Sunday Mika and I went out to brunch at Emil Villa's in San Leandro. It wasn't my first choice for breakfast, but we were without transportation and Emil Villa's is only a few blocks away from my home. We had an OK, but not very exciting experience.

I'm partial to sweet offerings for breakfast, and Emil Villa's offers french toast, pancakes and a pecan waffle. Both the french toast and pancakes come plain, no fruit toppings or anything special, and accompanied by corn syrup. I got the sourdough french toast ($7, I think) and was disappointed that the plate consisted of four, thick but small slices of french toast and nothing more. It was sort of expensive for the price, specially given how plain it was. Mika got the pancakes from the children's menu. The two pancakes were HUGE, one would have been more than enough for a child under 12. She liked that they were fluffy, but they were nothing special. She probably wouldn't order them again. I think they were $5.

Service was very good.

Emil Villa's is a very popular place for weekend breakfast, something which I cannot understand. Grant it, all the breakfast options in San Leandro are dismal, but both JD and Palomares Cafe in Castro Valley offer far superior breakfast options for about the same price.

Emil Villa's
1800 E 14th St
San Leandro, CA
(510) 351-7427

Original Review

San Leandro Restaurant Reviews

I have owned several kitchen timers over my 20+ years cooking, but none have lasted very long. Now this may be because invariably I've bought the cheap kind, or it may be because timers today are not made that well.

For the last couple of years, though, I've been using my grandmothers old Magic Chef timer - which I would guess (by the style and my grandmother's last trip from Argentina to America, where she bought it) dates from the 50's or 60's, for the last couple of years and I love it. It works perfectly every time, it runs neither quick or slow and it doesn't stop. It has a loud but not annoying ring and I'm just happy with it.

The kitchen timer is not in the best condition. It's rusted in the back and the front plate is sort of lose. It's lasted 50 years and I hope it'll last a couple of more decades. I hope.

I was reluctant to use the timer at first, just as I am reluctant to use any of my grandmother's kitchen utensils. I brought them with me from Argentina after my adored aunt Gladys died because of the emotional attachment I had to them. I grew up seeing Granny and Gladys cook and bake with them, and when I look at them (the utensils) I can feel the warmth of their kitchen, and remember those sweet moments. But there is some sweetness in using the utensils, it's almost like maintaining the connection between Granny and Gladys and I. So for the time being at least, I'll continue using my timer.

Safeway is now selling fresh flank steak, skirt steak and flat iron steak in vacuum packages - with expiration dates of a month or two in the future. I'm glad that they are available (these cuts have been hard to find at our local Safeway in the past), but I wish they were sold at more reasonable prices. These are supposed to be cheap cuts of meat, after all, but Safeway sells them at $6.50lb! You can often get rib eye steak at Safeway for less than that.

I tried their "Ranchers Reserve" flat iron steak tonight in a recipe for Maple and Soy-Glazed Flank Steak (they didn't have any flank steak). I wasn't happy with the recipe, the flavors were very tame, but the meat itself was incredibly tender - some of the most tender meat I've ever eaten. It's not surprising, as flat iron steaks are supposed to be second only to beef tenderloin in tenderness. But I'm more of a "flavor" person than a "tenderness" person, so this cut didn't really win me over.

One thing that did annoy me was how uneven the two "steaks" were cut. They range in thickness from about 1/6" to 1 1/2".

I probably won't buy this cut again, just because of the lack of flavor, but I will give the skirt steak and the flank steak a try sometime.

I just came back from Grocery Outlet very excited at what I thought was a /great/ bargain. A twin pack of 26oz jars of Smuckers Natural Creamy Peanut Butter
for $4. This stuff is just peanuts and salt, so the price was really unbelievable. Too good to be true, indeed.

And it was. The plastic wrap around the twin jars blocked the expiration date, which, as I discovered when I got home, is only 3 days from today. Three whole days to consume over 3lbs of peanut butter. I don't think I could even if I tried :-)

So I returned it, which is not /too/ big a deal as Grocery Outlet is just across the street from me - but it could be a bigger hassle for other people. As I've said before, I love Grocery Outlet and the people who run it, and I do realize that they play the expiration-date game, but really, they shouldn't sell things unless 1) the expiration dates are clearly shown outside the packages and 2) these expiration dates are more than a couple of days away.

