Food Smith's Profile
Service so bad and noise so loud
When I woke up this morning I thought what a waste of $225.00. We got to B Restaurant five minutes before our reservation and were told it would be a 15 minute wait. It wasn't. It was a 35 minute wait. And it wasn't just the reservation, the entire service experience was off kilter. At one point I wanted to refresh my cocktail and my friend said, 'order another' to which I replied 'someone actually has to come to your table and ask if you want another drink'. Service between courses was too long to the point where we thought we were forgotten.
I ordered my drinks with Tanqueray, strong possibility that wasn't Tanqueray as it lacked that unique zing. And while the food was good - the truffle fries were fun and the plates were fine, but nobody at our table of four was raving about their meal. The pork was served in a bowl in huge chunks. Pretty unappetizing plating.
The restaurant hires a very good band called 'The Tin Cup'. We enjoyed the band, but the space at this restaurant is too small to accommodate that kind of venue and serve dinner. Maybe if it was just a bar. We couldn't hear very well and so our dinner conversation was limited to short and unimportant topics.
Will not ever go or recommend.
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B Restaurant & Bar
499 9th St, Oakland, CA 94607
Romantic dinner spot?
We just had dinner at the Caprice last night to celebrate my husband's birthday. It is as romantic as you suggest. The service was gracious and attentive without hovering. We were there 2.5 hours and were able to relax and enjoy each other's company. Oh, yes, the food was excellent. The rack of lamb was well seasoned and cooked to my desired 'somewhere between medium rare and medium'. My husband really enjoyed his filet mignon. There is seafood on the menu, we just didn't have any last night. This is a perfect place for an intimate dinner.
Downtown Oakland (Organic) - Cafe15
I recently stumbled onto this wonderful cafe while taking care of business at the CA State Building. It's a little Italian and a little eclectic. They work to use local products and Acme bread and use olive oil for all their cooking. At this restaurant the flavors are so fresh and the food made so lightly that you walk away satisfied.
Cafe 15 has a menu of breakfast, soups, salads and omelets and sandwiches and then adds about 5 specials everyday. Yesterday I was eating light and only had the Mexican Corn soup, but it satisfied through the afternoon. Delicious tomato base, slightly spicy with corn, pasta and spices. My friend had the fried all natural chicken sandwich with a lemon mayonnaise. The lemon mayonnaise with the chicken brought a smile to her face. On another visit we enjoyed the Pulled Pork sandwich with salsa verde and the Croque Monsieur. The vegeterians will enjoy the eggplant sandwich with fresh mozzarella. The prices are all under $10.00.
The chef, whose name I've forgotten, worked at Eccolo before opening this restaurant. It opened January 09 and is now handling a lunch crowd that might overwhelm their business. You can order at the counter, grab a table and they'll serve you; however, if you arrive during the lunch hour you will, unfortunately, experience spotty table service. But by 1:00 the crowds have cleared and you might meet the chef when he comes out of the kitchen.
I really enjoy this little gem and have been back several times since I first stumbled upon it.
They haven't had a chance to get their website up yet so here's the address if you're in the area:
597 15th Street, Oakland, CA 94612. (If you walk from Broadway through the State building it will be on your left, two doors down from the standard deli.)
Quick Help Needed--Pre Symphony Dinner, not Absinthe
Obviously too late to reply about where to eat, but wanted to say I hope you enjoy the performance. We saw Hilary perform during open rehearsal. Next time for quick meals before 7:00 there's La Boulangere. Quick and okay food.
Help me "wow" my staff on our Berkeley food adventure
I love 900 Grayson, but think if you are WOWing your people the locale might not do the trick. Although it is quintessential Berkeley.
