Tommy Salsa - Mexican, Novato

553 South Novato Blvd # F, Novato, CA 94947
(415) 898-1351
Parking: in shopping center parking lot

Last Visited: December 5, 2010

Food: 2 to 3 stars
Atmosphere: 2 to 3 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $ to $$

I have been to Tommy Salsa twice, once on a weekday and once on a Sunday. Martha recommended it since she often comes for lunch. After doing some yelping, I found out that the fish tacos are the thing to get, so of course, that's what I ordered the first time.

Next to the salsa bar and soda fountain is the main counter. The menu is posted on large boards with printing on top of a background featuring a giant chili pepper. Combinations, quesadillas, burritos, and tacos are the main features. Just behind the counter, you can see the window to the kitchen and the folks at work back there.

The place has a lot of windows and has more of a coffee shop atmosphere versus a restaurant atmosphere. The color scheme is forest green and brown. It's kept very clean with not much decoration. There were fresh flowers, the kind you get at Trader Joe's, in pots on the window sills and two televisions are on in the dining area. Mexican music plays quite loudly over the speakers.

After ordering, you are given a number to place at your table. Once your dish is ready, the server brings it by and collects the number.

- Two Fish Tacos Combination - People seem to really like the fish tacos, so I went for one traditional one with a soft tortilla and one in a hard shell. The fish is fried and served with lettuce, cheese, pico de gallo, and a piece of lime. While both were good, I like the one in the crunchy shell better - maybe it was because of the mouth feel. The beans were good - fairly standard, but I really had an aversion to the rice. It seemed that there was an intense garlic flavor that was overpowering the rice, and I didn't want to eat any more of it. While some rave about the fish tacos, I would say they're okay. $7.95

- Quesadilla and Taco Combination - As with all of the combos, you get your choice of meat - carnitas, al pastor, and beef just to name a few. The quesadilla comes out very hot and crispy on the outside. It's pretty standard - not wow, not bad. With the taco, we again chose fish. See comements above that apply here also.

- Enchilada Combination - The enchilada tortilla was not as soft as at some of the other places I have had enchiladas and not as soft as the ones I make at home. The flavor of the sauce was also just okay.

Most combinations run around $8 to $10. While the quantity of the food is abundant, I just don't walk away raving about any particular dish. If I were to go back, I would probably stick with the fish tacos or just order a burrito.

As for service, the first time I visited on a weekday, the service was fine - nothing outstanding in a good or bad way. The reason I gave a lower service rating is primariy related to my second visit. We didn't know that they opened at noon and when we tried to open the door at 11:50am, even though it was raining outside, the staff member inside wouldn't open the door for us. While I can understand how one may not want to open, I think when it's raining outside, you can either pleasantly tell people you'll be open in a few minutes or just let them in and have them wait in the dining area.

While I understand the draw for the high school students whom go to school nearby, I think the food here is just okay.

Shanghai Dumpling King - Chinese, San Francisco

3319 Balboa St, San Francisco CA 94121
(415) 387-2088
Parking: street parking
Hours: Monday, Wednesday through Friday 11am to 9pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am to 9pm, Closed Tuesdays

Last Visited: December 9, 2006

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 2 stars
Atmosphere: 2 stars
Price: $ to $$

Jamie recommended I try Shanghai Dumpling Shop, now known as Shanghai Dumpling King. And it is such a find! It is so hard to find a place that serves authentic Shanghai style food. Shanghai dumpling spot is a hole in the wall place with great food. Well, it’s a little better than a hole in the wall. Enter the place and both units are painted in white with a lot of colorful menus listing family style set meals posted. There are also many pieces of paper listing specials posted on the wall. However, it’s all written in Chinese. The front of the restaurant is a large window, with white curtains that cover about half the window, so the patrons remain hidden from curious onlookers outside.

The atmosphere is far from glamorous. The noise level is high as people begin to trickle in, and the staff often seems to be dropping plates into the designated tub rather than gently placing them there. The staff is in white plastic aprons and there are a number of people bringing food in from the kitchen. There seems to be a lack of order. See more below.

The food is wonderful. There are many Shanghai bun and dumpling favorites available and the great thing is that they’re homemade. All the dishes are served fresh and piping hot. The stir fry dishes have a lot of “wok air.” The heat remains with them for a prolonged period of time.

- Shanghai Steamed Dumpling – Ten dumplings are served on a bed of Napa cabbage still in its steamer. Accompanying them is a small dish containing dark vinegar with thinly sliced ginger slivers. The dumpling wrapper is twisted on the top and filled with flavorful pork. The dumpling bursts with the juices from within as you bite into them. Excellent. $4.25

- Pot Stickers – Eight pot stickers with golden brown bottoms are served with the same vinegar sauce mentioned above. Unlike typical pot stickers, these have a softer skin and are more moist than typical. Each pot sticker had a slit on its side, probably to let out some of the juice from the filling. The filling was made of pork and cabbage. Good, but it might not be what you expect. $4.25

- Beijing Style Boiled Chives Dumpling – Ten dumplings are served with the same vinegar sauce mentioned above. Pork is mixed with Chinese chives for a mild dumpling filling. These dumplings were excellent. The wrapper was thin, but held together well. The filling was juicy and these dumplings also burst with their juices as you bite into them. Excellent. $4.25

- Stir Fried Noodles Shanghai Style – Thick homemade style noodles are stir fried with slivers of pork, cabbage, Napa cabbage, and spinach leaves in a dark soy sauce. This dish had a lot of “wok air.” There was just a hint of spiciness to the dish, but not enough to overwhelm the flavor. Very good. See latest comments below for 2006 visit. $4.95

- Hot and Spicy Beef Stew in Noodles Soup/Vermicelli Soup – Great flavor. The name describes the soup well. The beef stew is tender and has a taste of five spice to it. The noodles are fine and thin, but would be just a little better if they were fresh instead of packaged noodles. Their size does make them better for absorbing the flavor of the soup though. The soup has a touch of red color and will make your belly warm. The portion is also quite generous. Great, especially for a cold night out. $4.95

For our second visit, we ordered a dinner meal that serves two. All of the food listed below comes in this set meal for only $18.88. Incredible price!

- Shanghai Dumplings – Four pieces. Still served hot, fresh, and delicious. Description listed above.

- Shanghai Drunken Chicken – A quarter of a chicken with skin on is cooked and marinated in Chinese rice wine. The marinade causes the meat to tighten and become slightly more dense. The flavor of wine is strong and intense. You definitely won’t miss it. The chicken is chopped into pieces with the bone intact, and served with the reduced wine sauce. Remember that it’s Chinese style, so the wine will not be reduced until it is thick. This dish is typically served cold. In most restaurants, the chicken comes without the sauce, so that was something unique here. The wine may be too strong for some, but it’s definitely a drunken chicken.

- Shanghai Wonton Soup with Chicken Broth – A single Shanghai Wonton (a wonton with pork and vegetable) is cooked with a single head of baby bok choy and a bean curd wrap in chicken broth. A piece of drunken chicken is placed at the bottom of a tall ramekin and the broth with wonton and bok choy is poured on top of the chicken. The bean curd wrap is a sheet of bean curd that has been rolled and tied into a knot. The bean curd wrap is soft, but slightly crisp in texture. The soup is flavored with pepper giving it a little hint of sharpness. The soup is cooked in a wok, so it stays hot in temperature much longer than most soups. Very good and it stays warm for a long time.

- Cold Noodles with Chicken and Sesame Sauce – Noodles are topped with shreds of cucumber and thinly sliced tomato strips. Sliced chicken breast tops the noodles. A sweet peanut sauce is served on the side. The noodles are tightly packed into the bowl making it difficult to combine the sauce with the noodles. It’s much easier to remove the noodles to an individual bowl or plate and add the sauce there. The sauce also contains oyster sauce, so it is advisable to stir the sauce prior to combining with the noodles. The cucumbers add a lightness and crispiness to the texture of the dish. However, the chicken is bland, though tender. I wouldn’t recommend ordering this dish alone, but it might make for an okay summer salad if the chicken had more flavor or was removed entirely.

- Soy Braised Pork Ribs – Very short bite sized pork ribs are braised in soy sauce and vinegar. The meat is tender, though the tendons take up a large portion of each piece. Although the dish was served seaming, it lacked the ‘wok air’ described earlier. Nice flavor balancing the sweetness and saltiness of the soy sauce with the vinegar.

