Dinner at Terrapin Creek Cafe

This week's gastronomic adventure took a slightly different turn, as I decided to forego San Francisco and head north to California's wine country. I had the privilege of having an excellent Latin American-inspired lunch at Guiso Latin Fusion in Healdsburgh, CA. This was book-ended by tastings at two wineries, Donum Estate in Carneros, and Arista Winery in the Russian River Valley. You can read more about this in an upcoming post; what I wanted to focus on here is the capstone for the day: dinner at Terrapin Creek Cafe.

Dinner at Nico

Frugality and fine dining rarely seem to go hand in hand. To some, spending hundreds of dollars at a restaurant is justified by the artistry on display, similar to springing for front-row tickets to Hamilton. Sometimes the planets align, and a restaurant does provide an amazing gastronomic journey at a reasonable price, as witnessed in my previous write-up of San Francisco's Aster.

These culinary jewels are rare, and need to be celebrated when found. Thus, a fitting follow-up to my Aster review is another San Francisco eatery: Nico. Nico operates on a "carte blanche" style, where the menu is not known to the guest as the dishes are served. A five course prix fix menu runs for $70, while optional wine pairings run for an additional $65. That equals out to $115 for five courses with wine, right up there in the value department as Aster.

Lunch at la Taqueria

Johan Bartolomew's 1st law of gastronomy states that all Michelin starred restaurants are great, but not all great restaurants are Michelin starred. Franklin BBQ in Austin, Oklahoma Joe's in KC; none being featured in this year's Red Guide, but I dare anyone to say those places and their craft are not amazing. The fact that people wait outside Franklin BBQ in the wee hours of the night, hopping to snag a few slices of brisket the following morning before they run out, is a testament to their greatness.

Similar can be said for pizza places in New York and Chicago, and Mexican food throughout the American West. One of San Francisco's contributors in the Mexican food department is la Taqueria, located in the vibrant-yet-grungy Mission district. La Taqueria is a bit of an institution, providing its tasty Mexican fare since 1973, and in the process generating some pretty impressive lines (especially on the weekends). Claiming "America's Best Burrito" in a 538.com burrito bracket challenge certainly has not helped.

Dinner at La Ciccia

For this edition of Weekend by the Bay, I decided to put down the Michelin Red Guide and try a place off the beaten trail. After doing a little research, I settled on a cozy little eatery in the Noe Valley (pronounced Noey, or Noë) neighborhood of San Francisco called La Ciccia.

La Ciccia - or "the flab" if literally translated in Italian - is actually an Italian term of endearment (think "Ciao Ciccio/Ciccia"). And endearment is just what this place is going for, as this neighborhood gem is just wide enough for a 6 person bar on one side, and two banks of tables on the other. Walls are painted a beautiful olive green, while the art adorning the walls every now and then evokes the feeling of olives growing in the countryside of Sardinia.

Dinner at Aster

Spring time for someone working for a Treasury function within a Bank is usually the toughest part of the year. Banks do their final push to file their Comprehensive Capital Adequacy Review ("CCAR") with the Federal Reserve, which means lots of risk modeling and narrative drafting. Combine this with the annual shenanigans associated with March Madness, and one has an interesting dichotomy of fun and misery.

In anticipation for this stretch, I plan the annual Cayman trip to top off the fuel gauge. That trip made for some nice experiences, which you can read all about here. Of course there was a celebratory dinner at Coi, and couple nice weekends of Michigan State basketball. But now Michigan State is out of the Big Dance, and it's time to turn my attention to a deeper appreciation of the San Francisco culinary scene. The first restaurant to be crossed off the list: Aster.

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Celebratory dinner at Coi

As much as I wish eating - as well as writing about said eating - was my day job, it's sadly not. In fact my budding career in liquidity risk management (a topic I forbid to discuss on this forum) is what allows me to indulge in these culinary odysseys. Thus, when I was notified at the end of February 2017 that I was promoted, I decided it was a great reason to finally cross Coi off my list of places to check out in San Francisco.