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2 stars

Espetus Churrascaria Restaurant Review

Posted on November 24, 2014

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.

The Plant Organic Cafe Restaurant Review, Burlingame

Posted on September 8, 2014

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.

Jeffreys San Mateo Review

Posted on June 16, 2014

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..

Fentons Creamery, Oakland and Vacaville

Posted on January 13, 2014

Fenton’s Creamery has been around since 1922 in Oakland. They produce their own ice cream and toppings batch by batch on site. They serve breakfast, sandwiches, burgers, salads, but the main draw is of course, ice cream. Their creations are simply huge. Even the kid’s ice creams are huge. Our last visit was to the Nut Tree Vacaville location in the spring of 2015.

Lai Hong Lounge Restaurant Review, San Francisco

Posted on December 23, 2013

By Arnold Chan

Lai Hong Lounge Restaurant is a Cantonese Chinese restaurant on the outskirts of Chinatown. They have been around since the Lichee Garden closing, 2012. They are pretty popular for lunch, but it was much more quiet at dinner. We were in the neighborhood so we decided to try it out, being big Chinese food fans. This restaurant appears to be related to Hong Kong Lounge.

Chabaa Thai Restaurant Review, San Francisco

Posted on October 28, 2013

Why did we dine here? – Chabaa Thai is a Thai Restaurant in San Francisco’s Sunset District. We happened to be in the area, shopping at the great produce store next door. Looking on Yelp, nearby Marnee Thai and Chabaa are both rated four star for Thai. This restaurant does a lot of to-go business. Be sure to try Kin Khao.

Rudy’s Can’t Fail Cafe Restaurant Review, Emeryville

Posted on September 4, 2013

Rudy’s Can’t Fail Cafe is a diner in Emeryville, near the Home Depot shopping center, serving American food till 1am. Big breakfasts, salads, burgers, and sandwiches. Breakfast is served all day. It is owned by Billie Joe from rock band Green Day.

Turtle Tower Restaurant Review, San Francisco

Posted on August 24, 2013

Why did we dine here? – Turtle Tower is a popular Vietnamese restaurant in San Francisco with several locations. Hà Nội Style Vietnamese Cuisine is their focus. We dined at the original, located in the heart of the gritty Tenderloin District of San Francisco. It moved down the block and reopened in June 2013 and added banh mi sandwiches. Our last visit was in February 2014.

Dumpling Empire Restaurant Review, South San Francisco

Posted on July 8, 2013

Why did we dine here? – Dumpling Empire is a new Chinese dumpling shop in South San Francisco, right off Grand Ave. It reminds us of Town of Dumpling in San Mateo. Simple, small (10 tables), family run, reasonable prices, plain decor.

Fey Restaurant Restaurant Review, Menlo Park

Posted on April 22, 2013

Why did we dine here? – Fey Restaurant recently opened in Menlo Park. It has gotten positive buzz, so we decided to give it a try. The owner has owned many different Sichuan Chinese restaurants including Little Sichuan in San Mateo and Classic Sichuan in Millbrae. She has built up a fan base and hopefully has found a restaurant that has some staying power.
The restaurant features somewhat neo-classical lighting and decor, probably from China. They have a small parking lot in the back, so you might have to park on El Camino Real.

Elliott’s Oyster House Restaurant Review, Seattle

Posted on April 1, 2013

Why did we dine here? – Elliott’s Oyster House is located on the waterfront, smack dab in the middle of different attractions we were visiting. They have their Oyster New Year event every year, leading to crowds of oyster fans from all over. You can also visit Taylor Shellfish Farms in Seattle to purchase a wide variety of local oysters.

Shanghai Bistro, Millbrae formerly Shanghai East, San Mateo

Posted on March 31, 2013

Shanghai East has moved to Millbrae from San Mateo and changed names to Shanghai Bistro. Their staff and chef are intact. Spicy Empire has taken its place in its old 25th Ave location, San Mateo. The owner took over China Bistro in San Mateo in early 2013 but closed it later that year.

