Pasta Moon (Half Moon Bay)

STAYCATION: 05.18.2012 @ 8:30 PM

AS SEEN ON CHECK, PLEASE! BAY AREA: http://www.youtube.com...

The lounge was sleek and sexy.
The food and drink were tasty.
The jazz guitarist got my juices flowing...........


AMBIANCE/DECOR:
Pasta Moon is a good place to have a nice dinner in Half Moon Bay. The outside looked like a very  casual eatery with a couple of patio tables. The menu was written on a blackboard.

Upon walking in at around 8:30 PM, we were greeted by the tantaliziing jazz music being played by the guitarist on the stage. We were offered to be seated at the main dining area but we opted for the lounge that was modern and sexy. It was spacious with high ceilings with exposed slat beams.

The mood lighting of hanging red/yellow glass lights were turned down. Low lounge chairs made of red leather along with eclectic dining tables were available for seating.

FOOD AND DRINK: (Sorry, no food pics. Too dark for the camera!)
ITALIAN 77 $10:   St.Germain Elderflower Liquor, Fresh Lemon Juice, Prosecco 
* Citrusy bubbly. Refreshing. However, it tasted more like champagne with lemon juice. Just okay.

BRUSCHETTA $10: Burrata cheese served over local greens and sun dried tomato pesto
* 2 Bruchetta piled high with greens and sun dried tomatoes. Good and filling!

TAGLAITELLE PRAWNS $ 22 : Spring Asparagus,lemon, parmesan, basil, garlic, EVOO
* Good but nothing remarkable. It tastes like the the bowl of pasta that I make at home when I want something simple and comforting. The pasta was chewy but slighty dry. The plump prawns were fresh and generous.

PASTA MOON LASAGNA : $12/$19 House made Sicilian sausage, ricotta, parmesan, chili flake, tomato sauce
* Enrique got the full order. Sadly, he got food poisoning at San Benito Bar earlier in the afternoon. He barely touched his lasagna. I tasted it to compare it to my lasagna and it was actually pretty good! This lasagna is Pasta Moon's signature dish.

VERDICT:
Pasta Moon is a solid dining venue in Half Moon Bay. It is about to celebrate its 25th anniversary this coming June 2012. It's farm to table philosophy making use of the local, sustainable produce is just one of the good reasons why this 25 year old restaurant should be patronized. The rest is the house made pasta and lovely ambiance.

TOTAL: $90 including tip, 1 alc and 2 non-acl drinks

NOTEWORTHY:
1. Sexy lounge area.
2. Check out Pasta Moon's Live Music Calendar for free, no cover music until 9PM.
3. Definitely order the Pasta Moon Lasagna!

Cotogna

DATE NIGHT: 02.24.12 @ 3:30 PM

I am not sure if our meal counted as late lunch or early dinner at Cotogna yesterday afternoon. Let's just call it European Lunch.

Cotogna is so popular I dare you to try to get a 7 pm  reservation on Opentable ANY DAY of the week up to 3 weeks from now. When I scored a 3:30 PM reservation, I took it. Not only I hardly dine in SF without reservations, Enrique and I also need to start getting out of the house early on Saturdays instead of living in our pjs until 5 in the afternoon.

Aside from the personal reasons I stated above, 3:30 PM is a great time to have a relaxing delightful meal with a glass of nice cocktail that makes you close your eyes  in ecstacy  while taking in the view of SF's rare brick archictecture in the historic Jackson Square District.

DECOR/AMBIANCE:
Cotogna is a cozy place to be in SF: brick walls, open kitchen with roaring fire in the brick oven, a classy casual bar right next to the open kitchen, stacks and stacks of firewood against the walls on your way to the bathroom. The place is attractive but not stuffy. Hence, a great place to sip your cocktail at 3:30 in the afternoon.  And Cotogna is L O U D!

DRINKS:
MIMOSA $11: There were only 3 cocktails on our mid-afternoon menu and I chose the Mimosa. The mimosa was okay and pricey for the tiny glass. But anything for mid-afternoon cocktail for me!

