Sancho's Taqueria, Redwood City

For months now, Jon and I have been intrigued by this Sancho's place that is advertised on a shuttle that is often parked at Woodside Plaza. But since we're such big fans of El Grullense, it's been tough for us to try out other local Mexican eateries.

Then the SF Chronicle came out with its "Bargain Bites" guide, which included a section on the Peninsula/South Bay. Sancho's was among the restaurants listed. So last night, we finally dragged ourselves up the hill to eat there. (I think it's still RWC, but maybe it's Emerald Hills?) We had to walk around a bit to locate it because it's quite small (only one table, plus a handful of counter seating inside) and there's a lot of dusty construction going on up there. A new parking lot is going in and some other business that is a mystery to me right now.

Anyway! So we found the place. And it's very cute -- lots of Day of the Dead-ish arts and crafts. Since it was our first time at Sancho's, we decided to try some basics that we love: fish tacos ($3), carnitas tacos ($1.25) and a grilled chicken burrito ($5). The fish is lightly battered and fried (always a good thing in my book), and served with a bit of shredded cabbage, diced tomatoes and a chipotle remoulade. I normally do not like sauces on top of my deep-fried food (because of the sogginess factor), but this I did not mind. It was tasty (though not too spicy), and the fish still managed to have a nice crunch to it.

The carnitas taco was also good, but since there's very little to a regular taco -- just the meat, salsa, onions and cilantro -- I would have liked more heat to my salsa. BTW, I actually prefer this bare-bones taco to the kind where layers of stuff are piled onto the meat. That, to me, is overkill.

Also kept simple is the regular burrito at Sancho's. It was just rice, beans, salsa and meat. Okay, usually I do like cheese in my burritos, but its absence did not diminish the deliciousness of the burrito. (El Grullense's chicken burrito is often quite greasy, so I prefer Sancho's in this department.)

The downside to Sancho's is that I didn't see any horchata on the menu, and they only take cash. Boo. But the meal was so cheap, it's not hard to scrounge up that kind of change around the house.

Sancho's Taqueria
3205 Oak Knoll Drive
Redwood City, CA
(650) 364-8226

Rio Adobe, Cupertino

A while back, my hairdresser -- a Cupertino native -- proclaimed that Rio Adobe, a Mexican/Southwestern restaurant, is her favorite place to eat out in the area. With such an enthusiastic review, I had to give it a try.

Yesterday, the co-workers and I walked in just before noon. There was no line at the counter, and a handful of people sitting at the tables. Within half an hour, the line would be consistently long and most of the tables (inside and out) would be full.

Even though we got there when it wasn't too busy, service was still a little sluggish. (My advice is to go around 11:30-11:45am to avoid the lines AND get your food faster.) I went with the Taco Plate (two tacos, rice and beans for $6), while everyone else at the table ordered the chicken quesadilla.

When my plate (finally) arrived, I was shocked by the quantity of meat. There was a generous helping of steak on each taco, which was good (more meat!) and bad (hard to eat). I like that the tacos don't come with a lot of extras -- just the meat, cilantro and onions. There's a salsa bar in the corner of the restaurant, so you can easily add some heat to your meal. The rice and beans were decent. The chips piled on top of my plate were great (fresh, warm, lightly salted).

Team Chicken Quesadilla LOVED their choice. They could not stop talking about how good it was. And I admit, looking at the crispy quesadillas on their plates, I wish I had also ordered the same. Oh well... There's always next time!

Rio Adobe
10525 S. De Anza Boulevard
Cupertino, CA
(408) 873-1600

Now Open: El Grullense on Woodside Road

Finally! About a week behind schedule, the newest El Grullense opened for business yesterday. And, as can be expected on Day One, service wasn't the smoothest -- but at least the food was still awesome. (Here's my review of the El Camino Real location.)

The restaurant is much bigger than I expected. Located in a newly renovated strip mall on Woodside Road, the space is clean and airy. There isn't a lot in the way of decor, although their are colorful murals and paintings gracing the walls. And about half a dozen flat-screen TVs mounted throughout. In the back is the bar area, which also includes a couple of candy machines and a jukebox. The salsa bar is situated beside the soda station, in the middle of the restaurant.

