Esteban's Blog (24)

The way I see it, if you’re going to spend money at Sona anyways, don’t be a penny-pincher with the 6 course menu: go for the 9 course menu. At around $300 per person (with the wine pairing), you’ll leave feeling satisfied and happy, which is a good thing because it offsets the crummy feeling you’ll have tomorrow knowing that you’ve just been evicted and that your roommate is looking for…

I usually go for their Alfredo Slab, but there was one weekend morning recently where I really needed some of Cheebo’s fried bread with honey.

To rid us of our hangovers, the lady friend and I dined on the chilaquiles and the porkwich. The chilaquiles had an entire farm of eggs mixed in (great bargain) and the porkwich was a nice rendition of a Cuban sandwich. Not unlike how…

When I saw that SBE was associated with XIV, I honestly expected a sleazy restaurant, complete with overpriced food/drinks, a snobby waitstaff and one really shitty menu.

Quite the opposite, however. Food is terrific, the waitstaff is bend-over-backwards-friendly, and prices are extremely affordable. At $8 per dish, you can pick and choose your own tasting menu--we had 11 dishes and that was…

I've lost count of how many restaurants Celestino Drago operates, but his new Drago Centro offers no new surprises--which is a good thing since his establishments are pretty damn reliable when in the mood for great Italian.

Everything I tried was solid. We started with the langoustine carpaccio and charcuterie starters, and moved on to split the lobster fettuccine (cooked perfectly al dente)…

Yes, The French Laundry does make for a memorable meal, but I don't think it's the tantric orgasm that many make it out to be. To be fair, however, I thought the meal was comparable to the one at Sona, but a pinch short of those found at…

I've said it here and I'll say it again--I've never had a bad meal at any Batali joint, be it New York, Los Angeles and now, Vegas.

Carnevino is purely about meat--sure, you can can sides and appetizers, but beef and more beef are what this place excels at. If you have to get…

From what I hear, warm evenings in San Francisco are pretty hard to come by, so when it is balmy out, the restaurants lining the Belden Place alleyway become an outdoor circus.

Having snagged a great seat at B44 with equally great friends, we merrily ate our way through small plates of tapas (the grilled morcilla sausage and paella were criminally good) and drank our way through bottles…

Not unlike the virtual chronological tour I gave you here, my last day abroad was pretty low-key. I woke up, read a book on the balcony, had a crêpe (2 to be exact) in the town square in Fira, then headed back up and took a nap.

The chicken crêpe was so-so (reminded me of chicken pot-pie) but the dessert crêpe was memorable just…

I admit, I never really tried Vietnamese food but Tamarine is a nice introduction to the cuisine without diving into the deep end for anything too funky.

It's an upscale, Vietnamese restaurant catered towards the Western palate, but I did leave feeling like I broadened my horizons, even if but a little.

Angelina Jolie was sitting at the next table and I get the sense…

Not the most authentic sushi you'll find (they have a roll called the "Ultra Bitchin' Roll), but goddamn if Pink Godzilla isn't a fun spot to get a cheap meal.

Dinner splurge for two (oysters, 5 different rolls, and Hawaiian poke) ran me $40.

Wish I knew about this place sooner because expensive sushi dinners in the past had me stealing my roommate's snowboard boots and selling it on…

I liked the food at Street, but the service was really slow and not worth mentioning; however, I didn't really mind because it had only opened a few days prior to my visit and from what I've seen, every new eatery has a ramp-up period.

There's a $35 tasting menu but I didn't get it since it was Indian-themed that evening and I had had Indian food for lunch. My group enjoyed the outdoor…

Al fresco dining is nice, but it's even better when you get to people-watch and see a gaggle of hot Italian chicks prancing around in the street. Unfortunately, I was too tired to really take in the scene, so I ate my meal with quiet reflection, wrapped up in the brisk evening air.

The entire experience made me think of Lindsay…

Perfectly cooked pasta is only worth celebrating in the States since, in Italy, it's just a part of everyday life. Located a few steps away from the Repubblica subway stop, the dishes at La Cadrega were cooked al dente and were nicely embellished with truffle oil and at 10-15 euros per dish, was a reasonable meal to have while…

Taquitos are often overlooked for tacos and burritos but, when done right, are just as if not tastier than either of the abovementioned. Cielito Lindo makes my personal favorites because there's something about the avocado sauce that really rounds out the flavors.

It's cheap too, so if you have nothing better to do on a Saturday afternoon, go on over and pick yourself up…

Since not everyday is champagne and expense accounts, there has to be worthwhile eats on the cheap, right? Then follow me here at Citysearch's new 3 Buck Bites .

It's particularly helpful in case you have a date because, you know, it's hard to reconcile good food with how girls tend to demand expensive things. If you can round the bases after a $3 dinner, then consider yourself my new…

Crowded. Cheap. Whatever. I didn't think the food was particulary tasty, but the sake bombs were. I took a lot of photos but the next day, saw that most were blurry and I think it might be because I was pretty close to having alcohol poisoning by the time I left.

I don't know why I drank so much, but it might be because I was with annoying people from USC. And the only way they're tolerable is if I'm drunk. Plus, I wanted to show…

I'm going to take all the credit for this, but I think I've found my favorite burger in the city. Even though Gyenari does Korean BBQ, their burgers are off-the-charts. So what if it weighs 5 pounds? The patty is the main attraction here: the prime grade beef ground in-house makes a world of difference and left me completely satisfied and excited to know where to go the next time I need a burger…

You would never think it since it's a) north of the 10 Freeway and b) it has "NY" in its name, but NY BBQ does barbeque on par if not better than Phillips', which I talked about here.

It's great that the meat is juicy and the service friendly, but I can't think of anywhere else where the mac…

I'd rather hear my 6' 10" cellmate look me up and down then say "Yummy" than drive in Venice, but I will make the trek to eat at Joe's. It's one of the few places in LA where I think the service is genuinely nice, against a backdrop of consistently great tasting menus that change every time I go back.

If you're trying to score, I'd recommend sitting in the garden patio, and dine while…

This one's tough, since I had a difficult time trying to customize my Nike running sneakers last summer.

Courtesy of NY Daily News

"A fertility clinic's promise to deliver the ultimate in designer babies - letting parents choose eye, hair and even skin color - is sparking a worldwide uproar. Dr. Jeff Steinberg has already let thousands decide their kids' gender. Now he says that within the next six months, the…