Another under-the-radar place in Alameda which hasn't been mentioned is Cafe Abigail. By day, it's a standard sandwich place right by the water. On Saturday nights, they serve Moroccan food, with a belly dancing show. Recommended. (Ruth - you didn't have Moroccan on your list!)

Yume Sushi is spectacular for a splurge and very underneath the radar. As chefj says, do some reading and familiarize yourself with the rules, but it's worth it.

I've seen it in small juice-type boxes at the WalMart in Oakland.

Thanks for the tip. I went yesterday (Wed.) and everything was very manageable. I got there around 15 minutes before 5:00, and I got the last open stool at the bar. The started serving right around 5. By the time I left at 5:15, everyone in the bar had been served and there was still some left over.

We went yesterday. My wife Jing talked to the owners as they were making the noodles in back. The woman said that she ran a restaurant in Urumqi in Xinjiang for 10 years. We enjoyed the noodle dish a lot, though I agree it could have used more spice. The onion pancakes were good too. Our lamb kebabs had a taste we both found odd and unpleasant - we thought there might be something wrong with the meat and did not eat it, though the lamb with the noodles was fine. I enjoyed the meal and would come back, though.

I went to the Public Market for the first time in a long time yesterday. I worked down the street from the Public Market more than 20 years ago and used to be a frequent visitor. I was actually stunned at how many of the stalls from 20 years ago were still there - I'd say close to half of what's there now was there then. I ate at the Afghan place, which was good even then and had apparently improved over the years.

We went for lunch for our anniversary recently. We ordered the sushi plate, which, while not bad, was average and more like what we'd expect from the neighborhood Japanese restaurant. When our waitress asked how our meal was, we were honest that we were a little underwhelmed by the sushi. A manager came over and reviewed the menu with us, pointing out which dishes were the most popular. We ordered two appetizers and two desserts, all of which we enjoyed. One was a tuna tartar served on some kind of special ice dish, which you scraped off with special scrapers. They comped us the more expensive appetizer and the dessert. They took care of us, and we left happy.

I stopped by for lunch several months ago. I'm afraid I forgot what I'd ordered, but I enjoyed it. Food was fresh and well prepared, and the service was friendly. I've been meaning to stop by again. It's kind of an out-of-the-way location on the outskirts of Jack London Square, just before the freeway.

Feng Mao is a great find - thanks, Mr. Taster! It's always our first stop in LA when we roll in in the evening on our annual trip to LA. They revised the menu a few months ago, apparently, but they still have those great kebabs. We've only been to the original location, but it seems they've opened a second location several years ago.

The Xinjiang style lamb kebabs have become popular in other places in China and can often be found at northern style Chinese restaurants. Grilled lamb kebabs seasoned with salt, cumin and chili is what I'm talking about. Feng Mao is by no means a Xinjiang restaurant, but the lamb kebabs they serve are seasoned in the Xinjiang style (and are very good). See Jonathan Gold article: http://www.laweekly.com/2009-08-13/ea....

Sounds like Silk Road Garden was a horror when they started up, but this Bay Area Hound enjoyed the food and experienced none of the problems people who went early on had. I'm glad I decided to give this place a chance in spite of the terrible early reports. Consider this an "uphill report," at least as far as the service goes.

See XiaoYang's post from 4 years ago, responding to me: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/5469...

Tough crowd you LA Hounds!... As far as I know (and believe me, I've checked), here, Omar's and a couple of places in Toronto are the only authentic Xinjiang restaurants in North America, and I've eaten at all of them. This place was way better than Omar's and way less of a CF (see my linked review) and about as good as the places in Toronto, though for sure worse than I've had in Shanghai and Beijing. (Unfortunately, I've not actually made it to Xinjiang, yet.). If you are curious about Xinjiang food and can't make it to China, I'd give this place a shot, and yes, I'd go for the noodles. Next time I'd try the big plate chicken. Will report back on the nang after I've tried it. For Xinjiang style lamb kebabs, in LA, I like Feng Mao a lot more.

We were in LA (visiting from the Bay Area) and I love Xinjiang food from my time in China, but the reviews here almost scared me off this place. However, reviews on Yelp suggested that they have gotten there act together, and I have to say that I agree. I went there with my (Chinese) wife and two kids (5 and 9) and we all enjoyed it a lot. We had the yogurt, rice pilaf, milk tea, a noodle dish whose name I forget, and lamb kebabs. The yogurt was mixed with raisins, sugar and sesame seeds and was quite tasty. The milk tea tasted bland to me. The pilaf was a simple dish, with rice and carrots and a lamb shank, but was enjoyable (our 5 year old especially enjoyed this). The noodle dish was the star for me. I wish I remembered its name. All I remember is that "er" (2) was part of the name for some reason. All the dishes had photos, and this dish was next to the dish (which we didn't order) which had noodles cut into little bits. Anyway, the handmade noodles were thick and chewy in a dish with lamb, tomatoes and lots of garlic. Maybe the lamb wasn't the greatest quality, but otherwise the dish was just like the noodle dishes I've had in Xinjiang restaurants in China. The lamb kebabs were not 2' long like described above. They were maybe 1' long and decent, though I've had better.

Just before we left, I noticed some Xinjiang nang (round flat bread) in the refrigerator. I love nang and have never been able to get it in the US. I think the restaurant is owned by a husband and wife, and the wife was there yesterday evening, but not the husband. She was surprised that I noticed the nang. She said that her husband made it at home. I bought two pieces, but I haven't tried them yet. They look just right, though.

