You heard it here first, Joplins has the best burgers in San Leandro, and I’ve eaten at enough places in San Leandro to know. If you like your burgers big and juicy – so big you won’t be able to finish them, so juicy you better have a napkin ready – this is definitely the place to go. And you should hurry, both times I went there, there were only a few customers for lunch, which concerns me as I definitely don’t want the place to close.
On both my visits I ordered their cheeseburger ($5), which comes with the usual ingredients (tomato, lettuce, onions) and is made to order. I already described it as being very good, so good that now every time I want a burger, I want a Joplin’s burger (a Val’s may be better, but they’re too far away). I want one right now as I type this, btw 🙂
Fries come with some of their dishes, but not with the burgers. An order of regular fries will cost you $1.50, but I’d advise you to go for the garlic fries ($3.50) instead. They are made with real garlic, not garlic powder, and they are out of this world. I should say, however, that I liked them better on my first visit, when they were skinny fries, rather than in my second, when they were the thicker wedge-type. I should have said something to the waiter; next time.
I went with my sister Kathy on my first visit, and she ordered the fried chicken wings ($5). These were quite good as well, nicely seasoned but not too spicy, and came served with sauce on the side (so this might be a good dish for little kids too). Our only complaint was that chicken wings are a pain to eat, we would much have preferred fried chicken legs. One more thing to tell them. On my second visit I went with my friend Aamani who also had – and enjoyed – the burger.
Both times service was very good, attentive and friendly.
My one qualm with Joplin’s is their menu. They have an amazing breakfast menu with things such as blueberry sour cream pancakes and bananasplit belgian waffles as well as several types of omelettes and combos – but their lunch menu is quite limited. They have some salads, a few sandwiches, a couple of burgers, friend chicken wings and shrimp, and, out of nowhere, some Mediterranean messe offerings (felafel, hummus, dolmas and salad). As much as I like their burger, I’d like to see more choices. On the plus side, all lunch offerings are extremely well priced, with nothing over $7.50.
Joplins opened a couple of months ago in the space vacated by The Blue Dish, on Victoria Circle in the Broadmoor. It’s name after a relative of the owner who used to be a famous Jazz musician. They have jazz for brunch on Sundays and I definitely want to try that – and then I’ll report back (on the food, not the music, as I’m tone deaf).
Joplin’s
585 Victoria Court
San Leandro, CA
510.568.5100
Author: marga (Page 78 of 112)
I don’t know if I have any /regular/ readers of my Food Blog, as opposed to people who just drop by from time to time, but if you are a regular and you’ve missed me, I’m back. I haven’t been blogging much ’cause, frankly, I don’t have time to do everything in my to-do list, so from time to time I drop some activities for a while. But I like to blog about food, and I feel guilty about all the restaurant reviews I haven’t posted, so in the next few days I hope to get back on track.
I’ll start by blogging about the recipe I made last night: Orange Soy Braised Pork Ribs. Country style ribs were on sale at Safeway, and I wanted to braise them in some way. That recipe for Epicurious got good reviews so I tried it.
It was a very easy dish to make, juicing the oranges was what took the longest, and the ribs were very tender – just as you’d expect them to be after two hours braising in any liquid. BUT I wasn’t thrilled with the flavor or the glace. By themselves, the ribs just had a mild soy-sauce flavor, nice but not very strong. On the plus side, the kids ate it without complaining. People had complained that it was hard to get the liquid to become syrupy. It did, when I boiled it long enough, but it then became very intense in flavor, I would say too intense.
Still, after rubbing some of the glace off, the ribs were pretty good and Mike enjoyed them.
I’d probably look for a different recipe for next time, though.
Sorry, no pictures. Hopefully I’ll remember next time.
2013 Update: This restaurant is now Ahu’s Hawaiian BBQ
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San Leandro has more Hawaiian restaurants that I can count, and I’m not sure that Ohana was actually needed (and judging by the lack of patrons last Thursday evening, I may not be alone in that assessment), but it’s not entirely unwelcomed. If you are at that shopping mall (you know, the one that has Home Depot, Walmart and the Pet food store – which was why we were there) and you are hungry, your choices are limited to Togos and whatever fast food place there is in Walmart. So Ohana at least presents another choice for food. And while it’s a chain, it’s well located in chain heaven.