BUBBLY WATER $6/BOTTLE: Cotogna makes their own bubbly H20. Unlike many restaurants in SF who serve their bubbly water as complimentary, Cotogna charges $6 per bottle.  Enrique ordered 2! Yikes! He does not drink so its okay but charge $6, really?!

BREAD:
Cotogna's bread should belong to a new food group. It should come with a warning "Contains crack." The bread was loaf-style and generously seasoned with seasalt and spices. The bottom was soaking in EVOO but not greasy. It was focaccia that was melt in your mouth. I honestly have been good not touching restaurant bread but between me and Enrique, we had 2 loaves. Unlike their bubbly water, Cotogna was very generous with their bread.

Enrique hinted that I loved the bread so much our server packed us a box to go without charging us. Very nice!

FOOD:
   *TRIPE: Tender, spicy and very flavorful trip  tripe in chili oil. We really enjoyed this simple dish. I used the bread to soak up the juices. I have no shame when it comes to dining.

*#18 7 x 7 Big Eats:   $24 PRIX FIXE @ COTOGNA
1. SALAD: Citrus salad with grapefruit nicely seasoned with seasalt. Generous portions for 2.

2. ASPARAGUS TORTELLINI: Big fluffy tortellini, still slightly wet and tasted  light and good but not exceptional.

3. PINK LADY APPLE AND ALMOND CROSTATA: Dry and heavy with olive oil taste. For being part of the prix fixe this was okay. The ice cream was a nice accompaniment.

  *CORNISH GAME HEN WITH GRILLED POLENTA AND OLIVES $22: Whole juicy succulent hen. The breast was perfectly cooked but the drumsticks were bloody. Still good according to Enrique but he did not like the heavy EVOO taste. I ate the grilled polenta which was really good cooked crispy but still tender on the inside.

CHECK: $118 including tax, Healthy SF and generous tip for the nice gesture of giving us extra bread and very friendly service.

VERDICT:
I agree with 7 x7 that Cotogna's $24 Prix Fixe is  one of the best deals in town.  It was not the best taste in dining but the whole experience was delightful. Cotogna is a true SF gem.

GOOD TO KNOW:
 *Cotogna is the sister restaurant of the finer dining "Quince" next door.
 *Chef Michael Tusk was recenty the recipient of  the James Beard Foundation 2011 Beard award for "Best Chef - Pacific!" www.jbfawards.com
 *Once again the BUBBLY WATER IS NOT FREE! $6 per bottle
 *GO BETWEEN 4:30 PM AND BEFORE 5:30 PM. Last Saturday, Cotogna was still packed at 3:30 PM, By 4:30, crowd was thinning out. By 5:15, the place was practically empty. Cotogna is open all day

HOURS:
Mon - Thurs 11:30 AM  -  11 PM
Fri-Sat           11:30 AM  -  12 AM
Sun                 5PM - 9PM

Beretta

GIRLFRIENDS HOLIDAY DINNER 2011: 12.02 @ 6PM

The true art of Beretta's cuisine  was in its simplicity.  The chef was able to transform simple seasonal  items into delicate dishes that were harmonious and lovely on the tastebuds.

My girlfriends and I pigged out and splurged for our annual holiday party,   We started off with SEVEN cocktails (and finished off with 2 dessert wines.) Every cocktail we drank was well-made, strong and delicious! However, the NUESTRA PALOMA (tequila, elderflower, cointreau, grapefruit, bitters $10) was the favorite among the ones we have tried, and ordered a couple more! Cocktails were priced between $9 - $11 each.

For our dinner, we ordered a 6 small plates, 2 pizzas and a dessert.

Neapolitan Pizza with Burrata, Vegan Sausage Pizza and Squid Ink Risotto

SMALL PLATES/SALAD:
1. EGGPLANT CAPONATINA $6: This was a very impressive dish. The eggplant was very silky and very flavorful. This was a favorite among all of us.

