Girl & the Fig

My dinner at Girl & the Fig summed up everything I wanted for my birthday this year--simple, warm, cozy, loved and blessed.

G&F is a warm and cozy French restaurant in Historical Downtown Sonoma.

The place was not very big but instead of feeling claustrophobic, you will feel like you are getting a big hug when sitting at those big fluffy booths or even at just their regular tables for two. The place is decorated in warm earth colors. The lounge area is like being at one's homey, classy and pretty living room with a comfy couch. It's a perfect blend of French and wine country interior decoration.

This is a French/California restaurant but the service is very friendly, unpretentious and down-to-earth. Our server really made us welcome. A complimentary basket of bread arrived as soon as we sat down.

LAVENDER MOJITO: They must have known that it was my birthday because they have LAVENDER MOJITO! (I had this at Aziza on my bday last year!) The lavender in the mojito was very pronounced. A well-made cocktail. Lavender cocktails two years in row on my birthday! A real treat for me! Enrique had the regular Mojito and he said it was strong and good.

BUBBLY WATER: G&F makes their own bubbly water to be green and respect the environment. It was actually a good-tasting bubbly.

MATCHSTICK FRENCH FRIES: This is how good they were--I ordered/devoured two plates (with help from my fiance). They were like those shoe-string potatoes that I ate from the can when I was a kid except these were hot and fresh out of the frying pan. Addicting!

BISTRO PLAT DU JOUR (3 course for $32) for me:

1st Course: CRAB SALAD (for me): With citrus, avocado and kumquat vinaigrette. Delicious appetizer size portion but packed with fresh crab meat.

2nd Course: LOCAL PETRALE SOLE: With potato puree and brussel sprouts. Delicious but on the salty side. I still enjoyed the tender fish very much.

3rd Course: CHEESE AND FIG CAKE (for dessert): I had to take this home since I was so full but this is a nice plate of local blue and creamy cheeses, orange marmalade and slice of fig cake served with slices of baguette. I enjoyed devouring this at home.

FIG ROYALE: Gotta try the restaurant's namesake so I ordered this as my dessert wine. French-sparkling wine with house-made fig liquer. Meh! It was okay. The fig liquer made the drink a little bitter.

BRAISED WILD BOAR SHOULDER: Served with polenta. I convinced Enrique to order this instead of the hamburger. I don't think he was happy with his meal b/c I saw him googly-eyeing the big juicy hamburger with thick fries at other tables. I don't blame him. He said the braised pork was good though

BUTTERMILK PANACOTTA: Enrique's dessert. It was smooth and creamy. I could not bear to see any of it wasted so I ate his last 3 tablespoons of leftovers. Yummy!

Tab: $125 including 20% tip and tax. I think given the amount of food we had, this was very reasonable.

OVERALL:

The dishes at G&F were far from magnificent. Some of the dishes were on the salty side. However, it was still a very good meal from the tasty dishes that were served, to the kind service to the warm ambiance and decor. And next time I am back in Sonoma, you bet I will be dining here again!

FOODIE GIRL'S RATING: 4.5 Stars
A place I would keep on going back to when I am in Sonoma!

Key:
0 Star: Never again!!! These people should not be in business.
1 Star: Chalk it to bad experience. Live and learn.
2 Stars: Very disappointing but there it has some good things to offer.
3 Stars: It is okay but do not expect much. I will still return.
4 Stars: I like it! I will be singing your praises!
5 Stars: I will be dreaming of you at night!
6 Stars: Perfection (or close to!)

Sycamore

Rocker, hipster or 9-5 office worker, the friendly folks at The Sycamore will welcome you with plenty of genuine smiles.

Sycamore is a Groupon find. Not a barhopper type of gal, if not for Groupon I probably would not have ventured into this neighborhood bar for our monthly foodie lunch with my foodie friend, Heather.

Sycamore is tiny, dive-ish and the vive is friendly. The decor is eclectically rocker-fun with dark blood red walls, black/white paintings and zebra-stripped pillows. The bar is stocked with beers. (I tried to order tea but they said they only serve soda and beer only.)

What sold us was the promise of PORK BELLY DONUTS W/ MAPLE MAKERS MARK GLAZE (3 for $3): Heather and I were so intrigued while we were planning our lunch date and really looked forward to trying this appetizer. And I almost broke my seafoodtarian diet to try one of these donuts. Luckily, I did not have to.

