Ricky's

Honestly, I haven't been to Ricky's since my age was in single digits. No joke! After all, why would I? I never really had that much of an impression about the food anyways. However, today was the day to return and try out their breakfast. In terms of their other food, I haven't really heard great things, although their breakfast gets some positive remarks. So for comparison purposes, we made it over to the Scottsdale Ricky's to investigate. You know what the good thing about chain restaurants is? Predictability. I swear the decor has not changed very much since I last visited. Also, you know it's a family restaurant when there are no servers prancing around in barely-there outfits. In fact, our server was probably pushing 70. No matter, she was sweet as honey and took care of us.

Perusing the menu, I quickly notice that most items are roughly around the $10.00 mark. That's not bad. I decided to get the Eggs Benedict and to my disappointment, the eggs were cooked in a mold. Despite the perfectly domed shape, the egg whites and yolk were a bit overcooked. I did ask for medium; but it was more like well-done. The Hollandaise sauce was a bit bland, neither exhibiting tart or buttery qualities. There was ham rather than Canadian back bacon which was another disappointment. At this point, you might thing I hated my breakfast; but that really wasn't the case. I was a bit indifferent since it wasn't disgusting; yet it wasn't great either. Other dishes included 2 omelets. Big German Guy had the Portobello Mushroom & 3 Cheese Omelet. Overloaded with portobello and button mushrooms, the omelet was very cheesy. Definitely a hearty breakfast. Not bad; however the eggs looked a bit overdone.

Waffle Guy had The Works Omelet which consisted of Ham, Portobello and button mushrooms, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions and 3 cheeses, topped with a slice of bacon. As you can see in the picture, they were not shy about loading up on the filling and toppings. You might also notice that the egg is overdone here too. I'm sure some people like their omelets this way; but I like my eggs fluffy, not crunchy. Also, I wasn't a big fan of the hash browns. It's probably due to a personal bias against the shoestring type; but they were a not crispy on the outside and too soft on the inside. If we look at the last picture, you can see that the scrambled eggs resembled spatzle. Not a good thing.

The breakfast wasn't horrible by any stretch of the imagination. Yet, it wasn't that great either. Although, we did enjoy the friendly service and the homey atmosphere. Value-wise, there is not much to complain about. The prices and portion size were very reasonable. Mind you, if you are near Amelia in New West, you can get an equally good breakfast for spare change.

The Good:
- Reasonable prices
- Friendly service
- Predictable

The Bad:
- Average food
- Interior needs an update

Deer Garden

So after an exhaustive 6-day non-stop eating adventure, you'd think the last thing I would do is go out to eat. You see there, you got it all wrong. That is exactly what I was going to do! Shortly after being picked up from the airport and hugging everyone in my family, we headed out for dinner. We ended up at Deer Garden in Coquitlam. When we still lived in Coquitlam, this was one of the few places where you could get decent Chinese food consistently. Sure, there is Kirin; but it's pricey and inconsistent. There's Poco Ocean; but you have to guess when they are open and they have all of 10 tables. And yes, there is Hon's; but please don't get me started... One thing you'll find at Deer Garden is that there are never enough parking spots and there is usually a lineup. Furthermore, you'll find that there are not nearly enough staff for how busy it gets here. In fact, there really wasn't anyone greeting at the front. That would probably explain the server who acknowledged people lining up with a bit of indifference and never came back to take parties to their tables. Everyone was a bit confounded by it. Do we seat ourselves???

When we finally sat down, we went for their meal for 4 which includes soup, rice, choice of 4 dishes and dessert. The 2 most popular dishes here are Free Range Chicken and Malaysian Style Curry Brisket. Very similar to Mui Garden. I personally thought that the chicken is better than Mui Garden. It seemed meatier and was quite tender, which is surprising since free range chicken can be a bit chewy. The accompanying grated ginger added the necessary bite to the modestly seasoned chicken. For those who are unfamiliar to "Chinese-style" Malaysian curry, it is a smooth concoction consisting of coconut milk and yellow curry. Not really all that spicy, it's quite mild and creamy. The one here tastes more robust than the mild one at Mui Garden; however, the meat was not really all that tender. Furthermore, I think they need to have a talk with the prep guy. There were pieces of brisket in there that were so huge, a knife and fork was needed.

