72 Hours in Sonoma/Napa - Part 1 Visited 11/2-11/5/2017 3.5 - 4.5 Forks

El Molino Central  11 Central Ave., Sonoma, CA 95476                                                          4.5 Forks

A few of my friends and I were scheduled to go to Sonoma right after the terrible fires up there, so we weren't really sure what to expect when we got there. But I was so glad that we made it up there to help the local businesses.  It was kind of nice to be there when there weren't a lot of people and the local businesses were thrilled to have us there.

El Molino Central was a total unexpected find and it was fabulous.  Even though Mexican food is super popular in California, when you think Sonoma, you generally think more expensive farm to table or some other kind of bougie food.  El Molino Central is the total opposite.  It's a very casual Mexican place that is super affordable.  What I loved about the place was that the menu was authentic and the place was clearly run by local Mexicans.  Plus for some reason, walking through the kitchen to get to the back patio made me happy because that's how low key it was.

Everything on the menu sounded amazing and had more of a slant towards enchiladas and tamales - there was no burrito or sour cream in sight. I ended up with the fish tacos ($9.50) because if they're on the menu, I'm getting them.  We grabbed a warm cozy table outside under the heat lamp and the food came out fast and furious.  The fish tacos were two huge tacos filled with beer battered white fish, avocado lime mayo, a smokey spicy salsa and shredded cabbage and radish.  The fish was perfectly battered and fried - it wasn't too greasy but it had a great crunch to it.  I loved that it was two very hearty tacos and not the tiny delicate tacos you sometimes get a high end places in NYC.  I ended up splitting my dish with Neera who got one of the enchiladas, which was amazing.  Everyone raved at how fantastic the food was and how it really hit the spot.  It was quick, easy and very filling.  It was the perfect intro to our long weekend in Sonoma and a nice diversion from the rest of the more traditional rustic California food (which isn't bad at all but it is everywhere!).  Plus it'll definitely be the cheapest meal you'll get out here.  We joked that we should have gone back a few times here for lunch or dinner and if we had stayed longer, I could have totally seen us doing that.  Total bill:  $80 for 5 people with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Girl and the Fig 110 W Spain St., Sonoma, CA 95476                                                              3.5 Forks

Girl and the Fig is your quintessential Sonoma restaurant - it's total California locally sourced chic food.  There's nothing super fancy about the place but it's fairly well known since it's right off the main square in town.  Despite the fires, the place was pretty packed when we got there.

One of the downsides of having dinner in Sonoma is that you generally have been wine tasting during the day, so if you're not careful you can arrive to dinner kind of tipsy and or not super hungry because you've been noshing on bread and cheese the whole day.  That's pretty much what happened to us.  We had hit up a few wineries before hand and even though we weren't drunk at all, some of us weren't really on our A-game.  The menu is long and extensive and has a bit of a French feel to it with steak frites, croque Monsieurs, and lots of cheese plates.  They had a great sounding Plats du Jour deal where you can get a 3 course meal for $42 but it was just too much food for me to stomach.  The frustrating thing is that one of the 3 dishes was a Brussels sprout salad that sounded right up my alley but they couldn't/wouldn't offer up just the salad as a stand alone dish, which I thought was kind of annoying.  I hemmed and hawed for a long time on what to get because I was sadly not that hungry but didn't want to waste this opportunity.  I ended up going with the fig and arugula salad ($15) - I know it sounds kind of lame to come all the way here for dinner to just get a salad but we had eaten our weight in bread and cheese earlier so sadly I really screwed myself.  I got this salad because it had figs and hey, we're at Girl and the Fig right?

The salad also came with pecans, pancetta, goat cheese, and dressed with a port vinaigrette.  Honestly, it was a good salad but it didn't blow my mind away.  In fact, it was a bit overdressed and I didn't really get a ton of fig in it.  I also ordered a side of fries because I am such a damn sucker for them and they were delicious - it kind of rounded out the unhealthy part of the meal.