Before I popped a whole one in my mouth, Heather cut one donut in half and we found a big chunk of pork in the middle. I just ate the fried dough and I still got the flavor of the pork without eating the meat. The dough was nice but we did not do this food justice. We are not pork gals so just tasted one each and left the pork out. Good concept, though!

SALAD: Butter Lettuce with Pear, Strawberries, Goat Cheese, Chives and Creamy Tarragon Vinaigrette ($8) This salad was so ginormous! Sad to say, it was not a very good salad. The butter lettuce was not cut and we had to cut them which was hard because we only had appetizer plates. The quantity was great for sharing but the ingredients did not come together nor the dressing well-balanced.

BEER BATTERED ROCK COD SLIDERS with Sriracha Aioli and House Made Pickles ($3): These are the bomb!!!! Hot, fresh off the fryer, delish and flavorful! A "must order "when at Sycamore. You can mix and match their sliders of lamb or beef burger, and/or fried chicken sliders for $3 each.

SEITAN SANDWICH ($8): Let me put it this way. Unless you are a vegetarian, I will go for the beer battered rock cod sliders.  This sammy was huge but tasteless and dry.

FRIES: $1 more with the order of sliders or sandwiches. Not very good. Greasy and overly fried.

OVERALL:

Sycamore is a very cool place with decent food and great value. They will definiltely feed you without stealing your wallet. If I were a beer drinker I will come this place but I would not mind returning for those sliders.

The interior is fun but on the divey/gritty side. It did not help that it was storming when we got there. We were wet and cold, and the place was not heated up. The seats had stains and crumbs on them. It was still a nice experience. I will definitely go back to have those beer-battered sliders to go and even a gigantic bowl of that salad!

TAB after $25 Groupon: $5 including tip!!!!

FOODIE GIRL'S RATING: 3 Stars  Best Deal in Town!


Key:


0 Star: Never again!!! These people should not be in business.
1 Star: Chalk it to bad experience. Live and learn.
2 Stars: Very disappointing but there it has some good things to offer.
3 Stars: It is okay but do not expect much. I will still return.
4 Stars: I like it! I will be singing your praises!
5 Stars: I will be dreaming of you at night!
6 Stars: Perfection (or close to!)

Bay Leaf

Saturday Date Night: February 5, 2011 @ 6PM

Bay Leaf is a modest family-owned Soul Food Restaurant in East Oakland.
Bay Leaf's Soul Food is grandma's own recipes from Mississipi. Passed down to her daughter who went to Oakland High and now does the cooking, Bay Leaf was born. Bay Leaf is also a family -run business. And we got this trivia from our very friendly young server who is the granddaughter of granny from Mississipi.

Bay Leaf looked like a social hall. However, it was very neat and clean. The decor was tasteful. The huge brick fireplace added cozyness to the place. The open kitchen is very visible as soon as you walk-in. African-American artwork adorn the walls. R&B was jamming on the background. The setting is complete for down-home food that feeds that soul.

At Bay Leaf, I had the yummiest SWEET TEA. For $2, it was unlimited refill. I wished my bladder was bigger than the size of a lima bean because I could imbibe 5 gallons of this nectar in one seating. Enrique who had his share of sweet teas in the South during his travels cited that the Sweet Tea at Bay Leaf tasted exactly what he had in Alabama, Georgia, etc. So he abandoned his Diet Coke and ordered his own Sweet Tea.

SOUP AND APPETIZER:

*CRAWFISH BISQUE $5: With nice chunks of crawfish floating around, this soup was full of flavors but not salty. It was creamy and delicious served over grits.

*FRIED OKRA $3: I love fried okra but the ones I had in the past were tough and dry that they could chip a tooth. The ones at Bay Leaf were nicely battered, crispy, not dry and the okra was still very moist.

MAINS: (All mains come with a choice of two sides and cornbread.)

*FRIED CHICKEN WITH MACARONI AND POTATO SALAD $15: This was Enrique's order. For someone who does not like fried stuff and has a love-hate relationship with fried chicken, he ordered it, loved it and raved about it. He said that the chicken was nicely battered crisp, not greasy and still very moisty.

