tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54671846858734204982024-03-13T03:49:05.433-07:00From Broadway to BancroftFollow the adventures of Briana and Steve as they attempt to eat at every restaurant on College Avenue in order, from Broadway to Bancroft.Stephen Loewinsohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17919980137860234502noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467184685873420498.post-14506970216299101382015-03-02T12:15:00.000-08:002015-03-02T12:15:29.556-08:00Zachary's Chicago Pizza<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We have probably eaten Zachary's 1,000 times. It's been around forever and it always delicious. However, it is always jam-packed. The wait for a table is an eternity and then you have to wait for 20-40 minutes for your pizza depending on whether you go thin or thick crust. </div>
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We pretty much always just get it as take-out. We also pretty much always get the deep dish. When we went to eat at Zachary's for this review we went at lunch time on a weekday so we were seated right away (bonus!) but we still didn't want to sit there for 40 minutes while they hand-crafted us a deep dish pizza. SO, we opted for thin crust slices (only a 5 minute wait, extra bonus). Not the most exciting options to choose from, but they did the trick.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xAL_V70t4TI/VPDUDREIy-I/AAAAAAAABCg/BEtMPHLimY4/s1600/0002-SL1_5789.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xAL_V70t4TI/VPDUDREIy-I/AAAAAAAABCg/BEtMPHLimY4/s1600/0002-SL1_5789.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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Veggie slice. The sauce is so addictive, its a little bit sad you don't get as much when you don't get a deep dish pizza.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-74lV5sR6biw/VPDUD_7cc5I/AAAAAAAABCo/9sPSLMR5GDE/s1600/0003-SL1_5790.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-74lV5sR6biw/VPDUD_7cc5I/AAAAAAAABCo/9sPSLMR5GDE/s1600/0003-SL1_5790.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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The sausage is hidden under the cheese! Shh. Its sleeping.</div>
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Totally okay Greek salad.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wMYzqh6ZoT0/VPDUDw7T5KI/AAAAAAAABCk/VmR1wY1WO1w/s1600/0001-SL1_5784.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wMYzqh6ZoT0/VPDUDw7T5KI/AAAAAAAABCk/VmR1wY1WO1w/s1600/0001-SL1_5784.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://thienisawesome.blogspot.com/">Thien Pham</a>'s comic about Zachary's featuring Briana.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f-o-1Lnz0vo/VPDUFk7ggrI/AAAAAAAABDA/Eu2kRSRXyHM/s1600/0005-SL1_5797.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f-o-1Lnz0vo/VPDUFk7ggrI/AAAAAAAABDA/Eu2kRSRXyHM/s1600/0005-SL1_5797.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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Look at all these empty seats!</div>
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To be honest this lunch we had on this day was just okay, but we know from years of experience that we love Zachary's. We even looked at their menu this time (we are so used to ordering our favorite things that we haven't looked at their menu for probably 10 years) and we noticed pizza combos we had never tried and are excited about the next time we get take-out... which will probably be not too far in the future. </div>
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We give Zachary's 4.5 sabuys. We wish we could eat in the restaurant without the long wait, but we also just cant quit you, Zachary's Chicago Pizza.</div>
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Next stop: The Ramen Shop!</div>
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Stephen Loewinsohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17919980137860234502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467184685873420498.post-11824876634801499522015-02-20T13:10:00.000-08:002015-03-02T12:16:43.085-08:00Jules Thin Crust<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We are pretty impressed with Jules Thin Crust for having the unbelievable chutzpah to setup shop directly across the street from Zachary's Chicago Pizza, one of the most well known and best loved restaurants in the Bay Area. The two pizza places are so close, in fact, that we weren't really sure which came first on our tour of College Avenue because their doors line up almost perfectly. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xCsTggvC3VY/VOZqb1M0FJI/AAAAAAAABxk/WdToU2HQDtM/s1600/jules%2Bzacharys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xCsTggvC3VY/VOZqb1M0FJI/AAAAAAAABxk/WdToU2HQDtM/s1600/jules%2Bzacharys.jpg" height="225" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view of Zachary's through the windows of Jules.</td></tr>
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But once we were inside, it all made sense. Jules Thin Crust is a totally different style of place. Zachary's specializes in Chicago style deep-dish pizza that is so deep, so dishy, and so Chicago that some people don't even consider it pizza, but more of a pizza-casserole. Jules Thin Crust, on the other hand, is so thin you could almost call it a pizza-cracker (a delicious pizza-cracker). </div>
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Now all we need is for a food-truck specializing in "medium crust" pizza to park in the middle of the intersection and we'll have all the pizza thicknesses covered in one place. </div>
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Jules has a very informal vibe to it. All the pizzas are laid out in front of you at the counter and you can either order by the slice or get a whole pie. They just heat up your pizza a little bit before they serve it, so it's a great option for a quick lunch if you're in a hurry (unlike Zachary's where they take 40 minutes to bake a pie from scratch). </div>
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They have so many options!</div>
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SO MANY!</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D-BOIb1POgs/VOZGM8_LbmI/AAAAAAAABA8/DsV7b7VibVk/s1600/0003-SL1_4613.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D-BOIb1POgs/VOZGM8_LbmI/AAAAAAAABA8/DsV7b7VibVk/s1600/0003-SL1_4613.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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We ordered three slices: one pesto special, a Kim's pie (chicken, portobello, caramelized onions, balsamic bbq, mozzarella, and chives), and one slice of kale and pancetta.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oEGW-cRTXr8/VOZGNrYEZpI/AAAAAAAABBI/PmmjyLcg2EA/s1600/0004-SL1_4623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oEGW-cRTXr8/VOZGNrYEZpI/AAAAAAAABBI/PmmjyLcg2EA/s1600/0004-SL1_4623.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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As tasty as it is pretty. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-32j8bXDxcLU/VOZGOo6_phI/AAAAAAAABBU/lZBoor0ytvo/s1600/0005-SL1_4629.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-32j8bXDxcLU/VOZGOo6_phI/AAAAAAAABBU/lZBoor0ytvo/s1600/0005-SL1_4629.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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We really liked this place. Like most people on the planet, we love pizza, and we have room in our hearts for any type of crust as long as the toppings are delicious. Jules Thin Crust has a crazy number of fresh toppings and combinations to choose from, so if you're down with "flatbread" style pizza like this, then you're sure to find something you'll like. And if you don't like it, you won't have to walk very far to get a completely different pizza experience.<br />
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Way to go Jules! Your crust may be thin, but your courage is great, and you've got the delicious pizza to back it up. We give Jules Thin Crust four Sabuys!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-evMLrNaepjE/VOZuml6vAaI/AAAAAAAABxw/3g9tT8hp3qI/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-02-19%2Bat%2B3.12.39%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-evMLrNaepjE/VOZuml6vAaI/AAAAAAAABxw/3g9tT8hp3qI/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-02-19%2Bat%2B3.12.39%2BPM.png" height="105" width="320" /></a></div>
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Next stop: <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2015/03/zacharys-chicago-pizza.html">Zachary's Chicago Pizza</a>!Stephen Loewinsohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17919980137860234502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467184685873420498.post-43561473158924513772015-01-22T14:04:00.002-08:002015-03-02T12:17:28.142-08:00Smitten Ice Cream<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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Smitten is an ice cream shop that makes your ice cream while you wait using liquid nitrogen. It's kind of like the Blue Bottle Coffee of ice cream, but with more liquid nitrogen (probably).<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wNXBfuQ7dFE/VMFqnQS48dI/AAAAAAAAA-8/KaaGFpImpW4/s1600/Terminator2-56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wNXBfuQ7dFE/VMFqnQS48dI/AAAAAAAAA-8/KaaGFpImpW4/s1600/Terminator2-56.jpg" height="338" width="640" /></a></div>
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We're not sure what the benefit of making ice cream with liquid nitrogen is, although <a href="http://smittenicecream.com/story/" target="_blank">Smitten's website</a> will tell you all about it if you're curious. We couldn't tell any difference between Smitten's extra-cold ice cream and regular ice cream, but they did have some great flavors and it was delicious (all ice cream is delicious). </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4h0JCmPQVbM/VMFnm2rGJaI/AAAAAAAAA-Y/BGUYft8PIwg/s1600/0008-SL1_4649.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4h0JCmPQVbM/VMFnm2rGJaI/AAAAAAAAA-Y/BGUYft8PIwg/s1600/0008-SL1_4649.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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Just your typical neighborhood ice cream parlor, with its 50,000 gallon nitrogen tank. </div>
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Seems like a lot of work for something you could just scoop out of a freezer. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Khkuw9mmZZk/VMFvT7Udw6I/AAAAAAAAA_Q/9CD3Ik_Um8Y/s1600/breaking%2Bbad%2Bice%2Bcream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Khkuw9mmZZk/VMFvT7Udw6I/AAAAAAAAA_Q/9CD3Ik_Um8Y/s1600/breaking%2Bbad%2Bice%2Bcream.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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Who knew making ice cream was so complicated?</div>
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Brrrrrr! So cold!</div>