The main reason for the less than 4 fork review was the service was crazy slow.  Even though our waiter was a very kind man, it took forever to place our order.  We had eaten an entire plate of heirloom radishes and bread basket before he came back around to take our order.  Also, I had them bring out a dessert for Neera's birthday and we all agreed on the pumpkin pudding cake and it just tasted like plain pumpkin bread - there wasn't anything super special to it.  Maybe we just didn't order the right thing or maybe it was because we were in a slightly hazy state, but I found our meal at El Molino Central the night before to be way more satisfying.  But Girl and the Fig is an institution in Sonoma so I would go back and try it out again.  Total bill:  $255 for 5 people with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

24 Hours in San Francisco Visited 11/1/2017 3.5 - 4 Forks

Tartine Bakery and Cafe  600 Guerrero St., San Francisco, CA 94110                                     3.5 Forks

Ah, yes.  Tartine  - the famed SF bakery.  Yet somehow every time I come to SF it manages to escape me.  But this time I was staying with my friend Louise and it was about a 25 min walk from her place and with the time difference I was easily able to get there by 8:30am before the masses came in.  I had heard about this place as having the best bread and baked goods in the city, so I was super excited to check it out.  In my head, I had this vision of a cute trendy cafe where it was bright and airy and I could sit outside with my croissant and coffee. 

It turned out to be kind of the opposite and decor-wise not really what I thought.  I was kind of a bleh facade (I actually walked right past it the first time) and bleh inside.  It was much more basic than I thought and kind of cramped seating.  But that's ok.  There was a very short line when I got there and was a bit caught off guard on what I should get.  I still had a very New York state of mind and was looking for bagels.  I quickly pivoted and got an almond croissant and a quiche of the day.  I hindsight, I wish I got the morning bun (pictured) or the bread pudding but it was also only 8:30am, so both of them seemed kind of aggressive but lesson learned for next time. 

I got a seat in the middle of the cafe and started with the almond croissant.  It was super flakey and the almond paste inside was sweet and lovely.  It was indeed a good croissant but I don't know if I would say it's one of the best ones I've had.  It was almost a bit too flakey on the outside for me because when I got up,  I pretty much had an entire batch of croissant flakes sitting in my lap.  The quiche was good but I always forget that I don't like them as much as I think I do.  They're usually too cold and hard crusted for my liking and this one was one different.  I'm glad I got to see what all the fuss was and I believe the other baked goods there are probably better (see my next posting about eating at their restaurant and eating the bread there) but I don't know if I would necessarily go out of my way to come back here the next time I'm in the Bay Area.  Total bill:  $16.34 with tax and tip

Photo Credit: Yelp

Vive La Tarte  1160 Howard St., San Francisco, CA 94103                                                         4 Forks

Now this is the California type bakery I was envisioning.  It was this giant, bright loft space with full working open kitchen that you could see into.  It was very industrial chic.  It felt like everyone who was eating there worked at some tech start up or some other too cool for school place.  The menu is kind of like a bakery with a big focus on croissants, desserts and focaccias.   It is a highly Instragram worthy place if you care about that kind of stuff. 

I met up randomly with an old junior school friend who I hadn't seen in over 20 years but it was so nice to catch up!  The only reason I knew about this place was that I walked past it the other day while I was wandering around the city.  If you're looking for other food items, they have a limited menu of very hipster California things like salads and smashed avocado toast.  I honestly can't remember what kind of focacaia I got but I remember enjoying it.  It was a great place to catch up with an old friend as it's super casual but there is room to sit and enjoy a conversation without the pressure of being pushed out of your table.  I got Louise a beautiful mango tarte later that she said was tasty.  I'm giving 4 forks to this place over Tartine for this more beautiful decor and overall more enjoyable experience.   My one gripe, like with any bougie place is that it's more expensive than it really needs to be.  Total bill:  $18.44 with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Tartine Manufactory  95 Alabama St., San Francisco, CA 94110                                                4 Forks

I know, you're probably saying how can I give this place and Vive La Tarte the same rating?  Well, this place could have easily been at least a 4.5 Fork place if it wasn't for a few things that really annoyed the hell out of me.  It's actually lucky that the rating didn't start with a 3....

