St. Regis Princeville - A Plush Paradise

I’ve been to Hawaii several times, but this was my first trip to the island of Kauai…and all I can say is, “Why didn’t I come here sooner?!” I totally fell in love with the lush island, and it’s become my favorite place in Hawaii. Kauai feels so much more remote and exotic than the other Hawaiian islands. And nestled up on the quiet North Shore, the St. Regis Princeville provided the perfect plush accommodations to relax and enjoy it all.

The view from the hotel lobby is STUNNING. Walking in, you are surrounded by two levels of floor-to-ceiling windows looking out onto Hanelei Bay and the Bali Hai Mountains.
Our ocean-view room was comfortably furnished. My only complaint is that we had reserved a room with a king bed, but got one with 2 queens. The St. Regis was completely sold out, so they couldn’t switch our room. Not a big deal, but it would have been nice if they’d been more apologetic about their mistake.
But none of that mattered after seeing the spectacular view from our room. If only I could wake up to this *every* morning! The beach is conveniently close to the pool, which makes it easy to enjoy both areas as well as getting food and drink service.

I was also REALLY impressed by the hotel’s spa. Super luxurious facilities and amenities, including the most awesome shower stall...a huge rain showerplate overhead, four heads on the sides, and a mini waterfall over a bench. I felt like a queen sitting on the bench as the waterfall washed the shampoo from my hair. The spa treatments are pricey but well worth it if you want some serious pampering.

On the otherhand, the hotel’s restaurants weren’t as good as expected from a resort of this caliber (yes, even with Jean Georges’ new restaurant but I’ll get to that later). Most of the food was just ok and could use a lot of improvement, especially given the prices. Breakfast was actually my favorite meal while staying here. I’m usually not a morning person, but I’d wake up early each morning to have breakfast on the hotel’s terrace - an absolutely breathtaking setting!
One of my favorite breakfast items – perfectly toasted bagels with a generous serving of velvety smoked salmon and toppings
Overall, I really enjoyed my stay at the St. Regis Princeville and will definitely be back. Comfortable hotel room, good service, and gorgeous setting. Although the resort was fully booked, it didn’t feel too crowded and they had a good number of lounge chairs for their guests (nothing ruins relaxation in paradise faster than constantly having to fight for your own spot!) And I definitely felt like I was in paradise while at the St. Regis.

BITE METER: St. Regis Princeville – 4.0 bites (out of 5)

Baker & Banker – Strong Start but Fizzled Out

Baker & Banker has a much more conservative feel than most other San Francisco restaurants. The clientele was older, and many of the men were in jackets even though this isn’t a ‘fancy’ restaurant. It didn’t feel too stuffy though, and I appreciated the classy vibe. The space is VERY small, but they did a great job of dressing it up with the warm decor (think Pottery Barn) and using lots of mirrors.

The meal got off to a great start….excellent wine and incredible fresh-baked bread. Their bread was actually one of my favorite parts of the meal! The buttermilk dill bread was light with a refreshing hint of dill, and the warm, just-out-of-the-oven sweet potato rolls had a lovely starchy sweetness.

House Smoked Trout, potato latke, horseradish crème fraîche, pickled beets, shaved fennel – beautiful appetizer. It was much sweeter than I thought it’d be, but still nicely balanced. The beets were like candy and actually outshined the smoked trout (plus, they didn’t have that strong beet aftertaste that I usually don’t like). I also loved the contrast of the super crispy potato latke against all the other softer components.
Sausage Stuffed Quail, coffee-molasses glaze, wild rice pancake, blue lake beans - way too sweet…I didn’t even want to finish my dish. The coffee-molasses glaze got to be too cloying, and the quail was tender but its flavor was lost underneath that overly sweet sauce. To my dismay, even the sausage inside the quail was also sweet. What were they thinking?! It would have been so much better with a salty/peppery sausage to balance out the dish. And to make it worse, the wild rice pancake soaked up more of that sauce so that is all I could taste.
Moroccan Spiced Pozzi Farm Lamb Loin, sausage, couscous, charred eggplant and pine nut purée, tzatziki, natural jus – the lamb was tender and well-cooked. However, it came with some really dry pieces of sausage…I would’ve rather just had more lamb instead. Overall, the flavors were good, but the dish wasn’t particularly unique or special.
Nectarine & Pluot Crisp, brown sugar-pecan streusel, blackberry swirl ice cream – the streusel had a thick, crunchy home-made feel and its sweetness was a nice contrast to the tart fruit. It was also baked to order, which was appreciated.
My experience at Baker & Banker was pleasant overall, but it didn’t leave me with a desire to come back…maybe only to buy bread if they had a bakery.

BITE METER: Baker & Banker – 2.5 bites (out of 5.0)

The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen – Long Wait for Soup & Sandwich

I was initially skeptical about The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen. While I love grilled cheese sandwiches, I didn’t know if a restaurant could serve one worth paying $8 for since homemade ones are so good and easy to make. And second, the whole concept of taking fast food items and calling it "creative" by adding gourmet ingredients has been way overdone. The food scene in San Francisco has been too much about taco stands, food trucks, burger joints, and pizza places for far too long. I’m ready for something new and innovative to excite me again and show what a great culinary city this is!! Come on, people!

Anyways, I digress…back to The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen. There was a long and very slow moving line in front of the restaurant (they only have one register and are working on getting another one). At least the staff was friendly and apologetic about the wait.

I ordered their special which included a small Mousetrap Sandwich (Tillamook sharp cheddar, havarti, and monterey jack cheeses) and a cup of Smoky Tomato Soup with crème fraîche. Simple yet tasty. I thought the tomato soup was actually better than their grilled cheese sandwich. The soup was layered with nice flavors, comforting, and relatively light. And in my opinion, a necessary complement to the thick, crusty bread.

B and I also split the Jalapeño Popper Sandwich. It was interesting with the bacon, goat cheese, and apricot-jalapeño chutney, but I preferred the simple grilled cheese with the tomato soup.

Since it had taken so long to get through the line, I figured I also might as well try one of their desserts while I’m here. And as a gal from the South, I always get excited when I see bread pudding on a menu. Their Sweet Buttermilk Bread Pudding with bourbon-butter sauce was delicious. What I enjoyed most was how moist the bread pudding was and how the buttermilk formed these delicate flan-like pieces on top. Makes my mouthwater just thinking about it!

So was the grilled cheese sandwich worth the 8 bucks? Only of it’s served with the tomato soup.
Was it worth the 45 minute wait? No, very few things are with so many options in SF.
Will I come back? Maybe, but only after they get another register.

BITE METER: The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen – 3.0 bites (out of 5)