East Bay Food

East Bay

A Cote'

Grilled asparagus very nice

Duck sausage pretty good even though it’s not the best meat for sausage

Meyer lemon fettucine very good but not great

Fig and pancetta flatbread huge sort of pizza, too much for one person, but very tasty

Gazpacho smooth but quite spicy, very nice, liked it the second time, too

Garden lettuce salad w/ blue cheese dressing very good (w/out the pears)

Goat reasonably tender and quite tasty

Paella pretty good but needed dish for shells, maybe too many clams and not enough other stuff

Pommes frites good, but not as good as Cesar's

Shrimp bisque pretty good but shrimp were cold

Soft shell crab pretty good but deep fried, not sautéed

Grilled squid very good nice and tender

Squid stuffed with sausage didn’t go well together, the squid got lost even though the sausage wasn’t that spicy

Swordfish OK

Tuna tartare very nice, liked it second time, too

Adagia

Cod and potato cakes, pretty good, even though deep fried, and maybe a little too salty, but what did you expect with salt cod?

Hamburger seemed OK but Randy ordered it medium rare and it wasn’t barely pink

Seafood stew not bad

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Adesso

Sicilian salumi plate nice but kind of indistinguishable from one another

Ajanta

tandoori asparagus I liked it Randy didn’t

chicken biryani OK, perhaps a few too many nuts

chicken tikka masala OK

fish tandoori OK

lamb korma OK

lamb special OK (tomato sauce)

lamb (chandit gosht) truly terrible, tasteless gray lumps of lamb

scallop curry OK

Alborz

Randy liked it but I didn’t

Au Coquelet

Hamburger pretty mediocre

Aunt Mary’s

Buttermilk biscuits really good

Stuff in a bowl buffalo chili w/ chili popcorn pretty good

Corn bread liked Randy’s better because it’s sweeter

Sausage OK

Malted waffle nothing special kind of soggy

Ba Vo

stuffed calamari not very good


shrimp rolls OK

snapper pretty good

Barclay’s

Fish and chips OK large piece of snapper pretty good chips only OK

Hamburger large but only OK, ditto for accompanying green salad and fries

Prawn cocktail lots of prawns but they were warm

Spinach salad OK not bad

Barlata

Ceviche I liked it but Randy didn’t, lots of octopus, which was kind of tough

Fideua negre paella w/ little noodles and squid ink thought it was very good

Gazpachos three little ones, all nice, esp. the garlic-almond one

Seafood paella only OK a little burned

Bay Wolf

Caesar salad pretty good but not great—the romaine was too spread out to be crunchy but the croutons were good, liked it more on second try

Duck breast and leg very good

Duck breast and sausage pretty good could have used a little more sausage

Duck breast appetizer very good

Duck liver flan terrific

Duck tostadas very good

Crispy ling cod very good

Hog Island oysters plump and juicy

Pomegranate sorbet too musky for me


Sand dabs very good

Soft shell crabs OK nicely cooked but had a funny aftertaste that I didn’t like

Fried petrale sole terrific and lots of it, too

Sundae Randy liked it

Bette’s Oceanview Diner

Buttermilk pancakes OK not quite enough syrup and not as fluffy as they claim

Cobb salad nothing to write home about, OK but kind of boring

Bette's To Go

Pork burrito nothing special

Binh Minh Quan (12th and Webster)

Cubes of beef boring

Shrimp cooked in butter just like the venison (avoid the dishes around 98-101), but the greens were OK and the sauce left a nice spicy aftertaste

Spring rolls w/ shredded pork kind of dry

Stuffed squid terrible idea, the squid was just a casing, without much taste, and it didn’t go with the meat filling

Venison tasty but cooked in butter, which gave it an too-rich taste

Vermicelli w/ Imperial rolls very good

Bistro Liaison

Bouillabaise pretty good authentic, liked it the second time, too, even if the broth was a little too rich and the aioli wasn’t quite to my liking (red pepper-based) and where was the parmesan cheese?

Charcuterie plate OK

Oysters pretty good


Pommes frites overrated terrible

Mussels pretty good, broth was nice

Salad nicoise only fair

Shrimp sauteed in wine, garlic and pastis kind of nice even though shrimp had what my mother would have called a little iodine flavor

Sorbets OK

Sweetbreads fair

Bittersweet

Little chocolate cupcake OK not great

Magic bar OK

Bread Workshop

Sweet potato soup Randy didn’t like it

Turkey meatball sandwich decided I didn’t really like turkey meatballs

Britt-Marie's

Angry mussels very good lots of shellfish in a spicy tomato sauce

Barbecue pork pretty good meat a little tough but very good sauce

Bacalao always like it

Chicken gumbo not that good kind of bland

Chicken and sausage jumbalaya OK could have used some seafood as it got boring after a while

Green salad always good, but Randy found it overdressed

Lentil soup Randy said tasteless, watery and tasteless the second time

Pork schnitzel less good than I remembered it


Pork tenderloin with figs was a bad idea gone wrong, and the sweet and spicy collard greens were weird

Seafood stew pretty good nice spicy broth

Snapper not bad

Steak was terrific large beautiful cut of meat, tender and tasty

Tomato basil soup not very good

Moroccan tomato soup I liked it but Randy hated it, said it came from a can, the chick pea base was a littler drier and less flavorful than the usual tomato soup but it wasn’t bad at all and felt good on a cold day

Bui

Bouillabaisse not bad fish OK and the broth was nice

Peppered tuna Randy didn’t like it, I thought it was OK, tho the tuna did not impress with the quality of the fish

Spring rolls nice and light and tasty

Vermicelli w/ lemon grass beef pretty good, enough beef to satisfy and the noodles weren’t slimy at all

Burger Depot

Espresso shake OK but too sweet and too much whipped cream

Lamb burger hard to tell it was lamb

Burger Meister

Cheeseburger OK inconsistently cooked (some rare, some well done) but it grew on me

Cactus

Boiled lamb burrito odd, tasted some like lambed walked over from Khana Peena and got put into a burrito

Carne asada burrito nice but less big than elsewhere

Caesar salad OK


Shrimp burrito with cilantro rice nice

Café Fanny

Berry crisp beautiful looking and tasting

Chicken sandwich OK but could have used more white meat and I never found the promised prosciutto, liked it much better the second time, didn’t find any proscuitto the second time, either

North African chicken stew w/ tomatoes over couscous nothing special, the chicken was little bits of stringy meat, tho reasonably taste, and the tomatoes were OK but no flavor was particularly distinctive, not something to order again

Salty chocolate cookie, incredible intense chocolate flavor wonderful, so good that Emily would only give me crumbs of hers

Chocolate ice cream very good, not too sweet

Corn chowder didn’t like it, seemed odd to have a chowder with no cream at all, really just a vegetable soup with a lot of corn

Croque monsieur pretty good not great, quite disappointing second time, with little ham and not much taste, pretty good the third time

Grapefruit sections OK nothing special

Lentil soup w/ lamb sausage very good

Roast pork sandwich was very good the meat was moist and the sauce that accompanied it was nice, too

Sausage sandwich w/dry Italian sausage tasty but not nearly as healthy or as good as the tuna sandwich it replaced

Strawberry galette very good tasted exactly what it looked like

Tuna bagnat pretty good, but it was probably too much to expect fresh tuna, liked it better second time

Cafe Raj

Everything only fair

Cafe Rouge


Arigula, corn and parmesan salad not too bad, but too much arigula and it was hard to taste the corn or cheese

Asparagus appetizer pretty nice

Bourride Randy had it and thought it was bland, which it sort of was, or you could say “subtle” the fish was Pollock, but I liked it when I had it, perhaps the sauce was a little spicier but the overall effect was nice (the fish was rockfish, still a little bland but the sauce made up for it)

Cappuccino very good

Cassoulet pretty good, the duck leg was fabulous, lots of meat and very tasty, though perhaps a little too salty, the sausage was good, but I wasn’t crazy about the beans, which were the size of lima beans, and it didn’t quite come together the way it does at Le Central—second try, liked the duck a little less, the rest of the meat more, and the beans the same—nice but still not like Le Central, and the third time I liked it a lot, perhaps because the beans were more traditional, the sausage was good, as was the duck leg

Kale Caesar salad pretty good though I like the normal kind better, not a bad way to eat kale

Charcuterie plate very good nice salami, braesola and duck pate

Roast chicken seemed juicy and tasty, seemed terrific and Randy liked it

Chicken and chickpea kind of ordinary but reasonably tasty

Cracker salad not bad but a little weird looking

Goat w/ harrisa and apricots and almonds OK some of the goat was dry and some was moist but none of it was particularly flavorful not at all like the mutton I had last month at St. John’s Bread and Wine

Hamburger pretty good, and I liked the grilled corn that came with it, too, and Randy really likes it, too, much better she thinks than the one at Wood Tavern

Mocha mousse really good, dark chocolate and nice coffee flavor

Oysters tiny and terrible. much better the second time, even the dollar ones, ditto the third and fourth times

Persimmon pudding Randy said not as good as hers, more like spice cake


Petrale sole w/ lemon mashed potatoes and brocollini terrific lots of ymmy fish nicely cooked

Pork ribs w/ mustard Randy found it inedible and sent it back

Prosciutto appetizer pretty good, liked the bread sticks

Gulf shrimp were nice as an appetizer

Sirloin steak brochette OK some of the meat was a little tough and I could have done without the zucchini and the flatbread, which was under the meat, was soggy

Camino

Cheddar lots of cheese, crumbly and tasty, but oddly presented, didn’t seem odd the second time

Lovely hard goat cheese, quince paste, and salted almonds--all very good, a small portion.

Ling cod w/ capers and fennel very nice

Grilled crab tasty but hard to eat

Duck liver and giblet toasts very nice

Faro salad OK the smoked ling cod was nothing special and Randy correctly thought it was greasy

Grapefruit and blood orange salad only OK too little fruit and too much ricotta cheese

Lettuce salad was lovely--beautiful lettuce and watermelon radish, fragrant herbs, perfect dressing. Great bread/butter/salt. The salad came very fast.

Smoked oyster stew terrific wonderful fish taste

Paella was only OK. Deconstructed, w/ sausages on one side of the plate, greens on another, salted ling cod on a third, sort of mixed in w/ the rice. The rice was very good. But to say it didn't come together is to critique the obvious. I felt his was also not warm enough (Randy’s was fine, temperature-wise).

