calalilly's Profile
East Bay strawberry shortcake that doesn't cost an arm and a leg?
If I remember correctly a half sheet strawberry cake at Sheng Kee in the Ranch 99 mall is about $45. It's probably $10-15 less in Oakland chinatown.
Affordable steakhouse in East Bay for tonight
We are doing this on Sunday! I am a horrible cook and can mess anything up, but my husband is excellent and usually does this for prime rib during the holidays as well. Given how disappointing our meal was last week I guilt tripped him into cooking for us this weekend.
Affordable steakhouse in East Bay for tonight
I've been meaning to check out Casa Orinda. They are supposed to have good fried chicken too right? Definitely on the list.
Affordable steakhouse in East Bay for tonight
Appreciate the suggestion. I remember seeing this place on Check Please so will definitely be going there in the near future.
Affordable steakhouse in East Bay for tonight
I'm a little embarrassed, and can't believe I'm admitting this on CH, but guess where I ended up taking my mom...Outback! It started off as a joke with my sister, but then she said she had never been there either. She looked at the menu and said it was within my mother's price range, it's a chain so peope must eat there right? And I was beginning to think maybe I'm just a food snob and my price range for food is disorted. So we went. Now the good and the bad.
The food was awful. We ordered the steaks rare and they all came medium if not medium well. The quality of the meat was awful, it had pretty much no taste and was very dry. (I know, what did I expect.) Price was around $20 per steak with 2 sides.
Now the good part - lesson learned for my mom! She said next time she wants a steak she'll let me pick the place and not complain about the price. It takes a lot for my mom to say that so maybe this awful steak experience was worth it =)
So thanks for the suggestions! There are some restaurants listed here I've never heard of so great places for me to take my mom next time.
Affordable steakhouse in East Bay for tonight
lol. I don't think I've ever been to Outback...
Yes, I've been to the Brazilian place, unfortunately, was not a fan.
Looks like Nizza La Bella has a steak du jour for $18.95. Any tried it?
Otherwise, Cafe Rouge might be it. I've never had a bad meal there. I might just have to order for her and have her not look at the menu or check. Ugh, mothers =)
Affordable steakhouse in East Bay for tonight
I have a last minute request. I'm taking my mother out for dinner tonight in the El Cerrito, Richmond, Berkeley area. She wants a good steak. But here's the caveat - my mother is cheap. She would flip if I took her some place expensive, or over $30 per person.
I took her to Harris about 5 years ago and she still talks about how overpriced it was. She's made exceptions before for House of Prime Rib but I'm not willing to drive all the way over there in traffic tonight.
Any other ideas? Was thinking Cafe Rouge. Probably a little pricey for her but if it's good she might get over it. Suggestions?
Thanks in advance!
The Richmond Review [San Francisco]
It’s been awhile since I’ve been to a restaurant where I was pleasantly surprised and impressed enough with the food to write about it. But last night I went to The Richmond and found it exceptional for such a low key restaurant I don’t hear much about.
My friends and I chose the place specifically because they had affordable foie gras, and we were not disappointed. The foie was a very generous portion (for $16.95) and perfectly seared, served with a homemade ravioli. I had also the burger that was cooked to a nice medium rare. My friends had the crab cake which they loved. They had one app order and the restaurant “split” it for two. I’m not sure what one order looks like but it looked like they just gave them an extra order because the portion was huge. My friends also ordered the sea bass and salmon entrees which they thoroughly enjoyed.
For dessert we shared the warm chocolate and peanut butter molten cake with homemade ice cream and a French toast type dish with strawberries and whipped cream. Both were outstanding.
They have a very small menu that seems limiting at first but each dish we ordered was well thought out and done just right.
In addition, they have a pretty impressive wine list for such a small restaurant.
I highly recommend this place – it’s surprisingly affordable for top quality food and service.
Lafitte Question
Thank you all, I knew CH would have an answer. Too bad I never got to try the place. Now I need to find someone new with foie gras.
Lafitte Question
Has anyone ever had any experiences calling Lafitte? I've been trying to call for the last few days and no one picks up, nor is there an answering machine. I need to change a reservation I made online and Open Table is suggesting I call. Anyway, just curious what their deal is. According to their hours on yelp they should be open. At this rate, will probably just cancel reservations completely.
New Oakland food truck spot - Grand Ave
Nope, it was empty =( I wonder if the other trucks still go on the other days or if there just wasn't enough traffic.
New Oakland food truck spot - Grand Ave
Does anyone know if Roli Roti is still around on Tuesdays?
