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lock stock and Cheryl
Dec 19, 2009

by zen death robot
SF bay area peoplegoons, post your eating recommendations. I will humbly offer mine, almost all of them are in the low-moderate price range (OP updated as people submit recommendations by category and as I remember them). I'm looking for places that are a cut above the rest, either they punch way above their weight for the money, or are just best-in-class.

Indian:
Pak Wan - 2 locations, Mission and Tenderloin. Same price as the rest, good portions, a cut above the competition. Won't give you face-melting spicy, but whatever, Indian restauranteurs are extra careful about hurting their white diners.. Get the Saag Paneer, Lamb Biryani, or Channa Masala. $25-30 for a meal for two.

Mexican: *puts on boxing helmet, tapes knuckles*
El Farolito - locations around SF and Oakland. Good size, good flavor. ~$13 for a burrito, coke and tip
Cancun - locations around SF and Oakland. Close competitor to El Farolito. Same stuff, same prices, very close in quality $13 for burrito, coke, and tip
El Gordo - Best taco truck in East Oakland. International & 42nd. Good prices, heavy portions, A+ style (they throw in a little grilled onion.) $10 for burrito, coke, and tip

Thai: I'm not too familiar with the Thai in the bay, but I've been to a few
Tuk Tuk Thai - Good food, so-so prices, will give you food as spicy as you ask for. ~$20 for entree, side, drink, and tip

German:
Walzwerk - East German eats in SF at South Van Ness & 15th. Top-notch food, excellent desserts, spendy. $60+ for a complete dinner for two

Ethiopian:
Red Sea - Oakland at Claremont & Telegraph. Good portions, good spice, good price. $30 for a meal for 2 with plenty of injera.

Pizza: The pizza sucks here. Very very few places make the cut.
Serrano's - SF at 21st and Valencia. Slices baked fresh, thin crust, big, good toppings. $3.50 for cheese, ~$5 for specialty slices, ~$25 for specialty pizzas.
Arinell (aka Hesher Pizza) - SF and Berkeley. Cheap, thin crust New York or thick crust school cafeteria, really solid for the money. Like they took the best pizza place out of your New York or Jersey childhood (constantly blasting rock music and all) and plopped it into the bay. $3 slices,

Japanese: A million so-so places. Only one I really like
Geta - Oakland, 41st & Piedmont. Cheap, good for the money, good daily sashimi/nigiri specials. $4-7 rolls, $7-10 entrees

Burgers: I don't often go out for burgers, and as long as it's juicy, I'm happy
Super Duper burger - california chain. Slightly upmarket. Juicy, decent fries, decent pickles, poor selection. Combos around $12
Barney's - Local chain, more upmarket. Great variety, good meat, good fries. ~$13-15 burger combos

Banh Mi: One place is far and away the best
Saigon Sandwich - SF at Larkin & Eddy. Cheap as gently caress, piled high, quick, killer. ~$3.50-$4.50 for sandwiches, $1-2 drinks,

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lock stock and Cheryl
Dec 19, 2009

by zen death robot
Bonus points to anyone that can recommend properly spicy food! I swear, around here you ask for extra spicy food, and they nod and sprinkle in an extra shake of black pepper

stimulated emission
Apr 25, 2011

D-D-D-D-D-D-DEEPER
My bf and I like this place called Spices 3 in Oakland, which is Szechuan style chinese. I recommend the salt and pepper tofu, he is a fan of the green beans, the ma po tofu is great

We also like Viks Chaat, in Berkely, which is all indian street food and very tasty.

Addis in Oakland for Ethiopian, also spicy

stimulated emission fucked around with this message at 07:09 on Sep 20, 2016

Shadowhand00
Jan 23, 2006

Golden Bear is ever watching; day by day he prowls, and when he hears the tread of lowly Stanfurd red,from his Lair he fiercely growls.
Toilet Rascal
This list is all over the place and mixes locations vs. cuisine style but its more stream of consciousness.

Chinese:
Spicy Empire in San Mateo does really spicy Szechuan style Chinese. Yin Yuan is in Millbrae and I think tastes better overall but not quite as spicy.
Wonderful in Millbrae is really good Hunan style Chinese food and is generally really delicious. Their cilantro beef is something I could eat forever on rice. Its not extremely spicy but they are a really legit place for good food.
San Tung is good eats for Korean-style chinese food. Wings are good.
Everyone's rec for Dim Sum would be Koi Palace is legit good.

Pizza:
Slice of New York in South Bay has legit good New York style pizza.
I personally prefer Zachary's deep dish over all other stores that sell deep-dish in the Bay Area.
If you're in Berkeley, Brazil Cafe used to have a good Tri-tip sandwich. Their mango smoothie isn't as good as it used to be.
Cheeseboard is fine if you've never been but its not my favorite.
Cicero's pizza in Cupertino/West San Jose is my favorite pizza in the Bay Area.

Korean:
There's no good KOrean in SF but if you do want Korean, go to Han Il Kwan. They're good and the old ladies in the back make the food legit. Its also the place for Korean tour buses to stop at and people enjoy it pretty generally. You could also do My Tofu House - up to a few years ago, it was good. There's also Won Mi on Fillmore if you're craving Korean food at 3am. Its not good at all unless you're drunk but its good enough to eat and not regret.
Korean drinking places - I will always have a special place in my heart for Playground in Japantown but its not amazing. Toyose in the Sunset is a better place for food but its tiny.

Japanese:
Izakaya Sozai has always been good and should still be good.
Muracci Curry on Kearny is great for lunch and their spicy curry ramen is pretty good at getting

Vietnamese - PPQ in the Sunset is better than Turtle Tower overall but you should always go and try out their Pho Ga if you haven't already. Turtle Tower's stir-fried pho is also pretty good and different from what you'd find at a lot of other places.
You'd be better served going to south SJ for Vietnamese.

Soma:
I personally like Garaje. Some people might not like it but its decent Mexican at outrageous Soma prices if you need lunch. HRD, down the street, used to be cheaper but its good enough for lunch.

Indian:
Go to Fremont/Pleasanton. Up to a few months ago, Bawarchi in Pleasanton was a popular spot amongst my coworkers. They're currently searching for the next best Biriyani place. In SF, Chaat Corner seems to be the place all of my coworkers go and they have pretty legit good food.

I'm sure there's more I will post later.

snyprmag
Oct 9, 2005

Camino in Oakland has been the best, pretty nice restaurant I've been to recently. The menu changes with what's seasonal and everything is cooked over an open fire.
Nick's Pizza in North Oakland is best I've had in the bay area. Also has a changing menu based around season/local stuff.

Bald Stalin
Jul 11, 2004

Our posts
Suppenkuche on Hayes is a more Bavarian influenced German restaurant and it's pretty decent, when they don't sub the hausgemachte knodel with packet. Also they have very good German beers on tap.

