ekandgh's Profile
High Tea in SF and Peninsula?
My mother-in-law loves English afternoon tea with all its fixin'. She's coming for a visit and I'd love to give her a treat. It's too bad that the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay stopped their service. Any recommendations of other places to take her?
Wolf Range by Subzero vs. Wolf Range by Vulcan
While doing research for a potential new cook top for the kitchen I realized that I was looking at two different "Wolf" ranges. (Both with red knobs to make it more confusing.) The logos are different. It would appear most of the postings are regarding the Wolf owned by Subzero. Does anyone have experience with the Wolf ranges by Vulcan? (The logo has the picture of a wolf on it.) Would appreciate any insights about "the other Wolf"...
Anyone know about Chez TJ's new chef, Scott Nishiyama?
Please note that this entry is a rather long review.
We've been wanting to try Chez TJ for a while and with a new chef in place and a $30 discount for the month of January (see yelp or Chez TJ website--you need to mention that you are there to welcome the new chef, Scott Nishiyama), we finally went to check it out.
Service: Definitely enough staff, knowledgeable, friendly but not overbearing
Ambiance: The "dining room" is actually several rooms in a house--good space between tables.
We went for the menu gastronomique ($85/$140 w/pairings) instead of the chef's tasting menu (8 courses for $120/$195 w/pairings). It was nice that there were no extra surcharges on any of the dishes. We've seen this practice of asking the customer to pay extra for things like foie gras, lamb, cheese, etc. and for an expensive, fine dining experience, it seems a bit much (we admit we're not big fans of this practice). EK had one glass of wine, a 2007 Testarossa Castello Chardonnay ($15), which had a fruity nose, with nice body, and had a clean finish. But onto the food!
1st Amuse Bouche: Their take on an eggplant parmesan--tomato coulis on the bottom and some parmesan foam on top.
GH: I was skeptical of the parmesan foam at first, but it was surprisingly flavorful and worked well.
EK: I liked that there was so much flavor in one little bite.
2nd amuse bouche: A beet tasting--four different takes on the beet (so really like four amuses). The first was beet sorbet over olive tapenade, the second was like a three layered jello consisting of citrus, almond, and granny smith apple on top of a beet sauce, the third was marinated beet over sunflower seeds, and the last was a beet chip with blue cheese mousse.
GH: The mini-tasting was like a course in itself and was really well executed in the progression of flavors.
EK: I'm a fan of beets and it was nice to see its versatility here. Maybe I'm a purist but my favorite of the four tastes was the simple marinated beet.
1st Course:
Hawaiian Kona Kampachi Crudo with baby cauliflower, coconut foam, lime sauce, mizuna, and red curry salt on the side.
GH: Subtle but flavorful. The red curry salt provided a really nice punch.
EK: Light, clean dish--basically a sashimi. Clearly good quality fish and the lime sauce with the coconut foam definitely heightened all the flavors but didn't overpower the fish.
Sonoma County Artisan Foie Grae "Niege" with banana gelee, mint, sunchoke, and cashew paste--the foie was shaved table side with a slice of mustard seed toast.
GH: Sweet, salty, and rich. The foie niege was interesting in a good way. The shavings definitely made you feel like there was more foie gras but there was a lightness to the dish that you don't usually get when you eat foie gras.
EK: Generous portion of the foie gras shavings and the banana and mint were surprisingly a nice match. Very smooth tasting.
2nd Course:
Alaskan Sablefish "Cuit en Sous Vide" on top of baby leeks (from their backyard garden), topped with shaved Oregon black truffles and Yukon Gold potato chips, surrounded by manila clams (2) in a parsley sauce and smoky ocean broth (you mixed the sauce and broth together).
GH: Fatty fish plus truffle, yum! Dig the fish knife!
EK: I really liked this fish course more than the snapper. The sablefish was really tender and flaky and it's hard to miss with black truffles. I liked the texture the potato chips added (they were small bites). The manilla clams were a bit small and easy to miss but the focus here is on the fish.
New Zealand Thai Snapper served with toybox radish with dehydrated lettuce on top of uni with a consomme served table side.
GH: Tender and almost a little sweet. Nice interplay between the fish, the richness of the uni, and the slight sweet bitterness from the radish. Extra points for leaving the skin on the fish. I actually liked it a bit more than the sablefish.
