tommers "The deliciousness is in the details"

My follow-up review for this restaurant. Read my previous review for this restaurant here

Update 08/17:
Maybe I’ll feel differently if I pay for a meal here, but Mantra is my new hotness in Palo Alto. The dishes I have eaten and tried so far have been some of the most enjoyable I’ve had in the area in a while and there are a bunch that I’m really looking forward to trying on my next visit.

I came here again with work today and got the lamb chops, which were bursting with all the juicy saucy flavors of the lamb shank. Its pricey, but you get a lot of lamb as well as a couple of sides mixed in. The meat is very soft but charred along the bone and it was enjoyable enough that I resorted to breaking it apart with my hands to get every piece. The sauce tasted like a wine reduction (not sure if it was) and deserved to be sopped up with naan. It also had a polenta base that was creamy and just as enjoyable. The meat sat on top of a flaky phyllo biscuit with a diced mushroom sauce and the whole thing was accompanied by asparus and carrots wrapped in prosciutto. Its like they worry that you won’t love the lamb so they insecurely need to make four more things on your plate awesome just in case. I was very happy with all five.

I tried the flank steak and was not as impressed but only had one bite. Next time I’m going to try the waiter recommended sea bass. Three cheers for expensed lunches.

There are a few restaurants that I would recommend highly, with the caveat its covered by an expense account. Mantra is definitely one of them. It has a wide array of very unexpected options many of which are very tasty, but its not as consistently great as its prices are high.

While my recent expensed lunch at Mantra had a lot of very tasty memories and was more enjoyable that most meals I’ve had recently, it wasn’t worth the tab and I’m sure I would have been more critical of the dishes I tried if it was on me.

I’d been here about a year earlier and it seemed to be more unsure of whether it was expensive so-so Indian turned upscale or upscale dining with an Indian flare. While there were some interesting dishes that I don’t remember vividly, I do remember feeling like neither goal was accomplished nearly well enough for the price. I’ve read they have been under new management since, so that probably accounts for the difference in my experiences.

This time, I felt like the menu was much more interesting, that they had decided to focus more on unique dishes whether or not they seemed Indian enough. But they still charged as much as they could get away with in downtown PA. My entree, the “coke” au vin ($26) was pretty great all around. It was a tender lamb shank with a good amount of meat and pretty fatty (not as soft as I’ve had, but not nearly as dry and stringy as many lamb shanks I’ve tried). Its name is a play on coq au vin, except this one includes coke in a wine reduction sauce instead of chicken in wine. The sauce was really tasty and luckily didn’t remind me of Coke, though the white buttery cream sauce that it was mixed with reminds you of how much butter they probably used to achieve something so tasty. It came with a side of crostini with a berry sauce for some reason. It was tasty, though seemed a strange addition.

Our table got an array of appetizers of varying appeal. The Paneer Cuboid ($9) was a light chunk of paneer cheese with a sweet edge and slightly fried. The cheese was a little too much like tofu, but the bites striped with a slightly sweet ribbon were very tasty. The
Shrimp “Vinhaleaux” ($12 for 3) were very meaty, almost like chicken. They were marinated in chili and cinnamon and tasted better than the average shrimp, but definitely not worth four dollars each. We got another dish that included two chicken sausages on a tasty BBQ-like sauce along with two small spheres of paneer wrapped in a tough wheaty dough. Those weren’t that enjoyable though they were over two very enjoyable fruit sauces. The sauteed chicken look like the typical red spiced chicken you might get at many north Indian restaurants, though the meat and spicing was much better. But still, not nearly as good as the lamb dish.

If you’re looking to explore a menu filled with entirely unique combinations and don’t might spending too much for it, check out Mantra. But if you are looking for great food that is worth its price, look elsewhere.

On my first lunch visit, Slow Club justified both their name and their good reputation. I arrived at noon on a Wednesday glad to see I had beaten the rush. I ordered a cup of heirloom tomato and fennel soup ($3.5) and the salmon ($13) from my Mission-charming waitress. The bread that came out was soft and fluffy and better than most. It would probably have been better served by butter than olive oil though. The tomato fennel soup came out quickly and was very tasty. It had its fair share of butter/cream but the fennel contributed a lot of the flavor to make this soup better than the many similar ones I’ve had. But with a few apologies in between, it took forty minutes to get my salmon. While this was disappointing since it meant a reasonably quick lunch may not be possible at Slow Club, the waitress was very apologetic and said this day was way too long because of a slew of to go orders and that it was on the house. While I ended up leaving a $6 tip, the final bill for both items was technically only $4.

