Mike and I found ourselves in Lakeport on our way to the Lake county from the Alexander Valley. We were hungry and Jack’s Gaslight Grill was pretty much the first restaurant we came across. It wasn’t a bad choice for lunch.
The restaurant looks like it used to be an old tavern. There is a nice wooden bar with mirrors, and a relatively small cooking area. The menu is coffee-shop style, with burgers and sandwiches.
I got the steak sandwich which was just OK. The meat was tough but tasted fine. The onion rings it came with, were quite good. Mike got the burger, which he said was very good, juicy and tasty.
Service was very friendly, and the place is worth a try.
Jack’s Gaslight Grill
135 N. Main Street
Lakeport, Ca.
707-263-0188
Restaurant Reviews
Bay Area Restaurant Reviews
Author: marga (Page 61 of 114)
On the fourth day of our trip we headed from Windsor to the Lake county, but first decided to visit some wineries in the Alexander Valley – where I hadn’t been before. I knew very little about the wineries, and pretty much stopped at those which were on the way.
We started with Field Stone winery, which looks like a partly buried stone building. It’s pretty cool. The small tasting room is off the barrel room. There is a $5 tasting fee.
Last year, Mike and I took a short trip to the wine country and went wine tasting in the Russian River Valley, in addition to other areas. This year, we decided to repeat ourselves, though vary our locations a little bit. Still, our third day had us traveling from Freestone, where we’d had an enzyme bath, to Windsor, where we were staying for the night. The easiest (or at least, most fun) way to do it is by driving through the Russian River wine country, and then we (I) might as well wine taste. Of course, this time I chose wineries I hadn’t visited on my previous visits to the region, and only visited three of them.
After a long canoe trip down the Russian River Valley, Mike and I headed towards Occidental, where we were spending the night. On our way we passed Korbel, and decided to stop for some refreshing sparkling wine.
Korbel seems to be a favorite destination for many, as the large complex was pretty busy that Saturday afternoon. There were people waiting for tours, people eating at their deli, and of course, lots of people drinking wine. A tasting is complimentary, though you get to chose 4 or 5 of the sparkling wines in their menu. The pours are pretty generous. This time, Mike tasted too.
I’m not a champagne snob (nor a wine snob, for that matter), so I will admit that Korbel champagne is perfectly fine for me. Indeed, as its offerings are sweeter than some of the more expensive champagnes, I probably like them more.
The Korbel Chardonnay ($10) had a sweet start and a bitter ending, and I wasn’t crazy about it. The Brut Rose ($10), meanwhile, had a nice floral bouquet and wasn’t too sweet while the Blanc de Noirs ($10) had nice bubbles, was fruity and sweet. But the wine I really liked was the Sweet Rose ($15), a floral, sweet and feminine champagne with a beautiful rose color. I got a couple of small bottles of it, and really enjoyed it.
Korbel also produces some somewhat more expensive wines. Mike really liked the Masters’ Reserve Blanc de Noirs ($22), it was light, flavorful with subtle bubbles. The Muscato Frizzante ($22), tastes like a bubbly muscat that has had some sugar taken from it. And the Korbel Port ($30) was very flavorful, with hints of dark berries. Mike liked it.
Tasting at Korbel was just fun, which is why I imagine so many people go there, and it had none of the pretentiousness of tasting at other champagne houses, such as Domaine Carneros. In all, I found that their sparkling wines were perfectly acceptable and would buy them.
The Oakville Grocery store seems to have a much larger local reputation than it size would imply. I had heard of it (no idea how), even though I’d never been to Healdsburg before. Still, I decided to go there to get pic-nic supplies for our canoe trip down the Russian River.
The little store sells mostly high-end gourmet products. They have a very nice selection of cheeses and charcouterie, a deli with expensive prepared food, a small bakery, and somewhat random choices of other gourmet delicacies. They didn’t have packaged cookies, however!
We ordered a couple of roast beef sandwiches to take with us. They were very nice and large, well balanced and had a lot of meat. I think they were around $8-9. I’d order one again.
Oakville Grocery
124 Matheson Street
Healdsburg, CA
Tel: (707) 433-3200
8:00am – 6:00pm Daily
During our short trip to the wine country last weekend, we hit a couple of wineries in the city of Healdsburg proper. The city features a dozen (OK, I’m guessing) tasting rooms from wineries in the area. Most of them charge a tasting fee, generally around $5.
Mike and I just returned from a short trip to Sonoma and Lake counties, where we (OK, I) did a fair amount of wine tasting. As usual, I’m going to include my notes, which I think I will divide into wine-growing region (if I can, at least) – even though we may have hit the same region on different days. Our first day was a straight forward drive through Sonoma County, ending with a couple of tastings in Healdsburg.
