Rendez-Vous Cafe Bistro - Albany, CA

Though I heard mixed reports about this place, after going there twice now, I can definitely say I'm a fan, at least for lunch anyways. I've had one of the best bowls of clam chowder, a very good and different meatloaf sandwich of all things, and a very tender and juicy steak sandwich. drool.

Their lunch menu is very reasonably priced and perfect for a nicer sit-down lunch. It's composed of all the standard french bistro fare, croque monsieur, salade nicoise, steak frites and several more american options with a french spin. Besides what I've had, I've heard good things from my boss and co-worker about the croque monsieur and the pannini. Everything has been well executed and very tasty. I'm pretty sure I'm either going to get the Croque Monsieur or breakfast/brunch next time I go.

The main complaint that I've heard about this place is the sloppy service, though I've had great experiences myself. attentive yet casual.

Rocky's Hamburgers and Cheesesteaks - Berkeley, CA

Cheesesteak = Awesome! So glad I finally decided to stop by cause I almost didn't, but lucky for me I found an excellent parking space right across from the storefront. It was an almost empty night on the first presidential debate but I can't understand why. The place offers a decent breakfast menu, several burgers, several cheesesteaks and a few other hot and cold sandwich options.

I ended up ordering the Philly Cheesesteak, side of fries and a peanut butter shake that I just couldn't resist. The wait wasn't too long, there were about 2 orders ahead of me, so everyone was just sitting around watching Jeopardy (came on after the debate) waiting for their food. When it finally did come out it smelled great, onions, peppers cheese and some good meat. It could've only gotten better if the bun was toasted, but the seeded bun was just fine as is. Thick and held up well despite being packed with cheesy goodness. It wasn't too gooey though, which is good. It probably was one of the least sloppy cheesesteaks I've had. The meat was juicy and not over cooked. The side of fries were just ok though, seemed like out of the bag but crispy. I'm not much of a fry guy though. But the shake...mmmm....that was awesome. Or at least perfect for me that night. It was like drinking a cold smooth peanut butter cup. I would go back just for that. It had bits of real peanut butter floating around that just finished real well with each sip.

I can't wait to go back to try the rest of the menu. Let me know if anyone would like to join me soon.

Gioia Pizzeria : Berkeley, Ca

After seeing them on Michael Bauer's Top 5 pizzerias in the Bay Area I found the perfect opportunity to go and try a pie. My buddy John I's birthday was last weekend and being the pizza lover that he is, he wanted a BYOPizza party. Excellent choice. Anyways, this would be my first time going to Gioia, and after this first pizza...I am definitely going back.

They have a fairly simple menu online, which I inspected before I went, which is a good thing, since they only offer pick up and take out orders if you call it in. Even though all their choices sounded good, i was in the mood for mushrooms...and I always love a good cremini. Turns out, I made an excellent choice. I have to say, that despite being one of the simpler pizzas at the party, it was one of the tasties. decent crust, though I would've preferred it crispier (something to request next time) but the mushrooms and the garlic oil...mmmm so good. I really liked the thin crust and if I was at home eating it, I probably could've finished the whole pie myself.

In addition to the pie, I couldn't help myself and ordered an extra slice of their sausage pizza, the Salisicca, which came with Fatted Calf Fennel Sausage and fresh oregano. That fennel sausage was excellent. The service was friendly and efficient with lots of staff working behind the counter and at the oven, though don't expect to eat there. Seems to be mostly for pick up and people coming by for a slice at lunch or dinner to go. If anyone is interested, I'm looking to go back to try their Acciughe, a cheese pizza with salted anchovies, hot chiles and fresh oregano.

Noodle Theory

I really shouldn't be blogging at this time. I need to write a huge paper due tomorrow. But the meal I had last night is worth mentioning before I forget the details.

Last night, around 9pm. H and I were looking for a place to eat quickly before settling down with a movie. Noodle Theory opened up around the corner from my house not too long ago but it looked so... nice, with huge windows and track lighting. I had written it off as overpriced americanized noodles. Usually uses too much Asian spices and not enough of "the good stuff." Sort of like when people try to open up fancy Mexican restaurants. But H suggested it, so I went along with.

