3ringcircus's Profile
Reunion dinner - Diablo Valley
If you like Pho, try Kevin's Noodle House (aka Pho Huyhn Hiep 5) in Concord. 1833 Willow Pass Rd. Concord, CA 94520
If you like Korean, there's Korea House (which is right next door to Kevins)... good food and they're not stingy with the banchan.
If you don't mind loud chain restaurants, there's BJ's Restaurant and Brewery @Sun Valley mall.
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Noodle House
1305 Gateway Blvd Ste E7, Fairfield, CA 94533
What's good at Westfield?
I'm a sucker for Beard Papa. Their kiosk is right under the escalators in the food court. Every time I pass through there I buy a few cream puffs.
Five Guys Burgers and Fries to open in Pleasant Hill! (Any other in Bay Area?)
Thanks for the heads up on the peanuts. My vote remains with In-N-Out and Nations then.
ISO Luzianne tea in San Francisco area
I think I've seen it at the Lucky's in Pleasant Hill. I'm going to work under the assumption that all of the Lucky's in the area would have it.
I'm getting tired of Deli Sandwiches that cost $7-10. in the Bay Area. Any great cheaper ones?
The sandwiches from the Safeway Deli are actually quite good. The Chicago South Sider (roast beef, horseradish mayo, horseradish cheddar, lettuce, tomato), the California Dreamin' and Turkey and Havarti Panini are popular in our house.
Specialty food stores?
Diablo Oriental Foods. 2590 N. Main St, Walnut Creek, CA Japanese Grocery
Las Montanas Market, 1725 Willow Pass Rd, Concord, CA Mexican/Hispanic groceries
Concord Korean Market/Hankook Market 1450 Monument Blvd Ste D, Concord CA... Korean groceries
Where to eat in Walnut Creek?
There is a tiny strip mall, and a larger shopping center right across the street from the Kaiser complex.
In the tiny strip mall, George's Giant Hamburgers and R&J Noodles get good reviews. Both are casual, and the latter is a Vietnamese-American place.
Across the street in the other direction (Newell and Main), there's a sushi place called Oishi Sushi that people say is very good.
A little farther down Newell, there's a Whole Foods Market... their hot deli is always good for something quick.
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George's Giant Hamburger
1491 Newell Ave, Walnut Creek, CA 94596
Best Mexican food in Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, or Concord
Don't bother trying to find good Mexican food in Walnut Creek, unless you like paying $18 for a couple of trendy enchiladas at Maria Maria. Not quite authentic.
My favorite places to grab Mexican food are El Farolito in Concord (on Grant near Willow Pass, behind the fire station) and the taqueria inside Las Montanas Supermarket.
Tortilleria El Molino makes awesome tortillas.
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Maria Maria Restaurant
1470 N. Broadway, Walnut Creek, CA 94596
Pan de Muertos
I've seen it at Las Montanas in Concord, for those of us that live in Central CoCo.
Mexican in Contra Costa
They have similar combos offered for carnitas and chicarrones, if pork is more to her liking. Their carne asada is good too. I'm a sucker for the carne asada super burritos myself.
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Super Burrito
1671 Hollenbeck Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94087
Mexican in Contra Costa
On the subject of Rotisserie chickens from Mexican places, Las Montanas supermarket in Concord makes a fine one too, and they include some lovely grilled green onions. The chicken itself is about $8, but as a combo meal with rice, beans, salsa and tortillas, it's around $10... enough to feed 3-4 people.
Need Restaurants near Walnut Creek
You're welcome. I wish I could have been more help with the places downtown, but I really dislike the traffic/parking situation there these days. It used to not be quite so bad.
Mexican in Contra Costa
Living in Concord, she's probably not far from a good Mexican place. Seriously, there are some really great taquerias in Concord. My favorite Mexican places are around Todos Santos Plaza (El Farolito) and the Park and Shop on Willow Pass Road (the taqueria inside Las Montanas Super Market). I'm told that the Las Montanas Restaurant is good as well, but I've never actually been there.
Really good Mexican food in Walnut Creek is very hard to find, unless your idea of good Mexican food is along the lines of Baja Fresh and Chevys.
Need Restaurants near Walnut Creek
I tend to go more for casual dining (I've got kids), but here are my recommendations anyway.
If your daughter wants decent Mexican food, tell her to skip Walnut Creek entirely and head to Concord. There are a lot of great taquerias along Monument Blvd and in/near Todos Santos Plaza.
There is a good Vietnamese place in downtown Walnut Creek called Da Lat. I want to say it's on Locust, but can't remember for certain. I don't go downtown very often anymore. These days when I want Vietnamese, I head to Pleasant Hill or Concord. There are two pho places in the Park and Shop in Concord, Pho Huynh Hiep and Saigon Bistro. Both are pretty good, the former is slightly cheaper and has better smoothies and Thai Iced Tea, but the latter has a little more variety in noodles and also has Vietnamese sandwiches.
There's a good little Japanese restaurant on the corner of North Main and Sunnyvale (across from BevMo) called Nama Sushi. Finding parking is a pain there though, and it's often crowded. I'm told that Oishi Sushi is pretty good too (off of Newell and California), but have never actually been there. Generally I head to Suwa in Concord for my Japanese fix.