EK: Not usually a big fan of radish but could appreciate its usage here. Liked the presentation and the broth, when mixed with the other elements, was extremely tasty.
Palate Cleanser: Mandarin orange sorbet on top of tarragon gelee
3rd course:
Beef filet with tempura broccoli, cippolini onion, maitake mushroom mousse, caramelized garlic tamari jus
GH: Perfectly cooked piece of meat. Nice and beefy, perhaps dry aged?
EK: Awesome crust. Love the mushroom mousse.
Berkshire pork two ways--Glazed belly and gingerbread crusted tenderloin with swiss chard (also from their garden), lentils, squash, and black currant jus
GH: I'm a pork man so this dish really hit the spot. Perfectly cooked and a wonderful study of textures. Tenderloin was slightly pink and the belly had the fat rendered out but was still flavorful. This dish and the snapper were my two favorite of the evening.
EK: Nice balance between the belly and tenderloin. The other elements were well-cooked and had their own flavor.
4th Course:
Three cheese tasting--Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam with cornbread and truffle honey, Tomme du Berger with pickled carrot, coriander, and haricot verts, and Haystack Peak Chevre with pear and red pepper relish and aged balsamic on the side.
GH: EK never turns down a cheese course. The genius was in the unusual pairings.
EK: I liked the fact that the the pairings really highlighted the cheese and made the cheese taste better. Not that the cheese was bad on its own, but their flavor was really balanced with the sides, especially the pickles and relish.
Lemon Meringue--Lemon genoise with meringue brulee, candied kumquat, and milk sorbet on the side.
GH: This was a light dessert but, for me, the most underwhelming dish of the evening. It was fine, not great, not bad.
EK: Not usually a big sweet dessert person and was glad none of the flavors were overwhelming. I think I liked it more than GH.
Mignardises:
Dark chocolate truffle, root beer marshmellow, raspberry soft chew (like a super high end Sunkist fruit gem), caramel with fleur de sel.
Got to take home a couple of homemade lollipops--coffee and root beer--we're saving these for later!
GH: Bonus round--it was all really good--better than the lemon meringue. It was good to finish with these tasty treats because I left on a high note.
EK: Another dessert! Really liked the marshmellow and caramel with fleur del sel. Nothing was too sweet and everything was in a perfect bite.
Overall, we really enjoyed our meal with this new chef. He did a really nice job with the balancing of flavors. There were no gimmicks, even the more avant-garde elements were incorporated into the dish well. Each element served the overall purpose of the dish. We'll be back to see what else the chef can do. Would be interested to see what other folks think.
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Chez TJ
938 Villa Street, Mountain View, CA 94041
Silicon Valley Restaurant Week - Alexander's or Trevese (or something else)?
From my experience in other cities, Restaurant Week can be very hit or miss. Some of the higher end restaurants do seem to "simplify" the menu to fit the $35 prix fixe and you're almost better off ordering from their regular menu but of course you will have to pay a lot more money. Sometimes the best bet is to hit a mid-level restaurant where their food is slightly above the $35 mark.
Eric Ripert's new PBS show
Has anyone heard anything about the new PBS show Avec Eric? Read on his website that the first show will be broadcast in September and will start in California, focusing on Sonoma and coastal CA and spending time with David Kinch.
help identify old cooking show
Jeff Smith of The Frugal Gourmet? It aired from late 80s to late 90s.
Joy Luck Place closing
Heard that today was the last day for Joy Luck Place in San Mateo. They are changing owners and will re-open after renovations. Does anyone know if the Cupertino location will be closed as well?
Portland dinner options?
Nothing too formal, easy for a large group. Ethnic is okay. $20~$30/person would be good.
best crab?
Have you checked out Crustacean? They are well noted for their roast crab and garlic noodles. Quite tasty! However, dungeness crab is really not in season now, so I'm not sure what the prices would be like. You may want to wait until crab is in season again. You can always call the restaurant to check.
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Crustacean Restaurant
1475 Polk St Ste 3, San Francisco, CA 94109
Portland dinner options?