We were seated by a blond male with a faux hawk. I want noodle soup (I always want noodle soup) I had been craving won ton noodles from D&A earlier so this needed to meet certain standards of delicious to win me. There were only a couple choices for noodle soup, so I narrowed down between Grilled Salmon and Pork belly. The waitress suggested I get the Pork belly since it generally has more flavor. Okay, "I defer to your judgment" I told her. H ordered Chicken potstickers, as to not be too adventurous.

Faux Hawk came back with our food. Mine was served in this squarish bowl with a big pile of cold sprout salad of some sort. Underneath was several pieces of pork, which looked sort of like char-sui. H's potstickers looked golden and crisp and came with very spicy looking sauce, if sauce can look spicy that is...

Still a little peeved at the dressed up noodles, I took a bite of my salady stuff. Cold, I knocked down the stack of veggies and mixed it with my noodles. I took my chopsticks and picked up the a piece of pork. I bit off the end....

but I didn't really need to bite; it melted in my mouth like butter. I look up at H, who hasn't touched his potstickers yet. "H," I said, "you have to try this." He take the rest of the piece of meat in his mouth, he nods in approval. I do not offer any more of my precious pork. Each piece, wrapped in delicious mouth-watering belly fat, the slightest piece of actual muscle tissue within, a light sweet taste of sauce surround it. I tried to pace myself, eating small pieces with the also surprisingly delicious fresh ramen noodles, tender and firm, not like the kind you get in little bags. And the broth, a miso broth that was not too salty. At the end, I'm eating up the vegetables I was so concerned with before and hating myself for enjoying so immensely this posh little noodle shop.

By the time I'm finished with my bowl of noodles, I don't really care that I just ate half as much noodles for twice as much money as I would of if I had eaten pho. I don't care that the restaurant has sea foam walls or blue tiles. I didn't care that the lighting was dimmed for ambiance, I didn't care about anything. I just want another piece of delicious delicious pork belly.

*edit I forgot to mention the potstickers. Too much ginger for H, not terrible but not great.

Cafe/Post Meridian - Albany, Ca

I had heard that they had taken over Kensington Bistro for both the day and evening so decided to swing by for lunch a few days ago. I gotta say, I was very impressed by the upgrade in the level of service as well as the food. Though my only prior experience was for brunch at Kensington Bistro, it definitely seemed to me that the service and professionalism was stepped up in Cal-French Bistro fashion.

White cloth table tops and some nice paintings by a local artist? seemed to add to the decor when I walked in. I was one of the first lunch time diners for the day and promptly seated by the window but the place steadily filled up as the hour passed.

I was offered regular or sparkling water as I was given the menu. The lunch menu which also had the brunch menu on the other side seemed relatively short, but with some interesting apps and entrees ranging from $8-25. They seemed to be proud of their house made chicken pate so I had to give it a try, but being the glutton I am, I ordered the small Charcuterie plate - chicken liver pâté with jambon de Paris & Fra’Mani salame served with dijon mustard, tiny pickles and pickled pearl onions and toasted levain. I liked this starter a lot. The pate was very good, not over peppered, pretty smooth too, but it must've just came out of the fridge cause it was very firm and initially hard to spread on the toast. The ham was decent but not extraordinary. The salame was your standard hard salame, slightly thicker than usual slices, which I ended up preferring, not too salty or spicy, just went well with the pate and pickled items. I am somewhat embarrassed if anyone was watching me as I stacked the toast, the pate, the salame and swipe of mustard and then an onion pearl and then stuffed it into my mouth. Mmmmm.

I ended up ordering the Croque monsieur (grilled sandwich of pain de mie, jambon de Paris & Gruyère) which came out crispy and just enough gruyere to cover it but not drown it. A good rendition.

And I finished up with a strawberry and rhubarb compote with whipped ginger creme fraiche. Well executed, but I thought the ginger flavor was over powering in this case and detracted from the fresh flavors of the fruit. I think it may have gone better with a cinnamon flavored creme.

