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When we were in San Jose, we were looking for some a well rated restaurant that had lots of space since we were with lots of our family members. Pho Kim Long in San Jose specializes in Vietnamese cuisine, so, dishes like pho, BBQ meat dishes, iced coffee, and much more.

They don’t take reservations, so we called ahead to see if they had some open tables before driving here. Luckily they did. Also note, it’s cash only.

Menu

Spring Roll

The spring roll comes in 2 pieces cut in half and it comes with a peanut sauce where you can dunk them into. The rice paper as a little bit harder so I feel like it may have been made ahead of time for the dinner rush.

BBQ Pork Chop and Sunshine Egg Over Rice

This rice plate has a big piece of BBQ Pork Chop, veggies, rice and the sunshine egg but it was more just a fried egg.This dish was ok, but the pork was a bit tough.

Regular or Large Pho?

Here is the regular and large side by side. For about 75 cents more, there is a subtle difference in size. The bowl is better, taller and wider. If you’re hungry, you might as well get the large.

#1 Tô Xe Lua (Tai, Chin, Nam, Gan, Sach)

This has rice noodle soup with rare filet mignon, tendon, tripe and flank brisket. A little bit of everything in this bowl. I like to have a variety of items in my pho when I go to a new Vietnamese restaurant. It was decent and you’ll definitely be satisfied.

#6 Pho Tai

This has rice noodle soup with rare filet mignon. The longer you leave the meat in the soup, the more it cooks. Just submerge the pieces to cook it to your desired doneness.

#7 Pho Tai Chi

The pho tai chi has the addition of the well-done brisket with the rare filet mignon. Soupy, hot and hits the spot.

Final Thoughts

It’s a solid restaurant for Vietnamese Cuisine in San Jose. The prices are fair, they have a lot of seats in the restaurant, but it is cash only.

Address:
2082 N Capitol Ave, San Jose, CA

Website:
http://pho-kim-long.cafes-world.com/

Chick-fil-A has tons of controversy surrounding this American fast food chain. The companies values are influenced by religious values of it’s founder and do close on Sundays. With over 2,200 locations in the US and Canada, they are still expanding and there’s tons of controversy that has popped up. I respect everyone’s differentiating options and values, but I just like to each chicken.

Menu

Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich

This classic sandwich has a boneless seasoned breast of chicken that is hand-breaded and cooked in peanut oil, then served in a buttered bun with 2 dill pickles. Good and simple.

Chick-fil-A Deluxe Sandwich

If you get your sandwich a deluxe, they add green leaf lettuce, tomato and American Cheese. I prefer it with the extra veggies for a pop of colour and some vegetables.

Spicy Chicken Sandwich

They also have a spicy chicken sandwich with added blend of peppers to the hand-breaded mixture. I was surprised it packed a punch. If you like spicy, you’ll really enjoy this.

Waffle Potato Fries

How can you not love these? They are so fun to eat. When it’s fresh, its crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. If you wait too long, they go soggy.

Chick-n-Strips

The chicken strips are from the breast meat, marinated, seasoned, hand-breaded and then pressure cooked in peanut oil. When it comes out, its ok. Not that crispy but it is meaty and tender. Don’t forget the dipping sauces because there are so many kinds to choose from.

Chick-fil-A Nuggets

These are essentially like the chicken strips but in smaller bite-size pieces.

Sauces

There are 7 sauces to choose from and it’s like an adventure wanting to try them all in one visit.

  • Chick-fil-A Sauce
  • Polynesian Sauce
  • Honey Mustard Sauce
  • Garlic and Herb Ranch Sauce
  • Zesty Buffalo Sauce
  • BBQ Sauce
  • Sweet and Spicy Sriracha Sauce

Of all of them, my husband and I really like the original Chick-fil-A sauce. He also liked the sweet Polynesian sauce and I liked the zesty buffalo sauce for an extra kick of heat.

Cookies and Cream Milkshake

This has cookies and cream hand spun the old fashioned way with ice cream. Then it is topped with whipped cream and a cherry. At 610 calories, milkshakes really pack a punch and definitely not for those on a diet.

Final Thoughts

That’s all the items my husband and I shared during one trip to Chick-fil-A. We made a good dent in the menu and were bursting from the seams. They make a solid chicken sandwich and you must get it with the waffle fries.

Website:
https://www.chick-fil-a.com/

Matcha Cafe Maiko is a great place for matcha and Hojicha dessert lovers. When I was in San Francisco, I knew I needed to make a visit while we were in Japan Town. I couldn’t miss this chance. As it was in the middle of the weekday, it wasn’t busy at all.

They started in Honolulu, Hawaii and is making a massive expansion across the United States and soon in Richmond, BC too. I’m looking forward to the Richmond location as it’s 30 minutes away from my home.

All of their products are imported from Japan from Harima Garden.

