Chez Papa doesn’t disappoint.

I’m so glad I had the opportunity to go back to Chez Papa for lunch a couple of days ago. I’ve been going there since it opened and have dined there more than 15 times, mostly for dinner. Their menu has evolved over the years, but a few dishes remain the same. They have one of the best pomme frites, almost as good as Bistro Elan in Palo Alto which I’ll blog about one of the these days. And this time was no exception. It was so yummy…perfectly fried to a crisp – just the way I like it. Their open-face ravioli was just as good as it always has been. I miss their tuna tartare though. I hope they’ll bring it back one day. However, my tuna sandwich was one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had. Inside the sandwich has sliced hardboiled eggs, anchovies, olives and peppers. It was the perfect texture and moisture. Oh, last but not least, their baguette with olive tapenade are so good. Sometimes they don’t offer the olive tapenade for lunch, but if you ask, they’ll give it to you. It’s a charmy neighborhood restaurant with exceptional French cuisine that’s simple but tasteful.

http://www.chezpapasf.com/

Miami Beach Restaurants

I recently visited Miami Beach on a business trip and was lucky enough to stay at the famous Fontainebleu Hotel that was recently renovated. It is a beautiful, modern hotel. The weather was unpredictable as occasional rain was forecasted during my stay. Nonetheless, it didn’t prevent me from going out to try different restaurants as I learned after I arrived at the hotel that nothing is within walking distance. A short cab ride would take me to the famous Lincoln Road where the indoor/outdoor dining experience are aligned alongside many different shops. I wish the weather was better so I could experience the outdoor dining more, but I was only able to dine outside for lunch while two dinners were dined indoors. Miami Beach is very expensive. Fontainebleu is even more expensive. So now that the stickershock factor is out of the way, below is a list of the restaurants I visited and a short summary of my opinion.

Yuca Restaurant on Lincoln – Contemporary Cuban cuisine. The skirt steak was awesome because of the sauce. So yummy. Service is so-so. Oh, most of the restaurants automatically included gratuity (17 – 19%) on the bill. My rating – good and worth going.

Quattro Restaurant on Lincoln – Italian. Quite authentic as I had their fettucini with clams. It was very tasty. I enjoyed lunch there very much and their outside seating is nicer than a lot of the other restaurants there. Still expensive, but not stickershock expensive. Service – friendly but impersonal. My rating – very good and definitely worth going!

The Meat Market – Steak place on Lincoln. YUM!!! It is one of the best steak places I’ve ever dined. I had the ribeye and the flavor was so tasty. The spices they use to marinate the steak is just out of this world. They also give you a tray of munchies when you sit down and there’s there flash fried, seasoned Peruvian corn that is so good. I had to ask for extra because it was that good even though I ordered a ribeye. Service – fantastic., the best I experienced in Miami, way better than even the hotel staff. My rating – need I say more?

Scarpetta – Italian at the hotel. It was good. A pre-fixe menu, their hamachi slices with the sea salts were good. The spaghetti for the pasta dish was surprisingly good even for a non-spaghetti person like myself. I had the ribeye steak again and it was good. Rating – very good.

Blade – Japanese at the hotel. Very good sushi to my pleasant surprise. It was fresh and the pieces were generous. Very expensive as everything at the hotel was expensive. A small bottle of water cost $6. Crazy! Anyhow, rating – very good, but uneventful. The restaurant is cool though because it’s completely lounge style.

The food in Miami Beach was good but not “Wow” other than The Meat Market, but I supposed if I had to pay at that level, I would expect nothing short of good.

Evvia in Palo Alto was basically good.

After finding out that Evvia restaurant in Palo Alto was the sister restaurant of Kokkari in San Francisco, I decided to finally give it a try with my best friend Jovis. As you walk into the restaurant, the hot stone oven on the left side of the restaurant breathes warm air that immediately made me feel all warm and fuzzy. The rustic decor is very charming. Classic Mediterranean cuisine, the menu was neither unique nor different. I ordered the roasted chicken and Jovis ordered the lamb chops. My roasted chicken was one of the most tasty chicken I’ve had in a restaurant…not quite as good as range, but still noteworthy. The citrus juice and the fried potatoes enhanced the classic roast chicken dish. It wasn’t anything special, but it was comfort food and that suited me just fine on a cold January night. The waiter suggested a white wine from Santorini and I wished I had remembered the name and/or the varietal, because it had the perfect blend of floral and mineral. It was beautiful and easy to drink on its own or with the roasted chicken. Evvia is a pleasant place for comfort and classic Mediterranean food.

