Category: Restaurants (Page 48 of 52)

We went to Aziza last night and did the pre-fix 5 course deal ($39 pp).
Most of us had the lentil soup which was good but pedestrian. The soup of the day was Jerusalem artichoke cream and it was sooooo good that it convinced /me/ to try Jerusalem artichokes the next time I can.
The appetizers (Med. spreads, mushroom ravioli, goat cheese and lima beans) were also out of this world. The roasted pepper & pomegranate spread, in particular, was ambrosia. They were soooo good that we’re planning a return visit where all we order are appetizers 🙂
The bastilla was OK, it was a thick chicken pie but not as flavorful and tasty as other bastillas I’ve had or made. I wouldn’t order it again – though it inspired me to make bastilla this week for dinner 🙂
The main dishes in all were a disappointment. They were good, don’t get me wrong, but again we found them pedestrian and boring. I had the squab, which was well cooked and had a lovely sauce, but I’ve had similar dishes many times. It was also a pretty small portion so I was left hungry afterwards (this, however, may be the pregnancy talking).
My husband & friend both had the Aziza couscous and again they found it kind of bland and boring. Boris thought all the ingredients tasted the same, DH noticed different tastes but pronounced them all mild. The couscous was nice and fluffy – but no different from the couscous I make at home. Regina had the berber vegetable tagine and was also quite disappointed. She liked the couscous it came with a lot, but found the vegetable tagine boring, though she could appreciate the freshness of the veggies. Still, she felt she’s had many tastier tagines. All the couscous people couldn’t finish their entrees (which was good for me 🙂
Desserts also failed to awe. I had the ice cream, two /tiny/ ice cream sandwiches that were good and new but soooo tiny – other desserts were twice as big. I loved the hot chocolate pot, it was sooo flavorful and warm, though the accompanying cookie was somewaht salty and kind of weird. Boris thought the creme brulee was just OK – he’s a creme brulee afficionado – good, but there are better ones out there, and Regina was initially put off by her huckleberries sorbet but grew to really, really like it.
We loved the room, service was good and I would like to go back there – though only if I can just feast on the appetizers 🙂
As usual, I’ll write a full review and post it on my website at some point.

We went to the New Zealander in Alameda Thursday night. They have a short menu with a couple of sandwiches, burgers and meat entrees, but the main attraction – and what the waitress recommended – were the pies. I got a steak and cheese one and DH got the minted lamb one. They were both pretty good, the meats were tender and flavorful and the pastry was nice. Our main complaint was the size. They were too big as appetizers and too small for a main entree. You can get them with a soup or salad for $2 more, but we’re not really soup/salad people so it didn’t work well for us. Maybe next time we’ll just get 3 pies to share between the two of us.
We weren’t that impressed with the desserts. I liked the texture of the bread & butter pudding but it didn’t have much taste by itself and the sauce was too strong/bitter for my taste. I’d have liked both the pudding & sauce to be sweeter. DH had the French apple tart, which was an almost crustless bunch of cooked apples which he ruled as “interesting”. The desserts were large, so by the end of the meal we were full.
DH wants to go back and try other pies. Even though it’s a brew pub, it’s child friendly so we’ll probably go there again with the kids.
A full review will be posted on my website as soon as Mike edits it.

Last night we went to Battambang for dinner, it has been our favorite Cambodian restaurant since we discovered it about five years ago. The tiny restaurant is cute and with its dark yellow walls and framed paintings of Cambodian river scenes it could even be considered elegant if it wasn’t so crowded. But crowded it is – there is barely any room for patrons to walk, and unless you’re lucky you may have to share a long table with another party. Even then, expect a wait if you arrive for dinner after 7 PM.
Fortunately, we got there a few minutes later so we were sat immediately. The menu hadn’t changed much since our last visit. It still includes a very long selection of appetizers, soups, curries and meat and vegetable dishes. Appetizers and soups average $6-10, while main dishes are $7-15 (most are $7-8). Portions are on the small side, plan on getting an appetizer at least to share or ordering rice ($1 per person).
We started with an order of lawt, “crispy Cambodian style srping rolls with ground pork, bean thread, onion and ground peanuts”, served with a pickle and vinegar sauce ($6). The bite-size spring rolls where crispy and flavorful and quite good with the sweet & vinegary sauce. I’d order them again.
We then had one of our favorites, the sach ko chomkak, a “char-broiled beef shish kebab marinated with lemon grass, spices and ground peanuts served with pickle and lime sauce” ($8). The three kebabs were tender and delicious, they have a clear char-broiled taste and their flavor is only enhanced by the sauce. My only gripe is that there wasn’t enough sauce to soak all the rice we ordered – next time I’ll order extra.
We also ordered the Battambang Noodles, “pan-fried soft rice noodles with chicken, egg, bean sprouts, green onion, ground chili and peanuts in tamarind sauce” ($7). This dish is reminiscent of Pad Thai, though I didn’t find it as flavorful or delicious. I did, however, appreciate how tender both the noodles and the bean sprouts are (I don’t like crunchy vegetables). It’s also one of those dishes that you start eating and can’t get enough of. I’d order it again.
Service was good, though rushed, by the two lone waitresses who had to take care of the whole restaurant. One of them apologized for it, but it was actually better than in other occasions.
You can read my old review of Battmbang here

