The Name of the Game's In the Name

Posted by Richard from San Francisco on 8/23/06

Cafe Rafael? Pretentious. Bistro Bob? Ludicrous. Bistro Ralph? Just right, leveraging the juxtapositional irony we learned about in lit classes in college. So now that we've determined that the name works, how about the food? Based on my experiences (I've eaten at Ralph's 4 or 5 times) I'd say the food is pretty good -- reasonably plentiful, well-presented, fresh ingredients -- but perhaps a bit overambitious. The chef here, as Clint Eastwood once famously said, is good but "needs to know his limitations." Occasionally combinations are strange or don't work, or sauces are less delicious than confusing, that sort of thing. But these are crimes of ambition, not neglect or inattention, and like a classroom project whose charm often lies in its shortcomings, these occasional failings are rarely fatal. The atmosphere at Bistro Ralph is delightful: upscale enough to justify the healthy but not inflated prices, yet friendly and "local" enough to make one feel less like a tourist than a neighbor. And the location, right on the square in downtown Healdsburg, couldn't be better. All in all, a positive experience.