Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Late lunch after surfing
Lulu's on the Alameda is an awesome, fairly inexpensive Mexican eatery next to the Goose. I went with Tia, Alex and Tom to treat our surf instructors for a late lunch following an awesome morning of surfing in Pacifica. I think it came out to under $9 per person for a pretty filling lunch plus fried chips and great guacamole to munch on in the meantime.
There is a big counter to order to stay or for take out. There are cafeteria-like tables and chairs indoors and some patio furniture with umbrellas out front.
The menu is pretty big from appetizers to a la carte burritos and other goodies to platter meals. The platters can be up to $13 or so, but the burritos are generally around $8 or so. I had the low-carb burrito with the shredded chicken -- low carb means no beans or rice, but it was plenty filling. Chicken was a little bland but they have a salsa bar which you can go nuts with (beware the orange creamy one, really hot...)
Great place to grab am inexpensive and quick lunch or dinner with awesome choices :)
3539 Alameda de las Pulgas, Menlo Park, CA 94025
(650) 854-TACO (8226)
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Caffe Riace
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Dinner with LDP group
So before I start, I will preface my comments with Caffe Riace is a wonderful place to have a lazy lunch on a sunny day. By lazy, I mean service is not fast at all so expect to take your time, but also because Caffe Riace has all outdoor seating and it is wonderful to sit in the sun.
For dinner in Palo Alto though, it gets kind of cold. Especially when there is slow service with everything from ordering to the bill to re-lighting your heat lamp. The last one is important.
Caffe Riace is located right inside the corner of Oregon Expressway and El Camino in the business district. During lunch hour, the parking complex is completely full, as is their patio dining area. The decor is interesting--Romanesque fountains and statues of pontificating naked men all within the inner courtyard of an apartment complex.
The food is pretty good. They have traditional antipasti, I like the melenzane (eggplant) one. Caprese salad and bruschetta are other options. For dinner tonight, I tried to custom order gnocchi with bolognese sauce (gnocchi is on the menu with a different sauce, and the shells with bolognese was a special). It ended up working out, but the waiter tried to push back because they have a small kitchen? I had quite a bit of food envy when Jeff Y and Andrew's seafood linguine came out, it was quite spicy with lots of stuff on top. Sarah also had a great chicken dish.
The antipasti range from $7-$10 and main dishes $15-$25, so we ended up at $35 per person including tax and tip (and without wine).
Overall, Caffe Riace was not that impressive today, though I was happy to spend time with my LDP group again. I recommend going for lunch when you have a lot of time.
200 Sheridan Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94306
(650) 328-0407
Dinner with LDP group
So before I start, I will preface my comments with Caffe Riace is a wonderful place to have a lazy lunch on a sunny day. By lazy, I mean service is not fast at all so expect to take your time, but also because Caffe Riace has all outdoor seating and it is wonderful to sit in the sun.
For dinner in Palo Alto though, it gets kind of cold. Especially when there is slow service with everything from ordering to the bill to re-lighting your heat lamp. The last one is important.
Caffe Riace is located right inside the corner of Oregon Expressway and El Camino in the business district. During lunch hour, the parking complex is completely full, as is their patio dining area. The decor is interesting--Romanesque fountains and statues of pontificating naked men all within the inner courtyard of an apartment complex.
The food is pretty good. They have traditional antipasti, I like the melenzane (eggplant) one. Caprese salad and bruschetta are other options. For dinner tonight, I tried to custom order gnocchi with bolognese sauce (gnocchi is on the menu with a different sauce, and the shells with bolognese was a special). It ended up working out, but the waiter tried to push back because they have a small kitchen? I had quite a bit of food envy when Jeff Y and Andrew's seafood linguine came out, it was quite spicy with lots of stuff on top. Sarah also had a great chicken dish.
The antipasti range from $7-$10 and main dishes $15-$25, so we ended up at $35 per person including tax and tip (and without wine).
Overall, Caffe Riace was not that impressive today, though I was happy to spend time with my LDP group again. I recommend going for lunch when you have a lot of time.
200 Sheridan Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94306
(650) 328-0407
Izzy's Brooklyn Bagels
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Breakfast with Lowell
Izzy's on California Ave has great bagels and other foods. My current favorite happens to be a toasted sun-dried tomato with lox cream cheese ($3.50). Btw, different than the bagel with lox, which is also a great option.
There are other food options at Izzy's, and it looks like all of them are Kosher. Their site says "under rabbinical supervision," and apparently they even have a Kosher pizza. Anyway, I liked the spinach boureka, the kniche-like little filo pie, that I had this morning.
477 California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94306
(650) 329-0700
Breakfast with Lowell
Izzy's on California Ave has great bagels and other foods. My current favorite happens to be a toasted sun-dried tomato with lox cream cheese ($3.50). Btw, different than the bagel with lox, which is also a great option.
There are other food options at Izzy's, and it looks like all of them are Kosher. Their site says "under rabbinical supervision," and apparently they even have a Kosher pizza. Anyway, I liked the spinach boureka, the kniche-like little filo pie, that I had this morning.
477 California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94306
(650) 329-0700
Mediterranean Wraps
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Dinner with Julia
Julia and I had a cheap dinner date last night. She wanted a taco salad from Salsa on California Ave and I went to Mediterranean Wraps across the street. I've had the Baba Ghannoush platter before (yum), but I wanted a little more variety so I went for the combo vegetarian plate for $8.95 with hummus, baba ghannoush, tabouleh, 2 falafels, 2 dolmas, Greek salad and pitas. Good deal. One of the cooks gave me a falafel to munch on while I waited for my order, Julia said you always get a free one in line. They also have all sorts of meat dishes, and it was hard to pass on the lamb after watching the rotating tower of kebab meat.
