Month: March 2013

Theresa’s cousins suggested we all goto Red Crawfish in downtown San Mateo, to satisfy their crawfish cravings. Located in the downtown San Mateo district in a former commercial building along the CalTrain tracks, the decor is modern with a bar and several TVs that were showing sports.

Crawfish and shrimp are sold a la carte at “market price” on a per pound basis. The menu also has a selection of fried seafood plates/platters, stir fried seafood, and various sides (including steamed rice).  They also have some set menus that bundle several selections together for one price and are easily enough to share between 2 or 3 people .  You can substitute items, but there is a $2 surcharge in addition to any price difference (e.g. you can swap out one pound of shrimp for one pound of crawfish, or switch one of the sides for another). We opted for the #1 and swapped out 1lb of crawfish for a pound of shrimp. At Red Crawfish you can specify your spice level: mild, medium, spicy and xspicy. We opted for medium.

Spicy seafood is always better with beer. We were considering the 21st Amendment IPA, but were not sure if we would like it. Our waitress was nice enough to bring us a small sample of it to let us try it.  Clean and slightly sweet,  the IPA would pair well with the spicy food, so we ordered a full glass.

First to the table was the garlic bread and “cajun” fries.

The fries were delivered piping hot, fresh out of the fryer to the table. Garlic bread was toasted well, but was more like buttered toast with some garlic flavor rather than the garlic bread you typically get at Italian restaurants.  I characterize these as “standard” sides, nothing really memorable, but served as decent appetizers. Then, the namesake dish came.

The places I have been to here in the Bay Area cook up crawfish a bit differently than the way I grew up with in Louisiana. The crawfish are not boiled in salty, spice laden water (call a low country in some parts of the country) and served drained of all liquid, but rather par boiled and then served in a plastic bag with the seafood immersed in a steaming, garlicky sauce that is mixed with hot, spicy oil. Essentially what this means is the spice and flavor do not penetrate the meat like the Cajun boil method, but rather relies on surrounding liquid that you get on your hands to season the meat. For extra kick, you can dip your seafood after deshelling into the large pool of sauce in the bag.  This is probably done so the spice level can be set shortly before service, whereas the Cajun method commits the entire batch to one level.  All that sauce also means eating is messy affair, so diners are given lobster bibs and there are entire rolls of paper towels on each and every table. Crawfish and shrimp were firm and not overcooked, which tends to happen with boiled seafood, although I think they may steam their seafood here (the menu offered the option to serve seafood without sauce by as well).  Medium spice was plenty spicy for us, so I imagine the spicy and xspicy are really really hot (think asian spiciness standards). The burn was intense, but not a lasting, lingering burn, so you could still taste other foods after eating a few crawfish.  Besides the burn, the flavor profile was dominated by garlic and lack the follow up punch of lemon and herbs of the crawfish that I grew up with.

The garlic noodles came next and were delightfully chewy and super garlicky (but in a good, not overpowering way), and served as we were digging into our crawfish. It’s inclusion on the menu is probably because the owners of this and other similar crawfish restaurants around the Bay Area are of Vietnamese descent. If you don’t like garlic, this dish, and probably most of the dishes here, are not for you.

We ended up finishing all the seafood, as evidenced by the large pile of shells and empty plates that the waitress cleared from our table before the arrival of dessert, beignets.

Being a native New Orleanian, I have a very specific idea of what a good beignet is and should be, so I was really interested in seeing  Red Crawfish’s version. The “beignets” were the size of donut holes and came nice plated, topped with powederd sugar, accompanied by a scoop of vanilla ice cream, all drizzled with chocolate syrup.  They might as well have been donut holes with a texture, mouth feel like a cake donut rather than a puffy, light beignet. A little disappointing, but I guess it’s their interpretation of a beignet.  Disappointment aside, eaten together with the ice cream, it was a decent albeit non-memorable dessert. Not something I would recommend as a must try, and if not part of the set menu, I would say go elsewhere if you really need dessert.

I would describe Red Crawfish as more of a fusion place rather than as a purely Cajun place because they employ a different cooking method for seafood, infused with some Vietnamese flavorings. If you go in with that mindset, I would say as a  seafood restaurant, it works. Food and service were good, and I can picture it being a fun place to hang out, perhaps even catch a Sharks, Niner, Giants game while eating. I would recommend going in a small group, as the act of messy, hands on eating is something that should be a shared experience. Red Crawfish fills a gap for those living along the Peninsula area who need a crawfish fix, although we feel that there are other places that are a slight notch above Red Crawfish. As with most restaurant choices in the Bay Area, it’s a question of how far are you willing to drive and then wait for a table versus the quality of the food you are getting.