2. GNOCCHI WITH PORCINI $9: Even without the smoked pancetta which I requested to be omitted, this dish was also delicious with  full of the earthy flavors of the mushrooms very pronounced in the palate. I've had more "pillow-like" gnocchi in the past but this dish was mouthwatering in its totality.

3. MONTEREY SARDINES EN SAOR $7: Fresh whole sardines in vinegar without the fishy taste. Even my non-seafood eating friend had a taste and  enjoyed it!

4. WINTER GREENS WITH PERSIMMON AND POMEGRANATE $7/$11: A very simple salad with vinaigrette dressing but the ingredients were so fresh that they were like flavor bombs in our mouth. The persimmon was sweet contrast to the tanginess of the pomegranate which was a good contrast to the bitterness of the greens. Divine!

5. ZUCCHINI PARMIGIANA WITH SCARMOZA & BASIL $6
I was not crazy about this one. A little too dense with tomatoes but good--like ratatouille.

6. SQUID INK RISOTTO: I was about to pop but I could not stop eating this creamy heavenly bowl of black risotto with tender squid rings. Really, really good!

PIZZA:
1.MARGHERITA BURRATA $15*It was like biting on a piece of soft heavenly clouds. The burrata was soft and delicate. A delicious well-made thin-crust pizza.

2. VEGAN SPICY ITALIAN SAUSAGE $15 (+extra anchovies)My first vegan pizza and if all vegan pizzas taste like this, I would not be so resentful being born a lactose intolerant.  I could not taste the difference between the vegan and the dairy version except for the sausage. Very good!

PORTIONS:Generously portioned and reasonably priced.. After the small plates we even had leftover pizza slices. We were rolling ourselves out of our seats!

DECOR/AMBIANCE/ATMOSPHERE:
Loud, lively and packed!! Small, narrow, dark with pretty chandeliers. Al fresco dining is possible on a freakishly warm night in December like the night we were there. Folks were enjoying dinner at the tables on the sidewalk. The servers were attentive, friendly and laid-back despite the very busy evening.

HOW TO GET A TABLE: Beretta does not accept reservations except for parties of 6. One of my girlfriends called at 5:15 pm and asked to be put on the list. She showed up at 5:50 PM, was the first one and they seated her while she waited for us.  Otherwise, try to wait for a very long time for a table!

OVERALL:
Beretta was able to retain the integrity of the ingredients by not overdoing it and by capitalizing on the natural flavors of the vegetables/fruit that are in season. One of the best dining I have had in a while considering Beretta's dishes are simple and not overly ambitious in their execution.

CHECK: $232 with tax and tip ($58 per happy tipsy gal)

Caesar's

Caesar's is an old institution that opened its doors to San Franciscans in 1956. If it is traditional Italian cuisine you want and the famed San Francisco dish, Cioppino, Caesar's is the place to go.

I was finally able to try Caesar's when Enrique's sister, Chris and her husband, Russell took us to dinner here for Enrique birthday. Russell is second generation Italian. Caesar's is his Italian parents and "nonna's" (Italian for grandmother) restaurant of choice for family get togethers.

Chris whispered as we were sitting down, "you come here for the food and ambiance, not for the service." Sure enough, Caesar's is packed and loud with multi-generational families--mostly Italians but diverse enough with Asians and other non-Italian families. "Godfather "would have been happy to bring his la famiglia here.

If you want to practice your Italian, this is the place to do it. The place was loud with Italian dialects spoken all around us. Fiance's sis pointed out the staff who are from the old country who barely speak English but has been working at Caesar's for decades.

Caesar's is indeed old-school from the decor, immigrant restaurant staff and traditional Italian cuisine. The waiters wear black and white tux.

As much as I wanted to try the Cioppino, they were not serving it that night. Chris and Russell suggested that we go for the $35 Seven Course dinner. And for $35 per person, you will get plenty of delicious fare to get you stuffed:

1st Course: SALAD of lettuce, tomato and onionwith Italian dressing.