The salmon was wonderful. It was on a bed of sweet corn that was somewhat like polenta and was soft, succulent, and salty. It was basically unadorned leaving just the taste of the meat and the melty mouthfeel. The most noticeable thing about the salmon flavoring was that it was saltier than most, but I think this made it better as opposed to covering up flaws.

I had come here previously for brunch and had one of the best french toasts I’ve ever had and a great spinach salad.

If casual fish joints were a dime-a-dozen, then I’d say Weird Fish would be 7 cents. But since restaurants like Weird Fish are so rare, I think they bring an experience to the Mission that I’m happy to have. The fish is simple but tasty, sort of like the equivalent of a pescheria taqueria. I got the dijon-almond encrusted trout ($7) which took a simple fish and made it tastier with an appealing sauce. It wasn’t too mustardy and the fish was tasty, but simple. The trout was pretty small so I was glad I got two small tacos and a small cup of soup. The two tacos ($3.75 each) were the yam and the talapia. The yam was tasty with a mix of seeds, avocado, lettuce, and mashed yam. Not the best yam dish around and the tortillas fall apart too easily, but it was nice for $4. The tilapia with mango salsa was also nice, though something you could find at a better taqueria. The potato squash soup was mostly a potato soup with a slight edge. Not bad, but not as interesting as I would have expected.

If I were to review Garcon entirely on their signature duck, it would be undoubtedly five stars. I had a five star experience here as well, but need to explore the menu a little more before this place can justify that final star. The chef was our waiter for the night and he was very enjoyable and obviously knowledgeable. Three of us got the duck and when we asked if he’d recommend it, he said he’d be in big trouble if he couldn’t. The duck confit ($22) was definitely as good as he said it was and then some. It was soft and moist on the inside but very crisp on the outside with a more enjoyable skin than I’ve almost ever had on any fowl. The truffle oil sauce was buttery but so much better than butter. The mushrooms and fingerling potatoes were a very enjoyable addition. I would definitely get this dish again. My sister got the coq au vin ($17.50) which I had a bite of and was less impressed with. It was fine, but not nearly as memorable. It was in a BBQ like sauce as far as I remember.

The tomato salad ($8) was simple, but very tasty. The large tomato slices were really tasty (presumably heirloom tomatoes) with a nice herbacious dressing. The beet salad ($8) was also simple, but not as great. The French onion soup ($7) was not better than most, but French onion is generally pretty good. It had too much cheese though.

Dessert was a little less exciting. The strawberry bread pudding ($7) was mostly a dull cake with strawberry on top. Presumably a more authentic version, but I prefer the softer eggy bread puddings that come often come in a ramekin with caramel sauce. The chocolate pear tart ($7) was also a little too consistent without a strong chocolate flavor. The pear was fine, but there was no spark.

The cote-du-rhone wine ($9.50) was an OK wine but the Sonoma Coast Syrah ($12) was one of the best I’ve ever had.

My follow-up review for this restaurant. Read my previous review for this restaurant here

Bi-Rite often has long lines on weekends, but its totally worth it. The ice cream flavors are much more interesting than any creamery I’ve been to. Its hard to describe what makes it so good, but its very clear when you taste it. The best is their signature sea salt caramel. I really liked the brown butter pecan and the strawberry balsamic, but the honey with lavender had too much of the soapy flavor of lavender.

While Fresca had some great Peruvian options, its prices betray its Peruvian roots and draw attention to the ways it could be better. I went there for dinner and we got four dishes between the three of us and while my halibut was stellar, everything else left something to be desired.

