Address: 10621 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito, CA 94530
Hours: none listed
Parking: street

Visited: Saturday, February 26, 2011, 8pm

In Vegas, when a player is beating the house at the black-jack table, the house is smart enough to make a dealer change. Why? Because the house isn’t in the business of losing, and an advanced dealer changes that. We experienced the restaurant version of a dealer change at Sa Wooei, a small Thai place that is best known for being on the second floor of a building that has no first floor.

Sa Wooei is hard to miss, standing on stilts, nestled in the parking lot of a shady motel that’s adjacent to “Secrets”, a glowing porn shop at the base of Moeser Lane. While we parked across the street in the Safeway/CVS parking lot, this is one SPA establishment you can park under during your visit. After jaywalking across the street, we climbed up the checker-plate stairs to the front door. We were quickly taken to a seat near one of the large windows with a glorious view of the Avenue, also allowing us to see if our car was getting jacked while we ate. The young waitress left menus with us on the glass tabletop (with placemats underneath for easy cleanup) and we started flipping through the numbers. The industrial concrete frame and aluminum awnings of the exterior belied the interior, rich with detail and traditional Thai artifacts, wood paneling and floors. The interior is dominated by the second-floor views of the Safeway, CVS, Kragen, Best Gas and BART passing beyond. On the exterior of the second floor hang Thai sculptures – and interesting detail for a building easy to dismiss.

Back to the dealer change: at first the young waitress was pleasant and efficient. Towards the end of taking our order she clearly saw our notepad, and shifted into friendly overdrive. In the world of Yelpers, any guest is a potential review, but our notepad clearly called for a dealer change. After she left to put our orders in, a more senior staff member served us the rest of the way, always very thankful for our visit. It’s quite possible that the preparation of one of the dishes (the green curry) took a little longer because extra care was given to it. While these situations are unavoidable, they are not preferred. Team ESP attempts to be discrete so the review is not tainted, but there are times when our best efforts don’t do the job.

To the order. We were both hungry, making our decisions quickly: two Thai iced teas, #3 Rung Nok and #12 Tom Yum Gai for starters, #31 Gang Keow Wan (green curry) for Emily, and #51 “Sa-Wooei” Special Duck for Dave. How can you pass up a dish that’s the special dish of the restaurant? Curiously, the menu says that all entrees can be made vegetarian. We’re not quite sure how Special Duck would play out as vegetarian.

The first dish arrived: we didn’t really know what #3 Rung Nok was, outside of the description that sounded like an egg roll. We were pleasantly surprised when 4 large Medusa-like apps came our way with perfectly light and crispy wavy noodles surrounding a core of marinated ground chicken. Having never had these before it’s impossible to compare, but these were very tasty. The flaming bowl of #12 Tom Yum Gai that followed showed equal skill in the preparation: ample chicken and mushrooms bobbing in a medium-spicy coconut broth as requested. The Thai iced teas were as expected, with Emily commenting that they “taste like a sauna”, which is not a bad thing.

Restaurants rarely disclose all of the ingredients of a dish – that’s proprietary information that makes them money. Nonetheless, we here at ESP are pretty sure one of the key ingredients of the “Sa-Wooei” Special Duck is crack-cocaine. It’s impossible to compare different dishes from different restaurants, but this duck would be one of the top five dishes we’ve had on SPA, if not the single best. Emily’s green curry was good, but perhaps the weakest of the dishes, but it should be noted that she’s become a green curry aficionado. It was ordered spicy, and arrived as advertised, but in this case the heavy spice took away from the overall flavor.

After they wrapped up our leftovers, we listened to a loud patron asking for drunken noodles enough times to suggest that she was bringing the drunk to the noodles. We paid the $44 bill grabbed our goodies and were thanked about 1,000 times as we left. Thanks for dinner Sa-Wooei, you can make some fine Thai food – we’ll be back very soon.

Final cost: $44.78

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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!

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

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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

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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

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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.