Best Dining Bets

San Francisco's Finest: We can't choose! It's practically sacrilege to even attempt to name the "top" restaurant. But for a perfect combo of food and atmosphere, we count on Boulevard, Restaurant Gary Danko, and Zuni Café.

Chez Panisse (Berkeley): This is the domain of Alice Waters, "the queen of California cuisine." Her food captivates the senses and the imagination. Originally inspired by the Mediterranean, her kitchen has found its own style. Chez Panisse delights include dishes like grilled fish wrapped in fig leaves with red-wine sauce, and Seckel pears poached in red wine with burnt caramel.

Bistro Don Giovanni (Napa): Shhh . . . Don't tell anyone, but in this Napa Valley dining room you can get an incredible meal without a reservation. Just drop in to the cheery, large restaurant, wait for a seat at the bar, and order off the fantastic Italian menu.

Restaurant 301 (Eureka): Mark and Christi Carter are passionate about food and wine, which is why their hotel restaurant is considered the best on the Northern Coast. Most of the herbs and many vegetables served are picked fresh from the hotel's organic gardens. Indulge in their prix-fixe five-course dinner menu, where each course is paired with a recommended wine by the glass (Mark is a Grand Award recipient from Wine Spectator magazine).

Erna's Elderberry House (Oakhurst): It's like a beacon shining across the culinary wasteland of the region around Yosemite. The six-course menu -- which changes nightly -- is an almost perfect blend of Continental and Californian. The food is bountiful and as fully satisfying as the elegant European ambience.

bouchon santa barbara (Santa Barbara): With an always-intriguing seasonal menu derived from Santa Barbara County's wine country, this intimate restaurant (whose name means "wine cork") lies hidden behind a shrubbery portal in the heart of downtown. The food and service are impeccable, and an experienced staff stands ready to help coordinate by-the-glass (or even half-glass) wines for each course.

The Hump (Santa Monica): The chefs here are deadly serious about their sushi. Flown in daily from Tokyo's Tsukijii and Fukuoka fish markets in oxygen-filled containers, it's so fresh that there's a sign at the entrance warning the faint-of-heart that the meat's still moving.

Koi Restaurant (West Hollywood): The hottest new restaurant in L.A. has the A-list celebrities arriving here nightly to nosh on addictive dishes such as baked crab rolls with edible rice paper. A killer combination of soothing feng shui ambience and superb Asian fusion cuisine.

Laurel (San Diego): The polished service and elegant setting at this restaurant near Balboa Park are urbane and discriminating. The food is prepared with inventive flair and the Rhône-heavy wine list soars, making Laurel a rewarding splurge for a special occasion.

George's at the Cove/George's Ocean Terrace (La Jolla): Tasty smoked chicken-broccoli-black-bean soup is an enduring dish; it's on the menu at the fancy downstairs dining room and the breezy upstairs cafe. The two share an aah-inspiring ocean view. The downstairs kitchen turns up the finesse factor for inventive and formal California cuisine, while the cafe offers crowd-pleasing versions.

Best Culinary Experiences

Grazing at San Francisco's Farmers Market: In 2003 San Francisco's favorite outdoor culinary fair moved to the Ferry Building Marketplace where some of the best artisan food producers and restaurants have opened new storefronts. Stop by anytime to peruse the shops or visit during open-air market days -- Tuesday and Thursday -- to join the locals as they feast on the freshest vegetables, fruits, and prepared foods from some of the city's beloved restaurants.

A Decadent Meal in the Wine Country: The Wine Country atmosphere sets a better stage for indulgent dining than anywhere else in the state. Add the best wines and some of the most talented chefs in the nation and you've got what we consider the ultimate dining experience. Deep-pocketed diners must reserve an evening at The French Laundry in St. Helena. More moderately priced memories can be made at Bistro Jeanty and Terra.

Tomales Bay Oysters: Johnson's Oyster Farm sells its farm-fresh oysters -- by the dozen or the hundreds -- for a fraction of the price you'd pay at a restaurant. Our modus operandi is to 1) buy a couple dozen, 2) head for an empty campsite along the bay, 3) fire up the barbecue pit (don't forget the charcoal), 4) split and 'cue the little guys, 5) slather them in Johnson's special sauce, and then 6) slurp 'em down -- yum.

Grand Central Market (Los Angeles): Fresh-produce stands, exotic spice and condiment vendors, butchers and fishmongers, and prepared-food counters create a noisy, fragrant, vaguely comforting atmosphere in this L.A. mainstay. The gem of the cavernous complex is the fresh juice bar at the southwest corner. A market fixture for many years, it dispenses dozens of varieties from an elaborate system of wall spigots, deftly blending unlikely but heavenly combinations.

Sunday Champagne Brunch Aboard the Queen Mary (Long Beach): This elegant ocean liner was the largest, finest vessel when she was built in 1934, and the grandeur of those Atlantic-crossing days remains. A buffet-style feast, accompanied by a harp soloist and ice sculpture, is presented in the wood-furnished, first-class dining room. Walk off your indulgence on the teak decks and through the Art Deco interiors.

A Date with the Coachella Valley: Some 95% of the world's dates are farmed here. While the groves of date palms make evocative scenery, it's their fruit that draws visitors to the National Date Festival in Indio each year. You can feast on an array of plump Medjool, amber Deglet Noor, caramel-like Halawy, and buttery Empress dates. The rest of the year, date farms and markets sell dates from the season's harvest, as well as date milkshakes, date coconut rolls, and more.

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