King Tsin

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With the two older boys out of town and our original plan shut down for Passover, we went for Chinese (now I know that Christians go the same place on Passover as Jews do on Christmas).

King Tsin has been serving up Chinese food since 1967 and Lady Steed's long been attracted by the large painting of a dumpling in the window with the caption DIM SUM and something about it being fresh daily. And because Emerson Cod loves dim sum so much and she's never tried, it, she really wanted to go here and try this.

We had twice-cooked pork, and umbrella egg over pork and noodles, and pork dim sum (not their precise menu names, but close enough).

All three were quite good. A bit more oil than per my preference, but reasonably delicious. Didn't rock my world or anything, but quite good. The twice-cooked was supposed to be "SPICY" but it wasn't. Which was kind of our entire experience in a nutshell. Good, but lacking in pizazz.

The staff was friendly and we and the baby enjoyed our meal. We arrived around, oh, 6:15 Monday evening. The place was maybe 25% full (by the time we left --- not even close when we arriced) and I had the sense that many of these people were regulars. So maybe they know which dishes are the best to order.

And what did Lady Steed think of her dim sum? She was pretty disappointed. Especially because it had a big shrimp in it. She ordered pork! What's this seabug doing in here my pig???

She did, however, think it was very pretty. And is considering returning to try the dim sum again. (So many options!)

(Note: come to think of it, I actually ordered twice-cooked LAMB, but I was too hungry to send it back. The lamb probably would have been more interesting.)

inal cost for three meals (less tip): $27.71.

Sophia Cafe

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Mr Fob and FoxyJ were in town to visit and Foxy had been speaking of falafel and we have a falafel joint near our house (plus it had yet to be marked off Eating Solano) so we went there yesterday for dinner. They shared a falafel sandwich (as did we). We also got a "Kufta (Mediterranean style burger)" and some extra falafel and cigars ("fried pastries with ground beef, garbanzo beans and fresh cilantro") to share with the kids. They also got a platter with some eggplant stuff and a bunch of hummus and pita and I don't know what all. Then we walked across the street and sat at a table in the Greenway and ate. When the kids finished they threw baseballs against the BART supports.

The boys found the falafel too spicy (something I find bewildering as they prefer their Mexican with some kick) but still liked most everything well enough. I've never quite gotten the appeal of falafel myself, but really loved the kufta. If we go again I suspect I'll get that. The hummus was thick as clay and too tahina-ey for my taste but very good when part of a sandwich. Just not alone. I think it may also not have had lemon. Anyway, it's not the way Lady Steed makes it and that's how I prefer it. So it may not be fair to judge. I have this bias.

Anyway, all that food cost about $30. Not quite but almost.

Then we went back for dessert. First up: marzipan-stuffed crunchy pastry (x4), ends dipped in chocolate. Baklava (x2) with superdry crispy flakes atop as everyone seems to prefer it and rose water-infused honey atop. Me though, I like my baklava more chewy than dry in terms of mouthfeel, but I recognize this is because I'm Wrong. I can deal with that. It was still good of course, but the sticks were the definite favorite. Dessert was another $15.

Final decision? I liked it all. I would be happy to accompany someone there. But even my favorite thing (the kufta) did not beat my remembery of Jerusalem's burger. So if I want Mediterranean ground beef, I might well go there instead.

LADY STEED's ADDENDUM

I liked the falafel sandwich but I really liked the falafel on its own better. If I were to get falafel again I would just get it as falafel balls. They would be like the french fries to the burger. (I loved the kufta.) Plus I really loved the cigars.

I wouldn't get the baklava again. I agree that I want my baklava more chewy. And those other cookies we got were A MA ZING. I would get them again. But the baklava was way too expensive. Too small for $3.75.

Anyway, I liked it. It was good. I would go there again. Try some of their other things, maybe. But not the baba ganoush (the eggplant thing Fob and Foxy got). Mostly because it had the same texture as snot.

Sunny Side Cafe

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Saturday morning, February 19, in the rain

Theric had orange french toast. And it was delicious. Could it have been more orangey? Yes. Was it absolutely necessary? No. Was is utterly satisfying as it was? Yes.

On the menu this was described thus:

Orange French Toast made with poppy seed bread

Lady Steed's:

The Alameda mushrooms, Hickory smoked ham, roasted tomatoes and emmenthal cheese, sandwiched between two pieces of savory French toast. Topped with two eggs over-easy, Hollandaise sauce, and a balsamic reduction

This was delicious. And enormous. So enormous, by the end, you almost wish it wasn't so delicious because then you could just stop eating it already.

New rule: everything will always be better with a balsamic reduction. Holy. Crap.

