Old Port Lobster Shack 2016 review - Seafood, Redwood City

20 Woodside Plaza, Redwood City CA 94061
(650) 366-2400
Parking: shopping center parking lot
Hours: 11am-9pm
http://oplobster.com/ (Note that the address is still listed as Veterans Blvd)

Last Visited: May 9, 2016

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

I used to love Old Port Lobster Shack.  You can see the awesome review I gave them back in 2010.   I had been coming here for a number of years at their Veterans Boulevard location and would drive over an hour just to visit.

Sadly, this new location (opened just before Mother's Day this year) left me so disappointed and I don't know if things will ever get better.  Although it seems to be a bit more spacious, now that Old Port has merged with Rack & Roll BBQ, the quality has taken a major hit.  I arrived just after they opened and was surprised to see none of the regular staff members from the Veterans location.  There were two picnic tables full of open barbecue sauce bottles being refilled which seemed very unprofessional - most people do this in the rear of the restaurant if they do it during open hours.

I got my usual - two lobster rolls and two cups of chowder which set me back almost $45 for lunch.  However, the lady behind the register wasn't nearly as friendly as the one that worked at the Veterans location.

- The New England chowder still had the same great flavor as before, but that's probably the only thing that was the same.

- The dressed lobster rolls had the same flavor as before, but the bread wasn't toasted well enough and they had dents in them from too much handling which made the presentation less appetizing.  Far worse was the coleslaw - each bite was grainy as the sugar had not been thoroughly mixed into the dressing.

I had hoped that they were just going through a transition, but reading the reviews on the web, it doesn't seem to be getting better.  I overheard the Rack & Roll management talking about how she better change the music since Russell was about to come in and he wouldn't like the music that was playing.  This leads me to believe that this new partnership isn't going to allow for the consistency that I have come to expect.  This used to be my favorite place.  Sadly, I need to find another.

Cafe Orchid - Chinese/Hong Kong Style, Millbrae

98 El Camino Real, Millbrae CA 94030
(650) 697-3988
Parking: small rear parking lot
Hours: Mon-Fri 11am - 10pm, Sat-Sun 8am-10pm

Last Visited: June 19, 2016

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

After driving by Cafe Orchid many times, I finally stopped in for lunch last week.  I entered through the El Camino side (there is another entrance from the rear lot) and was promptly seated.  That was pretty much the end of the promptness.  From there, it took about five minutes before I could get someone's attention to get a menu.  It took at least another five minutes after closing the menus to get someone to take our order, and after that, another ten minutes before we were brought our hot tea - this was after we were asked yet again if we had ordered tea by the very person who took our order (face palm).

The poor service wasn't isolated to us though - every table had to wait for at least one thing - whether it be the second entree that they ordered, for the check, or something else.  One table finished an entire entree and waited another 20 minutes before their second entree came.

It's painted purple inside and signs with the menu specials are located on a large sign written in both English and Chinese.  The menu selection includes afternoon snack specials, entrees with drinks (coffee or tea, such as milk tea or lemon tea, served hot or cold), weekend breakfast items, and some seasonal specials like Portuguese chicken over rice.  For those unfamiliar with it, Hong Kong style Chinese is often comprised of spaghetti or rice with an American style dish that has been adjusted - examples include a baked pork chop or chicken in a mushroom cream sauce.  There are also more classic Chinese dishes offered.  I opted to try one of each - both dishes were just under $10.


- Beef Chow Fun (Wet style) - Of the two dishes I tried, this one could have been given a 3 star rating - it was hot in temperature, the flavors were typical, the Chinese greens were fresh ingredients, and served in a wok.  I liked how the texture of the meat was good and the sauce wasn't too heavy on the corn starch. If I were to go back, I would get this again.  It's what you would expect when ordering this dish.

- Oxtail Stew over Rice - Four pieces of oxtail of varying sizes are cooked with celery, carrots, and hot dogs (!) in a ketchup based sauce and served with your choice of spaghetti or rice.  The rice was just slightly undercooked which was disappointing as a starting point.  The oxtail was barely warm all the way through and the texture therefore wasn't as tender as when it is hot.  I was surprised to see slices of hot dogs in the dish - it's not typical to have them in this dish (or really any Chinese dish unless it says it's a hot dog), but we noticed hot dogs in a lot of our neighboring tables' dishes too.  I was really disappointed by this dish due to the temperature issues and the presence of hot dogs.

