Vegans Beware- Salted, Cured and Really Friggin Tasty Pig Parts is the name of the game in this meat factory. Tucked away in the SF Ferry Building lies a piece carnivore heaven- Boccalone. This artisan salume shop is a perfect fit for the Ferry Building, where good cheese and bread is a stones throw away. All the salami I tried was fatty, distinctly flavored and delicious. Plus, the dude who came up with idea of a piggy filled meat cone should be given a Nobel Peace Prize. I'd take that over an ice cream cone any day (unless maybe it was bacon ice cream)... Service here was friendly and fast and for $3.50 you can try 3 different salamis. If only I lived closer...

First off, if you haven't seen the movie Once a Upon a Time in Mexico, watch it. The star of the movie isn't Johnny Depp or Antonio Banderas. It's a tasty dish called Puerco Pibil (or cochinita pibil). Ever since watching that movie I've been doing two things- 1. Making it regularly. 2. Trying to find somewhere locally that makes it so I don't have too, cause truthfully, it's kind of a pain in the ass (and if you're still wondering what this meaty delight is... watch the movie).

On a lazy Saturday while my wife did some shopping in Coddingtown, I found the perfect excuse to slip away for 20 minutes and check out Taco Max, owned by an incredibly friendly Arturo, who previously owned a Miami restaurant (check out his cubano torta). I was on a mission for some slow roasted pibil and he delivered. Three beautiful tacos topped with pickled red onions and cilantro, served with rice and beans. In my opinion, hands down the best mall food you're going to find. Normally, I avoid malls at all costs, especially the dismal crap that they try and pass off as food in the typical food court.

But this isn't typical mall food and it beats the 4 hours of prep and cook time to make cochinita pibil... the only thing I'll miss is the amazing way my house smells after hours of roasting achiote coated pork. The one thing I won't miss- the burning sensation when I pull my contact lenses out at night, forgetting the fact that I had handled habaneros early in the day. Not so cool. If you're a fan of tender, tasty pork bits, make a trip to the mall and hit up Taco Max (a generic name, not so generic food).

For one reason or another I've waited over a month to write this review. Maybe it's taken me that long to find the words that appropriately define the amazing experience there. Maybe it's taken me that long to remember the copious amount of food that I ate. Maybe it's because I'm afraid that whatever the hell I write here won't do this place justice. And trust me, it won't.

After a week long cruise to Alaska, stuffing myself with mediocre cruise food and watery drinks I was looking forward to spending my last night in Seattle at Crush. Having spent hours reading reviews on various Seattle restaurants, we decided on Crush (it was also one of the few restaurants open on Sunday, July 5th).

We arrived at what appeared to be an unassuming house. Upon entering, we were wowed by the minimalistic white interior and a beautiful bar that overlooks an open kitchen. It was a beautiful Seattle night, so we opted to sit outside on their patio. After perusing the menu, we opted to put ourselves in the capable hands of the kitchen staff. They had a 4 course tasting menu that we went for. And since I'm not a sweet person, I was able to sub my dessert for another savory dish (the servers were great all night).

We both started with a signature cocktail. I had a cucumber vodka concoction and the missus had a strawberry brandy something or other (it's been almost a month so I don't remember the drink details). Both were refreshing and there was an element of finesse to them.

A small bowl of "bread" started the food avalanche. It was actually more like an amuse bouche of cheese puff pastry. Incredibly light and tasty. Then a spoonful of tartare topped with caviar and foam was brought out. At this point, I knew that if this continued we were in for a good night.

What followed was plate after plate of O face inducing food-

1st courses- Japanese Hamachi Crudo Spiced Asian Pear- fresh, clean tasting fish, Ginger & Carrot; Asparagus Soup with Jumbo Crab- very nice soup with a pile of beautiful crab.

2nd courses- Maine Lobster Gnocchi Lobster Coral Butter, Tahitian Vanilla & Tangerine- buttery, soft pillows of potatoes, the flavor combination's for the sauce was also interesting; Grilled Calamari on a Bed of Chorizo and Onion- amazing! Sous vide calamari that was quickly seared. Incredibly tender. And the spicy chorizo and onions was the perfect condiment. The herbaceous green sauce that everything was sitting on rounded out the dish.

