Oceanlover's Profile
Best deal on frozen lobster tails in San Mateo area?
Would like to buy lobster tails to cook for NYE? I've seen such puny/expensive ones at Piazza - any other suggestions that won't break the bank?
Shanghai East CLOSED!!
We braved the wind and rain to go to Shanghai East in San Mateo to have their Lion's Head Soup and XLB. We found workers refurbishing and painting the restaurant that is now called Spicy Empire! What a dissapointment as we love these two particular dishes at Shanghai East and it was our go to restaurant for simple lunches as well. I heard on Yelp they are going to Millbrae as if there weren't plenty of competitive Chinese restaurants up there already.
Does anybody know about the new restaurant coming in or why Shanghai East vacated?
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Shanghai East Restaurant
105 W 25th Ave, San Mateo, CA 94403
Old Stone Station In Cambria?
I agree with you on Black Cat Bistro. It's warm and noisy. We walked out of there after being directed into a small room with a large party.
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Black Cat Bistro
1602 Main St, Cambria, CA 93428
Old Stone Station In Cambria?
I strongly advocate Robin's as a destinaton place for dinner. I've been going there for 20 years and we love the food. Another interesting place to try is Wild Ginger - the sister of the owner of Robin's. Excellent Asian rim food with wonderful presentation and great use of vegetables and fruits. The owner lacks warmth but the food overules that.
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Wild Ginger
2380 Main St Ste G, Cambria, CA 93428
Moderate Restaurant Recommendation near Davies
It seems we get stuck with the same old restaurant selection for pre-symphony dining. I'm interested in more moderately priced restaurants so that may limit choices. We really enjoy Stelline's but need to venture out more.
Any interesting suggestions? We're taking BART up and walking in from Civic Center.
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Stelline
330 Gough St, San Francisco, CA 94102
Wining and Dining in Amador County
We love the Amador Valley but I am not a fan of Taste. Everytime we go there there have been issues of either running out of prix fixe items at 6:30 or ill prepared food. Way overated perhaps because there is no fine dining in my opinion unfortunately in Amador County. We tried Twisted Fork which is a welcome addition to Sutter Creek which has so much potential but no decent restaurants. It's a casual Italian American restaurant that fills a void that is simple but well prepared. This area has so much potential with the wineries but it does not have the tourist infrastructure of dining. Murphy's in my opinion is farther ahead in that regard.
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Twisted Fork
25 E Main St, Ione, CA 95640
Dinner Suggestions and Safe Walking to Golden Gate Theater
Well we went to 54 Mint and were unimpressed. Slow service even when we told we had theater committments. We ordered a $12 Caprese salad advertised as heirloom tomatoes and out it came as a regular Safeway produce red tomatoe. We asked the waiter and he admitted it was a regular tomatoe and we asked them to take it back. They said on the menu sparkling water was complimentary and it showed up on the bill. The pasta dishes - one seafood and the other with a sauce with duck in it were very average. Would not recommend - although convenient to theater and interesting decor and area.
Dinner Suggestions and Safe Walking to Golden Gate Theater
Thank you - I feel better now. I made a rez at 54 Mint and informed them we would be seeing the play.
Dinner Suggestions and Safe Walking to Golden Gate Theater
I've looked at Yelp on this restaurant and many complain of slow service. I am a bit concerned when theater is involved. What was your experience w/service?
Dinner Suggestions and Safe Walking to Golden Gate Theater
Did you like the restaurant? Did you go there for dinner? Any recommendations? I'm getting a little nervous on all the descriptions of unsafe walking even along Market. I would imagine though we will be walking with a group after the evening performance.
Dinner Suggestions and Safe Walking to Golden Gate Theater
I think my selections are going to be limited given the area so I'm looking for moderate price but close to the theater. We love any ethnic cuisine.
Dinner Suggestions and Safe Walking to Golden Gate Theater
Any dinner suggestions in walking distance to the Golden Gate Theater? We are taking BART and will likely get off at the Civic Center stop.
Excellent Beyti Kebap at Istanbul Restaurant in San Carlos
That corner is cursed. But I have a completely different impression of this restaurant and I felt it could not compete with New Kaopedia in RWC that is constantly full. The service was poor and the food quite horrible with dry meat, unimpressive rice and over cooked vegetables. No wonder it closed especially given it's less than popular location.