Yet another great recipe from epicurious.com, which I'm copying here in case epicurious ever goes out of business and leaves me without it.

I really liked this recipe. While the chops themselves were nothing much, pork chops are pork chops, the leek "sauce" was delicious - though a bit too intense. Spoon only a little bit on the pork chops. It was also great with the plain couscous.

Pork Chops with Leeks in Mustard Sauce

• 4 pork chops
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 tsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
• 2 thick bacon slices, chopped
• 3 large leeks, thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 tsp. chopped fresh sage leaves
• 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup sour cream.

Pat the chops dry with kitchen towels. In a small bowl, mix the salt, thyme and rosemary. Sprinkle the seasoning on both sides of the chop. Let chops stand at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.

Heat a large skillet (one that has a lid) over medium heat. Add the chopped bacon and saute until crisp. Remove the bacon using a slotted spoon. Increase the heat to medium high and add chops to the skillet. Sear until brown, about 5 minutes per side. Remove the chops and set aside.

Turn down the heat under the skillet to medium and add the leeks. Saute until soft, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the brandy. Add the broth, scrape the browned bits and bring to a boil. Stir in the bacon. Add the sage and stir.

Return the chops to the skillet. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover the skillet. Simmer for 3 minutes, then turn chops over and then simmer for 3 more minutes. Remove the chops, place in a serving platter, and tent to keep warm.

Spoon any visible fat from the liquid in the skillet. Turn the heat to high and boil until all the liquid evaporates. Whisk in the mustard and then the sour cream. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon over the chops.

Marga's Best Recipes

This is a modification of the recipe that comes on the back of the Trader Joe's branded box of Isareli Couscous. I figured I'd write down my recipe down here so that I can use it even if I don't have the box around. This dish is very nice and simple to make and I'll make it again.

Note that minus my modifications, this recipe is pretty much the same as the Toasted Israeli Couscous with Pine Nuts and Parsley that I've made before.

Israeli Couscous

• 3 Tbsp. butter, divided
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds (or pine nuts)
• 2 large shallots, finely chopped
• 1 8oz box Israeli couscous (or 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 large cinnamon stick
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1 3/4 cup broth
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/4 cup raisins

Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in a large saucepan, add the slivered almonds and brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep aside.

Add the rest of the butter and melt over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute until golden. Add the couscous, cinnamon and bay leaf, and cook, stirring often, until the couscous starts to brown. Add the broth and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until the liquid is absorbed, around 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the almonds, parsley, lemon juice and raisins.

Marga's Favorite Recipes

I'm so happy with Hayward's Favorite Indian restaurant, that I have not felt the need to explore the other Indian restaurants in the area. According to my friend Alpana (who, btw, is a great family photographer - check out her website), a native of India, that has been a mistake. So it was on her suggestion that my friend Mauro and I headed to Aroma yesterday for their buffet lunch. Alpana was right - while I still love the California-Indian food at Favorite Indian, Aroma's more carefully crafted fare is definitely worth tasting.

Aroma prides itself in offering a higher quality product, using organic and fresh ingredients when possible. As the restaurant itself, their buffet lunch is small (11 or 12 items, including rice and dessert) and carefully crafted. During our visit, there were only 3 meat offerings (chicken tandoori, chicken tikka masala and lamb vindaloo), and that, of course, is what I tried. I was impressed, in particular on the tandoori. The perfectly cooked, moist chicken legs were infused with flavor and lacked the artificial red coloring that most Indian restaurants confer onto them. They were probably the most understated and best tasting chicken tandoori I've ever had.

I wasn't as fond of the curries but I had to confess that they were good as well. The lamb vindaloo had a nice quick, and tender lamb. The tikka masala was a bit too acidic for my taste, but it tasted fresh and bright. You can feel the quality.

