CLOSED – Caesar’s, San Francisco

Posted on August 24, 2012 by The Jab

Last night I went with friends to a San Francisco Italian restaurant that has been open since 1956, but is sadly closing in about a week: Caesar’s. I’m posting this quick post as a suggestion to visit it while you can. It was packed last night (and noisy!) so make a reservation soon, and bring patience because it took a while to get our food and they were out of many items. Despite their business our waiter was efficient and helpful even while obviously rushed.

Art nouveau bar. I wonder where it came from, or what bar was here before Caesar’s?

The dining room has been remodeled recently but there are a few booths and the tables and chairs looked vintage.
I ordered the house specialty, Cannelloni Alla Romana.

Cannelloni Alla Romana

Crab Cioppino

Petrale Dore

Ravioli

It’s sad to see another San Francisco classic close its doors.

Arrivederci, Caesar’s.

Caesar’s
2229 Powell St, San Francisco, CA 94133
415-989-6000
Open Tue-Fri 11:30am-2:30pm, 4:30pm-9:30pm; Sat-Sun 1:30pm-9:30pm (through August 31st, 2012).

Casa Orinda, Orinda, California

Posted on July 31, 2012 by The Jab

Roundup of Bay Area old west style roadhouses – part three of three.

In earlier posts I visited Rancho Nicasio and the Hayward Ranch, two wonderful classic Western-style restaurants in the Bay Area. Tonight we’re visiting the historic roadhouse Casa Orinda, which opened in 1932 at what was just a crossroad at the time, on the corner of 2-lane California highway 24 and San Pablo Dam Road. The restaurant grew slowly and decor was added, from wagon-wheel chandeliers to large oil paintings of Western scenes, a fireplace, and an extensive historic gun collection. There was even gambling in the restaurant for a while. The gambling is long gone, but the restaurant miraculously survived expansion of the freeway and growth of the town of Orinda, and retains its classy Western decor (quite different from Hayward Ranch, which is more casual and cluttered).

Recently I dined there with friends to celebrate our great friend Karen Finlay’s birthday (she is a fabulous writer, check out her blog here).

I love the bar with lamps made from oxen yokes.

Step up to the bar and order a martini or Manhattan. They made it just the way I like it – stirred with lots of ice.

They are famous for their fried chicken, and rightly so. It’s crispy, hot, and juicy. Without a doubt the best fried chicken that I’ve had in the Bay Area. But I almost always order it, so this time I got prime rib, and it was excellent too.

Casa Orinda prime rib – notice they still use vintage Western themed china!

Here is part of the main dining room with and original wagon wheel chandelier and oil painting. They also decorate the dining rooms with gorgeous fresh flower displays.

Casa Orinda is a must in the Bay Area for great fried chicken and steaks in a historic Western style atmosphere with a touch of class. Be sure and check out the large gun collection!

Casa Orinda
20 Bryant Way, Orinda, CA 94563
(925) 254-2981
Open Mon-Sat 4pm-10pm; Sun 4pm-9pm (bar may stay open an hour later)
Valet parking is available

The Hayward Ranch, Hayward, California – CLOSED

Posted on May 16, 2012 by The Jab

Roundup of Bay Area old west style roadhouses – part two of three.

A couple of months ago Le Continental visited Rancho Nicasio as part one of my roundup of old western steakhouses in the Bay Area. Today we’re hitchin’ up the horse and riding to the Hayward Ranch in Hayward in the East Bay. Built in 1948 using wood from an old railroad trestle near Sacramento, and thankfully it hasn’t changed much. At one time the original owners, Leonard and Adele Perillo, had 27 Ranch steakhouses in their East Bay / Tri-Valley (Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore) chain. Now this is the only one left. In 1999 it was purchased by the current owner, Chris Sarantakis, who vowed “I’m not going to change it, I’m going to make it better”.

The big sign is visible from a long way down the road

The restaurant is in a long, low, ranch style building with a rustic interior of walls made from the trestle wood covered with western bric-à-brac, framed pictures, and other clutter (but no cheap beer advertisements or strings of mini white lights – hooray!), and simple old wooden tables and booths.