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The finished product! We tried brown sugar with cinnamon cookies (left) and lemon with ginger snaps (right). Both were great, but the brown sugar was the winner. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YTQNw9iMHuc/VMFxUwyzTtI/AAAAAAAAA_Y/h4Tknn_VAtg/s1600/Nitro-ice%2Bcream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YTQNw9iMHuc/VMFxUwyzTtI/AAAAAAAAA_Y/h4Tknn_VAtg/s1600/Nitro-ice%2Bcream.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Also this.</div>
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We give Smitten Ice Cream 3 Sabuys<br />
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Next Stop: <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2015/02/jules-thin-crust.html?utm_source=BP_recent">Jules Thin Crust</a>Stephen Loewinsohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17919980137860234502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467184685873420498.post-63976352551631328052015-01-13T16:24:00.002-08:002015-01-22T14:06:11.327-08:00Cactus Taqueria<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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Cactus Taqueria has a reputation as a kid-friendly restaurant, so we decided to bring our little munchkin with us for this review. We weren't that hungry so we didn't order many things, but honestly Cactus has been there for like 1,000 years so you've probably eaten there already anyway. </div>
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The food is pretty bland, which is great for kids, but not so great for sophisticated, refined culinary geniuses like ourselves. </div>
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Here we see Jane sampling a traditional Mexican dish called a "quesadilla". She appreciates the authenticity. Jane's review: "THE PLATE IS BLUE LIKE <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhrrkNfTQOA" target="_blank">LEOMARDO</a>!"<br />
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Briana and Steve shared a couple of crispy tacos. Our plate was also blue.<br />
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Jane's review: "Can we get ice cream now?"<br />
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We give Cactus two Sabuys.<br />
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Jane gives it one jellyfish and two bumblebees.<br />
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Next stop: <strike>Bica Coffeehouse</strike> (turns out Bica does not prepare food on site) <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2015/01/smitten-ice-cream.html">Smitten Ice Cream</a>!<br />
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<br />Stephen Loewinsohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17919980137860234502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467184685873420498.post-24749172835814303322015-01-13T16:24:00.001-08:002015-01-13T16:25:01.659-08:00Bourbon and Beef<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
"Bourbon and Beef" sounds like the name of the worst cocktail ever invented, but we would almost rather drink one than eat at this place again. We did not like this restaurant. </div>
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This rib-eye steak was OK (not great), but it was pretty small and it cost us $27 and came with NO SIDES! More like rib-off, am I right?<br />
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The fried chicken would have been fine, but it was covered in a way-too-sweet honey sauce (it may have just been honey, or honey with sugar added). The cornbread was a dry hockey puck of flavorless crumbs, and their "coleslaw" was just shredded cabbage and water. Maybe they got the recipe from <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2010/02/burrito-shop.html">the Burrito Shop</a>?<br />
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We've been loving brussel sprouts lately, especially after we had those great ones at <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2014/12/a16.html">A16</a> recently, but these were terrible. Soggy sprouts, gross sauce, and spongy bacon. How do you mess up bacon?! It didn't taste any better than it looks. <br />
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Big ol' TV over the bar showing football. The big red chairs at the tables looked like something from the kids section at IKEA. The whole place gives off a real chain-restaurant type of vibe although fortunately there's only one.<br />
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So yeah, we've got major beef with Bourbon and Beef. How could a restaurant named for two things we love so much be such a letdown? Oh well it will probably be closed soon, I mean how could they stay in business after a review like this?<br />
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We give Bourbon and <strike>Barf</strike> Beef 1 stupid Sabuy.<br />
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Next stop: <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2015/01/cactus-taqueria.html">Cactus Taqueria</a>!<br />
<br />Stephen Loewinsohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17919980137860234502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467184685873420498.post-81871748394819293132015-01-13T16:24:00.000-08:002015-01-13T16:24:03.819-08:00Homespun CafeWe were about to eat at Homespun Cafe (formerly I-Squared), but it turns out that it's still the same food as I-Squared, they just changed the name.<br />
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We give the new name 4 Sabuys. Way better than I-Squared.<br />
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<br />Stephen Loewinsohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17919980137860234502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467184685873420498.post-59733320577652212332014-12-17T15:40:00.001-08:002015-01-13T16:26:02.751-08:00A16<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
A16 sounds like the name of a fighter jet, or maybe a highway in Europe (<a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/A16,+Italy/@41.0896002,15.1683073,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x13398f81fa0b3a1f:0x5d90e9c3d9569672" target="_blank">because it is</a>), but it's also a pretty fancy restaurant located where Garibaldi/Marzano/Hudson used to be. Their main thing is wood oven cooked pizza, but they also have other entrees. </div>
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This review features special guests: Anna, Christa, and Peter. Thanks for joining us, guys! </div>
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Margherita pizza. Standard yummy pizza, but nothing that blew anyone away. One great thing about all the pizzas at A16 is that they bring them to the table un-sliced, but they come with a pair of <b>pizza scissors</b> that allow you to cut whatever size piece you want. Other restaurants, take note, pizza scissors are the future.<br />
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Brussel sprouts seem to be the new it-vegetable at fancy restaurants. These were among the tops. Favorite dish of the night for most of us. They were crispy and lemony. So good.<br />
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Funghi pizza (with proscuitto). Kind of sad there was no sauce on this pizza, but it was very good. Observe the pizza scissors in action. Just look at them, slicing wherever they wanna slice without a care in the world.<br />
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Bean and veggie soup with croutons. Hearty and warm for a cold night. We were convinced there was a lamb base to this, but the rich flavor was somehow constructed entirely from veggies!<br />
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Lamb sugo pasta with cannellini beans. These pastas were pretty gummy. Some of us thought they were like the Twizzlers of pasta and didn't like them. Others of us (mostly Briana) thought they were the Twizzlers of pasta and liked them a lot. The lamb flavor was a little overpowering. This time the lamb flavor was from actual lamb.<br />
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A dinner for one. Anna (our vegan friend) had this pizza with marinara sauce topped with arugula and her cocktail: the bronze horseman. This restaurant might not be super vegan-friendly, but it looked like Anna enjoyed herself. She said the cocktail was good, but on the sweet side.<br />
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A16 is a lovely restaurant with great food. It's a big place, but it still manages to seem cozy. The staff is super friendly. We've eaten here a few times before this review, and we'll definitely come back when we are in the mood for a cozy restaurant with great food and wine, fun cocktails, and unusually shaped pizza slices.<br />
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We give A16... A4 sabuys!<br />
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Next stop <strike><a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2015/01/homespun-cafe.html">Homespun Cafe</a></strike>. <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2015/01/bourbon-and-beef.html">Bourbon and Beef</a>!Stephen Loewinsohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17919980137860234502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467184685873420498.post-38801061728216501222014-12-06T16:40:00.000-08:002014-12-17T15:41:33.968-08:00Pucquio<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<strike>Pacquiao</strike> <a href="http://pucquio.com/" target="_blank">Pucquio</a> serves "contemporary peruvian street food" and is located where <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2011/12/guest-chef.html" target="_blank">Guest Chef</a> used to be. The first time we tried to eat at <strike>Picachu</strike> Pucquio, it was too crowded. We showed up with a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCNumbMqWjg" target="_blank">party of five</a>, and no reservation. They had a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VstP2jqJcQM" target="_blank">full house</a>, and we didn't <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg9qYo7A5to" target="_blank">wanna wait for our lives to be over</a>, so had to go eat somewhere else. This time we were the only customers in the whole place. We really lucked out. </div>
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There's a weird thing that happens when you're the only customers at a restaurant. It can sometimes be awkward, but other times you can end up bro-ing down with the staff in a special way. We had a lovely time chatting with our waiter Scott, and meeting the chef, Carlos. In fact, in a first ever for B2B, our waiter actually gave us each a big hug as we were leaving. Aww. </div>
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Full disclosure: Since we ended up getting so familiar with our waiter and chef, we did end up telling them about this blog. We may have received some special treatment (and definitely a free dessert) because of our well deserved status as jet-setting taste-makers. So this review may be somewhat biased. We don't care. </div>
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They start you off with these addictive lightly fried corn and plantains. We ate 'em all.<br />
