This lovely restaurant located right at the corner of market and 12th street in Hayes Valley has become one of my favorite places to go when im in the mood for some good wine, never ending oysters or just simply want to surround myself with beautiful people.

Zuni is one of the few restaurants in San Francisco that have been going strong with the same owners for over the last 30 years, which as soon as you enter the doors you will realize is not such a surprise. Its welcoming atmosphere fused with a minimalistic and industrial interior, including floor to ceiling windows and walls adorned with artworks by local artists, keeps the place looking modern and edgy. The restaurant has an aura of sophisticated casualness over it without being too trendy and intimidating. 

As wonderful as the ambience is, the food is even better. The roasted chicken is a crowd favorite at this place, but the thin crust pizza, creamy polenta and of course the oysters are also great choices. As the dishes are not too big ordering several different dishes is suggested and also encouraged. Make sure you save room for one of the many desserts; the espresso granita is particular satisfactory. 

Making a reservation is recommendable, however if you do happen to pop in and there is a wait list you could always find your way to the bar and have a taste of the many good wines they carry while you flip threw their very own Zuni Café cookbook. Enjoy!

Zuni Café
1658 Market Street (Cross street 12th street)
San Francisco

If you are in Chennai on a lazy weekend and want to try some Mexican cuisines, Tangerine is one of the options. Not sure how “Tangerine” relates to Mexican Food but you will find a decent environment and good food that fits well within your budget. You may have to wait for some time but the patience is well worth it.

THE FOOD

As the tag line suggests, sizzlers are their forte and you will also find Indianized version of sizzlers e.g. Paneer Tikka Sizzler. They also have a few verities of pastas. Being vegetarian, trying meat, eggs and sea food is out of the question. We ordered “Paneer And Corn Cutlet Sizzler” – a smoked cutlet made of Paneer and Corn served with tangy cheese garlic sauce, sautéed vegetables and skinned mashed potato.

The very aroma of smoked cutlet was enticing. Serving size is good for an adult. Cheesy sauce gave the food bit of an Italian touch but it tasted good

Compared to the verity of sizzlers, beverages were little disappointing. Also, they don’t seem to have permit for serving alcoholic beverages. Non availability of beer was a major turn off!

THE AMBIANCE

The place is an air conditioned ground floor with a seating capacity of ~40 people. Overall interior is good enough (i.e. nothing great). We had to stand near the entrance because of non availability of waiting area. Paintings on the wall were mediocre and didn’t gel with rest of the interior. Music played at restaurant was rather annoying because of inconsistency

COURTESY

The staff was mostly friendly and courteous but at the same time forgetful and often slow. They could have served the sizzlers with knife and fork instead of fork and spoon. The guard at Parking kept following me till I paid him tips for getting my bike parked!! :O

SUMMARY

A good value for money place to visit for decent Mexican food if you are ready to overlook the rest!

OUR RATING

Out of 10 – 10 being Outstanding

Criteria	Ratings
Quality and taste	8
Appearance / presentation of food	6
Ambiance	5
Courtesy	4
Verity / food options	7
Beverages served	5
Value for money	8
Parking facility	4
Perks	4
Overall Satisfaction	7 (likely to visit again

When running late scrambling to get up north before Shabbat, finding a place to eat is hard. But to our surprise what we found is Zichron Yaakov wasn’t just food but good food at that. As we began our trip to Haifa for the weekend, we left the house at 11:30 thinking we will get food along the way for the four of us, two adults plus two kids. Well typical Israel, mall and road stops don’t signage early enough for my speedy gonzalese husband. Soon it was 3:00 an hour before Shabbat  and we passed Zichron.

I have always loved Zichron, what is not to love. Beautiful little city tucked away in the hills over looking the Mediterranean. The city has taken great pains to ensure that the even the streets look quaint, matching the entire region’s wine and cheese flavor. As we drove up the main strip I didn’t expect to find anything that would be open but to our surprise Yoshki hummusia was kosher and open. I stepped in, of course there was no menu.  When I asked what there was, the waiter responded with “what do you want”. Finally we settled on hummus with meat, pita, shakshuka, and bean soup. He explained that we would have to eat outside since they were going to cleaning the restaurant, trying to shut down before Shabbat.

