We got a last minute invite to go out to dinner with another couple who lives in our neighborhood. We've socialized with them before, but never one on one...or two on two. ;) It was a lot of fun getting to know W & C a little bit better.
Anyway, we headed to downtown San Rafael and stopped for a beer at the Broken Drum Brewery. Its been there for several years now...I remember when they first opened. Boy does time fly! We each ordered a different beer, and they were all good. I had the pale ale and it was lighter than your average pale ale. We also shared an order of onion rings, which were light and airy and yummy! Not greasy and the crust was very smooth. It was served with Ranch dressing....I'm not sure what else I would have preferred instead. I guess usually I just eat those plain.
Next we headed down the road a bit to Fujiyama, where we had reservations, unnecessarily. There was only one or tables seated, and we were greeted right away by one of the owners. Apparently, its husband and wife owned and operated. I saw no other employees, in fact. We sat down and were served a small bowl of steamed soybeans...we had no clue where to put the shells, though. Then she brought us a small bowl of a spinach salad that was really delicious! It had a sesame seed dressing and a tan/brown-ish curly little vegetable that I have no clue what it was. It was kind of nutty tasting. I could have eaten the whole bowl myself. 2 orders of seaweed salad were ordered, too, but one taste and I was done.
Next came the sashimi: yellow tail tuna and albacore tuna. I preferred the albacore. We had to wait quite a while before I finally got up and asked for some plates.
We all sort of agreed to order some large rolls: the Marin Roll, the California roll with real crab (ordered by me), and the Rainbow roll. The problem was that we forgot to order all of them with real crab. That put a huge damper on things for me. So, I ended up going home hungry since all I had was a few soybeans, a few bites of the spinach salad, 3 pieces of sashimi, and about 3 pieces of the roll. I didn't want to be assertive or offensive by ordering something more to my liking. Also, I would have tried more if they hadn't used imitation crab in the rolls. And clearly, there just wasn't enough to go around, anyway. I mean, I didn't want to eat all 6 (only 6!!) pieces of California roll.
Although the service was for the most part very attentive, I felt that the sushi was just average. I don't think we will return. The owners were most gracious, though.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Picante
We were going to try the new Bobby's Cafe in San Rafael today, but at the last minute we decided on Picante. Its tucked way back in a residential area, so you really have to know about it otherwise, you probably would never know it was there.
There were several patrons there, and many of them were Latin, so I took that as a good sign! :) The overhead fans were loud and windy and the music was also very loud, but other than that, it was a fun atmosphere.
Rory had a cheese quesadilla, which was really, really cheesy, to the point of being super greasy. Bella had a rice, bean, & cheese burrito. They don't have a kids menu, so it was a huge burrito and she wasn't able to finish it. She said it was perfect. My husband had a "super" carne asada burrito and he loved it. It had steak, rice, beans, salsa, sour cream, and guacamole. I chose the regular carnitas burrito, but I didn't "love" mine. It would have been delicious if the pork had not been so dry and hard. It had good potential, though. It was stuffed with tasty Spanish rice, salsa, and pinto beans. Their homemade bottled hot sauce was really good with a nice kick to it.
Maybe it was just a bad "pork" day at Picante. I'm sure we will go back again some day; maybe I'll try the fish tacos next time.
I'm dying to try the new Jason's in Greenbrae so I can review it. I never had the opportunity to visit his old location in San Rafael, and I'm glad to see he got better "digs" in the old Giorgio's spot by the water. And we will have to give Bobby's a try sometime, too.
There were several patrons there, and many of them were Latin, so I took that as a good sign! :) The overhead fans were loud and windy and the music was also very loud, but other than that, it was a fun atmosphere.
Rory had a cheese quesadilla, which was really, really cheesy, to the point of being super greasy. Bella had a rice, bean, & cheese burrito. They don't have a kids menu, so it was a huge burrito and she wasn't able to finish it. She said it was perfect. My husband had a "super" carne asada burrito and he loved it. It had steak, rice, beans, salsa, sour cream, and guacamole. I chose the regular carnitas burrito, but I didn't "love" mine. It would have been delicious if the pork had not been so dry and hard. It had good potential, though. It was stuffed with tasty Spanish rice, salsa, and pinto beans. Their homemade bottled hot sauce was really good with a nice kick to it.