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This salad had a particularly herby dressing, very tart with lots of delicious cumin. The ring of olive oil around the edge was buttery and flavorful. Super thin slices of persimmon were not too sweet, just right.<br />
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WINNER!! Lamb on pureed pumpkin with some amazing sauce and dots of onion sauce. This was so tasty it was unreal.<br />
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Cebiche De Pescado (comes with the fried corn stuff, other corn, pickled onions ((bonus for steve)) and pumpkin jam). Very bright and limey, in the best way. The pumpkin jam when eaten with the fish gives a whole new experience to the cebiche.<br />
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These guys were so sweet!<br />
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WTF!? Tiny cups of cumber and fennel sorbet, each topped with a little prosecco. They make their sorbet in house and it's delightful. The cucumber one almost tasted like a perfectly ripe honeydew melon... Steve ate that one. The bubbles and sharpness of the prosecco was so great with the sweet sorbet, we are definitely going to try a poor man's version of this at home.<br />
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We had such a fun experience eating here and meeting these people that we are giving __ 5 sabuys! Bonus sabuy for the best playlist at any restaurant.<br />
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Next stop <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2014/12/a16.html">A16</a>!Stephen Loewinsohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17919980137860234502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467184685873420498.post-53520997690161727322014-11-20T21:40:00.001-08:002014-12-06T16:49:43.396-08:00The Barrel Room<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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This week we went to <a href="http://barrelroomsf.com/">The Barrel Room</a>, a restaurant/wine bar/wine retailer. Since Briana is not drinking due to being knocked up (again), and Steve is an ignoramus (still), we invited our friends (and wine aficionados) Cory and Alice to join us for dinner and explain wine to us. Turns out it comes from grapes! Who knew?!</div>
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The Barrel Room is currently specializing in food and wines from Spain & Portugal, but apparently they switch it up every so often and do a different region. So they may have a totally different menu and wine list if/when you go check it out. </div>
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Our waiter/sommelier/manager seemed very knowledgeable and passionate about wine, and was happy to recommend flights (they do wine flights!) for all of us (except Briana) to try. </div>
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The night we were there they had about 20 different flights to choose from with three wines each. Cory had the Spanish Garnachas, Alice got the Obscure Spanish Whites, Steve tried the Riojas, and Briana had East Bay MUD.<br />
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Everyone liked all the wines, and the little hand written labels were a thoughtful touch. Well done Barrel Room!<br />
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Dates stuffed with goat cheese and marcona almonds. They were good, but not amazing. They complemented the wine nicely, and they kinda look like giant coffee beans.<br />
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Jamon, rosemary, arugula and manchego flatbread. The flatbread was nice and crispy, and the arugula seemed fresh and didn't wilt like you would expect it to sitting on top of hot bread. Everyone enjoyed it, but we weren't fighting over the last piece or anything.<br />
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The sauteed prawns with saffron rice and frisee were probably our least favorite dish. Not bad, just kind of bland. <br />
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The paella with chorizo, prawns, and chicken was also surprisingly flavorless. To be fair this dish was supposed to have chicken, but we were told when we ordered that they were out of chicken so they added more prawns. We can't imagine that it would be made much better with the addition of chicken, but there it is. Also, where's the chorizo? So it was basically just prawns and rice.<br />
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The sauteed green beans, pearl onions, and cherry tomatoes were OUT OF CONTROL DELICIOUS! We found ourselves spooning the sauce onto some of the other dishes because it was so good. Such a simple dish, but the flavor was so rich and light at the same time. We're not sure what was in the amazing tart sauce, but this was the standout dish. </div>
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Tri-tip steak with chimichuri, fingerling potatoes, and green beans. This was really good, but maybe not $26 good? The sauce was tangy and the steak was tender, but split between four people, it wasn't a lot of food. But if the main complaint is that there isn't enough, that probably means we liked it a lot.<br />
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Peanut butter cookie / chocolate ice cream sandwich. Tasted exactly like it looks, and that ain't bad. We split this bad boy four ways, and it was the perfect amount of dessert, although Briana would have preferred a flight of ice cream sandwiches.<br />
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The space is small, but they've managed to fit in a retail wine shop, a wine bar, and a restaurant without it feeling cramped. The staff was very warm and friendly and their enthusiasm for wine and food is undeniable. The wine was great, the food was mostly good and occasionally great. We came away feeling like we would definitely come back, especially when Barrel Room shifts focus to a different area of the world.<br />
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Special thanks to Alice and Cory for joining us on this review and going sharezies on all the food. You guys get 6 Sabuys every time.<br />
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Barrel Room, you get a generous 4 Sabuys (think about those ice cream flights).<br />
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Next stop: <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2014/12/pucquio.html" target="_blank">Pucquio</a><br />
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<br />Stephen Loewinsohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17919980137860234502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467184685873420498.post-42660578252082650312014-11-14T22:03:00.001-08:002014-11-20T21:41:18.130-08:00High Peaks Kitchen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We're back! Our brief hiatus turned into a pretty extended absence. Sorry about that! We're gonna try and keep it steady this time. </div>
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Quite a few restaurants have opened and closed in the three years since we did our last post, so we're backtracking a bit. Our first stop: High Peaks Kitchen! </div>
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Here's their charming mission statement from the <a href="http://www.hipeaks.com/" target="_blank">High Peaks Kitchen Website</a>: </div>
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<span style="background-color: #f7f2dc; color: #7a654a; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;">The High Peaks Kitchen is a family and employee owned business. Having been exiled from Tibet, all of our team members have experience in diverse culinary backgrounds from our upbringing in India. This is how High Peaks Kitchen came to serve Indian foods.</span></blockquote>
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You may recognize this location since it used to be <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2009/11/currylicious.html">Currylicious</a>. If it's possible, this spot has become even <i>more</i> currylicious than it was before. </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/SwhlOdm3CpI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/CSoYffFiPv0/s1600/IMG_7465.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/SwhlOdm3CpI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/CSoYffFiPv0/s1600/IMG_7465.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before: Currylicious offered affordable Indian food in an informal setting</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mD3ialBNWIU/VGbhiitksLI/AAAAAAAAAyE/vcmGiXee98M/s1600/0006-SL1_3949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mD3ialBNWIU/VGbhiitksLI/AAAAAAAAAyE/vcmGiXee98M/s1600/0006-SL1_3949.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After: High Peaks Kitchen offers affordable Indian food in an informal setting</td></tr>
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SO MUCH HAS CHANGED! OK, now on to the food.<br />
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Veggie samosa. We were pleasantly surprised by the seasoning on these. They had more coriander than the average samosa. Other than that, they were pretty standard. Samosas are always good. </div>
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One thing that stood out on the menu was "garlic cheese naan". We had never seen that before, so we had to try it. We asked our waiter if this was an authentic Indian dish and what kind of special Indian cheese they used. He laughed and informed us that "We don't eat this in India. Americans just love cheese, it's mozzarella." He's not wrong, we loved it! USA! USA! </div>
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Yellow Daal Tadka. This was fine. It's just a lot of one thing. Don't get us wrong though, we ate all of it.<br />
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Chicken Tikka Masala is another one of those dishes that's always delicious. Goes great with super-authentic garlic cheese naan!<br />
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The food was nothing to write home (or a blog post) about, but it was totally tasty basic Indian stuff, and the prices are great. The staff was incredibly warm and friendly, and there is a <a href="http://www.hipeaks.com/menu">huge menu</a> with lots of vegetarian options.<br />
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And they've got a cherry pie that'll kill ya!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://nyulocal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/tumblr_m5039aKuK01rwho3io1_400-21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://nyulocal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/tumblr_m5039aKuK01rwho3io1_400-21.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sorry! Wrong peaks. They do not serve cherry pie. </td></tr>
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We give High Peaks Kitchen 3.5 Sabuys:<br />
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Next stop: <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2014/11/the-barrel-room.html">The Barrel Room</a></div>
