The Girl and the Fig (Sonoma Town Square) CA

En route from Sacramento, to San Francisco, my friend MK and I stopped off in Napa and Sonoma. After the suggestions of some waiters at Domaine Carneros we went to The Girl and the Fig in Sonoma Square (110 West Spain Street, Sonoma/ http://www.thegirlandthefig.com/). *(We figured we could avoid the dinner time rush back into the City which we noticed was backed up.)

Right off the Sonoma Town Square, we went into this cute restaurant. When you first enter, there is a area to relax and have some cheese tasting and to buy their products (their fig port vinigrette is to die for!). According to MK, a food show visited this restaurant and sat in the patio in the back. We were lucky with no reservations to get a table for two in the main dining room.

Since we were not famished we opted for the famous arugula and fig salad and the fromage tower. We never had cheese and all its other accompaniements for a meal. It was a first. We had a choice of six cheese and we asked the waiter to surprise us. We had a mix of some domestic but the majority were French cheese. We were advised to eat the cheeses counter clockwise and you could choose from cow, goat and sheep's milk cheeses. The fruit, fig compote, nuts as well as the pates----chicken liver mousse, rabbit and pork were good.

Cheese Choices as advised by the waiter:

*Fiscalini Bandaged Chedder (Cow) Modesto, CA

*Jean De Brie (Cow) Seine et Morne, France

Sweet Grass Dairy Holly Sheep (Goat) Thomasville, GA

*St Maure (Goat) Loire Valley, France

Roquefort Coulet (Sheep) Aveyron, France

Petit Agour (Sheep) Pays Bosque, France

My faves are starred and my least fave was the Roquefort for its strong taste. Luckily I got more St Maure in exchange as my friend MK did not like it as much as moi. Or the chicken liver mousse in comparison to the pork pate I got to have more of as we negotiated our likes and dislikes. After all the toast points, fruit, nuts, compote, cheese, pates and salad we were full.

The fig salad was amazing and the fig port dressing was lovely! Just hints of chevre cheese, the nice bite of the arugula, bits of prosciutto were heaven and these ingredients made the salad delectable.

Now I have more of an appreciation of cheeses.

9 forks out of 10 forks

Hamburger Mary (Sacramento)

I went to Hamburger Mary in Sacramento for Brunch on the recommendation of our concierge. It was a fun place. Only 5 blocks up on J Street from the Sheraton Grand Hotel.

Two other friends opted for the same breakfast dish I got, which was the mixed grill eggs benedict. Mixed grill means mixed veggies of mushrooms, peppers and other veggies and it was great! The prices were great only $7 for our brunch dish!

Everyone in my group enjoyed their brunch and we were served well while our water glasses were refilled when needed. Great bang for the buck, good food, great company and convenient location from our hotel!

9 forks out of 10 forks

Hong Kong East Ocean Restaurant-Berkeley, CA

During my trip to the Bay Area, I met up with a good friend in Oakland. Before heading off to Sacramento, we had dimsum at Hong Kong East Ocean Restaurant. People eat here because there is a pretty view of the city (San Francisco) and water view. Lots of weddings are planned there due to the view.

The food was good and it was probably because I was famished. The dimsum was fresh but all the offerings hit the spot. The jook (aka rice congee) with the preserved egg and pork was delicious! We found out their secret weapon---salty egg was included too! One of the best jooks I have had! The usual favorites of ha gar (shrimp dumpling) and shu mai (pork and shrimp open faced dumpling) were well done. The woo gok (tarot ) was out of this world and the meat filling and crispy outer layer without tasting too oily was wonderful! The chives and shrimp dumpling was lovely! The beef tendons hot pot was great! I am used to it using curry but it was braised so well that you barely had to chew---it was great!

Overall we enjoyed our dimsum, the food was carried to our table, only three or four carts made the rounds to the tables.

Service: 8

Atmosphere: 9 (love the waterview)

Food-9

I give this place 9 forks out of 10 forks.