where is CA best quality of life...

hello i plan to take a break this year having achieved postgraduate studies and i am thinking of teaching French in the US...

i wondered which California county is supposed to have the best quality of life?...since most have universities i may choose any of them...

i%26#39;ve heard that Santa Barbara county may be the best place, who can tell me more about comparative advantages/drawbacks of CA%26#39; shore counties?...

apart from those i know like climate wetter up north and San Francisco...huge urban sprawl in LA... and bigger cities being more cosmopitan i suppose...

where is CA best quality of life...

Congratulations! Fantastic! and best of luck to you in your studies! The most important aspect of studying is your surroundings. I would recommend any college town. I, myself, am originally from Southern CA. Because of public transport difficulties I highly recommend living close to campus. UC-Santa Barbara is a very good school, and it is quite a beautiful scene -- if you can afford to live there, I%26#39;d highly recommend it; I had a friend who found his group of life-long, unpretentious, true friends there, and you%26#39;d have to study because there, because everyone else is busy doing same. The cafes and clubs are there, and so is the beauty of the Pacific..... But for relative inexpensive places to live and really good, non-frustrating public transportation, I would also recommend Northern CA. Berkeley, Oakland, Orinda, S. Francisco can be managed relatively cheaply. And the weather keeps one moving. Good luck to you. (I%26#39;d take Berkeley, if I could go.) Also: Try www.craigslist.com, for postings of recommendations.

where is CA best quality of life...

Hi surfsearch,

I went to U.C. Berkeley for a semester and really enjoyed the atmosphere and surroundings--you%26#39;re only about a 25 min. subway ride away from San Francisco. There are lots of great restaurants and hangouts in Berkeley and the school has the best academic reputation (at least it did when I went in the 1980s) of all the University of California campuses. You may also like U.C Santa Cruz which is about an hour and 15 min. away from San Francisco. This school has a reputation for being a party school, however, but is near the coast in a small college town. U.C. Santa Barbara is very nice and Santa Barbara is a lovely and beautiful town but it is much closer to Los Angeles than it is to San Francisco. I also like U.C.L.A. a lot and that is in the heart of Los Angeles so if you like a big city atmosphere, I would choose between U.C.L.A. and U.C. Berkeley. I hope you have a great time whichever school you decide to attend.

We live in Ventura County, Thousand Oaks and we love it. The air is clear, the city safe and lots of hiking %26amp; biking trails, easy drives to the beaches (both Malibu %26amp; Ventura). Easy drive into the city and up to Santa Barbara. The climate is nice - we stay about 5 -10 degrees warmer than the coast, but 10 - 15 degrees cooler than the Valleys. You get a nice coastal breeze in the evenings and fog in the morning. We have a great farmers market and lots of fresh produce throughout the year. Thousand Oaks is slow growth - and although it has grown up a lot over the years, they are very strict on keeping a lot of open space. Thousand Oaks has a popluation of 120,000 but still maintains a small town feel. We have a civics art plaza that gets great entertainers and plays.

We also have a very good public school system, Cal Lutheran University is here as well as Moorpark College (a 2 year college) and Cal State Channel Islands.

Downside - HOUSING - it is very expensive - it has more than doubled since we moved out here.

Good luck.

More and more, I hear good things about the Sacramento/Davis area. It does get very hot in the summer, but overall has a great climate. Only about an hour to San Francisco and about 3 hours to the mountains and Lake Tahoe area for skiing. Great access to the American River for boating and white water rafting. No doubt real estate there is climbing as in the rest of the state, but you can still buy a house there. The biggest university there is UC Davis (in Davis), but Sacramento has smaller colleges, such as Sacramento State. I live in Monterey County and, like Santa Barbara County, it%26#39;s so very expensive. It%26#39;s gorgeous here, but we pay for it. Plus, there is no major university except for the relatively new Cal State Monterey Bay, which has a shaky reputation. The expensive coastal communities are seeing older and older populations, as young people cannot afford to move here and buy real estate. It%26#39;s a shame.

first timer - want to do one tour and couple of tastings...

