Delicious sandwiches and charmingly decorated, too!

Beautiful food in an absolutely breathtaking setting. You cannot do better for a relaxing Sunday morning than this. You'll be perched high above the harbor as you enjoy your meal... this place is not to be missed.

The only bad thing about living in the Bay Area is that I am too far away to go to this restaurant. I love this place. If you are ever even close by, make sure to take a detour and eat here.

Simply amazing French food in the most perfect, rustic setting. When I lived in San Diego, trips to Los Angeles were always scheduled around the operating times of this restaurant.

Good Chinese food, friendly service, and kid-friendly, too.

This place is a refurbished coffee-shop that serves amazing Mediterranean and American Bistro food. The portions are HUGE and very fairly priced. The bar is cozy and a fun place to hang out.

If you like a huge, greasy cheeseburger with about a half-cup of mayonnaise on top, this is the place for you. It tastes great, but wow I must be getting old. I can only do about one of these a year any more.

Friendly staff only makes it better. This is a great local hangout to get your afternoon coffee-and-something-sweet fix.

Don't let the family-style seating put you off... you might make new friends while you're having a fabulous dinner. Don't miss the schnitzel (of course). Many unique beers on tap, too.

The first time I felt the baby move, I was sitting in this restaurant for lunch. I think she was responding to the spicy food! This Indian buffet is a step above the usual buffet fare.

Chateaubriand for a reasonable price-outstanding!

Evernything is universally good here: high-quality Chinese food. And though I never order a Chinese Chicken Salad, once a friend ordered it and it's absolutely delicious. Now I can't go here and NOT order it!

So many good choices in Palo Alto, but this one is worth making a special trip.

Peruvian food was new to me, but I tried it here and it was delicious.

Peruvian food was new to me, but I tried it here and it was delicious.

Peruvian food was new to me, but I tried it here and it was delicious.

Peruvian food was new to me, but I tried it here and it was delicious.

This is another place that harks back to a simpler time. The decor probably hasn't changed much in years, but the food is excellent and the views are breathtaking. This is also a fun place to go and sit at the bar.

This is some of the most amazing food ever, and it's tucked away almost in the middle of nowhere. The flavors will astound you, and even though you will be stuffed from eating too much, you will be planning your next visit back as you walk out the door.

This place looks like it was sprung from a Rat Pack movie, but boy is the food good. The Veal Scallopine is excellent, but you really can't go wrong here.

You can't beat the scallops here: huge, fresh, cooked just right. The fish and chips is also excellent, and they have a huge selection of beers. The best deal in town is the dinners for Seniors.

I have great memories of an extended happy hour sitting outside near the fire pit, listening to the band play inside. They have music most weekends and the food here is good. If you're a nachos fan, definitely try the nachos, but everything is uniformly good.

Great Italian seafood at this restaurant.

This restaurant is perfection. Everything we were served was exceptional, right down to the warm bread with olive-oil dipping sauce.

It's worth going to Princeton Harbor just to try this place. It's traditional Italian, beautifully prepared and elegantly served. You'll want to go with a large group so you can try as many of the dishes as possible.

This is a wonderful, hidden secret of a restaurant tucked away in Half Moon Bay. The service is exceptional and you will want to go with a large party so you can all get something different and share tastes.

Good, straightforward, made-to-order Mexican food.

If you love prime rib, this is the place for you. Popovers, too, and the creamed corn is wonderful. This is a great place to celebrate a special event.

This restaurant sits out over the water in Half Moon Bay and the views are amazing at sunset. It can get crowded, but there is usually room at the bar. Try both kinds of clam chowder, too: it's not that wallpaper paste out-of-a-can kind that most places serve.

This place has it all: great food, friendly staff, and a fun place to relax and hang out. It's also great for large groups.

Go there once, you'll love it. It's tucked away and a little bit hard to find, but it's a great place to knock one back after work.

Some days I need the chocolate-vanilla mixed swirl cone; some days its the plain vanilla. But their frozen yogurt is the best in town.

If you have a big group, this is a fun place to go for lunch. They serve dim sum as well as a full menu. Excellent, authentic Chinese food.

This bakery has amazing confections. They sell the cutest marzipan-covered cakes that are shaped like frogs. The black forest cake is also amazing.

My favorite dish is the Verdure, which is just roasted vegetables in a light garlic onion sauce. You can add chicken for about two bucks, which makes it a very satisfying meal.

You won't be disappointed here, not by anything. Food? Great. Service? Great. Even the location is great, just off Burlingame's shopping district. My favorite part, though, is the bakery. They always have something special in the case... some kind of rosemary-raisin roll to go with your coffee. I find myself making excuses to head down there and see what's in that case!