Maybe it was just a bad "pork" day at Picante. I'm sure we will go back again some day; maybe I'll try the fish tacos next time.
I'm dying to try the new Jason's in Greenbrae so I can review it. I never had the opportunity to visit his old location in San Rafael, and I'm glad to see he got better "digs" in the old Giorgio's spot by the water. And we will have to give Bobby's a try sometime, too.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Amici's Pizza
With this heat wave we've been having, I decided ordering pizza to be delivered sounded like a good idea. Amici's has this really great new york style reduced carb extra thin crust that the kids love, so Amici's it is. Kind of weird doing a review on pizza, but I guess I haven't gone out since we went to Sams! Unless you count the fair (I had a deluxe burrito from Noel's. Delicious! Ground beef, beans, cheese, tons of lettuce, tomato, & sour cream. Huge!) or the Giants game (I had a Hebrew National all Beef hot dog with sauerkraut, relish, & mustard. It was big, messy, and kind of soggy, so I couldn't eat it all).
I ordered a mini cheese pizza on the NY thin crust for Rory and a mini cheese pizza w/black olives and mild Italian sausage (regular crust) for Bella. They raved about it. I also got them some Minestrone soup, which is always good, even if it is 100 degrees out. The soup was more on the warm side, but full of huge chunks of veggies (cabbage, carrots, green beans, etc), pasta, & kidney beans.
I ordered the Amici's Combo for us. It has pepperoni, bacon, sauteed mushrooms, & black olives. Since theres so much stuff, it isn't wise to go with the thin crust, so I went with the regular. I also ordered an antipasto salad with salami, mozzarella, pepperoncini's, red onion, kalamata onions, & mustard Italian vinaigrette. Yum. At first the guy said he left it at the restaurant, but thankfully, he left it in the car and I got my salad!
I give Amici's a big thumbs up. Its not as good as Mulberry Street Pizza (they won the Food Network Mushroom Lovers award!!), bu they don't deliver. One of these days, when its not 100 degrees out, I'll drive down and pick it up. Its worth it.
I ordered a mini cheese pizza on the NY thin crust for Rory and a mini cheese pizza w/black olives and mild Italian sausage (regular crust) for Bella. They raved about it. I also got them some Minestrone soup, which is always good, even if it is 100 degrees out. The soup was more on the warm side, but full of huge chunks of veggies (cabbage, carrots, green beans, etc), pasta, & kidney beans.
I ordered the Amici's Combo for us. It has pepperoni, bacon, sauteed mushrooms, & black olives. Since theres so much stuff, it isn't wise to go with the thin crust, so I went with the regular. I also ordered an antipasto salad with salami, mozzarella, pepperoncini's, red onion, kalamata onions, & mustard Italian vinaigrette. Yum. At first the guy said he left it at the restaurant, but thankfully, he left it in the car and I got my salad!
I give Amici's a big thumbs up. Its not as good as Mulberry Street Pizza (they won the Food Network Mushroom Lovers award!!), bu they don't deliver. One of these days, when its not 100 degrees out, I'll drive down and pick it up. Its worth it.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Sam's Roadhouse
Sam's RoadHouse is right down the street and I've always wanted to try it. It used to the German House and we never did check that place out. This place was awesome! They just installed new cherry pergo flooring and it really complimented the red booths. We walked in to an empty diner, but were greeted immediately by Shelley! :)
The menu was pretty basic with some good surprises tossed in. I had a house salad, which was served with mixed greens, red onion rings, tomato, cucumber, and bleu cheese dressing. It was delish.
My entree was a hot pastrami sandwich served on light rye bread with swiss cheese, a generous portion of pastrami, pickles, mayo, and much to my surprise, avocado! It really wasn't the best pastrami sandwich, but I think the main problem was that the pastrami was kind of dry and a bit tough/fatty. I had my choice of side salad, potato salad or fries, and I chose the fries. They were a little greasy, but they were good. The service really couldn't have been friendlier or better, honestly. We weren't completely blown away by the food, but I think I just ordered badly. We've already decided that we will come back and give dinner a try.
