I've been waiting for Pho An-Ha, the new restaurant at the corner of East 14th & Estabrook to open for several months now. All the restaurants in the immediate vicinity of my house are of questionable quality, and I don't always want to cook. I figured, if Pho An-Ha is any good, I'll patronize it often.

I was in such hurry to try it, that I took the girls there for dinner last Friday night - opening day. The place was very busy, almost all tables were taken, and yet the service was responsive and attentive - though do bear in mind some of the wait staff has limited English. Still, it seemed like the whole Vietnamese community in San Leandro had come over for dinner, and they handled it very well.

I was a little bit disappointed with the menu. It's pretty heavy on pho and other noodle soup dishes ($5.75-$6.75), and I am just not one for soups. In addition they serve grilled pork, chicken and/or shrimp over rice (most $6.25-$8) or vermicelli ($6.75-$7.50). There is the possibility of getting beef stew over rice ($6.25), but that's about it: soup and grilled meats. In other words, not much in the way of variety.

I ordered the grilled pork with vermicelli for Mika and had the Pork chop with rice. I also ordered the grilled chicken appetizer ($6) to share. My conclusion was that the meats were quite good, but the portions were on the small side. The grilled chicken, in particular, consisted of 3 tiny skewers of marinated chicken that would not compare favorably (in size) to the sate you get at Thai restaurants. Still, they were almost as expensive as an entree, but they were served plain (though along with your typical vinegary sauce). In comparison, you can get a much larger portion, served with veggies, for a couple of dollars more at Le Soleil, our favorite Vietnamese bistro.

The same can be said about the two main dishes we ordered. The meats were very flavorful and very nicely grilled, but the portions of actual meat were quite small - not a good deal in comparison to Le Soleil.

I should note, however, that each diner gets a free soda (not necessarily a good thing when you are having lunch with little kids - they don't offer juice or even lemonade as an alternative). They do have strawberry milkshakes, however. The one we had that night - before Mika spilled it all over the table, the floor and herself - was delicious, almost as good as those at Vo's. But when we went a couple of days later just to get a couple of shakes, someone else was making them and they weren't that good. Camila didn't even drink hers (which really, given how caloric these things are, wasn't a bad thing).

The restaurant itself is devoid of ambiance. The place used to be a video store, and later a hip-hop clothing store, and it hasn't changed much. There are a couple of large screen TVs mounted on the sides, though thankfully the sound was turned off while we were there.

Service, on the other hand, was fantastic. After Mika spilled the shake on herself, we hurried home to change her, promising to come back later (we live a hundred feet away). We did, and I guess they hadn't believed our promise, for they had cleared our table and stopped our orders. They were so apologetic for that, however, that they hurried our orders, gave us more free soda and discounted our meals - and they didn't even include the shake we'd wasted on the bill. So yeah, I feel a little bit bad writing that the place is not necessarily a good value.

In all, I liked the food at Pho Anh-Ha and given the proximity to my house, I imagine I'll eat there often - but it won't replace Le Soleil as my favorite Vietnamese restaurant.

Pho Anh-Ha
2089 E 14th St Unit A1
San Leandro, CA
510-357-6888
M-Su, 10 AM - 9 PM

San Leandro Restaurant Reviews

Bay Area Restaurant Reviews

I put a bunch of new restaurant reviews online. Many of them are from my trip to the wine country this year, so I decided to create a web page exclusively for restaurants in Napa & Sonoma. It's available at http://www.marga.org/food/rest/napa.html. Mike (who edits my reviews) still owes me a few more, but for the time being here is what I have:

Bear Republic Brewery Co.
Good burgers at this famous Healdsburg eatery

Bistro de Copains
An upscale restaurant in Occidental managed to serve me a cold steak

Howard’s Cafe
Also in Occidental serves a pretty nice breakfast

KC’s Downtown Grill
Good coffee shop food in a dead town, Windsor.

Ravenous
Good food and a relaxing dinner at this Healdsburg gem

Sunflower Caffe
Great gourmet sandwiches in a funky patio

And coming back to the bay area, I posted a pretty old review of:

Sonoma’s
A San Leandro restaurant that unfortunately does not live up to its potential.

and a more recent review of:

Verbena
Good food in an office building in downtown Oakland

Today at noon Mika and I found ourselves at Zocalo, with an hour to wait before picking up Camila from daycare. We hadn't had lunch, and Mika was hungry, so we studied the alternatives in the area (Bancroft & Dutton). There is Paradiso, which is good but expensive; Villa Portofino, which is not open for lunch, Al Attles' California Cheese Steaks, where Mike and I had had lunch yesterday, and the Cornestone Cafe. Clearly, the Cornerstone Cafe was our only choice (OK, we could have walked a couple of blocks and eaten at Mae's Soul Food or Tuttle's Sea Garden, but I didn't think of it, and I don't think Mika likes fried fish/chicken anyway). So to the Cornerstone Cafe we went. All in all, we had a nice meal and I'd go back with her there again.

