I just got back from Laguna Beach and thought I'd share my restaurant experiences.

Sundried Tomato Cafe: I caught an early dinner here before the Pageant of the Masters and they were pretty quick on getting dinner out, but I didn't feel rushed. The prices are pretty good. I sat outside, though the views aren't great. The menu had a variety of light to larger selections including fish, meat and vegetarian options.

House of BIG FISH and Ice Cold Beer: I tried to get reservations for dinner earlier in the day, but they were already booked up, so I went for a late lunch. I loved this place for the food and views. It's not right on the beach, but they are upstairs so you get a view of the ocean. If you like reasonably priced seafood, this is the place to go. I had a small dish called Hobo Fish Plate, which was rich with a mixture of fish. This was amazingly delicious and was enough to fill me up. They also have like 50 different beers.

Starfish: This restaurant is in the Aliso Creek Shopping Center across from the Montage Resort. I didn't know anything about this place and just stopped there because they have parking. It's an Asian fusion seafood place that has small plates to share. Their flavors were divine and their prices are pretty good too. It did seem a bit loud and the tables are fairly close, but worth a try.

I just had dinner at Oren's last night. We had the original hummus and it was very good. I thought some of the sides were just okay. Like the Labne, it wasn't as flavorful as others I've had.

The only *big* issue we had was the service. It was very inconsistent...we didn't get the cabbage salad, though we did notice others around us did, we had to ask twice for water, it took a while for them take our order and a while to arrive, then about 10 minutes after getting our food, they gave us our check and kept coming back to see if we had paid.

I think I would try this place again, but perhaps when it is less crowded.

Thanks for the tips. I'll try the suggested places. Some are very close to me. I ended up making it...though it didn't come out so much like char siu. More like roasted pork, but it was really tasty and I didn't have any to take home.

I've got a party to go to and no time to make char siu. Is there any place around Mountain View to get decent char siu togo?

I wanted to post an update on Green Elephant Gourmet. I live really close, but just tried it a few weeks ago. I had the mushrooms and vegetables which was extremely tasty, very flavorful and the vegetables where nicely crisp. I tried the place again about a week later and the food didn't seem as good. The food was greasy and the vegetables were limb and pale green. Also, the food was salty. The place was very busy at the time, so not sure if they were rushing a bit. Then I tried the place again a few days ago...perhaps the last time was a fluke? Again, the food was not good. I had the salt and pepper shrimp, which tasted like flour...like it wasn't cooked at a high enough temperature or not long enough and the shrimp was mealy and certainly not salty or peppery. The service was quick, but the wait person seemed hurried the last time. What a disappointment...I was really hoping to find a good chinese restaurant close by.

I didn't try any of the Burmese dishes, perhaps these are better.

I read through the reviews that were posted, but there were none in the last year. I looked at their website and the food looked interesting. The Redwood City location is easier for me to get to. Has anyone been there recently?

I'm open to other places that may be good for a birthday dinner for 2 adults and 2 teenagers. I am looking for something moderately priced that has a decent menu for non-meat eaters (fish okay) as well as meat eaters. Also it would be nice if the place wasn't too loud.

Thanks for all the sources. Apparently some places are out or are getting a limited amount of fresh. I was able to located at Cooks...though the price isn't that low.

My usual source for cleaned and cracked crab is out of crab right now. Does anyone have a source for good fresh cleaned and cracked crab at a reasonable price ideally around the peninsula or towards San Francisco? I read that Costco is a source, but I don't have a membership there. I need about 15lbs for a New Year's party.

I ate at Gabriella Cafe on Oct 27 for dinner. I heard good things about the food though the service can be slow.

My experience not only confirmed the slow service, it was really not good service. I think it was the wait person's lack of eye contact and hurried way that detracted from having a good experience. We ordered the fish dish and the pork belly. I would say the food was decent...the flavors were very ordinary. The fish was called BBQ, which meant grilled. There was a grilled flavor, but that's about it. The pork belly was supposed to be crispy and it was a little crispy, but I would have liked it a bit more so and flavorful. The dessert was the highlight of the meal. We shared an apple crostini. It was delicious.

Overall, my dinner experience at Gabriella Cafe was just okay. I expected much better service for a small intimate place like this. I suggest going for the desserts.

Country Gourmet is right down the street from Hobee's on Rengstorff and Mountain View. I go back and forth between the 2. Country Gourmet can get quite crowded too, but it is a bigger place so sometimes the wait isn't as long. CG also has decent coffee and the food is decent.

I tried Redd last Saturday for dinner. We arrived at 5:30, pretty much when the place opened. They weren't quite ready yet, so we had a drink in the bar. They came to get us a few minutes later. Everything on the menu looked great. We ended up trying the tasting menu. All parties at the table need to do the tasting menu if you decide to go that route. It's 5 courses but they do a different item for each person. There were 2 of us, so we had 10 different items which we ended up sharing. The first course was a raw fish, one dish was tuna and the other was hamachi. Both very tasty. The 2nd course was a cooked fish, one dish was scallops and the other was a white fish. The scallops were tender and in a thick cream sauce. I though it was yummy, but my dinner partner thought the cream sauce was a bit heavy. The 3rd course was a game dish. We had squab and pork...both good. The 4th course was a meat dish, one was lamb and the other was beef. The lamb was very tender and nicely seasoned. The beef was good, but nothing really special. The last course was dessert. Both of the desserts were just okay...

My dinner partner had the wine pairings (I don't drink) and all the wines went very well with the meal.

The service was good...very attentive but not over bearing.

Redd recently put in something to reduce the noise. I didn't think it was too loud and we were able to talk at a normal level even when the restaurant was full. The interior is a bit stark...it would be nice if they added some color to warm the room up, but I think they were going for the stark affect.

I would go back again as there were a few other items on the menu I'd like to try.

Gosh, both restaurants sound great and now you've suggested a few more. I guess I'm going to have to make multiple trips up there to try them all. Thanks for all your input.

I would like to take a good friend up to Napa/Yountville for her birthday and am looking for a good restaurant around Yountville. I've read a lot about Bouchon and Redd. Both sound great...does anyone have an opinion? We are looking for great food and a great wine list. Also, I heard that Redd can be quite noisy....this is a concern, because we'd also like to have a conversation while eating.

I've eaten at Xanh quite a few times. Everything I've had has been good, though I do think some of their prices are a bit on the high side for the area. As you've probably read, the papaya salad is very good. The last time I was there I had the shaking beef and it was decent...though not as good as at the Slanted Door. I also had their ahi tuna roll, which was large and tasty. The place sometimes can get crowded if you go during the peak dining times and it can be quite noisy. The service has sometimes been not quite up to par considering the prices, though the waiters wear these really cool belt buckles with the word XANH on them.

I'm in Mountain View, so ideally it would be nice to find some place in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Cupertino areas. I went to Mings in Palo Alto for dim sum one year and that was nice. Something Moroccan or Japanese may be nice.

Can anyone recommend a nice place for Thanksgiving dinner on the Peninsula? Ideally a non-traditional place, something ethnic, perhaps.