and the Wood Grilled Rack of Grass-Fed Lamb with fresh local cherry & fennel seed dressing, creamy ancient grain polenta which is well marinated and cooked to a perfect medium.

And then we polished off the meal with the lava cake which you must pre-order as it takes 30 mins to make.  Well worth it...melts in your mouth!

The very famous Michael Mina

For G's birthday, I took him to the very well known Michael Mina restaurant in the St. Francis Hotel for a grand meal!

Three courses for $105 which consists of appetizer, main entree and dessert.  Each course is prepared in three different ways.

For the first course, I had the Trout and Smoke, three different types of trout each prepared differently.  G had the spring rabbit and foie gras which included a english pea tortellini, loin terrine and foie gras mousse. Both of our appetizers were very unique and tasty.

For the second course, I had the signature lobster pot pie (note $35 supplement, so if you had to calculate the individual price of this it would be about $70).  And no for $70 you do not get 3 different types of lobster prepared in 3 different ways...ha!  But I guess part of that price includes the reassembling of the lobster back to its original form right in front of you. This dish was very tasty (aka creamy) and the crust was very flaky (aka fatty), but $70 can get a lot of other yummy items that would make my tummy just as happy.  So we've been told by several people that if you were to order this sitting at the bar it would only cost $28 but I'm really wondering if that would only get you a mini version cause nothing at this restaurant is a deal!

G had the beef option which included filet mignon, grilled ribeye and braised ox tail.  We didn't find either of the three items of anything really unique.  We actually both love oxtail and much prefer it to be served on it's bone and the grilled ribeye was a bit over cooked in our opinion.

 

 

And for the third course, I had the dessert trio which included a peach crisp, cheesecake and chocolate mousse cake.  Of the three, the peach crisp was our favorite.  G had the signature root beer float with two giant cookies which was very good.  Surprisingly, the dessert may have been our favorite part of the meal!

  

Overall, the service was outstanding and the ambiance was very romantic so it was a great experience.  But for a fine dining restaurant it wasn't one of our favorites when it comes to the quality, quantity and uniqueness of the food.  Gary danko is still on the top of our list!

A "Go To" Favorite

Kokkari Estiatorio in the FiDi of SF is one of our staple "go to" favorite restos.  Of the half dozen times we've dined here it has never failed to to make our tummy's happy!  It's a great place for groups as well with all their tapa size options.

A few of our usual favorite items include the pita bread w/fish roe spread, the fried smelts, the grilled octopus, and the grilled lamb riblets.  Each night they have a special entree from their wood fire oven...tonight it was the duck which was amazing! 

North Beach Favorites

When it comes to sweets, two of our favorite oldies in the North Beach area of SF are Cafe Jaqueline on Grant Ave. and Stella's on Columbus Ave.


Cafe Jaqueuline is known for their very famous XL souffles.  For $40 -$48 each it can serve about 2 - 4 depending on how much fat intake you would like ;)  We had the grand marnier souffle...a bit too strong on the alcohol for my taste.  And FYI...this is coming from someone who is a regular connoisseur of vino!

Stella Pastry's is a cute little coffee bakery shop known for their Italian cookies...short breads, biscottis, macaroons, thumbprint jam cookies and many more!  Sold by weight so be careful how much you ask for!