The menu was pretty basic with some good surprises tossed in. I had a house salad, which was served with mixed greens, red onion rings, tomato, cucumber, and bleu cheese dressing. It was delish.
My entree was a hot pastrami sandwich served on light rye bread with swiss cheese, a generous portion of pastrami, pickles, mayo, and much to my surprise, avocado! It really wasn't the best pastrami sandwich, but I think the main problem was that the pastrami was kind of dry and a bit tough/fatty. I had my choice of side salad, potato salad or fries, and I chose the fries. They were a little greasy, but they were good. The service really couldn't have been friendlier or better, honestly. We weren't completely blown away by the food, but I think I just ordered badly. We've already decided that we will come back and give dinner a try.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Horizons
We went to dinner at Horizons for Mothers Day. We had a reservation. It turns out that it may not have been necessary but it did secure a window table for us!This place has a very cool, yet funky interior. Its very casual and we were a bit over dressed. It's been around for while, but in nearly 19 years of living here in Marin, I've never actually dined there before. I have eaten at Ondine, which is above Horizons and under the same ownership, but much more posh.
We were seating immediately at a table with a gorgeous view of Belvedere, Angel Island, and of San Francisco. We were greeted right away, our cocktails arrived in a timely manner, but they were not garnished and my husbands vodka tonic was lacking vodka and the tonic was flat. So he sent it back and ordered red wine instead. I was bummed that my dirty martini was lacking olives, and my daughter was equally upset about the lack of cherries in her Shirley Temple. No garnish? I ordered her another one and had to request cherries in this one
Our next disappointment was that they were out of steamed clams. However, they kept enough on hand for the paella & bouillabaisse. Hmmmm. We were all looking forward to some steamed clams, but instead, we ordered fried calamari & a Colossal prawn cocktail. I loved the presentation of the calamari. It was battered and breaded, fried a golden brown, and served in a newspaper printed paper cone inside metal spiral cone. It was served with cocktail sauce, a chipotle aioli, lemon remoulade, & cocktail sauce. It was good. The prawn cocktail was not very "colossal". There were only 4 prawns, 3 of which were decent sized, one of which was considerable smaller, and they were very tough. The cocktail sauce was described on the menu as "spicy", however, it was not spicy at all. We love spicy. The hotter, the better.
My girls ordered pasta: one with marinara, one with butter & parmesan. These portions were very tiny and the parmesan was absent. They were still hungry, so we knew dessert were in their future. My husband ordered the Seared Sea Scallops with ravioli and he was very happy with the flavors, but again, the portion was small. I ordered the Surf & Turf after much consideration. I wasn't sure how the quality would be based on our appetizers. But it actually had potential. It was an 11 oz New York steak which I ordered medium well, but came extremely well done, and about a 3 oz lobster tail. The flavor of the steak was good, but because it was so over cooked, it was a bit tough. If I order my steak medium, its always too rare, so its always hit or miss with my medium well preference. The lobster was also tough. The mashed potatoes were of good consistency, but rather salty. The green beans were perfectly cooked and delicious. My entree was a good size portion, and I took home more than half of my steak.
We rarely order dessert, but we did last night. My daughter chose the raspberry & mango sorbet duet, I ordered the Tiramisu, and my husband and other daughter shared a "Fishbowl hot fudge sundae". The desserts were all very good, but the word "fishbowl" implied a larger portion than what was actually served.
The service was slow and just plain bad. It was a holiday and our waiter was busy, but it just took longer than necessary. I know he was trying to be attentive, but he only did what he had to do and was just not overly helpful. I was content just enjoying my time with my family on Mothers Day, so I did not complain. I don't think we'd go back, though. Maybe if we just want a beer and some fish & chips after a long day of touristy sightseeing when in the area, but we won't have high expectations. We really should have gone to my absolute favorite, The Spinnaker. But we went there last year for Mothers Day and we wanted to try something new. One thing I've learned is to not try new places for special holidays. Go to somewhere tried and true.
I've been ignoring this blog for too long. Honestly, dining and writing reviews is a passion of mine, so I need to get here and blog more often.