Yesterday for lunch we were in the mood for Dim Sum, but the parking lot at Oriental Tea House, where we wanted to go, was soooo full that we didn’t dare try to get a table. Instead we decided to drive on MacArthur Ave. and try whatever we found. That turned out to be a shack called “Giant” that offers burgers, hoagies, sandwiches and shakes.
I went for the chicken hoagie (~$4.50) and Mike decided on the hot links hoagie (~$4.50 too). We both got cokes which were overpriced at $1.20 for a 16 oz fountain one.
The hoagies were OK, I didn’t like the taste of the chicken in mine (it tasted like canned, though not quite) but its taste was overwhelmed by the sauce, cheese, onions and tomatoes. In all, it was tasty enough though too rich to eat it all. Mike was disappointed that his hoagie, which was supposed to have cheese, onions and mushrooms, came instead with lettuce tomato and onion (no cheese or mushrooms). He did like the links, though, which were nice and spicy.
Giant is just a shack with a take out window overlooking the parking lot. They have a small counter inside with bar stools if you want to eat there, however.
They didn’t have a take out menu and I can’t tell you exactly where it is – it’s not even clear to me in which city it is, as it’s located in the 1/2 block between the “Welcome to Oakland” and “Welcome to San Leandro” signs. I can say that it’s on northeast side of MacArthur, northwest of Oriental Tea House, on the same side of the block.

Last night I had meant to serve braised pommegranate pork but, alas, I miscalculated how long it would take it to braise and started too late – so we decided to eat out instead.
We were shopping at Kmart (no longer, now that I know that they feed the Republican machine) and decided to go to Mi Tierra Restaurant & Taqueria ’cause I wanted something quick and cheap and it was right there (well, across the street, right next to Best Burger in the DeeDee’s outside shopping mall).
The little restaurant is tiny and has a limited menu of burritos and tacos, with a few fajita plates thrown in for substance. It seems to be a family operation, and when we dined there were two women working both the counter and the open kitchen. There isn’t much ambiance to speak of, but the place has been decorated with orange walls and Mexican paintings and other decorations. It’s fine for a quick bite.
Mike ordered a regular chicken burrito ($4) and I ordered a carne asada super burrito ($6.50), without rice and beans. They were both the same size (large) but mine came with guacamole and cheese (not sour cream).
I liked my burrito well enough, though I didn’t appreciate that it came with lettuce (the ingredients weren’t listed). The meat was in low proportion to the other ingredients (salsa, cheese, guacamole sauce and particularly lettuce) but what was of it tasted good. Mike didn’t like his. He felt the chicken and the other ingredients were not well integrated so when he bit into it he either got hot ingredients or cold ingredients. He also felt there wasn’t enough chicken.
We also ordered a quesadilla for Michaela ($3.50) which comprised of just a tortilla filled with cheese, nothing else. Here again we felt there wasn’t enough cheese in proportion to the tortilla. The two fountain drinks we got ($1.45, no refills) were fine.
In all, I can’t imagine a reason why I’d go back to Mi Tierra, but the food wasn’t bad, just not good enough.
Mi Tierra Restaurant & Taqueria
14393 Washington Ave. #D
San Leandro, CA
510-352-4883