3rd courses- Handcut Tagliatelle Pasta & Caviar Sauce Sea Urchin Roe & Quail Egg- one of my favorite dishes that night. Sea urchin, a runny quail egg and caviar... seriously?! I'm so glad I replaced dessert with this dish. Amazing ocean flavor from the sea urchin, then a textural pop from the caviar and that silky yoke from the egg. This might be the perfect pasta dish. Very inspiring.; Sea Scallop on Caramelized Onion Risotto- nicely seared scallop, although slightly to brown on top and a little overcooked. Risotto was nice.

4th course- Glazed Painted Hills Short Rib Potato Gratin, White Corn Grits & Truffle Pistou- I had to continually whack my wife's fork away from my plate... like a pesky fly, she couldn't get enough of these short ribs and rightfully so. Fork tender, sous vide for 24 hours and painted with a dark, rich glaze and dotted with truffle oil... Simple, yet perfect. ; Wild Sockeye with English Peas- nicely cooked and I loved that they kept the skin on. A very light dish in contrast to the short ribs. And it's like a movie opening the same weekend as Titanic... it was hard to pay attention to the fish with those short ribs sitting next to them.

Dessert- Strawberry Tiramasu (I think... I was in a certifiable food coma at this point). I remember the bite I had being pretty good... for a dessert.

The night ended on a perfect note with us sitting inside at the bar, sipping another amazing cocktail, from the incredibly friendly and knowledgeable bartender, and watching the chefs diligently performing their craft. I wish we had another day in Seattle, if for nothing else, to simply eat here again.

That dinner at Crush embodies everything that a good dining experience should be. Perfect, friendly service that is neither pretentious or pushy. Beautiful ambiance in a setting that closely mimics the food. And a kitchen staff that knows how to deliver course after course of memorable, simple, yet delicious food. Having lived in "Wine Country" my whole life, I've ate at some impressive restaurants , but the culmination of the food, service and setting at Crush eclipse them all. One of the best meals of my life.

And knowing that I can hop on a Horizon flight out of Santa Rosa and be sitting on that beautiful patio in a matter of 90 minutes... An awfully tempting proposition. And a trip well worth it. Check out the video below for some pics.

Having devoured plenty of these bad boys (normally the margheritas) at the Windsor Town Green Thursday night market, we finally found ourselves tucked away in the corner booth at Rosso Pizzeria restaurant. All I had to do was scan to the bottom of the menu and I knew I had found pizza nirvana. Eggs and pork product on anything is a good thing. And the fact that you can add an egg or lardo to your pizza takes this to 5 star status. The server was great, despite our large groups indecision and order changing, he never faltered.

We started with the mozzarella and prosciutto plate. After the first bite I wanted to be on Honey I Shrunk the Kids. All I wanted to do was crawl up inside the gooey bit of cheese and call that home. I could live there, in mozzarella heaven. If they sold that mozzarella in pillow size, I'd be the first to pick one up. Simply awesome. And the prosciutto didn't suck either.

Next, a plethora of pizzas arrived- The Beppo (pepperoni with olives and a nice, runny egg), The Sicilian (chorizo and arugula) and then the Motto Guzzi (a white pizza with sweet sausage and a rock star name). The crust was thin and crispy with a nice little bite to it and the perfect amount of chewiness. What I like is that the toppings didn't overload the crust, instead they simply complimented it. All the ingredients tasted incredibly fresh and red sauce on the pizzas was nice and light.

Fresh pizza dough+killer local ingredients+brick oven= O face, pizza eating moments. Hands down some of the best pizza I've had and definitely the best SoCo pie. You won't regret eating here. Now only if they delivered to Windsor (I've got my fingers crossed for expansion up north)...

This was the first place I ate on my Seattle trip. We were meandering the Pike market when we stumbled across this little place. I've always been a fan of crepes, especially savory ones and this place succeeds in every possible way. Huge selection, fresh ingredients and friendly service. I had the ham, spinach and cheese crepe while the wifey had a salmon one. Both were very good, but also very large... it was a little difficult to finish one (but I soldiered through and did). It was a good start to a great weekend.

