Roli Roti - Catering, BBQ, San Francisco

San Francisco Farmer's Market, Catering

(510) 780-0300

http://roliroti.com

Last Visited: May 2012

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: N/A
Service: N/A
Price: N/A

Roli Roti is well known on the food truck scene, especially at farmer's markets.  I recently tried them when they catered our barbecue event and was excited to see them making their delicious porchetta.  At the farmer's market, you'll also seem them offering rotisserie chicken and pork knuckles too.

- Farro Salad with Tomatoes and Herbs - For those who aren't familiar, farro is like large barley.  These Italian pearl farro berries are tossed with diced tomatoes and chopped fresh herbs. The dressing, made from lime juice, vinaigrette, and soy sauce, penetrates each berry so it has a full-flavored and light taste.  I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this salad.

- Salad Verde - A variety of greens was tossed with RoliRoti’s original French vinaigrette.  The vinaigrette is well-balanced - with just the right proportion of oil to vinegar.  The greens were fresh and yummy.

- Rotisserie Porchetta - Heritage’s free range pork loin is rolled into the belly with Thomas’s original herb mix with lemon zest. Grilled on the rotisserie for four hours until crispy brown on the outside, the meat is flavored well and juicy.  I liked how the guys offered a sample of the crispy pork belly and were happy to add more of the crispy stuff to my sandwich since the guy in line before me wanted only the meat.  Before putting the meat into the sandwich, they season it with rosemary and salt.  That extra flavor along with the soft bread and fresh greens make for a great combination. A good amount of meat was included, making this sandwich, which appeared a little on the small side, filling and satisfying.  If there was anything I could change, I would reduce the thickness of bread by just a little bit. 

If you get the chance, try Roli Roti and don't skip the salad - they're just the right complement for their delicious meat.

The Moss Room - Cal Academy of Sciences, California cuisine, San Francisco

55 Music Concourse Drive, San Francisco CA 94118
Golden Gate Park
(415) 876-6121
Parking: in parking lot
Hours: 11am-3pm Daily
http://themossroom.com

Last Visited: May 7, 2012

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

Located in the California Academy of Sciences, you can enter the restaurant either through the Academy Cafe or take the elevator down.  Enter the Moss Room and you sense the peaceful environment as the lights are dimmed and the room temperature is cool.  I was pleasantly surprised.
This afternoon, the menu was selected for us except for the entree, so we had a chance to try a wide variety of food.  The first impression of the restaurant was really positive and their menu offer enough choices without being overwhelming. 

Warm milk bread was served in a skillet when we arrived.  It tasted a little fishy, but not in a bad way - we had just come from the aquarium, so it kind of fit our experience.  It's like Hawaiian bread, without the sweetness.  We asked about the fishy flavor and were told that it was just a sprinkle of sea salt. 

- Vegetarian Imperial Rolls - Tree ear mushroom, glass noodles, carrots, and tofu are put into a rice wrapper and deep fried.  Red leaf lettuce leaves and rice noodles are served on the side so you can wrap the roll inside the lettuce.  The golden rolls have a great texture from the crispy skin.  The flavor is light, but I enjoyed the cool lettuce against the temperature of the hot roll.  Good. $11

- Spring Vegetable Stir fry - The menus says that crispy shallots are included, but I didn't notice their presence.  Carrots, snap peas, and asparagus made up the stir fry.  A little too overcooked for my tastes, and the sauce was too sweet.  I can usually eat a large quantity of vegetables without any problems, but it was so sweet that I stopped before finishing a serving. $11

- Hamaichi Crudo - Placed on top of a slice of pickled fingerling potato, the hamaichi, along with a little avocado, was fresh and lightly dressed with a thai basil aioli. Four pieces to a plate.  I thought it would have been better without the potato since the potato texture, while cooked well, seemed to muddy the texture of the fish as you ate it.  I would have enjoyed the succulent texture of the fish by itself which was already accented by the smooth avocado. $14
- Pan seared Halibut - The halibut was very delicious and the red curry sauce was pleasant, but a bit sweet.  The vegetables - snap peas - were fine, but the rice was very undercooked, so much so that I didn't eat it - it was crunching in my mouth.  Worse yet, when we told the manager about the hardness of the rice, he told us he would check the batch in the kitchen.  When he came back, he told us it was supposed to be a little hard.  It was not until the end of the meal when we again told him that 6 of 8 people didn't eat the rice because of how hard it was that he mentioned that he should have offered us a replacement side dish.  The manager seemed to be a seasoned manager, and this suggestion was definitely too late as we had already finished our meals.  I was greatly disappointed by this response. $23

