Not the largest but the best. Exceptional, interesting choices at very reasonable prices. The food is also outstanding and the service attentive and highly professional. I've only been once, and I look forward to going back soon.

This is not a taco joint. It's elegant, different, outstanding. Go.

This is not a taco joint. This is elegant. Outstanding. Recommended. Go.

I like this store -- it's not as large as Saratoga or Berkeley (the other two I'm familiar with) but it's right-sized for about everything I need without the "wandering the desert plains of camping gear" effect, and it's incredibly convenient off 101. It has a small gathering of other outdoor stores around it, too.

It's intimate and cozy, and the service was breathtakingly good (at one point three separate people were doing a complicated but not distracting dance around our table replacing silverware etc. for dessert) and the food was magnificent -- the prawn ravioli and the filet both pretty much as good as they possibly could have been. A nice reasonably priced wine list, and a good recommendation there from the server. What's not to like? I loved every second of it.

Food was different and really excellent. The ambiance is pretty cool, too -- feels very far away from San Francisco. It's inside a hotel - you walk through the lobby to get there. Good vegetarian options, too!

A very nice coffee house in the Mission

I've eaten here twice. Parking can be tight in the neighborhood but you can find it on the street. I've only been in the restaurant but I hear that the wine bar (co-located but separate) is great as well. Very nice fresh California fusion cuisine. Upstairs in the back are the best tables, I think.

It's amazing and they tend to run out. I was here with a regular who knows the menu backward (braised fish cheeks, anyone?!!) but it's an outstanding, reasonably priced total hole-in-the-wall place.

I love this place. It's like some gothic cathedral of rock. It is genuinely huge, in all three dimensions; actually, in four, as its truly historic timeline is well laid out via the many posters going back to the 60s of performers who've been there before. It's the opposite of intimate; it's ethereal and wonderful.

This is a fabulous date place. I was there for a private party, but the balcony seating over the huge open area around the bar would be wonderful for two (or four). Food was great, and the drinks were particularly well mixed - my Manhattans were divine. It's down a little obscure alley - and of course you know that parking in this area is hell if you leave it too late. But this place is worth a schlep or going early.

This place is part of the "whole food" movement in the sense of using the whole animal. So there are all sorts of dishes that include organ meats, tongue, and various other offal; the beef-tendon and berries dessert was perhaps the most extreme example. The chef here was a finalist on Iron Chef, gaining the place some notoriety; I found it excellent, unpretentious, and we got a superb recommendation on wine (their list is almost entirely Italian) from our waiter.

We ate at the bar - great food, esp. the Chilean sea bass - and great drinks esp. the perfect Manhattan. When we walked in it was a calm dinner scene, and by the time we left (10:30pm) it was a very intense Marina bar/dating scene. It was kind of fun to have the transition happen around us, but if you were expecting one or the other, you might be disappointed if you came at the wrong time. All in all, pretty cool and very chic.

was here. This place still feels like the late 1930s "Let's drive the Packard Phaeton up from Pacific Heights across that newfangled Golden Gate Bridge" destination that it once was. Wonderful atmosphere and food. The bar is a locals hangout. Note: It's kind of on the freeway entrance ramp to 101 South - it can be hard to find.

I have bought several pairs of shoes here - notably Ecco loafers. The store specializes in well-made foreign dress/casual shoes that you can actually walk in, but which look good. They have women's and kids but it seems to primarily be focused toward men. The staff is very knowledgeable and helpful, far more than you'd get in a mall store. Recommended.

I just got back from my third or fourth trip to this restaurant, and last night we had their new pork entree -- braised or something, can't remember. This was one of the few absolutely perfect dishes I have ever eaten in my life. I would eat it every day for a year. It almost made me cry, it was so perfect. Wow!!! Their Scotch selection is excellent; their menu in general (notably seafood and raw oysters) is outstanding; and the decor and atmosphere are top notch. It can be loud in the bar, but there's always white-tablecloth service in a quieter environment right there in the dining room. HIGHLY recommended!

This place is new and looks suspiciously neat and suburban in its decor. But inside not only is it quirky and cool, but the food is fabulous and the service is excellent. Redwood City's ongoing downtown revival has added a gem.

Their musicality, sheer talent, and performance were awesome. They are writing and performing radio-caliber songs. We saw them at Cafe du Nord in February and they rocked out. Catch them if you can.

La Ciccia replaced a very average italian place that was at this location previously. This restaurant is several notches above the ordinary -- superb, unique food (heavily influenced by the sea - Sardinia is an island, after all) and an exceptional wine list containing many obscure but delightful surprises. Charming, personal service from the chef/owners tops off a great neighborhood gem.