Now I was expecting much, and they definitely exceeded my expectations. The Hummus was a kinds chunky and creamy and even in their rush they took the time to apply all the condiments including olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, paprika and pine nuts.  Although this was not like Jerusalem Hummus it was really good with the fresh pita.

Both my husband and I were not big fans of the bean soup which need flavoring. But the eggs in the shakshuka were well cooked , the texture was creamy and it wasn’t too spicy (look my kids are not such fans of charif). I was just surprised that the cook who made it on the spot in a huge rush managed to make a simple but delicious meal.

While we sat enjoying the food, a little sun shower and the calm of Shabbat fell over the main street. After our meal we were ready to make our last jaunt to get to Hafia, We piled back in to the car so happy with full bellies and a great pre Shabbat feeling.

So if you are in the area check out the Hummusia is on the main drag to your right when coming into the city. It is definitely worth the drive.

Last night my husband, Neil, decided he would take us out for a date night at The Alchemist Pub and Brewery in Waterbury Vermont- “The Alchemist is a 7 barrel brew pub specializing in hand-crafted beer and casual pub fare. All of our ales flow directly from our basement brewery, which was designed and installed by our brewer and co-proprietor John Kimmich.  We use only the finest imported malts and domestic hops available to bring you the tastiest and finest selection of beers in Vermont!” (from their website).

We settled on getting the oatmeal stout and the red….however we were brought a porter and a harvest.  They quickly apologized about that mistake and gave us our correct beers on the house.

For dinner I ordered the Marinated Tempeh Sandwich without the walnut pesto and subsituted the maple balsamic dressing.  Neil ordered the Blackened Tofu Burrito without the cheese and sour cream.  We also ordered a side of fries with their house made mustard and ketchup.

Although our meals were really good we didn’t make it through the first bite of the burrito because they had forgotten to not put the cheese on.  So we sent it back and it was quickly replaced with the correct vegan version.  The tempeh sandwich was so good and the fries were amazing- nice and crispy fresh cut. The burrito was good we really liked the blackened tofu but it was missing something in it, maybe the salsa would have been better in than on the side.

Overall we just fell in love with the places great atmosphere, food and beer.  We extremely impressed with the service as well and appreciated the 2 free beers and the free burrito (they covered that as well since they had made the mistake- we really didn’t expect that but it was a great treat).

A traditional English pub run by a Mother and Daughter. We make it our business to make you feel at home – to feed you and introduce you to traditional ales that have a Cask Marque award. Which guarantees satisfaction and a top pint. We are a child friendly and dog friendly family run public house.

We offer home-cooked, wholesome pub food, baguette and sandwiches. Most of our food is prepared and cooked freshly.

Join us on Sundays for our lovely home cooked roast dinner that will have you bursting with joy, or you could even pop in on a Friday night for Steak night, served with home-made onion rings, peas, chips and mushrooms.

The Sun is always happy to cater for any special occasion, as well as our restaurant and bar we have a large garden, which is ideal for the children and dogs, we can also tailor a menu to suit your needs and tastes

Please feel free to phone or call in and talk to one of our members of staff about bookings.

UK Small Business Directory

So on the way to drop my daughter at school this morning, we had a little quibble. In December my family will all be in Cape Town and so will hubby’s. I have been looking forward to the annual family lunch, but with one little voice drearily tallying up the possibility that my daughter will make things, how shall I put this, uncomfortable.

Recently she has been really weird at restaurants. I mean she doesnt like the food, doesn’t enjoy the atmosphere, get teary- eyed and just makes things really uncomfortable. I took her with for my mom’s birthday dinner, it was just the 4 of us, my mom, hubby, my daughter and me. She put up a real performance. My mom and I ended up having a bit of an awkward moment, as my mom interfered with me trying to keep my lil un under control. The things is that the resturant was crowded and my daughter loud. It was the most uncomfortable situation.

I’m really worried now though, as when I chatted to her about it this morning on the way to school, every restaurant I mentioned, was not good enough, and she sounded a bit like a whining broken record.  Is this a phase? Has anyone had a similar experience? Does it blow over?

Åhåj!