We were seating immediately at a table with a gorgeous view of Belvedere, Angel Island, and of San Francisco. We were greeted right away, our cocktails arrived in a timely manner, but they were not garnished and my husbands vodka tonic was lacking vodka and the tonic was flat. So he sent it back and ordered red wine instead. I was bummed that my dirty martini was lacking olives, and my daughter was equally upset about the lack of cherries in her Shirley Temple. No garnish? I ordered her another one and had to request cherries in this one
Our next disappointment was that they were out of steamed clams. However, they kept enough on hand for the paella & bouillabaisse. Hmmmm. We were all looking forward to some steamed clams, but instead, we ordered fried calamari & a Colossal prawn cocktail. I loved the presentation of the calamari. It was battered and breaded, fried a golden brown, and served in a newspaper printed paper cone inside metal spiral cone. It was served with cocktail sauce, a chipotle aioli, lemon remoulade, & cocktail sauce. It was good. The prawn cocktail was not very "colossal". There were only 4 prawns, 3 of which were decent sized, one of which was considerable smaller, and they were very tough. The cocktail sauce was described on the menu as "spicy", however, it was not spicy at all. We love spicy. The hotter, the better.
My girls ordered pasta: one with marinara, one with butter & parmesan. These portions were very tiny and the parmesan was absent. They were still hungry, so we knew dessert were in their future. My husband ordered the Seared Sea Scallops with ravioli and he was very happy with the flavors, but again, the portion was small. I ordered the Surf & Turf after much consideration. I wasn't sure how the quality would be based on our appetizers. But it actually had potential. It was an 11 oz New York steak which I ordered medium well, but came extremely well done, and about a 3 oz lobster tail. The flavor of the steak was good, but because it was so over cooked, it was a bit tough. If I order my steak medium, its always too rare, so its always hit or miss with my medium well preference. The lobster was also tough. The mashed potatoes were of good consistency, but rather salty. The green beans were perfectly cooked and delicious. My entree was a good size portion, and I took home more than half of my steak.
We rarely order dessert, but we did last night. My daughter chose the raspberry & mango sorbet duet, I ordered the Tiramisu, and my husband and other daughter shared a "Fishbowl hot fudge sundae". The desserts were all very good, but the word "fishbowl" implied a larger portion than what was actually served.
The service was slow and just plain bad. It was a holiday and our waiter was busy, but it just took longer than necessary. I know he was trying to be attentive, but he only did what he had to do and was just not overly helpful. I was content just enjoying my time with my family on Mothers Day, so I did not complain. I don't think we'd go back, though. Maybe if we just want a beer and some fish & chips after a long day of touristy sightseeing when in the area, but we won't have high expectations. We really should have gone to my absolute favorite, The Spinnaker. But we went there last year for Mothers Day and we wanted to try something new. One thing I've learned is to not try new places for special holidays. Go to somewhere tried and true.
I've been ignoring this blog for too long. Honestly, dining and writing reviews is a passion of mine, so I need to get here and blog more often.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Falafel Hut
I haven't had a falafel in about 20 years, I'm guessing. But DH has been wanting to check out Falafel Hut for a while and I finally gave in. I'm glad I tried it, but I wasn't really all that impressed. I mean, it was good, but not something I'd ever crave or anything. I ordered the Vegetarian Combo Plate which came with 2 good size balls of deep fried ground chickpeas (hence, the falafel), hummus, baba ghannoush, tahini, tebouleh, cucumber salad, warm pita bread and 2 small dolmas. I am kind of a expert when it comes to the hummus and baba ghannoush because I worked at a fabulous company for a few years and they made absolutely the best dips you'll ever taste. My husband thought Falafel Huts dips were better than my ex-clients stuff, but I totally disagree.
