sairuh's Profile
Southbay getting a trickle of East Bay and SF treats
Yes, the curds are the "squeaky" type, not feta, which I haven't tried yet. The curds are pretty mild, but make a pleasant snack; sometimes I shred them on top of pizza, yum.
Southbay getting a trickle of East Bay and SF treats
This might be old news here, but Scream Sorbet also appears at the Mtn View farmers' market on Sundays. (I swear, their pistachio sorbet beats out any pistachio ice cream I've had! Wonderfully nutty, but without added almond essence, which always detract from the flavor, imo.)
Also, Achadinha has been at the Sunnyvale farmers' markets on Saturdays. I've enjoyed their curds (a mix of cow and goat, though the goaty aspect is barely perceptible), Capricious (a great, goaty Parmesan analog), and Broncha (another goat-cow mix).
Winmart Russian deli in Sunnyvale closed; any nearby suggestions?
Thanks for the suggestion, Melanie. I'll check out Crossroads Market sometime, perhaps combine it with a trip to the Milk Pail. :)
Winmart Russian deli in Sunnyvale closed; any nearby suggestions?
I drove passed Winmart recently, and noticed that the store has been emptied out, even though the signage remains. Sure enough, it's labeled as closed on Yelp, but with no further info, afaict.
Sad to see this Eastern European deli in the south bay go away. Does anyone have suggestions for similar stores in the south bay or peninsula? I haven't been to Samovar in MV for a while, but do wonder if there are other recommended ones in my area.
Brioche Bakery Breakfast Pastries (SF)
Adding a couple links.
Storefront in SF:
http://briochecafe.com/
Wholesale bakery in SF, including a photo of the brioche slice :)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/crepe-and-brioche-san-francisco
2011 - It's chilly. It's the holidays. It's hot chocolate time.
I can never keep my hands off a recipe, so thanks for the inspiration, ssfire! I ought to do *something* with the ginger root sitting on the counter...
2011 - It's chilly. It's the holidays. It's hot chocolate time.
(Okay, I know it's now 2012, but I tried these last week. ;)
A couple friends and I went to Rue du Thé (same owners as Leland Tea in SF) in downtown Burlingame for tea, sandwiches, cookies and chocolate. Their hot chocolate menu had over half a dozen flavors, and I selected the "dark chocolate" one. It was delicious: thickish and creamy. Oddly, it was served in a paper cup even though we were eating and drinking there, especially since my companions' teas were served in ceramic cups. I'm afraid I neglected to note down the other flavors, and ask the source of the chocolate. :-\ They mixed up our sandwich order, but were very kind and comped us the extra, mistaken sandwich flavors. Overall, worth a revisit if I'm in the area.
I was also looking forward to obtaining some Jade chocolates for future consumption, but was told the owner no longer (indefinitely?) offers her chocolates through them. Alas.
http://www.rueduthe.com/
Next up we went to Serendepity in San Carlos. They offer a bunch of chocolate truffles and bars by local chocolatiers (Michael Mischer, Au Coeur de Chocolats, Recchiutti, etc.), and I had purchased several, but haven't yet tried them. Suffice to say, though, there was a lot to choose from, so the variety was fun to peruse. They also offer coffee and macarons, neither which I tried, as I was feeling rather full and trying to set some limits, heh.
I did get a cup of their hot Mexican chocolate, which they appeared to make with a dry cocao mix plus flavored spice syrup and vanilla extract. It was tasty, although I confess I prefer the flavor of Ibarra (I admit it! Ibarra could be less sweet, so at home I cut it with added bittersweet chocolate, but I digress) or some Oaxacan tablets friends have obtained in the past. It wasn't thickened, but was smooth and not at all gritty as some chocolate drinks made with powdered cocao could be.
One friend got a cup of the sipping chocolate, made with water, without dairy. Very thick, luscious, and deserved being only in a demitasse-size cup, imo. Nearly like a very warm pot de crème.
http://serendipitysancarlos.com/
Serendipity would also be worth another visit, at least to test *ahem* out the other offerings I didn't get to.
