psb's Profile
Anyone tried the new restaurant at 14th and Webster? [Disco Volante, Oakland]
Maybe the owner is a Thunderball fall. It's the name of the bad guy boat. It's a cool name.
Pani Puri Company in Santa Clara?
Wow, I wish i knew about this when i was in the area on Sat.
So this place has been a viable business selling Pani Puri from 8am to 12noon for 2.5years? That is extremely odd. Can you imagine if say TOP DOG's hours were 8-12n?
50pani puri for $10 is more like it!
Best Indian Restaurant-Lunch-East Bay
Is CHAAT BHAVAN different from CHAAT HOUSE? If so, Melanie, give CH a shot ... my "Bay Area Reference Chaat" is DAHI PAPRI CHAAT at CHAAT HOUSE.
n.b. I very rarely get PANI PURI because I am so motified by the thought of paying 50-75cents per puri ... instead of 5-10cents? ... so I cant judge that one ... and that is for sure one where quality differences matter
Best Indian Restaurant-Lunch-East Bay
Mr. Goldang95,
There was one small Indian resto in Berkeley which had terrible chaat [would not visit again ... definitely a case of "it sucked ... and such small portions too"] but other chaat places I've occasionally gone to were indistinguishable from VIKS [not that they tasted the same, but no clear quality winner ... let's say they were all consistent B- to B+] ... for a specific example, the place near U & MLK ... CHAAT CAFE? [it's been a while since I have been there, so maybe they have gone downhill]. The more meaningful distinction between the two when it comes to chaat is longer drive/longer wait vs hard to park.
Anyone been to both VIKS and say CHAAT HOUSE [around ECR & S. MARY] or LOVLEY SWEET [ECR & WOLFE] and would seriously claim VIK is materially better?
If we consider Fleemont the East Bay ...
1. I thought SALANG PASS was pretty good. It's been a while and I recognize people have had mixed experiences there
2. My trip to DE AFGAN KABOB HOUSE in Freemont [the original? still around?] blew away all the other DAKH outings in SF, Berkeley. Again it's been a while and the venue isnt appropriate for all occasions. Assume is still open.]
ok tnx,
--psb
Best Indian Restaurant-Lunch-East Bay
I agree Ajanta has had some "innovative" dishes. However innovative isnt always good, esp if you cant get a refund and your waiter essentially acknowledges you were served a failed experiment. I cont remember exact details but some time back I heard either the ingredient list for it was either a dessert or entree and i asked "does that actually work" and the waiter pretty much said it was going to be coming back. On an earlier occasion I tried some 'innovation' which sounded curious to me, but I assume the chef knew he was doing ... but was a kinda sucky I thought.
I think they are ok on some classics. I suppose it just turns into whether it's worth the extra $ over cheaper places. I'm not saying you dont get anything for the extra $ ... in the way of 'white table cloth factor', ingredients etc, but not always what I'm looking for with a quick indian lunch/dinner.
Best Indian Restaurant-Lunch-East Bay
Coming up from Fleemont to Berkeley to go to Viks for Chaat or Dosa seems ... crazy.
I havent been to Dana Bazar in a while but they were always better than Viks. I dont think Chaat Pata was as good as DB, but again, for Chaat, better than Viks. I have eaten a lot of Chaat on ECR between say Santa Clara (Lawrence Expy) and say Hwy 85 in Sunnyvale and I cant think of a place I've stopped in at which was worse than Viks for chaat. (ok, maybe once place ... this Indian bakery chain whose name I have forgotten).
Viks isnt aweful but they are just phoning it in .... as they clearly can get away with that ... it is a facotry. It's not an issue of cooking talent but quality control ... you get the chaat ingredient in inconsistent ratios etc.
Is Viks worth the price ... debateble I suppose.
Is Viks the best? A destination? Worth the overhead? ... OMG, you think so?
Refills To Go at Sit Down Restaurants
1. Clearly it is tacky
2. The cheapness of the product in this case doesnt make it untacky but does explain why restos dont make a big deal out of it.
By analogy "(paper) napkins are cheap, let me take 20 to go". The resto wouldnt begrudge you 20 napkins to deal with a food spill etc. You cant say "so i'm entitled to them, why does the resto care when and how i use them."
I think a lot of restos would roll their eyes but not do/say anything w.r.t. the napkins. The tipping model complicated the incetive structure a bit with some principal/agent issues but doesnt change the tackiness factor.
I dont think this applies to say a fast food place with a self-help all you can drink soda fountain.
Also ok if offer initiated by server ... that's a customer good will business strategy, not a social contract violation.
Radio Africa Kitchen -- report [San Francisco]
I am not "suspicious" in the sense that I think it is cagey. I mean to emphasize that it is a deliberate omission because the hours may be in flux and they dont want to advertise longer hours than they are prepared to be open.
Obviously ideal would be to have easy to find and accurate hours but if that isnt an option for one reason or another, I suppose it is better to not have any info [well aside from a phone number] than to explicitly say you are open till 11pm when you have decided to scale back to 10pm.
What is in a sense more annoying is when the hours actually ARE on the site but a PITA to find.
So dont be so suspicious of my motives.
