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
Category: Restaurants (Page 25 of 52)
My friend Mauro recommended Habanas 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.
Habanas Cuban Cuisine
1518 Park Street
Alameda CA
510.521.0130
http://www.habanasalameda.com/
Marga’s Restaurant Reviews
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
Last night it was a friend’s birthday and we went to Tanjia for dinner, a Moroccan restaurant located in Oakland. It was a good experience, though somewhat ruined by what we found out at the end of the evening.
Even though it was Saturday night, Tanjia was rather empty – there were only four or five parties other than us. I’m not sure why that is, it’s reasonably priced ($23 – $25 for a 5 course dinner), and it serves reasonably good food. The belly dancer is not very good (nobody bothered to look at her), but with so few Moroccan restaurants in this area, that doesn’t seem like a strong reason to keep away. Anyway, the place is definitely not popular.
Reviewers in Yelp have repeatedly complained about the bad service – but I thought the service was fine. The waitress was sort of sullen and at one point she was rude to the birthday girl – but we didn’t have to wait for service, water was refilled promptly and the dishes came at good intervals.
The menu was pretty much the same as the one they had when I visited in 2006. It’s a set menu that consists of a small bowl of lentil soup (which I enjoyed), pickled vegetables and an eggplant dip (yummy, but more about this later), bastilla (not the best, but good enough), an entree of your choice, and a dainty piece of fried banana as a dessert (very good, though oily). I had the lamb with honey, and I enjoyed it a lot. The lamb was tender and had a subtle sweet flavor that complimented it very well. Nobody else raved about their entrees, but I didn’t ask them how they liked them so I can’t quite comment. Desiree did say that she wasn’t happy that the bird advertised as “chicken” was actually cornish hen (which is much more bony and hard to eat). I don’t know why they aren’t honest about what they are serving.
The whole menu is supposed to be eaten with your hands (they bring warm water at the beginning and the end to wash them with), but as some of our group objected, they brought forks and knives. Much easier for the bony lamb and chicken.
The low point of the evening was to find out that the half-eggplants, used as a base for the brochettes/kebabs, are actually re-used into other dishes. We asked if we could take them home, and the waitress was quite honest in saying that they chop them up, cook them and serve them. That, of course, is illegal and quite gross. They could have fallen on the floor or been licked by previous guests, for all you know. This practice make me question what else they do in the kitchen to save costs. Well, perhaps I don’t want to imagine it. It’s sufficient to say that I would not go back.
Tanjia
4905 Telegraph Ave.
Oakland
(510)-653-8691
http://www.tanjias.com/
2012 Update
I have recently found out that Ernie’s hasn’t given any of the proceeds from the Eat Our for Education program to the San Leandro Education Foundation as promised. Therefore I will no longer eat at this restaurant. You may want to dine at more honorable restaurants as well.
January 2010 Review
Yesterday was the first Wednesday of the month, so we went out to eat for the San Leandro Education Foundation Eat out for Education program. Basically, on the first Wednesday of the month, participating restaurants donate 10% of the bill to San Leandro schools. You do need to bring up a coupon, though – so make sure that you print one next month!
Anyway, even though Ernie’s Seafood Original Restaurant (open since 1953) is only a few blocks away from my house, we hadn’t been there in many years. I’m not sure why, as we both love fish and chips, I guess it just doesn’t come to mind. That’s too bad because we had quite a satisfying meal there last night.
Ernie’s is not much to look at. The small dining room features formica tables and metal/leatherette chairs. It looks like a diner and the walls are only decorated with 50’s like posters and a big wooden fish. Don’t come here for the atmosphere.
The menu is quite limited and includes basic seafood (prawns, scallops, cod, clams & calamari) as well as burgers, seafood and chicken sandwiches. For some reason they also have a NY steak sandwich and gyros. Prices are moderate, with most sandwiches in the $7-10 ratio and combination seafood platters in the low teens.
We all shared onion rings ($4.25) and a shrimp cocktail ($6.25) appetizer. The onion rings were just fine, I didn’t care for the overly salty but not very flavorful breading. They were not oily, however. The tartar sauce wasn’t that great either. The shrimp cocktail was, in the words of my husband, “awesome”. There were plenty of small tasty shrimp and cocktail sauce. My 8-year old also liked it a lot. She was also very pleased with the clam chowder she had for dinner ($3.75 for a quite large “small” bowl). Nobody else tasted it, so I can’t give you the adult review of it, but she was happy to take the leftovers for lunch at school today. Camila, my 5 year-old, had the chicken strips from the kids menu ($5.25). The portion was a good size and the strips were OK, good enough for a kid.
