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Cooking Papa Review, Foster City

Cooking Papa Foster City exterior decor

Why did we dine here? – Cooking Papa is a popular Hong Kong style casual Chinese restaurant with locations in Foster City and Santa Clara. We have dined at the Foster City location several times. There is a line much of the time, a testing to the popularity of this restaurant. People typically wait at least 30 minutes during peak times. Our last visit was in the winter of 2018.

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Mission Chinese, San Francisco

Mission Hipster heaven. Modern Fusion Chinese.

Mission Chinese Food San Francisco exterior decor

Mission Chinese Food is a restaurant in San Francisco’s Mission District that used to be a popup in the Lung Shan restaurant. Mission Chinese Food has basically taken over the place with its success!

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Shanghai Dumpling Shop, Millbrae

Shanghai Dumpling Shop Millbrae Exterior

Shanghai Dumpling Shop is a popular Shanghainese Chinese restaurant in Millbrae’s Broadway shopping district. While they have all the ‘standard’ Chinese restaurant dishes, they are specifically known for dishes from Shanghai, including dumplings even though the staff can be heard belting out Cantonese Chinese. Our last visit was in the Spring 2017.

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Parada, Walnut Creek

Parada Walnut Creek Exterior Decor

Why did we dine here? – Parada is a Peruvian restaurant in downtown Walnut Creek, just a block from the BART station.
Carlos Altamirano, best known for La Costanera in Half Moon Bay, is the chef. His track record made selecting this place, a no brainer. They also run Piqueos, Mochica, and Sanguchon.

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Chili House, San Francisco

Chili House San Francisco exterior decor

Hot Stuff! Why did we dine here? – Chili House is a Chinese restaurant in the SF Richmond district. It is special because in November 2015, Tong Gang Wang became the chef at Chili House. He has cooked for several Presidents in China. This is a sister restaurant to Z&Y Sichuan restaurant in SF’s Chinatown. With the new chef, there is more Beijing food on the menu, like hand-pulled noodles, Beijing pot stickers and lamb hot pot. This restaurant reminds us of China Village in Albany.

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Chef Zhao Kitchen, Palo Alto

Chef Zhao Kitchen Palo Alto exterior decor

Soup Dumplings! Why did we dine here? – Chef Zhao Kitchen is a Shanghai Chinese restaurant in Palo Alto, near 101 and Embarcadero. This is a sister restaurant to Cupertino’s Shanghai Garden.
Confusing things, Chef Zhao Bistros in Mountain View and San Mateo are unrelated both cuisine-wise and with owners. This restaurant has been getting some good local buzz, so it was time to check it out.

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Tartine Manufactory, San Francisco

Tartine Manufactory Pastries Bread

Bread heaven! Why did we dine here? – Tartine Manufactory is Chad Robertson and Elisabeth Prueitt’s new bakery, ice cream shop, and restaurant. We love their bread, so we could not wait to try their sandwiches and desserts. This 5,000-square-foot restaurant is home to their bakery, so you can see them working their magic. They crank out a lot of bread than the old Tartine Bakery 18th street location, making it easier to score this fantastic bread. Bread from 10:30 until it is sold out.

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Marnee Thai, San Francisco

Marnee Thai San Francisco exterior decor

Marnee Thai has been serving up Thai food since 1986 in San Francisco. They have 2 locations in San Francisco’s Sunset District. We were in the neighborhood and having not eaten here in a long time, decided to give them a try. Our last visit was in October 2017.

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King Hua, Alhambra

King Hua Alhambra Exterior Decor

Why did we dine here? – Per the guru: King Hua is one of the top 3 Cantonese Chinese restaurants in the SGV aka San Gabriel Valley. The other two are Sea Harbour and Elite. (Lunasia does not belong in the top 3) We have been to the other 2, so it was time to try the last one. Sea Harbour has been our favorite to date.