Interior

The shop in Japan Town is small, so there are only a few seats inside, but most people just take it to go and walk around while consuming the delicious desserts.

Menu

Maiko Special (Mix)

This has a bit of everything – matcha and vanilla cream together along with matcha chiffon, chestnuts, and shiratama mochi.

A great parfait to devour yourself or to share. I ate this all to myself and I was so damn happy. I loved every part of this parfait. Highly recommended.

Soft Serve Mix

This has a twist of their matcha ice cream and vanilla ice cream in a crispy cone that they make fresh daily. Classic!

Final Thoughts

I loved the quick stop at Matcha Cafe Maiko and excited for the opening of the Richmond, BC location as well. The desserts are solid and will satisfy any matcha craving.

Address:
581 Webster St #175, San Francisco, CA

Website:
http://www.matchacafe-maiko.com/eng

Jolibee is a popular Filipino fast food chain all around the world. I haven’t been yet, so when we were in California, we went here multiple times for breakfast and lunch. We really couldn’t stop devouring the great tastes of Filipino dishes. There are over 30 locations across the US.

We went crazy just ordering a bit of everything for the 2 of us. It needed to be done since there isn’t a Jollibee in Western Canada where we are from. We stuffed ourselves with Jollibee and we did not regret it at all.

Menu

The menu can vary from location to location.

Breakfast Joys

Breakfast Joys are only available until 11am and there are 5 types to choose from – Breakfast Chickenjoy, Pork Sausage, Beef Tenders, Corned Beef, and Sweet Pork. Each comes with garlic rice and an egg.

Corned Beef Breakfast Joys

This was surprisingly good. A good portion of corned beef, rice and egg. We also got free coffee that comes with this too, which was interesting. This was my favourite of the 2 breakfast items we ordered.

Pork Sausage Breakfast Joys

The Pork Sausage comes with 2 pieces with the egg and garlic rice. The sausage was devoured quickly and had a slight sweet flavour to it.

Buko Pandan Pearl Cooler with boba 

One of their dessert items is their buko pandan pearl cooler with some sweet pearls on the bottom. It was good but on the sweet side.

Chickenjoy

This is their 2 pieces chickenjoy meal with adobo rice and a cup of gravy. The skin is very crispy and when you dunk it onto the gravy, it’s so heavenly. Plus, the adobo rice is so savoury and good.

Chickenjoy and Jolly Spaghetti Combo

Best of both worlds to get a combo so you can taste more. You can mix up the spaghetti so all the sauce is incorporated. For fast food Filipino spaghetti, it wasn’t bad at all. It’s meaty, savoury with a touch of sweetness. Also, having the chickenjoy of the side was awesome.

Chickenjoy and Palabok Fiesta Combo

I was so excited to try this dish. A classic item with bohon noodles topped with secret Jollibee palabok sauce, eggs, shrimp, and other meats. Delicious.

Pineapple Juice

Included in meals is the pineapple juice. Instead of getting the regular fountain drinks, why not have pineapple juice to shake things up. A lot of people prefer this, but I did find it a bit sweet.

Peach Mango Pie

One of their warm desserts on the menu is peach mango pie, deep-fried to a golden perfection. The crunchy exterior was nice and the filling was surprisingly not too sweet. It does have a tinge of artificial peachy mango taste.

Tuna Pie

Yes, you heard that right…tuna pie. This is one of their items on the menu that is available for a limited time. It also has a tasty flaky crust with a creamy tuna mixture inside with strong notes of pepper.

Final Thoughts

We devoured quite a few items during our trips to Jollibee, but we still have many items to go through still. For Filipino fast food, it’s a great option. It’s like if KFC and McDonads had a baby. There were no line ups at the locations around San Francisco, so it was great.

Website:
http://www.jollibeeusa.com/

Gott’s Roadside is a popular spot for burgers, fries, and drinks. Their Californian-inspired dishes utilize locally sourced ingredients and elevates the traditional American Roadside experience. When we were visiting the area, we decided to make a stop here since a lot of our family members never had Gott’s before, so we had to go for a quick bite.

Interior

There are lots of seats inside and a few spots outside as well. Since it was the Summer, it was nice just sitting outside enjoying the weather.

Menu

Waiting for your order

Once you input and pay for your order, you get this electronic device to let you know when your order is ready. It will flash and buzz when it’s your turn. A great idea so you can find a seat and not just be waiting around.

Black and White Milk Shake

Their milk shakes are hand spun with organic ice cream and milk. We went with the black and white which is vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup. A classic and looks good too.

California Burger

A classic! It has fried egg, swiss cheese, Zoe’s bacon, arugula, balsamic onions and mayo on a toasted egg bun. How can you say no to a burger with a delicious egg. It was cooked medium well, so it is a little pink inside and it’s delicious.

