RESTAURANT REVIEWS

LA BOHEME

1425 Burlingame Ave
Burlingame, CA 94010

Phone: 650-347-3331

Open Daily for Lunch
11-3:30
Dinner:
5-10pm

Sea Scallops

Snails with a fine dice of tomatoes and a fried basil leaf...

A Pork Chop...

Confit of duck with Duck Breast and assorted vegetables.

The former location of the Chinese restaurant Gau Poang has undergone numerous changes in the past two years. It was converted to a steak house, followed by an Indian-themed restaurant and today it's morphed into a bakery, breakfast, lunch and dinner restaurant.

We ambled in one Sunday evening in the Fall and found the place to be quite busy. The young hostess didn't know quite what to make of us, since we'd entered through the back door (there's a small parking lot behind the restaurant). We were ushered to a tiny table and requested something larger, being seated at a four top along the wall.

A drinks list, wine list and menus were presented. The Old Bat was lusting for a Martini. Despite having a full bar, they did not have a major brand of Gin! She wanted it with a cocktail onion and an olive, but unfortunately the bar was not stocked with cocktail onions! The "organic" Juniper gin made for a rather dull, monochromatic $11 martini. I started with a $9 pour of Tangent 2006 Sauvignon Blanc. This is a perfectly nice, simple white wine, though it tastes more like an Alsatian blend of some sort. To their credit, the bottle was brought to the table, displayed and then poured.

In such darkly illuminated restaurants, it's difficult to have a close look at the menu or wine list. I'd forgotten my magnifying glass and pocket light. The wine list featured a few sparkling wines (Gruet Blanc de Noirs by the glass), a modest range of white wines and several categories of reds. The mark-up on these seems normal. The selection is modest and most bottles are reasonably-priced. We asked about the corkage fee and our young server said he thought it was $15, "but don't quote me on this." In fact, the corkage fee on the bill was $20.

We began with starters...The Old Bat ordered a $10 Sea Scallop dish which was very good. Two giant sea scallops were served on tissue-paper thin slices of cucumber and some sort of cucumber sauce. I ordered the Cassolette d'Escargot a la lie (also $10), a 'stew' of snails cooked in the dregs of a bottle of wine (at least, that's how a la lie translates). The snails were served on a bed of the 'house' bread. I felt the bread they brought to the table (warm, too, by the way) was more like some sort of out-of-the-freezer and into-the-oven sort of bread. A fine baguette or sourdough, it was not. This sort of became mushy under the sauce. I cook with a lot of garlic and found the snails a bit bland overall.

One of the servers removed the appetizer plates and he was soon followed by a bus person who removed the bread basket, bread plates and the remaining silverware. Apparently he thought we were finished.

I brought a nice young red Bordeaux to taste and the manager graciously decanted it. He also brought bigger, deeper stemware, too. We offered him a taste of the little Cos d'Estournel wine but he was not interested, apparently.

The main courses arrived and the young server quickly realized we had no silverware.
The Old Bat had the "Cote de Porc" ($17) which was nicely prepared and moist. My Duo de Canard ($19) featured a duck leg confit and a few slices of duck breast. I was asked how I wanted the duck cooked and I asked for medium-rare. The confit, as one might expect, was well-cooked, but the duck breast was well-done to some parts being close to incinerated. The vegetable medley was a curious mix of this-and-that. There were well sautéed pieces of chanterelles, some fresh, crisp asparagus and a nearly raw Brussels sprout. Some other bits of root vegetables we included. It was a bit chaotic, frankly.

We skipped dessert and the bill came to $104 before the tip.

This is a nice 'neighborhood' place and it can be rather economical if you skip drinks. Service is rather informal and pleasant.

Reviewed by GW
November 2008

PORTERHOUSE

60 E. 3rd Avenue
San Mateo, CA

Phone: 650-579-5911

OPEN Daily for Dinner

Crab Cakes

Steak Tartare Prepared at the table

10 Ounce New York Steak

Mushrooms and Garlic Fries

Filet Mignon

The proliferation of 'steak house' restaurants brings us a new theme to an old San Mateo dining establishment. It's called Porterhouse and is owned by the family which owned Bogie's in the old theater building next to the Ben Franklin hotel on Third Avenue.

We ambled in on a Sunday evening. There's a hostess' podium and a bar, both of which were empty. We noticed a few people dining at the booths behind the podium and finally someone arrived, offering us either a booth or a table. We took a place in a booth.

In perusing the wine list, we found a number of wines offered "by the glass." Chandon Brut costs $8 as did the Taz Chardonnay we opted for. The wine arrives already poured (so we have to take it on faith that it's the Chardonnay we ordered) and comes in nice, tall stemware.
Other options include Hess Chardonnay for $12 a pour or Ridge Three Valley's Zinfandel (also $12 a glass or $48 a bottle...this retails for $18 to $20). Only when you've perused the entire list and arrive at the last page does one see a few half bottle offerings (Taittinger Brut for $48, Clicquot Brut at $50 or Duckhorn Sauvignon Blanc for $25).
The list has mostly famous and comfortable names, which is probably a good thing since we didn't see a sommelier on our visit and our server is barely old enough to drink.
Cakebread Chardonnay is $65 a bottle, while Chateau Montelena goes for $60. A Caymus Cabernet, retailing for about $65-$70 is $120 on this wine list. Jordan's Cabernet is $82. Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel is $60. If you're a big spender, you might consider an older bottle of Opus One (the 1992 and 1997 are $350 a bottle).

We began with Crab Cakes ($11) and these three small disks are adorned with a fine dice of avocado and tomato on some sort of aioli. The crab cakes are deep fried and are more of a generic seafood flavor than sweet crab.
The Old Bat ordered Steak Tartare ($14) and this arrives with a disk of ground beef and 5 lines of flavorings including finely chopped shallots, mustard, parsley, etc. The server then mixes everything at your table. There's truffle oil in the beef and this really dominates the aroma and flavor. There are five pieces of toast for the tartare.

