Trip Tych

We had a nice dinner on Saturday night at TripTych. It was early night (6pm) so we were the only ones in the restaurant at this time. They had a DJ come in so I assume the place gets more filled later in the night, however we went there after a show (which sucked like a high school play - in fact, we suspect it *was* a high school pretending to be all grown-up. Pah!).

Our server was really friendly but not over obtrusive. For drinks we shared a big bottle of Belgian beer, at whichpoint I could have stopped dinner and drunk it with with some nice salty fries. . .But oh well. The beer was very good, a medium ale. The bread on the table was a nice rosemary ciabatta. It was warm and soft on the inside and toasty on the outside served with a Parmesan tasting creamy dip.

We tried the tuna tartar which the server recommended. He said it was prepared "poke" style. Now, being from Hawaii I know what Poke is so I was very skeptical over the taste. But it was actually a very good rendition. They made it with ginger and lemon zest which is a twist, but they didn't have the ogo (seaweed) which makes it taste like the sea. . But I don't think that's what they were going for. Okay right then I could have been satisfied with a bowl of tuna tartar, a pile of salty fat fries and my nice cold Belgian beer. . .But oh well, like I said. . .Oh well.

Dinner was okay, not great, but good. I didn't think the entrees sounded interesting as it was the regular American fair of steak, salmon, pasta, so we ordered paella for two. It tasted a little acidic like the base of the broth was lime and tomato juice. I was expecting more savory and spicy. The andouille sausage was rubbery like it wasn't seared but the seafood mix was pretty good.

Our chocolate molten cake. . .Warm, gooey. . . Yummy! It wasn't too sweet and it stuck to the top of your mouth. A Decent finish to the meal.

Over the restaurant was a pleasant time. Of course that's because we were the only patrons in the restaurant until almost the end of our meal where two other groups walked in. Seems like past reviews reflect bad service when it is crowded. The food was good, although it doesn't seem like the entrees are that great.

Tandor Kitchen

I wanted to try Tandor kitchen for the Indian food. We went for Dinner on Sunday night. It’s a no-service sit yourself kind of place and you go up to a counter and order right to the cook.

We ordered Samosa, Saag Paneer (Spinach and Cheese) , Aloo Gosht (Goat and Potatoes), Basmati rice, and a Mango Lassi. All solid dishes. My favorite was the spinach and cheese dish. . .Tasty. . .the cheese was fresh and not rubbery. The Samosas were big stuffed triangles served with chick peas and very good. The goat dish had a good sauce which was good over the rice. The sweet mango Lassi was a nice drink to wash it down.

La Note - Back for Brunch

Disappointing food but over all good experience. I had read the reviews raving about La Note's brunch so we go there the same weekend to check it out. I had expected the wait for the table. We came at 10:30am so I figure that would be before the real rush, however, we still had to wait 20 minutes to get in. Oh well, we were not hungry so we didn't mind the wait.

The nice hostess remembered that we preferred to sit outside even though we told her it wouldn’t matter. David said she was staring at his “imported” British shirt for a bit. The outside patio is a cute area, but by the time we needed to leave, I was ready because the sun was getting me warm.

Food was just blah okay. I had the pancakes. I don’t love pancakes but someone outside while we were waiting said they were good. I had gingerbread pancakes with pear and David had an omelet with marmalade (sounded better than tasted), grapefruit and a huge croissant. I think I would have preferred my eggs benedict breakfast over my cake-like pancakes.

I prefer the interesting Venus restaurant for brunch because they had a better selection of interesting stuff. La Note is a French restaurant. . .better for dinner.

La Note

We went to La note last night. It was a Friday night and the place was full but not packed so we were seated promptly. I felt bad for the family group of 6 that had to wait for a bit because there were not any tables available for that large party. We sat by the window which was cozy, but a bit cramped.

The restaurant was bustling loud, but not that loud where you could hear your dinner partner. You can see the kitchen tucked away in the back corner which is cute and not over bearing like those restaurants where you can see the whole kitchen in the background and thus the noise too.

I had the seafood bouillabaisse which was pretty good and decently priced at 19.95. It was a nice serving of seafood, shrimp, scallops, fish, mussels, clams and two legs of crab. The broth was tasty with salt added and it was served with these little toast topped with a tasty mustard aioli. The broth was HOT, and it was a while before it fully cooled down.

David had ravioli with gorgonzola and walnut. It was a bit thick and rich and the ravioli was undercooked. Luckily the dessert made up for it. We had a delicious dessert with lady fingers soaked in rum, layered with a chocolate moose and served with raspberry sauce and whip cream. It was yummy and not too sweet.