- Sesame Rice Dumplings – Sweet black sesame paste is stuffed in rice flour dumplings. The dumplings are then rolled in ground peanut powder. These dumplings were served warm. Excellent.

Of the dinner set, the best items were the soup, Shanghai dumplings, and sesame rice dumplings. Those are highly recommended ordered alone or in a set.

Service would have received a three star rating, but one of our dumplings dishes came out almost half an hour after everything else. It seems that the servers don’t pay much attention to which table puts in their order first. We saw other tables who had arrived after us receive their dumplings first. This was the only negative part of the experience. During my second experience, service seemed as bad as my first visit. Their manner was better during dinner since the restaurant wasn’t as busy, but Shanghai Dumpling Shop has little to no concept of what it means to serve food in courses. All of the food came out in random order, and the dessert arrived about half way through the meal. Soup and appetizer arrived after the main dish and so on. I wonder if they’re thinking family style when everything arrives at the table and then you just eat, but it’s not like everything arrives at one time either. Just be forewarned about this.

Overall, you’ll find the prices a bargain. The service and atmosphere could use a lot of improvement, but the food is delicious. There were so many dishes to try, but I couldn’t fit it all into my stomach. There are many items that I would like to try on my next visit. I highly recommend a visit to Shanghai Dumpling Shop for their homemade dumplings.

During my most recent visit, I was pretty surprised to find that the name had changed, but from what I could tell, the people remained the same. The same servers, at least a few, hard recognizable faces, but a new sign was out front. Upon being seated, we were brought tea, but it took a while to get a menu. Also, I felt quite uncomfortable during this visit. Although I walked in knowing it was a hole in the wall, when I touched the chopsticks, I found them to be sticky. Not dirty, but sticky as though a film had gotten on them. The plates need to be exchanged for new ones. Clearly, the restaurant is doing well, as it was packed during this lunch time with a line forming outside. However, it hasn’t invested in its atmosphere.

We again ordered the Shanghai Steamed Dumplings and found them as scrumptious as before. They were so juicy and flavorful as described above. We also had the Stir Fried Noodles Shanghai Style. Similar to last time, but this visit seemed to offer less meat. I would rather pay another dollar or two more and have more meat in the dish. This makes it look like you’re on a diet.

- Rice Roll – Contained within rice is a mixture of dried pork jerky – Asian pork jerky. Sometimes, you find that the pork jerky is mixed with preserved spicy mustard greens. It may sound unusual, but think giant sushi roll. Good. Wrapped in saran wrap to hold it together, it comes warm.

While we ate, a woman came around and asked if anyone wanted to order the fresh dessert items that were today’s special. She took the plate around to each table. Yet, her demeanor was not as pleasant as it could be. It also took a while to get a check.

Overall, this 2006 experience indicated that although the food remains good, there is much room for improvement in service and atmosphere. Unless I have a craving for their delightful dumplings, I will likely pass on returning until the grapevine starts talking about changes being made for the better.

Bakesale Betty - Bakery, Sandwiches, Oakland

Best: Cookies

5098 Telegraph Ave, Oakland CA 94609 (between 49th St & 51st St)
(510) 985-1213
2228 Broadway, Oakland CA 94612 (between Grand Ave & Franklin St)
(510) 251-2100
Hours: Closed Sundays and Mondays, Telegraph branch 7am -2:30pm, 11am – 2:30pm
http://www.bakesalebetty.com/

Last Visited: December 18, 2010

Food: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 3 to 4 stars
Price: $$

I first heard about Bakesale Betty’s by watching fellow classmates check-in there on Facebook. Every now and then, a photo of one of their famous fried chicken sandwiches would pop up on somebody’s mobile upload. After talking to some fellow foodies that reside in the East Bay and said it was worth having at least once, I decided to go to the Telegraph branch. It was a wet and drizzly day which meant eating outside at their famous sidewalk ironing boards wasn’t going to be an option. The good thing about the fair weather was that the line was only about a dozen deep. You’ll find that on a beautiful Saturday, the wait can sometimes go four and five shop lengths deep. Today, I had brought my mom, a self-proclaimed fried-chicken lover, to see if their fried chicken sandwich was indeed as good as its reputation.

Bakesale Betty is Australian cook Alison Barakat. After a firsthand experience of viewing their front-end operations, I have to say that much of the reason it works is because of location. Let’s start from the beginning. Located at the corner, there aren’t any signs indicating that you have arrived at Bakesale Betty’s, but the line is a good indication that you’ve arrived at your destination (partially because I’ve seen pictures of the notable lines). Once in line, you walk past the brown paper signs posted in the window showing the four items available for order that day. Just inside the door, immediately adjacent to the entrance are freshly-baked still warm cookies sitting in a glass case. I don’t know if most people are able to say no to the cookies, but being that this was my first visit, they looked appealing enough to try one. A woman took my order and proceeded to put the cookie in a bag. She called out my sandwich order (today they offered a fried chicken sandwich, pulled pork sandwich, and one more offering). Once I got to the end of that counter, I paid for my order and you could hear the others numerous staff members calling out orders too.

The rear of the “café” area has an assembly line going. With the music blaring, you can see that the staff members seem to be genuinely enjoying themselves. One person mixes the slaw, another cuts large homemade rolls, and yet another assembles the sandwich. These get put into a bag or box, depending on how many you order, and then you are on your way. Hot sauce containers are on the side in case you want to spice up your sandwich further. There are enough tables indoors to seat about eight people comfortably – more if you are willing to pack in tighter. On a nice day, the ironing boards outside could sit about another ten or twelve.

- Fried Chicken Sandwich – Of course, we had to try the fried chicken sandwich. The sandwich is pretty large and it comes with a fork. If you’re wondering why there is a fork, it’s pretty clear once you unwrap the sandwich. A large piece of thick chicken breast is coated in seasoned batter and fried until golden. Sandwiched in a fresh homemade roll along with some cabbage slaw made with jalapenos, red onions, parsley, and vinaigrette, the slaw starts to spill out the moment you pick it up. Without the slaw, this would be just another piece of fried chicken in a sandwich – the meat is slightly warm or room temperature. The serving size is large and the batter is nice, but by itself, the meat would be moist to start and quickly dry by the end. In my opinion, what makes this a notable sandwich is the slaw. There is just enough spice from the ingredients and the balance of tartness from the dressing give you a moist mouth feel. The extra slaw that spills out makes you feel a bit like you’re eating a salad in addition to the sandwich. Personally, I would like to have the top half of the bread roll hollowed out a bit; however, it might not look quite as pretty. It was a good meal, and if I lived or worked close by, I could see myself getting one on occasion, but it’s not worth the hour drive it took for me to get this one. $8.20

- Cookie – I ordered a chocolate chip cookie with walnuts. This cookie might be worth driving for. It caught me by surprise that the edges were just slightly crisp and the center was perfectly soft. My mom, whom can pass up a cookie just about any time, actually wanted more of these. Be sure to save room for dessert and get yourself a cookie! $1.25

- Lemon Ice – Although it was a cold day, the lemon ice was smooth and had just the right sweetness. Good stuff. $2.75

So what makes Bakesale Betty’s special? I think location is very important in their success. While good food is essential, this business model wouldn’t work in many places. First, it looks like a lot of locals are hired – that often helps with success. Their employees seem to be having fun – happy employees make for happy customers and you get better employee performance. Their clientele is also diverse – I saw a multitude of ethnicities, age, and people from different groups (e.g. multiple piercings, preppies, etc). Try to put this restaurant in San Francisco, and it would probably survive in the Castro, Fillmore, or other heavily populated areas. If you put Bakesale Betty as is without any changes in Sonoma or Napa, it would probably fail miserably. The price of the food, the atmosphere of being close to a college town in an urban environment, the tastes of local people (more in search of good food than ambiance), and the high foot traffic location allow it to be profitable and frequented by a number of people.

I’ve also heard that if the line is really long, they’ll start to give away free items – usually cookies (another plus in their business model - if you treat your customers right, they'll keep coming back). The line I was in went pretty quickly, so no such luck for me today. While I didn’t try them, other items available include a variety of cookies, pumpkin pie $20, apple pie $25, and chicken pot pie $25. From what I’ve heard, the strawberry shortcake is good too. If you happen to be in the area, it’s worth a trip to Bakesale Betty – I put their cookies on my must try recommendations list!