- Strawberry Napoleon - Crispy wafers are filled with whipped cream.  Strawberry slices are placed on the side and drizzled with a caramel sauce.  Good. $7

- Lemon Meringue Tart - The lemon curd was tart and with the flaky crust, it tasted good, but the mounds of meringue were a little too sweet for my taste. $7

- Elderflower Spritzer - Refreshing, but not a lot of it. $3.50

The food could have gotten a higher food rating of 3 to 4 stars, but the wild rice pilaf itself and the manager's response to our comments kept them from having an opportunity to increase their rating.  This also dropped their service rating too.  There was so much potential to make this a good experience, but it was completely disappointing to receive the response that we did about the rice pilaf.  We made every effort to be pleasant about our experience, but since we had pre-ordered, they must not have felt compelled to make the experience better.  Too bad - the halibut was actually really good and dessert was quite nice, but I won't return on my own.

Skyline Cafe - Chinese, Daly City

87 Skyline Plaza, Daly City CA 94015
(650) 991-1117
Parking: in shopping center parking lot
Hours: 10am-1am Daily

Last Visited: May 11, 2012

Food: 2 to 3 stars
Atmosphere: 2 stars
Service: 1 to 2 stars
Price: $ to $$

Located in the same shopping center as Ranch 99, Skyline Cafe is conveniently located and offers a lot of typical Chinese dishes at a very reasonable price.  However, note that it's cash only. 
Two units provide a lot of booth and table seating, and as dinner approaches, there are often lines out the door.  However, service here is extremely casual and sometimes nonexistent.

- Dry Fried Beef Chow Fun - The usual ingredients - chow fun, beef, green onions, onions, and bean sprouts. The flavor is good and you get a decent quantity of meat.  Pretty traditional.  While it's not the best I have tried, this is a good dish and great value.  I would have no qualms getting this again. Solid three stars.  $5.95

- Cod Fillet with Bitter Melon and Rice - Great wok air on this dish - it stays hot for a while.  The cod is tender and fresh and the bitter melon is sliced fairly thin and has absorbed the flavors of the black bean sauce. Two scoops of rice makes this a very filling dish.  Another solid three stars.  $5.50

Three dishes for $19.99.  A full page of choices is available for you to select three dishes from.  Some of the items require additional charges as noted on the menu.  The strange thing is that rice is included, but soup is an additional charge - since they didn't actually ask us if we wanted soup, it seems very strange to see it as an additional charge on the bill.

- Hainan Chicken - This was disastrous compared to the rest of the dishes.  The meat was dry and fairly flavorless.  It was hard to eat fresh, let alone as a leftover.  The pickled vegetables that came with the dish were also bad.  The daikon radish was bitter and only the carrots were good.  The cucumber was also lackluster.  I would avoid this dish like the plague.

- Braised Tofu with Vegetables - This dish was not that great either, but better than the chicken.  While the dish came out hot, the braised tofu was dense when it should be soft inside.  The vegetables, bok choy and dried mushrooms, were also just okay.  I was pretty disappointed with this dish and wouldn't get it again.

- Deep Fried Flounder (add $1.50) - Of the three dishes this evening, this was the best one.  The fish was fresh and the batter was light and crispy.  It came as expected with a slightly sweetened soy sauce underneath the fish.  A few green onions on top would make the presentation better.  Good.

Service here is minimal.  Staff is efficient in terms of taking your order and bringing the food quickly when the kitchen is ready, but they don't come back to check on you and getting a tea refill requires asking.  I was ready to give service two stars, but when the check came, one of the waitresses practically gave away my table while I was still sitting there and let the new customers hover over my table even before I had finished my tea, so I dropped their service rating.

While the first visit was really positive, my second visit left me desiring much more and leaning toward take out rather than dining in the restaurant to avoid the service issues.

Pho Ngoc Tranh - Vietnamese, Petaluma

1390 N. McDowell Blvd, B1, Petaluma CA 94954
(707) 665-9888
Parking: in parking lot
Hours: Daily 10:30am - 9pm
http://www.phongocthan.com

Last Visited: May 12, 2012

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

I saw a friend check in to Ngoc Tranh and was excited to find that another Vietnamese restaurant has opened up in Petaluma to give Thang Long some competition.  Thang Long has been able to monopolize the Petaluma Vietnamese food marketplace for a long time.

Located in the OSH shopping center in the former location of Jerome's BBQ, Pho Ngoc Tranh has remodeled the interior so that the bright colors on the walls and dividers, semi-open kitchen, and new furniture give the restaurant a very fresh, clean feel.  Open for about two months now, Ngoc Tranh is a family-owned restaurant.  Their menu features a lot of very appetizing photos to help you decide what to order and to educate customers about what to expect from their dishes.  Ngoc Tranh also seems very tech savvy in that their take out menu even contains a QR code (those funny squares with blotches in between that you scan to your phone).

