The Chinese food market area, San Francisco

On January 26, 2008, Linda and I had just started our around the world trip. We went to the Farmers Market at the Ferry Building in San Francisco and I posted my photos of it to the blog a week later, but I never did get around to putting up my photos of the Chinese food market area where I went later that morning.

The Ferry Building Farmers’ Market, San Francisco

On January 26, 2008, Linda and I went to the famous Saturday Farmer’s Market in and around the old Ferry Building at the Embarcadero at the end of Market Street. Inside the building contains many food shops and restaurants which are open daily. I had feared that the stalls and tents outside would not be active on this winter day with rain threatening, but there were plenty of farmers and other vendors with products which grow in the Northern California winter: many kinds of root vegetables, greens, cabbages, late fruit etc. 

Ame, San Francisco 2

We had enjoyed ourselves so much the night before that Linda and I returned to Ame for dinner on January 27, 2008.

Campton Place Hotel, San Francisco

Linda and I stayed four nights at The Campton Place Hotel from January 24 to 28, 2008. We were very happy with it. Our room, 312, had a bedroom, completely separate sitting room and a spacious modern bathroom. The hotel has been completely redone in the last few years. The location, just off Union Square next to the upscale shops on Post Street, is perfect. Even on the third floor, the soundproof windows kept it very quiet.

Ame, San Francisco

On January 26, 2008, Wendy, Sam, Linda and I dined at Ame, a new restaurant in the St. Regis Hotel. The décor is sleek, with a lot of black. The serving counter of the kitchen is open to the dining room. The noise level is high, but not impossible.

La Folie, San Francisco

On January 25, 2008 we dined at La Folie with Tom and Bev. After being seated we ordered a bottle of Renaissance California Viognier that served well as aperitif and with the starters. We later ordered a bottle of Hope & Grace Central Coast Pinot Noir which we enjoyed.  There was a vegetarian menu and a truffle menu; more conventionally, one could choose three courses from the list for $70, four for $80 and five for $90.

Michael Mina, San Francisco

On January 24, 2008 we went to Michael Mina for dinner. Although Mina now has 11 restaurants scattered around the US, including the one in the Bellagio in Las Vegas where we dined last March, this is his flagship. Our waitress told us that he was in the kitchen that night checking every dish as it was plated. The dining room, to the left of the entrance to the St. Francis Hotel on Union Square is spacious with high ceilings.

Michael Mina Bellagio – Las Vegas

On March 27, 2007, Linda and I dined at Michael Mina Bellagio, one of the branches of Mina’s major restaurant at The St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. (www.michaelmina.net/michaelmina_bellagio.) This restaurant is quite different from Picasso, on the other side of the Bellagio complex, where we had dined the evening before.

Picasso – Las Vegas

On March 27, 2007, Linda and I dined at Picasso, one of the top rated restaurants in Las Vegas. It is in the enormous Bellagio Casino and Hotel complex where we were staying. The chef is Spanish and the cuisine is supposed to be, like the restaurant’s namesake, Hispano-Franco fusion, but we saw no signs of that in our meal. There are real Picasso paintings on the walls, a holdover from Steve Wynn’s former ownership of the hotel. The clientele is surprisingly well-dressed and well-behaved, in contrast to the hordes just outside the entrance.

SW Utah Notes March 23 – 26, 2007

We entered Utah on US89 by Lake Powell, just north of the Glen Canyon Dam. We followed 89 through Kanab; the countryside was lovely: high desert with occasional rock formations, some cattle ranches, plenty of trees scattered around, no unkempt Navaho settlements as there had been further south. We took the turnoff for Zion National Park through more lovely countryside, which became absolutely spectacular inside the park.

Arizona trip notes, March 16 – 23, 2007

Tucson: We arrived in Tucson a day and a quarter late due to a big storm in New York, thus missing most of our touring time and two of our three planned dinners. But our luggage was all there and our Avis car was ready, a surprisingly pretty Burgundy Chevy Impala. We arrived at the Loews Ventana Resort and Hotel quite late, but there was a warm and efficient welcome.

L’Auberge de Sedona

On March 20, 2007, Connie, Jerry, Linda and I dined at L’Auberge de Sedona (www.lauberge.com,) the restaurant of a hotel and spa built in 1983 along Oak Creek under uptown Sedona. In nice weather one can eat on a terrace by the creek.

Roy’s – Chandler, Arizona

Roy’s – Chandler, Arizona

www.roysrestaurant.com 

On March 19, 2007, Jeff, Lora, Linda and I dined at Roy’s, founded by “Hawaiian Fusion” chef Roy Yamaguchi. The cooking and ambience are not at all Trader Vic’s redone. Each of the 34 restaurants in the group serves his signature “Roy’s Classics” dishes while most of the menu is the responsibility of the local chef. The cuisine in Chandler is primarily Japanese-French fusion with an emphasis on presentation, but there are touches from almost anywhere.

The Red Lobster

It turned out that our new car, which I affectionately named The Silver Bullet (because of its color and not because of its magical problem solving qualities, although it did quickly solve the problem of Julie nagging me about a new car), was ready for its first service.

California trip notes

Notes on California hotels and restaurants from two trips, May 2005 and March 2006:

Omni Hotel, Los Angeles:  The point of staying here is to be a five minute walk from the LA cultural hub:  the terrific Disney Concert Hall, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Ahmanson Theater and the Mark Taper Forum (and fifteen minutes walk to the interesting new Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.)