Pho Pasteur in Union City is the best Pho you will get in the east bay without going down to Milpitas/SJ.

Little Dipper is the best Shabu/Taiwanese hotpot join in the east bay hands DOWN. Milpitas.

yes Koi Palace is good but if you go on the weekend, expect to wait 1 hour or more.

Bald Stalin fucked around with this message at 23:52 on Sep 20, 2016

404notfound
Mar 5, 2006

stop staring at me

Any south bay recommendations?

I've been meaning to make a reservation at Din Tai Fung at Valley Fair. Thank god this one does reservations, because gently caress waiting in line for hours for some soup dumplings.

Development
Jun 2, 2016

404notfound posted:

Any south bay recommendations?

I've been meaning to make a reservation at Din Tai Fung at Valley Fair. Thank god this one does reservations, because gently caress waiting in line for hours for some soup dumplings.

god that place is a clusterfuck. you can sit at the bar though or get take out.

santa clara: orenchi ramen
los altos: sumika, satura

Senf
Nov 12, 2006

Old Weang Ping in East Oakland is really, really good. Thai food in a super unique building. Owned and operated by a husband and wife duo. Like, she cooks and he serves.

And yes, Gordo is sooo great.

Bald Stalin
Jul 11, 2004

Our posts

404notfound posted:

Any south bay recommendations?

I've been meaning to make a reservation at Din Tai Fung at Valley Fair. Thank god this one does reservations, because gently caress waiting in line for hours for some soup dumplings.

Pho Kim Long in San Jose is probably the best Pho I've had in the bay area.

Shadowhand00
Jan 23, 2006

Golden Bear is ever watching; day by day he prowls, and when he hears the tread of lowly Stanfurd red,from his Lair he fiercely growls.
Toilet Rascal
If you ever get a chance, go to Pho 90 on Story road. Definitely the best Pho I've had and its different from many of the styles you see in the area.

If you want Bun Cha or any other foods, Thien Long - https://www.yelp.com/biz/thien-long-vietnamese-restaurant-san-jose - is really good.

Cicero's Pizza is good west New York style pizza.

Korean food is better down in South Bay, Chinese food is better in South bay as well. Hell, Vietnamese food is amazing in the South Bay. If you have any specific requests, I can definitely give better recommendations.

Check out gen for ayce Kbbq, Tobang and Gooyi Gooyi are both regular kbbq places that are very good.

Alexander's if you want to splurge on steak is very good.

If you want XLB, I've heard Crystal Jade in the Embarcadero Center has decent xlb, so check that out and report back if you can.

Reiterpallasch
Nov 3, 2010



Fun Shoe
Man, there have been patches in my life wherein I ate out way too often, so I can probably do a few effortposts. To begin with, let's talk about Chinatown. I worked down the block from the place for a year or two, both my parents are great cooks (one is from Beijing, the other from Wuhan), and I kind of know my way around a wok or steamer myself. My recs are going to lean very heavily towards the fast lunch/casual dinner side of things, because I live halfway across the city and was pretty much only ever in the region during working hours.

Some notes on the setting: the capital-c Chinatown has shrunk over the years, but it's basically a rectangular slot of land in between the Financial District and Nob Hill (and being squeezed out of existence by real estate pressures on both fronts). There are two major streets running along the "long" side of the rectangle. Grant is the tourist trap and Stockton is where the remaining locals tend to do their business. That doesn't mean that all the food on Grant is knockoff panda express crap and all the food on Stockton is divinely inspired street food nirvana, but it does give you a pretty good idea of the expected clientele at any given place. Chinatown was, and to an extent still is, run by the Benevolent Associations--an umbrella organization for the primarily Cantonese/Taiwanese first and second waves of Chinese immigration into the city. There are other places in the city with a heavily Mandarin-speaking population (notably the numbered Avenues over by Golden Gate Park) and plenty of good Chinese places that aren't primarily catering to tourists. Chinatown food itself has a rather deserved reputation for being overpriced tourist bait, not helped by all the outright scammy places on Grant, but there are some gems if you're careful.

Sichuan

Okay, I'm going to get this one out of the way. Z&Y, on Jackson in between Kearney and Grant, blew way the gently caress up a few years ago when every restaurant reviewer in the city discovered it, closely followed by literally the entire population of San Francisco's Yelp users. Did it go down the drain? I personally don't really think so, but it's definitely true that during normal meal hours, the line outside the place looks like the last helicopter out of Saigon. Not like you really have a choice, if you're looking for Sichuanese food--the only other notable joint in Chinatown is Spicy King on Clay Street. They're not bad, but they're definitely outclassed by Z&Y and not really any cheaper. Entrees in the $12-20 range. Get the explosive chicken (Chongqing-style chicken, basically, but made with chopped dark meat instead of the bony bits that annoy white people) and cumin lamb, they're solid. Various Sichuan hotpots are good, too. Mapo tofu is surprisingly bad. The non-Sichuan food is surprisingly good--the chef apparently has a pretty well-rounded background--so there'll be something you can order for the whiny baby in your party who hates spicy food.

Dim Sum

Basically the most touristy meal possible in Chinatown. Pretty much all your options here are going to be (overpriced, hours-long wait, culinary dumpster fire), pick two. Obama got to skip the line when he visited Great Eastern on Jackson, so if you're also a head of state you'd probably enjoy yourself there. My personal recommendation would be to instead visit one of several fantastic places on/around Geary Street near 101, a few miles away--I like Ton Kiang, myself. Failing that, go to City View on Commercial. The food's pretty decent, the prices pretty reasonable, and most importantly the hordes of tourists and out-of-town Chinese visitors will be at Great Eastern. In other words, you'll actually be able to flag down a cart every now and then, and the food on it might actually be fresh. Spend will vary dramatically on your tastes and hunger level, but sit-down dim sum in this city is never cheap.

Take-out Dim Sum

Want masses of actually pretty decent dim sum items, ordered out of gigantic wok steamer trays, and paid for in cash at unreasonably cheap prices? The dim sum bakeries on Stockton are your best bet, especially Good Mon Kok near the in-construction subway station. The lines there can be pretty long during peak lunch hours, maybe 15-20 minutes, but they're long because every little old Cantonese lady in California loves the place for good reason. Their English is just barely understandable, but pointing at things will get you far enough. You can get a pretty decent lunch for like $5, or stuff yourself silly on $10. Make sure you get some of the rice porridge in a to-go container, to cut all the meat buns and deep-fried crap you probably ordered--they keep a vat of it in the back and it's not immediately obvious it's for sale.

