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Food and Drink in San Fran and Napa

A September 2010 trip to San Francisco by ch2001

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Quote: Labor Day weekend 2010 will live in infamy. For three days straight we ate and drank our way around San Francisco and Napa. I hope you enjoy these tasty reviews.
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Napa Valley

Bouchon Bakery Best of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "This bakery would make Parisian boulangeries proud"

Quote:
Inspired by the Parisian boulangeries, the owners of Bouchon bistro opened a bakery next to their restaurant in Yountville, CA, and called in Bouchon Bakery.We arrived to Bouchon Bakery at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday before setting out for a day of wine tasting. The smell as we approached the bakery was overwhelmingly pleasant; my mouth began watering. Inside there was a single counter - to the left sat muffins, croissants, cakes, scones, cookies and numerous other pastries; to the right was a glass case containing sandwiches, tarts and macaroons.The four of us decided to purchase an assortment for sharing, so we ordered: a bacon and cheddar scone, a pain au chocolat, an almond cro...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on October 13, 2025

Bouchon Bakery
6528 Washington Street
Yountville, California 94599
707-944-2253

V. Sattui Winery Best of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Open early, but wine and service not spectacular"

Quote:
V. Sattui Winery was one of the earliest to open on the Saturday that we traveled to Napa - so naturally, it was our first stop. We entered the nondescript looking building into a gourmet food shop - cheeses, olive oils, breads and more.Through the shop was the wine tasting room. We were the only customers. Two six-wines tastings were offered - classic tasting for $5, and the premium tasting for $10. We opted for the classic tasting. I sampled two whites, three reds and a port. I did not feel they were anything special - tasted like your average $8 wine. While I found the employee to be knowledgeable, he was not overly friendly. We attempted to strike up a conversation with him, bu...Read More

Member Rating 2 out of 5 on October 13, 2025

V. Sattui Winery
1111 White Lane
St. Helena, California 94574
(707) 963-7774

Rutherford Grove Winery Best of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Quality wine tasting with personal attention"

Quote:
We arrived at Rutherford Grove Winery just minutes before its 10 a.m. opening. The visitors center sits on the west side of Highway 29, and the short driveway is surrounded by the vineyard. Not wanting to look like lushes barging in at exactly 10 a.m. we took some cheesy photos is an old beat up Ford and took in the early morning sunshine.The main building had a ski lodge feel to it and the tasting area consisted on one large room. To the right of the entrance was a sitting area facing a stone fireplace, to the left were a few shelves with local goodies for sale, and straight ahead was an L-shaped bar. We were greeted by an extremely friendly Shelly. She began by telling us about the ...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on October 15, 2025

Rutherford Grove Winery
1673 Saint Helena Hwy South
St. Helena, California
(707) 963-0544

Elizabeth Spencer Wines Best of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Limited production winery"

Quote:
In my opinion, the best way to get the most out of a day in Napa Valley is, when you are at a really good winery, ask your pourer for recommendations of where to go next. At Rutherford Grove Winery our pourer suggested we go to Elizabeth Spencer Wines and handed us a special card that gave us and extra glass with our tasting.Elizabeth Spencer Wines is a small winery, but let me tell you, it is big on flavor. The quality of their wines are spectacular. All of the wines are limited productions - one wine was from a production of 12 barrels.The tasting room is housed in the quaint former Rutherford Post Office building built in 1872. The entire right wall was consumed by bottl...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on October 15, 2025

Elizabeth Spencer Wines
1165 Rutherford Road
Rutherford, California 94573
707-963-4768

Jessup Cellars Best of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Great wines, even better chocolate wine sauce"

Quote:
Jessup Cellars was the fourth winery we visited in Napa - not counting our five minute visit to the way-too-crowded Robert Mondavi winery - so we were feeling pretty good when we arrived.The tasting room is in the middle of Yountville, just a couple blocks from French Laundry. There are two rooms and a patio that make up the tasting area. Most of their tastings happen in the main room directly through the front door - there was a large granite bar with space for at least a dozen people. As soon as we entered we were welcomed by more than one person, and made our way to the bar where we met our pourer Dan.Dan was hilarious. He had to be in his mid-sixties so he's seen a grea...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on October 17, 2025

Jessup Cellars
6740 Washington Street
Yountville, California 94599
707.944.8523

Honig Vineyard & Winery Best of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Average wines, bad service"

