Best SF Restaurants, BayBites.Com
Restaurant Reviews In The San Francisco Bay Area
The Cheese Steak Shop in Sunnyvale CA
How’s the vibe? Authentic
Worth the price? Most Definitely!
Service with a smile? On It!
I am addicted to this sandwich….I admit it. I found the Cheese Steak Shop completely by accident while spending one evening in a dive bar next door. (Which was also a lot of fun) The atmosphere is that of a sub shop. Nothing special but that doesn’t matter trust me. The sandwiches can be ordered in a 7”, 10” or of course the big ole’ 15” version. They can be ordered with onions and hot or sweet peppers. Simple and to the point. I think it’s what makes it so special. The sides are again the basics, Fries, Onion Rings, Salad but trust me you are not going there for the sides. I was told that the owner was once affiliated with Gino’s in Philly. That must be the secret. I am from the east coast and up until now I always thought you had to be there for sandwich of this quality. I was WRONG! Do yourself a favor and check this sandwich out. I am totally addicted and I am sure you will be too!
Cheers D-n- A is missing!
Firehouse Grill (East Palo Alto)
How’s the vibe? Run of the mill.
Worth the price? Need a return policy!
Service with a smile? Blank smiles.
Ok. We have all been too many brewery & grills in our day.….right? From the basic to the higher end and in most cases I think we could all agree it’s hard to mess up when it comes to basic appetizers, club sandwiches with one of the home brewed beers. Well I am here to tell you after today….. YOU CAN. We went to the Firehouse Grill in East Palo Alto for lunch and I wish we had better things to say. We ordered what we thought would be a simple lunch. A glass of wine, a Corona, and a child’s drink along with splitting a plate of lasagna and a child’s portion of spaghetti and marinara. The drinks came first along with the child’s pasta. The Corona, and I have to say I have never seen this before, came with what must have been an old lime because it kind of oozed down the neck of the bottle. Also, unfortunately the spaghetti noodle we ordered for the child’s meal came as a penne noodle and it was taken back to correct. No problem. As many parents know sometimes those little things mean the difference between meals actually being eaten. The lasagna came and all in all it was just ok. A very small portion consisting of mostly sauce and four large pieces of bread to fill the plate. Now that being said I have to say that portions these days are always too much and most are meant to be split but in this case, at $13.95, I would have to say…just not worth it. Still hungry we ordered a calamari appetizer and had to remind them that the spaghetti still hadn’t made its way out to the table. Both dishes arrived and again the spaghetti was just ok. The calamari on the other hand was just plain bad. Calamari, as you know, comes breaded, deep fried and crunchy with a couple of wedges of lemon and cocktail sauce on the side. In this case, on the menu, it says cocktail or tartar sauce. The crunch was gone, if there ever was one, because it was drenched in lemon juice already. We had to ask for the tartar. Small detail I realize but we had also had ask for the lemon in the lemon and club soda we ordered. You know lemon and club soda usually comes with the lemon. The waitress, though appeared pleasant, wasn’t authentic. Just doing a job. Too many misses to recommend The Firehouse Grill.
1765 East Bayshore Road, East Palo Alto - (650) 326-9700
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The Lobster Shack in Redwood City
How’s the vibe? Authentic to the bone
Worth the price? On the be back train
Service with a smile? For Sure
Lobster….Lobster and more Lobster!!! I found heaven when it comes to this delicious shellfish and local eateries. The Lobster Shack, in Redwood City, brings the east coast to the west and it is a winner. The decor is simple, much like you find east on the water, with lacquered picnic benches and all the add-ons, including the elusive oyster crackers which you just don’t see that often, right on the table. The menu chalked on a large black board behind the counter featuring what else….lobster and all the other shellfish you desire, and if you want… blueberry cobbler! Cajun music is always playing in the background and you just can’t help but feel you are in the right place at the right time if you got a hankering for shellfish. We started with the lobster bisque. Creamy, delicious and loaded with chunks of lobster. There is no better I can assure you. The lobster roll, which consists of what appears to be a toasted, buttered, double wide, piece of Texas toast spit down the middle loaded to the edges with chunks of the magic meat. And did I forget the side of melted butter to pour on it? And last but not least a half of a lobster made just for cracking and getting dirty. All this and plenty of wine and beer to go too? We landed in lobster heaven. Get yourself down to the Lobster Shack and have some real good east coast style food as soon as you can…..you’ll become an “east coaster” overnight. I promise.