Soups are $5 and salads $7 or $8. They claim to make their own pastas and these go for $15 or $20, while Ahi Tuna is $28 and Wild Salmon is $25. An 8 ounce Filet Mignon is $32 ($40 for the 12 ounce). A 14 ounce New York Steak is $39, but I opted for the 10 ounce version at around $30. A Porterhouse steak is mid to high $40s.

The Old Bat chose a small Filet Mignon. My steak was a shade more cooked than the medium-rare I'd ordered. It's a nice piece of beef, in the good to very good range of quality. Each piece of beef is presented on a serving of bland mashed potatoes and rather bland spinach.

We ordered their Garlic Fries and Wild Mushrooms. The fries were rather brittle and chalky. The mushrooms were basically a sauté of shitake mushrooms. (A few drops of their truffle oil would have been a tremendous enhancement!)

I produced a nice bottle of Bordeaux from my cellar bag. The server properly cut off the foil at the top and poured a small amount for "the say." With my approval, he then poured a proper amount for my dining companion and myself. The stemware was a bit larger than we had for the white wine and was of good quality and appropriate for a high-priced dining establishment. I think the corkage fee was approximately $15 to $20.

We skipped dessert and coffee.

By 8:30 on a Sunday night, we were just about the last to depart. The ambience is nice. Music is audible and a bit quirky, aimed at a younger crowd.

We each left $80, which included a nice tip for the server. It's a rather pricey place, but if you're in San Mateo and looking for a steak, it's a far better choice than the San Mateo Prime restaurant down the block.

Reviewed by GW
September 2008

ACQUA PAZZA

201 E. 3rd Avenue
San Mateo, CA 94401

Phone: 650-375-0903

OPEN:
Lunch M-F 11-2

Dinner Daily 5-9:30 or so

Frittura di Posillipo.

The Vesuvio Salad

Calamarata AcquaPazza

Misto di Carne

The "contorni" to accompany the mixed meat plate.

The Chocolate Soufflé with a scoop of a nice Vanilla Ice Cream.

Located on the corner of Ellsworth and Third Avenues in San Mateo, this location has been a rather long series of restaurants over the past several years.

We ambled in on a Sunday night during a holiday weekend and were able to find a nice table along the west wall of this place.

The hostess left us with a wine list and menus and we perused the wine selections. There are ten white selections by the glass as well as ten reds. Half of the red wines listed do not specify the producer or brand of wine. There's a "House Sangiovese" from Tuscany for $6.50 as well as a "House Chianti" for the same price. They offer a "House" Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Merlot and Cabernet. The Zinfandel is listed as coming from Tuscany, a sad development for Italian viticulture.
One argument is they can buy advantageously by price, but it's a rather lazy approach to a wine list. This sort of wine list is fine for a local pizzeria, but if you're a 'fine dining' establishment, it's not impressive.

The stemware is something close to a 12 ounce, or so, clunky, heavy-duty wine glass and lacks elegance. We ordered a couple of pours of the Terredora 2007 Falanghina for $9 each.
The server returned to our table with the bottle and poured the wine. We applaud this sort of service, but the white wine was served at a cool temperature, but it should have been chilled a bit more.
The wine list notes they have their wine stored "in the most modern" of wine storage units. This was a nice temperature for a red, but just slightly too warm on a summer's evening for a white wine.

Some sort of cake-like bread was brought, warmed, in a basket along with an herbal oil and vinegar mixture.

We ordered a starter of a "Frittura di Posillipo" ($10.95), a mix of fried calamari, zucchini and a couple of shrimp.
With the bread, oil and plates on the table, there was little room for this to be set in the middle of the two of us. The calamari and zucchini were good...shrimp were okay.

In perusing the rest of the wine list, by the way, you'll find some curious entries. For example, there's a "Vermentino Sardinia" listed as coming from Tuscany. There are numerous spelling errors, making for a sloppy list.
In terms of pricing, a Valpolicella is offered for $29 a bottle, while a good Nebbiolo d'Alba from Alessandria goes for $36, while their "Borolo" (sic) is $85.
The owners of the restaurant are proud of their Napolitano heritage, yet only two of the 21 red wine selections come from Campania! There's more Piemontese red on the wine list than from their home turf!!

We each ordered the Vesuvio Insalata ($5.95) and this is a nice, small plate of mixed greens with some olives, red onions, cherry tomatoes and cucumber. No offer of a grind of pepper, by the way. The salad dressing was rather standard and acceptable if unexceptional.

The Old Bat opted for a pasta main course and chose their Calamarata AcquaPazza ($13.95). This was a tomato-sauced pasta (large rings in shape) with a variety of seafood in the sauce. It arrived al dente and, frankly, would have been better with another minute in boiling water or a little longer in a saucepan with the seafood. Still, it was good.

I chose their Misto di Carne ($13.95) which was billed as Grilled Italian Sausage, Chicken Breast, Capers and Black Olives in a Spicy Tomato Sauce. The "sausage," then, was something more akin to a slice of meat, rather than a typical sausage. A side plate accompanied this, a mix of potatoes and veggies.

Neither main plate arrived "piping" hot. Both were warm and would have been improved had the timing been better and the plates brought as soon as they were completed.

We brought a bottle of a lovely Campanian red wine, the De Conciliis "Naima." Corkage is listed as $12, but we were not charged this (perhaps as we shared a pour with our server, one of the brothers who own the place). Given the wine list, I'd suggest bringing a nice, special bottle.

We shied away from dessert, but finally the Old Bat gave in an ordered the Chocolate Soufflé. They generously brought a slice of a Napolitano ricotta torta which had a rose water/rose petal character.

The ambience of this place is nice, but a tad noisy. If you're seated on the west wall facing east, the TV set above their bar can be a bit of a distraction. It's not the sort of place for a private conversation...my hearing is not that good, but I heard all about the young lady's problems with the boyfriend at the next table and the wine expert on the other side of us chatting up the virtues of La Crema wines.

All in all, though, it's a nice dining spot. We paid $83 for dinner for two, with a starter, two salads, two main plates, two glasses of wine and one dessert (they forgot the $12 corkage and we left a tip to more than cover that!).

