The Five Worst Things About World Travel

Some people think it's glamorous to galavant around the world the way my work has required of me for the past ten years. While I concede I have had some amazing and enriching experiences as a world traveler, sometimes you just want to come home. I often really miss a quiet weekend at home with a trip to the Ferry Plaza for some great ingredients, an afternoon hike in Mount Tam, and a late afternoon with a glass of wine or scotch cooking up the produce from the market and the crab from Tomales Bay I picked up on the way home...

Now that I'm coming home today after spending 10 of the past 12 weeks in Paris, London, Munich, Berlin, Rome, Venice, and Florence, I thought would share my ranking of the worst things common to world travel:

5. Time waiting. Getting coughed on at check-in, searching for all the necessary documents at security, figuring out which taxis take credit cards at the cab stand, at the ATM machines getting new currency, frantically finding a way through the interactive voice on the phone changing flights, in the passport lines, standing in the airplane aisle while the slow people figure out that international planes only allow 20" carry-ons and not the 22" ones common in the US, awaiting your luggage because you couldn't carry on your shaving cream, getting through the 2-hour line at Paris CDG because they lost your luggage, and worst of all, awaiting the arrival of the lost luggage (this last time, my luggage was lost for the entire 9 days I was in Paris, arriving back to me literally 7 hours before I left my apartment for the flight home!).

4. Dining alone. While eating well can surely happen more easily when you travel on an expense account, the expense account also often means that you're flying solo for a late meal. And although I do enjoy catching up on my International Herald Tribune or a great book, good dinners and good wine are much better with good company.

3. Lacking a kitchen. If you know me, you know how much hotel rooms "sans cuisine" (without a kitchen) kills me. I love to cook, and even more, I love to cook with the local ingredients. Hotel rooms booked for work travel are usually pretty nice, but they are not geared for someone to cook his own food.

2. Time zone discrepancies. I am lucky enough to have wonderful friends and family, most of whom live in the US of A. The time zone difference is crushing, with my evening being my East Coast friends' middle-of-the-workday period and my West Coast friends' first hours of email catch-up. My mornings are when you all are asleep! Thanks to email, I still know what a few of my friends are doing...

1. Being associated with the annoying American tourists (yes, sometimes I'm sure I am one, too!)

Honorable mentions:

• Snack food costs $9 per serving
  
• Finding good restaurants in a foreign place that doesn't have good Zagat coverage
  
• Ordering innards when you thought it was just beef
  
• Anti-Americanism
• Obnoxious American tourists
• Waking up at 3 in the morning thinking it's time to go to work
• Not falling asleep before 3 in the morning because it's still the middle of the day
• Lack of fresh vegetables in a lot of places (yes, I'm so spoiled!)
• Different service level standards
• Airplane grime
  
• Laundry!
  

What do you hate about international travel?

Best things to eat in the San Francisco Bay Area

This would be a really tough list to rank an individual entry relative to another, as the standing often depends on my mood, my location, the time of day, even the availability of the vendor. It's also probably one of the lists, or rankings, that causes me the most trouble with my friends, because I'm sure I've put more than five of these at the top of a list being declared at any given time. As a result, it's just a list and not a ranking, but it can represent a great way to experience the Bay Area and all of the culinary delights we have to offer.

I'd love to know some of the items that would go on your own list so that I can add to my own, so I invite a robust discussion...

My favorite things to eat in the Bay Area (a key prerequisite is that someone else either prepares it for me or serves it to me, i.e., not raw ingredients I could serve myself -- that's another list):

• Lasagne at Dopo in Oakland
• The morning bun at La Farine in Berkeley
• A kusshi oyster at Hog Island Oyster Co. in the Ferry Plaza
  
• Grilled cheese at Hog Island
• Coffee at Blue Bottle Coffee Co. in Hayes Valley or the Ferry Plaza
  
• "Scott's Special" at Zushi Puzzle in the Marina
  
• Fish and chips at Barbara's Fish Trap in Montara
• French fries at the Alpine Inn (Risotti's) in Portola Valley
• Cream of tomato soup en croute at Bistro Jeanty in Yountville
  
• Fish tacos at the bar at Redd in Yountville
  
• A burger at Zuni Cafe in the Castro/Market
• Cappucino at Caffe Trieste in North Beach
  
