jenniferyellow

We came here bc my friends had seen it featured on the Food Network’s show “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives”. Actually, it was their second time here, so I guess they had liked it beyond just the fame factor too :)

The food was good – pretty typical diner-fare, and they seemed to have a nice selection of salads too if you wanted a healthier alternative. I think I would have rated the food alone with just 3-stars (pretty good, but not like EXCEPTIONALLY so), but the cool environment and the 24-hour-ness combine to give it that extra something :)

The background of the diner is pretty neat too – it opened next to the TV studio in San Diego (which I didn’t even know existed! but was the set of several TV shows, including Veronica Mars :)) to feed the cast/crew after work. I’ll post a picture soon, but it was a cute trailer-shaped building with lots of booth seating.

i first visited this cafe because i found myself on capital hill, but the mocha totally knocked my socks off!! the taste of the espresso is like JUST RIGHT, and there is the perfect amount of chocolate, and the foam is soo frothy.

if you’re in the area (or heck, even if it’s a little out of your way!), i’d really recommend swinging by! the cafe itself is quite nice too, with a wall of large windows and counters that face out to the park, so it’s great as a place to hang out and read or study too. i haven’t taken advantage of this myself, but the signage seems to indicate that they even have free wireless internet!

i usually find most thai places “pretty good”, but chantanee just stands out from the crowd! in addition to the more typical thai items (curry, pad thai, etc.) which they make very well, they have some really yummy dishes that i’ve never had or even seen at other thai places!

family style sharing of a few dishes is great for dinner, and the lunch specials seem like a good individual-option, not to mention a good deal (if i worked closer, i might come here more often for lunch :)). can be kind of busy on weekends, but it’s usually not hard to get a table for a group of 4 or 5. for larger parties, they do take reservations and there’s always parking available! :)

located right by the pike place market, this restaurant is a great choice to take out-of-town visitors: conveniently located next to my favorite “tourist attraction” in the city, windows with a nice view of the market and the sound, and a menu that features ingredients drawn from the market.

but even if you aren’t visiting from out of town, the great food and neat vibe of this restaurant make it a place that i can see myself going back to again and again.

i’ve been eating mostly from the sandwiches/soups/salads sections of the menu, but the other half of the menu also includes fancier entrees too (altho my review can’t really speak to those items :))

personally, i liked the shared-table environment (most of the restaurant is made up of the larger tables that seat 6 people all together) — it was fun and different… kind of felt like one big family :)

i even heard (unconfirmed of course!) that this is tom douglas’ favorite of his restaurants too.

after feasting here last night, i thought i’d post about a few of my favorites, since btw all of the people in our group, i think we tried pretty much the entire menu! :) (at least all of the appetizers! with the exception of the garlic almond soup, which sounded a bit odd to us….)

that being said, i’m not sure this is a great place for big groups tho. our group of 10 ordered a ridiculous amount of food (i literally meant it when i said “feast”!), and it seemed to overwhelm the kitchen. well, that was our theory, since the food came out quiiiiiite slowly. and it wasn’t the kind of well-timed/good-service slowness, bc i think we were quite obviously ravenous and devouring everything as soon as they set it down before us. :)

i really liked the ambience – simple, dimmed lighting with candles, mostly small/intimate tables – but i think it’s a better choice for a dinner with a smaller party that wants to take their time with the food :)

the happy hour food (a great value at $4!) would probably have earned this place a 4-star review, but throw in fantastic service (even during a really busy time) and a phenomenal view… 5-stars for the overall experience. no question :)

happy hour is in the six-seven bar/lounge area, sunday thru thursday, 3-6pm. on a nice day, there are even outdoor seats, where you’d feel even more like you are on a boat! but w/o the seasickness :)

hmm, after reading the other reviews, i kind of wished i had tried some of the tapas dishes… but oh well, i guess i do always like desserts better anyways :)

so i came here on a weeknight for some dessert and wine to celebrate a friend’s birthday. the ambience was really great — bustly and lively, but not so loud that we couldn’t talk to one another. the servers were also really accommodating, as we kept having to add more chairs (and eventually even append a second table!) to our group.

so in summary, a nice place for groups, but i actually think it would be even nicer with just 1 or 2 others.

this restaurant is one of several on the quaint, pedestrian-traffic-only belden place near the financial district of sf (i’ve heard it called “french alley” before too). it was a pretty busy saturday night when i went, but the restaurant had plenty of seating and lots of friendly/attentive servers.

the weather was a bit too chilly to permit this the evening i was there, but with the festive atmosphere outside, i think the outdoor tables would be really fun for dining AND for people watching :)

i’m definitely going to come back :)

the place certainly is small, so most likely there will be a wait! we had a group of 6, and waited about 30 minutes for a table at 6pm on a weeknight. not toooo bad if you ask me! the service was also really good for a crowded/popular place too :)

anyways, i ordered the chirashi (which isn’t on the menu, but is a bowl of sushi rice topped with an assortment of sashimi). sooo much good fish, and it was only $12.50 for the whole bowl!