If you a freak for blueberry pancakes (and just to be clear, I am), this is the place for you. You can get amazing outstanding blueberry pancakes year-round. The potatoes are also wonderful and I wish they shared the recipe!

Everything is good here (though I wish they would put signs on things so I could learn the names as I went). There can be a line at times so it's best to go for an early lunch or after the rush.

There are no surprises when you go to a Fresh Choice, which is not a bad thing. This particular location, though, is especially kid-friendly.

This place is hidden away in a strip mall along El Camino Real, and you'd never probably notice it unless someone who knew about it took you there. Luckily, that happened to me. The salads are great here... huge. This is a salad even I can't finish, so you know it has to be pretty big. The sandwiches and pizzas are also outstanding, and everything is priced very decently. Friendly, appreciative people behind the counter, too.

Lots of folks attempt authentic Chicago-style deep-dish pizza; few get it absolutely right. This is one of those places. Don't bother with the burgers and the sandwiches, though they're good too... it's the pizza calling for you.

This is not typically my kind of place. The food is elegantly presented and clearly, it's painstakingly prepared... I'm just not one of those folks that likes my food in architectural shapes. Stuffing formed into a rectangular tower? Not really my thing.

But the best dessert I've had in years was the Valhrona Chocolate Fondant here at 231 Ellsworth... It was just slightly crusty on the outside and liquid caramel on the inside with Fleur de Sel sprinkled on top. I know, you're thinking salt? Instead of frosting??? But somehow it combined perfectly with the caramel into an, um, explosion of divine goodness. I wish the restaurant were open right now.

I had my second date with my husband here, back years ago. I still get a little thrill every time I drive by. The food here is good, especially the Tom Ka Gai.

Years and years ago when I worked at a (now sadly defunct) search engine, this used to be the place of choice. You could have lunch for about 5 bones. Though the prices have gone up a little, this is still a great place for a good, quick lunch. Always crowded, but the tables turn fast.

Great place for a business lunch. Highly recommended.

I love escaping the office for a few short minutes and running over here for lunch... seriously, I do some of my best work here!

The dim sum is a little pricey compared to some of the places in San Francisco, but it is very good and not at all greasy.

I especially recommend the rice porridge if you're in the mood for comfort food.

The food is really good here. They offer a variety of middle-eastern specialties. The chicken is spicy and really moist: I wish I knew how they did it! The pita bread is also very good, and almost every entree comes with a salad. Plus, the place is very kid-friendly.

You wouldn't expect great food at a golf course, but Bob the chef knows his business. This is great American food, lots of it, and definitely the right price.

My father-in-law used to go here when he was at Berkeley, and then my husband when he finally got old enough. His buddies tell me they knew I was the one when he brought me here.

This place has lots of televisions so you'll be able to see your ESPN over the head of the big guy in the corner.

If you didn't grow up or go to school around here, it's too bad. This is the kind of place you wish you had back then.

It's the kind of place where you walk in and know you're going to be having whiskey, and lots of it.

You will have a good time here. Not only is it a tradition, it's practically guaranteed.

Adam, the bartender, will take very good care of you.

It's the Oakland Coliseum, always will be to me. I'll never be able to make the words McAfee-anything roll off my tongue.

But this is a fun stadium to watch a game in. Lots of room, lots of food choices, and it isn't quite as pricey or chi chi as PacBell Park across the water.

After we got married (that spur-of-the-moment impromptu wedding at City Hall that I've been telling you about) we drove across the bridge to share the news with our favorite bartender, Jerad Walker. Somehow, it wasn't quite real until he knew, too.

Anyhow, this is a first-rate bar with a bona-fide slanting-down entryway. You'll see a mix of tourists and regulars who live on their boats just steps away.

And don't get freaked out about the bathroom. They mean you no harm.

I remember being 8 and having lunch with my dad here, one cold autumn day when we had gone to the depot to fill up the back of our truck with coal for the winter. I don't get back to the place often, but I swear to you it hasn't changed a bit in... forever.

Everything is good here, so there's usually a line out the door. But it's worth the wait. Try the Sizzling Rice Soup, which is truly light and delicious, and do not miss the Kung Pao Beef, which is not what you'll be expecting. It's crispy and spicy and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

I've been going to this place for more than half my life. In fact, as soon as I got my drivers' license, I managed to get myself on the freeway and get myself all the way downtown. No sex, drugs, rock-n-roll for me: it was dumplings on the way.

If you go, or truthfully, I should say 'when you go', here's what you should order. Make sure you get at least one order of the boiled dumplings and another of the fried dumplings, an order of the hot and sour soup, which will be different from the brown, gluey muck you're usually served. Eat that all up, and then you'll probably want to go back for more dumplings. The cold noodle salads are also awesome.

