TopoTail's Profile
Restaurants near Julia Morgan Theater in Berkeley
Trattoria La Siciliana, on College just north of Ashby, is walkable and fun.
Breads of India- why is this place so empty? [Oakland]
This thread makes me really glad I am not in the restaurant business. I've been to the original Breads on Sacramento many times since they opened, though admittedly not often recently. I also go to Vic's and Indus Village fairly often. Indus is probably my favorite, but I love all three, and I can't believe people are complaining that Breads is expensive and Vic's lousy. I could find things to complain about at any of them, but I consider myself lucky to live so close to all three.
Cafe Fanny closing tomorrow 3/9
I've been wondering about this as well. Seems like it would be nuts not to continue offering a product that has such a strong following. I'm reminded of Vicolo Pizza, which continues to be available in shell form and full pizzas at supermarkets despite the fact that the restaurant has been gone for years. (I assume Patricia Unterman has kept it going, as she owned the restaurant.)
Does anyone know of a granola that is a good substitute for Cafe Fanny? Every time I've tried something different I've found it disappointing.
Lers Ros - Yum
Had lunch at Lers Ros on Hayes Street this afternoon, and it was fabulous.
A friend and I shared the duck larb (Larb Phed Yang) and the fried trout (Pla Trout Tod Nam Pla).
The larb was one of the most flavor packed dishes I have ever eaten, and may also have been the most texturally compelling. While I have said unkind things about ice burg lettuce in the past, I will never do so again. The ice cold, crispy lettuce and the spicy, lime-infused duck exploded in my mouth like nothing I have eaten before.
The trout was perfectly fried, sweet, and impeccably fresh. It paired beautifully with the mango sauce and some steamed rice.
I wish they had an East Bay branch, but I will certainly return to the city to experience more offerings on the extensive menu.
"Patricia Unterman, Examiner Food Critic, Dismissed"
I always figured Bauer engineered her dismissal from the Chronicle because he was threatened by how much better a writer she is. (I believe the reason given at the time was that it was not appropriate for a restaurant owner to be reviewing the competition, but I never saw any hint of politics in her reviews.)
Ark Chinese Restaurant tips? (Alameda)
I've had the chow mein with hand pulled noodles a couple of times, and it is fantastic. Took a friend who loves noodles, and he, too, was blown away by the chow mein w/hand-pulled noodles. (You have to ask for hand-pulled, and it costs a dollar extra, but worth it.)
Gajalee - the real deal for Goan food [SF Bay Area board]
Inspired by this thread, I met a friend for lunch there today. We both got the thali plate, me with mussels, he with fish, and we were in total agreement. Everything but the mussels and fish was excellent--worth a return trip. But the seafood was days old.
You can't open a seafood restaurant in San Francisco and expect to get by serving seafood that isn't fresh. I can understand how hard it would be to throw away food that you already bought, but seafood is totally unforgiving. I just love the concept behind the restaurant. Hope they get their act together before they go out of business.
Fish & Chips
I had the fish and chips at Sea Salt last year and found them disappointing. God knows I've had plenty of fried foods with way too much greasy breading, but this was one time I wanted more breading. It seemed like the fish had been dipped in some corn meal, but here was no batter. I like a crispy batter on my fish and chips.
A Coté: A Flashlight on the Side? [Oakland]
Wife and I had dinner at A Coté tonight. We had the romaine salad, crispy artichokes w/pimenton aioli, pancetta wrapped quail with grilled radicchio and polenta, and pork ribs with beans.
At least I think we did. It was all delicious, but the lighting is so dim that I couldn't guarantee that's what we actually eat. My wife worked on the ribs for about two minutes and was getting really frustrated because she couldn't find any meat. Finally she discovered that all the meat was on the bottom side of the ribs and found the beans, which she couldn't see at all. I was hacking away at the quail without being able to see where I was cutting, but finally managed to get at the meat by picking the bird up with my hands.
We have these little flash lights that attach to a key chain and had to use them to read the menu, navigate our plates, and read the bill. I understand low light can create an intimate atmosphere, but you can't leave your customers in the dark unless you're running one of those restaurants that are purposely set up with no light at all so people can have the experience of eating mystery foods they can't see.
I mean the food was really excellent, but I don't think we'll be returning unless they provide enough light to see the food.
Whole preserved black truffles
I'm not sure exactly what they are, but I was in Country Cheese on San Pablo near University the other day, and they had black truffles in small glass bottles. I think they were about $30 each. Not sure if these might be preserved black truffles.
