Category: Restaurants (Page 42 of 52)

Perry’s Food for the Soul, the Bar-B-Q place in the Pelton Center, is closed. Perry’s had replaced another BBQ place, Bar-B-Que & Seafood Unlimited, and has in turn been replaced by yet another BBQ place, Pelton Smoke BBQ. The menu has remained virtually unchaged, though it now also features Korean style BBQ chicken, beef and ribs ($7-8), Oysters ($10, small, $13 large) as well as chili ($3-4.50) and burgers ($5-7).
A year ago I had heard that Perry’s wasn’t doing well and might have to close, but then I heard nothing else. We went there a few weeks ago and they seemed to be doing well, they just had had a large catering order so the only things left were links, an order of ribs and an order of chicken. We tried it with the mild and medium sauces and liked them better than the first time we tried them. Though still, we felt they weren’t as good as E&J’s.
But I guess the business wasn’t doing well enough, or Stephanie Perry, the owner, just got tired of struggling, for it’s been sold. It’s difficult to believe that the same kind of business can do better under new ownership. They are charging similar prices, and I can’t imagine they’d have the community support than Perry’s might have. But who knows? Perhaps their sauce is a killer. I’ll have to try it sometimes and see.

My friend Aamani, like me, works from home so once every couple of weeks or so we get together for lunch. Last week we went to the Cornerstone Cafe. I’ve been there from time to time since I wrote my review some years ago, and I usually enjoy our brunches there. This time I wasn’t that impressed by lunch. I ordered a cheeseburger and I specified that it be medium rare (they asked). It wasn’t – there was no hint of pink to the meat and it tasted dry and boring. The accompanying fries were standard. Service was friendly and prices are reasonable, and I think Aamani enjoyed her sandwich, but I’ll stay away from the burgers here.
Cornerstone Cafe
600 Dutton Avenue
San Leandro
510-562-2535

I reported some time ago that Joaquin Deli, our favorite sandwich place in San Leandro was being sold. The place is in escrow until June. The new owners are planning to keep the deli open, and the current owners will train them and pass their recipes along. So hopefully nothing much will change. We do love their sandwiches.
Meanwhile, Kolbeh, the Mediterranean restaurant which opened briefly in the space that used to be occupied by Casa Maria #2, has been revamped as a taqueria aptly named Taqueria. As I reported, that had been the original intention of the owner. I haven’t been there yet – it just opened yesterday – but I have missguivings about the whole thing. There are already two good taquerias in the immediate neighborhood (Los Pericos and Pedro’s) and I don’t see a need for another one. Still, there is some hope for Taqueria. The place looks nice, and if the owners decided to go for a California approach to tacos and burritos (i.e. high quality and fresh ingredients and healthy choices) it could work. I will at least give it a try, so that I can report back. But if you try it before I do, please feel free to comment here.

Just earlier today I visited the Chevys’ website to find out when the San Leandro restaurant would be opening. I’m not a fan of chain restaurants in general, but I can’t resist Chevys tortilla chips and beef fajitas. Now I will have to.
I just learned that 8 workers were fired by Chevys for skipping work to attend immigration protests. That is an affront against every immigrant who proudly stands for their rights in this country. As an immigrant, I don’t want to do business with any company that shows so little respect not just for its workers, but for immigrants in general.
I hope that other immigrants, and other Hispanics will join me on boycotting Chevys.

Mike has finally returned a whole batch of restaurant reviews (19!) which I’ve written over the last few months. They are:

