Eating San Pablo (Avenue)

"Special Duck", apps that look like Medusa, dealer change, stilts!

thai

April 20, 2011

Happy Golden Bowl

Address: 10675 San Pablo Ave El Cerrito, CA 94530
Hours: none listed
Parking: street + a lot behind the restaurant

Visited: Friday, February 25, 2011, 6pm

No better time to get our wok on then the next stop on San Pablo, Happy Golden Bowl. HGB’s hard-to-miss exterior is bright – the owners didn’t just raise the red lantern once – they did it like 8 times. Plus, as the take-out menu boldly proclaims, it has “unique taste, outstanding quality!!!” Who could resist?

The bright, fresh interior is vast, with tables in the middle and booths lining the walls. Sure, we were enjoying a nice early-bird dinner at 6; still, it was surprising to see no one there. The wallpaper, printed with teapots and Chinese characters, led Emily to say that “this is awesome wallpaper. I don’t know what it says, but I like it.”

Apparently the chef is a transplant from Chengdu, the spicy home of Sichuan cooking. We love things spicy, and were excited about the prospect of this place being our new go-to Chinese establishment. We were immediately joined at our glass-topped table by a spicy bowl of kimchi and hot genmaicha tea. We were off to a solid start, although the strange gourd bundles and LCD TV playing “Time Life Presents Music of the 60’s” wasn’t really bringing home the right effect.

As with many Asian-food establishments, G-Bowl’s menu did not disappoint with options. The menu goes on for pages, and if you needed any help deciding, framed art on the walls depicted some of the dishes. While most Chinese menus go with standard numbers, Happys’ is so vast that they’ve adopted a letter + number system to handle their staggering 254 options. How can any one place manage to make this many different things? The menu went to S36!!! Our waitress clearly saw how perplexed we were, and stepped in with recommendations, specifically 3 dishes from the “cook particularly recommended section”. We took her up on one, “E3: Szechwan Style Spicy Cumin Sauce Beef/Lamp”. To this we added “ H1: Classic Dry Cooked Green Bean” from “delightful vegetables”, “N2: Beef Chow Fun” and “C7: Creamy Sweet Corn Soup with Chicken”. We were going to add “D5: Classic KingPao Chicken”, but our waitress was nice enough to cut us off – she knew what we didn’t – we’d already ordered enough food for a high school football team, including special teams. Of course, this didn’t stop us from pulling her aside later to add an order of “P4: Green Onion Pancake” from the Dim Sum portion of the tome to fill in the gaps.

At first we thought the prices might be slightly high. This notion was dispelled when the dishes started arriving. This was family size portioning; the food was a bargain. The caldron of creamy corn soup was deliciously gelatinous, the green beans were an equal to some of the best of the genre we’ve tried. The recommended Szechwan lamb dish was delicious. The chow fun was a bit flat, but not bad. Sadly, the low point of the food was a disappointing pile of onion pancakes that lacked salt, although I’m sure we were getting plenty of salt elsewhere to make up for it.

As we attempted to put a dent in our bounty, we saw the take-out business pick up to a steady flow. The only real noticeable drawback was the tremendous number of big flies buzzing about. One landed on the menu as we pondered our choices, drawing our attention throughout the meal to a significant problem as they clustered near lights. We can’t say if this is an every-day problem, but this is what we observed on our visit, and it put a significant damper on the (early) evening. Is this why everyone does takeout, or is it the 10% discount they apply to all orders to go? We’re not sure. Thanks for dinner, HGB, we might be back, but next time we Bowl it, we’ll probably do take out and collect that 10% off.

Final cost: $43.65

“delightful vegetables”, “unique taste outstanding quality!!!”, bamboo wallpaper, Raise the Red Lantern!

chinese

April 20, 2011

Gregory’s

Address: 10753 San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito, CA 94530
Hours: Tue-Wed 7 pm – 11 pm, Thu-Sat 7 pm – 2 am, Sun 2 pm – 10 pm (according to yelp)
Parking: street

Visited: February 11th, 2011, 6:30pm (if that)

We’re more than willing to admit it: Gregory’s freaked us out. It’s a combination of things – the lack of windows, the 60’s stone façade, the security gate at the entrance…and the fact they still use Myspace. That’s not to say we don’t love our dive bars — we do! It’s just that this one — wedged between a tire store and an empty lot – has “Sexy Saturday”. Unfortunately, our plan to be part of this seminal event never worked out, so we ended up visiting on Friday, an evening we presumed would be suitably lively — especially if we went early enough to hang with the Big-O folks that knocked off work and didn’t leave, and/or old(er) people (like us, apparently) that go to bars in the wee hours of the eve.

To make a long story short, we were wrong. Apparently Big-O employees cut out way early or hang elsewhere, and old people must be finding happy hour at milk bars. Who knew they’d shun such convenience? Undeterred, we parked on the street and cautiously entered, quickly finding a seat at a bar with few other patrons.

A very friendly bartender (who may be the owner, but it’s unconfirmed) came up to take our order. Dave picked between the dive-bar options of Bud, Bud Light, etc. Obviously, he opted for MGD, not to be confused with the “High Life”. Nonetheless, at G’s, how can you not be living the High Life?

Emily decided to take a chance: when you don’t know what’s good at a place, what do you do? You inquire within: she asked the ‘tender to make his favorite drink. Surprised, he considered the question momentarily, then lurched towards Emily, asking if she liked cognac. She answered yes. He grabbed a snifter from the quiver of glasses overhead, whirled around, poured 3 shots of Hennessey followed by a hefty pour for good measure, and then a shot of Grand Mariner. He returned declaring that he’d made her a “Beautiful”. This is not a drink for the meek, and it confirms our suspicion that the most complicated mixed-drinks they sling here are combinations of no more than two shots (prices taped to bottles, for convenience).

