Solop's Profile
Need an East Bay spot for late evening dessert and coffee
We went to the place that was in the space before 33 Revolutions once. My mother was so traumatized by the decor that we couldn't convince her to even try 33 Revolutions...
Hopefully the next inhabitant of the space will break the curse of the location...
Need an East Bay spot for late evening dessert and coffee
Just to clarify a little:
Looking for something further north than Berkeley/Oakland. Think of Solano Ave as the southern border of the desired range.
Also, thinking more of "coffee shop/hangout" than "restaurant" if that distinction makes sense. When my parents are here, we seem to wind up having dinner at places that don't have desserts or where the coffee drinkers in the family (not me!) are underwhelmed with the brew. So the goal is a place we can just drop into on the way back to remedy the lack.
That said, I suspect we'll wind up checking on Cioccolata di Vino and possibly Flora and A Cote for other occasions.
Need an East Bay spot for late evening dessert and coffee
A couple of times a year, usually when my parents are visiting, we find ourselves in search of dessert and coffee.
The requirements are reasonably straightforward:
1) Good to excellent coffee
2) A reasonably varied assortment of dessert-type pastries
3) Open late enough that we can wander in after 9pm and not feel rushed
We had been going to the late, lamented Cafe Saint Honore when we were at the south end of our range and we'll undoubtedly try Four Corners Cafe.
At the north end of our range, we usually wound up at the Barnes and Noble in Pinole, but when they started closing at 9, it made life difficult, and now they'll be closing permanently.
That should give some idea of the range (both culinarily and geographically) we're looking for. Bonus points for convenience to San Pablo Ave or I-80. More bonus points for comfortable chairs and tables large enough for four.
Suggestions?
Who ate out for Christmas?
Last year we had a kitchen disaster, so we went to Zaki Kabab and had an excellent Xmas dinner (http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/572603#4273561). So we thought we would hit them again this year, but on checking ahead, learned they were going to be closed.
Instead, we went to Everest Cafe, based on the glowing reviews. The dal was tasty, though it didn't live up to the standard set by Zaki's lentil soup. I had a lamb curry whose name escapes me at the moment -- knew I should have written it down. Very tasty, but at "medium" it was a bit less spicy than I would have preferred. My wife had the accurately named "goat curry", which was IMNSHO the better of the two entrees. Enough zing to satisfy, even at "mild", and the goat had enough flavor of its own to stand up well to the sauce.
Town Hall lunch options
Had the sausage po boy yesterday. Dunno how authentic it is, but I found it quite tasty. Planning to go back to try the ribs in the near future.
ISO: Tillamook sharp cheddar
Last I checked (a couple of weeks ago), you could still get the sharp at the Lucky stores in Pinole and El Cerrito Plaza. Not sure about the extra sharp.
San Pablo: Mom's Cuisine - the barbacoa crawl part 1 ... mmmmm .... lamb tacos
Interesting. Acting on your recommendation, we went down to Mom's yesterday and tried the consomme platter. According to the paper sign taped to the menu board (and what we paid), the price was $8.99.
That said, we thought it well worth the price. Flavorful meat and very tasty consomme. Some leftovers in the fridge for tomorrow night.
Mom's is definitely a winner. Going to have to go back one of these days to try out their tortas (my personal guilty pleasure).
Biscuits and Blues?
Food varies from visit to visit, though I find that the peppered brisket is good more often than not. My wife, the fried chicken aficionado considers B&B's on the good side of the spectrum. On the other hand, I've been disappointed by the jambalaya the couple of times I've had it.
We like the namesake biscuits, but usually ask for regular butter with them, as we all (my whole family) find the default honey butter a bit *too* sweet.
Where to buy pomegranate jelly?
If you're OK with Kozlowski Farms' version, I saw several jars of their pomegranate jelly at the Pinole Lucky store earlier this week. I suspect other supermarkets around the BA also carry it.
Dead Fish, Crockett
Eileen, thanks for the update.
I usually get up to the 'Fish once or twice a year, and have to agree that the view outside beats the view inside by a long shot (excepting my lovely dinner companion, of course!)
Agreed that the mussels are good. We often get an order to split as an appetizer and then use the leftover butter to enhance some of the main courses.
As you note, the serving sizes are plentiful, and I'd be willing to accept "not bad, not remarkable" for many of the dishes. I've had generally good results with the olive oil poached and lemon caper sauce fish, but would advise staying away from the Thai curry interpretation.
For what it's worth, I'm part of the minority here that likes their version of cioppino (pardon me, "dead fish stew"), so take that into account when considering the above.
I keep intending to try the "Fresh Black Linguine & Clams", but never quite seem to get around to it -- can anyone offer an informed opinion?
Asmara, Oakland, mini-report
OK, I'm going to be heretical here. Not the first time, certainly, but...
