maigre's Recent Activity
Chowhound Post
Juquilita Restaurant Oaxaqueno in San Jose
Good post. Thanks. I'm with you all the way on Primavera and Oaxacan Kitchen, so I look forward to giving this place a try.
Chowhound Post
Best farmers market in the South Bay?
There are a LOT of farmers markets in the south bay. Here's some info about the ones I've been to.
I know the Mountain View market the best since I'm there most every Sunday. There are plenty of vendors, pretty good variety, a fair amount of organic stuff, along with the cheese and fish you're asking about. Forget about hot, prepared food, though. By agreement with Castro St. restaurants, they don't have any.
High Ground Organics is a terrific source of veggies. TLC and Pampero sell grass fed beef. TLC has pork and lamb, too, along with good free range eggs. The real free range kind, not the ones that are marketed as such, but really live in confined quarters. There's another place that sells free range eggs where you hand pick the ones you want. That's where I get mine. There are a couple of cheese vendors. Bravo Farms has raw milk cheeses, though they tend to be focused on cheddars. If you're looking for goat's milk cheeses and other cheeses, this market's not that great. Really good places to get cheese in the south bay are not easy to come by, period, at least in my experience. There are a few vendors of Asian veggies. Lots of stuff, all in all.
There's some degree of similarity between the markets run by Urban Village in that they tend to have the same vendors. Sunnyvale on Saturday, Campbell on Sunday, Cal Ave in Palo Alto and Los Altos on Thursday evenings in summer are the ones I know from them. Cupertino has the advantage of having Prather Ranch on hand selling meat. That alone makes them worthwhile. I think Sunnyvale's the biggest of the bunch. There is hot Indian and Mexican food, fresh sauerkraut, a bunch of other prepared food vendors that you won't find as much of in Mountain View. The vibe is a little more appealing to me at these markets than Mountain View, but excluding prepared foods, there are fewer vendors and less to pick from.
I buy most of the food for my family at the Mountain View market. That would be harder to do at the others.
Chowhound Post
Taco Question: Suadero
I always thought it was brisket. Years ago in Mexico City, I was trying to figure out what brisket was called there and was going through possibilities with some people there. Ultimately, they took me to eat tacos de suadero and we all agreed that it was brisket. It couldn't have been testicles, at least in that case. I've had it here and there in Mexico since then and wasn't always convinced it was brisket, but it struck me that it was something close to it.
coral_chapa, could it be that it's something different from one place to the next? (I'd have responded directly to your post, but the link didn't work right.)
Chowhound Post
CHI Chowhound needs dinner spot in San Jose! (Lunch spots in Monterey)
As someone who's been there a bunch of times, I want to point out that Dia de Pesca is NOT a dive at all. It's clean, creatively and thoughtfully laid out, a professional operation run by a restaurant veteran. That said, I wouldn't recommend it to the OP. There's much better Mexican food, seafood included, in Chicago, than in the bay area. Much better. Dia de Pesca is fine and fun, but not extraordinary. It's also not that close to the Sheraton in question.
ms. mika, you're almost certainly going to have to do some driving from that location, though maybe not very far, especially if you stick with Asian food in Milpitas. For more Asian, particularly Chinese regional possibilities, search for Milpitas in this forum. There are Szechuan, Islamic Chinese and other regional Chinese places nearby. San Jose has countless Vietnamese restaurants. You could eat pho at a different one every day for a long time.
Pho Kim Long is a popular one that's nearby. A little different than most in that the broth is richer than usual.
There's plenty of other Vietnamese food, too, though I have no particular recommendations in that immediate area.
A few regional Chinese places in Milpitas:
Liou's House (Taiwanese)
South Legend (Szechwan)
Darda Seafood (Islamic)
I should point out the food at the three I just mentioned can be on the oily side. If you like that, great, because these are popular spots in this forum. But if you don't like your food like that, be forewarned. It's been awhile since I've been to South Legend, but I liked it and don't recall excess oil being an issue, but I may not be remembering that clearly.
There are Indian restaurants in Milpitas, but I haven't eaten at any of them. I'm not sure how much Indian or Korean food there is in Chicago, but there's plenty in the south bay, but maybe more in Santa Clara, Sunnyvale and Mountain View than in Milpitas. It's not a long drive, though, if you're so inclined. There are a number of Ethiopian places in San Jose, but there are a few in Chicago, too. Closest to your hotel is Café Rehoboth in San Jose's Japantown. Closed on Mondays. And there are the Afghan places in Fremont, maybe 15-20 minutes north of your hotel.
Chowhound Post
Sakoon (Mountain View)
It surpasses Turmeric pretty handily, to my tastes. But I'd say it's less spicy. Depends on what day you pick, I think. They change most of the dishes from day to day.