The menu board is quite extensive, but lacks the food photographs that you'll find at the El Grullense on El Camino. Although there was only one person in line in front of us, it took FOREVER to get up to the cash register. There were actually two registers, but only one was being used at the time and only cash was accepted. (About half a dozen people were huddled around the sole register in use -- maybe training?) When it was our turn to order, it turned into a ten-minute ordeal. I wanted the two taco combination (comes with a soda, rice and beans for $5.99). For some reason, it kept ringing up as $8.50. After repeated attempts to correct the error, the cashier gave up and charged me about $5 for my meal. Jon's chicken burrito was no problem.

Next up was the wait for the food, which we ordered to go -- yet it was brought to us on a dine-in tray. The server quickly realized the mistake and took the food back to the assembly line to be properly packed up. A few minutes later, we had our bag and were out the door. But when we got home and looked inside, there was an extra burrito. No idea how that happened, since it wasn't on the tray the server almost gave us.

The glitches were understandable, given it was El Grullense's first day in operation. The staff, although clearly a bit stressed, was still super-friendly. And the food more than made up for any errors. Their hot sauce is the best (one of the hottest I've come across in a Mexican restaurant), and the beans are good and cheesy. Yummm. Plus, we got a free burrito!

(Pssst... The parking lot in front of the restaurant is really small, but there's a larger lot in the back.)

El Grullense Grill
768 Woodside Road
Redwood City, CA
(650) 368-3325

Donde esta El Grullense?

Okay, remember when I said that the newest El Grullense would be opening last Friday? I lied. But that's only because the staff at the El Camino/RWC location had given me bad information. Apparently, despite crews working late into the night, they couldn't get the new restaurant open on time.

I drove by this past weekend and the "coming soon" signs were still taped to the window. It looks like the furniture is in place though. So any day now...

It's probably best to give a call before you head over to the soon-to-open Woodside Road location. (650) 368-3325

Reminder: New El Grullense

Good timing, since today is Cinco de Mayo. The newest El Grullense opens today.

El Grullense
768 Woodside Road
Redwood City, CA
(650) 368-3325

New Restaurant in Cupertino

We just got a flier in the mail about this new place, Wahoo's Fish Taco, located next to the Elephant Bar. It's a chain, with locations in California, Nevada and Colorado; but this is only the second Bay Area outpost (the other is in San Jose). Here's the description on the flier:

"Wahoo's Fish Taco serves a unique menu featuring Mexican dishes with a Brazilian twist in a beach-casual atmosphere. Known for charbroiled fish tacos and Banzai burritos, we also serve chicken, steak, pork, shrimp and veggie dishes. All ingredients are prepared fresh daily."

Personally, I don't have high hopes for this place, although I haven't ruled out giving it a try one of these days. Since "fish taco" is in their name, maybe they at least do that well.

Wahoo's
19626 Stevens Creek Boulevard
Cupertino, CA
(408) 466-4771

Taqueria El Grullense, Redwood City

Driving around Redwood City, you may notice El Grullenses all over town; there's even a new one set to open on Woodside Road next week. I have no idea if they're all related to one another, but last night, Jon and I decided to pop into the El Camino Real location.

It wasn't too crowded -- maybe half-full? -- when we walked in around 6:30pm. Since it was our first time there and the menu is pretty extensive, we had a hard time deciding what to order. (Descriptions are in Spanish and English, with photos as well.) We each opted for a pair of soft tacos: beef tripe and fried pork for me, and chicken for Jon. We actually had our hearts (and stomachs) set on fish tacos, but that wasn't listed as one of the many options.

There isn't much to say about the decor; the dining space is filled with plastic booths and tables for two. The televisions mounted in the corners were showing Spanish-language soap operas while we were there.

When we sat down and looked over the menu a bit more, we noticed that there are a number of fish items available. So we thought maybe we could make a special request for fish tacos. Sure enough, it was do-able. It costs more -- $2 as opposed to $1.25 for the others we had ordered -- but it was worth it to satisfy our pescado craving.

Each of the tacos was piled with our chosen meat, as well as onions, cilantro and a mild sauce (next time, hot sauce for me!). The beef tripe may have been my favorite of the trio I went with. All of mine were pan-fried for a nice, crispy texture. The fish tacos we ate in Mexico consisted of large pieces of fish, dipped in batter and then deep-fried; at El Grullense, the fish taco is made with smaller chunks of fish that are pan-fried. Delicious nonetheless. Jon also enjoyed every bite of his grilled chicken tacos.

There are so many dishes to choose from at El Grullense, I definitely need to go back and try a few dozen more. In addition to tacos, they have burritos, flautas, chimichangas, quesadillas, fajitas, tamales, chile relleno, enchiladas, menudo... What DON'T they have! Although we didn't need to add anything extra to our tacos tonight, it's good to know that they have a solid-looking salsa bar as well.