Pike Place Market Review, Seattle

Posted on March 25, 2013

Pike Place Market is America’s oldest food market. This 9 acre market has been in its current location since 1907. Home of the legendary flying fish at Pikes Place Fish, this market is a wholesale fruit and vegetable market most of the time and a retail market with 200 small vendors. Right outside of the market are several streets full of food related shops, restaurants, bakeries, and more. This is where a lot of the interesting finds are located. We were suprised by the variety of seafood as well as produce in some of the markets. Clearly there were many items that we don’t have in the San Francisco area.

New England Lobster Market and Eatery Restaurant Review, Burlingame

Posted on February 18, 2013

Why did we dine here? – New England Lobster Market and Eatery has been selling Maine lobsters, Dungeness crab and shellfish since 1986. They recently opened an
eatery in Burlingame’s hotel row area, just south of San Francisco Airport (SFO). Being a fan of crustaceans, we had to try this restaurant.

Insider Tip – Great place to purchase shellfish to go

Windy City Pizza Restaurant Review, San Mateo

Posted on February 15, 2013

Windy City Pizza has been serving pizza, BBQ, and Sandwiches since 1984. They specialize in Chicago style deep dish pizza and Texas smokehouse BBQ. Rib sticking classic American food that many people love. Our last meal was in 2014.

Campo Pizzeria Restaurant Review, Palo Alto

Posted on January 28, 2013

Why did we dine here? – Campo Pizzeria is a new restaurant in downtown Palo Alto featuring Chef Sean O’Brien (Myth, Zinnia).

Memphis Minnie’s Restaurant Review, San Francisco

Posted on January 17, 2013

Memphis Minnie’s is one of the best barbecue places in San Francisco. It is located in the colorful lower Haight district. They specialize in slowly smoking meats from 4 to 18 hours over white oak logs. Memphis Minnie’s prides themselves in cooking items from scratch. They have BBQ plates, sandwiches, burgers, and even catfish. Our last visit was in April 2013.

Everett and Jones BBQ Restaurant Review

Posted on January 1, 2013

Everett and Jones is a Barbecue restaurant with locations in Berkeley, Hayward, Sacramento, and Oakland’s Jack London Square. We ate at their Berkeley location, which is much more informal than their flagship Oakland one, which has live music. Our last visit was to the Berkeley location in 2013.

Big Bubba’s Bad BBQ Restaurant Review

Posted on January 1, 2013

Big Bubbas Bad BBQ is a food concession that appears at some of the country’s largest State Fairs, Nascar Races, and Livestock Shows since 1996. You will find them in California, Colorado, and New Mexico. We have eaten their food several times over the years and found it to be pretty good. Our last visit in 2013 was during the Maker’s Faire in San Mateo.

American Eatery – Prather Ranch Meat Company Review, San Francisco

Posted on January 1, 2013

Prather Ranch Meat Company is a boutique firm that raises grass fed and pastured cattle in North California’s Mt. Shasta area. Their focus is on high quality, sustainable, humanely raised meats in support of a whole-animal sales model. Founded in 2003, they made a name for themselves as one of the first merchants in the Ferry Building.

Peggy Sue’s Restaurant Review, San Jose

Posted on December 20, 2012

Peggy Sue’s is a burger place that has been there since 1958 that also serves classic American breakfast. They have two locations in downtown San Jose, right near the major destination including the Children’s museum, The Tech Museum, and San Jose State. Free all-day weekend parking with validation. They push their USDA lean 100% Angus Beef. Our last visit was in April 2013.

Black Bear Diner Restaurant Review, Shasta

Posted on December 12, 2012

Why did we dine here? – Black Bear Diner is a chain with many locations in Central California. We kept passing locations and decided to see what this place was all about.

San Bruno Korean BBQ Restaurant Review, San Bruno

Posted on December 3, 2012

Why did we dine here? – San Bruno Korean BBQ is an all you can eat $23.95 Korean buffet located almost across the street from Asian Pearl Peninsula.
We’ve passed by this location many times and read the Yelp reviews, so we finally decided it was time to give it a try.

Cat Heads BBQ Restaurant Review, San Francisco

Posted on November 28, 2012

Why did we dine here? – Cat Heads BBQ was a pop-up that has morphed into a permanent restaurant in the former Big Nate’s BBQ location. We are being BBQ fans, always on the lookout for new openings.