I've still yet to order off the menu. Gotta go for dinner or resist the buffet at lunch.
Chowhound Post
Ripe Figs in the South Bay/Peninsula??
Whole Foods in Los Altos has had some pretty good figs at reasonable prices lately. There's a vendor at the Mountain View farmers market near High Ground Organics that reduces the price the more you buy and they're good ones. I think it's two of those green strawberry containers for $5 and four of them for $9, IIRC.
Pepper cress and water cress are not the same thing. Pepper cress is, as you might expect, peppery tasting. It's a member of the mustard family. Water cress is another leafy green. Both are delicious, but they're different flavors. I agree that arugula could be a good sub.
Chowhound Post
Peninsula - Gilroy : Good Taqueria close to 280/17/85/101
Taco trucks in Salinas seems like a worthy adventure with good possibilities. But if you get hungry earlier, there are a bunch of decent, if not spectacular, places along your route in SJ that are close to the freeway.
* Gochi Fusion Tapas (Japanese Izakaya), 19980 E. Homestead in Cupertino between Wolfe and Sunnyvale-Saratoga. They close between lunch and dinner, so time it accordingly if you go there.
* Dia de Pesca (creative ambience, specializing in seafood tacos, but other Mexican dishes, too. pretty good, but you might be better off trying the trucks or another spot in Salinas for Mexican) on Bascom just north of San Carlos.
* Gulzaar (clean, tasty, home cooked, Halal Pakistani style, very limited menu) 1880 W. San Carlos, a bit toward downtown from Bascom, has been discussed here.
* Falafel Drive In on San Carlos between Bascom and 880/17 (I've never been there, but it's sort of an institution and lots of people like it)
* Zeni (SJ's most popular Ethiopian, good, if not my personal fave) in a funky strip mall at Saratoga and Payne, maybe a mile south of 280. It's worth keeping in mind that there was recently a teff shortage, so if that's still going on, the injera will use substitute grains and the overall flavor of the meal will be different and somewhat for the worse.
* Tanto (Izakaya), in the same strip mall as Zeni. I think they close between lunch and dinner.
* Blue Mango, (OK Thai) on Stevens Creek near Lawrence, probably more noteworthy for being across the street from Barefoot Coffee Roasters, SJ's hippest coffee place that I know of, than for the food. You could always have coffee at Barefoot, then eat in Salinas. :-)
There is a lot of other Indian food and Pho, but the places I know are a bit off of your path. Pho is everywhere in SJ, though. You can't avoid stumbling upon it. Speaking of your path, if you're not stopping in SJ to eat, why not just take 85 from 280 and bypass the Hwy 17 part? It's easier and you'll save a few minutes.
Chowhound Post
Sakoon (Mountain View)
The food wasn't overly oily at all last week when I ate the buffet. I'm particularly sensitive to this, because I don't much like greasy food. One of the head guys was asking lots of questions about the food and ambiance, so he must have heard some complaints about greasiness and responded. He told me that they'd be serving different food from day to day, which is always a nice thing, and some of the dishes vaparna mentions were not there when I was.
I was favorably impressed by everything I ate except the fish tawa, which was salty.
At first, I was OK with the decor, but it wore on me quickly. There's not much light in there, either, which I don't really get, and it was too cold for me, though maybe nobody else minded. I complained about it, though, and they warmed it up.
I live in the 'hood and am really excited about the prospect of a good restaurant on Castro. It's quantity over quality there and this could be a major exception. I can't think of a lunch buffet I've liked as much as this one.
I'm looking forward to trying dinner.
Chowhound Post
Aporriadillo, Barbacoa, Sopes y Tortillas de Maiz Hechas a Mano at Tacos Los Gemelos (truck), Redwood City
Playing around with the street view at Google Maps, I'm going to say that it's at 2855 Middlefield in what's no longer the restaurant that's in the images there. It's now painted a can't miss yellow with some green accents. Enter that address at Google Maps, select El Taco de Oro, click Street View and you ought to be looking at a photo of the erstwhile state of things. No guarantees on that address, but I'm 95% sure it's right given it's relative location to La Casita Chilanga, up the road and on the other side of the street.
Chowhound Post
Aporriadillo, Barbacoa, Sopes y Tortillas de Maiz Hechas a Mano at Tacos Los Gemelos (truck), Redwood City
According to a family member of the owner, the place on Middlefield is the same as the truck, same menu, everything. It's only been open a month.
