Restaurants 2011

This page lists 133 meals I ate in restaurants in 2011. Cities are in California except as noted, cost is per person including tip. I have kept complete restaurant data since 2010, though I generally don't list Costco shopping trip hot dog lunches or banh mi to go. In rare instances where a restaurant experience is particularly noteworthy, I post a review on Yelp under a pseudonym.

This page is dedicated to a few old favorites, gone but not forgotten: Elsie's, Kapok, Hsi Nan, El Tazumal, Cendrillon, Thanh Da, Le P'tit Laurent.

My 2011 travel included six short business trips to Chicago, a short trip to Monterey/Carmel, and a week in Louisiana and Mississippi. This list would be a lot shorter without those trips; we don't eat out often when we're at home (about 1.5 times per week, never breakfast, half lunch, half dinner).

Our local favorites in the city, both in Glen Park not far from our house, remain unchanged from last year: bistro Le P'tit Laurent and taqueria La Corneta. In Calaveras, I particularly love El Vaquero's great mole poblano. Breakfasts at Highlands Inn in Carmel were simple but memorable for the amazing view, what a pleasure! More or less by chance, we landed at 1833 Restaurant in Monterey, which got a very positive review shortly after in the Chronicle; we loved it too.

I did a substantial amount of restaurant research before our trip to New Orleans, so we ate in several excellent (albeit pricey) restaurants there. I liked Upperline Restaurant the best, and Gautreau's was wonderful too. 1818 Restaurant at Monmouth in Natchez tried hard, but we thought the food didn't really work. Café des Amis in Breaux Bridge was great fun, with memorable cajun music (from Scandanavian musicians, go figure). Perrains in Baton Rouge is a classic seafood joint (mostly fried, of course). Our best discovery in LA/MS was a tiny shack, Bellue's Fine Cajun, across the highway from the entrance to Port Hudson, north of Baton Rouge; Bari and I shared a delicious, simple shrimp po'boy, dressed; wow.

I see little point in yelp'ing restaurants in big cities, as I find the yelp signal-to-noise ratio to be much too low, but now and then I find myself compelled to yelp (under a pseudonym) about a bad experience. I thought Baby Blues BBQ (on Mission Street in SF) was terrible. And I'm totally baffled by the great popularity of Bob Chinn's Crab House in Wheeling IL; I really don't get it.

See also: 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 All

Click on a heading below to sort the list accordingly.