• Aslam’s Rasoi an Indian restaurant in the Mission focuses on fresh ingredients but needs more confidence with its curries.
• Buon Appetito in Hayward offers pretty good Italian food at reasonable prices (imagine that!). Definitely a “must try” place.
• Chef’s Experience China Bistro in Hayward serves standard Chinese food is served with a flair in stylish surroundings.
• Chez Panisse, the venerated Berkeley institution met our expectations for a good yet uninspired meal with fresh produce bursting with flavor.
• Dick’s Restaurant and Lounge is a classic independent coffeeshop serving coffeeshop fare in San Leandro.
• Dolci Amore delivers mediocre food at sky-high prices in Castro Valley. One wonders how it can stay open.
• The English Rose Tea Room in Pleasanton is feminine and frilly but just can’t brew a good cup of tea.
• Filippos, a mediocre Italian restaurant with a mediocre brunch in Berkeley.
• The Fish Hopper in Monterey offers an incredible view of the sea (otters!) and some damn good fish & chips.
• Manresa. According to Restaurant magazine it was one of the 50 best restaurants in the world in 2004 (but not 2005). We were disappointed by less than imaginative food and terrible service.
• New Hong Kong Restaurant An updated review of our choice for Chinese delivery
• Priya Indian Cuisine on University in Berkeley has beautiful menus, but not much more to distinguish it.
• Red Kwali a Malay restaurant in Newark, tries hard but fails both in food and ambiance.
• Super Burgers is a burger & sandwich joint in Washington Manor serving truly yucky burgers. Best to avoid.
• Sushi Musashi in San Leandro offers mediocre Japanese food in less than stellar surroundings.
• Taste of India is the one Indian – or for that matter, ethnic – restaurant on I-5 between the Bay Area and LA. It’s OK but expensive.
• Thai Satay is the only Thai restaurant in San Leandro and, unfortunately, pretty inconsistent.
• An update to my review of Vo’s Restaurant, a wonderful Vietnamese Bistro in San Leandro
• Zocalo – I’ve written a review of my favorite coffeehouse.

We spent a couple of days driving down Highway 1 last week. I’d meant to try a couple of nice restaurants along the way, but it didn’t turn out like that. We left late, and had some leftover stew before we left so we weren’t really hungry for lunch until mid-afternoon. By then we didn’t want to ruin our appetites for dinner, so we stopped at Nepenthe, a restaurant complex in Big Sur.

Nepenthe had been recommended as a place to go for a great view. And indeed, the view from the restaurant – in particular the dehind the restaurant – was wonderful. Of course, you have to pay for that view and Nepenthe’s Californian menu is quite expensive. Sandwiches are in the low teens, entrees in the twenties and even a basket of fries is $7. We got a goat cheese & toast appetizer ($12, I think) which was just that, thin slices of toast served with a roasted garlic and a little bowl of warm goat cheese. It was surprisingly good. I had a coke (flat!) and Mike had a regular margarita, which was “nice and strong.” In all, we spent a wonderful hour or so hanging out there.

Nepenthe also has an open-air cafe and a gift shop, both pretty expensive. Hot chocolate was about $4 while pastries $3.50, if I well remember. Alas, it’s a level lower than the restaurant and the view is not nearly as impressive.

Nepenthe
Highway One
Big Sur, CA
(831) 667-2345
http://www.nepenthebigsur.com/

Later we stopped at a convenience store for some snacks – prices were about twice as much as in regular convenient stores so if driving through this area you may want to bring snacks with you.

We were staying in Cambria for the night, and I had gotten a couple of recommendations of places to eat – but decided to take on the evening tour of the Hearst Castle instead. That gave us only time to grab some fast food and the first place we found serving some was Medusas Taqueria on Main street in Cambria. Both Mike and I got super burritos, his with chicken and mine with carne asada. They were just OK. Mike complained that the chicken was shredded (but that was probably his fault for not ordering pollo asado), and also that the meat and beans were too hot while the other ingredients too cold. My complaint was that the meat wasn’t particularly tasty.

Medusas Taqueria
1053 Main St.
Cambia, CA
927-0135
Mon.-Sat. 11-8

The next morning we had a breakfast of surprisingly good English muffins with butter and jam at the hostel where we stayed, followed by an OK ham and cheese croissant at the French Corner Bakery. Then we were off to explore the southern part of Highway 1.

