South Sea Seafood Village took the place of Fook Yuen Seafood Restaurant in Millbrae in February 2010. Fook Yuen was a long standing Chinese restaurant in Millbrae that acquired a good reputation over the years. South Sea Seafood has a location in San Francisco’s Sunset district. Millbrae is home to many fine Cantonese Chinese restaurant including Asian Pearl Peninsula and Zen Peninsula. With such high powered competition we wondered how they would position themselves. We came for dinner about 2 weeks after they opened. Read the rest of this entry »

In-N-Out Burger opened way back in 1948 in Baldwin Park, California focusing as a drive through hamburger stand. Their motto is “Give customers the freshest, highest quality foods you can buy and provide them with friendly service in a sparkling clean environment.” They have locations in California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah.
We went to the Mountain View location to refresh our memory of how this popular burger tastes. We’ve eaten a ton of high quality burgers and it was time to test our taste buds. In-N-Out does not freeze their beef, has no preservatives in their buns, hand-leaf their lettuce daily, peel and dice fries daily from whole potatoes, and use 100% cholesterol free oil.
Decor, Vibe – Standard fast food joint decor with this location pretty clean.

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ABC Seafood is a Chinese Cantonese restaurant with locations in Foster City and Milpitas. This review concentrates on dim sum at Foster City, which is served only during lunch. Our ABC Seafood dinner review is a separate review. Read the rest of this entry »

Rave Burger is a new burger joint that opened October 2008 in downtown San Mateo. We were walking by and decided to give it a try to see how it rated. The provide sit down service in addition to to go food. They tout their Niman Ranch gourmet natural meats with no antibiotics and hormones. Niman ranch was sold so their quality may have changed. They serve hamburgers, vegan burgers, hot dogs, and salads.  We have been to Rave Burger several times over the last year. Read the rest of this entry »

Commis is a hot restaurant in Oakland run by James Syhabout. He has cooked at several superstar restaurant; Manresa, The Fat Duck, el Bulli, Mugaritz, and Alkimia. Commis focuses on Contemporary California cuisine with a focus on local, sustainable, and eco friendly practices. The restaurant is located in the Piedmont Avenue area of Oakland, home to hot spots like Bay Wolf, Dopo, and Fentons. Commis received one Michelin star in 2010. Read the rest of this entry »

ABC Seafood is a Chinese Cantonese restaurant with locations in Foster City and Milpitas. The Foster City location is in the shopping center that houses Safeway. This place is a fairly busy during dim sum lunch but was only 1/3 full for dinner. You can easily pick out Chinese Cantonese restaurants, as most have tanks of fresh fish, crustaceans. ABC Seafood has an extensive menu with lots of expensive items. We stuck to more normal moderately priced dishes. Read the rest of this entry »

California Pizza Kitchen started back in 1985 in Beverly Hills by two attorneys. It is now International and publically traded. Their BBQ Chicken pizza is their signature dish. We were passing by the San Mateo location and decided to refresh our memories. Read the rest of this entry »

Amigos Grill is a Mexican restaurant in Portola Valley’s Ladera shopping center, about 1/4 mile west of Highway 280 on Alpine Road. Read the rest of this entry »

Spiedo Restaurant is located in downtown San Mateo, across the street from Draegar’s supermarket. The restaurant, open in 1991, specializes in fine Italian cuisine and Daily Specials from the Venitian region. Their sister restaurants are Porterhouse San Mateo and Agave Viejo. Read the rest of this entry »

Pho Miss Saigon is an inexpensive Vietnamese noodle place in downtown San Mateo. You can order a bowl of noodles and have them in 5 minutes, making this a good alternative to fast food. Read the rest of this entry »

lalola is a Spanish tapas bar on Russian Hill right next to the cable car tracks. It opened in early 2009 and focuses on small plates and wine. Happy Hour 5:30-7 has $2 Sangria, $2 Beer, and 2 for 1 cocktails. Read the rest of this entry »

L’Ardoise is a charming Bistro located on a quiet street in the 1st Arrondissement, a block from the Jardin des Tuileries, and not far from the Louvre. They have a very affordable 34€ three course meal as well as an a la carte menu. We ordered two of these meals, plus and extra entree. If you need an early dinner, this is one of the few that start dinner at 6:30pm. L’Ardoise is mentioned in many tour books. Read the rest of this entry »