Pork leg and belly I liked it a lot, Randy thought it was too salty, thought the sauce was nice and tart and the belly interesting (like thick bacon)

Grilled squid terrific


Albacore tuna w/ string beans and tomatoes not my favorite fish but very nice

Cancun Taqueria

Chicken burrito not bad grilled chicken had a nice taste

Fish taco pretty good fish was fairly plentiful and tasty

Can’t Fail Café

Blackened catfish sandwich pretty small but OK

Barbecue chicken pretty good nice sauce

Heuvos rancheros Randy liked it

Lime chicken flavor OK but a little tough

Cesar’s

Alaska halibut very good, same for halibut on a plank (but see below)

Arigula, grapefruit, smoled trout and avocado salad very good,flavors went together very well

Asparagus quite nice, liked them the second and third times, too, not overly grilled, and the tapenade that came with it was nice

Bacalao: very good four times—the cazuela is great

Beef tenderloin w/ salpicon OK not great, liked it a little better the second time, beef with truffle butter not great

Berries: very good

Boquerones anchovy sandwich very good, though a little more bread than three little anchovies

Bread pudding Max said great

Brussels sprouts not terrible, not as good the second time, because they were whole not sliced

Calamari nice and tender very tasty


Camarones bay shrimp w/ green sauce very good, liked it a lot the second and third times, too

Canapes with smoked fish fish was great but bread was much too oily

Cauliflower very good

Cheese plate disappointing cheeses kind of bland and all the same

Chorizo and apples very good

Clams and mussels in lobster broth OK not great

Clams in saffron broth with noodles, OK but West Coast claims just don’t make it—you’d think you would learn by now

Cojondongo salad w/ cucumber, grapes (which were a nice touch) and other stuff very good

Crema au chocolat very good first time, less so second time

Croque senor a croquet monsieur on a baguette very good

Dorado (at Piedmont) almost inedible

Smoked duck breast (at Piedmont) very good

Empanada (pork and currants): didn’t like it, but Randy did

Escalivada: mostly vegetables with anchovy toasts

Fish stew not that great

Cucumber gazpacho too weird I missed my tomatoes, but liked it a lot better the second, third and fourth times

Tomato gazpacho pretty good, even though it had egg in it, but I missed the bite of the gazpachos that I like best, it was sweet rather than acid, about the same the second and third times, but thought it was refreshing, liked it a lot the fourth time, ditto the fifth, when it was made with roasted tomatoes and cucumber

Halibut on a plank Randy didn’t like it but I thought it was good, fish tender and nicely flavored


Ham and grilled figs OK the ham was good, but there was too much ham and not enough figs for the dish to work

Hearts of romaine w/ anchovy dressing very good, good second time

Hearts of romaine w/ blue cheese pretty good

Hearts of romaine w/ preserved Meyer lemon not that good

Heirloom tomato salad OK, even with the grilled onions

Lamb stew w/ prunes very good, though meat a little dry, on second try thought that the meat was overpowered by the prune sauce, which was a little one-dimensional

Lomo sandwich very good, less good second time, only a thin slice of meat in a baguette

Mostaditos (little bruschettas) liked the anchovy one but the sausage pate and honey was a weird combination and didn’t eat the Portobello mushroom one

Mussels tasteless

Fried oysters: very good

Paella a relatively generous amount for a small plate place (though it cost $17), the rice had little bits of chorizo in it and was terrific, the shellfish were only OK and the chicken wings were so-so, but the overall effect was very satisfying because of the rice; the second time, however, was quite disappointing, the small ribs were a pain to eat, the two shrimp were in their shells, and while the calamari was OK, but whole dish, inc. the ribs was overdone and kind of tasteless; the third time (an all-meat paella) was wonderful, there were no ribs, but lots of sausage and chicken and the overall taste was great, third time had way too much egg over everything, and fourth time (paella cesar) thought it was a little bland, fifth time (again cesar) thought it was pretty good

Patatas bravas potato wedges fried with romesco sauce and aioli very good, Randy thought it wasn’t great the last time but I liked it

Pork belly sandwich wasn’t crazy about it, pork was fatty, not like the wonderful pork at Wood Tavern, and there was too much caramelized apple and other stuff in it

Pork loin w/ mashed potatoes and fig sauce the meat and potatoes were very good, but the fig sauce was much too sweet, not a great combination

Pork shredded w/ peppers very good


Potatoes fried with cumin very good. just too many of them, esp. for one, w/ tomato sauce very good, too (potatoes brava)

Potato chips: spicy, but too many, got tired of them

Rice with shrimp (little) and sausage very good

Ropa veija a sort of beef stew that was OK, not enough chunks of meat for me and too many cooked peppers

Herb-coated salmon very good

Sausage and mushrooms: very good

Sea bass w/ mushrooms and bacon I liked it but Randy didn’t, thought the fish was overcooked, it wasn’t outstanding

Shrimp and crab canelones (cannelloni) OK nice that much fish or shellfish taste though sauce was OK

Grilled shrimp very good but messy

Shrimp (cold) with garlic sauce very good but messy

Smoked salmon OK nothing great

Sopresada bacadillo very good even if we couldn't tell what it was

Fried squid pretty good too spicy for Randy, second and third times really good

Steak and chive mashed potatoes very good

Grilled swordfish very good for swordfish

Tuna on a plank pretty good if a little thin but I didn’t like the potatoes, which were cold

Tomato, watermelon and cucumber salad with pomegranate vinaigrette very good, liked it a lot the second time, too

White bean stew w/ pork and chorizo OK

Cesar’s Latino


Grilled corn very good

Pork tacos only OK

Potatoes bravas just as good as in the other Cesar’s

Mexican shellfish cocktail better than the vuelve a vida at Fonda’s but not as good as the seviche at Picante OK

Chevy's

Chicken taquitos not very crispy or good

Shrimp fajitas in the shell and not very many or good don't bother

Firehouse shrimp fajitas enough shrimp this time, but had their tails on so impossible to put in a tortilla, expected larger prawns from the menu description

Chez Panisse

Apple tart very good

Blackberry feuilleton very good

Calamari appetizer pretty good, squid had a funny texture

Clam risotto nice but not as good as the shrimp risotto at Wood Tavern

Leg of lamb very tasty

Grilled salmon very nice

Shellfish salad very good not quite enough shellfish

Parsi dinner everything terrific (mushroom vol-au-vent, dal, shellfish hariyali, squab w/ root vegetables, pineapple ice s/ finger limes, just didn’t like the Falooda

Chez Panisse Café

Plate of anchovies OK, esp. if you like anchovies

Apple-cranberry crisp very good, even if a little diced

Apple-sour cherry crisp pretty good, cherries weren’t as tart as I would have liked


Apple-huckleberry crisp only OK, fruit a little too diced, liked it better second time and also liked the huckleberry ice cream, and liked it the third time, too

Asparagus w/ mustard sauce and egg could have used more mustard and less egg, but the asparagus was tasty

Asparagus w/ prosciutto pretty good but would have been better with almost salsa

Warm asparagus very nice

Asparagus salad w/ kumquat relish very nice

Berry cobbler very good, blueberries with some other berries had a very nice flavor and the pastry was good, if a little doughy, liked it even better the second time, seemed to have more raspberries and less blueberries, peach/nectarine/berry cobbler also good even though I would have liked more berries and the only berries were blues

Berry shortcake really nice

Bourride very nice, a little bland but really good

Brandade OK very much like, and perhaps not quite as good as, the cazuela at Cesar’s, liked it better the second time, thought the combination of the brandade with the frisee was great

Cappuccino always beautiful and wonderful

Spring cassoulet (birthday dinner) wonderful, even with the fava beans), duck leg confit was terrific and everything blended together nicely

Chanterelle pasta au gratin only OK kind of bland

Pan-fried chicken yummy, only great second and third times, Adam rightfully compared it to a schnitzel

Chicken breast w/ pancetta kind of bland pancetta didn’t add much

Grilled chicken w/ mushrooms pretty good

Chicken paillard yummy

Chicken breast saltimbocca pretty darn good

Chicken under a brick Adam had it and my bite tasted great, but Randy said it was full of butter


Chicory salad pretty good not too bitter, the anchovy could be tasted but not seen

Bittersweet chocolate espresso custard great, but tell them to leave off the whipped cream

Bittersweet chocolate ice cream w/ espresso sauce was yummy, tho the chocolate wafers were forgetable

Chocolate coffee ice cream very good, second time, chocolate-coffee-almond ice cream could have used a little more intense coffee flavor, third time didn’t like the ice cream for lack of coffee flavor and the bits of chocolate (if that’s what they were) didn’t add much

Bittersweet chocolate pave kind of a large brownie, tasty but a little dry, OK w/ coffee ice cream w/ chocolate swirl

Chuck roast fabulous incredibly tasty pot roast with a sort of Worcester-flavor sauce

Clam chowder I liked it but Randy didn’t, could have been hotter (temperature) and it’s hard to do a really good clam chowder with inferior West Coast claims but it was pretty good nonetheless, second time pretty to very good, lots of clam and perhaps a little too much celery, a big soup but perhaps not quite enough for an entree

Cod (black) appetizer a little too salty

Cod appetizer w/ egg and potato a little bland

Corn soup yummy, ditto for corn and zucchini soup, could barely taste the latter

Duck leg Adam had it very good, then I had it and thought it was tasty but there wasn’t enough meat on a single leg and thigh to satisfy me

Duck leg confit OK tasty enough, but perhaps I’m not crazy enough about duck meat to love it

Dungeness Crab very good, a little hard to get the meat out, and not as rich as lobster, but nevertheless tasty

Escarole salad only OK

Fig and prosciutto appetizer terrific


Plate of figs fabulous

Fig and raspberry tart fabulous yummy figs and delicious berries

Mixed fried fish pretty good, but too much fish and too little shellfish (two scallops and one poor oyster) and the pickled vegetables that accompanied it were quite odd, second time pretty much the same, more scallops but only one fish, there was nothing remarkable about it at all, third time was OK the calamari were nice and relatively plentiful, but the sand dabs though tasty had unadvertised bones, which I didn’t like tho they were pretty easy to take out

Smoked fish toasts wasn’t crazy about them, not fishy enough

Frisee salad w/ anchovy and egg very nice

Provencal fish stew liked it a lot

Frisee, string bean, anchovy and egg salad pretty good but would have liked more string beans, which were very good, and more anchovies as well

Frisee salad w/ duck breast very nice

Goose breast tougher and gamier than duck but kind of nice, the sausage that came with it was nothing special

