[an error occurred while processing this directive] Mark's SF Bay Area Dining Club

Mark's SF Bay Area Dining Club

What is this? | Key to Ratings

Official Outings in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010

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Restaurant	Cuisine	Location	Date Visited	Consensus Rating	Review and Comments
The Blue Plate	American & Mediterranean	San Francisco	2010-08-11	3-	The Blue Plate Review
Zare at Fly Trap	Mediterranean (Persian-inspired)	San Francisco	2010-06-16	2	Zare at Fly Trap Review
The Helmand	Afghani	San Francisco	2009-11-11	3-	The Helmand Review
COCO500	Californian-Mediterranean	San Francisco	2009-09-23	2+	COCO500 Review
Cafe Jacqueline	French	San Francisco	2009-09-16	3	Cafe Jacqueline Review
Lucky River	Chinese (Cantonese?)	San Francisco	2009-04-15	1+	Lucky River Review
Cinecitta Ristorante & Bar	Italian (Roman-style pizza)	San Francisco	2009-04-08	2+	Cinecitta Ristorante & Bar Review
Tannourine	Lebanese & Mediterranean	San Mateo	2009-03-31	2	Tannourine Review
Sheba (Piano) Lounge	Ethiopian	San Francisco	2009-03-18	3-	Sheba (Piano) Lounge Review
Laiola	Spanish Tapas	San Francisco	2009-03-11	3-	Laiola Review
La Mar Cebicheria Peruana	Peruvian	San Francisco	2009-03-04	2	La Mar Cebicheria Peruana Review
Beijing Restaurant	Chinese (Beijing)	San Francisco	2009-02-25	2+	Beijing Restaurant Review
The Front Porch	Southern and Caribbean	San Francisco	2009-02-03	3-	The Front Porch Review
Firefly	Contemporary	San Francisco	2008-10-22	2+	Firefly Review
RNM Restaurant	Contemporary	San Francisco	2008-10-09	3-	RNM Restaurant Review
Dona Tomas	Mexican	Oakland	2008-05-28	3	Dona Tomas Review
Woodward's Garden	Californian	San Francisco	2008-05-13	3+	Woodward's Garden Review (rated mainly for exceptional desserts)
Ajanta	Indian	Berkeley	2008-05-06	3+	Ajanta Review
Chez Christina	French-Vietnamese	Milpitas	2008-04-29	2	Chez Christina Review
Great China	Chinese	Berkeley	2008-04-23	2	Great China Review (get the Peking Duck!)
Salang Pass	Afghani	Fremont	2008-04-15	1+	Salang Pass Review
Couleur Cafe	French & Burgers	San Francisco	2008-04-08	3-	Couleur Cafe Review (get the burger!)
Alfred's Steakhouse	Steakhouse	San Francisco	2008-04-01	2	Alfred's Steakhouse Review
San Tung	Chinese	San Francisco	2008-03-27	3	San Tung Review
Da Flora	Italian (Venetian, supposedly)	San Francisco	2008-02-22	2+	Da Flora Review
