Rutherford Grill - Rutherford

1180 Rutherford Road, Rutherford, CA 94573
(707) 963-1792
Parking: in parking lot

Last Visited: August 18, 2008

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 2 stars
Price: $$$ (note that prices shown are from 2008)

Dorothea said this was a good place to eat and Julian said the cornbread is probably the best he's eaten - even though he normally doesn't like cornbread.  With those kind of reviews, Rutherford Grill was definitely worth a try.

While you could come here dressed up, it was also appropriate for those casually dressed too.  The place is actually pretty large and we sat in a booth.  From my recollection, service was just okay.  It took a while to seat us, and the staff was ok, but we did feel a little neglected at times - when the water needed refilling and the like.

- Iron Skillet Cornbread - If you like corn bread with stuff in it, you'll like this one.  It's sweet and crusty, with corn, jalapenos, and hints of bacon.  If you're on a diet, don't look at the bottom of the skillet.  It's rich and if you're eating it on your own, you could just enjoy it as a meal. $6

- Caesar Salad – The lettuce in the Caesar salad was chopped fine and heavily coated with dressing. The parmesan was grated and the croutons were medium sized. I found that the portion was good sized – we shared it amongst the three of us gals. However, there was noticeable rust on multiple pieces and since everything was so thoroughly chopped, it lacked a bit of the crunchy goodness I look forward to enjoying in a good Caesar. Of all the dishes tried tonight, I would say this was the least impressive, but still okay. $10 ($13 in 2011)

- Prime Rib - Aged Angus, roasted on the bone, served with mashed potatoes colcannon.  I liked the prime rib.  It was juicy and tender, but I don't think it's the best prime rib that I've ever had.  Compare it to the House of Prime Rib and it doesn't make the cut as something that I would select instead.  Good.  $29

- Leg of Lamb - I'm not sure if this was a seasonal item, but it's not on the menu all of the time.  The leg of lamb was succulent and tender.  It didn't taste gamey, but had nice seasoning.  $22

Of all the items we tried, the most memorable was definitely the cornbread.  If you're in the area, it's worth trying and the food is good, but it doesn't make my list for places that I have to go back to again and again.  Due to its location, it's usually packed on the weekends, so it's a good idea to make a reservation ahead of time.

Kirala - Japanese - Sushi/Robata grill, Berkeley

2100 Ward Street, Berkeley CA 94705
(510) 549-3486
Parking: street parking, parking lot nearby
Hours: Lunch Mon-Fri 11:30am-2pm, Dinner Mon-Fri 5:30pm-9:30pm, Sun 5pm-9pm
http://www.kiralaberkeley.com/kirala/kirala.html

Last Visited: August 8, 2009

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

I think it was Hank's photos that first triggered my interest in Kirala. I looked it up, and since I had never been to a restaurant that served sushi and offered items from their robata grill, I thought it would be worth a visit. Of course, you can also get rolls and typical dishes like tonkatsu as well. Since then, I've been twice - once sitting at the bar (alcohol bar) since I didn't have reservations and once at the actual sushi bar (although I was closer to watching the grill than the sushi).

Both times, I found the food to be of good quality, service to be okay, and worth going back.

Located across from the Berkeley Bowl supermarket, you'll find the environment somewhat inspiring - the produce at Berkeley Bowl is outstanding. Although that has nothing to do with Kirala, it's nice to know that if you go to the restaurant, there is a cool destination to check out just across the street. As we waited outside for both visits, I noticed the decorations across Ward Street even matched Kirala - fish on the outside of the building that you can see from Kirala's entrance.

Whether you're early or late, there tends to be a line. Since I had to wait outside, then inside, and only managed to get a bar seat during my first visit, I was more prepared for my second visit. I showed up at about 5:15pm and waited outside around the corner (there were some other well-prepared folks) and managed to get a seat at the sushi bar.

The place is extremely packed (what happened to a bad economy?) and if you're at the alcohol bar, there are a ton of people packed into the waiting area that is adjacent to the bar. It's almost uncomfortable, and quite frankly, I think they shouldn't allow people to sit at this bar since the staff is trying to get drinks for the dining area. At the sushi bar, service is better since there are less handoffs, but it is hard to add items to your order and tea refills are not as frequent as they should be. These reasons account for the two to three star range on the service rating.

The food is presented well and is of good quality. Sitting at the sushi/grill bar, you do tend to get a little smoke from the grill than I would prefer even though the exhaust fans are good. It's a bit hard to avoid.

All of the fish was fresh and as you can see from the photo, the pieces were fairly generous. Prices are fairly typical for the area. Here's a listing of the sushi we tried.

- Aji (Spanish Makerel) - $6
- Hirame (Halibut)- $5
- Maguro (Tuna) - $5.50
- White King Salmon - $6
- Tai (Red Snapper) - $5
- Kanpachi (Amberjack) - $6
- Seared Tuna - $5.50
- Trout - $6

- Unagi - A generous piece of unagi and very good. $5.50

- Agedashi Tofu - During my first visit, I saw some Japanese people order this and so that prompted me to order it for the second visit. Good, but not wow. $6.75

- Ika Temp - A small plate of fried fresh squid - although nicely done because of the light tempura batter, the quantity is somewhat small compared to what you would get when ordering at an Italian place - I would rather pay a couple dollars more and get a larger quantity. Okay, but I would more than likely skip it on the next visit. $7.95

