Foodie Digest

There’s really no other way to describe it. Big and Small spent many hours of the weekend doing hard physical labor–more than 8 hours each day.  At the end of each day we were starved, but too exhausted to really “fill the gap”. Needless to say, we woke up Monday morning still hungry.

Traffic down the peninsula (and some canceled meetings) presented a breakfast opportunity. Some quick research showed Millbrae Pancake House as a highly recommended spot.

We detour and pull into the parking lot. The PACKED parking lot (at 8 a.m. on a Monday).

It’s definitely a gateway into the past. And we’re clearly in the suburbs. No matter; the pancake house pancakes in many shapes and forms.

Big orders the banana pancakes with a side of sausage, I get the swedish pancakes. The banana pancakes come 5 gigantic pancakes to an order. The bananas are both grilled in with the pancakes and slathered across the top.  The sausage are small links with a flavor much like Jimmie dean.

The swedish pancakes are large, and served 3 to an order. They come sprinkled with powdered sugar and a side of lingonberry butter. (all the reviews said lingonberries but in my opinion, berries are a fruit and butter is butter.

So the good. The portions here definitely fill the gap. To excess. Given that Big is, well, BIG and that he was hungry, it says something that he could only eat half his portion. (self control? restraint? or excessively large portions).

Overall thumbs: sideways.

Food tastiness: Moderate. A pancake is a pancakes. These were a little bit dense but tasty enough. Probably wouldn’t go back for a return trip.

Service rating: Mediocre. We were seated and offered drinks right away. But our drinks were never refilled and we had to wait over 10 minutes to get our check.

Small and Big commute most days, and Small’s birthday was just another one of those days. On one of their treks home they popped in at Wakuriya, a new kaiseki restaurant just opened in San Mateo. The restaurant apologized that they couldn’t accommodate us without reservations and encouraged us to plan ahead and come back.

Wakuriya is owned by two couples with experience at the well known Kaygetsu restaurant in Menlo Park. We haven’t tried Kaygetsu, either, but reservations are hard to get there. Since Small’s birthday was approaching, Big made reservations at Wakuriya.

We arrived a little early for our reservation so we were the first diners at the restaurant. Wakuriya is teeny; there are two 4 top tables, one table for 2, and 8 seats at the bar. We were seated at the bar opposite Mika, one of the chef-owners. Mika is also the resident sommelier and sake expert. 

Wakuriya offers a set kaiseki menu each night. The menu remains constant for a month or so; we arrived to a relatively new menu. You can choose whether you want 3 courses, 6 courses, or 9 courses. With 3 you get to choose one entree type course (which wouldn’t be a completely satisfying meal). With 6 courses you can choose 3 and with 9 you get all the courses on the menu. Since we were celebrating, we chose all 9.

We had:

Saki-zuki was the starter course. This was seared white tuna on a mizuma leaf salad. Very light and delicate.

Zensai (appetizers) was next. This was a plate of 4 small bites. We both loved the uni. The mustard served with the chicken made that dish and I love anything to do with fava beans. The octopus salad was fresh and tender. Overall we both liked all 4 of these bites quite a bit.

• uni and ikura okawa sea urchin and salmon roe on steamed mochi rice
• simmered petaluma chicken with snow peas and Japanese mustard
• chilled soramame (fava bean soup)
• nama tako (fresh octopus) salad served with japanese turnip and tomato

On mono (steamed dish) asari clam in creamy chawanmushi (steamed dashi egg custard). I’m a big fan of egg; Big isn’t as much. This was perfect comfort food to me. Mika noticed my smile while I ate this and said it made her happy. Made me happy, too. We were sitting opposite the steamer so we got to watch these cook for other people all night long. The egg came out a little runny on top. I thought it tasted fine; I think Big would have preferred this cooked a little bit more

Tsukuri (sashimi) with hirame, maguro, amaebi. All of these pieces were very tender. The hirame was thinly sliced. The maguro was buttery and the shrimp were quite sweet. A very delicate touch on all of these. Extra bonus—the sashimi was served with fresh wasabi.

Age mono (deep fried dish) snow crab and portabella mushroom wrapped in soybean and deep fried, served with vegetable tempura. This was one of the dishes I would have skipped if I’d gone with the 6 courses. It tasted good to me because I haven’t had fried food in such a long time. The vegetables included pumpkin and asparagus. Was perfectly fine but not one of my favorite dishes of the evening.

Hashiyasume (granite) fresh peach and sake sorbet. This was very strong sake flavor with barely a hint of peach. I thought it was just OK, though I loved the little spoon they serve it with.

Yakimono (broiled dish) broiled salmon with shredded ginger, radish and mountain berry. This would have been another dish I would have skipped. I tend to not be a fan of cooked fish and salmon is high on my list of fish I prefer raw. However, this was very good. It wasn’t dry at all and the salmon still had a fresh and non-fishy flavor. 

Gohanmono (rice dish) choice of sukiyaki (stewed beef with enoki mushroom and green onion or unagi boiled in dashi sauce with egg. We got one of each. I loved the unagi and Big preferred the beef. I thought this was one of the best preparations of eel I’d ever had, and I realized yet again I’m a fan of eggs and broth. Big would rather his eel be caramelized. Would absolutely get this dish again. and again. The rice served with these dishes was cooked to perfection. 

