Eating and Drinking in San Francisco/Oakland/Napa

[Nolan_E]

@awilliamson4

Liked the food at Torc a bunch. That has to be one of the worst wine lists outside of Applebee’s though.

When we ate there in November I had a hard time deciding what to order from their list, as in too many good choices.

[Ed_Kurtzman]

@Sarah Kirschbaum

b]Koi Palace[/b] – another place that’s maybe a cliche, but we always stop here for dim sum on the way out of town since it’s between SF and the airport. I’m not well versed enough in all the area dim sum options to make comparisons, but I know that Koi Palace always hits the spot. If you get there before 11, it’s only about a 15 minute wait, even on a Sunday. This time, there was a delicious tart with minced chicken and a whole abalone, which was great, and the gai lan was particularly good – very tender and fresh and not a trace of bitterness. Request it only with garlic, as their oyster sauce is especially sweet.

I love Koi Palace! I get there at about 10 minutes to 10 on a Saturday or 10 before 9 on a Sunday, totally worth skipping the line. It’s a little less than half the price of Yank Sing but equal in quality and variety.

[GeoffEwart]

We went and tried Ad Lib last night, Thomas Keller’s “pop up” seems to be hanging around a bit longer even with TFL having their soft opening last night as well - apparently it will be running through the end of October. I thoroughly enjoyed the food and the concept, relatively simple food made with high quality ingredients and flavours. Nothing real fancy here, the Caesar Salad was a Caesar Salad but made tableside with fresh dressing, foie gras with red wine gelee and toasted brioche was the highlight for me - excellent complementary flavours. We rounded out with a chopped steak and a salmon - the chopped steak was a new experience for me, didn’t know what it was when I ordered it and was a bit worried when it came out but between the charred outer bits and near raw cubes inside it was tasty.

Wouldn’t make it a regular but it was an enjoyable experience and the service was excellent though that may change as it was one of the last seatings with TFL staff

[Diana_E]

Is Ad Lib in Yountille? Starting to plan our fall Napa trip, sorry to hear there are no great new places. Guess we will stick with old faves like Celadon and Cole’s.

[Alan_Rath]

You mean Ad Hoc? If so, yes. Try The Thomas in Napa.

[mmoyer]

AdLib is at the Silverado Resort…just down the road from Yountville. Last I heard, scheduled to close in October. AdHoc is in Yountville.

[Leonard_Maran]

Newcomer: Nico in San Francisco: sublime

[George_Hejna]

Has anybody been to Coi recently? I have seen some older references but nothing recent.

Also is the Saison menu really $400pp for food?

Thanks,

George

[Andrew_Morris]

I was in Oakland prepping our house there for sale. My wife and I ate at http://www.floraoakland.com. Easy to get in on a weekday. Stellar meal. Noticed a few board faves on the wine list. Modest prices considering the quality of the food.

[Leonard_Maran]

Looks like a bunch of posts were deleted.

[Sarah_Kirschbaum]

Another great meal at State Bird. Such fun and exciting dishes. The intellectual element is there if you want to focus on it, but you can be satisfied solely on how delicious things are. So many chefs put multiple elements together in one dish and it comes out a mess. The dishes at State Bird often have a lot going on, but manage to work all the components into something that is more than the sum of its parts. Not everything is perfect - one rubbery octopus, and an unremarkable pate, but everything else was great, and the grilled treviso was incredible, as was the kabocha squash mochi. Had a cocktail at the Progress afterwards and thoroughly enjoyed the bar there.

Note, I had a reservation, but the line at 5:30 when I got there wasn’t long for those who were walking in.