Shanghai

Also on Jackson: you want Bund Shanghai, which is always kind of half-full even when there are lines out the door at Z&Y and Great Eastern across the street. This is probably because the place hasn't really detonated on Yelp the same way those two have; the clientele is almost all Chinese. They do Extremely Legit renditions of a lot of classic Shanghaiese dishes, including a very good red-braised silver carp and solid lion's head meatballs (both red-braised and in soup). Plus the glutenous rice cakes come out of the kitchen with the rich smoky char that implies their wok guy knows what he's doing. But say "shanghaiese" in this city and all anyone every wants to know is: how good are the soup dumplings? They're drat good--and so are their pan-fried cousin shenjianbao--and certainly cheaper than all the other upscale xlb specialist joints that have opened recently. My bill tends to be in the $15-20 range when I eat here.

Don't go to the Din Tai Fung in the South Bay unless someone else is paying. I don't care how good their Taipei branch is; the American locations never seem to have any degree of give-a-gently caress and the prices are obscene. I'd rather have soup dumpings from Bund anyday.

Panda Express, but good

Sam Wo, formerly on Pacific, now on Clay, has something of a legend built around it. The dive that got shut down for having a health score of, like, negative six! The place with the world's shittiest waiter! Those days are long past. Today's Sam Wo serves up pretty decent food, for pretty cheap, pretty fast. And though the americanized food is popular with students and the tourist crowd, you'll also see a bunch of Cantonese people slurping down rice porridge and wonton soup, which is a fantastic vote of confidence for a place that unironically still puts orange chicken in pride of place on the menu. Regardless of if you're eating Cantonese breakfast style or Panda Express style (get the house noodles), entrees are in the $8 range.

where's the best peeking duck in chinatown???

hahahaha

uh, try that french-vietnamese place on jackson, begoni. i hear good things about the duck and their roasted pidgeon was really good and it's probably similar skillsets so go wild, i guess. please post here and let me know if that was good advice or not.

I hear there's this really famous place to get egg tarts and-

Yes. Golden Gate Bakery on Grant street. If they're open, which they're not. AA Bakery and Cafe on Stockton and Washington is good, if you're looking for one of those Hong Kong style bakeries that does both European cakes and 58 different Hong Kong style buns. Places like that are a dime a dozen in Chinatown though, and they're distinguished mostly by selection rather than absolute quality. AA seems to stock everything, and it seems to be reasonably fresh reasonably often. If you're familiar with the bakeries that always set up near the entrance of a 99 Ranch you know what to expect.

don't loving do this

Reiterpallasch fucked around with this message at 23:09 on Sep 21, 2016

Shadowhand00
Jan 23, 2006

Golden Bear is ever watching; day by day he prowls, and when he hears the tread of lowly Stanfurd red,from his Lair he fiercely growls.
Toilet Rascal
A few places to add to that pretty good review - R&G Lounge has good food for what it does (crab). A place I found a while ago does good Hakka food - https://www.yelp.com/biz/hakka-restaurant-san-francisco.

mariooncrack
Dec 27, 2008
That's a good review. I wish I knew about all of those places last week when I was in Chinatown.

The only place in Chinatown I went to was the Garden restaurant on Kearny, more or less across from R&G Lounge. Pretty standard Cantonese style restaurant. I liked it but I don't know how it compares to anything else around there.

Xaris
Jul 25, 2006

Lucky there's a family guy
Lucky there's a man who positively can do
All the things that make us
Laugh and cry

Shadowhand00 posted:

This list is all over the place and mixes locations vs. cuisine style but its more stream of consciousness.

Muracci Curry on Kearny is great for lunch and their spicy curry ramen is pretty good at getting
I really didn't like Muracci. Came out to be like $12 for a box with a small amount of flattened down mashed rice and a little bit of chicken and sauce. Maybe I'll try the Spicy Curry next time it's a cold rainy day (but I usually get pho over at Golden Star, which is p decen although not the best)

Thanks. I'l have to try some of those. I work near Chinatown sort of near Transamerica building so I'll have to check them out. I've pretty much resigned to my fate that everything for food around the fidi sucks (even most of the foodtrucks now) or is insanely overpriced and maybe slightly above mediocre.


I live in Berkely and mostly just stick to eating around here so my Berkeley recs:
Creole/Cajun southern-y food-- Easy Creole. Cheap and tasty with awesome decor. Menu also changes often. Personally I hate Angelines even though it's really popular, so this is my go-to for that type of food when the craving hits.
Korean -- Bowld. Might be a little more americanized than some might like but I really love it and they have a great diverse menu with something for everyone. Berkeleyside also just ran an article about them
Cheap Basic Mexican: I've never been exactly thrilled with Berkeley's offerings but I like Taqueria Talaveras a lot. Berkeley doesn't have great mexican like the mission by any means, but this is the one I've found that's still really cheap and tasty. Mole is p decent too. There's also Gordos I guess but I'm not a huge fan.
Upscale Mexican: Comal. I think it's gone a little bit downhill since it's opening but it's still pretty decent and some really nice drinks. Makes for a nice date night spot.
Italian: La Coco's. I absolutely love this place (maybe because I'm a few blocks away) but their pizza and spaghetti sauce is delightfully light, huge (and affordable) portions, and friendly staff.
Hamburgers: Eureka is probably my favorite here. A bit pricey and more "upscale" but very good quality juicy hamburgers and excellent drinks.
Ethiopian: There's a bunch off Telegraph and going into Oakland that are all good. Lemat opened near Adeline and it's pretty good. Take your pick. I'd probably go for Cafe Colucci.I've found each does something a little weak and better at some things but again, all will suffice.
Indian: Berkeley also kind of sucks when it comes to indian--especially compared to other places I've lived. Some times I've been to some spots and they've been good and then been back and they've been mediocre. I generally like Mount Everest the best and they've been most consistently good. Delicious vindaloo.

Xaris fucked around with this message at 02:23 on Sep 22, 2016

Bald Stalin
Jul 11, 2004

Our posts
FiDi is a food desert, except that cart around 520 market that does amazing Mediterranean meat plates with saffron rice and pita bread.

Xaris
Jul 25, 2006

Lucky there's a family guy
Lucky there's a man who positively can do
All the things that make us
Laugh and cry

Ranter posted:

FiDi is a food desert, except that cart around 520 market that does amazing Mediterranean meat plates with saffron rice and pita bread.

Is that the "Halah Cart"? I'm a bit spoiled since there was a really good and cheap halah afghani cart when I lived at Davis back in like 2009 that was really good. That one (if it's the same one I'm thinking of?) is just kind of ok and last few times I've gone I've had really bad plates (minimal amount of meat, loaded with wilty subway esque "salad", and rice being oddly hard and under/overcooked) so I haven't been back in over a year but maybe they've improved again because they actually were pretty decent when they first opened.