SF/East Bay restaurant and food trek report, and thanks
I agree with all the comments, thanks for reporting back! I've been looking forward to how your trip went. Now I have to go check out some of these places!
New Oakland food truck spot - Grand Ave
I made it to Roli Roti today and was not disappointed. They had only the porchetta and roasted potatoes, but it was so good. It's been a long time since I've had something I felt was worth the hype so it was a pleasant surprise. The porchetta sandwich had the perfect portion of pork skin, meat, spice from the arugula, sweetness from the carmelized onions and softness from the Acme bread. It's $9.50 for the sandwich, not cheap, but I ate the entire thing and now I'm stuffed.
I ordered the roasted potatoes too. They were good but not as extraordinary as the porchetta.
The guy said they will be there every Tuesday. Great addition to the neighborhood. There was no line today but it was so good I would actually wait in line if there was one and I never do that.
The Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs (Episode 7: "Hamptons Beach Cookout") [Spoilers]
Faulkner's restaurants in SF are closing, I wonder if it's because she won...
http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/blog/2011/12/08/citizen-cake-to-close-at-the-end-of-the-month/
New Oakland food truck spot - Grand Ave
I went today around 11:45 and there were about 5 people there. This was my first time at Chairman Bao so I brought a co-worker so we could try a few things. We ordered:
- Pork Belly steamed bun
- Braised Pork steamed bun
- Spicy Chicken steamed bun
They were all good, but to be honest, not worth the hype or price ($10.75 total). The braised pork was both of our favorites. It's a fun play on the traditional Chinese pork and preserved cabbage.
Overall, I'm glad I tried it but don't think I would go back.
Now I'm looking forward to Roli Roti next week. Haven't tried it either so hope it's good!
I noticed quite a few people arriving as we were leaving so maybe it gets busier around noon.
New Oakland food truck spot - Grand Ave
Anyone know around what time they are there? I'm guessing around 11-1?
New Oakland food truck spot - Grand Ave
Bummer. Thanks for the update. I was hoping to check out Chairman Bao on Friday.
El Paseo update
I'm going Sunday so please report back =)
I hope it has gotten better since the opening. Last time I went service was horrible and food was still hit or miss. But I'm a huge Tyler Florence fan so hope things have evened out.
New Oakland food truck spot - Grand Ave
Does anyone have the web21 food truck schedule? This is so exciting. I haven't had a chance to try any of these and now they are so close to my office. Thanks!
Breakfest East Bay
I agree on BSK. I am obsessed with their waffles. I go way too often and each time I go I plan on trying something new, but after 10+ trips, I still just order the waffles. They are so "light" and crispy and different from any type of waffles I've ever tried, and I'm not a waffle person. They completely live up to the hype and are worth every single calorie.
Cesar Berkeley
Do you know if they still have those skinny fried potatoes? They are the only reason I've gone to Cesar's in the year.
Early Breakfast Thanksgiving Day?
LOL. Good to know. I haven't been there for years so I'm glad I checked.
Early Breakfast Thanksgiving Day?
I'm picking up a friend at SFO Thanksgiving morning at 5AM. Any chance of a place that will be open for a good breakfast either in SF or Marin? I'd love to go some place other than a chain though at that hour and given that it's a holiday, I'm thinking my chances are slim. The only thing I can think of is maybe Lucky Penny, which used to be good 10 years ago, but haven't been in recent memory.
Thanks!
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Lucky Penny
2670 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94118
SF CH looking for authentic or different Chinese and Taiwanese food
There are a few places in the Bay Area that have the sesame pancakes, but nothing that really stands out to me.
I agree on the regional specialities in NY. Looking forward to my next trip!
SF CH looking for authentic or different Chinese and Taiwanese food
Thanks all for the great feed back. I was able to go to the following places on my recent trip:
Tasty-Pulled Noodles – Beef Noodle Soup
Noodles had good texture but I thought the broth at Lan Zhou had more flavor.
Prosperity – Pan-fried dumplings
Good dumplings but I wish I had enough room in my stomach for the thick sesame pancakes. They looked really good but I couldn't eat anymore.
Xi’an Famous Foods – Cumin Burger and Liang Pi
This was my favorite stop in Chinatown. The cumin lamb burger was nice and spicy and not too gamey tasting. The liang pi was such a treat. We don't get this much in San Francisco so it brought me back to my last visit in Asia. Next time I hope to spend more time here.
Thanks again, I hope to go back soon!
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Prosperity Dumpling
46 Eldridge St, New York, NY 10002
Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles
1 Doyers St, New York, NY 10013
Xi'an Famous Foods
67 Bayard St, New York, NY 10013