851 Veterans Boulevard, Redwood City CA 94063
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The House of Pizza in San Jose
How’s the vibe? Ghetto
Worth the price? Need a return policy
Service with a smile? I guess so
I would like to find a stew that will give me heartburn immediately, instead of at three o’clock in the morning. ~John Barrymore
We just left, from what I was told, a very famous Pizza joint in San Jose. The House of Pizza. It even has a large sign out front celebrating 60 years in business. Now, I have to tell you…we love one of a kind dives with great food. They usually offer some of the best tasting fare you will ever devour. That being said this was not one of those places. The ambiance, even for a dive, didn’t feel right. Maybe it was too big or maybe it was the design of the room or maybe just odd. The one thing that is interesting is that we sat in a booth where there was a review blown up to poster size hanging on the wall. The review was from 1983. It could have been written yesterday, down to the plastic forks, the crust, the way the pizza is delivered to the table, the way the pizza is cut and a little difficult to handle to the different approach to pizza itself where it was claimed the pizza shouldn’t work but it does. Sorry, it doesn’t. We ordered the combo and a pepperoni. Both were smothered in cheese. That normally wouldn’t be a bad thing but in this case it felt like it was just covering up sub quality ingredients. The salad bar, if you want to call it that, consisted of only about 6 items that made no sense together. We saw one patron fill up on cottage cheese and red beans. Now there’s a salad. There was also one other odd approach to this restaurants business model. You have a bar smack dab in the middle of the restaurant but you had to order food on one counter and drinks on another. Two tabs? Kind of inconvenient for the customers if you ask us. I suppose there are many that like this pizza joint, being that it has been open for 60 years, but we have concluded that there is much better places to sit and eat pizza if that’s what you crave. I would go the extra mile.
527 South Almaden Avenue, San Jose – (408) 292-6882
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Howie’s Artisan Pizza in Palo Alto
How’s the vibe? Run-of-the-mill
Worth the price? On the be back train
Service with a smile? For Sure
One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating. ~Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright, Pavarotti, My Own Storyeatin’.
We occasionally stop off and have pizza especially during the spring break time and the kids are off. You know 6 year olds sometimes will only eat pizza so there is no choice. We discovered Howie’s Artisan Pizza in Palo Alto while visiting one of our favorite “sweet tooth” joints…Kara’s Cupcakes. Back to Howie’s before I go into the cupcake daze. Howie’s is a casual pizza joint with a nice bar and better than average décor. We always order the pizza, which is consistently good. Nice crust with a good crunch and they never skimp on the toppings. We also ordered the Caesar salad and a shrimp dish with a red sauce. Both were just ok. I have to admit we are a bit snobby when it comes to a Caesar, seems everyone forgets the lemon and anchovy paste, as in this case. As far as the shrimp dish, the red sauce was mild with the need for some seasoning including salt. Howie’s is kid friendly and I would recommend it for the pizza.
Town & Country Village, 855 El Camino Real
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Zucca Ristorante in Mountain View
How’s the vibe? Run-of-the-mill
Worth the price? Need a return policy
Service with a smile? I guess so
The belly rules the mind. ~Spanish Proverb
Ok… it’s brunch on a beautiful Sunday early afternoon. Nothing could be better right? Well I guess not. We visited Zucca in Mountain View which claims to be the favorite of the neighborhood who appreciates the “diverse cuisine highlighting influences from the South of France, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and Greece” and man we were disappointed. First I want to say I love this type of food…..but only when it’s done right like all foods. It started with a simple Bloody Mary which was recommended by our waiter. He claimed they were “awesome!” Now we have to say, at this point, we compare all Bloody Mary’s to the Hurley’s Bloody Mary in Yountville in Napa Valley, which if you haven’t had it’s worth the trip, but take that aside…it was awful. It was like tomato juice with I hope Vodka. I don’t believe the waiter actually knew what it was suppose to taste like. Should have stuck with Mimosas but I hate to say it….I think they could have messed that up. The menu was uneventful. It was hard to find something to order, the waiter was no help, and you know how this works, once you have ordered drinks it’s too late……you gotta eat. We decided on the buffet and an order of brie with some fruit. In this case it was strawberries and cinnamon pears. I don’t know how you mess up brie but it was. As far as the buffet I would have to give it a C- at best. Nothing special. Olives and cheese. I would have to say at best Zucca is uneventful and I wouldn’t recommend it unless there was nothing else on Castro St. open and we all know there are many restaurants open on Castro!!