Quote:
Honig has an amazing spot on the outskirts of Rutherford. Once you leave the main road you follow their driveway past rows and rows of vines, until you enter the parking lot just to the west of the main building. In front of the building were more than 10 tables with four to six chairs at each. Inside there was a long wooden table and a granite counter - you could do your tastings at either of these spots, but we opted to do it outside. The patio was divinely relaxing. From my seat, looking east, I had a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains.We were given coupons for a free tasting by our pourer at Elizabeth Spencer Wines, so I do not know the cost for a tasting.I re...Read More

Member Rating 2 out of 5 on October 17, 2025

Honig Vineyard & Winery
850 Rutherford Road
Rutherford, California 94573
(707) 963-5618

Bistro Jeanty Best of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "A superb French meal in Napa Valley"

Quote:
After a day of wine tasting throughout Napa we were ready for a tasty, quality meal. We found it at Bistro Jeanty.We ordered the following three starters:CRÊME DE TOMATE EN CROUTETomato soup in puff pastryESCARGOTSWith garlic pastis butterQUENELLES DE BROCHETPike dumplings with lobster sauceI did my research online and read that the tomato soup was one of their specialties, so we had to try it. The pastry was golden brown and crispy - it fell neatly into the soup when cut with my spoon. The soup itself was spectacular - rich and creamy. I did not partake in the escargot, but I was told they were very good - the butter an...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on October 13, 2025

Bistro Jeanty
6510 Washington St
Yountville, California 94599
(707) 944-0103

San Francisco

Ritual Coffee Roasters Best of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "The best part of waking up..."

Quote:
Our Sunday morning in San Francisco started off with a bike ride. After navigating "the wiggle" I was in serious need of caffeine. Our guide - AKA future brother-in-law - attempted to take us to Tartine but due to the forty person deep line we decided to skip it. Instead we went to Ritual Coffee Roasters.The interior was hip - local art on all the walls, very tall ceilings, dark wood floor and a hodge podge of older furniture. The aroma of the coffee was amazing. To the right of the main entrance were shelves of their coffee beans for consumption at home - 12 oz. whole-bean bags ranged from $12.95 to $17.95. While these costs may be a bit high for your average coffee drinker, all the...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on October 18, 2025

Ritual Coffee Roasters
1026 Valencia St
San Francisco, California 94110
4156411024

Taqueria Cancun Best of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "No need to run for the border"

Quote:
"Wow" is all I have to say about the burritos at Taqueria Cancun. After securing our bikes outside we followed the amazing smells emitting from the restaurant's open front door. The restaurant is kitschy inside - bright yellow and red walls and massive wooden tables and benches.We ordered chips and salsa and a chicken burrito with the works. The chips were warm, crisp and salted perfectly. The burrito arrived a few minutes later. Our brother-in-law hyped the burrito up so much that I was fearful of being let down, but I am happy to say that I was definitely not let down. It was delicious with a capital D. Better than any burrito from a chain fast food joint or a fancy Mexican restau...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on October 18, 2025

Taqueria Cancun
2288 Mission St. (Cross St.: 19th Street)
San Francisco, California 94110
(415) 252-9560

Bi-Rite Market Best of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "Cutest little grocery store on Earth"

Quote:
Like San Francisco itself, Bi-Rite Market is small but packed full of variety. The sheer number of people entering and exiting the grocery store caught our attention, as did the fresh produce displayed on tables outside the front door. Inside, the shelves had to be more than ten feet tall, with products displayed all the way up.To my delight, most of the products were local. Immediately inside the door to the left were the cash registers and to the right was a wall of fruit - grapes, figs, peaches, and anything else you could want. And there were free samples. One wall was filled entirely with chocolate in all shapes and sizes, from as far away as Europe and as close as San Francisco....Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on October 18, 2025

Bi-Rite Market
3639 18th St
San Francisco, California 94110
415-241-9760

Bi-Rite Creamery & Bakeshop Best of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "Healthy ice cream, well maybe not, but it's organic"

