Category: Restaurant Reviews
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Tzuco
Tzuco 720 N State Street, Chicago, IL 60654 Items ordered: I was in Chicago on a work trip, and had a rare off night with no plans. I decided to check out Tzuco, one of the restaurants of chef Carlos Gaytán, who competed on Top Chef. The style of cuisine here could probably best be…
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Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello Summit Tour
Ridge Vineyards 17100 Montebello Rd, Cupertino, CA 95014 Summit Tour This is a bit of a different post, and I debated whether to include it in this blog at all. In the end, it was such a fun and unique experience, and I do think wine is a big part of food and cuisine, so…
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Ristorante Allegria
Ristorante Allegria 1026 1st Street, Napa, CA 94559 Items ordered: We enjoyed a short trip to Napa as part of Thanksgiving weekend. Of course, the real joy of the Napa is the nice restaurants. We chose this place because it was really close to our hotel (right in downtown Napa) and because Italian is always…
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Xebec
Xebec 131 Gough Street, San Francisco, Ca 94102 Items ordered: My wife and I had tickets to the San Francisco Symphony, and we tried out this place as the dinner prior to the event. The menu promises a fusion of Mediterranean and Japanese, which is certainly an intriguing combination. The food was interesting, but ultimately…
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Valley Goat
Valley Goat 1100 N Mathilda Ave, Sunnyvale, CA Items ordered: We had a few hours off without the kids, so my wife and I finally tried out Valley Goat, coming from chef Stephanie Izard. We had dined at her original place, The Girl and the Goat, in Chicago a very long time ago (around 2011…
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GIWA
GIWA 1494 Halford Ave, Santa Clara, CA 95051 Items ordered: This was a nice pleasant surprise. I think this restaurant is mostly known for being a brunch spot, but they opened up a dinner menu recently as well. The cuisine style seems to be a mixture of Korean, Japanese, and Italian influences. I usually don’t…
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Playa Provisions
Playa Provisions 119 Culver Blvd, Playa del Rey, CA, 90293 Items ordered: Well, this has clearly been my favorite dining experience so far this year. And probably will stay that way for a while. We have always enjoyed Top Chef, and Brooke Williamson was one of the great contestants, finishing as a finalist her first…
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Portola Bistro
Portola Bistro 3130 Alpine Road, Portola Valley CA 94028 Items ordered: We celebrated Melody’s birthday at this newish place in Portola. My expectations weren’t super high given the theme of the restaurant was both Italian and French cuisine (I tend to prefer restaurants that specialize, rather than generalize). Overall, it was a nice dining experience.…
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Taqueria Los Chuchys
Taqueria Los Chuchys 543 4th Ave San Diego, CA 92101 Items ordered: I got a chance to visit this hole in the wall in the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego with some colleagues on a work trip. It was excellent. Perhaps my taste buds had been beaten down by tasteless and textureless conference food, but…
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Eos & Nyx
Eos & Nyx 201 S. Second St. Ste. 120, San Jose, CA 95113 Items ordered: This Mediterranean-style restaurant is right in San Jose downtown. It had great ambience and natural lighting. Definitely more on the high end side. Service was good. As for the food, it was the highest of highs, but also some unfortunate…