I ate a bunch of things with my family at the truck today. Mostly, the tacos and sopes we had were really good, a terrific bargain, very Mexican in their style, if not uniquely so. The fresh masa tortillas and sopes are always a big plus right off the bat. The birria was probably my favorite, too. The barbacoa and lengua were very nice. I had a consomé de barbacoa (a styrofoam cup for $1), which tasted good, but I don't like all the fat that was in it. But that's me. Tacos al pastor are usually not that good in the US, but this was a tolerable version with small, sort of crunchy pieces of pork. I wouldn't go there just to eat al pastor. They were out of carne asada, so we didn't get to try it. I didn't get around to the aporriadillo. Now the bad – the pollo asado burrito that my kids had was awful, needlessly greasy, bad texture, wouldn't get it again for anything.
Yes, the Maruchan cup-o-soup with shrimp was an attention getter.
Bottom line – go there (or to the place on Middlefield, probably) and enjoy! Personally, I prefer the tacos to the sopes because to my tastes the creamy topping on the sopes makes them a bit soggy and take away the distinctiveness of the flavors. But others would differ. Give it a shot and see what you think. Careful for that chicken, though.
Chowhound Post
Gongura
I got some gongura goat last night at Taste Buds. It was terrific. Next time, if they still have any, I want to take a good look at the plant. It tastes like sorrel, though I gather that it's often fermented, whereas sorrel tastes like that all by itself. Interesting that they use it with dal, because I often put sorrel in lentils that I make.
Anyway, I look forward to having some more. I hope it's around for awhile. How long is the season? Anyone know?
Chowhound Post
Taste Buds in Sunnyvale
Thanks for pointing this out. I'll go get some in the next couple of days.
Since I read your mention of Taste Buds in the topic about healthy Indian food, I've become a semi-regular. I'm looking forward to trying gongura.
Chowhound Post
Black Bean Oaxacan in Redwood City, quick before it's gone
Marketing.
Chowhound Post
Spicy Leaves - Sri Lankan/Indian in Los Altos
Sounds good. I look forward to giving it a try soon.
Chowhound Post
Spicy Leaves - Sri Lankan/Indian in Los Altos
Thanks for the pointer, mdg. How oily is the food there?
Chowhound Post
Mountain View's Kitchen Table - neokosher
No Turkish food at all at Neto, I don't think. There are a number of places on Castro with Turkish ownership, not all of which have Turkish food.
Chowhound Post
Mountain View's Kitchen Table - neokosher
It's more that there are a few less savory items and more sweet things than an overhaul. At least that was my impression. I was in one day a few weeks ago with my wife. I can't remember what she got. I didn't eat anything.
Things felt a little different, so I asked the guy who brought out the food what was going on. He told me that there were different owners (from Turkey, FWIW) than before.
Chowhound Post
Scream Sorbet at Marin Farmer's Market
They were at the Los Altos market yesterday afternoon, too. It's every Thursday from 4-8. I didn't try it, got too full on other things. I'll give it a try next time
Chowhound Post
Los Altos: Esther's German Bakery - May 16th - Beer, grilled sausages and live music
Thanks for the pointer. I like their bread, never been to the cafe.
Chowhound Post
Mountain View's Kitchen Table - neokosher
FWIW, Neto isn't Israeli owned anymore and the menu has changed some, though not completely. I wasn't a big fan in its earlier time, but it seems improved and a better value now.
Chowhound Post
Mountain View's Kitchen Table - neokosher
I didn't mean to suggest that the prices were unreasonable. They're fine. It's not a place to go for a bargain, but there's nothing I saw that jumped out at me as being overpriced.
Chowhound Post
Mountain View's Kitchen Table - neokosher
The lamb blt caught my eye on the menu, too. I meant to order a knish, but the waiter forgot to go find out what was in it that day and I let it go.
There was half a pickle that came with the pastrami. It was a good one. I should have asked if they used vinegar. I don't think they did, based on the nature of the fermentation's taste.
Chowhound Post
Mountain View's Kitchen Table - neokosher
The pastrami sandwich was $10. I can't remember what the eggplant dish cost. Maybe $4.
Dinner entrees were in the $16-25 range, IIRC.
Chowhound Post
Mountain View's Kitchen Table - neokosher
After a lengthy construction period, The Kitchen Table just opened on Castro the other day and we stopped in for lunch.
The decor is dominated by a palette of browns, on the walls, in various textures, and the tables. It has a certain elegance, not exactly casual, but not stiffly formal, either. The dishes and silverware are distinctively shaped. They've put some effort into creating a certain ambience here. We'll see how it plays out as things wear in. Not much of a crowd was there the other day. The menu has Jewish and Middle Eastern dishes along with some characteristic California things and influences. Or is it that it's a California place with Jewish and Middle Eastern influences? Just to be clear, this is not a Jewish deli, though one can find pastrami, corned beef (at lunch), matzo ball soup and knishes, along with all sorts of other things. At lunch, they've also got burgers, salads, yam fries, a variety of appetizers and sandwiches. One could pursue the Jewish side of things or completely ignore it and probably come away happy with the choices.
