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'borrowed' from Zen's

Zen’s Filipino Cuisine and Ihaw-Ihaw (BBQ) House – San Leandro – REVIEW

May 13, 2008 / / 0 Comments

UPDATE: THIS RESTAURANT HAS CLOSED

image borrowed’ from Zen’s

Jan 2012

I’ve returned to Zen’s many times since my original review. I think it’s by far the best deal for lunch in town, the food is delicious and the lunch buffet very nicely priced. It’s well worth the trip to the Marina.

May 2008 Review
Zen’s has been open for two years and I only read about it today, which tells you I’m not as in tune with the San Leandro restaurant “scene” as one might think. And a great pity it is, because if its buffet lunch is any indication, Zen may very well serve the best food in San Leandro.

I found the restaurant on TripAdvisor.com while looking for restaurants in San Leandro I might have missed. I suggested it to my friend Aamani, who I was meeting for lunch, and she was all for trying it – so we headed towards Doolittle in the hopes of finding it, which we did easily. It’s located in a strip mall, just off Fairway.

The little restaurant is pretty cute with a tiki-bar kind of feel. It has, however, two annoying flat screen TVs showing Filipino shows. They are very loud, making conversation difficult.

The buffet consisted of about 10 dishes, including a chicken soup, chicken and pork adobo, BBQ chicken, Filipino steak, chicken in a coconut sauce, and a few other dishes I don’t remember now. There was one noodle dish I didn’t try, and one green-bean dish. There was nothing else for vegetarians, so they may want to keep away.

Everything I tried was excellent, the meats were tender, flavorful and not exceedingly fatty. The sauces were full of flavor, the bbq chicken was delicious. My experience with Filipino food had been limited to adobos and lumpias, what I tasted seemed like a fusion of western and Asian foods – as you would expect.
According to its website, Zen’s is also open to dinner until very late. They have music and karaoke some nights, so you may want to call them if you are just going for the food. I know I’ll go back.

Zen’s Filipino Cuisine and Ihaw-Ihaw (BBQ) House

13876 Doolittle Drive
San Leandro, CA
510-351-3312
http://www.zensfilipinocuisine.com

San Leandro Restaurant Reviews

Chili’s – San Leandro – Review

May 12, 2008 / / 0 Comments

Since Chili’s opened years ago, we go back once or twice a year. We like the baby back ribs and the loaded mashed potatoes.  The burgers are OK, though not that memorable. They usually have a coupon for a free appetizer or dessert with entree, if you subscribe to their mailing list.

In all, it’s a dependable restaurant, but nothing to be excited about.  The fact that is so crowded speaks about the poverty of restaurants in San Leandro.

May 2008 Review

Last night, Kathy, my sister who is visiting from LA, wanted to go to Chevy’s for dinner. Alas, we’d been there only last week and the experience hadn’t been that great, so I wasn’t eager to repeat it. I suggested Chili’s, as I figured one generic, mediocre, chain should be easy to substitute for another.
My first experience at Chili’s in San Leandro had actually been positive. Granted, Mike and I were in a date so that might have rose-colored our glasses, but we thought the BBQ ribs were pretty good as was the rest of the food. We visited again a few months ago, this time with the kids, and I wasn’t as happy with the experience. I found the food to be tired, with boring rather than vibrant flavors. It wasn’t bad, just not exciting.
Still, our choices, here in San Leandro, are dismal, so I figured we might as well go there. Once again it wasn’t exciting, but it wasn’t bad.
None of us were particularly hungry, so we decided to split an order of baby back ribs ($17 for a full rack) and get an additional half-rack for Kathy ($7, if ordered with another entree). Mike got the habanero ribs, and he liked them quite a bit. He thought they weren’t very spicy, but I disagreed. Kathy had the honey chipotle ones. She thought they were OK, but that they lacked flavor. I liked my honey BBQ ribs, they were fall-off-the-bone tender and had a pleasant, sweet, flavor. So far these have been my favorite.
I had ordered the loaded mashed potatoes as a side, but either the waitress didn’t hear me (it’s a rather loud restaurant), or she made a mistake, as she brought us french fries and veggies instead. The former were very disappointing, they were limp and not very flavorful. The veggies were OK.
We also ordered onion strings served with jalapeño ranch sauce ($6, I think). Mike and Kathy thought they were pretty good, I thought they lacked flavor, and wasn’t too happy with the sauce.
Both kids got mac-n-cheese. It is Kraft, but Mika said it was just OK. Both she and Camila ate quite a bit, though. Neither touched their corn on the cob, however 🙁
In all, it wasn’t a bad meal and I’d go back once in a while for the ribs.
Original Review