Stephen Loewinsohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17919980137860234502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467184685873420498.post-82763875754003637872011-12-19T17:58:00.000-08:002014-11-14T22:04:15.046-08:00Guest Chef<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
One of our commenters alerted us to this brand new restaurant that just opened between <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2010/01/rikyu.html?utm_source=BP_recent">Rikyu</a> and our least favorite restaurant,<a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2010/02/burrito-shop.html?utm_source=BP_recent"> The Burrito Shop</a>. Guest Chef is a unique concept, this is from their <a href="http://www.theguestchef.net/">website</a>:</div>
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<strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f1f1f1; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Guest Chef is a fully equipped restaurant and kitchen incubator. If you have a specialty dish, a novel cuisine, or an experimental take on a classic, come and showcase your culinary skills to an audience of eager diners. Schedule your two week run and Guest Chef will become YOUR restaurant."</strong></div>
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We went on December 17th, 2011. The chef that night was Paul Skrentny of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pauls-Paella/145582632136721">Paul's Paella</a>. </div>
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Brussel sprouts with bacon <b>AND</b> prosciutto. This had a high meat to veggies ratio. We noticed Paul cutting the brussel sprouts straight off the stalk; you could taste the freshness. We love bacon (<b>AND</b> prosciutto) but sometimes dishes like this can be heavy or greasy. The sprouts were so lightly cooked and crispy that the whole thing seemed more like a salad than a pork soup.<br />
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Scotch eggs. These were amazing! It's a hard-boiled quail egg, wrapped inside chicken-basil sausage, dredged in Panko breadcrumbs, (wrapped in an enigma) and then deep-fried. It came with some kind of pink sauce that looked like thousand island dressing, but it wasn't. Whatever it was, we liked it a lot. Go eat these.<br />
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Chicken and chorizo paella. We figured the paella would be good, since it's kind of Paul's thing, and it was. Great seasonings, perfectly cooked rice, tangy olives, and bright green peas. It tasted as delicious as it looks. And it comes with a (non-edible) doily!<br />
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Flan. This was the only desert on the menu, and we didn't actually order it. Our neighbors at the table next to ours (who we struck up a conversation with during dinner) were too full to eat theirs and insisted that we try it (and take a picture). We're not huge flan fans but as flans go, this one was not too sweet and had a delicate consistency. We wouldn't say it was "flantastic" but it was certainly "fladequate".<br />
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The kitchen crew. That's Paul in the center. If you can make it to Guest Chef before January 1st, these guys will make you some awesome paella. If you go after that it will probably be completely different.<br />
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The restaurant itself is small and cozy with nice exposed wood beams in the ceiling. Service was great, and we're looking forward to trying Guest Chef again the next time there's an interesting sounding chef. We hope it's as yummy the next time as it was on our first trip! And no, we will not be going back every two weeks to review it whenever the chef changes.<br />
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We give Guest Chef (and Paul's Paella) 4 sabuys.<br />
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Next stop: <strike>Cactus Taqueria</strike> <strike>Twin Peaks Kitchen</strike> <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2014/11/high-peaks-kitchen.html">High Peaks Kitchen</a><br />
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<br />breakcomicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02964043503868655915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467184685873420498.post-30939856438972854932011-12-19T16:52:00.000-08:002011-12-19T17:58:48.457-08:00OlivetoWe ate at Oliveto in august with our good friends Peter and Christa, but got too busy this fall (<a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2011/12/been-gone-for-while.html">see previous post</a>) to write about it. So, without further ado...<br />
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Grilled Sardinian-style sausage with sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, and mint. With roasted Jimmy Nardello peppers and frisee salad. The sausage had interesting spices and the three parts all complemented each other.<br />
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Burrata cheese with Early Girl tomato mamellata, arugula, and charcoal-grilled crostino. We liked this.</div>
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Charcoal-grilled prime flatiron steak with Yellow Romano beans, Parmesan sformatino, and Yellow Finn potatoes. The sformatino is the little bit poking out from behind the potatoes on the left. It is like a cheese flan.<br />
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Tortelli of roasted pork with Early Girl tomato-vodka brodo. It was delicious, but tiny. You can fit 100 of these tortelli on the head of a pin.<br />
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Charcoal-grilled pork porterhouse with fresh Cranverry beans, oven-roasted Early Girl tomatoes, and pork sugo. This was a little smokier and gamier than we would have liked.<br />
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Pappardelle rosse with San Marano tomato-braised beef shoulder, hot pepper, and oregano. Also tiny. Picture taken at 1000X magnification.<br />
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We have had great meals at Oliveto in the past but this wasn't one of them. Considering the crazy high prices, you expect it to blow your mind, but our minds were unblown. Oliveto gets three sabuys.<br />
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Next Stop: <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2011/12/guest-chef.html">Guest Chef</a></div>breakcomicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02964043503868655915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467184685873420498.post-26084506903047855772011-12-19T16:32:00.000-08:002011-12-19T18:05:24.913-08:00Been gone for a while<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So, we haven't posted in a few months because we've had... er... some other stuff going on. For the next 4.5 months the tiny person above will be attending all our reviews and Steve will be drinking for two (or three). We will try to get back to posting more regularly... until around May 30th.breakcomicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02964043503868655915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467184685873420498.post-17724431696538112322011-08-16T10:30:00.000-07:002011-12-19T17:59:14.098-08:00Market Hall<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We thought Market Hall was going to be an epic review since there are so many stores in there that serve food. But it turns out there are only three places in Market Hall that actually qualify as "restaurants" according to <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2009/07/rules.html">the rules</a> of our blog.</div>
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The restaurants we reviewed are: </div>
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<li>The Pasta Shop</li>
<li>Market Hall Bakery </li>
<li>Peaberry's Coffee and Tea</li>
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So we figured we could do all three in one trip. <br />
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We will<b> not </b>be reviewing Market Hall Produce, or either of the butchers as they don't prepare food onsite. We will also not be reviewing Bloomies Flowers, sorry vegetarians! <br />
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<u><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Pasta Shop</span></b></u><br />
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The Pasta Shop has fresh cut pasta, a deli counter, cheese counter, and a large selection of scoopable salads and other prepared foods.<br />
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We knew we were going to have pastries for dessert, so we opted for a light lunch. From top to bottom of the stack in the above left photo:<br />
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<li>Indian cauliflower - Briana thought this one was bland and gross. Steve found it bland but not that gross. Not a ringing endorsement. It sounded so promising! </li>
<li>Quinoa salad with sun-dried tomatoes, eggplant, red onions, and green peppers- We both liked this one a lot. The texture was interesting, and the tomatoes were tart. </li>
<li>Avocado salad with corn and lettuce - Another winner. Very fresh and light tasting. A great choice for a hot day (which it was). </li>
<li>Meatballs in marinara sauce - How do you mess up a classic like this? The texture was just wrong, like they used bubble gum instead of bread or something. The sauce was also very Boyardeesque (TM). </li>
<li>Picante Tuna Salad - This one was also great. Pretty similar to the avocado salad, but with tuna, and a teeny tiny hint of spiciness. </li>
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We give the Pasta Shop three Sabuys. The dishes we tried all could have used a little more flavor, but enough of them were good that we feel OK recommending this place. We probably only tried about a tenth of the things they sell in the salad section alone, so we know we're missing a lot of stuff here, for example, the pasta that the store is named after.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Market Hall Bakery</b></u></span><br />
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From front to back:<br />
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<li>Shortbread - Shortbread is shortbread. Briana loves it, no matter what. Steve is not a big fan. If you like plain old boring shortbread, you'll like this. </li>
<li>Chocolate mint crinkle - Steve LOVED this. Briana is not a big chocolate lover, but Steve loves chocolate... he loves it long time. We both agreed this cookie has a great texture, with a crispy, crinkly outside, and gooey, fudgy innards. The mint keeps the chocolate from being too overwhelming. </li>
<li>Carrot cake - Both of us generally love carrot cake, and we were excited about this one because it has so much icing (which everyone knows is the best part). But something was just a little off. The icing didn't have the awesome creamcheesiness that EVERY OTHER CARROT CAKE has. </li>
