Best Eats
Places I like to eat! Many of these are part of my Global Bites project.
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Avila Beach Custom House Front Street Good burgers and salads. Mersea's on the pier Seafood on the pier. Baywood Park & Los Osos Beerwood Baywood Good place for sandwiches. Carlock's Bakery Los Osos Valley Road We picked up a chocolate cheesecake here and it was very good. High Street Deli 2nd Street The best sandwiches so far. Kuma 10th Street Tasty sushi. Nardonne's Pizza off 3rd Avenue Family-owned since 1976, very good pizza! Noi's Thai 2nd Street Really good Thai food, the best so far. Sylvester's Burgers Baywood Good burgers. Cambria Linn's Downtown Great sandwiches. Robin's Burton Drive We love the Thai Green Chicken and Vietnamese Spring Rolls. Morro Bay Buttercup Bakery Cafe Morro Bay Blvd Good for picking up breakfast. Chowa Bowl Main Street Tasty bowls and yakatori. El Sabor De Guerrero Morro Bay Blvd Good Mexican food. Frankie and Lolas Front Street Unique breakfasts. Harbor Hut Embarcadero It's been in business since 1951 for a reason! House of JuJu Embarcadero Really good sliders. La Parisienne Front Street Great sandwiches. Mi Casa Morro Bay Blvd Between this and Taco Temple, both are our favorites. Great sandwiches. Morro Grill Embarcadero I had the Greek Power Bowl, Mark had the Tri-Tip sandwich. Both were very good! Pizza Port off Morro Bay Blvd A favorite from my college days. Stax Wine Bar and Bistro Embarcadero Great food and generous pours. Surfside Pizza North Morro Bay We love this pizza! Taco Temple North Morro Bay Generous portions, very good. Favorite of ours. Thai Elephant Morro Bay Blvd Tasty Thai food. The Galley Embarcadero Seafood and steaks by the water. The Savory Palette Embarcadero Outdoor dining on water. Tognazzini's Dockside Too Embarcadero Really good fish and chips. Dockside Too is outdoor dining only right on the water, Dockside is indoor dining only. Pismo Beach Brad's Pomeroy Avenue Best tri-tip sandwich so far! Tasty seafood. Vespera Beach The pool bar has awesome tacos in the summer, great cocktails too! San Luis Obispo Cowboy Cookie downtown SLO Founded in 1978. Tasty cookies. Frank's Famous Hot Dogs SLO, behind Cal Poly Founded in 1977. Mark likes these hot dogs. Giuseppe's downtown SLO Favorite Italian restaurant in the area. Granada Bistro downtown SLO Good cocktails and brunch. Kiko Peruvian downtown SLO Excellent Peruvian food. Mistura at Creamery Excellent Peruvian food. Organic. Novo downtown SLO Good food and you can sit outside next to the creek. Old SLO BBQ downtown SLO Great Tri-Tip sandwich and sliders. Piadina at Hotel San Luis Obispo Excellent food! We loved it for lunch! Sheila Kearns downtown SLO Chocolate shop. Sidecar downtown SLO Cocktails and comfort food. Thai Classic downtown SLO Really good Thai food. Woodstock's Pizza downtown SLO Tasty pizza since 1980! San Simeon Wine tasting and sandwiches with a view. Bay Area Campbell Aqui downtown Cal-Mex fast food. Good for take-out. Vegan options. Blue Line Pizza downtown Pizza. Casa Lupe Winchester Tasty Mexican food. Mo's downtown Best breakfast place! Try the chicken and waffles. Naschmarkt Restaurant downtown Really good Austrian food. Opa! downtown Always tasty Greek food. This location has outdoor seating and is bigger than Los Gatos location. Half Moon Bay Half Moon Bay Brewing Company Capistrano Road Outdoor dining and craft beer. Los Altos Casa Lupe downtown Good California Mexican food, like I grew up with. Esther's German Bakery San Antonio Road Great German breads, pretzels and pastries. Los Gatos Andalé downtown A lunch favorite of ours. Vegan options. Dio Deka downtown Dio Deka is a Greek restaurant and has a lot on their menu, it is hard to choose. I usually end up with the Kotopoulo, Sananaki, and Horiatiki salad. Epernay downtown French bistro. Fleur de Cocoa downtown I loved the small chocolate tart! Icing on the Cake downtown The cakes that I pick up from there are always a hit! Especially the Luscious Lemon with Lemon Buttercream. Vegan options. Lexington House downtown Love this place. Manresa downtown Inventive cuisine. Chef tasting menu. Expect four to five hours for dinner and around 12 small dishes. Namaste East Main Street Our favorite Indian restaurant. Vegan options. North downtown Vietnamese. Parkside