| Kiddie Koncierge Annex |
The Latest Annex
Published 04 January 2008
Welcome to the Kiddie Koncierge™ Annex! What is the Annex? Every so often,
we come across cool things that we think you might find interesting or
enjoyable. They don’t quite fit the bill of an activity or event, so it gets shoved into
the annex.
About Kiddie Koncierge™:
For those of you new to this service, we try to come up with interesting activities
for parents and their kids to do in the Greater Bay Area. Our updates aim for free
but occasionally things may have a cost component involved. We also aim to
provide helpful hints to increase the family’s enjoyment of the activities involved.
If you have suggestions about activities or ways that we can make this service
more useful, please feel free to send me that information.
Tell Your Friends About Kiddie Koncierge™!
Also, we are working to improve and expand our service, so please feel free to
forward this to anyone you think would enjoy this email and ask them to contact
me directly to get on the mailing list. This service is FREE and they can opt out at
any time.
Annex Contents
January 15th- January 31st, “Dine About Town, San Francisco” If you are not
familiar with this annual event sponsored by the San Francisco Convention and
Visitors Bureau, you should be. Every year, dozens of San Francisco’s finest
(and admittedly, not so finest) restaurants get together to offer 3-course lunches
and dinners for the bargain price of $21.95 for lunch and $31.95 for dinner. For
CPK, that might be a lot of money. But if you have been eyeing A-16, Bacar,
Foreign Cinema, Jack Falstaff, Plumpjack, Scott Howard or Tommy Toy’s (there
are many more, the complete list is here: http://www.onlyinsanfrancisco.
com/dineabouttown/, this might be a great way to do so and not kill your budget.
Of course, be warned, this is like going to K-Mart: they lure you in with the el-
cheapo $19.99 DVD player but then you see the more expensive, feature laden
version for $99.99 right next to it. Still, we have been doing this for a few years
now and the 3-course menus are still worth the baby sitter.
Vagabond Restaurants – This is not the name of a restaurant, but rather a type
of restaurant. The “Vagabond” restaurant, as I like to call them (others like to call
them the “Nomadic restaurants”), are restaurants where the chef doesn’t have a
regular pied-a-tere. They borrow a space a few nights a week or month to do
their thing. These are usually very talented chefs with commitment issues. Last
fall, I introduced you all to Post Meridian at the Kensington Bistro. Cordon Bleu
food in a borrowed space. http://postmeridian-kensingtonbistro.com/ To recap:
Most of you know the Kensington Circus. Opened by Narsai David a few years
back, it is a family-friendly pub with pub food and great beer. Best part if that you
can enjoy all that while your kids play themselves silly in a play area off in a
corner. Your kids can pop back from time to time to get a bite of something or to
have a wound tended to or to get some sort of referee ruling on some dispute,
but largely, they are glad to be rid of their parents for a bit. So if the Circus is the
unruly teenager, then the Kensington Bistro across the circle (at about 3:00) is
the understanding grandparent – always there with the better, more nutritious
food and yet, still open to a little silliness. For years, it had more serious food
with serviceable lunches and brunches and a play area tucked off discretely in
the corner. Parents, again, can pretend to be grown ups for a bit and the kids get
rid of their parents for a bit. The food, however, was always about a “B-/C+”. Post
Meridien, however, takes this concept to the big leagues. Robin, the chef, was
trained at the Cordon Bleu and worked at Guy Savoy in Paris. Her food is
delightfully fresh and creative. We had their roasted dry-farmed tomato, garlic,
and marjoram soup with creme fraiche and about died. It was if someone had
distilled all the best things in a summer garden into a bowl. My mother had the
cranberry beans (great for the veges), my wife had the lamb chops and I had the
Ventre au porc epicee. The latter, though it requires some explanation, was an
amazing combination of flavors. My arteries will be screaming for months, but
eat a bowl of oatmeal and get over it. Their wine selection is outstanding. My
wife had a perfectly servicable 03 Heron Pinot with her meal and I had an
amazing 03 Schlumberger Gewurztraminer which was a perfect match to my
selection. Every dish is paired and their wine list is extremely thoughtfully
assembled. Save room for deserts, by the way, since they have a Meyer lemon
tart which is so incredibly fresh you will be spitting seeds (not literally) into your
napkin. Best part is that you can have all this and bring your kids too. The
service is attentive without camping at your table. The play area is there which
allows you to have a relaxed meal and the noise level is civilized so you can hear
yourself speak. This gets an “A”
Radio Africa Kitchen http://www.radioafricakitchen.com/home.html sets down
every other Sunday at the Sweet Adeline Bakeshop in Berkeley at 3350 Adeline
Street at 63rd and Wednesdays and Thursdays at the Velo Rouge Cafe at 798
Arguello at McAllister in San Francisco. If you are in the East Bay, catch this guy
fast because we hear that he grows weary of the commute from SF. So what is
the big deal? This guy hails from Ethiopia and brings flavors of the region to the
table. Ethiopia, if you pull out your kids’ globe, is separated from the Red Sea by
Eritrea and shares a lot of the Red Sea and Mediterranean influences of the
region. He combines kitfo (minced, raw beef marinated in chili powder and
clarified butter infused with an Ethiopian blend of herbs and spices) from the
Horn of Africa with Ahi Tuna and a tomato confit. He combines preserved
lemons, couscous, and almonds to make a wicked Moroccan duck. Dinners are
prix fixe at $40 at all locations. Velo Rouge requests reservations and this is
strictly a cash or check enterprise. The next meal is scheduled for Saturday,
February 2nd at Coffee Bar at Mariposa and Florida in the Art Studio Building
South of Market in San Francisco. And, by the way, if you haven’t tried Sweet
Adeline’s baked goods, might we suggest that you check out their quince and
cranberry tart. My wife is not a huge fan of fruit in baked goods and we couldn’t
keep this on her plate. Everything else is pretty amazing too.