Going with some friends to napa on sunday of labor day weekend. we only have 1 day so we need to squeeze it all in! would like to do 1 tour and a couple of tastings. i can%26#39;t tell the difference between expensive or cheap wine so just want to go places that are pretty or good views and pick 4 wineries with different feels. suggestions for itenirary?? thanks!!!

first timer - want to do one tour and couple of tastings...

krzyviv-

This is a very common question, and lots has been written about it over the past few weeks/months.

If you use the ';search'; function, you%26#39;ll find over 30 threads on this topic just in the past 3 months alone!

Here are a few, some with comments specifically pertaining to Labor Day weekend, You will need to cut and paste them, eliminating the space after ';tripadvisor.com'; (I had to do this, since this program does not allow strings of more than 140 characters):

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ ShowTopic-g32766-i258-k248523-_Napa_Trip_Report_Warning_very_very_lengthy-Napa_California.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ ShowTopic-g32766-i258-k223984-_Suggestions_for_small_wineries-Napa_California.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ ShowTopic-g32766-i258-k213720-_First_time_Napa_trip_Please_provide_a_sanity_check_and_or_recs-Napa_California.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ ShowTopic-g32766-i258-k198982-_Which_span_class_hterm_Winery_span_Husband_and_I_have_1_day_in_Napa-Napa_California.html

Hope this helps. :)

-Russ Herschelmann

Innkeeper

Napa Old World Inn

first timer - want to do one tour and couple of tastings...

hi russ,

i%26#39;ve read all the posts and i%26#39;m hoping for a little more insight.

so i had really wanted to go to domaine chandon for the bubbly wine. but then i read that schramsberg is a favorite for many people. which would you pick?

for the 1 tour that i want to do: do you recommend sterling or mondavi? i%26#39;ve read that mondavi is very ';technical.'; is it interesting? or does sterling give a more entertaining tour?

for an art/winery - i%26#39;ve read that the hess winery and clos pegase are both good...do you recommend either one and which is better?

and then which winery do you think has the most spectacular grounds? there were votes for stag%26#39;s leap, niebaum-coppola...does either have a picnic area? if not - which winery has a great picnic area? also, some people say niebaum-coppola is a must see for first timers and others say it%26#39;s a waste of time. the website looks really nice. what%26#39;s your take?

there%26#39;s just so many and so little time!! since i can probably only squeeze in 4 or 5 in a day...which of the above ones do you recommend. (i%26#39;m not even sure if the ones i%26#39;ve mentioned are even to close to each other.)

thank you!!!

so i had really wanted to go to domaine chandon for the bubbly wine. but then i read that schramsberg is a favorite for many people. which would you pick?

for the 1 tour that i want to do: do you recommend sterling or mondavi? i%26#39;ve read that mondavi is very ';technical.'; is it interesting? or does sterling give a more entertaining tour?

for an art/winery - i%26#39;ve read that the hess winery and clos pegase are both good...do you recommend either one and which is better?

and then which winery do you think has the most spectacular grounds? there were votes for stag%26#39;s leap, niebaum-coppola...does either have a picnic area? if not - which winery has a great picnic area? also, some people say niebaum-coppola is a must see for first timers and others say it%26#39;s a waste of time. the website looks really nice. what%26#39;s your take?

there%26#39;s just so many and so little time!! since i can probably only squeeze in 4 or 5 in a day...which of the above ones do you recommend. (i%26#39;m not even sure if the ones i%26#39;ve mentioned are even to close to each other.)

Wow.

OK, here goes:

-Most beautiful grounds: Hard to say. Domaine Chandon is a personal fave (love the gardens).

-Best bubbly: Love the Schramsberg cave tour. But our house bubbly is Chandon (we had a blind tasting over 3 days last holiday season, and Domaine Chandon won 5-1 and 7-1 over the closest competitor. I was shocked).

-Best tour: Mondavi, if you want to learn how wine is made. I%26#39;ve never been on a better tour (and I%26#39;ve been on more than 40 winery tours, all over the world).

Del Dotto%26#39;s tour is spectacular, if you want something unique, and will talk about for probably the rest of your life. Bring lots of food to eat in the car afterwards, and DO NOT plan to drive anywhere within 20 min of getting out of the tasting. You will be smashed.

