Shalizaar, San Mateo

On Saturday night, Jon and I -- along with another couple -- paid a visit to Shalizaar in downtown San Mateo. It was my first Persian dining experience and, after reading rave reviews on Chowhound, I walked in with fairly high expectations of the place. Unfortunately, I walked out a couple of hours later slightly underwhelmed.

Soon after we sat down, a server brought a complimentary plate of Sabzi -- fresh herbs, green onions, red radish, feta and walnuts -- and a basket of lavash bread. I followed the lead of others and placed a little of each item on a piece of bread, rolled it up and enjoyed.

We ordered two appetizers to start -- the Mast-o-Khiar (Persian yogurt with diced cucumber, dried mint, garlic) and the Tah Dig (crispy rice topped with stew). The Mast-o-Khiar, which we spread on the lavash, was delicious. I especially liked the crunch of the cucumber in the smooth, creamy mixture. The portion is generous, but we tried not to eat it all because we thought we had a second appetizer coming our way. However, a mix-up in the kitchen lead to our entrees arriving before the Tah Dig.

The four of us decided to split two main dishes, and I thought we had ordered the Soltani (filet mignon and ground beef skewers) and the Shishlik (rack of lamb). But we ended up with a huge oval platter that included filet mignon, ground beef, lamb and game hen. Hands-down, my favorite of the bunch was the ground beef, which had the best flavor (onions, saffron, garlic, spices). The lamb chops were also tender and juicy.

When we ordered the Tah Dig, the server told us he would top it with Shalizaar's two most popular stews. The rice was nice and crunchy, but I didn't care much for either of the stews. One consisted of mostly yellow split peas, while the other was a spinach-y sauce. Aside from sampling a little bit of this dish, we hardly touched the Tah Dig plate.

While service was always friendly, it wasn't always efficient. Aside from the appetizer confusion, it took us a while to flag down anyone to give us our check. When the bread plates were cleared, three of us had them removed, yet they inexplicably left one on the table.

So would I go back to Shalizaar? Hmmm... Those ground beef skewers were really tasty. But it's probably not enough to lure me back for a repeat visit.

Shalizaar
120 W. 25th Avenue
San Mateo, CA
(650) 341-2600

Jersey Joe's, San Carlos

Just as my ex-New Yorker husband, Jon, is always searching for great bagels in the Bay Area, he is equally determined to find great cheese steaks around here. (He went to college in Philadelphia.) When you live in the suburbs, you learn that some of the best eateries are located in bland strip malls -- and Jersey Joe's is no exception.

On Friday night, we took El Camino Real north until we saw the Jersey Joe's sign by the road. There's not much to say about the exterior, except that there are a few tables set up on the "sidewalk." Inside, you order at the counter and take a seat until they call your number. The decor includes plenty of sports memorabilia and items invoking NY, NJ and Philadelphia (of course). There's a big-screen TV, as well as several smaller, ceiling-mounted sets.

Since the restaurant wasn't too busy when we walked in, it only took about ten minutes for our order to come up. We quickly got to work. Mmmm... tasty! After inhaling half of his cheese steak, Jon gave it an enthusiastic thumbs-up, but did add that the bread is "different" -- and by that, I think he meant they aren't crusty rolls. Jersey Joe's uses "special rolls," and they are indeed special in that they are more like bread pockets. I love this idea -- even if it makes for a slightly less authentic East Coast-style cheese steak -- because you don't have any meat falling out of the bottom. And believe me, these cheese steaks are SO stuffed full of goodness (mine had thinly sliced steak, melted cheese, grilled onions and mushrooms) that it certainly would have spilled out into my basket if it weren't for the well-designed rolls. I only managed to finish half of my cheese steak, but Jon picked up the slack and ate his entire cheese steak plus my leftover.

Oh, and in case you like your cheese steaks with Cheez Wiz (a la Pat's in Philly), you can ask for that instead of American, which is Jersey Joe's default cheese.