So Julia snuck in her Salsa salad and we staked out a seat in the back corner. One of the owners came over with two hot teas for us. We sheepishly explained that we were split on dinner choices. He said it was ok because they actually owned Salsa as well! Nice!
The tea was great, really sweet and went really well with both of our meals. The food is awesome, the veggie combo platter is all cold except the falafels (perfect amount of seasoning) and the pita. Love the food, and love the super friendly staff.
425 S. California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94306
(650) 321-8189
PS: My favorite cheap eats places in Palo Alto -- Mediterranean Wraps (Greek food, California Ave), Salsa (Tex-Mex, California Ave), Pluto's (huge salads, University Ave), and Rojoz Gourmet Wraps (huge burritos and wraps, Town and Country)
Dinner with Julia
Julia and I had a cheap dinner date last night. She wanted a taco salad from Salsa on California Ave and I went to Mediterranean Wraps across the street. I've had the Baba Ghannoush platter before (yum), but I wanted a little more variety so I went for the combo vegetarian plate for $8.95 with hummus, baba ghannoush, tabouleh, 2 falafels, 2 dolmas, Greek salad and pitas. Good deal. One of the cooks gave me a falafel to munch on while I waited for my order, Julia said you always get a free one in line. They also have all sorts of meat dishes, and it was hard to pass on the lamb after watching the rotating tower of kebab meat.
So Julia snuck in her Salsa salad and we staked out a seat in the back corner. One of the owners came over with two hot teas for us. We sheepishly explained that we were split on dinner choices. He said it was ok because they actually owned Salsa as well! Nice!
The tea was great, really sweet and went really well with both of our meals. The food is awesome, the veggie combo platter is all cold except the falafels (perfect amount of seasoning) and the pita. Love the food, and love the super friendly staff.
425 S. California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94306
(650) 321-8189
PS: My favorite cheap eats places in Palo Alto -- Mediterranean Wraps (Greek food, California Ave), Salsa (Tex-Mex, California Ave), Pluto's (huge salads, University Ave), and Rojoz Gourmet Wraps (huge burritos and wraps, Town and Country)
Monday, April 30, 2007
Grove Cafe
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Brunch with Lowell, Carolyn and Mal
Grove is a wonderful little cafe on the corner of Chestnut and Avila (between Pierce and Scott). We met Carolyn and Mal for a noonish Sunday brunch. There are seats on the sidewalk outside as well as benches along a large window that looks out into the street. You have to get in line to order your food or drinks, but they bring them to you at your seat.
AWESOME Bloody Mary's, thick and spicy with garnishes of spicy peppers, olives and green beans. They also come in a glass that has to be a foot tall. The food was equally impressive in size -- the breakfast burrito looks like a baby seal -- and you can ask for additional ingredients like bacon or guacamole. Carolyn and Lowell had Dave's Downfall (I think) which is a eggs benedict with avocado. Sides of bacon, salad and 4-cheese mac & cheese were nice too. (We might have overeaten). Our neighbors had some good looking coffee drinks.
Cute brunch place with great Bloody Mary's. Parking is a pain but it is the Marina.
2250 Chestnut Street, San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 474-4843
Brunch with Lowell, Carolyn and Mal
Grove is a wonderful little cafe on the corner of Chestnut and Avila (between Pierce and Scott). We met Carolyn and Mal for a noonish Sunday brunch. There are seats on the sidewalk outside as well as benches along a large window that looks out into the street. You have to get in line to order your food or drinks, but they bring them to you at your seat.
AWESOME Bloody Mary's, thick and spicy with garnishes of spicy peppers, olives and green beans. They also come in a glass that has to be a foot tall. The food was equally impressive in size -- the breakfast burrito looks like a baby seal -- and you can ask for additional ingredients like bacon or guacamole. Carolyn and Lowell had Dave's Downfall (I think) which is a eggs benedict with avocado. Sides of bacon, salad and 4-cheese mac & cheese were nice too. (We might have overeaten). Our neighbors had some good looking coffee drinks.
Cute brunch place with great Bloody Mary's. Parking is a pain but it is the Marina.
2250 Chestnut Street, San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 474-4843
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Ottimista Enoteca-Cafe
Sunday, April 29, 2007Late afternoon drinks with Carolyn and Lowell
Ottimista is a wonderful wine bar on Union Street in Cow Hollow (SF). There are covered seats with heaters on the patio outside in addition to their homey tables and wine bar inside. Their staff is super nice and helpful -- Carolyn and I could not decide between the prosecco and bubbly moscato, and the waitress let us taste both before bringing us a very healthy pour of our final selection (I love moscato, like dessert in a glass). Think our glasses were $8 and $9 each.
While we just had wine, it looked like they also had a nice selection of small and large plates. Also looked like they have a pretty good wine club with quarterly shipments and pick-up parties.
I like the concept behind their name. Per their site, "Ottimista Enoteca-Café gets its name from the Italian translation of the word 'optimist', chosen by owner and eternal optimist Melissa Gisler, who believes that at the wine bar, as in life, the glass should always be half full."
1838 Union Street, San Francisco, California 94123
(415) 674.8400
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