Western Bacon Blue Ring

This has beer-battered onion ring, Point Reyes crumbled blue cheese, bacon, pickles, red onion & BBQ sauce on a toasted egg bun. A big burger with good textures and complimentary flavours. The blue cheese was nice and pungent. It went well with the BBQ sauce.

Ahi Burger

This burger uses sushi grade Ahi tuna seared rare with ginger wasabi mayo, Asian slaw & cilantro on a toasted egg bun. A lighter version of the other burgers on the menu but it is a nice change. The ahi was beautifully cooked too.

Baja Fish Tacos

There are 2 tacos in each order. It has fresh Mahi Mahi, beer-battered & fried crisp, served in soft, organic corn tortillas with Mexican slaw, cilantro, salsa verde, lime & spicy mayo.

It was ok, but the burgers are where it’s at here.

Garlic Fries

To compliment the burgers, we got garlic fries, which are tossed in garlic butter and parsley. A good combination to make it a fitting meal.

Final Thoughts

Overall, if you’re craving a solid burger, Gott’s Roadside has got your back. It’s not the best burger in Northern California, but it’s solid.

Address:
 855 El Camino Real #65, Palo Alto, CA

Website:
https://www.gotts.com

Good Mong Kok Bakery is a popular spot for homemade dim sum and baked goods in this tiny shop. They are located in Chinatown in San Francisco. As we arrived on a weekend in the morning, there was already a long line up. Since we wanted a small snack and had some time to kill, we thought we would give this place a try.

Don’t forget to bring cash.

Line Up

Everyone self-organizes themselves into a line, so you just need to ask around to find the end of the line. The line up was long when we were here but it moved at a decent pace.

Interior

The space is very small and cramped inside and it is to go only as there are no seats. Dim Sum and buns are pumped out constantly from the shop. When you get your order, don’t forget to ask for utensils if you’re eating it nearby.

If you come later in the afternoon, they sell out of popular items so don’t come here too late or else you’ll be out of luck.

Menu

Shrimp and Chive Dumplings

It comes with 3 pieces each and it’s very very affordable. The skin was a bit thicker than what I normally like, but the shrimp and chive filling inside was good.

Sticky Rice Ball

The big round thing on the right side if a big ball stuffed with sticky rice. Something interesting that I haven’t seen that often.

BBQ Pork Bun

The BBQ pork bun was big and had a good amount of filling. Sweet and meaty. Highly Recommended.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I thought this Good Mong Kok Bakery was ok because I come from a city that has some of the best Dim Sum in the world. If you’ve never had dim sum before, you’ll enjoy this place. Just know its not very typical to have dim sum for take out. I personally prefer to sit down at a restaurant to have dim sum.

Address:
1039 Stockton St, San Francisco, CA

Did someone say tacos? A few hours before our flight back home, we needed to stop at Taqueria El Farolito for some delicious Mexican tacos in this hole in the wall. If there is a line, it better be good. We heard of this place as my brother in law came here on a previous trip to San Francisco. They have a few location in San Francisco, but we came to their Mission location.

Also, it’s cash only, so make sure you have money on you.

Interior

As a hole in the wall restaurant with no-frills, don’t expect much and that didn’t bother us at all. It’s all about the food. You get in line and order on the left side of the restaurant. There are some seats on the right side and the rear of the restaurant, but very limited.

Menu

Sauces

As we paid for our order and waited till it was ready, there is a sauce station where you can grab what you need. There are mild, medium and hot sauces.

To Go

We got our meal to go as there weren’t any seats, so we ate our tacos in the car before going to the airport. It was messy but oh so good.

Al Pastor Taco

This is their Marinated Pork taco with onion, and cilantro on a soft tortilla. It was really good as the meat was very juicy. I paired it with the medium salsa and inhaled it so quickly.

Carne Asada Taco

This is their steak taco with onion, and cilantro on a soft tortilla. Similar to this one, it was really delicious.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was a nice quick stop to Taqueria El Farolito for their delicious tacos. The prices were really good and I would come back again. The sizes of the tacos were nice too.

Address:
2779 Mission St, San Francisco, CA

Website:
https://elfarolitosf.com/

Bistro Don Giovanni is an Italian Restaurant in Napa that is named one of San Francisco’s top restaurants since opening according to the San Francisco Chronicle. When we were spending a few days in the area, it was recommended that we dine here for dinner.

Interior

There are a lot of tables inside, but they really cram people in here, so depending on where you are sitting, there’s not much room to move around.

Menu

Complimentary Bread

At the start of the meal, they provide you with complimentary bread, olive oil and balsamic vinegar to munch on.

Later in the meal, we also got more bread to soak up the pasta sauces but who knew they had different kinds of breads throughout the evening.

Wine

Since you are in Napa Valley, you gotta grab a glass on wine. We weren’t familiar with the wines in the region. The staff were able to steer us in the right direction and make some recommendations.