Jeg overlevde 5 dager i Irland, jeg er sikker på at “the leprechauns” hjalp meg. Søtere skapninger finnes ikke. De var overalt! Vel, turen var ubeskrivelig! Kremen av 3PB4A, de beste folka å dra på tur med, uten tvil! Vi har opplevd ganske mye, noe trenger vi ikke snakke om (fordi det var så sinnsykt kult, at vi ikke vil dele det med noen!), og andre ting kommer jeg til å prate om i flere uker! Som for eksempel Beer-Fest! Stort telt med 1liters øl-krus, masse mennesker, og stort dansegulv! “Ziggyzaggi Ziggyzaggi Hoj Hoj Hoj!”. Og hvordan man på riktig måte tapper Guinnes-øl. Tro meg, det kommer jeg iallefall aldri til å glemme. Guinnes er herved kåret til mitt yndlingsøl. Ikke engang Dahls topper det. Sorry trønder-fans, men stikk innom Guinnes bryggeriet og du blir hekta. Men såklart, møter man på udugelige bartendere som ikke engang veit hvordan man må tappe Guinnes for å få riktig blanding karbon og hydrogen…, da skjønner jo jeg også at man ikke kan forvente å like det… (haha..) Da er det bare å tilkalle Guinnes-ekspert Patsy, så skal jeg gi et lite minikurs.. (*fniz*).

Nei, Dublin var en fantastisk sjarmerende by. Jeg likte meg godt der, forresten, den eneste dagligvarekjeden de har er Spar! Det var litt kult, og måtte såklart kommenteres av meg og Kristine. Til butikkmannen sa vi: “Did you know that we have Spar in Norway as well?” Butikkmannen: “Ehm… no…?” – “Well, we do! And do you know what it means?” Butikkmann: “Ehm….” -”It means Spare!” (utalt på engelsk måte). Butikkmannen: “Okey….” Daniel skyter inn: “Eh.. Save mener dere vel…?” Ja, akkurat ja! I midtbyen hadde de også en stor kirke, som var omgjort til bar og resturant, det var utrolit fascinerende, orgel og altertavler, samt annet kirkelig interiør var fortsatt der, men midt i kirkeskipet var det installert en diger bar, og oppe på sidene kunne man sitte og nyte en bedre middag, noe vi benyttet oss av. Hostellet vi bodde på het Jacobs Inn, og var minst like sjarmerende som resten av byen. De hadde temakvelder, forskjellige kurs og et flott fellesrom som vi benyttet oss av. Herlig!

 Trykk på bildene for større versjon.

Over til noe annet, jeg skal flytte snart! Happyness! Flytter til et kollektiv på Lerkendal, det blir litt skummelt, men heldigvis er Johannes en av kollektiverne, så da kan han passe på meg de første dagene.

Skal prøve å komme sterkere tilbake med denne blogginga, men til neste gang så sier jeg bare som jeg alltid sier: “Æ vil ha pøls!”

This is a great product, I bought four of them and recommend them highly if you like being outside having a cold beer by the barbecue pit, it’s awesome! I slipped one on my canned drink that had been in an ice chest and it made it icy so I learned to slip it after a few minutes, it works that good! I used one on a room temperature bottled water and it made it chill like it had come out of the fridge, it took about 4 or 5 minutes. No more throwing away the hot last part of my drink!

We keep these in the freezer ready for when we are going to serve wine. It brings a bottle of red down to the proper temp pretty quickly and will keep your whites where they need to be for about an hour.

We also throw these in our picknick basket when we want to keep something cool or for tailgateing and need to keep the wine cool. These have proved durable so far as they have not ripped or cracked which is a problem for items that are frequently frozen, thawed and frozen over and over. They still remain very flexible.

Simple and effective, what more could you ask for.

They have an attractive silver/chrome outer covering or you can get on with a french resturant scene. We got both.

What defines a fine dining restaurant in Philadelphia?  Expectations are high in this world class city which, by the way, is known for great restaurants and food.  In fine dining, the menu selections must be creative and of outstanding quality and freshness.  Service is also critical for fine dining in Philadelphia, and the atmosphere must be extraordinary to complete the experience.