Choi’s Korean Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Santa Clara

Posted on November 21, 2012

Why did we dine here? – Choi’s Korean Restaurant was recommended to us by a Korean friend, so we had high expectations. This restaurant is located in the Koreatown area of Santa Clara. Clearly this used to be a fast food joint that has been slightly retrofitted.

B-Side BBQ Restaurant Review, Oakland

Posted on November 13, 2012

Why did we dine here? – B-Side BBQ is the sister restaurant to the every popular Brown Sugar Kitchen in Oakland. We liked that restaurant and are big BBQ fans.

South Legend Restaurant Review, Milpitas

Posted on October 31, 2012

Why did we dine here? – South Legend is a long standing Sichuan Chinese restaurant in Milpitas that has been listed in the Michelin Guide. We were in the area and decided to give this restaurant another try.

Divino Ristorante Review, Belmont

Posted on October 22, 2012

Restaurant.com sells discounted Certificates for this restaurant.

Brown Sugar Kitchen Restaurant Review, Oakland

Posted on September 24, 2012

Why did we dine here? – Brown Sugar Kitchen is run by Tanya Holland, who draws upon her African-American heritage and her formal culinary training from France. This restaurant is located in an industrial part of Oakland, not far from Emeryville. We happened to be in the area and had this legendary place on our hit list. Our meal was for lunch on a weekday, so the wait was short. This place is packed during the weekends for breakfast.

Amber India Restaurant Review, Mountain View

Posted on August 13, 2012

Mountain View

Attic Restaurant Review, San Mateo

Posted on July 30, 2012

Why did we dine here? – Attic is a Asian fusion restaurant in downtown San Mateo with an emphasize on Philipino cuisine. Tim Luym (Poleng Lounge) is their consulting chef. He previously ran restaurants in San Francisco. This restaurant has been here for about two years, so we figured it was worth a try.

Orenchi Restaurant Review, Santa Clara

Posted on July 2, 2012

Why did we dine here? – Orenchi is a very popular Japanese Noodle House that has been on our hit list for a while. They are a sister restuarant to Sumika in Los Gatos. The broth that they use is cooked for a minimum of 18 hours. It is made with organic chicken, Canadian black pork, and filtered water. There is a line much of the time. We had to wait approximately 45 minutes for a Saturday night dinner. They close up when they run out of broth, which happened about 8:30pm on this particular evening.

Gioia Pizzeria Review, Berkeley and San Francisco

Posted on May 18, 2012

Gioia is a top rated Pizza place in North Berkeley. It has been there since 2004. As they put it: “Gioia Pizzeria takes the best of pizza traditions from the old world and the new. Classic flavors and ingredients such as artisanally made sausage, fresh mozzarella cheese and arugula come together in inspired traditional ways, seasoned with the influence of Bay Area kitchens such as Zuni Café, Chez Panisse and Oliveto” Gioia is a small hole in the wall with minimal counter seating. The place specializes in thin crust pizza and is known for local, organic ingredients. It was rated as a top pizza place by Michael Bauer. Our last visit was in late 2011 and we noticed prices had gone up. Their San Francisco location opened in 2012, we dined here in May 2012. It is located right next door to burger heaven, Polkers.

Casserole House Restaurant Review, Oakland

Posted on April 19, 2012

Why did we dine here? – Casserole House is a Korean restaurant in Oakland’s Korea town area. We have been slowly sampling different restaurants in this area.

A Slice of New York Pizza, San Jose

Posted on March 28, 2012

Why did we dine here? – A Slice of New York is a well-known New York style pizza place in San Jose, not far from Santana Row. The place features some nice New York decor, with subway signs, maps, and the like.

Great China Restaurant Review, Berkeley

Posted on March 5, 2012

Why did we dine here? – Great China is a popular Chinese restaurant in Berkeley right near UC Berkeley. A friend recommended this restaurant to us and Great China has been rated highly in Zagat’s.

Kunjip Restaurant Review, Santa Clara

Posted on February 29, 2012

Why did we dine here? – Kunjip is a top rated Korean restaurant in Santa Clara, situated in a Korean focused strip mall. They focus on soups and noodles, no BBQ unlike most other places.

