SonomaLass's Profile
Need Quick Rec In/Near North Beach
Thanks for the advice! We went to Tommaso's and had a lovely evening.
Need Quick Rec In/Near North Beach
We have been asked to choose a meeting place for a small group (4-6 people). The out-of-towners are staying in North Beach, the locals are coming from all over the Bay Area. We want something not too pricey, warm and welcoming for dinner tonight. It would be nice if the visitors didn't have to travel too far, since they are backpacking.
Suggestions?
Khoom Lanna (Santa Rosa)
We went here for Valentine's Day dinner. I can't say I'm eager to go back. Service was slow and indifferent; we were there for two hours, waiting a long time for a clear table (there were four or five tables empty, but it took 15 minutes and three inquiries to get one cleared), a long time to haver our order taken, and then a long time between courses. That included a ten-minute wait between getting the curry and getting the rice to go with it. They were steadily busy, but I've seen a smaller staff handle as many people more effectively.
Thai is our tradition on this holiday, and we used to have a favorite restaurant that did a terrific couple's special. We keep looking for a comparable place; this isn't it. We made the mistake of ordering the special menu -- $39 per person, and I'm sure we'd have gotten as good or better food for a lot less from the regular menu. The appetizer (mussels in coconut-chili-basil sauce), soup (hot and sour lemongrass) and salad (mixed greens with peanut dressing) were all fine, but tiny portions and pretty basic. We had a choice of entrée, prawns in red curry or something with scallops, along with "fruit-filled fried rice." We asked if we could have a small portion of each entrée; apparently the answer was no, because we were only served a bowl of the prawn red curry. Too bad, because if we'd been told we had to choose one, it would have been the scallops. The prawns were overcooked and chewy, and there were canned pineapple rings in the curry along with the veggies. The rice had raisins and dried apricots in it, which was different and interesting. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't worth what we paid. Dessert was a choice of tapioca, coconut Jello (!) or sticky rice with ice cream -- again we had to pick one to share, but the portion wasn't much more than I'd expect in a serving for one. The sticky rice came with a scoop of coconut ice cream, whipped cream and a cherry. We also got a 175 ml. bottle of Korbel champagne with our dinner -- my partner ordered a beer, so I got the "whole bottle" to myself.
Disappointing, overall; $90 plus tip for two of us, and we've had better food and service for a lot less than that at other local places. I understand that the problem may mostly be the holiday, and we might find better service, value and quality if we went on a different evening. We might do that sometime, if I can talk my DP into it. He's not inclined to give them another chance, when we've got other options for Thai cuisine.
Mondo -- Town of Sonoma
We like going to Mondo at happy hour (3 to 6, even on weekends, which is nice). The beer selection is good, and the servers are friendly and seem to know their stuff -- the one time they were out of my first choice of draft, our server knew what to recommend in its place, which was nice. They have a nice selection of appetizers that are good to share -- two or three small plates between a few friends works well. We are particularly fond of the calamari and the ribs, and we have also enjoyed the thick onion rings, the "pigs in blankets" and the fried cheese nuggets.
Indian Restaurants in Santa Rosa?
We (the DP and I) had dinner this evening at Sizzling Tandoor. I read (on another CH board, maybe?) that the cooks are the same, even under the new owners, and I believe it. The food was as delicious as ever -- I've never had a bad dish there.
The service, however, was NOT good. The place was busy, although not packed, and the staff couldn't handle it. We were left waiting far too long before having our food order taken (half a bottle of Kingfisher, sipped slowly), with staff seeming to go out of their way to avoid eye contact as we sat there. Then as if to make it up to us, the food was rushed out -- I believe I should have at least as much time between the arrival of the starter and that of the main course as I did between having my drink order and my food order taken, but instead I had to grab for the remaining appetizers to avoid having them cleared away to make room for the arriving mains. All around us were similar difficulties -- people waiting ages for their food and people being presented with the wrong dishes (no, sorry, we didn't order that) seemed the most common. One guy on staff was in such a rush that he a) ran into my DPs chair while dashing behind him, b) knocked all the sweetener packets from one table onto the floor, and c) sprayed a hefty spritz of cleaning liquid on our food while enthusiastically wiping down the table next to us.
So be aware -- the food at Sizzling Tandoor is excellent, but you may find the service frustratingly below your expectations.
Nirvana - Wonderful New Santa Rosa Restaurant (long)
We tried Nirvana this evening, feeling well cautioned by the various reviews. It wasn't all that busy, and the service was definitely chaotic, but we weren't in a hurry and the atmosphere was pleasant. The servers were attentive, it's just that the gentleman who took our order didn't ask enough questions and had to come back to us for clarification a couple of times. They were out of the beer we ordered (but they had another Indian lager, and it's all Scottish and Newcastle anyway, so that was fine) and one appetizer. Substituting meant that we shared one appetizer and then had the other as an extra dish during the main course, but that wasn't a big deal.
We like the huge range of choice at Nirvana and look forward to exploring it. My partner is English, and Indian is his cuisine of choice -- we have it at least once a week, either cooked at home or out, so variety and quality are both important to us. And the bottom line here is that the food was excellent. Chicken dansak is my favorite dish, and I've had it in a number of restaurants in both the US and the UK (although not locally, because I've never seen it on a menu around here until tonight). This one was superb. My partner's favorite is lamb vindaloo, and he is very critical of vindaloo when it isn't done "right" (spicy, but more sour than hot). I sometimes have a problem with lamb, so I often have to take his word on that dish, but not tonight. The vindaloo was great, and the lamb was cooked just right. And everyone is right about the desserts -- much better than usual for Indian (where I tend to skip the sweet course).
My partner is usually the one to get cranky about poor service, but tonight he didn't, The food was good enough and the atmosphere pleasant enought that he just found it "amusing" -- and the quality of the food was such that if they didn't have a particular dish next time, we'd be comfortable saying, "just give us what you've got" and trust it would be delicious.
I hope there's room in Santa Rosa for this restaurant to succeed -- chicken tika masala is all very well, but a wider variety is welcome to some of us. Can you have too many good Indian restaurants? With all the Chinese and Mexican places that manage to co-exist, I don't see why we can't have Nirvana, Pamposh, K&C, Sizzling Tandoori and the Himalayan places, too.
