I can’t recall how many times my husband and I have been to Sushi Ran, probably more than 10 times in the past year, it is consistently good and, without a doubt, our favorite sushi restaurant in the Bay Area! We always sit at the sushi bar (sushi bar reservations can only be made on the phone, not online), order their Omakase (7 pieces of Nigiri), plus lots more Nigiri a la carte. We usually eat about 25 pieces per person and can eat for hours (we have been at SR from open to close, more than once — no joke!). Last night was no different, we ate 23+ pieces of Nigiri total, and the only thing that we did differently was that this time we ordered desserts (yes, PLURAL), which were pretty good too!

Katsuo (bonito)

Matsukawa Karei (aged striped fin flounder w/fingerlime caviar – hokkaido)

Compliments of Mr. Yoshi Tome, SR’s Owner – this was unexpected and so good!

Umi Masu (ocean trout – tasmania) **a favorite of ours

Zuke Chu Toro (red wine cured medium fatty kindai-tenku blue fin tuna) **a favorite of ours

I can’t say enough about this sea urchin from Hokkaido, I am crazy about it; it’s my absolute favorite: Kaisui Uni (deep sea ocean sea urchin from Hokkaido)

Sayori (mackerel: halfbeak cured w/ryuhi konbu – miyagi)

Coconut Mochi Cake w/Cardamon Gelato — oh my!

Warm Toffee Cake, Spiced Caramel and Ginger Gelato — delicious!

A long and expensive Uber drive to Palo Alto, during rush hour on a Friday night; from SF city that is! Food and service was very good. There is no wine list. There were 2 choices for apéritif: a Baumétini (sparkling sake with “Lilikoi” [passion fruit]), and Kir Royale. We went for the Baumetini and it was AWESOME!!. There were also three choices for wine pairing; Petit (four 1/2 glasses), Grand (five 1/2 glasses) and Prestige (4 1/2 glasses) — we chose the Prestige, and it was fantastic.

Here are some photos of dinner at Baumé.

8 course menu + Prestige wine pairing selection

Baumétini: Junmai Sparkling saké and Lilikoi pearls (passion fruit) — HIGHLY recommended!  **Called Baumé restaurant the next day to find out how one can make this drink at home; was told Baumé makes the “pearls” at their restaurant, and the best way to replicate is to buy a passion fruit purée, use that as a base, then add the Junmai sparkling saké shown below (Ozeki Hana Awaka, typically a 250 ml pink bottle).

Junmai Sparkling Saké used for Baumétini: Ozeki / Hana-Awaka “sparkling flower”

Amuse Bouche: Pine Needles & Parsley Tofu Coals

3rd Course: 62 degree Jidori Egg, Chard Mélange

5th Course: Noirmoutier Turbot, Beets, Ginger Fumet

6th Course: Beef Tenderloin, Smoked Salsify, Herbs

8th Course: Yuzu Chiboust, Lemon Genoise, Lemon Foam

Mignardises: Frozen Lolipops Sour Apple, Seasonal Fruit (Green Apple, Pears, Fig, Persimmon, etc)

Have been to Spruce several times, for lunch, brunch and dinner. This time we went for brunch, it was, as expected, very good. Highlights: banana bread, coffee cake (my favorite part is the thick and crunchy crust, it is insane!), polenta w/pork belly and brussel sprouts. Our friends ordered a Pamarosa which I believe has three ingredients: sparkling wine, pomegranate liquor and a rose petal.

Banana Bread

Coffee Cake

Pork Belly, Polenta, Brussel Sprouts

Pamarosa: sparkling wine, pomegranate liquor and a rose petal

This summer I have had some pretty amazing pluots and persimmons in SF. Too bad these are not as available/easy to find in Miami — but, Miami DOES have some bad ass mangoes in June/July!

Highlights of some courses we have had at home, all meticulously made by our very talented SF chef, Anthony Yang.

Fall Salad: Squash Purée, Burrata Cheese, Figs, Pluots, Leafy Greens. **These leafy greens came from White Crane Springs Ranch. Was told, Joseph, the farmer, only uses well water for them.

Beet, Celeriac, Huckleberry, Okra, Brussel Sprouts, Toasted Oats (mixed with coffee grinds that were infused/soaked in honey)

Butternut Squash, Beets 3-ways (yellow beets cooked in O.J., red beets dressed with a little apple cider vinegar and salt), Pear Butter, Orange Reduction, Honey Poached Cranberries, Cucumbers, Persimmons

Osetra Caviar, Smoked Salmon, Cauliflower Purée, Finger Lime, Croutons

Hudson Valley Foie Gras, Vanilla Persimmon Jam, Sweet Potato Purée, Pumpkin Seeds, Red Endives, Huckleberry

Striped Bass, Clam Broth (not on photo, it was poured afterwards, my photo did not look nice enough to post), Daikon, Smoked Portuguese Sausage, Chinese Water Spinach, Pesto

Celeriac Velouté, Celery Branch, Ham, Gluten Free Toast, Pistachio, Persimmon

Hiramasa Tartar, Santa Barbara Uni, Cucumber Gelée, Meyer Lemon

Second time at PABU, second time doing their tasting menu and sake pairing. Highlights and in some cases repeats: Madai (Sea Bream), Hirame (Fluke), Hon Maguro Akami (Bluefin Tuna), Tenjyo Buri (Wild Yellowtail — ordered seconds), Katsuo (Wild Bonito), Santa Barbara Uni (Sea Urchin — ordered seconds), Soy-Caramel Custard: Espresso Glass, Coffee Jelly, Sesame Sponge Cookie. The dessert although very rich, is addictive!

Went to B Patisserie the first time, back in September when friends were visiting. Were told they have awesome kouign-amanns, had no idea what those were so we decided to check those out. It was cow_love at first site! Our second visit was this past Friday 31-Oct-2014, with our out of town friends and house guests. This time we sampled: (2) kouign-amanns nature, (1) kouign-amman pumpkin spice, (1) chocolate-banana-almond croissant, (1) pear kugelhopf, (1) orange coffee cake AND (1) apple tart = 7 pastries total. I mean, if you made the trip by foot (SF is pretty hilly!), then why the hell not!

For those of you that do not know what an kouign-amann is, here is the wiki

Went to Lazy Bear not knowing what to expect. Had done my research and reviews seemed pretty great, one article quoted “hottest underground restaurant to go legit”. Had friends in town, so we thought this would be a great way to spend our “Halloween” night, and gave it a go. We were very pleasantly surprised, our meal was awesome!

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I absolutely love canelés de Bordeaux. I decided to buy canelés from both places I know about: Boulette’s Larder and Les Clos to compare. Boulette’s are pretty good, but still love Chef Shawn Gawle’s, now at Les Clos (Saison‘s former pastry chef) much better, he is simply brilliant!

The three canelés on the top are from Boulette’s, the three canelés on the bottom are from Chef Shawn Gawle’s at Les Clos

Tuesday, 21-Oct-2014: Third time at The Restaurant at Meadowood. Blew my mind a third time. Got to try my first vintage Dom Pérignon, a 1975!

Amazing bottle of vintage champagne!