Saturday we took Mika to Chuck E. Cheese in Hayward. We’d been there before but this is the first time we actually ate there (that’s the great thing about Chuck E. Cheese, they don’t make you eat to play and the tokens for the paid games are pretty cheap – about 20 cents each). I was surprised that the food wasn’t bad. We got a pepperoni and sausage pizza and we both liked it, the crust was in the thin side and somewhat sweet. It didn’t have much cheese, and what it had had toasted, which wasn’t bad. The toppings were good.
We also had their apple dessert pizza ($3), which was supposed to have a streudel dough but it actually felt pretty bready (like pizza). The apple topping was very sweet but good. I liked it.
We hadn’t brought any coupons so it was expensive, but you can often get coupons in the Sunday newspaper or at their website
Chuck E. Cheese
24039 Hesperian Blvd.
Hayward, CA
(510)265-0590

Mike has been in an editing frenzy (he only owes me 3!!!!) so there are several new restaurant reviews up at my website, http://www.marga.org/food/rest/:

the parents play.
Mika spent last week with her grandparents, and we took advantage of it to go out to “nice” restaurants, “nice” being a code word for “child unfriendly” ones. We did hit a few child-friendly restaurants as well. I’ve been a good girl and written reviews of all of them, which will be on my website as soon as Mike returns them.
We started last Monday by going to Bistro Liaison in Berkeley, which had been in my list for a while. It’s a nice, loud and friendly spot in downtown Berkeley serving classic French food at moderate prices (entrees under $20). The food was good, not great, but we enjoyed ourselves.
Tuesday was our night for hitting San Francisco. We considered going back to Piperade, but decided instead on Bocadillos, a tapas bar by Piperade’s owner Gerard Yrigoyen. It was a disappointment. The food was good, but not outstanding and not particularly innovative – nowhere nearly as good as Piperade’s. We didn’t like having to wait and the barstools were not the most comfortable of places. In the future I’ll leave places like this to the younger crowd.
Wednesday was “Lost” night, so we decided to stay in and have dinner (Zachary’s by the fire. We did have lunch together at East Village, a dim sum place. The food was OK, though not great, but I loved their pork buns.
Thursday we joined Regina and Boris for dinner at Neumanali – a posh restaurant in Hayward. The food was good, the service clearly deficient. I wrote a letter to the management about it and I still haven’t heard back.
Finally Friday we had a low key evening, dinner at taqueria Canc

We went down to LA Friday night to visit my family and drop off our daughter for the week. On the way we stopped at a couple of roadside restaurans. We ate mostly at home (an asado, some milanesas) but we did have one lunch out at Thai West, our favorite Thai restaurant in that area. Reviews for all these places are now online.
Buckhorn Family Restaurant at Santa Nella, located at the TravelCenter center gave us bland food, fries fried in old oil but friendly service.
Pea Soup Andersen’s, this roadside institution in Santa Nella also features bland food but at higher prices
Thai West a neighborhood Thai restaurant in Chatsworth has consistently good food at modest prices

We went Halloween costume shopping at K-mart today and on the way there I noticed Best Burger in the shopping mall across the street. We hadn’t been there before so I mentioned to Mike that we should try it sometime. He figured there was no time like the present so we decided to go there for dinner.
Best Burger occupies a corner in an outdoor mall. It’s a clean, light, but otherwise non-descript restaurant with wooden booths and tables and chairs. Orders are taken at the counter, you are given a number which they call when the food is ready. In addition to burgers (single, double, junior, bacon) they serve hot dogs and a variety of other sandwiches (fish, chicken, linguica, pastrami, etc. – $2-5.25). We found the food to be a bit pricier than at Nation’s and not as good.
Mike ordered a cheeseburger ($3.75) which he proclaimed to be “fine”. It wasn’t as juicy as Nation’s and he wasn’t crazy for the shredded lettuce. The other toppings were pretty scant. It seemed to have a thousand islands type sauce and it reminded me of a Big Mac.
I had the New York Steak sandwich ($5.25) and it wasn’t bad but not great. The steak was tender enough and cooked medium-rare as we ordered, but it wasn’t very flavorful. It came in a supermarket-type sandwich bun, with sad looking shredded iceberg, tomato, thin rings of red onion and pickles. The sandwich was a bit small, but I was quite full by the time I finished it. I’d eat it again, but wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
We ordered fries ($1.75) which were OK though a little on the soggy side and onion rings ($2.75) which were overdone but otherwise fairly good.
We ordered a grilled cheese sandwich ($2) for Mika which was made with American cheese and tasted accordingly. She didn’t have any. Her vanilla milk shake ($2 for a small) was also disappointing, it tasted very artificial.
In all, we found the food adequate for a quick stop when you’re hungry and in the neighborhood but not worth your while going out of your way to get it.
Best Burger
14393 Washington Ave. #J
San Leandro, CA
510-357-0808