That said, we went the deli route, splitting a pastrami sandwich, getting a couple of bowls of matzo ball soup and a "curry brined" eggplant appetizer.
The eggplant came firm, but not resistant with hints of curry flavoring and a fermented style briny flavor. It had the texture and taste of herring to no small degree. I'm going to assume that this was an intentional play on tradition by the chef. Thumbs up. It worked.
Then came the soup. The bowl looks big. The shape of the rim is such that one side arcs to maybe five inches high, where the other side is maybe half that. So it's not really that much soup. $5. The broth was rich and dark, slightly peppery, delicious. I'm pretty sure that some of the color was from turmeric and there were other curry flavors, as well. The matzo balls were light and consistent.
The pastrami came with a choice of sides, slaw, fries or something else. We took the slaw. The modest amount of meat was sliced thinner than on any pastrami sandwich I can recall eating. It curled up like ribbon. The waiter told me that they cure the meat in house. I don't know the source of it, though. I found it kind of salty and that dominated my impressions other than the thinness. My wife was more comfortable with it, though. The slaw was fresh and simple, more milky than oily, though I assume that there wasn't actually milk in it, way too cold when it was served, so that the flavor wasn't really distinguishable. I let it sit for awhile and ate it later. The flavor was less lively than what else we ate.
We didn't eat dessert, but what we saw looked pretty lavish.
So it was hit and miss, not bad and not surprising for the first day.
It seems like they're interested in serving creative versions of standard dishes, Jewish and otherwise, using fresh ingredients in a California vein. This alone, sets them apart from most of the rest of what's on Castro, where efforts to take advantage of our region's bounty of fresh and high quality produce and other things don't tend to exist in any serious way. I'm curious to see where things go. I'll go back in a few weeks and try dinner or at least another lunch or two.
The Kitchen Table
142 Castro St
Mountain View, CA 94041
(650) 390-9388
http://www.thekitchentablerestaurant....
Chowhound Post
Clark Summit Meat--How Good?
I hadn't heard of Clark Summit meat. Worth a try, it looks like.
Prather's meat is pretty much my favorite, generally speaking. I don't eat that muck pork, so I don't have a sense of theirs. But the rest is certainly very nice.
Chowhound Post
Milwaukee, WI
Alem Ethiopian Village has good Ethiopian food that can hold its own with that of cities with larger Ethiopian populations. I'd rate it as one of the top Ethiopian places I've tried. The menu is typical of Ethiopian restaurants, but with a few variations, like the tasty Filet Mignon Tibs. Good ingredients, too.
One of the better places to eat in Milwaukee that I've tried.
Alem Ethiopian Village
307 E. Wisconsin
Milwaukee, WI 53202
ph: 414-224-5324
alt: 414-243-1430
zbms@alemethiopianvillage.com
Chowhound Post
Mid-Penninsula groceries, farmer's mkts, etc
Another vote in favor of the Mountain View farmers market. Lots of good stuff there.
I think the Los Altos farmers market opens the first Thursday in May. It's on 2nd St from 4-8 every Thursday. It's not on a par with the Mountain View market, but it's pretty nice, has some decent hot food and is a strong weekday afternoon alternative to the weekend markets, if that's convenient.
Chowhound Post
Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream, SF report w/ pics
Their website lists the entire current list of flavors, a smallish subset of which is available on a given day.
Chowhound Post
Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream, SF report w/ pics
Not that I've had all that much home made ice cream, but HS stuff tastes... home made. I ate Blue Bottle and coconut sorbet, both of which were very nice, tasted Thai Chile Lime (didn't work for me), Yuzu (interestingly tart, I'd try it again,), McEvoy (tasty, but not distinctive), maybe another or two that I don't remember. I like the clean and simple flavors, it's not overly sweet, great texture. I'm not even a big ice cream eater, but I look forward to going back and bringing the kids.
Chowhound Post
The Rainbow Grocery thread - what to buy?
The cheese people are terrific along with the cheeses. I just want to be the umpteenth to point this out. They deserve it. I'm with other posters on the other details, too. Some of the people there aren't that agreeable, but most are really helpful if you ask and know the products or will help you find out if they don't know personally.
Rainbow is an institution, one of the places that makes SF great, for its long history, commitment to quality and principles, disinterest in being mainstreamed. I've also been going there since the 16th St. days. Some of the workers have been around since the beginning or close to it. There are other stores like this around the country, some of them wonderful places to shop, but there's only one Rainbow.
I don't live in the city anymore, but I go there almost every time I'm there to stock up on bulk items, get some cheese, household stuff, whatever I want or need that they have. It always feels good to walk through the doors.