The bar deftly straddles the line between the 70’s and an aging cruise ship. If we didn’t know better (and we don’t), we’d have to say that the furniture was found at a closed-casino-consignment-shoppe. The low, curved-back vinyl swivel bar stools clearly say “nothing you spill on us in 1978 will stick.” The seating area behind us had small tables and chairs, with a gold rail separating the seating platform from the bar area. On the bar sat a couple of unusual sculptures that caught our attention. Descriptions can’t do them justice — you’ll have to judge for yourself. Also adding to the vibe is a nice 70’s-style stand-alone fireplace near the bathrooms (gotta keep those bums warm), a couple of flat-screen TV’s playing tennis, a band of mirrors, a string of Christmas lights, and a jukebox playing soul music near the door. The look was completed by a stunning piece of velvet art near the door, a portrait of someone we did not recognize.

The exterior belies the size of the Gregory’s, which extends past the fireplace into a separate room where they apparently have live shows. This must be the area where “Sexy Saturday” happens, we thought. Confirming this was a number of staged V-day items, in the ready for the upcoming “holiday”.

Gregory’s (or en Français, “Gregoire’s”, as we refer to it around the house — classing it up a bit), is what it is. Don’t go looking for exotic drinks or anything draft. We wish the urinal pucks weren’t so strong, but the bartender and patrons were so friendly it’s hard to knock it. Thanks for the “beautiful”, G’s, we probably won’t be back, but at least we’re not scared of you anymore.

Final cost: $11 + tip

"beautiful", Live Music?, The High Life...

bar/club

February 19, 2011

Donut Time

Address: 10740 San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito, CA 94530
Hours: none listed
Parking: shopping center lot

Visited: December 18, 2010, 8:30am

Early on a rainy Saturday morning, with Christmas only a week away, we didn’t have time to waste on a long brunch, but had just enough for Donut Time. With dollars in hand for this cash-only establishment, we entered DT’s dark wood paneled “dining room” with enthusiasm. The Yelp reviews were favorable, and we’ve become desperate to find a place that’s worth our patronage after the debacle that was “Chinese-fryer-flavored donuts” at Goody.

While DT did have a few clocks scattered about (including a sweet “Donut Time” train clock!) they all seemed irrelevant. How many clocks do you need to know it’s donut time? Despite the expansive service area, there was only a single friendly employee who seemed to do it all. After serving a regular he asked what we wanted. We ordered off the old-school slotted menu board: Emily went with a chocolate glazed raised and an old fashioned, washed down by a cup o’ Joe. Dave ordered a chocolate old fashioned, an enormous disc-sized apple fritter and a Minute Maid OJ. Our order was quickly filled and we were soon sitting in chairs from the same used-Chinese restaurant surplus store that so many SPA establishments seem to shop. DT also follows other SPA décor rules: security cameras, an ATM, 4 different ways to buy lottery tickets and an out-of-order bathroom. What? No international phone cards? Guess we’ll have to use our cell.

Above us on the wall was a cornucopia of décor that ranged from traditional Asian pictures and nick-knacks to photos of suggestively posed donuts (from 1983) that struck us as donut porn. The strangest “art” was directly above us – a framed stock photo of a girl staring vacantly out next to a stack of poorly cut-n-pasted donuts ominously floating next to her. The text said “It’s doughnut time”. Are the donuts telling us they’re taking over the world with death glazes? Is this small storefront the first part of their world donutation plot? (grooooooan!) You can visit and decide for yourself.

Why would you visit? Because these donuts rocked our East Coast world. The old fashioned/cake donuts were wicked tasty – fresh, moist and not overly dense; the raised donut was the epitome of fluffy and tasty – it’s clear they only make donuts in their oil, despite the fact that they also serve burgers, fries and sandwiches. The only failure was the apple fritter – strangely spiced? Over spiced? Something just wasn’t working for us.

Emily was so excited by this don-licious find, that she decided she could “eat like 7 more donuts!” Why wait? We had to find out about their jelly filled, which was on the board, but not in the case. When we asked for one at the counter, the man immediately whirled around, grabbed a donut and ran to a machine. He switched custard out, jelly in, and filled our D-nut on the spot! We were shocked – freshly filled jelly filled???? Could this visit get any better? It did: the J-filled wasn’t too sweet, perfectly moist, and filled a-plenty with red-flavored jelly (we love the red-flavored plant/tree!)

After taking a few final photos with her phone, Emily returned, saying “I have donut all over my phone.” Oh well. That’s a tiny casualty for such a great find. It’s time for you to throw away your watch, because the only time worth caring about now is donut time, and it’s ALWAYS donut time at Donut Time. Thanks for the tasty AM treats DT, we’ll be back VERY soon….maybe later today.

Final cost: $7.00

donuts/doughnuts

1980s posters, delicious, jelly to order!, ohmigod donuts!

February 14, 2011

Nibs

Address: 10841 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito, CA 94530
Hours: Mon-Sat 6:30 am – 3:30 pm, Sun 7 am – 3 pm
Parking: lot, street

Visited: December 12, 2010, 9:30am

Okay, so it’s been a while. But don’t think that team ESP hasn’t been out trying to get things done – the holidays may have slowed us down, but we’ve visited a few places over the last month (after determining that Taki Sushi is either closed or under “remodelation”). We’ve been a little slow on writing things up, but we promise we’re back in the groove now…as long as “Sexy Saturday” at Gregory’s doesn’t force us to meet our maker early. On to the review!

A couple of weeks before Christmas, we decided to try some AM nibbles to salve the realization that Taki Sushi was no more. What better place to nosh on breakfast specialties than Nibs, a San Pablo standby that apparently specializes in “Charbroiled Burgers” and “Homemade Pies” according to the faded pylon sign. We parked in their medium-sized lot and ambled into a narrow foyer with a take-out counter connected to the service area behind the counter. Dave inadvertently rang the low-hanging wind-chimes with his head, announcing our entrance. We passed through the interior door and found a full house of Nibblers along with a couple of spare stools near the end of the wood-grained Formica counter. A friendly smile and two menus came our way.