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We've eaten a lot of baked goods from this place, and went out of our way to try some new things this trip. Some of them weren't that great (we're looking at you, carrot cake) but everything else we've eaten there has been delicious. Their brioche, scones, tarts, morning buns, and tres leches cake (to name a few) are all stellar. So we're giving Market Hall Bakery 4 Sabuys based on previous experience. <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Peaberry's Coffee and Tea</b></u></span><br />
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It's a cafe. They serve coffee. Steve had a cappuccino, and Briana had a cup of plain ol' boring coffee. They were both fine. You can see from the photo that they do cool stuff with the foam, and IF you can find a table outside, it's a great place to sit and sip on a nice day. Sometimes though, people hog up all the chairs and won't move for hours no matter how close you stand and mouth-breathe on them.<br />
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Peaberry's gets 3.5 Sabuys.<br />
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And that's it folks! WE DID IT!<br />
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Next stop: <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2011/12/oliveto.html?utm_source=BP_recent">Oliveto </a><br />
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<br />Stephen Loewinsohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17919980137860234502noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467184685873420498.post-73064131379088823102011-08-02T22:18:00.000-07:002011-08-16T11:59:58.998-07:00Becky's ChineseWe had never been to Becky's Chinese, but we've always been intrigued by their decor. While the interior design may be somewhat modern and unique, the menu is classic "Americanized Chinese" cuisine, and sometimes the classics are all you really want: <br />
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We did this one by the book; we ordered all our favorite, predictable dishes:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2jW0XngfRdI/TjjSjeQJwAI/AAAAAAAAAgw/HSTVB3LsNGo/s1600/IMG_8530.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2jW0XngfRdI/TjjSjeQJwAI/AAAAAAAAAgw/HSTVB3LsNGo/s320/IMG_8530.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> Spring rolls! Tasted like... spring rolls. Note to the vegetarians: these had meat in them (but we don't think it said so on the menu), so be sure to ask for the vegetarian spring rolls if you don't want meat.<br />
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Steve thought they were average, Briana thought they were sub par. Served with sweet and sour sauce (also just OK). <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0Mvr0eEdGSU/TjjSkgcYOcI/AAAAAAAAAg0/kNdbGqBl-Kw/s1600/IMG_8541.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0Mvr0eEdGSU/TjjSkgcYOcI/AAAAAAAAAg0/kNdbGqBl-Kw/s320/IMG_8541.jpg" width="213" /></a></div> Mushu Pork! No surprises here, except that they roll them up for you at the table, Benihana style. But they only roll your first one, and then you're on your own. These were also unremarkable, and as usual: not enough plum sauce. THEY NEVER GIVE YOU ENOUGH PLUM SAUCE! <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s9qfjVdoKqU/TjjSlceIHSI/AAAAAAAAAg4/NazqFSjst54/s1600/IMG_8552.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s9qfjVdoKqU/TjjSlceIHSI/AAAAAAAAAg4/NazqFSjst54/s320/IMG_8552.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> General Chao's (Tso's/Cho's/Zhao's) Chicken! This was actually pretty great. Spicy, with crispy breading, and less sweet than at a lot of places. Quite salty though, so be ready for that. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DGYvXK4ALEA/TjjSlwYbQJI/AAAAAAAAAg8/ANAPRhoMuWo/s1600/IMG_8558.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DGYvXK4ALEA/TjjSlwYbQJI/AAAAAAAAAg8/ANAPRhoMuWo/s320/IMG_8558.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> Good to know.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9cx9bB97-sc/TjjSm1IefCI/AAAAAAAAAhA/Z9X75e6XnQk/s1600/IMG_8562.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9cx9bB97-sc/TjjSm1IefCI/AAAAAAAAAhA/Z9X75e6XnQk/s320/IMG_8562.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Also good to know: Becky's does not supply each table with it's own soy sauce, rice vinegar, and chili oil. In our opinion, this should be illegal. We've talked before about <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2010/02/restaurant-chu.html">the holy trinity of Chinese condiments</a>. HOWEVER, if you ask for them at Becky's, they not only bring the holy trinity, but also spicy mustard sauce, which is a nice bonus. And that's... good to know. <br />
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We give Becky's Chinese 2.5 Sabuys. What can we say? It's a Chinese restaurant that's a lot like a lot of other Chinese restaurants. The food was fine, but we probably won't be coming back.<br />
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Next stop: <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2011/08/market-hall.html">Market Hall Eatstravaganza</a>!Stephen Loewinsohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17919980137860234502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467184685873420498.post-15114047030666847612011-07-07T21:11:00.000-07:002011-08-02T22:18:58.681-07:00Ben & Nick'sWe are sorry for the long break, we just moved, but we did go to Ben and Nick's and we ordered a bacon cheeseburger with curly fries and chicken strips and delicious beers (Steve had a Downtown Brown and Briana had some kind of amber ale that we can't remember the name of), everything was pretty good, and next time we promise to take better pictures and not write our review as one long run-on sentence, now here are some pictures of food:<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">Ben and Nick's is good bar food, and they have a good selection of beers (and some cocktails), we give it 4 Sabuys, OK bye now! </div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-76KB2gH27Xo/ThaDcku5tEI/AAAAAAAAA2I/xMfvt1ayDyU/s1600/4+sabuys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="105" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-76KB2gH27Xo/ThaDcku5tEI/AAAAAAAAA2I/xMfvt1ayDyU/s320/4+sabuys.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Next stop: <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2011/08/beckys-chinese.html">Becky's Chinese</a>! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Stephen Loewinsohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17919980137860234502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467184685873420498.post-71760600682567145342011-05-06T11:25:00.000-07:002011-07-07T21:12:49.906-07:00CrêpevineThere are over a hundred restaurants called Crêpevine in the United States. So as a public service, we will now provide a list of alternative cr<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Cr.C3.AAperies">ê</span></span>perie names: <br />
<ul><li><i>Planet of the Cr</i><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Cr.C3.AAperies">ê</span></span><i>pes</i></li>
<li><i>Cr</i><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Cr.C3.AAperies">ê</span></span><i>pe Canaveral</i></li>
<li><i>The Cr</i><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Cr.C3.AAperies">ê</span></span><i>pes of Wrath</i><i><br />
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<li><i>Date-Cr</i><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Cr.C3.AAperies">ê</span></span><i>pe</i></li>
<li><i>Oops, I cr</i><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Cr.C3.AAperies">ê</span></span><i>ped my pants! </i></li>
</ul>Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about the food:<br />
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Briana ordered the "Kyoto" cr<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Cr.C3.AAperies">ê</span></span>pe, which contains Marinated grilled tofu sauteed with spinach, bell peppers, shiitake mushrooms and peanut sauce. It was a little bland. Not bad or anything, just kind of boring. It could have used more spices... or some meat. <br />
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Steve ordered the "Santa Rosa" scramble with spinach, tomatoes, onions and mushrooms and cheddar. It was similarly bland, but totally edible. We disagreed on the salad dressing. Steve thought it was pretty good, Bri thought it tasted like mayonnaise. <br />
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Say, "Maaaaaaaayo!" <br />
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Good to know: Cr<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Cr.C3.AAperies">ê</span></span>pevine has self-serve water with lemons! Quelle fancy!<br />
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We give Crêpevine 3.5 Sabuys. The food isn't great, but the prices are decent, and the outdoor patio is a pleasant place to eat brunch and watch people push their strollers around.<br />
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Next stop <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2011/07/ben-nicks.html">Ben & Nicks</a>Stephen Loewinsohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17919980137860234502noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467184685873420498.post-74573368442854169442011-04-24T08:33:00.000-07:002011-05-06T11:27:37.589-07:00Pasta PomodoroAs a rule, we try to avoid large chain-restaurants, but we're eating at every restaurant on college avenue, and that means eating at <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2010/02/burrito-shop.html">places we don't really want to go to</a>. So, with out further ado, onto our review of Pasta Pomodoro, or as we like to call it, "The Yuppie Olive Garden".<br />
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The first thing we noticed after being seated at Pomodoro is that they print the calorie content of every dish on the <a href="http://www.pastapomodoro.com/pdfs/PP-webmenu1.pdf">menu</a>. This was a real bummer for us. If we knew the food was going to be delicious we wouldn't care how many calories were in it, but since we had low expectations anyway, we ended up ordering the healthiest items and skipping dessert. We figured, why waste 1500 calories on a dish that will probably taste like it came from a mall food court anyway? Bad move, Pasta Pomodoro. We would've eaten way more food if we hadn't known how bad for us it was.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tos3hQxb8oI/TbMdcrPkySI/AAAAAAAAAeo/bD4ew6-D2y4/s1600/IMG_6130.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tos3hQxb8oI/TbMdcrPkySI/AAAAAAAAAeo/bD4ew6-D2y4/s320/IMG_6130.jpg" width="269" /></a></div>The one thing they don't tell you nutrition info for is this complementary bread and olive oil dip thing. This was probably the best thing we had at Pasta Pomodoro. The bread was warm focaccia, and the stuff in the bowl is some kind of lemon, olive oil, and pesto concoction; we have to admit that it was totally great. The lemon added a nice tangy flavor that may not have been authentic, but was definitely yummy.<br />