• A Louisiana hot link in the bleachers at a Giants game
• General Tso's chicken at Su Hong in Menlo Park
• Chicken tacos at La Taqueria in the Mission
• Bacon at ACME Chop House in China Basin
  
• Kielbasa at Top Dog in Berkeley
• Vegetable samosas at Vik's Chaat House in Berkeley
• Pancakes at Bette's Diner in Berkeley
• Minced chicken in lettuce cups at Mandarin Oriental in Palo Alto
  
• Eggs Benedict at Jimmy Bean's in Berkeley
• Freshly roasted Diestel turkey breast at Golden Gate Meat Co in the Ferry Plaza
• Bananas foster at Gary Danko in Ghirardelli Square
  
• T-bone at Harris' in Russian Hill/Van Ness
  
• Roast fingerling potatoes at Zuni Cafe in Castro/Market
  
• Tuna crudo at Dopo in Oakland
• Salumi platter at Dopo in Oakland
• Figs with aged, home-made balsamic vinegar at Oliveto in Oakland
• Onion strings at Mustard's Grill in Oakville
• Pulled pork sandwich with cole slaw at Taylor's Refresher in St Helena and the Ferry Plaza
• A cacao nib at Scharffen Berger factory in Berkeley
• Table made s'mores at Market in St Helena
• Southwestern corn chowder at SF Soup Co all over the city
• Barbeque pork buns at Ton Kiang in the Richmond
• Butter fish nigiri at Zushi Puzzle in the Marina
• Blue fin tuna sashimi at Kabuto in the Richmond
• Chocolate souffle at Chez Panisse in Berkeley
  
• Ricotta souffle at Delfina in the Mission
  
• Cheese platter at Gary Danko in Ghirardelli Square
  
• Huevos Rancheros at Miss Millie's (now Somerset in Oakland)
• Cinnamon doughnut at Maverick in the Mission

What do you love to eat?

Top 10 San Francisco Bay Area Restaurants

It is only appropriate that my initial ranking posted here be about food, as it's one of my favorite passions (that list to come later) and definitely my most commonly ranked set of options for my friends (another list to be published, of course).

So here's my top ten list for dining out in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I've lived, eaten, drunk and cooked for most of my 30 years. For dining, my most important criteria is always quality per dollar, with food quality trumping all other elements but not excluding other very subjective measures like experience, service, appropriateness of menu, ingredient quality and sources, authenticity... and the list goes on.

So here you go, and let the debates begin:

1. Redd (Yountville) -- in particular the bar at Redd. Those fish tacos are incredible, as are the many other wonderful options on the very reasonably priced bar menu. Every meal I've had at Redd, both at the bar and in the restaurant, has truly been perfect. I can't even try to complain about any component of them.
2. Dopo (Oakland) -- I must disclose personal bias, as Jon Smulewitz, the chef/owner, is one of my favorite people around (that list will not get published, I don't think!). However, the food is top notch, with a fantastic, changing menu, ingredients that other famous restaurants would kill to have, and a general feel of the place that sets the bar for every neighborhood trattoria in the world (and I'm writing this from Rome). Kayta saves a lasagna for me for dessert after I have to share it with the table during the regular meal-time; it's the best lasagna I've ever had. Jon also converted a non-fish-eating friend [LORENA/LP/SOON TO BE LPSCOTT -- see comments :)] to a tuna crudo lover with his concoction I will also say is an absolutely wonderful combination of tastes.
3. Zushi Puzzle (Marina) -- "my" sushi place. Roger does as well as anyone, with a breadth of fish options that I haven't seen elsewhere. Don't ask for the "Scott Special," though, unless you really do know me. Roger will test you, because he really doesn't love to make it -- it takes too much time.
4. Delfina (Mission) -- this is the restaurant that to me defines San Francisco's culinary superiority. Here's the example that illustrates the point: at a cooking class in 2003, Ron Siegel (see below) was asked how much he would charge at Masa's for the meal he was teaching us. He replied that he didn't make the prices, but he expected it would be typical of a Masa's tasting menu, somewhere around $125. Then he encouraged the audience to go down to Delfina, where we'd find a very similar meal with ingredients of the same quality and preparation of equal standing, for $30. And there you have it.
5. Tartine Bakery (Mission) -- the #1 bakery, bar none, and an awesome place to grab lunch. Truly indulgent in every way and just plain cute.
   