San Leandro Restaurant Reviews

 

Prince Dim Sum House

May 12, 2008 / / 0 Comments

Update: Prince has changed owners and it’s now King Kong Dim Sum.  It’s a shame because we had returned to Prince for Mother’s Day this year, and I had decided to make it my annual Mother’s Day brunch place.  The food had been amazing, so good that we returned the following week when my brother visited us.  The new place gets mixed reviews on Yelp.

–

Prince Dim Sum House opened a few months ago, I think, at the space where East Village used to be. The restaurant underwent renovations before it opened as Prince, so I’m not sure if the owner, as well as the look and the name, have changed. The menu is pretty similar, as are the prices. I’d been to East Village several times, and this was my second visit to Prince as such.
Esthetically, they spiffed up the room a little bit, putting new furniture and a wine wall and removing the unattractive handwritten “specials” posters from the walls. Still, the room is square and has a flat ceiling, and there isn’t that much you can do with it to make it attractive. The place is nice enough, but it’s not and does not pretend to be, a “date” or “special occasion” sort of restaurant.
Service leaves something to be desired. We were seated quickly, but it took quite a long time for someone to come to take our orders. As we were waiting we saw the host chatting with people at one table, and one of the waitresses clean up another table, so I don’t think the problem was that they were just busy. Once we ordered the food came to the table quite quickly, which we liked as we were starving. It took a little bit, though not as long, to get our bill. Prince, just East Village before it, has a printed dim sum menu and you chose what you want to eat and then give the completed form to the waitress. They have several dozen items, costing $2-$5.25 depending on the ingredients. In all, lunch here is comparable in price to lunch at most non-sandwich restaurants.
I’m not the best person to review a dim sum place – which is why I’m writing about it on my blog, rather than in one of my more formal (and edited!) restaurant reviews – as I don’t really like most of what appears in dim sum menus. I do love pork buns, however, and that’s what kept bringing me to East Village, and now to Prince.
Prince’s baked BBQ pork buns are very good ($2 for 3). They are small and have a sweet glaze, they also have a nice amount of pork. I fear that they may be too sweet for some people, but they are my favorites in San Leandro. If you go, you should give them a try.
This time we also tried the Baked BBQ Pork Tart ($2.75 for 3). These are longish, thin pastries, also glazed and filled with BBQ pork. The dough is very flaky and Kathy liked it very much. I found them somewhat dry (though not nearly as dry as other versions of this dish) but also very yummy. We ordered a second serving.
I’d never had the Hong Kong Fried Bread Sticks ($2 for 3) before, but I was curious about them. They ended up being very light pieces of fried dough. They were a bit salty, but I thought they’d be delicious dipped in sugar – alas, there was none on the table. They were a bit oily, and kind of boring by themselves, and I wouldn’t order them again.
The fried chicken wings ($5.25 for 4) were plump, juicy and very hot. They were lightly spiced and salted, so you could really appreciate the taste of the chicken, and I liked them quite a bit – but I thought they were too expensive for what they were.
Finally, we had the Layered Egg Custard Cake ($2.75 for 3 small slices). Neither Kathy nor Mika were crazy about it, but I thought it was OK if you like Chinese cakes. I do think Mika would have been happier with a custard bun.
In all it was a good lunch, and I’ll go back to Prince again for those pork buns.
Prince Dim Sum House
14736 E. 14th St.
San Leandro, CA
510-667-9888
San Leandro Restaurant Reviews
Bay Area Restaurant Reviews