High quality, unique ingredients must always be used at a fine dining restaurant in Philadelphia, and these elements need to be put together by talented and experienced chefs.  Restaurants in Philly attract the best chefs from around the country, and sometimes even from around the world.  The specialized menus, designed by the artistic chefs, should be creative and use seasonal ingredients so that the dishes are at their peak of flavor and freshness.  Wine selections, properly paired with food options, also need to be wisely chosen and offered along with top shelf liquors.

Attention is paid to detail for the service at a fine dining Philadelphia restaurant.  The staff should treat customers with great consideration and they should be highly trained.  Servers need to be prompt and knowledgeable, and should be taught to answer any questions from customers about the menu and the preparation of the dishes.  Their recommendations are expected by some patrons, and they should be prepared to respond about the food or wine.

When guests visit a fine dining restaurant in Philadelphia, an elegant atmosphere is a must in which to enjoy the fabulous food.  Restaurants strive to have their own unique style, and many achieve a great effect with bold, professionally appointed décor. Lighting, including candlelight, fresh flowers and music complete a look.  Many restaurants in Philly have a very traditional look, in keeping with the historical, colonial heritage of the city.  A fine dining restaurant in Philadelphia is a fabulous combination of not just food, but service and surroundings to make it a special meal for guests.

A fine dining restaurant in Philadelphia has a combination of excellent food prepared by accomplished chefs, impeccable service which attends to customers promptly and capably, and a well-designed ambiance to add to the overall dining experience.

Grace Enderlein is a freelance writer and editor.  “What Makes a Fine Dining Restaurant in Philadelphia?” notes the elements that put a restaurant in Philly in the fine dining category.  The Moshulu Restaurant is a restored, four-masted ship permanently docked on Penn’s Landing, offering fine dining in an extraordinary atmosphere.

Many women and men today get married or move into a relationship with little of no cooking experience.  This is not their fault it is simply they way society is heading. But in hardening financial times eating out is becoming a luxury for the average person can no longer afford.  You too can become a…. Read More

Just got back from Melbourne this week , went there for a short trip to visit some friends , some shopping , watch the egales play and the food . I also toke my camera along as well as was hoping to get some photography in while the wife was shopping . Unfortunately the weather and light was wasn’t great while we were over there but still went out most mornings and afternoons to see what I could get . Didn’t come away with many photos so the photography part was a bit of a let down however the food we had while we over there made up for it . I think while we were over there we ate out every night and most breakfast the food and customer service was great over there compared to Perth .

We even went to one of Geroge Calombaris (Judge from Master Chef Australia ) restaurants the Hellenic Republic http://www.hellenicrepublic.com.au/ for breakfast and would have to say it would have been one of the best breakfasts I had had in a long time .

Also went to a couple of restaurants in China town for dinner a few times one of them was the Longgrain Restaurant http://www.longrain.com/melb_INTRO.htm which is a modern Thia restaurant . The food there was amazing with lots of fresh herbs and spices used , the cocktails were also great .

One one of the days I took the tram down to St Kilda to try and get some shots of the old St Kilda Peir at sunset , there was a lot of grey over cast clouds hanging around that day and the weather was bloody freezing with wind . But I rugged up and though I would stick it out till for the sunset hoping there might be a break in the clouds to get some color in the sky unfortunately it just went from light to grey to dark , disappointed I started  head back into St Kilda to get something to eat and choose the elbowroom http://www.elbowroomstkilda.com/ must say the service there was exceptional ordered there house special of beef fajitas and would defiantly be eating there again next time I’m over there .  Perth restaurants could really learn a lot from Melbourne the food and service was just blew Perth standards away . Now will just have to work off all that food now I’m back in WA , hopefully heading down to Pemberton shortly so will defiantly work the food off will all the hiking down there .

The top image I took is of the Melbourne skyline just before sunrise on the first day I was there . Probably the best light I had all trip and it didn’t rain that day either . Was an 8 image stitch taken from near the Crown Casino .

I also noticed at night time they have these huge gas flames that come out along the river bank of Melbourne was amazed at they really did these fireball shows every night on the hour as must be a huge waste of gas . As we were staying right next to the Crown Casino decide to go down and get a few shots of these monstor fireballs going off . The below image was a 8 image stitch again taken around 10 pm .

I you got here from Google, whatever you’re looking for is probably in one of these YouTube videos!