downtown, by park Good veggie stuff. Teleferic Old Town Barcelona-style tapas. The Bywater downtown Tasty Cajun food. The Cats off 17 Tasty BBQ. We Olive downtown Tapas and wine. Zona Rosa downtown Fresh and tasty Mexican cuisine. Interesting dishes. Menlo Park Cafe Borrone on El Camino Good for breakfast and lunch, nice atmosphere where you can sit outside. I love their free range chicken salad sandwich on toasted cinnamon raisin bread. I have been going here for over 20 years. Susie Cakes downtown Tasty cupcakes. Mountain View Cooking Papa El Camino Catonese and Hong Kong style dishes, many to choose from. Cucina Venti near Shoreline Good Italian food, near Shoreline. La Fiesta near downtown I like their enchiladas de mole. Palo Alto Bird Dog downtown American / Japanese mix, tasty, modern cuisine. Palo Alto Sol California Avenue Mexican food. Sprinkles Cupcakes Stanford Mall Tasty cupcakes, flavors rotate with the seasons. Tacolicious downtown Super awesome tacos. Terrain Stanford Mall Tasty place to eat when shopping. Vegan options. San Francisco Favorite Hotels - Le Meridien St. Regis Hotel Vitale Café Claude near Union Square A taste and feel of Paris right in San Francisco. We had lunch here and loved it. It's just a few blocks from Union Square, a great choice when shopping. Cako Union Square Tasty cupcakes near Union Square. We had the Strawberry Cheesecake and the Maple Bacon. Yum. Chantal Guillon Hayes Street Super yummy macarons. Locations in San Francisco and Palo Alto. Christopher Elbow Chocolates Hayes Street Artisan chocolates. Coqueta Pier 5, The Embarcadero Michael Chiarello's interpretation of Spanish cuisine. Tasty tapas and modern cocktails. El Porteño Ferry Building Tasty empandas! Gott's Roadside Ferry Building We've had burgers here but the recent surprise was tasty breakfast sandwiches. Johnny Foley's O'Farrell Street Irish pub and restaurant. La Mar Cebicheria Peruana Pier 1.5, The Embaracadero Tasty Peruvian food, gorgeous restaurant, private dining available. Maven Haight Good burger at brunch. Pläj near Civic Center Super tasty Scandinavian food, worth a trip to the city. Uma Casa Noe Valley Super love this Portuguese restaurant! San Jose Adega Little Portugal Already has a star, great Portuguese food! Din Tai Fung Valley Fair Tasty hand-made dumplings. Falafel Drive-In on Stevens Creek east of Valley Fair This place is fun to go to and has tasty food. We had the falafel sandwich, chicken in a pita, hummus plate, pita chips, banana shake, and onion rings. Il Fornaio downtown Tasty Italian food. My family loves going here. Mark and I like to do the Festa Regionale. Mexico Lindo south of Willow Glen Mexican food like I grew up with, not fancy, just tasty. We had been looking for a place to get fast and tasty old-fashion Mexican food, and this fits the bill perfectly. Mezcal downtown Really good Oaxacan Mexican food. Their speciality is that they have three moles to choose from. All are good. I like the chicken enmoladas for dinner. Pastel Adega downtown Portugeuse bakery. Same owners as Adega. Pesticos downtown Portuguese tapas. Same owners as Adega. Ristorante Fratello Meridian south of Hamilton Organic, hormone free, locally owned. Delicious Italian food. The Grill downtown We went here on Christmas and everything was really good. The Mynt West San Jose Good for Indian take-out. Vegan options. Saratoga Bell Tower Cafe downtown Great for sandwiches. Flowers downtown Great food and cocktails. Sister restaurant of Hero Ranch Kitchen. Hero Ranch Kitchen downtown Great food and cocktails. Sister restaurant of Flowers. Indo Cafe downtown After I got back from Amsterdam, I was craving Indonesian food. This tastes just like what I was missing! It's a bit hard to find because it's behind the UPS store. La Fondue downtown Fun for special occasions. Madala Indian Cuisine downtown Tasty Indian food. Plummed Horse downtown We used to eat here years ago and then recently tried it again. So glad we did! It was awesome! We had the tasting menu, regular and vegetarian. Sunnyvale DishDash downtown Delicious Middle Eastern food. Walnut Creek Rocco's Pizzeria Ygnacio Valley Road We stopped here on the way to a concert at Concord Pavilion, good pizza. Rooftop downtown New American food, great view. Woodside Buck's Woodside Road Good omelets. Outside the Bay Area USA