Graham’s six grapes Port nice and fruity

Grapes and peaches very nice, perhaps a few too many grapes and not enough peach

Grapes and raspberries, too many of the former and not enough of the latter

Grapefruit salad w/ olives sounded weird but very good

Grapefruit and blood orange salad was very nice, particularly the grapefruit

Grapefruit sherbet OK to pretty good, not quite as sharp a taste as the lemon

Halibut first time fabulous, second time a little bland, pan-fried halibut pretty good, but not crazy about chive mayonnaise, third time with Meyer lemon was pretty good, liked the spinach too and got rid of the fried artichoke that I had tried to escape, liked it a lot the fourth time, with shoestring potatoes and tomato/fennel vinaigrette, and loved it the fifth time just a plain piece of fish with peas and mint and chopped up turnip, and liked it the sixth time, too

Halibut tartare very nice, liked it second, third and fourth times, too


Hand made noodles w/ mushrooms OK but a little bland

Ice cream bombe with orange and lemon sherbet and vanilla ice cream terrific

Lamb w/ vegetables very disappointing

Lamb meatballs w/ couscous and charmoula meatballs a little soft and not as tasty as I’d hoped but pretty good and everything else was wonderful

Lamb shoulder tasty

Leg of lamb delicious taste but lukewarm Randy thought there was too much tapenade, on second try it was a little bland, but the meat tasted great with the minty sauce, liked it the third time, too

Little Gem lettuce salad terrific garlic dressing

Lime sherbet fabulous

Mackerel grilled yummy not a strong fish flavor at all

Meyer lemon sherbet very good for sherbet as opposed to sorbet, second time thought it was fabulous, seemed less creamy and more like sorbet

Mulberries fabulous

Mulberry ice cream fabulous, ditto the second time, esp. with Gail’s peaches

Mushroom (trumpet) pasta very good

Noccino ice cream not bad if you like walnuts

Orange and grapefruit salad very good

Orange, onion and olive salad OK

Oysters, pan-fried, very good

Papardelle w/ beef ragu pretty good but got a little boring after a while, the beef was tasty but would have liked more sauce, esp. tomato sauce

Pasta w/ clams I really liked it, nice and clammy, Randy thought it was too buttery


Pasta with mushrooms and cheese baked, OK but a little bland

Pasta w/ rabbit ragu thought it was terrific

Pasta w/ shrimp and green garlic really liked it, lots of shrimp and a tasty broth

Peach and mulberry tart very good

Petrale sole very good DN like veg that came w/ it

Pizza with parsley and salami pretty good, parsley nice, but salami more like pepperoni and not distinctive

Pizzeta w/ new garlic and herbs yummy

Pizetta w/ morel mushrooms and grenolata very good

Pizetta w/ rapini and pancetta OK not enough pancetta and the rapini wasn’t as good as the wild nettles

Pizetta w/ rocket and parmesan very good, even better with rocket, parmesan and prosciutto

Pizetta w/ tomato sauce and Laughing Stock pork sausage very good

Pizzeta w/ wild nettles very good several times

Pork leg quite delicious

Pork loin w/ english peas too salty but otherwise yummy, second time only fair, third time not warm enough and a little bland

Pork loin salad appetizer w/ frisee and mustard OK the loin was a little bland but the mustard sauce and the greens were good

Pork shoulder w/ string beans very good, w/out string beans was good, too, the beans were very good and even managed to eat the (mashed) brussels sprouts

Pork cooked two ways (shoulder and leg) terrific

Prawns w/ tomatillo and avocado salsa very good


Punterelle salad w/ anchovy and garlic OK wasn’t crazy about punterelles, which are kind of like celery root or endive, little stalks and the dressing wasn’t as anchovy-y as the waiter had promised

Quail very tasty, but a little bland, liked it more on second try, lots of meet for a tiny bird, just a little hard to get at

Deep fried rabbit OK tastes like chicken, and fried chicken at that

Raspberries and plums very good

Raspberry sherbet pretty good, but flavor not that intense

Fish and shellfish ravioli OK but kind of bland

Rockfish, clam and shrimp in saffron broth, with leeks pretty good

Romano beans and roasted figs very good

Salmon very good, second time a little bland, but the string beans and corn relish were good

Salmon brochette OK a little boring, the harisa and charmoula were nice

Salmon salad (king) w/ asparagus pretty good

Sand dab appetizer liked it a lot, even with the bones (the waiter filleted it for me), it tasted so fresh it was a treat to eat

Sand dabs with romescu sauce very good. esp. the sauce

Sardine toasts OK, thought the sardines could have been a little fishier

Short ribs tasty and tender

White shrimp w/ lemon and greens pretty to very good shrimp good but not stellar

Sirloin roast nice slices of meat, with mashed potatoes, Randy thought it was ordinary but I liked it, even though it could have been a little bit hotter

Spaghetti w/ meatballs OK, meat very tasty, but not much sauce (that was the idea), think I prefer a richer sauce

Spaghetti w/ pesto and cherry tomatoes very good, liked it less well the second time, got sort of boring


Spaghetti putanesca liked it a lot, despite the inevitable boredom with a one-dish main course

Spaghetti w/ shrimp, green garlic and fresh peas very good

Squid appetizer very good could have been a little more lemony, second time fabulous, third time only very good

Squid and clams pretty good, local clams not my favorite and there wasn’t enough squid to my taste (too many clams), but the broth was wonderful

Fried squid and fennel OK not great could have done w/out the fennel, tho the celery root was OK

Broiled squid w/ romano beans and cherry tomatoes terrific, second time, too, the squid is always wonderful, liked it with shell beans, cherry tomatoes and a breadcrumb salsa

Squid stew appetizer a little too much wine in the gravy, which was much better separately, the squid was tender, but the flavor was drowned out by the gravy

Steelhead very good, terrific the second time, too, large piece of fish very nicely cooked

Strawberry shortcake OK but thought the biscuits were a little dry

Strawberry-orange sherbet very good, esp. w/ candied orange peel

Strawberry-tangelo sherbet same as strawberry orange

Striped bass Randy had it and it was fabulous

Tangerines and dates were fabulous, esp. the dates, which were like earing sugar

Heirloom tomato salad really good, liked it the second and third times, too, even with Green Goddess dressing (terrific)

Tomato and bread salad delicious

Tomato soup w/ rice pretty good nice tomato flavor not too rich

Tuna w/ majoram pretty good


Tuna (albacore) nicely crusted w/ spice, albeit a little salty, potatoes and aioli nice, too

Tuna toasts appetizer liked it a lot

China Village

Chicken with cold noodles, don’t like cold noodles but Adam liked it

Ching quong chicken very good but too many chili peppers

Cold pork w/ garlic sauce spicy pretty good, only fair the second time as I thought the meat had too much fat in it and a little line of of what I thought was gristle down the side of each piece

Cucumber w/ garlic sauce too spicy cucumbers didn't go w/ sauce

Peking duck OK not great some pieces tasty but some full of bone, not nearly as good as Great China’s

Pork shoulder tasty

Scallops w/ green beans tasty

Shredded duck pretty good too hard to pull duck off bones, seems to be same as smoked tea duck

Village special lamb pretty good

Village special seafood soup noodle OK too spicy and not enough seafood

Watercress very good

Christopher's Nothing Fancy

Beef chorizo burrito very good

Chicken burrito good (but I had ordered pork)

Chicken chorizo burrito very good

Chili verde very good

Chips not as thick or as good as Picante

Garden salad huge and good


Commis

Chilled asparagus soup OK but didn’t have an intense asparagus flavor that you would expect at a place like this

Cheese place nice but not worth the $9 supplement

Chocolate brioche pudding w/ green tea ice cream and puffed rice was a riff on genmai cha tea (explained the server), but didn't really come togher or "pop" re flavor.et

Atlantic cod confit fish was nice and tender and the brown rice under it was particularly nice

Poached and seared guinea hen was also nice, esp, the dark meat

Corned pork salad I liked it but Randy thought it was too salty

Corso

Cappuccino OK a little too bitter

Chicken breast yummy b/c it tasted like it had been cooked with a stick of butter, thought it was kind of bland the second time

Corn soup w/ faro and gunciale thought it would be great but nothing special no real corn taste (perhaps the grain got in the way) and the meat was almost invisible

Pasta w/ duck ragu and olives very good

Pasta w/ braised lamb ragu pretty good, again, could have used a more pronounced lamb flavor in the sauce, but the meat was nice

Pasta w/ clams and squid and a really nice tomato sauce very good

Pasta w/ pork and beef ragu very nice

Pasta w/ rabbit not very good, meat a little stringy and kind of tasteless

Romaine salad very good, quite Caesar-like, nice anchovy-based dressing, liked it a lot the second, third and fourth times, too

Grilled whole shrimps nice (4 of them)

String beans, wax beans, corn and tomato very nice


Tagliatelli carbonara OK but the pancetta clumped together instead of being spread throughout the pasta, which was a little boring without it

Tagliatelle w/ sugo (beef sauce) was nice, nothing really memorable, but tasty

Tuna appetizer pretty good, but little chunks of tuna don’t give you much tuna taste

Tuna carpaccio OK but nothing special

Cugini

Bruschetta pretty good

Cannelloni pretty good

Chicken breast parmagiana pretty good

gorgonzola salad pretty good

Linguine with clam sauce pretty good

Spinach salad terrible tasteless dressing

CU Fusion

Pretty good sushi

Daimo

Bok choy tough

Chicken and string beans pretty good

Pepper and salt shrimp the whole shrimp head and all fried yuck

Potstickers pretty good

Soft shell crab OK

De Afghaan Kebob House

Lamb chops overdone and kind of tasteless


di Bartolo

Pizza w/ shrimp and chorizo it was pretty incoherent, and Randy didn’t like it, but I thought the crust was nice and the ingredients tasty

Dona Tomas

Carnitas pretty good, Randy thought it was dry, but it was better mushed in with the rice and beans and lime juice in a tortilla

Ceviche pretty good, very spicy sauce, would have liked it better w/ a little firmer fish and more variety, thought it was OK the second time, and didn’t like it all the third time, had been sitting out for too long

Carne asada very good

Chicken tamale w/ mole had a bite and thought it was very good

Gazpacho not chunky but quite spicy and nice

Dopo

Chocolate diplomatico very good

Littleneck clams very good

Dopo pizza terrific one of the best I’ve ever had between the anschocies and the oregano