Date Meal Restaurant City Cost
09/20/11 @ 20:00 Dinner Bob Chinn's Crab House Wheeling IL
06/16/11 @ 18:00 Dinner Claim Company Northbrook IL
12/08/11 @ 17:00 Dinner Di Pescara Highland Park IL
12/09/11 @ 13:00 Lunch Eduardo's Pizza Wheeling IL
10/26/11 @ 19:30 Dinner Eduardo's Pizza Wheeling IL
07/25/11 @ 13:00 Lunch El Vaquero Arnold
04/06/11 @ 19:00 Dinner Foreign Cinema San Francisco
09/21/11 @ 13:30 Lunch Go Roma Northbrook IL
06/16/11 @ 13:15 Lunch Go Roma Northbrook IL
04/21/11 @ 19:00 Dinner J. Alexander's Northbrook IL
09/28/11 @ 19:30 Dinner Le P'tit Laurent San Francisco
10/23/11 @ 12:15 Lunch Little Tokyo New Orleans LA
02/27/11 @ 18:15 Dinner Marica Oakland
09/20/11 @ 13:30 Lunch Mizrahi Grill Highland Park IL
06/17/11 @ 13:00 Lunch Mizrahi Grill Highland Park IL
10/26/11 @ 13:30 Lunch Mizrahi Grill Highland Park IL
12/08/11 @ 13:00 Lunch Noodles & Co. Highland Park IL
10/27/11 @ 13:30 Lunch Noodles & Co. Highland Park IL
11/26/11 @ 11:00 Lunch Park Place Oakland
10/27/11 @ 19:30 Dinner Ram Wheeling IL
06/26/11 @ 18:30 Dinner Tallahans Arnold
06/19/11 @ 18:00 Dinner Zati's Oakland
11/12/11 @ 12:30 Lunch Zati's Oakland
05/15/11 @ 15:00 Lunch Jack in the Box Suisun City 4
10/18/11 @ 13:30 Lunch K & P's Lafayette MS 6
08/01/11 @ 13:00 Lunch Taco Bell Escalon 6
05/02/11 @ 11:45 Lunch Taco Bell Escalon 6
06/25/11 @ 11:30 Lunch Taco Bell Escalon 6
10/17/11 @ 11:30 Lunch Bellue's Fine Cajun Port Hudson LA 7
08/10/11 @ 18:45 Dinner El Pollo Loco Manteca 7
12/15/11 @ 12:00 Lunch El Pollo Loco Manteca 7
09/18/11 @ 11:30 Lunch La Corneta [Glen Park] San Francisco 7
02/12/11 @ 13:45 Lunch La Corneta [Glen Park] San Francisco 7
10/05/11 @ 12:45 Lunch La Corneta [Mission] San Francisco 7
10/07/11 @ 13:00 Lunch La Corneta [Mission] San Francisco 7
01/16/11 @ 14:00 Lunch La Corneta [Mission] San Francisco 7
03/30/11 @ 12:15 Lunch La Corneta [Mission] San Francisco 7
02/04/11 @ 12:30 Lunch Taco Bell Escalon 7
04/29/11 @ 13:45 Lunch Taqueria Cancun San Francisco 7
12/18/11 @ 18:00 Dinner El Pollo Loco Manteca 8
10/30/11 @ 17:45 Dinner La Corneta [Glen Park] San Francisco 8
02/09/11 @ 11:00 Lunch La Corneta [Glen Park] San Francisco 8
04/01/11 @ 13:15 Lunch Panda Express Pleasanton 8
10/19/11 @ 12:00 Lunch El Parian Pineville LA 9
06/22/11 @ 17:15 Dinner La Corneta [Glen Park] San Francisco 9
09/23/11 @ 18:30 Dinner La Corneta [Glen Park] San Francisco 9
02/27/11 @ 11:45 Lunch La Corneta [Mission] San Francisco 9
10/09/11 @ 11:45 Lunch Pho Ha Tien San Francisco 9
12/07/11 @ 13:00 Lunch Pho Ha Tien San Francisco 9
08/24/11 @ 14:00 Lunch Tillie Gort's Monterey 9
03/23/11 @ 08:45 Breakfast Bagel & Bialy II Wheeling IL 10
10/08/11 @ 12:15 Lunch Burgermeister Daly City 10
07/09/11 @ 12:15 Lunch Firewood Murphys 10
04/21/11 @ 13:30 Lunch Once Upon a Grill Northbrook IL 10
04/22/11 @ 13:30 Lunch Panera Deerfield IL 10
03/25/11 @ 08:45 Breakfast Bagel & Bialy II Wheeling IL 11
03/22/11 @ 08:45 Breakfast Bagel & Bialy II Wheeling IL 11
06/16/11 @ 09:15 Breakfast Bagel & Bialy II Wheeling IL 11
03/21/11 @ 09:15 Breakfast Bagel & Bialy II Wheeling IL 11
04/03/11 @ 13:00 Lunch Bistro Espresso Arnold 11
09/17/11 @ 21:30 Dinner Bombay Chaat House Milpitas 11
11/05/11 @ 11:45 Lunch Diggity Grill Escalon 11
03/23/11 @ 13:00 Lunch Go Roma Northbrook IL 11
10/24/11 @ 12:45 Lunch Milk Bar New Orleans LA 11
10/22/11 @ 12:30 Lunch New Orleans Hamburger & Seafood New Orleans LA 11
01/26/11 @ 12:30 Lunch Stacks San Francisco 11
