My Regular Meals in the Bay Area

A couple of people recently remarked that I have a tendency to always order the exact same thing in certain restaurants. Thinking about this, they were right; I eat out a lot because of my line of work, and when I find a meal I like, I tend to stick with it any time I come back to the same place. What was interesting about the discussion was that the folks who made the comment had admitted to be following my footsteps; they claimed that when I "lock in" to a particular dish or combination, it does tend to be one of the best in the restaurant.

So, other than being flattered, I figured why not share my apparently somewhat admired taste with the world. Thus, for what its worth, here are my "regular everyday" meals in the San Francisco bay area. I've eaten each of these specific dishes at least a dozen times. Note that I am NOT including places I visit often but where I have not "locked in" to a particular dish. If I forgot a few, which is very likely, I'll come in and add them later. These are set up more or less geographically, going north to south. Why? because.

Petaluma, Mary's Pizza Shack, He & She (with a side Caesar)

Walnut Creek, Silk Road, Mousaka, followed up by a piece or two of chocolate at Leonidas down the street

Berkeley, Lanote, Ratatouille avec Merguez (usually with something else on the side which does change)

Emeryville, Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe, Half Caesar, a side of (amazing!) fries, and a Shaking Jessy

San Francisco, Popolo (on Bush & Kearney), Chicken Risotto and Tiramisu

Burlingame, Max's, Large Matzohball Soup (usually with a side of Buffalo Wings)

Mountain View, Pezzella's, Lasagna and Chocolate Mousse (this is one of my favorite meals in the bay area period, I try to go here and get this every time I happen to be in the south bay for lunch)

There you have it. I must have forgotten a few, but if you do visit one of these places, this is one menu option I think is safe to try.