Steak on the Peninsula. Town Restaurant is a steakhouse serving American comfort food in downtown San Carlos. It opened in 2006 and has gotten positive press, so we figured we would see how it stacks up. Over the years, this restaurant has been consistently busy. Town is definitely a hit with the locals, many of which can just walk over for a meal. Our last visit was in December 2015. It is so busy, we had to make a reservation over a week in advance.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Donato Enoteca is an Italian Restaurant in downtown Redwood City, located right next to City Hall. They serve modern Italian focusing on fresh, simple ingredients, and focusing on the chef’s Donata Scotti (formerly of La Strada) Northern Italian roots. Our last visit for dinner outside in 2020 during the Covid 19 Pandemic.
Yuzu Sushi and Grill is located in a sleepy shopping district in San Mateo across from the former location of Alhana foods. It is a sister restaurant to Burlingame’s well respected and Michelin Bib Gourmand Sakae Sushi. We decided to try it to see if it was a lower cost but similar quality version of Sakae Sushi. Sakae Sushi has lots of exotic seafood air freighted in from Japan. Our last visit was in April 2014.
Sushi Ran is a popular Japanese restaurant in Sausalito run by chef Taka Toshi. They describe their food as “vibrant fusion of traditional Japanese and Pacific cuisine”. Since 1986 they have been serving up top notch Japanese food in Marin. They have the standard Japanese fare you would expect, including Omakase (Trust the chef) plus lots of dinner specials and cooked items. They have an extensive wine and sake collection. You can eat in the main dining room or in the sake and wine bar next door that has an outdoor patio. Our last visit was in the summer of 2014.
Shalizaar is a Persian Cuisine restaurant in Belmont. It moved here from a smaller location in San Mateo, which is now home to another decent restaurant: Tannourine. They specialize in Persian Kabobs and become immensely popular, leading to an expansion of the restaurant. Shalizaar has a large wood fired oven at one end of the dining room constantly making flat bread. Our last visit was in June 2016.
Fifth floor is a restaurant in the SF Downtown Hotel Palomar, and has been around for ages and seen many a top chef come and move on. (George Morrone, Melissa Perrello, etc) We haven’t been back in many years, so it was time to refresh our memory. Our last visit was in April 2013.
Pizzetta 211 is a small but cozy 4 table, 4 seat counter restaurant in San Francisco’s Richmond district. We first dined there in 2008 and finally returned in April 2013.
Osha Thai is a popular Thai restaurant in San Francisco that has grown to seven locations and was started in 1996 by sisters Wassana Korkhieola and Lalita Souksamlane. Osha means delicious in Thai. We visited the third Street location near Moscone Center. They focus on fresh, seasonal, local ingredients while serving both traditional Thai cuisine and modern interpretations. Our last visit was in April 2013 where we saw quality had fallen off. Be sure to try Kin Khao.
Introduction
Welcome to Foodnut.com’s Beginners Introduction to an Authentic Chinese dinner. This article follows our Beginner Introduction to Chinese dim sum. In this guide you will find a comprehensive introduction to Chinese Food that will help guide you in your new exploration into Chinese food. Authentic Chinese food is foreign to many people, so we thought it would be useful to write up a short tutorial on what to expect, and what to order.
We would like to help people expand beyond the usual potstickers, broccoli beef, sweet-and-sour pork, General Tso’s chicken, etc. No sharks fin dishes here. Many Chinese restaurants can be a loud and intimidating place with lots of different foods, faces, and languages being spoken. We are seeking to bridge the gap and get more folks into world of Chinese dining. No more looking around at other tables and pointing their dishes.
By Henry Kwan
Why did we dine here? – Inshou recently opened in the Marina Plaza shopping center, just off Highway 101’s Hillsdale exit. We were shopping at Marina supermarket and decided to give this new place a try.
San Mateo is home to a large Japanese and Asian population making it ground zero for some excellent Japanese restaurants including Hotaru, Yakitori Kokko, and Sushi Sam. Our last visit was in November 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.