The Cornerstone Cafe has a pretty short menu, it includes some salads, soups, pastas and sandwiches, as well as daily specials. They also have a brief kids' menu, heavy on angel hair pasta. Mika had the plain angel hair pasta, with butter and Parmesan ($3). She was very happy with it, and ate every single bit. The portion was a bit small, but it did come with bread and butter.

I once again tried the burger, this time with cheddar cheese and avocado. I ordered it medium rare, and it was a bit overdone. It was moderately juicy and it tasted better than I remembered. In all it was fine, better than what you get at most coffee shops, but not particularly great. I didn't like the fact that the burger was ready at least 5 minutes before the pasta, and they let it sit in the counter so they could serve both together. They really should work better on their timing.

The burger comes with your choice of salad, fries or something else. I went for the fries and I didn't like them. They were a bit dry and unseasoned.

Mika had a fresh-squeezed lemonade, which she liked, but found too sweet. I had a coke.

We ate at the counter and service was great. The waitress and the guy behind the counter kept checking on us, and making conversation with my little girl.

Best of all was the bill, $15.50 for the two of us. That's definitely a bargain for that type of restaurant. As I said, yesterday we ate at the Cheesesteak place and spent over $22 - granted it was for two adults, but still.

Cornerstone Cafe
600 Dutton Avenue
San Leandro
510-562-2535

Original Review

Earlier this week I noticed that a small cheesesteak restaurant had opened on Bancroft near Dutton, and today I had the opportunity to go give it a try. It was an OK experience, it's a place I'd go back but not rush back to.

Al Attles' serves hoagies and rice plates, and on this occasion both Mike and I had the steak & cheese hoagy ($8). We also ordered a portion of onion rings ($3.25).

The onion rings were fine. The breading was less flavorful than what I would have liked, and they weren't served with ranch dressing, which I would also have liked, but they tasted as if they were made with fresh oil. They weren't greasy, which I did like.

The hoagies were also much less greasy than those served at other local establishment. The meat was mostly lean, the vegetables (grilled onions, green peppers, lettuce and tomatoes) fresh, and the sandwich quite large. It was a bit unwieldy, however, and the meat kept falling off, so I mostly ended up eating a veggie sandwich. The flavor was fine, the meat (when there) was a bit overwhelmed by the other flavors, but all in all, I liked it. It didn't awe me, though.

Service was very good. The small restaurant doesn't have anything resembling ambiance, but it's a cheese steak restaurant after all.

Al Attles' California Cheese Steaks
571 Bancroft Ave.
San Leandro, Ca
510-639-3458
M-Th 11 AM - 7 PM
F 11Am - ?
Sa 12 - ?

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 11 PM
Su: last call 10:30 PM

Original Review

San Leandro Restaurant Reviews

Yesterday we went to the Washington Manor Library to see animals the Oakland Zoo was bringing, and decided to stop for lunch at the Great Wall Restaurant before the the "show". We hadn't been there before.

They serve a standard Chinese-American menu. Most lunch plates and a la carte entrees are about $5-7. We started with the fried pork wontons they also have plain wontons). They looked like money purses of fried dough around a pork meatball. I didn't think the meatball was very tasty (the kids didn't like them), but the fried dough was good with the standard sweet-sour sauce.

Mike ordered two of their set lunches ($5), one with sweet and sour pork, fried rice and chicken chow mein and the other with almond chicken and fried rice. I had the lemon chicken ($6).

The fried rice was very nice, the diminute pieces of bbq pork were smokey and full-flavored, and they imparted the whole dish with their flavor. Mika really enjoyed the chicken chow mein, and I thought it was quite flavorful as well. The almond chicken was very nice, it had a standard flavor but a lot of it. I was less crazy about the lemon chicken and the sweet and sour pork. The problem with the former was that the sauce failed to adhere to the chicken, and the chicken by itself was rather tasteless. The sauce was good, but not spectacular. The sauce on the sweet and sour pork, however, left much to be desired. It managed to be neither sweet nor sour, and was mostly "blah". The meat wasn't fatty, at least.