So good.

We also had orange juice and hot chocolate which were merely a normal sort of good. One almost wishes for Tropicana when the oranges being freshly squeezed are heading out of season. And a small glass costs as much as half a gallon of the Florida stuff. Besides, green or not, ain't no such thing as local cocoa so they might as well have matched.

The whole menu looks delicious. Even including all the things soaked in bourbon and dipped in espresso.

We didn't have to wait for a table on a (rainy) Saturday, though Little Lord Steed, in his first restaurant appearance, had plenty of people to watch.

So a delicious breakfast. A "green" breakfast. And, really, a rather expensive breakfast.

But still. Did you read the description of The Alameda? You should totally go.

Bua Luang Thai

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The beef pad thai was mediocre to pretty okay, but let's talk about that pumpkin curry!

Now, I'm pretty sure it was actually --- I don't know --- acorn squash or something, but that doesn't change the fact that this curry is wholly delicious and one of the best darn things we've had in a while. A sweet, orange curry (we got chicken) with the squash, bell peppers, this and that. Terrific.

The pad thai serving was very generous and the pumpkin curry was about what you would expect. We may return for the curry, but will probably pass on the noodles.

Another Gordo's Post

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Lady Steed says: Just get the pork. Nothing else. But considering our goal is to eat all of Solano and we've been here before, it's clear what's our favorite.

Theric says: This time we had a carnitas and a beef super burrito. Both had the yummies well distributed. But now that Lady Steed is a master of shredded pork herself (to say nothing of our mastery of salsa and sauces), I'm not sure there's much point in going to Gordo's anymore. Was it good? Yes. Was it excitingly massive? Yes. Was it worth it? I'm not so sure.

(previous Gordo's posts)

La Farine

We drive past this bakery often, but I always take real notice of it when we drive past it on our way to church each Sunday morning. So many people heading there or leaving there or hanging about outside, sipping coffee and eating some bakery item. It is clearly a popular spot and so I finally got around to trying it back in August 2010.

I can not recall exactly what I got but I do remember that everything seemed pretty expensive and good....not GREAT mind you, just good. Which means, I suppose, that the cost didn't measure up to the taste. Which is too bad. It is a lovely patisserie though. Very bright inside, good smells, and the cases are filled with so many delicious looking things, it was very hard to decide what to get. I had to let at least two or three people go ahead of me since I knew it would take me a while to decide on what to purchase. Unfortunately I can not recall everything but I do remember a few of the items:

Focaccia breads: I got two or three different flavors. One had olives on it. They were the perfect size for a little lunch. Theric and I split them. They were fine but not that great. We both said we wouldn't buy them again.

Chocolate croissant: Very tasty. I haven't had one of these for a long time so it was nice to taste but it did not at all measure up to my gold standard; the chocolate croissants I ate when I visited Paris when I was in high school. Of course, no American croissant will probably measure up to that standard.

Tea cakes: These were little cakes in a daisy like shape. They were very cute. And they were definitely the best thing we got. Moist, tender and, best of all, almond flavored. There may even have been marzipan in them. If I stop by La Farine again I will be purchasing one of these lovely and delicious little cakes.

I purchased at least two more items because I let Big O pick something out for himself and something out to bring home to his brother (the Big O and I went to La Farine after he finished up at his dentist appointment), but I can not recall what the items were, probably cookies, gingersnaps? I am sure the boys liked them.

I probably won't go here again. While everything was good I only consider one item to be worth going back for and the cost of the items just didn't measure up to the tastes.

Shik Do Rock

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Shik Do Rock has long been high on our list of places to go, being that I've got Korean food in my blood, but our laziness at going out to eat means it wasn't until this week, with the kids gone, that we swung by for takeout. The inside of the place looked nice, but we didn't eat there so let's move to the food. We ordered three dishes.


잡채

We selected japchae for two reasons: It's generally good, no matter where you buy it and because we were trying out foods palatable to a general American taste for an event we're hosting next week. The Japchae scored. I can't remember when I had a better example of these meaty noodles and I can't wait to have them again. Lady Steed and the baby agree.

불고기

Though delicious, the bulgogi was the most disappointing thing we tried. Like japchae, we bought it because most Americans can dig bulgogi, but while tasty, this meat was unremarkable.

김치찌개

Unlike the other two, I bought this just for me. I had been craving a kimchi jigae (a stew made, basically, from throwing kimchi and a couple other whatevers into boiling water) for days. And it satisfied me immensely. Wonderful, Wonderful stuff. To my amazement, the baby loved it too. When we ran out of japchae I tried giving him some of the tofu out of the jigae and he ate it as fast as I would give it too him. Today, eating leftovers, we wanted some again, but I'd already given him all the tofu, so I gave him kimchi, onions and zucchini. Everything in kimchi jigaie is stained red with Korea's national condiment but that didn't slow him down. I think I have a new favorite son.

