Some VERY expensive restaurants *CAN* get it all right, for all the priceyness: I do want to say that the SCALLOPS — OHHH, THE *SCALLOPS* — I had at Auberge du Soleil in Napa Valley *WERE*, POSITIVELY, TO-DIE-FOR! — TO MATCH THE VIEW FROM THE OUTDOOR BALCOLNY! The EXCELLENT food at Tre Vigne was quite positively memorable and worth every cent too, as was the EXCELLENT food at Domaine Chandon, as well as the EXCELLENT food at Farallon (a VERY EXPENSIVE, almost over-the-top but kind of cool and definitely novel, place with noticeably a lot of fashionable young skinny blondes, often in red or silky designer dresses, at the dinner tables of silver-/white-haired men: the people-watching is great and will much add to the dinner conversation)! But, I'm really a big fan of *moderately* priced restaurants with *character* than can create very memorable food (now *that* combination is more sporting), or just tastey food that you really like, that you can go back to time and time again — in the same year!

I've never been a fan of celebrity San Franciscans appearing on this show because it doesn't then reflect the real-world treatment of "ordinary people". (Like my African American dinner party being almost literally shoo'd off even before we could finish our after dinner tea at Tadich Grill in San Francisco or how long another party of mine was once kept waiting for our table –with advance dinner reservations– at Oliveto in Oakland. Needless to say, we never went back.)

For one, the celebrities and other rich folks usually have tons of money for going out and like to brag about how often they go to Postrio or someplace that's at the very least $50-$75 and over –without drinks. For two, of course, they're often unconsciously snobbish (like Liam Mayclem, supposedly "a man of the people", yet are surprised that reservations aren't normally made at a +/-$10-$12 average entree place, unless you have a large group) and they're used to personally special treatment at very expensive restuarants who already know them well as "special customers" who get service, treatment and food exactly the way the restaurant knows the celebrity likes it. Of course, when everyone (the owner, manager and staff) knows you as a celebrity or someone else rich who has deep pockets, you're going to get the best service, food and treatment all around.

Finally, the celebrities and other rich regulars take it so *personally* when someone else doesn't especially like "their [the celebrity's] restaurant" — and then they use the whole show trying to get back at the other person and often butting heads with them — or back-&-forth with each other if they other person is a local/minor celebrity too and/or financially fairly well-off in his own way.

It's sometimes fun to see that the really expensive restaurants often rely more on the posh, exclusive, *expensive* furnishings, decor & atmosphere, rather than really concentrate those expensive prices on on positively, utterly memorable, "I'll-never-forget-it", "somthing-to-write/call-home about" food, while still having a lovely restaurant. (Like, the good service, the good but-not-great food, and the just awful greasy calimari appetizer my party once had at Scotts *Seafood* Restaurant.) And while I tend to avoid the over-dependency on the poshness of those kinds of restaurants, if *they* can't give you fantastic food at those prices, well then it is ironic and sad. But you know what?: they often don't — just an overly small portion of some chefs kid's Lego idea of a small portion of food piled 'architecturally' high. And as for "bland food", as two of the well-off guests complained about at each other's restaurant choice, of course they get their food fixed just the way the staff knows they like it, and of course it's a place filled with the old/older money people who can regularly afford such places; so the food is often going to be blandly seasoned.

Leslie, let your show stick to the kind of real-world people who have to actually stretch their wallet/purses to do to an expensive "destination restuarant" (and then not even a Farallon, Aqua or French Laundry at about $150-$200-a-head) as a special occasion, not as their regular so-called "neighborhood restaurant" hangout.