This is a nice little neighborhood place and well-priced, too.

Reviewed by
GW
August 2008

ARCHIPELAGO

1107 Howard Avenue
Burlingame

Open Daily 5-10pm

Hearts of Palm & Roasted Beets Salad

Flash Grilled Romaine Hearts

Braised Short Ribs

Duck Breast

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Archipelago maintains a very low profile on Howard Avenue just a block south of Burlingame Avenue. There's no sign on the building presently and even their web site doesn't give much of an indication as to when they're open.

The theme of the place is Filipino/Spanish/Mediterranean.
The executive chef, as we understand it, is a teacher at the Culinary Academy in San Francisco, while the Chef de Cuisine worked at Napa's French Laundry restaurant.

We ambled in on a Thursday evening in the Spring of 2008. No problem to get a table and we were guided to a dining area which had private booths and free-standing tables. The room is dimly lit with lots of wood and wood tones.

As we were seated, the hostess presented us with a wine list and the menu.

The wine list is a compact, one page document featuring a modest selection of wines offered both "by the glass" and bottle choices. You won't find any particularly grand wines on their list unless you're wowed by Cakebread Chardonnay ($105 a bottle!), Franciscan, Simi or the wines of Louis Jadot. We started with a flute of Bouvet Brut ($7), a basic, decent Loire Valley bubbly of modest distinction.

They have more than a dozen starters. The Old Bat was intrigued by the Fresh Hearts of Palm & Roasted Beets Salad ($7.50). I took a suggestion from Janet, our server, and opted for the Flash-Grilled Romaine Lettuce Hearts ($7.25, I think). The hearts of palm were nice, but bland...the romaine salad was very good and their Caesar dressing was tangy and delicious. Both plates were beautifully presented.

We pulled a bottle of Thackrey Pleiades out of our cellar bag and paid the $15 corkage fee. Nice stemware was returned to the table. After pouring the first glass, we were on our own to deal with the wine.

For a main plate, the Old Bat had "Lacquered Duck Breast" ($21) and I had the "Spice Perfumed Slow Braised Short Ribs" ($21.75). These arrived just after the server opened our red wine and, as with the first plates, were artistically presented.

The Duck was good...I only had a small bite, but it was moist and flavorful. The Short Ribs were succulent and meaty and taken off the bone.

The ambience is nice, if a bit dark. Bring a small flashlight if you have difficulty reading menus in dimly lit circumstances. The music played a bit obtrusively in the background (it might have been less noticeable had there been more of a crowd in the restaurant) was modern, hip, "techno-lounge" sounds.

We had a Flourless Chocolate Cake ($6.50) for dessert, brought to the table by a kitchen staffer, instead of our server. The cake was good, though I didn't much care for the crunchy little shreds of coconut on top. We did not order a dessert wine and the server did not solicit an order for a sip of Port or a coffee.

Overall this is a lovely dining spot with an interesting menu and the plates we had were expertly prepared. Service is above average and comfortable.

I'd surely return to further explore the interesting menu. I'll certainly bring my own wine, though.

Reviewed by GW
April 2008

BRIO

1190 California Drive
Burlingame

TEL: 650-348-6615

Lunch: Tues-Fri 11:30-3
Dinner Tues-Sun 5-10:30

Oysters.

Black Risotto with Sea Scallops and a lobster sauce.

Seared Tuna.

Pork Chop Milanese.

Located in the old train station at Broadway, down the street from the shop, this is a convenient place if you're a local. The building has been home to numerous restaurants, most recently "Pisces."

On a Wednesday evening at 7, we found the place packed. We were seated after a short wait and found the "joint was jumping." Curiously, though, this seems, presently, to have attracted diners from out of the neighborhood...not a local in sight!

We were seated with both menus and wine list. The place is a bit noisy and they don't help much by playing Italian techno-style music. This would be perfectly fine for a pizza restaurant, but it's a bit out of synch (to my fuddy-duddy sensibilities, anyway) for a "fine dining" establishment.

I was dining with The Old Bat and we typically look for a crisp white or bubbly to start. We opted for a flute of Carpene Malvolti Prosecco at $11 each ($48 for a bottle, about 3 times the retail price!). In perusing the list, I was surprised by how many selections are offered. This is a small place, yet the list is voluminous and perhaps a bit too extensive. Do they need two relatively similar Arneis wines, I wondered.

The list demonstrates a certain amount of enthusiasm for wine, though, but it's a bit sloppy. The Champagne "Dom Perignon" is listed as "Don Perignon" (and $320 a bottle, too! Ouch!!). Louis Roederer Brut Premier ($120 a bottle) is listed as "Luis Roedere." They have several selections of Barolo, including one from the "Produttori del Barbaresco," a winery which does not produce Barolo! It goes for $110 a bottle and is offered as a "Langhe" red wine. If it's the entry level Nebbiolo Langhe, the normal retail price is less than $20. Ouch! The Merlot from Silver Oak's Twomey estate, a $65 bottle at retail, is offered for $190! I wonder if they've not purchased some of the wines through normal channels and have paid 'retail' for some of the selections.
I still give them credit for having a nice range of good Italian offerings. They have simply too many offerings for a place where nobody seems to really know very much about wine.
Corkage is $18 a bottle, by the way.

A small bread basket arrived with a rectangular accompanying dish featuring butter, a green, herbal dipping sauce and some sort of vinegary dipping sauce.

The Old Bat ordered a half a dozen oysters with some sort of horseradish accompaniment, perhaps in a tomato-based sauce. They brought a lovely platter of oysters with a brown, vinegary, acidic and acetic sauce. I suggested this would make the oysters take on a metallic taste and she had already made the mistake of combining the two and making this discovery! The server queried the kitchen about this, returning to say "they weren't happy with the horseradish..." The Old Bat wasn't happy without it!

My starter, however, was a "Black Risotto" with Sea Scallops. It was a lovely serving of creamy, soft (maybe a tad too soft) rice with a nice bit of sea scallop (I think they were able to slice a single sea scallop horizontally to cover the enter 'disk' of rice) as a counterpoint. Very nice, though.