Mezze es mezzo
Went to Mezze on Lakeshore last night for a nice meal with friends. The menu offered a wide range of entrees. We went with roasted chicken, the duck, the burger and lastly, the special was venison. All the meat was good, most notably the duck and the venison. They promised it wouldn't be gamey and it wasn't. The venison was served on steamed apricot and the sweet flavors balanced the venison's almost roast flavor. The 5 spice duck confit is a regular on the menu. Very delicious comfort food a la haute cuisine! Our friends, who had been before, obviously knew they wanted food as well as the experience and ordered meals where there might be something on the plate. The Israeli olive salad lack the appropriate melding of flavors. Basically, Israeli olives and califlower with a bit of vinegar.
While I enjoyed the venison and the duck (we shared) there was so little to be had. I believe we paid over $25.00 for less than 2 ounces of venison. I thought we had stopped seeing such ridiculously small portions. I was drooling over my friend's Kobe burger!
The atmosphere is wonderful and we stayed late to enjoy a long conversation. The service was impeccable - warm without being intrusive.
I would go back for the atmosphere more than the food.
Family celebration La Jolla/Carlsbad area?
Thanks for ideas. We went to Alborz and it was very good. The portions were incredible! Fed our two 20 year old men easily. We're in Carlsbad a lot. I'll write down the names of the others for our next trip.
Family celebration La Jolla/Carlsbad area?
Maybe you can help. We are going to be in Carlsbad and La Jolla to celebrate three graduations. Two from UCSD and one from Carlsbad High. Wahoo! This is a family celebration without alcohol. We are looking for a nice restaurant (lingering sit down, tablecloths) with good service where the per person (not per entree) price is about $20.00. The members are partial to middle eastern, french, american, seafood. I think only locals would know where to find the hidden gems. Any ideas?
Elmwood vs. the rest - Rockridge, Berkeley downtown, the newly alive Temescal...
I heard that LO had closed. I was sorry. I still think about the hearty and so flavorful soups. Guess it's time to try Nepal's cuisine.
Small Group, Brithday Dinner, East Bay- Friday
I suggest you try JoJo on Piedmont Ave in Oakland. French Country cuisine, it is a small restaurant, excellent decor, good food and you will be able to enjoy your conversation. You will spend a minimum of $30 each without drinks, but it will be a night to remember. Here's the menu. If the night is really about the cocktails tho', you might want to save JoJo for another night.
http://www.jojorestaurant.com/menu/menu.htm
Quick bite in El Cerrito?
In the mall there is also a lovely Panda Express or Macaroni Grill - both chains, of course. For true dining experience in one-half hour I don't think you will find too much. You can also go into Albertsons and select from their deli section. I think the most interesting suggestion so far has been the Waikiki Hawaiian Barbecue.
What are your tried and true favorites from Epicurious.com
Tamale Pie. This one doesn't add cornmeal to the meat, but has you buy corn muffin mix (I use Jiffy) and mix it with egg,creamed corn and cheese and then top the "pie" with the sweet dough mixture which rises in the oven for a heavenly presenation. I use canned corn, replace tomato sauce with enchilada sauce for more zing and skip the fritos all together. An absolute favorite and great for casual get togethers.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/100567
How do you prepare your zucchini?
My favorite quick zucchini dish - often with other squashes as well - is to cut zukes into chunks and make a quick stir fry in olive oil (sometimes I add sesame oil for zing) add s&p, maybe garlic powder, or red pepper and voila! an easy hot side dish in less than 5 minutes.
How creative are you with leftovers?
I usually give myself a break from menu planning and warm old dishes up and let everyone choose what they want. This also helps me to know which dishes they *really* liked. But every so often, and today was one, I begin to make entirely new menus from the leftover food.
The veggies I overbought at the Farmer's Market last weekend were fine, not fresh. I made a vegetable soup without oil or tomatoes - just onions, leeks, carrots, 1/2 eggplant, potatoes, and used 5 cups white chicken stock for the broth. (Chicken broth would be fine). When I'm ready to serve I'll tear spinach (also from Farmer's Mkt trip) and add to soup.
Needed to use up rest of eggplant and leftover chicken. Made a 'leftover casserole' of eggplant, chicken, 1/4 bottle of l/o Prego marinara, added a little feta and found the last of the meat marinara to add to the mix. Topped with breaded parmesan used to prep eggplant.