La Ciccia	Italian (Sardinian)	San Francisco	2008-02-07	3-	La Ciccia Review
Banyan Tree	Malaysian/Singaporean	Union City	2008-01-31	2+	Banyan Tree Review
Gerry's Grill	Filipino	Union City	2008-01-24	3-	Gerry's Grill Review
Innya Lake	Burmese and Chinese	San Bruno	2007-01-17	3	Innya Lake Review
CAV Wine Bar & Kitchen	Contemporary	San Francisco	2007-12-10	2	CAV Wine Bar & Kitchen Review
Pomegranate Mediterranean Cuisine	Persian	Berkeley	2007-12-05	3	Pomegranate Mediterranean Cuisine Review
So	Chinese	San Francisco	2007-11-07	2+	So Restaurant Review
Cajun Pacific	Cajun, European, and more	San Francisco	2007-11-01	3-	Cajun Pacific Review
Jardiniere	French	San Francisco	2007-10-03	2+	Jardiniere Review
Spices!	Chinese (Sichuan)	San Francisco	2007-09-19	2-	Spices! Review
Farmerbrown	Southern/Soul (neo-)	San Francisco	2007-09-12	3	Farmerbrown Review
Tommaso's	Italian	San Francisco	2007-09-05	2+	Tommaso's Review
Memphis Minnie's	BBQ	San Francisco	2007-08-08	2+	Memphis Minnie's Review
A La Turca	Turkish	San Francisco	2007-08-01	2+	A La Turca Review
Betelnut	Asian (pan-Asian)	San Francisco	2007-07-25	2	Betelnut Review
Alborz	Persian	San Francisco	2007-07-18	3-	Alborz Review
Canto do Brasil	Brazilian (non-barbecue)	San Francisco	2007-06-27	3-	Canto do Brasil Review
Charanga	Cuban/Caribbean Inspired	San Francisco	2007-05-16	2	Charanga Review
Roy's	Hawaiian Fusion	San Francisco	2007-04-26	3	Roy's Review
Han Il Kwan	Korean	San Francisco	2007-04-18	3-	Han Il Kwan Review
Shalizaar	Persian	San Mateo	2007-04-11	2+	Shalizaar Review
Mamacita	Mexican	San Francisco	2007-04-04	4-	Mamacita Review
Tao Cafe	Vietnamese	San Francisco	2007-03-21	2	Tao Cafe Review
Chez Spencer	French	San Francisco	2007-03-14	3+	Chez Spencer Review
Old Shanghai	Chinese (Shanghainese)	San Francisco	2007-03-07	3-	Old Shanghai Review
Maykadeh	Persian / Iranian	San Francisco	2007-02-28	2+	Maykadeh Review
Chapeau!	French	San Francisco	2007-02-21	2	Chapeau! Review
South Park Cafe	French	San Francisco	2007-02-14	2	South Park Cafe Review
Bistro Luneta	Filipino-inspired contemporary	San Mateo	2007-02-08	Not Rated	Not Reviewed
Ame	Contemporary Japanese-Inspired	San Francisco	2007-01-31	3-	Ame Review
Frisson	Contemporary	San Francisco	2007-01-17	3-	Frisson Review
Le Colonial	Vietnamese	San Francisco	2007-01-10	3+	Le Colonial Review
Destino	Peruvian and other Spanish	San Francisco	2007-01-03	3-	Destino Review