Chee Kei - Chinese, Won Ton Noodles, Hong Kong

Best: Won Ton Noodles

G/F No.37 Lock Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
852 2368 2528
Nearest MTR: Tsim Sha Tsui (Mosque exit)
http://www.cheekeiwonton.com/

Other Locations:
Shop 10, Level 4, Langham Place, 8 Argyle Street, Mong Kok, 852 3514 4000
84 Percival Street, Causeway Bay, 852 2890 8616
Maritime Square, 33 Tsing King Road, Tsing Yi
Shop No.F27, Telford Plaza, 33 Wai Yip Street, Kowloon Bay
52 Russell St.-Causeway Bay, 852 2575 6322
70 Stone Nullah Lane, Wan Chai , 852 2834 7598

Last Visited: November 28, 2010

Food: 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $ to $$

My uncle and aunt brought us to Chee Kei. In Tsim Sha Tsui (TST), if a restaurant or shop isn’t good, it disappears in weeks. It’s not even funny. The high rent of shops in this district require business owners to remain profitable; it’s truly sink or swim.

While Chee Kei never came up on our radar when we were searching the internet for places to eat, we were very glad that my family members were familiar with it. When I saw the Michelin HK and Macau sign at their front entrance, my expectations immediately increased, but I was not disappointed by the food.

Restaurants in TST seem to line the streets. Establishments with virtually identical menus frequently neighbor one another. One might be surprised by this when visiting HK from an American’s perspective, but in HK, shops with common items stick together – for example, there is Fa Yuen Street which translates into Flower Garden Street. All of the shops sell products related to flowers and gardening, and everyone goes to those districts to shop. There is a street popularly referred to as Bead (already translated) Street where they sell jewelry beads and components. Seeing stores with similar menus is less typical in the United States, but if you can accept seeing two gas stations at the same intersection of two Starbucks within a shopping center, we in the US aren’t as far from this idea as one may think.

Back to Chee Kei, it’s more like a café in its atmosphere. Tables are cozy with some along the side walls, but almost communally placed in the center where there isn’t much space between tables. The tables are cool in that they have insets for the soy sauce and other condiments. Under the clear tabletops are the menus listing the special combinations and featured items. While everything is in Chinese, an English menu is available upon request. Brightly lit and in pleasant light colors, you can tell their design is more modern than many other restaurants. There is a general hustle and bustle at the restaurant with lots of conversations between patrons and some across the room between staff– it’s definitely casual dining.

Chee Kei is known for its wonton noodles and the crab congee. Prominently displayed in photos, these items have gotten quite a bit of press. My favorite part about Chee Kei is their Happy Hour menu. Happy Hour in HK is known as Afternoon Tea time (there are still signs of the British remaining in the culture); between 2:30 and 6:30pm, they offer a special deal. For $27 HKD (about $4USD), you can get a bowl of wonton noodles in soup with a drink (choice of soymilk, barley drink, or milk tea). Cold drinks cost an additional $2HKD. This is an absolute bargain!

The regular price of the wonton noodles in soup costs about the same as the Afternoon Tea price without the drink, so you can tell the whole menu is very reasonable.

- Wonton Noodles in Soup – It’s a classic and very well-executed dish. The wontons are perfect with their shrimp and pork filling. The wonton skins are super thin. The noodles are al dente and the soup is flavorful. And to top off the dish, they sprinkle a little shrimp essence powder for additional flavor. It’s wonderful! I could eat two bowls without a second thought.

- Barley drink – The barley drink is interesting. There is a taste of ginger it’s a thin drink. While I wouldn’t suggest it to most Americans (since the majority Americans are not accustomed to barley in a sweet drink), I think it’s a nice drink for Asian tastes. It’s a nice addition to the usual milk tea or soy milk offerings.

- Crab congee – As mentioned above, the crab congee is one of the most popular items at Chee Kei. I’m not sure if it’s the cute container, but once one table starts to order, it seems like everyone around starts to order it too. First, the presentation. It’s a cute little oak ‘bucket’ with a metal inset. It comes to the table covered, and the server removes the cover to reveal the congee inside. If that doesn’t catch your attention, the photo of the dish in the featured article on the table top will. You get a whole crab, albeit that the shell is about the size of your palm, but it’s still a whole crab. The crab is cut to assist with eating, but you’ll still need to peel away the shell and get a little messy. The first photo shows how it is initially presented. You can see that the congee, appearing almost golden, has taken on some of the color from the custard inside the crab shell. The congee itself is smooth and cooked to just the right texture – the rice has broken down so that you don’t see whole pieces anymore. The flavor of the congee is rich with crab and hints of green onion from the garnish on top. Then when you lift the crab shell out, crab lovers will find the glorious orange stuff inside which has a custard-like quality. $62HKD with set menu (about $8USD)

- Gai lan – While it’s a small dish when ordered as part of the set, the gai lan is fresh. Cooked with the water from the won ton noodles, the starch in the water give the vegetables a nice sheen that you don’t get when cooked in plain water. $9HKD with set menu (about $1.50 USD)

So why the low service rating you might ask? While the food is outstanding, you often feel like you need to flag down a server. While she is great when she is with you (only women were attending to the front room on both of my visits), the kitchen forgot one of our drink orders and even after a reminder to our server, we had to chase after it again. With the assistance of computer generated orders to the kitchen, it seems that the operations should be more smooth and that the server would take on the burden of running after these requests.

If you’re a tourist, avoid the restroom if at all possible. You need to ask for a key to access the restroom in the back. It’s the type of toilet that is in the floor – enough said.

The TST branch is currently offering a special. For every $50HKD that you spend, you receive a coupon for $8HKD that you can use on your next visit. It’s a great time to go try it and reap the benefits of the promotion too.

Admittedly, I didn’t know what to expect with Chee Kei, but I enjoyed it so much the first time that I went back on my last night in Hong Kong. The afternoon tea time special is a bargain and their won ton noodles are on my all time top ten restaurants for that dish. It’s no wonder they got a Michelin star. Special thanks to my uncle for taking us there. Chee Kei serves exceptional dishes for a terrific value.

Sakana Bune - Japanese, San Francisco

5701 Geary Blvd, San Francisco CA 94121
(415) 387-8561
Parking: street parking
Hours: M-Th 11:30am to 3pm, 5:30pm to 10pm; Fri 11:30am to 3pm, 5:30pm to 11pm; Sat 11:30am to 11pm; Sun 11:30am to 10pm
http://www.sakanabune.com/

Last Visited: July 17, 2004

Food: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $ to $$$

Upon entering Sakana Bune, you’ll be greeted in Japanese by the waitresses. The sushi bar is the main attraction in the restaurant with approximately 26 seats around the bar. Each wood chair faces the bar which is oval in shape. Wood sushi boats linked by small chains between one another move on top of the water counter clockwise and you can watch the individual sushi plates on each boat pass by. The area that the sushi boats float across is covered by glass sneeze guards, and within the oval, you can see the five sushi chefs preparing rolls and sushi.

The restaurant is bright with windows on two walls bringing in natural lighting. The room is light in color with a clean and fresh look created by the light colored wood tables and chairs. Tables that accommodate six people or more are near the front of the restaurant and the wall away from the sushi bar.

Sakana Bune offers a variety of rice bowls, udon, tonkatsu type dishes, and other entrees. However, their sushi is the main feature. Each boat contains four dishes. Each dish contains two pieces of sushi and is priced at 1.00, 1.50, and 1.95 for special sushi. The price of each item is indicated by the type of dish it is placed on. Each pattern on the dish corresponds with a specific price. It’s an excellent bargain and great for beginner sushi connoisseurs since it allows you to try so many offerings. As the boat floats by, you can select as many dishes as you want.

Special house rolls, typically made from multiple items or with ‘deluxe’ ingredients, are also offered at reasonable prices. You may find some of these special rolls on the sushi boats as well, but you’re not guaranteed to find them there.

