Help a travelling foodie feed his addiction

[pleasteasme]

Thanks, PTM.

As I look at the menus from restaurants that my friends here have recommended, I can't escape the concern that I will gain 100 pounds over the next two months.

Everything in moderation yank. Including coffee

 

[midwestyankee]

Everything in moderation yank. Including coffee

Just what I need.....another mother.

Coffee? Sorry, a guy has to have his priorities and no earthly force will keep me from my coffee.

 

[pleasteasme]

Just what I need.....another mother.

Coffee? Sorry, a guy has to have his priorities and no earthly force will keep me from my coffee.

I was being facecious....

 

[midwestyankee]

I was being facecious....

Ah, yes, that word that is one of only a very few that contains the five cardinal vowels, and only the five cardinal vowels, in alphabetical order.

 

[Guest]

 

[Willing and Unsure]

Just what I need.....another mother.

Coffee? Sorry, a guy has to have his priorities and no earthly force will keep me from my coffee.

Dont forget to get some coffee from at least one of the 8 million coffee stands while you're in Seattle. There's one on almost every street corner and then some.

 

[pleasteasme]

Ah, yes, that word that is one of only a very few that contains the five cardinal vowels, and only the five cardinal vowels, in alphabetical order.

And that is my ten dollar word for the day!

 

[gr0g]

Chuy's in Austin is good. Or Shady Grove. Both are on the same road.

 

[DLL]

Yank: When you get out dc way (the city), there are tons of places as you probably know. Lots of asian, latin and ethiopian kind of places if you are into ethnic.

Now if you are in my neighborhood, which is Capitol Hill, there are some special treats. If you have time during the day, get to Eastern Market (closed Monday) and look at the great retail stalls and if it's breakfast or lunch time eat at the Market Lunch. You stand in line but the fish and crab stuff is worth it and the least expensive anywhere. But the real treat is just down 7th street a half block. There you will find a real French Bistro owned by the French Chef who does all of the cooking and overseen by his lovely French wife. Most of the wait staff is also French. It is small, unpretensious and friendly. Duck or Guinney (sp) Fowl confit will knock your socks off it they are on the menu that day (the birds, not your socks). Prices are very reasonable and you will be within your budget unless you go for a pricey wine (which is uneccessary given the down to earth wine list). Hope you haven't become a "Freedom Fry" jerk and pass up this gem on philosophical reasons. Viva la france.

If you would like other suggestions, don't hesitate to ask.

hmmmm a small unpretensious and FRIENDLY french place..does the easter bunny greet you at the door and is santa claus the bartender?

 

[Ezzy]

Small highjack

Ah, yes, that word that is one of only a very few that contains the five cardinal vowels, and only the five cardinal vowels, in alphabetical order.

Caesious, the color of lavender is the shortest at 8 letters.
Acheilous, congenital absence of the lips.
Acheirous, ditto.
Aerobious, aerobic activity.
Arsenious, containing arsenic especially valance 3.
Arterious or arteriosus, a conical extension of the right ventricle in the heart of mammals, from which the pulmonary artery originates.

8 letters
caesious

9 letters
arsenious facetious haveitout parecious

10 letters
abstemious aeruginous paroecious

11 letters
abstentious arenicolous facetiously lateritious taketimeout

12 letters
abstemiously adventitious amentiferous anemophilous chaetiferous sacrilegious

13 letters
antenniferous argentiferous facetiousness garnetiferous tradediscount

14 letters
abstemiousness acceptinghouse adventitiously androdioecious flagelliferous quadrigeminous sacrilegiously tradediscounts valerianaceous whatseatingyou

15 letters
andromonoecious asclepiadaceous banquetinghouse sarraceniaceous
takeintoaccount
16 letters
caesalpiniaceous magellanicclouds sacrilegiousness

17 letters
acquiredbehaviour beggarmyneighbour theatreintheround

18 letters
absentwithoutleave americanrevolution spacetimecontinuum theatresintheround

19 letters
garbageingarbageout

20 letters
comparisonsareodious lunarexcursionmodule maytheforcebewithyou

21 letters
squarepeginaroundhole

22 letters
inforapennyinforapound primaballerinaassoluta primeballerineassolute whatyouseeiswhatyouget

23 letters
localeducationauthority marcusaureliusantoninus pagedescriptionlanguage

24 letters
academicfestivaloverture godmovesinamysteriousway iamtheverypinkofcourtesy lookagifthorseinthemouth sympatheticnervoussystem