Xaris fucked around with this message at 02:35 on Sep 22, 2016

Bald Stalin
Jul 11, 2004

Our posts
I dunno, it was decent enough when I was frequenting it last year, vs. what you normally get in that area. For all I know they changed the serving sizes and upped the price since I was there. There definitely wasn't what I would call too much salad.

Reiterpallasch
Nov 3, 2010



Fun Shoe
Hell, it's a slow day at work. San Francisco money-wasting, lightning round: sushi! :japan:

The San Francisco Bay Area is a pretty drat good sushi zone. Expensive, of course, but everything is around here. And in terms of quality and selection, the best bars around here match anything outside of Los Angeles. I'm not talking about the $200+ Michellin-starred omakase-only places which litter the City proper, though of course if you can afford to eat there I'm sure you'll enjoy the experience. I'm talking about ordinary sushi bars, where the chef keeps his stock visible in a refrigerated case right there on the bar, and there's room for him to tailor your experience to your own personal tastes.

Sushi taste's a pretty personal sort of deal, so I'm going to put my biases right on the table. Like any self-respecting anime weeb, I am an arch-traditionalist when it comes to sushi. I tend to shy away from ordering fancy rolls, modern "fusion" ingredients like sriracha, or odd form factors (looking at you, Sushirito). I generally order omakase at a bar I trust, but I value variety because it means I can say things like "I'm not really feeling octopus today" or "no unagi, please" and have my wishes respected without compromising my meal. Sushi rice is important to me, but I prefer mine much sweeter and less acidic than most Japanese people do.

From cheapest to most expensive:

Hotaru, San Mateo, on 3rd Street.
Not actually a sushi joint. It's a comfort food diner which cranks out endless and actually drat good bento boxes/lunch sets/udon bowls/etc. But there is a tiny sushi bar with a couple of real itamae behind it. Don't bother sitting there; it's super uncomfortable and the itamae are super overworked. Get a table seat and maybe a bowl of udon while you wait. The fish is solid, and the sushi rice is actually quite good. And it's cheap. Hotaru has pretty much stood fast on prices since the first 90's tech boom, which has changed it from being decent-ish to the best value-for-money north of Redwood City, if not further. Sure, there's cheaper out there. But not much cheaper, and far far worse. The one knock against them is variety--they carry basically nothing obscure, and are often out of the lesser-ordered cuts. The sake (salmon), ikura (soy-marinated roe), and saba (mackerel) are particularly good. So is the spicy tuna/yellowtail--they use the same grade fish to prepare the pastes as they do the cuts here. Uni (sea urchin guts, usually chilean there) and chu-toro (upper tuna belly) are often out of stock and frankly average, but waaaaay cheaper than what anyone else sells them at. I'd avoid the scallops.

Sushi Sam's, also in San Mateo on 3rd.
Yeah, San Mateo has a lot of good Japanese (and Asian in general) food. Sam's is a bit cheaper than Sakae, at $60 for the omakase, though the individual pieces are cut rather smaller and there's no sides. The fish selection here is probably better than anywhere I've come across in the Bay, though to actually get any of it you usually have to decipher some awful handwriting on a lecture-hall-sized whiteboard. The style here is very traditionally untraditional--Sam's presents unorthodox ingredients and cuts with the same attention to detail and quality that characterize the best traditional sushi bars. Everything comes to you pre-seasoned, and there are some deeply weird ingredients on display here. The mayo-topped lobster tail is basically the one appropriate use of mayo I've seen in sushi, ever. I've literally never seen kamasu (barracuda) or sayori (needlefish) anywhere else in the Bay. In general, if you order omakase here you're going to get a lot of hikarimono, which is a rather daring move in the US. I hope you like fishy things!

Sakae, Burlingame, by the Caltrain.
Fairly pricey, with sets going up to $110 but there's an off-menu $75 omakase + sides + rice + miso thing you can order. I almost always suggest sitting at the bar, but especially here--the itamae are especially careful to reserve the best cuts for the bar, here. Still, those people at the tables eating $22 Salmon Dynamite rolls are paying for your meal, which packs insane value into that $75--including cuts of toro whose only flaw is the incredible expense when ordered a la carte. The specials board contains quite a few fish which are dificult to find in the US, and usually one or two that would be kind of difficult to find in Japan. I've been served yagara (cornetfish) and ishigarei (japanese summer flounder). The stuff which is consistently a cut above here: the aforementioned toro, tai (snapper), ama-ebi (raw shrimp), hamachi (yellowtail, especially the richer belly cut), and engawa (fin muscle). They use a mix of wholesale and air-freighted fish, I believe, the latter of which comes on Thursdays. Maybe don't go on Tuesday evening.

ICHI, on Mission, after it starts bending past Cesar Chavez
Okay, it's the whitest place on this list, period. It's so white that there's a big mural on the back wall instructing you in basic etiquette like "maybe don't take the entire wad of wasabi and make a gross soy-wasabi slurry on your plate" and "it's polite to eat sushi pieces with your hands". I have only been to ICHI twice, so this recommendation is softer than the others, but I liked what I saw both times. The service style is quite western here--instead of interacting exclusively with an expert-but-overworked-and-probably-english-challenged itamae, the waitstaff are also trained to offer recommendations and talk you through your order. This may or may not be a good thing. The menu has little rare or exciting on it; you need a heavily Japanese clientele to be able to stock very obscure things. But what they do have is usually executed well. Masu (trout) and kanpachi (amberjack) were particularly memorable.

bitprophet
Jul 22, 2004
Taco Defender
I am not a foodie nor a native, but I do live here and I like putting combinations of edible ingredients into my face pretty often.

+1 to Suppenkuche!

+1 to Orenchi Ramen, everything there was amazing including the appetizers. mmm, karaage. Went far out of my way (I live in the outer East Bay and work in SF) to meet up with an LA-based foodie-migrant friend there; did not regret it.

+1 to Eureka, was just there a few weeks ago, great burger, great drink selection, nice atmosphere (upscale but not trying too hard like so many places here do.)

New listings:

German food: I've also been to Leopold's and remember enjoying it.

Sammiches: Deli Board is a sandwich shop in SoMa (Folsom between 6th and 7th) and has some of the best sandwiches I (or anyone I ever brought there) have ever tasted. Guy who runs it knows what he's doing. His take on Jewish deli sandwiches, Rye Project (7th around Mission) is also really tasty (even though it's not exactly Second Avenue Deli / Katz's...)

Japanese: In/near the Japantown mall I like Yamadaya Ramen and (general izakaya type menu, not just ramen) Mifune in the mall's restaurant row. If they're still operating, the JapaCurry food truck in FiDi has great katsu curry.