On our way out, I was given a coupon for a free burrito for the grand opening celebration of El Grullense's Woodside Road restaurant. The coupon includes a list of their other locations. So these are the ones I know for sure are the same operation:

El Grullense

1280 El Camino Real
Redwood City, CA
(650) 368-3737

3636 El Camino Real
Palo Alto, CA
(650) 251-9317

Opening on May 5:
768 Woodside Road
Redwood City, CA
(650) 368-3325

Opening soon in Mountain View.

Lulu's on the Alameda, Menlo Park: Redux

The other night -- as we waited for the driving range to clear out a bit -- Jon and I decided to give Lulu's another try. Our first visit, a pick-up on my way home, was fine. But we thought maybe the restaurant would be better if we dined in.

I was disappointed the first time around that they didn't have any fish tacos on the menu. But we were in luck: Fish tacos were the daily special the night we popped in last week. So Jon ordered that, and I went for the chicken enchiladas with red sauce.

Let's start with the red sauce. Sounds generic, right? And it tasted generic, too. It was totally bland. The trio of enchiladas were hidden beneath a pile of chopped veggies and sour cream, but there seemed to be too little cheese on the corn tortillas. I could not believe how lacking in flavor my dish was!

After a rather unsatisfying entree, I sought redemption in the form of a churro. Maybe it would be so phenomenal, I wouldn't care how bad my dinner was. But sadly, it was also a let-down. I'm guessing the churro was frozen and simply tossed in the oven for a little warmth. It was neither fresh nor deep-fried. No good in my book.

Although Jon's fish tacos were okay, we agreed that there are plenty of better (and cheaper!) Mexican restaurants just down the street on Woodside Road in Redwood City. I don't expect to eat at Lulu's again because I'm fairly certain a third time would not be a charm.

Lulu's on the Alameda
3539 Alameda de las Pulgas
Menlo Park, CA
(650) 854-8226

Lulu's on the Alameda, Menlo Park

On my way home the other night, I was looking for a place to pick up dinner and decided to give Lulu's a try. The parking lot was full, and most of the indoor and outdoor tables were taken. So I was glad to see that they have two lines for ordering: for those dining in and those taking their food to go.

Since it was my first time at the Mexican eatery, it took me a little while to decide what to get for Jon and myself. While I was disappointed that there were no fish items on the menu (Jon loves his fish tacos), I was impressed with the overall selection -- which included burritos, tacos, enchiladas, tamales, salads, soups and even specials for kids. (Families appear to make up a big chunk of their clientele.)

I went with a regular-size burrito with grilled steak (about $8), which turned out to be a generous portion. The meat had a nice flavor to it, but was rather dry. And, although the salsa fresca was good, I prefer salsas with a bit more heat to them. (Note to self: Hit up the salsa bar next time.)

For Jon, I ordered a cheese and grilled chicken quesadilla, which he gave positive marks. I also got him a small chopped salad (lettuce, Napa cabbage, corn, chicken, tortilla strips). The freshness of the salad was obvious -- nothing out of a can -- and the cilantro dressing was quite tasty.

Although my dinner selection was not as good as Jon's, I'd make a return visit to Lulu's. Most likely, we'll eat there next time. The platillos looked great, and they offer two of my favorite desserts. If the flan and churros are any good, I may just skip dinner and go straight to dessert.

Lulu's on the Alameda
3539 Alameda de las Pulgas
Menlo Park, CA
(650) 854-8226

Al's Fish N' Chips, Redwood City

Okay, so right after I posted about Al's last night, Jon called up inquiring about dinner. Good timing. With fish and chips on the brain -- and not much in the fridge -- we decided to take a trip over to the strip mall that is home to Al's.

The restaurant is clean and has a contemporary feel. The space itself is not very large (it seats maybe 20?), but based on what we saw, it looks like most of their business is to-go.

While waiting in line, we surveyed the beverages in the drink fridge. The bottled, carbonated sangria sounded interesting -- but not necessarily in a good way (I had carbonated iced tea in Europe and that was disgusting) -- so I went with a Jarrito juice drink. There were actually quite a few Mexican beverages to choose from.

