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San Francisco/Bay Area restaurant reviews by Chris NorrisArchive for Woo-Hoo!
Rustler’s Rooste, Phoenix
Rustler’s Rooste, Phoenix
March 2008
Woo-Hoo! Rustler’s Rooste gets a definite woo-hoo for being one of the most unique restaurants you can find. It’s a total western food joint, with steaks, salad, corn on the cob, and a real man’s fish, like shark or trout or salmon! They even have some rattlesnake if you’re so inclined …
I first went to Rustler’s Rooste about 23 years ago when I worked at the local Intel facility. Back then, Rustler’s was way out in the boonies, up a narrow road to the top of a small hill. During our trip with the kiddies this spring, we couldn’t find the place. The GPS kept telling us to pull into this big resort looking hotel, with a golf course and palm trees and people wearing polo shirts! Well guess what? Times have changed. Rustler’s is still there, amidst the aforementioned conspicuous consumption, and while the path to Rustler’s has changed, the big ole bull eating hay at the entrance is still there chewing his cud, and Rustle’s itself is still going strong. The metal slide that connects the first and second floors is still there, the rustic interior, the western band, the wait staff dressed as cowboys and cowgirls, all still there.
If you are in Phoenix, you owe it to yourself to give this one a try!
Perbacco, San Francisco
Perbacco, San Francisco
Feb 2008
Woo-Hoo! Perbacco is a young restaurant located in the financial district right next door to century old Tadich Grill. With an upscale spin on Italian dishes, Perbacco is one of the current hot spots in the City and getting in can be a challenge. I caved and took an exceptionally early reservation to get in on a Friday evening and we were happy we did. For starters, we tried the Hamachi Crudo, with fennel and blood orange essence. It was soooo good! The fish was very fresh, with a perfect balance of flavors and textures, and a bit of sea salt crunch. I really did like that dish! We followed that with the salt cod crostini, which we also liked a lot. For main dishes, we enjoyed some of the best scallops we’ve ever experienced and a nicely done duck breast with polenta. The scallops in particular were cooked to perfection and established a standard for comparison! Although we were too full for dessert, a large and tempting selection of cheeses displayed on a wooden cutting block beckoned to us, forcing us to avert our eyes lest we blow our weight watchers points entirely!
StripSteak, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV
StripSteak, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV
December 2007
Woo-Hoo! We’ve been to Michael Mina’s namesake restaurant in San Francisco and to his San Jose restaurant, Arcadia. Both are top-notch, with creative offerings and take-offs on common preparations. A good example is the lobster corn dogs served at Arcadia. StripSteak at the Mandalay Bay on the other hand, is focused on serving the best beef anywhere, simply and perfectly.
We started our meal with a half dozen oysters on the half shell and a trio of tuna tartare, proving that Mina’s can also prepare fish. Don’t miss the trio if you visit Mina’s; it’s worth the stop by itself! Laura ordered the Kobe beef filet and I ordered the Angus beef filet. One hour later, as we consumed the last bite off our plate, we both concluded we had just been served the single best steak we had ever eaten in our lives. Unbelievably fabulous! I don’t know what magic is being concocted behind those kitchen doors, but if you are in Vegas, don’t waste your time with David Copperfield. Go to the magic show at Mina’s.
LaSalette, Sonoma, CA
LaSalette, Sonoma, CA
January 2008
Woo-Hoo! Oh my, oh my, oh my. Who would have thought that Portuguese cuisine in Sonoma would get a Woo-Hoo? LaSalette is a little restaurant just off the main square in Sonoma, with about a dozen tables and a patio for a few more in the summer. This restaurant has a very good Zagat rating of 23 and according to their website, was noted by Zagat as the “best Portuguese restaurant in the country!” Who knew?! Regardless, Chef Manuel Azevedo has put together quite a restaurant. During our recent visit, we started with the sardinhas (sardines), flash-baked in a wood fired oven and served on a bed of carmelized onions. Simply awesome! For our main courses, we went traditional. I ordered the Feijoada, which is a stew like combination of oxtail, pork and sausage, with rice, black beans and collard greens. The meat was perfectly braised and seasoned and the entire dish was a joy to eat to the very last bite. Laura ordered the Cataplana, a tomato based seafood stew that includes squid, octopus, fish, clams, mussels and shrimp in a velvety, flavorful tomato broth and is served in a copper bowl. Incrível!