If you're not in the mood for a cheese steak, there are lots of other options on the menu -- including hoagies, burgers and wings. In addition to our cheese steaks, Jon and I ordered a side of fries (eh, just okay) and a chocolate milkshake (very good). The shake, which was made with Breyer's ice cream, was not too thick (you could use a straw) and not too sweet (Jon and I split the entire thing and didn't feel sick later).

Another thing this place has going for it: tabletop arcade games! So you can eat, drink and face-off in Ms. Pac-Man or Galaga. Aside from a couple of Tastykakes, what more could you ask for?

Jersey Joe's
21 El Camino Real
San Carlos, CA
(650) 592-7317

Note: Jersey Joe's is in the process of updating its web site. Some of the prices listed online are outdated.

Eating Elsewhere: Chicago

My recent four-day trip to Chicago was filled with so many gastronomical delights. I -- along with my two travel companions -- ate ridiculously well:

• We landed in Chicago around 3:30pm and were famished because none of us had eaten breakfast before flying out that morning. And they served absolutely NO FOOD on the plane. Well, there were some muffins wrapped in plastic that you could buy. But those weren't the least bit appetizing. Where were the snack boxes?!
  
  Anyway. As soon as we checked in, we headed to the Lobby restaurant in The Peninsula to get our grub on. Afternoon Tea service was just winding down, but they were happy to seat us anyway. Apparently, the dining space is modeled after The Peninsula in Hong Kong -- which is famous for its Afternoon Tea, which I have also enjoyed. But I don't know if it was just the extreme hunger, but I thought the Chicago tea service was actually better than the one in Hong Kong. Everything we ate was so good.
  
  
• I've had the pleasure of dining at Charlie Trotter's restaurant in Mexico. But with superchefs like Trotter, if possible, I think one should eat at their original establishment to really appreciate their genius. And that's exactly what we did Saturday night.
  
  There were three of us dining together, and we each opted for the Grand Menu:
  
  
  • Amuse Gueule
    
  • Japanese Hamachi with Roasted Bell Pepper, Kalamata Olive Sorbet, Spanish Paprika & Basil Oil
    
  • Hawaiian Escolar with Steamed Dungeness Crab, Chives & Crispy Pig's Feet
    
  • Whole Roasted Squab with Braised Sweet Onions, Chanterelle Mushroom &
    Szechwan Peppercorn Reduction
    
  • Four Story Hill Angus Strip Loin with Kohlrabi, White Runner Bean, Pickled Garlic & Spiced Date
    
  • Meyer Lemon & Olive Oil Sherbet with Candied Lemon Peel
    
  • Poached Rhubarb with Jasmine Semifreddo & Celery
    
  • Mignardises
  
  The flavors... The textures... Delicious. And we even saw the man himself (Charlie Trotter) pass through the dining room.
  
  
• And just when you think NOTHING could top dinner at Charlie Trotter's, along comes Alinea. The Tour Menu consisted of 24 courses. They were small, but still! TWENTY-FOUR! And each plate was a masterpiece. Truly beautiful. I have never seen food presented so well in my entire life.
  
  Grant Achatz' cuisine can best be described as avant garde. It is so completely different than anything you've ever seen or tasted. For example, the first course was called Hot Potato/Cold Potato. It consisted of a translucent bowl -- small enough that you could easily cup it in the palm of your hand -- filled with chilled potato soup. Suspended over the soup, from a needle, was a bit of parmesan, a bit of cold butter, a sliver of chive, a warm chunk of potato, and a slice of black truffle. The server instructed us to pull the needle away from the bowl, thereby letting all of the suspended items fall into the bowl. Then sip and enjoy. The flavors blended so harmoniously. It was gorgeous to look at, fun to eat, and -- best of all -- tasted divine. Subsequent courses were just as brilliant.
  
  It's hard to put the Alinea experience into words. You just have to go and appreciate it for yourself.
  
  (Image from Alinea's web site)
  
  
• After Charlie Trotter's and Alinea two consecutive nights, on Monday, it was time to get back to "normal" food. We hit Grant Park for the Taste of Chicago festival. This is where I enjoyed two of my favorite foods: deep-fried dough (funnel cakes!) and deep-fried potatoes (a plate piled high with chips).