Lasagna napoletana terrific

Squid appetizer very nice, though Randy didn’t like it

Tortellini w/ lamb ragu also terrific

El Nopal

Chicken mole OK

Seafood cocktail OK but not as good as the place on International Boulevard

Shrimp w/ garlic sauce OK but the rice, with the garlic flavor, was particularly tasty


Seven seas soup pretty good broth was spicy and there was a fair amount of fish and shellfish

Elmwood Café

Buttermilk biscuits a little dry but it was late at night and it had probably been sitting around all day

Cappuccino OK

Fat Apple’s

Chicken sandwich a little overdone and tough but OK

Coffee malt fabulous

Fellini

Gypsy salad pretty good, not much blue cheese, but refreshing, liked all the anchovies at first, maybe a few too many (and I like anchovies)

Linguine a la vongole pretty good and very filling, would have liked it a little more with a wine sauce not a cream sauce, but not bad at all

A.G. Ferrari

Asiago Grill OK not great not much asiago taste

Lucchese: not as good as it reads, the tomato pesto overpowers everything else

Sausage sandwich horrible

Fillippo's Pasteria

Linguini puttesca pretty good pasta a little thick sauce tasty

Flame

Blue Burger pretty good

Curly fries pretty terrible

Flavors of India

Chicken tikka masala dry and tasteless, perhaps because we ordered it mild


Fish vindaloo fair not much fish

Garlic naan OK

Lamb biryani pretty good, far and away the best thing we had, liked it a lot on second try, too

Lamb somosas not bad, though a little crumbly

Tandoori shrimp pretty dry and tasteless

Fonda

Asparagus grilled pretty to very good

Bluenose bass w/ clams and mussels very good, as Randy put it, the bass and shellfish in a deeply flavored, nuanced stock.

Calamari really good, liked it just as much the second time, tho Randy didn’t like the se’quil il pak

Cappuccino pretty good to very good

Cazuela w/ chicken mole good, liked it less the second time

Chicken flautas only OK but nice sized portion

Chicken tamale thought the tamale itself was a little dry but the mole was great

Chicken wings lots of them for only $5, they were messy but spicy and good

Chips, salsa and guacamole very good

Chocolate cake light taste of chili excellent

Cornmeal and lime cookies fair

Cuban mini-burger very good once you take out the pickles, nice sausage-y taste, then liked it even with the pickles, nice and hot right off the grill

Duck skewers pretty good, but not enough meat—only a little on each of two skewers, second time there were three, and the meat was OK but not that tasty

Duck tacos very good even without the pomegranate, always good


Duck and pomegranate tacos OK, same w/ duck tacos, duck and pomegranate much better on second, third and fourth tries; as Randy put it, a lovely combination, the speckles of fruit a delicate, sharp complement to the well-prepared duck.

Elotes (corn in spicy corn and on the cob) terrific, and a bargain, too

Fish tacos pretty to very good, more like pretty good on second try, but the price was right, liked them much better third time, better than the duck tacos, fourth time they were fried, not sautéed, which wasn’t quite as good, always good after multiples tries

Green salad simple but excellent

Green salad with tomato and corn boring

Grilled chicken breast very good tender and tasty great sauce

Grilled rack of lamb one small chop very tasty

Grilled shrimp good to very good, second time wonderful, sauteed shrimp lukewarm but fairly tasty, second time warmer and a great tangy sauce (Randy didn’t like it, but I did), and the third time I thought it was really good

Grilled squid tender and very good, just not much of it to share

Halibut on a plank pretty good, not great, fish overcooked for Randy, undercooked for me

Halibut ceviche only fair

Herring too bony and not enough meat a pain to eat

Mango and lime, as Randy said, a perfect end, sweet and sour and lively, good many times

Molotes very good (fried), only good second time, very good the third time, esp, with the bottled chipotle sauce

Oysters only fair had been marinated too long like seviche

Oysters (Fanny Bay) tasted bland after vuelve OK

Oysters (raw Kunamoto) OK rather tiny

Pambazo w/ crispy halibut OK but a little bland


Toasted peanuts the flavor was OK but the peanuts were stale! not to be repeated

Quesadillas OK

Rockfish good a little bland

Scallop ceviche very good lots of little scallops, even better on second, third and fourth tries

Seared scallops really good, too bad there were only two of them (although there were three the second and third times), loved the mandarin orange slices and the sauce, but Randy didn’t like it

Skirt steak salad w/ avocado, nopales, and something else excellent, flavors strong and bright, liked the cactus a little less the second time, but the meat was good

Skirt steak very good, if a little too rare for me, just fine when ordered medium rare

Tamales very good, only good at second tasting, corn tamale soft but terrific, chicken tamale very good, but Randy thought it was “muddy”

Tomato and cucumber salad was nice, but way overpriced for $10, even for heirloom tomatoes and Armenian cucumbers

Tomato salad pretty good except for pumpkin seeds

Tostaditas very good a little too much guacamole for me, liked it better on second try

Tuna tartare very good, esp. without the chips, then on second try thought it wasn’t spicy enough, a little bland

Tuna “tradito” a nice plate of smoked fish very good

Vatapa fish stew OK

Vuelve a la vida (seafood cocktail) very good, many times, finally didn’t like it much, when it only had snapper and shrimp, and didn’t like it again when it seemed dry and not particularly tasty, and wasn’t crazy about it when it reappeared on the menu w/ halibut, nor was it wonderful with mostly shrimp, had it once again, and again disappointing, shrimp OK but the fish was kind of dry and tasteless

Yucca fries I thought they were terrible and Randy ate them all but then regretted it


Gather

Chocolate-coffee ice cream OK didn’t like the consistency

Hamburger my taste was very good

Sausage with black-eyed peas OK the sausage could have been spicier and the peas were OK

Grilled squid liked the squid but the rest of it was only fair

Genki

fair sushi

Giovanni’s

Veal parmesan not bad for this sort of place

Great China

Giant clams disappointing

Double skin little bits of fish, vegetables and noodles, liked everything but the noodles, on second try decided that the noodles were too omnipresent and the collective wisdom was not to order it again

Duck bone soup pretty nice

Seafood and pork dumplings nothing special, liked them better the second time

Mongolian beef OK

Orange beef very good

Peking duck expensive but fabulous nice pieces of duck carefully taken off the bone, crunchy skin, and lots of little pancakes, thought it was dry the second time, and then liked it a lot the third time (but don’t order anything else)

Fried oysters nothing special

Potstickers pretty good

Walnut prawns just fried prawns w/ some walnuts thrown in nothing special


Sautéed crab bland and boring, but then liked it on second try, decided I was right the first time on the third try

Sautéed greens pretty good, esp. the pea shoot leaves

Szechuan scallops OK, but second time appeared to be more like sweet and sour, scallops aren’t firm enough to be good in this dish (shrimp would be better), because the doughy covering tended to separate from the shellish

Shrimp w/ spicy suace OK too many vegetables

Spring rolls Randy and Emily liked them

Great Szechwan (Pacific East Mall)

Flat bread w/ beef OK

Sliced pork like bacon OK

Spicy dumplings OK

Holy Land

Kreplach: OK

Lemonade minty and frothy

Schwerma pita pretty good

Schnitzel, bland and boring

Tabbouleh terrible, dry

House of Curries

Chicken tikka masala Emily thought it was OK

Lamb biryani OK but there was too many hard pieces of bone and other hard things in it, enough lamb for the price, obviously not as good as Khana Peena, second time had no hard bits but not much lamb, either, and Randy thought it was too spicy

Naan OK not great

Huang Tro


Bun with pork and spring rolls filled with pork very good a nice combination

Fried shrimp OK

Spring rolls only OK could have used a lot more filling

Ichiban

Gyoza not so great

Sashimi OK

Ici

Apricot ice cream pretty nice

Chocolate ice cream wonderful

Chocolate malt very good though pricey for not all that much

Chocolate malt ice cream sandwich OK but not as good as it could have been, no real malt flavor in the ice cream

Coffee ice cream more creamy than coffee-y could have used a much more pronounced coffee taste

Lemon w/ amareno cherries the taste I had was fabulous, should have gotten it

Lime sherbet fabulous not too sweet

Mango lime ice cream very nice

Mocha ice cream not that good

Orange creamsicle sherbet very nice

Peanut butter bon-bons pretty good not great—not as good as the peanut butter ice cream at Locanda de Eva

Peanut-praline ice cream nice flavor but vanilla backdrop was a little bland or maybe it’s just that I don’t like vanilla ice cream

Pluot-raspberry sorbet OK not great


Raspberry ice cream not nearly as good as the strawberry, but thought it was fabulous on second try (perhaps because it was free)

Strawberry ice cream terrific full of flavor and refreshing

Strawberry lime sorbet to die for (or perhaps of)

Il Porcellino

Caesar salad fair

Chicken saltimbocca OK not great

Il Porcino

Spinach salad OK

Veal w/ prosciutto and mozzarella pretty good

Jade Villa

Chicken dumplings very good

Foil chicken very greasy

Shrimp toast horrible

Jayakarta

Beef pretty good

Fish cake wrapped in banana leaves the taste was OK but the texture was wierd

Lamb satay OK except for one piece that was all fat

Shrimp wrapped in banana leaves OK

Fried tripe yecch

Jimmy Bean's

Cappucino pretty good

Ham pretty good


Silver dollar pancakes pretty good

Paella great deal for fifteen dollars

Waffles taste like cardboard

Jin Ling

Potstickers OK

Scallops with garlic sauce

sizzling lamb OK

Jo-Jo’s

Cream of asparagus soup I liked it but Randy thought it was burnt

Mussels only OK but nice broth

Seafood stew OK nothing special

Grilled sturgeon thought it was pretty good

Kensington Circus

Caesar salad OK

Chicken barbecue sandwich pretty good

Fish and chips very good, nice light batter and tasty fish and a huge portion, second time the batter was soggy tho the fish was OK

Green salad large and very good

Grilled sausages, pretty good, tho Randy thought that the mashed potatoes were instant

Khana Peena (Solano)

Chicken karatha Emily thought it was OK, not great

Chicken samosa good, no potatoes

Chicken mint tandoori Emily liked it but green is not my idea of tandoori, and Emily really likes it


Chicken tandoori tikka kebob (breasts) OK

Chicken tandoori legs a little dry

Lamb biryani very good, tasty, rich and flavorful, but disappointing the last time I had it, wonderful the most recent time