We had a love/hate relationship with the Satay Beef with Vermicelli Hot Pot. We loved the bountiful amount of tender beef slices. We hated that the vermicelli was more limp than a 80-year old who just ran out of viagra. We tried picking it up with chopsticks, a fork and a spoon. All we got were clumps of dissolved vermicelli. Not good. Thank goodness, everything looked "up" when we got the Seafood and Tofu Hot Pot. There were large shrimp, scallops and squid resting on a bed of soft tofu. This dish was delicately seasoned and would've went well with some hot sauce. Another pretty solid meal at Deer Garden. Considering where it is located, there is not much to choose from. Despite the indifferent service, it is more than acceptable Chinese food, especially the free-range chicken and curry brisket.

The Good:
- Decent portions
- Food ain't bad
- Prices are reasonable

The Bad:
- Service is both lacking and indifferent
- Lineups
- Not enough parking

Millbrae Pancake House

With my flight back to Vancouver scheduled for 1:09pm today, there was enough time to squeeze one last meal. Originally, I was planning on doing some Dim Sum in Millbrae at Zen Pennisula since I've been there before and it was also recommended by Foodnut. However, it wasn't going to be open until 11:00am. I'm a fast eater; but that would've been tight for me to make my flight. Yes, even some things take precedent over food! Finally, after some research on Urbanspoon and Yelp, Cable Car Guy and I figured that the Millbrae Pancake House was my best option. It is close to SFO and apparently it's pretty darn good. Too bad CCR couldn't join AZee and I today for breakfast since he had to work. He was neither a Federal employee or worked at a bank to enjoy the day off on Veteran's Day.

As mentioned on the online reviews, there was a wait for a table. Fortunately it was only a wait of 5 minutes. I ended up ordering the Ham & Cheese Omelet with a side of Swedish Pancakes. These pancakes are a bit similar to Dutch Pannekoeks. Enhancing them is a good helping of Lingonberry Butter. Not as filling as a regular pancake, these ones were easy to eat and the sweet lingonberry combined with the goodness of butter was the icing on the cake (so to speak). My omelet was packed with with ham and cheese. I was barely able to finish it. AZee and I had differing opinions on the hash browns. She likes the crispy shoestring type you'd find at IHOP, while I personally liked the ones here. It resembled more of a pan fried potato cake than hash browns. With a crunchy exterior and an almost mash potato interior, these were good in my books. A truly satisfying breakfast before my flight for a reasonable price.

The Good:
- Reasonable prices
- Good portions
- Great Swedish pancakes

The Bad:
- Pretty busy, lineups are common (esp. on weekends)
- Pretty noisy (if you care about that)

Bi-Rite

Even since Sal knew I was coming down for a visit, she has been raving about Bi-Rite. At first, it sounded like a pharmacy and it left me wondering why she would be so excited about prescription drugs. Well... Maybe I don't know her as well as I thought I did! In actuality, Bi-Rite is a small ice cream shop just down the block from Tartine. After our dinner at Chapeau! tonight, Sal had planned that we would all visit Bi-Rite. She's almost sounding a bit like me, as in "coercing" people in visiting a place of her choosing. Rice-a-Ronnie had no choice since Sal was giving her a lift. Cable Car Guy and AZee was my ride and I had promised to go to Bi-Rite. Thus, we all had to go!

Finding parking was quite the exercise. Round and around we went without a space in sight. Finally we spotted one and CCR did a nice U-turn to snag the space. While walking up the block, we noticed that Sal was attempting to park in a spot. Watching her try to park was equally amusing and painful. Even a bystander couldn't take it anymore and yelled out some instructions. Further perpetuating the Asian stereotype, she finally finished parking after 8 minutes. Fortunately for us, it was a cool night and there was no lineup at Bi-Rite. Apparently, when it's warm, you'd be waiting for quite awhile.

