bouncepass's Profile
Montreal bagels for a California girl
Just tried Beauty's sesame bagel. Fresh in my mind were St. Viateur's bagels that I had on three occasions in Montreal a couple of months back. I'd say these maybe just barely scratch the itch. To my mind, Beauty's are too dense and don't have the same depth of flavor. I agree size and shape are close.
However, if I compare them instead with the regular dense bricks that are the norm in most places, Beauty's are vastly superior. So in that reference frame I'll consider myself happy that decent bagels can be found.
Peninsula commuting todo list (obscenely long...)
Chinese/Sichuan: Da Sichuan Bistro (Palo Alto). In my experience, flavor profiles are bolder and more authentic than Crouching Tiger. One of the (I think) owners of CT told me they will dial it up to "normal" spicy if you ask, but their default is dialed back.
Sakae Sushi in Burlingame is still, I think, the best sushi around, although my search is far less extensive than Sushi Monster (and I haven't been to Yuzu, their sister restaurant which is on your list). Great white board. The meal I had there a few weeks ago was fantastic -- it's as good as it ever was, I think. Prices to match quality, though. I'd still frequent Sushi Sam's more often for the value.
College Graduation - Brunch in the Santa Cruz Area
Which day of the week will this be? If Friday, Oswald does lunch.
Great places to eat in Campbell/Los Gatos
+1 for Blue Line. It's not what I think of as traditional Chicago style since the crust is predominantly cornmeal rather than wheat flour, but I really like it, especially the Classic deep dish. Same people as Little Star in SF.
Psycho Donuts on the edge of downtown Campbell has got all sorts of crazy combinations. I'm more a honey-glazed raised donut person myself so it's not quite for me but I'm glad I tried it.
Dan Izakaya is just a few blocks from the Campbell border. I didn't much care for their ramen, but their izakaya dishes (grilled, fried, stir-fried, etc.) are excellent. Just up the street is Santouka in the Mitsuwa shopping center. Top two ramen (with Orenchi) in the South Bay for me.
Easy good dinner in San Jose, on the way to Monterey
Bakery Mexico has great tortas. I'm particularly fond of torta milanesa but they have a wide range of options. Open until 11 pm according to y**p, though you might want to double check that.
I've only been to their Story Rd location. From SJC, the other location is slightly more direct, but not by a whole lot. Worth the slightly detour IMO.
Santa Cruz Taco Truck?
I don't actually think there's a legit taco truck that regularly parks in SC. The only one I know of is Ray's (?) that comes to UCSC campus at lunch time, but it's a bit more all-purpose (sandwiches, burritos, tacos) and I find them OK but not 40th birthday worthy.
On the other hand, one of the best trucks I've ever been to used to (as of a couple of years ago) park right at the corner of Del Monte and Hwy 1 in Marina. Awesome al pastor and lengua tacos. It seemed like others really liked the carne asada. Lunchtime on weekdays there were 2 or 3 trucks in this empty dirty patch on the mountain side of Hwy 1 (as opposed to the ocean side). Google Maps shows it's intersection of Lapis Rd and Del Monte Blvd.
Some people really like this truck in Castroville. The name escapes me but it was the first one as you go into town from Santa Cruz on the right. Intersection of Mead and 183, I believe (you can even see the truck on Google Maps satellite view). I thought it was good but not great, but others seem to disagree. Maybe worth checking out.
I don't know enough about Watsonville but there has got to be more than one decent one there. One day I'll have to do a taco crawl of Watsonville, brick and mortar as well as truck. There can't be more than, oh, a hundred places can there?
South Bay Area Eats - Need recommendations
Here are some places not mentioned yet that I like and are South Bay-proximate.
Chinese:
A&J (Cupertino Village): northern Chinese. Beef buns, fried pork chops, beef noodle soup
Joy Luck Palace (Cupertino Village): dim sum
Mama Chen (Santa Clara): Taiwanese
Chinjin Eastern House: (San Jose): Islamic Chinese. Great homemade knife-shaved noodles. Also: cumin lamb, sesame bread, pan-fried beef dumpling
Shanghai Garden (Cupertino): fish in wine sauce; sheng jian bao; stir-fried rice cakes
South Legend (Milpitas): Sichuan. A bit further is Da Sichuan in Palo Alto, which I think is better.