25 letters
europeaneconomiccommunity localeducationauthorities

27 letters
makeamountainoutofamolehill

28 letters
parasympatheticnervoussystem personalidentificationnumber

29 letters
generalcertificateofeducation illmakehimanofferhecantrefuse neverlookagifthorseinthemouth personalidentificationnumbers youcantmakebrickswithoutstraw

30 letters
atroublesharedisatroublehalved portraitoftheartistasayoungdog portraitoftheartistasayoungman

31 letters
caesarswifemustbeabovesuspicion lifeisastediousasatwicetoldtale sixcharactersinsearchofanauthor

 

[eudaemonia]

My itinerary includes Austin, Denver, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, Portland, Washington DC, New York City, Atlanta, and Boston.

e's faves:

San Francisco
Zuni Cafe -- Market St. b/w Franklin and Gough, Civic Center. When alone, I eat in the bar for the excellent people-watching ops.

Rose Pistola -- Columbus near Grant, North Beach.

Cafe Trieste for coffee -- corner of Vallejo and Grant, North Beach. If you're there on a Saturday, open-mike opera arias start about 3 p.m.: pure bliss. Their excellent on-site roaster is right next door.

New York City
Grammercy Tavern -- Manhattan, Flatiron. Claudia Fleming's desserts alone ... Ooh la la. "Coconut tapioca with cilantro sauce." Yum. However, she may not be there any longer ...

Grimaldi's pizzeria -- Fulton St., Brooklyn (right under the bridge). New Yorkers spill much ink and hot air over which pizzeria is the best in all the buroughs. Whut-evah. This is a great place to start your own tasting odessy, and really, you can do a helluva lot worse and probably not much better.

There are a few others for off-list contemplation, because they're particular to my quirky tastes and are definitely not everyone's cuppa joe, as it were.

 

[eudaemonia]

Hi, S-O. I've read about Jakes. It's definitely on my list. What could be better than to knock down a few oysters with a cold beer? I wonder if the Union Oyster House there is related to the one in Boston? Hmmm....time for more research.

There isn't a Union Oyster House in Portland. I think Suc1 was just referring to the lone but singular joint in Boston, which is I'll give my considered two-thumbs way up. Anyway, if you like UOH in BOS, you'll love Jake's in PDX.

 

[eudaemonia]

Dont forget to get some coffee from at least one of the 8 million coffee stands while you're in Seattle. There's one on almost every street corner and then some.

Whuddya mean, "every street corner?" It's more like a half-dozen per block!

Ivar's ... oh yeah.

Another Seattle recommendation, although it's spendy: Dahlia Lounge. MMMMmmmm...

 

[midwestyankee]

Thanks, eudaemonia, for all your suggestions. And I'd love to hear about your other, more quirky recommendations as well. For me, dining out is as much about having new experiences as it is about being fed. Love the idea about the open-mike arias though I won't be in San Fran on a Saturday this time around. Maybe another trip.

 

[Willing and Unsure]

Whuddya mean, "every street corner?" It's more like a half-dozen per block!

I was trying to down play how many there are instead of making sure everyone thinks that we are all just really high on the caffeine....

 

[Denae]

OH....MY.....GOD....I may not get a stitch of work done in Seattle unless I put off visiting Ivar's until I am don with my project.

Two pounds of clams....I've died and gone to heaven (and I'm still 2,000 miles away) .

IVARS!!! That was the name of the place that I couldn't remember that I thought started with an O (I had the name Oscar in my head, but that didn't sound right).


Good stuff & I'm glad Willing came up with the link for you.

 

[MajorMalcontent]

When I am in Austin, I often dine at Cafe Caprice on 10th...Home Slice Pizza is also good if you don't mind super casual settings.

If you ever are south as far as Houston let me know...and I can come up with a dozen must try places.

 

[covariant]

e's faves:

New York City
Grammercy Tavern -- Manhattan, Flatiron. Claudia Fleming's desserts alone ... Ooh la la. "Coconut tapioca with cilantro sauce." Yum. However, she may not be there any longer ...

Unfortunately she departed several years ago, but the restaurant is still wonderful.

Also in the Danny Meyer empire and very good are Tabla (Indian fusion)
and Eleven Madison Park (French inspired).

In the new Time-Warner Center at Columbus Circle, Cafe Gray is quite good.
I'm sure Per Se is wonderful, but it's difficult for mere mortals like myself to get a reservation.

 

[midwestyankee]

hmmmm a small unpretensious and FRIENDLY french place..does the easter bunny greet you at the door and is santa claus the bartender?

Perhaps the maitre d' can sniff out Republicans and gives them this "special" treatment to which you allude, leaving the civility for those who remember that we owe the French far more than we have ever yet repaid.

