1 Ferry Bldg
Shop 11
San Francisco, CA 94111
Neighborhood: Embarcadero
http://www.yelp.com/biz/hog-island-oyster-co-san-francisco






Life's a journey and that journey is all about good eats!
1 Ferry Bldg
Shop 11
San Francisco, CA 94111
Neighborhood: Embarcadero
http://www.yelp.com/biz/hog-island-oyster-co-san-francisco
(559) 935-0717
http://www.yelp.com/biz/harris-ranch-inn-and-restaurant-coalinga
We’ve driven by this place whenever we’d drive to SF, but never had the chance to stop except maybe for gas. So on the recent trip, I decided that it’d be a good lunch stop on the way back to SoCal.
Yes, Harris Ranch is a real operating ranch. They are known for their beef, and serve it proudly in their restaurants. The website now even sells their meat online. It is also a hotel – it’d be an interesting place to stay. Reminds me of the Madonna Inn in SLO.
Outside the restaurant
Tri-tip being smoked outside
Western-style interior. I think most of the furniture is from real cowhide/cowhair
Cow-horn chair? It’s the first I’ve seen!
Food! First up: watermelon lemonade ($2.95). Yummy! Perfect for a hot summer day. Unlimited refills! Real watermelon juice with lemonade.
BBQ smoked tri-tip panini ($14.95). Pretty sizable portion! It was gooood….
http://www.yelp.com/biz/oxbow-public-market-napa
This is called a public market, but it’s more like a cluster of restaurants. You can find Three Twins Ice Cream, Hog Island Oysters, C Casa, Kara’s Cupcakes, Fatted Calf Charcuterie, a gourmet chocolate shop, etc. The restaurants line the sides of the building and the seating area is all around the center, much like a food court.
Great food and casual atmosphere. Check it out the next time you’re in Napa!
Three Twins Ice Cream – all organic. They have waffle cups, which I will definitely try next time!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/three-twins-ice-cream-napa
Honey vanilla lavendar and lemon cookie ice cream. Around $3 for a scoop of 1-2 flavors, like the picture. Yes, this is considered 1 scoop!
C Casa: An Innovative Taqueria. It’s like a tapas-style place with really unique tacos (spiced lamb, chorizo, skirt steak with blue cheese, etc) and small plates.
I tried their local crab salad ($13). Loaded with crab meat, grapefruit, avocado and lettuce — it was refreshing and so good!
Historic Winery and Tasting Room
1055 Atlas Peak Road
Napa, CA 94558
707-963-2134
http://www.yelp.com/biz/del-dotto-caves-winery-and-tasting-room-napa
http://www.deldottovineyards.com/Visit-Us.aspx
Yelp is my best friend whenever I travel. I’ve found so many cool and unique places through Yelp. So before my recent trip to Napa, I yelped a few wineries. This one had really good reviews and it looked like a different kind of wine tour, so I was sold! It’s $50 for the winetasting tour (led by candlelight) and reservations are required. Check the Del Dotto website for the tour times. Each tour is limited to 12 people.
The winery is a small one — they only produce 14K cases a year. Since the winery is small, wines can only be purchased either at the winery or online. According to our guide, the wines sell out every year. The winetasting is an interesting one, since they let you taste the wine straight from the barrel. They also explain how different barrels/woods affect the taste of the wine. If you like the wine that you tasted, you can order it. Once the wine is ready to be bottled, the winery will then ship the wine to you. Really cool experience, not to mention really great wine — would definitely recommend it if you’re ever in Napa.
The historic winery/cave
Brief history on the caves
Glass in hand – ready for the winetasting!
Barrel demo – French Oak
The caves – which is more like underground tunnels. All lit by candles.
(831) 647-7500
http://www.yelp.com/biz/roys-restaurant-pebble-beach
http://www.roysrestaurant.com/
There are Roys all over the US, but I heard this one had the best view. Since I was already going to be in the area anyway, my coworker had recommended this place. It’s on the 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach.
Entrance fee ($9.50) for the 17 Mile Drive can be deducted against the meal, or against any restaurant located inside the 17 Mile Drive. 🙂 I went for a late lunch since it was quite a drive from LA. The day was a little overcast so not much of a good view. But, I can imagine that the view to be spectacular on clear days!
For lunch, Roy’s Bento Box seem to be a good deal at $24: it includes miso soup, california rolls, sashimi, small salad, special appetizer of the day (beef egg rolls) and a choice from 6 different entrees (filet steak, miso butterfish, macademia crusted fish, blackened ahi, grilled atlantic salmon). Food was pretty good, although I still prefer their prix fixe menu – the hot chocolate souffle is just too hard to resist!
The golf course at Spanish Bay – maybe someday I’ll get to play here!
Complimentary edammame
Miso Soup – included with lunch bento box
Lunch bento box – I went with the miso butterfish. Mmmm!