All in all, it was a very good meal on a beautiful day. The service was spot on and everyone was very pleasant. It was a bit more than my usual lunch, but that was to be expected considering what and how much I ordered. I definitely want to come back and try out their brunch and dinner menus.

Ad Hoc - Yountville, CA : Fried Chicken

This is a review I posted on chowhound.com:

I meant to post last night but didn't get back until around 10pm so was too tired. I arrived a bit early since I didn't hit as much traffic as I was expecting, driving in from Berkeley. I even arrived before the rest of my party so I had some time on my hands. At the suggestion of the hostess, I went up the street to check out Bouchon Bakery. Woohoo, I get to knock out two birds with one stone on this trip! I gotta say, I love that bakery, small and quaint but with some definite eye catchers. It would definitely be a dangerous place for me if it was closer to my work during lunch time. Anyways, while there, I took orders over the phone from the rest of my dining partners and we got the following: Baguette, Olive Loaf, 2 Chocolate Bouchons, TKO, Oatmeal Raisin Cookie, Nutter Butter, Pain au Chocolat, and a Passionfruit Tart. I just finished the passionfruit tart and I'm fairly certain I'm in love. The custard was just the right amount of tart, it was topped with a hatched pastry layer dusted with powdered sugar and a couple of berries which took the edge off the finish of the tart custard.

Back to Ad Hoc, we were seated right away which was nice. Since Morton gave such a wonderful description above of the menu for the night, I'll keep my report a bit briefer. Our server confirmed that everything is served family style, which is my favorite way. I thought the salad was wonderful, greens were exceptionally fresh and the combination of the crimini mushrooms and leeks and paper thin slices of serrano ham was excellent. My tablemates did comment that they thought it was a bit over salted, but not so much for my tastes. Though I could've done with a more sour tasting dressing, perhaps.

The table was cleared and new plates and silverware were provided at every course in preparation for the fried chicken which already smelled heavenly from the parking lot walking in. Then there it was, piled high on a silver platter, easily 3-4 large pieces of chicken per person, a deep golden brown mountain, sprinkled with rosemary sprigs. Of course on the side came the whipped mashed potatoes and some of the best cooked veggies I've had. The english peas and carrots and onions in butter were a stand out to me that in it's own buttery way, contrasted well with the chicken. In my mind, I knew it was a lot of food, but some how I was convinced that I'd have no problem ordering seconds, after struggling to finish that first batch I am absolutely amazed, and somewhat scared of anyone who could finish two servings. It definitely is one of the best, if not the best I've ever had. Very crispy, slightly spicy and very juicy. Just about the juiciest fried chicken I've ever had. Even the breast meat was succulent. My only complaint, was that one of the last pieces I had was actually a bit undercooked. It wasn't cool inside, but there was definitely a bit of pink and that was a bit of a turn off for chicken.

I absolutely agree with Morton on this assessment of the cheese course. What a wonderful combination. Each ingredient, the medjool dates, the marcona almonds and the St. George cheese complimented each other so well. Chewing them altogether at the same time gave you that party in your mouth feeling.

When it was time for dessert, we were already feeling like gluttons, but we persisted on. On the menu was a banana upsidedown cake over caramel sauce with vanilla bean whipped cream. I enjoyed this a bit more so than my friends, who weren't banana fans, but the cake was a little dry unfortunately, though the caramel sauce and the whipped cream, which I probably could've had as a dessert on it's own made the dryness bearable.

I really liked the setting, it's a lovely and casual restuarant, though a bit out of my normal price range. If I lived closer, I could see myself eating there regularly cause it's just that comfortable. Service was very good for the most part, but my tablemates complain that it was annoying that the windows kept on being opened and the draft was hitting our table directly. Other than that, I thought it was a great night.

... and here is the other post that I referenced in this review by Morton the Mousse:

Looking forward to nicedragonboy's report. In the meantime, I'll throw in mine.

Mrs. Mousse and I were in Sonoma looking at rentals for our upcoming nuptials. We're pretty fried from all the planning, and figured that the best fried chicken on earth was just the treat we needed.