For lunch we stopped at the Rock n Roll diner in Oceano, a restaurant situated in two railroad cars. The cars are surprisingly roomy, one has double and single booths while the other one includes a larger family table and has a TV on. The cars are decorated in a 50’s motif with framed vintage ads and pictures. The menu features standard diner items plus Greek specialties (don’t ask me why) and prices are on the high side. The food, unfortunately, was also diner quality. They won’t cook burgers below medium-well-done, which is a sin in my book. Mike, who is no fan of rare meat anyway, had the BBQ burger and he thought it was fine. The accompanying onion rings were also average. I had a gyro and wasn’t as pleased. The three meat slices had the consistency of reconstituted meat and no lamb flavor whatsoever. The gyro had an overwhelming amount of lettuce, a couple of pieces of chopped tomato and a not very tasty tzatziki sauce. The accompanying fries were fine, though.

Rock ‘n Roll Diner
1300 Railroad St.
Oceano, CA
(805) 473-2040

We made it to my parents in time for dinner, so that was the end of our eating adventures on Highway 1.

I was alerted by one of my readers (ok, ok, most likely someone just doing an internet search who chanced upon my site) that Phuping Thai, in Richmond, has closed. To be honest I hadn’t been to Phuping Thai in six years, since we moved to San Leandro. We had reallyliked it when we lived nearby however.
Alas, the restaurant is closed. But it does have a sister restaurant in San Francisco, Thep Phanom, that you can check out (and feel free to comment here if you like it/dislike it). We rarely go to SF anymore so it’s unlikely I’ll give it a try.

For months we’ve seen the “Kolbeh Restaurant” sign at the old Casa Mar

Yesterday I ate my first oyster. My friend Lola and I were exploring Tomales Bay and she wanted to stop at Hog island Oysters for some oysters. I’m a nice friend, so even though I knew this would mean I’d seat around staring at the bay while she ate oyster after oyster, I complied. Plus it’s a nice bay.
Hog Island Oysters has a swank oyster bar at the Ferry but at the “farm” it’s a much more downscale (though not cheaper) experience. You park your car, go into the farm and chose your oysters among the types available that day (they start at $10 a dozen). You can then either take them home, or pay $8-10 per person for use of their pic-nic facilities – don’t expect anything fancy, just a few old pic-nic tables and grills. As I wasn’t eating oysters, they were nice enough to not charge me but Lola’s bill for two dozen oysters and pic-nic fee came up to $30. Not bad, but not that much cheaper than at their bar where oysters cost $1.50 each.
Lola was quite happy to eat her oysters plain and raw, if you want to BBQ yours or add some lemon or condiments you can buy charcoal and supplies at the general stores a few minutes south. Hog Island Oysters does provide you with a tray, a shucking knife and glove so you can shuck them yourself.
Lola was in ecstasy. She ate and she moaned and she celebrated each and every taste, to the point that I figured I should at least give them a try. Could they possibly be that good? Trying them wasn

Lola and I had a get away weekend to the Tomales Bay and stopped by Priscilla’s in Inverness for lunch. Yes, we would have preferred to go to Manka’s, but that wasn’t in the cards.
Priscilla’s is a small, quaint, small-town cafe serving gourmet pizza and sandwiches. They make their own bread and bake it just before assembling the food (we could see the process from the window). You order the food at the counter and a waitress will bring it to your table. Service was quite prompt and everyone was very friendly.
Lola (who apparently was not filled by the 23 oysters she had just had) ordered the clam chowder. She thought it was a bit bland. It was fresh and homemade tasting, though not particularly clammy. She’d eat it again though she’d probably chose something else if she had the choice.
I had their roasted tri-tip sandwich and was also disappointed. The bread was very nice, warm and fluffy, and the meat was probably good as well, but the flavor of the mustard was so intense that I couldn’t taste anything else. I’d definitely would skip it.
That’s too bad, as Priscilla’s was a very cute place to stop for a bite – I might still go again, but try the pizza or pasta instead.
Priscilla’s
12781 Sir Francis Drake Blvd.,
Inverness, CA
(415) 669-1244