Dessert strawberry parfait with flan, kuromitsu (black sugar) jelly and seasonal fruits. We watched Mika meticulously place mint and fruit on this parfait to the point we thought she was obsessing for show. The resulting dish was beautiful. Again, I was pleased with an egg-based (flan) dish. The strawberry in this was ice cream which was a bit too frozen. The black sugar jelly was a layer of rich caramel.  This was light but, except for the detail put into presentation, wasn’t all that special.

All in all I’d have to say the dinner was a success. They have a tiny but impressive wine list including Turley zinfandels by the glass. Next time I go I might try some of the sakes based on Mika’s recommendation. I’m now very curious to try Kaygetsu as well.

Overall thumbs: Two thumbs up. The atmosphere was cozy and relaxing. We had an incredibly leisurely dinner and appreciated the slow pacing.

Tastiness rating: high. The presentation and flavors were very interesting. 

Service: high. From the moment we walked in the door until we left we were treated well. Sitting at the bar gave us an insider’s viewpoint into the kitchen and Mika was happy to answer any questions we had.

We were wandering through Potrero Hill with the dogs and needed a relatively quick, relatively healthy place for lunch. Oh, and it needed to have outside seating. Since we’d just had pizza from Gialina’s last night, we ruled out Piccinos. The last few meals we’d had at Aperto were nice surprises so we drove by.
Seats were available outside so we parked the car and wandered over. Small looked at the specials board and noted: huevos ranchero, huevos w/ chorizo, enchiladas verde, veggie sandwich, and orechette w/ lamb ragu.
If you’ve ever been here you know it’s a predominately italian menu. We’ve noticed that weekend brunches introduce some mexican options. In the past we’ve had the enchiladas verdes and remembered them being quite good. The menu is rounded out with classics like french toast and pancakes, along with lunchy items like a grilled chicken salad and sandwiches.
Small opted for the huevos rancheros but requested scrambled egg whites instead of eggs over medium and no sour cream.
Big went for the Orechette w/ lamb ragu pasta of the day.
Our server brought our drinks along with complimentary mini banana muffins. Big ate them so I forgot to ask if they were good.
The outdoor seating was roomy enough to fit two large dogs. There was one other couple seated outside; they also had a dog.
The huevos rancheros arrive. It’s 3 corn tortillas each topped slightly differently. One is with scrambled egg whites and a green salsa; the second scrambled egg whites with a red salsa, and the third with black beans. Both salsa have a fantastic flavor. The beans are nicely spiced as well. Something between the green salsa and the beans add a great smokey taste. This dish is very successful and very healthy.
The orechette is well-prepared (maybe a tad overcooked for Small’s al dente preference but perfectly suited for Big). The sauce is rich and flavorful. This dish is polished off by Big with Small stealing bites of the orechette.
Service is warm and friendly. Food is good. Definitely recommended. Small’s only complaint with the place is they almost ALWAYS have lilies inside. Small can’t be near lilies and usually dings restaurants a star in ratings for having something so fragrant interfering with her food. Sitting outside, tho, means the lilies are forgotten. Still, if you have the same allergies I do something to be aware of before you plan indoor dining.

Overall thumbs: Two thumbs up. Good relaxing place for brunch.

Tastiness rating: high. The food is always well prepared. The mexican dishes are a great weekend bonus and the salsas are rich and flavorful without being robust.

Service: Good. Our server was nice. We were checked on but not very frequently.

Dog friendliness: Very good. Our dogs were fine under the table and it’s not too crowded. They also keep a dog bowl filled in front of the restaurant.

WW points: 4.5 for the huevos rancheros (Small only ate 2 of the 3 corn tortillas for 2 points, plus the egg whites and beans). 

mall was craving pizza two days in a row, and managed to convince Big it was a good option for Friday night. She’d been curious about Gialina so we called them up and placed an order.
Service on the phone was pleasant and friendly. We ordered three pizzas from the web site menu:

• the Atomica pizza with the addition of italian sausage: Atomica- tomato, mushrooms, mozzarella, spicy chilies & red onions $14.50
• Wild Nettles w/ pancetta & provolone $15
• Speck w/ tomato, mozzarella, basil & arugula $15

Total with tax was $51.

I’ll admit that 3 pizzas is a bit much for 2 people. Big was really hungry but we still had plenty leftover.

Big would rank his preferences as Atomica, Speck and Nettles. Small goes in the exact opposite order.

The Atomica was loved for its simplicity. The onions were grilled, which was a lovely touch. The tomato sauce was nicely flavored. Not overly spiced. The chilies added a spicy touch

The Speck pizza continued with the simple tomato sauce. The speck was like a thinly shaved proscuitto with fresh arugula tossed on top.

The Nettles pizza had sauteed nettles on top of a sauce-less crust. The pancetta was a perfectly crisped bacon. Big thought this was greasy. I did not, but maybe it was wishful thinking.

The crust on all three pizzas was perfectly prepared. Crispy around the edges and a little chewy in the center.

The place itself was cute. I’d probably think about stopping in on our way home from the South bay some evening.