Lao Thai • Soul Food Kitchen

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2. Sa-Tay 6.50

Grilled skewers of marinated chicken served

with cucumber salad and peanut sauce.

The chicken itself was so-so, a bit dry and not super flavorful. But the peanut sauce....oh man, that was fantastic. The peanut sauce made this dish. The cucumber salad (cucumber chunks with super thin slices of red onion in dressing) was very tasty. Again, it was the dressing that made this so very tasty. It was clear and on the sweet side. Yum. Wish there had been more.

17. Larb* 6.95 (with duck 7.95)

A Laotian staple made with your choice of chopped

chicken, beef or pork and seasoned with lime juice,

powder, cilantro and mint leaves.

With a name as unappetizing as Larb we thought this would be the adventurous dish to try. I was skeptical when I saw it, it is not a very pretty looking pile of food. We got the pork. The most striking thing about it was one particular flavor which we think was lime leaves, even though lime leaves are not mentioned in the description, I suppose they could have been mint but the flavor was not exactly 'minty'. This dish was spicy but not overpoweringly so. There was also a slight chemically taste to this dish which we think was the lime leaves. With each bite I was thinking, "Hmmm, I like this, wait no I don't, ....wait, now I do..." By the end of our meal I had decided that I did in fact like Larb, despite the fact that it contains an ingredient referred to only as 'powder'.

42. Pineapple Fried Rice 8.95

Steamed rice-fried with eggs, onions, pineapple,

cashew nuts, tomatoes, prawns and raisins.

I love pineapple so when I saw Pineapple Fried rice I knew I had to try it. Sadly, this dish was disappointing. The overall color was yellow, which made me think it might have a slight curry flavor, but no. Rather there was no flavor. All the additions to the rice, the nuts, raisins, onions, etc all tasted as they should and thank goodness for that because otherwise this dish would have been colored rice, that didn't even taste all that much like rice. So, I think this rice is meant to have something very flavorful served on top of it, fortunately we had Larb and some of that peanut sauce. The rice, with either of these, was then a very delicious meal. I wonder what made the rice yellow? Was it supposed to add flavor? Because I suspect that it was actually a flavor remover.

When Theric picked up our order, the place was free of customers, but the kitchen was busy with takeout orders which were slowly piling up.

You can see more of their menu here.

House of Curries

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Tomorrow Lady Steed's brother's wife is making the family Indian food and we are in charge of bringing naan. So, House of Curries. But naan costs fifty cents more if that's all you buy, so we decided to get Sada Karayla (Bittermelon Cooked with Ginger, Garlic & Onion 5.99) and Chicken Vindaloo (Chicken Cooked with Potatoes in Special Vindaloo Sauce 6.99) to accompany our eight naan. But they were out of bittermelon so instead we got Daal (Yellow Lentil 5.99). And those we ate tonight. (We'll bring the leftovers with us tomorrow.)

The Chicken Vindaloo was excellent. Highly recommended. The Daal was okay. Lady Steed thought both were too spicy to taste.

We called our order in and the noise there was bad. They did not ask how spicy we wanted it, so we don't know how hot or not it was intended to be.

Note also, in the sidebar, that House of Curries now has a website.

House of Curries

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Great again. The idea was to feed the kids so we kept everything mild, but they still decided to mix hummus into their chickpea rice to cool it down. But the chicken curry was sufficiently mild.

One word: the naan is huge. Keep that in mind when ordering.

Jerusalem Organic Kitchen

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It's been a couple weeks so please forgive the paucity of details.

Lady Steed ordered a Jerusalem burger, which is a lamb burger and she loved it. It was filled with tasty herbs and spices and whatnot. Her original plan was just to get a standard cow burger, but switched over and did not regret it.

I had a --- I think it was called a schwarma? It came in chicken and lamb and I also went lamb. And let me tell you: this was one of the most exciting things I've eaten in a long time. It punched my face with the spicy, and it provided a medley of flavors I was utterly unfamiliar with. Would that all meals could be so filled with delicious novelty and intrigue!

It's not as varied as the menu at Barney's, but I can certainly see why it's Solano's "other" burger place. And it's the one I'll vote for next time.

(And next time we'll write up our experience quicker.)

(Also: We got Dr. Brown's sodas which are always a treat. Lady Steed got Black Cherry and I got Cel-Ray which intensified in flavor the more my mouth burned. I plan to get that again our next trip to Jerusalem as well.)