Mike and I shared the large fish & chips platter ($12.75) which comes with 8 sections of fish (cod). I found the fish and the breading to be quite tasteless – I don’t think they were at all seasoned, and I didn’t like the tartar sauce either, I think it lacked acidity. BUT, the fish was actually quite good when salted. The pieces were warm and plump, nicely cooked and not at all oily, and very satisfying. I’d definitely would order it again.
The fries, on the other hand, were quite mediocre.
Service was probably the low point of the evening. Despite the few people at the restaurant, the waitress seemed distracted and she forgot to bring Mika’s clam chowder until we asked for it. She also never brought us the vinegar we asked for. But she was otherwise competent.
In all, it was a good meal and I’d return – probably on the first Wednesday of some month.
On a final note, according to their menu Ernie’s has a banquet room for up to 40 people.
Ernie’s Seafood Original Restaurant
13775 East 14th St.
San Leandro, CA
510-357-2246
M-Th 11 AM – 8:30 PM
F 11 AM – 9 PM
Su CLOSED
August 2011 Update
We’ve gone to Boulevard Burger a few times since my last update and the quality of the burgers seems to have gone downhill. I always get the MBA burger (with avocado, bacon & mushrooms), medium rare, and the last few times I’ve ordered it it has been very dry. I don’t know if they got a new cook who is not as good making burgers or it’s been a coincidence, but I’m less enthusiastic about going there now.
July 2011 Update
In the last year and a half, Boulevard Burger has become my favorite casual-food restaurant in San Leandro. We go there at least once a month. The burgers are almost always perfectly cooked medium-rare, as I request them. They are very juicy and tasty. The bacon in the MBA burger is top quality, and the vegetables are always fresh. I’ve grown to like their onion rings (they might have improved them), but their fries are just adequate. In addition to burgers, they have now chicken sandwiches and veggie & portobello burgers. They have a variety of children dishes for $5. My kids don’t love it, however, but it’s not all about them.
December 2009 Review
I’ve been looking forward to go to Boulevard Burgers since I first heard it was opening, back in August. But I don’t go out to lunch that often, so the opportunity didn’t present itself until today – when our empty stomachs and a very dirty kitchen convinced us that a lunch out was a good idea. And, indeed, it was. Both Mike and I were very pleaed with our burgers and are sure to go back.
Boulevard Burgers is the latest venture from restauranteur Mike Wiesner, the owner of Paradiso. It occupies the space on MacArthur Boulevard where Sonoma’s had been until a few months ago. Sonoma’s had attempted to be a “nice” restaurant, but I was never enthralled with its food – though I hope that my negative review wasn’t a major reason why the venture failed. Boulevard Burgers is a much less ambitious endeavor. It’s basically a semi-upscale burger joint. Upscale in that they use “grass-fed, grain finished California Angus which has no steroids, antibiotics, hormones or pesticides” and which comes from a nearby ranch – but not quite gourmet as the burgers they offer are quite basic; toppings include four kinds of cheese, avocado, mushrooms, grilled onions and little else. Don’t come here expecting a Kobe burger with saute foie gras and homemade Dijon mustard (if that’s what you want, Hubert Keller’s Burger Bar in San Francisco will be more your thing).
The important thing, however, is that the burgers are good. Both Mike and I had ours medium-rare, and they were perfectly cooked and very juicy (so much so that they did manage to soak the bottom part of the bun, a problem easily solved by just turning the burger around :-). I had jack cheese, bacon and avocado on mine – and the combination was very good. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The burgers are between 6.5 and 7 oz, a good size for a good appetite; I couldn’t finish mine. They range in price from $5 for a simple hamburger to $8 for the “Whole Enchilada”, a burger with avocado, bacon, sauteed onions, mushrooms, jalapeños and cheese. I think the prices are quite reasonable for the quality of the food. The burgers come solo, but you can order fries ($2), sweet potato fries ($3.50) or onion rings ($3) on the side – we got the fries (a HUGE portion) and found them to be un-exceptional. Thin, crispy and tasty enough, but not addictive.
Boulevard also offers grilled chicken sandwiches and a portobello mushroom burger. There are also salads. We didn’t try them.
At Boulevard Burgers you order at the counter and have the food brought to your table. Service was quick and very efficient, and the servers/counter people were very attentive.
In all, we had a very pleasant experience and I’d definitely return.