Quote:
Across from the Bi-Rite Market is the Bi-Rite Creamery and Bakeshop. Having enjoyed our experience at the market it was only natural for us to extend the excitement at the creamery. The ice cream, made with mainly organic ingredients, comes in an organic cone or a biodegradable container. We just wanted a taste so we ordered the kiddie size - which was actually quite large.I tried the brown sugar with ginger caramel swirl and while it tasted phenomenal, I could not pass up the cookies and cream. The ice cream was smooth and rich, and the cookies were the perfect size (you know when you get a pint of cookies and cream and you have to search for the large pieces of cookie, no...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on October 18, 2025

Bi-Rite Creamery & Bakeshop
3692 18th St.
San Francisco, California 94110
415-626-5600

Tataki Sushi and Sake Bar Best of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "Sushi happy hour"

Quote:
Alright, so I am not the biggest sushi fan - I mainly steer away from raw meats and fishes - but I enjoyed my dinner at Tataki. I went with five sushi fans, so I knew I'd be fine eating what they ordered.To start we ordered the crab croquette - crispy cakes with crab, sweet potato, and vegetables. There were four on the plate and the size of my palm. They were delicious. A good amount of crab and not overly oily from being fried. We also ordered some edamame which was good, not the best I've had.Nightly before 7 p.m. is happy hour and, of course, happy hour specials. All the rolls we ordered were $4.50 each. For the main course we ordered a variety of sushi: crunchy Cali...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on October 18, 2025

Tataki Sushi and Sake Bar
2815 California Street
San Francisco, California
(415) 931-1182

Grain D'or Best of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "Danish bakery in San Francisco"

Quote:
On our last morning in San Francisco we wanted to eat breakfast on the beach, so we went to Grain D'or to pick up some pastries. Having been to Copenhagen a few months ago, I was really excited to visit a Danish pastry shop. We were greeted by the most pleasant smell when we entered the sparsely decorated restaurant - very Danish indeed.The pastries were displayed behind a plate of glass, presumably to keep sweets-fanatics like me from reaching over and grabbing a danish, and each name card had a cute Danish flag. As had become our custom, we purchased an assortment to share, including a raspberry cream cheese danish, a chocolate croissant, a walnut cream cheese danish, a bacon bun and ...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on October 18, 2025

Grain D'or
665 Market St
San Francisco, California 94105
(415) 512-8160

Recchiuti Confections Best of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Fancy chocolates from San Francisco"

Quote:
Recchiuti Confections, a Parisian-inspired chocolate shop, offers handmade chocolates from San Francisco. Their chocolates are definitley in the designer chocolate category, with flavors including curry, lavender, apple and more.

A pre-packaged box of four cost $11, but you can pick individual pieces to make your own box (or bag) for roughly $2 each. We settled on a few individual pieces - the Fleur de Sel Caramel was by far the best.

Finding high-quality, locally-made chocolates when traveling around the US is difficult, so these are great souvenirs or gifts for friends and family.

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on October 18, 2025

Recchiuti Confections
Ferry Building Marketplace, One Ferry Building
San Francisco, California
415-983-8030

Cowgirl Creamery Cheese Shop Best of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Artisan cheese shop in downtown"

Quote:
Based in Point Reyes Station, California, Cowgirl Creamery's Artisan Cheese has a large shop with dozens of choices in the Ferry Building Marketplace.

The staff was very helpful, and were very happy to provide us with samples.

In addition to the cheeses made by the creamery they sell cheeses from around the world. Since we were flying home shortly after we visited we did not purchase any cheese, but we did get a nifty Cowgirl Creamery cheese knife for $1.50 - nice little souvenir

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on October 18, 2025

Cowgirl Creamery Cheese Shop
1 Ferry Building, #17
San Francisco, California 94111
(415) 362-9354

Miette Cakes Best of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "Scrumptious baked goods"

Quote:
Miette, "little crumb" in French, is a cute little bakery with very scrumptious looking baked goods. The glass case and counters were covered with macaroons, cookies, muffins and cupcakes.

I love cupcakes, like really love, so when I saw a gingerbread cupcake in the case I had to try it. The cake was so moist and the gingerbread flavor was perfect - not overly potent. The cream cheese frosting was also perfect. We also purchased a couple macaroons for the plane ride - they too were tasty.

A stop at Miette is a must for dessert or a snack.

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on October 18, 2025

Miette Cakes
1 Ferry Bldg
San Francisco, California 94104
(415) 837-0300

About the Writer

ch2001

ch2001
Chicago, Illinois

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