The Office (San Carlos), Prospect & Creperie Saint Germain (San Francisco) + more!

I recently uttered the words "I rarely eat out" and then a list of restaurants I visited in January suddenly, magically, appeared.  Seems I made good use of all the wonderful dining options here in the Bay Area this past month as I caught up with friends and family missed during the holiday shuffle.  Here is a sampling:

Osteria Coppa (San Mateo). Well-reviewed in the SF Chronicle which called out the housemade pastas and pizzas. Smaller plates of flavorful food plus a bustling atmosphere made this a winner.  139 South B. Street, San Mateo CA 94401.  650.579.6021.

Skool (San Francisco).  The premise is simple:  sustainable seafood served in a casual but trendy setting.  I liked the ceviche and the service.  1725 Alameda Street, San Francisco, CA 94103.  415.255.8800.

Prospect (San Francisco).  Another well-reviewed restaurant (made the top 10 list for 2010!) by the Chronicle.  High ceilings and an ultra cool setting elicited an "ooh and ahh" from me.   I also liked the food of course but be warned:  this is a big plate place with small portions of foams and eye-catching inventive-ness.  The flavors and textures worked for me but not so much for my dining companion.  It's a nice date night place if you want some "show" in terms of food and atmosphere (and no, I wasn't on a date).  300 Spear St, San Francisco, CA 94105.  415.247.7770.

Heirloom Cafe (San Francisco).  Homey atmosphere with non-homey food.   One of those menus where you want to order just about everything.  Instead we shared the dungeness crab salad (seeing a lot of crab on the menu since it's in season right now) bacon onion tart (can't really go wrong with bacon in a tart shell!) and the roasted yam risotto with chanterelles.  Stellar food and stellar service.  2500 Folsom Street, San Francisco, CA 94110.  415.821.2500.

Brickhouse Cafe (San Francisco).  Lunch place close to work where I downed a  salad with crisp greens plus a cup of tangy tomato soup. What more can I say?  426 Brannan, San Francisco CA 94107.  415.369.0222.

The Black Rooster (Folsom, CA).  Always on the lookout for antique shops and good food, we stumbled upon both while in Folsom.  After peering in all those dusty shops at countless books and furniture we were in the mood for a bite so we selected the place with the endorsement by Sunset Magazine in the window.  I ordered the soup of the day (chicken noodle) and my companion ordered the lobster bisque.  Both were excellent (although a tad salty).   The veggie panini was everything it was supposed to be:  crispy on the outside with melty cheese and semi-snappy veggies on the inside.  Delish and well priced.   807 Sutter Street, Folsom CA  95630.  916.357.0115.

Mingalaba Restaurant (Burlingame, CA).  The persistent line in front made me want to try this place after some mind-bending shopping at Sephora (hey, a girl's gotta have a new lipstick every now and then!)  This was another place I liked but my dining companion was 50-50.  I think the kicker was that we had to request our specialty lemonades more than a few times and the pumpkin curry was somewhat non-descript.  Overall, I would go back.  Not sure I'd wait again though.  1213 Burlingame Avenue, Burlingame, CA 94010.  650.343.3228.

Creperie Saint Germain (San Francisco, CA).  Someone in our office had the brilliant idea to have the staff come into our office and make crepes.  They were sooooo good I made a pig of myself and ate two:  one wickedly decadent chicken version with mushrooms, tomato, spinach and bechemal sauce and one with the standard nutella/banana combination.  I am actually drooling right now while remembering this lunch because it was THAT good.  222 Second Street, San Francisco CA 94105.  415.706.9733.

The Office (San Carlos, CA).  Finally, just what the good folks in San Carlos needed:  a lively bar with fire pits in front for the chilly nights in the Bay Area (I can hear the East Coast contingency groan right now!)  Seriously, this joint was formerly a real estate office turned into a food and beer place.  Whoever is running the grill deserves a medal for not over-cooking the burgers on both visits.  And the bacon mac n cheese with a hint of truffle oil....don't even get me started!  1748 El Camino Real, San Carlos, CA  94070.  650.642.4141.

La Foret (San Jose, CA).  This out-of-the-way dining establishment serves food that never goes out of style in a classic, polished setting.  Specializing in wild game - always expertly prepared - and a myriad of other fine dishes it's hard to go wrong when ordering unless you forget to pre-order your dessert souffle at the start. I dined on an Australian Lobster Tail which was so perfectly cooked I didn't - couldn't - offer up any to share with those at the table.  21747 Bertram Rd. San Jose, CA 95120.  408.997.3548.