Service was good, the waitress was accommodating and the food came very promptly to the table. In all, I'd go to the Great Wall again if I was in the neighborhood and had a hankering for Chinese food.

Great Wall Restaurant
15048 Farnsworth St
San Leandro, CA
(510) 352-8343

San Leandro Restaurant Reviews

Bay Area Restaurant Reviews

I noticed that Cafe Sorriso has changed ownership. If anyone goes and has a comment, please put it in my original review page (like above).

Horatio's Lounge is undergoing a renovation - the whole bar was close on a recent visit, so we had to have our desserts at the restaurant. But it's opening in the next few days. I'm not sure if I'll get there any time soon, so if you go, let me know how it looks. The desserts we had at the dining room weren't as good as usual, they tasted stale. Hopefully, it's a momentary glitch.

It seems that the Italian restaurant on Bancroft and Dutton is actually getting ready to open and the Vietnamese restaurant at East 14th and Estabrook, is progressing.

Anyway, if you know of something happening in the vibrant San Leandro restaurant scene, please comment here.

I was visiting my parents in the SF Valley this weekend, and my sister Kathy suggested that we go to Thai West for lunch, a favorite restaurant in the neighborhood. Alas, it was close for Sunday lunch, so we went hunting for another alternative. Raaga was the first such alternative we found - and I was glad we did.

We got to the small strip-mall restaurant around 12:30 PM on Sunday (July 2008). The place was deserted, and they were just putting out the lunch buffet. I hope people in the area are late lunchers, because no one came while we ate.

The food was very good. The buffet consisted of three meat dishes (chicken curry, goat curry and tandoori chicken), and 2 or 3 veggie dishes - I noticed a vegetable sambaal and some daal, I'm not sure if they had something else. There was also rice, vegetable pakoras, raita and things of the sort. They brought fresh nan to the table, and it was very good, thick and warm.

I loved everything I had. The tandoori chicken lacked the red dye that is usually used to give the dish its distinctive color, but it was juicy and very flavorful, without being spicy. Indeed, Mika, my picky 6-yo, ate quite a bit of it. The chicken curry was both rich and deep, a tiny bit spicy and somewhat sweet, with layers of complexity. It was not the sort of dish you tend to get in a buffet - I really enjoyed it. The goat curry was almost as good, well balanced, rich in flavor, giving you something new, yet familiar (to eaters of Indian food). Kathy tried the veggie pakoras and she thought they were very good as well, Mika even ate a couple of bites without complain.

Service was great, if silent.

The bill came up to $38 after tax. They only charged us for 3 buffets (there were 3 adults and 3 kids, but the kids mostly ate rice), and we had 4 drinks. In all, I thought it was very affordable for the quality of food.

Raaga
10110 Topanga Canyon Blvd.
Chatsworth, CA
818-407-8898

Marga's Restaurant Reviews

Never say never, right? Reading back my old review of Pea Soup Andersen's, it sounds like I'd sworn never to go back - but last weekend we found ourselves driving down south and hungry by the time we got to Santa Nella. And your choices for food in Santa Nella are limited: Pea Soup Andersen's, the restaurant at the traveler's center (which might have changed names since that review), and fast food. So I thought we'd give Pea Soup another chance. I probably wouldn't again.

It's not that the food was particularly bad. Mike actually enjoyed his croissant club sandwich ($9 or $10). But it wasn't particularly good either. My BBQ Western Burger (~$10) came with bacon, 2 onion rings and BBQ sauce (I asked for it on the side), but it was cooked medium-to-well-done, rather than the medium rare I had asked for. As a result it was dry. It still tasted fine, however. The portions were very generous, though I wished they were smaller and so was the price tag. I've noticed that prices of burgers at restaurants have gone through the roof (I recently had a $17 burger at Adagia), but come on! - if I pay $10 for a burger I want it to be good, if not excellent.

Anyway, I think next time I may actually drive a couple of miles out of the way to Los Baños and have something to eat there instead.

Pea Soup Andersen's
I-5 Exit 407
12411 S Highway 33
Santa Nella, CA
209-826-5534

Original Review

Marga's I-5 Restaurant Reviews

Bay Area Restaurant Reviews

I have one restaurant left to review from my trip to Sonoma & the Lake Country, and that is Omelette Express, a breakfast and lunch joint in Windsor. We had breakfast there last week, when visiting the area.