I’ve met my nephew for the first time and he’s so cute. he’s my sister’s son and he’s only 4 years old. we went to Korean restaurant. we ate some hot bean paste stew, rice and kimch and it was so delicious. oh, i love Korean food! after the dinner, we went to a frozen yogurt store. OMG! the yogurt was so good! it was best i’ve ever had. he really loved it and he was playing around in his firefighter hat. he looked so funny in that hat, lol! they went home after that, but i had a really good time with him. it’s been 2 weeks since i saw him and i already miss him. i’m going to see him again soon though. thanks all for reading my diary and hope all is well with you!

xoxo,

Christine

(photo from Positano Coast’s website)

I’ve held out on reviewing this restaurant, since I know I’d go there again soon and tonight was that night. Follow 2nd street down to walnut and look up. You’ll see a restaurant sitting on the second floor of a small, square building. I first noticed it driving with my sister through the city. It was warm outside and they had all of the windows open and people were sitting on the couches in the lounge looking down on us and talking and enjoying their meals. I instantly texted Frank and described it to him. I mentioned sitting on couches while having dinner and he was all in. Now that I think about it, I think it was really the first place we went to eat together in Philly. We fell in love with it and have continued to go back time and time again, never having a bad meal and always recommending it to friends.

Tuesday is Franks 21st birthday (and no, no alcohol will be present on that day, neither does he have any desire to sit in front of slot machines in a casino that smells of cigarette smoke) so his aunt wanted to take us out to dinner. So her and her husband and me and frank made our way to Postiano coast, my 4th time going, his 3rd time going and their first times going. We asked specifically, as we always do, to sit in the lounge. Positano Coast has both a more formal dining room and a lounge. Both are decorated with blues and whites with lanterns and soft lights all around, creating an incredibly inviting atmosphere. It’s truly tempting to take a nap on one of the couches in the lounge after dinner and tell you server to wake you in 20.

(Photo from Positano Coast’s Website)

They specialize in small plates which is great since it leaves plenty of room to try a few different things and still have dessert. Their prices are very reasonable as well, in my opinion, a great deal for great food right in old city. Another great thing is the dress code. You don’t feel like you have to dress up at all, but you don’t feel weird if you do a little bit either, which is great as I always worry about being over-dressed or under-dressed.

On to the food…

I have yet to try anything I didn’t like there. If you’re picky, you can find something, if you’re looking to try something really new and different, you can find something too. The first trip there was before I began to get a bit more adventurous with my taste buds, so I just went with the Chicken Parmesan which was fantastic, but I have since tried their risotto, white bean gratin, frisee salad, and something from their restaurant week menu, that I do not recall the name of. Like I’ve said, I’ve yet to have a bad meal. Frank has had…yep, you guess it, steak. Our first time around he had one type of steak, which I can’t remember the name of, and was taken off the menu for the changing seasons, but now he is in love with their New York Steak Bolognese with a side of…thats right, mashed potatoes (or rather their “potato puree”) which was also excellent. It’’s been great to go with different people with different tastes to get their opinion as well (I went with a large group of friends during restaurant week this past fall and everyone loved it, and Franks uncle tried some of Positano Coasts crudo and other seafood, which neither of us would ever try in a million years, but he said was very good).

I have to make a confession though, even with how much I adore trying new things, I have a dirty little secret. When it comes to dessert at Positano Coast, I absolutely always get the Tirimisu. Tirimisu has been a favorite of mine since I first tried it, and when I had it at Positano Coast for the first time it was love at first bite. You can ask Frank, I rarely scrape my plate clean, but when I’m there I can’t help myself. I find myself occasionally craving it in between visits, which makes it all the more an incredibly special treat for me when I am there. One of Franks favorite is the Kahlua Chocolate Mousse. But to my complete suprise the first time he ordered it, he also loves the Nuttella and Raspberry Crepes (I never would think he would even try something like that – but he’s had it twice now and loves it almost as much as the mousse!). Our first time there he also had a chocolate lava cake which was delicious, unfortunately it left with the season as well.

Positano Coast is one of those few restaurants where I really feel they have everything together. The atmosphere takes you away to southern europe for a great meal where you find yourself completely comfortable and any silences in conversation that may normally feel akward just become natural as ever. To steal my design professor from Drexel’s catch phrase, “It’s lovely.”