The most striking part of Nibs was how festive it was. This wasn’t your average Christmas decor – not a quick run to Target for a couple of discount ornaments, an inflatable Nativity set and a bunch of Santa-head mugs that make you think you’re drinking Santa’s brains. No! The owners at Nibs care about Christmas, and the results are palpable: stockings hung, fireplace decked, tinsel strung and ornaments hanging over the counter that could have made the worlds largest Newton’s Cradle with the right bump.

When the attentive staff returned we ordered: Dave went with the bacon-avocado + jack cheese omelet along with wheat toast and an OJ; Emily opted for eggs (scrambled hard, of course), bacon, toast and grits, washed down with coffee.

As we waited for our food we couldn’t help but notice that some farming was happening in front of us on the counter: a John Deere salt and pepper shaker set was ready to plant the napkins. We glanced down the counter to see a cornucopia of salt and pepper options creating quite a collection. Sadly, there wasn’t a “Salt-N-Pepa” salt and pepper set, but if we see it in the discount bin at CVS, we’ll buy it for them.

As we started eating, a regular came in and sat next to us at the end of the bar. How do we know he’s a regular? The staff saw him and brought him his own mug from a collection of mugs – each with its owners name. How often does one have to come to Nibs for this honor? The regular told us he got the mug after coming 5 or 6 days a week for 2 years. If you want your mug, you’ve got to be dedicated. It’s never too soon to start.

At $22 before tip, the nibbles weren’t bad. They clearly understand the pay-off on pre-buttered toast, a brunch essential that most places don’t follow. Add that to an impressive warm-syrup dispenser, plenty of hone-fries, and great jam, and I’d say it’s worth adding to our weekend bunch-around when we’re hankering for a hunk of diner food. Will we get personalized mugs? Probably not, nonetheless, thanks for brunch, Nibs, I’m sure we’ll be back at some point.

Final cost: $22.66 + tip

"american" food, breakfast, diner

"breakfast served all day", grits, john deere, ornamental, personalized mugs

December 12, 2010

Taki Sushi

taki sushi! noooo!

Team ESP loves sushi. One of our favorite establishments is/was Taki Sushi, directly opposite El Cerrito City Hall. Started by two sushi maestros who departed Yusan when it sold, Taki has always been friendly, delicious and quite reasonable for its quality. For the past few weeks we’ve been trying to get a spot at the counter for our next ESP write-up, and all we’ve managed is a recorded message. No one on Yelp is yet to comment on the closure.

With no alternative, we decided to take a drive. When we rolled up to Taki’s asphalt front-lawn and peered in, we saw tools and a few stacks of wood. Sadly, no sign of Thomas working his magic on sweet ebi and toro (with quail egg) – only a handwritten message saying they’re “closed today”. A couple of our ESP peeps have clued us in to a reality we’re having trouble accepting: Taki Sushi may be closed for good. We’re not positive though, so if anyone out there in the ESP blogoshere has any news – either about Taki, or about where Thomas and Kaz are slinging fresh fish, we’d love to know. Until we do, we’ve decided to move on to the next establishment this past weekend: the exciting review of the NIBbles we tried is upcoming!

closed?, sushi

sniffle, taki! noooooo!!

December 12, 2010

Goody Donuts

Address: 10963 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito CA 94530
Hours: none visible; unknown
Parking: street

Visited: September 25, 2010, 10:30am

We’re not entrepreneurs, but we tend to think that building a successful business includes a few key things: visible location, good signage, long hours and not being near a business geared towards children that has creepy mirror-tinted windows. Ignoring these points entirely is stop number 21, Goody Donuts. Hidden behind trees in a bizarre strip of shops highlighted by the creepy tinted windows of “Playland Not at the Beach” (5 stars on yelp!), Goody (not Goody’s) is a small shop with un-posted and unknown hours that advertises its presence with vinyl stick-on window lettering. Don’t let the lettering deceive: Goody has donuts, but it’s really a catch-all store that seems to specialize more in lottery tickets than the odd assortment of food on their white board.

Before venturing further, a quick comment about “Playland Not at the Beach”: we finally ventured in, despite the chills running down our spines. Although P-NAB doesn’t serve food, it will get it’s own entry at some point (if we make it out alive after a full visit).

Back to our regularly scheduled programming. To say that Goody is bare bones is probably not speaking highly of those bones. It’s a simple shop that stocks rice krispy treats, “Cup O Noodles”, cigarettes, lottery tickets, nacho-cheese Doritos (what?! no cool ranch?), pork buns, breakfast sandwiches, international phone cards, halls cough drops and a mediocre selection of donuts. As a disclaimer: we’ve both lived in the land of Dunkin’; we’ve eaten Voodoo Donuts in Portland. We know our donuts (and the unfortunate, Tom Brady-endorsed “Steak n’ Egg Croissanwich”).

Upon approaching the counter we were immediately greeted by a friendly employee ready to take our order. The display case had a slim variety of donuts of which we each picked one: Emily went with the chocolate glazed raised donut (and a small coffee), Dave selected a chocolate glazed cake d-nut. The dollar pork buns were almost tempting, but it seemed just a little early to keep those down. The total: $2.55. If there’s one plus of Goody, it’s the recession-friendly pricing.

We sat down at the table near the window, a nice table and chair set from the “Closed Chinese Restaurant Collection”. We sampled the donuts and quickly arrived at the same epiphany: the donuts, while chocolate glazed, were distinctly the flavor of Chinese food. We don’t recall specifying the “pork fried rice” donut, but that’s what we got. It wasn’t altogether horrible – we both polished our purchases off, but Dave needed to wash it down with a breakfasty beverage. With Sunny-D being the closest thing to OJ in the case, he opted for a $1 peach nectar. The coffee also reminded Emily of something: hotel lobby coffee.

The rest of the Goody experience was a bit of a hodge-podge. A few customers came in, the doorbell system seemed to be tripped by any movement in a 3-block radius and the owners did adopt a nice (and creative!) solution to security bars by using shelving rails (but sadly didn’t hang any shelves off the back of the door as a space saver).

Thanks for the donuts Goody, we probably won’t be back unless we survive P-NAB and want to buy a lottery ticket or need to call India.