Alexander’s Steakhouse is a modern high end steak restaurant that opened Early September 2010 in the South of market (SOMA) area of San Francisco. Their other location in Cupertino, just off highway 280, has been serving top notch steaks since 2005. On our last visit during the pandemic, we ate outside at the Cupertino location. They feature 28-day aged Certified USDA prime Angus steaks while the Palo Alto location uses USDA Choice Grade meat. (Top 1% of beef)
Left Bank is a Brasserie style French restaurant. They have 3 locations in the San Francisco Bay Area and got started in 1994. They serve seafood from the CleanFish Alliance of sustainable seafood products. Our last visit in September 2012, was to the Santana Row location in San Jose.
Twenty Five Lusk – 25 Lusk is a long-awaited and hot restaurant from an All-Star team that opened in the middle of October, 2010. Tucked away in an alley, this place will draw much walk-in traffic! They serve “sophisticated, contemporary, approachable fine dining specializing in neoclassical-influenced cuisine”, which probably means locally inspired California cuisine. Our last visit was in 2012.
Opened in 2004, A16 has since been present on many top Italian restaurant lists. It is a very popular restaurant in the Marina district, with prime time reservations needing to be booked a week or two in advance. This restaurant is serious about wine and pairing. Our last visit was in the summer of 2012.
Ad Hoc at Home – This book is full of Thomas Keller’s insights from Ad hoc.
Be sure to check out the French Laundry Cookbook
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.
Sushi Sam’s is a popular Japanese restaurant in downtown San Mateo. We have considered them and Hotaru as the 2 best Japanese restaurants in this area that seems to have a Japanese restaurant on every block. There is a large Japanese and Asian population in this area. Our last visit was in January 2012.
Manzanita Lake Tahoe is the new restaurant by Traci Des Jardins in the posh Ritz Carlton Highlands at Northstar Lake Tahoe. It opened in Decemeber 2009. Rooms here start at $350 a night. She is best known for Jardinière and Mijita Cocina Mexicana in San Francisco. Manzanita serves French inspired California cuisine with a focus on organic, sustainable, seasonal ingredients. Free valet parking for dinner guests. Our last visit was in early 2012 where we found prices had increased significantly.
Poggio is an Italian trattoria Restaurant situated in the Casa Madrona Hotel, right on the main touristy street of Sausalito. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They focus on Northern Italian cuisine using local ingredients, sustainable products, and property-grown organic herbs and vegetables. The founder Larry Mindel has a long history with restaurants including Ciao, Prego, and Il Fornaio. Peter McNee is the executive chef. Our last visit was at the beginning of 2012.
Why did we here? – This restaurant is located in the brand spanking new Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong, making it a no-brainer for those seeking out beautiful new restaurants. They received a surprising 2 Michelin stars in 2013. Guess the food has improved since our visit in 2011.
Fleur de lys is a long-standing French restaurant from Hubert Keller, who also owns Burger Bar and is featured on a PBS television show. They received one Michelin star in 2011. The last time we were here, perhaps 8 years ago, we were very impressed, so we had high expectations.
Madera Restaurant is located in the Rosewood Sand Hill Hotel, just across the way from venture capital central. This is a high-end hotel that opened up just a couple years ago. Chef Peter Rudolph used to work at Campton place in San Francisco. He uses a wood-burning grill and explores artfully-crafted, market-driven cuisine of bold flavors. Sustainably harvested and produced seafood and meats. Madera means wood in Spanish.
Excellent food in Noe Valley. La Ciccia is an intimate restaurant located in San Francisco’s Noe Valley that focuses on food from Sardinia, especially seafood. The husband and wife team operate this popular and homey restaurant.
The restaurant was featured on Check please in 2008.
Legendary crispy chicken wows us.
We recently visited Hong Kong and dined on excellent Cantonese Chinese food and more. Hong Kong is a modern city like New York, that is progressive, packed with energy, and filled with top-notch restaurants.
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.
We recently visited Hong Kong and dined on excellent Cantonese Chinese food and more. Hong Kong is a modern city like New York, that is progressive, packed with energy, and filled with top-notch restaurants.