First, while they are on OpenTable, sometimes you just want need to talk to a host about your reservation.  Since the number in my party kept changing, I wanted to speak to someone who could help me figure out if I needed to draw a line in the sand with my friends about RSVP'ing or if we could be a bit more flexible.  Apparently they have no working phone number as every time I dialed it, it was just go silent.   WTF?  So I resorted to emailing them and they were very nice over email but it would take a day or two for them to respond, which wasn't very effective.  On the OT confirmation they make a big deal about how your entire party must be there before they will seat you.  I made all my friends confirm and swear they would be on time.  But then when my friend May got there first the hostess asked if she wanted to sit at our table while she waited for us.  Huh?  My 3rd beef with them will come later but on to the good stuff about this place. 

Yes, it's by the same people at Tartine Bakery, so I'm completing my full Tartine experience.  Instead of a small bakery, this is a fairly large, open concept restaurant with a line of a California focused dishes.  Of course, we had to get the bread and butter ($5) as their bread is the star of the show. While I know their bread is "special", it was a bit annoying to have to pay $5 for it.  Next we got the beet hummus ($9) and the burrata ($10) to start.   We may have ordered some other appetizers but unfortunately I can't seem to remember if we did.  For entree, I got the chicken ($33) based on the way the waitress described it - I can't remember her exact words but there was something in the way that she talked about it that made it seem super yummy and compelling to order. 

When the bread and butter came out, I knew that this was the bread that I was missing from the morning.  It was warm, soft and deliciously crusty on the outside.  Now I understood the hysteria behind it.  But then the hummus and burrata come out with nothing to dip it in (the burrata was almost more like a ricotta than a solid burrata).  We asked the waitress how were we supposed to eat it with nothing to dip it in and she was like "oh, then maybe you would like to order more bread and also the flatbread?"  Mind you that is an extra $10.  WTF?  Who serves spreads but then doesn't give you a warning that there is nothing to eat it with?  Or it would have been nice if she had told us when we ordered our original bread to save it for the spreads.  Not that any of us minded eating more warm delicious bread but it just seemed like a bit of a scam for them to give you dips/spreads but then expect you to know to order additional bread for it.  The beet hummus tasted just like regular hummus but with a bright red color to it instead.  The burrata was luscious with Meyer lemon and pistachios sprinkled on it.  And of course they were all even tastier on the famous Tartine bread.

As for my entree - it was a pretty damn good half chicken.  It reminded me why a roasted chicken can be such an amazing dish.  It was on the bone, juicy and served with crunchy rice and a green chimichurri type of sauce.  I tried not to eat too much of the skin but it was nice and crispy.  I was super stuffed but happy about this dish.

With all the blunders and kind of a lukewarm waitstaff, I could have easily pushed this down to a 3.5 Fork rating but the bread and chicken were pretty damn good.  Apparently this is more of a brunch/lunch type place but Yelp reviews of it seemed scattered with people also frustrated by the service.  While I've been to SF many times before, each visit re-affirms my overall lukewarm feeling about the city - it's a cool city for sure but it somehow just doesn't quite stand up to NYC.  I guess I'm just an East Coast gal at heart.  Sorry SF friends! :)   Total bill:  $98/pp with tax, tip and lots of wine

Photo Credit:  Yelp

AJ's Burgers Visited 10/28/2017 4 Forks

AJ's Burgers  542 North Ave., New Rochelle, NY 10801

I now it seems weird to give a random burger place in Westchester 4 forks but you know what, the food was good, fresh and delicious, so I figured what the hell not?  Aarti, Will and I were visiting Kinney and Nat who had moved to New Rochelle from the city last year.  It's a cute up-and-coming town that's not too far from the city but is definitely very suburban.

