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.
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I’m not sure how I got this wine but I took it today to a pic-nic and I enjoyed it quite a bit. It’s deep, but easy to drink, somewhat fruity. Very light tannins. Just nice 🙂
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!
2010 Update: Double B has closed. Sylantro Vietnamese Cuisine has opened in its location.
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I thought I had written a review of Double B Ranch & Grill a couple of months ago, when Mike and I had dinner there. However, I can’t find it anywhere, so it must only have been written in my imagination. Of course, a couple of months are a long time and I now don’t remember the meal in great detail, so I’ll do the best I can 🙂
My general impression of Double B Ranch & Grill was that it was an OK restaurant, but grossly overpriced for the atmosphere and food. The restaurant is located in a strip mall, and the inside looks like it, though it’s been spiffed up with a cowboy theme. The menu is brief, specializing on grilled items, with prices in the mid-to-high teens for most entrees – even for lunch!
I had a cheeseburger ($10), despite the fact that they will not cook it medium rare (one good reason to not go back). It was OK, a bit dry as it was overcooked. The cook also forgot to take the piece of paper that separates cheese slices, so I found myself eating paper! Not a big deal, however, just somewhat amusing.
Mike had the ribs (and he had them again at a subsequent lunch visit) and he liked how off-the-bone tender they were, but he found them too dry. The BBQ sauce was OK, nothing spectacular. The portion was generous (it should be, for $17!) and came with beans (which he liked) and run of the mill steak fries.
In all, it wasn’t a bad meal but not one I’d have again at those prices.
Double B Ranch & Grill
967 Manor Blvd
San Leandro, CA
(510) 352-1874
San Leandro Restaurant Reviews
Bay Area Restaurant Reviews
Marga’s Food Page
I originally tried (and reviewed) Knudsen’s Ice Creamery in 2004, soon after they opened. We went several times after that, but for some reason we hadn’t been back in a couple of years. We finally went yesterday (9/5/09) and, as usual, we had a great time.
Knudsen’s had not changed much since our last visit, it looks pretty much the same, but the food and service had improved, while the ice cream had gone downhill. Mike and I shared the sliders ($10), four little sandwiches, each with a different filling: grilled chicken (bland), angus burger (quite nice), bbq pork (very nice) and pot-roast (ok, also somewhat bland). It came with a small portion of fries (standard) and fried onion shavings (ok). The girls had the chicken nuggets ($3 – 5 per portion) and they enjoyed it. In Mika, my 7yo’s words, “they are better than McDonald’s chicken nuggets” (note, we don’t take her to McDonald’ s, but family members do from time to time).
I was disappointed by the ice cream, however. It’s now made in-house rather than by Fentons. I thought that the flavors were very mild. The maple nut we had was pretty good, but the peanut butter cup ice cream tasted as a malted chocolate ice cream, there was barely any peanut butter in it. Mika’s mocha almond fudge, in particular, had an off taste that I disliked. She was happy with it; her only complaint was that it wasn’t as creamy as the ones I make (but I usually follow Ben and Jerry’s recipes).
The hot fudge and caramel sauces, on the other hand, were quite good.
In all, we had a very pleasant meal at Knudsen’s, but I’m not super eager to return.
Knudsen’s Ice Creamery
3323 Castro Valley Blvd
Castro Valley, CA
(510) 582-2775
http://www.icecreamery.net/
I love Grocery Outlet, you never know what you’ll find there. Today I found, of all things, Tortuga Caribbean Rum Cakes. I had never heard of it until a few weeks ago when I started researching my upcoming Cayman menu. Apparently, these cakes are a very famous Cayman product, known throughout the Caribbean. I was planning on making a rum cake myself (from this recipe), but I’m thrilled at finding the real thing. And at Grocery Outlet, no less!
Of course, the price is also unbeatable – $1.50 for the 4oz cake. Not cheap in the abstract, but Amazon sells the 16-Ounce cake
Mike just pointed me to a new (for me) San Leandro food blog: San Leandro Cooking Examiner. It mostly includes recipes, so it’s not that San Leandro specific, but it’s nice to see another San Leandran with a blog.
Today and until it runs out, they have Ben & Jerry’s chubby hubby (one of my favorites), strawberry cheesecake and ginger snap ice cream for $1.50 for the regular-size package.
Yesterday we had a BBQ in honor of Mike’s birthday. I didn’t make anything new, but IMHO what I made was quite good and would recommend it for your (or my) next BBQ. Lola brought the salad, and I served chips with salsa and guacamole and my great potato salad, but otherwise all there was was protein (and birthday cake):
-Hot dogs
-BBQ chicken
–Thyme marinated tri-tip
–Tofu Satay
I trimmed and coated the tri-tip with coarse salt before marinating it, and it came out perfectly.
I served the tofu satay plain (without peanut sauce), but my vegetarian (and non-vegetarian) friends loved it – so much so that they took the leftovers to grill at home 🙂 I didn’t have Madeira wine for the recipe this time, so I used port instead.
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