California
Why did we dine here? – Aster is the latest in the Daniel Patterson Restaurant Group’s establishments. (Coi, Alta CA, etc) It is focused on California Cuisine using local farmers, ranchers and purveyors products, especially produce. They earned One Michelin Star in 2016. Executive Chef Brett Michael Cooper (Rubicon, Coi, Saison, Outerlands) has a long distinguished record for fine cooking.
Foodnut visits The Buffet at the Aria Hotel in Las Vegas for Dinner.
While not up to the level of the Caesar’s Bacchanal Buffet or Cosmopolitan’s Wicked Spoon, The Buffet at Aria is a solid buffet with a good selection.
Our top buffet in Vegas is the Bally’s Sterling Sunday Brunch
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.
Why did we dine here? – An oasis in the middle of nowhere. We’ve read about this place for many a year and finally got a chance to dine here, on the way home from Tahoe. Bull Valley Roadhouse serves farm fresh American Fare & Pre-Prohibition Cocktails. This restaurant is located on the South side of the Carquinez Bridge, at the end of a windy road.
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.
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.
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.
Why did we dine here? – An Japanese is a new Japanese Edomae-style Sushi restaurant in San Francisco’s Japantown, taking the place of crusty old Ino Sushi. It is run by the folks behind Koo in San Francisco’s Inner Sunset district. Hayakawa San and his wife run this small restaurant. Definitely and intimate affair here.
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.
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.
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.
Why did we dine here? – Trestle is a small restaurant in San Francisco’s Jackson Square district. Their claim to fame
is a three course prix-fixe menu for $35 per person, with an option to add an additional pasta course for $10. $60 for bottles of wine! The team behind this popular restaurant also runs Stones Throw on Russian Hill and Fat Angel.
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.
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.
A video review of the newest BonChon Chicken location in San Mateo, California.
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.
The Chairman (Formerly Chairman Bao) is a San Francisco food truck that serves Chinese steamed and baked buns with a variety of fillings. These are offshots of Taiwanese Gua bao or bun sandwich. When we were in Taiwan, it was difficult to find this old school dish. Our only Gua bao was ironically at the ritz Shin Yeh, Taipei 101.
Why did we dine here? – Because we went to Disneyland of course! Napa Rose is a nice respite from the hectic theme parks next door. We’ve eaten here before and found the food top notch. The waiter told us that 40% of the patrons live locally and brave the crowds to dine here.
Be sure to secure your iPhone or Android Smartphone whenever you travel. Precautions will help prevent disaster.
The iPhone or any Android Smartphone is an essential tool when traveling to the USA, for tourists of any country. Google maps, travel guides, language translation, and many other apps are extremely useful. We used them all the time. Using an international iPhone in USA was tricky. We have done the research on our last trip and are sharing the findings with you.
Why did we dine here? – Kingdom of Dumpling is a small Chinese restaurant specializing in dumplings. Being large dumpling fans, we decided to finally give this place a try. There are few restaurants with this variety of dumplings on the menu. The place has been featured on Check Please, so it has become busier over the years. Lots of to go orders. Our last visit was in July 2016.
Why did we dine here? – Ippuku is a Japanese Izakaya style restaurant in downtown Berkeley focused on serving yakitori skewers cooked on robata charcoal grill, soba, ramen, and other dishes in an interesting but narrow dining hall. They have a good selection of sake, shouchu, beer and other spirits. They are located on Center street in a long row of restaurants, a block from UC Berkeley.
Why did we dine here? – Pabu is a Japanese Izakaya-style restaurant in San Francisco’s Financial District from Michael Mina in partnership with Chef Ken Tominaga.
The chef’s Hana restaurant in a Rohnert Park had garnered a local following including Mina. This is the first Japanese restaurant for Mina.
Why did we dine here? – Pizzeria Mozza is a popular Southern California Italian restaurant with Chef Nancy Silverton in partnership with star chef Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich. We had it on our short list for our recent trip after a great meal previously at Osteria Mozza.
Why did we dine here? – The Progress is the long awaited follow on to immensely popular State Bird Provisions. Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski have a hard act to expand on, but all foodies are salivating at the thought of this new restaurant.
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.
Why did we dine here? – The Little Store is a long standing (1902) restaurant that we have passed many times. It used to be a gas station, then morphed into a general store. Having eaten at most other restaurants nearby ie Buck’s, Woodside Bakery, it was time to give it a try. A small quaint place with a mom and pop old school atmosphere. Our last visit was Summer 2016.
Elite Seafood Restaurant is one of top Chinese restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley, according to several different sources. This restaurant serves dim sum during lunch, and traditional Cantonese dishes at dinner time.
Espetus Churrascaria is a Brazilian steakhouse serving Rodizio style food. They focus on meats straight from the fire brought to your table, continuously through the meal! You can stop the meat parade by flipping the table card to red. They have a salad and hot plate bar with lots of different options including asparagus, bean salad, eggplant, rice, beans, cod, and much more. Do not eat too much of this stuff otherwise you wonder have room for all the meat. Vegetarians should stay away.
Espetus Churrascaria has locations in San Francisco and San Mateo. We tried the brand new San Mateo location for dinner. It is all you can eat, with lunch going for $25.95 with 7 meat options, $37.95 on weekends. Dinner is $54.95 with 14 meat options. Kids are 50% off. Our last visit was in the Summer of 2014.
Why did we dine here? – Animal Restaurant is a popular place in trendy Los Angeles. The award winning chef owns several restaurants. This particular one focuses on meaty dishes, at extremely reasonable prices. We had to give it a try and were not disappointed.