- Deep Fried Sea Bass – Six pieces of sea bass are breaded in panko crumbs and deep fried until golden brown. The sea bass is served with a sweet and salty dipping sauce. The pieces are nicely presented on a colorful plate. The outer shell is crisp and light, and the sea bass is sweet and succulent. Very good. $5.95

- Mussels on the half shell with spicy sauce – Two mussels are topped with cheese and spicy sauce. The dish is either baked or torched to allow the cheese topping the mussels to turn a golden brown and for the mussels to be heated through. A nice combination of ingredients leading to a new flavor seldom seen at other restaurants. Very original. Another variation served here is chopped mussels and zucchini in the same sauce and cooked the same way. $1.95

- Hiyashi Wakame (seaweed salad) – Green seaweed salad tops sushi rice and is held together by a seaweed wrapper. Two pieces. The seaweed salad had been infused with sesame oil to produce a refreshing and delicate flavor. Good. $1

- Sake (salmon) – Salmon sashimi slices top sushi rice. Two pieces. Good clean flavor. $1.50

- Tai (red snapper) – Red snapper sashimi slices top sushi rice. Two pieces. More good clean flavor. $1.50

- Unagi (eel) – Cooked unagi tops sushi rice. The unagi slices could be larger, but at this price, it’s hard to complain. It’s not the best, but meets the average. $1.50

- California Rolls (seaweed, tuna, and bonito - dried fish flakes) – Each California roll dish comes with two California rolls. Plain California rolls are available, but they may also be topped with seaweed, tuna, bonito in the form of dried fish flakes, roe, or other items. Good. $1.50

From the side that I was sitting at, I couldn’t see how the sushi chefs got in and out of the bar area so I asked. Near the kitchen is a break in the counter where the sushi chefs crawl under the counter allowing them to get in and out of the area. Also, the boats move by operating jets – either one or two jets depending on how fast they want the boats to travel.

At the end of your meal, if you selected dishes from the sushi boats, the waitresses take your plates and tally the check by looking at the dish itself to determine the final bill.

Sakana Bune is a nice place to try out. I would recommend it for those who want to see what the dish will look like and don’t know what to get. It’s not the highest quality sushi, but certainly decent and at the least, entertaining.

GQ's Top 10 Best New Restaurants in America

Family friend Tim posted this article on his sister's wall:
http://www.gq.com/food-travel/alan-richman/201101/alan-richman-best-new-restaurants-in-america#slide=1

The good news is that the Bay Area has two on the list - Flour + Water, San Francisco and Commis, Oakland.

The bad news is that now that these places have been featured, we'll probably not be able to get in for a while. For friends outside of California, there are restaurants all over - good luck with getting reservations...

PPQ Dungeness Island - Vietnamese, San Francisco

2332 Clement St, San Francisco CA 94121
(415) 386-8266
Parking: street parking
Hours: Open 11am to 10pm, Closed Tuesdays
http://www.ppqdungeness.com/

Last Visited: August 14, 2004

Food: 4 stars
Service: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 to 4 stars
Price: $ to $$$$

Upon entering PPQ, you’ll see a wide open space with chandeliers containing a rainbow of glass lamp covers in a modern design, simple lines, and blue. The counter is to your immediate right. There is a bar area to your left which is primarily used for storage, but you’ll see the glasses hanging from the ceiling in the bar area. The tables are maple colored and the chairs are black with nice horizontal lines created by the backs. Further in the restaurant, the long tables seating six people are to your right, and more rectangular tables are throughout the restaurant. To your left is a wall mural of scenic blue. In the rear is the aquarium housing a fish that looks like Gill from Finding Nemo – this was pointed out by Lawrence who recommended PPQ with enthusiasm. In the bottom tank, you’ll see the many large crabs roaming around the tank. The background of the tank is a beautiful blue, giving the atmosphere a nice serene feel. In the very rear of the restaurant just past the restrooms is a banquet room. Music plays in the background.

Lawrence’s must try recommendation is the Peppercorn crab. After trying the varieties offered, this is his favorite since the others are cooked in broth, whereas this one is fried, singling it out from the rest.

Service is interesting. I didn’t find it particularly inviting or friendly until the end of the dining period. They weren’t overly attentive or lacking in giving us attention, just not as friendly at first. After being seated, we received American style teacups and a teapot filled with hot tea.

We ordered the Dinner for Two ($42.95) and added a vegetable dish.

- Imperial Rolls – With the dinner for two, two imperial rolls are each cut in half. These four pieces are served with a light sweet dipping sauce (made with fish sauce) and on the same plate is the chicken salad (see below). These rolls are filled with ground meat and some vegetables. They’re deep fried until very crispy, and were good, although they could be larger in diameter which equates to more filling. A regular serving is 6 pieces for $4.95.

- Chicken Salad – The salad is comprised of very thinly shredded lettuce, red cabbage, carrots, and topped with small slices of marinated chicken and fried shallots. It’s quite refreshing with its light dressing while remaining crisp. The chicken had been marinated in fish sauce, giving it a seafood flavor more than chicken flavor.

When you order the crab, you’ll receive a white plastic bib with a big orange crab on it, and to make sure you make no mistakes, the word crab is also on the bib. Your server will tie it around your neck prior to the start of the meal.

- Peppercorn Crab – The menu describes it as whole Dungeness crab lightly fried then sautéed with garlic and black pepper. The crab itself is very large and easily serves two, perhaps three people. What the menu doesn’t tell you is that the garlic is deep fried also, and there is lots of it. The garlic is chopped into little pieces and the crab is served over a big mound of the garlic pieces it was fried with mixed with black pepper. The garlic flavor is infused into the fresh succulent crab. The batter is definitely light and dotted with black pepper. When you’re done eating this crab, you can’t taste much but garlic. Very good. Price is seasonal

- Garlic noodles – Yellow noodles are tossed in garlic sauce which infuses each noodle. It’s garnished with parsley. There’s so much garlic, you can see the little white pieces. Imagine tossing spaghetti with parmesan, except instead of parmesan, all the little white specks are garlic. The noodles come out hot and so soft. The texture of the noodles was very impressive, so soft that they melt in your mouth. As they get to room temperature, they’ll taste more like regular noodles. The garlic is definitely present. Very strong garlic flavor. $5.95

- Fried Banana with Ice Cream – Four pieces of banana are covered in a tempura batter and deep fried. This is accompanied with a dish of coconut ice cream. The banana pieces are drizzled with syrup and a light sprinkling of black sesame. The banana was wonderful. Hot on the inside, the flavor of the batter isn’t too sweet and the syrup doesn’t overwhelm the treat. It’s wonderful. The coconut ice cream is so infused with flavor. I have my doubts that they make the ice cream themselves, but it’s good quality ice cream, and just perfect after a garlic filled meal. $3.95

I would say PPQ is trying to reach for a slightly upscale feeling. It has a nicer atmosphere than many other Vietnamese restaurants and is neat and clean. Presentation is nice. Service could be improved. The prices for pho, bun, and rice plates are moderately priced. The main dishes are slightly higher priced than its competition (hence the reason for saying they’re going for a more upscale crowd). However, the crab offerings certainly make PPQ more special than the rest. Also, if you’re a garlic lover, definitely try the garlic noodles.

Hung Lee - Chinese, Congee, Hong Kong

2A Hau Fook Street, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Nearest MTR: Tsim Sha Tsui - Cameron Road Exit
Tel: 852 2721 6606
Hours: Open 7am until late

Last Visited: November 2010

Food: 4 stars
Atmosphere: 2 to 3 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $

Hau Fook Street is so close to Nathan Road that it has started to show up in Lonely Planet and other tourist resources as a place to try dai pai dong (street food) places. A lot of people (me included) are turning to the web, in addition to tour books, for local accounts of what is good and where to go get that good food.

Most of my breakfasts in Hong Kong are spent on Hau Fook Street where I alternate between Hung Lee and S&P Kiosk. Hung Lee was recently remodeled about a year ago. While the style of food is the same, you can see that the cover that shield the florescent lights are nothing like those found in the United States - these are light blue and look like a fish tank. The open kitchen streams steam so you know they're constantly cooking some fresh stuff back there.

At Hung Lee, the specialty is congee. Often called rice gruel or rice porridge in English, it's rice that has been cooked in hot water until reaching an almost creamy consistency. Once this plain base has been made, meat is added to customize the dish. While it's healthy, it's also considered Chinese comfort food - when Chinese people get sick or have a stomach ache, a lot of them turn to rice porridge. The long porridge cooking time over a flame is said to replenish the body of its nutrients. While mostly popular for breakfast and lunch, you still find people eating it for dinner too.

Hung Lee has a wide variety of congee or porridge - Sampan Congee, Pork with Preserved Egg Congee, and much more.