Official Outings in 2005 and 2006

Restaurant	Cuisine	Location	Date Visited	Consensus Rating	Review and Comments
Chez Nous	French	San Francisco	2006-11-15	2	Chez Nous Review
Silver House	Chinese	San Mateo	2006-10-18	2+	Silver House Review
Oola	American (Contemporary)	San Francisco	2006-09-20	3	Oola Review
Oidon	Japanese	San Mateo	2006-09-13	2	Oidon Review
Langkawi	Malaysian	San Mateo	2006-09-06	3	Langkawi Review
Z&Y Garden	Chinese (Sichuan and Yunnan)	San Francisco	2006-08-23	2+	Z & Y Garden
Espetus Churrascaria	Brazilian Steakhouse	San Francisco	2006-08-16	3-	Espetus Churrascaria Review
Bocadillos	Tapas	San Francisco	2006-07-12	3-	Bocadillos Review
The House	Asian Fusion	San Francisco	2006-07-05	3	The House Review
Tadich Grill	Seafood	San Francisco	2006-06-28	1+	Tadich Grill
Elite Cafe	Cajun & Creole	San Francisco	2006-06-14	3-	Elite Cafe Review
Paul K	Mediterranean	San Francisco	2006-06-07	2	Paul K Review
Chez Panisse Cafe	Californian	Berkeley	2006-05-24	4-	Chez Panisse Cafe Review
Bodega Bistro	Vietnamese	San Francisco	2006-05-10	2+	Bodega Bistro Review
Slanted Door	Vietnamese-inspired	San Francisco	2006-05-03	4-	Slanted Door Review
Spices II	Chinese (Sichuan)	San Francisco	2006-04-27	3-	Spices II Review
Golden Era	Vegetarian Chinese/Vietnamese	San Francisco	2006-04-19	2	Golden Era Review
Chez Panisse	Californian	Berkeley	2006-03-29	3-	Chez Panisse Review
Mi Lindo Yucatan	Mexican (Yucatan)	San Francisco (Mission location)	2006-03-15	2-	Mi Lindo Yucatan Review
Lahore Karahi	Indian/Pakistani	San Francisco	2006-02-15	3-	Lahore Karahi Review
Ozumo	Japanese (though we ordered mainly cooked food)	San Francisco	2006-02-08	2	Ozumo Review
Fringale	French-Basque	San Francisco	2006-01-25	3	Fringale Review
1550 Cafe and Wine Bar	Cal-Mediterranean	San Francisco	2006-01-19	3-	1550 Hyde Cafe and Wine Bar Review
Cortez	Cal-Mediterranean fusion?	San Francisco	2006-01-11	4	Cortez Review
Rubicon	Cal-French?	San Francisco	2006-01-04	3-	Rubicon Review
Canteen	Californian	San Francisco	2005-12-28	3	Canteen Review
R&G Lounge	Chinese (Cantonese)	San Francisco	2005-12-21	3-	R&G Lounge
Bissap Baobab	Senegalese	San Francisco	2005-12-14	2-	Bissap Baobab
Windy City Pizza	Pizza & BBQ	San Mateo	2005-11-30	2	Windy City Pizza Review
Saha	Arabic Fusion	San Francisco	2005-11-16	2	Saha Review
Greens Restaurant	Vegetarian	San Francisco	2005-11-10	4-	Greens Restaurant Review
Zax Tavern	Californian	Berkeley	2005-11-05	4-	Zax Tavern Review
Scharffen Berger tour	chocolate factory	Berkeley	2005-11-05	Not Rated	Scharffen Berger chocolate factory tour write-up
Indonesia Restaurant	Indonesisan	San Francisco	2005-11-02	2-	Indonesia Restaurant Review
Bistro Elan	French	Palo Alto	2005-10-26	2	Bistro Elan Review
Cafe Chez Maman	French	San Francisco (Bernal Heights location)	2005-10-19	3	Cafe Chez Maman Review
Burma Superstar	Burmese	San Francisco	2005-10-13	3-	Burma Superstar Review
The Helmand	Afghani	San Francisco	2005-10-05	3+	The Helmand Review
A16	Italian (Southern)	San Francisco	2005-09-28	2	A16 Review
Chez Papa	French	San Francisco	2005-09-21	2+	Chez Papa Review
Isa	French small-plates	San Francisco	2005-09-14	3-	Isa Review
Big Nate's Barbeque	BBQ	San Francisco	2005-09-07	3-	Big Nate's Barbeque
Mitama	Sushi	Berkeley	2005-08-31	2	Not Reviewed
Fresca	Peruvian	San Francisco (West Portal location)	2005-08-24	3	Fresca Review
Shanghai Dumpling House	Chinese (Shanghainese)	San Francisco	2005-08-03	2	Shanghai Dumpling House Review
Zuni Cafe	Cal-American	San Francisco	2005-07-27	3	Zuni Cafe Review
Bix	American (Contemporary)	San Francisco	2005-07-20	2	Bix Review
Little Star Pizza	Pizza	San Francisco	2005-07-13	3+?	Little Star Pizza Review
Brother's Korean BBQ	Korean BBQ	San Francisco	2005-07-07	2+	Brother's Korean BBQ Review
Memphis Minnie's	BBQ	San Francisco	2005-06-30	3	Memphis Minnie's Review
Mochica	Peruvian	San Francisco	2005-06-15	3+	Mochica Review
Baraka	Spanish-Moroccan	San Francisco	2005-06-08	2	Baraka Review
Crossing The Bar	French-Indian Fusion	San Francisco	2005-05-05	2+?	Crossing The Bar Review
Piperade	Basque	San Francisco	2005-04-28	3+	Piperade Review
Koi Palace	Chinese (Cantonese) (known for dim sum, but we were there for dinner)	San Francisco	2005-04-21	1+	Koi Palace Review
B44	Spanish	San Francisco	2005-04-14	2+	B44 Review
Foreign Cinema	French-Mediterranean	San Francisco	2005-04-07	3-	Foreign Cinema Review
Limon	Peruvian	San Francisco	2005-03-31	3+	Limon Review
Roy's	Hawaiian Fusion	San Francisco	2005-03-17	3+	Not Reviewed
Ana Madera	Vietnamese	San Francisco	2005-01-12	3?	Not Reviewed