Poppadum pretty good, could be spicier

Tandoori lamb liked it but missed a little rice meat very flavorful if a bit overdone

Tandoori vegetables Randy thought it was bland

Tomato soup pretty good, but Randy didn’t like it

Vegetable somosas good

Khana Peena (College)

Chicken tikka masala Emily liked it

Lamb biryani pretty good, up to Solano Ave. standards

Lamb somosas almost inedible

Tandoori chicken pretty good

Kirin

Mongolian lamb everything tasted the same as kung pao chicken

Potstickers not bad

Kirala

Hamachi fabulous

Hirame very good

Caterpillar roll very good

Rainbow roll OK

Rock ‘n roll OK


Sushi plate beautiful and very good

Toro fabulous

Korey-O

truly terrible chemical barbecue

La Calaca Loca

Carnitas burrito OK not great

Fried fish taco OK

Grilled fish taco OK fish was very spicy

La Costa

Cocktels refreshing and tasty

Taco asada nice

Taco pastor nice

Lalime's

Butter poached lobster salad pretty good

Caesar salad good but not great, the dressing was a little sharp, and it would have been nice to have a little sliced cheese on top

Chalupas w/ crab pretty good, liked it less well the second time, works better with the avocado eaten first

Chicken breast tagine chicken tasty but a little bland

Chocolate peanut butter truffles pretty good three was a bit much

Crab bisque pretty good, tasty but it did not have intense crab flavor

Duck breast fatty but flavorful Confit too oniony. Plums stupid

Grilled naigari on asparagus risotto and preserved lemon yummy

Grilled sardines OK a little bony


Kobe beef burger tiny, not surprisingly, and tasty enough, but not earth-shattering

Mussels tunisian mussels not very plump and flatbread soggy

Rabbit over mushroom pasta terrific

Romaine salad w/ blue cheese dressing pretty good, very good second time

Sardinian seafood salad with salmon, squid and shrimp very good

Scallops and grapefruit very good

Scallop and lobster appetizer OK they should give up on lobster

Seafood pot-au-feu pretty good

Seared scallops with corn pudding and wild asparagus very good

Soft shell crab a little too oniony for me, but otherwise fabulous

Sopa de lima OK lots of chicken but not enough broth and broth was too salty

Sorbets OK but not great grapefruit and banana good, blood orange fair, apple pretty good, fig only fair

Steelhead tartare liked it a lot

Sturgeon I liked it but Randy thought it was overcooked—she always does—and too salty

Venison and mashed potatoes very good

La Note

Bagnat (hamburger) just OK, should have been better, blue cheese not noticeable, mayo on bun, second time lots of cheese in the meat, though the meat patty would have been better (a la Wood Tavern)

Bouilliabaisse OK to pretty good lots of shellfish and fish but broth not distinctive

Green salad nothing special


Marguez sandwich very good

Spinach salad pretty good, liked it the second time, too

Tuna sandwich not bad

La Piazza (Orinda)

Shrimp w/ proscriutto pretty good

Spaghetti a la vongole pretty good

Le Regal

Catfish fillet terrible and wasn’t a filet, either

Shrimp and scallop w/ basil sauce pretty good

Vermicelli w/ imperial rolls good

Le Rose Bistro

Apple mixed berry cobbler too much apple and not enough berry or supposedly biscuit crust

Bouillabaisse OK not great

Green salad w/ Roquefort very simple and nice, could have used a little more cheese

Halibut simple and nice

Mushrooms stuffed w/ crabmeat and topped w/ provolone OK but what were they thinking when they dreamed this up?

Raspberry sorbet OK not great

Le Theatre

Bouillabaisse OK no salmon as advertised and shellfish not so great

Chocolate mousse OK but no intense flavor, texture wasn’t wonderful and I didn’t like sauce on top (Randy didn’t like any of it).

Hake w/ saffron risotto liked the fish better than the risotto, which was a little gummy


Lemon sorbet good but not great not tart enough and a little too icy

Scallop carpaccio very nice and fresh tasting

Sturgeon and trout salad OK though Randy thought fish was a little dry

Seafood stew only OK only one scallop and not enough fish

Shrimp cake only OK, no real shrimp taste would have preferred sauce on the side

Locanda Olmi

Greek salad OK

Risotto de mare sauce good but shellfish terrible

Lola's

Chocolate soufflé cake nothing special kind of dry and not much icing

Clam chowder OK

Granny Smith apple crisp very good but a little sweet

Mangia Mangia

Fusilli putanesca spicy but flavors didn't come together well

Panzanellla terrible, not bad on second try

Seafood risotto nice aroma but not very good

Spaghetti bolognese not very good funny taste

Manpuku

Good cheap sushi amazing amounts for the price, three rolls had me more than stuffed

Marica

Blackened sea bass very good

Caesar salad very good


Meal Ticket

Chicken caesar very good

Corn pancakes good but a little underdone

Mediterranee

Kibbeh pretty good not too many pine nuts

Tabbuleh pretty good

Mitama

Dynamite rolls only OK

Grilled fish sushi OK nothing special

Saltwater eel sushi OK but too much of it and a little greasy

Sashimi deluxe Randy thought it was terrific and so did I when I had it

Yellowtail sushi OK

Miyuki

Caterpillar roll fun but boring

Crab dumplings deep fried and not very good

Spicy salmon roll spicy and pretty good

Musical Offering

Chocolate decadence pretty good, glad it wasn’t bigger

Pea soup nice

Roast pork pretty good

Salad pretty good (but Randy thought it was overpriced)

Steak one piece had a little too much gristle and the other, while a nice cut, was overcooked


Nama

Liked all the rolls I had (spider roll) except for the one w/ baked salmon

Nan Yang

Five-spiced chicken pretty good and a giant portion for an appetizer

Lamb curry OK the meat was nice but the sauce was insipid

Garlic noodles and seafood nothing special, or particularly garlicky

Seafood chowder OK

900 Grayson

Cheeseburger very good but a little too well done for my taste, fries OK

Nizze la bella

Anchovy salad very good great bite, just as good on the second try, but on the third try thought it was way overdressed

Bouillabaise pretty good, disappointing on second try, broth too thin

Chocolate mousse very good, disappointing on second try, lumpy and too sweet, like eating candy

Ribeye steak nice taste but fairly fatty and one whole portion was very undercooked (had ordered medium rare)

Noodle Theory

Beef udon Randy didn’t like it

Pork and chive dumplings OK

Pork and spicy bean sauce over noodles pretty good

Pork ramen Randy didn’t like it

Shrimp and chive dumplings pretty good, didn’t like them the second time

O Chame

Cucumber salad OK


Grilled eel OK

Mahi-Mahi pretty good

Peaches and blackberries very good nicely arrranged

Soba noodles w/ roasted oysters OK wasn’t crazy about the broth

Blanched spinach w/ sesame dressing fabulous the best spinach I’ve ever eaten

Roasted squid w/ horseradish sauce very good but would have been better if hotter

Seared tuna appetizer very good

Tuna sashimi very good

Grilled walu OK, and the Japanese eggplant that came with it was pretty good

Oliveto's

Alaska spot prawns pretty good but a little messy

Agnoletti (little pasta shells) w/ meat wonderful

Beef liver pretty good and tons on it topped with pancetta and basil, if only it had been a little warmer

Blood orange sorbet Randy loved it but I found it a little sweet like my citrus sorbets tarter

Blue string beans OK but little bland

Bollito misto boiled parts of pig very nice

Brodetto of tomato w/ poached white shrimp very little broth and white despite the tomato base, shrimp tasted a little off

Bucatini w/ sturgeon polpette (meatballs) OK but the execution was better than the idea


Bucatini alla amatriciana tubes of pasta in a tomato sauce that was supposed to be based on guanciale, or pork, but the meat influence was hard to trace, still it was pretty good

Shellfish cannelloni I liked it, Randy thought the sauce was too much like a Newburg, which is probably why I liked it

Goat’s milk cavatelli rigati w/ smoked bluefish, mussels and English peas very nice

Carpaccio of veal w/ bitter greens meat good but greens are bitter

Bittersweet chocolate cake very good but very rich, ditto on second try

Chocolate malt ice cream w/ bittersweet chocolate sauce very good, particularly the ice cream, perhaps not quite enough sauce

Chocolate zuccotto (mousse stuffed in sponge cake) fabulous

Cioppino OK nice broth and the rockfish was nice, as was the bread and aioli, but it was nothing special and not worth $30

Softshell clam cake chopped up clam fried like a crab cake very good nice clam taste without being overpowering

Coffee ice cream OK not great

Coiled sausage (“cippollata”) OK not great

Corn soup (velouta) really terrific

Fried jumbo soft-shelled crab and buttermilk biscuit very nice

Crespelle (a folded over crepe) w/ crab and mushroom very good

Crostante w/ preserved pork didn’t like the pork that much and the overall effect was very salty and oily

Crostante w/ salt cod not so good very oily

Crostante w/ squid very good

Crostante w/ white prawns and green garlic very good but rich

Crostini w/ smoked cod, halibut and something else very good


Raw fish crudo tasty but a very little amount for a hefty price tag

Fish salad trio only OK

Frisee salad very nice

Gazpacho pretty good but not outstanding

Gobeti small tube pasta w/ spicy tomato sauce and squid very good needed a little more squid

Fried marinated haddock served room temperature as an appetizer very good, generous portion and quite tasty

Fritto misto OK and tasty but left me feeling bloated (perhaps it was the whole meal)

Gelees w/ grapefruit and blood orange wonderful blend of tart and sweet

Fried haddock a little too salty but very good

Hearts of romaine very good

Hen rolata I liked it but Randy thought it was boring

Hen tonnato better than chicken but Randy's is still a little better

Involtini (rib-eye beef stuffed with prosciutto, rosemary and parmesan wonderful

Involtini (tuna stuffed with blood oranges, pine nuts and currents) it sounded weird, and took a little getting used to, but eventually thought it was wonderful

Lemon verbena sorbet liked the lemon but the verbena was off-putting, the verbena was not a kind of lemon (as the waiter mistakenly thought)

Lobster bisque pretty good

Lobster, shellfish and duck sausage order it next time, the tastes I had were good

Pressed mackerel and cucumber nice

Seared mackerel good but a little fishy (what did you expect?)


