cheesecakeking's Profile
Santa Cruz: dining suggestions near the Kuumbwa Jazz Center
I've read some of the archived threads about restaurants in Santa Cruz. I'm going to a concert at Kuumbwa next Wednesday and am seeking any suggestions for favorite eating spots in the vicinity of Cedar Street. Thanks to any who respond!
Draeger's Kobe beef Pastrami
Recently the Chronicle had a brief article (copied below) on Draeger's new pastrami. It's expensive but it's worth it. This pastrami is as good as any I've had in New York or anywhere else.
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For the last few months, in the restaurant above San Mateo's Draeger's Market, Viognier chef Preston Dishman has been working on a meaty little side project - pastrami.
But this isn't your grandmother's version. Instead of the usual beef cuts, Dishman has taken pastrami upscale, making his with American kobe beef, creating a very marbled, very tender meat.
His brown sugar brine also lends a sweeter component to distinguish it from more familiar versions. After brining, the meat is air-dried for 24 hours, smoked for 6-10 hours and then slow cooked until ready.
The pastrami is now available for purchase ($15.95/pound) in the deli section of all four Draeger's locations; it's also available as a sandwich on the Viognier bar menu. Down the line, Dishman hopes to roll out more specialty food items, such as corned beef and pulled pork.
Draeger's Market: 222 East Fourth Ave. (at South B Street), San Mateo; (650) 685-3700 or draegers.com. Also available at Viognier Restaurant, above the market, and at Draeger's locations in Menlo Park, Blackhaw, and Los Altos.
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Viognier
222 E. 4th Ave., San Mateo, CA 94401
AйDa Piroshki, believe it or not they're as good OR BETTER than House of Piroshki!
Rassolnik is superb. I am a very good cook. I make very good soup. Typically, I would make an effort to replicate anything really good I have in a restaurant. I don't want to try to do a version of this; it's so incredibly good, I just want to be able to buy it here and take it home. A great soup is one of the pleasures of life and this is great soup.
Piroshki in San Francisco?
Anda Piroshki is as good or better than the long gone but not forgotten House of Piroshki on 9th Ave.
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AnDa Piroshki
331 Cortland Ave, San Francisco, CA 94110
AйDa Piroshki, believe it or not they're as good OR BETTER than House of Piroshki!
Before I get into details, the following statement tells you what you need to know. I traveled 100 miles round trip to try these piroshki based on Yelp reviews and it was worth it! I plan on doing so again and again.
This shop is in a funky little shared space with 5 other businesses. Once you realize how wonderful these piroshki are, you'll probably want to order them by the dozen. If so, call ahead a day or so.
Anna Tvelova is the owner and creator of these masterpieces. If you stop by at the right time, you can see her put the piroshki together and prepare them for baking, which she does right on the spot. Anna is charming and lots of fun to talk with about her love of cooking Russian food
In the 1970s and early 1980s, there was a shop in the Inner Richmond called House of Piroshki. They made piroshki that caused addiction. Since they closed in the 80s, I have searched in vain for any piroshki that would be even close to those delights. Search here and you'll find a thread or two with many like-minded heretofore hapless devils. I found a few piroshki over that span of time that were ok but not anywhere near special, hard to understand in an area with such a large Russian population extending into the East Bay and South Bay.
Yesterday, my search joyfully ended. AйDa Piroshki are easily the equal to House of Piroshki for the best piroshki I've ever had. They're probably better in many ways. They're baked and each bite causes moans of ecstasy. They're pretty to look at, which hints at what awaits withing. The dough is flavorful and has a very nice texture, spongy on the inside and crisp on the outside. The fillings are outstanding, with the only drawback being that it's hard to decide which are your favorites. My favorite is whichever one I'm eating at the time.
If you want vegetarian, Potato and Cheese or Mushroom and Spinach are very hearty and bursting with flavor. The Chicken and Beef varieties are equally satisfying. They're all outstanding.
However, the one you absolutely must try is Smoked Salmon with Cream Cheese. Yes, you read that correctly. I've occasionally (actually, rarely) had them as turnovers. These are almost unbelievably good. They should be eaten warm for best effect. If you're a smoked salmon and cream cheese on a bagel lover, try these and you may decide you like these better.
If you've read this far, here's your assignment. Go to AйDa Piroshki and get blissfully addicted on the spot (one of the merchants that shares her space makes Egg Creams so you can get that as an accompanying beverage). It won't take more than one taste to get you set up to Jones for these piroshki.
After you realize that you're hopelessly hooked, there is only one thing to do. Post a review on Yelp and tell everyone you know, emphasizing that it is worth the trip if distance is an issue (I drove from Mountain View, as an example).
It is important that Anna's business thrives and even expands. AйDa Piroshki is a very rare example of filling a long-vacant void in the culinary world of the Bay Area. May she make these superb treats for many years and become the standard by which all others are judged.