Past Post-Dinner Outings

Restaurant	Cuisine	Location	Date Visited	Consensus Rating	Review and Comments
Marco Polo	Gelato (Asian-influenced)	San Francisco	2009-04-15	3	Marco Polo Review
Steps of Rome Caffe	Cafe	San Francisco	2009-04-08	2+	Steps of Rome Caffe Review
Creations Dessert House	Asian cafe	San Francisco	2007-03-07	3	Creations Dessert House Review
Golden Island Cafe	Asian cafe	San Mateo	2006-09-13	Not Rated	Golden Island Cafe Review
Steps of Rome Caffe	Cafe	San Francisco	2006-07-05	3-	Steps of Rome Caffe Review
Cafe Macondo	Coffeehouse	San Francisco	2006-03-15	3+	Cafe Macondo Review
Delirium	Bar	San Francisco	2005-12-21	3	Delirium Review
Cama	Bar	San Francisco	2005-12-21	2	Cama Review
Maria's Cafe	Pastries	San Francisco	2005-10-05	1+	Maria's Cafe Review
Andalu	Eclectic small plates	San Francisco	2005-09-07	3-?	Andalu Review
Marco Polo	Gelato (Asian-influenced)	San Francisco	2005-08-03	3	Marco Polo Review
Creations Dessert House	Asian cafe	San Francisco	2005-07-07	3+	Creations Dessert House Review

Past Unofficial Outings

(These are outings attended by at least two regulars including me, but were not pre-planned or pre-announced to the club.)

Restaurant	Cuisine	Location	Date Visited	Consensus Rating	Review and Comments
Little Star Pizza	Pizza	San Francisco	2011-01-09	3	Little Star Piza Review (scroll down)
2223 Restaurant	American	San Francisco	2010-10-18	2	2223 Restaurant Review
Zadin	Vietnamese	San Francisco	2010-07-03	3-	Zadin Review
Cajun Pacific	Cajun, Seafood, and more	San Francisco	2009-03-21	3-	Cajun Pacific Review
Osha Thai	Thai	San Francisco (Embarcadero location)	2009-02-07	3-	no review; solid all around
iRestaurant	Chinese (Cantonese)	Cupertino	2009-02-05	3-	iRestaurant Review
Little Star Pizza	Pizza	San Francisco	2009-02-01	2+	Little Star Piza Review
Suppenkuche	German	San Francisco	2009-01-04	Not Rated	Suppenkuche Notes
Charles Chocolates tour	chocolate factory	Emeryville	2008-06-07	Not Rated	Charles Chocolates tour write-up
Bong Su	Vietnamese	San Francisco	2008-05-23	3	Bong Su Review
Limon	Peruvian	San Francisco	2008-05-18	3-	Limon Review
Foreign Cinema	French-Mediterranean	San Francisco	2008-01-22	2+	Foreign Cinema
Sodini's Bertolucci's	Italian	South San Francisco	2008-01-20	2	Decor and atmosphere like the holodeck. Service extraordinarily slow. Food that we tried was decent/respectable (pastas, ravioli, gnocchi), though not particularly good. Simple, straightforward menu. The bread that was given to us when we sat down was pretty poor. The bruschetta, however, provided to us during our long wait for a table, was pretty good.
Sushi Zone	Sushi	San Francisco	2007-10-28	Not Rated	Sushi Zone Review
Scala's Bistro	European	San Francisco	2007-09-13	2+	Scala's Bistro Review
Thai House Express	Thai	San Francisco	2007-03-03	3	Thai House Express Review
Yank Sing	Dim Sum	San Francisco (Spears St. location)	2007-02-25	2	Yank Sing Review
Taj Mahal	Indian	South Lake Tahoe	2007-02-17	3	Taj Mahal Review
Tokyo Go Go	Sushi	San Francisco	2006-12-30	Not Rated	Tokyo Go Go Review
San Bruno Thai Temple	Thai	San Bruno	2005-08-27	2-	San Bruno Thai Temple
Morning Glory	Diner	Ashland, OR	2006-06-18	2+	Morning Glory Review
Pilaf	Mediterranean	Ashland, OR	2006-06-17	2+	Pilaf Review
Lela's Cafe	Cafe/Bistro	Ashland, OR	2006-06-17	4	Lela's Cafe Review
Omar's	Seafood & Steaks	Ashland, OR	2006-06-16	3+	Omar's Review
Sushi Zone	Sushi	San Francisco	2006-04-23	Not Rated	Sushi Zone Review
Little Prague Bohemian Restaurant	Czech (Eastern European)	Davis	2005-04-02	2?	Little Prague Bohemian Restaurant Review
Cottonwood Restaurant	Eclectic	Truckee	2006-04-01	3-?	Cottonwood Restaurant Review
King of Thai Noodles I	Thai	San Francisco (Clement St.)	2006-02-11	Not Rated	Not Reviewed
Gary Danko	Contemporary	San Francisco	2005-08-09	4	Gary Danko Review
Chez Panisse	Californian	Berkeley	2005-06-13	3-	Chez Panisse Review
Cakebread Cellars, Rutherford Grill, Artesa, Merryville	Wineries and Grills	Napa	2005-06-12	Not Rated	Napa 2005/06/12 Wine Tasting Trip
Mel's Drive-In	American Diner	San Francisco	2005-03-20 or so	Not Rated	Not Reviewed
Aziza	Moroccan (Cal-Influenced)	San Francisco	2005-03-09	4-	Aziza Review