420 Emerson St

Palo Alto, CA 94301 

(650) 326-0983

The Village Pub in Woodside

The Village Pub is hidden behind an office building along a small row of charming buildings in the mountains of Woodside west of 280 Highway. A small sign hangs outside of Coldwell Banker and if you drive too fast, you might just miss it. As you walk through this narrow alleyway, it opens up to a parking lot where to the right is the restaurant. If you thought it was a “pub”, you’d be disappointed. It’s a really nice, classically elegant French inspired restaurant. What I love the most are these oval tables that sit parties of 4 or 6. There were six of us, our newlywed couple, Emily and Danny and our mutual and ultra talented floral designer, Nancy and her husband Kevin. I’ve read great things about this restaurant and was looking forward to trying it. They have a classic dinner menu and a bar menu. Our adventurous friends, Nancy and Kevin both ordered off the bar menu: crispy duck confit and steak and frites. The duck confit smelled and tasted so good as Nancy was kind enough to share a piece with me. We ordered extra pomme frites and it was so yummy, comparable to Bistro Elan which I’ll blog about next time we go back again. I ordered Moroccan quail and while the quail was tasty, especially with the Moroccan spread, I’m not a big fan of the cous cous. Alvin ordered potato encrusted seabass. He thought it was good, but uneventful. Emily ordered duck breast dish and Danny ordered bacon-wrapped trout. The best was saved for last as I ordered a chocolate souffle. It was divine! That dessert alone is worth going back again. The only downside to what would otherwise have been perfect was that our waiter made me feel like he was rushing us through dessert. When I ordered the chocolate souffle about 5 minutes after our friends did, he blatantly pointed out that it would take another 20 minutes, which I ordered anyways because we weren’t in a hurry. And as I was still holding onto the dessert menu in my hands while talking to Nancy, he yanked the menu out of my hands. I didn’t appreciate that. The service was, for the most part cordial, but nothing special. Considering the little choices of fine dining in that area, I supposed The Village Pub is worth going again for special occasions.

 

The Village Pub

2967 Woodside Road

Woodside, CA 94062

(650) 851-9888

Pasta Moon in Half Moon Bay is yummy.

My husband and I go to Pasta Moon restaurant on Main Street in Half Moon Bay probably at least twice a month. It’s not a short drive and we usually go on weekdays to avoid the long lines on weekends, so going after work is quite a trip, but so worth it. It’s a charming restaurant on a charming street in the quaint Half Moon Bay. The service is always friendly and attentive and the food is quite authentic. They are known for their lasagne which I think it’s big enough to feed four people. My husband loves it as do another friend of ours. But me, I go for the linguine with claims except I ask for the fettuccini instead. Their pasta, I believe, is “homemade”…it is just the right texture, perfect chewiness. The sauce is the perfect blend of fresh herbs and clam sauce with a hint of spice. And to top it off, they add small chunks of pancetta, Italian bacon which I think adds the perfect final touch to this yummy dish. Just thinking about it makes me want to go back soon! Their wines are reasonably priced and their other entrees such as the tuna pasta are very good as well. We love their sorbetto trio to end the perfect dinner, but they recently discontinued that dish. It’s worth the drive…it will be a very pleasant experience. Just remember to make reservations and be prepared to still wait 15-30 minutes on a weekend even with reservations. Let me know what you think!

Ame Restaurant in SF is quite delicious.

After researching on Opentable and Yelp for over an hour, I finally chose Ame Restaurant on Mission and Third Street in San Francisco to take my husband for his birthday, as it had received one Michelin star. As you walk into the restaurant, you are greeted by an L-shape sushi bar followed by the entrance to the main dining area on the right hand side. It’s very contemporary and I loved the overall feel of it already. Alvin decided on the 5 course tasting menu and I decided to pick off his plate as well as picking my own entree. First course was a sashimi trio, each with its own refreshing sauce. Second course was an asparagus puree soup with porcini mushroom that was just absolutely delicious. Third course is apparently the chef’s signature dish – Alaskan black cod over a clear broth with two dumplings. The broth had a slight citrus taste to it and the two dumplings were very ordinary, but oh, the Alaskan black cod was pretty awesome. We’ve been told that it was marinated 24-48 hours and had this perfect blend of sweet taste with soy sauce grilled feeling and the texture was perfect. Loved it! The fourth was a tenderloin over risotto which I only had a small piece and found it ordinary. But Alvin loved it for its tenderness and flavor. I then had my braised short rib which was very good. For dessert, we had a milk chocolate peanut butter mousse crunch with ice milk that was amazingly good. So five out of the six dishes lived up to my expectations. It was, in my opinion, deserving of one Michelin star. Oh, and their bread is really good.

The evening would’ve been perfect if the service was more refined. Our first and second courses came prior to my glass of wine and Alvin’s ice tea. I asked for hot water refill and was brought in a coffee pot that still had pieces of loose tea. And the butter for the bread was hard. The service was courteous, but not too attentive. If their overall service is more refined, it would’ve been deserving of its price tag. But the food speaks for itself and for foodies like me, it was still worth it.