The bus boy was "johnny-on-the-spot" about clearing the plates and silverware. I was curious to see if he'd bring a fresh round of forks and knives to the table.

Meanwhile, we produced a bottle of Villa Pattono Monferatto Rosso from our cellar bag and the waiter, a friendly fellow, took care of opening this. He brought larger stemware and a decanter to splash around the wine. This is a nice service and the wine was marvelous.

The main plates arrived after an extended wait (the place was rockin' and I'm sure the kitchen was taxed!) and my cranky companion was upset with her cold "Seared" tuna. I was a bit embarrassed, frankly, when she sent it back. If it's seared properly it's hot or rather warm on the exterior and cool, of course, in the center (which is raw). The server smiled and took care of it and she was placated. I tasted the tuna and thought it was excellent and just at the edge in terms of the amount of pepper.
I ordered a Pork Chop "Milanese" (which is pounded a bit and breaded) and served with a little Calabrese Chile sauce. I took a taste of the sauce and saw it was going to ruin the wine, so I didn't dip the pork into it. The pork chop was "camouflaged" by a mass of baby greens (not dressed, thank goodness!).

Of course, I sat patiently, waiting for the server to realize I was missing an all-important utensil, a knife.
He brought one immediately, though he should have checked at the outset.

The food, I'm happy to report, was very good. We probably should have ordered a side dish, or two. Next time!

We had a look at the dessert menu and ordered a sip of Port for The Old Bat and an assortment of ice creams and sorbet. These were quite good and we were told the dessert was house-made.

The bill tallied to about $140 before the tip, a bit of a splurge, certainly, for a neighborhood place. Still, we find Brio a lovely addition to the Burlingame dining landscape and look forward to a return visit.
With a bit of "polish," this could be a real gem!

Reviewed by GW
January 2008

SAN MATEO PRIME

174 East Third Ave
San Mateo

Tel: 650-558-8918

Open Daily for Dinner
5-10pm

Iceberg Lettuce Salad with canned beets

Baby Greens...

New York Steak with Sautéed Spinach and Fries

Having driven down Third Avenue in San Mateo, I noticed a new steak house so I dragged The Old Bat out early on a Sunday evening.

We arrived shortly before 6pm (hey, it was a Sunday!) and there were but three or four tables occupied. The two kids working to seat people (they couldn't be more than 21 or 22 years old) were perplexed. They didn't have enough menus and it didn't dawn on them immediately to seat guests and bring the menus later. They're trained, apparently, to only seat guests when they have menus in hand.

The restaurant has seating for perhaps 80, or so, and yet they did not have a menu for us. Bringing the wine list was also out of the question, apparently. The server stopped by, eventually, to ask if we wanted a beverage, but they're not listed on the menu and we had no wine list!

A fellow brought a basket of corn bread and offered each of us a "square." This might not have been baked sufficiently as The Old Bat couldn't butter it without the whole thing crumbling into little bits on her bread plate. I was able to deal with mine, though, and they never returned to offer bread of any kind.

The wine list features mainstream bottlings. There is not much to choose from "by the glass" and the best option was to order some 187ml bottles of Mumm's Napa Brut sparkling wine at $8 each. The server arrived with two opened splits of bubbly and two flutes, filled to the top. The stemware is a shade too small to accommodate the entire 187 milliliters, so you've got a half an ounce in a bottle on the table. ((I wonder if a 12 ounce beer here comes with an 11 ounce glass?))

The wine list features "safe" choices. Gloria Ferrer Brut is $38 per bottle. Cakebread Chardonnay sells for $65, while Chateau Montelena's Zinfandel is $40. BV Private Reserve is offered at $150 a bottle, while Caymus Cabernet is $130. Jordan Cabernet goes for $88. We looked around the room and did not see many tables with a bottle of wine. One trio ordered a bottle of Mark West Pinot Noir at $30 (this is a $10-$14 bottle in a store).

There are no appetizers. The menu features prime rib, steak, rack of lamb, salmon and a grilled Portabella Mushroom for vegetarian diners.

Your $34.50 New York Steak dinner begins with either the "House Salad" or "Mixed Baby Greens." The Old Bat ordered the House Salad and was appalled to have a mass of whacked up Iceberg Lettuce, adorned with Julienned Strips of canned beets and festooned with grated egg yolks.. The Baby Greens salad was a nice "mesclun" mix, though their Balsamic vinaigrette is a bit sweet.

Our server was overwhelmed, as she's obliged to cut and present the baked potatoes which some people order. Apparently the kitchen is not skilled at cutting or slicing potatoes.

The young lady finally came to open our bottle of wine (corkage is $15 if they remember to add it to the bill). We might have enjoyed this much earlier, frankly, but she was busy slicing open the tops of baked potatoes. The waitress wrestled with cutting the foil capsule from the top of the bottle and I expected she might shed blood in doing so. When the cork was finally extracted, the server poured a glass for The Old Bat and then asked "Oh, do you want to taste it first?" In pouring the wine, our server spilled more than a drop on the table cloth as she's unskilled in wine service.

The steaks arrived and we received a nice 12-ounce New York strip. It was close to the medium-rare that I had ordered. If this was truly "prime" beef, I'd be surprised. The "fries" accompanying this were right out of a frozen food bag! No wonder the server has to deal with the potatoes tableside! The accompanying sautéed spinach was very nice, though, and not out of a can or the freezer, remarkably. For some reason, even though we did not order Prime Rib, they brought each of us "Yorkshire Pudding." Mine tasted doughy and eggy while The Old Bat said hers was simply not cooked through. Curious.

Bottles of Heinz Ketchup are brought to the table if you've got some of those lovely fries. At least they didn't have those little packets like you'd get at a "restaurant" with a drive-through window...

We did not stay dessert, afraid to see what that might entail.