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Yankee Lobster Co, Boston

Yankee Lobster Eatery Boston exterior decor

Why did we dine here? – Yankee Lobster is a casual seafood restaurant near the end of pier in South Boston. They also run a commercial lobster operation. This is an order at the counter, pay, and wait for food to be delivered place. Decor is pretty low key, making this a casual spot. A nice out of the way location that fewer tourists dine at.

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Brodard, Westminister

Brodard Westminister Exterior Decor

Why did we dine here? – Famous Vietnamese restaurant Brodard, in Southern California. Home to the largest Vietnamese population in the US, you would expect to find some great restaurants. Many Yelp reviews mention dining here whenever they are down here. We had to give this place a try on our latest SoCal trip. The place was packed and very loud.

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Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes, New York City

Black Tap New York Exterior Decor

Why did we dine here? – The Best Milk shakes of course! Black Tap has rocked the social media world with huge shakes covered with all sorts of crazy candies, cookies. It was definitely on our must hit NYC list. This restaurant is notorious for waits up to 3 hours, something we did not look forward to.

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San Tung Restaurant, San Francisco

San Tung San Francisco Exterior Decor

San Tung and San Tung #2 are a popular Chinese restaurant in the inner Sunset of San Francisco. They serve northern Chinese food that has some Korean influence, as the San Tung region of China is near Korea, hence the free Kim Chee. We have eaten here many, many times, back to when it was located west of here. Our latest visit occurred at the end of Summer 2017 to San Tung #2, when we noticed prices up a bit.

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So Restaurant, San Francisco

So San Francisco exterior decor

Why did we dine here? – So is a sister restaurant to San Tung and San Tung #2, run by James Chu. It sued to be located at Irving at 24th avenue. We were stuck in traffic, so it way more fun stopping to eat here! We have dined here in the past and love the fact that we can get the legendary wingz across from the SOMA Trader Joe’s complex, without schlepping out to the Sunset district.

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Beijing Restaurant, San Francisco

Beijing Restaurant San Francisco Exterior

Beijing Restaurant San Francisco is a Beijing style Chinese restaurant in San Francisco’s Excelsior district that opened in early 2009. Located a couple blocks off Highway 280 near City College, this place has gotten lots of hype on Chowhound. It is a family owned place that focuses on authentic Beijing dishes. Basketball player Yao Ming had been here 2 days earlier to one of our visits. We dined here last in 2016 when we learned they have added a location in the South Bay.

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Champa Garden, San Francisco

Champa Garden San Francisco Exterior decor

Why did we dine here? – Champa Garden is a Thai restaurant not far from City College in San Francisco’s Ingleside district. The original location opened in Oakland in 2006 and is well loved. Our friends like this casual restaurant, so it was time to give it a try. Last to go visit was in early 2017.

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Lavash, San Francisco

Lavash Restaurant San Francisco exterior decor

Lavash is a family owned upscale Persian restaurant in San Francisco’s Inner Sunset Irving Street district, that opened in late 2007. Mayor known for their Iranian food including fire grilled kabobs. This restaurant has gotten high reviews on Yelp. They use high quality ingredients including Niman Ranch meats. Our last visit was in September 2017.

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Lers Ros Restaurant Review, San Francisco

Lers Ros San Francisco_Exterior Decor

Why did we dine here? – Lers Ros is a popular Thai restaurant in San Francisco with a newly opened location in Hayes valley. We have never dined here previously, so it was a good excuse to check out the new location. Lers Ros means “excellent taste of the food” in Sanskrit. Tom Silargorn is the owner and chef. Michael Bauer has this restaurant in his top 100 Bay Area restaurants for 2012. This review is the culmination of two visits. The restaurant is extremely noisy during peek times and also cramped. Last visit was in 2017.

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El Sinaloense, San Mateo

Why did we dine here? – El Sinaloense is a hidden gem of a Mexican restaurant in San Mateo that few know about, but those that come, return. Tucked away behind a Safeway, this place is one of the top Mexican restaurants in San Mateo, if not the best. Lots of locals and families come here for dinner. A friend recommended this spot, so we gave it a try. It is actually difficult to find a good Mexican restaurant. Forget about recommending Chevy’s.