Cottonwood Restaurant Review, Truckee

Posted on February 8, 2012

Why did we dine here? – Cottonwood is one of the chief rivals of Moody’s in Truckee. We have dined so many times at their adversary, we decided it was time to try something new.

Buck’s Restaurant Woodside Restaurant Review, Woodside

Posted on January 30, 2012

Buck’s is a quirky restaurant nestled in the small town of Woodside. The interior is full of off the wall models, toys, posters, and more. Even the front of the seasonal menu has a lecture on different topics. Their website is pretty crazy. Our last visit was in 2014. They have a separate lunch special menu that changes from time to time. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We came for lunch.

Ike’s Place Restaurant Review, San Francisco

Posted on January 23, 2012

Ike’s Place has been serving sandwiches since 2007 with lines out the door almost all the time. Ike Shehadeh’s believes that sandwiches should only be made with the finest ingredients and the utmost quality control. They added a Redwood City location (Ikes Lair of Redwood City) in July, 2009 and a Stanford location. Ike’s has 9 locations now! Our last visit was in April 2013 to Redwood City.

Venticello Restaurant Review, San Francisco

Posted on December 28, 2011

By Patrick McDermott

Why did we dine here? – Venticello is one of those restaurants that was within blocks of where we use to live, but we never found the time to visit. The place has been here for decades, right next to the cable car line.

The Ahwahnee Hotel Restaurant, Yosemite

Posted on October 31, 2011

The Ahwahnee Hotel Restaurant in Yosemite is a must visit for new site-seers to Yosemite National Park. Steeped in tradition, this old dining hall brings you back to olden days.

Tony’s Coal-Fired Pizza and Slice House Restaurant Review, San Francisco

Posted on August 30, 2011

Tony’s Coal-Fired Pizza and Slice House is a new San Francisco North Beach takeout place from Tony Gemignani, 9 time Champion Pizza Tosser, certified pizziaolo. He also runs Tony’s Pizza Napoletana next door. This location serves a wide range of food; New York-style pizza, Roman-style pizza, Chicago-style Italian Beef Sandwiches, and New York deli sandwiches. Our last visit was in September 2012.

Sunny Shanghai Restaurant Review, San Bruno

Posted on July 20, 2011

Sunny Shanghai is a small family owned restaurant located in southern San Bruno along busy El Camino Real, not far from Asian Pearl Peninsula. People have said that this owner started this restaurant because he was unhappy with family members at Little Shanghai in San Mateo. Our last visit was in April 2011 when we upgraded their food rating, finding this place a high quality cheap eats restaurants.

Hong Kong East Ocean Seafood Restaurant Review, Emeryville

Posted on June 24, 2011

Hong Kong East Ocean Seafood Restaurant is located in Emeryville, right by the Bay. It has excellent views of San Francisco. The restaurant is popular for dim sum and for large banquets, especially on the weekends. Our last visit was in the middle of 2011.

Sura Korean Restaurant Review, Oakland

Posted on June 15, 2011

Sura closed in 2013 and is reopening as another Korean restaurant, Copan, under the ownership of long time restaurant Ohgane.

2011 Guilin and Yangshou China Restaurant Reviews

Posted on June 1, 2011

We recently finished up our latest culinary tour of China in the Spring of 2011. Guilin a beautiful city in China’s South, is one of the top destinations for Chinese tourists. A quick glimpse of the scenery with the karst formations tells you why. Yangshou is a couple hours from Guilin, just as beautiful, and far less touristy.

Here are some quick mini reviews of places we ate at in Guilin and Yangshou. We feel this will be useful as more people visit this up-and-coming area. We found few reviews on Trip Advisor and Dianping.

Piacere Restaurant Review, San Carlos

Posted on May 23, 2011

Piacere means Pleasure, to please, a source delight or joy in Italian. This restaurant is located in San Carlos in the Laurel Street shopping area right across the street from restaurant Town and near Spasso. Piacere focuses on modern California-Italian cuisine using local and organic ingredients. One last visit was in May of 2011, where we sensed food quality slipping.

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