Mark's Restaurant Outings

Includes all my SF dining experiences from 2005 onward and selected other reportable food outings elsewhere.

Restaurant	Cuisine	Location	Date Visited	Consensus Rating	Review and Comments
Shanghai Dumpling House	Chinese (Shanghainese)	San Francisco	2011-03-04	3	Shanghai Dumpling House Review (scroll down)
Penang Garden	Singaporean/Malaysian/Thai	San Francisco	2010-09-12	Not Rated	Penang Garden Review
Spices II	Chinese (Sichuan)	San Francisco	2010-08-28	3-?	Spices II Review
Little Star Pizza	Pizza	San Francisco	2010-05-18	4-	Little Star Piza Review
Pizzetta 211	Pizza	San Francisco	2008-09-25	Not Rated	Blog and Picture
Manresa	Contemporary	Los Gatos	2008-06-26	Not Rated	Manresa Trip Report
Apple Cellar Bakery & Bistro	Bakery and Cafe	Ashland, OR	2008-04-28	Not Rated	good apple croissant; pictures
Omar's	Seafood & Steaks	Ashland, OR	2008-04-27	3-?	Omar's Review
Wild Goose Cafe and Bar	Diner	Ashland, OR	2008-04-27	2?	Wild Goose Review
Tabu	Mexican fusion	Ashland, OR	2008-04-26	2?	Tabu Review
Lela's Cafe & Bistro	Cafe/Bistro	Ashland, OR	2008-04-26	4?	Lela's Review
Penang Garden	Singaporean/Malaysian/Thai	San Francisco	2008-01-26	Not Rated	Penang Garden Review
Incanto	Italian, esp. meats	San Francisco	2007-09-28	Not Rated	Incanto Whole Beast Report
De Afghanan Kabob House	Afghani	Fremont	2007-05-21	4-?	De Afghanan Kabob House Review
Penang Garden	Singaporean/Malaysian/Thai	San Francisco	2007-05-18	3	Penang Garden Review
Wolfgang Puck Express	Sandwiches and Salads	San Francisco	2006-12-22	3?	Wolfgang Puck Express notes in blog
Beard Papa	Cream Puffs	San Francisco	2006-12-22	4	Beard Papa notes in blog
'wichcraft	Sandwiches and Salads	San Francisco	2006-12-22	3?	'wichcraft notes in blog
Le Papillon	French	San Jose	2006-12-13	2	Le Papillon Review
Incanto	Italian unusual meats & offal	San Francisco	2006-10-11	Not Rated	Incanto Tasting Report
Limon	Peruvian	San Francisco	2006-07-15	3+	Limon Review
Berkeley Thai Temple	Thai	Berkeley	2006-07-02	Not Rated	Berkeley Thai Temple write-up #3
Bombay Ice Cream	Ice Cream (Indian)	San Francisco	2006-05-21	Not Rated	cardamom; saffron pistachio: distinctive flavors. liked the occasional substance in the saffron. mmmm for both...
La Taqueria	Mexican	San Francisco	2006-05-20	Not Rated	carne asada burrito: good. excellent beans, quite good avocado (extra), good salsa, decent meat, no rice (standard), and where was my cheese? (extra)
Naked Fish Sushi	Sushi	South Lake Tahoe	2006-04-15	Not Rated	Naked Fish Sushi Review
Ikeda's	Grocery/Market/Bakery/Cafe	Auburn	2006-04-15	Not Rated	Ikeda's Review
Sweetpeas	Breakfast and Diner-Type Fare	Auburn	2006-04-15	Not Rated	Sweetpeas Review
