First, try ba.food, you will find a lot of discussion on SFO's restaurants. Let me run you buy a few of my favorite: In SFO/SJC (not in any preference order):
* Acuqa - California upscale contempoary seafood focus restaurant. Very
trendy and uppie, always busy.
* Bouvalard - Close to the water front, very special atmosphere, always
very busy.
* LuLu - Over expose and discuss for what it is. A fair place but
publicity saids otherwise. Frequent rich and famous visit
veneue.
* Stars Cafe - The SFO one isn't my favorite, the one in Palo Alto is better
* Stinking Rose - A crowdy, nosiy, popular garlic restaurant often
talked about. Inexpensive and fun, lot's of garlic.
* Il Fonial - Several location, the one in Palo Alto is good, excellent
for lunch. A large restaurant that handles volume
production very well. A very popoula place for all those
silicon valley hi-tech CEO business meal location. Not
expensive.
* Chantili - Very good Italian in Palo Alto, a small place, very
family operation atmosphere. Excellent food and wine
at good price. My frequent dinner place.
* Original Joe - Have to mention this place, old timer favorite with
giant portions of steaks and mushroom, sweetbread, etc.
There are tons of restaurants in SFO's California street/Market street surrounding. So is Palo Alto's University Ave. If you love beer, you have to visit 21 tanks in SFO, the only place I came across with hand pump room tempature stouts. Awsome beer.
In LAX (not in any preference order)
* Valentino - Too expensive and too much rich and famous exposure but
definitely will be around.
* Michael - Same as above.
* Fino - My favorite, a tiny place located in the bottom of Palo Verdes.
Head straight on Hawthon Ave in Torrance before you get up the
hill.
Very very good family Italian cooking with unlimited supply of
bake galic ...
* Chya Baserrie - Frequent hang out of producer, firm makers and stars.
To be fair, it's a very decent restaurants in good
price.
* La Orangie - Not Italian but more like French. It's so good in everything,
services, food, suoffee ... Very expensive but worth a
visit.
There are tons of restaurants up and down on La Cieanaga in Beverly Hill, Santa Monica 4th street and Melrose Ave. Turnover of fancy restaurants are as high as computer programmer in China.
Problem with the very straight drinking law in the US now makes dinner less interesting and less enjoyable. Table for 2 with a bottle of wine makes you legally drunk and cannot operate a vehical. Be careful, it can be an issue.
If you are planning to drive between SFO and LAX, stop by Carmel and Montery, they have some of the very best restaurants in the USA, such as the French Poodle. Not exactly Italian but it's a rare French place.
Happy traveling.
Many of other good one escaped my head, but these are good places worth check them out.
Gordon M. wrote:
>
> Hi There,
>
> We'd like to make our California holiday a real taste sensation!! Can you
> suggest a restaurant located between San Fran and LA that specializes in
> reasonably priced authentic Italian dishes? My wife loves her food!!!!!San Francisco Bay Area, CA
California Restaurant Suggestions Please
First of all, I fully agree with Dominic Yip's suggestions in the San Francisco-San Jose areas. Do note the spellings of Aqua, Boulevard, and Il Fornaio if you look them up in the white pages. Also, Stars in Palo Alto WAS much nicer than the plain, overrated Stars San Francisco, except that Stars Palo Alto has closed, as it was bought out by Wolfgang Puck. Therefore, it is now Spago Palo Alto, which has gotten rave reviews. There are also many good restaurants in other parts of the SF Bay Area: -Tra Vigne in the Napa Valley -Rutherford Grill in Napa Valley -Guaymas (tropical mexican food) in Tiburon (Marin County) with great harbor views of SF -Tutto Mare (seafodd) in Tiburon, next door to Guaymas -Chez Panisse in Berkeley -Oliveto (Tuscan food!! The chef is nominated for a prestigious James Bears award this year) in Oakland, along College Avenue, which also has many other restaurants and shops -Bridges (Pacific Rim food; this restaurant was featured in Mrs. Doubtfire!) in Danville, along Hartz Avenue (which also has many other restaurants and shops). The town is sort of old-west in architecture, but upscale-casual. This restaurant is fairly dressy. -Faz (mediterranean) in Danville, next to Bridges; they have a wonderful patio with fountains and redwood trees. -Spiedini (Northern Italian) in Walnut Creek, near the BART station. Trendy and loud, but good food and free valet parking. -Scott's Seafood in Walnut Creek; a HUGE restaurant with a beautiful patio out back (waterfalls and flowers), plus jazz at Sun. brunch and piano on weekend evenings -Prima (Northern Italian) in Walnut Creek, along North Main Street (which also has literally dozens of restaurants (ranging from microbreweries to California Pizza Kitchen (yuck)) and shops); pricey, and very popular, a smaller trattoria with a wine list of 1500 wines (it comes in a binder upon request!). -Harland's in Fresno; very good menu in a place you wouldn't expect -Centro (tropical Mexican) in Sacramento; the best and funnest Mexican I've had anywhere (I even live near the Mexican border!). Trendy and colorful. -Piatti (Italian) - in many locations: Sonoma, Danville, Sacramento, Carmel, Montecito (near Santa Barbara), La Jolla (San Diego area). Each has a different menu; not cheap, but outstanding! I would say better than any of the other Italian ones I mentioned except Oliveto. -Cheesecake Factory!! (LA area) Serves, aside from cheesecake for dessert, huge, delicious portions of salads, unsusal entrees, sandwiches, etc. I recommend the sandwich with avocado, roasted chicken, on Indian fry bread! Expect a two hour wait. Hope this helps, Tom More "in between" SF and LA, you will have a harder time finding good restaurants. From [email removed] Thu Apr 22 13:20:20 EDT 1999 Article: 37364 of ba.food
If you consider Montery and Carmel is what's in between ... This one I want to mention. If you go from Santa Barbara to I-5, you must go up thru the pass right after down town Santa Barbara. Up the mountain a few miles pass the peak on it's way down, there is this cool looking old time western style wood log building bar/ restaurant. Didn't ever eat there but on a Sunday afternoon, the Harley parked in front and the beer drinking fat belly and the naked tits behind leather vest people are just quite a secene to check it out. The place claimed to be built in 18?? before the gold rush as the only stopping place for the traveller from east to west. It's the way to the Holland town BTW. You have to drink beer to go there .... dude wrote: > > More "in between" SF and LA, you will have a harder time finding good restaurants.
If you're in the Los Angeles area. You should try Shiraz. A middle eastern restaurant on Glendale Ave in the City of Glendale. Especially if you like lamb. Great food. Very reasonable price too. Have veggie dishes too. Alex Lam. Dominic Y. wrote: > If you consider Montery and Carmel is what's in between ... > > This one I want to mention. If you go from Santa Barbara to I-5, you > must go up thru the pass right after down town Santa Barbara. Up the > mountain a few miles pass the peak on it's way down, there is this > cool looking old time western style wood log building bar/ restaurant. > Didn't ever eat there but on a Sunday afternoon, the Harley parked > in front and the beer drinking fat belly and the naked tits behind > leather vest people are just quite a secene to check it out. The place > claimed to be built in 18?? before the gold rush as the only stopping > place for the traveller from east to west. It's the way to the Holland > town BTW. You have to drink beer to go there .... > > dude wrote: > > > > More "in between" SF and LA, you will have a harder time finding good restaurants.