- Ground Beef Congee - While I don't know for sure that this is the name on the English menu, know that if you ask for beef congee here, they offer two kinds. One kind has slices of beef -this is not the one I order. The one I like has ground beef that has been mixed with fried rice noodles. Pieces of this mixture are then put into a bowl of hot rice congee and topped with a sprinkle of cilantro and green onions. Once it arrives at the table, you stir it all together and break up the pieces of meat to finish the cooking process. Don't be scared if some of the meat is red when it arrives at the table - it will cook through after stirring it in the hot porridge. $16HKD (about $2.50 USD - quite the bargain)

- Fried Sweet Doughnut - The picture ot the right shows what a Chinese fried sweet doughnut looks like. It's covered with sesame for that extra flavor. The literal translation is cow tongue pastry. It sounds odd, but it makes sense - it does look a bit like a cow tongue. Sweet, but not as sweet as American donuts, it's a nice item to enjoy with your congee. $10HKD (about $1.50 USD)

Other items that we frequently order while at Hung Lee are soy sauce noodles (a small plate of stir-fried noodles with vegetables), rice noodle rolls (you add sauces to them to customize them to your favorite flavor - peanut sauce, plum sauce, soy sauce, and top them with sesame seeds), fried savory doughnut (more crispy in texture than the fried sweet doughnut), and more.

They also offer a variety of western breakfast combinations. While we wouldn't call them American, they are more western in style. An example would be buttered toast with a bowl of macaroni and ham in broth. This is very typical of western breakfasts in Hong Kong.

Try Hung Lee for some delicious congee for breakfast some time! It's one of my go-to places in Hong Kong.

Panta Rei - Italian, San Francisco

431 Columbus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 591-0900
Parking: limited street parking, pay parking lots
Hours: 11:30am to 11:30pm daily, open until 12:30am Fridays and Saturdays
http://www.pantareirestaurant.com/

Last Visited: April 8, 2006

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

Brenda recommended Panta Rei. Located in the heart of Little Italy in San Francisco adjacent to Chinatown (on the corners of Columbus and Stockton), Panta Rei has a triangular shape about it. It’s typical of other restaurants in the area with its employees outside drumming up business. Tables located outside let you see the happenings along Columbus Ave. The blue and khaki awning labeled with the words Café and Cucina, shelter the patrons from the sun. Inside, the color scheme is mainly burgundy, brown, and black. The bar is made of small tiles – mostly black with some copper colored ones amongst them. The open kitchen is set in one corner and you can see typically three people working there. The waiters could all be Italian, but I would say they look European, but no confirmation of specific ethnicities. Today, all of the wait staff was male dressed in Panta Rei t-shirts and denim jeans. The tables are covered with stainless steel sheet and there is a wood trim. Tea light candles sit in a small glass on each table, but it was still early in the evening during my visit, and none of the candles were lit. Loud Italian pop plays on the stereo system.

Panta Rei would be ideal for a date or for a girls’ night out. The wait staff makes for pleasant eye candy and their accents are more than pleasant to listen to. If the staff isn’t enough, Panta Rei has lots of attractive clientele. The loud music and trendy atmosphere are especially inviting for those seeking a hip crowd. There were a number of families and some from the older crowd, so it is a place that is open to everyone.

- Calamari Fritti – Calamari is breaded and deep fried and served on top of radicchio leaves. Two wedges of lemon, three pieces of fried zucchini along with a small dish of tomato sauce accompany the calamari. The menu described the tomato sauce as spicy, but I didn’t find it very spicy at all. The calamari was lightly battered – not too heavy. The sauce was a bit thin for my taste – a thicker and spicier sauce would have been more satisfactory. I was surprised that it came with zucchini, and that was probably the best tasting item on the plate. Good. $7.95

Although I didn’t order any of the other starters, the bruschetta and the Caesar salad were both very reasonably priced and both came in large quantities, certainly enough to be shared by two or even three.

- Linguine Nere – Homemade squid ink linguine with mussels, clams, calamari, and shrimp are served in a wine sauce. Since it’s made with squid ink, the noodles are completely black. Served on a dark colored square plate, the seafood is scattered around the dish. The linguine was thick and al dente with uniform color. There was unfortunately only one shrimp and the mussels had a lot of sand in them. One of mine still had a little bit of its beard. The calamari rings are tender, and the baby clams are cooked just right. Okay. Yummy noodles and a buttery, but light wine sauce, but they could definitely improve on the amount of sand in the seafood and the quantity of shrimp. $14.95

- Pappardelle Verdi All’anatra – Homemade fettucine with duck meat in pink Brandy sauce. Spinach is used to give these wide noodles their color. The pappardelle are al dente and delicious. The ground duck meat could have been mistaken for other meat, but the overall flavor of the sauce was nice. Creamy and rich, but not too heavy. Good. $11.95

- Capricciosa Pizza – Olives, artichokes, mushrooms, and prosciutto top a pizza that has been lightly topped with tomato sauce and cheese. The mushrooms are flavorful, the olives are a bit salty, and the artichokes are abundant. Four slices of prosciutto are laid on top of the pizza. Great flavor and crispy crust edges, but a little soggy in the center. The mushrooms are visually overwhelmed, but are notable once you take a bite. If you like salty flavors, this is perfect because the kalamata olives add a lot of saltiness. It’s good, but perhaps lightening the quantity of toppings, especially the olives, will make it just that much better. $9.95

Other specials were available, including buffalo mozzarella and basil pizza and a seafood soup, were listed on a specials menu.

The atmosphere is friendly with our waiter greeting us in Italian, and when we left, he thanked us in Italian too. It’s a bit of a rushed feeling from start to finish with dishes being taken away quickly and after the check comes and is paid (note that the menu states that credit cards are not accepted), the water glasses are taken away soon after. It’s not a place to sit and dine slowly, but get in, have a great meal, and get out. Some may find this type of service offensive, but if you know the business, you also know that every table occupied means money.

Overall, the prices for the food are very reasonable. The atmosphere is fun and hip. There’s room for improvement, but it’s worthy of another visit. Their handmade pasta is a treat, and the flavors are clean and delicious.

Rocket Cafe & Catering - California, Sushi, Sonoma

18812 Sonoma Highway, Sonoma CA 95476
(707) 939-8612, (707) 933-9755
Parking: small parking lot in the front
Cafe Hours: Tues-Sat 5pm to 9:30pm
http://rocketsonoma.com/cafe.html

Last Visited: 2008

Food: Catering 3 stars, Sushi 1 star
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

I first tried out some salads from Rocket at a church event that they had catered. The food was a bit Asian-inspired with salad dressings containing soy sauce and sesame oil. The various items that were ordered were fresh tasting and wasn't your traditional salad items. They had a bit of flare to each dish - so for that, I give a general food rating of three stars.

With that in mind, I visited Rocket Cafe and talked to Elizabeth Heyerly whom owns the business with her sister Molly, a professionally trained chef. Jacob Talbert, a Hawaiian-trained sushi chef completes their primary operation trio. Enter Rocket and you'll see the counter featuring desserts and baked goods like carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

Liz was super-friendly, explaining that the rice was being prepared and not quite ready for serving. The sisters' love for sushi and the lack of Sonoma sushi offerings fueled them to sell sushi at their cafe. Once the rice was ready, we ordered to go the following:

- Hamaichi (yellowtail) Nigiri $4

- Rocket Roll - The rocket roll is comprised of ahi, arugula, heirloom tomatoes, and lemon aioli. As you can see, it's not your typical Japanese roll. $7

- Yo Mamma Roll - This roll contained tempura shrimp, avocado, ahi, miso aioli, tobiko, and cucumber. $12.50

So why the one star rating? It was the sushi rice. It wasn't done yet. No matter how nice the shop owners are, or how cute the cafe may be, you can't let sushi rice out the door unless it's properly cooked. The center was still raw. I gave one star for the fresh fish and nice roll presentation. The rest is unforgivable.

It's been a couple of year since my first and only visit, but they're still open which tells me that they may have fixed this problem. In either case, I would stick with their regular catered fare and watch the rice if you choose to order sushi.

Mozzarella di Bufala - Pizza/Italian, San Francisco

69 West Portal Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94127
(415) 661-8900
Parking: street parking
Hours: Lunch Mon-Fri 11:30am to 3pm, Dinner 5pm to 10pm
http://www.dibufala.com/

Last Visited: June 17, 2008

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 4 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

Entering Mozarella di Bufala, you feel a bit like you are going into an old Italian restaurant with lots of dark wood paneling. It’s two units adjacent to one another, and although seating feels very close together, it has a quaint appeal. The concept of Mozarella di Bufala is interesting because they offer Brazilian cuisine too. More details about the history of the owners can be found on the back of the menu.

Upon arrival, we were given glasses of cold ice water. Unfortunately, my glass was dirty with food stuck on it, so it shows that more attention to detail is needed. However, the server was very pleasant and checked on us frequently.

Pizza is served in the following sizes: Mini 10” (4 slices), Small 12” (6 slices), Medium 14” (8 slices), Large 16” (10 slices).