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Best part of all: zero calories (we assume). <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rSOnp4dGSrg/TbMdeLtQr2I/AAAAAAAAAes/DR7rw3o6Nic/s1600/IMG_6132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rSOnp4dGSrg/TbMdeLtQr2I/AAAAAAAAAes/DR7rw3o6Nic/s320/IMG_6132.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Verdure with grilled chicken: 462 calories. This was not very flavorful, but we were impressed that the veggies tasted fresh and not overcooked. Pretty boring, but at least it was healthy and filling. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GFpY6kyhIDw/TbMdfhwq6dI/AAAAAAAAAew/W7aqJ-4etKU/s1600/IMG_6134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GFpY6kyhIDw/TbMdfhwq6dI/AAAAAAAAAew/W7aqJ-4etKU/s320/IMG_6134.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Pollo Griglia: 698 calories. What you see is what you get. It's grilled chicken and a side salad.<br />
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Fun fact: the side salad at PP is exactly the same as the side salad at <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2010/04/filippos.html">Filippos</a>. <br />
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Good to know: We went on a Wednesday, which is "Wine Wednesday" at Pasta Pomodoro. All bottles of wine are half-price. So you can get a bottle of wine that would cost eight dollars at the grocery store for only eighteen dollars! Bottoms up! <br />
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Needless to say, we went home and ate ice-cream without looking at the nutrition label.<br />
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We give Pasta Pomodoro 2 Sabuys. If they hadn't scared us off with their scary menu, we might have tried some of their pastas or pizzas, which are probably more fun than what we ordered. But at least it was better than the <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2010/02/burrito-shop.html">Burrito Shop</a>.<br />
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Next stop: <strike>The Edible Complex</strike> <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2011/05/crepevine.html">Cr<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;">ê</span>pevine</a>Stephen Loewinsohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17919980137860234502noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467184685873420498.post-18421133398799474552011-04-22T13:33:00.000-07:002011-04-24T08:33:44.139-07:00Enoteca MolinariOoops! We did it again! We are the worst bloggers ever. We went to Enoteca Molinari back in March, and our lazy asses just got around to writing a review. If anyone still reads this, we're sorry.<br />
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This was the second time we've had to double back because a new restaurant opened up on a section of College that we've already been through.<br />
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Enoteca Molinari specializes in <a href="http://www.enoteca-molinari.com/Enoteca_Molinari_wine_list.pdf">wine</a> and <a href="http://www.enoteca-molinari.com/Enoteca_Molinari_dinner_menu.pdf">small plates</a>:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a2Doeu8_G2o/Ta-NspL1PUI/AAAAAAAAAeM/8VVrwZP53pk/s1600/IMG_8471.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a2Doeu8_G2o/Ta-NspL1PUI/AAAAAAAAAeM/8VVrwZP53pk/s320/IMG_8471.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>We don't remember which wines we tried, but we liked them a lot. We won't say much more than that because we're both pretty ignorant about wine, but if you're into that sort of thing, you can see their wine list <a href="http://www.enoteca-molinari.com/Enoteca_Molinari_wine_list.pdf">here</a>. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZDroQr28Q7U/Ta-NuNVeI3I/AAAAAAAAAeQ/rn6HuY5697w/s1600/IMG_8476.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZDroQr28Q7U/Ta-NuNVeI3I/AAAAAAAAAeQ/rn6HuY5697w/s320/IMG_8476.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> "Insalata di lattuga" is Italian for lettuce and croutons. It was pretty good in general, but the croutons were amazing. We think it was something about the olive oil they used. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H9grU7n65TU/Ta-NvaFH0eI/AAAAAAAAAeU/Nf0DGtw2pYQ/s1600/IMG_8478.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H9grU7n65TU/Ta-NvaFH0eI/AAAAAAAAAeU/Nf0DGtw2pYQ/s320/IMG_8478.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> Bread and butter available upon request. Scoring major points with Briana who will basically boycott any restaurant that doesn't give you bread and butter. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jSZyc3Jx6e0/Ta-Nw8Uqj2I/AAAAAAAAAeY/vdO9YY9sokQ/s1600/IMG_8481.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jSZyc3Jx6e0/Ta-Nw8Uqj2I/AAAAAAAAAeY/vdO9YY9sokQ/s320/IMG_8481.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Panissa fritta, chickpea fries with chimichurri sauce. The fries had an awesome texture, but not much flavor on their own. The sauce was killer; light, tangy, cilantrotastic. Together they work really well, although we would have liked to see a higher sauce to fry ratio.<br />
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Also, you can play Jenga with the fries to decide who gets more sauce. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FOUaZDj8P6Q/Ta-NyuuH19I/AAAAAAAAAec/upwy-PzDPBg/s1600/IMG_8484.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FOUaZDj8P6Q/Ta-NyuuH19I/AAAAAAAAAec/upwy-PzDPBg/s320/IMG_8484.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Bistecca con rucola e Parmigiano - Piemontese top sirloin beef with arugula and Parmigiano. The steak was simple and nicely cooked. There wasn't a bunch of sauce marring the flavor of the meat. The cheese and lemon brought out really nice flavors with the arugula when you got a little of each in one bite. It was a pretty filling small plate item.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pav56LtQkp8/Ta-Nz1_PvNI/AAAAAAAAAeg/RyRAJDrYJMg/s1600/IMG_8487.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pav56LtQkp8/Ta-Nz1_PvNI/AAAAAAAAAeg/RyRAJDrYJMg/s320/IMG_8487.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> We can't remember what this was called, but it was mushrooms in sauce over polenta. The sauce was really rich (in a good way) and the mushrooms were fantastic. The polenta (like all polenta) was polenta. Despite how this picture looks, this dish was tiny. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FBiHwKFhMi0/Ta-N1CQ1kcI/AAAAAAAAAek/GftOl-joLOY/s1600/IMG_8488.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FBiHwKFhMi0/Ta-N1CQ1kcI/AAAAAAAAAek/GftOl-joLOY/s320/IMG_8488.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Molinari was out of the one dessert that looked appealing to us, so here is a picture of the inside of the restaurant that we took as we were leaving to go get frozen yogurt. We sat right there at the bar, which was quite pleasant. <br />
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We give Enoteca Molinari 3.5 Sabuys.<br />
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Next stop: <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2011/04/pasta-pomodoro.html">Pasta Pomodoro</a>Stephen Loewinsohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17919980137860234502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467184685873420498.post-48332329350802955542011-03-04T20:05:00.000-08:002011-04-22T13:34:27.397-07:00Hudson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is a very special review for us. This is the first time we've had to double back (see <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2009/07/rules.html">rule #5</a>) because a new restaurant has opened up on College Ave. at a place we've already eaten. Hudson recently opened up in the building where <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2010/01/garibaldis.html">Garibaldi's</a> and <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2009/12/marzano.html">Marzano</a> used to be. Same owner, new name, new menu. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We liked Marzano and Garibaldi's, but we're not at all disappointed that they're gone, because out of the ashes of those two fine dining establishments two phoenixes (phoeni?) arose and combined like Voltron into a bionic new restaurant called Hudson. They've rebuilt the restaurant and made it faster, stronger, and more deliciouser. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-glenPzJS-9k/TXGrwRv5O1I/AAAAAAAAAd0/bWzKHU8Ds-Y/s1600/IMG_5172.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-glenPzJS-9k/TXGrwRv5O1I/AAAAAAAAAd0/bWzKHU8Ds-Y/s320/IMG_5172.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Pizza with fontal, wild mushrooms, and caramelized onions. In case you were wondering, fontal is fontina. Same cheese, different name. Everything about this pizza was perfect. The mushrooms were amazingly tender and aromatic. The onions were juicy and succulent. Briana is concerned that Steve may leave her for one night with this pizza. We hope we're not over selling this pizza, it was pretty good, you know, whatever. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zDQ_XRoKGwg/TXGrxb50OrI/AAAAAAAAAd4/93_3GOjG7jk/s1600/IMG_5173.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zDQ_XRoKGwg/TXGrxb50OrI/AAAAAAAAAd4/93_3GOjG7jk/s320/IMG_5173.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Fried artichokes and lemons with meyer lemon aioli. This was also ridiculously good. Imagine fried calamari, but with artichokes and lemons instead of squids. We've always said, "the artichoke is the squid of the field." And it's true. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-IJgDhEAL5G4/TXGry79Ey3I/AAAAAAAAAd8/mOsm2Ep0Kdc/s1600/IMG_5179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-IJgDhEAL5G4/TXGry79Ey3I/AAAAAAAAAd8/mOsm2Ep0Kdc/s320/IMG_5179.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Grilled pork loin chop stuffed with wild mushrooms, sage and fontina. Served with parsnip puree, kale, and cipolline onion rings. As delicious as this looks and sounds, it was even more delicious than that. The pizza was concerned that Steve would leave it for this pork chop. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-wBH5PLxxclU/TXGr0oHlE0I/AAAAAAAAAeA/X58vFbFgiiQ/s1600/IMG_5180.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-wBH5PLxxclU/TXGr0oHlE0I/AAAAAAAAAeA/X58vFbFgiiQ/s320/IMG_5180.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> This is a cappuccino. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-r9__SW8NF_4/TXGr2MXhqPI/AAAAAAAAAeE/vqz1Y5jxDvc/s1600/IMG_5182.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-r9__SW8NF_4/TXGr2MXhqPI/AAAAAAAAAeE/vqz1Y5jxDvc/s320/IMG_5182.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>We don't remember what all these are (we forgot to steal the dessert menu). We're going to try and guess. Ok, that looks like some orange slices at the bottom there. Next to that was some kind of fried milk thing. Then there's a little cup of brown stuff. Um, we think the middle things are fried banana and peanut butter cake/sandwich type deals. We dipped those in the brown stuff, and it was great. Finally there were some little fried dough balls. All of it was good, but we think we liked the peanut butter banana thing the best.<br />