I just got back from another trip to the wine country (I’ll blog about it later), where I bought only a couple of bottles of wine. This reminds me that it’s time to figure out what wines I do have at home – so that at least it might encourage me to drink them. Indeed, Mike and I have promised that from now on we’ll drink a bottle of “nice” (by which we mean wine over $15) wine at least once every two weeks. I mean, we buy these things, we should at least drink them!.
Anyway, this is what I have.
Cheaper Wines
120 Chardonnay Santa Rita – TJ’s
2007 RavensWood Chardonnay – auction ($8)
Block 13 Sauvignon Blanc – auction ($10)
Atlas Peak Sangiovese, 2006 – no idea how I got it
Chariot, Gypsy, 2005 – TJ’s ($5)
Charlone Vineyard Pinot Noir, 2006 – also don’t know how I got it
Hawk Crest Cabernt Sauvignong, 2005 – bought at Safeway thinking it was a deal, it wasn’t ($10)
Menage a Trois (by Folie a Deux, Napa), 2006 – TJ’s
Pacual Toso Malbec, 2006 – TJ’s
More expensive ones
Treana Winery White Wine Mer Soleil Vineyard Central Coast 2005 – won on raffle ($22)
Bink Merlot 2003 – won at auction ($35)
Bink Pinot Noir 2004 – won at auction ($40)
Bink Syrah 2003 – won at auction ($40)
Casola Lopez Malbec, 2002 – (my cousin Betiana Lopez gifted it to me in Argentina)
Chateu Souverain Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 2003, – got at winery ($24.50)
Cline Ancient Vines Mourvedre, 2006 – got at winery ($18), we liked the very unusual flavor
Coppola Diamond collection Merlot, 2005 – tried at restaurant & loved ($15)
De Loach Zinfandel, 2004 – got at winery ($35)
Loxton Red Table Wine, 2006 – got at winery ($14), fruity and acidic, a bit unfinished
Roederer Estate Pinot Noir 2005 – got at winery ($23)
Ryhan Estate Rouge Sang 2004 – got at winery ($20)
Yorkville Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, 2001 – got at winery ($40)
Sweet Wines
Eberle Muscat Canelli – got at winery ($14)
Navarro White Riesling – got at winery ($29 for 1/2 blottle)
V. Sattui California Muscat – got at winery (>$20)
Westover Port – don’t know where it came from ($20)
Sparkling Wines
Roederer L’Ermitage Brut – at winery, $45
Villa Carlotti Proseco – TJ’s
Last week I went out to Adagia with my friends Parker, Aamani and Dolores. We had all had desserts there a few months before and Parker was eager to try it for dinner. All in all we had a good experience, and I would go back.
I had their famous burger with provolone cheese, avocado and house cured pancetta. At $17.50 it was the most expensive burger I’ve ever eaten, but it was quite good. The meat was juicy, the toppings balanced, and the pancetta, in particular, was delicious. Still, I had an equally good burger at the Auburn Alehouse a few weeks back for only $11. I’m not sure that I’d order it again, but only because of the price. The fries that came with it were good, but not special.
Dolores had the Gorgonzola and walnut ravioli ($14.50) which came in a white wine cream sauce with arugula. I tasted the dish, and I liked it, but I think I’d grown bored eating the whole plate. Still, it’s a good option for vegetarians.
The baked casarecce pasta ($16.50), which Aamani and Parker shared, could have been better. It had a very mild taste and was screaming for more kale (or so I’m told), neither would order it again.
Finally, both Parker and Aamani were happy with their shared falafel crusted halibut ($24), though I didn’t hear any screams of ecstasy as in other occasions.
After our experience last time with the chocolate bread pudding, we all ordered it again and once again it was both delicious and satisfying.
Adagia
2700 Bancroft Way
Berkeley, Ca
510.647.2300
http://www.adagiarestaurant.com/
Original Review
Bay Area Restaurant Reviews
We stopped at the Old Village Grill in Arroyo Grande yesterday for lunch. We were driving down 101 and were famished by the time we got to Arroyo Grande. Mike remembered that we’d been to the Old Village Grill before, and he thought it was good. This time I thought it was merely OK.
I got their sourdough burger which came with cheese, shredded lettuce, tomato and not-sauteed-enough onions (~$6). The patty was rather small and the whole burger was unwieldy to eat. It tasted good, however. Mike had their BBQ bacon burger and he liked it, it was tasty and juice and the BBQ sauce did not overwhelm the flavors. We shared onion rings that were a bit overcooked, but nicely seasoned – though the accompanying (ranch?) sauce was too salty. I had a peanut butter shake which wasn’t flavorful enough. The bill came to $19 before tip.
In all, I think next time I may try a new place.
Old Village Grill
101 E. Branch St.
Arroyo Grande, Ca
(805) 489-4915
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