The bill for the two of us, with bubbly and two steaks tallied to $92 before the tip. As noted, the server did not charge us the $15 corkage fee.
We left a tip far greater than the service warranted. There doesn't seem to be anybody really in charge of over-seeing the dining room. The crew here needs a lot more experience and polish for this place to make it. Perhaps the locals will support such a restaurant despite its obvious flaws. In our view, however, this place is not ready for prime time.

Reviewed by GW
January 2008

THE SHERMAN

410 Airport Boulevard
Burlingame

Tel: 650-344-7447

Lunch ???

Dinner ????
The website for the restaurant does not presently list hours. In calling, we found only a maze of voice mail messages and were unable to speak with someone.

Steamed clams

Chilled prawns with cocktail sauce

Pork Loin with a Potato-Gruyere Soufflé

Braised Short Ribs

We ventured out on a Sunday evening after Christmas without reservations and were asked if we had reservations when entering a half-empty restaurant. We did not, so we were directed to "wait in the bar for 20 minutes, or so, and we'll see if we can find you a table." We looked at each other, thinking we were being drilled for drinks, so we politely declined, saying we'll return another day when have booked a table.

We drove to Burlingame's bay-front and the 'new' floating restaurant, The Sherman. This place recently opened its doors, hoping to make a splash on the Peninsula dining scene. I tugged on the door and found it locked! The hostess stepped away from the reception stand and opened the door, asking if we had reservations. Oh boy, not this again!
The door was locked, by the way, because the boat can rock in low tide and cause the door to constantly swing open and shut...

She was, she said, able to offer us a table and asked my name. Then she needed my last name and telephone number! I was merely looking for a dinner table, not a relationship.

We were escorted up a dizzying glass staircase to an empty dining room on the upper deck. There was seating for approximately 70 people, as well as a bar and cocktail tables accommodating several dozen people.

We were offered menus and a wine list. I immediately began perusing the list in search of a suitable aperitif wine. Segura Viudas is $8 a glass, but being a big spender, we chose the Gloria Ferrer Brut at ten-bucks a flute.

I recall someone telling me the wine list was put together by a master sommelier. You will find some perfectly nice wines, predominantly from the state's big liquor distribution company, at dizzying prices. For example, a bottle of the Gloria Ferrer Brut, which retails from $13-$18 a bottle is $54 on the list. Guigal's terrific "bargain" Cotes-du-Rhone, a $10-$13 wine in stores goes for $44 at The Sherman. Jordan Chardonnay will set you back $54 and Dom Perignon is $290. Krug Champagne goes for $350. The list seems to feature many familiar names at unfamiliar prices. On our visit, we did not find a sommelier to add value to the wine list.

The place was empty and our server explained they're doing a "soft opening" before more aggressively promoting the place. We were told they had reservations for 20 people that evening, but apart from the family of ten who's kid works in the kitchen, by our departure at 8:30, we saw nobody else dining here.

The menu offers a wide range of starters. I seem to recall a sampler of chilled seafood being offered at $65, though their on-line menu posted as I write this review has it for $90. I began with a dozen steamed clams ($12) and The Old Bat asked about the chilled prawns displayed on ice by the bar. They put together a nice "shrimp cocktail" for her.

The prawns were good, sweet and accompanied by a tangy, ketchupy cocktail sauce. My clams came in a cast iron skillet, beautifully presented with three thin 'croutons'. The clams were delicious! The server noticed I still had some broth in the pan and no croutons, so she brought more bread...thank you!

We inquired about their corkage fee and this was $25, so rather than pay $70+ for a Gary Farrell Pinot Noir, we pulled a bottle out of our cellar bag. Stemware here is elegant and reasonable.

The Old Bat ordered their "Berkshire" Pork Tenderloin wrapped with bacon and accompanied by a potato/Gruyere soufflé. I opted for Braised Short-Ribs with Mashed Potatoes. The pork was good and the shortribs had a magnificently rich, nicely-reduced sauce. Portions were ample, too.

I found the restaurant to be a bit chilly and I'm well-insulated. In addition to your wallet, bring a sweater to The Sherman. The background music seemed a bit incongruous for a rather 'formal' dining room, by the way.

Desserts, all priced at $9, were not of interest and we asked for the check. The bill arrived and I was shocked that we'd run up a $146 tab. The clams, $12 on the menu, were $16 on the check. I didn't recall the main plates being quite as costly as they were, but the menu they brought when we questioned the prices showed the short-ribs at $29 and the pork loin at $35. A corrected bill was recalculated with apologies.

We found the quality of the kitchen work to be quite good, but they're going to need to find their 'sea legs,' so-to-speak to justify the ambitious prices of this relatively off-the-beaten-path establishment. I realize they spent a fortune restoring the boat to its former glory (and probably beyond), but they would probably be better served in having more affordable pricing to encourage greater turnover of the wine inventory. Trying to hit a home run with every sale will more likely translate into a lot of strikeouts.

Reviewed by GW
December 2007

LA STRADA

335 University Avenue
Palo Alto

Tel: 650-324-8300

Sunday-Thursday
11:30am-10pm
Friday & Saturday
11:30am-11pm

Rib Eye Steak with Balsamico

Osso Buco di Maiale.

Affogato

It was Sunday evening and I'd just taken The Old Bat to see a movie in Palo Alto. Having been to La Strada for the trade tasting of a terrific importer of Italian wines, I was curious to try the place as it looked like a good prospect.

They have seating for about 50 or 60 inside and maybe 20, or so, places outside by the entrance. Even on a cool December evening, we found a warm table on their outdoor 'patio' for dinner.

The tables are a bit close together and this was momentarily uncomfortable with the lady at the next table receiving several phone calls.

The menu is seasonal and there's a price-fixed menu each evening, as well. We perused the wine list and found numerous Italian selections offered "by the glass." We opted for two flutes of Ca' del Bosco Brut Spumante at $13 each. These arrived in a timely manner in nice, elegant, tall stemware.