We sat at the bar so we could order off the a la carte menu, which is what we will do from now on. The prix fix is a great deal, it's just way too much food for us. A la carte prices are as follows: $12 Salad, $23 entree, $10 cheese, $10 dessert. We opted for 1 salad, 2 entrees, 1 cheese.

The salad was glorious. Freshly picked mixed greens from the French Laundry garden, incredible serrano ham, lovely cremini mushrooms, and these adorable baby leeks that made Mrs. Mousse squeal with delight. The salad came with just a light dressing of olive oil and salt, and a small glass of dijon vinaigrette. Our server encouraged us to try a bite of the salad sans dressing, just so we could appreciate the freshness of the greens. We then gave it a light drizzle, and it was very easy to toss in the family-style bowl. The dressing was great, but we were happy to choose how much to add. Though each element stood up on its own, the combination of bitter green, sweet leek, salty ham, sour dressing, and umami mushroom made for the perfect bite. It was a really refreshing way to lead in to a heavy main course. The salad was HUGE for a single serving, and I thought they had given us a double until I saw the double salad next to us that was gargantuan. Seriously, more restaurants in the Bay Area need to adopt Ad Hoc's approach to salad portions.

Good as the salad was, we hadn't driven over the mountain for a bowl of greens. Lemme tell you about this fried chicken. This was our second time eating it, and it was just as perfect as we remember. It is the epitome of everything fried chicken should be. Crispy crust with a kick of pepper, not too greasy or oily, tender, moist, flavorful meat. Even the breast was divine. No criticism whatsoever. Fried chicken perfection.

The fried chicken came with some lovely sides: english peas and carrots drenched in butter (in a good way) and whipped mashed potatoes. Total comfort food. It's amazing how this kitchen is able to execute classic dishes with such an eye to detail. They redefine my expectations of how comfort food should taste.

A single portion of fried chicken comes with a half a chicken (they use a poussin - it's small but still filling) and a nice sized serving of veggies and starch. Given the overall quality, it's a deal at $23. BTW - "all you can eat" is only available on the prix fix; no seconds on a la carte.

We were stuffed after the first two courses, but couldn't resist the cheese. Ad Hoc really "gets" the cheese course. We had a St George from the Matos Cheese Co in Santa Rosa. It was a firm cheese, nutty, very pleasant. The medjool dates and marcona almonds respectively brought out the sweet and salty flavors of the cheese. It was the perfect ending to the meal. There was no room for dessert (though I had my mind on the box of Recchiuti fleur de sel caramels I have at home).

I really enjoyed sitting at the bar. We were able to chat with our fellow diners: an Indian chef who is staging at The French Laundry, and a hard core foodie who works in the restaurant scene in NYC. Great dinner company. They were just as wowed by the chicken as we were.

Our server, Ross, was exceptional. Attentive, funny, and incredibly enthusiastic about the food. He really helped to make the evening special. Servers like this are a rare breed.

Quick comment on the beer: Ad Hoc may have the most well edited selection of bottled beers in wine country. A pilsner, a wheat beer, a bock, and a belgian ale, all from excellent breweries. The bock was the perfect match for the fried chicken. For once, I didn't miss draft.

Total bill for the food, one beer, one glass of wine, tax and tip: $110. We shaved $40 off the tab by sitting at the bar, and we definitely didn't miss the extra courses. Ad Hoc is still a special occasion sort of place for our budget, but fried chicken like this is worth every penny.

If you're strapped you could easily just order the entree, drink water, drop less than $30, and go home stuffed.

My first report on Ad Hoc's fried chicken, which is amusingly near-identical to this one:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/431231

Maritime East - Berkeley, Ca : Awesome Cheeseburger.

I finally went back to Maritime East to try that Cheeseburger that everyone has been raving about and the reports are all true! It's an excellent burger, and probably the best burger I've had in years. I went last night with 4 other friends all of whom I convinced to try out the burger. We walked in without a reservation and were seated within minutes, granted this was a slightly later meal at around 8:15pm. The service was excellent, much better than my first visit, not that the first visit was bad, but I could tell that last night's server was much more experienced. We heard all the specials (the roasted crab sounds like the thing to try) and ordered some great cocktails (get the White-Out if you want something crisp and refreshing) and though we were tempted to order other things, we all stuck with the burger which our host happily expounded upon.