L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV
L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV
December 2007
Woo-Hoo! We kicked off our New Year’s trip with dinner at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon at the MGM Grand. This is the Las Vegas version of the same restaurant in Paris where we ate last November, and while really pricey, the food is absolutely out of this world. It’s so hard to describe the dishes at Robuchon and do them justice. How do you adequately describe a soft boiled egg, with a chervil emulsion in a cream sauce served in a martini glass? Robuchon specializes in meticulously prepared small plates, which are often only a single serving. But that single serving is one you will remember! Oh, except for the price. Sadly, you’re going to remember that too.
Café La Haye, Sonoma, CA
Café La Haye, Sonoma, CA
January 2008
Woo-Hoo! It doesn’t happen very often that you walk into a restaurant and feel like you transitioned into another country. But that happened to us recently while traveling in the California wine country. It was a dark and stormy night (really) and Laura and I decided to see how a little place off the historic central square of Sonoma could really have earned a Zagat rating of 27 out of 30, and still have availability at a reasonable time on just a few days notice.
Think Paris. You walk through the non-descript doorway into the arms of the Maitre’d, who ushers you to one of about a dozen tables. The tiny kitchen, in full view of the dining room, is home to 3 or 4 chefs busily doing their thing. You aren’t wearing a sport coat. You aren’t wearing a tie. You didn’t have to secure your reservation with a credit card. The staff don’t act like its “so special” that they let YOU come to dinner that night. In fact, you’re damned comfortable and feel welcome. And, You are about to experience culinary magnificence!
We started with oysters on the half shell, which were super fresh, full of flavor and exceeded our experience with oysters at Bouchon. Laura followed the oysters with a Savoy cabbage soup with chicken and pancetta that was simply stupendous, while I had the softboiled egg over a celery root “hash brown” with spinach, also wonderful.
With such a great start to the evening, we wondered if the main courses could keep up. We decided to test the kitchen and ordered two dishes that are hard to execute perfectly: pan fried chicken breast, which is almost always too dry and boring, and spaghetti with shitake mushrooms, which is so simple that it often gets forgotten in a kitchen where stacking five ingredients and decorating the plate is foremost in the chef’s mind. That chicken was as close to perfection as you can get, and the smoked chicken hash accompaniment still causes my mouth to water. The fresh made spaghetti with shitake mushrooms in a light cream sauce was glorious! I so love Paris! Oh, I forgot, this is a casual little place in Sonoma!
And the answer to the original question? Yes, Café La Haye deserves that 27 out of 30 on Zagat…
- Chris
Bouchon, Venezia, Las Vegas, NV
Bouchon, Venezia, Las Vegas, NV
January 2008
Woo-Hoo! Bouchon is Thomas Keller’s French bistro, located in the Venezia wing of the Venetian Hotel. While we haven’t eaten at Keller’s famed French Laundry, we have been to Bouchon twice and enjoy the food and atmosphere. This trip was no different. We had a New Year’s Day brunch at Bouchon and a week later we were at Bouchon again for dinner with some colleagues during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). These guys are batting a thousand – carefully prepared French bistro food in a classy but casual atmosphere.
Bouchon has a full oyster bar, which we’ve had good experiences with, and we’ve tried the fish, beef, pork, and lamb and never been disappointed. The caviar served at Bouchon is really good, and relatively affordable for a high-end restaurant. From this trip, I most remember Bouchon for brunch on New Year’s Day. I ordered the roast chicken and waffles, which was a perfectly roasted piece of chicken served with two savory waffles and a light, savory syrup! It might not sound that good, but it was a standout. Its amazing the dishes that are created when a chef can think differently about food as commonplace as waffles!
Myth, San Francisco – UPDATE/BAD NEWS
Myth – UPDATE/BAD NEWS
Here’s some bad news for San Francisco food lovers. According to the SF Chronicle, Myth (located on Pacific Avenue) was just sold and as part of the transaction, Chef Sean O’Brien and Sommelier Alex Fox will both be leaving. I’ve raved about Myth before as one of the best restaurants in SF, due in no small part to O’Brien. This has to be one of those cases where six months from now the new owners will be asking themselves what kind of drugs they were on when they made THAT decision! Let’s just hope O’Brien chooses to stay in our area and doesn’t succumb to the wily advances of some other city.
- Chris
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