Since our annual tradition of going upstate for New Years Eve to basically cook, eat and be lazy together was no more, going to New Rochelle seemed like the next best thing.  Kinney and Nat took us to AJ's which they said was on of their favorite places and I can see why.  It's nothing fancy at all but if you are ever in the mood for a burger this is a must.  It's kind of like an upscale diner with a total hodgepodge of American and Italian American food.  But really the burgers are where it's at.  They've got all sorts of burgers and toppings.  I was trying to be "healthy" so I went for the chicken burger ($13) which was ground chicken, sauteed spinach, garlic, and provolone cheese on a garlic roll.  Even though we were trying to save room for our feast of a dinner later, we also got a side of garlic truffle fries ($5).  Everyone else also got some form of a burger too.

I didn't really know what to expect but it was definitely not what came out.  All the burgers came out on these extra large skillets and a burger the size of my head.  It was insane.  Usually I'm not down for food like that but upon tasting the burger you could tell how fresh it was.  It was a fantastic homemade tasting chicken burger with a leap heaping for fresh spinach and almost too much garlic.  The garlic roll was soft and delicious but combined with the garlic already in the burger, I couldn't bring myself to eat the whole thing.  It a nice change of pace to eat a burger that didn't taste frozen or was crazy expensive either.  Aarti and Nat both said the veggie burger was fantastic and Aarti said it may have been one of the best veggie burgers she's ever had.

We all left feeling crazy full and happy.  I can see why Kinney and Nat come here often as it seems like a great neighborhood place to relax and eat affordable food.  It had a nice family feel to it and it seemed like there were still a few generations from the grandmother to the grandkids who work there.  Total bill:  $28/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Augustine Visited 10/27/2017 3.5 Forks

Augustine  5 Beekman St., New York, NY 10038

I was excited to try Augustine since it's located in one of my new favorite hotels in NYC, The Beekman.  If you haven't been to The Beekman yet, I'd highly recommend it for a drink as it has a gorgeous lobby and especially during the holiday time, they decorate it beautifully. 

There are 2 high profile restaurants in the hotel from 2 famous chefs, one is Temple Court by Tom Colicchio and the other being Augustine by Keith McNally.  Anuja and I decided to check out Augustine to help Van celebrate her recent wedding.  I got there a bit early and as the host was pulling out my chair, he accidentally knocked over a glass that shattered on to the table next to us and broken glass fell into this couple's steak and fries.  To the restaurant's credit, they were mortified and apologized profusely and tried to bring out all new food to the couple.  But they were almost done with their meal and asked instead to get more wine (smart couple).  I could tell from this interaction that this would be an experience with a very attentive staff.

The menu leans towards a French Brasserie, so you'll see items like steak frites, duck a l'orange, and tuna nicoise salad.  We started with the steak tartare ($19) and split the sea urchin spaghetti ($33) to start.  Yes,  as you can see from the prices, you are definitely eating at a hotel restaurant.  For my main, Van and I split the leg of lamb ($29) and all 3 of us split the special of the day which was bouillabaisse ($31).  The steak tartare was lovely and hand cut with nori and a quail egg.  The sea urchin pasta was also tasty with a creamy heaping of crab and pickled jalapeño.  It was delicious but I'm also glad we split it as it could be a bit too heavy for 1 person.  At this point I was excited for the rest of the meal but this is where it peaked.

For some reason in my mind, I envisioned the leg of lamb to be on the bone but this was served sliced and on a bed of uninspiring beans and escarole.  It didn't really have the juiciness or tastiness that I was looking for in lamb.  As for the bouillabaisse, that dish was an even more let down.  The presentation was also lacking and kind of a brown blobby mess.  Again, I had a really different vision of what this dish would be.  When I hear bouillabaisse, I think of a hearty stew like dish with lots of shell fish and and fish.  While this had a good amount of seafood, the dish didn't feel hearty and was very thin and soupy not stewy.  In good news is that the fries for the table were on point and extremely addictive and a good dipping vehicle for the sauce of the bouillabaisse.