It feels like they are still working through some of the kinks of a opening a new restaurant.  Service is warm and friendly, but not particularly fast - it seems a little amateur in nature in how they serve bowls of noodles and other plates.  The check also takes a while to come. 

- Special Combo Beef Noodle Soup - Rare steak, well-done brisket, flank steak, tendon, tripe, and beef balls are served in hot beef broth with vermicelli noodles.  These noodles were a bit wider than what you typically find at most Vietnamese restaurants.  A plate of lemon wedges, jalapenos, bean sprouts, and thai basil were also served with the soup. While the flavor was good and the broth was fairly light, I found the quantity to be smaller than what I expected.  The price point is about a dollar too high, especially after considering the quantity.  Presentation is clean and simple. $7.95

Ngoc Tranh offers a lot of the typical items found at Vietnamese restaurants including spring rolls, Vietnamese sandwiches, vermicelli, and BBQ meats.  In the display refrigerator out front, desserts like 3 color pandan jelly entice patrons.  One of the more unusual items that they service is imitation chicken over noodles listed in the vegetarian section of the menu. 

The flavors are good and the service is friendly, although there is room for improvement.   These prices will hopefully be sustainable in this area, but are notably about 10% higher than what you would find in places with greater competition.  It will be interesting to see how locals respond to some of these new offerings.

Sunny Shanghai - Chinese, San Bruno

189 El Camino Real, San Bruno CA 94066
(650) 615-9879
Parking: street parking

Last Visited: May 23, 2012

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 2 to 3 stars
Service: 1 to 2 stars
Price: $ to $$

Aunt Stella recommended we try Sunny Shanghai for some authentic Shanghainese cuisine.

When we arrived, the bell on the door made a noise, but there was only one table of patrons.  Since a friend had recommended the place, we didn't let this deter us, but we were surprised that nobody came out to seat us.  We picked our own table and grabbed a couple of menus that were sitting on the table closest to the door.  After two minutes, a lady peeked her head out from the back hallway and then proceeded to go right back into the hall.  Another minute later, she brought out a pot of tea and came to our table with it.  There wasn't much of a greeting even at that point, and unfortunately, the tea had no flavor. 

The waitress came back to take our order and then she disappeared again.  Since it appears to be her and the chef only, when she is not in the room, it's a pretty seemingly empty place.  As other patrons came in, they received a similar reception - nobody came out for a few minutes and everyone comes in looking a little lost wondering if they should sit or just wait.

Food came out about ten minutes after ordering, but the strange feeling continued as each dish came out on average at ten minute intervals.  Only two of the plates came even close to arriving within five minutes of each other.

- Salted Vegetable and Pork with Rice Cake - The quantity on the plate seemed small, but the flavor was good.  The salted vegetables are fresh in the sense that they are preserved, but don't come from a can.  The rice cake is just the right texture, and the flavor is present.  Since the serving plates are so large, it makes the amount served seems even smaller.  If it were presented on a different sized plate, it would seem like a better value.  Still good and worth ordering.  $6.95

- Green Onion Pancake - This is a great bargain - eight pieces at a very reasonable price.  The outside of this savory pancake is crispy and the inside is tender with a nice green onion flavor that isn't overwhelming.  $2.95

- Pork Steamed Dumplings (xiao long bao) - Eight pieces are served in a steamer along with vinegar.  The texture of the dumpling wrapper is tender, although the top where the dough is twisted together is a little thick.  The pork inside is flavorful, but could have a little more soup.  Good. $4.95

- Pork Potstickers - Six potstickers are lightly browned on the outside.  The filling is the same as that of the pork steamed dumplings.  The potsticker dough was a little too thick which makes it harder for the dough to crisp properly. While the flavors are okay, I probably would get something else next time. $4.95

- Hot and Sour Soup - There is plenty of soup to serve four and even perhaps six people.  More sour than hot, I found it hard to drink more than one serving of soup.  The usual ingredients, egg, carrots, onions, mushrooms, and black fungus were present, but I've had soup with a better balance of flavor.  The soup has the right consistency though - just lightly coating the back of my spoon.  $5.95

The first three dishes above are definitely worth getting.  While the xiao long bao are no match for famous Ding Tai Fung XLB, it's pretty good compared to local places. 

It's pretty clear - some food is okay and some is better than okay.  Service is mediocre, but you'll see her smile on occasion. There is a lot of opportunity to improve both the service and the atmosphere. Lastly, don't be in a hurry - the average time for food to come out is about ten minutes per dish - with this estimate you'll be close to accurate for the amount of time needed to eat.