08/30/11 @ 12:00 Lunch Black Bear Diner Tracy 12
07/13/11 @ 14:00 Lunch Camps Angels Camp 12
03/21/11 @ 18:99 Dinner Go Roma Northbrook IL 12
05/01/11 @ 12:00 Lunch Just Delicous Café Arnold 12
03/25/11 @ 13:00 Lunch Kaboff's Deli Northbrook IL 12
09/06/11 @ 11:30 Lunch La Hacienda Angels Camp 12
03/23/11 @ 20:00 Dinner Max's Deli Highland Park IL 12
03/21/11 @ 13:30 Lunch Mizrahi Grill Highland Park IL 12
03/24/11 @ 13:00 Lunch Mizrahi Grill Highland Park IL 12
10/20/11 @ 13:30 Lunch Pont Breaux's Breaux Bridge LA 12
08/10/11 @ 13:30 Lunch Burgermeister Daly City 13
07/29/11 @ 12:00 Lunch El Vaquero Arnold 13
02/09/11 @ 18:30 Dinner Emmy's San Francisco 13
04/17/11 @ 13:00 Lunch Boulevard Daly City 14
11/07/11 @ 13:30 Lunch El Vaquero Arnold 14
08/26/11 @ 13:00 Lunch La Mission Santa Cruz 14
02/13/11 @ 13:00 Lunch Boulevard Daly City 15
08/24/11 @ 10:00 Breakfast Highlands Inn CA Market Carmel Highlands 16
04/20/11 @ 17:00 Dinner Monica's Prospect Heights IL 16
01/09/11 @ 12:30 Lunch Warehouse Café Port Costa 16
08/23/11 @ 11:30 Lunch Davenport Roadhouse Davenport 17
11/02/11 @ 12:15 Lunch Pomegranate Walnut Creek 17
05/22/11 @ 18:45 Dinner Baby Blues BBQ San Francisco 18
09/19/11 @ 20:30 Dinner Max's Deli Highland Park IL 18
02/02/11 @ 12:30 Lunch Max's Opera Plaza San Francisco 18
05/20/11 @ 13:45 Lunch Pho Ha Tien San Francisco 18
05/28/11 @ 13:00 Lunch Ton Kiang San Francisco 18
09/02/11 @ 19:00 Dinner Snowflake Lodge Arnold 19
12/17/11 @ 18:30 Dinner El Vaquero Arnold 20
08/25/11 @ 10:30 Breakfast Highlands Inn CA Market Carmel Highlands 20
10/15/11 @ 19:00 Dinner King of Thai San Francisco 20
06/29/11 @ 17:30 Dinner Snowshoe Brewing Co. Arnold 20
03/22/11 @ 13:00 Lunch Demitiri's Northbrook IL 21
06/04/11 @ 18:30 Dinner Boulevard Daly City 22
01/15/11 @ 12:30 Lunch Cocina Poblana Oakland 22
04/16/11 @ 13:00 Lunch Inkas San Francisco 22
07/22/11 @ 18:00 Dinner Jose's Jackson 24
02/17/11 @ 19:00 Dinner Fourth Street Bar & Grill San Francisco 25
07/17/11 @ 17:30 Dinner Panini's Copperopolis 25
08/23/11 @ 17:45 Dinner Highlands Inn Sunset Lounge Carmel Highlands 27
01/01/11 @ 12:30 Lunch Skates Berkeley 28
10/20/11 @ 18:30 Dinner Prejean's Lafayette LA 29
04/30/11 @ 19:15 Dinner Sequoia Woods CC Arnold 29
10/16/11 @ 18:45 Dinner Perrains Baton Rouge LA 30
07/16/11 @ 18:30 Dinner US Restaurant San Francisco 30
07/23/11 @ 18:45 Dinner Snowflake Lodge Arnold 31
03/19/11 @ 19:30 Dinner Left Bank Menlo Park 33
01/08/11 @ 20:00 Dinner Chenery Park San Francisco 34
08/12/11 @ 18:00 Dinner The Kitchen Murphys 34
02/12/11 @ 19:00 Dinner 2223 Restaurant San Francisco 35
11/23/11 @ 18:00 Dinner Charcuterie Healdsburg 37
05/15/11 @ 19:00 Dinner Pomelo San Francisco 37
10/19/11 @ 19:30 Dinner Café des Amis Breaux Bridge LA 38
03/06/11 @ 19:00 Dinner Lavanda Palo Alto 42
07/30/11 @ 18:45 Dinner V Murphys 48
11/29/11 @ 19:00 Dinner Noeteca San Francisco 49
08/25/11 @ 19:00 Dinner 1833 Restaurant Monterey 52
08/24/11 @ 18:15 Dinner Bistro Moulin Monterey 54
06/18/11 @ 18:30 Dinner La Rose Bistro Berkeley 55
10/18/11 @ 18:30 Dinner 1818 Restaurant Nachez MS 57
10/22/11 @ 18:30 Dinner Gautreau's New Orleans LA 57
10/17/11 @ 19:00 Dinner Castle Restaurant Natchez MS 60
10/23/11 @ 18:30 Dinner Upperline Restaurant New Orleans LA 60
01/29/11 @ 19:00 Dinner Chapeau! San Francisco 63
10/21/11 @ 19:00 Dinner Lilette New Orleans LA 67
03/12/11 @ 18:00 Dinner La Ciccia San Francisco 78
11/09/11 @ 18:30 Dinner Zuni San Francisco 90