It can be hard to find, as the storefront is so tiny, but you'll be so glad you stopped. The steamed bao are the best I've ever had (outside of the place near Dodger Stadium in L.A., but that's a long and different story). Another dish not to miss is the Lemon Pepper Prawns.

I had a business lunch there several weeks ago and have been angling for a reason to go back!

You save up all your empty bottles, wash them out with super-hot water, and then you bring them over to La Nebbia on one of their bottle and cork days. They fill your bottles with whatever they're pouring and you go home with great, great wine for a price that can't be beat.

Bring your own labels and they'll put them on for you!

Cetrella is a great place to celebrate a birthday or special occasion, but it's just casual enough for a spur-of-the-moment dinner. The flavors are fresh and robust. We went with a large group and got to try almost everything on the menu and it was universally wonderful. It's definitely worth a special trip out to the coast!

This place has exceptional service and great food. It's especially fun if you're there on one of the weekends when they have music. Try the lamb kebabs and don't miss the Mast-o-Khiar (yogurt and cucumber) as an appetizer.

Aw, who am I kidding. Simply the best everything. The pre-dinner cocktails are unusually tasty, but you can also order a citron presse that is equal in quality to the one I had on the Ile de France when I was fifteen years old. The Croque Monsieur is no less perfect, but there is also Coq au Vin done right, the way it is meant to be served. (For such a simple dish, why does everyone else get this one so very wrong???)

They have Quenelles. And the lamb with fennel... was so amazing I want to go back right now for more.

While the downstairs part of the restaurant has great views, the upstairs lounge is my favorite. You can order from both the lounge menu and the full menu, or sit up at the bar and eat while you watch Aquatic Park and the Bay.

I love the salad with bleu cheese and candied pecans and the Boat Burger (hamburger stuffed with brie, heavenly!)

This is one of the great secrets in San Francisco, at least as far as dining is concerned. The food here is excellent, and the prices are 15% less than what you would pay anywhere else for the same exact dishes.

If you love ribs, you must try them here. And the desserts! Don't get me started on the desserts. Okay, if you insist: the warm triple-ginger cake is my favorite dessert ever. And the rest of my family swears by Herbie's Ice Cream Sundae, which comes with an extra sidecar of chocolate sauce.

We won a gift certificate to a dinner here. I would need the menu to give you specifics, but every bit of food we ordered was amazing, each course more perfect and satisfying than the last.

I didn't need to eat for two days afterward, and I didn't want to, either.

Unusual food combinations in an elegant, luxurious setting. The sushi combinations were unexpected but delicious, though we ate at the bar, we will be back to try the dining room.

Went to a private event here and the food was good: They had a shellfish buffet that went on for miles. But the artifacts on the ground floor were what captured my interest! It's like a mini-museum.

One of the best places in the city for a cocktail.

I take each of my daughters here once a year on their birthdays for high tea. The service is excellent and they love the fancy little sandwiches.

Mama gets a glass of champagne with her tea, and we get to ride the cable car home.

My favorite Italian place in the city. They have Speck, which no one else has. The butternut squash ravioli is to die for, and the wine list has unusual choices.

The place is tiny (about 10 tables) so you may have to wait, but you will not be disappointed.

This is the perfect place for your summer solstice celebration. Take the skyrocket elevator to the very top floor and watch the sun set around 9 p.m. It's gorgeous in every direction.

I can't help but think back to the days B.K. (before kids) when I used to telecommute and my significant other made his own schedule... more than once we met up for lunch here in the middle of a weekday.

I will probably never be that relaxed again.

If you don't mind the way the second floor slopes way down towards the first, you'll have a great time here. The bar staff is cool and the bands are always rockin. Even the graffiti in the bathroom is interesting.

Excellent food and a beautifully decorated room. I like to eat in the lounge off the bar best of all.

This is the place. You will not find better dim sum in all of San Francisco. I used to live closer and would find myself here at least once a week and usually more, it's that good. Weekends are the best times to go, though there are lines out the door. But it's worth the wait for the special plates they make on the weekend.

I'd just quit my day job and hang out at The Sewing Workshop all day. I've taken several classes here and learned so much... and I've been sewing since I was old enough to hold a needle.

This isn't so much a craft-y place as it is a fine sewing school. The owner is so friendly and helpful, too. If you're an expert or a novice, The Sewing Workshop has something that will appeal to you.

The treatments here do make you look and feel better, but the staff is not warm and friendly. After a few occasions where I had issues with the service, I finally complained. (My fingernails were filed into triangle points!) I was comped, but was dismissed rudely by a manager.

Haven't been back.

It's $12 for a single malt here, but that's ever so slightly mitigated by the fact that there is English Premier League football on two large screens. The bartenders are efficient and talented, and the entire place is dark and mysterious, even at high noon (not that I'd ever admit knowing that for a fact).