Jodie's

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Jodie's is one of the tiniest restaurants I've ever seen (seats only six on the inside), but I've walked past it numerous times to enjoy the smells and a few words with Jodie himself. This visit was waaay overdue.

Jodie's is famous (literally) for two things: breakfast and fried chicken. We went for the fried chicken this time and although I'm not much of a fried chicken connoisseur, I must say: this may well be the finest fried chicken I have ever eaten. And the fries were tasty too. Spicy! And the toast! And, again, I'm not a connoisseur of toast, but this was delicious. I think it must've been made on the grill.

Near Miss: Rendez-Vous

Decided to go here for a late dinner on February 14th, have been wanting to try it. But after sitting down and looking over the menu, I realized that there was nothing that sounded like something I would want to eat at the moment. Plus, it was pretty expensive--I didn't want to pay 20 bucks for something I wasn't really craving. So after a bit of discussion with Theric, we left. We were both hesitant to do this since we had just been seated five minutes earlier, but I had decided I did not want to eat there, plus, they hadn't even brought us our waters yet. I noticed some other people were heading for the door and we made a break for it--Theric got his foot stuck on the table, but he made it out too. Sorry, Rendez-Vous. But I promise to come back some other time, maybe for breakfast or lunch. I would love to try your french onion soup sometime, but tonight just wasn't that night.

What was I craving you ask?

A sandwich. A hot sandwich, something with melted cheese and some meat. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find such a place after nine pm? Much harder than I thought it would be. We found a Denny's though and I found exactly what I wanted. It wasn't gourmet but it satisfied a craving, think of me what you will. Yum.

(Note from Theric: his skillet sucked.)

The Last Walker's Pie

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By now, Walker's is long gone. A Solano institution, caput. According to online review sites, it kind of deserved it, but we had to have a pie before it was gone, so on its penultimate day of business, we went in and bought a Blackbottom Pie.

When we cut into it, we knew we had made a mistake: vanilla pudding over chocolate pudding. Brother.

But actually, it was pretty good. Much, much better than a pudding pie has any right to be. The chocolate was certainly not from a box, so that was good.

It's just too bad we'll never get to try their rhubarb.....

Gordo's (part ii)

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We returned to Gordo's tonight for a couple super burritos, takeout. The chile verde was excellent, the carnitas pretty good. If you pay for the tomato salsa, you might want to consider the mild--the other had almost as many peppers as tomatoes (and not enough cilantro) and was muy violent on the mouth. I also learned that you can ask for their green hot sauce and they'll give you little containers for free. It's the same sauce they put on the burritos.

House of Curry

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Today we swung by House of Curries to get a take-out lunch for us and the boys. It was good. Not the best Indian food we'v ever had, but it was good. Lady Steed says the Chicken Tikka Masala (O's order) was excellent--better than when she ordered it at Cafe Raj. It was sweet and reminiscent of tomato soup. Lady Steed asked for a yellow curry and Theric got her the chicken curry. It was good, pretty spicy, and curiously sour. Both chicken dishes had what Theric thought were enormous pieces of chicken--and they were, but smaller than the pieces at Cafe Raj.

Theric ordered something whose initials were P.P.--a spinach-and-cheese concoction that was somewhat hotter than the curry (but not unbearable) and tasty. The cheese was mild. Lady Steed liked it but isn't sure she would order again. She may make that decision after leftovers tonight now that the kids are in bed.

The basmati rice was, naturally, delicious. The garlic naan was enormous and, Theric thought, not that great. Lady Steed can only talk about its size and that it was good and very thin. They have about ten varieties of naan and if we return (which we probably will), we'll have to try another kind.

All three dishes were $5.99 and sufficient for that price. $5.99 was the most common price on the menu and nothing went over ten dollars.

The staff were friendly and gave Theric roughly a two-and-a-half-dollar discount for it being his first time. They also offer free chai. We don't drink chai, but that's a cool thing to do anyway.

We're looking forward to returning and trying them again. Good food, good price, good variety, close by. Good combination.

And they have really cool chairs.

Cactus Taqueria

April 12

Mom and Dad were visiting and agreed to get dinner for us but it had to be take out. Big O really wanted burritos so we decided to go here again.