The burgers came out with a nicely toasted, high quality bun/roll, thick cuts of bacon, white cheddar, fried onion strings and a light bbq sauce and of course the meal came with a healthy serving of herbed fries. To top the night off, we were even treated to a complimentary dessert, a miniature coconut cream pie, which was a perfect and light way to close out the night. Service was spot on and we had a great time with the wait staff. Definitely a burger and service I would come back for.

Fat Apple's - El Cerrito : Meatloaf Sandwich.

While I don't typically rave about Fat Apple's, and I've been there a few times, both the one in Berkeley and El Cerrito, today is an exception. After a good morning of working a Kiwanis Project we were famished and decided to stop by FA for a quick bite. While I can't speak about anyone else's meal, I can say that the Meat Loaf Sandwich that I had was absolutely wonderful. Maybe I was just starving, but I suspect that even if I wasn't then I'd still be loving it. Served on a nice sweet roll for a bun, it came with a healthy serving of fresh red cabbage slaw, that was thankfully only lightly sauced and still crisp. The meatloaf was a healthy portion of two slices, that was decently made and seasoned but not too salty. But what I think MADE the sandwich was a housemade, BBQ sauce-compote that was just amazing. Hard to describe, but it had my taste buds craving more. Sweet, tangy, not quite smoky, but it just really enhanced the meatloaf. Tomatoes and a spear of dill pickle came on the side. A definite big thumbs up from me for this dish and I may come back later this week to get it again.

Le Bateau Ivre Cafe

I kept passing by this restaurant/coffee bar, Le Bateau Ivre Cafe, and thinking I need to try this place. But for some reason, the facade just wasn't memorable to me. I kept thinking it was a blue victorian house... anyhow, I finally found it. The pictures of it, even now I barely recognize.

It is built into a house, so the layout is interesting. I like it. I haven't seen the rest of the house but the area I was in seemed very comfortable. The room I was in was a living room. It had many large windows with white curtains. There were paintings and mirrors on the wall as well as a large plant set off to one corner. I'm told the rest of the restaurant is much fancier than this room.

The crowd was described to me as, "people who have been coming back 15-20 years" On that note, the waiter was extremely nice, and funny. My coffee cup was always filled with some very very tasty freshly brewed coffee.

I had corned beef hash for breakfast, for the cost, the portions were not big, but came with a good sized serving of fresh fruit. The corned beef hash though, wow. Cooked with celery and onions, with fresh corned beef, fried to just the right degree of crisp. Being my second breakfast of the day, I slowly savored the melting of flavors. The celery was cooked soft adding a mild sweet flavor to each bite. The fruit was fresh, well portioned and delicious. The meal came with a little fresh raspberry jam for my wheat toast. All in all, a good meal, I'd go back to study... if they didn't mind.

Maritime East - Berkeley, CA

So for a Lenten Friday four weeks ago I just really wanted to get some good seafood, so I thought to myself, where haven't I tried that supposedly does good seafood...

Maritime East! For those of you who don't know, it's a relatively new spot in Berkeley on Telegraph about a half mile south of campus. It took over the old Zax Tavern location, which I also used to like, but which was a bit expensive.

Maritime East apparently is an East Bay expansion of an SF restaurant called Cafe Maritime. While the focus is on seafood, there's definitely enough variety that Veggies and Carnivores could have their fill as well. Since it is Lent, I restricted myself to the Seafood, hoping to go back for a taste of the much touted Cheeseburger they serve (reported to be one of the best in the Bay Area).

After first checking out their menu to make sure it wouldn't break the bank (definitely not a cheap eats kinda place, but you can get away with a very full meal on less than $40-$50/pp even with a drink) we proceeded through the door. Doublewong was once again my foodie partner in crime.