Final cost: $3.55

breakfast, donuts/doughnuts

Chinese food-flavored donuts!, doritos!, lotto, recession-friendly pricing, secret hours

September 25, 2010

Wienerschnitzel

Address: 11101 San Pablo, El Cerrito, CA 94530
Hours: neglected to take note (doh!)
Parking: cavernous lot parking (shared with post office next door)

Visited: September 19, 2010, 2:15pm

Do you ever wonder why paint companies make all those ridiculous, bold colors that seemingly no one at Home Depot buys? Who paints their bedroom “Grenadine” and “Lemon Zest”? Apparently paint companies keep producing these garish colors because Wienerschitzel keeps buying.

On a road where most buildings are indistinguishable from one another, the ‘Schnitz ups the ante with it’s trademark franchise ‘A-frame’ structure with yellow roof, bright red trim and almost glow-in-the-dark accents. At some fast-food establishments “drive-thru” means “drive along the side of a building”. The ‘Schnitz takes the term ‘drive-thru’ seriously: you get your food by driving through the center of the building. The half of the building near the road houses the kitchen; we’re not sure what the back half of the building does, but it’s probably where the secret chili recipe is kept.

When we approached on a chilly Sunday afternoon (although based on their menu, every day is a chili day at the ‘Schnitz), there was one person sitting at the outdoor patio and one car in the drive-thru. The establishment includes an enormous vacant parking lot. How many people did the planning department think were eating at the ‘Schnitz? They were off by about 100 spaces – it’s got a drive-thru! Who parks?

Their menu made it clear that anything can be made better by a solid slather of signature chili, which is so secret that only a few people in corporate know where it is (in the back half of SPA’s ‘Schnitz). After much deliberation Dave decided to go with a “Chicago Dog” and a chocolate shake; Emily settled on a corn dog and “Stadium Dog”. We approached the window and a female employee took our order with a great deal of suspicion. Was she suspicious of us, or did she know something about what we ordered that we didn’t? Only time would tell. After slithering back to the service area to prepare our tube-steak trifecta, a second employee settled the $9.41 charge. While waiting we noticed one particular “99 cent” offering: a “chili-cheese-fries burrito”. Huh?

After a few minutes a large brown paper bag popped out the window with our order.

For full authenticity we took a seat at one of the teetery pre-cast concrete patio tables, complete with the “Hot-Dog-On-A-Stick” color themed umbrella. The “Chicago Dog” appeared to have some limp tomatoes, but was tasty. It had a sweet pickle, hot pepper, onions and sauces accompanying the all-beef dog. The corn dog was crispy with the right amount of sweetness, the “Stadium Dog” a solid entry in wiener technology. The chocolate shake was remarkably large for it’s price. As for the ambiance, Emily noted, “this is the busiest drive-thru I’ve ever sat next to”. Indeed, the cars had piled up at this point, creating a line 5 vehicles deep. Were these the “dog days” of September?

After taking down the initial entrees we started discussing…what was the “chili-cheese-fries burrito”? (Yes, it’s really ‘fries burrito’ because it has more than one fry). What has the ‘Schnitz done? We at team ESP pride ourselves in being thorough: we went back to order it for “dessert”. Upon receiving it we knew an autopsy was necessary: for 99 cents you can have them take fries, chili and cheese and wrap it in a tortilla. We don’t know much about bargains, but this sounded like one to us. Our first bite revealed disappointment. How could a ‘fries burrito’ with chili be bad? Turns out that the ‘Secret Recipe Chili’ might be best left a secret. It just didn’t hold up, even with cheese and a tortilla. The burrito proved that the ‘Schnitz can’t do “Mexican”. One other note for those who might visit – leave the saltshaker at home. The corporate nutritional guidelines suggest Morton might be working in back.

Nonetheless, we left pleased with our mid-afternoon snack. They do hotdogs right. If we’re looking for chili, a burrito, fries, or all that in one bite, we’ll go elsewhere. Thanks for lunch, Weinerschnitzel, we might be back.

Final cost: $9.41 + $1.09

"chili cheese fries burrito", gesundheit!, weiners!

burgers, hotdogs

September 19, 2010

Krung Thep Thai Cuisine

Address: 11224 San Pablo Ave
Hours: Tuesday – Saturday: 11:30am to 9:30pm
Parking: street parking

Visited: August 4, 2010, 8:00pm

In today’s cynical world where being rude seems to get more applause than civility, it’s always nice to find the good people – the people that are capable of bringing an elevated level of humanity to all they meet. Rarer yet is finding this kindness in the form of a restaurant. This is what we found at stop #18, Krung Thep, a small Thai eatery nestled in an anonymous strip of shops just south of Potrero Avenue.

The outside of Krung Thep (an alternate name for the city of Bangkok) is a well-maintained brick building painted bright orange. Upon entering the establishment we found an equal level of care and cleanliness in the friendly dining room. The owners, a *very* friendly couple, immediately greeted us. We were seated along an orange wall just below some pictures of Thailand. They asked if we had eaten there before and were very pleased to hear that we were giving them a try, explaining that they’ve been owners since 1985. As many of the Yelp reviews had indicated, it’s seldom busy – at the time of our visit the 12-table dining room had only one group of four.

We surveyed the menu and decided to go with an appetizer of fried tofu with a peanut dipping sauce along with two entrees: the pineapple fried rice with prawns and the green curry chicken. As with any good Asian-food restaurant, the menu items were numbered. This, however, did not deter Dave from butchering the Thai pronunciations of everything he ordered. The owner was nice enough to attempt a Rosetta Stone-esque intervention, but even a third and fourth try did not yield anything we could apply on a trip to Asia.

After talking with the husband for a bit, we looked around the eatery and realized we were essentially eating in this couples dining room. They treated us more as guests than customers. The décor included several Cal pennants, providing local flavor, along with a small TV playing a Chinese station. The other patrons told us that the owners don’t speak Chinese, but happen to enjoy watching Chinese TV. Once our meals were served, the couple briefly discussed, then changed the channel to NBC which was showing gymnastics.