Michelle's Pancake House (Cupertino): haven't tried yet, but northern Chinese. Long lines, at least on the weekend.
Tong Dumpling Pot (SJ): dumplings and green onion pancake. Watch the Chinese ladies make it look easy.
Vietnamese:
Pho Ha Noi (SJ): pho ga (make sure to get the house-made wide noodles)
Pho Y1 (SJ): pho bo
Bun Bo Hue An Nam (SJ): bun bo hue
Still have to do some serious exploration of the Grand Century Mall
Japanese:
Sushi: I like Kitsho (Cupertino) a lot for the white board. But only sit at the sushi bar (which is a general rule for me no matter where, and definitely applies here IMO).
Dan Izakaya (SJ) is probably my favorite izakaya right now.
Gombei (SJ): cooked Japanese dishes like curry plates, tonkatsu, etc.
Sumika (Los Altos): already mentioned
Ramen: Orenchi is my favorite right now but the wait can be intolerable. Santouka is great if you don't care about setting (toroniku is my favorite to order). Halu Ramen has many admirers and I like it well enough as well.
Other:
I like Bakery Mexico (SJ) for their tortas. Only bettered by this one stand near UNAM in Mexico City.
Santa Cruz/101 South Farmer's Markets
Saturday morning there are two choices: a smaller one on the Westside:
http://www.santacruzfarmersmarket.org/category/westside/
and the larger one in Aptos:
http://www.montereybayfarmers.org/aptos.html
If you specifically want produce, eggs, meats, flowers, etc, then Aptos is your best bet. If you will mainly get prepared foods, then you could consider Westside -- no fresh oysters, but Garcia Mexican Kitchen, Rib King, River St Cafe and Bakery and Companion Bakers are, as a group, superior to the options in Aptos IMO.
Enjoy!
Santa Cruz/101 South Farmer's Markets
Though fewer in number than during the summer, there are still plenty of farmers markets in the Santa Cruz area this time of year. What day of the week will you be in the area?
Sneaky’s BBQ Settles Down at Rebel in San Francisco
I too had a very positive experience. I shared some wings, then had a plate of brisket, collards and fries. I also tried a bit of smoked chicken (dark meat).
Contrary to others, I thought the wings were just OK. Were on the drier side.
The brisket was really really good. Experience was very similar to SteveG. A very large, thick slice with great smoke flavor, and a lot of rendered fat making it wonderfully moist. The best brisket I've ever had outside of Texas. Bested only by a few of the top places in my (incomplete) experience. Far better than City Market in Luling (top 5 according to Texas Monthly) when I went last year, though to compare one experience at each place isn't at all meaningful IMO. I'm not usually a sauce-on-brisket person, but the vinegar BBQ sauce was an excellent complement.
I, too, really enjoyed the collards. Instead of being rich, they were clean, simple and delicious. Perfect backdrop to the rich meat. The fries were also very nice. Nicely crispy with some skin left on the ends.
The smoked chicken I tried was good, but not outstanding I thought (though I've only had outstanding smoked chicken once, at Two Bros in San Antonio). I've done about as well on my home smoker without too much effort.
I'll definitely go again. If the brisket is similarly good next time it's going to skyrocket in my must-try places in SF. Given that my experience sounds quite similar to Steve G and 9 months apart, I'm optimistic!
Ramen Halu Special!
A little late to this party, but I tried the tsukemen for the first time at Halu today.
The noodles (I got regular wheat, not whole wheat) had terrific firmness, springiness and chew. Awesome.
The warm dipping broth was similar to how Alice describes it... and I concur that there was definitely something reminiscent of black vinegar in the broth. I enjoyed it, but missed the more full-on meaty experience of, say, their regular tonkotsu-shio broth.
The toppings were of two very thin slices of chasu pork, some nice cooked spinach, and some wood ear, menma and negi. Fine.
I'm hoping some other place can offer a similar noodle experience with an improved (to my taste) broth/topping experience.
Anyone tried the tsukemen at Orenchi yet?
Dining Report; Hanoi Vietnam
I fortuitously stumbled into Bun Cha Dac Kim for my first meal in Hanoi. I also believe that I'll be dreaming of this place for some time to come. Crazy delicious.
One tiny correction: it's 1 Hàng Mành St (not Hang Menh as the OP listed).
It's now 85kD (that's kilo-Dong), but it's a massive amount of food.