Smoked and marinated fish platter wonderful, ditto the second and third times

Nectarine, lanza (type of proscuitto), walnut and parmesan appetizer sounded weird but it was actually pretty good

Rabbit pate and pork confit were both good in one appetizer

Petrale misto wonderful large portion for an appetizer and nicely cooked and the salsa piccante was also scoop-up-with-bread wonderful

Petrale sole w/ spinach and mushrooms very good, liked it less well the second time

Pollo tonnato good but Randy's is better

Pork scallopine OK, not that flavorful, but the crispy potatoes that came with it were great

Radiotore (radiator-shaped pasta) with lamb ragu, nice, the sauce was rich and had just enough lamb taste without being overpowering

Raviolone of pork shoulder I liked it, thought the flavor was nice, and the meat tender, but Randy thought it was boring

Risotto pilata a little dry {intentionally} but flavorful

Risotto w/ boar sausage and balsamic vinegarvery good

Rockfish soup very good second try OK

Salmon w/ potatoes very good

Salt cod w/ tomatoes a little too fishy

Sardines and tomatoes OK but a little too sardiney (but what did you expect?)

Scallops and mussels livornese wonderful the mussels were so plump and tasty they might have been oysters and the scallops were also very good, as was the sauce

Scallops wrapped in fig leaves (appetizer) really good, nice combination

Spaghetti carbonara OK not great

Spaghetti w/ clams very good


Spaghetti w/ clams, sausage and kale terrific wonderful clam taste

Spaghetti w/ hen sauce very good but tiny portion

Spaghettini w/ squid wonderful

Steelhead carpaccio very good

Strozzapretti w/ ragu little tubes of pasta with a rich meat sauce which was very tasty

Sweetbreads pretty good

Tagliarini w/ asparagus, pancetta and parmesan disappointing, kind of bland, not much taste from any of the ingredients

Tangelo sorbetto very good

Fish terrine platter pretty good

Tuna crudo and avocado appetizer really good

Sea urchin flan unusual but very nice

Venison very rich and tasty

Vitellone halfway between veal and beef (a yearling) it was sautéed sort of scaloppini-style and very flavorful

whole hog dinner grilled pieces of pig OK but all the different pieces kind of tasted the same

Oliveto's Café

Arrotolada pizza dough wrapped over salami, red onion and mozzarella only OK, perhaps because of the onion

Asparagus and fontina sandwich pretty good

Calamari and ceci beans (like garbanzo beans) very good

Foccaccia w/ boar ragu terrific, liked it a lot the second time, too

Iced cappuccino very nice on a hot day


Haddock sandwich very good and the price was right, too

Halibut sandwich came as a salad, instead of a piece of fish, but it was still pretty good

Ham and cheese sandwich grilled very good

Ham and pork belly sandwich OK, pork belly didn’t add much

Lentil and carrot soup looked good

Lentil and chard appetizer OK, not much chard

Moustaccioli w/ vitello ragu OK to pretty good

Pork ragu and mozzarella sandwich, OK not nearly as good as the boar, because it wasn’t heated all the way through

Sardines really good

Trombetti w/ ragu would have liked it better if it weren’t baked and if the sauce wasn’t all on the bottom

Tuna confit w/ avocado OK but surprisingly not made with fresh tuna

Ozumo

Grilled chicken pork meatballs on skewers cooked on robata grill nice

Hamachi sashimi nice

Unagi sashimi pretty good but expensive

Pacific Far East Seafood

Big portions, nut Randy DN like it

rock cod and greens OK but a little bland

barbecue pork

Pasta Pommodoro

Mixta salad simple but quite nice, lettuce, tomato, gorgonzola cheese (perhaps not quite enough) and a vinaigrette dressing


Verdure Randy had it and liked it

Pho Saigon II (Pacific Far East Mall)

Rice w/ barbecue pork OK quite a lot of meat but the barbecue was very subtle, if it existed at all

Spring rolls w/ pork pretty good

Pican

Caesar salad nice garlicky dressing, had a bite even without anchovies, but hated the croutons made of grits and cheese

Chicken livers nice but too much of a good thing

Grilled corn nice, but only one ear for $8?

Cornbread very nice

Carne asada burrito gloppy, liked it on second try, but steak taste got smothered by the rest, but the plate with carne asada could be good

Carne asada taco OK but too much onion, and too many peppers, too

carnitas burrito good, could be spicier

Caesar salad gloppy

Chorizo and papas burrito too many potatoes and not enough sausage

Fish tacos OK, liked them better the second time

Flautas Emily really liked them

Masa boats w/ chorizo pretty good

Pescado veracruzana pretty good nice sauce tasty fish

Pork tamales only OK, not very flavorful, a little bland

Pork tacos only OK too many onions and I’m not crazy about their pork, seems a little bland

Seviche salsa OK but fish a little tough, liked it better the second time, particularly the salsa


Sopa de azteca OK lots of chicken but not very complex

Agua fresca

lime good, but not good mixed w/ orange

Strawberry not good alone good with lime

Picaso

steak burrito only OK, nothing to write home about

Pizzaiolo

Chicory salad w/ apples, gorgonzola and walnuts very nice

Cappuccino as beautiful and good as the Cafe

Pizza w/ wild nettles and pecorino terrific, as good as the Cafe

Puntarelle w/ lemon, anchovy and grana Randy thought it was very nice

Pomegranate

Dolmas good

Hummus Randy thought it looked like cat vomit, but I liked it

Lamb kebob OK but the meat was a little dry and tasteless

Lamb shank OK, not that tasty, Randy thought the sauce came from a can

Pomegranate chicken only OK, not much pomegranate taste

Tabbouleh very good

Renee's Place

Chicken w/ orange pretty good

Lamb w/ basil salty but very good only fair on second try

Lemon chicken pretty good but fried

Lettuce leaves with meat not bad


Scallops w/ orange sauce pretty good, but too fried

Rick and Ann’s

Big salad Randy didn’t like it

Butterscotch pie didn’t like it, muddy flavor, not intense and light, like the butterscotch pot au crème at One Market

Caesar salad I thought it was good, but Randy thought it was gloppy (I did, too, but I liked it)

Chicken pot pie Randy didn’t like it

cornmeal pancakes terrific great corn taste and just the right texture, liked them the second time, too

Eton Mess Randy was surprised to see an English pudding on the menu but they did it well

French fries only OK not very crisp a little soggy, second time thought they were inedible (though I had more than a few)

hamburger pretty to very good but buns not toasted

risotto w/ shrimp and corn pretty terrible the shrimp were OK but the corn and risotto didn’t mix well and the rice was sort of tasteless

Spinach salad pretty good, esp. without onions, liked it less well the second time

split pea soup w/ ham terrific nice taste but a little too much ham for Randy

Rivoli

Blue cheese soufflé OK but I don’t like soufflés

Cappuccino very good and beautiful, too

Cassoulet very good, even better on second try, sausage nice, lamb loin pretty good, but the duck and the beans and the whole taste was fantastic, liked it a little less the third time, but the duck breast was fabulous and there was lots of it


Caesar salad very good everything was just right from the tang of the dressing to the croutons to the romaine lettuce, equally good almost every other time, but didn’t love it the last time I had it

Chicken breast w/ prosciutto pretty good too salty

Chicken liver mousse terrific, we overheard Wendy Bruckner saying it was the best thing she’s ever cooked, and she wasn’t far wrong, the country pate was pretty good, too

Chocolate hazelnut cake OK ditto for mousse that came with it (both of which I only sampled)

Corn pudding (came with pork roast) wonderful, tho Randy said it was due to butter and cream

Corn soup delicious perhaps a tad too sweet and rich, but full of corn flavor, equally good the second time

Lamb stew with pears and couscous thought it was terrific, even with the pears

Leg of lamb delicious, ditto on second try

Lemon cake only OK Randy thought it was fabulous but I would have preferred a more intense lemon flavor and lemon icing, instead of white

Lemon cheesecake delicious, liked it less the second try, thought I don’t like cheesecake that much

Lobster and crab ravioli much better than the ravioli mentioned below, not much sauce to overpower the taste of the quenelles (which was inside the huge ravioli), but could have done without the nuts, a little hard to eat, but I enjoyed it, even though it was unevenly heated

Mahi-mahi w/ red peppers and little pasta the fish was nice but there were way too many roasted peppers and the grilled calamari sprinkled on top, some of which was cold, didn’t really add much

Mixed grill delicious the duck leg was perfectly cooked, with only a little fat, the chicken sausage with OK (the weakest of the three), and the pork tenderloin was terrific, and the cassoulet (beans and breadcrumbs) on the sides was also wonderful

Pork roast the meat was very tender but I thought it was bland, should have listened to the waiter’s description of it as “comfort food.”


Pork shoulder delicious

Risotto “paella” w/ shrimp and sausage very good once I stopped thinking of it as paella and started thinking of it as risotto, which of course is what it was

Risotto w/crab and scallops wasn’t quite as good as the one below, maybe because shrimp work better than scallops (more to them), but it was still very good

Risotto w/ crab and shrimp and sauce nantua and lemon zest was fabulous, everything was just right with the balance of flavors, and splitting it as an appetizer was the right thing to do

Saffron risotto with Maine crab, gulf shrimp, fennel, mirepoix,bouillabaise essence and crab butter didn’t much like it, rice was a little al dente which might have been OK had the sauce been better, but it was too carroty and fennely, not nearly as good as the one above

Saffron risotto with gulf shrimp, dungeness crab, snap peas,mirepoix, shrimp butter and bouillabaise essence liked it much better than the one above, perhaps because of the absence of carrots and fennel

Risotto w/shellfish and tomato pretty good a little bland

Salad nicoise with smoked salmon wonderful

Salmon Randy thought it was overdone, I thought OK but nothing special, liked it better the second time, particularly the gazpacho vinaigrette on top

scallops seared with bits of leek and other things wonderful

grilled scallops and Maine crab in phyllo with ginger and cilantro relish, avocado, cucumber, radish and saffron yogurt fabulous tiny little bits of seafood in a nice sauce with not too much phyllo and tiny chopped vegetables around it, equally good on second try, liked it a little less the third try, but still very good

Scallop and lobster quenelles very good but very rich, ditto the second time

Scallop and lobster ravioli very disappointing, as Randy suspected, the shellfish flavor was overpowered by the ravioli and sauce

Sea bass with potato and chorizo wasn’t crazy about it, didn’t seem to hang together, though the fish was OK

Grill sea bass with saffron rice and gazpacho vinaigrette wonderful, just as good the second and third times