Why did we dine here? – Urchin Bistrot is a new French Bistro in the bustling Mission district of San Francisco. The location formerly housed Slanted Door and the defunct Wo Hing General Store.
Why did we dine here? – Bouchon, no relation to Thomas Keller’s Bouchon, is a top restaurant in Santa Barbara. We were here for one night and decided to give this legendary restaurant a try.
Best Buffet in the SF Bay Area!
Best buffet in San Francisco Bay Area? The Navio restaurant is located inside the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay. It serves one of the best Sunday Brunches in the San Francisco vicinity. They have everything from traditional breakfast items, Sushi, caviar!, fresh seafood, prime rib, Dim Sum, cheese, Pastries, and Desserts. The location on the coast is perfect, you get beautiful views of the coast and golf course.
Why did we dine here? – The Plant Organic Cafe is a small local chain of restaurants focusing on organic and vegetarian oriented cuisine. The menu features many vegetarian items along with seafood and even cocktails. They have locations in Mill Valley, San Francisco at Pier 3, Downtown, and the Marina. We dined at their Burlingame location. Next door is a cafe where you can get Blue Bottle Coffee, their trademark smoothies, as well as baked goods. We really enjoyed their selection of vegan cookies, cupcakes, desserts. There are few places with this variety.
Saison (French for “season”) is a Michelin starred restaurant in San Francisco that focuses on a singular 8 course prix fixe meal each evening using local, specifically identified, and sustainable ingredients.
This style considers different elements of the ingredients, incorporating influences from its native environment and leveraging primitive techniques like ember and ash cooking. They earned two Michelin stars in 2014.
Why did we dine here? – Lark Creek Blue takes the place of the seafood oriented Yankee Pier at Santana Row in San Jose. Run by the same restaurant group, they still maintain the seafood emphasis (Monterey Bay Seafood watch) but with a more contemporary look. Lots of wood, communal tables, jazzy music. They are located across the street from Left Bank.
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.
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.
Jeffrey’s Hamburgers is a popular burger joint in downtown San Mateo open since 1997. They also have a location in Menlo Park. They serve American fast food including burgers, hot dogs, fish and chips, salads, fries, and shakes. Seems like every town has a place like this, San Francisco has its Mel’s Drive in..
Umami burger is named after umami, one of the five basic tastes. It is rarely recognized on its own. This subtle savory flavor naturally occurs in many foods. Some tie it to MSG as it is tasted by the same glutamate receptors in the tongue.
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.
Why did we dine here? – Pacific Catch is a small string of restaurants in the Northern California area. They were started by the founders of World Wrapps. The first location open in San Francisco on Chestnut Street in 2003, with the San Mateo branch opening in 2014, right next to the Century Theaters multiplex.
Why did we dine here? – Maruya had gotten written up in a local San Francisco magazine and was creating a lot of buzz. Was this going to be the new top Japanese restaurant in the city? Located in the trendy SF Mission district, was Maruya better than Akiko’s, Kiss or Ino? We would soon see. This restaurant has lots of exposed wood, from the planks on the front window to the walls and floors. The air was heavily scented with cooked fish, they should improve the circulation. San Francisco is still slowly catching up to top Japanese food outpost like LA or NYC. Guess we just don’t have to population to justify tier one restaurants.
Japanese Izakaya is hot in the SF Bay Area right now.. Yakitori Kokko is a Japanese Izakaya or drinking oriented establishment (like Sumika in the South Bay, Ippuku in Berkeley or Izakaya Mai in San Mateo) that serves casual food focusing on skewers of meat and liquor. It is run by Japanese folks and feels pretty authentic. Yakitori means chicken grill, so the focus is on charcoal grilled meats. The place has gotten some good buzz, so we decided to give it a try. Our last visit was in the summer of 2015.
Chez Panisse Cafe is the lower cost, more casual, a la carte menu restaurant upstairs from famous Chez Panisse. We dined at the main restaurant Chez Panisse previously. Alice Waters started a food revolution here, way back in 1971. She strives to serve only the highest quality products, and only when they are in season. All produce, meat, poultry, and fish come from farms, ranches, and fisheries guided by principles of sustainability. This restaurant has produced many famous chefs that have gone on to start their own restaurants. Our last visit was in February 2014.
The Kitchen is part of a restaurant group that owns highly regarded Chinese Cantonese restaurants in California including Asian Pearl Peninsula. We’ve been to most of them and find them pretty good. This review concentrates on dinner. The food here is pretty authentic Chinese Cantonese food, so some may not like this type of more hardcore cuisine. Do not come here for General’s Chicken or Broccoli Beef. Another review covers The Kitchen dim sum lunch. Our last visit for dinner was in 2015, a meal where we found that their quality has improved. We’d consider this #2 behind Koi Palace. The Kitchen has recently remodeled the dining room, making it much more open, spacious, and modern.
California Pizza Kitchen started back in 1985 in Beverly Hills by two attorneys. It is now International and publicly traded. Their BBQ Chicken pizza is their signature dish. We were passing by the San Mateo location and decided to refresh our memories. Fate has lead us to eat here, more than we would like to admit..
Why did we dine here? – Roka Akor is a modern Japanese restaurant that opened in San Francisco in 2013. They have branches in Scottsdale, Arizona as well as Chicago and Old Orchard. This is an offshoot of the popular Roka in London.
Why did we dine here? – Kagura Ramen Izakaya is the sister restaurant to San Francisco’s Waraku on Post St. This Japanese restaurant joins a ton of others on virtually every block of downtown San Mateo. They focus on ramen for lunch and dinner along with a variety of small plates for dinner only.