After a somewhat hilarious and surprising pyro mishap we reviewed the menu and asked several questions about the food and restaurant. Even though the cocktails sounded great, we decided to go dry that night, since I was going to be driving down to SJ right after dinner. To start, they offered the complimentary plate of bread, artisan & baguette slices along with soft butter and sea salt. Great bread! and you don't usually see the sea salt accompany the butter in too many places since most butters already have salt in them, but I did like to sprinkle the salt on myself in this case since I believe the butter was unsalted.

We ordered a couple of starters to begin with. Seafood Chowder, Brussel and PeaSprout "Hash" and a pair of raw oysters (Marin Miyagis & Nootka Sound) each since doublewong has never had raw oysters before. The oysters went over well, though I could've gone for a couple more. But at $2.5-3 each, that could get out of hand. Better to go oyster crazy during happy hour. The Seafood Chowder included clams, mussels, fish, fingerlings, bacon, leek cream. It was a lighter cream base than what either of us were used to, but it still worked. I didn't realize that there was going to be bacon until after it was ordered, but I just avoided it in the few spoonfuls I had. Very tasty and chocked full of goodies, a definite recommend. The "Hash" didn't go over very well. It was ok, just sort of bland. Actually it reminded the both of us of garlic sauteed peasprouts that you can get at most good chinese places, except this was more bland.

For our mains, dw ordered the “Deviled” Dungeness Crab with meyer lemon linguini, poached farm egg ($22) and I got curious and ordered Arctic Char fennel, olives, chick peas, saffron nage ($23.5) cause I didn't know what Arctic Char was (turns out it's closely related to salmon & trout and has characteristics of both). My first taste of arctic char was good, seared and roasted with a bit of salt and pepper I believe. A very interesting fish, it has the bright deep pink color of salmon and a similar texture but it had the flavor of trout. Cooked perfectly, it was still tender and not dry. I don't think it will be one of my favorite fishes, but a good option should I see it on other menus.

The real gem of the night though was the crab linguini. Housemade fresh pasta in a light sauce with nice big chunks of dungeness crab and mix in the poached egg on top and you have a winner all-around. dw enjoyed it immensely from what she tells me and I'll have to order it on my own the next time I go. I think we both made good choices though.

A comment on the space. There were two rooms to the restaurant, the regular dining room and the room with the bar. If I remember correctly, it's not much changed from Zax, maybe a little cleaner and the lighting is better. You could probably have a very nice but casual dinner there if not totally romantic. It did seem to get a little loud when things filled up as the even went on but not too bad that you had to strain to hear the person across from you.

And except for the mini-inferno on our table, the service was very good. Everyone was nice, all of 0ur dishes/utensils/drinks were promptly cleared/replaced/refilled when done, and the server was well informed, except for the oysters which she found out about for us.

Somerset - Rockridge area, Oakland

I got treated to a very nice dinner by doublewong the other night at a new restaurant for both of us. From my research, Somerset is a relatively new restaurant in the Rockridge area (less than a year old I think), with a somewhat standard California cuisine, casual/fine dine atmosphere.

Our dinner consisted of the following:
French Onion Soup
Wild Mushroom Tart
Garlic Lemon Prawns
Braised Beef Short Ribs with chantrelle mushrooms and soft polenta
Broiled Chilean Sea Bass served with savory white rice, roasted vegetables and a shallot parsley sauce
Molten Chocolate Cake with Raspberry sauce and topped with whipped cream

This was a hit and miss kinda meal. While overall it was good, it was very rich but I was disappointed by several things which should've been good considering the price point. I liked the French onion soup, but I only had a few spoonfuls. I could see how it could be too salty after having the whole thing. It was definitely a bit rich, but the soaking toast in the soup still had a nice texture. Plus I actually liked that it didn't have a think layer of melted cheese that most other places serve it with.

The mushroom tart was good. Flaky pastry and lots of mushrooms, I just wished it came out warmer and a bit bigger. I would've been a much bigger fan.

The garlic lemon prawns were a disappointment for me. While the garlic lemon sauce was okay, there wasn't much subtlety to it and it was even enough. Plus the prawns seemed a bit overcooked and somewhat small. Would not order it again.