Insider Tip – Service can be slow, so do not come in a hurry.

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Locanda Positano, San Carlos

Why did we dine here? – Locanda Positano is the sister restaurant to now closed Acqua Pazza in San Mateo and has received some high accolades on Yelp. We were in the area, love Italian food, and decided to give them a try.

Locanda means inn, in Italian. Positano is a scenic town hugging the Amalfi coast of Southern Italy. We’ve visited there but did not have a meal. Our last visit was in Spring 2017, where we found service had fallen.

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Eden Silk Road Cuisine, Fremont

Eden Silk Road Cuisine Fremont Exterior decor

Why did we dine here? – Eden Silk Road Cuisine is a new Chinese Uyghur Halal Style restaurant in Fremont. There are very few restaurants serving authentic Uyghur food from the Xinjiang region of China, unfortunately best known for ethnic violence. Uyghur Taamliri in San Francisco is located in a bar. This restaurant is part of a large catering firm from China. Interesting decor that is clearly from China. They promise to open more Uyghur resturants in the US soon.

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Coconuts Caribbean, Palo Alto

Coconuts Caribbean Restaurant and Bar Exterior

Coconuts Caribbean Restaurant and Bar is an Caribbean Island focused restaurant that has been open since 2008. They focus on Jamaican classics like Jerk Chicken. Some cool Steel drum live music was playing on our 2009 visit, by 2016, the place was so loud on a Friday night, you could not hear much. Its chef also runs the cult classic Back-A-yard restaurant in Menlo Park.

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Shabuway Restaurant Review, San Mateo

Shabuway San Mateo Front

Shabuway is a Japanese hot pot restaurant in San Mateo that opened in 2004.  They also have a location in Mountain View, San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Jose, and Union City. You cook vegetables and thinly sliced beef at your table in a your own boiling pot of watery broth. Shabuway does not take reservations and insists all folks are present when names are called. Our last visit was in 2016, where we get a sense that the business changed hands.

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Hakka Restaurant, San Francisco

Hakka restaurant San Francisco exterior decor

Hakka Restaurant SF is a family run Chinese restaurant in San Francisco’s Outer Richmond District that opened in early 2010. It has garnered some foodie attention on chowhound. While they serve a wide variety of Chinese dishes including Americanized standbys, they are known for their regional Chinese specialties. We returned for to go in late 2015.

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Himawari Restaurant, San Mateo

Himawari San Mateo Outside

Himawari is a Japanese Ramen Noodle house located in downtown San Mateo. Every block down here has a Japanese restaurant. Their chief rival, a couple miles away, is the legendary Santa Ramen along with its sister Ramen restaurants. They have a broader menu than Santa Ramen, with Rice Bowls, lots of appetizers, and many ramen options. We came on hot day and noted no air conditioning, just ceiling fans cranked up. Last visit September 2017.

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Hopscotch, Oakland

Hopscotch Oakland exterior decor

Why did we dine here? – Hopscotch Oakland is an upscale restaurant in Oakland’s Uptown area. We were attending a concert at the Fox Theater and ate here beforehand. This restaurant is located 2 blocks from the Fox.

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Ristorante Milano, San Francisco

Ristorante Milano San Francisco exterior decor

Why did we dine here? – Ristorante Milano is a long time neighborhood gem of an Italian restaurant situated on Russian Hill in San Francisco. We had not been here for decades and decided it was time to return and see how their food compared to other Italian restaurants in the City.

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Howie’s Artisan Pizza Restaurant Review, Palo Alto

Howies Artisan pizza Palo Alto exterior decor

Howie’s Artisan Pizza was opened by Howard Bulka in late 2009 into Town & Country Village shopping Center of Palo Alto. He had worked at various restaurants including Marche. Inspired by the New Haven school of East Coast pizza-making and the renaissance of artisanal products including organic, natural, and local ingredients. Our last visit was in the beginning of 2015 when we noticed that pizza prices went up again.