Which brings me to my next point: Al's Fish N' Chips almost seems like a misnomer for the restaurant. Yes, they do offer fried fish with a helping of fries. BUT, it's got quite a few other seafood offerings and a Mexican food bent. For example, the menu also included fried calamari, crabby cheese bread, shrimp louie, crab louie, New England clam chowder, tacos, shrimp cocktail (Mexican style), ceviche tostada, guacamole, black beens, cheese quesadilla.

So there appear to be two main themes to this place: deep-fried food and Mexican food. We went with one of each last night. I ordered the fish and chips, while Jon had the fish tacos, both of which are made with cod.

Jon enjoyed his tacos -- which consisted of a couple of pieces of fried fish, cabbage, tomato salsa and a sauce of some sort. And I thought the fish'n'chips were great. The batter wasn't too thick/heavy, but it coated the fish just enough to give it a nice, crispy texture. (I assume the pieces in the taco were the same, but I didn't actually sample any of Jon's dish.)

Since the TV was tuned into Rachael Ray, who I find extremely annoying, the wait for the food may have felt longer than it actually was. We estimated it was probably 15 minutes from the time we ordered at the counter, to the time they brought the food to our table. With just one person doing the cooking, and a second person dealing with the register, it made sense that the food might take a little while. (The service was friendly, and that's more important to us than waiting a bit longer than expected.)

There were no desserts on the menu (nope, no flan!), but after a meal at Al's, you could easily stop in a few doors down at the Baskin-Robbins for a sweet ending to your evening.

Al's Fish N' Chips
2139 Roosevelt Avenue
Redwood City, CA
(650) 366-FISH (3474)

Fiesta Del Mar Too!, Mountain View

Last week, we celebrated my sister's birthday at one of her all-time favorite restaurants: Fiesta Del Mar Too! She and her family have been coming here for years. On average, they now enjoy dinner here at least once a week. And it's easy to see why; the food, service and ambiance are all top-notch.

Fiesta Del Mar (the original) opened on Shoreline Boulevard in 1991, while FDM Too! opened four years later in the downtown location. Both are known for their margaritas and seafood items.

Upon seating you, the waitstaff delivers a basket of chips (good, not great chips) and a trio of tasty salsas (my favorite is the hot red one). My sister and her husband have probably sampled everything on the menu and they were the ones who suggested I try the Shrimp Alex. Now, I'm hooked on the spicy dish -- which features rather large shrimps -- and I hardly ever order anything else here. I also like to start off with a cup of the chicken soup. Jon usually opts for chicken quesadillas or tacos. You really can't go wrong with whatever you order.

Okay, there is one downside of FDM Too!: It ain't cheap. The Shrimp Alex, for example, will set you back about $18. But when you're looking for something a little higher quality than, say, Chevy's and a vast selection of tequila and a fun Friday night, this is your place.

Fiesta Del Mar Too!
735 Villa Street
Mountain View, CA
(650) 967-3525

Bravo Taqueria, Redwood City

Maybe it's because we're in the process of planning a trip to Los Cabos, but lately, I've been craving Mexican food. The past two nights, Jon has been kind enough to pick up dinner at our go-to taqueria, Bravo.

We've been frequenting this place for about a year now. When Jon and I moved into our house, on the recommendation of some friends who live in the surrounding area, this was the first eatery we visited. In our enthusiasm, we didn't notice until AFTER we ordered that Bravo does not accept credit cards. Cash and checks (who carries checks anymore?) only. Luckily, Jon scrounged around the car and found enough spare change to cover our bill. It was a rather embarassing way to start our relationship with what would become a regular place for us.

Bravo has been around for more than a decade, serving up healthy Mexican food -- based on the owner's family recipes. Everything is prepared fresh, after daily visits to the local produce stands. My favorite item on the menu is simple: the burrito, stuffed with marinated carne asada, rice, cheese, etc. While I stick with a plain tortilla, there are other choices (whole wheat, spinach, tomato). And I prefer my salsa hot; you'll recognize it as the one with the chili seeds visibly floating in it. If you like things a little more mild, try the salsa verde.

I also like the nachos -- again, with carne asada because the meat is so juicy and flavorful. My husband is a big fan of the fish burritos, which are made with grilled red snapper. The only thing we've had here that I can't whole-heartedly endorse is the ceviche.

You can wash your meal down with an aguas fresca or horchata; Dos Equis and Corona beers are also available. In the soft-drink department, you'll find both American and Mexican brands. For two bucks, you can complete your meal with a helping of homemade flan. Yum.

Bravo Taqueria
980 Woodside Road
Redwood City, CA
(650) 364-3511