We all got Burritos Mejor and paid the extra dollar for guacamole, though Mom and Dad did not detect any on theirs. Mine had it, but not very much--which was all pretty upsetting. Theric and I got the Chile Verde burrito, one pork, one chicken, with black beans and Mexican rice. Very good though the pork was FAR superior to the chicken. Theric says: "The pork was AMAZING!!!" and it was. The chicken was not. Which was strange since last time the chicken was so good. Theric points out that the chicken last time was shredded, while this chicken was just chunks which made it very uninteresting. Mom and Dad got the Carnitas burrito and were seriously underwhelmed plus they didn't get any guacamole after paying the extra dollar! Cactus is now off their list of acceptable places to eat. Big O got the regular bean and cheese burrito and he liked it. I had a bite of his leftovers a few days later and it tasted good to me.

I think the lesson we have learned is to watch them make your burrito if you order the guacamole because they might not put it on.

Mom and Dad paid for the burritos--thanks!

While Theric and I waited for our order we got drinks and cookies. Aguas Frescas: I had pineapple and Theric had Watermelon. They were delicious. The Alfajores (caramel filled cookies) were VERY delicious! Though at a dollar each rather overpriced.

Cactus does not make the best burrito, the search for the best burrito (close to us) still continues. However, I would like to try some of the other dishes they offer and might go back for Aguas Frescas and the Alfjores.

Cafe Raj

Cafe Raj: North Indian and Pakistani Cuisine

Ate here back on March 31, right after my dentist appointment. Mom took Oliver, Samuel and I out to lunch here.

I had been wanting to try Cafe Raj because anytime we have gone past it, especially on the weekends, it has always looked packed--which of course is an excellent sign that the food is good.

We went for lunch so it didn't seem very busy, though we did wait quite a while for our food. The atmosphere is casual. The servers were all very nice. In fact our waitress came over to Oliver, squatted down so she was face to face with him and had a little conversation with him--it was very cute. So, it's a comfortable place. Also, it is clearly authentic as everyone working there is Indian and all the voices come from the kitchen were Indian sounding.

I ordered the Chicken Tika Masala. This is the first time I have ever had this dish and I didn't really like it that much. I do not know if my not liking it very much is due to the way it was prepared by this establishment or just that I don't really like this particular dish. I also ordered it mild and there was no heat as far as I could tell, so next time definitely need to get medium. Mom had some sort of mushroom curry, which I did not get to try as Samuel was very unhappy and I had to walk home with him. I got to take about four bites of my food before leaving. Overall it was not a good dining experience but that was entirely Samuel's fault. Mom really liked her mushroom curry though. The next time she was over here she wanted to go again.
The Naan bread was very tasty.

Definitely need to try this place again. But from this first time eating there I would say it's good but not as good as Bombay House in Provo.

Subway, Berkeley

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Two Subways on Solano--one in Berkeley, one in Albany. We had a giftcard so we walked to the closer one (Berkeley) and shared their new Carne Asada sub.

First: We went because of the giftcard. I don't really understand why someone would go to Subway when they have the cornucopia offered by Solano, but, well, people must. At least this one carries some allegedly excellent old-style San Francisco ice cream. Which, alas, we did not try.

So! We ordered the sub--came to nine bucks (!)--and then their computer wouldn't take the giftcard. On top of the register was a placard encouraging us to add more money to our card so we could buy with the convenience of the Subway Card! and their machine wouldn't accept our card. So we ended up Amexing it. We were annoyed but didn't feel like getting into an argument over it or walking out. (We just did this with our bank on Wednesday. We're not fully recharged yet.)

For nine dollars of our own money, we would have much rather eaten somewhere else. We walked by a new place (forget the name but it started with an L--need to find out so we can add it to the sidebar) that was gourmet central and they were selling little tiny gourmet pizzas that looked a lot better than....

Anyway, the sandwich. We didn't stay to eat (can you blame us?) so we walked a few blocks to the park and ate their. It was okay. It won't be replacing burritos anytime soon, but it was okay. It actually had some heat to it, which was a happy surprise and the flavors were fine, but there was nothing remarkable about it.

I like Subway fine, but it's rarely if ever what I want. More likely, it's just the only thing around. Besides McDonald's. And seriously--who eats at McDonald's? I haven't bought anything at a McDonald's since 29¢-hamburger Fridays back in '98. (But I won't lie: they were tasty.)

Subway is just so . . . dull. And although this sandwich was less dull, it was still far from exciting. Although, I should mention, it was easily the biggest sandwich I've ever gotten at Subway.

Still. If we were going to spend nine bucks on a sub, we would have gone to Safeway. Those people make a good sandwich. (And! They're on Solano!)

Zachary's Chicago Pizza

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Good. Wildly expensive pizza. (Thanks Theric's dad!) Not like any other pizza we had ever had.

We should go back, take out a mortgage, and buy a slice to share.

This was quite a long time ago: November 21, 2006.

Next time we intend to buy one of their classic options.