Will be in Portland for a wedding next month and am trying to plan a Saturday night dinner with some friends. We're coming from all over the USA, so there will be about ten adults and one child (age 4). We would like to eat around 5-6 p.m. and am wondering if chowhounds have any suggestions for a group this size. Most of us will be staying downtown but can be flexible regarding location. Any suggestions you might have would be most welcome!
How do you feel about NOT ordering wine at $$ dinners?
I don't think you should feel obligated to order any drink that you don't feel like drinking. Water is just fine; I often just have tap water with my meal regardless of restaurant type. If you're getting attitude about this, then it's reflective of the restaurant in that they're really trying to make their margin off the alcohol. And if their margin is so dependent on the alcohol sales, then in my mind they really should just be a bar that happens to serve food and not the other way around.
Asian market trip
A very simple way is to steam the whole fish, which you can stuff with green onions and ginger, season with some salt and pepper. After the fish is done, you can heat up some sesame oil and drizzle it over the fish for added flavor. You can also experiment with other herbage such as lemongrass, thyme, dill, capers, lemon, etc. These days, I have cooked whole fish in the microwave, cover pan/plate/bowl with plastic wrap. It depends on how large the fish is, but I usually start with a few minutes and then check for doneness and keeping adding minutes until fish is done. You also can roast whole fish in parchment paper (which is also like steaming) or just roast whole on its own. Whole fish is yummy and I think it makes for great presentation.
How do you feel about NOT ordering wine at $$ dinners?
It looks like there are two issues here:
1) there are plenty of people who don't drink (b/c they're teetotalers, former alcoholics, people on meds that can't be mixed with alcohol, etc.) so not ordering off the wine list even when offered to you is no big deal and you shouldn't have to explain yourself. This is like not ordering off the desert menu at the end of the meal. Like some of the other posters have said, many higher end restaurants have non-alcoholic options that they can recommend to pair with your meal. Good water (w/ or w/o bubbles) is always a good accompaniment to your meal b/c it doesn't mask food flavors.
2) the issue with turning red when drinking alcohol (especially for some Pacific Rim Asians) is physiological - and is NOT a true allergic reaction. You lack specific enzymes to digest alcohol; this is similar to what happens to people who are lactose intolerant. So some people can't drink alcohol at all, some can drink a little bit; it's really all about how deficient your enzyme is and, for many Pacific Rim Asians, they inherit a mutated version of the enzyme. Hope this helps.
Turmeric in Sunnyvale – Wins the Bollywood Oscars for Best Buffet and Best Non-Buffet Meals
Katya--Definitely agree with your comments. Tumeric has excellent food and has good variety for their buffet. Appreciate that they change up the buffet offerings fairly regularly...love it when they offer the goat curry on the buffet! Off the menu is excellent as well, especially love the Aloo Dum Chutneywala (hallowed out potato stuffed with nuts and raisins immersed in a creamy mint sauce). The chef told us this is his original dish. Agree with the other posters about Amber India...good for lunch buffet, specially their butter chicken but for my money I'd pick Tumeric over Amber anyday.
Best Bread Pudding in the Bay Area
If you're down in the South Bay, Sugar Butter Flour makes regular bread pudding and a chocolate version too. Not too heavy, not too sweet, yummy with coffee! They have two locations, one in Sunnyvale, one in Campbell. They may not always have it available, you can call ahead.
Anniversary dinner in Palo Alto-ish area
Not sure what you would be in the mood for...but Mountain View has a couple of good ramen places--Maru Ichi and Ryowa. They are both in the downtown Castro area and are reasonably priced. Xanh, located on Castro Street in Mountain View, has also gotten decent reviews for having nice ambience and good upscale Vietnamese food. There's also izayaka (Japanese bar food/taps) at Tanto or Saizo in Sunnyvale on El Camino Real. Mountain View also has something comparable at Nami Nami, but they are definitely pricier. If you're coming down on a Friday, a reservation at many of these places are helpful. Some places can be more flexible if they know you might be fighting traffic. For example, I've been able to move my reservations back at Tanto when running behind. Not sure if you can make reservation at either ramen house though.