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We've already been to quite a few fantastic restaurants on College Avenue (and some real bummers) but Hudson was the best yet. Everything we ordered was better than we expected it would be. Hudson gets our highest rating yet, a flawless FIVE SABUYS! <br />
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Next stop: We double back again for <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2011/04/enoteca-molinari.html">Enoteca Molinari</a>Stephen Loewinsohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17919980137860234502noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467184685873420498.post-80023978841259139512011-02-23T10:30:00.000-08:002011-04-24T08:42:43.001-07:00Pearl of Siam<div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Pearl of Siam has to be one of the oldest restaurants on College Avenue. Steve's parents took him here back when he was a little kid, back when the Crepevine was the Edible Complex. Briana had never been there and was not really expecting much.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: left; color: black; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Tui64l2Q0kg/TWMVS19n_1I/AAAAAAAAA0k/90afEEDEjnU/s1600/photo.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Tui64l2Q0kg/TWMVS19n_1I/AAAAAAAAA0k/90afEEDEjnU/s200/photo.jpeg" style="cursor: move;" width="133" /></a>Steve hadn't been to Pearl of Siam since he looked like this.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: left; color: black; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: left; color: black; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">We started with an appetizer of chicken satay and debated ordering the cucumber salad until we saw that it CAME WITH cucumber salad. Classy move, Pearl of Siam. Chicken satay is pretty hard to mess up, this one was good but not outstanding. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Pearl of Siam lets you choose how spicy you want your entrees. Most places, we have found, have a pretty wussy idea of what "spicy" means but Pearl of Siam is no joke. Seriously guys, watch out. We always order everything spicy at every restaurant that gives us the option. This was the only time it was almost too hot to eat. The waitress was super nice and tried to warn us that we might not want to order it too spicy. She then made sure to check on us every five minutes to make sure we were okay, and refilling our water glasses. Finally, we had to suck it up and admit the food might be too spicy for us. Aside from being way too spicy (our fault) the food was good basic thai cuisine, but pretty similar to a lot of other thai restaurants. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KrZQLoyG_Ys/TWMUvzEO6JI/AAAAAAAAA0Y/cSu4deneYHY/s1600/IMG_5088.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KrZQLoyG_Ys/TWMUvzEO6JI/AAAAAAAAA0Y/cSu4deneYHY/s320/IMG_5088.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Chicken Satay (not spicy) </div><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">We ended up having a nice time and would go back for sure. Unless you are a true spice jedi, you might want to stick with medium spicy. We give Pearl of Siam 3.5 Sabuys.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O15GVB0oZto/TWMaD44h-8I/AAAAAAAAA0o/98B0CLDpSVg/s1600/3.5+sabuys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="105" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O15GVB0oZto/TWMaD44h-8I/AAAAAAAAA0o/98B0CLDpSVg/s320/3.5+sabuys.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">Next stop is our first ever DOUBLE BACK! A new restaurant called <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2011/03/hudson.html">Hudson</a> opened up where <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2009/12/marzano.html">Marzano</a> and <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2010/01/garibaldis.html">Garibaldis</a> used to be. Woo!</div>breakcomicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02964043503868655915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467184685873420498.post-43970406096352249452011-01-11T11:53:00.000-08:002011-03-04T20:06:40.553-08:00Rockridge Cafe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Since Rockridge is the baby capital of Oakland, and our good old friends Heather and Hamish have one of those we thought we would bring them to this kid friendly restaurant and review. We met for brunch at the Rockridge Cafe.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_-yYVHDTLA6M/TSp2O1oQJSI/AAAAAAAAAzk/i68O8wFl-B0/s1600/Rockridge-Cafe-0009-4526.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_-yYVHDTLA6M/TSp2O1oQJSI/AAAAAAAAAzk/i68O8wFl-B0/s400/Rockridge-Cafe-0009-4526.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">From left to right: Hamish, Steve's reflection, Mavis, Heather and Briana</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TSU1zlT-ZrI/AAAAAAAAAdY/yFzqdZLHfyQ/s1600/4-breakfasts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TSU1zlT-ZrI/AAAAAAAAAdY/yFzqdZLHfyQ/s640/4-breakfasts.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Our meals (clockwise starting in the upper left): Steve got a spinach and cheese omelet with a blueberry muffin. Briana got the chorizo scramble with wheat toast. Hamish got fried eggs, chicken apple sausage, potatoes and the blueberry muffin. Heather got Eggs Blackstone with the Hollandaise on the side. Mavis didn't order anything, but tried to eat the table.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">Both Hamish and Steve agreed that the blueberry muffin is the way to go here at the Rockridge Cafe. They are fresh baked, nicely toasted and crisp on the outside and soft on the inside (Steve wanted to call the inside of the muffin "moist", but Briana thinks that's too creepy for this family review). Everything was good standard breakfast fare; the muffin was the only thing that stood out. Service was really friendly and fast. We went on a Thursday morning and only had a short wait, we imagine it might be more crowded on a weekend.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TSU11LNVaII/AAAAAAAAAdc/09RUB8VmVhY/s1600/Rockridge-Cafe-0001-4492.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TSU11LNVaII/AAAAAAAAAdc/09RUB8VmVhY/s320/Rockridge-Cafe-0001-4492.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Miss Mavis. Not cute, not painfully cute in the slightest.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TSU15ZtlV5I/AAAAAAAAAdk/ha3QnXCM_Sc/s1600/Rockridge-Cafe-0003-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TSU15ZtlV5I/AAAAAAAAAdk/ha3QnXCM_Sc/s320/Rockridge-Cafe-0003-.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Heather</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TSU17TGS58I/AAAAAAAAAdo/Csv9U2cmev4/s1600/Rockridge-Cafe-0008-4514.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TSU17TGS58I/AAAAAAAAAdo/Csv9U2cmev4/s320/Rockridge-Cafe-0008-4514.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's to a great 2011 and a great brunch!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We thought this restaurant was a pleasant place to breakfast with our friends. It's a good diner that isn't trying to reinvent breakfast, it just keeps it real. We give Rockridge Cafe a 3.5 sabuys.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_-yYVHDTLA6M/TSp7z-sPqpI/AAAAAAAAAzo/nR9RXocFLtI/s1600/3.5+sabuys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="105" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_-yYVHDTLA6M/TSp7z-sPqpI/AAAAAAAAAzo/nR9RXocFLtI/s320/3.5+sabuys.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">First time ever on Broadway to Bancroft: Bonus Features!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Next stop: <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2011/02/pearl-of-siam.html">Pearl of Siam</a>!</div><span id="goog_1669492868"></span><span id="goog_1669492869"></span>Stephen Loewinsohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17919980137860234502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467184685873420498.post-70866674699706177892011-01-09T19:35:00.000-08:002011-03-04T20:07:33.894-08:00À Côté<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TRkQ1cnBIQI/AAAAAAAAAdU/l2yg1asDww4/s1600/Untitled-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TRkQ1cnBIQI/AAAAAAAAAdU/l2yg1asDww4/s1600/Untitled-1.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Our good friends Sarah and Jackson joined us for our À Côté review. When we started this project, Sarah said she wanted to go with us when we got to À Côté because it's one of her favorite restaurants. She's had to wait a long time, but it was all worth it in the end. We started off with some drinks. From left to right: Sarah with a Guyana Star, Jackson with a boozy eggnog, Briana with a hot toddy, and Steve with Guyana Star. All drinks get an A+. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You may notice that there is a crazy curtain behind us. À Côté is waaaaaay bigger than it looks from the outside. When they brought us to our table, they led us through a crazy labyrinth of hallways (it might have just been one hallway) for an eternity until we finally arrived in this strange land you see above. They've insulated their outdoor patio so you can still sit there on cold winter nights. It's totally warm and comfortable. We could even hear raindrops falling on the roof of the tent, which made it extra cozy. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Now, on to the food: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TRkK94Opy5I/AAAAAAAAAco/HyYnW-cPNjw/s1600/IMG_4033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TRkK94Opy5I/AAAAAAAAAco/HyYnW-cPNjw/s320/IMG_4033.jpg" width="213" /></a><strong style="font-weight: normal;">Caprino tartufo: truffeled goat cheese with toasts, nuts, figs, and little apple slices. AMAZING! </strong></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TRkLCDXj1qI/AAAAAAAAAcw/TF3EoEmzgDw/s1600/IMG_4041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TRkLCDXj1qI/AAAAAAAAAcw/TF3EoEmzgDw/s320/IMG_4041.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Pommes frites. As delicious as they look. Served with aioli, but they will totally bring you ketchup if that is what you're into (that is what Steve is into).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TRkLDkfui0I/AAAAAAAAAc0/GPEOzoZDVw8/s1600/IMG_4043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TRkLDkfui0I/AAAAAAAAAc0/GPEOzoZDVw8/s320/IMG_4043.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">Butternut Squash Ravioli</span></strong> with Pistachios, Brown Butter and Sage. Way more delicious than they look. Order these.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">Smoked & grilled pork loin chop</span><b> </b></strong>with Savoy Cabbage, Bacon, Apples, Fingerling Potatoes and Mustard Sauce. Not quite as delicious as it looks. This was the one dish that didn't quite live up to our expectations. It wasn't bad by any means, but we've definitely had better pork chops elsewhere (like Wood Tavern or T-Rex).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TRkLH4kMSyI/AAAAAAAAAc8/BFQGruqUS6U/s1600/IMG_4049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TRkLH4kMSyI/AAAAAAAAAc8/BFQGruqUS6U/s320/IMG_4049.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>After dinner drinks! Clockwise from left to right: Some kind of Eau de Vie for Sarah (we can't remember), another hot toddy for Briana (she was feeling under the weather), argmanac for Jackson, and a cappuccino for Steve. All were great.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TRkLMlQdYzI/AAAAAAAAAdI/RZb7TsrZ1sw/s1600/IMG_4054.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TRkLMlQdYzI/AAAAAAAAAdI/RZb7TsrZ1sw/s320/IMG_4054.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Ricotta fritters with Huckleberry Sauce, Vanilla Sauce, & Cocoa Fudge Sauce. So light and fluffy. So delicious. Comes with three different sauces (which are all magical) but they'd be amazing even without the sauce.<br />
