Last night we went to the Oriental Tea House with a bunch of our friends (for memory's sake, they were Donovan & Parker with Luther and baby Will, Regina and Boris, and Eddie and Arthur with Laurel, Bailey and Dee). We ordered a bunch of dishes: fried calamari, friend wontons, chicken chow mein, vegetable chow mein, lemon chicken, kun pao chicken, half a roasted chicken, beef with some sort of green beans and a couple of shrimp dishes. I was amazed at how good everything was. It was great to be able to savor so much variety - and to be with so many friends - but the actual food was all very good. And the bill was terribly cheap at $86 - which fed an army of 8 adults and 6 children.

We were all able to fit at one, very crowded, table - larger parties or those with more adults, would have to split in two.

We are now planning on getting together for dim sum some Sunday morning. If any of my friends are reading this, and want to come along, just e-mail me.

Note: This restaurant has closed. A burger joint may
open in its place.

A few weeks ago my friend Lola came to visit me and we were looking for a place to have lunch. I decided it was time to give Cafe Encore another chance, I'd been there years before but it had since changed ownership. We were surprised to find out that it had also changed names and concept, it now serves wine country cuisine and it's called Sonoma's Restaurant.

The place hasn't changed much in looks, it has a pleasant bistro-like atmosphere, perfect for a nice lunch. Its lunch menu - I haven't been there for dinner yet - concentrates on fancy sandwiches, mostly $9-10. I went for the Napa Valley Burger which added prosciutto, blue cheese, mushrooms and greens to some fancy ground beef. It was quite good but pretty unmanageable. The burger kept falling off the bread, and the whole thing was too thick to fit in my admittedly small mouth. It wasn't too easy to eat with knife and fork either. I liked the taste of the blue cheese, though it did overwhelm the prosciutto which I couldn't taste at all. Still, I liked the whole thing and I'd order it again.

Lola was very pleased with the sandwich that was the special of the day. It had salame, provolone cheese, bacon and avocado. She found it very tasty, though also hard to eat. In addition, he bread had been toasted in olive oil and made her fingers oily. She also liked the mixed green salads dressed with balsamic vinegar. We both really liked the piquant salsa served on the side.

Service, by David, the new owner, was very good. He was attentive but kept his distance from out very intimate conversation.

In all, we had a very nice lunch experience, and I'd definitely go again. Now it's time to try them for dinner.

Sonoma's
1027 MacArthur Blvd
San Leandro
510.636.1143