*SHRIMP AND CHEESY GRITS WITH YAMS AND COLLARD GREENS $15: 4 big, plump, fresh and deliciously seasoned shrimps over cheesy silky grits. Need I say more? Except "More, please!!!!!!"

Collard greens were flavored with pork(?), delicious and not yummy. And the yams made me go "WOW!" It was sweet and nice. I think it was flavored with honey.

*CORNBREAD $0: Buttery and moist that I saved my little cornbread and ate it later that night as dessert.

DESSERT:

*ICE BOX PIE $5: Lemony, sweet, smooth, tangy piece of pie heaven! This completed our divinely satisfying comforting meal.



OVERALL:

The Bay Area is teeming with countless places to eat that Enrique and I go to different new ones each week. However, Bay Leaf will be included among our favorite go-to places. The prices and portions are right. The service was genuinely friendly, efficient and unpretentious. The place was low-key and down-to-earth.

Whenever I eat at a Soul Food place, I always ask myself this question, " Did the food fill my tummy and comfort my soul?"

My answer is a resounding, "HECK, YEAH!" Mamas can cook!

TAB: $61.03 including 2 Sweet Teas, 1 Diet Coke, tax and 20% tip.

FOODIE GIRL'S RATING: 5.5 Stars
*I just cannot stop dreaming about the food at Bay Leaf even just hours after our dinner!!!


Key:


0 Star: Never again!!! These people should not be in business.
1 Star: Chalk it to bad experience. Live and learn.
2 Stars: Very disappointing but there it has some good things to offer.
3 Stars: It is okay but do not expect much. I will still return.
4 Stars: I like it! I will be singing your praises!
5 Stars: I will be dreaming of you at night!
6 Stars: Perfection (or close to!)

Mazzat

Saturday Date Night (Dinner and Movie): Jan 15, 2011 @ 6:00 PM

I was already feeling under the weather but I did not want to miss out on our Saturday Date Night.

Prior to catching a movie at Japantown's Kabuki, I wanted a homey, feel-good date night dinner. All I wanted was just some plain comfort food. I heard about this 5 month old Lebanese cafe in the Hayes Valley. We had no idea what it looked like or if it was even date night worthy.

Enrique and I were pleasantly surprised when we saw a cozily lit little place on the corner of Fell.

Mazzat is a cafe. A small cozy and contemporary cafe/wine bar with glass cabinets filled with mouth-watering mediterranean meat pies and desserts.

The far-end wall is a floor to ceiling wine cabinet. Little tealight candles add a touch of a little romance on each table.

The young Lebanese couple who own and run the place were very friendly and welcoming. They told us that Mazzat opened in December 2010. Both the husband and wife found the time to talk to us in between serving customers about the Lebanese food that they serve at their restaurant. They take pride that the recipes are from the home country.

And for $49 (a glass of wine, Diet Coke, after taxes and before tip) Enrique and I ate well with plenty of leftovers for later. We had:

6 hot/cold Mediterranean tapas for $25, an order of the meat pie to go and Kasbah rice dish. Mazzat's menu is extensive and mouth-watering. They came with a basket of hot buttered pita bread.

It was hard to pick ONLY 6 dishes but we chose:

1. Chicken Pita

2. Baba Ganoush

3. Fried Halloumi Cheese

4. Falafel

5. Hummus

6. Moussaka

All of the above dishes were generously served and tasty. However, our favorites were the halloumi cheese and the moussaka. The moussaka was extra tasty with lovely spices and great for eating with the pita bread.

The real star of the show was the KABSA ($10).

The female owner asked us if we wanted to try this rice dish of pine nuts, raisins and exotic spices. She told us that she wanted our honest opinion because she wanted to know if she should include this rice dish as part of the regular menu. The rice was cooked for 5 hours and the spices were from abroad. According to her, Kabsa is not Lebanese by origin but this dish has become popular among Lebanese folks during the last few years.

http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabsa

We were wowed! The Kabsa was very delicious. So full of spices and we devoured the whole thing. It came with nice chunks of lamb which my guy happily obliged to eat by himself.

The $5 generously poured Chardonnay was nice and crisp, and paired well with the dishes. ($18 for a bottle of either their white or red.)

Mazzat is a great addition to the already eclectic culinary resume of San Francisco.We left Mazzat full and satisfied vowing to go back again and again.