2011 - It's chilly. It's the holidays. It's hot chocolate time.
Mmm, this thread is reminding me of the glory I experienced at Cacao Drink Chocolate in Portland. http://cacaodrinkchocolate.com/
Other than Coupa Café, what other chocolate drinking bars are there in the Bay Area worth visiting?
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Coupa Cafe
538 Ramona St, Palo Alto, CA 94301
Tea tastings in the Bay Area?
I can think of a couple places, but they are on the Peninsula or in the South Bay.
Many years ago a bunch of friends and I took a tasting class at Tea Time in downtown Palo Alto. It was okay: the tea was very interesting, but the owners who ran the class seemed a bit stuffy. There are new owners now, but I haven't had a tasting with them.
Another is Satori Tea in downtown San José. I've only been there for a sit-down tea with a friend (not a tasting or class), but the service was very friendly. They also allowed us to smell the teas before making your selection, samples lining an entire wall. :) Iirc, you might be able to arrange a tasting with them.
http://www.tea-time.com/home.asp?menuitems=teainfo&pageId=140
http://www.thesatoriteacompany.com/
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Tea Time
542 Ramona St, Palo Alto, CA 94301
ISO Anson Mills hominy grits in South Bay or Peninsula?
Mmm, that looks yummy, RWCFoodie.
http://www.ansonmills.com/recipes-corn-3.htm
ISO Anson Mills hominy grits in South Bay or Peninsula?
Thanks for the offer, mikeh! However, today a friend of mine was able to share the costs and goods with me on a mail order.
House-baked Baguettes and Banh Mi from Phat Tri in San Jose
Better than Huong Lan? Ooh, I'll have to check it out! I love the shredded chicken banh mi and plethora of che (especially if I manage to nab a cup of che xoi nuoc before it disappears) and other sweets there.
Have you tried Cam Hung in Sunnyvale? Just curious how it compares, in your opinion. The banh mi there are quite tasty; the owner recently redid the menu display, which shows well over a dozen choices, including multiple vegetarian, fish and chicken options. They also provide freshly made salad rolls. The service is very sweet, friendly and fast. (If only they offered banh xeo, but I can dream, I suppose. ;)
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Huong Lan
404 S 2nd St, San Jose, CA
Cam Hung Restaurant
903 Reed Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94086
ISO Anson Mills hominy grits in South Bay or Peninsula?
Since I cannot easily obtain these grits close by, I'm trying to gather some friends together for a group mail order, as a workaround.
ISO Anson Mills hominy grits in South Bay or Peninsula?
Would anyone know where I could obtain hominy grits (not polenta) made by Anson Mills on the Peninsula or South Bay?
The problem with ordering them online is that they require a minimum of 4 12-ounce bags per order, which is too much for my needs.
Thanks in advance!
http://www.ansonmills.com/products-page.htm
Tocumba Fresca ice creams
I was doing a bit of shopping at the Chavez Supermarket in Sunnyvale, and noticed several ice creams by Tocumba Fresca (produced and based in Millbrae, according to the label). I tried the cherimoya flavor: rather delicate but nice.
Has anyone tried the other flavors? The website from the Chow Restaurant page lists lucuma, mamey in addition to cherimoya. Has this brand been seen at other markets?
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Tocumbo Fresca Ice Cream
Redwood City, Redwood City, CA
tikka bytes? Anyone know anything about this truck/caterer?
Yes, I tried them for the first time this week. I had the paneer tacos with shahi and palaak sauces. Very tasty! Also grabbed a small container of two gulab jamun for $2; they were at room temp/somewhat cool; I'd reheat them slightly to soften them, but that's my preference.
They seem to be new (2 months in operation according to their website), and also are eager for feedback. For example, they asked me if the two tacos are best served with two (total) tortillas. They know that traditionally it's usually two per taco (total of four), but thought they might be too starch-heavy that way. I suggested they might look into using the smaller taquito-sized tortillas. Of course once I left the truck I forgot to mention trying 3 larger ("regular taco"?) tortillas, in a staggered manner. In any case, for $3 for two tacos (filling-wise, at least), it seems like a good for me.
fine caviar, sturgeon, interesting smoked/cured salmon, pelmeni, stuffed cabbage...
