RAVE - SPQR

The measure of a really good dish at a really good restaurant is when I make up my mind to try that dish at home, when cooking for guests.

I've done that with 2 or 3 ideas from SPQR - the simple-but-wonderful pan heated olives rolled in spiced breadcrumbs, and pan-cooked, bacon-wrapped brussels sprouts. I forget what the third one was, and I notice that neither of the first two is currently shown on their web-site. Maybe I ruined it for everyone?

SPQR now takes reservations, which is tons better than waiting around on the sidewalk to get a table.

However you get in there, it'll be worth your while.

RANT - Sushi Groove South

Revolting stink of fish hit us when we entered the restaurant and permeated the dingy space.

So-so sushi - soggy when it should have been crisp, lacklustre when it should have popped, flat when it should have been spiky.

I didn't have fond memories from the last time we went there 5 years ago, and it'll be a lot longer than 5 years before I get dragged in there again.

I know everyone has their favorite sushi place. Mine remains Blowfish.

RANT - Limon

What's the attraction with these Peruvian restaurants. Jonny and Mikki love Crudo. Everyone but me loves La Mer, and Michael Bauer loves Limon.

If you're desparate for ceviche, by all means slide on down to Limon, but apart from that it's just fishy Mexican food to me.

You should know I'm not a fan of fishy-smelling fish, and usually order the Tempura when dining at a sushi restaurant, so I'm probably not the ideal arbiter of fish-centric Peruvian cuisine.

Therefore, on this rare occasion ignore my Limon diss; go there and make your own mind up.

RAVE - Delfina

We've been here a couple times with David and Felicia, and aside from them vowing never again to take the bus from Pacific Heights to The Mission - it goes through the Civic Center DMZ where it picks up the tarts and taggers (jerks were spraying graffiti inside the bus, while it was in motion) - all was well at Delfina.

This place seems to overflow onto the sidewalk, with people waiting to get in, or staying around to swap stories of how much they loved it while getting out.

The atmosphere is boisterous and friendly, whether you're squeezed in at the tiny bar or seated in the shabby chic dining room.

The food is fresh and interesting, bettered only by actually being in the Italian countryside.

I've read some reviews where people think Delfina is over-rated, but on our visits we've found it well worth the hassle it is to get a reservation.

RAVE - Coi

A truly classy room, in a way that Elisabeth Daniel used to be, and that bigger, noisier, flashier places can never achieve.

In a disconcertingly downmarket neighborhood, flanked by strip clubs and tourist hang-outs, Coi is definitely somewhere you'd want to take your parents, but only after blindfolding them until you got to the entrance.

Once inside, they'd be delighted by the calm, elegant atmosphere, the suave wait staff and the gorgeous food.

RAVE - Chez Papa Resto

While this is the "proper" Chez Papa restaurant, and the Potrero Hill original is the bistro, I've always considered the Mint Plaza restaurant to be the lesser of the two.

It's less authentic in its Francophilia, and has always seemed to me like more of an attempt to make money than a natural development of our local Chez Papa.

Nevertheless, it stands on its own as a destination restaurant, with a late-night lounge vibe that's impossible for the much smaller Bistro to achieve.

The food used to be just as good as the Bistro, but as you may have seen from one of my Chez Papa Bistro reviews, the parent organization has "sold back" the Resto to its chef / manager.

You'll just have to go there and find out for yourself, to see if it's as good as it was last year.

RANT - Boulevard

What on earth do people see in this blue-rinse-centric, over-the-hill restaurant?

In another Top 100 list, this one showing the top grossing restaurants in the USA, Boulevard is there. There's no doubting it's an institution, but as my Dad used to say, "you know what happens in an Institution!"

I've only eaten there once, a lunch with my good friends George and David, and some mutual business associates.

The food completely missed the mark, surprising only for the distance by which it underwhelmed. I remember leaning back in my dining chair, looking up and being shocked by the state of the ceiling - dirty, stained tiles.

We were all so disappointed, George phoned them after, complained and got a credit toward another meal there. I gather he enjoyed the return experience more, but I'll not be going back.

RAVE - Bouchon

What on earth do they put in the water in Yountville?

The town itself is a bit twee and plasticky, but the restaurant selection is better than any other small town in the world (I'm guessing).

Bouchon looks, sounds and smells perfectly French. And the food more than does its part too.

Just like Bistro Don Giovanni's, it's well worth the one hour drive out of San Francisco.