Delicioso!

 courtesy of the Tropisueno website

Oddly serene and highly delectable is a small side street called Yerba Buena Lane, between Mission and Market, in San Francisco. Among popular hangouts such as the Press Club and Amber India, lies a favorite of the local Monday-Friday and weekend crowds, the Mexican restaurant Tropisueno. As the website states, it's a taqueria during the day, and a full-service restaurant during the night. I visited on a Saturday, and the place was buzzing even though surrounding offices were closed. The lunch menu is printed on a wall, there is no menu card. Smart and unpretentious, lively music, soft colors, and a vista window chronicling the continuous movement of people up and down Yerba Buena make this a nice place to be. Solo diners, families, couples and business groups seemed to be equally comfortable and chilled. Most of all, the food is quick, fresh, and delicious. The watermelon juice in particular is fabulous, you have to try it! And the chips and awesome dips are free. What's not to like?

Tropisueno is located at 75 Yerba Buena lane. Visit it here.

The Himalayas in Sausalito

Although we live in Redwood City, we pretty much drive everywhere between Sonoma and San Jose on a typical weekend, exploring and revisiting favorite haunts. Last weekend, I had a craving to go to Sausalito, a pretty and upscale town north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Their main street is touristy due to the San Francisco - Sausalito ferry, but the restaurants are not exactly tacky. However, after some YELPing, we decided on a small Nepalese restaurant called 'A Taste of the Himalayas' located a little farther away from the visiting throngs.

The GPS took us a couple of blocks away from 2633 Bridgeway - their address advertised on Yelp; the restaurant is just before the intersection of Coloma and Bridgeway, on the right, going southbound on Bridgeway. It's a small establishment next to a Mexican restaurant, and has a cozy and bright interior, painted in warm colors.

As soon as you walk in, the kitchen is to your right, and friendly staff get you settled in right away. Pictures of Himalayan landscapes adorn the red wall, and the quiet location in the middle of the hills does make it feel as if you've escaped the drudgery of everyday life. The menu is a mix of Nepalese and Indian food, and is quite eclectic. A dish which wowed us instantly was 'Samosa Chaat' - I've had samosas and chat separately, but never a combination. 'Chaat' is a savory and spicy combination of ingredients like puffed rice, pieces of boiled potato, garbanzo beans, peas etc and tomatoes, raw onions,  chillies, all mixed up in a tangy tamarind and yogurt sauce. It's considered a snack in India, and a favorite of all age groups. The unlikely marriage with crispy and fresh hot samosas was enticing and delicious. Then, we ordered some momos  - they were essentially potstickers, but with an aromatic and medium spicy chicken filling, which was unique. The presentation was pretty, with six momos laying on a bed of a well-seasoned sauce. I believe the appetizers were around $8 each, and the entrees around $14. Again, the entrees were a mix of Nepalese and Indian, and came with either steamed rice, or vegetables. The portions were generous, and the price reasonable for the quality and freshness. Service was friendly and swift, and the ambience peaceful. Thumbs up!

Turkish Delight

Nestled between the vintage Fox Theatre and the delectable bakery Pamplemousse on 2399 Broadway in Redwood City, California, is a hidden gem, New Kapadokia. It is inconspicuous and demure at its location, but full of substance and quality. I was seriously craving Mediterranean food - Greek, Lebanese - that sort of thing, and did not want to drive around. I searched online, and found that this Turkish restaurant had some decent reviews.

As soon as you enter and are faced with a long and narrow rectangular aisle flanking tables on both sides, a friendly    face is there to greet and guide you. We were exquisitely swished onto a nearby table, and a bread basket arrived even before we sat down. The service throughout the meal was impeccable. The menu is extensive and eclectic - I have to recommend any Kebab dish! The meat on the skewers were as tender as they were bursting with barbecued flavors. The Turkish beer that my husband ordered was rich as a stout, chocolaty and wholesome. I only wish I sampled their Turkish wines, but that's for my next visit.

The restaurant is clean, pleasant, and the Turkish music in the backgrounds transports you to a quaint establishment in the back streets of Istanbul. It's not cheap, but it doesn't break the bank either. The price reflects the high quality of the meal, and if you've never tried Turkish, you owe it to yourself to try something different. Street parking might be hard on a weekend, but the Century 20 parking lot is only a few blocks away.

The only caveat for me are the early closing times - between 9 and 10 pm depending on the day. I have this vision stuck in my head: mingling with people smoking hookahs, drinking Turkish wine and dancing to the exotic tunes into the wee hours of the morning, but I guess I'll just have to visit Turkey for that.