Another good south bay resource for Russian goods is Winmart in Sunnyvale.
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Winmart
833 W El Camino Real, Sunnyvale, CA 94087
Where to Find Vietnamese Grilled Shrimp Paste on Sugar Cane Skewers?
I like this dish at Vung Tau, just outside downtown San José. They serve it with the fine vermicelli rice cakes, table salad+herbs and fish sauce, although this might be typical for this dish's presentation...
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Vung Tau Restaurant
535 E Santa Clara St, San Jose, CA 95112
Who makes hodo kwaja Korean pastry in Bay Area?
I've noticed that Hankook Market in Sunnyvale (on El Camino Real, just north of Lawrence Expwy) sold speciality cakes from a couple of Korean bakeries, Yewon Bakery and Seoul Rice Cake Bakery — both which are located in Santa Clara. I haven't visited either of them directly yet, though. Perhaps they might make what you're looking for?
Side note: I had some really tasty black sticky rice cakes (by Yewon, I think?) which I picked up at Hankook. Not too sweet, and had nice junks of jujube, pumpkin and black bean; I could've done without the green peas in there as well, but that's just my own textural preference.
Little Green Cyclo Vietnamese food truck
I've been visiting the Little Green Cyclo, a Vietnamese food truck, over the past few weeks. Very tasty food, very friendly people: I definitely recommend it if it happens to show up near you.
Menu & schedule: http://www.littlegreencyclo.com/menu.html
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lilgreencyclo
I've enjoyed several bánh mì ($5 each, $0.75 for extra egg): 5-spice chicken, tamarind tofu (with and without extra fried egg). The fillings are generous, but not overwhelmingly overstuffed. The baguettes are light, with a thin, lightly crisp crust I prefer. (Compared with Lee's which is too hard and thick; ouch.) Nearly twice the cost of my other favorite bánh mì shop, Huong Lan Sandwich on Tully, true, but much more conveniently located for me.
Their sweet potato fries ($2.75) are, to put it mildly, addictive. Served with mayo-based sauce, mango-mint or honey-mustard.
I liked their chrysanthemum tea, which was refreshing on a hot day. One time they served a special chè dessert (pandan coconut milk, jackfruit, palm seed, grass jelly) which was great.
Their specials, like the chè, change weekly. For example, last week they served broken rice with topping of choice (I had it with chicken), and a side of pickled dikon and carrot. Very good stuff.
Fri 9/17/10 San Jose Underground Market!
A quick search yielded a Yelp announcement and blog post. Looks like it's a one-time even, unless I misread.
http://www.yelp.com/events/san-jose-the-san-jose-underground-market
http://foragesf.com/sf-underground-market-2/san-jose-underground-market/
Fri 9/17/10 San Jose Underground Market!
Does the San Jose Underground Market occur every Friday evening at the same location? If not, how often? Could you provide a link describing the event (unless its solely connected to the street festival)? Thanks!
Nijiya Market Mountain View - about to get a ramen cafe?
I've tried a few things from the Nijiya MV cafeteria: The steamed black sesame buns are good. I also got a couple onigiri, one with a pickled mustard green (sorry, forgot the Japanese name), and another with chicken teriyaki. Both tasty.
Downtown Menlo Park pre-concert
I used to love the roti prata at Shiok, but it seems to have become soggier on more recent visits. But perhaps one could request to cook it more crispy?
I also very much enjoy their nasi lemak (esp. with shrimp).
Whole grain menu items at Japanese restaurants
Thanks for posting, I've had a similar question in the back of my mind for a while: Are there south bay Japanese restaurants that serve brown rice in donburi and/or chazuke (tea over rice)?
Madura Indian Cuisine in Sunnyvale
Speaking of the weekend specials, I think I found my favorite dosa: the Special Onion Rava Masala Dosa. It's like a typical rava dosa with embedded onions and potato curry, but it also contains a generous dusting of a ground nut (pistachio and cashew) and spices. So very good!