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Lanai Restaurant Reviews

Lanai has been on our must visit lists for a while. We finally got a chance to visit this tropical paradise in April 2014.
The easiest and cheapest way to arrive is by ferry from Maui.  The fare is a reasonable $60 round trip. Frankly we saw more dolphins, flying fish, and whales riding this ferry than we did on a whale watching tour!

There are two Four Seasons Resorts on the island along with a small Lanai Hotel. We stayed in the Four Season Manele Bay, right on the beach. (Why would you want to stay at the other one?) One beautiful resort and priced a couple hundred less than the Four Seasons Maui. Lanai City is a small plantation town in a timewarp to the 70’s. A tiny place with a small town square. Here are 3 places we ate in between all the chilling.
One Forty
1 Manele Bay Rd
Lanai City, HI 96763
(808) 565-2000
Website

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Tasty n Sons Restaurant Review, Portland

Tasty n Sons Portland exterior decor

Why did we dine here? – Tasty n Sons was recommended by fellow foodies on Chowhound. We had just arrived in Portland from an early morning flight and were ready to experience Portland’s highly regarded food scene. Conveniently located, this restaurant was on the way to downtown Portland from PDX airport. This was a great first meal.

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Lardo Restaurant Review, Portland

Lardo Portland exterior decor

Why did we dine here? – Lardo was the place mentioned several times by other foodies, when asked where to get a great burger in Portland. We’re also big Porchetta fans, so this made it an easy decision. We selected the location right near downtown Portland, within walking distance of our hotel and that bookstore to end all bookstores, Powell’s.
They have 3 locations to serve your pig-out needs. Chefs Table Group also owns Ox, Grassa Next Door, and several other well respected restaurants in Portland.

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Dumpling Kitchen Restaurant Review, San Francisco

Dumpling Kitchen San Francisco exterior decor

Why did we dine here? – Dumpling Kitchen is a Shanghai, Chinese restaurant in the outer Sunset of San Francisco. We are big dumpling fans, and heard that they had some worthy candidates. The person who runs this restaurant is the brother of a former owner of Shanghai Dumpling King. Last visit was in March 2015. This place is busy on the weekends.

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Lahaina Grill, Maui Restaurant Review

Lahaina Grill Lahaina Maui Exterior Decor

Why did we dine here? – Lahaina Grill is one of the most popular high end restaurants in the touristy part of Lahaina, Maui. It definitely has a great repuation, and is situated in the midst of a ton of tourist traps. Foodies regularly recommend this restaurant, so we had high hopes. This place fills up fast, so you need to make reservations ahead of time or have to sit at the bar.

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Marlowe, San Francisco

Marlowe San Francisco exterior decor

Marlowe is a market driven neighborhood bistro near SF’s ATT park, they moved to the old Coco 500 location in 2014. Chef du Cuisine: Jennifer Puccio was formerly of restaurant Cortez. The focus here is on American comfort food. We decided to try this place because Michael Bauer raved about its burger. Our last visit was in February 2015. Marlowe’s sister restaurant is Park Tavern SF.

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Little Sichuan Restaurant, San Mateo

Little Sichuan San Mateo Exterior

Little Sichuan is a Sichuan Chinese Restaurant located in Downtown San Mateo next to legendary foodie hangout Draegar’s. It has been around for many years but changed hands in 2007. The former co-owner and chef used to run Classic Sichuan Restaurant in Millbrae. Do not confuse this place with others with similar names. Many folks stopped coming after the change in ownership including ourselves. It was time to check Little Sichuan out again in October 2010, after another year. This is a place to come for Sichuan dishes like noodles, not for generic Americanized Chinese food such as Beef Broccoli. classic Cantonese Chinese dishes that are better down the block at Champagne Seafood or HK Causeway Bay. Our last visit was in March 2014.

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