Pizza: The Pizza Shop on 24th in the Mission is good New York / New Jersey style pizza by the slice. Zero Zero in SoMa is decent fancy-person pizza w/ a well stocked bar. Drake's Dealership in Oakland in the low 20s off Broadway has surprisingly good pizza & similar for a beer garden type joint. Also, you know...Drake's beer.

American/whatever: Right near Zero Zero is Jamber which has pretty good food and an interesting wine/beer selection. The Trappist (somewhere around 10th and Broadway in Oakland) has a small but decent food menu and awesome beers.

I doubt anyone gives a poo poo about my suburban enclave, but here in Lafayette, I like Pizza Antica, Uncle Yu's, Oyama Sushi, and Blue Ginkgo.

Ending with a complaint: I'm really sick of decent diners closing down and/or getting replaced by lovely upscale brunch-rear end places. This area is already lousy with overpriced mimosas and it's now actively hard to get a decent hearty omelet without going out of my way :cry:

Xaris
Jul 25, 2006

Lucky there's a family guy
Lucky there's a man who positively can do
All the things that make us
Laugh and cry

bitprophet posted:

Ending with a complaint: I'm really sick of decent diners closing down and/or getting replaced by lovely upscale brunch-rear end places. This area is already lousy with overpriced mimosas and it's now actively hard to get a decent hearty omelet without going out of my way :cry:

The Hideout is really quite good, perhaps a little too much upscale brunch but it was perfectly reasonable (the biggest problem is it's insanely busy. I dunno what it is with bay area and breakfast places but holy poo poo expect a minimum 1+hr wait at almost all times. It's no wonder there's always a bunch new popping up because it seems to poo poo gold--at least on weekends). But they had good omelets for about ~$10 which is pretty typical, along with a bunch of other really really good breakfast foods. I also remember Chows not being too bad? Also plenty of places in the dub c for that. Surprised you like Uncle Yus tho, my girlfriends parents live right above that building basically and it's p mediocre/standard chinese for a clientele that's 90% old white people. Antica is decent tho.

Xaris fucked around with this message at 05:30 on Sep 22, 2016

Kuvo
Oct 27, 2008

Blame it on the misfortune of your bark!
Fun Shoe
posting to say thanks to everyone offering recommendations in this thread. ill differently be trying out some of these places

bitprophet posted:

German food: I've also been to Leopold's and remember enjoying it.

seconding this place. had some great schnitzel and 3L of beer last time i was here.

OGS-Remix
Sep 4, 2007

Totally surviving on my own. On LAND!
I'm from the South Bay so here's all my favorite spots:

Korean:
Tofu House (Milpitas) - Probably the best tofu soup I've had in the Bay Area. Be prepared to wait for a while if you don't get in first seating or later at night.
Tobang (Sunnyvale) - Best family style Korean BBQ out there. Be prepared to wait a long time at all times they're open.
Gen (San Jose) - All you can eat Korean BBQ. Their side dishes are kinda weak but their meats are excellent. The line is incredibly long and minimum reservation size is for 10. Still worth going to if you gotta get that meat.

Japanese:
Orenchi (Santa Clara) - Excellent Ramen, probably best in the South Bay. Line is horrific and you can't even get reservations. Still worth going to.
Kotetsu (Santa Clara) - 90% the quality of Orenchi, 10% of the line. If you want good ramen without an hour wait, go here instead. You will not be disappointed.
Sushi Kai (Milpitas) - Japanese food done right. Their specials are good and sushi is excellent as well. They often have discounts (except Friday/Sat).
Kula Sushi (Cupertino) - Sushi boat with a twist. Every plate is $2.25, this includes Toro and Eel. Quality is extremely good for the price but the line is worse then Orenchi. I have gone to Kula at 3pm and had to wait over an hour to get in.
Gaku (San Jose) - Japanese charcoal grill. If you like Yakitori, this is probably the best place in the Bay Area for it. Reservations are required for weekend seating. Expensive but extremely worth the price.
Sumiya (San Jose) - Not as good as Gaku but you can get reservations and more food for the same price.
Gochi (Cupertino/Mountain View?) - Japanese Fusion Tapas. Great for large group, their clay pots and Japanese pizza are excellent.

Middle Eastern:
Kabul (Sunnyvale) - Excellent kebobs and Afghani food.
Dish Dash (Sunnyvale) - Even better kebobs and Middle Eastern food. This is probably one of the best restaurants in the South Bay. Reservations are absolutely required, you will not get a table within on weekends without one.

Italian
SPQR (San Francisco) - Best Italian place I've been to in the Bay Area. Dinner is pretty pricey, but their lunch menu is excellent and a good deal.

Pizza:
Vesta (Redwood City) - Excellent wood fired thin crust pizza. Their wine selection is decent and their pizza is very solid. Reservations highly recommended.

Pho:
Pho Kim Long (San Jose) - Best Pho in the South Bay for sure. No line beyond lunchtime. Cash only. As a side note they were actually shut down by the IRS for a time because of too much unreported income. That tells you how busy/good they are.

Thai:
New Krungthai (San Jose) - Best Thai in the South Bay imo. Make sure you go to this one and not the one in Campbell. Reservations are recommended and parking is very limited. Both Krungthai restaurants were owned by a husband/wife, when they got divorced each got a restaurant. Guess who got which one.

Southern BBQ
Smoking Pig (San Jose/Fremont) - They have two locations, I prefer the San Jose. Probably the best American BBQ restaurant in the Bay Area. I like it a lot better then Memphis Minnies.

Vegetarian
Millenium (Oakland) - I haven't been myself but supposedly the one of the best vegetarian restaurants in the Bay Area. They even have vegan/vegetarian Sushi supposedly.

$$$ Expensive Places $$$
Manresa (Los Gatos) - 3 Michelin star restaurant. It is absolutely a 3 star Michelin restaurant. If you got the cash/time/interest go. Out of the 3 restaurants listed here with 3 stars in the Bay Area, this is the "cheapest".
Village Pub (Woodside) - Formerly 1 Michelin star restaurant. Excellent steak, a little out of the way. Not too bad price wise as far as 1 stars go.
Kusakabe (San Francisco) - Sushi tasting menu. Starts at $90 and goes up at the end because you can order ala carte. If the idea of lightly seared shoyu marinated tuna appeals to you, make reservations (3 months in advance).
Californios (San Francisco) - Modern Mexican cuisine. I think it has 2 stars, could be 3. If you like Mexican, this place is one of a kind.
Saison (San Francisco) - 3 Michelin star restaurant. Extremely expensive. Don't go alone.
Benu (San Francisco) - Another 3 star restaurant. A lot less expensive then Saison.
Atelier Crenn (San Francisco) - 2 Stars but really should be 3. Similarly priced to Benu.