The appetizer arrived at our table within a few minutes. The tofu was perfectly fried and hot, Emily complaining that she could never get her tofu that crispy. The dipping sauce was equally tasty. The fried rice was full of large pineapple slices, nuts, raisins and prawns; the curry chicken was perfectly spicy and served over steamed white rice. Everything seemed fresh, and a sign on the wall proclaimed that no MSG is used in their food, a welcome declaration.

On a couple of occasions the owners came over to talk to us. Upon hearing that we were gainfully employed, the wife was genuinely happy for us, and proceeded to explain that the adjacent private school has been hit so hard by the recession that a significant number of teachers were laid off. To help these educators in difficult times she has served them free pad Thai, refusing their money. This generosity comes from a restaurant that once had 5 cooks in their kitchen but is now staffed by only the owners.

After more eating and discussion we received the $30 check (Krung Thep takes cash only), and about a dozen hugs. You don’t leave here as strangers. Krung Thep gets many things right, but it’s most endearing quality is it’s genuine kindness. This is a couple that has clearly never taken a customer for granted in 25 years, and it’s doubtful any restaurant could say that this emphatically.

We here at ESP HQ know that our influence over your eating habits is (probably) meager, but if we have any pull we strongly suggest you give this simple family-run restaurant a shot. Their food is on-par with many of the Thai restaurants we’ve eaten at, and their prices are very reasonable. Those attributes aside, the most important part of Krung Thep is that their friendliness and caring far exceed anything you’ll find on San Pablo or beyond – they deserve our business for being the type of people that we should all strive to be. Thanks for dinner Krung Thep, we’ll be back very soon.

Final cost: $30.16

thai

CCTV, friendly, hugs, talkative, tamarind candies

August 19, 2010

fashionable window coverings, remodelation

Taqueria Del Palmar

closed for remodelation

Since we strive for completeness, we feel it’s necessary to disclose that our next stop should be at Taqueria del Palmar, directly across from Happy Garden. For the last two months, maybe longer, the Taqueria has been under “remodelation”. No, this isn’t a misprint – this is exactly what the sign on the door states: they’re busy…remodelationing. The odd part about this is that there’s no sign of any work being done. The most recent Yelp post was back in January. We’re beginning to think that it’s just out-of-businessing. If it does open its doors again, we’ll make a U turn and give it a shot.

mexican

August 8, 2010

Happy Garden Chinese Restaurant

Address: 11265 San Pablo Avenue El Cerrito, CA 94530-2132
Hours: Monday – Saturday: 11:30am to 9:30pm
Parking: street parking (or park in the Del Norte place lot)

Visited: August 7, 2010, 6:10pm

If you compared all the Chinese restaurant names in the US, at least one of the words “Happy”, “Garden”, “Bowl” or “Yummy” would appear in 80% of them. This leads us to No. 17 on our quest, “Happy Garden Chinese Restaurant” in El Cerrito, a tiny storefront that peddles Mandarin and Cantonese style food according to their menu. With a name like “Happy Garden”, the “Chinese Restaurant” part seems redundant.

We can guess that few, if any of you, have eaten there based on appearance alone. Apparently there’s no money in ambiance, and no money was wasted here. Where is the “Happy Garden”? We didn’t see it. What we did learn a week ago: there’s no Gardening on Sundays.

Upon walking up we noticed a couple of letters peeling off the exterior sign. We peered through the large storefront windows and thought it was closed, but saw the “open” sign lit in the window. We walked past the empty tables and wandered up to a dark counter area that included an out-of-commission ice cream shop serving station. As we picked up one of the laminated menus, a happy Asian woman popped around a corner from the back where a TV with a Chinese-language show was playing. The menu contained many of the staple Chinese options: egg rolls, hot & sour soup (not for takeout), orange peel chicken and fried rice, all appropriately numbered. In an attempt to be comprehensive we ordered #2, #53, #59 and #71. We’re pretty sure those numbers are generally consistent among all Chinese restaurants. The next question: for here or to go? It seemed that it might be really strange to eat here. The “décor” aside, it didn’t seem like a place anyone actually ate in. The five 4-tops belied the fact that the staff generally stayed in the kitchen, and when we finally did decide on take out, it seemed as if it was expected.

After our 4-course feast was rung up to a tidy sum of $25.19 – cash only – we sat down at one of the empty “wood grain” tables, all of which were furnished with the classic metal-frame, 1980’s pizza parlor chairs. The rest of the place could be described as old and sparsely decorated: black and white checked floor, one picture, 3 security cameras and some exposed fluorescent light fixtures. Each table was outfitted with a small, fake, dusty flower arrangement that must have been the “Garden” portion of the establishment.

In a snappy 10 minutes our food was bagged and brought to us. How do we know it was fresh? We didn’t hear anything happening in the kitchen until after we ordered. It seemed like there was a cook back there, but since we never saw our waitress at the same time we heard the food being cooked, we couldn’t be too sure. It’s sort of like the Superman/Clark Kent thing if Metropolis was a Chinese restaurant.

What we found when we opened our four happy-face emblazoned styrofoam containers was enough food to comfortably feed a family of 4. In these tough times, doing that for $25 is a great deal. Where does the food lie in the spectrum of Americanized Chinese food? It’s not perfect, but nothing was bad: the deep fried prawns seemed to be over battered, but were perfectly fried; the enormous caldron of hot & spicy tofu had a late kick with fresh veggies. The BBQ pork fried rice was a hit. The only strange thing in the meal was the sesame chicken, which tasted great, but didn’t seem to have the texture we thought chicken had. Does the Garden make chicken super tender? Or maybe extra fatty? We’ll settle on strangely squishy and move on.

At the end of the meal, not even half finished, we decided we’d gladly order the tofu and fried rice again, but might skip the chicken and prawns (it probably didn’t help that the #2 had melted through the container – at least it was hot). Like any restaurant, you’ve got to pick your battles, but if you chose right, you can get solid food for a great price. The only true disappointment: no fortune cookies! Not sure what that’s all about.

Thanks for dinner Happy Garden, you were pretty tasty – we’ll pick our numbers carefully next time, but we’ll probably be back at some point.