Buttered naan is brought to the table, and the one had a very nice light consistency. I also tasted the dessert, some runny pudding made of rice flower with nuts and spices, and I enjoyed it quite a bit as well. Mauro wasn't as keen of it, but he did enjoy everything else he had.

While we only sampled the buffet on this occasion, Aroma has a full lunch and dinner menu, its prices are on the high side, however.

Aroma is located in a small space at a strip mall in Castro Valley Village, the small room actually looks quite cozy, the beautiful serving dishes and the faint scent of incense helps give it a non-tacky atmosphere. Service was very good, our drinks were refilled quickly and our dishes taken away.

In all, it was a great lunch experience. The buffet lunch for two, with a soda each, came to about $27 after tax and tip. Not a super cheap lunch, but this is not super cheap food.

Aroma Cuisine of India
3418 Castro Village Dr.
Castro Valley, CA
510-888-9555
http://www.aromacuisineofindia.com/
Everyday: 11:30am - 3:00pm, 5:00pm - 9:30pm

Marga's Restaurant Reviews

I wanted an easy recipe for pasta, and chanced upon this one at epicurious.com. I made it with a couple of modifications (i.e. using peas instead of fava beans and canned tomatoes) and the results were surprisingly good. I'd definitely make it again.

Pasta with sausage & peas

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 lb Italian sausage, loose
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 large can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup peas
• salt & pepper
  
  
• 1 pckg pasta
  
  
• grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

Heat the oil on the sauce pan over medium-low heat and add the chopped onion. Saute for a few minutes until soft and golden. Add the garlic and saute for a minute. Add the sausage, breaking any large clumps, and cook until browned. Add the white wine and let boil for a minute. Add the diced tomatoes and peas, mix and let cook for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile boil pasta.

Serve cook pasta with sauce and grated cheese.

Marga's Best Recipes

A new restaurant will be opening sometime soon at the old La Cocina de Raquel location (which previously housed andy & joe's, Taqueria, Kolbeh and Casa Maria #2 - all in the last 7 years). The new restaurant will be called Ming Tasty and will, presumably, serve Chinese food. I guess 5 Chinese restaurants within a 1/2 mile radius is not enough).

The new owners are spending over $200K in remodeling the place (wow!) and I can only wish them luck - they must have quite a bit of faith that the East 14th by Parrot St. location is not actually cursed. But in reality, the fact is that all the previous restaurants failed miserably because they served lousy/expensive food. If Ming Tasty is actually tasty, I'm sure it'll do well.

Other restaurant news:

The owner of The Englander is opening a new wine & tapas bar next door. The restaurant will be called The Vine and should be opening soon. I can't wait to try it.

Castro Valley's Pyzano's Pizza will be opening a branch in San Leandro, at the current Sergio's Pizzeria location. This is indeed a good thing as Pyzano's is much better than Sergio's.

The owners of Planet Cafe (which may be moving) are opening a new restaurant, to be called Creekside Bistro, in Creekside Plaza (Davis St. x San Leandro Blvd.). Seems like a great location for nearby businesses.

Finally, today I noticed that a new restaurant has opened (or is opening) near the Safeway on Washington Ave. (at the old Taco Bell location, I think). It's called Ha Ra sushi. Now, there are already three sushi restaurants in the immediate area, but none of them is very good. Still, is there a market for yet another one?

I also know that one of the restaurants on McArthur Blvd. will likely be closing, but no word as to which one it is yet.

I made this butter (from epicurious.com) last night to serve with swordfish (but I think it'd work with other fish as well) and it was incredible, one of the best things I've ever tasted (even though I didn't use prime ingredients) - and it couldn't be simpler. The key to having it not separate (a complain with some of the reviews in epicurious) is to start whisking as soon as you add the balsamic vinegar, and to whisk briskly after each ingredient. Don't forget to season appropriately at the end - it's the salt which really brings out the flavor of this butter.