I only had a bagel with cream cheese and a mocha, so I can't really say much personally about the food. The bagel ($2.50) was a little bit too soft, but otherwise fine. The mocha ($3.50 or so) was pretty nice, but not stellar.

Mike had ham, onion, bell pepper and cheese omelet ($11), which he thought wasn't very good. It came with potatoes that were under-salted and sort of soggy, they left much to be desired.

Service was friendly and efficient.

In all, I wouldn't go back not just because of the mediocre omelet, but because they don't offer the sort of things I like for breakfast (pancakes, waffles, etc.), and because they seem quite overpriced. However, if you do go, pick p one of the paper take-out menus they have around. When we went, they had coupons for $3 OFF breakfast and lunch.

Omelette Express
150 Windosr River Road
Windsor, CA
(707) 838-6920
M-F 6:30-3 PM
Sa-Su 7-4 PM

Marga's Restaurant Reviews

Bay Area Restaurant Reviews

Last weekend we headed to Sonoma and the Lake county for a little vacation. Our last evening, a Monday night in July 2008, we stayed in Clearlake Oaks, a very small town on the eastern side of the lake. Monday night is a bad night to eat at Clearlake Oaks. There are very few restaurants to begin with, and none of them were open that evening. Our only recourse if we wanted to eat was to drive to the city of Clearlake proper - not a very long drive, but it was getting lake.

There are a few Chinese and Mexican restaurants at the entrance of Clearlake, as well as what I imagine is an American restaurant at one of the hotels. Mike wanted something else, however, so we drove all our town, unsuccessfully as it turned out. We ended up at the Cactus Grill almost by default. It wasn't a bad thing, as our meal, though not spectacular, was satisfying enough.

The little restaurant has a small dining room and patio - the dining room wasn't air conditioned and it was an extremely warm night, so we decided to eat outside. It was quite pleasant.

Service was quite good, the waiter brought us chips immediately - though I had to ask before being told that they had a salsa bar inside. They had about 8 salsas to chose from, both mild and hot, the one closer to pico de gallo that I chose was pretty good.

Mike had one of their burritos, and he was quite pleased with it. It was large and tasty. I had the carne asada plate - which came with rice, beans, guacamole and salsa, as well as huge, very hot, flour tortillas (corn tortillas are also available). It wasn't really different from a fajitas plate. The carne asada was a bit (only a bit) tough, but it had a very pleasant, somewhat vinegary, marinade. There wasn't a lot of it (specially as I don't eat either rice or beans), but I was satisfied. The guacamole tasted commercial, the type of bagged guacamole you can get at Safeway or Costco. It wasn't bad, but I would have preferred homemade, fresh guac.

In all, it was a nice dinner. I wouldn't be hurrying back, but if I was in the area I might visit it again.

Cactus Grill Restaurant
3900 Bayliss Ave
Clearlake, CA
(707) 994-0905

Marga's Restaurant Reviews

Bay Area Restaurant Reviews

It'd been a couple of years since I'd last gone to Buon Appetito in Hayward. I'd meant to go back and try the pastas, but for one reason or another, it never came back. Finally yesterday, Lola and I were looking for a place to go to dinner, and Buon Appetito popped into my head.

The place looks just like before, though prices have gone up a few dollars. The menu, featuring pastas and Italian main dishes, is available online.

Dinner starts with fresh French Bread served with a sauce made from garlic, Parmessan cheese, olive oil, and either red pepper or tomatoes (I couldn't tell what was giving it that red color). It was delicious, and I ate much more than I should.

Lola ordered the Ravioli con Pomodoro, ravioli filled with spinach, swiss chard, pinenuts & ricotta cheese, that comes with a tomato & artichoke hearts sauce. She felt it tasted very Italian, like the pastas she'd enjoyed in Florence, but felt it was underseasoned. I don't think she'd order it again.

I went with the Gnocchi al Sugo di Carne - pottato gnocchi in a beef and carrot sauce. I liked the consistency of the gnocchi, they were dense without being heavy. The meat sauce was hearty, with chunks of stewed meat and carrots. There was nothing wrong with it, but I didn't really like it. I'm beginning to think that I may prefer Italian-American food, to that which more closely approximates the style of the mother country. In any case, I enjoyed my dish and the leftovers, but I wouldn't necessarily order it again.

Service was very good, and the kitchen boxed my leftovers for me - the type of service you rarely get anyway.

In all, I will return to Buon Appetito, but I may stick with the main dishes, which were so good last time.