The masala chai seems on par with SB's and DP's. It's strong, and comes unsweetened, with sweetenings on the side.
I've had the sweet lassi a couple more times, and the quality seems erratic. One night it tasted like coconut milk was mixed in (perhaps by accident).
Has anyone tried the cheese and/or panir dosas? There might be a difference, since at SB (for example) the cheese is melted, kind of like Monterey Jack-like, but rather heavy and unappealing. I've also had a panir dosa elsewhere, where the cheese remains crumbly, often mixed with chilies and/or onions -- which I prefer.
Madura Indian Cuisine in Sunnyvale
We've been Madura a couple of times. I enjoyed the onion rava masala dosa -- the potato-onion filling was pleasantly hot, unlike some places where I could tell it was recently in the fridge. The chutneys that came with the dosa were tasty, especially the cilantro-mint one, probably the best of its kind that I've had. There wasn't any fresh tomato chutney like SB's. In fact I think several of the Yelp photos are misleading, since the photo of the channa batura showed 3 pieces of bread; the resto version only had 1 large one. Good bread, though, and slightly sweet enough that it reminded me of...doughnuts. ;)
Both the channa and sambar have a strong cinnamon component, which I don't mind. The venn pongal was delicious and buttery, quite an excellent companion to the idli and vada. And the vada? The best I've had in my limited experience. At other places, they've been dense and barely warm. Madura's are fluffy, hot with a nice crispy crust. Great for dunking in sambar, yogurt or chutneys.
This was the first time I've had ildis, so again I'm no pro there. They seemed tender, not too heavy -- again good for dunking in sambar, yogurt and chutneys.
We tried a thali, and while interesting, it didn't seem of as high quality as Dasaprakash's. the dishes seemed a bit on the salty side. But I'd be willing to try it again.
Added later: The sweet lassi was thick, tasty, and not overly sweet. The buttermilk was only mildly salty and contained some ginger, herbs (cilantro?) and mung beans (or hulled lentils). Both drinks soothed the spiciness. Next time I'll have to try the mango lassi and/or masala tea.
The service is definitely a relief from SB's, so this place has potential to be on our South Indian resto rotation. :) I'll continue going to SB or DP, because they have some rice dishes I haven't tried yet, as well as some other dosas I enjoy (pesseret, made from whole green mung beans, and adai, made from yellow mung beans, lentils and maybe chickpeas?). But I'm happy to have discovered Madura.
Madura Indian Cuisine in Sunnyvale
Thanks for posting about this place, Michael! I'm always curious about new (to me, at least) Indian restaurants.
I wonder how it compares with Saravana Bhavan? From the photos on the Yelp page, it looks like they might serve a tomato chutney similar to SB's -- one of my favorites -- which I haven't seen served elsewhere.
Has anyone tried their thalis?
Tony's Taco Truck, Mountain View
Tony's Taco Truck is typically somewhere in Mountain View during the weekday lunch period. They specialize in fusion fillings for tacos, quesadillas and rice bowls.
I visited today and got two tacos: Caribbean Shrimp and Thai Chicken. Each taco came with two warmed corn tortillas. Both were quite tasty. The shrimp taco had five or six plump shrimp (somewhat larger than the small shrimp found in salads), coated in a zingy hot sauce that had a hint of sweetness, along with some chopped jicama and onion. The chicken taco came with a nice coconut creamy and peanut-y sauce, with shredded cabbage. Total cost was $4.50.
They also serve tamales (chicken or pork). I'll be going back to try more!
Locations of the truck are posted daily to their Twitter page:
http://twitter.com/tonystacotruck
I've attached a photo of the menu.
Brioche Bakery Breakfast Pastries (SF)
I think this bakery also makes a weekly appearance at the Sunnyvale farmers' market on Saturdays. What you describe sounds like the sweet brioche slice, which we frequently get -- it's perfect for tea or dessert!