Ohana presents a menu very similar to those in other Hawaiian restaurants. It includes BBQ meats, alone or in combination, chicken katzu, curry and a couple of chicken dishes with “special” sauces. They also have burgers and spam.
We weren’t too adventurous that evening and decided to go with the Seafood BBQ Combo ($8), Chicken Katzu ($6) and BBQ Chicken Saimin ($4). The seafood combo was good, but it only contained one piece of fish!!!! There wasn’t even enough to share. The chicken katzu was heavily breaded – as it usually is – but tasted fine, though I think I prefer Ono’s version. I’d ordered the saimin for the kids and they weren’t thrilled by it. It basically tasted like chicken noodle soup, so clearly the problem wasn’t in the dish.
In all, Mike thought the meal was fine, and probably better than at Ono’s (where we go from time to time as it’s close to our house), while I think I rather go back to Ono, though the portions there have gotten smaller and smaller.
Ohana Hawaiian BBQ
Westgate Mall Shopping Center
1933 Davis St. #135A
SL, CA
510-383.9898
http://www.hawaiianislandbbq.com/
My Christmas list is full of food items, so it’s no surprise that I got quite a few food gifts. These included:
-A 11-cup Cuisinart Food Processor. I’ve wanted one for a long, long time (a decade even), so I was quite happy to get it. Of course, I knew it was coming – I’d asked Mike to not get it given our financial situation, but he said he’d done all the research and was committed to buying it. Well, I can’t really complain. As soon as I have the house clean and ready – and all the dishes done – I’m going to use it. Come to think of it, my friend Paz is having us over to her house for a cooking lesson at the end of the week. I may just make some stuffed kibbeh to bring anyway.
–Balsamic Vinegar. It was the 12-year-old kind and I can’t believe just how wonderful it is. Beautiful, delicious, with the strongest imaginable flavor. I can only imagine what older and more expensive vinegar can taste like. But this, really, is good enough for me. Now I need to figure out how I will consume it, other than in drops directly from the bottle.
–Metal measuring cups and spoons. Last year, when I went to Argentina, I saw my aunts cups and measuring spoons and almost started crying. I could remember perfectly using them and having my grandma use them so many years in the past. Just by looking at them, I could think of my granny. So I wanted to have my own measuring cups and spoons that one day I could give to my children and to my grandchildren. So, of course, I wanted the quality stuff. I must have wanted it really hard, because I got three sets of them. One from my mother, another from Mike, and another from my friends Regina and Boris. I couldn’t be happier, though clearly I can’t keep them all. I’ll probably return the one Mike got me and get something else at Sur la Table instead. So much to chose from 🙂
–Food storage containers. The Sharper Image version of Tupperware. My mother swears by them. I’m somewhat suspicious of the drawings on the cover (which have grapes going rancid after a week in the fridge in the “other” containers – which definitely does not happen to me), and I’m not sure if I need them, but I probably can put them to use. I should actually transfer the leftovers to them.
-Cookies and candies from our friends Aamani, Victoria and Carla and Astrid.
That’s all I can remember now.
In Argentina, like in many Latin American countries, the big Christmas celebration happens on Christmas Eve. While I’ve lived in the US well over 20 years now, for me Christmas Eve will always be the time to be with friends and family and celebrate the wonder of life.
This year we were happy to have, in addition to our best friends Lola and Iggy – with whom we always spend Christmas eve – our friends Eddie and Arthur. They’ve become some of our best friends in San Leandro, and who knows, spending Christmas Eve with us may just become a tradition (if they don’t move back to Texas first).
My menu was very similar to the one I served on Christmas 2004, the last Xmas we spent in the US. Last year we were traveling in Argentina and ate at hotel in the tiny town of Cachi. But the 2004 menu had been so good, that I didn’t really want to change it. So I served:
A sliced baguette with olive oil, European butter, smoked salmon, hummus and roasted pepper sauce.
As you can expect, the smoked salmon quickly disappeared – but so did the bread. Camila couldn’t get enough of spreading the butter on the bread. She ate the center of the bread, but left the crust behind. Mika loves dipping bread in olive oil, and was quite excited to be able to do it again. Unfortunately (for her), the olive oil was the generic kind, and not the orange olive oil we tasted while shopping a couple of weeks back.