Sour Cherries
I've been wondering about this for a long time. Grew up in Detroit, and we had a Montmorency tree in the back yard. We would freeze about 20 quarts of cherries every summer, and my mom would make pies throughout the year. I've never understood why it's so hard to find frozen sour cherries.
best dark roast coffee beans in Berkeley / Oakland area
"French" and" Italian" roasts are an American term, and in my experience French roast is generally darker than Italian. In Italy, it depends on where you are. In the south, the roasts tend to be fairly dark, and most bars pull ristrettos--very short shots with a lot of body and a lot of crema.
As you move to the north, the roasts become lighter and the shots longer. In Trieste, they serve lungos--long shots that tend to be more acidic than in the south (when you roast beans darker, you eliminate some of the acid, along with the lighter floral and spicy notes favored by Third Wave roasters here). The shots served in the north are more like what one generally gets here: not nearly so much body as in the south, less crema, and at least twice as much in the cup.
(The first proper espresso I ever tasted was in Naples, and I still prefer a medium to dark roast ristretto.)
Burgers and coffee, that's elf food, apparently -- your thoughts solicited
Grayelf stipulated that he wanted a "standard burger." I haven't had one in a while, but the burgers I've had at Perry's still call to me, and the fries are good too, though, if I remember right, a bit thicker than I like them. No chorizo or pastrami ground into the burger meat--just fresh ground chuck on a proper hamburger bun, always medium rare as ordered.
Seasonal Produce
Want seasonal produce, go to Chinatown. I was in SF Chinatown yesterday looking for snow peas. They were not to be found. (Well, one place had large bags of poor quality ones.) I found my snow peas at Berkeley Bowl. (They were from Guatemala.) There were all kinds of winter greens available, including many I could not identify.
Firebrand Brick Oven Bakery
I was at Bi-Rite in the city yesterday and noticed bread from a bakery I'd never heard of: Firebrand.
I bought their Classic Sourdough, which included unbleached wheat flour, whole wheat flour, and rye flour, all organic. OMG, it was one of the best loaves of bread I have ever tasted. Really crispy crust, moist and chewy inside, packed with flavor. My wife and I couldn't stop slathering butter on it and devouring it.
The bakery is on Beach Street in Oakland and appears to be quite new. (No real website yet; just a placeholder page saying it's available at Bi-Rite and Rainbow.) Don't know if they sell retail from the bakery.
firebrandartisanbreads.com
Sumo citrus - enormously good to eat
I just bought a couple of sumos at Monterey Market. They're good, but the temple oranges I got at Berkeley Bowl a couple of weeks ago still beat them. The thing about temple oranges is the acid--sweet plus acid, yum. I think temple oranges come from Florida--they seem to be a type of mandarin. Sometimes I see them as royal mandarins.
Zachary's Crust [Berkeley] --Tough, boring
On our case, we just wanted slices, and I don't believe Little Star offers slices.
So, Wise Sons Deli is open ... who's been? Beauty's Bagels? [San Francisco]
I once had pastrami at Katz's in New York that was TOO damn fatty. It must have been two-thirds fat: huge hunks of hand sliced chunks of fat. I found myself trying to pick through it to eliminate some of the fat, which was only created a huge mess. I had to abandon the whole thing.
So, Wise Sons Deli is open ... who's been? Beauty's Bagels? [San Francisco]
I requested "jucy" (which used to be an option on the menu at Saul's) the last time I went there, and it was still dry. I didn't even finish the sandwich.
Zachary's Crust [Berkeley] --Tough, boring
Had a think crust slice at Zachary's on Solano the other day and was kind of shocked at how bad the crust was. It tasted like the crust you get on a bad frozen pizza--hard, thick, no chewyness, really boring. The cheese and tomatoes on top were great (I ordered a marghrita), but I couldn't get past the crust. Little Star, which opened at the other end of Solano last year, is way better, as are any number of other pizza options around the Bay Area.
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Zachary's Chicago Pizza
1853 Solano Ave, Berkeley, CA 94707
So, Wise Sons Deli is open ... who's been? Beauty's Bagels? [San Francisco]
I too had a pastrami sandwich at the Thursday farmers market and found it lacking. As virtualguthrie said, it just didn't have much flavor. It seemed like they were aiming for something a bit more refined than your usual pastrami, but it need more kick, and more fat. Lean pastrami just doesn't work, a case in point being the pastrami that Saul's in Berkeley has been turning out since they started doing it themselves.