Overall, we enjoyed this much more than Omar's, the other Xinjiang game in town (see http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/733500). They were not out of anything we ordered here. Service was friendly, if not effusive. Everything was at least good, and some of it was great. We'll be back next time we're in LA. I'm glad Tony C's prediction that they would not make it out of 2012 seem to be incorrect. Although not packed, they seem to be doing pretty good business early on a Sunday night. Give 'em another shot, Tony!

Open from 11-3 and 5-9:30 every day except Tuesday, when they are closed.

Old thread, I know, but we're just back from Disney. Corn dogs, turkey legs and Dole Whip are as good as ever. We enjoyed the fresh Mickey Mouse shaped beignets at the French Market. We REALLY liked the pizza at Pizza Press, just outside Disney on Harbor. Fresh 10'' pizzas made-to-order with your choice of ingredients for $10. Open until 1AM every day - very friendly place too. There was quite a bit of love for the Big Thunder BBQ on Yelp, but we tried it and found it average at best. Nice, relaxing atmosphere, but the all you can eat meal was overpriced and the food no better than standard themepark fare. Everything was too sweet.

I've actually watched as they make the noodles by hand in the past, but I admit I haven't seen this recently. My guess is that they are still made by hand, but made in advance.

I'm a big fan of the handmade noodles at the Imperial Tea Court in Berkeley. I had them last weekend. Go downstairs to Lush Gelato for dessert. I think someone pointed out that these are not *pulled* noodles.

We've been back here twice since I posted the above, and it's always outstanding, We went there for Jing's birthday last Thursday. I'm surprised not to see a little more love for Yume here on Chowhound.

I was at Saul's today and I asked. They said they have these bagels every day. They advised getting their early for the best selection.

The 2012 Flavor Kings are here. I got them at the Berkeley Farmer's Market today from Frog Hollow. They say it's the second week they had them. Regular price is $4.90/lb., but they let me have 10 lb. for $30.

Saul's still had the Barons Sunday evening. I got two everythings. I enjoyed them a lot. Nice dense crust. I agree they got stale quickly. I toasted the second one, and it toasted well. I liked them better than Beautys.

Yes, it was a fun evening, Ruth. They didn't charge for the kids (4 and 8 year olds). There was plenty of food for us to share with them, and the kids got their own ice cream, bread and tea at no charge. They offered to bring salad for the kids too, but we declined.

They now serve Moroccan dinner on Saturdays. We just came from a special Father's Day Sunday edition, but I presume Saturdays are about the same. $25 for a fixed meal, including salad, very tender stewed chicken with olives, lamb shank in couscous, pistachio ice cream and mint tea, with a belly dancing show. We enjoyed the meal and left very full. They allow you to bring you own wine, with no corkage fee. We took the kids, who enjoyed playing with the kids of the owners, including the eponymous Abigail.

I haven't been yet, but I noticed that a Groupon-like web site called Gilt City has an offer for a 5-course tasting menu for two for $60. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

Not much to add myself. Everything goes by in such a blur. Overall, I enjoyed almost all of the food. Though I've been to Vietnam, I'm far from expect on the cuisine. Agree with others that the spring rolls had a thick skin which was hard to chew. Banh Khot were the most memorable part of the meal. Would not describe them as "crisp". Had a nice, soft egg tarty consistency.

We went yesterday with the kids and tried the fish and clam thalis. We particularly liked the clams. We also had the curry leaf calamari appetizer, which was calamari fried with spices. I would have this again. Next time would maybe order one thali and one main dish and appetizer. Would like to try more of the menu next time. We had a mango drink which was thicker than a lassi - I don't remember what it was called, but I liked this too.

I know Chowhound frowns on nostalgia, but it is in the same space where Cafe Istanbul used to be - this was one of my favorite spots in the city.

I arrived as Melanie was leaving, and I ate the very last beignet. I wonder what time they actually closed their doors. I left around 2:30, and if they closed at 3:00, the people at the end of the line when I left would not have been served.

i asked the young woman who served me on the last day, and she did not know herself.

Thanks for the tip off on the Oakland delivery. I got my first box yesterday. Far better than any CSA I've gotten, both in terms of quantity and quality. It was a little bit of a challenge to get it all home on my bicycle, a problem I've never had with a CSA.

Ordinarily, they won't be open Mondays, but they were open today. I know because we ate lunch there today. Apparently, we weren't the only ones who knew - there was about a 20 minute line to get food. We were lucky enough to get a table. We had the pastrami (fabulous), the tuna (not to my taste), the pastrami cheese fries (very good, but I didn't think they were quite as good as they sounded, and the kugel (very good - like a noodle pudding). Unfortunately, they ran out of the matzoh ball soup before we ordered. Considering they hadn't really opened yet (the official opening is tomorrow), I think everything operated as smoothly as could be expected. The staff was super nice.

Okay, so we were in LA again almost exactly a year later, and we decided to give them another shot. We went for lunch on the Monday after Christmas and got there shortly after they opened. This time, they had everything we wanted, except the rice pilaf, which they said is only available on weekends. I enjoyed the big plate chicken very much for the sauce and the wide, hand cut noodles, though perhaps not as much for the chicken itself. Make sure to order the noodles with the chicken. Jing spoke to the owner/cook a bit, and she seems a bit temperamental and stressed. She'd mentioned that she'd closed early the day before because it got too busy and she was overwhelmed. (I suspect this is similar to what had happened to us the year prior). We were able to get the lamb kebabs, but some people who arrived shortly after we did were told they were out. I enjoyed the food a lot (again). It seems like arriving early is the best strategy for getting the dishes you want here.