Overall, it was a nice experience but as with any hotel restaurant, definitely overpriced.  The staff was very nice and while the appetizers were winners, the entrees left a bit to the imagination.  I would come back for the fries though :)   Total bill: $216 for 3 people including tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp 

Vamos! Tacos and Tequilla Visited 10/22/2017 3 Forks

Vamos!  Tacos and Tequilla  348 1st Ave., New York, NY 10010

Vamos reminds me of the type of place a bunch of hungover 20-somethings go to on a Sunday afternoon.   While I wasn't super hungover, I was out until 3am the night before so honestly having Mexican breakfast food was right up my alley.  It's a fairly generic Mexican place in a also fairly generic street (1st Ave) but it probably suits the needs of the area well.  I was visiting Lily who moved to Stuytown a few months ago and since she had her adorable new cute puppy with her, we had to stick with a place that was nearby and had outdoor seating so that we could keep the dog close with us.

For that reason Vamos was the perfect choice.  As I mentioned, it's your classic post-college Mexican hangout with colorful banners and tons of drink specials.  The waitress tried to get us to commit to getting 5 margaritas and then the entree would be free.  Since we're old ladies (and I was already dealing with too many drinks the night before) the thought of having 5 margaritas on a Sunday afternoon was not the most enticing offer, so we passed on it.  But I could see how if you wanted to have a Sunday funday that would be a great deal.

The menu is as expected with standard Mexican fare - breakfast burritos, quesadillas, chorizo scramble, etc.  I opted for my usual Mexican breakfast choice of huevos rancheros.  In reality, most Mexican breakfast dishes are some yummy combination of eggs, guacamole, cheese, beans, salsa and rice and beans, so it's hard to really go wrong with any dish.  This one was fine - nothing good nothing bad.  It was what you would think you'd get at a place like this - kind of underwhelming but also gets the job done if you're looking for something to soak up any post-previous night activity.

1st Ave is kind of a no man's land but if you live nearby and need a quick Mexican fix, this place is fine.  It was nice that they had outdoor seating but other than that, you can definitely find more inventive and exciting Mexican places in the city.  Total bill:  $22/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Paowalla Visited 10/20/2017 4 Forks

Paowalla  195 Spring St., New York, NY 10012

I've always been a fan of Floyd Cardoz so I was excited when he opened up a new Indian restaurant in Soho (I was not a huge fan of the previous restaurant he was at North End Grill).  The food here isn't straight up traditional Indian food but a combination of Portuguese and Indian food.  Paowalla is a term that is a Portuguese/Indian hybrid term for a person who sells bread, which seems appropriate for this place.   Usually I'm not a huge fan of "fusion" food, especially when it comes to Asian cuisine but several friends liked the food here, so I was open to trying it out. 

As one would expect from the origin of the name, bread is a big focus on the menu.  They have a whole section breads and chutneys.  We got the cheddar cheese kulcha ($11) to start as well as the chaat ($14) and egg kejriwal ($14).  For mains, Lav got the kichidi ($23) and got the "saag paneer" ($25) - they put that last dish in quotes on the menu, which I didn't really understand.  I had never had kulcha before but Lav was raving about it.  Essentially it's kind of like flatbread meets nan.  This one had cheddar cheese stuffed in between it making it like a quesadilla.  In any case, it was warm, gooey and delicious.  Anything that has soft bread and cheese is a winner in my book and this one was no exception.