Oaxacan and El Salvador specialties in San Jose: Monte Alban
I hadn't realized Juquilita had closed. That's too bad. Had a good meal there about a year ago.
Monte Alban sounds promising - thanks for the report. How are the tortillas? To me, one of the joys of a great mole is an excellent corn tortilla to scoop it up with. For some reason, one without the other always strikes me as a wasted opportunity.
Any recent dim sum experiences South of SF?
Tried Asian Pear in Millbrae for the first time today. I agree with K K's initial assessment of "tasting the natural flavors of the food" and "good execution." Flavors were nicely balanced, and the dishes were more refined than most places.
Won't do a blow-by-blow but one standout dish for me were the fried taro dumplings, which were as clean, crispy, balanced and well-flavored as any I've ever had. To me, this dish is frequently executed very poorly so to get one done so well was a real treat. Tripe was also terrific - great snap and tenderness, with a subtle ginger/pepper broth that complemented without dominating. Most of the steamed dumplings had great filling, and good skin texture but integrity lacked a bit and fell apart more easily than I would have liked, which was too bad since I also found them slightly thicker than optimal.
In comparison, I'd say that the execution was possibly just a touch above Zen Peninsula, and AP also gets points for the very low to no MSG usage which was very obvious during and afterwards. The selection is somewhat more limited than Zen, though, so I think overall those two are the ones I'd return to the most in the area, depending on my mood. HK Flower Lounge is a bit clunkier, and Koi for some reason just doesn't quite do it for me - the execution seems to be just a bit below (I agree with Windy's note on uneveness), plus it gets points off for having a crazy wait at any reasonable hour on the weekend. Still need to try Champagne Seafood.
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Zen Peninsula
1180 El Camino Real, Millbrae, CA 94030
Champagne Seafood Restaurant
88 E 4th Ave, San Mateo, CA 94401
Santa Cruz for East-Coaster
1. Even after many years, I have yet to find a higher-end type Mexican restaurant around Santa Cruz, though my search certainly hasn't been exhaustive. Personally, if I came here from the East Coast I'd probably just go crazy on taquerias since we do those pretty well. Everyone has a different favorite, but mine by far is Taqueria La Cabana on Mission. Another great option is Garcia Family Mexican Kitchen at the farmer's markets (Saturday West Side and Sunday Live Oak for sure, I believe they're also at the Wednesday Downtown market but not 100% sure). They have great homemade tortillas for their gorditas, sopes, etc. I have heard good things about Las Islitas in Watsonville and that's very high on my to-try list - glad to hear another recommendation.
2. IMO, great sushi requires a large enough community that's willing to spend $$ on top ingredients. That's not really the local demographic. I think Otoro in Scotts Valley is the best place around by some margin, but definitely a tier lower than the best places in Silicon Valley.
3. La Posta is an excellent choice. I would second Cellar Door as being less Italian and more California cuisine with the same focus on local organic ingredients, etc. Disadvantage of CD is that the wine list is exclusively Bonny Doon, which I'm not a huge fan of. But I think the food is terrific, they have a very nice beer list (all bottles but long and well thought-out) and maybe a style of food less easily found in Boston.
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La Posta
538 Seabright Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA 95062
Taqueria La Cabana
2332 Mission St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Cellar Door
328 Ingalls St, Santa Cruz, CA
Vasili’s Greek Restaurant in Santa Cruz
I've been to Greece a couple of times; I really enjoy Greek food; it's very convenient to where I live - and I haven't been there in years. I believe that Vasili now cooks at Greek Authentic Cuisine on Front St. I think it's somewhat better than the original Vasili's at the moment but still not quite good enough to make me want to go back.
Slightly off-topic, but I will admit to maybe having high standards. The often well-regarded Dio Deka in Los Gatos didn't really get me all that excited either (a much higher price point with proportionally higher expectations). I thought the food was well-executed but the flavors were dumbed down - but that's based only on one visit.
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Dio Deka
210 E. Main Street, Los Gatos, CA 95030
Greek Authentic Cuisine
435 Front St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Santa Cruz this weekend
La Posta is fine for a wide age range, especially if you go in early. I think Katherine is the best chef in Santa Cruz at the moment.