House Salad – This salad contains romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, kidney beans, olives, and house dressing. The dressing choices include ranch, vinaigrette, creamy Italian, Caesar or blue cheese. We had the vinaigrette and found it to taste simple and fresh. The majority of the lettuce was also fresh. $2.70/$4.30

Di Bufala’s – Salami, sausage, pepperoni, onions, bell peppers, mushrooms are placed on a pizza over cheese and red sauce. The pizza is served on a pan and placed on a stand on your table. Piping hot, the cheese is really delicious and the flavors are great. Leftovers of this pizza seemed to be even better the next day. Great. 15.50/19.95/23.90/27.65

We stayed to chat for quite some time and didn’t feel rushed or bothered. The waitstaff was good about checking on us. Overall, the experience was good, but one waitstaff member dropped some silverware which could have been handled better and of course, there was an issue with the dirty glass. There is still room for improvement, but I would return to try some additional dishes.

Koi Palace - Chinese, Dim Sum, Daly City

365 Gellert Blvd, Daly City, CA 94015
(650) 992-9000
Parking: in parking lots in front of and behind restaurant

Last Visited: 2003

Food: 4 stars
Atmosphere: 4 stars
Service: 1 star in reception area, 3 stars in dining area
Price: $ to $$

Upon entering Koi Palace during the lunch hour on a weekend, you will find the establishment packed like sardines. People flock from all over the Bay Area to enjoy the dim sum at Koi Palace. I am currently boycotting Koi Palace due to the terrible service received in the reception area during my last visit. I only go now for wedding receptions and avoid Koi - yes, you can say the last visit left an exceptionally bad taste in my mouth.

Koi Palace claims that by calling in before your arrival that you can receive a reservation number which will reduce your wait time upon arrival. During my last visit, a table for four took over a three hour wait, not including the time between the phone reservation and arrival time. The most frustrating part was that we were told that the wait would be about 45 minutes. An hour an a half later, I asked about our so called 45 minute wait and was told that our table was coming up soon. Another 45 minutes later, I had seen tables for two enter and complete their lunch and leave. They obviously forgot about our table. Their disorganized system does not allow for chronological order since there is a call-in list and a separate walk-in list. The hostesses are not customer service oriented. Their snobby attitude doesn’t help either. You will find bribery taking place to get seated. The hostesses do not take bribes, but you can see people arrive, locate a member of the wait staff, pass them some cash, and be taken in through the side entrance adjacent to the bathrooms. For this reason, I am no longer going to this dishonest establishment.

So why do people go to Koi Palace? The food is very fresh and nicely presented. Tea is served in small black pots that sit upon a stand with a small tealight candle. Koi Palace is known for its fine selection of seafood, as well as the unique dim sum offered such as egg tarts with bird’s nests.

The restaurant is spacious, and the service is good. The displays show expensive and exquisite Chinese delicacies such as bird’s nests which are made even more attractive by the display. Once inside, you will find little to complain about, but the disastrous wait experience for dim sum may leave you ragged and weary. Early arrival on a weekend or a weekday visit is mandatory for reduced wait time.

Koi Palace isn’t the only game in town. Another ten to fifteen minutes away, you can find excellent dim sum in South San Francisco.

Moshi Moshi - Japanese, San Francisco

2092 3rd St, San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 861-8285
Parking: street parking
Hours: Lunch Mon-Fri 11:30am to 3pm, Dinner 5pm to 10pm

Last Visited: June 8, 2008

Food: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $$ to $$$$

I visited Moshi Moshi for the first time on a warm Tuesday lunch hour. With a shaded back patio, it’s a nice play to go for lunch when there is a breeze, but it can get very warm and stuffy on a day that is very hot. We ate inside the restaurant next to the small bar area adjacent to the back patio.

There are two units next to one another and then the patio. Although it can feel a bit crowded, service was still okay, but could have been a touch more attentive. I still gave service a three star rating.

Moshi Moshi offers bento combinations, sushi, donburi (rice bowls), and teriyaki dishes. Upon our arrival, we were served very hot miso soup topped with scallions.

- Combination Lunch – Teriyaki can be ordered for multiple meats as well as various sushi, gyoza, tempura, and tonkatsu. I tried the salmon teriyaki and sashimi. The bento box contained a piece of salmon was grilled and brushed with teriyaki sauce served on top of a leaf of lettuce. Three slices of sashimi (tuna and another type of fish) were served in another square of the bento box. Salad and a slice of melon were in another square of the box, and rice was in yet another. The center of my box contained wasabi and shredded daikon. Ginger was missing from my plate, otherwise, I would have given the food one more star. $11.95

The waitstaff checked on us, but they could have refilled water faster, especially since the temperature was hot that day. Overall, it was a good lunch place considering the location and the quantity of my fellow dining companions’ tonkatsu was very large.

Creekside Bakery & Cafe - American, Novato

1719 Grant Ave, Novato CA 94945
(415) 892-7655
Parking: in shopping center parking lot

Last Visited: June 21, 2010

Food: 3 stars
Service: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $$

If it weren't for Martha, I probably wouldn't have even known about Creekside Bakery. You could drive by the shopping center a million times and never even know it's there. Tucked away in the Downtown Novato Shopping Center on Grant and 7th Street, you'll find Creekside Bakery.

Martha likes to come here for quiche. Enter the bakery and it's almost like entering a time warp. You could be in the 1980s with the wood furniture; the decor is very traditional and homey. I could see elderly ladies coming here for an afternoon tea. It seemed that a number of moms brought their kids for lunch during my visit today. I'm guessing it has to do with the fact that the library is just across the street.

The staff is friendly and you get the feeling that Creekside has been around a long long time and hasn't changed much - the pace just feels slower in terms of how things are done here even though the staff isn't slow. The display case doesn't show fondant over cakes - instead it's more traditional items and a few more modern looking pastries.

We came for a leisurely lunch and although the quiche and soup sounded appetizing, I opted for a sandwich today.

- Reuben Sandwich - Served with a choice of green salad or soup, the reuben is served on toasted rye (which they make themselves) and stacked with sliced corned beef. The sauerkraut looked like it was homemade. I prefer my sauerkraut to be very warm and tart; this was room temperature and not particularly sour so it was just okay. The mixed greens salad on the side was somewhat small and dressed in a vinaigrette. Nothing to write home about.

- Croissant - Flaky on the outside and soft on the inside just as it should be.

- Apple Turnover - Good. Meets the standards that you would have for a turnover.

Prices are fairly standard for the pastries compared to other bakeries. The whole bill came out to just under $15 for these three items with the sandwich about $8.

I was also given a graduation cake from here - the cake was done in whipped cream and was a yellow fruit basket cake. The fruit was fresh and the writing done nicely. While it's not a gourmet bakery and I can't say that any certain item is wow, it's a good old-fashioned hometown bakery for your everyday needs.

L'Osteria del Forno - Italian, San Francisco

519 Columbus Ave, San Francisco CA 94133
(415) 982-1124
Parking: street parking
Hours: Sun to Mon and Wed to Thurs: 11:30am to 10pm, Fri to Sat: 11:30am to 11pm
http://www.losteriadelforno.com/

Last Visited: August 27, 2005

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 2 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

Edwin suggested trying L'Osteria del forno after a friend strongly recommended the Pancetta pizza.

L'Osteria has been noted in local tourist guides for a restaurant in North Beach. It's a small cafe type of setting seating less than 50 people. The restaurant is fairly dark with rustic colors - dark woods for the tables and chairs, an earthy yellow on the walls, and art that borders modern. There is a shelf with multi-colored bottles all along the shelf. There is a glass case filled with keys in it on display, black and white photos of the cafe, and other items around the room. A wine rack sits in the rear, and behind the counter is an open kitchen. The bathroom is tiny with a very small sink, and an interesting poster of what seems to be Italian ice cream.

Above the counter are the specials. Fortunately, Pancetta and Red Onion Pizza was one of them.

