Restaurant Reviews

It was a blowout day. And I mean that quite literally, as friend Keith’s front bicycle tire suddenly popped with a thunderous bang. Taking quick evasive action, I swerved around him as he managed to straighten out his trajectory and keep his bike upright. Fortunately...

On the far western edge of the Hill’s business district sits a building that used to be the Second Kitchen Food Co-op but has since been remodeled and made the home of Alpine Modern Café. It’s the restaurant of a company that publishes the Alpine Modern magazine, a...

There’s no limits!” the staffer at Project Pie barked out to me, like he was cheering a sports team. “That’s what sets us apart...

Fans of the early nineties TV series Northern Exposure may recall the mercurial character of Adam (played by Adam Arkin), an enigmatic master chef, an inhabitant of the town of Cicely. More recently, the science fiction series Eureka introduced Vincent, a gifted ...

Recently a pal insistently extolled the virtues of Brasserie Ten Ten’s weekend brunch, but I remained skeptical. However, I have been happily satisfied with this French-influenced eatery’s fine happy hour and have splurged on its seafood platters. So friend Wayne and...

Having never eaten a Pu Pu platter on a boat or with a goat I thought it was high time I sampled this classic Chinese-American appetizer assortment. You see, when I went to Chinese restaurants with my folks, things like braised chicken feet were far more likely to ...

Whenever I go back to the Bay Area for family visits, it’s inevitable I stop by San Leandro’s Taqueria Los Pericos with one or both of my brothers. I suspect our visits are equally driven by the quality of the food as well as having us be seen in public for the ...

I´m the first to admit that my familiarity with Cuban fare is somewhat limited, and I certainly claim no particular expertise regarding the sandwiches of this  island nation. Sure, I’ve enjoyed a Cuban meal or two in Miami, but I came away with the feeling that I was...

Typically I resist reviewing chains, although a combination of curiosity and coincidence compelled me to check out Ted’s Montana Grill, cable magnate turned environmentalist/land baron Ted Turner’s culinary endeavor. When it comes to outspoken American billionaires...

Not to disparage the noble roach coach, but for many budding restaurateurs, the food truck is mostly a vehicle (pun intended) to open a sit-down storefront, offering them a low-cost way to vend and market their chow. But like so many things, more dream the dream than...

Whenever I visit a place calling itself a tavern, I half expect it to be populated by a clientele consisting of Revolutionary War colonists plotting their next move against the monarchy. More realistically though, I anticipate that a self-proclaimed tavern is an ...

Arguably, some of the county’s best Asian dining can be found near the intersection of South Public Road and South Boulder Road in Lafayette. Further evidence for this increasingly solid proposition comes in the form of the Pho Cafe, another affordable strip mall ...