West Coast might just be the best coast - don't think the "Third Coast" is being brought into this long-standing battle any time soon (Great Lakes region for those who don't know already). 2 Michelin Star Dinner @ Atelier Crenn, incredible wines including one of our new favorites in Failla (fay-lah), a new found love of beets, and a visit to the classic Bouchon Bistro (no TFL for us this time around).
Geoduck, citrus & more @ Atelier Crenn
Mini dessert cones @ Atelier Crenn
Forgotten, high-quality drinks @ The Snug
Bouchon Bistro steak frites, - frites and + too much wine
Beet salad @ Redd Wood
Zero Zero pizza always a must for us. Not pictured: soft-serve and donuts...
Atelier Crenn: Has to be addressed first. Yes it was expensive. Yes it was as much of an art show as a meal. But it was 1000% worth it. The fact that Dominique Crenn and her flagship were left of the World's 50 Best is a problem (in addition to the glaring lack of gender diversity in the list...). The food was exceptional, the staff worked as if they were in a lean / six sigma factory with the precision in which they operated, wines were expertly paired, and we left completely in awe of what can be done with food at the hand of the artists in the kitchen.
Failla Winery: Absolute winner. Tasting room feels like grandma's living room, team was extremely knowledgeable, wines were high quality and affordable. Great reds and surprisingly a chardonnay we took home with us (we're not big white drinkers, but we're coming around to it). Likely will lose some $$$ to their allotment emails that will undoubtedly come soon. 10/10 would recommend to a friend.
Zero Zero: Our longstanding go-to for pizza in the city didn't disappoint. Castro pizza is always our favorite, could have had 2 but held back due to our reservation at Atelier Crenn later that evening. Vanilla soft serve and donuts also were a reason for not ordering the second pizza.
The Snug: Great cocktails. Cool vibe. Crowded post-work. Fairly expensive but everyone already likely anticipated that before showing up to a Pac-Heights hotspot.
Paraduxx Winery: Awesome patio and hangout spot, good wines, learned about they hype behind Howell Mountain, paid for 6 glasses got about 12. Overall great spot to spend the afternoon.
Redd Wood: More casual sister restaurant to Redd, the beet salad and pizza was the perfect mid-day food we needed to level us back out after a morning full of tastings starting at 10am. Have used the inspiration of the beet salad we had here to make our own variation at home. Stay tuned for our version and recipe coming soon.
Smitten Ice Cream: Another staple. Liquid nitrogen made ice cream. We bought the hype 5 years ago and make a stop every time we go back. Fresh mint and peach were flavors of choice this time around.
Souvla: Hip, casual, tasty, quick Greek food. Split a chicken "sandwich" aka gyro before our lengthy dinner @ Atelier Crenn. Would be a go-to lunch spot if I worked in the area. Navel orange in the wrap was a surprise but ended up working well in combination with the other flavors.