I was craving some of that good ole Mariscada which I have grown to love more than the Louisiana Gumbo that I was brought up on. So I took a stroll to Laurel Cuban Restaurant yesterday and found that the Gay Pride Celebration is going to have a Cuban theme and that a number of people are heading over to Laurel’s to Party,Eat and drink some of their special Sangria. They are opening after Sunday’s parade for those of you who are hungry! I can’t say enough about this place, they are one of the few places I know that will sell individual portions of Paella not to mention a wide variety of Cuban specialties all with high quality ingredients. Owner, Reynaldo is there every day to ensure your needs are met. Their portions are meant to fill you up, so you get a good sized volume and great taste… Reynaldo told me that people have been calling for reservations from New York and Miami so he decided to offer a buffet to better serve those who want a variety and want it fast. He specializes in playing good Cuban music and when customers request it, he is known to arrange the tables to let customers dance the night away. He can party as long as you can. Here is our past video of Laurels.

Check out their website for the Special Pride 2008 flyer. If that is not your thing, you can always try out the recently opened Amber India or if more casual is your bailiwick, then stop by Hayes & Kebab on Hayes and Gough…they serve up some healthy kebabs and salads at a reasonable price. If you are celebrating in SF this weekend and are looking for a sure thing, check one of these places out..or check out our blog pages for whatever suits your fancy ! Not to mention that you can either get your Cuban Coffee at Laurels or step to the Blue Bottle Cafe for some infused coffee that is so thick it has an alcoholic sabor. SF-Lunch.com

Check out our last Post from Laurels.

Blue Bottle Cafe’s Post !

The elegant and spendy Amber India is here !
S

THis is our second time around at Prana. Last time we didn’t get video and it was their first week open. So we returned to get some footage(or should we now call it datage since there aren’t any feet of tape) BTW… I personally enjoy the airy atmosphere at Prana with their pleasant service and free wireless internet…

The food comes and the fused flavors are different and wonderful. Last time I got the 5 spice chicken plate and this time I tried the 5 spice sandwich version. It is great ! Their menu is not all that large but there should be an item or two for everyone. There is a full bar and at night it becomes a club. The video show an image of the humongous club area with high ceilings and modeled after a Temple…I have not been here for the dinner hour so you are on your own there, but as for lunch, they appear to be consistent, friendly and not too high priced. It is a little on the different side..both atmosphere and their version of fused tastes…

Enjoy all…

S

PS- Check out our previous post of PRANA during their opening week.

Peet’s Standard Pastries-unsure?

Here we goooooooo ! There is a Peet’s sighting in the Montgomery Bart station ! Okay..so what, there has been a Peet’s inside the Westfield Mall at the Bart level for quite sometime. Remember, that as of TODAY…YOU CAN NOT DRINK COFFEE (OR ANYTHING ELSE) ON BART WITHOUT RISKING A TICKET !

I believe that PEET’s took this measure to give PEET’s customers the option to get their coffee on the way to work. Most people I know, either stop and get, coffee, tea, Red ull or what-have-you ..either before they go to work or moments after getting to work, dropping off their stuff and heading out for their specific cup of Joe..So now, you can easily get your cup on the way to the office and just stay their… Employers should love this…Starbucks customers have had this kind of flexibility for awhile…PEET’s did a one up on Star-baby …having PEET’s right here makes access so simple. THey are on your First step outta Montgomery Bart…Now for me, I like to use my Peet’s card and when I eat pastries, I like the standard ones that Peet’s managed facilities offer. These Peet’s associate’s kiosks sometimes have better pastries…but they are not better for you… Taste good…More filling… Anyway, this is just a note to say, as it stands, these PEET’s were placed here for people on their way OUT OF BART… don’t get caught carry a full cup in the train and get that kind of BART ticket !

Amber Indian markets themselves as Upscale Indian. I usually don’t read any reviews before I try out a restaurant, so that I can give my unbiased opinion. I read a few this time about the Amber India in the South Bay and I had a couple of friends tell me what they think… I see that some people believe that it is good but extremely overpriced. Then there are others that love it, love it, love it and never mention the cost… While dining with a few friends last week, two of the people at my table had been to Amber India in the South Bay… One of them said she loved it. The other person happened to be Indian and has some of the same pickiness that I do…and he said…uhh…it is okay… He wasn’t impressed…. So I was wondering what does upscale really mean then….

