A new Hawaiian BBQ place has opened on East 14th at the sport where Cafe Zula used to be. In between, it was a taqueria which we never tried but which according to our friend Boris was pretty bad. We did try this new Hawaiian place and it wasn’t very good either. maybe the location is doomed.
Right after I finally write a review for Strizzi’s, the restaurant decides to close. It makes me sad to see all these old-time San Leandro restaurants closing. I’d feel well if they were better, though. A new Thai place is opening in its space and, of course, I’m hopeful.
There is a new Chinese bakery opening also on East 14th near New Hong Kong. Could it be that I’ll finally be able to feast myself on pork buns without having to go into a restaurant? May be. Stay tuned.
And a couple of more I neglected to include yesterday:
Dragon Express, the fast-food Chinese restaurant on East 14th next to 7-11 has closed and is now Chopsticks Express. Haven’t tried it yet. Dragon Express was pretty bad.
Francisco’s, the Mexican restaurant on Bancroft that was closed for a while due to hygene problems, bankrupcy, etc., has now been sold and has re-opened as another Mexican restaurant, Pancho Villa, I think. Haven’t tried it either.
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Mike has returned to me a bunch of edited restaurant reviews and they’re now up on my website. These include:
Speisekammer, a child-friendly German restaurant in Alameda
Thai Garden, the main attraction of this Hayward restaurant is that it’s the closest Thai restaurant to San Leandro
Boulevard, good but unimaginative Californian food at this San Francisco institution
Nick’s, had some awful food at this San Leandro coffeeshop
Joaquin Deli, few changes since it was Vatran’s Flying Sausages means good sandwiches and deli products.
I’d been looking forward to my birthday dinner at Fleur de Lis since, well, since I made the reservations a few weeks ago. But alas, I had to cancel it at the last minute. Both Mike and I have colds and I wanted to be able to enjoy the full dining experience, not be distracted by a headache or an itchy throat. But more importantly, our little girl was sick with the stomach flu, and we didn’t want to leave her. Canceling turned out to be the right decision, as Mika was unwell throughout the evening.
So my birthday dinner ended up being Indian delivery (not bad, though) and I didn’t even get a cake – oh well.
One of the (few) treats of going to LA to visit my parents is stopping by Edie’s for some of their amazing French-style pastries. The pastries are beautiful and delicious, combining richness with lightness and winning flavors. They average about $3 each and the larger ones are big enough to share (if you’re not too hungry). We usually split them four ways so we can all taste a little of each one. We always get them to go, but they are sold off a little European-style cafe that would be a nice place to stop by for a coffee if it was in a nicer neighborhood.
Pastries By Edie
21608 Sherman Way
Canoga Park, CA 91303
(818) 716-7033
We threw a birthday party for our 3 yo last weekend, and I was too lazy (or busy), to prepare the food myself. As per someone’s suggestion I just went to Costco and got a platter of veggies, one of cut fruit and one of rolled sandwiches. I algo got a couple of big bags of chips and a birthday cake. The prices of everything were significantly cheaper than at the supermarket – though I didn’t compare sizes. In any case, we had about twice as much food as we needed for a party of 7 children and about ten adults.
The quality of the produce was generally good. I didn’t care for the papaya, but the sweet pineapple was delicious. The sandwiches went over well, though I would have liked them more with baby spinach or arugula instead of lettuce. The most disappointing part (for me) was the birthday cake. The white cake tasted like that from a mix, the chocolate mousse had virtually no chocolate taste, though the cream-cheese frosting wasn’t bad. Mike and others liked it but I wouldn’t buy one from there again. At about $15 for a huge cake, it was a VERY good deal.
Monday I went to Disneyland with my hubby, sister and 3 yo. I heard that the Blue Bayou, a restaurant located at the entrance of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, was the best place to eat at Disneyland, and I was intrigued by its location. I made a 1:30 PM reservation but we had to wait an additional 45 minutes for a table on the water, with a view of the ride and the boats going by. It seems like a waste of time, but I was so tired by then that I welcomed the “down” time.
The restaurant was nice, it was cool being inside the ride, and the nocturnal ambiance made for a potentially relaxing atmosphere. Unfortunately the brisk – even if friendly – service, made relaxing difficult. The waiters clearly wanted you to get out ASAP. Food was brought to the table a couple of minutes after ordering, drinks were replenished every few minutes, dishes were removed even before everyone was done with lunch. I can understand the need to turn tables, the wait outside is very long, but it complete defeats the purpose of going to the restaurant: relaxing after a morning (or day) of unstopped activities. For that reason, I would not go again.
The food was better than I expected, though my expectations were low. I had the famed Monte Christo sandwich (a turkey, ham and cheese sandwich deep fried, sprinkled with a bit of powder sugar and served with some fruit preserve and pasta salad) and it was good, though too rich and it had the flavor of having been cooked in too-old oil. I could only finish half of it and I’d suggest splitting it with someone else.
Kathy was happy with her prime rib, but I thought it tasted like a typical buffet prime rib – at $18, it wasn’t a typical buffet price but this is Disneyland after all. Mike liked the jambalaya but it was very spicy. He didn’t mind that, but it made it impossible to taste the individual ingredients.
I’ll write a real review and post it at http://www.marga.org/food/rest/bayou.html, though I won’t have much more to say than what I’ve written here.
I have often written about how rotisseried chicken is one of my favorite meals, none the least of it because it’s so easy to make and yet so good. So we have it for dinner probably once every two weeks or so. I used to make my own spice rub, but now I just buy a pre-mixed Cajun rub for greater ease. Last time I made it (Sunday) I used a Safeway organic chicken. At about $2.60 a lb this was almost twice as expensive as their Foster Farms, but organic food is expensive. Mike found it to be particularly juicy, which I’m not sure was a good thing – I didn’t think it tasted particularly better than regular chicken. Still, when we can afford it I’ll probably buy it.
We served it with snow peas that Mike had bought at the farmer’s market, I steamed them, he ate a whole bunch of them.
I just read a posting in Craigslist about a recent dining experience at Manresa. Apparently the Chef’s Menu (which I would have ordered) contained three raw seafood dishes (Salmon Roe on custard, an oyster in gelee, and minced raw scallops) and several other things that I’m not sure I’d like, and while I’m willing to try a couple, I don’t think I want a menu full of things that I may not like. Their a la carte menu does sound good, but I decided to look further a field and see if there was something I’d like better.
That’s how I came about the menu at Fleur de Lys and everything there sounds absolutely devine. Plus, it’s open on my birthday (Manresa is closed on tuesdays). So I cancelled the Manresa reservation and made one at Fleur de Lys instead. I still want to try Manresa some time, but perhaps not on such a dear occasion as my birthday.
Michaela has discovered the pleasure of cherry tomatoes and they have now become a staple in her diet. I suspect that what she most likes is the size, she’s very size conscious and always wants a smaller cup, a smaller plate and, apparently, smaller food. She’s been a fan of quail eggs and baby carrots for years, and cherry tomatoes fit right in. They’re a great snack at home and easy to put in her lunch box for school. They are a good source of vitamin C and they’re very cute.
For dinner tonight I had a carnitas special quesadilla from Taqueria Los Pericos. As usual it was good, large, though I wish they had better quality guacamole.
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