OK I love the downtown feel of Danville and WC as much as anyone else but the food scene is not even remotely comparable. at all. The burbs do not have great food in comparison to SF.
Also the food in Tahoe is AWFUL, like there are maybe 2 places I think are decent and the rest suck, so I don’t trust your food judgement at all.
What gets counted as a good food ? The food of the kind you buy for $200 a plate? Or of the kind you buy from a hole-in-the-wall. A few people have told me they like the food sold by trucks better than others.
I don’t expect great food from restaurants. I am a great cook and can always make better food.
I definitely didn’t move here for the food. But eating outside overlooking Lake Tahoe makes up for the lack of snobby overpriced restaurants.
I look at restaurants for convenience and variety. I especially prefer food I wouldn’t cook at home like ethnic food. I feel like going to an expensive SF restaurant is a total waste of time and money. The restaurant scene there is all about impressing wealthy tourists and business people on expense accounts. Some can cost over $500 for a couple… with that kind of money I can throw a party for several friends and have a much better time. What pisses me off the most is the cost of wine. Some restaurants charge $50 corkage and 3x markups… Highway robbery
A friend of mine quipped about the good food: some of the good food could be a lot of sugar, lot of grease, lot of fat, lot of salt and a fat bill.
There was a small restaurant in Irvine ( in 2014 - I hope they are still around - near the famous fish restaurant) that claimed to have minimum spices to allow the ingredient to naturally tingle your taste buds .
Added Later: On a company trip and on an expense account, I had an opportunity to show my culinary appreciation. My friend and I want to an upscale restaurant in Dallas downtown (2012). For the dessert, the waiter brought a mobile stove by our table and quickly whipped up some ice-cream for us right as we watched his mumbo-zumbo. When it came to expensing the meal, we had to pay the amount over $50 as my employer was a small business and company policy was to limit the expense.
Cooking good meal requires a lot of patience and concentration of mind. Good food is cooked with care and love. And of course it should appeal your eyes and nose as well.
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So cheap? Not high end.
Good food is about good ingredients and minimal spices. I love to make Italian food.
One of my favorite dishes is a simple zucchini salad. Just fresh cold thinly sliced zucchini with fresh lemon juice, virgin olive oil and shaved parmigiana reggiano. The key is high quality ingredients.
Another is Cacio e Pepe. Super simple. Pecorino Romano, Spaghetti and pepper. Takes skill to prepare.
When I say “good food” you assume I mean expensive, that’s not what I mean…even lower end cheap places > East Bay food.
I don’t understand why someone would drive an hour each way and put up with SF nonsense for an inexpensive meal. I do understand why someone would go for a unique dinner like The House of Prime Rib. Gary Danko or La Folie. … just not worth it for me for the last 20 years. Ironically two of these didn’t survive Covid19 at least as they were.
Plenty of high end places on the peninsula and South Bay were worth it for me then that were good enough.
Here are the latest hot restaurants in SF.
Most are pathetic weird to go places. I think the SF restaurant scene was destroyed by Covid19. Will it ever recover?
So much talk about SF, during my 15-20 years in CU, didn’t bother to travel 1-2 agonizingly hours to eat a meal. Anyhoo, plenty sure don’t have char kuay teow, Hainanese chicken rice. Hokkien prawn mee, Barbecued stingray, oyster omelette, Satay and chendol.
Honestly speaking. Driving two hours just to eat at a restaurant is not my idea of dinning out. I would dine in a distant place like SF only when some other compelling reason takes me there and there is no time pressure to return home before it is too late.
Here is a list of SF and BA restaurants that closed in the last year. Primarily due to covid19. Another reason to leave, I guess.
Ironically not much closed in Tahoe, except for Lakeside casino. Famous for their cheap $19.95 mediocre steak and lobster advertised on Highway 50 billboard.
https://www.restaurantji.com/ca/south-lake-tahoe/
Tahoe restaurants. My favorite Nepheles closed a year before coo. The owner retired. Now a Thai restaurant
My South Lake Tahoe favorites today. Beacon, Boathouse, Edgewood. Jalisco taqueria. Ernie’s. Lotus Thai. Scusas, Primos, Himmel House. Sonneys, Classic Cue. Massive Burgers and pool $2 Tacos on Monday… locals hangout for contractors and building inspectors. Burger Lounge. Brothers bar, aka Emerald Bay bar and grill. The Chart House happy hour. Fox and Hound. Evan’s. Margaritas. Sierra Pizza by the slice. True NY style pizza. Aleworx at the Y. Coldwater. Blue dog pizza. Teps for nostalgia and cheap drinks. Their pizza is very good. Salad bar has been suspended. Ciera steak house. Hunan garden great pot stickers and garlic green beens… went to Margaritas last night Packed . Good cheap Mexican food. No more $13 pitchers of Margaritas. Now $40.
Breakfast places packed this morning. Went to the original RedHut… very good
Even though people are leaving prices still seem to be going up. Newcomers have much higher incomes than the people leaving?
Renters are leaving. It’s far easier for renters to leave. That’s why rents are down but prices are up.
Increasing crime is what started the downfall of Detroit. People don’t realize that began in the 1950’s. That’s when population decline started. Then they threw gas on the fire by trying to tax businesses to pay for things. That just accelerated the population decline. The suburbs nearby actually benefited from it and did very well.