A 2 yr old in burger will be just fine. Their beer list is outstanding (the online list seems to be very accurate). I agree the food veers more towards decent than excellent, but I still frequent the place. I would avoid their pizza. I don't find "too many options" for burgers to be a bad thing.
I would suggest Cellar Door as well. An open floor plan so there's room for a stroller or whatnot and a very decent list of beer by the bottle (wine is of course only from Bonny Doon since it's nominally their tasting room). I think the food is excellent. They only have one pizza each day on the menu but I almost always end up getting one to share, as it's almost always very good. Not quite SF (Pizzeria Delfina, etc.) good, but only one notch below. A good place to share food. Not so good if one insists on their own plate.
I don't actually think Engfer's beer selection is that interesting. The other places with good beer selection in Santa Cruz are 515 (not the most kid friendly, I agree), Red (even less so), and Parish Publick House (more pub than restaurant - food's decent by pub standards, beer selection has nice variety, is well thought-out and has a good beer-geek factor though not as extensive as burger). 99 Bottles is OK but their food's a notch below the Parish IMO.
I personally don't find the beer at any of the local breweries (Seabright, SC Mountain) to be all that good, but YMMV.
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La Posta
538 Seabright Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA 95062
Cellar Door
328 Ingalls St, Santa Cruz, CA
Going down to san fran for the weekend!! What are the must buy items in San Fran to bring back home?
An interesting consideration: because of NAFTA, anything produced in the US (and, almost certainly, Mexico) does *NOT* count towards your exemption when you return to Canada (my brother experienced this a few months back). So if you wanted to take a case of CA wine home, for example, that's not a problem even if it's pricey. There's still the alcohol limit, but I've heard that many people have a lot of luck with paying a fairly minimal amount (maybe it depends on how happy the customs agent is that day?).
My brother's food shopping list usually consists of scotch (not NAFTA exempt, obviously) and tequila (from K&L Wines), Pliny the Elder (IPA), Verve coffee, Recchiutti chocolates, and capers from the farmer's market.
Trip report: Vitoria-Gasteiz
Somewhat late, as this is a short roundup from my trip to Vitoria-Gasteiz from summer 2010. Searching around Chowhound yielded nothing before I left, and it remains that way. Spent more than two weeks there, so here are some short reviews:
Pintxos:
The four places I really liked were Toloño (Cuesta de San Francisco, 3), La Malquerida (Calle Correría, 10), Saburdi (Calle de Eduardo Dato, 32) and Sidreria Sagartoki (Calle del Prado, 18). All are excellent. If you're short on time, I'd recommend them in that order, but that's quibbling. Sagartoki perhaps leans a bit too more towards artsy/whimsical than I'd prefer. Did try a couple of others that were not quite at this same level, but it did seem in general that the level of cooking was high.
Restaurants:
Asador Sagartoki: had a fantastic ribeye steak. Came with a small portion of fries. They also recommended a rioja (2001 Viña Alberdi) that was outstanding. Not cheap by any stretch, but I'd definitely return.
Wanted to try but didn't: Arkupe, Restaurante Matxete.
Here's a helpful site for Vitoria restaurants: http://ondoloinapartments.wordpress.com/
Food shopping:
We did a lot of cooking while we were there. The (indoor) market at Plaza de Abastos (a few blocks SE of the central part of the city) is an amazing place to shop and, I believe open every day except Sundays (not 100% sure about that, though). There are numerous stands for meat, seafood, produce, cheese/cured meat, bakery and whatever else you need. The quality was uniformly high, except perhaps the produce was a bit limited in selection, but I live in California and am spoiled. On some days (I can't remember which - but you can ask at the main tourist office) there is an open market in the open area in front of the main market building, and the vegetables and fruit seemed a bit better there.
The wine store Oleo Gourmet (half a block from Toloño on the same street, beside Ortopedia Fariña) was our favorite wine store. They let us try a whole bunch of different wines for free before deciding. They were also really knowledgeable, friendly, and put up with my mediocre Spanish with a smile.
Overall impressions (off topic): While not on the main tourist track, I thought it was a really fun place to hang out. Far less touristy than either Bilbao or San Sebastian, and perhaps as a result, the locals are very friendly towards visitors. It's also a great place to be based as lots of sights are within an hour's drive. We definitely did not exhaust the possibilities in this area, despite spending 2+ weeks there.
