4 Chicks & A Restaurant

 November 4, 2023. This one was a mouthful to pronounce. But a tasty one! This super cute Japanese restaurant in Berkeley was Julia's pick for November. The tempura on the green beans was to die for - so light and crispy. And those white squares below are homemade tofu. Some of the best I've had. This place was perfection.   Cannot wait to go back!!

 September 20, 2023. There's a first time for everything...including Restaurant Club on a...gasp(!)...Thursday night! This really happened and we didn't turn into pumpkins. With Gail and Julia in the city for work, it seemed a perfect opportunity to hit the Castro for dinner! (Including a brief cameo by Gail's work friend). Canela was small, cozy, and quite delicious. Lovely small plates of Spanish tapas rounded out the evening!

 May 7, 2023: Cassava was a great idea for everyone except for Julia. This adorable spot in North Beach featured French-California cuisine. Julia heard it was Ok, not fantastic (food poisoning or illness from a Taco Bar in Lafayette sent Julia racing home to the loo).  So this was kind of a bust...oh, well. Can't win them all. 

 February 19, 2023. Tonight, we dined at a cute little Italian restaurant in Nob Hill called Serafina. We had a guest, and it's been so long since we have. Joan Sinclair joined us for our lovely dinner. The pastas were divine, and you can see we had FOUR desserts! Ouch.  

 Jack London Square's restaurant scene is constantly changing, but the addition of Noka Ramen was incredible! This was Julia's pick on a rainy Sunday evening. I wish we had just cut to the ramen, even though the appetizers were also really delicious. We had crispy brussel sprouts, shishito peppers and truffle fries with the most divine dipping sauce. The spicy ground pork ramen, though, was the highlight. It was soooo good, but we were so full that this was probably the FIRST restaurant club ever that we took home leftovers. And ramen the next day did not disappoint! Oh, and per annual tradition, we had White Russians at Forge prior to dinner. Salut! (December 4, 2022).

 Stephanie's pick of the fall was Seven Hills in San Francisco's Russian Hill neighborhood. Seven Hills is a cute little spot that features Italian food. I can't recall any specific dish, but I am pretty sure it lived up to the hype.  Was wonderful to get the support of friends through thick and thin. (October 6, 2022). 

Dionne's pick in the Mission District was full of flavor and color!  The door and window frames are painted neon pink, tropical murals cover the walls, and plants hang above. The varied textures and spicy, sweet, and umami-heavy flavors in every dish—influenced by Laos, the Philippines, Thailand, Japan, and more. The pork belly steam bun pictured below was to die for. The night started with an incredible flashback: drinks at Blondie's!! In the late 1990s, Gail and I were a fixture there, sipping those massive dirty martinis. So thrilling to see that it has withstood the test of time and transformation in the City. Other than a minor makeover (outdoor seating), it was the same old Blondies -- with massive martinis you can sip while looking out into the street. (July 28, 2022)