• We couldn't leave Chicago without sampling some cupcakes. So we made a visit to Sweet Mandy B's. Yummm! The cakes were so moist, and the frosting not overly sweet. The Red Velvet was my favorite.

And those were pretty much the food highlights from Chicago!

What's Cooking: Truffled Popcorn

The lack of posts this past week can be attributed to my Fourth of July long-weekend trip to Chicago. A lot of good eatin' was done in the Windy City, and I'll post about it all when I have more time. But for now, I'll share with you one of my favorite snacks from the weekend.

To go along with our movie-watching, we ordered some truffled popcorn from the room-service menu at The Peninsula. It was SO frickin' good. Here's how I'm guessing it was made: Heat/combine butter and truffle oil in a small saucepan. Pop the kernels (over the stove, in a pan with vegetable oil) and then pour them into a large bowl. Add the truffled butter and toss. Grate some parmigiano reggiano over the popcorn and toss again.

Enjoy!

Madison and Fifth, Palo Alto

A few weeks ago, I mentioned a "New York-style" restaurant had opened in downtown Palo Alto. Since then, I've passed by Madison and Fifth several times and it's always been really busy. So last night, Jon and I finally decided to check it out.

The decor is colorful, but certainly not NYC-hip (you would never find Carrie Bradshaw in a place like this). The walls are covered with murals of NYC scenes, and lots of mirrors (this came in handy when the young, female hostesses needed to check themselves out). We had the option of dining indoors or out, but we went with the former because the patio-style dining is just awkward here. Basically, they have a half dozen or so tables for two along the sidewalk. One member of the party has to sit with their back to the street, and there's no barrier between the diner and the public strolling by. (They should take notes from Niebaum-Coppola down the street; I believe they have planters or some other nice barrier set up.)

So what is this "New York-style" food? Basically Italian-American. And the menu was pretty extensive -- divided up into salads, appetizers, pastas, pizza, entrees and daily specials. Here's how our meals broke down:

• Gratin of Pear Carpaccio - Thinly sliced pears, crowned with crushed walnuts, asiago, honey-vinaigrette and arugula. The dish was served slightly warm, so the cheese was good and melted.
  
• Caprese - In addition to the usual mozzarella and tomato, the salad included avocado and roasted red peppers.
  
• Pumpkin Risotto - Served in a small gourd filled with creamy risotto. There were chunks of lobster meat, asparagus and a few slices of black truffles as well.
  
• Steak - I didn't notice how this was described on the menu, but when the plate arrived at the table, it included slices of meat and a cabbage salad piled on top of a large, crispy potato pancake.

This was a heavy meal, and the portions were generous. In terms of tastiness, Jon may have put it best: "None of the dishes was better than the sum of its parts." We liked all of the components of the dishes, so the meal was good; but we weren't wowed by any of the combined flavors and textures. I will say that this place gets an "A" for presentation. (Sorry for the terrible photo up there. I only had my camera phone to work with last night.)

The service was also great. Our water glasses were never empty, plates were removed promptly. And our waitress was super-friendly. I'll even forgive her for mispronouncing several of the specials (e.g., "four-grah" instead of "fwah-grah").

When I was reading through the menu at the beginning of our dinner, I mentioned to Jon that there were so many things that sounded good, we would surely have to come back. But once the bill came, I had second thoughts about repeat visits. Our total was about $100 and I admit I was slightly surprised. It just didn't feel like a triple-digit meal (or restaurant) to me.

Using the SF Chronicle's rating system, I'd give Madison and Fifth 2 stars overall (good) and 4 dollar signs (expensive, more than $25 for entrees). Oh, and by the time we finished our dinner, the place was nearly full and the noise level had reached about 3 bells (talking normally gets difficult).

Madison and Fifth
367 University Avenue
Palo Alto, CA
(650) 323-3900

(Note: The restaurant's business cards indicate that their web site is www.madandfifth.com, but as of today, the site isn't up.)

