Tag Archives: coffeeshops

The Cookie Jar Restaurant, Fairbanks, AK – Review

We visited Fairbanks in March 2015 to see the northern lights and one of our days there we had a late lunch at the Cookie Jar.  It was all in all a good experience and I’d go back if I was to visit Fairbanks again.

The Cookie Jar is a large coffeeshop style restaurant serving typical American food.  The prices are reasonable for Fairbanks, though high for the continental US (that’s the case with most restaurants in Fairbanks).  The decor is coffeeshop cute and the restaurant is divided into several dining rooms, so noise levels are quite manageable.  Even though we were there for a late lunch, the place was pretty busy and there were quite a few families.

My vegetarian 12-yo had the Becca burger ($12), a black bean burger with cheddar cheese and guacamole.  She thought it was very good.

My 10-yo was less pleased with her kid’s spaghetti ($8).  She just didn’t like the sauce.  I’m not sure why, as it was a generic tomato-based pasta sauce. She loved the garlic bread, however.

I had the Monte Cristo sandwich ($11): “two thick slices of bread dipped in egg batter then grilled with ham, turkey, Swiss, and cheddar cheese” and sprinkled with powdered sugar.  It took a while to come to the table and when it did, it was missing the filling: they were just french toast slices.  The waitress was very apologetic and brought me a substitute as soon as she could – I thought it was pretty funny.  By the time I got it, however, I had filled up on my daughters’ fries, garlic bread and spaghetti, but I thought the sandwich was quite good.  Fortunately our hotel had a fridge so I was able to enjoy the rest of it later.

Service was great, our waitress was both friendly and solicitous.  All in all, a good experience.

The Cookie Jar Restaurant
1006 Cadillac Ct
Fairbanks, AK
907-479-8319
http://cookiejarfairbanks.com/

Emil Villa coffeeshop – San Leandro – Updated Reviews

2013 Update

Emil Villa had a fire and is closed, it doesn’t seem that they’ll be re-opening.

October 2011

We went to Emil Villa’s for dinner last night, as Mika was in the mood for ribs.  I don’t have much of an update, as we got the same thing we usually get: Emil’s Rib Sampler ($21).  This time I actually paid attention to which ribs we liked the most, and the best ones were definitely the baby back ribs. They were more tender, if a bit less meaty than the other ones. Still, all the ribs were very good.  Indeed, I thought they were better than in the past.  I also enjoyed the BBQ sauce, which was perhaps a bit sweeter (and thus more to my liking).

Service was phenomenal.  Mike and I shared the sampler, and our waitress brought the dish in two plates unprompted.  The portion was definitely large enough for the two of us. She also was very efficient bringing back drinks and catering to the kids.

In all, it was a very good experience.

December 2010

We go to Emil Villa from time to time. We usually get a BBQ ribs combo to share – 3 types of ribs with two sides for about $22. We all like the ribs, Mika in particular. The other food is less successful. Breakfast, in particular, is best avoided.


March 2008

Last night Mike went out with an old friend to dinner (he went to La Provence, in the Mission, where he had an OK soup and some awesome ravioli) and I was left at home with the kids. I was feeling pretty jealous, so I decided to take the kids out to dinner myself. I’d been in the mood for BBQ ribs for a while, and Mika couldn’t resist the smoky aroma of Emil Villa’s, so that’s where we headed. Even though Camila was a little devil, it was a good choice.

We decided to share the ribs platter, which has gone up in price (it’s $21 now) and gone down in variety/amount of food (it now comes just with two sides and buns, no soup or salad). Still, the ribs were enough for a mom and one kid (Camila only ate 1 rib). We enjoyed all of them. My favorite were the baby back ribs which had a very nice glace and did not need any extra BBQ sauce. The other ones were definitely helped by the sweet sauce, which wasn’t too spicy even for Mika. I’d definitely order this again.

The french fries and mashed potatoes we ordered were pretty ordinary, nothing to write home about.

This time we weren’t too full for dessert (when is a 6 yo too full for dessert?), and Mika ordered the chocolate cream pie ($4 a slice). It didn’t look that chocolaty to me, but she liked it. I had no complaints about the banana cream pie ($4 for smallish slice). It was bananaish and creamy, and very good. I may make a banana cream pie today myself 🙂 Camila had some chocolate ice cream ($3), which was unwisely served on a saucer. It was very chocolaty.

Dinner for the 3, including 3 drinks, came to $39. Not cheap, but those were pretty good ribs.

Emil Villa’s
1800 E 14th St
San Leandro, CA
(510) 351-7427

Original Review

San Leandro Restaurant Reviews