Many friends come to visit me here and often ask if different restaurants are any good. I always tell them the same thing … that it would be almost impossible to find a bad restaurant in the valley.

That's because even the sandwich shops are usually started by high-flying chefs who come here and then tire of the pace of the really fancy restaurants and open their own places. Even my local burger joint is owned by a former executive chef from New Orleans, I think. My sandwich shop is owned by a former top San Francisco chef.

Friends usually are a little surprised by the prices, but once they take a bite, they realize that they are having possibly the best meal of their life. The next day, they always say, "Let's go back there tonight," and I say "No, I want to take you to this other place," where they are once again floored by the cuisine. We do that every night until they leave … a little heavier and a lot happier.

Spencer Kluesner

Eagle