Hu-Chiang Dumpling House, Cupertino

Yesterday, the co-workers and I were wandering around the Cupertino Village strip mall, which is full of all sorts of Asian eateries. It was hot and we needed to make a decision quickly. We didn't feel like going to Joy Luck again. We walked into a restaurant that smelled bad, so we quickly walked out. And then I remembered a place that Catie had written to me about a couple of months ago: the Hu-Chiang Dumpling House. So that's where we went -- and I'm so glad we did!

The dining room isn't very large, but the tables are packed in pretty tightly. The slipcovered chairs dress up the space a little bit, but there's still not much that stands out about the decor here. The service is friendly and efficient. And if you go for lunch, don't come too late. When we sat down around noon, about one-third of the tables were still empty. By the time we left, there were folks waiting around.

After her visit to the Hu-Chiang Dumpling House, Catie had nothing but good things to say about the crab dumplings -- which happened to be one of the items we ordered. She was right; they were great. (She also mentioned that the dipping sauce is "a tad vinegary" -- again, I agree with her.) The crab dumplings and the Hu-Chiang juicy dumplings were both of the soupy variety, which I believe is considered Shanghai-style. You've got to eat these in one bite, or else you'll lose some of that juicy goodness. And the wrapper is quite thin, so be careful when you pick them up or else they may fall apart. The pork and cabbage dumplings were less soupy, and therefore, less favored by my lunch companions and me. One of my co-workers grew up in Hong Kong, and he would not stop raving about the juicy dumplings (he's already talking about going back next week).

Now, that brings me to the one thing at our table that I would definitely not order again: the soup with "fresh and salty meat." The meat turned out to be extremely fatty pork. The broth for the soup was fine, but I couldn't handle all that fat. The one co-worker who ended up eating most of the soup later got sick. I'm convinced it was that soup. So I wouldn't go there.

Oh, and another warning: The dumplings are ridiculously hot when they're brought to you. But they're worth it, even if you burn your mouth.

Hu-Chiang Dumpling House
10877 North Wolfe Road
Cupertino, CA
(408) 873-4813

Screaming for Ice Cream

As you know, it's been crazy-hot this week. So on Wednesday night, after having dinner at Naomi Sushi, we hopped over to Cold Stone in Menlo Park. Jon and our friend Rick each ordered "I Like It" (small) ice-cream bowls. I abstained because: 1) I think Cold Stone is overpriced, 2) I don't care for the service there, and 3) I was still pretty full from dinner. Jon and Rick's order came to about $12.

And I repeat, Cold Stone is overpriced. Way overpriced.

Fast forward 24 hours. I decided that I needed some ice cream, but would avoid all of the problems from the previous night by going to Rite-Aid, where: 1) A single scoop is only 99 cents, 2) The service is fast and friendly, and 3) The ice cream was actually my dinner.

Thankfully, after Rite-Aid acquired Thrifty in 1996, they still continued to serve Thrifty ice cream -- with the cylindrical scoops! I went with the Strawberry Cheesecake last night, but there were all sorts of other flavors available (Pistachio Nut, Medieval Madness, Rocky Road, Butter Pecan). It's not gourmet, but it's what it always has been to so many people who remember it from their childhood (including myself): It's good ice cream at a good price.

Back A Yard, Menlo Park

"Back a yard" is Jamaican slang for the way things are done "back home." Now, I have never been to Jamaica (some day, I hope!), but I imagine that the food cannot be much better than what you can find at Menlo Park's Back A Yard.

Primarily a take-out joint, there are only four tables in the restaurant. Last night, Jon and I popped in, ordered our dinner and in less than ten minutes, we were back on the freeway headed home. (If your commute takes you by the Willow Road exit, this place is super-convenient.)

Back A Yard's menu offers a variety of jerk, barbecue, fried seafood, daily specials and side items. I ordered the Jerk Chicken meal. The portion was huge. For only $8.50, I got a pile of moist and flavorful chicken (spicy, but not too hot); perfectly fried sweet, ripe plantains; red beans and rice that had a hint of coconut; and a small serving of salad. I didn't touch the salad because I was too full after shoving forkful after forkful of the other delicious Caribbean food into my mouth.