Final cost: $25.19

cauldron of tofu, no chicken fingers?!, no fortune cookies!, spartan decor

"american" food, chinese

August 8, 2010

Little Caesars

Address: 10003 San Pablo Avenue El Cerrito, CA 94530
Hours: oops, wasn’t paying attention
Parking: off-street lot

Visited: July 10, 2010, 4:35pm

Yes, we know. ESP’s been lagging behind. But, after a brief hiatus, a trip north, an engagement and Carrow’s “strawberry” cobbler safely in the review mirror, it’s time for team ESP to get back to business. Where better to get a running start than at a place where we can do everything twice? Thus, even though it’s not the Ides of March, we got our Cassius and Brutus on: it’s time for a Review! Review! of Little Caesars, another eatery in the always luxurious Del Norte Place, where it’s the 80’s, every day.

After sharing some tasty AM scones, we decided on an early dinner. One of Little Caesars selling points is it’s Hot N’ Ready pizzas: at any given point you can walk into any of their franchised establishments, pay five bucks and immediately walk away with a pre-made cheese or pepperoni pizza. Strange? Creepy? You can make the call.

Upon entering we were quickly greeted by a monotone staff member who was decidedly less enthusiastic than the way “Little Caesar” is portrayed in the chains signature graphic. Preferring a pizza that hasn’t been enjoying the sauna for an indeterminate amount of time, we decided to order a pie with our own toppings. Since we’re not running a marathon any time soon, we decided carbo loading was required and ordered a side of “Italian Cheese Bread” and “Crazy Bread” (all of which is trademarked) along with their signature dipping sauce. The staff person rang up our $15 bill, and we were told to wait. We asked how long, she looked behind her at a stack of boxes, then declared “8 minutes”, making us wonder if the pizza was already in the boxes and she just needed a smoke.

We took a seat in several of their plastic waiting chairs. Emily briefly debated playing for a bouncy ball from the trademarked “Sports Zone” pinball machine in the corner, but decided to photograph the interior instead. Looking behind the counter we could see a bevy of sauce containers, lifting the skirt on the secrets of Little Caesars food preparation. Cans of pineapple made it clear that the “Hawaiian” wasn’t made from Alice Waters locally-sourced rulebook. A couple of key sauces appeared to be Cattleman’s BBQ sauce and Franks Red Hot. We, however, ordered a side that has it’s own “special sauce”: on a shelf sat a white jug labeled: “Little Caesars Liquid Crazy Bread Spread: for best quality, refrigerate”. Yum! We always love warm homemade. This is how Brutus gets the job done in the 21st century.

As we enjoyed our view of the counter, patrons came streaming in and out, most getting a Hot N’ Ready special. This is when we became aware of the amazingly annoying doorbell. Is it really necessary to have something beep every time someone enters? Does the staff hang out in Albany, requiring a doorbell this loud? Not only does the doorbell record everyone that enters, it seemed to beep multiple times for larger patrons.

The rest of the interior was nothing different than any chain pizza place: a case of Cold N’ Ready beverages, plenty of advertisements, and a banner proclaiming Little Caesars as the best value in America three years running.

Ten minutes after ordering our name was called. We picked up the carbs and drove them home. We cracked the boxes to find a cornucopia of bready, cheesy things. While the pizza was a little short on mushrooms, the food wasn’t bad: the pizza dough used in all the items was tasty and spongy, the pizza not too greasy. The Italian Cheese Bread and Crazy Bread were appropriately greasy and flavorful. The side red sauce was a tad metallic, but serviceable. We finished eating at 5:10, and by 6:30 we were ready to dive into seconds. Fortunately all the items were totally refrigeratable for a late-night snack.

We discovered at Little Caesars that there is no limit to the number of things you can trademark, even telling us on the box that their food was Tasty Tasty™. What did we think? It wasn’t bad – it was OK! OK!, but passable in a pinch. We don’t want to stab Lil’ Caesar in the back with a bad review, and we might be back when we’re looking to carbo load fast in the future.

Thanks for dinner Lil’ Caesars, we might be back when our ADD kicks in and we can’t wait for a pie.

Final cost: $15.33

pizza

carbs, greasy goodness, hot-n-ready, pizza! pizza!

August 1, 2010

Carrows

Address: 6120 Potrero Avenue, El Cerrito, CA 94530-2127
Hours: Sun – Thu 6am – 10pm, Fri & Sat 6am – 11pm
Parking: off-street lot

Visited: June 20, 2010, 4:50pm

We know what many of you are thinking: why does Carrows have to be included in Eating San Pablo? Was the prime rib special that enticing? Was it the pies? The ample parking? It’s none of these things. We did this for the same reason that many an explorer insisted on taking on the insurmountable that stood before them: because the early bird special was there. You read right. We here at ESP pride ourselves in searching out the most authentic San Pablo experience, thus we had to become one of the early birds searching for a fine dinner at Carrows on a late Sunday afternoon.

Upon entering we were greeted with the stale smell of old restaurant. Or was that nursing home? Or perhaps daycare? — think cheerio/goldfish/spittle slathered vinyl… Undeterred, we waited to be seated, which was done in short order by an extremely friendly staff member. This was our lucky day: we got a nice fully enclosed booth with views of the parking lot at the foot of the El Cerrito hills and Denny’s competing across the street. Encased with wood paneling, “framed art”, a strange goose-neck lamp and a bevy of condiments, we were given two thick laminated menus – each. Carrows has such an extensive and diverse menu that it greatly exceeded the number of laminated sheets that can be bound together. We asked for water and time, then dove into our options.

Like Denny’s, Carrows serves all meals in the evening, but what drew Emily’s eye was the weekend prime rib special because really, why else would you go to Carrows? The menu decisions didn’t stop at the entrée, as she was then required to choose amongst a series of sides. To go with her 8oz prime rib special she chose a grilled shrimp skewer, a double side of “dinner” vegetables and the garlic cheese bread (obviously!). She decided the only way to appropriately wash everything down was with a good draft beer, and asked what was on tap. What’s on tap at Carrows are bottles of Bud, Bud Light, Corona and Heineken. She settled with the Bud Light.