Buon Appetito
917 A Street
Hayward, CA
510.247.0120
http://www.buonappetitorestaurant.net/

Original Review

Bay Area Restaurant Reviews

Thai Satay is San Leandro's only Thai restaurant, and as such we visit it from time to time. Mike often gets pad thai from there to take to his School Board meetings, and we go there for lunch once in a while. Yesterday, my friend Lola was visiting, and we decided that Thai sounded good.

I had the roasted duck, which comes in a bed of spinach and rice, accompanied by a strong, somewhat sweet sauce. The duck was nicely salted and tasted great, but it was very, very fatty. There seemed to be more fat than duck. I sort of enjoyed it, but I wouldn't order it again. The sauce was pretty good with the rice, however.

Lola had a combination of masaman curry and basil chicken. The curry was good, though a bit heavy on the potatoes, but the chicken was unbelievably dry. The flavor, mild and inviting, was very good, but Lola couldn't stand eating it. She did like the soup and salad which came with lunch.

At $9 each, the dishes were a bit pricy for lunch, but from time to time you can get "buy one, get one free" coupons at the SL Times.

In all, while Thai Satay doesn't have the best Thai food in the world, it does have the best and only Thai food in San Leandro.

Thai Satay
1376 E. 14th Street
San Leandro, Ca
(510) 351-2345
http://www.thaisatay.com/

Original Review

San Leandro Restaurant Reviews

Mike and I found ourselves in Lakeport on our way to the Lake county from the Alexander Valley. We were hungry and Jack's Gaslight Grill was pretty much the first restaurant we came across. It wasn’t a bad choice for lunch.

The restaurant looks like it used to be an old tavern. There is a nice wooden bar with mirrors, and a relatively small cooking area. The menu is coffee-shop style, with burgers and sandwiches.

I got the steak sandwich which was just OK. The meat was tough but tasted fine. The onion rings it came with, were quite good. Mike got the burger, which he said was very good, juicy and tasty.

Service was very friendly, and the place is worth a try.

Jack's Gaslight Grill
135 N. Main Street
Lakeport, Ca.
707-263-0188

Restaurant Reviews

Bay Area Restaurant Reviews

Last week I went out to Adagia with my friends Parker, Aamani and Dolores. We had all had desserts there a few months before and Parker was eager to try it for dinner. All in all we had a good experience, and I would go back.

I had their famous burger with provolone cheese, avocado and house cured pancetta. At $17.50 it was the most expensive burger I've ever eaten, but it was quite good. The meat was juicy, the toppings balanced, and the pancetta, in particular, was delicious. Still, I had an equally good burger at the Auburn Alehouse a few weeks back for only $11. I'm not sure that I'd order it again, but only because of the price. The fries that came with it were good, but not special.

Dolores had the Gorgonzola and walnut ravioli ($14.50) which came in a white wine cream sauce with arugula. I tasted the dish, and I liked it, but I think I'd grown bored eating the whole plate. Still, it's a good option for vegetarians.

The baked casarecce pasta ($16.50), which Aamani and Parker shared, could have been better. It had a very mild taste and was screaming for more kale (or so I'm told), neither would order it again.

Finally, both Parker and Aamani were happy with their shared falafel crusted halibut ($24), though I didn't hear any screams of ecstasy as in other occasions.

After our experience last time with the chocolate bread pudding, we all ordered it again and once again it was both delicious and satisfying.

Adagia
2700 Bancroft Way
Berkeley, Ca
510.647.2300
http://www.adagiarestaurant.com/

Original Review

Bay Area Restaurant Reviews

We stopped at the Old Village Grill in Arroyo Grande yesterday for lunch. We were driving down 101 and were famished by the time we got to Arroyo Grande. Mike remembered that we'd been to the Old Village Grill before, and he thought it was good. This time I thought it was merely OK.

I got their sourdough burger which came with cheese, shredded lettuce, tomato and not-sauteed-enough onions (~$6). The patty was rather small and the whole burger was unwieldy to eat. It tasted good, however. Mike had their BBQ bacon burger and he liked it, it was tasty and juice and the BBQ sauce did not overwhelm the flavors. We shared onion rings that were a bit overcooked, but nicely seasoned - though the accompanying (ranch?) sauce was too salty. I had a peanut butter shake which wasn't flavorful enough. The bill came to $19 before tip.

In all, I think next time I may try a new place.

Old Village Grill
101 E. Branch St.
Arroyo Grande, Ca
(805) 489-4915

It's been several months since I've uploaded restaurant reviews to my website (blame Mike, my editor), so I'm making up for that now. Here are the new ones up:

Tiger's Garden is a very good Thai and Laotian restaurant in downtown Vancouver, Wa.