Theresa looked up a pho place in San Jose near 280 and Winchester called Pho 24. It is located in a newish plaza next to the Century 25 theaters.  Decor is nice and the food is a bit higher quality than the normal pho shop.

Sprouts, basil and lime came first on a separate plate.

I ordered the large size bowl and it seemed to be just a bit more broth and noodles compared to the small bowls I saw on other people’s tables, but was a good hearty size. The beef broth, while a bit salty, is not overly salty or over laden with MSG as some places (but it does have some, else it wouldn’t be pho), with less anise than other places I have been to (which is great because I am not a big fan of anise or licorice type flavorings).

Theresa ordered the dry noodle bowl with shrimp and chicken.

My father in law ordered the chicken banh mi sandwich

All the food was tasty, and I would say it’s location is convenient to those that live around the area. Service was friendly and helpful. They even took orders via an iPad, so points for being high tech. Would I drive out of my way to have Pho 24?  Most likely not, but it beats out your typical “fast food” type of pho shop though. If you are ever in the Valley Fair/Santana Row area and need a pho fix, this would be a good place to get it.

Tried a couple of restaurants in nearby strip mall in Santa Clara on 2 separate occasions. Both mostly cater to the lunch crowd which filters in from the nearby offices and businesses.  Both also seem to do a fair amount of takeout business as well.

Bistro Siam opened a couple of months ago and serves up the standard Thai fare.  We tried it on a weekday night, and it was pretty quiet except for a couple other tables.  Ordered the Pad Thai and the stir fried eggplant with a side of brown rice.

MSG is not used in the food, and is prominently printed on the menu. The food was fresh and tasty, and not over cooked, as tends to happen with some Thai dishes.  Pricing matches the bistro name, as it is slotted slightly below a “full service” Thai restaurant like Krung Thai or Amarin.  I think next time I would do take out and eat with my own rice (and save the $2/bowl charge) .

Dona Maria – We had another Dona Maria near our old home, and this branch serves up the same fare.  We chose to dine in, but there is a counter set up to process take out orders. Chip and salsa are complimentary when you dine in.

There are platters that include rice and beans.

You can also order a la carte (e.g. single tacos, enchiladas,tamales, etc).  In our case, Theresa ordered a single tamale and an order of the enchiladas.

If you don’t need beans or rice, I would suggest a la carte, which gives you a lower overall price.  If your table mates are willing, you can always order one platter and share the beans and rice that come with it as well.  Dona Maria is good if you have a hankering for Mexican and happen to be nearby.

I would put both restaurants on my rotation of lunch places or if we are doing takeout for dinner, as the prices are reasonable and fairly good options if you happen to be in the neighborhood.

Dropped by Sweet Cup Cafe in Milpitas for dessert after a Friday dinner. The cafe serves up  Vietnamese style dessert drinks.

Think of the drinks that are served along side steaming bowls of pho, but with a lot more variety.  They have the standard drinks but you can also customize your drink.  The options are quire extensive and it took some time for us to take in all the choices and to make our selections. You can get the “default” drinks, but for a $1 more, you can customize your drink with a whole menu of ingredients, like jellies, fruit (lychee, longan, etc), puddings, sweet beans. You put in your order using the form below by circling what you want and drinks are made to order.

Some of the ingredients available are: lychee, 4 varieties of sweet beans, colored jellies, coconut, tapioca, jackfruit, and even durian. You can specify up to 7 ingredients, sweetness level, and  which “topper” (coconut milk, coconut juice, longan juice) you want in your drink. For $2 extra, you can even make it a “che” drink by having them put a scoop of ice cream on top (they use Double Rainbow brand). If you become a regular, they will even keep your preferred drink on file.

Drinks are fairly large and come layered with whatever ingredients you chose,  topped with a scoop of shaved ice, a spoon for scooping and a large straw should you choose that route of consumption.  Mixing is the normal route, but you can consume it layer by layer if you wish.

Perfect on a hot summer evening and to satisfy your sweet tooth.  Or perhaps after a large bowl of pho you had down the street. Given the dearth of dedicated dessert places near us, this will definitely be on our short list when we are craving something sweet after dinner.

Discovered Tong Soon Garden over 15 years ago when a co-worker from Applied brought me there for lunch.  Located in the “Little Seoul  section of Santa Clara along El Camino Real, the owners are Korean Chinese, and serve up spicy Chinese food.  Their home made noodles make their noodle soups and chow mein very tasty. One of their signature dishes, in my mind, is the Hot and Sour soup.  Normally a soup that is little more than broth laced with some vinegar, pepper, and soy sauce at other Chinese restaurants and something that I don’t even consider ordering, Tong Soon’s version is well stocked with pork, shrimp, tofu, wood ear fungus, bamboo, and “egg flowers” with the right balance of sourness and heat from lots of pepper.