If I think of any more, I'll add them. If people want to talk about great dessert places as well, I'd definitely be interested in hearing people's opinions.

OGS-Remix fucked around with this message at 06:22 on Sep 22, 2016

Shadowhand00
Jan 23, 2006

Golden Bear is ever watching; day by day he prowls, and when he hears the tread of lowly Stanfurd red,from his Lair he fiercely growls.
Toilet Rascal
Lets have some sandwich arguments.

Best sandwich in SF (imo) - Submarine Center in West Portal. They've been doing sandwiches for years and haven't changed a thing. Atomic sub is amazing.

Giordanno's - Good Pittsburgh style sandwich. Sad about them closing down the North Beach spot.

Cheese-n-Stuff - Best nostalgia food for me.

Miller's Deli on Polk had a good pastrami last time I was there. Should still be pretty good if nothing's changed.

The 3 Italian delis that are old (1 in the Marina, one in North Beach) are both really solid.

The Italian beef at Tony's slice house in North Beach is really good if you guys have never had it.

I don't like Ike's. Too much sauce, not enough real flavor.

bitprophet
Jul 22, 2004
Taco Defender

Xaris posted:

Surprised you like Uncle Yus tho, my girlfriends parents live right above that building basically and it's p mediocre/standard chinese for a clientele that's 90% old white people.

Oh it's definitely white person Chinese (I mean...it is in Lafayette), it's just pretty good for that particular category. Then again my wife and I have a minor sentimental attachment (first place we ever ate here), also we're super boring.

canoshiz
Nov 6, 2005

THANK GOD FOR THE SMOKE MACHINE!
Lots of good izakaya style joints in the South Bay. I like Tanto and Sumiya Yakitori in Santa Clara. There's a lot of decent ramen places that haven't already been mentioned in Mountain View as well, like Maru Ichi and Shalala. I've never been but San Mateo is supposed to be a bit of a hotspot for top notch ramen (Santa Ramen).

Seconding Tobang and Gooyi Gooyi for family style Korean BBQ in the South Bay. Those places tend to have long waits, so if that's an issue my fallback is usually Han-Sung BBQ. There are also a few Korean fried chicken joints in the area like 99 Chicken and Bon Chon, though the quality of the first has gone down a bit over the years for the former (still pretty good, though) and I'm just not a huge fan of the latter.

Berkeley is a great city for food. My favorite Chinese food in the entire Bay Area is probably at Great China. They have fantastic Peking duck that comes completely deboned and is served with thin rice crepes instead of steamed buns. I've basically haven't had a single bad thing on their menu, it's all good. Gregoire's is good for French-style cafe food (potato puffs!!!) and Angeline's Louisiana Kitchen is a solid Cajun joint. There are also the "classic" Berkeley student haunts like Top Dog (hot dogs) and Cheeseboard (pizza joint that serves one type of pizza a day, seasonal ingredients). Chez Panisse is also a pretty iconic Californian restaurant that used(?) to have a Michelin Star. Also Berkeley has probably the best supermarket I've ever been to in Berkeley Bowl. Chef Yu's in Oakland is also really solid Korean-style Chinese food (jajangmyun/jjamppong). I also like Seoul Gomtang (Santa Clara/Oakland) for Korean beef soup... great comfort/sick/hangover food.

snyprmag
Oct 9, 2005

OGS-Remix posted:

Southern BBQ
Smoking Pig (San Jose/Fremont) - They have two locations, I prefer the San Jose. Probably the best American BBQ restaurant in the Bay Area. I like it a lot better then Memphis Minnies.

Vegetarian
Millenium (Oakland) - I haven't been myself but supposedly the one of the best vegetarian restaurants in the Bay Area. They even have vegan/vegetarian Sushi supposedly.
Have you been the an Everett and Jones? Their sauce is really good but I haven't managed to make it to one of their restaurants. Brick Pig House on Shattuck in North Oakland is a good little spot.

Millenium is all vegan and is quite good. I never made it to the old San Francisco location, which was a lot fancier I think, but the food and atmosphere at the new location are very enjoyable, but I don't remember them doing sushi. The best vegan sushi I've had is at Cha-Ya in the Mission.

Anybody got a favorite Famer's Market? I just moved down to San Leandro and the Bayfaire one has a lot of good stuff at good prices.

Xaris
Jul 25, 2006

Lucky there's a family guy
Lucky there's a man who positively can do
All the things that make us
Laugh and cry

snyprmag posted:

Anybody got a favorite Famer's Market? I just moved down to San Leandro and the Bayfaire one has a lot of good stuff at good prices.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of any of the ones around the bay area. Most are crazy crowded (ferry terminal), expensive (for produce), and all have mostly the same poo poo as each other. Might be I'm spoiled since I have Berkeley Bowl and Monterrey Market right nearby so I always have extremely cheap good selection of produce. But the Lake Merritt one is good and not that far from you. Alemany market in SF is also good but I'm just so rarely over there.

Shadowhand00
Jan 23, 2006

Golden Bear is ever watching; day by day he prowls, and when he hears the tread of lowly Stanfurd red,from his Lair he fiercely growls.
Toilet Rascal

snyprmag posted:

Have you been the an Everett and Jones? Their sauce is really good but I haven't managed to make it to one of their restaurants. Brick Pig House on Shattuck in North Oakland is a good little spot.


Both of these are solid choices with a caveat - E&J is mostly good at their 2nd location, I believe the one on College where they have the brick oven. The one in Jack London isn't very good at all and mostly dry and too popular.

Smoking PIg was extremely good when they first opened but their quality is mostly up and down nowadays compared to their first year. Emergency BBQ in Redwood City has good brisket and should be something people should check out.

Senf
Nov 12, 2006

snyprmag posted:

Anybody got a favorite Famer's Market? I just moved down to San Leandro and the Bayfaire one has a lot of good stuff at good prices.

Lake Merritt is probably the best one in the area, yeah, though the Bayfair market isn't too bad. This is a pretty decent seasonal one that happens every Wednesday evening in downtown San Leandro, too.

Bald Stalin
Jul 11, 2004

Our posts
Everett and Jones in Hayward (the one where you order through bullet proof glass) is absolutely awful these days, since their matriarch and other senior family members died. They actually started using canned baked beans. And they always run out of things. It's pathetic.

Carmen's BBQ, about 1.5 miles further up A st, is way better and Carmen the Jamaican lady herself is still around at 90 years old; watching and supervising her family workers. I believe they have another restaurant around Livermore? Never been to that one.

Everett and Jones in Jack London is hit and miss but is their biggest and nicest restaurant. It's chalk and cheese with Hayward as far as decor goes.