It is nice to see a wine list that's not dominated by the two big liquor distributors, as La Strada features many good wines from Italy. White wines include producers such as San Michele Appiano, Bruno Giacosa, Cantina del Termeno, Inama and Villa Bucci. The wine list features many selections by varietal, such as Aglianico, Barbera and Sangiovese, with 'classics' listed, as well. They have Amarone (Allegrini's is $125 a bottle), 5 Brunello offerings, along with a handful of Barolo and Barbaresco selections.

A small serving of bread was exceptional...a ciabatta-styled bread, which is accompanied by some sort of vegetable spread...not caponata, exactly, but similar.

We began with an order of Fried Gamberetti and Asparagus with a Calabrian Pepper Sauce. This "fritto misto" features small prawns in their shell, heads on and thinly sliced white and green asparagus. It was, perhaps, a bit over-salted, but nicely done.

I produced a bottle of Vietti 2001 La Crena Barbera d'Asti and the server immediately brought two lovely, appropriate wine glasses. I think the corkage fee is about $15, but we were not charged either because we'd ordered the bubbly or shared a taste with the server.

For the main plates, The Old Bat was not especially adventuresome, choosing a Rib Eye Steak with Balsamico ($21). I opted for their Osso Buco di Maiale ($19), a terrific pork shank with fresh, al dente baby artichokes and a lovely dice of mushrooms. This was a wonderful plate!

Desserts range from Tiramisu to Panna Cotta to a chocolate soufflé...I chose their Affogato Classico, a coffee cup with two generous scoops of lovely vanilla gelato topped with a shot of espresso from a roasting company in Verona...very fine!

We had a couple of small glasses of Dow's Ten Year Old Tawny Port ($8).

The bill tallied to about a hundred bucks, but that's because they didn't have the Port or corkage fee on the bill.

La Strada is a wonderful Italian restaurant which is well worth a return visit.

Reviewed by GW
December 2007

LE CHARM BISTRO

315 Fifth Street
San Francisco
Tel: 415-546-6128

LUNCH:
Tues-Fri 11:30-2

DINNER
Tues-Sat 5:30-9:30
Sun 5-8:30

A generous pour of Honig Sauvignon Blanc...$7.75

Salad with House-Smoked Mackerel.

Persimmon, Morbier and Prosciutto "Salad"

Decanting our old bottle of Zinfandel.

Duck Confit with Pommes Landaises.

Beef tips and Pommes Frites.

Lemon Almond Cake

Tarte Tatin.

It was a Wednesday and the Vino Fino tasters would be evaluating a set of Chardonnays in the early evening. We booked a first seating table at this below-the-radar restaurant in The City that's situated between Harrison and Folsom Streets.

As the place opened for dinner, the commute rush is in full swing. There's a nice dining room accommodating approximately 50 people, with an outdoor, enclosed, heated patio for additional seating.

The menu is small, but sufficiently varied to be interesting. The wine list is small, but offers some nice, safe choices. It's not an enological paradise, but you can find nice wines for relatively sensible prices. A bottle of Honig Sauvignon Blanc is $31, a bit more than twice the retail price. Mark West Pinot Noir is $8.50 a glass and $28 by the bottle. Clicquot Champagne is a rather reasonable $70...the margins are higher on the lower-priced wines and more modest on the higher-ticket bottles. I noticed some of the French wines are older vintages, so it's nice to find more developed offerings at a fair price. A Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet from the 2002 vintage is $110 a bottle and the 1996 Chateau Pontet Canet is $130. A half bottle of Seghesio Zinfandel is $20. The corkage fee is $15.

We began with a glass of Honig Sauvignon Blanc ($7.75). When we sat down, there was a standard, 10 ounce, or so, wine glass on the table. But they brought a huge glass of Sauvignon, a pleasant surprise to see such a nice sized serving!

Le Charm offers a three course meal for a mere $30. The menu changes monthly, apparently. This is a remarkable price for a City restaurant with good service, nice ambience and soulful cooking!

Mark started with their Persimmon salad on Arugula with Morbier Cheese and toasted Hazelnuts. I opted for their House-Smoked Mackerel with Frisée, Carrots and Red Onions. Both plates were substantial and quite delicious! A bread basket was brought to the table and water glasses were kept filled.

For a main course, Mark went for the Grilled Beef Chuck "Tips" with a Sauce Choron (a Béarnaise sauce with tomato). I couldn't resist having the Duck Leg Confit with Pommes Landaises. These courses were both excellent. Each comes with a mound of Frisée, a bit redundant given we'd had a pile of this with the starter course.

I brought out a 1987 Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel and the head man took care of opening this and decanting this old bottle. The wine was still alive and kicking and paired beautifully with our meals.

Desserts were also excellent here...Mark chose the Lemon Almond Cake and I ordered the Tarte Tatin.

The bill for two, with two glasses of Sauvignon, corkage and two price-fixed menus came to about $98 before the tip.

This is a gem of a place and worth seeking out, even if you're not in the neighborhood. As we dined as the place opened in order to scurry off to our 7pm wine tasting, we left when the restaurant was about one-third to one-half filled. It's probably a good idea to have a reservation, though.

Reviewed by GW
November 2007

We returned in the Summer of 2008 and had a splendid meal! On Thursday evenings they have a few musicians playing Parisian-styled, Django Rheinhardt tunes. Very nice!

FLEMING'S

180 El Camino Real
Palo Alto
Stanford Shopping Center

Tel: 650-329-8457

Open 7 Days for Dinner
5pm-10 (11 Fri & Sat)

A glass of bubbly and the Sweet Chili Calamari.

Portabella "Fries."

Shoestring Potatoes

A rib-eye steak.

Sauted Spinach

I had heard from two different wine sales reps about their meals at this brand new steak house in Palo Alto. With a friend coming from Italy, I was either going to cook or dine out and we opted for the latter.

Fleming's is a chain restaurant and it's likely to cause a couple of heart attacks: One from the cholesterol and the other from the shock of the tab you'll likely run up here.

We reserved a 7:30 table on a Saturday night, driving there from San Francisco Airport where we picked up our visiting dignitary. We arrived about 5 minutes late and were informed the table was not ready. We waited about 15 minutes before being escorted to a booth along the east wall of the vast dining room.