On to the entrees. I'll start with mine, which was the Chilean Sea Bass...now I know what you're probably saying, and after thinking about it, I was saying it too...how could they be serving Chilean Sea Bass, isn't it supposed to be off limits. Mentally, I knew it wasn't a good thing to be eating a possibly endangered fish, but unfortunately, my mind got pwned by my mouth and stomach and I ordered it anyways before Brain could interfere, all the while hoping that this chef somehow found a source of sustainably farmed sea bass. My ethical guilt aside, oh man, I love Chilean Sea Bass...nicely roasted and sitting on a bed of savory rice. So good. Buttery, white succulent flesh...drool. While I was distracted by just the taste of the Sea Bass itself, the preparation was pretty standard and didn't really stand out in any way. I've definitely had better in more Sea Bass available days, years ago.

Double ordered the Braised Beef Short Ribs and really...how could you go wrong with those words. Fall off the bone tender and a savory seasoning and sauce. This was very rich and I only had a few bites of it, but what I had was thumbs up. Unfortunately the polenta nor the "chantrelle" mushrooms didn't do it for either of us. And in fact, we were pretty sure the so-called Chantrelle mushrooms were actually just regular old button mushrooms you'd find at Safeways dressed up in brown sauce. We were very disappointed by that.

While I was too full to consider dessert, Double had to try the Molten Chocolate Cake. Sounds good right? But boy, I was disappointed. I should figured it wasn't going to be what I expected when we ordered it at the end of the meal and not 20 mins to the end of the meal. There was nothing molten about this cake. In fact, it was flat! like a pancake almost. How sad, here we were expecting a nice little mini tower of chocolate oozing goodness and then all we get is a flat kinda flower shaped cake. It wasn't even warm really! Yeah, definitely ended what was otherwise a nice meal on a somewhat sad note. Don't get me wrong, we finished it though, we always finish it, but it was a disappointment nonetheless.

Service was pretty nice and friendly. Though they sort of messed up our reservation, thinking it was going to be four people. Luckily we were the first diners of the night and that was easily resolved. It was pretty casual, which is the vibe we usually give so I didn't mind that at all, though at times it seems like I was having a hard time communicating what I wanted sometimes with the waiters and waitresses.

Anh Hong - 7 courses of beef

Now, I've only done 7 courses of beef at one other place, so that is what I have to compare to. I was a little shocked to find that my favorite Japanese restaurant had been closed down and replaced with this Vietnamese food place. When I walked in, I was amazed by the new decor. This is one high-end looking place. Not what I'm used to when looking for a bowl of pho. And then another shocker, no pho.

The waiter approached us and was extremely friendly. He highly recommended their 7 courses meal. We chose to do that with a salmon sashimi - like appetizer and fookie ordered a glass of arnold palmer. The waiter looked confused at this request. Fookie carefully explained the makings of this drink and the waiter walked away still looking confused. He later returned with a creamed thai iced tea mixed with lemonade. He got it right after the second try though.

The food at this place though, was very good. The appetizer came first, about 8 slices of fresh salmon covered with a delicious sauce topped with fried onions. There was a plate of thinly sliced rare beef also drenched in a delicious lemony sauce topped with fried onion. Then came the beef salad, beef ball, grape-leaf wrapped beef, beef sausages. Hm... I'm missing something. There was even a person who came by to change our rice-tortilla dipping water. That's new. I really liked their rice wraps, they were thick but flexible, even I, the ultimate wrap-ripper managed to make pretty good wraps most of the time.

Lastly came the bowl of beef porridge, hot, a little watery, and topped with fried onions. By this time I was getting pretty full, but the porridge was tasty with bits of beef and green onions. I think I had a couple spoonfuls before falling back into a well-deserved food coma.

For 21 dollars a person, it was a very filling and satisfying meal. The server was friendly but didn't seem extremely experienced. I'm sure that he will only improve with time.

Anh Hong - New in Berkeley. 7 Courses of Beef Baby!

So I passed by this restaurant about a week ago not realizing that TGI Sushi had closed down and a new vietnamese restaurant had taken over the space. Finally was in the area tonight and decided to give it a try.