Jon ordered the Caribbean Cobb Salad ($7.25), which has all the usual Cobb components plus some of that wonderful jerk chicken. He also ordered a beef patty. Since I was picturing a slab of grilled meat (like a hamburger), I was perplexed by this selection. But -- OMG -- it was so good. It's basically a flat meat pie, about the size of my hand, filled with spicy minced ground beef. I could really become addicted to those tasty, flaky pastries. Especially since they're just $1.85 each.

For dessert, I picked up a slice of the sweet potato pudding. It's a dense dessert, glazed on top and with raisins sprinkled throughout. I ate about three-quarters of it before collapsing on the couch in a food coma...

Note: Back A Yard also offers catering services -- something I need to keep in mind in case we have a graduation party for Jon next year!

Back A Yard
1189 Willow Road
Menlo Park, CA
(650) 323-4244

Coming Soon to Los Altos: Whole Foods

Yep, that's right. Whole Foods' domination continues, with a new store slated to open soon in Los Altos (4800 El Camino Real). The single-story, 55,000-square foot market will offer two levels of underground parking, which is enough for about 360 cars. It sounds like the set-up will be similar to the San Francisco (California Street) and San Mateo locations -- which have conveyer belts that deliver the grocery bags down to the parking area.

The Los Altos location has been posting job opportunities on various sites, so I'm guessing that the doors will be open around August/September.

Recommendation: Continental Caterers

It's June, which means that the wedding season is in full swing. So I thought I'd give props to my own wedding caterer from a couple of years back.

Menlo Park-based Continental Caterers did an awesome job -- from start to finish. We worked with Paul Alexander, the president of the company, to plan our menu. After the tasting, we refined the menu a bit more until we were 100% satisfied with our selections. We didn't have a wedding coordinator, so Paul's assistance was invaluable to us. He helped us with way more than just the food, offering ideas (when asked) about the timeline, the layout of the room, the rentals, etc. Continental Caterers also provided an event manager, which made a big difference as well (again, because we didn't have an actual coordinator).

At our reception, these were some of the things that we especially loved:

• Blackened Tiger Prawns
• Seared Ahi on Wonton Triangles
• Cornmeal-Crusted Eggplant Napoleon
• Miniature Pizzas
• Ice Cream Sundae Bar

(Note: Continental Caterers doesn't really specialize in wedding cakes. We ordered ours from the Noe Valley Bread & Bakery.)

Oh yeah, perhaps the BEST part of Continental Caterers' service was the picnic basket that was packed up for us at the end of the night. Hours later, after the reception, Jon and I realized we really hadn't eaten much and were still famished. Luckily, we had our basket filled with all sorts of goodies!

Update: Restaurant James Randall

Now that the kitchen remodel is done, Los Gatos' Restaurant James Randall is back in business! They're open for lunch Tuesday-Friday, 11:30am-2:30pm; and dinner is served Tuesday-Sunday, 5:30-9:30pm.

Coincidentally, I was just racking my brain this morning trying to think of a good place to go in Los Gatos, that wouldn't be too pricey. On RJR's lunch menu this week, the Mixed Greens (peaches, candied pecans, manchego) looks tasty, and I think Jon would be all over that Pulled Pork sandwich (on Dutch Crunch!). But I might have to drop in for dinner and order the Pancetta-Stuffed Figs with Endive Salad... Or the Tempura Roll with Spicy Tuna... Mmm... The menu is making me hungry, even though I *just* ate lunch!

(The hours above are from an email that the restaurant's proprietor, Brenda Hammond, sent me. But the web site shows slightly different/longer hours. It may be a good idea to call them up to confirm if you're heading over towards the tail-end of the hours I listed.)

Restaurant James Randall
303 N. Santa Cruz Avenue
Los Gatos, CA
(408) 395-4441