Incoherence
May 22, 2004

POYO AND TEAR

OGS-Remix posted:

Southern BBQ
Smoking Pig (San Jose/Fremont) - They have two locations, I prefer the San Jose. Probably the best American BBQ restaurant in the Bay Area. I like it a lot better then Memphis Minnies.
If you're not allergic to food trucks, Capelo's makes a pretty tasty BBQ brisket.

snyprmag
Oct 9, 2005

Senf posted:

Lake Merritt is probably the best one in the area, yeah, though the Bayfair market isn't too bad. This is a pretty decent seasonal one that happens every Wednesday evening in downtown San Leandro, too.

I like the Lake Merritt one, but it can be a pain to find parking at, and I can bike to the Bayfair one and it's at a mall with a huge lot. Still need to try the downtown one.

Carillon
May 9, 2014






I live on the peninsula so I'll tend to skew towards that area.

Dim Sum:

The Kitchen in Millbrae: My partner and I have recently started going there and have found it really good. Their har gao fillings are really juicy, I've enjoyed their chicken feet a whole bunch and generally think their fillings are quite nice. I've noticed their wrappers tend to fall apart, but otherwise I've enjoyed most of the offerings. The baked pork buns have a really nice and different texture than others I've had, and you can get the egg custard buns along with the tarts which is always quite nice.

Good Luck in SF out on Clement: Food's always been really good to me, I love their jook and I'd say their steamed lotus rice packets are some of the best I've had. Don't expect much in terms of decor or anything, it's a take out place with some tables, and don't take out of towners who expect everything to be white table clothes as I've learned.

Japanese:

Sushi Sam's in San Mateo: Seconding all the great things that have been said about it here already. It's a real gem and other than the wait, I'd go here every time if I'm looking for a great experience in San Mateo.

Pabu in SF downtown: I took my gf here for her birthday and we did the tasting menu at the bar. It was amazing. It's run my Michael Mina, so it's nowhere near cheap, but was worth every penny. Some of the fish was like nothing I've never had before in terms of both flavor and texture, and the A5 wagyu beef was decadent and amazing. Combine that with the sake pairing and it was one of my favorite dining experiences.

Himawari in San Mateo: This hits my sweet spot of good ramen and short wait times. Ramen Parlor and Ramen Dojo would both have better bowls in my opinion, but I almost never have to wait at himawari, it's a good bowl of noodles and they have jazz records on the walls and jazz playing in the restaurant.

German:

Gourmet Haus Staudt in Redwood City: Good food and one of the better German beer selections I've seen outside of Europe. They serve liters, the prices aren't bad, and they have a nice little outside area. It can get a little busy, but I find that's par for the course here, never had to wait too long for a table. It's right by the Redwood City Caltrain as well, so you don't even have to drive if you don't want to.

Indian:

Rasa in Burlingame: This place has a star but isn't priced like it at all. Really a great place and the food is amazing, their dosa's are to die for, I loved the ghostchili one as well as the amazing elephant ear dosa (it's seriously huge!). The curry's are really good but I love the shrimp masala the most I'd say. This is definitely a place to check out if you're in the area, I can't recommend it enough.

Steak:

Iron Gate in Belmont: And old school type of place where they prepare your ceasar salad and steak diane tableside. It's definitely a fun blast from the past with the menu and ambiance. The food is good though, I've only stuck to steak so can't vouch for everything, but if you're looking for a place to help your parent or grandparent remember the 60's fondly and have a good meal, this is the spot. Their souffles are amazing, definitely make sure to get one.

Chinese:

Chef Zhao in San Mateo: Their food is better than it has any right to be. I've loved their green beans, its the best Mao Po I've had outside of my friends mother's and their fish is fresh and tasty. It's Sichuan food and they know how to make things properly numbing and spicy. I can't recommend it enough and Kenji of serious eats has given it his recommendation as well, so you know it's good.

Carillon fucked around with this message at 21:16 on Sep 22, 2016

amethystbliss
Jan 17, 2006

I'm also on the Peninsula.

As Carillon mentioned, Rasa in Burlingame is an absolute favorite. I don’t know how they managed a Michelin star during their first year open, but the food is really delicious and affordable. I like any of the dosas, the Bombay sliders, and the paneer curry.

If you’re into fine dining, All Spice in San Mateo is another Michelin starred place, and it’s really something special, but can be quite pricey. On the topic of starred restaurants, we’ve also tried Bouchon and La Toque up in Napa—both were phenomenal.

It’s not the most authentic Mexican joint, but I also love Nueve in San Bruno. Really nice food presentation, always easy to get a table, good drinks, and $14 bottomless mimosas on the weekends. It’s housed in an old Taco Bell in a strip mall, so not the greatest vibe but their mole enchiladas and Nueve fries are really good.

Mingalaba in Burlingame have great Burmese food, especially the tea leaf salad.

Millbrae Pancake House is great for greasy diner food/traditional diner pancakes, especially if you’re hungover.

Tried Johnston’s Saltbox in San Carlos last week and was really impressed. Great atmosphere, good service, and fresh, delicious food.

As for places in SF proper, we’ve been going to Lavash a lot. My husband is Persian, and this stuff is the real deal. We also used to love going to Marlowe, but I haven’t been in a few months.

There are so many more. We’re so spoiled for choice!

OGS-Remix
Sep 4, 2007

Totally surviving on my own. On LAND!

snyprmag posted:

Have you been the an Everett and Jones? Their sauce is really good but I haven't managed to make it to one of their restaurants. Brick Pig House on Shattuck in North Oakland is a good little spot.

Millenium is all vegan and is quite good. I never made it to the old San Francisco location, which was a lot fancier I think, but the food and atmosphere at the new location are very enjoyable, but I don't remember them doing sushi. The best vegan sushi I've had is at Cha-Ya in the Mission.

Incoherence posted:

If you're not allergic to food trucks, Capelo's makes a pretty tasty BBQ brisket.

I'll definitely have to look at these two places and Emergency BBQ. Probably over the course of several months though, eating American BBQ makes you become an actual American. :burger:

lock stock and Cheryl
Dec 19, 2009

by zen death robot

snyprmag posted:


Anybody got a favorite Famer's Market? I just moved down to San Leandro and the Bayfaire one has a lot of good stuff at good prices.

The farmer's markets are all over the place. My favorite has to be the Alemany farmer's market. It's on a big lot, tons of vendors, good variety, good prices. It usually doesn't feel as crowded due to the sheer size. Go there early if you want the pick of the litter, go there later if you want clearance deals on vendors that are trying to leave.

Snyderman
Feb 23, 2005
I'm going to have to go through this thread and check out some of these places at a later date.