Bucci's -- What a Gem [Emeryville]
When I'm not eating with my wife for one reason or another, I usually seem to find myself at the counter at Bucci's. Every time I go there I tell myself I'm going to get something other than the margherita pizza, which, in my book, is second only to Delfino's, though of a very different style. This time, I finally resisted the allure of the margherita. I ordered a Ceasar salad and Antipasti plate.
The salad (okay, I have had that before) uses nicely chilled, quality romano with garlic croutons, a lemon/anchovy dressing and shavings of parmesan.
The antipasto plate included grilled lamb with charmoula, tuna confit with a Meyer lemon salsa, mussels escabeche, grilled eggplant with balsamic, and a caprese salad in the middle. What a wonderful assortment of quality ingredients with deft spicing. The tuna was the star of the plate, with the lamb a close second. The escabeche sauce with the mussels was great for dipping a crust of bread.
The only disappointment was the winter tomatoes in the caprese. (And I should add that I'm not especially fond of the bread they serve, or the very salty olives.)
But all in all, Bucci's is a gem. The service is always friendly, the prices reasonable, the food excellent.
Mexican Restaurant Suggestions in Oakland/Berkeley..
Cocina Poblana on Hollis @ 65th is worth trying. Very nice moles. They also tout their Chile en nogada, though I haven't tried it. Nice bar and friendly service:
http://www.cocinapoblana.com/
Vegan restaurant in Berkeley?
It's a very simple place, and the decor is not something you'll write home about, but Vegi Food, a Chinese vegetarian restaurant in Berkeley on Vine just west of Shattuck, has many, if not only, vegan choices. They use only ginger and garlic for spicing but extract amazing flavors out of veggies and tofu.
Tommy's Joynt: One I can check off the list [San Francisco]
I couldn't believe it when it showed up on the Food Network's Diners Drive-Ins and Dives. Guy Fieri was going on and on about how great the place is--like it's some secret San Francisco gem. Give me a break.
Dekopons
David Karp writes about them in today's LA Times:
http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-marketwatch-20120210,0,4339226.story
Anybody seen them in the Bay Area? Wouldn't mind trying "the most delicious citrus in the world."
Anyone know where to find kabsa?
Have you tried Alborz on Center Street in Berkeley? I know they have rice dishes that sound quite similar, and I believe the owners are from Saudi Arabia.
Vegi Food, Berkeley
Felt like eating vegetarian tonight and went to Vegi Food, a Chinese vegetarian restaurant in Berkeley (Vine just off Shattuck) that doesn't seem to have had much, if any, mention on this board. It's a very simple restaurant that has barely changed since we moved to Berkeley in the eighties. I don't go there often, but every time I go I am amazed by how flavorful their food is--and this without onions or garlic or MSG. (The wife, who serves as the friendly waitress, told me onions and garlic are not used in Chinese Buddhist cooking.)
My wife had mu shu vegetables without eggs (another item you won't find on the menu), but with the skillful use of ginger, the veggies were full of life. I had a simple vegetable chow mein on a bed of crispy fired noodles, which was also wonderful. (There were three kinds of mushrooms, plus water chestnuts, carrots, bamboo shoots, snow peas, broccoli, and more with a nice sauce.)
They also do fried walnuts with sweet and sour sauce, which I've had in the past and were quite delicious. And how about kung pao walnuts, one of several spicy dishes? (I've never had those, but will order them on my next visit.)
Did I mention the prices? The most expensive dish on the menu is $8.25! (Cash only, no beer or wine.)
Original Joe's coming soon website.
My wife and I spent one of the best New Years Eves of my life at New Joe's. It was "the year 2000" and we met a couple of friends there before joining the throngs to see the fireworks. I don't remember a thing about the food. It was always dependable in an old-world style. But the PEOPLE:
There were African American couples dressed to the Ts, there was an older gentleman with a very classy Chinese woman who looked right out of a noir film set in Shanghai in the 40s (we had such fun trying to guess what the two of them were doing together, our best guess being that she was an escort).
Warren Hinckle came through with his basset hound.
And then there was the guy sitting alone in a booth with about 6 bottles of wine. We collared Maire Duggen as she was walking by our booth and asked her what his story was. Turns out he was a wine salesman she said liked to come in with wines for her to taste. He had a very old California port, and she brought us four glasses with his compliments.
We nearly met our death on the massively crowded BART platform after the fireworks, but it was a memorable night.