Amber India delivers a chic atmosphere in a manner that you don’t usually get from Indian Restaurants. The buffet, while costing $19.99, had a glistening clean presentation, there was sufficient food and people weren’t hovering over an empty tandori chicken tray waiting for a waiter to refill the serving dish. In other words, the delivery was excellent. I could see a few areas where the staff was still in training but I was their third customer of the first official day opened to the public…today. By next week it will all be old hat to them. They had a soft opening last Friday but they are open for biz today…and as they say build it and they will come… By the time I left, it was starting to fill up with happy lunchers… In this economy…that is saying something.

Not only was the presentation good, I felt a highlight of the food was that it is missing any extra grease that I sometimes see in Indian Food sauces. I felt the food had a clean fresh look and it tasted good too.
I experienced a few spices different from most Indian Cuisine that I’ve had. It didn’t necessarily make it better but it was special in their own way and I liked it. My tandori was comprised of decent cuts of chicken although they cut most of the pieces in half like many Indian buffets. Watch the video.

My overall feeling on Amber India… it is good and the pricing is higher than we are looking for in a daily Sf-Lunch meal. This is a place you go to celebrate something with friends when you are looking for a chic décor and pampered service with some fresh Indian Food. There are some greasy spoon Indian Restaurants that can deliver good Indian food but there are not too many that give you this contemporary atmosphere merged with special Indian Food. I watched a few people who did not try the buffet and they seemed to get their food reasonably fast which I can not always say at my other Indian food spots. I kept thinking about the $20 buffet price tag, in this extremely clean looking place that I expect to receive 100 on the Heath Department Inspection…and comparing it with the Naan and Curry on Van Ness that has an $11.99 buffet but also holds the record for the lowest SF health score of 40.
I’ll take the clean at a premium.

With that said, be forewarned, the deal on their lunch menu appears to be the 20 buck buffet. Other items are “a la carte” and range up through $35. They have a full bar and pleasant attentive staff.

Until next time, “Taste Good!”

S

524 Van Ness Ave - 415.436.9380
San Francisco, CA
Food safety score: 100 / Symbol of Excellence – YES
Menu Positives:
Quick & Clean
Consistent & Flavorful
Healthy Choices Negatives:
Chain
Some items not so healthy
Tenderloinish area

On Fridays, we try to bring you something a bit different… So here is a bit of Friday Foolishness but with a point… A couple of weeks ago, I was in an all day meeting with the likes of Dilbert and Dogbert and I had about 40 minutes to get some lunch and do a bit of work all before returning to the madness. (Not to mention what that says about me… I have yet to see one Gold Collar person in the Dilbert column….LOL…) I knew there was little likelihood of gaining data for a post…so, I got practical and decided to time myself to see how long it would take to order at the counter in California Pizza Kitchen, shoot over to PEET’s for my after lunch coffee, get back just as my order is ready and walk as fast as I could back to work…. So, you can see it in the video.. I didn’t count the time it took me to eat, but I was back at my desk with time to eat and do a bit of work as well.

On days when I have to rush, I usually will call somewhere and place the order, but since I left the meeting and headed straight out the door… I thought about it and the race was on…So CPK delivered my order in about 15 minutes which is not too bad, seeing as it was a bit busy in there. Nevertheless, if I can, I’ll call next time… Hope this is as fun for you as it was for me… and I’m not talking about the meeting…

Until next time…”Taste Good !”

S

COCOLA

845 Market St, San Francisco

Food safety score: N/A

Menu

Positives:
Good Prices
Natural Cuts of Meat
Serenity in the midst of Chaos

Negatives:
Out of the way
Limited lunch selection

Cocola is one of those places I may never have tried. It has an old fashioned look. One night after leaving a movie premiere in Westfield, a woman on BART was glowing with happiness as she told me of the food to go she was holding from Cocola. I told her I would have to try it and I am glad I did. It sits 4 floors up from Westfield’s Food Emporium. (called Food “Emporium” to honor Emporium-Capwell’s which used to reside in place of Bloomingdales). The 4th floor is much quieter and even a bit peaceful. I thought is was going to be the same old sliced lunch meat sort of sandwich and I almost balked at going in.