The menus had a number of items flagged as “Mile High”. It wasn’t clear in the sections of menu we reviewed (we couldn’t really make it through both menus) what “Mile High” referred to. Are these dishes stacked so high with food that they scrape the ceilings? Was there some sort of “Mile High Carrows Club”? That’s a merit badge we weren’t looking for. Instead of finding out, Dave opted for the carne asada plate, a “Hearty Beef” entrée that came with sides of jalapeno pinto beans, rice, a roasted jalapeno, 3110 mg of sodium and corn tortillas to wrap it all up. No disrespect to Bud, but Dave stuck with water.

By 5:10pm, the dinning room was getting increasingly busy. The crowd was mixed, but the other patrons seemed to have a good 50+ years on us. An adjacent table had an interesting couple(?) that were discussing various things. The (wo)man sitting closest to us wearing some odd head gear stated at one point that his/her pot roast dinner reminded him/her of breakfast. Sadly, this wasn’t the strangest thing about this person.

The biggest pitfall we found with the ambiance was that Carrows didn’t seem all that clean. It’s not that tables weren’t wiped down, but they weren’t *clean*. We could easily draw on the faux-grain wood tables by scraping designs in the caked on-dirt. The lamp attached to our booth was partially attached by a drywall screw, and appeared to have grease caked on it. Near the entry an unnatural cherry smell wafts past the counter seating. You won’t mistake this for fresh made cherry pies unless you snack on urinal pucks. It could be said that the janitorial staff is very aggressive employing scent cover-up as a cleaning tactic. Clearly this was an older restaurant, but we’d like a little more attention to detail.

Our meals came out in good time, and we immediately got started. Both the plates matched the color photos and the portions were not too oversized, actually providing a more regular, if not large, amount of food. The prime rib special was as expected – cooked as requested to avoid the “jiggles” of undercooked slabs of meat. The accompanying vegetables appeared to be originally frozen, but were just fine. The “grilled” shrimp were sautéed in butter that made them slide down that much more easily. No grill lines were evident.

The carne asada was cooked well, the beans were surprisingly spicy for a chain restaurant, the rice was well executed and the corn tortillas – delivered late – were hot and tasty. The salsa was somewhat spicy, but not great. Nonetheless, Dave thought it was better than expected.

Since it’s strawberry season, Carrows is celebrating by slathering everything short of their prime rib with strawberries and hung up a bunch of giant paper strawberries from the tongue and groove cathedral ceiling of the dining room. With dessert time coming around, was there any way we’d be able to avoid this not-so-subtle marketing? Of course not. We told our fine waiter that we’d like to split a strawberry-rhubarb cobbler, and that’s where we made our biggest mistake.

Obviously we ordered al-a-mode, and it arrived as such a few minutes later. Not only did the cobbler not match the menu picture, but our strawberry-rhubarb dessert didn’t seem to have any rhubarb. As for the fresh strawberries, Emily took one look and pointed out that “they were fresh at some point.” To make matters worse, Carrows chose to augment the ”fresh” strawberries with additional, fake strawberry flavoring/pie filling. Finally, the cobbler topping was a soggy mess of non-specific stuff that mushed with the flavoring.

In the end Carrows wasn’t the disappointment we had expected, although our hopes were simply avoiding intestinal distress, so that’s not saying much. Even if the “high” points slightly outweighed the low ones, we’d prefer a cleaner table and better cobbler. Thanks for Dinner Carrows, maybe we’ll be back at a more age-appropriate time in 40 years, if you’re still there.

Final cost: $36.68, before tip

"dinner" vegetables, cherry urinal pucks, paper strawberries, prime rib special

"american" food

June 20, 2010

Denny’s

Address: 11344 San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito, CA 94530-2135
Hours: Sun – Thu 7am – 10p, Fri & Sat 7am – 12am
Parking: off-street lot

Visited: June 4, 2010, 8:40pm

It’s Friday, and that means date night, of course. What better way to celebrate a fine Friday evening than by taking the one you love to enjoy the fluorescent pendent lights and mood-lit interior of stop #14, Denny’s. We know what you’re thinking – how is a relationship going to hold up under the weight of Denny’s Date Night? Simple. As it turns out, the Denny’s on San Pablo Ave gives you PLENTY of time to talk as you sit and wait to order, then wait longer to get your food. There’s no rush here, and that gives you plenty of time to enjoy yourself and watch nearby customers start a mutiny.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s back up. Denny’s is obviously a large chain, and we wanted to find out how well they handled the dinner hour when you can order breakfast or a dinner “specialty”. When we arrived at 8:40pm we were surprised to see a rather full parking lot even though it didn’t appear that anyone was actually in the restaurant. Were people parking at Denny’s and hitting up Carrow’s across the way? Were they parking for the night? We had to find out. Upon entering it became apparent that the Denny’s staff was only seating the back half of the dinning room. We were greeted in the lobby after a minute, and seated in the back corner, in a booth, near the restrooms. Yum.

Denny’s menus are an enormous homage to the powers of lamination. Going for pages, the menu is divided into some curious categories such as meals that you might eat with your hands (“hand held”) and items that may require silverware (“knife and fork”). Are they going to deny us silverware if we order something hand held?

Most of the menu items were under $10, a welcome change to most dinners we eat. Only some of the more “luxurious” entrees tipped $10, and they included a “T-Bone Steak”. We’re not sure who orders a T-Bone at Denny’s, and we certainly weren’t going to be part of that group. The menu also has an entire page of beverage options. You can pretty much mix any faux fruit flavor with another faux fruit flavor, toss it with some Sprite, have it thrown into a 32oz Coke glass and brought to you.

After looking at all the photos we decided what we wanted. We then played the waiting game. A large group at an adjacent table was about to start a mutiny, complaining that they wanted to order. When a waiter eventually came to our table, Emily deftly directed him to the larger table to take their order before they burned the establishment to the ground using a combination laminated tables and coffee stirrers as kindling.