The halibut ($26) was recommended by our waiter and deserved all his praise. It was a quality fish rubbed in a very tasty spice with a creamy red pepper based sauce that tasted terrific, without drawing too much attention to itself. It came with a risotto cake that was also terrific. It had a great sauce, had a slightly crispy feel, and added a lot to the dish. The signature Lomo Saltado ($18) was also highly recommended by our waiter and was their signature dish. Instead of being terrific, it reminded me of an episode of Penn and Teller’s Bullshit. In it a prop designer takes really mediocre food and dresses it up to look fancy and successfully serves it for a lot of money in a nice restaurant. While this didn’t look fancy, if I got it for $7 at a taqueria, I wouldn’t be surprised. And at Fresca, I feel like that distinction should be clear. It was a mix of steak strips that tasted like typical overcooked carne asada. It has a soy reduction sauce that was good, but there was so little of it, its presence was almost negligible. Mixed in were soggy fries and some tomatoes. I’m not a fan of paella ($20) so I don’t have much to say about it, but it seemed fine and enjoyable and about what I’d expect. The ceviche chino ($11) was good, but not great. The fish didn’t have a strong presence and the dressing, wonton chips, and guacamole didn’t come together to be that exciting.

The waiter was very nice to talk with and the second syrah on the menu was terrific ($8). Spicy and fruity and very memorable. I didn’t think as much as the waiter recommended tempranillo.

I wouldn’t mind coming back since the halibut makes me think it could be better, but for their $20+ prices it doesn’t seem worth the risk with so many untried options in the city.

I came to La Strada for the fourth time in the last few years and while my past memories weren’t great, everything we tried today was, so I’m going to review what I remember.

I’d gotten the sausage ravioli a couple times before and it was always tremendous. I remember it being better than anything else I had tried. It in a sage brown butter sauce with amaretto and is a perfect combination of sweet and buttery. The sausage it quite tasty and the ravioli is cooked to be almost crispy, but the amaretto butter is what makes the dish so memorable. As long your not adverse to sausage (and admittedly even I am), try this dish first.

Since I’d had this dish a bunch, I went for the tomato mozzarella ravioli instead. This one was awesome. The tomatoes were some of the most potent I’ve had. Somehow they squeezed all the flavor of a whole tomato into the the squished red and yellow cherry tomatoes on top of the ravioli. Every bite of this dish was fantastic.

We also got the sausage pizza which was pretty quality. Thin crust and not too cheesy or too saucy. I’d recommend it.

Despite feeling Palo Alto shi-shi, the prices aren’t too bad either. The bread is pretty good and comes with a tomato spread that is interesting, but grows tiresome pretty quickly.

From the two dishes I tried, I’m super stoked about coming back to Aux Delices. The restaurant provided a much wider array of options than I had seen on most Vietnamese menus, whether they were hole-in-the-walls, middle range white table cloth Vietnamese, or fancy-dancy fusion. And the two fish dishes I had were really stellar, and at a much better price that I would have expected.

I came here with a friend who loves this place and I left totally in agreement. On my friend’s recommendation we got the Cha Ca ($12) “Grilled Filets of white fish over fresh dill & green onions with sake anchovy sauce” which was a bowl very tasty white fish with a sauce and herb mix that made every bite a delight. It was hard to pull myself away from it to try the caramel salmon ($11) while it was still piping hot. The salmon dish was a simply cooked salmon in a very hot caramel sauce. My sweet-adverse friend loved it too and didn’t think it was “too sweet” which is rare.

Our friends had one of the rolls and loved it, though their salad was “just salad” our third friend got the vegetarian chow-mein and loved it so much he got another plate of it. I tried a little and it didn’t change my dislike of chow-mein, but he seemed totally satisfied.

Their unfiltered sake ($4 / $6.5) was also great. It was milky white and slightly sweet, somewhat like coconut water, but it was so tasty that two other people ordered large bottles after trying mine.

I’m hoping to come back here enough to raise the stars to the roof.

My follow-up review for this restaurant. Read my previous review for this restaurant here

Update 08/28:
Had another good experience tonight. The waitress was better than my last waiter and the food was about on par. We got the filet mignon ($25) with crab cakes, asparagus, and spinach in a pepper. I really enjoyed the taste of the filet, though admittedly it reminded me somewhat of ground beef. It was in a thick buttery sauce (slightly gravy like, but much better). It was a little on the small side, though there was a lot more going on on the plate. The crab cakes were good, though I’ve had better. They were a little starchy. The rest of the additions were nice enough and added value to the dish. We also got the ahi tuna poke ($11). Its a combination of seasoned ahi with cucumber and mango in a cocktail glass. The tuna tasted great as did the mango. A little on the sweet side, but an appetizer I’d highly recommend.