-Coppola is fun, if you like movies/hollywood (I do). Their grounds are beautiful, but I thought their tour was a snore (and the guide was snotty).

-Art tours/wineries: Hess is amazing, but only if you love modern art. Otherwise, I%26#39;d go to the DeRosa Preserve or Carlo Marchiori%26#39;s house (which may not be open-- you need to check).

My best advice?

Here it is: The real hidden secret of the wine country is its ability to just seep into your bones and *relax* you-- to let you stop looking at your watch, and start to enjoy life without so much dependance on the clock.

That%26#39;s pretty remarkable, considering what time-stressed lives we live.

So when it comes to visiting the wine country, my greatest suggestion is to: NOT plan too much. Let some magic happen.

This is next to impossible for most folks in only 1 day (it takes vets 2 days, and most other folks 3-4 days). But boy, is it an amazing, wonderful feeling.

Try it. It just may change how you look at wine.

-Russ Herschelmann

Innkeeper

Napa Old World Inn

Ann Kellys by the Lake

anyone know if the food is good there??

Ann Kellys by the Lake

.........the food is good and decent but nothing exceptional or gourmet if that is what you are looking for..........fine for breakfast or lunch..........

Ann Kellys by the Lake

We did not enjoy it for dinner. Fish not fresh. Bland flavors.

thx for your input...larryjohn - also like a parking tip i saw earlier that i think was from you about driving past the AQ along the waterfront til the parking signs ed.

have ideas for more fancy and expensive meals - this was just looking for an inexpensive place for either breakfast/lunch - depending on how expensive the hotel is (Hyatt) for bkfst.

enjoy everyones postings - this is a wonderful forum..

I%26#39;ve eaten breakfast at Ann Kelly%26#39;s a couple times and thot. the crepes were great.FYI, there is a visitors%26#39; bureau or whatever it%26#39;s called, straight across the lake from Ann Kelly%26#39;s.

410 Matheson - Healdsburg

Anyone stayed at 410 Matheson? Looks like a fabulous place but can%26#39;t find any reviews anywhere!

410 Matheson - Healdsburg

Yes, my wife and I spent 3 nights and it was fantastic. The rooms are as perfect as they appear on the website. And the pool area is incredible. The morning meal is served in the main dining room and they just do a great job with it. We will be going back soon and can%26#39;t wait!

Good luck

A

mask making

Dumpling House

I am looking for a good dumpling house in northern california san francisco / sacramento area. any suggestions would be helpful!!

Dumpling House

Dumpling is dim sum. Just look at the other topics concerning dim sum to answer your questions.

Dumpling House

I wonder whether oz is asking where to get good potstickers. Or the other ways to make potstickers, boiled or steamed - jiaotze, kuoh tieh, shao lun bao, and the like. These dumplings are home cooking for a Chinese person, and a favorite. Dim sum is often more complicated and a family would go out to eat these rather than spend the time making them at home. Although, it%26#39;s likely that a place that makes good dim sum is likely to make good dumplings. And some places specialize in dumplings.

No, there are dumpling houses, and they are not dim sum. Unfortunately, I have none I recommend at this moment. Doesn%26#39;t mean there aren%26#39;t any, just means I haven%26#39;t gotten out in quite a while just for dumplings.

BetterthanBings,

Yeah, my mistake. I had to ask around to make sure about the distinction. Thanks for the clarification.

Funny, this very day, The SF Chronicle published this review of a Sunset District dumpling house. I didn%26#39;t see it until I got home after work:

- Amanda Berne

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Xiao long bao, or soup dumplings, are the stuff of urban lore. Those who have had these tender pork dumplings even once can find themselves on the lookout for new places to feast on them.

What makes them unique is that they%26#39;re filled with steaming hot soup, which gushes out when you take a bite.

It sounds like it could be painful, but it%26#39;s not. And on a windy, fog- filled summer night, San Francisco%26#39;s Outer Richmond district is the perfect place to indulge.