More time passed. Finally, 10 minutes later, he arrived. Dave got the “Super Bird” (Emily thought it was called the “Perky Turkey”), a turkey/bacon/tomato melt, with fries. Emily went the mix n’ match breakfast route, ordering a build-your-own “Slam”: scrambled eggs (scrambled hard – don’t want any wet scramble), hash browns, turkey bacon, “seasonal” fruit and a side of green beans. We were both drawn in by their crafty marketing ploy and got an order of chocolate chip pancake puppies.

We settled in for what we assumed would be a long wait, giving us plenty of time to enjoy the ambiance of Denny’s, which includes a number of flat screen TV’s hanging from the ceiling playing a special channel not in our home cable package called “Bite TV”. As expected, it bites. Interspersed with promotional material they show highlights of horse racing, hockey, tennis and BBC’s “Planet Earth”, all hosted by some woman who clearly was desperate for work. On the walls hang a ton of faux-ephemera (Emily’s choice of wording), clearly mass-produced for all of Denny’s locations. For some reason they were looping alternative music which didn’t seem to fit the clientele terribly well. Several adjacent tables sat un-cleared for the first 40 minutes were there, not a good sign.

After what felt like 30 minutes but was actually 40, our food arrived. For the most part it looked the way it appeared in our nice, glossy menus. Dave’s melt was mediocre, the fries limp. It was cheesy, and all of the ingredients were fresh, but it lacked interest. Perhaps breakfast would have been a better choice? Emily’s meal was tasty – the eggs cooked as ordered, the hash browns crispy. Even the side of green beans was cooked just right. The “fruit” cup was a glass coffee mug filled with cantaloupe and honeydew. It seemed like they didn’t get many fruit cup orders at Denny’s. Dave thought the pancake puppies were over-fried, we both agreed they could have used more chocolate chips. They also included two large servings of syrup for dipping. We’re not sure how anyone could use that much syrup short of drinking it straight, which isn’t out of the question.

Like any good boxing match this visit was a split decision: Dave thought it could have been better, Emily felt it was tasty (enough). The deciding factor on the scorecard is the service, which was painfully slow because they only seemed to have one or two waiters for all the tables. Thanks for brinner (brupper?) Denny’s, but we probably won’t be back (unless we get a craving for hashbrowns). Maybe you should hire more staff?

Final cost: $19.71, before tip

hash browns, laminated menus, puppies for breakfast?

breakfast

June 13, 2010

IHOP

Address: 11575 San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito, CA 94530-1952
Hours: Sun-Thu 7am – 10p, Fri+Sat 7am – 12am
Parking: off-street lot

Visited: May 15, 2010, 9:15am

There’s always reason to worry about an establishment that elects to drop its name in favor of a handy acronym. Do they feel people know the company so well that an unintelligible, shorter name will suffice? Or did they just get lazy? We aimed to find out when we hopped down San Pablo to our next breakfast stop, IHOP.

As a disclaimer, it should be noted that Dave had a number of bad IHOP experiences in his youth when the local IHOP crammed its food full of MSG that made him sick to his stomach. Hoping for better results, we entered mid morning on a Saturday eager to see if it’s improved since it was the International House of Pancakes.

We were immediately seated in the mid-size dining room, near the kitchen – all the better to see the service in action. A very cheery waitress, Collette, came by and delivered laminated menus with plenty of color pictures depicting what appeared to be the house specialty – whipped cream and glazed fruit topping, or dessert. Make no mistake – it doesn’t matter what season it is – “fresh fruit” is not what’s served here. Along with the anticipated breakfast specialties the menu surprisingly included a section of healthy eats under 600 calories just in case you didn’t want to eat the days recommended caloric intake before 10 AM. If you did, there are plenty of options. It’s a wonder that people can eat all the food included with some of the meals. As an example, their hearty omelets (which include a splash of buttermilk and wheat pancake batter for fluffiness – an interesting choice) are complimented with ‘short stacks’ of pancakes as a side. Their company slogan is “come hungry, leave happy”. We weren’t sure we’d be happy, but we knew we wouldn’t be hungry one way or the other.

Once morning beverages were delivered – OJ for Dave and coffee for Emily, we ordered: Dave went with the blueberry pancakes, Emily with the Swedish crepes. We both declined Collette’s skilled attempt of upsizing our already large meals with a side of eggs (although a side of pancakes would have been bold), but we did decide to split an order of turkey bacon for a touch of protein. While we usually want to try the “special of the house”, IHOP is currently promoting their cheesecake stuffed pancake explosions, an unimaginable load of dessert wedged between more dessert that they call “breakfast”. We’re passing, thanks.

From the colorful dining room we had a nice view of Walgreen’s and the parking lot, and were able to hear Collette lay down the law to the line cooks who were lagging behind. Indeed, the sign near the coffee station that read “breakfast talk only” was the law of the land at this IHOP.

After a short wait our flotilla of a breakfast arrived. This is when Dave realized that the photo in the menu depicted a “short stack” of pancakes, and he didn’t specify “short stack” – four plate-sized blueberry pancakes smothered in blueberries and whipped cream made for an imposing breakfast. Emily’s Swedish pancakes were significantly smaller and the lingonberry butter was on the side as requested. The pancakes were fluffy, chock full of berries, with more on the top – overall, pretty tasty. The Swedish crepes were a bit greasy, but tasty. The turkey bacon was a little strange, and had a smokey flavor that we remain undecided about – was that from real smoke, something synthetic, or do they farm smokey turkeys?

Apparently IHOP serves over 700 million pancakes each year. Judging by the size of cakes that must cover the world over a few times. The experience was what you’d expect from IHOP – standard breakfast fare, if breakfast was dessert. We both could have used a little less sugar, but clearly they cater to a crowd that’s looking for an AM rush. Thanks for breakfast IHOP, you weren’t bad, but with so many other breakfast options in the area, I doubt we’ll be back.

Final cost: $26.18 before tip

"breakfast talk only", dessert for breakfast!, full stack, laminated menus, smokey turkeys

breakfast

May 22, 2010