- Pancetta and Red Onion Pizza - A very thin crust pizza is topped with cheese, sliced red onions, and slices of pancetta. Depending on the bite and the distribution at that location, the pizza can be just right or in some cases, very salty. If you love savory flavors, this is excellent. It was so hot that it nearly burned my mouth during the first two bites. Excellent. This is the way pizza should be. The sauce is light, and the cheese marries all the flavors together and it's quite yummy. 12 inches $14, 17 inches $18

- Arrosto Sandwich - The roast of the day offered a choice of either pork or beef. I selected beef. The sandwich came on focaccia bread sliced into two triangles. Between the focaccia were thin slices of roast beef, still red. The menu lists the sandwich meat as lightly salted. The sandwich contains a leaf of butter lettuce and is accompanied with a large green olive. The meat was tender, but there were still small pieces of tendon captured within the slice. The outside of the focaccia gave a hint of saltiness to the sandwich. The bread was soft and since I got to it a bit later in the meal, I'm not sure if the sandwich was hot or room temperature to start. After eating the pizza, the meat seemed rather flavorless, but still nicely presented on a piece of parchment on top of a straw plateholder. Nicely presented, but eating the pizza first made this rather difficult to judge, so it may have been better to start with the sandwich instead. The olive is quite salty, so it definitely provides contrast. Okay - probably 2 to 3 stars with opportunity for improvement (maybe if I had eaten it first the rating would improve). $7

Overall, I found the experience okay. Service was quite unfriendly. They're not rude, but certainly, they didn't crack a smile much if at all. When asking for plates, I felt I got ignored, but apparently, she heard me after all. She seemed a bit perturbed that I would bother asking for them a second time. The staff is not exactly rude, but certainly not friendly, and rather indifferent.

The pizza was very good, so I would be willing to go back and try it again if not for anything else. There are a variety of starters and salads, so there is certainly more to try, but disregard the service first to reduce any disappointment.

Arun Thai - Novato

385 Bel Marin Keys Blvd, Novato CA 94949
(415) 883-8017
Parking: parking lot
Hours: Lunch Mon - Fri 11am to 3pm, Dinner Mon - Sun 5pm - 10pm

Last Visited: July 31, 2010

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $ to $$$

I was reading the Novato Advance and saw the nice write up on Arun Thai. Their description of the pumpkin curry prawns sounded so delicious that I knew exactly what I was going to get when I went for lunch.

Arun Thai is located in a small strip mall if you could call it that. It's a stand alone building that has warehouse spaces in the back. The front has a sign showing the restaurant name clearly, so you won't miss it if you look past the lawn area.

The less impressive exterior is quickly forgotten when you get a glimpse of the modern interior. A combination of dark wood, eggplant and chartreuse walls, colorful napkins, and Thai paintings transport you to an inviting place. I was quite impressed at what they had done so simply and smartly. The large flower bouquet also adds to the ambiance and the windows both in the front and side of the restaurant stream in a lot of natural light. Two entrances, one on the side and one in the front, bring you into the dining area which contains a booths against one wall, regular tables in the middle, and a bank of tables against a cushioned seating area along the other wall.

Owned by a husband and wife team, Arun Thai is named after the husband. The servers are friendly and happy to explain items to you if you have questions. Upon our arrival for lunch, we were given ice water and menus. It seemed to take them a while to come back since it was pretty busy during this lunch time, but the food still came out quickly.

The lunch menu is fairly simple offering a reduced set of items from the main menu, but still providing enough variety that you'll be able go back again and again to try new things.

- Lunch items are accompanied by salad or soup of the day and a choice of jasmine or brown rice. While the menu stated that soup was available as a choice, the server just brought salad to us without asking and since it was our first time, we really didn't pay much attention to this. The fresh salad greens (mixed greens with more lettuce and a wedge of tomato) was dressed in a light vinaigrette with fresh herbs.

- Pumpkin Curry Prawn - Prawns are simmered in a creamy red curry sauce, with seasonal vegetables and Kabucha pumpkin. As you can see from the picture, I ordered this both for lunch and dinner. The lunch plate came with a huge serving of rice - more than I could finish. The dinner curry was nicely presented with fresh Thai basil leaves on top. The seasonal vegetables included red and green bell peppers, carrots, green beans, and zucchini. I really like the balance of sweet and savory in this dish. Another thing that is done well is that they don't let the pumpkin stew too long - it's soft without being mushy and it hasn't broken down to the point of changing the texture of the sauce. It's about as perfect as a pumpkin curry gets. Lunch $8.50, Dinner $12.50

While the lunch visit was a bit slow in terms of ordering and having our check brough to us, the food was very good and well-flavored and we still managed to leave within an hour which is perfect for the business crowd. I was impressed enough to come back for a second visit not long after the first.

For dinner, I opted to try out an appetizer as well as some of their noodle offerings.

- Tod Mun - Ground fish is mixed with Thai curry paste and green beans, then deep fried until brown. The four cakes are served with a sweet and sour cucumber salad. The salad contains red onion and chopped cilantro too. I liked the flavor of the cakes - not too salty which is often the fault found at other locations. The cucumber salad was also very fresh with the cucumbers being super crunchy and marinated just right so that the onion and cucumbers with the dressing was refreshing and paired well with the tod mun. Great. $6.50

- Pad Thai - Rice noodles are fried in a wok with tofu, egg, bean sprouts, and shrimp. While the photo here was taken after we had already started to dig into the dish, you'll notice that for all of the other dishes shown, presentation is attended to and very nice. The pad thai noodles were al dente and the tamarind sauce was a little more sweet than I prefer, but still good. Lunch $7.95, Dinner $9.50

- Drunken Noodle with Beef - Wide flat rice noodles are fried in a wok with a garlic basil sauce, beef, American broccoli, and Chinese broccoli. I liked how there were more noodles in this dish than you find at other restaurants. You can really taste the basil in this dish. Good. $7.95

My overall experience at Arun has been very positive. Go early for dinner for more one-on-one service if you think you'll have a lot of questions. While lunch service could use some refinement, it's a great addition to Novato's lunch and dinner scene; I will definitely visit again.

I've also heard that their BBQ Thai Islamic lamb ($16) which is only listed on the dinner menu is awesome. Several people I know have raved about that quite a bit. I'll have to give it a try next time.

Le Colonial - French/Vietnamese, San Francisco

20 Cosmo Place, San Francisco CA 94109
(415) 931-3600
Parking: pay parking in nearby lot, limited street parking
Last Visited: 2002
http://www.lecolonialsf.com/

Food: 4 stars
Service: 4 stars
Atmosphere: 4 stars
Price: $$$ to $$$$

It’s been a while since I visited Le Colonial. Alison recommended I try the place. Perhaps it was the mood I was in, but after going to the theatre, this seemed like a perfect place to go. It’s rather difficult if you’re going to make the attempt at finding street parking, but Le Colonial is worth it.

Upon entering, you’ll need to take a flight of stairs to the dining area. There is a quaint dining area where the sun streams in immediately before the entrance and greenery is all around. Inside, it’s a classy place with black and white photos of the days of old in Saigon. You’ll enjoy the atmosphere. Upstairs is a lounge, which I hear is a happening place late at night.

- Salmon salad rolls – Vietnamese rolls are filled with salmon, dill, cucumbers, and herbs. They are cut and served with a flavorful dipping sauce. $11

- Crab cakes – These are crusted with coconut and come with a cilantro chili sauce. $12

- Satay – The chicken satay was rather average. Still quite tasty, but not spectacular.

I enjoyed more dishes, but can’t remember what I tried. I think there was a clay pot dish with rice in it as well as some other great plates. All the dishes are presented wonderfully, and the service is very good. It is elegant dining in a setting with a lot of ambiance, and the food is satisfying. This is not the place to go if you plan to compare it with the price of typical Vietnamese restaurants. However, you will likely be pleased with the approach they take to make fine Vietnamese food in a beautiful setting.

Michelin Ratings

The Michelin rating - it's a highly regarded rating system that people recognize world-wide. Just when I started thinking that a meal at a restaurant with a Michelin star was equivalent to forking over my life savings, or somewhere thereabouts, I encountered the least expensive Michelin-rated restaurant - Tim Ho Wan in Hong Kong (review coming soon).

Isn't Michelin the company that sells tires? Why yes they do! However, the Michelin guide, first published in France in 1900, to help make travel easier, now covers 23 different countries. Restaurants (and hotels) are anonymously evaluated on unpublished criteria and now there seems to be a cult following amongst foodies to try out restaurants with this acclaimed rating.

Interested in knowing if any restaurants in your own backyard are Michelin-starred?
Michelin 2011 Starred Restaurants, San Francisco Bay Area

And something new to me, but maybe not to you:
Michelin 2011 Bib Gourmand, San Franicsco Bay Area
For $40 or less, you can enjoy two courses and wine or dessert. I don't know if this is really the case as those restaurants listed that I have dined at don't seem to fit the bill - sure you can get out for less than $40, but you're not really ordering much more than an entree and one more dish, at least that's the case in my experience.

