What is HOPR??
House of Prime Rib on Van Ness in San Francisco
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Thanks - couldnāt work out what it was! Never made it there, indeed havenāt heard of it until now.
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It was my uncleās favourite restaurant.
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Itās excellent, very special. Iāve been going there for special occasions since the 70ās. Until recent years, they only offered Prime Rib (various cuts to choose from) or you could just have the salad and wonderful sides. Now, they also offer a fish dish and vegetarian plate.
Recently I was upset that the restaurant only offered a choice of 5 pm or 9 pm, even if you called 3 months ahead. Then I discovered that good seating times are available mid week if you book on Open Table; weāre going in June.
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BITD, and living in Reno, we spent many weekends in SF, but somehow that was never on our radar, and we didnāt know about it, unfortunately. I so wish we had gone, but maybe weāll get there yet. Tried a few times to go to The Tadich Grill, but unluckily it was closed for one reason or another. Fond memories of The Blue Boar, North Star, Milanos, Zuni and others. Enjoyed Beetle Nut in the 90ās and a few others. We went to Fentonās Ice Cream in Oakland? I think? With Hās aunt and uncle. That was quite something. Miss our departed relatives, but good memories!
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Iāve only been to Tadich Grill once. Nice space, but we like the seafood at Scomaās better!
I remember driving past Fentonās, as I have relatives in Oakland and my family was involved with the Oakland Greek church, but we never stopped.
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Great crab melts, all very generously sized, the sundaes were overfilled, sauces too, were served a top a plate with the ice cream and sauce just cascading down the sides of the parfait glass. Delicious though.
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I wish we had stopped. We would pass it on our way to the cemetery, dozens of times. I donāt know when Iām going to be able to visit California again.
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The Ascension Cathedral is marvelous there. Went to a very wonderful wedding there in 1986. They used to have a great Greek Festival back in those days. Lots of fun with dancing and food. My first exoerience with little spanakopita. Memoriesā¤
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They still have a pretty nice Greek Festival, at least they did pre-2020! I havenāt been to any Greek Festivals in California, but my uncle used to go, and I have a email somewhere with a short video of some music they enjoyed at the festival around 2009 or 2010. The Greek Festivals in the Toronto area are a pretty big deal in the summer, too!
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Back when they used REAL crab at Fentonās. The Oak Knoll Market in Oakland (off of Keller Ave at Mountain Blvd) had wonderful cold crab salad sandwiches on sliced sourdough.
As a teen after our 1O day backpacking trips in the high Sierraās weād come home, shower, change clothes and meet up at Fentonās for Black & Tans, etc. School started the next week and it was a fun way to say good-bye to summer. Miss those days of yore. I remember the Blue Boar and the Blue Fox, The Ben (the biggest and bloodiest slab of prime rib Iāve ever seen) Johnson, Pompeii and MacArthur Park. Fine dining BITD. I had never heard of HOPR until the roomate mentioned longing for their seasoning salt.
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They revived the Festival last year. It usually ran from lunchtime on Friday to Sunday evening, and weād go up on Friday at lunchtime to avoid the crowds. But this year, itās starting at 4:00 on Friday, so no lunch. Iām not sure whether Iāll go.
The food is always exceptional, from the lamb shanks in tomato sauce with orzo, to the authentic (uh-oh) souvlakiaāgrilled chunks of lamb or pork on wooden skewers with a hunk of crusty bread pierced on the tip of the skewers.
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I remember it always being in May. The weather was always great, too. I also remember the last time we attended we got yelled at for parking at the LDS church. Good to see theyāve opened that up because there never was parking on Lincoln Avenue. Weād park over by Woodminster and hike down to tthe festival.
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Boy, I fell down a rabbit hole watching that channel and the plethora of potato options. Lots of cool ideas although in my kitchen, there would be more spices, tempering, and herbs added to most of the recipes.
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Yesā¦ I usually change the spicing of her recipes. Sunshine and I like things to have a bit more ākickā to them , so chili powder or hot sauce is usually added.
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These look good
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The best potatoes Iāve ever had were in a now-closed restaurant in the Laurentian Mountains north of Montreal. They were sliced thin and cooked in chicken stock and rosemary. Simple but wonderful!
Another preparation I loved was scalloped potatoes with garlic and grated Parmesan between the layers, whipping cream poured over to cover, and baked.
Iāve had many potentially good dishes that were wrecked by the use of unpeeled potatoes; I cannot tolerate the texture of the skins. Peace potato skin lovers!
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