Balsamic Butter for Fish

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  
• 3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
  
• 1 Tbsp. honey
  
• 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
  
• salt to taste
  

Heat the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until it starts boiling, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat. Immediately whisk in the balsamic vinegar, honey and mustard. Season with salt. Serve immediately or reheat (while whisking) prior to serving.

Marga's Favorite Recipes

Once again, I found myself wondering what I was going to make for dinner tonight and decided to see what quick and cheap things I could find at Grocery Outlet. Dinner ended up being an assortment of things rather than one in particular, but it worked out pretty well.

I started with Middle East Baking Co. Pita Bread ($1.40 for 6 pitas, 12 oz) and Sabra Classic Hummus ($3 for 10 oz container). The hummus tasted exactly as what it proclaims itself to be - "classic hummus" and I enjoyed it very much. It doesn't list any worrisome ingredients (e.g. no trans-fats). The pita bread was just pita.

Mika and I had hot dogs (I got their no-brand hot dog buns, '$1.80 for 16!) and Camila an Evergood Chicken Apple Sausage ($4 for 4, not really a bargain). I like these sausages because they are not as sweet as others. - they also don't seem to have any worrisome ingredients.

I also served the kids peas - a 4lb bag of a no-name brand was $3.30.

Finally, I gave in to temptation and got a bag of frozen pre-cooked onion rings. They came in a transparent plastic bag with a badly attached label and no expiration date I could find. The 3lb bag was $5. I baked them according to instructions and was quite disappointed. The onion rings were limp and chewy, not in the least crispy, and yet quite greasy. They also didn't have much in the way of flavor. Heed my advise and avoid them.

I also bought a large package of Président Mini Brie cheese. It's not my favorite brie by far, but at $3 for a 16 oz package, I can't really complain.

Yesterday I took my girls to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. We arrived just as noon, and we were all starving - so we decided to give Caffè Museo, its restaurant, a try. The food was fine, but given the high prices, I was somewhat disappointed and I'd probably not go back.

I had their short ribs burger ($13) which actually consisted of shredded short ribs in a bbq sauce, served with coleslaw in a burger bun. It came accompanied with potato chips. The "burger" was OK - it had a very slight short rib flavor, but it really wasn't very different from a pulled pork sandwich, given the overwhelming bbq sauce. I wouldn't order it again.

The kids shared a Margherita pizza ($9.50), which they were happy with - but they aren't that picky. The thin crust pizza was probably 6-8" wide, fine for two kids to share - but definitely expensive.

Service was very good and the food came quite quickly.

Caffè Museo @ SFMOMA
http://www.sfmoma.org/pages/restaurant
151 Third Street
San Francisco CA
415.357.4500.
Th - 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
F -Tu 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Marga's Reviews of Venue Restaurants

Bay Area Restaurant Reviews

Last Saturday we found ourselves on Market Street, near the Tenderloin, in San Francisco looking for a place to eat, and chanced upon Showdogs Gourmet Hot Dogs. As we had three non-gourmet kids on tow, I was a little reluctant to eat at a place where hot dogs cost about $6-9, but the kids were starving so we figured we might as well give it a try. I'm glad we did, while expensive, the hot dogs were very good and clearly made with good ingredients. They were a bit on the small side for the price, but perhaps it seemed so because we were all so hungry.

Aegea, a 6 yo, had a plain hot dog and while I didn't get to taste it, she thought it was very good. Of course, she's not that picky. Camila and Mika (5 & 8 yo) had the chicken apple sausage, which came covered with an apple chutney. They didn't like the chutney (it was too sour), but they loved the sausage itself. And indeed, they were very good - with fresh and distinctive flavors. Mika covered hers with ketchup, though, which I thought was a sin.

I had the wild board sausage, which came with some other type of chutney (this one was pretty sweet) and micro arugula. I also was very impressed. The sausage was perhaps a little mild in flavor, though the charred parts were bursting with it, and the chutney complimented the sausage very well. The arugula offered a refreshing contrast.

We also ordered onion rings, and they were some of the best we've ever had. They were thin, lightly crusted in a glutten free batter and sprinkled with salt - they were very flavorful.

In all, it was a very good meal and I'd recommend it for a hot dog treat.

