Hungry Frenchman

Tortilla Heights, San Francisco

I've been meaning to write this post for a very long time. Tortilla Heights in the Lower Pac Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, on Divisadero, was one of my first disappointment with Mexican food. I decided to give it another chance. Why? Because every time i walk by it, it's packed. So sure, people can be "sheep" and all follow the stupid one. But it's been very consistent over the last months: the place is packed.

The bar is clearly a reason why the place is crowded. Nice and beautiful people all around (yeah, I know, I was the exception!), kind of trendy, it's a very good place for a night out. But still, the restaurant was crowded as well. There must be an explanation. The last time I ate there, it was just dis-gus-ting. As in HORRIBLE. Wanna know how this time went?

Clos de Vougeot, 2000, Grand Cru, Nicolas Potel

A friend of mine opened this bottle of wine yesterday night, with some duck confit and cheese. I have to say, this was just absolutely phenomenal. So yeah, it's a bit pricey. Right, very pricey. But once in a while, you deserve it.

So if you want to make someone very happy, just buy a camembert, some fresh bread, and this bottle of wine. It will probably cost you less than taking someone to a nice restaurant for the evening, and you'll have a much better experience. Yes, this thing can do a whole meal. And you'll remember it for a long time!

Here's where you can buy it (note that I don't make any money from this transaction).

Fish., fish restaurant, Sausalito

I love fish and seafood. On this foggy day in the city, we decided to go to Sausalito to check out some tiles. And suddenly, i wanted fresh fish & seafood. Badly. I wanted to eat by the bay, watching the boats. Outside. And I wanted potentially some oysters, to go with a simply cooked fish. Does such a restaurant exist? Yes, and it's called fish in Sausalito!

The setting (as the picture taken from my table can testify) is perfect. You're right on the bay, watching boats go by. It's a very casual place, far from being pretentious, except maybe for the price. You can't say it's cheap: a main course will cost you around $30, oysters are $3 each, and you can get a fresh trout salad for around $15.

Spruce, San Francisco

Spruce, in the Laurel Heights area in San Francisco, was a big surprise for me. My wife actually decided to take me there for a nice dinner, but I had no idea what to expect. I actually vaguely heard of this restaurant.

We were in the car when we decided to go there. We called the restaurant to ask if they had a table available, and were told that they had nothing for us, except maybe a sit at the bar if we were lucky. Wait! That was a Monday evening. A restaurant fully booked on a Monday evening? That must be a good sign...

As we arrived there, the valet parking guys (even though we didn't valet park with them!) welcomed us and were extremely polite. A nice gentlemen opened the door for us and we entered the world of Spruce. It's really fascinating. Dark colors, big paintings, high ceilings, mirrors... It has its own style. Even the music was kind of unique.

Hangover cure

After so many years of experience, I thought I would share with you all one of my secrets: how to fight hangover. You may hear many different stories, tips etc... Most of them may work. As far as I'm concerned, there is only one way to fight a real hangover.

Before i start explaining my trick, i wanted to list a few things you can/should do in case of light hangover. First of all, the mantra fight evil with evil hold true. There is nothing better than a nice, light beer in the morning to fight a tiny hangover. Some, like @aa, are fans of bloody mary. I prefer beer, but to be very honest, both work for me. Again, this is in the case of a light hangover.

Angele Restaurant, Napa

On Sunday, since the weather wasn't very nice in San Francisco, we drove to Napa and stopped at Angele for lunch, by the Napa river. We've been there once, while we were staying at Milliken Creek Inn, and had a wonderful time.

The expectations were very high...

Harri's, Steakhouse, San Francisco

Yesterday, we took my parents in law at Harri's, at the corner of Pacific and Van Ness. Harri's is a classis San Francisco establishment, and above all, a real steakhouse.

As all good steakhouse, the entrance showcases the aged meat and also has a butcher counter in case you want to buy some meat to go. I've seen this in many other steakhouses, and I really like the idea.