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Sarah was right to look forward to À Côté, it's a fantastic restaurant. Even the dishes that weren't our favorites were pretty great. The secret back patio was a nice surprise, and the atmosphere and service were both lovely. Be sure to make a reservation. We went on a Friday, and overheard someone being told they would have to wait an hour for a table.<br />
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We give À Côté 4.5 Sabuys. This was one of out favorite places so far.<br />
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Next stop: <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2011/01/rockridge-cafe.html">Rockridge Cafe</a>!Stephen Loewinsohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17919980137860234502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467184685873420498.post-22008926542042689352010-12-12T20:08:00.000-08:002011-03-04T20:10:48.962-08:00Bittersweet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TQWeCj0uO9I/AAAAAAAAAcI/c_Qb7iIM0UA/s1600/bitter-sweet-0001-3473.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TQWeCj0uO9I/AAAAAAAAAcI/c_Qb7iIM0UA/s640/bitter-sweet-0001-3473.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We're not sure what to call Bittersweet. It's like a café, but for cocoa instead of coffee. Let's call it a chocolé. It's a really cozy place to go on a rainy winter day (as we did) but you may have to wait a while for a seat (as we did). You can also order stuff to-go, like this guy above. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TQWeEYXVpCI/AAAAAAAAAcM/m8NaxINW4IA/s1600/bitter-sweet-0002-3479.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TQWeEYXVpCI/AAAAAAAAAcM/m8NaxINW4IA/s320/bitter-sweet-0002-3479.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>Of course we had to order hot chocolates, since that's kind of their specialty at Bittersweet. We shared one spicy hot cocoa and one peanut butter hot cocoa. The spicy one was our favorite, and it was actually surprisingly spicy (which we like). If you like spicy food you'll probably dig it, but if you're a spice-wuss, watch out!<br />
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The peanut butter cocoa was delicious, but we both thought it was a little too thick. Imagine drinking a steaming hot mug full of Skippy. It's like that. We loved the flavor, but when we think of hot cocoa, we tend to think of it as a liquid, not a solid.<br />
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</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TQWeIfmEMqI/AAAAAAAAAcU/UC4x11fOTsg/s1600/bitter-sweet-0004-3486.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TQWeIfmEMqI/AAAAAAAAAcU/UC4x11fOTsg/s640/bitter-sweet-0004-3486.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
We went to Bittersweet around breakfast time so we could try some of the food, as well as the cocoa. Steve got a croissant with ricotta and jam, and Bri had a turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce. The turkey sandwich was a good call. The cocoa is so sweet that you kind of need something savory to go with it. The croissant with cheese and jam was too much sweet on sweet action, but it was a good croissant. They have a lot of other beautiful pastries and baked goods that we didn't get to try.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TQWeL2vgnYI/AAAAAAAAAcc/1x4EcUhHJXg/s1600/bitter-sweet-0006-3491.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TQWeL2vgnYI/AAAAAAAAAcc/1x4EcUhHJXg/s640/bitter-sweet-0006-3491.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We did get to try these yummy bites of chocolate bread-pudding, because they brought a tray of them around to all the tables. We love it when places give you free stuff that you didn't ask for. EVERY PLACE SHOULD DO THIS! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TQWeKEt2A7I/AAAAAAAAAcY/X2b4CQ9IjKI/s1600/bitter-sweet-0005-3488.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TQWeKEt2A7I/AAAAAAAAAcY/X2b4CQ9IjKI/s640/bitter-sweet-0005-3488.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We wanted to sit at this table with the nice window light so we could take better pictures of our food, but some other jerk got there first. Here's a photo of their stupid hot-cocoa. Choke on it, table stealer! </div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TQWeOCuK6eI/AAAAAAAAAcg/gbiQ5tWXZjQ/s1600/bitter-sweet-0007-3504.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TQWeOCuK6eI/AAAAAAAAAcg/gbiQ5tWXZjQ/s640/bitter-sweet-0007-3504.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>In addition to serving hot cocoa and pastries, Bittersweet also sells a crazy variety of pre-packaged chocolate items from around the world. Here is but a small slice of their wall of chocolate goodies.<br />
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We were on the fence whether to give this place 3.5 or 4 Sabuys, but free bread-pudding put them over the top. We'd love to see Bittersweet offer a little more in the way of savory foods to balance out the sweetness of the cocoa, but other than that they deliver everything you'd hope for in a chocolé.<br />
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We give Bittersweet 4 Sabuys.<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-yYVHDTLA6M/TQWm-qjVNwI/AAAAAAAAAzA/96Tmh0RhcL4/s1600/4%2Bsabuys.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550025711308584706" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-yYVHDTLA6M/TQWm-qjVNwI/AAAAAAAAAzA/96Tmh0RhcL4/s320/4%2Bsabuys.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 105px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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Next stop: <a href="http://www.broadwaytobancroft.com/2010/12/cote.html">A Coté</a>!Stephen Loewinsohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17919980137860234502noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467184685873420498.post-4818801620571620652010-11-21T17:45:00.001-08:002010-12-03T08:47:29.616-08:00Pizza Rustica<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TOnLS2wd0qI/AAAAAAAAAb0/aGtVVMVXA9c/s1600/Pizza-Rustica-0002-2597.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TOnLS2wd0qI/AAAAAAAAAb0/aGtVVMVXA9c/s640/Pizza-Rustica-0002-2597.jpg" border="0" height="425" width="640" /></a></div>Our friend, Jacob Snackgroot, from New York was in town last week, so we decided to bring him on our Rustica Pizza review, since people from New York think they're all like experts on Pizza or whatever, yeesh!<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TOnLQvTU80I/AAAAAAAAAbw/RVwDjwBL7fo/s1600/Pizza-Rustica-0001-2596.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TOnLQvTU80I/AAAAAAAAAbw/RVwDjwBL7fo/s640/Pizza-Rustica-0001-2596.jpg" border="0" height="426" width="640" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;">We started with the Insalata Mista Verde with chicken added. It tasted like a salad you would get in your airplane meal... only bigger and not on an airplane. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TOnLS2wd0qI/AAAAAAAAAb0/aGtVVMVXA9c/s1600/Pizza-Rustica-0002-2597.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TOnLbCR8C7I/AAAAAAAAAcA/viXHkyamxw8/s1600/Pizza-Rustica-0005-2609.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TOnLbCR8C7I/AAAAAAAAAcA/viXHkyamxw8/s640/Pizza-Rustica-0005-2609.jpg" border="0" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>We wanted to get a rotisserie chicken, but they were all out of rotisserie chicken. Apparently it comes from different type of chicken than the kind they put on the salad we got. So instead we got pasta with shrimp and scallops. The pasta was fresh and light (for pasta) and the shrimps and scallops were tender and nicely seasoned with garlic and Italian parsley.<br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TOnLVD22LII/AAAAAAAAAb4/S3dcZnLey-M/s1600/Pizza-Rustica-0003-2602.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TOnLVD22LII/AAAAAAAAAb4/S3dcZnLey-M/s640/Pizza-Rustica-0003-2602.jpg" border="0" height="426" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">We figured we should try to unite the east and west coasts, so we got the All American Pizza which comes with sausage, pepperoni, green bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms. Jacob could barely contain his excitement. Pizza Rustica offers two types of pizza crust: a regular cornmeal crust, and one that has fennel and other herbs added to it. We went with the more exciting of the two.<br /><br />Everyone agreed that the pizza was the best part of the meal. It even passed muster with a genuine east coast pizza elitist. Rustica makes a really great pizza that falls somewhere in between Lane Splitter and Dopo on the fancy-scale. We would probably eat it all the time if it weren't so darn expensive. As it is, we'll probably still end up shelling out for a Rustica Pizza from time to time.<br /><br /></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TOnLYtgJjaI/AAAAAAAAAb8/Y_pCgatGayE/s1600/Pizza-Rustica-0004-2607.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TOnLYtgJjaI/AAAAAAAAAb8/Y_pCgatGayE/s640/Pizza-Rustica-0004-2607.jpg" border="0" height="426" width="640" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><blink><span style="font-size:x-large;">EXTREME PIZZA CLOSE-UP!!!</span></blink></div><br />Briana and Steve give Rustica 3.5 Sabuys, and Jacob gives it two fuggedaboutits. Jacob also encourages everyone to check out the lovely art in the men's room.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_-yYVHDTLA6M/TPg-FWhJimI/AAAAAAAAAyg/JwrJlByqsZk/s1600/3.5%2Bsabuys.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 105px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_-yYVHDTLA6M/TPg-FWhJimI/AAAAAAAAAyg/JwrJlByqsZk/s320/3.5%2Bsabuys.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546251202771651170" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Next stop: Bittersweet!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_01Iw7o4SeDg/TOnLbCR8C7I/AAAAAAAAAcA/viXHkyamxw8/s1600/Pizza-Rustica-0005-2609.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Stephen Loewinsohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17919980137860234502noreply@blogger.com2