Showdogs Gourmet Hot Dogs
1020 Market St
San Francisco, CA
(415) 558-9560

Marga's Restaurant Reviews

Feb. 2010 Update

Despite my previous review of the Horatio's bar (below), I've been there several times in the last couple of years, and I've generally been pleased. There is a complete dearth of "nice" bars in San Leandro where you can go for drinks/dessert (Paradiso has a tiny bar, CreAsian's is not much bigger and Vila Cereja has terrible desserts), so Horatio's is really the only game in town. Plus their desserts are usually good (despite a couple of not great experiences).

Anyway, my friends and I tried to go there for dessert last night (a Saturday), only to find out that both the restaurant and bar now close at 10 PM. 10 PM! On a Saturday! It surprised me as, despite the economy, every time I'd gone to Horatio's in the past there were quite a lot of people. It also annoyed me, as we still were not ready to go home. Fortunately El Torito (see next posting) next door was still open and had desserts - but I'm really disappointed that Horatio's is no longer an option for hanging out late.

---
Last night my friend Desiree and I went to Horatio's for dessert. As you may recall, Mike and I went there last week and found the lounge closed for renovations. Well, it has reopened and not for the better.

Gone is the enclosed platform where the bar was. Now, it's just one big room, with a long bar to a side. It's more spacious and there are tables everywhere. It looks much more like a bar than a lounge, the lights have been turned up and the place is incredibly noisy - you have to shout to hear yourself.

Needless to say, I don't like it. I found the old lounge both romantic and relaxing, a great place to hang out with friends or Mike. The new place will work best for people looking to party or get drunk. I'm sad.

We had dessert, and at least this time the chocolate decadence cake was not stale - though the slices seem smaller and the prices have gone up (it's $8.50 now). Desiree had their fruit crumble, and she wasn't too happy with it. She found the fruit (I think they were peaches) bitter.

I doubt I'll be going back to Horatio's.

Horatio's
60 San Leandro Marina
San Leandro
(510) 351-5556
http://www.r-u-i.com/hor/
M-Sa: last call 10 PM

Original Review

San Leandro Restaurant Reviews

My friend Mauro recommended Havana Cuban Cuisine as a good place to go for drinks with my girlfriends. He'd been there for a work function and had really enjoyed the mojitos - they have a wide variety. I figured it was worth a try.

We went there last Saturday night, as an early girls-only St. Valentine's day celebration, and were very impressed both by the food and the drinks. It's moderately priced and I would definitely go back.

The restaurant itself is not very impressive. The narrow rectangle dining room has white walls decorated by immense photographs of Cuba life scenes. The photographs are very pretty, but it was hard to see more than one from our table. In all, I thought the place lacked ambiance.

The menu is somewhat limited and features small plates and entrees. We were there mostly for drinks, so we only explored the tapas menu. We loved almost everything we got.

We started with an arugula salad, nicely dressed with in a walnut vinaigrette and topped with shaved Manchego cheese and some type of roasted seed. We got a large portion, which was good for 3 people. We all really enjoyed it - the contrast between the bitter leafs and the salty cheese was very nice.

I ordered the Mixed Grill, which consisted in two smallish skewers each with a chunk of marinated skirt steak, chorizo and pork tenderloin. It came with a chili mango sauce and sofrito rice. The steak and chorizo were both very nice, with strong flavors. The pork tenderloin was less so, but that's pork for you. The rice was stupendous, specially eaten together with the sauce. I'd definitely order it again.

Aamani ordered the scallops, served with a ginger citrus sauce. We all enjoyed them, though I wouldn't say they were particularly special.

Paz had the grilled shrimp which came with a cilantro-lime sauce. The portion was quite generous and the sauce was wonderful, even I enjoyed it. I think the shrimp came with rice.

Finally, we all shared a large plate of garlic fries, served with a sweet guava chipotle sauce and a chimichurri aioli. The fries were thin, crisp and had just the right amount of garlic. The sauces were also delicious, neither was spicy but they complimented the fries very well. Indeed, the fries were so good that I couldn't help eating them with bread.