Dig’s Bistro, 1453 Dwight Way, Berkeley, http://www.digsbistro.com/ This place
is not exactly a Vagabond Restaurant, but it deserves a place in this listing
because 1) it was once an underground restaurant and 2) it is wonderful to say
the least. What is an underground restaurant you might ask? For years, Dig’s
was run out of a house in Oakland for two years. They offered a prix fixe meal
twice a month before getting shut down. So, when this cool space on Dwight
just around the corner from the Homemade Cafe on California came available,
this underground gem became available to the rest of us. Most everything on the
menu is fresh, local and organic to the extent possible. From their melt-in-your-
mouth Short Ribs to the simple classic of Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage
Brown Butter, nothing disappoints. Their wine list is simple, but very thoughtful.
And now, here is the kicker that should place this near the top of your list: every
first Monday of the Month is Parents Nite Out. Get this: kids are escorted to a
separate dining room for supervised activities and a meal while the parents get
to enjoy some grown up time nearby. The price? $10 for the first child, $5 for
each one after that. http://www.digsbistro.com/Parents-Nite-Out/Parents-Nite-
Out.html
That's it for now! Please feel free to submit any events, Annex suggestions or
feedback! info@kiddiekoncierge.com
_______________________________________
Kiddie Koncierge™
Copyright 2006-2008 Kiddie Koncierge™, all rights reserved.
Published 04 January 2008
Welcome to the Kiddie Koncierge™ Annex! What is the Annex? Every so often,
we come across cool things that we think you might find interesting or
enjoyable. They don’t quite fit the bill of an activity or event, so it gets shoved into
the annex.
About Kiddie Koncierge™:
For those of you new to this service, we try to come up with interesting activities
for parents and their kids to do in the Greater Bay Area. Our updates aim for free
but occasionally things may have a cost component involved. We also aim to
provide helpful hints to increase the family’s enjoyment of the activities involved.
If you have suggestions about activities or ways that we can make this service
more useful, please feel free to send me that information.
Tell Your Friends About Kiddie Koncierge™!
Also, we are working to improve and expand our service, so please feel free to
forward this to anyone you think would enjoy this email and ask them to contact
me directly to get on the mailing list. This service is FREE and they can opt out at
any time.
Annex Contents
January 15th- January 31st, “Dine About Town, San Francisco” If you are not
familiar with this annual event sponsored by the San Francisco Convention and
Visitors Bureau, you should be. Every year, dozens of San Francisco’s finest
(and admittedly, not so finest) restaurants get together to offer 3-course lunches
and dinners for the bargain price of $21.95 for lunch and $31.95 for dinner. For
CPK, that might be a lot of money. But if you have been eyeing A-16, Bacar,
Foreign Cinema, Jack Falstaff, Plumpjack, Scott Howard or Tommy Toy’s (there
are many more, the complete list is here: http://www.onlyinsanfrancisco.
com/dineabouttown/, this might be a great way to do so and not kill your budget.
Of course, be warned, this is like going to K-Mart: they lure you in with the el-
cheapo $19.99 DVD player but then you see the more expensive, feature laden
version for $99.99 right next to it. Still, we have been doing this for a few years
now and the 3-course menus are still worth the baby sitter.
