Category: Restaurants (Page 26 of 52)

I just discovered that you can get coupons for San Leandro restaurants at http://www.openfence.net/coupons.cfm (they also have coupons for other businesses, but this is a food blog). Featured restaurants include The Englander, Creasian and Porky’s Pizza Palace (but there are quite a few more). You have to register to get the coupons, but they are free – albeit limited in number and only good for a month after you get them.
They also have a couple of restaurant coupons for Castro Valley (Buon Appetito, Palomares and a couple of other ones) and Oakland (Mezze, Tropix, La Cucina Italiana). I suspect they’re working on getting more restaurants, so it’ll pay to check them out before going out to eat. I know I will.

The San Leandro Education Foundation, a new organization dedicated to fundraising for San Leandro schools, has a newish program called Eat Out for Education. On the first Wednesday of every month you can eat out at participating restaurants in San Lenadro and 10% of your bill will be donated to the foundation. It’s a great way of supporting your local restaurants and San Leandro children at the same time.
In order for the foundation to get the money, please bring along this coupon and present it to your waiter.

An article in today’s still extant San Francisco Chronicle reveals the Bay Area restaurants that have received Michelin stars this year. The French Laundry was, once again, the only restaurant to get three stars. Two stars went to Coi, Cyrus, Manresa and the Restaurant at Meadowood, and 34 restaurants got one star. Unfortunately only two restaurants in the East Bay got that coveted star – Soizic in Oakland, which had it one time, no longer does.
I’d love to try the 1 and 2 star restaurants, but given the economic climate I doubt that will happen. Indeed, two of the restaurants who received one Michelin star have already closed, which tells you we are not the only ones that have to be very careful with money.

I have just learned that Biggie’s Brazilian BBQ has closed, just a few months after opening. I’m quite sad about it (I hope my review did not have much to do with it), it’s horrible when people put their dreams and sweat on a business, only to see it fail after a short time. Plus, I really liked the food when we visited.
I learned about Biggie’s closing only a couple of days ago when I got an e-mail from restaurant.com – I just called to confirm and their number has been disconnected 🙁

A couple of days ago my friend Mauro and I met for lunch, and he suggested going to Ohgane Korean BBQ Restaurant. They have a lunch buffet ($9 or $10) and he’d enjoyed previously. I’d never been to a Korean buffet and it’s been ages since I’ve had Korean food, so I eagerly agreed.
I can’t really comment on how good the buffet was, as I stuck to the meat options. But Mauro was quite happy with the vegetarian and seafood entrees. The meat entrees, basically Korean BBQ, were very good – in particular the short ribs. They had a smokey, meaty flavor I really liked.
The restaurant itself is sort of generic and not particularly inviting, the buffet dining room is large, with long tables that you share, and with sort of a dinning commons feel.
In all, it was a good buffet, though somewhat expensive, and I’d go again.
Ohgane Korean BBQ Restaurant
3915 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94611
(510) 594-8300
Marga’s Restaurant Reviews

Last weekend we found ourselves hungry on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley. We’d had pizza the night before, so I didn’t want to have it again, but I wanted to have something cheap. We saw Naan n’ Curry, and wrongly assumed that it’d make for a cheap meal. That it didn’t do, I think I paid $24 for lunch, much more than an Indian buffet would have been, but the food was definitely better than what we’d had the last time we ate there. The portions, however, were in the small side – specially the lamb tikka masala. We had no leftovers besides naan.
As I mentioned, I got the lamb tikka masala. The lamb was tender but somewhat dry. The sauce was very nice, well balanced with a minimum amount of spiciness There was plenty of it, which we were happy to eat with the plain and garlic naan that I also ordered. Mike had the lamb chops tandoori and he was quite happy with it. I thought that the spicing hadn’t really penetrated the meat, but it was OK.
All in all, I think that Naan n’ Curry is too expensive for what it is, and I rather go to a buffet next time.
Naan n’Curry
2366 Telegraph Avenue
Berkeley, CA
510-841-6226
http://www.naancurry.com/
Hours: 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM
Original Review
Marga’s Restaurant Reviews

Restaurant.com is selling its gift certificates for 90% off (use code NINETY). That means that a $25 gift certificate costs $1 and a $50 one, $2. There is usually a minimum purchase, about $35-$50 for a $25 GC and $100 for a $50 GC.
I’ve used restaurant.com gift certificates several times now, and I’ve not have any problems with them.

It’s been over five years since the last time that we ate at Pyzano’s in Castro Valley. We usually either get pizza delivered to our house or go to Angelina’s in San Leandro, we like their pizza and they have a little section where children can sit and play.
Our plans for tonight were to go to Berkeley, get a slice of pizza at Blondie’s or Fat Slice and walk around. Alas, there was a home football game and it was impossible to get to Berkeley, much less find a parking space close to campus. So we postponed the visit to another time.
Meanwhile, Camila wanted pizza so, after some deliberation, we decided to go to Pyzano’s. I was hoping that they would have their cooks tossing the pizza dough and that Camila would get a kick out of it – unfortunately it appears they are not doing that anymore.
I was kind of surprised to find Pyzano’s only half-full on a Saturday night (about 6 PM), but I guess the economy has been affecting everyone. I should also say that Pyzano is pretty pricey for a pizzeria – I think Camila’s mini cheese pizza was about $7, while our large “Primo” (pepperoni, salami, smoked ham, bacon, Italian susage, and linguica) was about $23. Drinks were an extra $2.50 each, not cheap. But Pyzano makes up for the prices by serving a high quality pizza. The thick dough is very tasty by itself and works great with the other ingredients. All the toppings in our pizza tasted fresh and went well together. We really liked it.
We also ordered a portion of meatballs ($8 for 5 meatballs and 4 slices of cheesy garlic bread), and I have to say these were the best meatballs I’ve eaten at a restaurant. They were incredibly light, with very little filling, and perfectly seasoned. They came in a tomato pasta sauce that reminded me very much of the one once served at Pirro’s (a little Italian restaurant in Berkeley which I used to go to when I was in college). The garlic bread was also good, in particular when dipped in the sauce.
In all, we had a very good meal – and so much pizza left over that we’ll be eating it for the next couple of days 🙂
Pyzano’s Pizzeria
3835 E Castro Valley Blvd
Castro Valley, CA
(510) 881-8878
www.pyzanospizzeria.com
Marga’s Restaurant Reviews

A reader asks whether someone can confirm that there was a Prings satellite restaurant in Hayward (on Mission, near Cal State) in 1965. If you can confirm, please let me know (marga@lacabe.com. Thanks!