Boulevard Burgers
1027 MacArthur Blvd.
San Leandro, CA
510-632-3100
http://www.boulevardburger.com/
Open 11 AM – 9 PM
Marga’s San Leandro Restaurant Reviews
The San Leandro Education Foundation, an organization that fundraises to support local school, has a new program called Eat Out for Education. On the first Wednesday of each month participating restaurants give 10% of sales to patrons who present an Eat Out coupon. This is a great opportunity to support both schools and local businesses at the same time.
This December we decided to go to Mama Lupe’s Cocina Mexican Restaurant in Washington Manor simply because I hadn’t been there before. Unfortunately the experience was less than stellar, and I don’t think we’ll be going back coupon or no coupon.
I should say at first, that my personal experience wasn’t too bad. I liked the chips and salsa and my chimichanga (basically a fried burrito) came with a wonderful green sauce, nicely citrusy and a bit piquant. The sauce almost made up for the fact that the chimichanga was 95% rice and only 5% beef. I could not believe how stingy they were with the meat, they might as well not include it at all.
Mike was not thrilled with his flautas, which he thought merely ordinary – but our friend Blaine was quite unhappy with his salad with grilled chicken. Alas, I don’t remember why.
Mika, my 7yo, really liked the rice and Camila, my 5yo, was OK with her quesadilla. They both really liked the Mexican hot chocolate, and I should buy some to make at home.
On the plus side, dinner was very cheap, less than $50 for 3 adults and 3 kids. Still, it wasn’t cheap enough to justify the mediocre food.
Mama Lupe’s Cocina Mexican Restaurant
15033 Farnsworth St
San Leandro, CA
(510) 483-4545
San Leandro Restaurant Reviews
Yesterday we went for lunch at Taquería Guadalajara, where we hadn’t been for ages and ages. After a meal there, I remembered why that was.
I had their special of the day, a smoked pork chop torta (sandwich). The smoked pork chop was delicious on itself, but there was too little of it to compete with the bread, condiments and vegetables – you could omit it altogether and there would be no difference in flavor.
Mike had a burrito that he found very average.
I liked the chips and salsa, the latter has a lot of cilantro and some other lemony flavor, though they took a while to come to the table.
In all, not a bad meal, but not a great one either. We’ll continue going to Los Pericos instead.
Taqueria Guadalajara
14327 East 14th Street
San Leandro, CA
(510) 614-7060
www.taqueriaguadalajara.com
Original Review
San Leandro Restaurant Reviews
Bay Area Restaurant Reviews
In the last few days I’ve gotten a couple of new (for me) cookbooks through swaptree.com, a service which allows you to trade cookbooks online. This is what I’ve got:
Ma Cuisine
LA Vera Cucina Italiana: The Fundamentals of Classic Italian Cooking
I was also supposed to get The Cooking of Southwest France : Recipes from France’s Magnificent Rustic Cuisine
Anyway, I do have a fair number of cookbooks and I really should make a point of cooking a recipe from one cookbook (as opposed to epicurious) a week.
If you google “The Apple Peddler” the fourth link your get is one to my review of the Roseburg, OR location of that restaurant chain. I guess for that reason people have written to me with their impressions (read complaints) about the chain. In 2007, I posted this complaint about the Sutherlin Apple Peddler, and here is a recent one about the one in Burns.
We visited the Apple Peddlers restaurant in Burns Oregon on Sunday November 29, 2009, again, for the first time in several years . It was worse than the last time we decided to quit eating there, several years ago for the same reason.
The service was terrible, unfriendly and extremely slow. Waitress was more interested in cleaning tables and filling jelly racks than waiting on us and taking our order.
I ordered a hamburger with french fries. My husband ordered a senior omelet. When she finally brought our order, she brought two hamburgers and fries. She took the one back and reordered an omelet . My hamburger patty was so tough I could barely cut the hamburger in half, and the fries actually had ice crystals still on the inside.
I asked another waitress to return the fries and I received one that was just out of the fryer and quite pale, but edible. My Husbands omelet arrived and the cheese on it was not melted and it was very cold and tasteless, the biscuit was so cold it would not even begin to melt the butter.
We decided to give up and call it quits and took part of the hamburger to the dog. Dog refused to eat it ! So it was 17.99 down the drain as far as we are concerned.
We will not stop there again, which is very sad , as it is one of the few eating restaurants in Burns Oregon. McDonalds is a lot better and at least the food is cooked and hot when we receive it.
Betty McBee
Emmett, Id 83617
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