The falafel itself was good-really crispy on the outside softer on the inside. The dolmas were underneath the falafel, so they were warm, and that ruined it for me. I like my dolmas chilled. The cucumber salad was really good and so was the tebouleh. Everything was good, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. But it was a healthy choice and different than what I would usually eat. My husband tried the shawerma and he loved it. I put a link to the menu in case anyone needs definition's on any of this stuff! LOL
This stuff was quite filling! I don't think I was even able to finish half of my lunch--good size portions, though. I have gotten quite the assortment of good grains in my diet these past couple of days! :)
The falafel itself was good-really crispy on the outside softer on the inside. The dolmas were underneath the falafel, so they were warm, and that ruined it for me. I like my dolmas chilled. The cucumber salad was really good and so was the tebouleh. Everything was good, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. But it was a healthy choice and different than what I would usually eat. My husband tried the shawerma and he loved it. I put a link to the menu in case anyone needs definition's on any of this stuff! LOL
This stuff was quite filling! I don't think I was even able to finish half of my lunch--good size portions, though. I have gotten quite the assortment of good grains in my diet these past couple of days! :)
Noonans
The husband and I have eaten at Noonans several times, but the last time we ate there, we got into a huge fight (over my weight!) and I have refused to return. Until last night. Sadly, I think last nights visit made me want to never return again. I always say that I'm happy as long as I get good service, good food, or obviously, both. In this case, it is true that the service was excellent, but the food just kind of sucked. No, thats not completely true. Some of it was pretty good, but the bad stuff overruled. No big deal for Noonans, though, because I will always frequent their other two excellent spots: Moylans and Marin Brewing Company. And not for the beer--their food is quite awesome. In fact, I don't believe I've done reviews on either before...? I know I've intended to do one on Moylans, so just consider this it. Moylans is awesome, good micro brews, and the best Reuben you can get at a non Jewish place.
Back to Noonans, though. BTW, I should have listened to Becks and Posh's review of Noonans form 2004, but I didn't. I ordered with the intention of writing this review, not that I compromised my taste at all, though.
I was intrigued by the Grilled Pancetta Wrapped Prawns. Molasses & cumin? Interesting. These little guys were good. They were presented in a bowl and were swimming in the sauce. I never did taste any cumin, but the molasses was apparent--not as sweet as I was afraid t would be.
I am sorry to say that the only salad that interested me was the Baby Iceberg salad! Still almost kind of a wedge, but not quite. It was beautiful! It looked like it was almost like an intact head of butter lettuce or frisee, but it was indeed iceberg. It had baby tomatoes, sliced red onion, and a delicious bleu cheese dressing, which was pleasantly on the creamy side. Not as many chunks of cheese, which was a nice change.
I ordered the crab cakes off of the appetizer menu as my entree. I really wanted a steak, but wanted to eat a little healthier. These were some of the worst crab cakes I've ever had. And I've had bad crab cakes. I really should learn that no one makes them better than I do! LOL But seriously, I do have a knack for crab cakes. I'm going to make them next week for the family Christmas gathering, so I'll have to post my recipe. Anyway, the presentation was beautiful-4 dots of green sauce of undetermined flavor, and a endive leave with what was supposed to be remoulade sauce, but tasted more like tartar sauce to me. And in the middle of that was two crab cakes the size of a silver dollar at most. Very tiny. But for the price, it was fine, and after all, it was just an appetizer. But still. I've had crab cakes from appetizer menus before and they were much larger. These crab cakes were just flavorless. Even the sauces couldn't save them.
The husband ordered the daily fish special which was Opaka Paka...which sounded great in theory, but it wasn't. Again, it was a tiny portion-and this was an entree. Beautiful presentation, but just not great. Now, I don't always review the husbands food, but since I was still hungry from only eating half of one of my tiny crab cakes, I tried some of his dish. So the fish was baked and a bit overdone. Neither one of us can remember the waiters description of what it was supposed to be, but we're going with an orange/citrus sauce that was drizzled on top of the fish. It was bland, but thats ok because I think they were trying to highlight the fish. As they should---assuming that they hadn't over cooked it, I bet it would have been better. Does that make sense? What I'm saying is that they had good intentions. On the side of this dish was something rarely seen: a pleasant surprise of a scoop of quinoa!! Unfortunately, it was also bland, but the sauteed bell peppers complimented it nicely enough.
On to Bella's dish! I took one bite of her delicious grilled cheese sandwich and I wanted to eat the rest! But I didn't. Of course, neither did she! When will restaurants learn that children generally do not like cheddar cheese? The french fries were really good, though.
This review ended up being more mixed than I thought it would have been. I went away unimpressed, but in thinking back and writing about it, I realize that it wasn't all bad. There is a lot of room for improvement, though.