2nd Course: ANTIPASTI of calamari salad, garbanzo bean salad, grilled eggplant (caponata), cured ham, etc.
*The dishes were fresh and delicious. Future bro-in-law's told us his nonna made these dishes for the family every Sunday. I could dine on these small dishes alone! I could not stop eating the garbanzo bean salad, caponata and calamari salad.

3rd Course: A small dish of PASTA WITH MEAT SAUCE.
*I ate around the meat sauce since I am a pescetarian. I would say that the sauce was very flavorful and definitely NOT Chef Boyardee's!

4th Course: A delicious bowl of lite MINESTRONE SOUP.

5th Course: Choice of main dish.
*Enrique chose GRILLED LAMB CHOPS which he requested as well-done. It came to him medium rare. He said it was still delicious, not gamey and very tender.

*I had the GRILLED SEAFOOD PLATTER. My meal came with a skewer of plump prawns and very tender scallops with spinach and potatoes. As simple as my meal was, it was surprisingly very good! I had to take half of it home since I got stuffed from eating the antipasti,salad and soup.

6th Course: SPUMONI.
*You get to choose from their dessert menu but the spumoni ice cream was a great way to end this nice Italian dinner.

7th Course: COFFEE

OVERALL:
Service was polite and not so bad. This was a leisurely dinner and you might have to flag your server down once in a while. They leave you alone but not forget about you. You will still get your water refilled and your dishes on time.

They even gave Enrique an amaretti flavored cheesecake with a candle in it for his birthday dessert. Rich and delish! The whole restaurant joined in when we sang "Happy Birthday."

I have traveled to Italy and have had the pleasure to eat well in Rome and the Umbrian region. Caesar's is indeed authentic, traditional and old school. The dishes are not as delicious as what I had in Italy but at Caesar's it is about tradition. The dishes were simple, fresh and light--not the heavy, cheesy, Italian-American that is standard in the US.

On our way out, Enrique's sister spotted BUGIE COOKIES for sale at the counter. She said their nonna made these Italian sweets. I grabbed a couple of boxes for $6 each and gave one to her as a thank you present for the nice dinner treat. Bugies I found out later are fried dough sprinkled with powdered sugar. Delicious but not diet food!

FOODIE GIRL'S RATING: 3 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!)

Barbacco Eno Trattoria

Foodie Lunch Date with Heather: October 2010 @ 12:30 PM

What a difference two hours make when you are sharing them with a good friend.

Once again, my beautiful foodie friend Heather and I made it to another blissful lunch date despite our very busy lives as modern gals.

The restaurant of our pick this time is Barbacco Eno Trattoria  located in the FiDi (SF's Financial District), right next to its sister restaurant, Perbacco.

So, let me get this out of the way. Barbacco uses an iPad as a drink menu instead of the traditional printed menu on paper.  Very 21st century and very cool. After looking at it like kid who found an interesting toy and pushing the "buttons," I abandoned it.  Call me old-fashioned but I was at lunch, don't want to be hooked up to cyber and just want some good old fashioned meal with my friend.

iPad as Drink Menu

Having said all of the above, Barbacco's exterior is almost non-descript. It looked like an ordinary but neat storefront. Inside is  contemporary loft with  brick walls. The lunch hour was patronized by the "cool and beautiful" or those hoping they looked the part.

The loft decor starts with high ceiling at the reception area then drops to a low modern white plastic ceiling at the dining area. I wish they kept the high-ceilings since the place is tight, packed and loud! The noise level was so high that at one point I was listening to people screaming to be heard!



Despite the well-heeled lunch crowd and image of the place, the service was friendly and unpretentious.

Heather and I started off with samplings of Italian small plates:

1. Quick-braised squid in tomato, chili and pan grattato (breadcrumbs) $8:  This dish was okay and nothing really stood out flavor-wise.



2. Grilled Sardine Bruschette $3 or 3 for $8:  I love sardines and I could have eaten half a dozen of these. Nothing stood out but the sardines are fresh.