The first several pages of the menu are actually listings of wines. There are about 100 wines offered "by the glass" and these are prominently featured at the front of the menu. You'll notice a large framed piece of art at the reception desk featuring a bottle of Caymus and Silver Oak Cabernets. Near the bathroom, there's a piece showing a bottle of Haut Brion and a wine glass. But the 100 wines on the by-the-glass list are much more mundane, frankly.

There are white napkins folded at each place-setting. As we were seated, the hostess took these off the table and handed each of us a black cloth napkin...an unusual little formality!

We opted to start with a glass of Washington State's Chateau Ste. Michelle Brut sparkling wine, one of the few offerings remotely of interest for less than ten bucks a pour. This goes for $6.50 and the wine is presented not in a flute or stem glass, but in a small cylindrical glass more reminiscent of a friend's beer-tasting glassware. This means you'll warm up the wine more quickly...
I did take longer than it should have for the server to bring the bubbly...he informed us "They're opening the bottle" and apparently this requires exceptional skill and patience.

When you're seated, they present a small plate with celery sticks, radishes and some dried, seasoned 'toasts' for the two kinds of 'dips'. No bread, though.

We were informed that since we had been delayed in being seated, the house was going to offer us a single appetizer "gratis." We chose their Sweet Chili Calamari. This is an Asian or Chinese rendition and was rather like fried calamari with a sweet & sour sauce.

Steaks in this place cost in the $35 to $40 range and the plate is "naked" apart from the piece o' beef. Side dishes are offered and these are about $8-$10. We ordered their Portabella Fries (listed as an appetizer, but we asked these be brought along with the steaks), Shoestring Potatoes and Sauted Spinach.

We were hoping to make the 9:20 movie over at the Stanford Theater on University Avenue, but service and food at this place tend to be slow and we did not see the steaks until a few ticks after 9pm!

The Portabella Fries arrived moments after the calamari since, apparently, these are programmed as appetizers, not a side dish.

I produced a bottle of 1994 Dunn Napa Valley Cabernet from my cellar bag and the server was unnecessarily embarrassed when the cork broke. He had the manager finish the task of opening the bottle. The fellow was not very wine-savvy, certainly, as he shook up the bottle more than he should have. I suspect he was unaware that a 12+ year old bottle might have sediment. Anyway, the manager opened the bottle and poured two glasses before asking if we wanted him to decant the wine into the decanter sitting on the table. Corkage is $20 and I didn't notice it charged on our bill. Perhaps this was gratis because I offered the manager a taste of the wine, which he graciously accepted, describing it as "a happy wine."
Anyway, the stemware for the red wine was quite acceptable, though nobody ever monitored our consumption or poured any wine for us.

The wine list has all sorts of opportunities for dropping some cash. A bottle of the current vintage of Jordan Cabernet is $95. Honig's Cabernet goes for $73, while Silver Oak's Alexander Valley bottling is $125. A magnum of Silver Oak is just $250. They do have Qupe Syrah for $40 and Ridge Geyserville for $66. Wines tend to be about double their retail prices.

As we were waiting so long between the starter and the steaks, the manager brought us a cone of shoestring potatoes...
He didn't want us to starve, apparently.

The steaks arrived, finally. A substantial piece of beef on a white plate, completely unadorned with anything else. It looked so lonely!

I ordered my rib-eye to be cooked to medium rare and it was...but the surface was scorched and had a bitter, "blackened" sort of character.

The spinach was sauted in butter, I'm guessing. It certainly wasn't a vegetable oil. Another cone of shoestring potatoes arrived and, shortly thereafter, a serving of Portabella Fries. Apparently they had difficultly in changing this from an appetizer offering to a side dish. They deducted one of the two servings from the bill, however.

At this stage, amidst the tremendously distracting flow of traffic (they seem to have an army of staff members scurrying about...a dinner table in the middle of Times Square in New York might have a less frenetic feel, actually), someone came to our table asking if we'd like some fresh-baked, warm bread. It seemed curious they didn't bring this at the start of our meal!

Before we'd lifted the humungous steak knife, our server was asking if we wanted to place a dessert order, since the Chocolate Lava cake "takes about 20 minutes to prepare." We did not order this, however.

So...the bill: two glasses of bubbly, three steaks (a filet mignon and two rib-eyes) and three 'sides' tallied to $175 before the tip.

In fairness, on one hand, the place just opened a few days prior to our dining there. It may take time to work some of the kinks out of the service and such. On the other hand, it was quite expensive and more than I'd be willing to pay a second time.

Reviewed by GW
November 2007

KOKKARI

200 Jackson Street
San Francisco

Tel: 415-981-0983

Lunch:
Mon-Fri 11:30-2:30

Dinner:
Mon-Thurs 5:30-10
Fri: 5:30-11
Sat: 5-11

Various nibbles, pita bread, dolmathes and olives.

A delicious grilled octopus "salad"

One of the best steaks you could hope to have!

We had a reservation at this temple of Greek cuisine on a Wednesday evening in San Francisco, a few blocks from the Embarcadero.

I found parking close by, as my friends booked an early table at this bustling, busy place. We were escorted to a booth in a corridor between the front dining room and a back dining area. As we walked through, I was impressed by the whole lamb being roasted in the fire place.

We perused the wine lists...there are two lists...a regular list of bottles and wines-by-the-glass, the other a list of reserve wines and large format bottles.

An assistant sommelier was, essentially, our waiter for the evening. He knew our little group was comprised of wine people. I asked him to suggest a nice Greek white wine and he spoke highly of a wine from the famous winemaker, Evangelos Gerovassiliou. We opted for this 2006 dry white made from an old variety called Malagousia ($55). This retails for about $21. I noticed some wines are approximately double the retail price and others are pegged a few bucks higher.
The list is lengthy and offers the full spectrum of wines. "Old World" selections range from Greek to Italian, German, French and Spanish. New World offerings feature famous estates as well as new, currently-fashionable brands. Most wines worth ordering start at around the $50 range. The reserve list features many famous names and you'd better plan on $200 or $300 on the low end here. A bottle of Penfolds' Grange 2002 is $550, while a 2002 Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet is $425. A 1994 Harlan Estate Cabernet is $2400, a shade more than the 2001 Chateau Petrus ($2350).