Sal picked a very peculiarly flavour - Honey Lavender. She kept swearing that it was the best flavour in the entire world! Uh, we'll see about that! One taste and... pitooey... No thanks! Tasted like soap to me. And believe me, I've tasted soap. Not intentionally; but I have. Me not likey. That goes the same for CCR, AZee and Rice-a-Ronnie. However, I did like the Salted Caramel as seen in the picture. The salt only helped heighten the sweet creamy caramel. Honey Lavender aside, the ice cream here was creamy and had much more flavour than Mitchell's. I liked the consistency of the ice cream where it was creamy without being thick. Pretty good ice cream except for the soap.

The Good:
- Interesting flavours
- Nice and creamy
- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:
- Interesting flavours
- Small store - you pay, get ice cream and leave

Chapeau!

After consultation with Foodnut, Bay Area's top food blogger, I made a reservation at Chapeau! out on Clement street. Honestly, I've never heard of the place and it really doesn't show up on the radar for most out-of-towners. Apparently, all my cousins have heard and dined at this place before. They had nothing but good things to say about it. Originally, it was only going to be Sal and myself; but Cable Car Guy, AZee and Rice-O-Ronnie were able to join us as well. Awesome, the more, the merrier... and more pictures! Residing at the old location of Clementine, Chapeau! was still in the process of renovations. That would
probably explain the bare walls and modern-on-traditional light fixtures. Sal was obsessed with the walls, constantly complaining that there should be wallpaper. It really didn't bother me, I was more interested with the food.

We had an early reservation for 5:45pm and the place was packed during this time. The reason? Between 5:00pm - 6:00pm, there is an early bird special consisting of 3 courses for $28.00. A pretty good deal in my books. I decided to order off the menu because I wasn't really in the mood for dessert. Actually, Sal was planning on taking us to Bi-Rite afterwards, so my "no dessert" idea was more strategic than anything. Prior to our appetizers, we were treated to complimentary amuse bouche in the form of a Creamy Corn Soup. Cable Car Guy was running late and they actually brought him his soup when he arrived. Moreover, they encouraged us to order for him before the 6:00 cutoff time for the early bird special. We liked how they took care of everyone, even the one that wasn't even present.

I got the PEI Mussels Soup as my starter and I was pleasantly surprised at how many fresh, plump mussels rested in the aromatic broth with a slight hint of heat. The addition of creme fraiche was a nice touch as it gave the soup some body. Cable Car Guy went for a classic - Escargot de Bourgogne in Butter-Parsley & Garlic Sauce. It was a bit hard to take a picture of it since each escargot were covered with plenty of butter and parsley. However, that made for some good eating, especially dipping the bread in the remaining sauce. For my entree, I had the Skate Wing in Brown Butter. It was served with fingerling potatoes and finished with a Grenobloise sauce. The skate was moist with a slightly crispy exterior. It was slightly on the overcooked side; but not terribly so. The capers, shallots and lemon juice (?) added both aromatics and tang.

Sal picked my 2nd choice if I hadn't chosen the skate wing. It was the Cassoulet de Toulouse which is essentially a bean stew with a duck leg (or duck confit) and a lamb sausage. Definitely rich and robust, the dish was quite filling. I tried the duck and it was tender and full of flavour without being salty. Sal could only finish 1/3 of it and instructed the assistant waiter to pack it up. We're not sure what got lost in translation; but he ended up dumping the rest of the dish. More on that later... Both AZee and Rice-a-Ronnie had the Louisiana Gulf Wild Flounder which was served with mashed potatoes, braised leeks and roasted tomatoes. The dish was finished off with a mussels-saffron sauce. I also got to sample this dish and the flounder was cooked perfectly. Moist, tender and only flavoured by the sauce, this was a simple; yet well executed dish. Rice-a-Ronnie didn't care for the mussels in the sauce and on the dish. I would tend to agree with that since the mussels could detract from the delicate flavour of the fish. For me, I love mussels, so it
was a non-issue.