Mixed Greens Salad with Gorgonzola Vinaigrette
This is a favorite of Mikes, and it’s so good that I usually serve it when I need to make a salad. Even Lola who dislikes blue cheese – and Kathy who dislikes cheese in general – like it here. This time I used red currants instead of cranberries (I had them at hand) and Lola thought they were an improvement.
Les Halles Mushroom Soup
Once again this was a winner. Iggy, specially, raved about it. This time I added extra morels and some porcini so everyone could get their fill. I imagine I’ll make this again next year.
Leek and Camembert Tart
Another winner from epicurious. This was everybody’s favorite of the evening. I plan to make it again, but next time I won’t try to make it into a circle, I don’t think there is much to be gained by that. A recipe was enough for 8 people but I’m sure everyone would have liked seconds.
Prime Rib with Cabernet Jus
This time I used Costco Prime Rib, prime ($11 lb), and while it was good it wasn’t nearly as good as the one I made last time ($16 lb) with meat from Galvan’s Market. Live and learn. I think next year I’ll make lamb or something different.
The cab jus was good but unnecessary.
Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
Always a winner, and they reheat so easily. I did make too much, though (3 times the recipe). Next time I’ll just double it 🙂
Green beans almondine
Also a popular choice. This recipe is very simple and produces quite a good result – and shocking the green beans gives them a beautiful bright green color.
Dessert was a chocolate cake that Eddie brought (very, very yummy) and Costco pumpkin pie, which was also quite good.
We had several bottles of wine, all very good, but the clear winner of the evening was the Bonny Doon Muscat, Vin de Glaciere. It was impossibly delicious, and I don’t even like Muscat. If it wasn’t Christmas day, I’d send Mike in search of another bottle.
In all, we had a great Christmas Eve dinner. The kids played wonderfully in the other room, and then even ate some meat (as they knew dessert was coming). The babies were calm and friendly, and the company could not have been better.
aadfa
I know it’s late, but I’m finally blogging about my Thanksgiving 2006 meal. As you may recall I wanted to make something not too traditional as Lola and Ignatius were coming after they had already a traditional meal at their family’s. But while the menu kind of worked out, the timing didn’t. I was a bit early with the cooking – though not with the putting the kids to sleep – so by the time Lola and Iggy arrived we were pretty much all packed up. Oh well, they got to enjoy dessert.
Anyway, the menu went pretty much according to plan. I didn’t serve the bread with any of the dips – it was just us and I was too busy cooking, so we went straight to the main dish:
Braised Whole Chicken with Bread Stuffing and Bacon. As I say in the recipe, it was quite good though I managed to cook the damn thing upside down. Kids liked it, we liked it.
Zuni’s Mashed Potatoes. I didn’t use buttermilk, just cream, and they were delicious – but they did turn cold too quickly. I’m making them again for Xmas and this time I think I’ll use the buttermilk.
Chevy’s Corn Tomalito. It was good, but it had too high a corn kenel to pudding ratio. Next time I’d use half as much, I might also use a bit more sugar. Note that there are two tomalito recipes going around, I used this one – the one that uses butter and is cooked in the oven.
Green Bean Casserole. I wanted to make this as it’s such a traditional Thanksgiving dish and Mike said he liked it. Well, he didn’t really like my version. Perhaps it was ’cause I used fresh green beans, steamed, instead of canned ones. In any case, I doubt I’ll make it again.
Apple Pie. I use commercial crusts (which didn’t prove that good this time) and I toss sliced peeled apples, cinnamon, sugar and a pinch of ground cloves.
Store bought pumpkin pie.
That was it, we enjoyed most of it and had a great time together – even if it took me all day to cook 🙂
I was looking for something different to make for my Thanksgiving 2006 dinner, and of course I had to consult my “All About Braising” cookbook. I love to braise and that cookbook is wonderful. So I came up with this recipe, which seemed perfect for Thanksgiving. It turned out quite good, with the big exception that my brain cells were obviously not functioning as I cooked the chicken upside down!!!! Not only that, but I didn’t realize it until I was trying to carve the chicken and couldn’t figure out why I was having such difficulty. Yes, I’m an idiot. The big problem with cooking it that way is that the bacon drippings only affected the skin on the back (which was delicious). Oh well, next time.