Lunch at Chicago Blues Cafe

May 4, 2008 / / 1 Comment

Update: This restaurant has closed

Chicago Blues Cafe is a tiny restaurant and coffeehouse located in the parking lot of the Palma Plaza shopping center. It started as a place where you could get coffee, then branched out into hot dogs, and has since become pretty much a full fledged restaurant, serving late breakfast, lunch and early dinner (they are open from 11 AM – 7 PM weekdays, from 9 AM – 7 PM Saturdays and closed on Sundays). The owner, Mark Tichy, is a colorful character currently running for city council.


I went to Chicago Blues Cafe for breakfast a few weeks ago, and had a very nice crepe, and I have since been wanting to go back to try their BBQ. The opportunity finally presented itself yesterday (my birthday) when Joaquin Deli, my first choice, was closed.


Chicago Blues offers a large menu of hot dogs, sandwiches, BBQ items and deep-dish pizza. My friend Elektra had had the latter and has enjoyed it. Prices are moderate, with pizza slices starting at $4, and BBQ lunch plates averaging around $8 (it goes up to the low teens for dinner and combinations). You order at the counter and can either eat inside their little covered area or in one of the unshaded tables outside. There isn’t really much room for more than 2 or 3 parties inside – but I find the place cute. We ate outside, however.


Mike had the links BBQ plate with potato salad. He wasn’t happy with it. He thought the links tasted mostly like plain sausage covered by BBQ sauce, rather than by the slowly smoked links we usually get at our favorite BBQ joint. He found the medium-spiced sauce to be quite spicy, but otherwise unremarkable. The potato salad was also pretty pedestrian.


My dad had a hot dog with sourkrat and he was very happy with it. He thought the baked beans were very, very good.


I had the pulled pork sandwich, which is often on special for $5. The sandwich was huge, and definitely a great value, but I didn’t find the pork very appealing. It had the look and texture of pork that had been boiled rather than smoked or baked. The flavor was quite mild (Camila liked it). I also found the vinegary mild BBQ sauce unremarkable, though better than commercial products. In any case, I wouldn’t be rushing back to have this dish. All this said, with E&J’s around, my standards for BBQ are pretty high.


In all, I’m glad that Chicago Blues Cafe is around, and I’d definitely go there for breakfast or for a hot dog, and might even give the pizza a try, but I wouldn’t go for their BBQ again.


Chicago Blues Cafe
13802 E. 14th St
San Leandro, CA
(510) 352-3053

Chicago Blues Cafe

April 8, 2008 / / 1 Comment

Update: This restaurant has closed

I first heard of Chicago Blues Cafe when I found out that its owner, Mark Tichy, was running for city council. The little restaurant occupies the space that belonged to a flower & coffee shop in the parking lot of Palma Plaza. It’s expanded its size and now it features a small, covered dining area. It’s pretty cute.
The cafe serves an extensive breakfast, lunch and dinner menu (though I think they close early, perhaps at 7). They seem to specialize on pizza and bbq. My friend Elektra has had their chicken pizza and she said it was very good, it featured a thick crust that reminded her of Zachary’s.


I went for breakfast, however, and ordered their caramelized banana & nutella crepe (about $4.50, I think), one of the three crepes they offer (all with nutella). It was *very* good. It was huge, with very generous amounts of both bananas and nutella, and it was delicious. I would definitely order it again, but this is a dish to share – it’s just too sweet to eat it all by yourself.


The only problem was that it took a long time to get it. We’d plan to eat at the restaurant, but I I had to pick up Mika at a set time. It probably took them a good half an hour to prepare it.
I’m planning to go back to Chicago Blues Cafe, this time to try their BBQ.