The stemware we had was quite good and elegant.

We started with a big platter with homemade pita bread and various "spreads" or "salatas". A couple of their dolmathes also adorned this plate. These were all nice as little "nibbles" while we perused the menu.

Our server recited a number of specials, including the spit-roasted, Napa Valley "spring lamb" we'd seen on the way in. As there was a bottle of the 2000 vintage of Chateau Margaux 'breathing' in a decanter on our table, we all opted for the spring lamb ($29).

I started with an appetizer of Octopodaki tou Yiorgou, a nice starter of grilled octopus with oregano, olive oil and lemon ($11.75). Someone else opted for the grilled calamari stuffed with feta ($8.50), while Merrick waited patiently for the spring lamb.

In the meantime, I brought out a bottle of a nice little ten year old Hermitage. This was lovely. The corkage fee, by the way, is $25.

The sommelier came by periodically to check on us and kept the glasses topped up.

Just as we were finishing our appetizers, we were informed they had "run out of the spring lamb." Actually, a large party in the back dining room requested the whole thing and they took care of them, leaving us to select something else at the last moment.
I could see my friend who was hosting was annoyed by this, but we each found something else to pair with the Margaux.
My two cohorts selected Arnisia Paidakia ($29.50), a plate featuring lamb chops with a lemon & oregano vinaigrette. I chose the Mosharisia Brizola ($39) which sounded Greek to me, but this was a charcoal-grilled rib eye steak.

They did a good job in pushing these orders to the front of the line and our main plates arrived in a fairly timely manner. And what a steak! That was a sensational piece of meat, cooked beautifully (medium rare). The braised greens accompanying it conflicted with the red wine, but I don't suspect the chef gives that much consideration.
My friends were busy dealing with their lamb and we had a lovely meal.

The steak was substantial (I think the fellow mentioned it's 20+ ounces with the bone in), so desserts were out of the question. A double espresso, though, hit the spot.

I didn't see the check, so you'll have to do the math for yourself.

I'm not especially knowledgeable in Greek cuisine, but the place does capture Mediterranean flavors nicely and we'll certainly make a point of returning to Kokkari.
I've been to their sister restaurant in Palo Alto, Evvia, but I think Kokkari offers a more relaxed and finer dining experience.

Reviewed by GW
October 2007

TOWN

716 Laurel Street
San Carlos
Tel: 650-595-3003

Lunch:
Mon-Fri 11:30-2:30
Dinner
Daily 5-10

Drunken Filet Tips

Clam Chowder

New York Steak
With Asparagus and Mushrooms

French Fries, Mushrooms, a New York steak and a bottle of Leoville-Barton.

My friend, The Old Bat, wanted to have a steak before her vacation in New England where she'll be over-dosing on lobster. So we booked a table on a Friday evening at this tony, clubby place in San Carlos.

Luckily we HAD reserved a table, since the place was packed. There were lots of people hovering around the bar, watching the sports channels on TV and all the tables seem filled. The place was buzzing!

We were escorted immediately to our table, so it was nice to see their reservation system works! The tables are all "booths", it seems.

The wine list features a list of cocktails and beers, as well as quite an assortment of wines. They have numerous "by the glass" selections, as well as a number of half bottle options.

We asked for two flutes of Piper Sonoma "Blanc de Noir" at $7 each. The server promptly brought two elegant stems of bubbly...very nice.

The wine list features many offerings from the big liquor distributors. Labels such as Hess, Chateau St. Jean, Montevina, Century Cellars, Coppola are prominently featured, but you can find selections such as Dehlinger Chardonnay ($85!), Frog's Leap Sauvignon Blanc ($27) and Seghesio Zinfandel ($35). For those impressed by stupid prices, a young, just-released bottle of Bryant 2004 Napa Cabernet is on the list for a cool $1000. Another wine, Merus, is noted as a "cult" wine (a sign of quality, I suppose) and this is a mere $340. Spottswoode's 2004 is "only" $175 a bottle. The Mer Soleil 2005 Chardonnay at $75 a bottle is noted as "perfection" on this wine list.

The menu is quite varied, with everything from hamburgers, meat loaf, ribs, salmon, scallops, roasted chicken and prime rib, in addition to a range of steak offerings. There is, basically, "something for everyone" on the menu.

The Old Bat started her beef-a-thon with a starter of Drunken Filet Tips ($9.75), while I opted for the New England-styled Clam Chowder ($6.95). The beef was nicely done and a bit sweet, while the chowder was creamy and had some smoky notes...

We waited about 30 to 40 minutes for our main plates. We'd each order a New York Steak ($29). I brought a bottle of 2004 Leoville Barton out of my cellar bag. The corkage fee is $15. The server took the nice stemware off the table and returned with larger, elegant red wine glasses.

The steaks finally arrived. Curiously, the plates are merely ambient temperature...they're not heated! The Old Bat had a bite of her steak and promptly summoned the waiter. "This is cold!" she wailed (she is, after all, an old bat, remember).
He took the plate back and returned a few minutes later...The steak had been 'heated,' but now the accompanying asparagus and mushrooms were 'cold.'
I found my "French Fries" to be reasonably hot...these are prepped in both sugar and salted water, so they have a particular taste to them when fried. The mushrooms were warm and nicely flavorful for "champignons."

The steaks were good quality beef, to be sure. But each was salted to a fare-thee-well. Having rather salty fries and a well-salted piece of beef made for a lot of water drinking!

We did not order dessert, having had our appetites satisfied by 14 ounces of salty beef...

The waiter graciously deducted the corkage fee and The Old Bat's steak from the bill, so the check tallied to a mere $64 before the tip.

I'd certainly go back to Town, but knowing now to ask for them to "hold the salt" on the beef.

Reviewed September 2007
GW