I will try this place for brunch since it seems to be a good place for that too.

Humongous Artichoke

I found these huge artichokes at the supermarket. They were called “European artichokes”, for whatever reason (I don’t know if that’s a variety). I’m going to steam them up plain whole and not cut them and take out the choke like I usually do, so I can get the full experience of eating the large things.

I don’t expect them to taste any different than a normal artichoke and maybe perhaps they’ll taste like an old shoe, but they are just the largest artichokes I’ve seen in the store. . .and for $2.50 each, I thought “why not”?. They are bigger than Beenie’s head. He was a little pensive when posing for the photos so I had to bribe him with a Greenie.

I like artichokes just steamed. I don’t like them with butter that much. I like a mixture of mayonnaise and ketchup although only for occasional dipping I don’t drench my leaves in sauce. I guess I’m just too cheap and too lazy to make them into a recipe, like stuffing them, or cooking them and putting them in a recipe.






Gobble, gobble. . . the heart. . . yummy!

Pesce

We went on a Sunday at noon when they opened up. David had some breakfast special polenta and sausage. The polenta was very tasteless/bland and the sausage was average. It was served with some tomato side. I had an octopus salad. I was going to order something else but nothing seemed that interesting. The salad was small since it was a tapas place really. It was Okay, prepared with potatoes and celery in a vinaigrette.

Why would we go to a tapas restaurant for breakfast/brunch?. . .well it was suggested by some woman who was with us. . .she obviously didn't think of us having a satisfying meal. This place would have been more of an after work cocktail place and she went there because she knew the wait staff. Although they didn’t seem like best buds and they weren’t even cute.

I'm not keen on these small plate restaurants anyway. I understand the idea of variety but then you have to coordinate your dishes so you don't have some weird combination. I always end up wanting MORE food.

I had a nice granite-like cocktail. I can’t remember what it was called but I thought it was decent. The coffee is good as they brew it fresh for each cup.

The desserts were good but the bread pudding, which was recommended by the waiter was too dry for me. It was served with a nice scoop of ice cream which was partially melted with a whip cream like consistency. I think the ice cream was better. David had a chocolate torte. Nothing special. Think chocolate flourless torte that sticks to your teeth.

Aki Sushi & Grill

After a Soak in the hot tubs at Piedmont springs (Highly Recommend www.piedmontsprings.com ) we stopped in at this restaurant located near by along Piedmont Ave. The service was prompt and friendly. Although we walked in at 9 pm and there weren't many other patrons in the restaurant.

For appetizer you get a plate of soybeans. Nice! Most places charge you for this appetizer and to me it's better than a plate of picked veggies (which is a little more traditional).

We had an "Eric's special" roll for appetizer. It was great. For dinner I had a grilled saba which was a tad salty but a nice piece of fish never the less. My boyfriend had the Beef Udon. Not the best Udon in the world but pretty good compared to other places I've been. The broth was tasty.

All this food and plus miso soup and salad come with the meal with an ice tea and a beer came to $35. . . .Now that's pretty good deal.

Cha-Am Thai Restaurant

We had a nice dinner at Cha-Am. After going next door to Dara ( the restaurant next door) and being snubbed by the waiter for a seat we went next door and were seated immediately even though the kitchen closed in half and hour.

We ate one of the specials which was a read curry with mahi-mahi, shrimp and veggies. I like the way they cut the pineapple slices so decoratively. The dish was very good. Very good with the perfectly cooked rice.

The appetizer was very nice too. Deep fried thai version of samosa's. The fried banana dessert with coconut ice cream topped it all off. I was stuffed - in a good way and not the way you get when you eat greesy chinese food.

The prices were a little higher than the normal Thai place, but they don't throw in cheap ingredients like potatoes. The service was nice and friendly and food was quick. We sat by the window which was a nice nook to sit in with the christmas lights hanging around

Dinner with Ingredients from Monterey Foods

I went to the Monterey Food market the other day. Yup, now that's my new hot spot for fruits and vegetables for a good price. Papaya and Mango for 1/2 the usual price and I bought Rainbow Chard and cooked that up simply with some garlic oil and onions. I also finally found a place I can buy artichokes for a good price. Whoo-hoo! Lots of variety and the fruits are ripe, so I wouldn’t stock up all at once. Better parking and nicer people than Berkeley Bowl. The only disadvantage is that they don’t have much else than produce so you gotta make multiple stops if you're out shopping. Lots of Japanese product I noticed there, too.