FOODIE GIRL'S RATING: 4 Stars

Key:
0 Star: Never again!!! These people should not be in business.
1 Star: Chalk it to bad experience. Live and learn.
2 Stars: Very disappointing but there it has some good things to offer.
3 Stars: It is okay but do not expect much. I will still return.
4 Stars: I like it! I will be singing your praises!
5 Stars: I will be dreaming of you at night!
6 Stars: Perfection (or close to!)

Chez Papa: Dine About Town 2011

My foodie friend Heather and I chose Chez Papa for our Dine About Town 2011 Lunch. When we got to Chez Papa, no DAT! We were confused but not too disappointed. Chez Papa offers a Business Lunch Prix Fixe Menu for $24.



I had a very brief glimpse of the interior of Chez Papa. I spotted dark wood furniture and  orange leather. Very chic but also dark inside. Since it was beautiful day, we chose al fresco dining. Chez Papa is located at the Mint Plaza, an alley on 5th and Market converted into a one open concrete space for people to just sit or have their meals at one of the restaurants. I remember when this alley used to be nothing but a dirty and unused street almost a decade ago. Now the Mint Plaza is with bustling with activities from hanging out at the plaza to dining al fresco at one of the higher end restaurants.



Al fresco dining at Chez Papa was great but it has its downside. About 3 times while we were dining, there were some aggresive panhandlers who tried to hit us up for change. There was a security guard at the site and the server readily apologized to us. Heather and I are not easily daunted. We ignored the behavior and still managed to have an enjoyable lunch. For the easily annoyed, opt to dine inside the restaurant.

We chose identical meals:

*Course 1: Charred Local Squid, Barhi Dates, Chorizo, Mizuna, Romesco as our appetizer: The squid with the tentacles were plump and looked very fresh. However the whole dish was on the salty side. I love the sweet dates that was meant to provide balance but the dish was still overly salty.



*Course 2: Grilled Albacore Niçoise, Soft Quail Egg, Confit Marzano Tomato, Tapenade Vinaigrette: The tuna was seared rare as I liked it. Fresh and nice healthy red color. Served over a small bed of greens and a single soft-boiled quial egg. Generously served, simple yet tasty.



*Course 3: Desserts

Dessert #1: Cocoa Nib Profiteroles, Pistachio Gelato, Toasted Almonds, Warm Chocolate Sauce: Heather generously shared her dessert with me. Just oh so delish dessert of 2 cream puffs with chocolate sauce served separately on the side to top off a nice lunch!



Dessert #2: Cacao Barry Chocolate Mousse, Minted Citrus Fruit Salad, Hazelnut Tuile: And I took mine home! The chocolate was so smooth and decadent complimented by the fresh citrus!



Another beautiful girl-bonding lunch. The Mint Plaza has its own unique personality due to the mixture of business and homeless/indigents folks sharing one huge beautiful urban space to find a little peace in this bustling city. It was quite an experience and great for people watching until you get hit up for spare change!

Tab: $32 per girl including tax, 20% tip and $1.50 Health SF Fee each.

FOODIE GIRL'S RATING:  3.75 Stars  (Our dishes did not have the "oomph!" factor but still tasty.)

Key:

0 Star: Never again!!! These people should not be in business.
1 Star: Chalk it to bad experience. Live and learn.
2 Stars: Very disappointing but there it has some good things to offer.
3 Stars: It is okay but do not expect much. I will still return.
4 Stars: I like it! I will be singing your praises!
5 Stars: I will be dreaming of you at night!
6 Stars: Perfection (or close to!)

Bushi-Tei

Saturday Date Night (Dinner and Movie): January 8, 2011 @ 5:30 PM

I once met this girl who is half-French and half-Japanese. I thought "what an exotic combination!" Bushi-Tei, a once Michelin Star awardee,  is like that girl. The fusion of Japanese and French cuisine produced a delicate culinary artwork.

For the first Saturday Date Night of the 2011, Enrique and I decided to have dinner at J-Town where we could also catch "The Black Swan" at the Kabuki later on. We had 2.5 hours to spare between dinner and the movie. We decided to relax and play it by ear.

I was surprised to find Bushi-Tei as a very elegantly decorated restaurant in contemporary design. You see transparent glasswork everywhere including the dining table, except for colored potteries on shelves which are the focal point. The chairs are leather and the utensil are steel except of bamboo chopsticks. Simple but very classy.