Anniversary Dinner in Cannon Beach
Sorry we got these reviews too late. We did not end up at a good restaurant on the actual anniversary date but later had a very good meal at Newmans - 588. This was an intimate setting, well priced restaurant. My husband had wild salmon with a caviar sauce and I had chicken piccata. Cannon Beach does not seem to be teeming with good restaurants but this was my favorite dinner dining experience.
New restaurants in Oregon Wine Country
We went with high hopes to Thistle last night. Clearly they are understaffed with only the chef and one helper and one server for the entire restaurant. The food was very interesting and innovative but portions for the entree were very small -our sturgeon was served w/o a starch in a small soup bowl but it was very tasty. All of our requests for lemon, bread, etc. came much later or not at all. My feeling is that even though they are keeping entree prices quite reasonable 18-20) they will need larger portions on a regular dinner plate to keep patrons satisfied. Also they will need to add additional servers to make diners feel cared for as his partner cannot manage the entire restaurant herself.
Anniversary Dinner in Cannon Beach
We are leaving for Oregon shortly and I'm trying to find a nice restaurant in Cannon Beach that would be open for dinner on Monday. We're adventurous eaters from the Bay Area so will try an cuisine. But we would like to reserve this night for something a bit elegant.
Any suggestions?
Excellent Beyti Kebap at Istanbul Restaurant in San Carlos
I was there on a Saturday night. The spelling menu errors come in question when the entree description is unable to be interpreted and then the server cannot describe the entree either. This comment has been noted on Yelp as well and just does not seem very professional.
It would have been very difficult to describe to the owner that the food is just not up to par with other like restaurants. I send food back if it is not cooked to my specifications but usually not for just inferior quality which may just be my standards.
Excellent Beyti Kebap at Istanbul Restaurant in San Carlos
Sorry to say - this restaurant was awful. The menu is so full of spelling errors that it is hard to really determine the description of the entree. That really is unacceptable. The owner couldn't describe the entrees either with limited English capabiities and therefore what we got was not what we thought.
I had a chicken kebab -- dry cubes of chicken breast with virtually no seasonings. The rice was very "american" in a scoop with a bit of butter and some oversteamed vegetables. My guest had what I think was the doner which was dry strips of beef/lamb - no sauce. The service was disinterested.
With access to New Kaopedia (sp?) in RWC and other Turkish restaurants I would never recommend this restaurant.
Cafe Altano (Hayes Valley), SF - any reports?
We would like to try this restaurant for a pre-symphony dinner. Any comments on your experience??
Orpheum - Dinner Spot
We're going to the Orpheum next week for an evening performance using BART. Are there any moderately priced restaurants you would recommend that are within SAFE walking distance from the theater. I was hoping to not walk to Hayes Valley for dining but that may be the best option. We've dined at a number of spots there. This area is very "iffy" to walk around at night and that's why we are taking BART which is so convenient to this theater and we want to not get far from the theater.
Any ideas???
Redwood City Lunch - Reasonably Priced
I am taking a business friend out to lunch and would like to meet someplace in Redwood City. Ware both adventurous eaters and would welcome any ethnic suggestions. I'd like someplace relatively quiet and moderately priced with easy parking. Any suggestions? I'm familiar with New Kaeopedia already and Mandoloun (very noisy) and the Red Lantern (also too noisy).
Amador suggestions/updates
Amador County is the crown Zinfandel jewel. But you will find that each winery will have white wine offerings but it is not their specialty.
We went to Incahoots about a month ago and enjoyed it. It's a BBQ/pizza establishment. Big portions, casual atmosphere, reasonable prices. It is hard to find good "casual" restaurants in this region so I would definately try it.
On the other hand I posted recently about a poor experience eating at Taste - also in Plymouth that you may want to look at. I'm hoping it was an isolated incident as this restaurant typically gets high marks but it was not good for our visit.
Please report upon your return. It's lovely country and relatively undiscovered - we love it.
Big Dissapointment in Taste @ Plymouth
We planned a birthday for my husband around dining at this highly acclaimed restaurant Taste in Plymouth.
The wait staff is helpful. The owner pair - he is the chef and she manages the dining room. The wife came out and personally greeted us and thanked us for selecting the restaurant for my husband's birthday. It went downhill after that...
I had a scallop dish which was swimming in butter and just OK with a spinach timbale custard and a little fresh spinach. Just too rich and I don't eat that way anymore. We started off with romaine salad with fresh spanish white anchovies - good, but not great although they touted all their produce being organic.
