Press

At Press, an almost too lovely to eat meyer lemon tart topped with spiky meringue.

Solbar

An amazing stack of junior sized lemon-ricotta pancakes with blueberry syrup, pinenuts and powdered sugar during breakfast at Solbar.

Hakkasan

Pork soup dumplings at the sleek Hakkasan.

Fried pumpkin puffs with adorable little micro greens.

Ad Hoc brunch

Ad Hoc serves a reservations worthy 3 course brunch on Sunday. Our first course was a colorful fruit salad with marshmallow meringue sauce.

Fried chicken with mushroom sausage gravy, bacon and waffles. Enough chicken to take home for dinner!

Brunch doesn't need dessert, but the dense walnut brownie with whipped cream and raspberry sauce was too good to pass up...

Mission Chinese Food

Mission Chinese Food looks like any regular Chinese food restaurant, but the dishes are on another level. With so many very spicy dishes, the smashed cucumbers in garlic sauce with coriander and sesame paste are good have around in between bites.

Thrice cooked bacon with tofu skin, chili oil, bitter melon, rice cake, scallion and black bean.

The Ma Po Tofu is so delicious - a rich, hearty and meaty stew with pork shoulder and broadbean paste.

Super hot Kung Pao Pastrami with celery, peppers, potato and peanuts.

State Bird Provisions

State Bird Provisions is a new take on dim sum - fresh seasonal dishes that can be selected from a cart, on a tray from passing servers and ordered from a menu. Oysters with chili oil.

A quinoa salad with tuna crudo in the background; tortilla chips with ceviche over creamy whipped avocado.

Amazing veal meatballs in red sauce.

 Pork belly with tofu and kimchi.

Baked quail eggs with sunchokes and ravigote sauce.

The most amazing garlic bread ever - a huge, doughy roll topped with burrata, olive oil and pepper.

Light and fluffy Japanese cheesecake with huckleberries; chocolate-gingersnap pudding with coconut crunch for dessert.

Redd Wood

Redd Wood in Yountville has great food and a great interior. The shaved summer vegetable salad was colorful and fresh in an herbed green goddess dressing.

Roasted corn soup was thick, creamy and drizzled with olive oil.

The spagettini carbonara was rich with spinach, mushrooms, artichoke and pancetta.
 

A light and citrusy side of seasonal grilled summer squash.

The ricotta pizza was perfectly thin with a crunchy crust and loaded with white corn, bacon, onion, pecorino, basil and chili flakes for a little spice.

French Blue

The outdoor patio at French Blue is a great place for dinner in the summer, starting with crunchy fried olives with a toasted almond romesco.

The chicken liver mousse was rich and creamy with pickled shallots, greens and candied pistachios on crostini.

Wood baked lamb meatballs are fantastic served with a spicy sauce, crumbled feta and crunchy, buttery bread.

Farmer Omar's Salad is full of fresh veggies from the local market and is delicious in a celery seed vinaigrette.

The parkerhouse roll comes sprinkled with sea salt and dripping with butter. 

The smoked chicken has a great skin and is served on a fresh salad with beans and croutons.

French Blue, Breakfast

Breakfast at French Blue is a fun affair. I loved the blueberry pancake, which is more like a blueberry muffin in a pan, with rhubarb maple syrup and a petite french omelet.

The baked eggs are served with polenta, spicy chorizo and swiss chard.

The other baked egg dish is with tomatillo sauce, fried plantains, and rancho gordo beans. The buttermilk biscuit is a perfect add-on with indulgently rich brown sugar butter.

Addendum

Addendum, the outdoor stand behind Ad Hoc, serves lunch in a beautiful outdoor space with picnic tables. The meat on the pork ribs was falling off the bone in a bbq sauce and accompanied by pulled pork.

The buttermilk fried chicken was perfect - dry, crispy breading and super juicy on the inside and served with sweet honey cornbread.

Sides of purple potato salad and a play on corn succotash with red peppers and a spicy sauce.

Red Farm

When we ordered the Pac Man shrimp dumplings at Red Farm, we had no idea they would come out looking like Pac Man! The presentation value alone makes them worth ordering.

The pork & crab soup dumplings are not your average soup dumpling - the broth has a rich smoky flavor. The egg roll is also a riff on tradition, made with Katz's pastrami and so good.

The crispy skin chicken has a great crunchy skin and is served with garlic sauce; vegetable fried rice in the background.

The Bowery Diner

 

The Bowery Diner is a great, modern diner with an excellent brunch - starting with doughnuts! This one is orange blossom, with a delicious bloody mary behind it.

I loved the chocolate frosted doughnut oozing with pistachio cream.

 The Colombian breakfast is amazing and worth returning many times for - thick cut slices of bacon, crispy on the edges and scored into chunks; spicy sausage; fried eggs; plantain cakes; salsa; queso fresco; avocado and fried eggs. Amazing.

The burger is also a hit - thick and juicy in a buttery bun with a side of fries and a pickle.

Wagamama

Wagamama is a fun, modern Japanese influenced restaurant in London.

Spicy chicken ramen with onion, chilies, coriander and lime.

My favorite - sweet katsu curry, but with a twist. Fried slices of pumpkin, sweet potato and eggplant instead of pork.

Brumus Bar & Restaurant

Sometimes a salad is notable, like the beautiful caesar salad at Brumus Bar & Restaurant in London. Fresh greens, thick, crunchy bacon, slices of parmesan, crostini and perfectly seasoned and grilled prawns.

Terroirs Wine Bar

Terroirs Wine Bar in London is built around the concept of serving natural wines and delicious, artisan foods. The pistachio and pork terrine was amazing, with a thick, chunky texture.

The langoustines were super fresh (I saw ours moving around right before it was cooked) and simply prepared -  perfect.

The scallops were also simply prepared, and excellent - seared with a parsley sauce and served with a lobster claw tip.

A rich steak tartare with capers.

The lentil salad is a little deceptive - fantastic, but the pork belly and sausage are the stars.

 Rich, creamy Laguiole cheese from France.

Dessert is a thick bowl of rice pudding with jam.