Sushi-O is now Sushi-N-O

So many a delectable japanese meal have I had at Sushi-O-Sushi in on El Camino and Bowers in Santa Clara; so much so that I just realized last night that I had been taking it for granted. As a usual quick and moderately priced dinner meeting place for my wife and I and occaisonally a friend or family member, Sushi-O was a place that became our fall-back in case we couldn't decide where we wanted to go. It was always good, had good service, and didn't emtpy the wallet. What happened to the good old days(see pic)?

Those days are over, as, just last night, we may very well have had our last meal there. I don't if they changed owners, management, or just wait staff, but it has definitely fallen off. I should have known something was a-miss when we showed up around 7pm with only 1 other person waiting for a table. We were seated promptly, which is unusual. I had become accustomed to the 15-20 minute wait during dinner hour, as it was worth it for great eats.

Our waitress broke the first rule.....NEVER LEAVE ME THIRSTY. She brought the hot tea on time, but did not get us water until we asked for the 3rd time. Unacceptable. The place was not that busy, and she was not new, as she served everything else properly (Japanese food comes in a bunch of small, 'cute' food dishes instead a few big ones, and they get placed in front of you slowly and one-by-one). All of my party's glass went dry 3 times and we had to ask each time for a refill. I call it the first rule because it is the most important...who can enjoy a meal with a dry mouth? Our appetizer rolls were tasty, but came out with the rest of the meal, that is rule number 2.....SERVE THE APPETIZER BEFORE THE MAIN COURSE, AS IT IN AN APPETIZER. Now, I can't prove this was our servers fault, as the sushi chefs may have been backed up, slow, or asleep. But, she may have left them sitting for awhile.

The food itself was good, but somehow not as good as it usually is. I believe they rasied the prices too, as the bill with tip was $50; usually not more than $40 for 3 people. I am always sorry to see this happen, but it takes only 1 bad dining experience to ruin a reputation.

On a side note, I did get a recommendation for the place 2 doors down from Sushi-O, that serves some bomb fried chicken, called 99 Chicken. I think we are going there tonight, and will post my impression tommorrow.

-Tom W Tell

Mels Drive-In, San Francisco - Near Sony Metreon

Okay, I know this isnt really a 'San Jose' food review, but I had to share my experience here. Whenever I am in San Francisco with a group, and its late, and we need to eat, Mels Drive-In always comes up first. If you don't know or haven't heard, it is modeled after the hang-out in American Graffiti. It is a fantastic place to get american soul-food, any time of day or night. Even though that usually means burgers, fries, and coke and/or shake, I usually get a turkey or chicken sandwich. I have cut french fries out of my diet completely due to their fat content, milkshakes due to the cholestrol in milk, and burgers I only have at Red Robin occaisionally. None of these factors affected my dining experience at all.

It was about 12:30am, and we had not had dinner yet, so about 5 of us ended up here over this past weekend. We came hungry, and left full and satisfied. There are several locations in SF, but my experience has been pretty much the same at all of them. Good food, cheap, and open all hours.

If you relate to things visually like I do, they have some great website pics to help you find it.

-Tom W Tell

Sushi through a hole in the wall - Sushi Mamoru!

I got a recommendation recently from an acquaintence for a japanese restaurant in Milpitas, one I had not heard of before. On the night I went looking for it, I couldn't quite remember the specifics (location or name). All I had to go from was that I knew it was in Milpitas around the Main St/Abel St area, and it was bomb. So off I went!! I could have sworn he said Main St, right next to a bar. Well, I found one, right next to a pool hall on Main St, called Sushi Mamoru. The name didn't ring any bells, but I was almost sure this was it. It was described as "kind-of a hole in the wall" from the outside. And here it was!

The windows are totally blacked out, with huge cheesy neon signs in the front, but once you are inside, the place is actually pretty swank. Typical black and red decor, and they have a few cook-in-front-of you tables too. A mandatory Karaoke station is also prominent. As we were the only ones there (kind of strange for a Thursday night dinner hour) we got immediate service. Only 1 other couple came in while were there, so we had the whole place was practically to ourselves.

The food was not bad, not great. We got a few rolls for apps, and they were not the best I have ever had, but not the worst either. The Cali rolls were alright but the crunchy rolls were way too crunchy for me. I got a bento with teriyaki steak, again, not the best I've ever had. Not enough sauce, and the steak was a little raw for my taste as well. We did get constant refills on water and hot tea, which it always a plus.

The bill came out to less then $30, so at least we didn't get scalped! You could try their website, but it wont be much help, as it is still under construction. This place really downgraded my acquaintence for food recommendations. I found out later that it was indeed the wrong place, that I should have been looking on Abel Street for a place called Sun Dai. After checking yelp, I can see that I was way off in my recollections. My acquiantenace may still have a chance to redeem himself.

Even though I have yet to try Sun Dai, it HAS to be better then Mamoru. I will add this to my list of restaurants to try.

-Tom W Tell

Little Mad Fish is Fresh Fish

I have tried a lot of Japanese places around the south bay, and when my wife and I were at Pacific Commons in Fremont, we noticed a new little place, Little Mad Fish next to the fish taco place. We went in saw the familiar japanese/fremont, CA style decor. Nice, clean, subtle colors, and small, but adequately sized tables. I tried the chicken katsu with curry. I have never had (or heard of) that combintation before, and it tasted pretty much as it sounds. I liked it, but I think I prefer the usual BBQ-style dipping sauce over the curry. I had the standard deep-fried cali rolls, they were good, not great.