I'm a South Bay native and there's a ton of really good stuff down here, even if the best of the best is typically in SF and Oakland. I'm familiar with a lot of the rest of the Bay but most of the other posters have already covered my favorites from SF / Peninsula / East Bay. I also tried to avoid listing things that others have mentioned.

Indian
Himalayan Kitchen (Sunnyvale). Their buffet is the best tasting lunch buffet you can get for the money around here ($10-12 depending on the day) and their dinner menu is also really great and not terribly expensive. They are actually a hybrid Indian / Central Asian restaurant so they cover a lot of different regions with a variety of biryanis, Central Asian dumplings (Momo), and some Indo Chinese dishes like the classic "Chicken 65".

Mexican
I'll fully admit we're not amazing when it comes to Mexican "proper" but there's a few really great mariscos places.

La Costa (East San Jose, South San Jose and Morgan Hill). Best cheap seafood Mexican you can get and the portions are good but not ridiculous. Not La Costa Del Sol which is a different place and not as good.
Dia De Pesca in (San Jose). Cash only, but their stuff is pretty good too. Only been once so it's a bit of a tepid recommendation.
Orale (Campbell). Also good if you want nice unpretentious Mexican food but just with a lot of fish options instead of your typical meat choices.
Nopalito (San Francisco, by GG Park). My only non-South Bay recommendation since I didn't see it elsewhere. At first glance it's a "fusion" place that deserves an eyeroll but the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Food's really drat good, but there can be a wait.

Sandwiches
Zanotto's Express (Downtown San Jose). I could have said Ike's, but most people already know about them. Zanotto's makes a really great and fresh tasting deli sandwich: not too saucy, great breads, nice veggies and pretty large too. Get it on Sourdough or Dutch Crunch.

Italian
Tigelleria Ristorante in Campbell. Great "Italian Italian" food, as opposed to American Italian. Lots of fresh vegetables, seafood, and different pasta styles. A bit on the pricey side, but great for a nice date night out.

German / Austrian
Naschmarkt (Campbell). Similar to Tigelleria, an upscale Austrian restaurant serving some really great dishes but it's definitely a special occasion kind of place.
Ludwig's German Table (Downtown SJ). I haven't been here yet since they only opened in the last few months but I hear the food's pretty good.

Japanese
Leichi (Santa Clara). A slightly more expensive than average sushi and small plate place, but their fish quality is excellent.
TGI Sushi (Campbell). Their portions are huge, and the food's better than average, especially for the price. The restaurant is very small and it's your typical Korean run Japanese restaurant common in the Bay Area with lively sushi chefs and K-Pop.
Sushi Zono (Campbell). I've been going here for years and it's as close to a "regulars" sushi place as I've ever found. They're not the best, but they are really solid and their Ika Fry is awesome: sauteed calamari, not deep fried and battered.

Vietnamese
House of Pho (Sunnyvale). Boring name, but good pho. You can even get the delicious Bun Bo Hue but I think it has penis in it, so uh... avoid that if it bothers you.
Pho Spot ("San Jose" but pretty much Los Gatos). Good vietnamese place to take your Midwestern friends that keep moving here (or you if that fits). The flavors are really nice though.

Korean
JangTu (Sunnyvale). Went here on a recommendation from a friend. Their selection of side dishes is quality over quantity (I think 4 or 5) and their mains have really good depth of flavor. You may be the only non-Asian person in there.

Ethiopian
Zeni (West San Jose). Their food is good but their service is a bit lovely sometimes. Haven't gone since they gave us poo poo about splitting the check either 2 or 4 ways among 4 people (can't remember, think it was 2 ways).
Walia (San Jose). Their food can be slightly better or worse than Zeni depending, but their service is very friendly and it's a very family feeling restaurant.

Israeli
Jerusalem Grill (Campbell). Great Mediterranean food: kebabs, shawarma, falafel, tabouleh, etc. Get some of their tea with mint leaves. You'll wonder why you never thought to do it yourself.

Sweets
I'm a fatass so I love dessert.

Bakery Mexico (Downtown San Jose). This place is a bit shady but their Mexican sweets are delicious for a pittance, which is surprising considering it's right in downtown.
La Original Paleteria y Neveria (South of Downtown SJ). I admit it's not the greatest neighborhood but gently caress, their ice cream is so good. Both their ice cream and paletas (popsicles) are great and they've got some really diverse flavors. You may be assigned an English speaking server if your Spanish is rusty like mine.
Rick's Ice Cream (Palo Alto). This is some loving legit ice cream let me tell you. It's sort of like Marianne's in Santa Cruz; very "classic" with some more unique flavors.
Treat Ice Cream (San Jose). This last place is a bit of a "hidden gem". There's a place in Oakland called Gregory's Gourmet Desserts (also great) that's setup in much the same way: you walk into a small nondescript building into a commercial kitchen, you pay your cash and you leave quickly. Their hours are garbage (7:00-4PM Weekdays ONLY) but they're got some great ice cream for pretty cheap. A 1.5Q tub is 6 bucks so about what you pay at Safeway or wherever but it's freshly packed and almost always that day.

I'm sure there are other places, but these are the ones that are mostly top of mind that I've either been to in the last few years or are some of my long-time favorites.

Snyderman fucked around with this message at 08:48 on Sep 23, 2016

amethystbliss
Jan 17, 2006

Speaking of dessert, Jougert in Burlingame is a delicious and healthy option. It's a greek yogurt place; they have savory and sweet options. You can choose from a menu or create your own. The Orange Blossom one is my favorite (orange zest, agave, dark chocolate and pistachios). Jougertella is also really yummy (bananas, nutella, maple syrup and cinnamon).

Does anyone have any favorite coffee places in the Peninsula? Millbrae/Burlingame/San Mateo seemingly have nothing good. Bliss in Redwood City is the best I've found so far, and it's drat good.

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Shadowhand00
Jan 23, 2006

Golden Bear is ever watching; day by day he prowls, and when he hears the tread of lowly Stanfurd red,from his Lair he fiercely growls.
Toilet Rascal

amethystbliss posted:

Speaking of dessert, Jougert in Burlingame is a delicious and healthy option. It's a greek yogurt place; they have savory and sweet options. You can choose from a menu or create your own. The Orange Blossom one is my favorite (orange zest, agave, dark chocolate and pistachios). Jougertella is also really yummy (bananas, nutella, maple syrup and cinnamon).

Does anyone have any favorite coffee places in the Peninsula? Millbrae/Burlingame/San Mateo seemingly have nothing good. Bliss in Redwood City is the best I've found so far, and it's drat good.

Jougert has a ridiculous 5 star yelp rating and they've held onto it for the 2 years they've been open. They're so good after a nice long bike ride.

I don't believe there're any good roasters on the Penninsula. Phillz was good years ago before I feel like they over expanded. Sightglass coffee is my favorite in the city though.

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