We recently visited Hong Kong and dined on excellent Cantonese Chinese food and more. Hong Kong is a modern city like New York, that is progressive, packed with energy, and filled with top-notch restaurants.
Why did we dine here? – Leopold’s is a hot new Austrian – German restaurant located on Russian Hill that has been getting a lot of positive press. Bauer liked it and Yelp fans are all over it. As the place opens at 530pm and the waiting starts around 6 PM. No reservations. A loud party every night! As they put it – “Casual, urban-rustic neighborhood gathering spot and bierhaus”. Are you ready for the 5 Liter beer?
Scratch is a new restaurant from Rob Fischer who runs Palo Alto Creamery, Reposado, and Gravity. This restaurant opened at the end of 2010. Fine Dining meets American Comfort Cuisine is their motto. We happen to be in the area and decided to give this place a try. The restaurant is modern, with clean lines, lots of wood, and large windows to the Street. Our last visit was at the end of 2011.
Taste In is a family owned Mediterranean deli and restaurant in Burlingame’s Broadway Street shopping district. They focus on Mediterranean cuisine including falafel’s, schawerma, kabobs and the like. This place opened in late 2009. Our last visit was in fall 2011.
Jang Su Jang is a popular Korean restaurant in Santa Clara, located on El Camino Real, home to many Korean businesses. We decided to give it a try having seen many reviews on the restaurant, in addition to personal recommendations.
Armadillo Willys is a local BBQ restaurant with 8 locations in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was started in 1988 and offers ‘real Texas barbecue’ cooked over a wood fire. We were in the shopping center and decided to give it another try so we could more fairly gauge other BBQ restaurants. We visited the Foster City location.
Another trendy fancy burger place… The Counter opened in 2006 and is another fancy casual restaurant located in the Palo Alto, California Avenue shopping district. They have locations in CA, CO, GA, NC, and TX with many more coming soon. We revisited in March 2011 at the brand-new San Mateo location, click next door to Trader Joes. Loud music greeted us as we entered the place along with some flat screen TVs at the counter.
Downtown San Mateo has a very high concentration of Japanese restaurants with one on almost every block. Hotaru is one of the best and most economical. No surprise, there is a line out front most of the time. We’ve tried pretty much all the nearby Japanese restaurants. Sushi Sam and Kisaku are also good but more expensive. Nearby Yuzu and Sakae are also very good Japanese Restaurants. Our last visit was in 2016.
Crouching Tiger Restaurant is a Chinese Sichuan, Hunan, and Mandarin style restaurant in downtown Redwood City on a Street full of different restaurants. Their name in Chinese is really Crouching Dragon. They specialize is spicy dishes, noodles, and authentic local dishes like Xingjian Lamb and Pickle Fish soup. Our last visit was in October 2011.
Sweet Basil Thai Cuisine is a restaurant in Foster City, a couple doors down from popular 5 Joy Chinese restaurant. They also run a vegetarian Thai restaurant next door. We were going to 5 Joy decided to mix it up a little bit after having a very good meal at Osha Thai in San Francisco.
Decor, Vibe – Sweet Basil Thai Cuisine has very nice interior decor with Buddha fountain by the door, modern art lamps, wooden banquettes, and bamboo tables. The place was pretty full for a weekend evening.
Menu
benu is the long awaited new restaurant in SF from French Laundry Alum and James Beard Award-winning chef Corey Lee. His old boss Thomas Keller is a partner in this new venture and has a wine locker by the front door. benu is housed where Hawthorne Lane used to be. We dined early on, during their 3rd week of operation. benu is a small product driven restaurant focused on contemporary American cuisine. benu is an Egyptian word and that stands for the phoenix, a symbol of something constantly renewing. benu received Two Michelin stars for 2012. The 17 course fixed price menu now costs $180. A la carte is offered Tuesday through Thursday.
Lei Garden is a well respected restaurant group with locations in Hong Kong, Singapore, China, and Macau. They opened location18 in Shanghai in 2010. We visited their location in the upscale IFC mall in Hong Kong for dinner in late 2008. This location earned one star in the 2009 Michelin guide but lost it in 2010.