Gnocchetti al Ragu d’Angnello

This has soft pillowy gnocchi with lamb ragu, and black truffle pecorino. We shared it family-style but if you really wanted to, you can have it all to yourself.

Mamma Concetta’s Meatballs

They didn’t have room for the whole dish at the table, so they served us a meatball individually per person. It has tomato ragu, parmigiano, and soft polenta. It was really good and highly recommended.

Peach Salad

It has greens, peach, goat cheese, marcona almonds and their moscatel vinaigrette. It was a refreshing salad with the sweetness of peaches and the creamy goat cheese, crunch of lettuce and almonds.

Mandilli

This is their Mandilli served with silk handkerchief pasta and authentic genovese pesto. The pesto was vibrant and the pasta was al dente.

Margherita Pizza

A classic thin crust pizza with tomato, basil, and mozzarella di latte. This item took a long time to arrive at the table but was surprisingly really good and crisp on the bottom. Highly recommended!

Final Thoughts

Overall, solid Italian cuisine in the Napa Valley. Service was good, food was good and we had a good evening dining here. It can get busy, so reserving a table is a must especially if you have a group. We found it was quite family friendly.

Address:
4110 Howard Ln, Napa, CA

Website:
http://bistrodongiovanni.com

Burmese Superstar is a restaurant I go to when I visit San Francisco as their Burmese food is delicious. It’s hard to get good Burmese cuisine where we live, so we made it a mission to come here with family. They don’t take reservations, so we lined up ahead of time before they open to snag their 2 largest tables.

Waiting

As you wait in line, they have complimentary tea that is there for self serve. There is also a bench to sit too. A nice idea, which I liked.

Interior

The space isn’t too large and gets filled up quickly on weekdays and weekends with everyone wanting a taste of their Burmese dishes.

Menu

Burmese Samusas

These are hand wrapped and filled with curried potatoes. Then it is deep-fried and served with their house special red sauce. You can choose from chicken, beef or vegetarian. We went with chicken and it was good. Essentially like Indian Samosas.

Tea Leaf Salad

This salad is the top item to order on the menu. It has romaine lettuce, fried yellow beans, fried garlic, sesame seeds, fresh tomatoes, jalapenos, and dried shrimp. Mix it all together and its absolutely amazing. You can also get this in a vegetarian version too.

Rainbow Salad

There are 22 ingredients in this Rainbow Salad. It is made with four types of noodles, green papaya, onions, dried shrimp, many other things that they don’t list and served with a tamarind dressing. You toss this and enjoy. It’s another popular salad but I still prefer the tea leaf salad.

Oh Noh Kauswer

This is their Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup. One of my favourite items to order. It has Burmese style coconut noodle soup with chicken, onions, eggs, cilantro, lemon, and topped with chili. We got their larger size to share among the table.

Moh Hinga

My favourite noodle soup is their Catfish Chowder Noodle Soup. It has fish chowder with rice noodles, ground catfish, onions, cilantro, lemon, and topped with chili. Highly Recommended.

Duck Garlic Noodles

This has flour noodles with fried garlic, and scallions in a red chili sauce. You can choose this with duck or vegetarian, but we went with the duck. A good amount of garlic flavour and tasty.

Burmese Style Curry and Coconut Rice

This is Burma Superstar’s special curry. It is braised until tender with potatoes and topped with cilantro. You can choose this with beef or lamb. You should order a side with coconut rice to eat with the curry.

Final Thoughts

Overall, this is my favourite restaurant in San Francisco and their Burmese dishes are just solid. The dishes are pretty traditional with some tweaks. All the dishes were very homey and comforting that I’ll be back again. Highly recommended.

Address:
309 Clement St, San Francisco

Website:
https://www.burmasuperstar.com/


Bouchon Bakery in Yountville California is Thomas Keller’s first and original location for his bakery. This is beside Bouchon Bistro as well as French Laundry a little bit further away.

We came here for a snack in the morning before we headed off to some wineries.

Inside the bakery, there is only standing room to order. A lot of people do take out or sit outside if the weather is nice.

There are treats everywhere and getting just picking 1 item is so difficult so we got a lot to share between the 4 of us.

If you come here earlier in the day, you can see the staff making the pastries. We came later in the day, so there wasn’t much action going on.

Coffee

As everything is take out, they only have to go containers for their coffee and water. Even though we asked for our lattes for here, there are no reusable cup options offered.

The lattes were pretty average and nothing special.

Pain aux Raisins

This is packed full of raisins and they were not too dry. It had a good amount of sweetness to it.

Croissant

The croissant is a classic and it has many flaky layers but we were missing more of a crunch at the end tips of it.

Chocolate Almond Croissant

The almond chocolate croissant is decadent and filled with the almond mixture to give you a sweet kick to your day. Delicious.

Strawberry Cheesecake Croissant

The croissant-like tart has the strawberry cheesecake mixture in the centre. Fun to eat it with a knife and fork so you don’t get messy.