6. Taylor's Refresher (St. Helena more than SF Ferry Plaza) -- There's good reason why this favorite of the local wine industry generated the reputation it did; it's so in the Northern California spirit. Casual, comfortable, easy, super high-quality, "road-side" food... with a great wine selection.
   
7. Ritz-Carlton Dining Room (Nob Hill) -- this is really a "nod" to Ron Siegel, who I think was better at Masa's and is rumored to be heading over to Myth very shortly as the new owner and chef there. However, I think he's the top high-end chef in San Francisco, with creativity and careful-ness that I have not seen elsewhere. The menu at the Ritz is bigger than what it was at Masa's, and I don't know how that has affected his sense of flexibility. I've had only two meals at the Ritz during his tenure, and three at Masa's when he was there. All were truly perfect expressions of his artistry and all were incredible, memorable experiences.
   
8. Hog Island Oyster Co. (SF Ferry Plaza) -- on an oyster list, this place would be #1, and on a grilled cheese list, this place would also garner the top spot. And since both oysters and grilled cheese will show up on my certain-to-come list of favorite foods, Hog Island needs to be in this ranking.
   
9. Zuni Cafe (Castro/Market) -- the quintessential San Francisco restaurant. I had my first disappointing meal here just two weeks ago, but I fault myself for my choice in ordering; the person with whom I dined doesn't eat oysters, and that just got us off on the wrong foot! The roast chicken is the best anywhere other than perhaps my own apartment (which is modeled after Judy's recipe anyway, and I've just been able to make it more to my own liking because I make it for myself and those I love). And go on a Sunday for a late lunch, so that you can have the burger that's not on the menu for dinner time.
   
10. Chez Panisse and Chez Panisse Cafe (Berkeley) -- I know, I'm sort of cheating here by putting both as my #10. Really, this is just an attempt to somehow give appropriate credit to the woman who deserves so much for my enjoyment of food and all of the restaurants above on this list. Alice Waters is the pioneer of California cuisine, of local sourcing, of organic, of nearly every important innovation in the way we eat. It is because of these innovations that I love food, and while I'm not sure Chez Panisse is good enough to beat out the many restaurants that are not on this list, it definitely has with many of the meals I've enjoyed there. And the cafe is one of the truly great values in the world, a place you can find incredibly high-quality ingredients -- inventive combinations of tastes that are uniquely simple and elegant. And if you really are a "foodie," Chez Panisse is your mecca.

In order to recognize to some of my other favorites, here's a list of "honorable mentions":

• Top Dog (Berkeley)
• Pauline's Pizza (Mission)
• Range (Mission)
• Bistro Jeanty (Yountville)
  
• Chouquet's (Pac Hts)
• Frascati (Russian Hill)
• In 'N Out (all over)
• Harris' (Russian Hill/Van Ness)
• Vik's Chaat House (Berkeley)
  
• Jimmy Bean's (Berkeley)
• Ton Kiang (Richmond)
• Kabuto (Richmond)
• Yankee Pier (Larkspur)
• Chapeau! -- now moved to Clementine (Richmond)
• Boulevard (Downtown/Embarcadero)
• Picante (Berkeley)
• La Taqueria (Mission)
  

Introduction to "The Ranker"

Everyone who knows me knows well my penchant for creating sometimes very absurd ranked lists. While I think it allows me to provide some structure to a concept I'm explaining, an opinion I'm sharing, or a thing I'm observing, I recognize it sometimes backfires...

It can provoke an engaging discussion, but it can also incite anger. Despite being meant to convey some sort of order, I often have a lot of "#3s in the world" which thus causes some credibility challenges. Just imagine what happens with my friends who spend a lot of time with me and hear all the "#1 bests" that they hear. Of course, our opinions and rankings should evolve over time as new information is added, right?

Nonetheless, they usually remain my friends, revel in the amusement my rankings provide laughing both at and with me, and even rely on the rankings as at least one source of information about a topic.

I mean, hey, in order to conjure up a ranking system for the "best looking outdoor cafe chairs," I had to at least give it some thought -- probably more thought than most of the people willing to hear me express the view.

Here on this blog, I will catalogue my rankings for your amusement and for your information. And in my continued effort to become a better person through enhanced self-awareness, it will be interesting for me to note the trend in blog entries that do not include rankings. And please permit me to change the rankings as new sources of information are processed, new criteria are added and new experiences absorbed.

Enjoy!