Seafood salad liked it


Shellfish chowder very good tasty shellfish not too rich

Shellfish trio (little crab cake, minced shrimp with fennel and radish and chopped up mussels on toast) crab cake good, mussels pretty good, though could have had more mussel flavor, and shrimp only OK

Shrimp bisque very rich, and lots of shrimp taste, but got a little boring after a while, needed more contrast

Shrimp and oyster chowder really good, ditto the second time

butter poached gulf shrimp with mashed potatoes, bouillabaisse broth, rouille and salsa verde fabulous shrimp was tasty and the sauce was great

Shrimp on corn blini terrific

Grapefruit sorbet very good

Meyer lemon sorbet very good but a little sweet

Orange raspberry sorbet very good

Strawberry sorbet less wonderful than the above

Flat-iron steak wonderful meat but a little too salty but the potatoes gratin that came with it were terrific (and not too salty)

Summer (berry) pudding pretty good, could have used a few more berries and a little more sauce, but I liked it a lot tho Randy thought it was odd to have it in the fall, on second time I thought much too much cake and not enough berries or juice even though I eventually liked it

Hot fudge sundae Randy liked it very much

Swordfish and mashed potatoes very good

Tagliarini w/ tomato and breadcrumbs and pancetta wonderful

Tomato soups (one smoked, the other not) fabulous, second time thought it was too salty, Randy didn’t like it

Tomato lime soup with shrimp very good

Smoked trout appetizer very good except for cabbage


Tuna tartare appetizer very good

Veal loin Randy had it and it was fabulous, even the hollandaise sauce was great

Yellowtail w/ gazpacho vinaigrette very nice

Ruan Pair

Beef pretty good

Beef curry very good

Chicken satay OK

Pork satay very good

Pork pro hak naw very good and quite spicy

Prawn cakes weird not very good

Spicy red curry thin and too hot

Saigon City

Chicken w/ lemongrass I thought it was OK but Randy didn’t like it

Fried calamari OK not great

Grilled shrimp not bad better w/ sauce

Spring rolls OK

Sam's Log Cabin

Cappuccino OK

Corn cakes pretty good

Saul’s

Chopped chicken liver pretty good

Chicken matzoh ball soup terrific stock didn’t taste like chicken

Sable OK not great


Turkey schnitzel sandwich pretty good

Whitefish salad OK not great

Sea Salt

Grilled asparagus very nice the sauce was slightly fishy in a nice way

Bacon, lettuce and trout sandwich thought the trout would be smoked, but it wasn’t, so thought the bacon overpowered the fish

Blue cheese nice and creamy, with a nice sharp taste, but nothing special and perhaps too much of it (and only one fig to accompany it, even though the menu said “figs.”

Brownie w/ coffee ice cream only OK the brownie was too sweet and the coffee ice cream didn’t have a pronounced coffee flavor

Caesar salad very good and cheesy, less cheesy and good the second time, but still OK

Cappuccino only good, not great

Cherrystone clams very good, even better the second, third, fourth and fifth times

Chocolate ice cream in a devil’s food sandwich yummy, reasonably good ice cream between two pieces of devil’s food cake, cut triangularly, a nice presentation, too

Clam chowder very good, lots of clams, potatoes and bacon, even better on second and third tries

Clams (Littleneck) on the half-shell very good, and a rarity for the west coast—they tasted like cherrystones, only a little smaller, second time thought they were a little bland but had good texture

Crab cakes very good, full of crab and less filler than most

Fish and chips very good, cod was tasty and fries were OK, ditto the second time, not sure it was cod

Halibut w/ clams and asparagus the fish was tasty but a little bland and the asparagus were OK, the clams were small and didn’t add much


Halibut w/ crab ravioli OK the fish was nice but the sauce was pretty rick and the crab in the ravioli was a little off—think simpler is better here

Halibut w/ beans and pork the accompaniment was a little strong for the fish, which was also a little overdone, but it was nice regardless

Halibut w/ corn and squash not bad, but not as good as Wood Tavern

Lobster roll only fair to good, esp. for the price ($25), the lobster was mildly tasty but it didn’t taste fresh out of the water (surprise!) and it was swimming in butter, which perhaps they thought would disguise the lack of pure lobster flavor

Mussels were fabulous but we were less crazy about the lemongrass broth it was in

Oysters Randy liked them better than the clams

Roquefort cheese nice piece of yummy cheese

Salmon just had a bite but it tasted wonderful, then we had copper river salmon, which looked beautiful, but tasted just like other salmon, Randy thought it might have been better poached rather than grilled

Sea bass oozing in butter, fish pretty tasty, mashed potatoes and creamed corm were good, but too rich (Randy thought greasy)

Grilled squid OK it was lukewarm, which was my fault, because I let it sit while I was eating chowder, but I wasn’t crazy about either the pesto sauce or the accompanying beans

Sturgeon OK a little overdone for Randy’s taste and there wasn’t much on the side (mushrooms were nice, but not many of them)

Grilled tuna pretty good, I thought, but Randy thought it was salty because of the tapenade

Tuna tartare very good

Shen Hua

Beef chow fun OK

Been sprouts I thought OK, Randy thought they were tasteless

Chicken salad OK but a little boring after a while, lots of chicken


Garlic chicken kind of boring

Pressed duck OK

Steamed fish OK kind of bland and boring

Gen shoa lamb OK not very distinctive, some of the meat a little fatty

Mongolian lamb meat was tasteless

Lemon chicken OK

Mu shu chicken pancakes bad

Potstickers OK but fried rather than boiled

Prawns a la Ching Hua w/ spicy tomato sauce I liked it but Randy didn't

Sesame beef crunchy texture Randy liked it

Shen Hua beef Adam liked it but I thought it was dry

String beans OK

Twice cooked pork OK not very distinctive

Siam Bay

mieng kam leaves topped with roasted peanuts, toasted coconut, shredded lime, dried shrimps, ginger & shallots, served with a tamarind/galangal sauce). Not bad.

Mushroom curry Randy didn’t like it

Yellow curry with mussels and potatoes OK

Soizic

Chocolate cake w/ fudge sauce truly terrible

Halibut Randy thought it was underdone but the piece I had was good

Lamb mignon nice piece of meat but a little undercooked

Smoked trout salad OK but would have liked a little more fish and a little less endive


Somerset

Caesar salad not bad

Fettuccine carbonara not bad

Sophia’s Café

Hummus not bad

Moroccan “cigars” kind of greasy

Southie

Grilled ahi sandwich, pretty nice, but too much fennel for me and perhaps not enough fish (sliced pretty thin), the overall effect was more of a combination and less primary fish than I would have liked

Seared ahi sandwich w/ egg, olive tapenade thought it was terrific thick piece of fish and wonderfully accompanied by olive spread

Beef and lentil soup typically terrific Wood Tavern soup

Butter lettuce salad very nice, didn’t like it that much on second try with orange vinaigrette

Caesar salad pretty good except for bland croutons

Chocolate peanut butter ice cream sandwich very good, even if not more peanut-buttery than chocolate-y,

Crab sandwich pretty good a little too much lettuce and celery for me, and could have used a few more bigger pieces of crab, but the overall effect was nice, much more crab and liked it better, too, the second, third and fourth times

Grilled cheese sandwich very good, dripping with cheese

Green salad very nice, but a few too many croutons

Linguisa and wild rice soup seemed to have more beef than linguisa, which wasn’t particularly spicy, but nevertheless OK

Meatball sandwich very nice

Piggie sandwich nice but kind of soggy by the time it got home


Pork and cannelloni bean soup OK but the broth was kind of thin compared to all their other soups, ditto with the pork and barley soup

Sausage and barley soup nice great like all their soups, not so great in a cup

The “slab” disgusting giant piece of bacon, the fat was gross, so I didn’t eat most of it—bacon is better in moderation

Hangar steak very good, a little too rare for me (not really “medium rare”), but the meat was tasty, as was the creamed spinach and carrots and potatoes

Tagliatelle a la carbonara nice consistency with the egg but could have been a bit more bacon-y

Tuna panzanella very nice, tuna was terrific and the tomatoes were, too

Tuna salad very nice perhaps not quite enough tuna and too much radicchio

Summer Kitchen

Cream of mushroom soup pretty good

Ham and cheese tartine pretty nice, though the cheese wasn’t exactly cheddar

Meat ball sandwich OK thought the bread would be more garlicky

Sura

Pork belly and calamari not bad

Barbecue short ribs not bad, but the meat was so tender it must have been doused with MSG

Sushi California

Dr. Choi roll pretty good

Combination sashimi Randy really liked it

Unagi pretty good

Sushi sho

Spicy cod roe much too fishy


Eel “special A” didn’t like it that much, had an off taste

Yellowtail OK

Tachibana

Cherrystone clam sushi OK but hard to tell it’s a clam

Sardine sushi not bad

Sashimi combination plate Randy liked it

Grilled scallop nibble scallops OK but covered in a sort of reddish spice that was unpleasant

Seared tuna sushi beautiful and good

Toro sushi good

Tacubaya

Menudo (tripe) Randy thought it was OK

Seviche made with tuna very spicy, perhaps not quite as good as the Fonda vuelve a vida but pretty good nonetheless, even though the chips aren’t nearly as good as Picante, liked it less well the second time, when it was served on a plate, there wasn’t quite enough of it and it wasn’t very distinctive

Taco de asada (beef taco) pretty good

Taco de chorizo y papas pretty good if a few too many potatoes for my taste

Taco al Pastor (pork taco) terrific

Taco des Pescado very good

Tamal (pork) very good, second time thought it was even better, particularly the mole

Tamarindo

Chicken mole sort of bland and boring, and not that much of it for seventeen dollars

Corn on the cob OK


Shrimp tacos liked them and the way the flavors all came together

Soup sort of a chili cream soup very nice

Tacos w/ carnitas and asada and roas, the carne asada was good, the port was only OK

Tandoor Kitchen

Chicken tikka masala I thought it was too sweet, but Emily liked it

Lamb biriyani not bad except for a little bone and an occasional hard rhing

Lamb kebob tandoori pretty good

Somosas terrible very doughy

Tara’s Ice Cream

Chocolate tarragon much too much spice

Turkish coffee a bit didn’t wow me

Mocha OK not great

Town House

Calamari: bland, sauce OK, not the Fourth St. Grill, had them again, despite foregoing description and the blandness ruined the whole dish