Where to buy a chocolate Kouign Amann in San Francisco on Sunday?
Clearly you should park near 4 BARREL and walk toward BI-RITE and not the other way. In my experience, parking a bit north or east of 4B shouldnt be too bad ... and I take MUNI like 1/year, so I have a pretty refined Parking Probability Gradient for that area.
BTW, this should not be considered an endorsement of 4B ... because it isnt. I dont find MINT BLUE BOTTLE an especially comfortable venue [you cant slouch and work on your computer, read comfortably etc], but I think the coffee is terrific and the 'show' aspect interesting. And parking is easy if you avoid the Metreon. I do appreciate in this context 4B is just instrumental to the Kouign Amann ... but I just wanted to get that in there.
[Also for not-entriely-relevant additions: the La Bedaine Kouign Amann isnt bad ... a little rich for me and you have to heat it up, so not convenient to eat at any time. I used to really like La Boulange but have also been dissatisfied with many of their offering lately even though I go to the Noe Valley operation to work now and then. The canele is pretty good tho, as is the Tropezienne.]
Radio Africa Kitchen -- report [San Francisco]
Oh yes, I (barely) see now ... your sharpening filters are better than mine.
I pretty much clicked on every link I could find, getting more and more irritated, before resorting to the Nag Post here. I wonder if it is a deliberate exclusion (fear of commitment) or just flakiness.
ok tnx.
Nick's Pizza: Made in Oakland, Opening on Tuesday (5/8)
Also, the speed limit in Alameda is 4mph and those 4 blocks are heavily patrolled by the cops, so it takes a while to get there.
Radio Africa Kitchen -- report [San Francisco]
Do you recall their hours? I was in the area on Tue afternoon and it was closed and evacuated. Is that their close day, or do they only open at ~5 or ... ?
Nick's Pizza: Made in Oakland, Opening on Tuesday (5/8)
I thought the Spring Fling was pretty blah ... the cheese and crust were ok, but 'anemic' is a decent description of the overall product. Best to just stick with CHEESEBOARD for veg.
I liked the pepperoni more than I expected upon getting my slice. It is definitely a bit different in style ... news to me this is "oakland style" or whatever. The tomato chenck worked well with the pep ... and of course cheeseboard doesnt have meat, so no comparison there ... BTW, I am comparing to CHEESEBOARD only because this is a small, presumably higher quality tpye slice than the large Blondies/FatSlice type option. I may be in the miniroty among not liking Gioia pep slice because it is crazy salty. This was not. It could have used say 10% more pepperoni.
I'll prbably make it an occasional alternative to Cheeseboard ... it is close enough to my lab and easy to park.
Dessert at the old Khyber Pass in Oakland - available now where?
Oh, in an odd coincidence I was just recommending a place to get good firni to David Farris earlier today ... however that is in South Kolkata. There is often/occasionally [?] a kheer or rice pudding type item avail at OASIS MARKET which isnt called firni, but I'd suspect you'ld like it ...
They seem to charge me random prices for things at OASIS, I but dont image its more than $3.50 ... so if you are located in Oakland, it is an cheap and easy option. Unless you are looking for a real resto version.
Firni in my experience can cover a lot of ground.
The Tonga Room, followed by Palace Steak House
>I'm probably the only person in the history of SF to get drinks at the Tonga Room,
>followed by chicken strips from Palace Steak House
>
having also engaged in some unusal "flavor change" transitions ... e.g. "where can i get an affogato after ethipoian dinner" ... i was thinking similarly while reading your post. would be interesting to see something like a CKM matrix/transition probabilities for SF venues ... e.g. zeitgeist -> al hamara/pakwan/zante used to be a high probability transition. or to see the last state before jumping to el farolito/mission @3am.
So, Wise Sons Deli is open ... who's been? Beauty's Bagels? [San Francisco]
>"hostess" who makes sure people actually get tables on first come / first serve,
>doesn't let people grab a table before they order
>
awesome. now cheeseboard needs to do the same and make sure people return the cheese/pepper dispensers to the central location.
Saison switches to prepaid ticket system
>but it's really not okay to comment on the personality of other hounds.
>
you just mean "on the web site", right?
Saison switches to prepaid ticket system
>that would mean they're charging 24% ($59.72) in gratuity
>
Mr. Belly:
Surely you agree "the finest ingredients" require the "finest servers".
BTW, I think there is an element of "are you stupid or do you think i am stupid" to the claim "the restaurant isnt making money". See "hollywood accounting" e.g.
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100708/02510310122.shtml
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, under "Hollywood accounting," ended up with a $167 million "loss," despite taking in $938 million in revenue.
Saison switches to prepaid ticket system
Maybe the are trying to increase volatility of SAISON prices to create a FUTURES MARKET for SAISON tables ... Lock in that $498 table on your birthday, just in case it might go up to $525, blowing your $500 birthday budget.