One of my favorite Indian appetizers is chaat, which is a sweet and savory snack served in Southeast Asia.  This one had roasted green chickpeas, sweet onions, chilies and tamarind.  The chilies definitely added some heat to it and when I combined the bite with the chilled sweetness of the chaat, it was a delightful taste of sweet, salty and spicy.  Next we tried the egg kejriwal, which had cheddar cheese and coconut chili chutney.  I've never had this type of dish before and to compare it to something I know, it's kind of like a grilled cheese with a sunny side up egg on the toast smothered in green chutney.  It was delicious but I was glad we were splitting it for health reasons.

Lastly came the entrees, which I thought lagged behind the appetizers.  While I know saag paneer is kind of a basic standard Indian dish, I was craving rice so I thought this was a good combination to it.  Usually when I get saag paneer, it's got a thick creamy texture to it but this one was practically steamed spinach with a few cubes of paneer tossed it.  There was no creaminess to it at all.  While it's probably better for my health and frankly it tasted fine, it just didn't feel like I was eating a real authentic paneer dish.  I was originally thinking of getting the sea bream wrapped in banana leaf with coconut rice but decided to get something more "traditional" and now I really wished I had gotten that dish instead.  I guess that's why the saag dish was written in quotation marks on the menu?

As the name implies, get everything and anything bread related here.  They were all excellent and addictive.  While the mains weren't bad, they lacked behind the starters here and it made me wish I was eating more traditional Indian food.  But as fusion food goes, this one is a winner and I'm happy to see Floyd back on the scene with what he knows best.  Total bill: $169 for 2 people with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Auntie Guan's Kitchen 108 Visited 10/16/2017 3.5 Forks

Auntie Guan's Kitchen 108 108 W 14th St., New York, NY 10011

I usually don't get Chinese food out of Chinatown or Queens but Aarti and I were in the New School/Union Square area and had just seen Ai Wei Wei speak, so we figured we'd keep with the Chinese theme going.  We were scrolling what was nearby and this place got decent reviews and was in walking distance - how I haven't noticed it before is so beyond me.  From the outside (and frankly inside), it's totally non-descript and it could fit in with any run of the mill Chinese place in Chinatown.  It was complete with a bunch of Chinese waiters and waitress who ignored you and could care less about you (I say this with total love and affection). 

Similar to a restaurant in Chinatown, the menu is about 10 pages long, has a bunch of pictures and has some questionable English translation.  They apparently specialize in Northern Chinese food and dumplings but you can pretty much find anything and everything on this menu.  Usually when Aarti and I come to a place like this we have our usual suspects:  vegetarian mao pao tofu ($10.99), sauteed pea shoot tops (an offensively priced $19.99) and a cold noodle dish, usually dan dan noodles ($9.99).  This is exactly what we got this time.  It's really hard to go wrong with sauteed pea shoots - all you do is throw a bucket of veggies with garlic and olive oil and you're done.  This is the first time I felt like this dish was missing something - this one actually needed more salt to it.  The dan dan noodles were also just ok but I felt like the noodles could have been chewier and now that I'm thinking about it, we probably should have gotten something like the cold sesame noodle instead.  As for the mao pao tofu, it's a classic comfort staple food and it hit the spot here.  There's just something about soft tofu in a spicy mix with white rice that's so delicious.  The menu had a bunch of other classic traditional Chinese dishes that I would have loved to try, but when food like this is served family style, it's really hard to go to crazy with two people.  

The service was pretty non existent - the food does come out super fast, you just never see your waiter again, despite the fact there was only 1 other couple dining the restaurant.  We had to flag our waiter down at every turn and they weren't the friendliest of the bunch, so I tried to whip out some Chinese every now and then.  This was definitely not the worst Chinese I've had nor was it the best.  Honestly, if I lived in the neighborhood, I could actually see myself coming here because it's a notch above those scary looking Chinese places on the street corner but it's not  Mr. Chow fancy - it's comforting and hits the spot if you've got a take out craving - just don't expect your mind to be blown.  Total bill:  $26/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp