Places NOT to miss in the Bay Area

Thanx for the suggestion. Roman's sonds lie a really nice place. Unfortunately we have a 2 year old with us and we want to be together. Roman's sounds more like a place you do not want to bring kinds.

But you did mention their Bakery section, and I am actually looking for a bakery to try out. Maybe I can just do that ??? We'll see.

And also, we are going to be staying at a hotel in San Francisco, but we really want to see as much of the Bay Area as possible. We'll definitely be taking a drive on 101 down south.

Again, I really appreciate your suggestion and am still looking for anything else that you al might have.

BTW, we will be arriving in SF on April 10th.

	- manzoor

On Thu, 22 Mar 2001, Nabeel I. wrote:

> In article  you write:
> >We will be visiting the Bay Area around the 2nd week of April for a few
> >days (3, maybe 4) and would very much like to try something that is very
> >special of the Area. Of course, we will be looking for a good Japanese
> >place (becasue I am from Austin and am expecting the Bay Area has better
> >Japanese places than we do) and a good Thai/Vietnamese place (because both
> >my wife and I really love Thai/Vietnamese food).
> >
> >In addition, is there anything else that I should not miss out ? Really
> >appreciate all your help.
>
> Since the Bay Area is so large, it helps to specify which part you'll be in.
> If you happen to be in the South Bay (that is, near San Jose), I would
> highly recommend Romans in Santa Clara.  It was one of the most fabulous
> dining experiences that I've had.  I'm not sure of which days they serve
> dinner, but you can call and find out.  I've attached my review along with
> the reviews of a couple of other people.
>
> Have fun!
> Nabeel
> -------------------------
>
> Roman's Catering and Bakery (and Liquor Store)
> 71 Washington Street
> Santa Clara, CA  95050
> 408-296-3864
>
> After reading Chester's and the Ranger's reviews of Romans, my sister and I
> finally decided to give it a try.  In short:  EVERYONE MUST GO THERE!!!
> A phenomenal dining experience!!!  It was one of those special meals
> where everything seemed to be perfect.
>
> We arrived a few minutes after our 6:30pm reservation and entered through
> the left door.  As we walked in, the checkout was to our immediate right and
> the liquor store was further to the right and extended straight beyond the
> checkout counter.  Immediately in from of us were a few tables and off to
> our left was the deli area.  As we walked past the three tables in the
> front, the lights dimmed and we entered an area of about 9 or 10 tables
> which were illuminated only by candlelight. As only two tables were occupied
> at the time, we were able to chose our table and decided to sit in the
> farthest corner, which provided us with a view of all of the other tables
> and patrons.
>
> Baguette slices and an olive oil/balsamic vinegar dipping sauce were waiting
> for us.  We enjoyed the bread while Tony (see Chester's post below for a
> perfect description-I hereby apologize for top-posting) tended to the two
> other tables of folks who preceded us.  We were not in a rush and rather
> enjoyed the measured pace of the meal.  After enjoying the bread for about
> 15 minutes, Tony came over to our table and suggested that we head over to
> the liquor section and choose a wine.  I knew from Chester's post that the
> charge for wine was the sticker price plus $3, so we were able to choose a
> wine that would normally be considered too expensive at a restaurant.  We
> were both in the mood for a red, so I suggested that we choose a dolcetto.
> There were several choices, but we finally settled on the Pietra Santa
> Dolcetto from San Benito County (sticker price:  $18.99).  Tony complimented
> us on our choice of wine (as if I knew anything about wine).  The wine was,
> as Tony suggested, very, very good.
>
> He then invited us into the kitchen where he asked us if we like spicy food.
> After we answered in the affirmative, he asked the cook to give us something
> whose Italian name I cannot remember after consuming so much alcohol.  A few
> minutes later, he brought two small plates of angel hair pasta with a tomato
> based sauce.  I was wondering why he asked if we like spicy food until the
> aftertaste of the sauce kicked in.  It wasn't hot, like you would expect a
> vindaloo (for example) to be hot, but it had a very pleasant bit of hot
> pepper.
>
> The next course was a thick vegetable soup in a tomato based broth.  I
> normally don't care for tomato-based soups, but this one was so good that I
> could've certainly handled a few more bowls.
>
> A simple garden salad with a mustard dressing followed the soup.
>
> For the main course, Tony asked us if we preferred beef, pork, poultry or
> seafood.  We had already exhausted our decision making abilities when we
> choose the wine, so we sat there sort of stunned when he asked.  He looked
> at both of us and then asked if we'd like to be surprised.  "Sure!" we
> responded.  He asked if there was anything we didn't like and after
> indicating that we were both pretty easy going when it came to food, he
> seemed happy and said he would surprise us.  "If you don't like it, no
> charge!" he said as he went back to the kitchen.  It seemed that all of his
> sentences ended in exclamation points.  He was full of energy and was
> constantly moving between the tables.  I must be less than half his age and
> don't have the verve that he possessed.  He came back  shortly thereafter
> (or at least it seemed like "shortly" after the wine we had consumed) with
> two dishes.  When I asked if he would explain to us what the dishes were, he
> smiled and said that we must try them before he would tell us what they
> were.  I had veal stuffed with prosciutto in a red wine sauce.  The meat was
> fantastic, however the sauce was a tad too salty for my taste.  I attribute
> that to the fact that I'm-in sharp contrast to my Arabic heritage-insanely
> sensitive to salt.   My sister had chicken stuff with cheese in a white
> sauce which was wonderful beyond description.  I wish I could offer better
> explanations of the main courses, but by that time we were almost done with
> the first bottle of wine and it had started to take effect.  Both main
> courses were served with steamed vegetables and slice of cantaloupe.
>
> For dessert, Tony directed us to his freezer full of homemade gelato.  A
> basket full of spoons sat next to the freezer for tasting samples.  We tried
> most of the dozen or so options, including egg nog, white chocolate and
> banana, strawberry, pistachio, mocha, tiramisu, raspberry and white
> chocolate, peach and others, before finally settling on our choices.  We
> asked Tony for a wine suggestion and he said that we should get a port and
> then get one either the mocha or tiramisu gelato to complement the port.
> After having a near religious experience after tasting the banana and white
> chocolate gelato, I opted to have one scoop of that along with a scoop of
> the mocha.  My sis choose one scoop of the mocha and one of the tiramisu.
> Now, you must understand that I usually run in the opposite direction
> whenever anything coffee-based is placed in front of me, however the
> tiramisu and mocha gelato(e)s were truly, truly exquisite.
>
> We then walked over to the port section of the liquor store where we both
> blankly stared at the numerous options in front of us.  With the amount of
> alcohol in my liquor cabinet, you would think that I'd be able to choose a
> decent port, but I was totally helpless.  We went back and asked Tony for
> assistance.  He seemed genuinely happy to help us out, but before suggesting
> a bottle, he poured us each a small glass of the port that he had open.  He
> told us to taste it and tell him what we thought.  It seemed to be lacking
> in body to me and he agreed, saying that he had much better port for the
> same price in the liquor store.  He walked us over to the port shelf and
> pointed out a Quady port.
>
> We made our way back to the table and thorougly enjoyed the port and gelato.
> My banana/white chocolate gelato really did not complement the port (as I
> expected) but it was tasty on its own.  Meanwhile, my sister was in ecstacy
> describing how the port was the perfect complement to the mocha gelato.  I
> finally worked my way down to the mocha gelato and I understood what she was
> getting so excited about.  The Quady port combined with the mocha gelato was
> absolutely sublime.  After we finished our allotted two scoops of gelato, we
> flagged down the waitress (whose name I cannot remember) and asked if we
> could have some tiramisu gelato, I because I had not had a scoop of it yet,
> my sister because she thought it so fantastic.  The waitress asked if we'd
> like to share a scoop and we both laughed.  "No, no, we would each like our
> own scoop."  She quickly brought us each a scoop of the tiramisu gelato and
> we enjoyed it with the last bit of port left in our glasses.  While we were
> finishing up our meal, Tony regaled us with the story of how he befriended
> an FBI agent after, unaware of her profession, telling her that he spent
> many years in San Quentin.  We brought the remaining half bottle of port
> back home with us and I am enjoying it right now.
>
> Total time:  3 hours.  Cost:  $123 (includes two bottles of wine, tax and
> tip).
>
> Additional notes:  He asked where I heard about the restaurant and I told
> him that I heard about it on the Internet from a friend.  He said that a few
> months ago, someone brought in several pages of printouts from a review on
> the Internet.  I remembered that Chester mentioned that he took the Ranger's
> post to Tony, so I asked if this person was Asian and grew up in the Bay
> Area.  He said "yes" and I knew for sure that it was in fact Chester.  So,
> Chester, he remembers you.  In fact, he seemed so excited about his
> restaurant being discussed on the net that he gave me his business card with
> his fax number asking me to fax him any other reviews about his restaurant
> that appeared on the net.
>
> The people at the table behind us started randomly chatting with us.  It was
> something that I'm not used to experiencing in California.  We talked with
> them between the main course and dessert and again during dessert.  As we
> were leaving, Tony came over and the five of us talked for another 15 or 20
> minutes.  It was just that kind of atmosphere where you could strike up a
> conversation with strangers.
>
> We spent the 15-minute drive home talking about what a great dining
> experience this was.  I'm sure that we could've talked about it for another
> hour had the wine not knocked my sister out.
>
> I could go on and on about how wonderful Tony is, but Chester paints an
> accurate portrait below.
>
> Nabeel
> p.s.  Wow, I didn't think I would write this much...hmmm, if only my thesis
> was this easy to write. :-)
>
> ------------------------------------------------------
>

[email removed]://www.intRnauts.com/hassan/---

		"I've never met a Friday I didn't like."

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	Manzoorul H. wrote:

>We will be visiting the Bay Area around the 2nd week of April for a few
>days (3, maybe 4) and would very much like to try something that is very
>special of the Area. Of course, we will be looking for a good Japanese
>place (becasue I am from Austin and am expecting the Bay Area has better
>Japanese places than we do)

Isobune on 9th avenue (for sushi).
Mifune in Japantown (for noodles).

> and a good Thai/Vietnamese place (because both
>my wife and I really love Thai/Vietnamese food).

Marnee Thai on Irving.

>
>In addition, is there anything else that I should not miss out ? Really
>appreciate all your help.
>
>[email removed]://www.intRnauts.com/hassan/---
>
>		To err is human, to forgive is divine.
>
>
>
>
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