Lemon Tart

The lemon tart was ok but nothing too impressive about it.

Final Thoughts

Bouchon Bakery is a good option in the area, but I found it wasn’t the best bakery I’ve ever been to. There are a few other places that can do croissants better but its all up to personal preference. I thought Bouchon Bakery was ok, but it didn’t wow me.

Address:
6528 Washington St, Yountville, CA

Website:
https://www.thomaskeller.com/bouchonbakeryyountville

V. Sattui Winery was our favourite winery in Napa Valley during this trip. They are a family-owned winery with exceptional award-winning wines. The experience at this winery is great as it has tours, tastings, and a picnic area.

We booked ahead for a 1pm tour and met everyone up by the fountain area right by the entrance.

Meeting up for the Tour

Once we got a quick intro, we moved to a different room at the winery to understand the history of how the winery started.

The room had visuals back in the day just to give you an idea of how they ran their business back then.

Afterwards, we moved into the back where we got to see the vineyard. We learned how and what varieties of grapes they grow on the property.

We could go into the vines to pick out some grapes to try. Yum.

They were delicious and sweet. A fun experience to try it fresh from the vines before they get processed.

Next, we move into the processing room where Rob explained the differing methods of creating white and red wine.

At the end of the tour, we were given vouchers to go for a wine tasting in the main tasting room.

Let’s Get Tasting

The tasting room was busy. I would suggest taking your time appreciating each wine to get the best experience. With your voucher from the tour, you can present it to the staff to begin your tasting of 5 wines.

Gamay Rouge

Gamay rouge, a sweeter rose, for those who enjoy sweet wines but not overly sweet. It smells like strawberries and hints of cherry.

Dancing Egg Riesling

Dancing Egg Riesling is awesome because it has such a fun label! Again, for those who enjoy sweeter white wines. It was refreshing with smells and tastes of summer stone fruit and nice acidity.

Old Vines Quaglia Zinfandel

Old Vines Quaglia Zinfandel was jammy, fruity of dark berries/plums, a hint of earthiness, nicely balanced and smoother finish.

Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon

Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon is something we will be holding on to age. It’s bold and has aromas of dark fruit, plums, aged cherry, vanilla. Looking forward to keeping it and tasting it again after a few years.

Build Your Own Picnic

The best thing about V. Sattui is that there is a deli and cheese counter to create your own picnic. They have everything you need for the picnic. Even plates and cutlery.

Once you have everything, you can head outside and find yourself a picnic table to set up.

There are lots of spots, so don’t worry about over crowding. Worse case scenario, you can make new friends.

Turkey- Fontina Sandwich

This has house-roasted turkey, arugula, apples, fontina, and chile aioli in this cheesy bun. Really good!

Prosciutto Panini

This also has fresh manchego cheese, and caramelized onion. Simple, yet so delicious.

Turkey Bacon Panini

This is the Turkey Bacon Panini with house-roasted turkey, avocado, bacon, caramelized onion, and the V. Sattui smoky mustard. It pairs well with the Chardonnay or Pinot Noir.

Potato Salad

This has potatoes, mayo, dill pickles, bell peppers and celery for added crunch. Best paired with a Sauvignon blanc.

Caprese

Not your regular caprese but it has tomatoes, mozzarella and pesto. The tomatoes were sweet, mozzarella was creamy and that pesto was fresh tasting.

Final Thoughts

We had a great time and the tour is definitely worth it as it comes with the wine tasting. We spent extra time here creating our own picnic and eating outside in their picnic area. Highly recommended.

Address:
1111 White Ln, St Helena, CA

Website:
http://www.vsattui.com/

Cakebread Cellars in Napa Valley offers tastings by appointment with a fee that varies depending on which tasting your partake in. We booked our appointment prior to visiting and it wasn’t an issue.

Cakebread is best known for their Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. They also host a variety of events at their vineyard, so check out their website so you don’t miss out if you’re a fan.

Cakebread Cellars is named after the owners – Jack and Dolores Cakebread. Yes, that is indeed their last name.

You can roam around the property to look at their grapes growing in the vines. It’s a pretty sight.

Wine Tasting

As we checked in for our tasting, we tried the 2017 Sauvignon Blanc. It has sweet fruity notes and would pair well with veggies, chicken or seafood.

Into the Barrel Room

Next, we went into the room where they barrel their wines for aging and to soak in the flavours from the wood and improve its aroma and taste.

Our guide told us a little bit of the history surrounding the vineyard as we got introduced to each wine.

We tried the following wines for the Current Release Tasting for $25 per person:

  • 2016 Chardonnay
  • 2015 Chardonnary Reserve
  • 2016 Pinot Noir
  • 2014 Merlot
  • 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon

We moved around as we went through the list to better appreciate the wine. We moved closer to the barrels to smell the wood inside the barrels as well as see how it’s aged.

Afterwards, our tasting took us out to the vineyard.