Little Lucca - Sandwiches, South San Francisco

724 El Camino Real, South San Francisco CA 94080
(650) 589-8916
Parking: in parking lot, street parking
1809 El Camino Real, Burlingame CA 94010
(650) 697-8389
http://www.littlelucca.com/

Last Visited: May 13, 2012

Food: 3 stars
Atmosphere: N/A
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $ to $$

Little Lucca's has been around since 1980.  The original location is housed in a historic building in South San Francisco.  While it's a super small shack, the place is always packed with a line out the door. 

Little Lucca's is known for their famous original garlic sauce and their hot pepper sauce.  These two sauces really add that something special, an extra bite, to each bite of your sandwich.  Inside the shack, there is a counter running the length of the building.  As you enter, you'll see the extensive menu behind the counter along with lots of special sandwiches too. Piles of fresh rolls are stacked up along the wall too.

Aside from the sauces, the large portions (about 8 to 10 inches of bread) plus the fresh ingredients (they're well known for their dutch crunch) really make the sandwich stand out. 

- Fire Roasted Steak Sandwich - Tender steak is sliced thin and heated in a microwave, then placed on a giant roll (I chose dutch crunch) along with the works.  Delicious flavor, however, because of the wait to pay (see below), the bread really turned soggy.  $8.25

While there is no seating inside the shack, there are a few picnic tables outside for you to enjoy your sandwich.  The cashier services pre-orders before walk-ins, so I had to wait a minute for one pre-order and another five minutes for the second pre-order to be paid.  The minutes were ticking away and my sandwich bread was turning soggy.  After a four minute walk nearby to a place that I could sit, the bread just didn't hold up to the fabulous sauces and moisture.  While the top was fine, the bottom was just starting to fall apart. 

If you can eat it nearly instantly, it is probably a four star sandwich, but I give it a solid three stars.  The green garlic sauce is really delicious and the portions make this a great value, but I would really like to get out the door faster. 

There is plenty of variety when it comes to available sandwiches, and they'll make it to your liking.
You can also pre-order via fax for pickup.  I would strongly recommend this for larger orders.  Also, cash is required for all orders under $10.

Tani's Kitchen - Japanese, Daly City

32 Park Plaza Drive, Daly City, CA 94015
(650) 992-1701
Parking: shopping center parking, street parking
Hours: Mon-Tues, Thurs-Sat 12pm-9:30pm, Sun 2pm-9pm, Closed Wednesdays
Last Visited: March 22, 2012

Food: 2 to 3 stars
Atmosphere: 2 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $ to $$
Josh told me about Tani's and how his favorite dish their is the tonkatsu.  With that in mind, a friend and I decided to check it out together.

Located on on the outerside of Westlake Shopping Center, you might pass by it without a second look.  The restaurant is pretty tiny and would be described as a hole in the wall.  The small L-shaped counter seats about six people when packed and the way the small amount of tables are filled (sometimes three to a table typically meant for two at most restaurants) gives you a sense of being packed like a sardine.  Yet, Tani's has a line waiting out the door.  We waited about twenty minutes to get a table. 

Once inside, we saw a lot of people ordering the curry.  My friend ordered it and said it was a little sweet.
- California Rolls with real crab - The California rolls tasted fresh, but the roll itself was just ok when it comes to presentation.  First, I noticed that they weren't cut evenly, so you saw variation in the height of the pieces.  The other problem with them was that they weren't rolled tightly enough, so they fell apart when I picked them up with chopsticks.  While the flavor was fine, the seaweed wasn't as crisp as it could be.  Considering how closely I was sitting next to the kitchen, it should have come out sooner and the texture seems to indicate that it sat for a few minutes waiting to be served.  These rolls also come with a small serving of pickled ginger. $3.95

- Tonkatsu - The tonkatsu pork chop comes with green salad, macaroni salad, and rice.  The dressing on the green salad is thick and wasn't particularly pleasant to my tastes.  The macaroni salad lacked flavor and just seemed to be dressed in too much mayonnaise.  The tonkatsu was nicely breaded, but fried too dark.  The pork chop cut was a bit too fatty for me, so a portion was inedible.  $8.25

Service is efficient, mainly so you can get out the door faster and they can take new customers.  It's not particularly warm, but not too bad either.  My tea was refilled without my asking for it. 

The prices are reasonable and the food is decent - I would say it's an ideal place for college students whom might have a less discerning palate and are on a budget.  To go orders take quite a long time - some people waited for as long as 45 minutes, so call ahead.  Also, it's cash only, so come prepared.