Saison switches to prepaid ticket system
The Deities weigh in:
http://sf.eater.com/archives/2012/04/12/flooding_forces_saison_humphry_slocombe_to_temporary_shutter.php
Saison switches to prepaid ticket system
Mr. Face:
There are many things we *could* do which in a sense would advance "fairness" or leave us better informed or better off from a utility perspective, but they would so radically alter the dining experience from the "social contract" of "a respectful customer with typical needs/expectations should leave about an 18% tip for respectful, competent service." that they are more or less unreachable outcomes.
This includes leaving a defense of your tipping percentage, negotiating for a cash discount, bargaining over your willingness-to-pay for different wines [I'm going to get the $20bottle marked up to $50, unless your will give me the $40 bottle marked up to $100 for $90 which will leave us both better off] ... or from the other side, the waiter "explaining" rough edges of his service ["the late food was the kitchen fault" "not my fault i was slow ... i'm covering 4 extra tables for a absent employee"], engaging in side-payments to get around tip-pooling issues etc.
Saison switches to prepaid ticket system
Do servers really analyze tip ratios systematically enough to figure out what is really going on? I seriously doubt that. I usually dont "itemize" the tip but round the whole bill to a dollar figure. Now sometimes $27.23 might become $27, and usually $34.68 will turn into $35, unless I am annoyed about something in which case it might become $34.50 or $34.00 ... I'm probably using (total + tax) * 1.18 as my starting point ... although sometimes I'll do (total + tax) * 1.15 + $1 if it is a lowish bill.
Just like there are plenty of people looking for a reason to ding their server, I think there may be servers looking to claim someone is cheap rather than operating with a different norm, e.g. tip on pre-tax/post-tax. I doubt a server can tell the difference between "i took the heath surcharge out of your tip" and "i tipped on pre-tax".
Saison switches to prepaid ticket system
>i know i'm going to hell for this, but i usually just subtract it from the tip.
>
respect.
i know a lot of people here though the "incanto theory" was flimflam, but it made sense to me. second to last paragraph here, although i thought there was some other place this logic was spelled out better ...
http://incanto.biz/about-us/ourapproach/
Vietnam House Chowdown Report [San Francisco]
Well, I suppose the only necessary and non-superfluous part of this "review" is my thanks to P&W for organizing. Otherwise, my votes tally up along the same lines as the others here.
--I too liked the "shrimp cupcakes" ... new to me.
--I generally dont like Papaya salad, but liked it here ... I thought it was not so much superior execution, but a different -- and better -- concept.
--I didnt like either of the soups much.
--I'm generally not a big fan of fresh spring rolls ... I like fried rolls a bit more, and often my assessment of fresh rolls turns on the sauce. The ones at VN House were just ok ... the wrappers were a little tough, although that did mean the rolls had good structural integrity.
--I didnt know what I was eating when I was told to grab a rice flour roll and pass the plate ... so I didnt really set my tongue to NMR-mode to really assess the individual ingredients ... which was unfortunate, since it was the wood ear mushroom which attracted me to this option.
--I thought the grilled meats were fine ... not hugely far from my regular order at YUMMY YUMMY.
--The chicken and green bean dish wasnt best of breed or unique, anything like that, but it was perfectly acceptable. I'd probably not order it again due it being squeezed out by better options, but if someone else wanted to get it, I'd eat it again.
--The Thai Iced Tea was kinda lame ... esp at $3. given the amount of ice.
I heard on the 3rd Sunday of every month they give a demonstration of their RICE BREAKING MACHINE.
Cheese pairings for a sweet wine tasting party
>I found a favorable comment on TJ's
>White Stilton with Apricots and Port.
>
Mr. Wolfe,
Since it sounds like your just passing on some info,
I hope you wont be offended if I chime in to add "That cheese is
disgusting; I threw it away.".
The GOAT CHEESE WITH APRICOT BITS from Cheeseboard is AWESOME, but
it is rather expensive ... $6 for a small lump? (I was hoping the Costco option was remotely comparable at a Friend Price ... but it just sucked).
Gajalee - the real deal for Goan food [SF Bay Area board]
>we couldn't understand the waiter when we asked repeatedly what type of fish it was
>
I was there last weekend with Urmi and South Indian non-CH person. I believe Urmi asked "what fish" and it was Basa. Although we didnt get thalis.
I recommend trying the SOL KADI drink. New item to me, and it goes well with the food.
Kheer can cover a lot of ground, so I wouldnt necessarily say "running is wrong" ... esp if it "tasted great". We were in a hurry so didnt get a dessert. Although I like gulub jam, I feel physical pain to pay >$1 for one. Kheer might be a future option there but I was hoping they would have some exotic/regional dessert option.
I didnt think the shrimp appetizer was great, but liked all the other items we had.
--psb
Filet Mignon Rossini -- where to find this dish?
BODEGA BISTRO too. Although have not tried it there.
(The web site linked to from their YELP PAGE seems to not be usefully functional ... has something happend to BDG BISTRO?)
Sumo citrus - enormously good to eat
BTW, Mr. Orange, Berkeley Bowl East is selling the Sumo Flat at $12.25 for 9, which is about 25% higher price than $13/doz ... and is about the edge of my marginal utility willingness-to-pay.
Meanwhile, back at the other end of Berekely/Shattuck, pretty interesting DINO KALE-SQUASH pizza at Cheeseboard.
