We've found the perfect retort for those naysayers who complain about the paucity of fine dining restaurants in the Vallejo area. Be careful what you wish for!
Yes it's true that, compared to the cities of Sonoma, San Francisco, Napa and Oakland, Vallejo comes up short in the fine dining niche. What we have instead are a good and diverse number of restaurants that are long on value and taste. And yes, short on fancy meal descriptions that are three paragraphs long..and prices that are steep enough to ask for an installment plan.
Not guilty!
Here's more good news. Zagat Surveys - San Francisco, that arbiter of all things nice-for-your palate, has just published its '10 Most Annoying Restaurant Trends.' As far as we can tell (although we haven't dined at all Vallejo restaurants), we stand 'not guilty!' On all ten counts!
Here's what is driving Zagat fans nutty lately:
1) Dogs in cafes and outdoor restaurants - Unless you count the tables outside taco trucks, we can't think of one Vallejo area restaurant where dogs can hang with their owners (comment if you want to prove us wrong).
2) Tables riduculously close together - Nada on this one too.
3) Overzealous wine pouring - Here's Zagat's beef: "We hate when servers are constantly topping off our glasses (clearly in an effort to sell more booze) when they’re already mostly full - leaving our wine/beer to get warm and stale in the process."
4) Designer ice - Can't say we've ever encountered fancy ice cubes...anywhere!
5) Enormous wine glasses - A true marketing faux pas: Why would you want your customers to perceive that they are getting less than more?
6) Ketchup snobbery - Apparently it's getting harder to find good ole ketchup. Another reason to start dining east of the Carquinez Bridge---Lots of ketchup here!
7) Sparkling, flat or filtered tap? - You may have to ask for water at Vallejo area restaurants. But we doubt any waiter will be gving you a water drill.
8) Unisex restrooms - We haven't visited any multi-stall unisex restrooms. Just the one stall variety. We agree that encountering the opposite sex at the sink is just darn awkward.
9) Excessive Punctuation/Lower-Case Letters in Restaurant Names, Menu Items. At first blush, it might sound like so much nit picketing here. But then again, who wants to hire a translator to interpret the menu?
10) Wood-infused food - We haven't noticed any exotic infusions lately. Drop us a line if you have!
You can read all the Zagat comments- some sensible...others downright snarky.
Hey Zagats....Come over the Carquinez Bridge sometime and sample our restaurants. You just may find enough places worthy of a new Zagat Survey. (Minus the complaints)
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