Yellow Ginger is a solid entry in the ever growing list of south east Asian restaurants in the Mountain View area. While I haven’t tried any dishes yet that are out of this world, I was impressed with the quality and value of my first visit.

Despite the strip-mall locale, its a very attractive restaurant with great lighting, mood, and color. The waitstaff wasn’t terribly polished compared to most similar restaurants, but these things are always incidental to the food for me.

On my first visit I tried the roti prata ($5), Hainan Chicken Rice ($9), Roasted Game Hen ($15), and Papaya Salad ($7). The roti prata was a great start. It was doughy and soft and had a slightly buttery quality. The food came out too fast for us to finish it while it was still warm, which is too bad because its much better when its still warm. It comes with a oily chili sauce that didn’t add much to the dish. Next we got the Papaya Salad which had a good amount of flavor. It was thinly slightly white papaya shards with a tangy light vinaigrette and tomatoes. While it was tasty, its a little too large and consistent to finish once better options come along. The roasted game hen was the best dish offered. It was roasted to the point of being crispy and filled with chili sauce that tasted slightly like berries. There were many pieces and they were each worthy eating down to the bone. It came with an all too large side of rice that doesn’t really fit the dish. The Hainan Chicken Rice is a dish only a mother could love. It looks like boiled chicken breast, but not string. There’s a thin layer of almost uncooked fat which taste very similar to the chicken. Its in a sauce without much flavor and comes with a big side of rice. But mostly I’d just say this dish is useless. Glad everything else was much better.

From the wines I was familiar with, the markup isn’t too bad and the selection is better than many Asian restaurants that just get the commodity bottles that fill the cheaper sections at Safeway.

The menu has many interesting options, you can get a good amount of food for a reasonable price, and its an all around nice experience. I’ll definitely be back.

I don’t give two stars much and I’m surprised to be giving it to a restaurant that I’ve wanted to eat at for so long and even got to dine at on someone else’s tab, but I was really let down by the three tiffin’s I tried on my lunch visit. Service was very slow even though it wasn’t that crowded and dessert was the only saving grace.

I came here with a group of six co-workers and we all got different tiffin plates ($18). I got the halibut on the waiters recommendation and would have been hard pressed to be more disappointed. The tiffin’s are described as an entree, an appetizer, and a salad, a seemingly good value for $18 at a restaurant like Junnoon. But the salad was just a handful of mixed greens with a vinaigrette, the halibut was a couple small chunks without any sauce and not much flavor, and the accompanying chickpea stew was decent, but something I would expect to taste at leas this good just about anywhere. The halibut was cooked in a tandoor and dry like poorly make tandoori chicken. It really didn’t offer much to be enjoyed. It came with two dipping sauces that were slightly interesting, but nothing that could save the dish. The chickpeas were more flavorful in a curry sauce, but nothing to write home about.

A co-worker got the lamb which sounded really interesting. It was a small tin of rice and a few lamb chunks cooked with a bread cover top. But the dish consisted of mostly rice which was smoky, but unremarkable like the lamb. It wasn’t small since it was mostly rice, but it was still left unfinished. The only dish we all liked somewhat was the chicken which was in a creamy coconut sauce. Again, nothing that lived up to my expectations, but much better than the other two.

The roti was pretty good, but not as doughy or flavorful as I prefer.

For dessert I tried the ginger molten chocolate cake. I’ve had a lot of these and this was definitely up there with some of the better ones. A lot of these desserts are pretty similar, so the ginger twist was a nice change, but I liked the ginger aspect more during the first half than the second.

While we weren’t in a big hurry, the whole meal took around 90 minutes, which is a pretty long time for two courses. The desserts took a while, which is probably required for the cake, but it would have been nice to know that in advance when your there on business and not likely to have as much time to sit around as couples in the evening.

After going to Mantra a week earlier and feeling like their options were really interesting, yet slightly overpriced, I have know doubt which restaurant I’d recommend to anyone looking for a great pricey Indian experience in Palo Alto. Considering this place has gotten a good number of awards, I’m assuming the dinner must be better than the tiffins. I certainly hope so.