The menu is typical of old western steakhouse fare and the prices are very reasonable. At dinner you can get a steak dinner with soup or salad, potato or pasta, and vegetable for around $20 or less. They have a bargain early bird menu from 4:00-6:00pm, and they serve breakfast and lunch, too.

I’ve had a steak there many times and have been quite pleased with them, but this time I took the waiter’s recommendation and tried the fried chicken. It was very good: tender and not dried out, with a crispy skin. Not the best fried chicken I’ve had in the Bay Area (and definitely not comparable to the fried chicken I’ve had in the Southern U.S.), but it was a good choice.

fried chicken dinner

A couple of dining companions had steaks: one had the filet mignon and another had a rib-eye. They both said they were tasty and tender.

filet mignon with Bearnaise sauce and sautéed mushrooms

We had some Manhattans with Bulleit rye and they were made perfectly as requested (stirred, not shaken). The service was excellent. Our young waiter was on top of everything and very friendly and affable. For dessert I had the homemade cherry cobbler and it was sooooo good! Perfect amount of fruit, not too thick and gummy, and a crunchy crust. YUM! Don’t skip dessert here!

cherry cobbler

Gorgeous neon sign with cocktail on one side and royal cow on the other.

The Hayward Ranch
22877 Mission Blvd., Hayward, Ca 94541
(510) 537-5522
open 7am – 10pm Monday – Saturday, closed Sundays, bar open until 11pm

Rancho Nicasio, Nicasio, California

Posted on March 24, 2012 by The Jab

Roundup of Bay Area old west style roadhouses – part one of three.

We are real lucky in the San Francisco Bay Area because we have three (perhaps more) old western style roadhouses/restaurants. That’s more than in any town in Texas that I know of! In fact, there may be more here than in any other city in the U.S. I challenge my readers to name another city with three vintage western style restaurants!

In the countryside of West Marin County, California, there is a ranching village that looks frozen in the 19th century – Nicasio, population 96 (2010 US Census). In the town there is a church dating to 1867, a one-room schoolhouse from 1871, a town square with a baseball diamond, and Rancho Nicasio saloon and restaurant, built in 1941 on the spot where the Hotel Nicasio (1867) burned to the ground in 1940. The restaurant is in a ranch style building along with a general store and post office.

The bar is filled with taxidermy, old photos of the Nicasio area, and a wagon-wheel chandelier hangs from the ceiling. You can eat in the bar if you prefer, or to avoid a band cover (or a band you don’t care for).

The dining room is a large with many wooden tables and a big wooden dance floor and stage, where bands play most weekend nights (Fri-Sun) starting around 8:00pm (the cover charge varies – sometimes there is no cover and the band passes the bucket) . The best way to experience the Rancho is to book a table at around 6:00-7:00pm so you can have dinner before the show, preferably seeing a country and western band like local western swing acts The West Coast Ramblers or the Lone Star Retrobates or Los Angeles act Big Sandy & His Fly-Right Boys (all personal favorites and highly recommended!).

The West Coast Ramblers

Allow plenty of time to get there because the roads are windy and treacherous and it’s nice to have a stroll around the village before dinner (if you arrive before dark). The food is good. On my recent visit I enjoyed the excellent lamb medallions (and a chilled iceberg wedge salad), but the steaks and the pork chop are also good choices. On summer weekends starting Memorial Day weekend they have barbeques out back with live music. The fog often rolls in during the late afternoon so bring a jacket.

Polish up your steppin’-out boots, put your Stetson on, and head out to the Rancho for a wild time!

Rancho Nicasio
1 Old Rancheria Road, Nicasio, CA 94946
(415) 662-2219
Open for lunch Mon-Fri 11:30am-3:00pm, Sat-Sun 11:00am-3:00pm
Dinner Sun-Th 5:00pm-9:00pm, Fri-Sat 5:00pm-10:00pm