But I braved the risk and found this wonderfully prepared sandwich with real cuts of meat from the chicken, not a slab of chicken meat… toasted fresh French bread to a nice crisp, and a unique salad featuring cucumbers.
All for just over 9 bucks…This is another winner… The sandwich selection may be somewhat limited but if you can find one that suits your diet, you will enjoy it.
Not to mention, they have a ton of desserts sitting in the window…Your on your own with the dessert but they have a large selection so I’m confident you’ll find something if dessert is your bailiwick!

S

Bistro69 sits in the middle of the first block of Maiden Lane a long time yuppie zone. I remember back when the Yosh hair salon was new and plopped right on that street. And then there was the Café Mocha… those were the days as they would have it but Bisstro 69 did it all for me. I thought it was going to deliver high prices and small portions…I was wrong. They had very reasonable pricing, I got grilled Salmon, a side Caesar salad and very flavorful roasted vegetables all for $9.95. All the portions including the Salmon was of decent size.

It normally comes with mashed potatoes but they let me switch it with a salad. The noise level was a little high but today was foggy and cold so that most people sat inside. On a nicer day, the outside patio sitting right on the asphalt street is a wonderful place to sit. This place has an all thumbs up from me.I didn’t find much negative about it unless you want to say their indoor dining area is small. A first I thought they might be marginal in the cleanliness area as I walked upstairs and it was not ready for prime time. But I later see they got not only 100 Health Score but also the Symbol of Excellence award by the health department.All that and they taste good too … Bistro 69 is on TOP !

S

I just spoke with the Bar Manager of Amber India Restaurant and he says they will open to a Private party this Friday night. THere may be another private party on Saturday or it may be open to the public…Nevertheless, next week it will be available to all SF-Lunchers so let’s check it out….

Their claim to fame…Upscale Indian Cuisine !

S

This is the second time around for Medicine. This time we have a bit of video to share. I believe that Medicine delivers some healthy grub- it seems to have good balance, good taste and they are consistent. I’ve heard that some people don’t understand what all the hype is… and I believe that maybe there shouldn’t be hype but instead ..a reality that this is healthy style balanced meals that are premium priced. I like it but you sit there thinking that for the money, you want to expect more. I don’t think it is my imagination…I don’t see as many people filling up this place….thee prices haven’t changed but could it be the cost of gas or a perceived increase to food prices ?

But that is all part of the experience, …not overeating is a part of being healthy.. Medicine for your body and soul… Enjoy it when you can…

Until then,

Taste Good !

S

PS- Back in February of this year we visited Medicine eatstation…we ordered the same item so you can see what we said back then..OUR PREVIOUS POST

Los Cantaros is located walking distance from Lake Merritt in Oakland. I was a photographer for an elementary school Olympiad last Friday and while on a short break, I needed to find some good eats. I heard a parent talk about getting a burrito from Los Cantaros and I then remembered this restaurant from when it changed from the previous restaurant in the same location but I had never visited. So I decided to walk a block or so and try out their Mexican food. I tried out their grilled chicken plate which cam with the basic rice and beans. I feel this place is a cross between Tex Mex and the old style Mexican that used to be called authentic. Now Authentic means a few different things to me. In the complex food critique times that we live, many people refer to using “authentic” ingredients and some talk of authentic recipes. In the old days, the heavy Mexican food that used to be all that was available in U.S. restaurants was considered by many to be authentic. Los Cantaros showed me a one side of their cooking style as the old authentic way and one side almost that a fresh mex cantina style (but not like Chevy’s)

First I want to say that the service was excellent, they were pretty much on top of things. I was confused about their TAKE OUT and ORDER HERE signs but I eventually got it.. Take Out like is to order Take out…Order Here is for dining in and they will give you a number and deliver it to your table. I think the burritos must be the star recipe here. Everything was neither especially good nor bad… It was basic. The best thing about Los Cantaros was the service and location. If I were at Lake Merritt on foot again, I would eat there but it is not one of those restaurants I would drive to with bated breath. There were televisions around and I can imagine people enjoying themselves on nice days watching soccer or football. O that note…the vide will show more and it will leave you with a few images of the stars of Olympic Medal Winners.

Until next time…Taste Good !