As the bread stuffing and the chicken cook separately you can also make without the other. The stuffing is very good in itself. Note that if you want to stuff the chicken, you must prepare the stuffing first.
Last evening we hosted a Hanukkah/Holiday party for our closest friends. I like to have parties to which I invite all my friends, but our house is too small to accommodate more than a small number of people – specially now that most of our friends have kids.
I wanted to make a very simple menu for the party, ’cause I didn’t want to spend all my day in the kitchen as I’m prone to do. So I figured I’d cater it ‘a la costco. But then I talked to someone who had thrown a party the week before and told me they’d spent the whole day putting appetizers in and out of the oven – and that didn’t sound so appealing either. Finally, someone told me that brisket and donuts were traditional Hanukkah dishes, and suddenly my whole menu appeared before my eyes. I served
-pita bread (supermarket – 1 package eaten, mostly by the babies who loved it)
-artisan bread (costco, quite yummy)
-baby carrots (a kid favorite)
-creme herbed cheese
-roasted pepper dip (I loved it, but it wasn’t as popular with others)
-hummus (from Costco, very good)
-ranch dressing
-latkes with sour cream and apple sauce
I used this recipe for latkes as a base, but I didn’t want to bother washing and drying the potatoes, so I just mixed them with the egg and onion as I shredded them. That was really a mistake, because onions have a LOT of liquid. So I’d recommend drying them, even if you don’t wash them, before mixing them in. It wasn’t an unfixable mistake, however. I just added a bit of flour and squeezed out the liquid from the latkes as I put them in. I also added considerably more salt than the recipe asked for. They turned out very, very, very yummy. They were definitely a favorite with the kids, but also with the adults. They disappeared quickly. Fortunately my friend Arthur brought more (to make at my house) – so everyone got to have as many latkes as they wanted.
BTW, I didn’t find making latkes to be as much of a pain as other people say. I was surprised at how easy it was to shred the potatoes – it took me just as long as it took Mike to peel them. I hate peeling potatoes myself, but Mike doesn’t care so he always does it for me.
Anyway, I’m glad we had latkes for Hanukkah.
-Brisket, made from this recipe. I don’t know how Jewish this particular recipe is, but it was amazingly delicious. The braising liquid, in particular, was out of this world. The meat turned out a little bit dry, I think I overcooked it, and next time I make it, I may try a different cut – but lord is the sauce yummy. And it’s also VERY easy to make, and all you need is a cutting board, a plate and ONE wide pot. A 4 1/2 lb brisket was enough for everybody (of course, I’d warned them that this wasn’t dinner, just hors d’ouvres) and now we have leftovers for lunch!!!!
-Vegetable eggrolls from Costco. They seem popular enough, the kids liked them too. Mike thought they were just OK, though he’d eaten more of them if there weren’t other things to eat.
-Quiche from Costco. This proved the least popular thing, I’m not sure if because my guests don’t like quiche, or the quiche wasn’t that good. Anyway, I’m taking the other one (the package has two) to a potluck next week. And I may bring the already cut one (pre-sliced) to a cookie exchange today. Perhaps with all those cookies people will like something salty.
-Sushi from Costco. People thought it wasn’t exciting but good.
And for dessert: doughnuts. I got 2 bakers dozens ($6 each at Safeway, not a bad deal), but we only went through 14 donuts or so.
The party itself was very nice, the kids had a lot of fun playing together, the babies behaved quite well, and the adults could chat comfortably. It was great!
Now it’s time to prepare for Xmas Eve dinner next week, I hope to have the energy to do it.
I’ve finally decided what to make for Thanksgiving. Here is my menu:
-Bread with olive oil, white balsamic vinegar & cream cheese
-Braised Chicken with bacon & bread stuffing (325, 2 hours)
-Traditional green beans casserole (350, 25′)
-Mashed potatoes
-Chevy’s corn tomalito (250, 2 hours)
-Persimmon bread (350, 1 hour)
-Apple pie
I want to have a semi-traditional thanksgiving, so that my 4-yo can start appreciating traditions, but I’m not a big fan of turkey. Plus, our friends Lola and Iggy will be coming to dinner after having a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at their family’s, so I want to offer them something somewhat different. Any suggestions/comments?
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