All throughout dinner, at one point, 4 servers were attending to us: our main waiter, the assistant waiter and 2 busboys. Our main waiter was very well-versed on that evening's menu yet relaxed and friendly. He explained every dish and came back after each course to check on us. Our water never went down pass the half the glass before it was filled again.

AMUSE BOUCHE: Complimentary "tuna puffs." Nice free food but it was not better than canned tuna.

DRINK: Torrontes for $8. So reasonably priced, generously poured yet so refreshing. They allow a tasting of your wine before you decide on it.

BREAD: Artistically presented tasty nutty bread flavored with rice and a flat cracker.

APPETIZERS - We decided on two apps:
a) Yuzu marinated calamari, cherry tomato, fine herbs, cucumber vinaigrette 12

*Surprisingly, Enrique hogged this whole plate of marinated calamari. We were supposed to share! The calamari was simply-prepared. The flavors were simple, delicate yet refreshing to the palate.

b) Lobster and Crab, Chrysanthemum leaf, papaya, bacon, ginger cream, curry oil 18

*I got nice chunks of crab meat and lobster, papaya in cream but not heavy. I didn't know it had bacon which I did not like to eat (I thought I was eating dried fish) which sort of overpowered the dish. Otherwise the papaya complimented the dish.  I still like it very much.

MAINS:
a) Day boat sea scallop, saffron Yukon potato chowder, pop over 28

*Once again my carnivore guy surprised me when he ordered scallops as his main dish. I think he was so inspired by the calamari. And as accurately as our waiter explained, the tastes of the scallops were delicate and prepared medium rare. I had a bite and it was great!

b) Big eye tuna, rock shrimp risotto, crispy shallot, coconut red curry 28

*Popular dish according to our server. The tuna could have been cooked more rare but the rock shrimp risotte in curry wowed my palate but did not overwhelm me. It was just right. The clean taste of the tuna brought out the fun exotic taste of the curry risotto.

DESSERT -- Enrique and I were really having an unexpectedly simple but enjoyable culinary experience that we went all out:
a) Espresso for me. I wish they served this with my dessert instead of before but it was still nice to sip on this bitter-strong coffee.

b) Caramelized banana: Black rice pudding, banana ice cream 8 Exotic version of fried banana with a kaleidoscipe flavors going on in our mouths.

c) Apple dumpling: French vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce 7.5 Ordering this with the banana just doubled/tripled/quadripled the fun!

*One was exotic and the other one was traditional. Now I am glad that Enrique nsisted that we get a dessert each. They were just simply divine and delcious!

d) ) Almond cakes and truffles: Very thoughtful compliments of the house but I still recommend to make room for the desserts above:

Tab: $122 after tax, before tip and before $40 Groupon. Even with the Groupon our final bill was still $102 with 20% tip included.

OVERALL:
Despite the mixed opinions on Bushi-Tei's culinary strengths (or weaknesses), Enrique had one of the most enjoyable fine dining experiences in a while. It helps that we went to Bushi-tei devoid of any expectations except for a hope of a beautiful date night.

The flavors of Bushi-Tei's cuisines are not overwhelming or strong. They were mellow, delicate and simple.If you want strong flavors which will induce explosive culinary euphoria, Bushi-Tei is not the place; although all throughout dinner we heard exclamations of foodie ecstacy from tables surrounding us:  "Superb," "Oooh, this is sooo good!" "Delicious!"

TIBDITS:
* Bushi-Tei once held a Michelin Star.
*The bathroom is probably one of the fanciest if not the fanciest in the City. We're talking about front wash, back wash and drying mode including heated seat. (Nope, I am not talking about a fancy carwash.) Check this out:

FOODIE GIRL'S RATING: 5 Stars --With the delightful and above average culinary experience we had on the evening we had dinner at Bushi-Tei, I can understand why it was awarded a Michelin Star. I continue to wish Bushi-Tei all the best.


Key:


0 Star: Never again!!! These people should not be in business.
1 Star: Chalk it to bad experience. Live and learn.
2 Stars: Very disappointing but there it has some good things to offer.
3 Stars: It is okay but do not expect much. I will still return.
4 Stars: I like it! I will be singing your praises!
5 Stars: I will be dreaming of you at night!
6 Stars: Perfection (or close to!)