We've been eating at Asmara for years -- a visit is almost required when my parents are visiting -- so the notion of someplace better was highly appealing.
Three of us went to Cafe Colucci last night, based on the multiple recommendations here. Executive summary: we all agreed that it was quite tasty, but we all prefer Asmara.
Detail:
Cafe Colucci is the winner in terms of variety of dishes, and it may be more authentic (we're not really in a position to know). On the other hand, we put Asmara in the lead in terms of the environment. CC's tables are much closer together, which is especially a problem when there are lot of little kids present, as there were last night. The tile and bare walls also raise the noise level more than we found pleasant. Leaving the front door open in cool weather isn't really ideal either...
As far as the food goes, we had the Kitfo, the Begue Wot, and the Doro Wat. The latter is the only dish we've had a both places, and we all felt that Asmara's version was more satisfying. I thought CC's version was lighter and tasted a little thin by comparison.
The Begue Wot was quite tasty; we'd all order it again. As for the Kitfo, we ordered it in the "traditional" style (i.e. raw) and agreed that if we ever got it again, we would say "to heck with tradition" and have it cooked. The flavor was good -- I think I liked it better than my companions -- but the texture was unappealing. We were expecting something where the spices and sauce acted to "cook" the meat (as in ceviche) and break it down a bit.
I think we'll go back to CC and try a few other dishes, but so far Asmara is going to stay our go-to spot in Temescal.
S.
this season's citrus
I gather it hasn't been a great year for citrus -- I was up in Seattle for the holidays, and noticed that lemons were going for something like three for $2 (or was it two for $3? -- I forget).
Meanwhile, my lemon tree keeps cranking them out. Voluminously. And deliciously. My mother is extremely jealous.
In search of the elusive Cinnamon Roll!
Bit of a drive from your side of the hills, but since you mentioned Cinnabon, there is still one in the Hilltop Mall.
Zaki Kabab House - Albany
Thank you for announcing they were open today. We had one of those not-so-minor kitchen disasters: the lamb chops had not survived their stay in the fridge (It's not the red meat that'll kill ya; it's the green stuff you need to watch out for!) so we had to come up with an alternative quickly.
So we went down to Zaki. Split a bowl of the lentil soup (current special), which was *excellent*. So thick it almost qualified as lentil paste rather than soup, with a strong lemon note. I had the half chicken, which was delicious -- the dipping sauce arrived late, and wasn't missed (a tasty enough mixture of olive oil, garlic, and cilantro, but the chicken really didn't need any help) -- and my wife was quite happy with her lamb plate. As she said, "Mr. Frisky didn't die in vain, unlike the one from the supermarket."
Mincemeat in Berkeley/Oakland
We picked up one of the box/bricks at the Lucky in Pinole late last week. Probably still have some left. They also had it in jars, but my wife (the only one who eats it) sneers at that variation.
Pinole Restaurant Recap Not Just for Pinoleans
Don't let anyone push you around or make fun of you for going to HTB. I'll admit to going there myself on occasion. I'm more impressed with the desserts than the main dishes, but I do have a lingering fondness for the spinach marie.
East Bay Ice Cream Parlors?
I'm fond of my local shop, Ice Cream Mania in Pinole (http://www.chow.com/places/13624).
The ice cream (Gunther's) is decent, and the staff is friendly. Haven't tried them on special orders like your chocolate shake, but I suspect the notion wouldn't throw them.
Cioppino in the east bay
Others may sneer -- and I'll admit that it has its ups and downs -- but I still like the cioppino at The Dead Fish, especially during crab season.
And if they're having a down swing, at least the view is still good.
Pinole Restaurant Recap Not Just for Pinoleans
Hi, Adrienne. Welcome to the area.
I keep meaning to try Tachikawa, but it seems like most days when I'm in the mood for Japanese, I'm too lazy to go up there, and wind up at Tokyo, which is on the circle road around Hilltop Mall. They're decent, but generally uninspiring -- and they don't, as far as I can tell, have Japanese-style curry. There are days in the fall when I'd kill for a nice plate of katsu curry.
RIP Tandoori Chicken USA?
I thought it was one of these http://www.chaatcafes.com/
Wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong, though.
Taxi Brousse (Senegalese in Albany, CA) Review
The intermittent attempts at live entertainment didn't help either. We probably would have eaten there more often if we hadn't worried about what might be assaulting our eardrums.
Kind of an odd location, too. I'd be willing to bet that the same operation in a location more people associate with food would do a lot better.
RIP Tandoori Chicken USA?
Yeah, I knew there was a significant Indian population in the area, though I didn't say so. It just seemed odd that someone would think that a chain would succeed where a neighborhood joint failed.
I always thought the chicken-not-in-a-sandwich was pretty good too. I often had that when I was either eating there or taking something home.