Trust the chef. It won't be cheap but it will be worth it. Decor is slightly wonky, but several of my Japanese friends swear by this place, and I have never had a bad piece of fish here.

And in addition to great sushi, they have an extensive authentic Japanese menu; and to top it all off, the prices are quite reasonable. Make a reservation, or wait forever. Highly, highly recommended!

Incredible selection. This is to beer what the record store in 'High Fidelity' is to music geeks. The atmosphere inside is just as kitschy and beery as you'd imagine. It's fabulous!

Every dish has an extra touch of care. An excellent fine dining experience.

I had pretty low expectations for this - it's one of the new genre of Potter/LOTR attempts by Hollywood to appeal to the fantasy demographic. My expectations were far exceeded. The movie is a broad brush over a complicated story - how much can you pack into 120 minutes? and emphasizes spectacle over plot. But WOW what spectacle, and what solid acting across the board. The machinery and buildings are a phenomenal combination of Victorian and art deco, and are some of the best set design I've ever seen. Dakota Blue Richards is *superb* and easily stands up to Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig on screen. Between her and Amy Adams in Enchanted, we're seeing some surprisingly strong female acting in fantasy roles. Put this one on your holiday short list to be transported to another world.

I was very impressed with this restaurant. We had about 10 or 12 different tapas dishes, all of which but one (the sardines) were far above average. Their huge and delightfully incomprehensible Spanish wine list was navigated beautifully by our waiter, who gave two great recommendations, one of which was so great I wrote it down. It's not cheap, but the service, decor, food, and wine were all outstanding.

This place is high on the value and convenience scale, and just fine on the food front - you won't be blown away by the taste, but it is very solid. Their decor is 1962 concrete block chic, but you're most likely picking up takeout, so what do you care?

Amy Adams makes this movie. Her acting allows you suspension of disbelief that she really is a fairy-tale princess, even in a live-action movie filmed in New York. She's that good -- Oscar good. She is ably supported by an excellent script and awesome acting from James Marsden (the prince), Patrick Dempsey (her real-world love), and Idina Menzel (Nancy, Dempsey's daughter). I was less impressed with Timothy Spall, and Susan Sarandon isn't given much to work with, other than some scenery to chew. The Prince gets the single best line in the movie, and his combination of perfect looks and perfect attitude kept me chortling, "where did they find this guy?" I never asked that question about Adams however - it's clear that they found her in a fairy tale.

I prefer the sushi at Higuma, but this place is fine and I will go there when I am walking downtown.

Go somewhere else. Higuma, Suisha, and Blue FIM are all very close by.

Wonderful neighborhood sushi place. You can taste the freshness of the fish.

Had splendid seared scallops and really nice duck spring rolls - the lemonade was also a cut above. The interior is gorgeous - a 20-foot stained glass dome skylight and a 120 year old oak bar dominate. Every aspect of food and atmosphere seemed well thought out and done with care. Highly recommended!

Really the best sushi I have ever had. And I have visited Japan about 10 times.

Just go. Obsession is your friend.

Really, this is the only time that will happen. So enjoy it. That is all.

Biz Dev nerdvana. Interesting speakers, too.

Above-average food in an excellent atmosphere. By-the-book Thai.

This is an exceptional fine dining experience at a reasonable price. The decor, service, and food are all well above the standard you would expect at other Thai restaurants. The food is obviously very fresh, both the produce and the seafood; and every aspect of the experience has been thoughtfully chosen. A group of six of us had a wide variety of appetizers and entrees, and all were outstanding. This is a real find.

Fabulous food, attentive service, and excellent and thoughtful wine list... really a great place. The kitchen is as large as the restaurant -- an investment of square footage that pays off in yummy.

This place is right out of 1976. Crummy coffee, great (dark) atmosphere, decent burritos, and awesome breakfast.

I might be a little biased. But I've been to some huge places - Texas A&M, Cal -- and nothing even comes close to the Big 10. Once you concede that, it's here and Michigan, and, well, to each his own.

I saw last year's Buckeye triumph, 42-39 in Columbus. If you think this year will be any less intense with Michigan having a down year... you'd be far wrong. These teams are like two identical twins who've been arguing for 110 years -- they respect and loathe each other with enormous passion. Riveting.

I haven't been to the winery, but man, is it tasty stuff to drink.

Children will love it. Adults will love it. It is far better than you can possibly imagine. Really. Right out of the movies.

It's the default downtown PA hangout. Nice atmosphere.

Superb service, good omelettes and breakfast. Convenient to the train and El Camino Real -- I have a lot of breakfast meetings here.