As with most of the places at Pacific Commons, this is mainly a lunch place, but it does have table service, so it is a step up from the other eateries around. Certainly a better experience than the other asian themed retaurant (PF Changs, skip it, go to Sunnyvale, see my previous blog entry for more info on that one). It is pretty cheap, and I guess you get what you pay for. What they lack in taste, is made up for in service. Our water and hot tea were always being refilled, and I like that. Hard to eat rice with a dry mouth. Had enough to take home for lunch the next day, and it tasted the same as it did the day before. That either means it was made really well, or loaded with oil (preservative).

If you are in the area, and need maki roll fix, check it out, but I wouldn't make a special trip for it.

It's a Deli....it's a cafe....its Erik's Delicafe!

Okay, another one my my fav Milpitas food establishments, also known to many-a-Milpitian, is Erik's Delicafe in the recently re-developed Safeway Shopping Center in the heart of the City. There are many locations around the Bay Area, and I have only been to a few of them, but if the great, simple experience one gets from dining at this branch is any indication of the others, you'll be safe eating at any of them. I have been going to Erik's in Milpitas since I used to live there (for more on my take on Milpitas, check out my La Milpa blog entry), and the nice folks there have never failed to provide with a simple, easy lunch that didn't empty by wallet.

Since it IS a Deli, it naturally caters to the lunch crowd, and, since I don't work in the area, I only get to visit on weekends, but there is never 1 or 2 parties in line at a time. The dining area is spacious and I always get a great seat next to the old stove (see pic, non-functioning). Again, it may be a different story altogether during the work week, but weekends have to be the best. I usually get the half sandwich/half salad combo for like $6, and a drink for another $2 or something. The portions are rediculous for what you pay, I sometimes skip dinner I am so full! My personal recommendation is the Chicken Pesto sandwich, which has a warm chicken breast, that kick-ass green pesto sauce, sprouts, and a melted slice of cheese on a roll....awesome. I ususally just get a green salad with ranch and a lemonade to drink. It never fails to satisfy. Less than $20 for two people for lunch with no wait....I mean come on!

They do have a few other great items on the menu, but I would not recommend going there too often, as I could see where it would get a little old. I like to keep my visits to about once a month. Life is all about moderation, and Erik knows this, whoever he is.

-Tom W Tell

New Sitara Indian Buffet Santa Clara

I have wanting Indian food for a long time, so I convinced my usual dining partners to try a place nearby. We had a recommendation for New Sitara on the corner of Lawrence Expressway and Homestead in Santa Clara. We went for dinner, which was an unassuming buffet with a decent sampling of traditional Indian foods. The decor and mood music has some thought, but mostly I think they wanted to hide the theme of whatever restaurant was there before, perhaps a Dennys/Lyons/Carrows type of place, judging by the architecture. There was no wait at all, which I love, especialy on a Friday night.

We were seated immediately, brought water, and were checked up on regularly to make sure we were doing okay. The staff didn't pester us, didn't offer any real help, and we did have to ask for the Naan, which is supposed to come free to everyone. Typical service for a buffet, actually. We had better service from the other nice folks in the buffet line with us, who kindly explained what it was we were looking at when they noticed we weren't sure what everything was. The ice cream machine was out-of-order, the soda fountain was basic, and we did not recieve free Chai Tea, as I had been told we would.

It is conveniently located across the street from the new Kaiser Hospital, just in case the heavy spices don't agree with your digestive tract. I think my stomach came close to having a disagreement with the food, but, luckily, my stomach won and I was okay. My wife's stomach apparently had a weaker agrument for the flavor, as things did not 'sit well' with her. No regurgitation action, but more of an 'expedited' digestion. For your first timers out there, I suggest taking it easy on the spicy stuff and load up more in the rice and Naan (soft bread). As a growing Curry lover, I enjoyed most of everything I sampled. Not sure what the names of everything was, but in the end, my plate was a mix of yellow, green, orange, and brown sauces, if that helps. I made a big rice bedding on my plate and poured a little of each over it, and it worked out great for me. I tried the 2 desert servings, but didn't care for them. By all means try them, just don't take too much.

For the 3 of us, the bill totaled $42 with tip. A little too much for what we got, I think, but at least we will know what to expect from future dining experiences. We will not be visiting this establishment again, as I believe there is better food/service/prices elsewhere in the south bay. This may be my first non-positive review. Feels kind of wierd, but I have to be honest if this blog is to be real. And you know I keeps it rrreeaallll......

-Tom W Tell

Best Thai food not in Thailand - Krung Thai San Jose!

Falling more and more in love with Thai food over the past few years, I was lucky enough to be exposed to Krung Thai on Winchester Boulevard in San Jose early on. First time I went, I will never forget attempting to try something 'safe'....sweet and sour chicken. Wish I knew then what I know now...it was the strangest tasting S&S I've ever had, not like the chinese variety at all! Once accustomed to the flavors of Thai food, one can really start testing out new dishes, and I have really gone deep into the menu, only to find it gets better and better.

I recently dined at Krung Thai for a relatives birthday party, as this has become a popular destination for family get togethers (all can agree the food is bomb). Even though only 1/3 of the people showed up that night (5 instead of 15), the waiter insisted is was no problem to seperate the tables that were put together earlier when the reservations were made. We brought our own cake, again, no problem for them to store it in their refridgerator and bring it out later with paper plates and plastic serving utencils. I can't say enough about the servers here, they are friendly, to the point, and never hover over you. I've had similar Thai food dishes in Bangkok, Thailand, and I am truly sorry Bangkok, but it did not compare. Maybe Krung Thai isn't truly authentic, but it is by no means fusion. I am one of those gringos who likes the American-ized versions of other cultures dishes.

With 5 people, we got out of their for $78, tip included, with some to take home. The prices are great, the food is great, its close to authentic, its american, it is what locals know but don't want others to. Yeah, thats why I am raving about it on my blog....

-Tom W Tell