Lam Hoa Thuan - Chinese, Vietnamese, Hong Kong Style BBQ

2337 Irving Street, San Francisco CA 94122
(415) 661-1688, (415) 661-8078
Parking: street parking
Hours: Open Daily 9am to 9pm

Last Visited: June 6, 2010 (Prices shown for most items are from a visit in March 2005)

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $ to $$

Enter the restaurant and to your immediate left is the display of roast duck, chicken, and other assorted barbecued items. They’re especially well known for their barbecue and boiled free range chicken with salt. People line up to buy these items to go. I've waited two hours for the chicken (I probably won't do that again, but the fact that I did it tells you something about whether or not it tastes good).

The restaurant is extremely well lit. The walls are light in color, with wood paneling from the middle of the wall downward. On the right side are large mirrors running the length of part of the room. Red lanterns dangle from the ceiling along with strings of Christmas lights. On the opposite side of the room is a large wall hanging with brightly colored trees and an interesting scene.

There are lots of picture frames with Chinese calligraphy in gold on bright red backgrounds. A listing of specialties is also posted on small sheets of paper along the wall. In the back of the room, you’ll see more large calligraphy as well as a large cabinet containing a rather large Chinese figurine thought to bring protection and wealth to the restaurant. Incense is burned to this figure.

The restaurant is busy, so often times, the big tables are shared. There is a lot of hustle and bustle throughout the restaurant. It’s not a quiet atmosphere. Service may vary depending on time of day.

On each table, you’ll find marinated spicy peppers, chopsticks (both plastic and bamboo), and a multitude of sauces – soy sauce, chili sauce, hot sauce, and of course salt and pepper. You’re set to go to flavor your dish any way you wish.

- Phodacbiet (Combination pho) – Unlike some other pho places, Lam Hoa Thuan serves up pho in only one size, but it’s a pretty large bowl. The combination pho includes rare steak, well done beef brisket, flank steak, tendons, and strips of tripe. The fragrance of fish sauce was particularly strong, but after the first few bites, you won’t notice it much. Accompanying the pho is a dish of bean sprouts, Thai basil, slices of jalapeno pepper, and a lemon wedge. The portion is hearty and the ingredients are all fresh. Very good. $5.20

- Com Thit Quay and Com Vit Quay (Roast Pork and Roast Duck over Rice) – The plate is half filled with rice, a quarter filled with roast pork, and a quarter filled with roast duck. The roast pork skin is crispy and golden. The roast duck also has a nice flavor. Both are above average in terms of flavor compared to other establishments – not too strong, and not to weak. After trying these items to go, they seemed to be just okay when I tried them sitting down in the restaurant. Maybe there’s just something about having a whole box of the duck at home with homemade dishes, or sitting in the car and eating the skin of the roast pork before the crunchiness disappears. It could be the quantity in comparison to take out orders, or the lack of vegetables soaked in the juice of the roasted items. This is not to say the roasted items were bad, but something seemed lacking. On my second visit, I found the duck to have a crisp skin, but again, the duck skin was just fair. Okay overall. $5.20

- Nuoc Dua Tuoi (Young Coconut Juice) – Of all the coconut juice I’ve had that was served in a glass, this is definitely amongst the best. The coconut flavor is especially fragrant and tasted delicious. As usual, pieces of young coconut are floating in the juice along with lots of ice. Very very good. Even better if you take out some of the ice to prevent the flavor from being diluted. $1.65

2010 visit: Still as busy as ever, the lines for the bbq are still out the door.

- Gravy Egg and Shrimp over Rice - While this description doesn't translate nearly as well into English as the Chinese name, it's still likely to give you a full stomach. In Chinese, it's called smooth and creamy egg over rice. The egg is cooked with hot oil and shrimp until it reaches an almost gravy-like consistency. Then it's put over an abundant bed of rice. While it's way too much rice for me, it would be great to order this dish with another main entree - you could easily have enough rice to serve two people. Good. $5.89

- Rice Stick Noodles Singapore Style - Singapore style means curry seasoning. The rice noodles are cooked with shrimp, red bell pepper strips, onion strips, green onion strips, jalapeno slices, bean sprouts, bbq pork strips, and of course, dry curry seasoning. This makes for a very flavorful noodle dish since the seasoning covers every strand of delicate rice noodle. The portion is also hearty for this dish. Good. $5.49

The value is definitely present at Lam Hoa Thuan. The barbecued and other items sold at the counter are great, especially the boiled chicken with salt. If you’ve never had this type of chicken, you’ll find the flavor and taste different than Foster Farms or other brands available at the local grocery stores.

If you can’t try them for sit down dining, buy some of their roast pork. You’re sure to be pleased. It’s a great place to go for barbecued items Chinese style. You’ll probably be pretty happy with the Vietnamese food too.

Taki Sushi - Japanese, Novato

452 Ignacio Blvd, Novato CA 94949
(415) 883-2423
Parking: shopping center parking lot
Hours: Lunch Tues - Sat 11:30 am to 2:30 p.m; Dinner Tues - Sun 5:30pm to 9:30 pm

Last Visited: March 19, 2010

Food: 2 to 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 2 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

Friends wanted to try out Taki Sushi, but when we met there, they were closed. So after talking to some coworkers whom live nearby Taki Sushi, and doing some additional web searches to verify that it indeed was worth trying, I made a second attempt to try out Taki and was successful. At least one review said that Taki Sushi was the best sushi restaurant in Marin and a number of other reviews gave it four or five stars, which of course increased my expectations.

When you walk into Taki Sushi, you notice koi pond in the front. Behind that, the room is divided in half - on the left side is the sushi bar and tables; a divider separates the bar from the right side of the room which contains only dining tables. We were immediately seated on the right side of the room and given menus. Since the shopping center itself was going through a remodel, they featured a special - a California roll for every table ordering over $20 in food - good marketing from my perspective as well as good timing for our visit. Of course, they must expect you to see the sign explaining this promotion on the outside because they don't tell you about it when you order and it was nowhere to be seen in the restaurant itself.

When it's my first visit to a Japanese restaurant, I like to order a combination of a few raw sushi items, a few cooked sushi items, and an entree. It gives me a feel for what to get for future visits since I'll be able to experience all areas of their offerings.

As you can tell from the prices below, they are not what you would call expensive, but the quality is probably what I would deem medium. The pieces of fish are large and fresh, but there wasn't a wow factor. The rice was just okay. Interestingly, while I don't normally order California rolls, I would say of the items shown on this plate, the California rolls were the best and what I would recommend ordering. After my visit, I learned that they are known for their California rolls.

- Maguro (Tuna) $4.75

- Salmon (Fresh) $4.85

- Salmon (Smoked) $4.85

- California Roll - Good!

- Unagi - The unagi was good - a generous portion and cooked to a nice temperature. I've had better, and I've had worse. $4.85

- Baked Scallop - The scallop was fresh, but I would skip this one. It wasn't to my tastes in any case. I think the scallop loses its flavor in this preparation. $6.25

- Tonkatsu - The tonkatsu, fried pork cutlets, is served with a lot of teriyaki sauce, an abundant helping of cabbage slaw topped with a mayonnaise dressing, and a bowl of rice. Miso soup and a small pickled cabbage salad are served ahead of the main dish. While there is a lot of food, it was this dish that made them receive a lower service rating. More on that below. The miso soup was fine; nothing special. The pickled cabbage salad had a nice balance of sweet and vinegar flavor, but it wasn't pickled enough - it could be more crunchy (think good kimchee). The two pieces of tonkatsu is are large, but I would prefer the sauce on the side. There is a little too much breading, and the sauce makes it soggy pretty fast. Choose this if you want quantity, not quality. The cabbage slaw has some shredded carrots in it, but that's all it is - raw vegetables with a drizzle of dressing on top. It's bland and blah - why would you heap such a large amount of raw vegetable onto a plate? $13.50

The problem with the service was that they essentially created a trip hazard. The gal serving the tonkatsu dropped a bit of the heaping cabbage slaw onto the ground. Then she left it there after seeing it had fall to the ground. Let's assume she didn't see it - even if we give her the benefit of the doubt, other servers saw it. This action, or lack thereof, dropped their service rating from three stars to two stars.

My final thoughts on Taki Sushi - if you intend to go, get the California roll. The sushi is just okay. If you want a lot of food, consider the entrees, but make sure you like raw, undressed (or mix it yourself) cabbage slaw.