Las Vegas Maui Napa Valley New York City Oahu Sonoma Valley Europe Amsterdam Barcelona Florence London Paris Rome Amsterdam, The Netherlands Favorite Hotel - Conservatorium This is actually a home and garden shop. In the back is a garden. The owners made us a lovely Indonesian soup to eat in the garden as the 7th stop on the Hungry Birds tour. We ate lunch here, tasty North African food. We had an excellent Indonesian rijsttafel (Selera Blauw menu item) here. Eighteen dishes in all were served. Also had the Ayam Bungkus Karee starter (we really didn't need to order that, but it was good.) Remember to make reservations. Rijsttafel included: Sate Ayam, sate kambing, daging kunyit, daging pedis, babi ketjap, ikan kerrie blauw, ikan blado, perkedel, pisang goreng, tahoe ketoprak, sambal goreng telor, gado-gado, sajoer lodeh, sambal goreng kentang, serundeng, atjar ketimun, nasi putih en nasi goreng. In English: Chicken satay, goat satay, turmeric beef, spicy beef, sweet soy pork, fish curry, spicy fish, meat-potato pastry, fried banana, tofu soy sauce, egg in sambal sauce, roasted coconut, vegetables with peanut sauce, vegetables with coconut sauce, spicy fried potatoes, roasted coconut, sweet-sour cucumber, white rice and fried rice. Tried the ossenworst and grillworst. Butcher dates back to 1860. Third stop on the Jordaan Food Tour. Seventh and last stop on the Jordaan Food tour. Here we had tasty poffertjes. A pub that dates back to 1670. We had Jenevers here as stop #10 on the Hungry Birds tour. They fill it so full that you have to take a sip before picking up the glass. One of the oldest cafes in Amsterdam and serves the best Dutch apple pie. First stop on the Jordaan Food Tour - Eating Amsterdam. This is a must try. It's basically a hot vending machine with tasty snacks. Super popular in the Netherlands. The food items are made fresh every day. Our second stop on the Hungry Birds tour. You have to have these. Made on the spot stroopwafels. Sixth stop on the Hungry Birds tour. Het Oud-Hollandsch Snoepwinkeltje A candy store with a bunch of different types of liquorice. Our fifth stop on the Jordaan Food Tour. Gin tasting! This was really fun! Insanely good cheese and the 8th stop on the Hungry Birds tour. A place to try herring, served Dutch-style with pickles and onions. Our fourth stop on the Jordaan Food Tour. We stopped here on a food tour and had a tasty treat. We had three kinds of Gouda from De Kaaskamer, bitterballen from Holtkamp bakery, and local beers from Brouwerij't IJ. Sixth "stop" on the Jordaan Food Tour. Had the broodje pom and baka bana, Suriname and Indonesian food. Second stop on the Jordaan Food Tour. We had Indonesian food here, known for their rijsttafel. Tjin's Toko International Food Store We stopped here for a banh mi type of sandwich. Fourth stop on the Hungry Birds tour. Our first stop on the Hungry Birds Street Food tour. We had a tasty Indonesian meat pie (Vleespastei) and an 18-layer cake (Spekkoek). The last stop on the Hungry Birds tour, a delicious chocolate cookie with white chocolate in the middle. Fifth stop on the Hungry Birds tour. Here we tried herring, brined, and served with fresh onions and pickles. Also had deep-fried cod. Best fries in Amsterdam with 25 sauces to choose from. Get #12 Oorlog "at war", this is a peanut sauce, a mayo and onions. Japanese fast-food, really tasty! Hope it takes off in the states. Local, organic yogurt, plus other treats. Third stop on the Hungry Birds tour. Barcelona, Spain Favorite Hotel - Hotel Arts Barcelona Arola at Hotel Arts Port Olimpic Gorgeous tapas restaurant at our hotel. Bar Nostàlgic Carrer de Viladomat, 38, 08015 We went here for tapas as part of a food tour. Cacao Sampaka Eixample Chocolate shop, part of chocolate tour. Cal Pep El Born Popular tapas restaurant. Website has some recipes. Offers cooking workshops. We didn't get to this but I wanted to put on my list for next time. We went here as part of a tapas tour. Fargas Gothic Quarter Chocolate shop, part of chocolate tour. Granja La Pallaresa Gothic Quarter Known for their hot chocolate and pastries, part of chocolate tour. L'Òstia La Barceloneta Tasty tapas, we ate here on our first night. Moncho's down the beach from Hotel Arts We ate here a couple of times. Enjoyed the food and the view. Pastisseria Escribà Las Ramblas Chocolate