Mitchell's Ice Cream---Mission District, San Francisco

Lucuma/Mango and Thai Iced Tea and Coconut

Peruvian Fruit---Lucuma

While I was traveling to Columbus recently, I saw a food show dedicated to ice cream and one place mentioned was Mitchells that was noted to be worth the trip. Though in an obscure location, the food show said they had great exotic flavors and have won many accolades for their ice cream! So I had to try this place!

On July 4th, we headed out there after spending time in Berkeley. The line was very long but parking was worse. We circled many times and had to walk a bit to get to Mitchells. But it was worth it!

For two scoops I paid under $5 and got some great flavors---one was a Peruvian fruit Lucuma (never had it before) and mango ice cream flavors. Truthfully, I liked the Lucuma more than the mango. I thought the mango a bit tame and not as what I expected. My friend got the Thai Iced Tea and that was fabulous and on point. The Lucuma (I never had the fruit before) but I thought it light and delicate but hard to place flavorwise. YUM!

I give 7 forks out of 10 forks.

*Wait was over 40 minutes, the number system helped them keep efficient and the clientele was patient enough to waitfor their ice cream with minimal grumbling.

*Parking is a pain and at a premium, the smallish parking area did not help and we circled a few times on a late July 4th afternoon too

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.

Tapa of the World -Sacramento

During my trip recently to California, I went to Sacramento. My good friend Betty took myself and my DC pal over to Tapa of the World -2115 J StSacramento, CA 95816-4738
+1 916 442 4353 (about a good 10 block walk -small ones) the first night we arrived last week (6.28.07). It was definitely hotter but not as humid as it was back in Boston.

Truth be told, this place on J Street (around 20th and 21st Street) was hit or miss. We adored the pitcher of sangria which was a value and we got more cups out of it than the waitress said we would. The sangria was a good mix of wine and fruit! The bread and butter were not special. I chose to have the gazpacho soup (cold tomato soup) and was sorely disappointed. The soup was nice but not as flavorful or multi-nuanced as the one I had at Tasca a few weeks prior. I missed the cucumber and it was very salty. We got some tapas (small dishes) to share---the mushroom empanadas were big, heavy and mushroom was filling the crust was a bit much. The Kobe beef – (Naturally raised from Snake River Farms, grilled medium rare & served with Austurian blue cheese butter and crispy onion streamers) with the fried onions was alright. I have had Kobe Beef and I was not impressed. (It was much richer tasting in Kobe, Japan than this version of Wagyu beef). The Champiñones al Ajillo -(Mushrooms sautéed in olive oil, garlic, parsley, and white wine) was good and we dunked our pieces of bread into the white wine sauce. Plato Combinado (Tortilla Española, Spanish olives, Spanish cured meats and today’s Spanish cheese) all my friends loved this dish!

The paella de mariscos took some time with a minimum of two people purchase and costs $15.50 a person! The price was very steep but the paella was very delicious! There was a generous amount of seafood and the rice was exceptionally flavorful.

Service was good and the prices were middle of the road save for the paella. There were some hits and some misses overall.

8 forks out of 10 forks

Earl Grey Manor Tea Salon-Old Town Sacramento 6.29.07

chilled beet soup

close up of the finger sandwiches-variety with quiche slice
fresh seasonal fruit with the devonshire cream and jam

Earl Grey Manor Tea Salon (916 2nd St, Sacramento, CA 95814(916) 447-4832) located a few steps away from the Rail Road Museum in Old Town Sacramento is the only place to I found to get afternoon tea in that area.

Traditional Afternoon Tea-Seatings Between 1 p.m. & 3 p.m.
Deco Tea$17.95: Our Traditional Afternoon Tea: Fresh Baked Sweet Scone of the Day With Jam & Devon Cream, Assorted Tea Sandwiches & Savories, Seasonal Fruit, and Sweet SinSations

I loved this treasure of a tea salon! I was hot and tired and needed a nice respite. I was visiting the city for a convention. Lo and behold when I was feeling thirsty I found this cute tea salon. I loved the sign outside, once I walked in I fell in love. The cute art deco tea sets, the little nooks for Indian and Japanese areas were cute. I ended up choosing the Japanese nook. The server was extremely friendly, helpful in giving tidbits and advice, and the food was great!

I tried the Organic Rooibos- Natural Rich in essential minerals with a mild, aromatic sweetness as I was told it was excellent iced. I liked it and I did not need any sugar. Once I was ready to leave, the server generously gave me a full empty cup to take away! Very thoughtful and very kind of her!

I got the treat of the chilled beet buttermilk soup (turned pink due to the beets) an interesting soup but excellent! It was a refreshing change from gazpacho as one familiar chilled soup served in the summer. From the crustless sandwiches, to the fresh fruit, quiche and scone I enjoyed the high quality of the food served there!

I love afternoon tea and it is a habit I got in college. Now whenever I can, I try to get it. Sacramento is lucky to have this cute tea place! The prices were affordable, decor was cute and the food and service excellent! I wish this business much succes and I wish I was closer to visit this place again!

9 forks out of 10 forks

Greenwich Village -Deborahs

Thanks to my good friend LHong's brunch suggestion, we went to get a brunch fix at Deborah's in Greenwich Village at 45 Carmine Street, very close to West 4th Street Station.

Cute place and we got a table in the back. I got the duck confit hash served with eggs. It was delicious and I very filling! Bits of lean duck meat, fried eggs over the duck hash was a nice touch and I finished my whole plateful of food. My friends enjoyed the exposed brick wall (not much of it is found in Atlanta) and our servers were friendly and efficient.

I give this place a 9 forks out of 10 forks based on my duck confit hash dish alone!