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AйDa Piroshki
331 Cortland Ave, SF, CA 94110
Zapp's Potato Chips at Cost Plus
I was in there today and they were on the shelves, although in slightly strange locations. Cost Plus tends to scatter their food items around so it sometimes takes a bit of looking up and down.
Here they are shelved on the top shelf next to some bottled products, not with their other chips. They also have a display of them down in the kitchenware area, which is a bit odd. Two of the employees told me that, although they often sell out, they carry them regularly now.
Black & White Cookie
House of Bagels in Mountain View has them. $1.95 each, 4 1/2 inches in diameter, lavishly frosted. Earlier in the discussion, someone reviewed them and gave them a 7/10 rating. I would agree. They are a tad too spongy. The frosting tastes like donut frosting. The one drawback is that they're not lemony as they should be. There seems to be a hint of lemon but not enough.
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House of Bagels
1712 Miramonte Ave, Mountain View, CA 94040
Best ham, roast beef, meatloaf, turkey or roast chicken sandwiches in the Bay Area
In Los Altos, the American Italian Deli & Gelateria makes very good sandwiches. The oven roasted turkey is splendid, the Godfather and Iron Man are other specialty sandwiches that are very good. The meatloaf is another winner as is the French Dip. One thing that for me has me addicted to this place is their three potato salads. If you really like potato salad, often those found in delis are second rate. The one these folks make that is my favorite is the yellow one, made with mustard and horseradish.
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American Italian Deli & Gelater
139 Main St, Los Altos, CA 94022
Pickling spice mix by the ounce/lb (or pre-packaged)
When I make pickled pork for red beans and rice, I use mustard seed. This and many other spices can be found in Indian markets in varying sizes for very reasonable prices.
Endangered and Extinct: Taco Flavored Doritos
A few days ago, I was in Lucky (Mountain View) and saw Taco Doritos on a chip display rack near the checkout stands. There were the bags labeled Original Taco next to bags with the original design, those with "Taco flavor" on a small sombrero on the front of the bag. Both were the Hunger Grab size, 2 7/8 oz.
Well, folks, these are not the original recipe, sad to report. I back up my statement with this testimony to my ability to remember tastes. In 1969, I lived in Virginia and frequented a deli that featured a very good chili which came with sliced dill pickles and keep 'em coming. For years, I searched the supermarkets, farmer's markets, and mom & pop stores hoping to find them. Ten years ago or so, I bought a brand of pickle I had not tried. First bite, I yelled "That's it!" about as loud as Charlie Brown did at Lucy in A C.B. Christmas.
Anyway, back to the chips. These taste more like their Nacho Cheese flavor than anything resembling the fabled Taco flavor of the late 60s/early 70s. They don't have that orange color, almost like the color of the jackets of school crossing guards in elementary school. They aren't liberally coated with the flavoring powder. You couldn't eat the original Taco flavor chips without having your fingers covered with powder that you gleefully licked off. The 2011 version doesn't have that zip in the flavor, not hot spicy but pleasantly spiced.
I wrote to Frito-Lay and implored them to dig up the original Taco flavor recipe. I wouldn't be surprised if it is no longer to be found in their dusty archives.
Chocolate Babka
Niles Pie Co. in Pleasanton makes a very good babka.
http://nilespie.myshopify.com/collections/this-weeks-menu/products/chocolate-babka
Does anyone know of a good babka maker in the South Bay?
"Original Taco" Doritos? Not!
A few days ago, I was in Lucky (Mountain View) and saw Taco Doritos on a chip display rack near the checkout stands. There were the bags labeled Original Taco next to bags with the original design, those with "Taco flavor" on a small sombrero on the front of the bag. Both were the Hunger Grab size, 2 7/8 oz.
Well, folks, these are not the original recipe, sad to report. I back up my statement with this testimony to my ability to remember tastes. In 1969, I lived in Virginia and frequented a deli that featured a very good chili which came with sliced dill pickles and keep 'em coming. For years, I searched the supermarkets, farmer's markets, and mom & pop stores hoping to find them. Ten years ago or so, I bought a brand of pickle I had not tried. First bite, I yelled "That's it!" about as loud as Charlie Brown did at Lucy in A C.B. Christmas.
Anyway, back to the chips. These taste more like their Nacho Cheese flavor than anything resembling the fabled Taco flavor of the late 60s/early 70s. They don't have that orange color, almost like the color of the jackets of school crossing guards in elementary school. They aren't liberally coated with the flavoring powder. You couldn't eat the original Taco flavor chips without having your fingers covered with powder that you gleefully licked off. The 2011 version doesn't have that zip in the flavor, not hot spicy but pleasantly spiced.
If anyone from Frito-Lay happens to read this, please do the galaxy a favor. Dig up the original recipe and replicate it exactly. Do that and sell them nationally, you'll have a hit. The original Taco flavor Doritos were a flavor that should never have been altered or replaced. It was the best Doritos flavor of all.
Joe Johnson of Johnson's BBQ passed away
Sad news. Johnson's was the epitome of what a BBQ place should look like, almost ramshackle. Good food, though,and any mention of BBQ brings to mind how few and far between good 'que places are in the Bay Area.