I wrote a novella in which (a) the main character's drink of choice was a dirty martini, three olives and (b) a pivotal scene took place at the bar here. I found myself here on several occasions doing, uh, story research. Yeah. Let's call it research.

I think what I really need to do is write a sequel to that story and do more research.

They stock Tanqueray Sterling Vodka at the bar here. If you're ever in the neighborhood of 4th and Market, that's all the excuse you should need.

How can you beat this deal: great, fattening double cheeseburger and a beer, five bucks.

It's probably six bucks by now, but even still.

I don't know what it is, but this is the best pizza in town. Even the vegetarian pizza is wonderful... you're not looking for something else to eat an hour and a half later. The salads are great--and huge. The place is family owned. They deliver when they're not too busy. And they are unbelievably kid-friendly, to the point of having a toy area where all the kids in the restaurant go play together.

Right off the Taraval Station. You got cher sports, you got cher pint. And though everyone won't know your name, there's plenty of folks there who want to hear you philosophize.

One of the best date memories of my entire life here. That's all I can say before we lose our PG rating.

This is our second kitchen. The food at Pasta Pomodoro is universally good, no matter which one you go to... but this one is the most kid-friendly restaurant in the city. It's not just the usual crayons and kid-menu, though they do provide that. But the waiters all know, without being told, that the kids need bread to munch on while the grownups order, and their entrees need to come out as soon as possible. And, they always ask before bringing out the i-c-e-c-r-e-a-m that comes with the kids meal... they know to spell it instead of saying it. Perfect!

We had our "wedding reception" here after our impromptu, spur-of-the-moment wedding at San Francisco City Hall. The champagne was wonderful. They didn't have much in the way of cake, so we had Pineapple Upside-Down Cake instead, a tradition we have maintained for almost ten years. This is also our favorite late-night hangout. We love to just sit at the bar and eat frites and peoplewatch. Oh, and the best brunch I've ever had in the City. The polenta is to die for!

I don't know how it is at your house, but at my house, the minute Dan Zanes comes on the TV, there is peace, quiet, respectful adoration from the under-six set.

The man is a lifesaver, and oh yeah, good tunes!

I practically grew up here. If you know what a Midwest winter is like, you know how much you look forward to the green of spring... any green. This place is great for kids and grownups alike. And if you can get here during the weeks the field of daffodils is blooming, it's a vision you will never forget.

I have fond memories of a dinner here at the bar. The food was great, but the martinis were even better!

Aww. So sad to hear of his passing. His music brings me right back, in that good-nostalgic way, to too many diet cokes and all-nighters in the dorms. I'm going to go rent "Roadhouse"--a true guilty pleasure, and he was in it--and reminisce tonight.

One of the most versatile actors that's come around in a while, Gerard Butler can do it all. He gave a layered, subtle performance in "Love, Frankie". (That one's worth getting on Netflix cause you'll never catch it otherwise.)
But there's more: in addition to the tremendous acting, he showed amazing musical chops in "Phantom of the Opera". He even made "Timeline" watchable.

Malcolm Reynolds is probably the best anti-hero ever. I'll give you the writing on "Firefly" was great, but try to imagine any other actor filling those tight pants. Wait, that came out wrong.

But Nathan Fillion was born to play this role.

This right here is the music of my youth (what there was of it, anyway--that's a story for another time). My mom always had it on the stereo, back when a stereo was called a HiFi, really loud, when my dad was at work. If it was summer and the windows were open, she made sure it was loud enough to really annoy the neighbors, who didn't think a mom should rock, or roll.

My take? Sometimes you go to a concert, and all the old tunes sound just like you expected, and you go away feeling like you got your $75 dollars worth and all is well. The Stones are like that. Nothing wrong with it: it's slick and packaged and scripted. Mick won't say a word to Keith the whole night long. Pretty much the only question going in is whether they're going to play "Sister Morphine" or maybe even "Waiting on a Friend". Pretty much, you can guess the whole setlist on the drive in to the Coliseum. And either way, even if there are no surprises, you still have a good time.

Plus, you gotta give 'em points for sheer staying power.

He practically defines the musical excesses of the 80s, but how can you not love David Lee Roth? Hearing "Running with the Devil" or "And The Cradle Will Rock" brings me right back to high school, older and wiser, which, frankly, is the only way you should ever go back.

Oh, and have you seen junior's grades????

was to see The Police in concert. I've seen Andy Summers play before, years ago, in a really intimate venue somewhere in San Jose... up until that time I'd never seen a man make love to a guitar before. It was amazing, the things he could do. But one way or another I'd always missed the trio in concert.

They did not disappoint. Each song was better than the last. If there were a soundtrack to my life, they would definitely be it.

Pretty, talented, great dancer... I don't know if the man can make a good mai tai, but if he can, he's absolutely perfect.