That%26#39;s why on a recent night I came to be sitting at Shanghai Dumpling Shop with a large basket ($4.95) of the little treasures in front of me. The small, bright place is known for Shanghai-style dishes as well as delicious soup dumplings -- and they%26#39;re some of the best I%26#39;ve found yet.

There%26#39;s a method to eating the dumplings so that you can savor every bite. One at a time, dip them into the accompanying dish of black vinegar, scoop them onto a soup spoon and, if you can, plop them whole into your mouth. If you can%26#39;t finish them in one bite, the spoon will capture the soup so you can slurp it up.

The traditional black vinegar accompaniment is garnished with strands of ginger, for extra pungency. It%26#39;s the classic condiment for these dumplings, and a nice change from the usual soy sauce and chile paste.

Xiao long bao aren%26#39;t the only wonderful dumplings on the menu. Shanghai Dumpling Shop serves about a dozen savory and sweet dumplings, including a tender rice dessert dumpling floating in a warm, sweet broth.

The boiled chive dumplings ($4.25), filled with a mix of pork and chives, come gushing their own juices -- no soup included in this one -- with a pleasant amount of garlic chive seasoning.

Other appetizers are good, too. In fact, I liked them better than many of the main dishes.

It really doesn%26#39;t matter what you order first -- dishes stream out of the kitchen as they%26#39;re ready.

The yellow bridge cake ($4.25) is spectacular. Plump, fist-size buns are filled with smoky twigs of pork with a pastry crust that is ever-so-slightly sweet. The Shanghai-style salt pan cake ($4.25) wasn%26#39;t quite as good. It has a similar crust, but is rolled thinner and filled with sauteed onions, which caused the crust to go limp in the center.

Spicy wontons ($4.25) are a little different. They%26#39;re piled in a bowl surrounded by a healthy dose of bright orange chile oil, beautiful against the white of the wrappers. A little mince of pickled vegetable offsets the spiciness. However, the wontons were a bit greasy to eat too many.

Starters also include an interesting selection of offal and salted meats, including salt duck ($4.25). The meat is cured firm, like ham, and the salt brings out the true flavor of the duck.

Be warned, however: The saltiness takes over after a few bites. But this appetizer is intended for small nibbles only.

Drunken chicken ($4.25), a typical Shanghai-style preparation, didn%26#39;t fare as well. The chicken was salted in the same manner as the duck, but was covered in a sauce that tasted like pure sherry, which threw the dish out of balance.

Noodles also play a prominent roll on the menu. The chewy Shanghai-style noodles ($4.95) were especially good, the noodles tasting fresh and absorbing the soy and seasoning from the sauce.

The noodle-like fried rice cakes with preserved vegetables and pork ($5. 75), which featured thin disks of rice cakes that act like thick, wide noodles, didn%26#39;t fare as well.

The dish was shy on pork and preserved vegetable; more of those ingredients might have kept the rice cakes from sticking together.

On the other hand, lion%26#39;s head meatballs ($6.95) have more than enough pork. A fine dice of fresh water chestnuts punctuate three huge meatballs that are crusty on the outside, with a perfectly tender middle. The braising sauce is just thick enough to cling to the meatballs, adding a rich, savory depth of flavor.

The pork chop with green onion ($6.95) is worth ordering even just for the sauce -- dark, thick and slightly sweet from cooked onions. But the sauce on the pine nuts with fish ($6.95) reminded me of the cloying sweet-and- sour sauce of my youth.

Bok choy with bean curd sheets ($5.95) shows that the simpler, the better at Shanghai Dumpling. The sauce in this dish, with a hint of garlic, barely coats the fresh bok choy and lengths of noodle-like bean curd.

The saltiness that permeates many of the dishes begs to be toned down by dessert. A crispy red bean cake ($2.95) has a flaky pastry dough, similar to the yellow bridge cake appetizer, but this time wrapped around a sweet red bean filling. It%26#39;s served hot, and it%26#39;s delicious.

If you start a meal with dumplings, it%26#39;s only fitting to end that way, with dumplings with wine fillings ($3.95). To our delight, it was like a dessert version of soup dumplings, except the soup came on the outside, sweet and spiked with nubs of lychee. The sticky dumplings are filled with a slightly gritty black sesame and sugar paste -- good, if just a bit less inspiring as the starter.