shop, part of chocolate tour. This is where we got the white chocolate (red) lips. Quimet and Quimet Carrer Poeta Cabanyes 25 08004 We went here as part of a tapas tour. Florence, Italy Favorite Favorite Hotel - Gallery Hotel Art Las Vegas, Nevada Favorite Hotel - Aria Carnevino at Palazzo Las Vegas strip A Mario Batali Italian Steakhouse. Fu Hard Rock Hotel If you are staying at the Hard Rock, this is pretty good for lunch. Hakkasan at MGM Grand Las Vegas strip Modern Cantonese. Nobu Hard Rock Hotel Really good for dinner. Sage at Aria Las Vegas strip Contemporary American. London, United Kingdom Favorite Hotel - The Langham Aladin Brick Lane/East End Sixth stop on Eating London's East End tour. Situated in the heart of Brick Lane, we tasted various curries. Artesian The Langham Hotel Awesome bar at The Langham hotel. We stayed at The Langham and went to this bar several times. Great food and creative cocktails. Beigel Bake Brick Lane/East End Seventh stop on Eating London's East End tour. We had a salt beef bagel sandwich with hot English mustard and gherkins. Copita SOHO Tasty Spanish tapas. Dishoom Covent Garden My favorite Indian restaurant. We ate at the Covent Garden location. Enrique Tomas SOHO Second stop on the SOHO Food tour. Tasted jamón, cheese, and wine. Leong's Legend SOHO Taiwanese. We went here on a food tour, really good. Momo West End We loved this Moroccan restaurant! Pix Pintos SOHO Third stop on Eating London's SOHO food tour. We had a variety of Spanish tapas, ended up going back, very good. Pizza East Shoreditch/East End Eighth and final stop of the Eating London's East End tour. We had the very tasty salted caramel tart. Poppies Fish and Chips Spitalfields/East End Fourth stop on Eating London's East End tour. You guessed it, fish and chips. Pride of Spitalfields Spitalfields/East End Fifth stop on Eating London's East End tour. A small local pub, tasted beer and cider. Said Dal 1923 SOHO Fifth stop on Eating London's SOHO food tour. We had tiramisu and hot chocolate. St. John Bread and Wine Spitalfields/East End Our first stop on Eating London's East End tour. This is Fergus Henderson's acclaimed nose-to-tail restaurant. We had the legendary bacon sandwich. Thai Square Restaurant Windsor (Outside of London) Situated opposite Windsor Castle. Great Thai food. The English Restaurant Spitalfields/East End Second stop on Eating London's East End tour. We had the British classic bread and butter pudding. The House of Androuet Spitalfields/East End Third stop on Eating London's East End tour. Here we tasted English cheeses. The London Gin Club SOHO First stop on the SOHO Food tour. Had a gin and tonic, and a meat pie, a really good start to the tour! We ended up going back here on another day. Wagamama South Bank of River Thames and other locations A British-headquarted chain serving Japanese-inspired food. We went here a coupe of times while visiting Londone, including the one at Heathrow. Also in several other countries and coming to NYC. Hoping they make it out to California! Yalla Yalla SOHO Fourth stop on Eating London's SOHO food tour. Yalla Yalla serves Beirut street food. We had the Samboussek Jibne. Maui Favorite Hotel - The Montage Cane and Canoe Kapalua Really nice restaurant at The Montage. Mama's Fish House North Shore On my list to try next time! Go shopping at Paia while in the area. Merriman's Kapalua Another favorite, close to The Montage. Punakea Palms Lahania A coconut farm with tastings. On my list to do next time! Star Noodle Lahania On my list to try next time! Napa Valley, California Favorite Hotel - Calistoga Motor Lodge & Spa 114 VRBO Acacia House St. Helena This was the #1 place that we've eaten at so far. Don't miss this one!! Brannan's Grill Calistoga We stopped here for appetizers, would like to go back for dinner. Dean and Deluca St. Helena We like to pick up sandwiches here. Farmstead St. Helena We had a good dinner here. Goose & Gander St. Helena Good for lunch or dinner. On the casual side. Known for their cocktails and bar downstairs as well as good food. Gott's Roadside St. Helena Good burgers. Order online about 45 minutes before. Kollar Chocolates Yountville Love their chocolates. Pick up a fun bag of Strawberry White Chocolate Bark with Pop Rocks. Market St. Helena Really good food, local and organic. Morimoto Napa