Sawa Sushi in Sunnyvale
My experience is from 8 or 9 months ago, but very similar. Basically it was sashimi the whole way, each course with some kind of sauce. Didn't ask about the price beforehand and it was indeed about $120 pp all told.
While I wouldn't say I hated it, it's certainly not high on my list of places to return. To me there are two main reasons: 1) each course was about 2 to 4 times the size that it should have been, and 2) the sauces sometimes distracted from the purity of the fish experience.
If I could have had double the number of courses, each half the size, I'd consider going back for sure. If Steve would have thrown in a few traditional sashimi and nigiri courses along with the more fusion stuff, then I'd be there a couple of times a year. As described above, the quality of the fish is extremely high and sometimes you get things that seem almost impossible to get elsewhere, even at, say, Sakae Sushi.
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Sakae
243 California Drive, Burlingame, CA 94010
More ramen coming (South Bay, Peninsula) - are we overflooded yet?
Based on the wait time at Orenchi at practically all hours of both lunch and dinner service, I'd say "no", at least for the South Bay.
Thanks for the heads up on Misoya - I look forward to trying it!
San Jose – BBQ – Jon Jon’s
Thanks for sharing this find! I'm always on the lookout for good BBQ. Is the meat smoked before being finished on the grill? Is there an obvious smoke ring? Thanks!
Smokey J's Q House - BBQ in Berkeley
I got the same combo for lunch on Saturday.
The brisket was overcooked IMO. Fell apart completely but also quite dry. For me, the best brisket (i.e. central Texas places like Snow's, City Market, the Lockhart joints) still has structural integrity and also moist, so it failed on both accounts, at least on this day. I thought the smoke flavor was decent, though. BBQ sauce necessary or else not really edible.
The ribs I thought were much better. Quite moist. Rub wasn't too bad, though a touch too sweet for my taste. But they were baby back, not St Louis cut, which I prefer.
I know better than to judge any BBQ place by one visit. Reading all these posts suggests that they've got serious consistency issues, which is probably the hardest thing to do well for any BBQ joint. I hope they'll iron them out soon.
San Antonio trip report (long!)
"Campechana is correct." Nice! I thought I'd remembered correctly but then I looked it up and all the references were for a seafood dish. Thanks for the help! The flaky layered pastry was really superior to most, in my experience. Machacado also sounds right - thanks!
I'm experienced enough with bbq places to know that one sub-par trip doesn't make all the positive reviews wrong - just an off-day or, more likely, an off-brisket. But it was a downer given that I basically took a half-day to go out there. I wonder if Mondays are a bad day for BBQ since everyone's so tired after the crazy weekend rush - in fact, I wonder if there are good and bad days for BBQ in general for whatever reason.
If Franklin is the only place you'll recommend to people, then it goes straight to the top of the must-try list! It was already near the top because of the review by Full Custom Gospel BBQ. Now I need to find a way to get to Austin...
Thanks again for your help!
San Antonio trip report (long!)
I should have added my thanks to all the people who previously posted to CH for the help on choosing these places!
San Antonio trip report (long!)
Summary of places in this report:
Two Bros BBQ Market (x2): would definitely go back
Mi Tierra: Bakery: definitely return. Restaurant: maybe return
Rosario's: definitely go back.
Tre Trattoria: maybe go back
Blanco Cafe: probably go back
City Market (Luling): not up to expectations, but would go back
Two Bros BBQ Market: I went twice, both time for dinner. The first time, I had brisket, pork ribs, pork sausage and chicken thigh. The brisket was very good - cooked so long that muscle, when cut against the grain, was semi-falling apart. Not the juiciest, but tender, smoky and enjoyable. The pork rib, strangely, hadn't seen enough time on the smoker and was under-rendered and slightly tough - there was no way to get the bone completely clean no matter how much I worked. The pork sausage was terrific. Great snap, garlicky and smoky. Loved it. The chicken thigh was probably about as good as you can smoke something without much connective tissue. Intense smokiness and delicious. I didn't necessary love it but not the fault of the execution, more my own preference for other cuts. The second time, brisket, pork rib and sausage. The brisket on this second visit was excellent to amazing. Some of the slices were perfect - it's not possible to make brisket any better. Succulent, moist, smoky but not quite falling apart. The sausage was just as good as before, and the spare rib was very good on this day. Also tried their fried strawberry pie for dessert, which were fairly tasty as well. On top of the good food, the people working here were super friendly. Let me go into their pit room, take a short tour, take pictures and answer questions. They couldn't have been nicer. If I lived in San Antonio, I'd be a regular, though it doesn't quite hit make it to the very top tier of places that are within striking distance of San Antonio (Lockhart, Luling). It's located close to the airport. From downtown, it's about a 50 min bus trip (door to door); coming back it was a $30 cab ride. Shared among three people, we were all very happy with this decision.
