Delfina

Delfina

Mission, San Francisco

A Michelin Bib Gourmand Rating

A vibrant trattoria in SF's mission district. Highly rated as one of the best italian restaurant in town.  Their menu changes daily, offering local products.  They cure their own meat and fish, and make their own sausages, pastas and gelato.

It was hard to get a dinner reservation for a party of 6, but we managed for an early 6pm slot. Amazingly smooth and soft fleur del sel butter with fresh and crusty bread.

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Louisiana White Shrimp in Porchetta

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Grilled Fresh Calamari with warm white bean salad

This is not the usual breaded boring deep fried calamari.  It is grilled to perfection with a splash of fresh seafood flavor.

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Corn soup with truffle

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Spaghetti

plum tomatoes, garlic, extra virgin olive oil and peperoncini

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Rosemary Tagliatelle al Ragu

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Brodetto Anconese

rock cod, skate, shrimp, mussels and clams

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Berkshire Pork Arrosto

lacopi butter beans and Jimmy Nardello peppers al lardo

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Tcho Chocolate Budino

sunflower seed gelato and raspberries

Tcho is San Francisco's dark artisan chocolate manufacturer, which makes the budino rich in flavor.   

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Brown Butter Finanziario

roasted O'Henry peaches and mascarpone crema

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Acqua di Cedro Semifreddo

melo granita and candied pistachios

a great cup of cappaccino to end

Overall it was an excellent evening.  The crowd is a typical neighborhood - with young hipsters with some older couples and artsy folks.   Parking spot around the area is rare, and there's usually a line outside.  However, the food was definitely worth the wait. 

Food: ★★★★☆

Service: ★★★★☆

Ambiance: ★★★☆☆
Presentation: ★★★★☆

Bistro 29

Bistro 29

Downtown Santa Rosa, CA

A Michelin Bib Gourmand Rating

Baguette was unblievable good. Warm, cripsy on the outside, soft in the inside

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Great wine recommended by our waiter.  Clear and smooth.

Pan Seared Foie Gras - with housemade pain d'espice French toast & cider gravenstien apple compote

Steamed Mussels - with white wine saffron tomato broth & panisse "frites"

Cassoulet - confit of duck leg with garlic flageolet beans, apple wood smoked slab bacon & Toulouse sausage

Seafood Armoricaine - day boat scallop, red snapper, prawn, calarmari, potato puree & lobster congnac sauce Armoricaine

Pan Seared Ribeye - with roasted shallots, chanterelles, sweet potato gratin & sauce bordelaise

Food: ★★★★☆

Service: ★★★★☆

Ambiance: ★★★★☆

Presentation: ★★★☆☆

SPQR

SPQR
Pacific Heights
A Michelin Bib Gourmand Rating

This is defnitely a neighborhood gem with a notable wine list (All from Italy).   Reservation was hard to get and we ended up dining at 9:30pm.

uova slow poached farma egg, spring garlic soubise, onion, fried bacon, radish

gemelli squid ink pasta, puttanesca ragu, dungeness crab, sea urchin

buckwheat spaghetti duck ragu, smoked bacon, gold raisin, rapini

chocolate fudge torta gianduja chocolate, hazelnut crumble

The restaurant was small, cozy and packed to the max.  The decor was elegant and yet relaxing with warm and dark tones.  The menu was creative, not the usual spaghetti and meatballs.  The winelist was hard to navigate as they were all italian. We each had a glass of Italian white and rose.  The prices were high relative to the size of the dishes, but definitely worth a repeat.

Food: ★★★★☆

Service: ★★★★☆

Ambiance: ★★★★☆

Presentation: ★★★☆☆