Leftover persimmon cake: turn it into bread pudding with orange caramel sauce.
This was a fun morning in the kitchen! What do you do with your leftovers?
BAKING WITHOUT A STAND MIXER
I don't have a stand mixer and I bake a lot!!!! Having a stand mixer means that a). it continues to mix while you 'slowly add ingredients' and b). that you can work in other parts of the kitchen while it's mixing. In other words, it's a REALLY GOOD multitasking tool. Without it, I just stop the mixing, add the next egg, start the mixer, mix, stop the mixer, add the next egg. . . In other words, I agree with KatieNell, LauraB et al that you can get by just fine. Thanks Valerie for the recipe. Looks good!
the lifespan of a leftover
Me too! And I think the reason is that once you open the can oxidization (sp?) sets in and the can begins to decompose/rust. I don't know if that's still true, but I've stayed wary since it is not worth the risk.
Civic Center not Jardiniere
I got curious too. Here's the menu.
http://www.indigorestaurant.com/food.html
Cooking with salami
Pizza/calzone/stromboli
antipasta
I think you just embrace the fatty goodness
Briganti Update
Just came from Briganti in So. Pas. Thanks to all you hounds it was a breeze to choose a delightful restaurant once we breezed into town from Berkeley.
So here's the scoop:
Our reservation was for 9:00 and we were seated promptly and greeted warmly. The building is brick and creates a warm ambience with the candlelight glow throughout. How many tabletops, I'm not sure. Indoors I think it's about 30. We weren't seated outside, but there are a number of tables there.
The specials were shrimp scampi and rib-eye steak. We went for menu standards - I the Tagliata al Rosemarino (NY steak with Rosemary) and he the Vitalla Alla Pizzaiola (veal with tomatoes and oregano). The steak was cooked med rare, sliced and served with a balsamic vinaigrette sauce that was delicious. When I asked what else was added to the viaigrette I was told the chef didn't share his secrets. I tried with two different servers, so they obviously have their instructions. Anyway, since it was a little heavy and sweet I'm assuming a honey or molasses was added. The thickener did not taste too heavy, so I'm not certain what it was. Good! As for the veal, the light tomato sauce was tangy and light enough to not overpower the veal. The veal was a served with mash potatoes. The steak was served with cubed fried potatoes done lightly. Very good. I'd like to fine the recipe.
We both enjoyed our plates, but we each found ourselves removing tough gristle - not much, but enough to make a dent in the experience.
I had a glass of chianti and a glass of cabernet from the list. The chianti was too mellow to be impressive. The cabernet, of course, was smooth and went with the steak nicely. Not a paired match, but the pinot grigio in the glass was very good - dry and slightly sweet - oh so slight. Unfortunately, I don't know the vintners. Sorry hounds.
Ended with a shared canoli - ricotta with chocolate chip filling in a pecan crisp roll and strawberries on the side.
Overall, the meal was very good. This is a pricey restaurant, (total came to 100.65) but the food and ambience make it a good place to be. As to service, we did feel rushed and were wondering whether that was the result of a 9:00 p.m. reservation. We were out of there by 9:55.
Homemade Chicken Soup - looking for key ingredients
I'm making chicken and dumplings in this rainy NorCal weather. (Yea. We need it! And the frogs on the hill are croaking happily.) Although the recipe I pulled out really is just a chicken soup with dumplings. Aren't most chicken and cumpling recipes made with a creamy broth?
Homemade Chicken Soup - looking for key ingredients
Can you tell me more about the clove in the onion? I tried this once and the cloves ended up falling out of the onion and making a mess that I had to scoop out of the pot.
Barney's Burgers
Wow, I'm surprised at the Barney's digs. I really enjoy Barney's on Solano, but I do think the food varies by location. I always get the French Burger (blue cheese, bacon on baguette cooked med. well) and I love that it's always consistent. It is noisy, but for a 40 minute dining exp. I'm okay with that. I haven't tried Lukas' tho. Maybe we'll give that a try on our next burger night out.