Ike's appears to be opening a new shop near 16th and sanchez
Besides having a truncated menu, is there a difference between Ike's Lair and Ike's Place?
Gene Compton's spaghetti
Remember Gene Compton's at the Westlake Mall in Daly City? They closed sometime in the 70s or 80s. They had spaghetti with a brown sauce that was tremendous. Is there anywhere in the Bay Area that has a similar spaghetti?
Zapp's Potato Chips at Cost Plus
After trying my local Cost Plus with no Zapp's to be found and considering the rising cost of gas, I decided to go for a mail order box. When you take into account not having to drive all over for a limited selection of flavors, choosing which flavors you want and what quantity for each, the price of $3 per 5 oz. bag is worth it. I'm not much of a chips guy but having read this thread and looking over their web site, I was sufficiently intrigued to try these. So far I've had the Spicy Creole Tomato and Voodoo, thumbs up for each. Just in time for the Stanley Cup playoffs!
Sausage Factory Outlet (SF)
That's interesting, a cursory search revealed that it is a sausage made by Jelenich's, a place on 1789 Mission featuring "specialty sausage products". A search of them by name and the phone number gave no results. The phone number came from a PDF of the monthly listing and calendar of events in Oct.'09 of Nativity of our lord church on Fell. The last page of the listing contains business card ads and Jelenich's is one of them.
Looking for Herb's Meatball Sandwich
I agree with those who would love to have the meatball recipe. Thanks for posting the recipe for the potato salad. The so-called "San Francisco-style" potato salad that comes the closest to that from Herb's is at Lucky. Even at that, it's a very weak substitute.
Calvin's Famous Cheesesteaks
Sounds good, how does it compare with the Cheese Steak Shop?
Zapp's Potato Chips at Cost Plus
I just spoke with a distributor for Zapp's and Dirty's. He told me that in the Bay Area they are still in the process of getting both brands into more stores. He said that we can expect to see more Dirty's sooner than Zapp's but they should both be more readily available in the near future.
What was the worst food you HAD to eat as a kid?
Liver and lima beans. My dad loved them both and liked them served together. I would eat the bacon off the liver and then take about a year and a half to finish dinner. I still can't abide either of the two vile concoctions.
Saul's-Fantastic Pastrami Sandwich, why all the hate?
If you're comparing the prices to Katz's, I agree it's a few dollars high. Just California pricing, I suppose.
Petaluma: Roy's Chicago Doggery – The best lunch counter in the Bay Area that is serious fun … Italian beef and the “"Oh No You Didn't Dog"
Melanie, what is your line of work that enables you to try so many great places throughout the far reaches of the Bay Area and then write glowing reports to make us all jealous and hungry?
great mole in san francisco?
It's been quite a while since I was there but some of the best mole I've had was at Cafe Marimba in the Marina district.
In search of dried chiles
In the South Bay, there are quite a few Latino markets that carry them with a good selection of the various varieties. Cost Plus is another good source and one of the few that stocks chipotles. Don't forget the Web, some good sites for dried and powdered. That's how I found Red Jalapeno powder.
Sneaky’s BBQ Settles Down at Rebel in San Francisco
How does it compare with Memphis Minnie's?
Looking for Herb's Meatball Sandwich
I'm glad that the potato salad was mentioned in this thread. I lived on 48th for a few years in my early 20s. Herb's potato salad along with a sandwich were one of the three best hangover cures I knew of in those days. The two others were BBQ from Vic & Betty's and the splendid piroshkis from House of Piroshki. Has anyone verified that Java Beach has the meatball recipe? As for those piroshkis, I'm still looking for their equal.
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Java Beach
1396 La Playa St, San Francisco, CA 94122
Jewish delis in Sunnyvale area?
I disagree with those who like The Kitchen Table. For the price, the sandwiches are skimpy and the meat very fatty. The Refuge is pricey also but much better meat.
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The Kitchen Table
142 Castro Street, Mountain View, CA 94041
Southern Heritage BBQ, Fremont?
I was there in June 2009, ordered a combo of brisket and hot links. The brisket was decent, although together with the sauce it tasted very much like a BBQ beef sandwich you might get in a coffee shop or diner. The links were fair but certainly not hot. The sides were extremely forgettable, potato salad and cole slaw that tasted like they came from a supermarket deli.
Overall it was an experience I would not want to repeat. It may be the best BBQ in Fremont but that's not saying much. Giving it a two star rating might be overly generous. Southern Heritage is mediocre at best and that's not good enough.
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Southern Heritage Bar-B-Q
40645 Fremont Blvd Ste 23, Fremont, CA 94538
Foodie in Fremont...HELP!
Dragon BBQ Express on 39486 Fremont Blvd (between Stevenson Blvd. and Walnut Ave.) is pretty good. The Hong Kong noodles are worth getting. They also have, depending on the season, a (something something) Spicy Chicken that is very good. It's the one with a red-orange color and is boneless chicken.