186 Castro Street, Mountain View, CA 94041-1202
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Zibibbo in Palo Alto
Worth the price? On the be back train
Service with a smile? For Sure
It’s difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato. ~Lewis Grizzard
We visited Zibibbo this weekend looking for an answer. Was it as remembered years ago when the menu seemed a little distant to the young palate? Being somewhat new to the bay area I am having a blast hitting all these restaurants known to my partner for many years. We went to have a light lunch on a Saturday afternoon and ended up having an assortment of Antipasti, a platter of seasoned vegetables and an order of Charcuterie and Cheeses. We also added a couple of flights of wine. The Bordeaux and the Sauvignon Blanc. Oh….and I almost forgot the basil martini and a black cherry drink which started out interesting and got less that way as you drank it. Let’s start with the food which was good. Very good. It was simple and to the point but I can’t say there was one unenthusiastic dish or item on the cutting board. As far as the wine I have learned when you order a flight of wine you have some you like and some you don’t. Goes without saying. One common theme that we have discovered in our quest for excellence, and it is sad to say, is that most of the servers these days don’t know the product. Don’t know the menu or haven’t even eaten off of it. We hear a lot of “A lot of people order this” or “I hear it is good.” Not in this case. Now mind you the bartender doubled as our waiter, and in a restaurant that is as big as this one that was a surprise, but he knew the menu, he knew his drinks and he knew his wines . That’s impressive in itself. All in all for as simple as what we ordered I was impressed. I would suggest you check Zibibbo out if you are looking for simple but good quality food and wine. As far as a dinner the jury is out. We will let you know after we have more than just wine and cheese.
430 Kipling Street (between University Avenue and Lytton Avenue), Palo Alto, CA 94301
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Vino Locale in Palo Alto
How’s the vibe? In the zone
Worth the price? On the be back train
Service with a smile? For Sure
Sex is good, but not as good as fresh, sweet corn. ~Garrison Keillor
One of our set goals in life, we have decided, is to always make special memories. Ones that you can own with no one else’s pocket change deposited in the memory bank so to speak. It is always great finding a new place completely by accident that you can do this. We found one of those fantastic places this weekend. It wasn’t about the food, even though the simple dishes, which are comprised of local foods and change daily, were tasty and it wasn’t even about the wine even though we sampled a flight of Pinots Noirs from Muns Vineyard in Los Gatos which was also very good. It was about the place. It’s a place where you can just sit and chill a bit. Vino Locale is actually in an older home in Palo Alto. The backyard where you can sit, look at the sky and just drink the wine. The wines they carry are predominantly from Santa Clara County area as is the food. We spoke to Randy, the owner, and he spoke about Slow Food and his vision of this wonderful place. Vino Locale even supports the local arts with featured monthly artist’s works hanging from the walls. I am also told they have a great Sunday backyard cookout as well which we will of course sample soon. This was an unexpected surprise find and we will be back to spend more time and we suggest you do as well.
431 Kipling Street Palo Alto, CA 94301
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The Left Bank in Menlo Park
Worth the price? Do-able
Service with a smile? No way
A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch. ~James Beard
This week, once again, we stretched the budget a bit and made a visit to one of our favorite places to eat. A French café called The Left Bank, in Menlo Park. Last year when they remodeled they created a beautiful place to visit and eat with the local diners. The ambience is almost perfect, and beautiful by design, especially if you can get a booth. As for the food, it usually is very good along with, sorry, hit or miss service. It doesn’t stop us from going. I don’t know if it is by design or because it is French but sometimes the wait staff doesn’t always smile. On this day however Humberto did a wonderful job. We ordered the oysters and escargot for our appetizers along with a glass of Pinot Blanc and a dirty vodka martini that was poured to perfection. As a matter of fact I had another one it was so good. The only question I have on the escargot is the same question I have for many restaurants that serve these wonderful snails…..did it come from Costco? The little brown dish seems to be in every restaurant and I have seen it at Costco as well. That doesn’t make it bad…. just food for thought. A far as our entrees we had the Canard A L’Orange (Duck) and the Filet De Sol. Both were first-rate and beautiful on the plate. The duck had more of a winter dish appeal while the Sol was light and airy. In my humble opinion the Sol could have done with a tad more sea salt in the recipe. We finished with a delicious strawberry and rhubarb crisp alamode and a couple of glasses of Port recommended by Humberto. The dessert was exceptional along with the pairing of the Port. As I stated before, this has been one of our favorite places for an afternoon or an evening out much because of the atmosphere and we love French food. That being said, it is surprising that a French café would not offer one for the most classic French dishes and one of our favorites. Coq Au Vin! They need this on their menu. As far as the price I suppose it is reasonable based on the soup to nuts approach we took for this meal. Just under $200 which I suppose these days is a little pricey but as stated before ambience is one of the top three reasons to go to a restaurant as we are suckers for great ambience.
635 Santa Cruz Ave, Menlo Park CA 94025
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