We tried a few more wines and tasted the wine grapes off the vines to see how they transform.

Our last stop was their garden and processing area.

The tour lasted about 40 minutes for us as the other half of the group was in a rush. Usually it’s 50 – 60 minutes in length. It definitely quickened the pace but we felt like we were rushed in the end because of them.

Nonetheless, we enjoyed the Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon from the tasting.

The 2016 Chardonnay has aromas of melons, peaches and apples with a hint of spice. It’s good out but if you want to build some complexity to the taste, you can age for another 5 – 7 years.

The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon has aromas of dark berries and plums with a hint of spice. You can age this in your cellar for another 7 – 10 year to get it a bit more mature in taste.

Final Thoughts

For a $25 wine tasting, it’s good that the tour takes us to different areas of the vineyard to taste the wine as well as understand where it comes from.

Address:
8300 St Helena Hwy, Napa

Website:
https://www.cakebread.com/

One of the most memorable meals of our Napa Valley and Sonoma trip was at The Girl & The Fig. We got reservations for dinner through their website a few weeks in advance. There are a few shops in the area, so we got here a bit early and decided to walk a few blocks to check out some stores until our table was ready.

Interior

There aren’t too many tables inside, but luckily, we were seated in their back patio which was really nice. It is a heated patio, so we weren’t worried when the sun went down.

Menu

Complimentary Olives, Bread and Butter

An assortment of olives arrived at the table and they were so addictive. Our favourite ones were the big plump green ones. They are unlimited, so you can ask for more.

Bread and butter arrived too. We were trying to save our appetite since we ordered a lot of dishes, but ended up eating all the bread since it was also good.

The Works

If you want to try a bit of their meats and cheeses, they suggested we try The Works, which has 3 selections of cheeses, cured meats, seasonal fruit, house-made fig cake, spiced nuts and sliced baguette.

The cheeses that we chose were:

  • La Délice de Bourgogne: Full-fat cow’s milk with fresh cream for a rich, whipped texture.
  • Laura Chenel Chèvre: A goat’s milk with creamy texture and delicate flavour.
  • Central Coast Creamery Ewenique: A sheep’s milk that is velvety and white with sweet and savoury flavours.

All of them were delicious, but the Laura Chenel Chèvre as it went with the honey drizzle.

As for the meats, I don’t remember what we got, but we still enjoyed it. The other accompaniments of this board were delicious like the wine grapes, fig cake, and nuts. It all worked so well as finger food before our entrees arrived.

Grass-Fed Steak Tartare

This has a traditional steak tartare with a raw egg, caperberries, lavender sea salt, mustard, and toast. This was really good and fresh. We liked how the pieces of the tartare was not too fine.

Fig & Arugula Salad

We had to get a dish with figs in it because thats the name of the restaurant. This has toasted pecans, Mano Formate pancetta, Laura Chenel Chèvre, and a fig & port vinaigrette. Perfectly dressed and all the ingredients balanced very well.

Duck Confit

We got this dish with 2 duck confit legs. It sits on top of sweet corn, green tomatoes, farro, and a bacon vinaigrette. The legs were delicious, tender and juicy.

Wild Flounder Meunière

The flounder is served with a Yukon​ potato purée, spinach, and lemon-caper brown butter. A nice combination of ingredients and were pleasantly surprised with how good it was.

Steak Frites

The 6-ounce prime flat iron steak was served medium rare with skinny frites, and a roasted padrón butter. We were also impressed with the dish as it wasn’t too salty and everyone loves fries.

Cookies & Milk

This is a fun dessert for adults and kids. You get two warm chocolate chunk sea salt cookies and a vanilla milk shake. It was very delicious and gives you so much nostalgia when you devour this treat.

Profiteroles

This is more like a profiterole ice cream sandwich. It has Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream in the cream puffs and drizzled with bittersweet chocolate sauce and powdered sugar. Also another amazing dessert!

Final Thoughts

We loved every item we ordered and was well worth the price we paid for 4 people. It was definitely the most delicious and memorable meal of our time in Sonoma and Napa Valley. Highly recommended to make a stop here.

Address:
110 W Spain St, Sonoma, CA

Website:
https://www.thegirlandthefig.com/

When we were in Napa Valley, we decided to head over to The Boon Fly Cafe for breakfast. For a Friday, this place was very busy. We waited quite a while and was the last group to be seated for the breakfast menu. We were glad we just squeezed in because we were here specifically for breakfast.

They do offer complimentary water and hot coffee outside as you wait. A nice touch!

Interior

There are a good amount of seats inside for small to large groups. If you have a larger group, best to come early. They only do reservations for dinner. Other wise, it’s first come first serve.

Menu

Boon Fly Donuts

Their mini donuts are made fresh with sugar covering each piece. You get 13 pieces per order. It’s soft in texture and light. When it arrives at the table, eat it right away so you can enjoy them hot and fresh.