The bowl lentil curry has some heat and is served in a pouch, but it's really good and I can't cook Indian spices with a limited pantry and limited know-how.

Eunice Gourmet

Good sandwich shop. I had roast beef and provolone on a baguette. My baguette was a bit on the dryer/tough side though, but the sandwich was prepared as nicely as possible. I also had a coconut gelato. . .yummy lunch to eat outside on a sunny day.

Venus Restaurant

We decided to drive along Shattuck and find a place for breakfast/brunch. We pulled outside Venus because we found a parking spot right outside. Must be our lucky day. I peaked inside and the place looked nicely full/ but not packed so I figure it looked like a good place to try.

I saw some drinks as I passed the other patrons so I thought I'd try what they were having. It turned out to be a blueberry lemonade. . .so refreshing in the morning . My boyfriend had the "cloud nice" which is a double espresso topped with a pile of whip cream. A nice morning treat topped with chocolate shavings.

I had the special which was french toast stuffed with lemon ricotta topped with peach,blueberries and almonds with sausage. David had eggs Benedict. Nice touch was the biscuit rather than the traditional English muffin.

Service was quick. Although our waitress was a little lack luster. Never the less, the food was good enough to overcome that slight blimp. I have no idea what dinner is like, but if the brunch is an indication, I'd go back to try it out.

Jeanty at Jack's

Sometimes I look at the menu prices and expect a certain level. Mind you, the food was good, but not out of this world good. The service was good, but the waitress we had announced the specials in a pretentious way.

The tomato soup w/ pastry was good, but that's because it had cream in it. Nothing like there was something special. But it's very impressive when it comes out all puffed up like that. I had a salad special which was friezee with blue cheese, green apple and candied walnuts. The flavors were good, but they totally drenched my salad with dressing. It was dripping and soggy as I ate it and way too salty and vinegary.

For dinner my boyfriend had the pork chop and I ate the classic steak and pommes frites. I have to say that was the best darn juicy pork chop I've ever eaten in a restaurant. The steak and fries were good. Food was served nice and hot.

We were off to a show, so we couldn't stay for dessert. If the dessert was good I might have bumped my star rating up. But over , I wouldn't go back. Food is good, but I there are more places to try out first.

Reviews and Pictures

I have been keeping my reviews on the Yelp Website:
http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=0jUAcPUeW5XWPb5m-L3SyQ

Pictures are on the Smug Mug website: http://davidandlouise.smugmug.com/gallery/1592086

Greens Restaurant

I think the lunch is a better deal than the dinner. Yummy, yummy, yummy. . .
In short we had the Curry, Quesadilla, Ravioli, Summer pudding w/Strawberries, and Hazelnut ice cream. I also had some peony white tea (you know so I could try that whole fad of the “white” tea thing). The curry had a slight ginger tinge and the rice was also flavored very nicely. If there were shrimp. . . I think that would have been a nice addition. I had the ravioli and it was flavored with a nice light broth. David’s Quesadilla was also surprisingly better than a normal quesadilla. The summer pudding was a nice sweet as well as the hazelnut ice cream topped with caramel and macaroons (mmmmh). . their take on an ice cream sandwich.

The GrubStake

I had a patty melt. I would say it was good along with the fries but I wouldn't give this restaurant 5 stars. It's just Okay food and nothing special. I also had a chocolate mouse which was good but not great. I don't know why it's getting high stars. Don't go with high expectations.

Coriya Hot Pot City

Great place to go with a group of friends if you are Hungry and want to interact with your meal. Not a good place for a romantic first date.

You go in and pick out the foods you want too cook on the buffet. Then you cook your food in either a pot of broth (which is nicely seasoned) or you can place it on the hot place surrounding the grills.

There is a nice selection of meats an veggies. If you can stick to vegetables, meat, seafood, and some rice, it's actually a very healthy alternative. There is a nice selection of seafood for the price.

Price is 14 for all you can eat which is a pretty good deal. The staff is pretty attentive at clearing out the dishes you are done with and filling up the pot with more broth. All you can drink soft drinks are included.

If you are looking to sit down and just eat then cooking your own food might not be too relaxing for you. But if you have some time and want to do something fun in a casual atmosphere then go here. Just mind you, you come out smelling like cooked food.

The only thing is that the table is pretty big and if you don't have a long reach and are 5'3" (like me) then you find your self standing from time-to-time to reach the center.