King of Thai Noodles I	Thai	San Francisco (Clement St.)	2006-04-22	Not Rated	Not Reviewed
Squat & Gobble	Crepes and Diner-Type Fare	San Francisco (West Portal location)	2006-04-08	Not Rated	Not Reviewed
Water Street Bistro	French Bistro (sandwiches, soups, etc.)	Petaluma	2006-04-08	Not Rated	Not Reviewed
Thanh Tam II Restaurant	Vietnamese	San Francisco	2005-03-13	Not Rated	Not Reviewed
King of Thai Noodles	Thai	San Francisco (Geary location)	2006-02-14	Not Rated	Not Reviewed
Pizzeria Delfina	Italian	San Francisco	2006-02-05	Not Rated	Not Reviewed
Thai House Express	Thai	San Francisco	2006-01-30	Not Rated	Not Reviewed
Berkeley Thai Temple	Thai	Berkeley	2005-12-18	Not Rated	Berkeley Thai Temple write-up #2
Berkeley Thai Temple	Thai	Berkeley	2005-12-11	Not Rated	Berkeley Thai Temple write-up #1
Borobudur	Indonesian	San Francisco	2005-11-03	3	Borobudur Review
Johnson's Barbeque	BBQ	San Francisco	2005-09-18	2	Johnson's Barbeque Review
369 Shanghai Cafe	Chinese (Shanghainese)	Fremont	2005-08-26	2	369 Shanghai Cafe Review
House of Prime Rib	Steakhouse (Prime Rib only)	San Francisco	2005-05-12 or so	4	House of Prime Rib Review

Links go to the dining club's wiki. It has certain edit policies.

Seattle-Area Official Outings from 1999

Not currently documented online.

Key to Ratings

Ratings are on a scale of 1 (worst) to 4 (best). Ratings are based primarily on the quality of the food, but value (price) factors in also. In detail,

1: bad or poor (would not return)
2: generally okay or fine or decent, but not particularly good (would not bother returning)
3: most things are good (would return)
4: most things are very good or excellent or top-notch (would return)

In other words, 4s are places you would rave about; 3s are places you'd be happy with if a friend suggested it or you might suggest it yourself; 2s and below are places where you'd offer better suggestions if someone proposed going there.

Occasionally ratings have a plus (+); or a minus (-). This is a modifier to show how the restaurant compares with others of a similar numerical value.

Some reviews have question marks (?). This means we tried too few items to be confident in the rating we chose. Or it means we haven't settled on a consensus yet.

Key to Reviews

I write all the reviews. I take full responsibility for the bad writing you'll see here. The opinions are also mine solely, though the reviews do attempt to reflect those of other people that also went to the restaurant. If you disagree, I'm sorry. That's why the reviews are on a wiki page. Add some comments expressing your own opinion.