 

[midwestyankee]

An update from the travelling foodie.

In Austin I took Ezzy's suggestion. Manuel's Downtown was superb. I had eloquently spiced grilled tuna and a fluffy-light dark chocolate bread pudding.

Norajane, you're one for one. I just finished dinner at Shanghai 1930. The prawns were delicious and the live jazz was a superb treat. Plus, it was a three-minute walk from my hotel so life is definitely good here.

Thanks, all.

 

[Norajane]

An update from the travelling foodie.

In Austin I took Ezzy's suggestion. Manuel's Downtown was superb. I had eloquently spiced grilled tuna and a fluffy-light dark chocolate bread pudding.

Norajane, you're one for one. I just finished dinner at Shanghai 1930. The prawns were delicious and the live jazz was a superb treat. Plus, it was a three-minute walk from my hotel so life is definitely good here.

Thanks, all.

Cool - I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

If you end up going to Ploy II, there's one other place on Haight St. I think you'd like - a bar called Aub Zam Zam (1633 Haight St.)- the former owner was famous for being the martini nazi. Just like Seinfeld's soup nazi, you had to come in, put your money on the counter and order your martini, otherwise he'd kick you out. He's gone now, but the legend lives on. The guy who owns the bar now is more lenient about the whole ordering process, but he used to work for the martini nazi, so he's got lots of stories.

The place is small and has a bit of arabian nights feel to the decor, which makes it feel cozy, and there's a great painting on the wall behind the bar. It's a true neighborhood bar where all kinds of people of all ages and backgrounds show up to meet friends before dinner, to have a couple of drinks before going elsewhere, or to chill for a while and listen to the jukebox. You'll get a real cross-section of the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood to observe or chat with.

Look for the arabian nights doorway near the hardware store.

 

[eudaemonia]

Cool - I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

If you end up going to Ploy II, there's one other place on Haight St. I think you'd like - a bar called Aub Zam Zam (1633 Haight St.)- the former owner was famous for being the martini nazi.

I'll add these to *my* list ... I'll be in S.F. next month for a meeting but I'll probably end up at Absinthe Friday night and Zuni on Sunday.

I was trying to down play how many there are instead of making sure everyone thinks that we are all just really high on the caffeine....

But, um ... well ... *I* AM, GODDAMNIT! Don't tell *me* to calm down, I'm bizzybizzybizzy .... :::skulking off:::

Why can't we have a cup o' joe emoticon?

 

[midwestyankee]

Cross posted from another thread, with additions, as a follow-up for everyone who has contributed to this thread:

San Francisco: 1) Shanghai 1930 - excellent live jazz and very fine Chinese food; 2) Cafe Bastille, a store-front bistro with an exceptionally good vegetable puree soup and a strong list of wines by the glass. 3) Delancey Street Restaurant: run by ex-convicts and serves a warm chocolate-pudding cake that I could not finish because it was so rich (this occurrence is, as they say, as rare as hen's teeth for the yank loves his desserts).

San Jose: Fish Market Restaurant - if it weren't for the near-tropical vegetation at the entrance, I'd have thought that I was in New England.

Carmel: Hog's Breath Inn. Surprisingly quiet for a place formerly owned by Dirty Harry himself. Veggie lasagne was outstanding.

Los Angeles: 1) Locanda Venata - superb Italian food in the shadows of Beverly Hills. Be careful, that blonde at the next table might be a real bitch from your favorite soap opera. 2) Pitfire Pizza - less slick than California Pizza Kitchen but with the same kind of various gourmet pizzas. How they kept the asparagus crisp while still melting the mozzarella and gorgonzola cheeses is beyond me. And the warm chocolate pudding cake was every bit as good as the one I had at Delancey Street.

San Diego: 1) Just a quick stop at P F Chang's for some takeout. The Szechuan scallops were marvelous and hot enough for my taste. Try some Cote du Rhone with Chinese sometime - you'll like it. 2) Cuvee - a bistro near the beach that serves a fine blue crabcake sandwich. Too bad I had a long drive ahead of me after lunch, as the wine list was very strong.

Oh, and if you're ever in the central coast wine country north of Santa Barbara, Mosby Winery offers an error-free list of estate-grown wines. There should be a case arriving at home soon.

Next up: the Pacific northwest in a couple of weeks. Might just have to try a little more seafood.

 

[Guest]

 

[eudaemonia]

Next up: the Pacific northwest in a couple of weeks. Might just have to try a little more seafood.

My hunch is that your wishes can be satisfied.