A message to diners who insist on using their cell phone in restaurants: whether you realize it or not--and I'm guessing you don't---you are being extremely rude. There was this party of 3 in the same dining room as us last night. 2 very large black men and a cute black girl. One of the men was YELLING so loudly into his cell phone that I nearly got up and took the phone away from him and wanted to smack him so badly!! The only reason I didn't is because he would have mopped me up with the floor. Anyway, it's really rude to chat on your cell phone in restaurants--not only to the other patrons, but what about your table mates? Rude.
Bottom line is that I don't think we will go back to Noonans again. The service is really good, but the food is just too inconsistent.
Back to Noonans, though. BTW, I should have listened to Becks and Posh's review of Noonans form 2004, but I didn't. I ordered with the intention of writing this review, not that I compromised my taste at all, though.
I was intrigued by the Grilled Pancetta Wrapped Prawns. Molasses & cumin? Interesting. These little guys were good. They were presented in a bowl and were swimming in the sauce. I never did taste any cumin, but the molasses was apparent--not as sweet as I was afraid t would be.
I am sorry to say that the only salad that interested me was the Baby Iceberg salad! Still almost kind of a wedge, but not quite. It was beautiful! It looked like it was almost like an intact head of butter lettuce or frisee, but it was indeed iceberg. It had baby tomatoes, sliced red onion, and a delicious bleu cheese dressing, which was pleasantly on the creamy side. Not as many chunks of cheese, which was a nice change.
I ordered the crab cakes off of the appetizer menu as my entree. I really wanted a steak, but wanted to eat a little healthier. These were some of the worst crab cakes I've ever had. And I've had bad crab cakes. I really should learn that no one makes them better than I do! LOL But seriously, I do have a knack for crab cakes. I'm going to make them next week for the family Christmas gathering, so I'll have to post my recipe. Anyway, the presentation was beautiful-4 dots of green sauce of undetermined flavor, and a endive leave with what was supposed to be remoulade sauce, but tasted more like tartar sauce to me. And in the middle of that was two crab cakes the size of a silver dollar at most. Very tiny. But for the price, it was fine, and after all, it was just an appetizer. But still. I've had crab cakes from appetizer menus before and they were much larger. These crab cakes were just flavorless. Even the sauces couldn't save them.
The husband ordered the daily fish special which was Opaka Paka...which sounded great in theory, but it wasn't. Again, it was a tiny portion-and this was an entree. Beautiful presentation, but just not great. Now, I don't always review the husbands food, but since I was still hungry from only eating half of one of my tiny crab cakes, I tried some of his dish. So the fish was baked and a bit overdone. Neither one of us can remember the waiters description of what it was supposed to be, but we're going with an orange/citrus sauce that was drizzled on top of the fish. It was bland, but thats ok because I think they were trying to highlight the fish. As they should---assuming that they hadn't over cooked it, I bet it would have been better. Does that make sense? What I'm saying is that they had good intentions. On the side of this dish was something rarely seen: a pleasant surprise of a scoop of quinoa!! Unfortunately, it was also bland, but the sauteed bell peppers complimented it nicely enough.
On to Bella's dish! I took one bite of her delicious grilled cheese sandwich and I wanted to eat the rest! But I didn't. Of course, neither did she! When will restaurants learn that children generally do not like cheddar cheese? The french fries were really good, though.
This review ended up being more mixed than I thought it would have been. I went away unimpressed, but in thinking back and writing about it, I realize that it wasn't all bad. There is a lot of room for improvement, though.
A message to diners who insist on using their cell phone in restaurants: whether you realize it or not--and I'm guessing you don't---you are being extremely rude. There was this party of 3 in the same dining room as us last night. 2 very large black men and a cute black girl. One of the men was YELLING so loudly into his cell phone that I nearly got up and took the phone away from him and wanted to smack him so badly!! The only reason I didn't is because he would have mopped me up with the floor. Anyway, it's really rude to chat on your cell phone in restaurants--not only to the other patrons, but what about your table mates? Rude.
Bottom line is that I don't think we will go back to Noonans again. The service is really good, but the food is just too inconsistent.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)