The bread, by the way, was also very good. It was fresh and reminded me of the bread back home.

As to the mojitos, we all enjoyed them. I had the pineapple one and was happy that it wasn't too sweet or too sour - it didn't taste much of pineapple, but it was good.

The service was efficient and friendly, the waitress warned me about an unpopular strawberry mojito, glasses were refilled frequently and plates removed quickly.

In all, I had a wonderful experience which I hope to repeat some time.

Update I just realized that you can get discounted gift certificates for Havana at restaurant.com. As usual, make sure to google "restaurant.com coupons" to see if you can get a discount. Sometimes you can get a $25 off GC for as little as $2.

Havana Cuban Cuisine
1518 Park Street
Alameda CA
510.521.0130
http://www.havanarestaurant.net/

Marga's Restaurant Reviews

I didn't have anything to make for dinner, so when I chanced upon frozen/refrigerated boxes of Belafino Take and Bake Pepperoni Pizza at Grocery Outlet, I thought I'd give it a try. Probably I won't do it again.

The 2lb, 16" pizzas seemed good enough in the box. They are made with 100% real mozzarella cheese, and at $3 each they looked like a good bargain. They seemed to have a fair amount of cheese and pepperoni - though once I took them out of the box, the pepperoni seemed rather scant. Still, what ultimately matters is the flavor, and these pizzas taste only of sauce. There was no cheese flavor /at all/, and while the mild pepperoni was nice in itself, it couldn't stand up to the sauce. I found the sauce to have an unhappy combination of a predominant too-sweet taste, with hints of annoying bitterness. I just didn't like it.

The crust was OK, though it had a slight refrigerator taste that I didn't really appreciate, still it was masked by the sauce.

All of this said, the kids *loved* it. I can't imagine why, but kids are funny.

I did a bit of googling about this pizza and it seems it's a relatively recent brand from Schwan, the makers of Freschetta, Red Baron and Tony's frozen pizzas. Belafino is supposed to be a "gourmet" offering, one to be sold on the deli section of the supermarket - giving the impression that it's fresh (though the box does note that it's been previously frozen). Supermarkets are supposed to defrost them, put a "sell by" date of 10 days after the pizza was defrosted, and place it in the deli. I find that kind of scary, because nothing on the box says when the pizza was made (it has a 6-month freezer life). It also seems sort of deceptive.

In any case, the pizza doesn't taste good and that's what really counts.

When our kids were very little, we used to go to Porky's Pizza Palace for dinner quite a bit. It's a large and noisy restaurant, and the kids could play with the game machines in the back. They could be loud and nobody noticed.

As our kids grew up, and started having better restaurant manners, we stopped going to Porky's as much - and I think it'd been three years since our last visit when we headed back there yesterday (to eat out for education). It hadn't changed much - though the place was pretty quiet at 7 PM.

Porky's menu seems to have stayed the same. This time we shared a "giant" (16") half Porky's Combo half cheese pizza ($25) as well as an order of half spaghetti/half ravioli with meat sauce ($7). We also had an order of their onion rings ($4).

Porky's onion rings are among my favorite, their ranch sauce is just right (not too bitter, not too sour) and they are served hot. The portion wasn't huge, but neither was the price.

The girls and I liked the pasta. The ravioli had a nice filling, and the meat sauce (apparently homemade) had a satisfying old-fashioned flavor.

The pizza, however, was just OK. Neither Camila nor I liked the very salty taste of the cheese pizza. I'm not sure if the problem was that the pizza didn't have enough sauce to stand up to the salty cheese or what, but it just wasn't too tasty. The combo part was better, though again a bit too salty. Porky's is very generous with its toppings (perhaps too much), and the toppings do tend to slide off the crust.

Still, we had a nice meal and I'd like to go back again, specially if our snooty friends would come along ;-)

Porky's Pizza Palace
1221 Manor Blvd.
San Leandro, CA
(510) 357-4323
http//www.porkyspizzapalace.com

Original Review

San Leandro Restaurant Reviews