The pieces at the bottom of the bucket were coated in a lot of sugar, so they were more sweet.

Boon Fly Chicken & Waffle

This is made using Mary’s free range chicken, malt waffle pepper jam, maple syrup, and whipped brown butter. A deliciously crisp waffle with 3 pieces of fried chicken. Depending on the piece of the chicken, it could be dry or juicy. Pieces like the breast with white meat tend to be more dry.

Green Eggs and Ham

We ordered this because of the name, plus it reminds us of Dr Seuss.  This has poached farm fresh eggs wrapped in honey-cured ham, lemon leek-cream, on crispy hash browns. A creative dish that also tasted good.

Boon Fly Benedict

This dish uses Sweet Pea Bake Shop’s fresh English muffin, thinly sliced honey-cured ham, poached eggs, Jalapeño hollandaise, and crispy hash browns. One of the eggs were poached soft and the other one was more of a medium. The hashbrowns are pretty darn tasty.

Corned Beef Hash

This has house-made corned beef, crispy hash browns, spinach, grilled onions, poached eggs, and Jalapeño hollandaise. I asked the staff for a recommendation on the menu and they said their favourite dish was the corned beef hash, so I had to get it. It was really good and you can tell the quality of the corned beef was very high. The eggs were both soft poached perfectly and the hollandaise was delicious.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the breakfast here was delicious and the staff were very friendly. The dishes we ordered were a bit more on the heavy side, but they do have lighter and healthier items on the menu too.

Website:
http://www.boonflycafe.com/

Address:
4048 Sonoma Hwy, Napa

The Hess Collection is located in the Napa Valley offering unique wine tastings and a look into their exclusive art collection. We made a quick stop here to check out what they have to offer.

When walking around the property, I really loved looking into their room with all the wine barrels displayed. It smells so nice!

Taste of Mount Veeder: A Vertical Tasting

We enjoyed the vertical tasting that allowed us to try the Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon from different vintages from the oldest to the newest. We tried the 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014 vintages.

This way, we got a chance to taste what happens to wine as you age it – from softer tannins to bolder tannins along with changes in flavour and aromas. It’s a unique experience that not all wineries offer.

Tasting Menu

From the list of 10 options, we got to taste 4 for $25.

Th 2017 Hess Small Block Orange Muscat was one of the favourites that we had. For those who prefer sweeter wines, this is for you. This is like a dessert wine, but more off-dry, so it pairs really well with spicy foods.

Hess Art Collection

There is an extensive art collection in the building and it’s something nice to experience while you are here.

Final Thoughts

Overall, experience was good. The staff were very knowledgable taking us through the tastings. As a bonus, it’s nice that there is an art collection if you like art.

Address:
4411 Redwood Rd, Napa, CA

Website:
https://www.hesscollection.com/

Castello di Amorosa was highly recommended as one of the must see wineries in Napa Valley. It’s not everyday you see a 13th-century Tuscan castle as the backdrop for a winery. We made the long drive to come visit for the experience. They offer guided and self-guided tours of the castle and finishing off with tastings of their Italian-inspired wines.

This is the sister winery of the Sattui Family, which also operate V. Sattui Winery in Napa Valley, which is also another great winery to visit.

Outside the Castle

You can walk outside of the castle towards their rows and rows of grapes before they get harvested. It’s beautiful to see them on the vines.

Animals

There are a lot of animals around Castello di Amorosa like pigs, chickens, sheep, goats, and other animals. It’s great for visitors with families to check out the space as there is more than just the castle tour and tastings.

Into the Castle

To walk into the castle, you follow a long fight of stairs up towards the drawbridge and go through the doors.

Once you walk through, you can sign up for tours and tastings. You can’t wander about the castle without paying.

General Admission Tasting Experiences

They have guided tours, but we opted for the General Admission Tasting Experiences as they are cheaper.

  • Premium Wine Tasting – $30 per person
    (Premium Tasting of 5 wines)
  • Reserve Wine Tasting – $45 per person
    (Reserve Tasting of 6 wines, including Reserve wines)
  • Wine Club Member – Complimentary Premium Wine Tasting for Club Member and Guest
    (Limit 2 per active membership. Additional discounts apply to higher club levels when member is present.)
  • Child Admission – $20 per minor (ages 5-20)
    (Includes grape juice. Children and Young Adults ages 0 to 20 may enter the Castello only when accompanied by an adult over the age of 21.)

This includes a map of the winery, wine tasting, and access to the upper levels of the Castello, including the Main Tasting Bar and Knight’s Hall.  What you miss out from the guided tours are access to the lower levels of the Castello, including the Torture Chamber, Armory, or The Grand Barrel Room. If you don’t mind that, General Admission is the way to go.

Self-Guided Tour

We climbed up and down the towers of the castle and we were really impressed by the size and the details. No wonder it took them so long to build this space.