Mi Tierra: went for lunch with a group. Chips were very good, salsa was excellent. Mild but nice flavor. My enchiladas verde were substandard, for sure. Verde sauce was uninteresting, and the flavor bland and out of balance. Didn't care for this much at all. Ordered a couple of items from the bakery. The guava empanada was decent; the other one, a flaky pastry filled with cream, was outstanding (name escapes me and website not helpful - I keep thinking “campechana” but clearly that's wrong). Would go back just to try more baked goods.
Rosario's: Really liked this place. Walking distance from downtown. Chips and salsa were excellent. Salsa was mild but great smoky, chile flavor. My colleague and I shared a ceviche which was outstanding. Not too overboard with the lime as can happen. Terrific balance. I had the pan-fried sweetbreads, which were good though breading somewhat too thick. Would definitely go back and work through the extensive menu. Lots of things looked great. Even though it's a tourist trap, lots of locals go as well. It's an enormous place with efficient service.
Tre Trattoria: went for lunch. Salad was fine, and homemade spaghetti was OK though not much toothsome al dente bite. The tomato sauce was a bit metallic. The wagyu meatball was fairly dry, even with the mozzarella stuffed inside. The pasta with wild mushrooms looked much better but didn't try it. Space is nice and since it's slightly (like a block and a half) from the main tourist zone, it might be worth trying again.
Blanco Cafe: clearly a very locals, old-time diner. Food was big, not really refined, with simple flavors. I had the chicken-tortilla soup, which was very serviceable. I had one breakfast taco (eggs with machaca - don't remember the name) which was quite rich but needed something else to balance it. Now that I think about it, there was salsa on the table and I definitely should have added that. Fun, and worth a try I think.
Last but not least, made the trek to City Market in Luling. Was one of the first customers but even when I left (Monday, about 11:30 am) it was still very quiet. I first tried brisket, pork rib and sausage. Brisket is the most important meat to me, and today it was not good at all. Dry and rather tough. I've smoked brisket better than that at home, easily. I went back at the end of my meal and got some fatty brisket, but maybe it was from the same hunk of meat and tasted exactly the same but with more fat. Extremely disappointing. The sausage was more consistent, exactly the coarse grind beef sausage one expects from central Texas BBQ. Very good, but I liked the finer-ground pork sausage at Two Bros better. The pork rib was unbelieveable. Probably the best-cooked rib I've ever had. Perfectly rendered, tender but with some toothsomeness, it reset the bar for smoked ribs. I do them fairly often at home and now I see what the goal is. I find it strange that the pork rib was a hundred times better than the brisket, at least on this day. Goes to show you that barbecue, even at the very best places (which I don't doubt City Market is) experiences wide variations in day-to-day quality. I guess I have to give myself some slack when my own barbecue doesn't turn out so well sometimes.
I couldn't make myself eat along the Riverwalk. Just too much scene. With a couple more days, I would have explored the area around Rosario's and checked out a few more places in that neighborhood (and returned to Rosario's for sure).
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Tre Trattoria
4003 Broadway St, San Antonio, TX 78209
Rosario's
910 S Alamo St, San Antonio, TX 78205
Blanco Cafe
5525 Blanco At Oblate Rd, San Antonio, TX 78201
City Market
633 E Davis St, Luling, TX 78648
Mi Tierra Cafe & Bakery
218 Produce Row, San Antonio, TX 78207
Two Bros. BBQ Market
12656 West Ave., Suite B, San Antonio, TX 78216
Santa Cruz: taste treats for new resident?
Here's my brain dump. Probably incomplete since I won't remember every place.
1. List of places are legitimately good, i.e. they would be good even if they were someplace with competition (say, Mountain View or Berkeley):
Soif - I swear Soif is one of the top two wine bars I've ever been to anywhere, period. The other is Volpe e L'Uva in Florence. Better than the widely acclaimed AOC (LA), and any I've tried in the Bay Area.