Holy Jeebus, were these good! Visiting Seattle for the first time, I meandered over to Pikes Market in hopes of finding this place. After 30 minutes of searching my hunger won out and I found myself scarfing down a huge crepe... After I performed the disappearing act on the crepe, I then waddled down the street and stumbled across Piroshky Piroshky. Cue holy choir- Meat pie heaven.

I hopped in line, despite my gut pleading with my reason, stating that it was already well beyond full. When I got up to the counter I asked the girl what her favorite was. She said "Go with the beef and cheese."

That first bite was literally one of the best things I tasted in Seattle (and I ate in some amazing restaurants). 90 seconds later the piroshky was gone and I was plotting how I could how I could find time to eat a few more of these guys before I left.

My cholesterol and waistline are probably pretty stoked that I don't live anywhere near this place, but when I think of Seattle, that warm meat pie is going to be one of the first things that come to mind.

I'm a sucker for French food and locally, few other places do it as well (sorry La Gare... not even close). This is my third trip back to Bistro 29 since they opened and each trip has been progressively better than the last with an expanding crepe menu and impressive wine list. We showed up on a Friday night with 7:30 reservations (and despite the fact that they apparently didn't have our reservations written down, we were seated within minutes). Armed with a few bottles of wine (2004 Enkindu Fazekas Petite Syrah, $32) and some friends, I was prepared to dive head long into a night of marathon eating and over the top indulgence.

I started with the foie gras, served on top of french toast with some pain d'epice. The flavor was good, the foie cooked nicely and the sauce was sweet. Unfortunately, the toast was soggy by the time it got to the table so there was no contrast in texture. Every bite was filled with fatty, creamy smoothness. I could have used a little crunch to counter that. Overall though, a good start to the night ($14, *** out of *****).

In between bites of the artery clogging foie, I shared a savory crepe filled with a homemade pork sausage, gooey Gruyere and apples. Maybe this is the French's way of combating pizza. Or maybe the chef sprinkled some crack in there. Either way, all I wanted to do was curl up inside of this cheesy, pork filled blanket and roll around in its goodness. ($10, *****) I forgot how incredible these were.

In between day dreaming of a crepe hammock for the backyard, I sampled my wife's escargot, which was bathing in a herb butter bath (my kind of soaking tub). Perfectly flavored, not to chewy and it was served with toast to soak up the green, buttery goodness that was left in the bowl after the snails food their way into eager mouths. My only problem was that there weren't enough snails and that a dish like this should be served with a spork- that way you can get a mouth full of the herbaceous compound with each bite. And plus, every time I grabbed my spoon to slurp up the sage colored liquid I kept getting dirty looks from our neighbors (maybe they were doctors concerned for my health...). ($10,****).

The first bottle of wine was on its last leg, so we popped open a Limerick Lane Syrah just in the nick of time, as our mains started showing up. A heaping bowl of mussels was placed in front of me, along with a cone of frites on the side. For me, eating the actual mussels is only half the fun. Mopping up the shellfish elixir at the bottom of the bowl with french bread is the other half of the equation. The mussels were just as I remembered them- plump, tasty and occasionally grainy. The frites on the other hand were limp and almost soggy. I'm a double fry kind of guy when it comes to my frites, so I was slightly unimpressed by this offering. The saving grace was the half a loaf of french bread on the table, waiting to be submerged in my pond of Pernod cream sauce. ($14, ***1/2)

Although I didn't order it, I still was able to try a few bites: Lamb Sirloin with mashed potatoes and English peas. Excellent flavor and the sauce was amazing. The lamb was cooked perfectly and my only criticism was the chef might have been a little heavy handed with the salt. Otherwise, a killer entree. ($24, ****)

For dessert, a crepe with apples and whipped cream, a trio of ice cream and a trio of sorbet. Now considering I don't make desserts, rarely eat desserts and on a whole, don't like sweets, I'll refrain from passing any judgment on these. That being said... the dessert crepe was fantastic.

Aside from loosing our reservation and our table having to beg for french bread 20 minutes after being seated (after the first loaf showed up, they kept bringing us bread non-stop), the night was a success and the four of us left equally stuffed and satisfied. I've yet to try RendezVous Bistro (the yelp reviews scare me), but as far as I'm concerned, for French dining in Santa Rosa, Bistro 29 is the place to beat. Now if only they could master the frites the way they perfected the crepes...