We followed the map and wandered throughout the castle and it was great to be at a higher vantage point so we could see the vineyard from above.

This room is The Great Hall and the details are really just stunning. You can’t walk into this area but you can take photos.

Main Tasting Room and Knight Hall

Entry get you a visit to the tasting room. Remember to keep your tickets that you got when you paid, and then present it to the staff to being the wine tasting experience.

With our tickets, we were able to choose 5 different wines to taste on the list.

The staff are very knowledgable and can guide you through a few based off what you normally like.

Of the ones we tried, La Fantasia and it’s a sparkling rose slightly deeper in colour than normal. Sweeter for those who don’t drink a lot usually, but not as sweet like a dessert wine.

The Gewürztraminer was another interesting wine too. It is different from German or Canadian ones that we’ve had before. It is sweeter and more fuller bodied. Probably due to the warmer climate compared to the other countries.

We enjoyed the tasting and learned more about Castello di Amorosa.

Once you’re done the tasting, you can walk around the vast area to buy some bottles of wine or other gifts.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was worth the self-guided tour and tasting. Kids and young adults can still partake in the experience but have grape juice instead of wine during the tasting.

Address:
4045 St Helena Hwy, Calistoga, CA

Website:
https://www.castellodiamorosa.com/

Mensho Tokyo is a popular ramen shop in Japan and this is their first location outside of Japan. Luckily, it’s located in San Francisco in the Tenderloin. When I was visiting for a week, a lot of my Instagram followers suggested I go to Mensho Tokyo SF. We were warned that there would be a long line up and should go right when they open, but we didn’t make it until around 7pm.

Since we didn’t have evening plans, we decided to just wait. If so many people were also waiting, it must be good right? It’s also Michelin recommended.

Interior

The space is small, so I can see why there isn’t that many seats, so I can see why there was such a long line up. We counted about 28 seats in here.

Menu

Enoki Mushroom Chips

Since we waited for so long, we wanted to make sure we ordered as much as we could to make it worth it. The enoki mushroom chips were more like enoki tempura. A good pairing if you have beer.

Oyster in Shoyu Dare Oil

There were a good amount of oysters submerged in the oil. It was good to snack on them as it was better than the canned smoked oysters.

Tori Paitan Ramen

This is their most popular ramen and it has a rich and creamy chicken broth, pork chashu, duck chashu, menma, kale, burdock, and katsuobushi sauce. We added an ajitama egg to it.

The duck was delicious and we think its been sous vide to get that nice colour and texture.

Tori Paitan Ramen (Double Chashu)

If you want some extra charshu, this option might be for you.

Spicy Tori Paitan Ramen

I went the spicy route and it was more of a medium spice level. It is made with a base of their rich and creamy chicken soup, pork chashu, menma, spicy jalapeno miso, cabbage, burdock, green onion and nuts. I also added the ajitama egg.

The egg was perfectly cooked so it looks like the golden sun inside. I found my bowl to be quite rich and salty. It was very difficult to drink all the broth without feeling for my waistline.

Final Thoughts

The ramen is good and unique for those who enjoy rich chicken broth. I personally found the broth to be way too rich for my personal preferences. Their chashu, duck and ajitama egg are done very well and love these.

I wouldn’t line up again for their ramen as there are other shops that appeal more to my tastes as well as being cheaper. With each bowl being close to $20 with auto gratuity, it was pricey.

Address:
672 Geary St, San Francisco

Website:
http://mensho.tokyo/

Tartine Bakery is a go to place in the Mission District. I asked a few people where I needed to go in San Francisco and they highly recommended Tartine Bakery. They are best known for their pastries.

There was a line up when we arrived, but it didn’t take too long to put our order in. Most people were doing take out.

Interior

The interior is small and feels that way especially when there is a long line up outside the door. What is interesting is that they always feature local art on the walls, which you can purchase if you like.

Menu

Croissant

The croissant is a classic item to get. It has a lot of crispy layers on the outside and soft pillowy layers on the inside. I noticed a few of their baked croissants looked a bit scorched, not sure if this is normal or not.

Fresh Berry Tart

The berries were very fresh on top of the tart. The crust was very thin, which is pretty difficult to achieve from watching too many baking competitions on the Food Network. The cream in the middle was a good amount of sweetness to go with the fruit and crust.

Mushroom Croque Monsieur

This has a variety of mushrooms, béchamel, gruyère, and pepper on top of their country bread. It is served with spicy pickled veggies on the side. This was a surprising combination of flavours but we were glad we got it. The mushrooms had so much flavour covered in the gooey cheese.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was good to come here for a visit to try a few of their different pastries. It’s one of the most talked about bakeries, so it was good to see how it compares. The berry tart and croque monsieur were a hit for us. We really enjoyed these items.

Address:
600 Guerrero St, San Francisco

Website:
https://www.tartinebakery.com/