Elmer's is a Northwestern chain of pretty good restaurants. We had a great breakfast at their Medford location and a pretty good dinner at their Roseburg branch.

Mike and I had a disappointing meal at Oakland's Doña Tomás in 2004, but my 2007 meal there with "the girls" was great!

We finally made it to Chez Simone in Oakland, where we had a nice meal - though nothing I couldn't make at home.

Our last girls' night out with Eddie was at Absinthe in San Francisco. The food was quite good.

The Rotunda, the restaurant at Neiman Marcus in San Francisco, offers what is probably the worst cup of tea in town. Avoid at all costs.

And finally, I celebrated my birthday with my family at El Morocco in Pleasant Hill - an old favorite.

A couple of weeks ago I was in Berlin for a conference and I had lunch at Cafe Stresermann, which happened to be in front of my hotel. I had a wiener schnitzel (E. 9) and a coke (E. 1.70). The coke was fine, but the wiener schnitzel left much to be desired. The meat was tough and underseasoned, and the breading wouldn't stick to it. I was expecting much more of a wiener schntzel in Germany. The potatoes it came with were fine, but not memorable. I don't know if I'll ever return to Berlin, but I won't be eating there again.

Cafe Stresemann
Stresemannstr. 90
10963 Berlin, Germany
+49 30 2611760

I returned from a short trip to Berlin yesterday afternoon, and the first thing I did, after coming home, was head to the Farmers' Market. We were there a little bit later than usual, so we didn't see all our friends as has become the custom, but we did see enough to make me remember what I so love about this place. We also found that amidst the eating choices the market offers (tamales, corn-on-the-cob, teriyaki sticks & hot dogs and steak & sausage sandwiches), there was a new one: Indian food from (I think) India Gourmet in Watsonville. Of course, I had to try it, and the choices were not bad.

India Gourmet offers wraps (for about $6, I think), rice plates ($8) and full dinners ($12), which include rice and veggie sides. The main entrees include chicken curry, lamb curry and two or three vegan options to which I paid no attention (sorry). They have daal, nan ($2) and mango lassis (no sweet ones, though).

Both the chicken and the lamb curry were pretty good. They were well portioned, enough food to eat, though not too much that there were leftovers. Neither was particularly spicy, but they had enough of a kick to keep my oldest kid away. The curries were well balanced and the meats were tender. They weren't my favorite curries out there, but I'd have them again.

The nan was also very nice, on the thick side.

Wednesday evening we went to the Downtown Farmers' Market again. This time they had family entertainment and a few different stands, including one that serves coffee drinks and another one selling beautiful baskets. There is also now a place selling corn-on-the-cob, which the kids enjoyed.

Mike and I had the teriyaki chicken and beef at Meyers BBQ stand. They were both quite good, but not exceptional. The meat was very thin, tender and a little fatty. The portions were large enough for dinner, in particular if accompanied by rice. Chicken skewers are $6, beef $7, add $2 for a large portion of fried rice (which wasn't that good).

Lola and I spent a nice weekend in the Gold Country which culminated with a late lunch in Auburn. We basically headed to the old town, and had lunch in the first place that caught our eye - we got lucky, because Auburn Alehouse serves very good food.

The restaurant is stylish, and doesn't really look like a beer joint. We were seated by the window and had a nice view of the antique market going on that weekend. Though the place was somewhat noisy, it was pretty relaxing for us.

The menu offers sophisticated versions of American classics. For example my burger was made with Kobe beef. Prices are a little high with appetizers averaging $8-9, sandwiches for $9-12 and main dishes from $10-25. But portions are very large and you feel you get your money's worth.

As I mentioned, I ordered the Kobe burger, a 1/2 lb patty that comes with bacon, avocado, American cheese, tomato and lettuce ($11). I substituted the fries for onion strings ($1 additional). The burger was cooked a little bit browner than the medium-rare I ordered, but it was still very juicy. The meat itself was very tender, but I otherwise could not distinguish a special taste to the kobe beef. The whole thing worked very well together, and I enjoyed it. The crispy onion strings were severely underseasoned, but they were good with some salt added. In all, I enjoyed the dish and would order it again.

Lola had the BBQ pork sandwich ($8.50) with a side salad. The BBQ pork was excellent, very flavorful with an intense BBQ sauce. I'd definitely order it myself. She liked the salad which had a simple vinaigrette, she particularly enjoyed the arugula and felt the greens were quite fresh. She also couldn't finish the whole thing.