Stopped here on the way home from Calistoga. Awesome burger, plus Morimoto's is a favorite of ours. Rutherford Grill Rutherford We've been going here since 1997 and still love their ribs! Sam's Social Club Calistoga Tasty place for breakfast and dinner. Tra Vigne St. Helena Great place to stop for lunch. New York City, New York Favorite Hotel - Le Parker Meridien Babbo Greenwich Village A Mario Batili restaurant, tasty with a fun atmosphere. Baked by Melissa various locations Very tasty, tiny cupcakes. Available online to ship in USA. Bar Americain Midtown We ate here for lunch with Michael Symon as part of "The Chew Experience." Everything was good! Barbounia Gramercy Park We ate here in 2006, need to go back. Burger Joint Midtown and Greenwich Village In Le Parker Meridian hotel, look for the neon burger sign. Campagnola Upper East Side Tasty Italian food served family style. Carmine's Theater District Great for late night dining after a show. We went to the one in the Theater District on 44th street. DB Bistro Moderne Midtown Chef Daniel Boulud's contemporary French bistro. Famous for their sirloin burger filled with braised short ribs, foie gras, and black truffle. Dolce Gelateria West Village Handmade gelato. The home of the Cronut. Always a new creation here. Eataly Flatiron District We had lunch at Manzo, really good. Hakkasan Theater District A Michelin Star Cantonese restaurant in the Theater District. We've been to the one in Vegas as well. Fun and modern. Keens Steakhouse Garment District We had the Prime Porterhouse for three. Considered a top steakhouse in NYC. Mighty Quinn's BBQ various locations One of the best BBQ places in NYC. Get the Dirty Frites! Ma Peche Midtown We had an awesome brunch here - Habenero Chicken and Waffles, Beef "Fried Rice" and Cherry Mimosas. Morimoto Chelsea Market Oh man, I can't wait to go back here. Num Pang Chelsea Market Grab a sandwich here and walk over to The High Line. Papaya King various locations I don't eat hotdogs, so this is Mark's pick. Don't even ask the story behind this one! Peter Luger Brooklyn Famous steakhouse in Brooklyn, established in 1887. Petite Cocotte SOHO Tasty place to pick up a sandwich. Shake Shack various locations "Roadside" burger stand. Whiskey Park Midtown A comfy bar near Central Park. Oahu - Waikiki, Honolulu and North Shore Favorite Hotel - The Royal Hawaiian 273 Azure Waikiki The restaurant at the Royal Hawaiian. We eat here every time. Had the steak and lobster during our last trip. Now open for lunch as well. Bill's Sydney Waikiki Bill is a celebrity chef from Australia and is famous for his breakfasts. He is famous for his Ricotta Pancakes. We love going here for breakfast. Giovani's Shrimp Truck North Shore We had to try a shrimp truck! The shrimp was tasty. It's peel and eat, but don't worry, they have a place to wash your hands. Henry's Place Waikiki Tiny store that sells fresh fruit and tasty ice cream and sorbets. Steps away from the beach on Beachwalk. Leonard's Bakery Honolulu Famous for their malasadas. Mai Tai Bar Waikiki The outdoor bar at the Royal Hawaiian. They recently changed their menu so I haven't had a chance to try many items, must have the Royal Mai Tai. Morimoto Waikiki Closed, waiting for it to re-open at the hotel 'Alohiani. Nobu Waikiki Recently moved, even better food, menu, and place. Must go to! Roy's Waikiki Always a favorite when we visit Waikiki. We love the short ribs and the steak. They are always changing up the menu. Don't forget to get the Hawaiian Martini. Uncle Bo's Honolulu A local favorite. We didn't make it off the Pupu menu - Greasy Noodles, Kalua Pig Sliders, and Yobu Wings. Paris, France Favorite Hotel - Hotel Raphael Bistrot Paul Chêne 123 rue Lauriston, 16th Fantastic classic French food. Café Kleber place du Trocadéro, 16th We've eaten here several times. It has a nice view of the Eiffel Tower. Chez René 14 Boulevard St. Germain, 5th Great classic French food. Rome, Italy Favorite Hotel - Hotel Art
Sonoma Valley, California Favorite Hotel - Hotel Healdsburg Bravas Bar de Tapas downtown Healdsburg Spanish tapas. Chalkboard downtown Healdsburg Our favorite. Go here! Dry Creek Kitchen downtown Healdsburg A Charlie Palmer restaurant. Very good. La Salette downtown Sonoma Portuguese food. Pick up a couple of bottles of Piri Piri sauce while your there. |