Image courtesy of Restaurant.com

Some Thai recommendations

The above picture is courtesy of Kate R on Yelp - the appetizer 'Dancing Prawns'

I would like to rave about two places in particular. One is situated in Redwood City, sandwiched between generic shops in a rather nondescript mall. But gems are usually hidden like this, and all thanks to Yelp for pointing this one out. Although it does not look like much from the exterior, Karakade, as this restaurant is called, is very cute inside, attracting a smart and young clientele in the know. Bright colors and tasteful decor increase your appetite once you walk in. Karakade also provides take out, which I have been taking out at least once a month, and they never fail to disappoint.

The portions and the quality of the food are both highly commendable. Classics like red and green curry prevail and are delicious, but try the spicy eggplant with tofu. Or chicken basil noodles, or the amazingly aromatic garlic prawns. The food is amazingly cheap given its quality, and if you live in the San Mateo County area, you certainly want to give this a try.

The above picture is courtesy of Amy L on Yelp - Siam Thai restaurant in hotel Parc 55

My second recommendation is 'Siam Thai' restaurant in downtown San Francisco. Like Karakade, it's a 'hole in the wall' kinda place, and is not in the least bit fancy. However, it is (at least structurally) part of the pretty smart Parc 55 hotel, and as a result, attracts plenty of tourists who want to eat well on a budget. Service is fast and courteous, and the dishes are really tasty. The prices are unbelievable as well.

Minutes from Union Square, this is the perfect place to have a hearty lunch or dinner before you embark on numerous city tours.

Karakade
Siam Thai - 55 Cyril Magnin St (inside Parc 55) between Eddy and Ellis, (415) 362-7456

Cute Italian in Sausalito

(Picture courtesy of sfeater.com)

Just returned from this cute and elegant little restaurant in Sausalito, Marin County.  Sausalito itself was a discovery.  I didn't expect to have such a good view of the San Francisco skyline from its quaint little downtown promenade called Bridgeway.  Amidst tourist shops, jewelry stores and fine art galleries, one can find the Piccolo Teatro di Sausalito.

The interior is very enticing: a mahogany bar, hardwood floors, a fireplace, and soft recessed lighting. Smartly-uniformed waiters greet you graciously.  The food is very flavorful and the selections are refreshingly different from those found in a standard Italian restaurant.  The portions are not huge, however, and bread costs $2.5.  In spite of that, the delicious and finely cooked food is definitely worth it.  For two people, my recommendation would be to order three of the 'Small Bites' priced at $2.5, and three selections from the 'Primi' and 'Secondi'.  This was enough for the both of us.  With wine and a soft drink, the bill came to about $70.

Piccolo Teatro is located on 739 Bridgeway, Sausalito.  

 

Top Hot Dogs in Berkeley, CA

I found this photo on a blog called ZeroDivide, and this summed up Top Dog for me.

I first went to Top Dog as a summer school student at Berkeley in 2003.  A cheep and cheerful place with dogs to satisfy both poverty-stricken students and those with a bit more cash to spare. My second visit was in Oct 2008, and coincidentally, on a football game day at Berkeley (Cal v UCLA!).  Berkeley was buzzing, and although the Bears won, Top Dog was bursting at the seams with fans from both sides.

There is no line here.  There are two guys behind the grill, one minding all the meat, and one taking all the orders and miraculously remembering them in order.  There are even veggie and healthier meat options.  It's fast, economical, and delicious.  What more do you need?

Top Dog also have a branch in Oakland, CA.  Check out their website below.  Have you been to Top Dog? What's your experience been like?

Top Dog

Xanh, Mountain View

Who'd have thought that the suburbs could have this much panache? Nestled among the many thriving eateries on Castro in Mountain View, is Xanh.  Cool fusion Vietnamese cuisine offered in great style.  You first enter an amazing New-York style lounge bar, dimly lit in electric blue, with a DJ churning House/cool RnB in the corner.  The bar looks pretty busy and happening. Sleek, geometric, and ample white seating look striking against all the blue in this room.  Huge Christmas tree-like glass balls hang from the ceiling.  This is where you'd hang out with your crowd before the hostess whisks you into one of two main dining areas.

This was a Saturday night, and it could not have been more packed.  However, the lighting in our dining room was a little too bright for my liking, especially compared to the dim coolness of the lounge up front.  Anyway, the food made up for that.

The spicy and sour soup for $10 was ample and wildly aromatic.  The only complaint was that it seemed warm rather than hot, and so we had to send it back for a quick zap.  My main plate was 'Catfish in a Clay Pot'.  It was perfectly marinated, exuding sweetness and spicy tones at the same time.  Heavily laden with chillies, ginger, garlic, and possibly honey, it was heavenly with simple jasmine-steamed rice.  The meal ended beautifully with a swig of impossibly sweet Vietnamese coffee, sweetened with condensed milk.  

All in all, a stylish spot on Mountain View's main promenade, which offers flavorful food in attractive surroundings.  If you just want to hang, have a martini while listening to top tunes, and not have to drive all the way to San Francisco, Xanh should be one of your choices.

Xanh