We decided to skip dessert as they are all quite pricey ($7.50!).

I'll definitely eat here again next time I find myself in Auburn.

Auburn Alehouse
289 Washington Street
Auburn CA
530-885-2537
http://auburnalehouse.com/

Restaurant Reviews

We were staying in Sutter Creek, right outside Jackson, and we found ourselves looking for food at 9:30 in the evening. Mel & Faye's Diner was the first place we found open.

The restaurant is your typical coffeeshop, serving burgers, shakes and other American fare at moderate prices (burgers are around $7-9). The room is quite nice, with booths and tables, and it was still fairly busy at that time of night. It does have the atmosphere of a small town diner, where everyone knows each other (boy, I miss Pring's). Definitely a good place to have a burger.

And burgers we had. I ordered their sourdough cheeseburger, which came with mayo and a thousand-island type dressing in grilled sourdough bread. It was pretty good but too unwieldy to eat by hand - it was definitely a fork and knife burger. The patty itself was pretty small (it must have been a 1/4 lb at most), and while well done it was juicy enough. It was served with your choice of fries, onion rings or something else I don't recall - I had the onion rings and I was surprised both by the substantial size of the order and how good they were. They were crunchy and slightly sweet, and while I missed the lack of ranch dressing to dip them in, I thought they were very good. I'd had a substantial peanut butter shake (pretty good, $3.75), and I couldn't finish all the food.

Lola had the Moo Burger, a double burger with everything, served with fries, and she also thought it was pretty good but definitely a fork and knife burger. She had no complaints about the fries.

Service was good, and the whole experience was quite pleasant. If I was in town, I'd visit again, regardless of the time.

Mel and Faye's Diner
31 Highway 49/88
Jackson, Ca.
209.223.0853
www.melandfayesdiner.com

Restaurant Reviews

Yesterday my friend Lola and I went to California's Gold Country, for our yearly girls' weekend out. We drove east until we heat 49, and then north. We stopped in Sonora for lunch. We picked Alfredo's as it was the first restaurant we walked by after we parked.

Alfredo's occupies a very nice room in historical downtown Sonora. The main wall is brick with recessed shelves here and there displaying Maya and Aztec ceramics. Other walls have orange hues and there are couple of large stereotypical Mexican wall paintings. It's both stylish and informal at the same time.

Service was very good, the waiter was very attentive - and chips and drinks, and then food, came quickly to the table.

The major problem we had with Alfredo's was the food. It was just bland. Nothing had been adequately salted or spiced - it's as if they were cooking for middle-American seniors with high blood pressure (which may be their target audience, for all I know). The menu was your typical Tex-Mex, with entrees at $9 to $12.50. There is also a children's menu.

I ordered the Botana Combo ($8.75), which included four different appetizers: a good portion of guacamole, 4 beef taquitos, 1 plain quesadilla and 3 bacon wrapped shrimp. None of it was good. I love guacamole, but this one needed some lemon to perk it up. You could taste the corn tortillas on the taquitos, but the meat filling was to bland to come through. The quesadilla was just a cheese stuffed tortilla, with nothing to make it special. And while I didn't try the shrimp, as I don't like shrimp at all, Lola thought they were quite mediocre.

Lola had the same complaints of blandness vis a vis her entree, a combo plate of a beef tamale and a chicken enchilada ($10.55). She described the enchilada as "just an American enchilada" and while she praised the fluffy and light masa of the tamale, she thought the filling was bland and unsurprising.

As you'd expect, we wouldn't stop at Alfredo's again - but if you prefer bland food, this may be the place for you.

Alfredo's Mexican Restaurant
123 S. Washington St.
Sonora, CA
(209) 532-8332

After strolling through the new downtown farmers' market in San Leandro, we were hungry and ready for dinner. The logical thing would have been to eat at Meyers BBQ stand, where you can get huge hot dogs and teriyaki sticks - but for some reason Mika wanted to eat at The Englander, so that's where we headed. Other people seemed to have the same idea, as The Englander was buzzing last night - I heard they had to bring extra staff. In any case, it was a very warm day, so eating outside was very nice.

I wish I could say the same thing about the food. I love The Englander: the concept, the beers, going there to watch Argentina lose in the World Cup and the Americas cup, but the food just isn't very good. And last night was an example of it. Perhaps it wouldn't be so terrible, if it wasn't so expensive as well. Dinner (with one appetizer and no desserts) for three adults and two children came up to $84 after tip!