Seems odd that people thought it was overpriced to me too. Especially on a "quantity per dollar" basis.
RIP Tandoori Chicken USA?
My immediate reaction when I saw "Chaat Cafe" was "Given that something neighborhood/unique Indian place like Tandoosa couldn't make a go of it in that spot, why would anyone think a boring chain Indian place would have a better chance?"
Be interesting to see who does take a flyer on the location if Chaat Cafe is really (you should forgive the expression) off the table.
Richmond – Pacific East Mall - Hong Kong Snack House – Green waffles and fish balls
Almost posted this in that other thread (http://www.chowhound.com/topics/400138), but decided to keep it with the correct restaurant...
Stopped in Friday in need of a quick dinner. Saw the evil squid still on the menu, but ignored it with extreme prejudice.
Instead, I opted to try the bahn mi. I got three: bbq chicken, bbq pork, and the "combination", which, if memory serves had three different pig parts.
All three had significantly more meat in them than what I've seen elsewhere; as a result, I was only able to eat the chicken and combo. I saved the pork and had it for lunch today.
The rolls weren't so much toasted as heated in the oven (sliced, but as far as I could tell, not fanned open). Not a major flaw; I'll take a warm roll over a crunchy-to-the-point-of-mouth-damage roll any day.
As noted, they all had more meat than I'm used to. In my opinion, that sort of imbalances the meat/vegetable ratio. It was more noticeable with the chicken and pork, as those are kind of chunky. The combo used flatter meat, so the vegetables sat more on top of the meat, rather than next to it, giving a better flavor balance.
The chicken, I thought, had the best flavor; the pork and various pig bits in the combo weren't as intensely flavored as I would like.
If I had to pick one of the three for future visits, though, I'd stick with the combo, as the better meat/veggie balance outweighed the flavor of the chicken for me.
I'll still stick with Ba Le in that part of the world, or Bamboo Chopstick if I'm at home.
Richmond – Pacific East Mall - J & S Coffee & Tea House – Ham, pork ear & pork patty sandwich
Actual tentacle-on squid, albeit snipped into bite-sized pieces. #33 on the menu. Maybe too many other people had the same reaction that I did, and they yanked it from the menu.
Squid balls. Hmm, sounds interesting, though I'd miss the tentacles.
Richmond – Pacific East Mall - J & S Coffee & Tea House – Ham, pork ear & pork patty sandwich
OK, mini-report: Avoid the #33 (Hong Kong Squid).
I was at Pacific East today and stopped into HKS on a whim. Since I'm a big fan of tentacles, when the above caught my eye on the menu, I had to give it a try. I was, to put it politely, disappointed.
Perhaps squid on the border between "woefully undercooked" and "raw" is traditional HK cuisine (I wouldn't know), but it definitely doesn't appeal to me. One of the few times I've ever failed to eat everything I ordered. But it was only $2 wasted.
I'm not turned off on HKS, though. I will try some other goodies in the future.
El Sobrante: The Bamboo Chopstick - 11 types of bahn mi
My own $0.02:
Went back a couple of days ago when I lacked desire to go to any of my regular places. Decided to splurge a bit, so I had the lemongrass chicken (over rice, not the full dinner), a BBQ pork bahn mi, and thai iced tea with pearls. Including tip, the total was right around $20, which is perhaps a little higher than elsewhere, but not outrageous; certainly within the range I'm willing to pay for the quality and convenience.
The sandwich was excellent. Unlike my first visit, the roll had been lightly toasted, which perked things up nicely. Good ratio of meat to vegetables. As rw said, "isn't as stuffed as some but it is not stingy either"; while I might have preferred a little more of both meat and vegetables, the flavor balance was good. Very rich flavor in the meat, too. Definitely worth going back for.
The chicken was good, but not outstanding. Could have used more lemongrass and less of the hot red peppers, but even as it was, it wasn't so hot as to totally hide the taste of the chicken. Would probably be better with the beef than the bird, though.
Need to try a few more of the bahn mi. The sardine sounds intriguing, and I'm tempted to get all four of the pork variations and do a side-by-side comparison.
S.
RIP Tandoori Chicken USA?
Argh! Crud! !
I suppose it's too much to hope that the Chaat Cafe will somehow resurrect at least the sandwiches. *sigh*
Gotta come up with a new idea for ballpark food, I guess. Mebbe sammiches from Bamboo Chopsticks (reminds me: gotta post over on that thread).
Seafood Recs in East Bay
I've gotta agree with the EBE review. I went to Spenger's a few times before McCormick & Schmick bought the place, and it was decent, with a few interesting/unusual things lurking on the menu (I still fondly recall the calamari sandwich, even if it didn't include tentacles).
Since the change of ownership, though, it just seems boring. No creative flair, very pedestrian.