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Kappo Nami Nami
240 Castro St, Mountain View, CA 94041
Saizo
592 E El Camino Real, Sunnyvale, CA 94087
Tanto Japanese Restaurant
1063 E El Camino Real, Sunnyvale, CA 94087
Ryowa
859 Villa St, Mountain View, CA 94041
Maru Ichi Restaurant
368 Castro St, Mountain View, CA 94041
Xanh Restaurant
110 Castro St, Mountain View, CA
cyrus restaurant
Was there with hubby in November. We had the chef's tasting menu and was presented with a nice range of dishes. Did not do the caviar and champagne cart. Scott Beattie rocks and even if you don't drink alcohol, he does make some mean cocktails (with and w/o alcohol). They are works of art and really make the meal. There may be other chefs doing similar things to what Douglas Keane is doing, but Scott Beattie and the bar is what makes Cyrus an unique experience. Overall, the food and service were very good, and we were definitely glad we made the trip up. However, it is pricey and for budget-minded people, this factor may be a real consideration. In which case, you can take your meal and drink at the bar (they have a bar menu with select items that you will also find on the dinner menu).
One night in San Jose
If you have access to wheels, you can also consider:
Alexander's Steakhouse in Cupertino
Restaurant James Randall in Los Gatos (I think they still have prix fixe during the week)
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Alexander's Steakhouse
10330 N. Wolfe Road, Cupertino, CA 95014
James Randall Restaurant
303 N Santa Cruz Ave, Los Gatos, CA 95030
cake?
Not sure where you're based, but Sugar Butter Flour in Sunnyvale does a mean Red Velvet Cake. My husband is from the South and he likes the Red Velvet here. This is one of the few places we've seen out here that regularly makes Red Velvet cake. We usually pre-order.
What Chow do you ship to yourself??
My husband's from Virginia...so we ship in Hubs unsalted peanuts. They are super tasty, have a great bite and are larger in size than most peanuts available for sale in CA. http://www.hubspeanuts.com
South Bay
Another good Indian buffet to consider is Tumeric in Sunnyvale. The price is good and the selection is excellent...more options than I've seen at Amber India. I like also how the selection changes so that you aren't facing the same buffet options each time you go. They do have a lunch buffet seven days a week and a dinner buffet on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night. But a la carte dinner is tasty and it's family friendly too! http://www.turmericrestaurant.com/
Breakfast w/ good coffee in Sunnyvale area?
Have you tried Sugar Butter Flour in Sunnyvale? I heard they're doing Sunday brunch now and they also serve coffee, expresso, etc. even thought their website only lists their dessert line. There isn't a huge sitting area and the menu isn't too extensive...knew someone who went recently and enjoyed it. You can always call for more information (408-732-8597). If nothing else they have great desserts...yum!
Saratoga/Los Gatos
You could consider Restaurant James Randall (http://www.restaurantjamesrandall.com) in Los Gatos. It's a nice, intimate setting and the food is seasonal and tasty.
South Bay
Amber India has many fans, but I think it's a bit overrated. Food is not bad but I've had better for less $$$. Kaygetsu is good if you're into kaiseki but you can also get good eats izakaya style at Gochi (Cupertino), Tanto (San Jose and Sunnyvale--the latter location is open later until 10:30 pm, I believe) or Saizo (Sunnyvale).
Sugar Butter Flour in Sunnyvale
Their strengths seem to their dessert, less so their baked goods. But the cakes are yummy...bought a tiramisu cake for mom's b-day and she said it was the best she's ever had. Husband had chocolate dome and enjoyed it. The people who work here are friendly and helpful. If I need a higher end dessert, this is the place I hit.
Indian buffet - san francisco, peninsula or south bay
Don't know if anyone has tried the buffet at Tumeric in downtown Sunnyvale. It's family-run and the chef is excellent. He makes everything from scratch. They have a great lunch buffet (seven days a week) and a dinner buffet Friday and Saturday nights. What I really like is that the buffet items change regularly. I like Amber's buffet too, but the food items are the same every time I've been there. Prices here are reasonable, especially the dinner buffet at $12.95. If you're ordering a la carte, definitely get the Aloo Dum Chutneywala (which is a vegetarian dish-potatoes stuffed with nuts and raisins and other goodies in a silky mint sauce).
Here is the website (info about the lunch buffet but not the dinner buffet can be found on the website):
http://www.turmericrestaurant.com
