new year's eve at e & o kitchen and the shelton theater

Brendan came into town for New Year's Eve and as always we had a wonderful time.  We didn't have to go far to have a lovely evening right on Union Square.  We started with dinner at E and O Kitchen and Bar on Sutter Street and if you haven't been, make a plan to go--the atmoshere is casual chic, the food is divine Asian fusion with great cocktails--even housemade ginger ale and they have a great happy hour from 3-6, Mon-Sat.  Really nice, you could order directly off the regular menu on NYE--dinner included ahi tuna tartar, pad thai noodles with gulf white prawns, wood roasted black cod on water spinach and of course a very tender shaking beef with tomatoes, chilis and watercress.  We only had to travel a block to the Shelton Theater for a super hilarious, well priced comedy show called "Cheaper Than Therapy".  This long standing club in the heart of downtown SF has a cool downstairs bar and will definitely remind you of a below street New York bar.

new year's eve 2012

We wanted to do something different this year for New Year's--something relaxing and also a little reflective of the past year.  The idea was to project good thoughts for the coming year--the result was a magical 2 days.

First of all the weather on the 31st and 1st was incredible.  Very clear, bright and crisp.  Brendan and I started out heading over the Golden Gate for the Russian River.  We stopped at the vista point for some photos with the city as backdrop.  We wanted to stop and have breakfast on the way but we purposely had no destination, this was just an adventure!  He saw a cafe in San Rafael listed on Urbanspoon that had two names--Theresa and Johnny's.  There was no way we could pass up a restaurant with that name, really?  It turned out to be one of the best breakfasts we have ever had.  We ordered the house specials, the Norcal Benedict, with creamy hollandaise, avocado, salsa and tator tots, and the crispy french toast, a deep fried confection that is really decadent.

We spent the night in Guerneville at the West Sonoma Inn and Spa, lovely spacious rooms with private decks and dined at Chef Patrick on a four-course New Year's Eve menu that was terrific.
Butternut squash soup, crab cakes, rack of lamb, filet mignon and chocolate bread pudding did the trick!  We rang in the New Year at the iconic Rainbow Cattle Company, people watching the whole way.  Guerneville is picturesque and quaint, barely changed over the last 50 years.

In San Francisco the next day, we had dinner at Roosevelt Tamale Parlor.  I wrote about this great little place in my very first blog. It originates back to the 1920's and I am glad to say it is better than ever, under new ownership and we had, seriously, the best pork verde ever, smothering a chili stuffed tamale--incredible. Here's to more in 2013!

new year's eve at maya

Alot of you know that in the hunt for great Mexican food, Brendan and I have fallen for the delicious food at Maya.  Maya, located at 2nd and Harrison in SF, has a warm, inviting interior, loads of windows, a semi-private dining area, full bar and room to dance.  And they really excel at modern Mexican.

On New Year's Eve they offered a four course meal with party hats, champagne toast and dancing to a DJ for $60.00 per person. So, along with our friends, Chris Gill and Larry Sepe we booked the 8:30 seating. The tables were decorated with black and silver balloons and the generous menu featured several choices for each course.

I started with the tacos de pork belly, a melt-in-the-mouth 12 hour marinated pork belly taco topped with pickled habanero/red onion relish and ancho salsa.  Brendan and Larry ordered an equally tasty treat, tacos de langosta, with poached lobster topped with avocado, black bean puree and chile de arbol rouille.  Next up, I had the sopa de langosta, a lobster chipolte bisque with roasted corn/crab truffle dumplings.  The guys enjoyed a salad of field greens, pear, caramelized walnuts, blue cheese and radish-chile de arbol vinaigrette.

The entrees were large portions that ranged from a vegetarian option to filet mignon. The camarones azteca, a sauteed shrimp dish with a tequila-lime marinade, huarache stuffed with black beans and a chive-goat cheese crema fresca was a great choice as was the piramide de filete, a tower of grilled filet mignon with grilled tomatoes, sauteed onions, black bean puree, guacamole and crispy tortilla strips.

I enjoyed the tequila bread pudding with raspberry Cabernet sorbet, Brendan had the chocolate tres leches cake with pear, vanilla bean ice cream and cinnamon creme anglaise.  Chris and Larry chose the banana stuffed empanadas with walnuts and coconut ice cream.  We were close enough to the Embarcadero to head out after midnight and watch the incredible fireworks.