Although the prices are considered very reasonable, I was disappointed with how inefficient the staff was and with my food.  The staff would clean a table and walk back and forth in order to bring menus to new diners, bring drinks, etc.  Most waitresses can multitask and make each trip more efficient than this.  It took too long for food prepared to this quality.  If you're going to try it, I would suggest sticking to more traditional Chinese food and milk tea/lemon tea type of drinks - these seemed to be popular with the other patrons.

Amoura - Mediterranean, South San Francisco

713 Linden Ave, South San Francisco CA 94080
(650) 754-6891
Parking: parking lot
http://www.amourasf.com/
Hours: Lunch opens at 11:30am, Dinner opens at 5:30pm, Closed Sundays

Last Visited: May 27, 2016

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

Amos, my Mediterranean food expert friend, first told me about Amoura back when they opened about a year ago and in August 2015, we visited and created our own tasting menu for lunch.

After this initial visit, I soon returned for dinner and recently went back for lunch.  I've also had the food for takeout a number of times, but aside from the salad, it's never as good as immediately from their kitchen.

Located in a brick building, you wouldn't expect Amoura to look like much on the inside, but the decor is bright and classic, great for small or large parties.  They also have a bar, but I have yet to see someone sit at it.

I've tried a few things on the menu which changes minimally throughout the seasons.

- Fried chickpeas - During our 2015 visits, both for lunch and dinner, we were given fried seasoned chickpeas as an appetizer.  These were nicely flavored and the frying lightened the texture of the chickpea.  However, gone is this complimentary perk though in 2016.  You can order spiced nuts for $4 though.

- Falafel and Tahini Sauce (6) - Amos told me it's good when there is a lot of green in them.  These were light and had a lot of green.  Based on his expert assessment they're good.  The outside is golden brown and crunchy and you can see the abundance of sesame.  I thought the sauce was just okay though. $6

- Avocado and Roasted Carrots Salad - This is probably my most favorite thing from this restaurant.  With just a touch of black and white sesame, creamy avocado is paired with roasted carrots and persian cucumbers.  The light touch of dill, feta, and olive oil round out this simple salad that tastes oh so good.  Must try. $8

- Smoked Black Cod Flatbread - charred green onion, creme fraiche, dill - The flatbreads are sizable and good for sharing.  While there are several flatbread choices, this is one of their most popular and unique ones.  Depending on the season, you may see sturgeon with the same ingredients in place of cod.  The smoke flavor is pretty strong, but not overwhelming.  All of the flavors pair well together, even if the charred green onion may sometimes be a little too charred, but never inedible.  You do need to enjoy dill though - there is lots of it.  I've tried this one multiple times now. $13

- Grilled Lamb Kebabs - summer squash, cucumber, bulgur, green chutney - The lamb is juicy and did not have a gamey flavor.  There is a lot of squash and bulgur, almost too much compared to the quantity of meat.  $15

- Chickpea Stew - Swiss chard, spiced yogurt - I was hoping the stew would come out piping hot, but according to Amos, it's not unusual for it to be served just slightly above room temperature. The texture of the stew was nice and it was just above room temperature.  The photo shown here is for a half portion (which they kindly split for us when we told them we were going to share all of our dishes).  $16

- Braised Lamb Shank - beluga lentils, chicories, tumeric - The two rib lamb shank is tender and well seasoned, but ever so slightly gamey. The lentils were a little too hard for my tastes, and although I brought most of this home as leftovers, I still didn't enjoy the lentils the next day.  $23

- Special Pizza - Prosciutto, arugula, and egg - This was just okay. The flatbread had the right texture, and the egg, which must have been cooked separately, was cooked fine, but the prosciutto and arugula were put on the flatbread a little too early and had started to dry out a little (you can see how shriveled up the arugula is), so I didn't enjoy the toppings as much. Price unknown.

- Mango Vanilla Mojito (non-alcoholic) - mango, citrus, mint, and seltzer - Refreshing $6

The good: the food is tasty, there is parking adjacent to the restaurant, and the setting is pretty nice for South San Francisco.  Dinner service is a lot more attentive since it's not nearly as busy as during lunch.

The bad: if you're coming here for lunch, it's not one of those places you can go to quickly and be out in an hour.  For our party of four, we were there for over an hour and noticed that a nearby party more than twice our size took even longer to receive food even though they ordered at the same time we did.  We were nearly halfway through our meal before they were served.  This is the largest area of opportunity for them.  Also, it takes a really long time to have them give you a check, even after you ask for it.  They were apologetic during my most recent visit about taking a long time (more than 15 minutes) to bring the check, but it's still rough to wait so long during a weekday lunch.

I recommend trying Amoura, but just give yourself extra time for dining, especially during lunch.