We ordered an Heirloom Tomato Salad with cucumber, red onion, basil and olive crostini in red wine vinaigrette. We ordered the bigger serving for $9. This dish was so simple yet so fresh and so delicious! The tomatoes were sweet. Heather and I could not believe that they were only charging $9 for this hefty bowl of organic heirloom tomatoes!

As our main entree, Heather and I shared a Caponata Sandwich  ($9) which was made with grilled eggplant, agrodolce (Italian sweet and sour sauce), almonds, currants and rucola (arugula).  This also came with a simple green salad. This dish was sweet yet savory at the same time. It's like eating salad in a bread. So delicious!

Caponata Sandwich and Heirloom Salad

Heather and I shared everything. In the end we were comfortably full, feeling guilty-free and proud of ourselves for indulging yet eating healthy. We are starting to discover that it is indeed possible to be a foodie and watch your diet.

Tab: $20 per gal including one non-alc drink, tax and 20% tip.

Barbacco is a winner! Good service, good food, sophisticated ambiance and affordable prices.

FOODIE GIRL'S OVERALL RATING: 5

Food: 5
Decor/Ambiance: 5
Service: 5


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!)


http://www.barbaccosf.com/

Rocco's Cafe: As seen on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives

Saturday Date Night: September 18, 2010 @ 6 PM

It was one of those days when I wanted --no--NEEDED comfort food in a bowl. With parmesan cheese. And noodles. Lots of noodles.

And I found Rocco's thru Opentable. Little did Enrique and I know that we were venturing into Food TV land.  Rocco's was featured on Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-ins and Drives" on the Food Network.  Of course, we overheard this information from the diners next table.  They made a special trip from Danville to checkout Rocco's.

Rocco's is a 19 year old Italian-American restaurant located at SoMa where a diner is still not out of character in the neighborhood where newly built pricey lofts grudgingly co-exist with the hotels for "down and out."  Rocco's interior was designed to evoke nostalgia in a staged kind of way.  The walls were covered with memorabilias, posters and pictures including DD&D's host Guy Fieri's.  The place does not have the greasy smell of a true diner nor the floors sticky with spilled coffee. Overall it was a cool little modern candle-lit diner.

What set Rocco's from a "true' diner was the very attentive service we received. Our servers were very efficient and must have checked on us 6 times during dinner.

Our complimentary bread basket disappeared and was refilled as soon as we devoured the delicious crusty bread.  It was served with garlicky olive oil  for dipping which was pretty heavy for an olive oil.



Delicious crusty bread with garlic olive oil dipping sauce

 We started off with the Garlic Fries which were hot, garlicky and not greasy. Delicious. The portion was on the smallish side.



Garlic Fries

 I chose the Calamari Saute over Angel Hair $18.50  (instead of the fettucine noodles that was listed on the menu.) What I got was a pasta dish that was loaded with calamari rings in marinara wine sauce. I happily stuffed my face with calamari rings bite after chockful bite. Despite the generous portion of my pasta, the taste was "just okay."  Although I could taste the squid ink in the sauce, for the most part the whole dish was salty and lacking in flavors.



Sauteed Calamari over Angel Hair

 The saddest story of the night was Enrique's "14 Oz. Grilled USDA Choice All Natural Rib Eye Steak Topped w/ Sautéed Mushrooms" $23.00. Never before have I witnessed Enrique not finishing his steak and play with it after a couple of bites.  It was thin-sliced and buried under a pile of veggies.  "The used low-quality meat and was tough," according to the poor carnivore.




Grilled Ribeye Steak

 At the end of our dinner, Chef Don (Rocco's grandson), also known as Double D, came out to see how we were doing and went from table to table greeting diners. Chef Don's family tree in San Francisco go all the way back to the 1920's using recipes that traveled from Italy which were served in San Francisco restaurants for decades.

Knowing Rocco's was featured on the Food Channel was the thrill of the evening although we did not find out until we got there. It was a good thing because our hopes would have been severely crushed with the not-so-appetizing food that we had. I felt sorrier for the diners mentioned above who made the long trip from Danville to check out Rocco's. I don't think it was worth the gas.