Finally walking up to the door I noticed two things, 1) they've remodeled the space a bit (looks much nicer), new floor/decor/paint and converted the central sushi boat area to a central bar w/ flatscreen TVs overlooking the restaurant. 2) it was completely empty at 5:50pm. I know it's a little early, but still. Not a good sign.

Being the only customer in the place, I got treated pretty well and found out some info. They opened up for biz on 1/9/08 and the place is the newest branch of the Anh Hong family mini-chain of restaurants in the bay area and so-cal. The chef, named David was trained in the French Culinary Institute I was told and you can see some of that influence in the dishes. Though subtly. The menu is still in flux I was told, but the menu is primarily built around Bo 7 Mon (7 courses of Beef). There are also many other options including traditional and non-traditional vietnamese soups, salads, appetizers, rice dishes, sauteed antrees and noodle dishes. No pho though. And there's a decent drink list of sodas, teas/coffee, wines and beers, decent and inexpensive but nothing spectacular.

On to the food. Since it was cold and drizzly all day, I really wanted a soup and while I was initially disappointed that this new Viet restaurant didn't have the pho I craved, a good option turned up. Mi Anh Hong (Combination Rice Egg Noodle Soup).$8.50 description: Combination of Shrimps, Squid, Crispy Wonton, Chicken, and Bean Sprouts in Miso & Sweet Pork Broth. And I wanted to try one of their appetizers, which all looked appetizing. I asked Dan my server about it, mentioning I wanted to try something new. He figured that I was pretty familiar with the usually Vietnamese restaurant menu the suggested I try the Tuna Tai Chanh (Tuna Garlico Jalapeno) $10 for the small order and $18.95 for the large. description: Tuna Sashimi in Tai Chanh Sauce with Garlic and Jalapeno. I rounded out the meal with a glass of Pinot Grigio. $6. No dessert.

My wine came out first, a very generous pour, slightly chilled, of Coppola Presents. Not an expensive wine to be sure and not my favorite Pinot Grig, but it went well with the meal that came.

The Tuna Tai Chanh was a totally new dish to me, at least in the context of a vietnamese restaurant but it was wonderful. Nicely presented on a white plate, it came with I think 8 or 10 slices of good sashimi quality tuna. drizzled with toasted garlic, mild sliced jalapenos and topped with slices of red onions it sat in a small pool of "tai chanh sauce," which i guessed to be a tart nuoc mam ot sauce with a dill garnish. Whatever it was, it worked for me. I polished this off and enjoyed it immensely. The tuna was very fresh and went well surprisingly with the tai chanh sauce. I would've preferred hotter jalapenos but my tolerance is a little higher than most folks.

The Combination Egg Noodle soup came out soon after I finished the tuna and was pleasantly surprised by the quantity. It came in a large white curved bowl that seems to be popular with modern vietnamese restaurants nowadays. The soup was topped with big pieces of very large peeled prawns, butterflied squid, and crispy wontons which turned out to be of the seafood paste variety (probably shrimp) and green onions. I was actually most intrigued by the soup broth itself and tried it out first on its own. It's good. Distinctly different from any other noodle soup broths I've had. light, definitely miso-y, but feels like a vietnamese soup, if you know what I mean. Flavorful, but not overly salty. Definitely has my approval. The rest of the ingredients were fairly standard for this type of dish though I can say the quality was noticeably better than your standard vietnamese restaurant I would say. The shrimp and squid were cooked nicely and still retained their crispness. The noodles and the bean sprouts lurked underneath to round out the dish. A very pleasant meal and quite filling. I was too full to finish off all the broth, though I certainly wanted to.

I definitely can't wait to go back to try the 7 courses of beef. Though I was treated very well and was serviced very promptly and efficiently, it was hard to gauge their overall service since I realized that by the end of the meal I was still the only guest that had walked through the door even though over an hour had passed. I certainly hoped they make it, since that area of Berkeley could use a good Vietnamese restaurant. I think people haven't heard that they've opened but they're definitely worth a try.

Anh Hong
2067 University Ave
between Milvia St & Shattuck Ave)
Berkeley, CA 94704