After dinner, soup dumplings were all my friends could talk about.

I just listened. Not only had I found excellent soup dumplings, I had started a group of five on their own xiao long bao adventure.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amanda Berne is a Chronicle staff writer. E-mail her at aberne@sfchronicle.com.

Shanghai Dumpling Shop

3319 Balboa St. (at 34th Avenue), San Francisco; (415) 387-2088.

11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday, Wednesday-Friday, 10 a.m. Saturday-Sunday. No

alcohol. Reservations accepted for large parties. Credit cards accepted for

$20 mininum purchase. Easy street parking.

Overall TWO STARS

Food TWO STARS

Atmosphere ONE AND A HALF STARS

Service ONE AND A HALF STARS

Prices $

Noise Rating THREE BELLS.

Pluses: Great dumplings, especially soup dumplings, and Shanghai-style

noodle dishes.

Minuses: Some dishes aren%26#39;t well balanced. Not much in the way of service.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RATINGS KEY

FOUR STARS: Extraordinary

THREE STARS: Excellent

TWO STARS: Good

ONE STAR: Fair

(box): Poor

.

$ Inexpensive: entrees under $10

$$ Moderate: $10-$17

$$$ Expensive: $18-$24

$$$$ Very Expensive: more than $25

Prices based on main courses. When entrees fall,, Channel:, Channel:

BETween these categories, the prices of appetizers help determine the dollar

ratings.

.

ONE BELL: Pleasantly quiet (under 65 decibels)

TWO BELLS: Can talk easily (65-70)

THREE BELLS: Talking normally gets difficult (70-75)

FOUR BELLS: Can only talk in raised voices (75-80)

BOMB: Too noisy for normal conversation (80+)

.

Chronicle critics make every attempt to remain anonymous. All meals are

paid for by the Chronicle. Star ratings are based on a minimum of three visits.

Ratings are updated continually based on a least one revisit.

My bad: Shanghai Dumpling House is in the Outer Richmond not Sunset. Doh. Balboa Street.

unique last name

Lunch places near Golden Gate Park?

I%26#39;ll be visiting the Tea Garden area of the park with my two children one day during our stay and I%26#39;m sure we%26#39;ll be ready for lunch before we%26#39;re done looking around. Is there anyplace that we can walk to (like within a few blocks) from that part of the park when it%26#39;s time to take a lunch break? Fast food or anyplace that would have a kids menu, a pizza place, etc.?

Thanks!!

Lunch places near Golden Gate Park?

On the south side of Golden Gate Park around 9th Avenue there are many restaurant choices for lunch. You can find Pizza, sndwiches, and even a Burger King. A good place is Howards Cafe on 9th and Irving.

Lunch places near Golden Gate Park?

Oh good! Thank you so much! We%26#39;ll have to check out that cafe but I%26#39;m sure as soon as the kids see Burger King, that%26#39;s where we%26#39;ll be. LOL

I have no idea of the menu, but they have just opened the De Young Museum cafe from now until Sept 30. That is right next to the Tea Garden. The museum itself, doesn%26#39;t open til Oct 15. Maybe check it out, otherwise 9th Ave Lincoln-Judah has everything under the sun. You might try Park Chow, 1240 9th Ave. They have burgers too. Plus you can dine on the roof, outdoors, if you wish. Way better than BK, but I know how kids are. Or maybe Gordo Taqueria for burritos, 1239 9th Ave, or.......You%26#39;ll find something!

OOO, thank you! I%26#39;ll definetly check out the museum cafe. That would be perfect if they have something the kids will eat. Park Chow sounds good too. Maybe the lure of eating on the roof would overcome the pull of Burger King. LOL

I found info about the museum cafe and a menu you can download if anyone else is interested in this.

deyoungmuseum.org/deyoung/鈥?/a>

It sounds so cool and very San Franciscan since they only use locally grown food. And...I saw chicken strips, my children%26#39;s main sustenance. LOL

Thanks again for mentioning the museum cafe!