Morton - I have to disagree about the Smokehouse tho'. I don't get what anyone sees about that place. So, it's an ambience thing, or some just like charred bugers?? (LOVE your avatar tho')
What's a typical week-long menu for you at home?
Chicken and dumplings sounds so yummy! You convinced me. I'm gonna make a batch this weekend. Perfect for the rainy weather we're having.
What's a typical week-long menu for you at home?
I, too, like to shop for most of the food for one week. I really tire of standing in line at the grocery as it keeps me from getting other things done. I also really enjoy cooking in the morning or day before so that I can just pop something in the oven that tastes really good. This past year I got involved in a cooking project where we cooked for 400 - 500 people every week. That reignited my interest in casseroles, meat loaves, etc. without feeling like I was being very 70's. Plus, I've always marinated my meats
ahead of time.
Here's my menu for this week:
Monday: Black Bean & Cheese burritos with sour cream, salsa, green salad.
Tuesday: Marinated Pork Loin, seared broccoli, bok choy, couscous.
Wednesday: Tamale Pie, green beans seasoned with red pepper dressing, salad.
Thursday: Usually leftover night - I take all the leftovers out of the fridge and we get to pick and choose what we want. Other times, when inspired, I use the leftovers to make a new dish. Usually when I have chicken leftover I can pull the meat from the wings, back, etc and later turn that into chicken pot pie or make and Indian marsala or soup.
Friday: This is fun night - we often go out for dinner or I'll make a pizza, spaghetti or meatloaf with roasted potatoes seasoned with paprika, garlic and s&p. Haven't decided yet.
Saturday: Lamb kebabs seasoned with rosemary, mustard. Cucumber, tomato salad seasoned with lemon and s&p. Rice and bread for the table - it's saturday.
Sunday: Broiled Salmon with cucumber dill sauce, roasted asparagus.
Sur La table.
I love Sur La Table. (If I could only speak the French correctly!) I love their gadgetry, multi-shaped cookie cutters, bakeware, tablesettings of all types. I agree that it's overpriced, but when I'm looking for a specific type of cooking item that I won't find at Tar-jay (that French I get :) ) Sur La Table is the place I go. Last November I needed a pudding pan to bake a persimmon cake and Sur La Table had it. The sales help wasn't certain what I was looking for (it's like a narrow and long bunt pan with a lid), but we worked together and found they had it. IMO their only competition is Williams Sonoma (I love them as well!), but Sur La Table will have the off-beat items more often.
What do you have the most difficulty cooking?
I totally agree. I started using ice and water when a roommate got mad about my running water 'for no good reason." Ever since then I've been convinced that the quicker I get the eggs cooled the sooner the egg pulls from the membrane on the egg.
Hayes and Kebob now open--quick report
Well, I didn't know it had just opened. My hubby and I were there yesterday before a concert. We spent 18.00 for a lamb kebab wrap ($6.95)and the chicken adan (sp?) ($6.95) and two diet cokes. We both really enjoyed our wraps. The lamb kebab was good and not overspiced. It actually made me think about how overspiced we sometimes want our food. The chicken adan was delightful and if you want spicey flavors without heat this would be a good choice. The hummus was very good - right consistency - not too thick, mixed with olive oil and topped with a kalamata.
The service was a little sketchy, but the cashier was obviously new so he gets a break.. Because of his inexperience, the chicken adan came out after the lamb kebab. They made up for it by bringing a plate of hummus to nibble on while waiting.
My husband grew up in Israel/Palestine and declared the flavors authentic. This is a rare kudo from him. We often leave middle eastern restaurants without a commitment to return. We will definitly return to Hayes and Kebab to try the falafel, dolmas, and the cheesecake that looked homemade.
The restaurant is open until 10:00. The food is good and the price is very affordable.
