Mexico DF

Wow.. it's been 3 weeks since I had drinks here with my swimming buddies, Frances and Lalitha, and really, this place is so awesome I should have blogged about it the day I went!

Anyway, Mexico DF is right by the Embarcadero Y, and as you walk by you can almost feel the energy of the place. There are so many good, upscale restaurants catering to all the fi-di(?) crowd in this area, that I'm not surprised I had not heard about this place. Which is a shame, because I thought this place was really nice!

The first thing that got my attention were these really vibrant plates on the table. We didn't end up using them, so I'm not sure why they were there, but the sure do set the tone for the restaurant and give it a lively, happy vibe. Which is good! Well anyway, I was really fascinated by them, and the next time I go back I'm going to find out how I can get me some of those.... or if one of you goes you can buy one for me and make this little girl so so happy :) Hmm... I should really take my camera with me the next time I go anywhere, this blog posting could so have used a picture of those plates.

Ok, so I already liked this place because of the plates (I know.. I can't be so easy to please :)), but it got better. I looked at the drinks menu, and wanted to try at least 3 things on there.... obviously, me being the lightweight that I am could only order one, so I chose, and I chose wisely...I ordered the tamarind margarita. Did someone say, exotic! It had cayenne pepper on the rim, tangy tamarind mixed in with just the right amount (a LOT!) of tequila .... ah... divine!

Which brings me to the food - after the plates and the margaritas, I was expecting something amazing from the kitchen.... and it did not disappoint. Tomas, the guy who was serving us that day pretty much sold us on every single dish we asked him about. Actually he was the other great thing about the restaurant - he was so into the restaurant, and the food, and went into such detail about the taste, the smell, the history of the dish and told us all these stories about growing up in Mexico - it was really entertaining just listening to him talk. Plus, and this is probably why I liked him - he actually got us tasting tequilas for him!

We ended up ordering the mango guacamole, and enchiladas, the chile relleno. Not too much food - but with the cheese content it was pretty filling. The mango guac was y-u-m-m-m-y... I think (it was 3 weeks ago!). What I am sure of though, is that the caramel flan we had for dessert that day was one of the best I have ever(!) had in my life.

Ok .. I'm finally done raving about this place.. time to move on to my next posting, which hopefully won't take 3 weeks to post :)

http://www.mex-df.com/

Chase away your sorrows...

Nepenthe - this absolute jewel of a place, sitting on a cliff in Big Sur, it doesn't get more picturesque or romantic than this.

After an awesome weekend exploring Big Sur (which btw is totally worth making a camping reservation 9 months in advance), we ended up at Nepenthe about an hour before the sunset. I had read a lot of reviews about the place, and the view, and how the terrace seating gave you unparalleled views of the sun setting over the Pacific, so I had a lot of expectations of the place. And it did not disappoint!

It's a pretty fancy place, and a bit on the pricy side. I, for one, think it's completely worth it though... it's a place where you could spend an entire evening listening to their eclectic collection of music, drinking wine and taking in the scenery. Funnily enough I don't remember anything about the food that day. I guess it wasn't bad, but maybe the beauty of the rest of the place just so totally overwhelms you that the food doesn't matter any more.

I'm going to end this post with this quote from their web-site -

"In Greek, Nepenthe means "isle of no care," a place to find surcease from sorrow. So it continues to be for travelers today. A place to stop, to dream, to lift a cup to kindness..."

www.nepenthebigsur.com/

Panta Rei

I've been to 3 really nice places in the past week... not bad, after the 2 week lull.

This first one, I'm not sure would have even got a review from me otherwise, but this sweet little boy I know, can't stop raving about it. So... I guess I owe it a review.

Panta Rei is an Italian restaurant, on Columbus Ave. - one among many, many Italian restaurants in North Beach. As with most restaurants in the area, it's open late, so that's a plus. We got there pretty late, around 11pm, and Columbus was bustling as usual. It was a really nice night, so we got a seat outside next to the heat lamp, ordered some Chardonnay, and settled down to enjoy a nice, late dinner.

Which brings me to the food.... So, the one thing to die for, for any vegetarian diner here is the Spinach gnocchi (or at least that's what the sweet little boy claims). So, that's what we had... and a margherita pizza. Now, in my experience you really can't go wrong with a margherita pizza - tomato sauce, cheese, and basil. How much simpler can it get? But... this pizza, it just didn't do it for me... too much cheese, too little flavor. I was full with just one slice. The gnocchi on the other hand was pretty darn good... it had a nice cream sauce, lots of garlic, and lots of flavor. And it went well with the Chardonnay.

So there... that's my kind of blah review of Panta Rei. Did I loooove it? Probably not. Would I recommend it? Probably yes.... if you sit outside, with a nice glass of wine, and good company.

http://www.pantareirestaurant.com/

Apologies

to all you avid readers of my blog :) I've been a little lazy blogging. Actually, in my defense... I haven't really been to too many restaurants over the past few weeks that made me want to blog about them.

I think one place of note is Salang Pass, in Fremont of all places. It's an Afghani place that a co-worker recommended. We went there for a group lunch, and after an initial awkward few minutes wondering if everyone would be cool sitting on cushions on the ground and eating with their hands, it was a fun experience. The food was really good... and surprisingly had a lot of vegetarian options. For appetizers we had the Bolani - which is just this giant alu paratha, very flavorful and quite yummy! That almost filled me up, with the salad and the bread at the table we could have easily skipped to dessert, but everyone ordered entrees so I did too. And I'm glad... yummm... the Veg Sabzi Challow... you can't go wrong giving a south indian hot basmati rice. A lot of the dessert options at this place looked really Indian - they had a Ras Malai, and phirni and mango ice cream. I think we ordered every dessert on there, and the only one that really appealed to me was the phirni. It was cool, and light, and had this awesome rose fragrance that transported you to some nawab's palace somewhere in some other time.

Where else did I go this past 2 weeks? I wonder if take-out counts... oh well, might as well. I guess if I had to list my most frequented take-out place it would be Regent Thai on 29th & Church. And for good reason - it's cheap, the food is excellent, and it's 5 minutes from my place. I wish they would deliver! I'm thinking I'll write an entire blog entry dedicated to my favorite take-out places. Watch this spot...