FYI - the entire concourse around the Tea Gardens and De Young Museum is closed as they are building a new underground parking garage and rebuilding the Academy of Sciences museum as well. It is scheduled to be completed by October but I drove by there today and the entire place was still pretty torn up.

I%26#39;d avoid the Burger King that%26#39;s on 9th near Irving...let%26#39;s just say it%26#39;s not the best....you%26#39;ll understand if and when you see it for yourself. Park Chow is a great choice and many local families go there with there kids. It is a sit down restaurant, so if you want something a little faster you might try Sliders, which is right across the street next to the Taqueria mentioned in one of the previous posts. Slider%26#39;s serves burgers that are excellent, but huge...you%26#39;d probably have to split one between the kids. There are also 2 or 3 pizza places in the same area, so you hae lots of different types of food to choose from in the 2 to 3 block radius near the intersection of 9th and Irving.

Oh goodness! Can you even get to the Tea Gardens then?

We%26#39;ll make sure to avoid that Burger King. Thanks for the tip on Sliders.

YES, the Tea Garden has been open through the whole thing.

They are still working, but the cafe is open. See 8/19 on this page:

www.thinker.org/deyoung/calendar/day.asp鈥?/a>

You probably access it by going over the hill to JFK Drive side. You can visit the Rose Garden on that side, also.

http://www.lightight.com/GGP/GGPmain.html

On the Lincoln Way side, check out the Botanical Gardens--FREE. Near Tea Garden.

http://www.sfbotanicalgarden.org/tour.html

Thanks for the menu. Probably pricey, though.

Yeah, people don%26#39;t look highly of that Burger King, esp. the residents nearby.

Good places around 9th and Irving (or a couple of blocks in either direction are the previously mentioned Park Chow (American), Gordo%26#39;s (burritos), Ebisu (for sushi), Naan and Curry (Indian), Pasta Pormadoro (pasta), Crepevine, Hahn%26#39;s Hibachi, Plutos (sandwiches and salads), Yellow Submarine (sandwiches), PJ Oyster Bed, and Tart to Tart (cafe). There are also a couple of pizza places in the area. There%26#39;s also a Jamba Juice right at the corner of 9th and Irving, and plenty of coffee shops (including Starbucks).

LV>Death Valley>Yosemite

We%26#39;re planning to take the following route as part of our whirlwind 2wk trip of California/Nevada/Arizona in October (14th -28th). Any advice re driving times between each location would be appreciated as I have the unpleasant task of trying to plan our hotel reservations and it%26#39;s so-o-o-o hard when I%26#39;m not sure where we%26#39;ll be on what date!

LV%26gt;Death Valley%26gt;Yosemite

Las Vegas to Death Valley is 141 miles about 3 hours drive.

From Death Valley to Mammoth Lakes is 4 1/2 hours or 205 miles. From Mammoth Lakes to Yosemite Valley is about 101 miles or about 2-3 hours of driving (more towards 3 as you%26#39;ll want to stop at various places nad look.

If your schedule allows, I%26#39;d try to book a place at Mammoth Lakes (i.e. lodging will be available.) The reason for this is that the drive from Mammoth Lakes up Tioga Pass through Toulumne Meadows to Yosemite Valley is absolutely spectacular. You will want to do this during day-light hours and not miss the sights.

Here is a web site on Mammoth Lakes and they have everything from motels to condos for the evening.

Enjoy planning.

http://www.visitmammoth.com/

LV%26gt;Death Valley%26gt;Yosemite

Foss

Never been to California however travelled quite a bit in Nevada/Arizona/Utah over the years.

Have always used www.randmcnally.com to plan the route. This has been pretty accurate when it comes to working out where you will end up each night!

Better check this route before departure.

Death Valley in October is o.k., but Tioga Pass into Yosemite is probably closed becuase of snow already.

In that cas you will have to drive via Bakersfield to get to Yosemite.

If duringa weekend the advise is to book a hotel in DV, during the week it is o.k. Check Furnace Creek Ranch or Furnace Creek Inn (more expensive) or Stovepipe Wells.

Forget Mammoth Lakes, it too far out and you have to drive much of the same way back.

Butter important Tiogapass almost sure closed.