For sandwiches, my favorite places are Kinders and A Sweet Affair, which are both in the Ygnacio Plaza shopping center on Ygnacio Valley Rd (nearest cross st. is San Carlos, right across from Heather Farm Park). The latter place is a bakery, and they have good soups and cookies (although skip their Chili). There's also a burger place in there called Gordos that has great french fries, and a BLT that is to die for. The Chinese restaurant in the same shopping center is also quite good, but for the life of me I can't remember the name of it. Oh, and skip the cream puffs at A Sweet Affair... they're soggy and dense.
There is a decent Chinese restaurant (New Chinatown Cafe), a decent Italian deli (Genova), a greasy spoon kind of place (Black Bear Diner) and a decent Italian restaurant (Sorrentos) in the Countrywood shopping center (corner of Treat and Bancroft).
Both Skippolinis and Roccos have pretty good pizza, if you don't mind your typical pizzeria style pies. Skips is downtown on Giammona Dr between Main and Locust, and Roccos is on Ygnacio right off of Oak Grove Rd.
"Chow-worthy" near Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill?
As an FYI for Pho Hoa An... they're a cash only establishment, although they do have an ATM machine there by the cashier. It's good pho though.
The Chopin Cafe in Walnut Creek in actually right on the WC/PH border. Traffic is usually pretty light around there, and there are a few ways to get there that bypass Contra Costa Blvd/Main St. and the really crazy part of Treat.
There's a tiny Japanese restaurant on Main and Sunnyvale in Walnut Creek called Nama Sushi that's pretty good too.
For good Mexican, head up Monument or hit the Park N Shop in Concord though.
Pumpkin patches
Clayton Valley Pumpkin Farm in Clayton... it's way out in the hinterlands, but it's fun. They have the pumpkin patch, craft fair, play areas and a train ride thing. It's a popular school field trip this time of year.
What's your favorite way, way out of the way food obsession (Bay Area)?
Probably not chowhound worthy, but I've been known to go from Walnut Creek to San Ramon just to go to In-N-Out.
how's Monterey Market lately?
If you're a Monterey Market loyalist, that's fine, but don't bash people or farmers for wanting to be supportive of Bill Fujimoto. Bill has helped many small farmers throughout the years, and if they want to sell less to his brother, that's their choice.
Diablo Foods had a fabulous reputation here in Central Contra Costa county even before Bill started consulting for them.
Searching for a better flour tortilla
El Molino is the last shop in that shopping center, on the Reganti side of it.
The Tortillaland "cook it yourself" tortillas from Costco are good, but I like the El Molino better... they have more body.
Tortillaland also makes a similar "cook it yourself" Whole Wheat Chapati.
Searching for a better flour tortilla
I'm quite fond of the El Molino flour tortillas that I get at a Hispanic market in Concord.
Lunch in Walnut Creek on a Thursday - Need advice
Yeah... I go to Concord for good Mexican food, but Concord is NOT Walnut Creek. LOL.
how's Monterey Market lately?
IIRC, the family that owns Berkeley Bowl is unrelated to the Fujimotos.
I haven't been to Monterey Market in about a year, so I can't speak of the cleanliness. It's a bit of a haul from Central Contra Costa County, so I never did go very often.
Lunch in Walnut Creek on a Thursday - Need advice
If you're looking for good Mexican food, you're not going to find it in Walnut Creek.
There's a pretty good little sushi place on North Main and Sunnyvale Avenue (off of Treat), called Nama Sushi.
Kid Friendly - East Bay and Beyond
If you don't mind ranging out to Walnut Creek, Skippolinis Pizza is very child friendly.
Best Ethnic Markets on Peninsula
I'll second the Nijiya recommendation... the Mountain View location is smallish, but clean and well stocked.
Local fresh ravioli
Genova's pasta factory is right off of highway 24, just before the 24/680 interchange.
Japanese with Tatami Mats?
In Concord, there's also Suwas, which has two small tatami rooms.
Food near BART
Here's places that I have personally tried within a few blocks of Concord BART... my husband has worked at an office between Concord BART and Todos Santos Plaza for the past 10 years.
1) Taqueria El Farolito 6... on Grant St. Ambiance is terrible, but very good taqueria eats.
2) Suwa, a Japanese restaurant on the corner of Salvio and Mt. Diablo. Authenic homestyle Japanese food.
3) Korean Bulgogi House, on Salvio between Galindo and Mt. Diablo... good Korean food, not as good as Korea House down in the Park and Shop, but still good.
4) Wuong Luang Thai Cuisine, on Mt. Diablo next to Peets, has great Pad Thai if you're into Pad Thai.
5) Skippolinis Pizza, on the corner of Galindo and Salvio. Good pizza, nothing gourmet, but good. This location has a nicer interior than the Walnut Creek location.
6) I (heart) Teriyaki, on Salvio in the Brenden Theater complex. Good teriyaki, decent sushi, but a somewhat limited menu.
If you're willing to go a little farther, there is a good Korean restaurant and 2 good Pho places in the Park and Shop... one of the pho places (Saigon Bistro) has awesome Banh Mi.
Food near BART
To be completely honest, you're right on Walnut Creek BART... there's really nothing chow worthy within a couple of blocks, but if one is to utilize the Free Ride shuttle in Downtown WC, you can get most anywhere between WC BART and Broadway Plaza.
I can think of only one place within 2-3 blocks of WC BART, and that's Skippolinis Pizza. It's not that super thin pizza crust kind of pizza, but it's good pizza.