Kathy got the tri-tip plate ($11), and she was disappointed. The meat was tender but it tasted as it'd come out from a bucket of Lloyd's BBQ. She didn't like the coleslaw either.

I got the fish and chips ($12). The fish had a very thick batter which was undercooked, merging the fish with what felt like raw batter, it had a creamy, not pleasant, texture. The fish itself was unseasoned and had no flavor. The chips were OK, coated.

Mike did like his bangers, chips & beans ($14). The sausage was fine and the beans were good.

The onion rings we ordered (~$9), were grossly overpriced but otherwise good - they were a little bit on the brown side, but I loved their sweet flavor. The Englander makes some of my favorite onion rings in town.

Both kids got the Mac & Cheese ($5 each) - and the portion is large enough that I really should have ordered just one. They ate only a tiny bit of it, but they can be finicky so that doesn't mean much.

I have to say that at least the portions at The Englander are generous - as they should be for those prices.

As for drinks, Mike and I had cokes ($2.25 with refills), Kathy had a cranberry juice, which she didn't like at all ($3) and the kids had chocolate milks ($1.50 each), which they did enjoy.

Service was good and efficient, though the waitress was clearly busy.

I'm sure I'll go back to The Englander for the next championship - and the place is great for events - but I think I'll keep away from it until then.

Original Review

San Leandro Restaurant Reviews

Zen's has been open for two years and I only read about it today, which tells you I'm not as in tune with the San Leandro restaurant "scene" as one might think. And a great pity it is, because if its buffet lunch is any indication, Zen may very well serve the best food in San Leandro.

I found the restaurant on TripAdvisor.com while looking for restaurants in San Leandro I might have missed. I suggested it to my friend Aamani, who I was meeting for lunch, and she was all for trying it - so we headed towards Doolittle in the hopes of finding it, which we did easily. It's located in a strip mall, just off Fairway.

The little restaurant is pretty cute with a tiki-bar kind of feel. It has, however, two annoying flat screen TVs showing Filipino shows. They are very loud, making conversation difficult.

The buffet consisted of about 10 dishes, including a chicken soup, chicken and pork adobo, BBQ chicken, Filipino steak, chicken in a coconut sauce, and a few other dishes I don't remember now. There was one noodle dish I didn't try, and one green-bean dish. There was nothing else for vegetarians, so they may want to keep away.

Everything I tried was excellent, the meats were tender, flavorful and not exceedingly fatty. The sauces were full of flavor, the bbq chicken was delicious. My experience with Filipino food had been limited to adobos and lumpias, what I tasted seemed like a fusion of western and Asian foods - as you would expect.

According to its website, Zen's is also open to dinner until very late. They have music and karaoke some nights, so you may want to call them if you are just going for the food. I know I'll go back.

Zen's Filipino Cuisine and Ihaw-Ihaw (BBQ) House
13876 Doolittle Drive
San Leandro, CA
510-351-3312
http://www.zensfilipinocuisine.com

San Leandro Restaurant Reviews

As I reported here a couple of weeks ago, Blossom is the last restaurant to occupy the space on East 14th previously taken by Good Food and Szechuan Restaurant. I will bet that it won't be the last.

We ordered food from there Saturday, when I was too involved in the preparations for my birthday party that evening (which I'll soon blog about), to attend to lunch. Kathy suggested it because they delivered, and I always want to try new places in town. Oh well.

Blossom offers your typical Chinese restaurant menu also at typical prices - generally $6-9 for entrees. The portions are large, though not as large as those of other restaurants, which is not necessarily a bad thing. My problem was with the food itself.

We found the fried wontons ($3.25) to be a bit limp - though that may be because they don't travel well. In any case, I like them crispier.

The sweet & sour pork ($6) had a lot of breading, little pork and a syrupy sauce that just didn't taste good. Nobody liked it. Mike and Kathy did like the Szechuan beef ($6.55), but I thought it was very one-dimensional, it was too spicy for the kids to try. None of us liked the orange flavored chicken ($6), full, scrawny chicken wings with a thick, spicy sauce. They were difficult to eat and just not very tasty. The chicken chow mein ($5) was pretty good, Mika liked it.

In all, I was unhappy with Blossom and I see no reason to order from there again. New Hong Kong also delivers and is much better.

Blossom Chinese Restaurant
14807 E. 14th St.
San Leandro, CA
510-614-8112

San Leandro Restaurant Reviews