The owner and chef here used to work at the Village Pub in Woodside -- a fantastic white-tablecloth restaurant a few miles away. Their meat and fish tacos are exceptional -- way tastier than average Mexican fare -- and their burritos are outstanding. The larger plates are fine but the value is at the low end. A regular dinner stop next to the Emerald Market, with recently expanded seating and a couple TVs playing ball games. Definitely a neighborhood hangout, as well. No credit cards accepted!!

This is the best food I've had in the Bay Area. Superb classic French haute cuisine, where taste and structural engineering compete for your attention. Outstanding wine list. Excellent service. Expensive, and worth it.

Superb white-tablecloth fine dining. Not ultra-expensive, but definitely expensive -- unless you get the excellent hamburger, in which case you can escape for less than $30 if you skip the wine. Great business dinner place; good romantic dinner place; tends to be packed with Valley types during the week, and couples on weekends. Dress tends towards collard shirts and sport jackets. Nice small bar area to wait for your reservation, which is definitely recommended.

Expensive for casual lunch, though - pizza and lemonade, $17 each.

Good prices, too! I was very impressed with their food -- both seafood and veggie dishes had tasty sauces. Bread is outstanding and service was excellent. Total (without wine) for a feast for two was under $60. Easy walking distance to the Fox Theater, RWC 20 movie theater, and most of downtown.

I buy traffic donuts for the Zvents team whenever we have a great week - and this is my go-to place. I started going here because it is down the hill from my house, but I keep going back because the donuts are truly awesome. They have a very wide selection and both the cake and the raised donuts are really tasty. 13 in every dozen, too!!

You can get a nice steak, six kinds of lobster, and a good seafood dinner at this Boston classic - but the reason to go is their exceptional wine list, which they have been building for over 25 years. I could spend an hour just looking at it -- extremely reasonably priced and filled with gems from both Europe and the U.S. I always make time for Anthony's when I'm in Boston -- steak or lobster, plus great old plonk. Recommended!

How many local bar/restaurants do you know that have a cover of Time Magazine from the 49ers first Superbowl victory on the wall? OK, maybe a lot. How many do you know that are mentioned in that same Time Magazine article? The Canyon Inn stands alone. A favorite of 49ers linebackers and linemen (who used to train nearby) should specialize in red meat, and this place does. Their burgers are definite two-handers, and are totally awesome. It's a great, laid-back, carve your initials on the table sort of place. Multiple TVs mostly run sports, but plenty of nooks and crannies mean that the background noise doesn't annoy.

They went huge with License to Ill in the mid-80s and have just kept it up ever since. Defied expectations every step of the way. "No Sleep Til Brookyln"!!

This movie joins the very short list of "books that I liked but the movie was even better." Coincidentally, I had read the book just a month or so ago; it's a fantastic story, which Neil Gaiman worked hard to make a 'traditional' fantasy, of the subtle Victorian type before Tolkien turned fantasy into it own genre ghetto. This movie is just fabluous. It will repeatedly delight you, constantly surprise you, and make you thoroughly happy. There are moments and transitions which are lightly sketched -- Yvaine's move from disdain to admiration of Tristran needed a bit more meat -- but the overall sense of harmony that this movie conveys makes these omissions charming rather than frustrating. I truly didn't expect this to to be great - wary but hopeful probably describes my state of mind going in -- and it completely succeeded, both for me and the eight friends I watched it with. Go see it tonight!!

The food here is very good but not amazing -- the buffet on the weekends is excellent. It is my go-to Indian place, and one of the primary reasons I miss living in downtown Mountain View. I particularly like their eggplant dishes such as achari benegan.

One of the things that made me love the Bourne movies when they first came out was how smart they were. Unlike other series that were little more than fight scenes and car chases, the Bourne movies had panache - revealing dozens of little glimpses of just how complicated being an international super-assassin would be. Rarely did they leave you saying, "no way" and rarely did Bourne have to make up for being in a deep hole through sheer action bravado -- the hallmark of the Die Hard films. Another aspect of the first Bourne movie that I loved was how human Jason Bourne was - his lost identity and serendipitous attraction to his then-co-star Franka Potente made him approachable and likeable.

This latest installment is fantastic on many levels -- I agree with Jeff's review, and I'll just leave it at that. But now, I end up shaking my head at the silly extremity. Two key scenes -- the cop car chase in NY and the through-the-buildings run/jump chase in Tangiers would be all-but impossible in real life; the odds of successfully pulling off either would be vanishingly small. Isn't the whole point of being a super-assassin that you make sure the odds are in your favor?
My favorite part of these moves are the "smart" moments - two notably that stand out here are the prepaid-phone in the pocket maneuver that Bourne pulls off, and the scooter-misdirection bomb that Desh executes in Tangiers. If this movie had twice as many moments like that, and half as many slam-bang disbelief sequences, I would have liked it better. Summary: Still the class of the genre. Go see it, and get there early -- we ended up stuck in the 3rd row, and that's too close not to be dazzled by the fast-moving camera work.

