The Girl and the Fig in Sonoma is marvelous. Have lunch or dinner on the patio.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Girl and the Fig

I don't know where you are from, but don't forget In-N-Out for burgers or Ike's Place (there's one in Santa Rosa) for sandwiches. Local favorites.

Here is a link that might be useful: Secret menu

A friend of mine, a great foodie, blogs about restaurants. The link below is for Napa. Sonoma, and Russian River; other areas are listed at the top.

Each restaurant has a comment, but you can double-click on the individual links for her full reviews.

Here is a link that might be useful: Restaurant links and reviews

A friend who lives in Napa suggests Downtown Joes for a friendly place, won't break the bank, but not exactly haute cuisine. But a good brew pub. I think my friend spends a lot of time there. ;-o

Here is a link that might be useful: Downtown Joes

Ad Hoc (Thomas Keller's much less expensive house where you eat what they're serving that day) and Bistro Jeanty are two of my favorites in Yountville. Ad Hoc is a type of family style, so if you'd like more of something, just ask and they usually bring it.

Alisande, I read a few of your friend's comments and let's just say not everyone has the same opinions. I read a few things she wrote and didn't find much I agreed with. She mentions that Santa Cruz is 20 miles from Monterey - au contraire, it's over 40 miles on a road subject to less than speed limit travel throughout the week and especially on weekends.

Have a good trip!

Heck, I live between Santa Cruz and Monterey and it's still 30 minutes to get to Capitola. Not even SCruz.

Snidely, give a holler next time you are down this way, and we'll get together!

Alisande, my sister and brother-in-law were in Petaluma recently with another couple, and they stopped in at the Petaluma Pie Company. Your friend wrote, "Nope. Uninteresting crust and even worse fillings." My sister, brother-in-law, and their friends all loved it.
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One place at which we ALWAYS have dinner when we're in wine country is Rustic, Francis's Favorites. It's inside the Francis Ford Coppola Winery in Geyserville, which is in Sonoma County. (The tasting room is open until 6:00 p.m., but the restaurant is open for lunch and dinner from 11:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m.) You can ask for a table on the patio, or you can dine inside. Even though it's in a winery, there is a full bar. If you click on my link to the restaurant, above, you'll see a button to click on for the Menu, which will pop up. (And then you will see links to the children's menu and drinks menu, as well as a link to download a PDF of the menu.) I do know that some of the items are only available on certain days (for example, in the center section [Francis's Favorites], the Braciole with Rigatoni in Meat Ragù is only available on Sundays.

Reservations are recommended if you'll be having dinner, especially on a weekend.

And it's a fun winery to visit, too. All of Coppola's awards (Oscars, Golden Globes, etc.) are there, as well as the Tucker car from the movie, the desk from the Godfather movies, etc., etc. And, they sell a bunch of great stuff (love, love, love their pasta bowls).

This post was edited by Lindsey_CA on Sun, Jun 1, 14 at 2:23

It's like asking someone to recommend their vet. One person will say, "I love him! He's the BEST!" and someone else will say she stopped going to him for a bunch of reasons and would never go back.

Food is even more subjective, and I of all people am well aware of that. I'm reminded of it often when I read recipes posted here. I guess I should have remembered it before posting that link. But then, that goes for everyone else's recommendations too, although it helps when details are added so the OP can judge by her own standards.

Taste, preferences and opinions are subjective to a point. Sometimes people reach the wrong personal conclusions by being uninformed.

I only read a few articles, but the one that influenced my comment was a write up that suggested to me that she thinks she knows more about food than she does. In that report, she criticized the pairing of two items in a main dish (like why was this veggie served with the main course) and said it was a poor choice and disappointing. What she didn't know (and I do because of living in Europe for several years) was that that dish was a traditional combination, like ham and eggs or corned beef and cabbage. It's fine that she didn't like it, but she was ignorant about what she was criticising.

There's no reason to dwell on it, just sharing my impressions. I find that Yelp and Trip Advisor can also be good sources (when taken with some skepticism) for choices in new locales.

This post was edited by snidely on Sun, Jun 1, 14 at 11:51

There's no reason to dwell on it, just sharing my impressions.

Oh, right, Snidely, you would never dwell. But here's my impression:

Clearly (it was probably clear to most people), I posted my friend's blog in an effort to be helpful. You responded by saying she's ignorant and has an inflated ego. ("She thinks she knows more about food than she does.")

I'm amused by the "ignorant" accusation because the articles she sends me from WSJ and the NY Times are always interesting, and the only emails of that sort I bother to read.

As for the inflated ego, I don't know what to say other than to acknowledge that you've had considerable personal experience with that condition.

I always, always, always read reviews with a huge grain
of salt. Tastes differ so very much.
Just last night we ate at an old, established Italian
restaurant that garners 4 stars at the review sites.
The food was terrible and the service was not very good.
Of course.....that's my opinion.
When I travel, I like to ask locals for a restaurant recommendation.

Alisande, you've incompletely quoted two of my comments and by misquoting me, your version of what I said is different from what I said.

The matter can drop.