Chicago Blues Cafe
13802 E. 14th St
San Leandro, CA
(510) 352-3053

Emil Villa coffeeshop – San Leandro – Updated Reviews

March 31, 2008 / / 0 Comments

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

Tequila Grill Redux Redux

February 3, 2008 / / 1 Comment

Update: This restaurant closed and re-opened several times.

Last week our friends Arthur and Eddie suggested that we go out to dinner at Tequila Grill before the kids headed to a show at the library. I’m always in the mood for not cooking (well, that’s not really true, but I thought it sounded cute), so I thought it was a splendid idea. Well, perhaps not splendid as I haven’t been impressed with Tequila Grill in the past, but it’s nice to get out. And alas, it’s good I have that attitude because Tequila Grill failed to impress me yet again.

I had the milanesa sandwich, and the milanesa was nice and tender but not very flavorful. There was also too little meat to bread ratio. The fries it came with were perfectly fine.

I also ordered some guacamole and I did like it a lot, it was fresh and well balanced. Alas – there were no chips to eat it with (I did ask for them, they just never came). I found out that french fries with guacamole sort of work.

Mike had the flautas and he thought they were just OK.

I didn’t ask Arthur and Eddie what they thought of their dishes, but Elektra – who’d come with us along with her kids Orestes and Aegea, didn’t seem very impressed with whatever she ordered. Orestes’ actually found his burrito nauseating, though he couldn’t quite figure out why.

The younger kids seemed fine with their quesadillas (I didn’t try them).

So no, I won’t be rushing back to Tequila Grill, though I imagine I’ll end up there again some time.

Tequila Grill
1350 E. 14th St.
San Leandro
(510) 895-5351

Sizzler

December 3, 2007 / / 0 Comments

UPDATE: THIS RESTAURANT HAS CLOSED

Yes, Sizzler.  Mike wasn’t happy about it, but I’d seen it there, on the corner of Davis and East 14th, for years now, and I thought that sometime I should review it. And why not? Yeah, it’s a lowly chain, but once upon a time that lowly chain represented the epithomy of culinary achievement to me. Growing up, or at least during that period that constituted my growing up in America, we were poor. Our idea of a fine meal out – on those rare occasions when we had one – was Bob’s Big Boy (and really, their double cheeseburgers rocked). Sizzler was a couple of steps up from that, a place where we’d go in the most special of special occasions, and in particular if my aunt Gladys was paying. And indeed, I think I had my graduation dinner at Sizzler’s.

But times have changed, at least for me. And like it or not we look down at Sizzler’s. I haven’t had their food in many years, so it may be unfair, but we didn’t recall it as being particularly good. Our visit a few days ago, didn’t really improve our opinion.

Mike had their cheeseburger, which he couldn’t have made to order. It was well done instead – I guess they don’t trust their meat. In any case, it wasn’t dry. Still, he prefers the much cheaper burgers from Nation’s instead.
I ordered the ribs. Yes, I know, Sizzler is a “steakhouse” and I should have ordered the steak, but they just didn’t look good in the pictures. The ribs weren’t bad. The BBQ sauce was generic, the type of stuff you get from a bottle, but the ribs were tender and meaty enough. Of course, they couldn’t compete with those from Chili’s.

The kids had the equivalent to the chicken nuggets, and I thought they were pretty good for chicken nuggets. They didn’t taste frozen.
The fries that came with our meals were sort of wimpy. The cheesy toast was very good, however.

The really low point of the evening was the service. I wanted a refill on my drink, and not only the waiter never came to ask me if I wanted one, but he was nowhere to be found.

In all, it was an OK but not special experience, and I don’t see why I’d go back.