PS to risumonki9 -- agreed on the lack of dialog! How many times can Julia Stiles carry her half of the conversation with just a look? Not as many as she tried to pull off.

There are a couple priceless moments in this movie - my favorite being the visual-gag disassembly of a Disney-style love scene. There are dozens of really funny moments, and overall the movie delivers. I suppose I had somehow expected a truly great movie -- the reputations of the Simpsons looms large at this point -- so 3.5 stars only -- but well worth the popcorn!

They has a great selection of gourmet foods, even prepared foods. However, don't expect Costco prices.

The cooking school is fantastic. They bring in top chefs for cooking demonstrations you can apply at home. The best part is that you actually get to try the food! Mmmm.

I am a reluctant Harry Potter fan, but I loved this movie. While I admire many things about the books, other aspects drive me nuts. Because I am a voracious reader, they've been a part of my life these past few years, but they're somewhere in the 7.5/10 range of literature I care about.

Potter movies have been much the same. I saw the first one while living in London - 2001, I believe -- and personally saw several iterations of Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station while commuting by Tube to work. That visceral connection has meant that I've always watched them in the theaters, as brain candy and a curiosity both, but it was only with the last movie, that they started to get interesting ** as movies **.

With this current film, 'Order of the Phoenix,' the series has taken a giant leap forward. I only vaguely recalled the book plot when I walked in, and it took me most of the movie to realize who some of the characters were (notably, Ginny Weasley) -- and it didn't matter. While the plot is fairly linear, the direction is outstanding -- it is a genuine thriller which will put you on the edge of your seat plenty of times. The cloying annoying kiddie stuff -- Quidditch!! -- is long gone, and it's fast-moving, dark, and gripping. I really thought it was an outstanding movie -- equally as enjoyable as other big adult movies like Live Free or Die Hard. Extra half star for the difficulty of a book adaptation.

Out of all the Pixar pictures, I like Finding Nemo the best. What I love about their style is how they really pull emotion and humanity from the most unexpected characters. Rather than being limited by their genre of computer animation, they're freed by it - turning even a slinky into someone special.

In Ratatouille, they've got a lot to work with. Rats are furry and can be made to look cute, and the French cuisine backgrounds are ripe for gorgeous visuals. They nail the look: copper pots, fur both wet and dry, cobblestones and sewer grates... I'm amazed at the visual elegance of the whole movie. At some point, we're going to have to seriously consider giving cinematography awards to things filmed inside a computer - the work required to get a certain look is an equally high form of art to capturing a version of real life.

But the movie, you ask? Sublime. There's one awkward transition, one
ho hum" moment and the other 90 minutes or so are sheer bliss. You laugh, you cry, you worry, you celebrate. It's magical. It's special. It's one of the best movies I've seen yet this year.

Highly, highly recommended.

Bruce Willis delivers! There are only a few franchises that everyone who likes summer blockbusters ought to Just Go See. Tom Cruise's MI series is one; Die Hard is another. You know you're going to get your ticket's worth -- explosions, a decent plot, and that classic Willis grin as he gets the crap kicked out of him... again. He does a great job being the tired old warhorse riding to battle again, and has really excellent interplay with Justin Long, the dude from the Mac commercials, who plays Gen Y hacker Matt Farrell. If you like movies, you should go see this. I could gripe about a couple absurd plot points here and there -- a freeway that mysteriously keeps collapsing, a gas explosion that happens for no apparent reason, and yet isn't 1% as deadly as it should have been - but c'mon. Bruuuuuuuce!!

My friend Jason was a founder of this band back in 2002, and toured with then through last year. They are high-energy, inventive, and just plain fun. I love their music, and recommend checking them out live for one of the many Bay Area gigs.

This is the second movie by the team that brought you zombie spoof "Shaun of the Dead," and it's even better than their first collaboration. Many of the same hooks are there -- a sort of self-deprecating wonder that such a movie can take place in England, and lots of gentle poking at the standards of the genre -- but this time, the action and the wicked humor are considerably amped up. I loved this movie; laughed at this movie; was occasionally surprised by this movie; and when it fulfilled my expectations, it did so with great flair. Highly recommended!

I am planning on attending!

And an event that generated the idea to start Zvents!

And an event that generated the idea to start Zvents!

And an event that generated the idea to start Zvents!

And an event that generated the idea to start Zvents!