Vagabond Restaurants – This is not the name of a restaurant, but rather a type
of restaurant. The “Vagabond” restaurant, as I like to call them (others like to call
them the “Nomadic restaurants”), are restaurants where the chef doesn’t have a
regular pied-a-tere. They borrow a space a few nights a week or month to do
their thing. These are usually very talented chefs with commitment issues. Last
fall, I introduced you all to Post Meridian at the Kensington Bistro. Cordon Bleu
food in a borrowed space. http://postmeridian-kensingtonbistro.com/ To recap:
Most of you know the Kensington Circus. Opened by Narsai David a few years
back, it is a family-friendly pub with pub food and great beer. Best part if that you
can enjoy all that while your kids play themselves silly in a play area off in a
corner. Your kids can pop back from time to time to get a bite of something or to
have a wound tended to or to get some sort of referee ruling on some dispute,
but largely, they are glad to be rid of their parents for a bit. So if the Circus is the
unruly teenager, then the Kensington Bistro across the circle (at about 3:00) is
the understanding grandparent – always there with the better, more nutritious
food and yet, still open to a little silliness. For years, it had more serious food
with serviceable lunches and brunches and a play area tucked off discretely in
the corner. Parents, again, can pretend to be grown ups for a bit and the kids get
rid of their parents for a bit. The food, however, was always about a “B-/C+”. Post
Meridien, however, takes this concept to the big leagues. Robin, the chef, was
trained at the Cordon Bleu and worked at Guy Savoy in Paris. Her food is
delightfully fresh and creative. We had their roasted dry-farmed tomato, garlic,
and marjoram soup with creme fraiche and about died. It was if someone had
distilled all the best things in a summer garden into a bowl. My mother had the
cranberry beans (great for the veges), my wife had the lamb chops and I had the
Ventre au porc epicee. The latter, though it requires some explanation, was an
amazing combination of flavors. My arteries will be screaming for months, but
eat a bowl of oatmeal and get over it. Their wine selection is outstanding. My
wife had a perfectly servicable 03 Heron Pinot with her meal and I had an
amazing 03 Schlumberger Gewurztraminer which was a perfect match to my
selection. Every dish is paired and their wine list is extremely thoughtfully
assembled. Save room for deserts, by the way, since they have a Meyer lemon
tart which is so incredibly fresh you will be spitting seeds (not literally) into your
napkin. Best part is that you can have all this and bring your kids too. The
service is attentive without camping at your table. The play area is there which
allows you to have a relaxed meal and the noise level is civilized so you can hear
yourself speak. This gets an “A”
Radio Africa Kitchen http://www.radioafricakitchen.com/home.html sets down
every other Sunday at the Sweet Adeline Bakeshop in Berkeley at 3350 Adeline
Street at 63rd and Wednesdays and Thursdays at the Velo Rouge Cafe at 798
Arguello at McAllister in San Francisco. If you are in the East Bay, catch this guy
fast because we hear that he grows weary of the commute from SF. So what is
the big deal? This guy hails from Ethiopia and brings flavors of the region to the
table. Ethiopia, if you pull out your kids’ globe, is separated from the Red Sea by
Eritrea and shares a lot of the Red Sea and Mediterranean influences of the
region. He combines kitfo (minced, raw beef marinated in chili powder and
clarified butter infused with an Ethiopian blend of herbs and spices) from the
Horn of Africa with Ahi Tuna and a tomato confit. He combines preserved
lemons, couscous, and almonds to make a wicked Moroccan duck. Dinners are
prix fixe at $40 at all locations. Velo Rouge requests reservations and this is
strictly a cash or check enterprise. The next meal is scheduled for Saturday,
February 2nd at Coffee Bar at Mariposa and Florida in the Art Studio Building
South of Market in San Francisco. And, by the way, if you haven’t tried Sweet
Adeline’s baked goods, might we suggest that you check out their quince and
cranberry tart. My wife is not a huge fan of fruit in baked goods and we couldn’t
keep this on her plate. Everything else is pretty amazing too.
Dig’s Bistro, 1453 Dwight Way, Berkeley, http://www.digsbistro.com/ This place
is not exactly a Vagabond Restaurant, but it deserves a place in this listing
because 1) it was once an underground restaurant and 2) it is wonderful to say
the least. What is an underground restaurant you might ask? For years, Dig’s
was run out of a house in Oakland for two years. They offered a prix fixe meal
twice a month before getting shut down. So, when this cool space on Dwight
just around the corner from the Homemade Cafe on California came available,
this underground gem became available to the rest of us. Most everything on the
menu is fresh, local and organic to the extent possible. From their melt-in-your-
mouth Short Ribs to the simple classic of Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage
Brown Butter, nothing disappoints. Their wine list is simple, but very thoughtful.
And now, here is the kicker that should place this near the top of your list: every
first Monday of the Month is Parents Nite Out. Get this: kids are escorted to a
separate dining room for supervised activities and a meal while the parents get
to enjoy some grown up time nearby. The price? $10 for the first child, $5 for
each one after that. http://www.digsbistro.com/Parents-Nite-Out/Parents-Nite-
Out.html
That's it for now! Please feel free to submit any events, Annex suggestions or
feedback! info@kiddiekoncierge.com
_______________________________________
Kiddie Koncierge™
Copyright 2006-2008 Kiddie Koncierge™, all rights reserved.
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