Caesar salad very good, not so good the second and third times, not enough cheese or dressing, but then liked it a lot the fourth time, pretty good the fifth time, only OK the sixth and seventh times, pretty good the eighth and ninth times

Ceviche only fair kind of dry

Chicken drumsticks appetizer almost ten sticks, a huge portion, and the sauce was good, too

Chicken w/ panko and parmesan OK a little dry and bland but I forgot to use mustard sauce

Chicken picatta pretty good, sauce particularly nice

Chinese chicken salad adam liked it


Chicken jumbalaya very good nice and spicy

Chocolate kahlua mousse looked pretty but the flavors weren’t very intense

Corn chowder very good

Gazpacho very good

Grilled shrimp appetizer pretty good, like it a lot the second, third and fourth times, too, esp. the well-made creamy sauce w/ a little bite

Halibut w/ tomato and beans very nice

Lamb salad OK wasn’t as good as I expected, not quite enough meat and the salad part wasn’t memorable

Lamb sirloin meat OK, but overpowered by mustard sauce

Lasagna nothing fancy but I liked it, even the zucchini and mushrooms around the side, while Randy didn’t

Lemon sorbet terrible, like frozen lemonade

Mud pie OK coffee ice cream nothing to write home about

Pork ribs pretty good, good sauce, not much meat on each rib, but it was tender

Potstickers: Pretty good, but bland, sauce OK

Salmon w/ pico de gallo very tasty but a little rare for my taste

Scallops pretty good sauce buttery and very good

Scallops w/ asiago, green beans and mashed potatoes, liked the scallops OK though the cheese was a little overpowering and sweeter than it should have been, the beans were good, but the mashed potatoes tasted and looked like they came out of a box

Scampi OK not great

Seafood jumbalaya pretty good, lots of little pieces of sausage, but could have use a little more fish

Seafood paella OK not great

Seafood stew very good, though I liked it more than Randy did


Shrimp jumbalaya pretty good would benefit from a little more variety in the seafood but OK

Shrimp provencal pretty good

Swordfish: had by Adam, tasty and moist

Tomato gorgonzola salad pretty good

Veal Piccata: very good, tart and capery, papardelle bland

Trattoria Siciliana

Broccoli rabe everyone liked it

Blood orange and fennel salad too much fennel and not enough orange

Risotta a la marinara I liked it but Randy thought it was gummy and not al dente enough

Sicilian shellfish salad not bad although Randy thought that the shellfish was off

Spaghetti w/ sardines and olives too fishy

Spedini OK little balls of beef with a spicy filling not bad, would have enjoyed if it had come an hour earlier

Squid pretty terrible

T-Rex

Grilled asparagus very good, the spears were tasty and had no sign of being grilled and not too much egg

Baby back ribs Randy thought they were pretty good

Beef brisket dry and tasteless

Cappuccino not bad

Chicken fried bacon I liked it but it’s terrible for you

Chocolate cupcake w/ malt icing really good, just the ticket for a little sweet, esp. with lots of icing


Chocolate malt pot au crème liked it a lot, tho I didn’t taste much malt, tasted more like milk chocolate

Crab salad nice bits of crab, but the lettuce was ordinary and there wasn’t enough dressing (would have been better w/ the green goddess that it should have come with before I asked the kitchen to substitute vinaigrette, and in fact it was better with the green goddess dressing, although perhaps not quite enough crab the second time

Greens w/ pork OK

Hamburger OK but not as good as it should be in a place like this, the meat was a little mushy and sort of blended with the blue cheese, I thought Randy’s was a little mushy, too, on another visit, even though she ordered it medium rare, perhaps you need to order medium, but the taste of the meat was great.

Lamb burger pretty good, tho “medium rare” turned out to be a little too rare for my taste, a little raw in the middle

Oysters special ($1 each) very tiny, sort of like the price

Fried oysters terrific great oyster taste and the breading had just the right degree of crunch without overwhelming the shellfish, liked it the second time, too

Pulled pork tasty and spicy, just right, liked it the second time, too

Salad with goat cheese and vinaigrette I liked it a lot

Short ribs truly hated it, thought it was the vilest thing I’d ever seen, fatty greasy and tasteless

Spare ribs Randy didn’t like them that much, said they were fatty, I thought only OK but I don’t like ribs very much

Truly Mediterranean

Lam with green beans yuck

Mediterranean sampler Randy liked it

Uzen

Anogi very nice large portion

assorted sushi generous assortment for $17


wild salmon sushi terrific big portion

toro very nice large portion

Vanessa’s

Bouillabaisse soup pretty good

Halibut nice piece of fish good

Salmon tartare pretty good’

Venezia

Cream of mushroom soup bland not very mushroomy

Espresso cake very good almonds not a problem

Fritto misto not very good

fromagio rich but good

Green (side) salad OK

Linguini puttanesca OK

Spaghetti with mushrooms pretty good

Venus

Cappuccino a little too bitter for my taste

Green salad w/ blue cheese dressing simple and nice perhaps could have used a little more dressing

Salmon on lentils and vegetables nice but nothing special

Vik’s Chaat

Chicken biryani Randy liked it meat on the bone

Lamb roti flat bread w/ minced lamb in it not bad

Viva

Spicy pork burrito pretty bland and gloppy, too


Water Lounge

Bay scallop ceviche very nice and refreshing despite the mango (which went together OK with the scallops and lime)

Wood Tavern

Almond joy dessert Randy thought it was only so-so

Asparagus salad very nice, refreshing, even liked the chopped egg, which added a very nice flavor

Beef and bean/barley soup very good, great flavor, lots of meat and beans, Beef and Arborio rice soup almost as good but the rice was soft, and I liked it more the second time

Blue cheese pretty good tho the portion was small, what did you expect for $4?

Bouillabaisse wasn’t crazy about it, the broth was too rich and the seafood only OK, so rich that I felt stuffed when I finished, second time thought it was still too rich but liked the seafood, esp. the abundant shrimp, a little better

Calamari and mussel appetizer OK liked the mussels better than the squid kind of bland

Cappuccino OK not great

Caesar salad OK but not as good as I expected, not quite sharp or cheesy enough

Ceviche pretty good but not fabulous like the rest of their raw fish dishes

Roasted chicken I thought it was terrific flavorful and moist but Randy wasn’t that impressed

Warm chocolate cake only had a bite but thought it was terrific

Chorizo and corn soup typically good for their soups

Smoked cod appetizer pretty good

Smoked cod sandwich (w/ bacon and avocado) “sea smoke” was very good, loved it again the second time, lots of fish


Crab salad bland and boring, not much of the promised Banyuls vinaigrette and the prosciutto was on the bottom and didn’t add much

Crab salad w/ frisee was nice, but the melted butter overpowered the crab taste and the ratio of crab to frisee was a little off

Duck leg confit cassoulet very good, large portion with lots of sausage and beans were good, too

Figs w/ prosciutto and blue cheese somehow the flavors came together well, even though the figs weren’t that ripe, on second try the figs were terrific so it worked even better, and the third time I thought it was one of the best salads I’ve ever eaten, the figs were ripe and played against the blue cheese and the vinegar nicely, and the whole thing was on a bed of prosciutto, and the fourth time I liked it but didn’t love it maybe the figs weren’t ripe enough to counterbalance the cheese and there was too much radicchio, and the fifth time I loved the pork belly and the figs

Fish soup pretty good better than wicked fish stew, no fennel and nice tomato broth

Gazpacho pretty good tho the egg not the chunky chopped vegetable kind

Halibut w/ shredded pork, lentils and green peas incredible portion of fish went well with the bits of pork, lentils and peas that added flavor but didn’t overpower the fish, liked it a lot the second time, too, particular as I ate it and the flavors blended more, and liked it the third and fourth times, when it was over creamed corn

Halibut coated w/ polenta on top of sweet corn very nice, liked it the second time, too, and the third time (when it was coated with semolina)

Halibut with guanciale, ham hock broth, mint salad, terrific, despite the odd mixture of fish and meat

Hamburger really good, as were the fries that came with it

Lamb and bean soup very good, sorry that I’d only ordered a cup

Pappadelle w/ pork ragu very good, though I always think I would like more sauce with ragu

Chilled pea soup with mint cool and refreshing even if it could have used a more pronounced pea flavor

Pork, mushroom and corn soup typically hearty and wonderful Wood Tavern soup, lots of meat in it, only problem perhaps a little too salty


Pork belly, beans and spinach very good, as is anything with pork belly

Pork and fig nice individually, didn’t quite work as a combo

Pork shoulder confit tasty but I may not like the idea of a confit too much, too rich, but the chickpea puree and mint were very good, ended up feeling stuffed

Prawns with basil and hazelnuts kind of weird but OK, could have done without the nuts

Prawn cocktail n gazpacho very nice, liked it the second time, too

Prawn risotto pretty nice, got a little boring after a while, and I could have used more shrimp, but it was nice, liked it a lot the second time.

Rigatoni w/ veal ragu OK but would have preferred a more tomato-y sauce, which otherwise seemed to have not quite enough liquid, more liquid the second time, so it was better

Chopped romaine salad very good and refreshing with apple wedges and blue cheese and hazelnuts, also liked it with mint and goat cheese and toasted hazelnuts, but maybe not as much

Salmon crudo appetizer really nice

Seared scallop salad w/ pancetta, couscous and frisee fabulous one of the best salads I’ve ever had everything came together and the whole was very satisfying

Shrimp, bacon and avocado sandwich very good

Shrimp cocktail w/ different kinds of shrimp in gazpacho terrific

Squid and octopus appetizer w/ garbanzo beans very nice, though it could have used more fish and less beans, still liked it a lot

Heirloom tomato salad w/ cucumber and cous-cous terrific, liked it the second time, too

Tuna tartare really good, refreshing

Wicked good fish stew very nice enough shellfish and fish in a terrific tomato broth enhanced by linguisa, liked it on second try, too, didn’t like it on third try, too creamy and full of anise, the fourth time was great because there was no anise only a corn stock, which worked much better.

Fruit plate one cut-up not terrific but OK nectarine w/ too much sugar


Xyclo

Basil chicken OK but a little salty

Fish curry not much fish and fried, to boot

Rolls with sugarcane shrimp OK

Tofu rolls OK

Zatar

Black cod Randy liked it, except it was full of bones (which Brenda’s wasn’t)

Dolmas stuffed with lamb and rice OK, not bad, not much lamb taste

Leg of lamb terrific tasty meat on a very nice grain


Date post:	28-Nov-2014
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East Bay Food

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