Chef Don might not have been Tyler Florence but it was nice to meet the man in person before watching him on You-Tube later where I found the episode where Rocco's was featured on "Diner's, Drive-ins...."

Overall our dinner was cozy. I still enjoyed my dinner although Enrique did not. He really liked the garlic fries, though. Would I got back? Definitely! Despite the average food, there was something charming about Rocco's. Maybe the nostalgia, the tea light on the table, the efficient staff or the big bowl of comfort in noodle form.....Who knows? At least now I know what to expect.

Tab: $ 70 including a glass of Argentinian wine, soda, tax and 20% tip.

FOODIE GIRL'S RATINGS: 3 Average-tasting comfort food
Steak:                               1 Tough meat that should be taken off the menu
Decor/Ambiance:             4  Cute, cozy "staged" nostalgic diner
Service:                            6   For a diner, we were treated like honored guests!

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!)

Bar Bambino: Italian in San Francisco

Amore! A delicious dinner in the San Francisco Mission District to celebrate my friend Russell's birthday.

Bar Bambino is urbane, chic and sophisticated. Small but its classy chic ambiance made up for its lack of space. The lamps were strategically placed for mood lighting along with tealight candles. Furniture comprised of heavy dark wood tables and chairs.

However, my friends and I were seated on the patio with the plastic roof covering and metal tables/chairs. It was perfect for a beautiful summer day in the City--well, until it got chilly which luckily for us we already finished dinner.

After my dining experience last night, I will best describe Bar Bambino as an expensive small plate restaurant. Even their main dishes were small. Luckily, the celebrant is picky and does not have a big appetite. So we paced our orders based on what the birthday boy wanted. A good thing because we would have ended up with a hefty bill if it had been based on my boracious appetite alone. However, the food was PACKED with flavors. Simple. Italian. Californian. Seasonal. We loved almost everything we had.

Russell, Heather, Mickey and I  shared:

GRILLED PROSCUITTO-WRAPPED PEACHES W/ DANDELION GREENS $11: This was the BIGGEST HIT amongst us. The crispy salty was wrapped around the tangy-sweet peach slices over the bitter dandelion. So simple yet so delicious! I will definitely try to copy this at home!

FLATBREAD W/ SALMON: Thin-crust pizza with salmon. It's okay. I've had better. Not worth the $14 price tag.

BIGOLI W/ SARDINES, SAFFRON and SULTANAS $15
(Whole wheat pasta tossed with crispy Monterey Bay sardines, cherry tomatoes, and raisins in a saffron sauce) This was sweeter than we expected. We were looking more for the "anchovies on pizza" experience plus the sardines were not crispy as described. This dish was okay.

CRESPELLE W/ PORCINI and SPINACH $18
(Buckwheat crepes filled with mushrooms, spinach, and a dollop of mascarpone.) Another simple dish but another big hit! Earthy, bursting with flavors and delicious!

SCHARZWALDER CHERRY TORTA $9 (Bar Bambino's version of a Black Forest Cake. Boozy cherries, on top of a knock-your-socks-off chocolate cake, alongside whipped brandy cream) Cake for the birthday boy and was brought to him with a lighted candle. Yes, it was a boozy cake but not "knock your socks off" enough for us. I found it too sweet and not complex. Just too sugary with pasty consistency.

TAB: $118 including 2 wines, a cappucino and 18% tip.

Overall, we had a very fun, peaceful and enjoyable dinner. We were not stuffed but satisfied with our meal, even the picky birthday boy. The wines were very nice and refreshing even for being the cheapest ones on the menu ($9 per glass.) The service was very professional but not stuffy.

ARRIVEDERCI!

Bar Bambino
2931 16th St
San Francisco, CA 94101
(415) 701-8466
www.barbambino.com

Foodie Girl's Ratings: 4 (Lovely but portions left me wanting more. Pricey!)

Food:     4.5    Delicious and creative.
Service:  4.5    Professional but not stuffy.