The worst part though was my husband's dish kubocha pork chop. The server said it was the Kobe beef equivalent of pork. We specifically asked it to be medium with some pink left - I think Americans way overcook their pork! It came out after a long time and my husband struggled with the serrated knife to cut it - obviously overcooked. We asked for it to be redone. They send out a demitasse of cream artichoke soup. The chop finally came out fatty and blood rare. The chef/owner came out and asked how it was later and was disturbed when he saw the chop was so rare and commented that this was not right. Off it went and we got shrimp in a pernod broth sent out with barely cooked shrimp that were chewy. At that point we just wanted to leave even w/o a birthday dessert. The chef sent out a handwritten note saying we can do better with a $30 cert enclosed. Nice gesture but didn't make up for the quality of the food we were served - he should have personally checked the chop to ensure it was send out the right doneness. I can tell you not one course was memorable and the richness left me with an oily tongue/
This restaurant has gotten phenomenal reviews all the way down to Sacramento but maybe it stands out because it has virtually no competion. It would not survive with higher prices and quality in the Bay Area.
I would be interested in hearing other diner comments. Again the owners were well meaning and acknowledged their problems but you can't recreate a birthday dinner.
Sutter Creek and Environs
Gail,
Where did you end up eating dinner? We have also eaten at the BBQ/pizza place in Plymouth called Incahoots. But I really don't want to drive to Plymouth every night. I've been Bella Piazza and I think Storey. Is Cooper and Kenwood new?
Please other Chowhounds lend me your ear on additional suggestions!
Sutter Creek and Environs
We're back in Sutter Creek next week for our annual getaway. We're looking for restaurants for dinner and breakfast and there are slim pickings always in Sutter Creek. This really is a shame since Amador County should be more of a tourist destination. We are celebrating a special birthday dinner at the new Taste in Plymouth which I can't wait to try. But alas the other two nights we are struggling to find some good choices. Has anybody tried the Imperial Hotel for dinner in Amador City? They got a good review in a Stockton paper recently. Has anybody been to Via Del'Orro (I may have mispelled this one) in Sutter Creek. We were there last year and it was probably the best in town but not fantastic.
Andre's Bakery will be good for takeout for breakfast but are there any other sit down breakfast spots the hounds could recommend.
Also I would appreciate your favorite winery suggestions in Amador County.
Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions. I rely so much on them.
Lunch Near the Curran
Sara,
Thanks for the recommendation. We did go there yesterday - didn't realize they would have a brunch menu. But they also had plenty of what looked to be typical lunch specials. The service was excellent, great quiet ambiance and beautiful presentation. Unfortunately I had a cold and was not able to really taste everything. But our guests ordered the made to order guac and chili rellenos and we had chicken mole tamales (absolutely the best) and carnitas. I thought it was a good value and I can't wait to come back for dinner. It reminded me although a different part of Mexico the unique food I had come to expect at Guaymas in Tiburon that went off the map. Thank you for the recommendation. I can always depend on Chowhound.
Lunch Near the Curran
We're going to see Jersey Boys and are looking for a great place for a pre-theater lunch. I don't know whether Canteen will be open on a Sunday for lunch - need to look at their website. Any other suggestions that would be within walking distance? We like all kinds of food so ethnic is appreciated. We have been to La Scene and would want to avoid Max's as I sure we could find something more interesting.
Thanks in advance!
Nectar Wine Lounge, Burlingame
We went for dinner the first night it opened unknowingly. The service was ill paced, the food was good but the portions were small for the price. It is a tapas kind of concept. We could forgive alot being the first night. But we were one of the only patrons dining versus drinking and we asked multiple servers to check on our food and nobody got back to us. I cannot pardon completely being ignored with first night jitters. We finally flagged down one of the owners and expressed our concern who then comped us wine and dessert. My recommendation is to give them some time as I had no complaints about the food. But frankly the small portions and the prices wouldn't prompt us to go back anytime soon.
Kid-Friendly near Redwood City (Emerald Hills)
Yes, I've been to Pasta Pommodoro many times more recently the Redwood City location. The last time the service was horrible and more recently I went back to San Mateo and the mussels smelled and were terribly "off". I contacted their corporate headquarters by email and never heard back from them.
Any other suggestions? I was also thinking maybe Amici's although we would be backtracking. Any comments to share?