Sizzler
201 Davis St
San Leandro, CA
(510) 483-0110
http://www.sizzler.com/

Marga’s San Leandro Restaurant Reviews

Chain Restaurant Reviews

San Gaspar

November 15, 2007 / / 0 Comments

San Gaspar RestaurantUpdate:  San Gaspar reopened after a fire. I haven’t been back since.
I’ve been meaning to write the restaurant review for San Gaspar for a couple of weeks now, but I haven’t gotten to it so my recollections have gotten dimmer. I can tell you that we went with my friend Arthur and his kids, this is a place they frequent and like quite a bit. I thought it was pretty good too. The food was quite well priced, in the very low teens for pretty large platters. I had the carnitas and they were very good – large chunks of flavorful meat, not too dry. They came with a huge portion of good fries. Arthur had the chimichanga and he also enjoyed it. On the other hand, their quesadilla – which we ordered for the kids – was pedestrian. Mike’s enchiladas were also just OK. Their chips and salsa were pretty tasty, but not old-Chevy’s quality.
The restaurant itself is pretty modest, but it reminded me of the sort of restaurants in Mexico. It was comfortable, and had their been other people there, I’m sure it would have been convivial. As it was, pretty empty, the kids (an we had 5 with us) were able to enjoy some freedom and play around.
In all I had a good experience and would go back. Mike, on the other hand, wouldn’t be rushing back.
San Gaspar Restaurant
201 E 14th St
San Leandro, CA 94577
(510) 562-6197

Marga’s San Leandro Restaurant Reviews

Paradiso restaurant – San Leandro – Updated reviews

August 9, 2007 / / 0 Comments

January 2012 Update

Do yourself a favor.  If you have $10 (plus tax & tip) to spare, head over to Paradiso and have a burger.  Paradiso’s burger is simple: a half a pound of chuck in a homemade bun with no accoutrements.  When I first ordered it I was skeptical, no cheese? no bacon? no fancy sauces?  And then I took a bite.  And another.  And soon I could swear it was, by far, the best burger I had ever tasted.  The secret to the flavor of Paradiso’s burgers is not one you can easily replicate at home: they are cooked in their wood burning oven and are imparted with the smoky flavor of the burning oak.

Their sliders (3 for $11) are equally as good, though these are made from Kobe beef and served with good, though unnecessary, caramelized onions.  When I ate them, I had to stop the waiter and ask if there were any condiments on the bun, I really couldn’t believe a piece of meat inside a bun could be so flavorful and moist.  But alas, they were plain.

The rest of the food during a couple of recent lunches at Paradiso was also solid and good, though not particularly exciting.  They continue using the same sides for all dishes, which I don’t like. In any cases, if I go back to Paradiso it’ll be for the burger.

—

2007 Review

Last night it was girl’s night out with my friends Penelope, Desiree, Victoria and Paz. We went to Paradiso for appetizers, drinks and dessert.

As usual, I got the filet mignonettes ($12), slices of beef pan seared and served on crostini with a marsala mushroom sauce. As usual, it was very good. Desiree and Paz shared the Calamari Fritti ($10) and the smoked salmon pizza with goat cheese ($15). I forgot to ask them how they liked it, but I will report about it as soon as I hear from them.

We all shared a bottle of the Salentein Malbec, from Mendoza ($32). I don’t remember what year it was. It was absolutely delicious – it had a good body, not too light, not too heavy, soft tannins and a hint of oak and fruit. I see they sell it at BevMo, and I’ll have to trek over there some time to buy a few bottles.

For dessert (all $6) I had their famous sundae. I wasn’t as impressed with it as everyone else seems to me. The ice cream was just OK, the chocolate sauce very good but scant. It wasn’t a particularly big sundae either. The rest of the team shared a couple of apple crisps and they all seemed to be very happy with it. They thought it was just right.

The only negative part of the evening is that they close fairly early, they threw us out by 10 PM (this was a Wednesday night). Still, we had a very good time and I’d recommend it for a mom’s night out.

Paradiso
685 Bancroft Ave
San Leandro, CA
(510) 430-9212
http://www.paradisosanleandro.com/

Original Review of Paradiso

Marga’s San Leandro Restaurant Reviews

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