La Posta - Italian. Chef Stern is at the top of her game. Incredible stuff these days.
Taqueria La Cabana - most consistent and best tacos. Carnitas, cabeza (essentially braised beef cheeks), camarones and chicharrones all generally very good to excellent. About one time in three the carnitas are spectacular, and downgrades modestly to very good on the rest of the days. Cabeza is almost always really good.
Cellar Door - food is still very well-executed despite Charlie Parker moving on. Maybe long term the menu creativity will suffer. We'll see. Not a huge fan of their wine, though. Brussel sprouts and pizza (best crust in Santa Cruz, IMO) often stand out to me, but most things are good.
Ristorante Avanti - I'd say 2 out of 3 times I order it the special entree will be outstanding. Calamari is also not to be missed when available.
Buttery - excellent bakery, at least for the cakes, cookies, macaroons...
Linda's Seabreeze - best breakfast in town; lunch is underrated as well, IMO.
Ambrosia - good Indian food. Their meat dishes not always quite as good as the vegetarian options in my experience. I do think their Monterey branch is a bit better, which is too bad.
Penny Ice Creamery - excellent and creative. I do also like the other new place, Mission Hill Creamery. Different style so they're both worth visiting to me.
2. Places I like but not sure they'd stand out someplace with more competition:
Pizza My Heart - I have a soft spot for it, but maybe it's not for everyone.
Shun Feng - only edible Chinese food in the area that I've tried. But I'm picky. Not great but many dishes are decent. Pea shoots are excellent. Don't get the dumplings. The "special menu" which is in both Chinese and English is a safer bet in general, though there are decent items off the regular menu.
Sawasdee - definitely a level above most other Thai places in the area. I've heard good things about Star of Siam as well, but never tried.
Cafe Brasil - I rarely go but have enjoyed my meals there
Oswald - I loved its previous incarnation. This one seems slightly more expensive and execution is not quite as sharp. Strange, since the chef is the same.
SmoQe BBQ- very popular these days. Can be very good on some days, but consistency is a bit lacking (common, IMO, for BBQ places). Portions have gotten dramatically smaller since they opened so value not quite as good anymore.
Aptos St. BBQ - less polished than SmoQe but meat can be their equal. Tri-tip seems to be one of their specialties.
Places on my to-try list:
Laili (despite uneven reviews)
Mr Kebab and Falafel
Ma Maison
Au Midi
Sushi on the Run - I have heard good reports from very reliable sources.
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Ma Maison Restaurant
9051 Soquel Dr Ste K, Aptos, CA 95003
Cafe Brasil
1410 Mission St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
La Posta
538 Seabright Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA 95062
Au Midi
7960 Soquel Dr Ste E, Aptos, CA 95003
Shun Feng Restaurant
420 River St Ste A, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Taqueria La Cabana
2332 Mission St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Linda's Seabreeze Cafe
542 Seabright Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95062
Star of Siam
3005 Porter St, Soquel, CA 95073
Ristorante Avanti
1711 Mission St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
The Penny Ice Creamery
913 Cedar St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Mission Hill Creamery
504 Front St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Laili restaurant
101 Cooper St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Mexican catering near Santa Cruz
I once went with Taqueria Santa Cruz for a catered event. If I remember correctly, al pastor and pollo asado tacos and chile rellenos. Price and food were both decent. The main person is professional and very easy to deal with. You can find catering info at their website: http://taqsc.com/
Good luck!
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Taqueria Santa Cruz
2215 Mission St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Need Santa Cruz dinner reccomendations for Sat 10/23
The normal contenders in my book for best food in town mostly don't have full bars: Avanti, Soif, Cellar Door, La Posta, and even Gabriella. So I think the decision is really easy: Oswald. Downtown, and pretty good cocktails to go with very good food and excellent wine list.
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La Posta
538 Seabright Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA 95062
Wine tasting in Monterey, Santa Cruz, Carmel area
While it's not a winery, one nice place to experience a bunch of Santa Cruz Mountains appelation wines is Vinocruz in downtown Santa Cruz. The focus strictly on local wines, have daily tasting flights, and a huge selection.
I'm not an expert in local wines but I think if I were to pick one place to taste, it would be Ridge, rather convenient from San Jose. Tastings seem to only be on weekends.
