iScream

.

More of a traditional ice cream than Ici or Tara's, but a very similar place all the same with the metal tasting spoons and everything else biodegradable. One nice feature is that you can mix two flavors in a single scoop. I mixed chocolate (good) and peanut butter (probably the best peanut-butter ice cream I've ever had). Lady Steed mixed salted caramel and ginger. (At Ici earlier this week she had basil and candied meyer lemon; I had candied meyer lemon and cocoa nibs).

As a Great Thing, I like Ici and Tara's better, but I don't think iScream is really competing directly with them. They have more traditional flavors but sell like them (though the store itself not as ambientic) . . . . I guess they're like a cross between Fenton's and Ici.

Anyway, quite good, not overly expensive (but they do only take cash), and close to home. I imagine we will go again.

Taqueria Talavera

The older kids are off at cousins camp this week, which means that we have been going out to eat much more than usual. Tonight we chose Taqueria Talavera mostly because it was not Asian food (have you ever noticed how many Asian restaurants are on Solano? The majority are Asian and we had Thai last night so we needed something different) and it was still open after 8pm.

I remember reading reviews of Taqueria Talavera a few years ago on and they were not favorable. Very negative in fact and mostly about the extreme rudeness of the staff. But I am happy to say that we did not have a negative experience.

Baby A got the child's bean and cheese burrito. He loved it. He ate two thirds of it and it was a good size for a child's burrito. It was just black beans and that yummy mexican cheese but it was very tasty. Yes, I took a few bites, mostly when I needed a break from eating the spicy burrito Theric ordered.

Theric and I each picked a different burrito and then split them so we each got a half of each burrito. We had planned to eat in the restaurant but Baby A started throwing a fit so Theric went and changed our ordered to go, which they kindly did. So, our experience with service there was positive. The cashier was very friendly and even answered my question of "Which do you prefer" when I was trying to decide what kind of mole burrito to get.

Theric ordered a burrito made with lamb meat. This burrito had a fancy name but we can' t remember it, but it was the only item on the menu with lamb. Inside was roasted, shredded lamb, rice, black beans and supposedly some tomatillo salsa. The salsa application was very light, too light in fact. The only way that I knew that some salsa had been put on this burrito was because I kept seeing large pieces of cilantro and little tomatillo seeds. The cilantro was appreciated though; it added a nice contrast to the super spiciness. This burrito was fine, just not amazing or even that interesting, which was what I was expecting since it had lamb--the lamb flavor was not strong and the overall flavor of this burrito was just spicy with hints of cilantro. Very spicy. Theric however thought it was very very lamb-y tasting and thought the chunks of lamb were too large. I would not recommend this particular burrito.

(The issue might, of course, be that sometimes one half of a burrito is not the same as the other half of a burrito. If you've ever been to a taqueria, you know what we mean.)

I would recommend the burrito I ordered which was a pork mole burrito. There were two moles to choose from and I went with the not-sweet one. It was so good, I loved it. That burrito was filled with pinto beans, rice, shredded pork, pickled onions, and the mole, of course. It was delicious. The onions were a nice addition--they added a nice crunch and a tang which complimented the mole flavor. Theric thought the mole burrito was very good, great in fact and he doesn't even like mole. We both agreed that when we bit into it we thought "Oh wow, this is something new and delicious--let's put more in our mouths!" Yum yum! Order this burrito when you go.

As for cost, it wasn't super cheap but not too expensive. I think the burritos were around $8 and the child's burrito was $4.75. It also came with some really delicious tortilla chips, freshly made and we took home a little bit of each salsa from the salsa bar. All were good, but our favorite was the avocado salsa. Overall a satisfying meal.

Bangkok Jam

.

Bangkok Jam (this one not this one) is at the top of Solano, right at the corner of MLK It's door calls it Michelin recommended and they do take out. Which is good because we didn't want to take the baby to a restaurant at 9pm.

Pad Thai (with beef) $8.95

Of course when visiting a Thai restaurant for the first time one must order pad thai. How else can one compare it to every other Thai restaurant one has visited?

It was very good. The only thing the baby ate in fact (noodles only). We now know that Baby A loves pad thai.

For my taste, not enough bits of peanut and the beef and tofu were notably overcooked, but overall a perfectly passable pad thai. Nothing much else to say about it. It was pretty average and we have certainly had better pad thai. If we go back, we won;t be ordering pad thai again, unless Baby A is with us.

Bangkok Street Dish: Ginger Dish (with chicken) $8.95

This is a ginger-lover's dream. This might pack the best ginger punch of any non-candy, non-straight ginger food I've ever eaten. And it's good too. I enjoyed the pleasant ginger-y burning it left in my mouth. It had chicken, carrots, green beans, onion, ginger slices and mushrooms in a gingery sauce (not creamy). The chicken was cooked just right, very tender. Better than the pad thai, more interesting, more fun to eat.

Pumpkin Lover (special) $9.25

This looked rather currylike but was not a curry (says Theric; Lady Steed says yes it did so have a curry flavor to it). It too was much more fun and interesting and tasty than the pad thai. Lady Steed is learning she loves Thai foods featuring squash. It also had chicken and other vegetables. The sauce was creamy. Plus there was basil--it was delicious!

The Rice

White was normal. Brown tasted normal but looked purple, not brown. The brown rice we make at home is always brown so purple rice was surprising but also very pretty.

Conclusion

The dishes came together into a nice meal. We would certainly eat there again, but probably won't for some time. We've still got a lot of places left to try.

Oh, Solano. Thou art so crowded with restaurants.