Everyone that I have introduced Tong Soon to has loved it. If ordering for just yourself, like for lunch, order the hot and sour noodle soup, which is just the soup with their homemade noodles added.  If you are doing family style, order some other dishes and perhaps a chow mein. Most everything is good there, but definitely don’t skip the soup.

Taking a trip of nostalgia recently. Ice cream cones served up “old style”

As a kid, there was nothing better than an ice cream cone after dinner, especially when your parents took you out to a place that had ice cream treats.  While I enjoy places that serve up “premium” ice creams and fancy fro-yo, sometimes I hearken back  to “old school” ice cream.   We have a Foster’s Freeze fairly close to our house, and not having grown up in the Bay Area,  I would describe it as a local version of a Dairy Queen. They offer soft serve ice milk which can be made into shakes or dispensed into cones.  They also offer a chocolate dipped version which coats the ice cream in a semi-hard chocolate shell.  And it’s ice milk, so it’s not as bad as other soft serve ice cream, right?

Theresa has tried to get me to try ice cream by the scoop from Rite-Aid, which she has had since her childhood. I’m thinking, it’s probably just ice cream made on contract by a company like Dreyers that someone digs out of a large container in a store freezer case, What’s so special about that? She finally convinced me to try it tonight. While I was somewhat right about the ice cream itself, (tasted like something I could get out of a Dreyer’s or Breyer’s ice cream box), what stood out is the way the ice cream is put atop the cake cone.  Rite-Aid has a proprietary ice cream scooper contraption that reminds me of a caulk gun or extruder except without the narrow applicator tip, similar to the tool that scientists use to take core samples of ice,. snow, or soil, but without the jagged teeth.  The form that the ice cream takes upon extrusion is that of the cake cone, except inverted. What this means in practice is it eliminates the variability between different employees, effectively packs the ice cream so you don’t have any air pockets,  and results in  a single “scoop” that equates to 2 scoops at your local Baskin Robbins or Swensons (for those of you from the South). At under $2, you definitely get your money’s worth.

 We opted for Cookies and Cream and Malted Chocolate Crunch.  They have about 10 flavors in total when we went there, but they were out of Theresa’s favorite, Mocha Almond Fudge.  Who knew Rite-Aid Ice Cream was so popular? Great value and they carry on the tradition of drug store ice cream.  Reminds me of the old K&Bs in New Orleans.

On our way up to San Francisco, we decided to stop by the Little Lucca Sandwich Shop and Deli, which was recommended by one of Theresa’s co-workers.  The shop looks like a tiny converted house.

2-3 sandwich makers man the service counter, which is just inside the door. Coolers with drinks and racks of chips line the tiny room, with specials posted on the wall. Sandwiches come in only one size and you can choose the type of bread along with the filling.

When I saw the prices, they seemed high to me, but Theresa mentioned that based on all the reviews on Yelp, the size of the sandwiches are large.  We opted for the rotisserie chicken bacon provolone ranch sandwich on dutch crunch and is served hot. Additional options included lettuce, tomato, mayo, Little Lucca’s Original Garlic Sauce,  hot sauce, pickles, and mustard.

Constructed and layered properly, it comes wrapped tight in deli paper.  This sandwich is large and substantial. Definitely share, or expect to take about half of it home. Meat portions are fairly generous. making the sandwich rather thick  and it’s pretty difficult to put all the layers in your mouth, unless you have Dagwood’s jaw.  What separates Little Lucca sandwiches are the 2 sauces/spreads that they use.  Makes for a nice Italian twist on whatever sandwich you decide to get.  The bread is fresh and holds up well to our very “juicy” sandwich by not falling apart, being too spongy nor so chewy as to require violently yanking at the sandwich with your teeth coupled with a violent jerk and pull with your hands.

There is no indoor seating, but there are tables set up in the “alley” along the side, which opens up to a small back yard with more tables.  The day we went was very sunny, relatively warm, and not that windy, which is unusual for the area. On a typical bay area day or a rainy day, I would advise taking the sandwich to go or eating in your vehicle. Also, the shop only gets a set number of bread loaves each day, and because of the popularity, your choice might run out if you get there later in the day.

Verdict:
While the sandwiches are very tasty, a good value, and judging by the fairly long line, even during the mid afternoon when we went, extremely popular, I think not living close to the shop would deter us from going up to South San Francisco just for the sandwich. However,  I would put this on the top of my list for a hearty lunch if we happen to be in the area. Just remember that these sandwiches are for sharing.