Tipsy Pig

Neighborhood: Marina/Cow Hollow
2231 Chestnut St(between Pierce St & Avila St)
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 292-2300
www.thetipsypigsf.com

Since the first day this place opened, this restaurant has been packed with people. On Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, we took a risk and attempted to walk-in for dinner. It's a bit deceiving when you walk by cause once you walk in through the front door, is the bar - and it was packed with Lakers/Nuggets fans! Surprisingly when we told the hostess "party of 4" she welcomely said "follow me". She took us to the back of the restaurant which we were amazed how big this place really was (there's also an outside terrace/patio that extends all the way out). needless to say, food was amazing (i mean, what more can you expect when it's the same owners as mamacita???)

Bruschetta - not your typical bruschetta but so delish! i've never had burrata cheese before, but i think i am in love with you!
Sweet Potato Fries - better than Pacific Catch (sorry PC)
Tipsy Sliders - i was expecting pulled pork with loads of sauce. not so. dont be fooled by the appearance of dry pulled pork cause these suckers will surprise you! damn good....
Pork Chop - a bit on the salty side but they sure do know how to cook these bad boys - perfectly tendor and moist.
Hamburger - you can tell that it's fresh ground chuck!!! didn't try it but K was raving how it was the tastiest burger he has ever had...

Il Borgo

Neighborhood: Hayes Valley
500 Fell St(between Buchanan St & Laguna St)
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 255-9108
www.usmenuguide.com/ilborgo.html

great (authentic) italian restaurant!

can't go wrong with the pizzas and for first timers, must get their lasagnetta (not your typical lasagna for all you lasagna eaters)

Naked Fish

Neighborhood: Marina/Cow Hollow
.2084 Chestnut Street(between Mallorca Way & Steiner St)
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 771-1168
www.nakedfishsf.com

Not the best sushi, but you can't complain about their happy hour

Monday - Thursday till 6:30pm; Friday - Sunday till 6pm

Baker Street Bistro

Neighborhood: Marina/Cow Hollow
2953 Baker Street(between Greenwich St & Lombard St)
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 931-1475
www.bakerstbistro.com/

for those who do not live in the marina, this is truly a hidden gem. Ironically, our friends have lived on Baker and Filbert for almost 5 years and we've walked by this restaurant everytime we see them (at least once a week). Not till they moved out we finally tried this place and i can't believe it has taken us this long to eat here.

this is a family owned french restaurant.

roy got the prix fixe menu which includes:
Soup du jour (carrot ginger)
Entree of the day (grilled flank steak in challot sauce over mashed potatoes)
Salad
Dessert (homemade bread pudding)
prix fixe is served all nite monday - thursday and Friday and Saturday till 7pm for only a whopping $16.95!

I ordered off their menu - Mussels a la Provencale with pomme frites. the Mussels were fresh (the owner even showed me how to eat mussels the french way) and the fries were divine with the white wine/garlic sauce! after i ate all the mussels, i (accidentally) dropped all my fries in the sauce (that's how the french does it!!!)

Healdsburg - Engagment

Roy (finally) took me to Healdsburg where he proposed.

I've always wanted to go to Ferarri Carano. The Vineyard is absolutely beautiful and I am in love with their Fume Blanc. Roy originally wanted to propose here, but I got so fidgety in the gardens as i was having bug bite attacks (or so I thought).

8761 Dry Creek Rd
Healdsburg, CA 95448
(707) 433-6700
www.ferrari-carano.com/

We then headed off to Stryker Sonoma (randomly passed by). the view of the vinyard is just amazing. If you like Reds (and want to get plastered), this is the place to go as they have a galore of reds and FREE tastings!

5110 Highway 128
Geyserville, CA 95441
(707) 433-1944

Of course Roy, the planner that he is, made no reservations for dinner after he proposed. So we asked the people at the wineries for recommendations to eat. They pretty much all said the same 5 restaurants:

Cyrus
Scopa
Ravenous
Willi's Seafood and Raw Bar
Barndiva

So we call all 6 restaurants and of course, on a Saturday nite, none of them take reservations. So we attempted to walk in. Luckily the only one that would take us is Willi's...but at the bar (not how I expected for an engagment dinner). Needless to say, Willi's was spectacular.

403 Healdsburg Ave
Healdsburg, CA 95448
(707) 433-9191
www.willisseafood.net

We didn't really know what to eat so we had to ask the girls sitting next to us who pretty much listed EVERYTHING on the menu.

Hamachi Ceviche
Maine Lobster Rolls (i thought these were sushi rolls given i've never been to "new England"). DELISH!
Baby Back Riblets - Fall off the bones!
French Fries - perfectly fried and goat cheese?!? yum!
CRAB cakes - ALL Crab!!!

and then we went to Bovolo for homemade gelato. We got the rum and raisin which pretty much tasted like....RUM! it was the perfect ending!

Recipe: Harvest Vegetable Whole Wheat Pasta

I was watching a rerun of the Rachael Ray Show and she inspired me to want to cook. SO i ran (physically) to the store and grabbed what i needed. although Safeway is only a few blocks from my place, it was definitely a handful to carry back home-especially with all those veggies! Makes a hearty pasta! Next time I will make it for Roy and add grilled chicken!

Ingredients:
1 pound whole wheat penne (i actually used regular penne as whole wheat pasta tastes like cardboard to me)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 large or 4 small zucchini, chopped into bite-size chunks
1 yellow squash, chopped into bite-size chunks
1 red pepper, chopped into bite-size chunks
1 red onion, chopped into bite-size chunks
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), divided
1/4 cup sliced almonds, blanched and toasted
1 cup basil
3/4 cup parsley
1/4 cup mint
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
1 to 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese (i didn't top it off with ricotta cheese)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring up to a boil to cook the pasta. Once at a boil, add some salt and the pasta and cook until al dente, according to package directions. Right before draining, remove and reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain pasta thoroughly, return to the pot and reserve.

3. While the pasta is cooking, place chopped zucchini, yellow squash, red pepper and onion on baking sheet. Drizzle the vegetables with 3 tablespoons EVOO, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast for about 15 minutes or until tender and golden brown.

4. While vegetables are roasting, place the almonds, herbs, garlic, some salt and pepper in a food processor. Pulse the processor while drizzling in the 1/4 cup EVOO. Transfer the pesto to a large mixing bowl and mix in the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Add the cup of reserved pasta-cooking liquid to the bowl and mix it to combine. Add the pasta and the roasted veggies to the bowl and give it a good toss to coat everything with the pesto.

5. In a small mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese and freshly ground black pepper.

6. Spoon pasta into 6 dishes and top each dish with dollop of the peppery ricotta mixture.

Recpie: Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken

I altered the recipe in BOLD (this is a 6 serving recipe - I cut the recipe in half to make 3 servings)

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup of dry bread crumbs (garlic and herb flavor)
2/3 cup of parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 skinless, boness chicken breasts halved
1 teaspoon oregano

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease baking dish
2. Season chicken with salt and pepper (i used tonys)
3. In a bowl, blend the olive oil and garlic.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, basil, oregano and pepper (i also added some cayenne peppers to add some hotness).
5. Dip each chicken breast in the oil mixture, then in the bread crumb mixture. Arrange the coated chicken breasts in the prepared baking dish, and top with any remaining bread crumb mixture.
6. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.