- Atsu Age - I really like fried tofu. I guess it's the combination of textures - slightly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. A really well done fried tofu is piping hot in the center and almost melts in your mouth, especially when soft tofu is used. The outside should be beautifully golden brown and the edges of the brick should be crunchy and the rest crispy. This one was okay - I wasn't wowed by it, but the presentation was nice with the green onion on top. Chinese fried tofu with salt and pepper is a better bargain - tinier pieces mean more crunchy edges. Okay. $3.75

- Ribs - Sitting next to the grill, one of the benefits was seeing what other people were getting firsthand. Although I had pretty much finished eating, I saw the ribs and they looked too good to pass up. Of course they had to be ordered. I really liked how the wedge of lemon helped to brighten the flavor of the ribs. Delicious and definitely worth getting. $8.95

This is one of those places where the service is the best when the check comes - they're friendly and fast to return your check with change to get you out the door for the next round of patrons. Alas, there is opportunity for Kirala to improve their service overall, but at least the food is good. I would go back for more, although it wouldn't be a destination I would deliberately drive an hour to try.

WildFox - Grill, Novato

225 Alameda del Prado

Novato CA 94949

(415) 883-9125

Parking: in parking lot

Hours: Daily 11:30am-2:30pm; Mon-Thurs 5pm-10pm, Fri 5pm-11pm, Sat 4:30pm-11pm, Sun 4:30pm-10pm

http://www.wildfoxrestaurant.com/

Last Visited: April 15, 2010

Food: 2 to 3 stars

Atmosphere: 4 stars

Service: 2 to 3 stars

Price: $$-$$$

Both of my visits to WildFox have been for lunch. For the first visit, I had made a reservation through Open Table and had indicated through the comments that we were having a birthday guest and gave of a description of that person (it was easy since he was the only guy in our party). Everything seemed to be going well. Upon our arrival, I checked in with the hostess and confirmed that they had indeed received the comment about our birthday guest. She acknowledged that she knew about it and that everything was taken care of.

When we sat down, we were asked what drinks we wanted and given very large menus - these things are the size of a dinner tray, and that's before you open the menu. When we ordered, although it was noon, we learned that pizza was not available because the dough wasn't ready. So we chose other dishes. In past visits, our birthday boy had gotten the Asian stir fry, which comes with a choice of beef, chicken, or tofu, with a special combination of chicken and beef. However, upon checking with the kitchen, he was told that they could only accommodate one of those choices unless he wanted to pay an additional amount for the second selection of meat. So far, it was a bit of a rough start.

We moved past these little issues fairly quickly and were asked if we wanted bread and butter with our meal. When there is a party of four, the bread is a quarter of a huge round. It's enormous, which to me was a bit unmanageable. Tables with only two people got more normal sized pieces.

The restaurant reminds me a bit of a ski lounge. It's situated on top of a hill, and has a spacious feel about the restaurant. There is a bar on the side and the kitchen is open. Booths line the side of the restaurant with windows, and there is a back room for larger parties.

- Grilled Reuben (Robert's Corned Beef) Sandwich - Thicker slices of corned beef are accompanied by homemade sauerkraut, Russian dressing, and melted swiss cheese on grilled rye bread. All sandwiches are accompanied by homemade pickles and your choice of soup, salad, or home cut fries. The bread was nicely grilled, although the underside was already starting to get a little soft. I could live with that though, but the sauerkraut wasn't as tart as I like it. The sandwich was fairly average compared to others that I have had, but the good thing is that it wasn't too greasy. The salad was a mixture of baby greens, but as I lifted up the second triangle half of my sandwich, I noticed a bug with wings. It was dead and was probably part of my salad. This was pretty disappointing. You could tell the bug had been dressed by the salad dressing. I chose not to notify the staff because I didn't want to sabotage things for the birthday boy later and continued to avoid that area of the plate. The salad was lightly dressed - it didn't have as much flavor as I like and not all of the salad was well-dressed. The pickles had a nice crunch and flavor. Overall, it was okay except for the bug. $11.95

The lunch seemed to go better for the rest of the folks in our party. After the meal had ended, I was waiting for the waiter to acknowledge our birthday boy, but nothing happened. The check came, and that was it. I was shocked at the lack of communication. If a request goes into Open Table and the hostess is aware of the birthday, there should be something communicated to the waitstaff to acknowledge the birthday. Instead, I walked away disappointed about the bug, the lack of pizza dough availability, and the lack of service in reference to the birthday.

Out of the ordinary circumstances landed me at WildFox again two days later. You can likely tell that it wasn't my choice. Fortunately, this visit was much better. Service was fine and the food was okay.

- Dungeness Crab Cake Benedict - The menu describes this dish as the following: crispy English muffin, seared tomatoes, grilled spinach, poached eggs, chive hollandaise, and rosemary garlic potatoes. There are two towers on the plate along with the sliced potatoes. The muffin was crispy and piled on top was a tomato that I couldn't tell was seared. The spinach was fresh and there was a good amount of it. The crab cake was made with fine pieces of crab meat, not chunks, and had a slightly crispy batter. The poached eggs look like nice ovals that are placed on top of the tower and topped with hollandaise. A few chives are sprinkled on top, but I wouldn't have called it a chive hollandaise. The dish was good, but I did find some crab tentacles in my crab cake. Also, I didn't find any rosemary in my potatoes; in fact, the potatoes were a bit bland, but the portion was good. No bugs, so okay. $12.95

In the end, WildFox has a nice setting for a business lunch, but it isn't in my top list of restaurants. It's one of those places that I will go to when my coworkers select it.