For dessert, Cable Car Guy went for the Profiterolles. These chocolate-covered cream puffs were decadent; yet light at the same time. Don't ask me why that is, it just tasted that way. Not a good dish for someone who is on a diet. Now if you were, Sal chose a very light dessert in the form of a Basil Napoleon with Maui Pineapple, Manilla Mango, Banana, Kiwi & Strawberries with
Champagne-Citrus Pastry Cream. Similar to a mini fruit salad, this was both refreshing and very light. Now on the other hand, AZee went all out
and got the French Toast. Yes, French toast in a French restaurant, go figure... It was finished with a rich caramel sauce with hazelnut ice cream. I normally do not go OMFG over French toast; but I will here. Pure buttery, sweet and slightly crispy heaven which would blow any calorie restrictions.

Chef and owner Philippe Gardelle greets and welcomes every guest sometime during their meal. He is a gracious host and shows his appreciation for their patronage. In fact, when he found out that Sal lost her leftovers, he marched straight into the kitchen and made up a partial portion for her to take home. I really enjoyed my dinner at Chapeau! from the food to the service. Combine this with reasonable prices, especially with the early bird, you really can't go wrong here.

The Good:
- Great value
- Well-executed dishes
- Philippe Gardelle is a gracious host

The Bad:
- Although bigger than the old location, it's still pretty small

Pho Garden

I gotta say, I really love Pho. The combination of slow-cooked beef broth, rice noodles and an abundance of meat really hits the spot, especially in colder weather. Honestly, I could probably eat more than one bowl at a time, including the soup! But I need to be careful what I wish for. Before my visit to San Francisco, I had heard about this place that had a really big bowl of Pho for $22.00. When I say big, it's a massive understatement. Imagine 2lbs of noodles, 2lbs of meat and soup, all in a really honking huge bowl which is specifically made for Pho Garden. The challenge is that if you could finish it within 1 hour, it's on the house. I'm not trying to play hero here, there is no bleeping way I could finish such a monstrosity. For me, it's more of the novelty than anything. It's a food adventure of epic proportions.

Of course, I had just finished up eating at Sol Food out in San Rafael; thus I wasn't really in the mood for more eats. In fact, I'd already been to Bakesale Betty and Cheeseboard Pizza! However, I'm dedicated to my craft and this was the only time I could squeeze in the massive bowl of Pho. Sal said she would only watch me eat the Pho. She was in no mood for more eating, especially since we had a reservation for Chapeau! in less than 3 hours. Before it even began, I told the server that I gave up because there is no way I'd be able to eat 4lbs+ of food, even on a good day. She seemed a bit taken aback and it didn't seem to register with her. Finally, I told Sal to grab a bowl so she could try some of the Pho. However, this is not really allowed because it's suppose to be for one person only, even if you do not intend to finish it. Think of it. A bowl of Pho that could feed a family of 4 or more, that costs only $22.00. It's actually a pretty good value. You can see why they don't really want you to share.

Even though I was not in the least hungry, the Chinese in me took over and I finished all the meat. I ate some of the noodles and drank some of the broth. Honestly, the Pho was not bad contrary to other reviews I've read. Of course I've had better; but it was more than acceptable. The meats were tender and the broth was not overly salty. The only complaint is that the noodles were a bit soft. In terms of the Pho of Fame, I'm not sure how someone could finish the whole bowl. They must've been real hungry!

The Good:
- It's clean
- The food ain't bad (contrary to other reviews)
- A $22.00 bowl of Pho!

The Bad:
- There is indeed better Pho elsewhere

Sol Food

When I first mentioned to Sal I wanted to try Sol Food out in San Rafael, she paused briefly. Since she lives in Fremont, it's not exactly a neighbourhood spot for her. I tried to be as courteous as possible by giving her an out. If she didn't want to head out there, we could've easily gone somewhere else. But I'll give it to her, she's a good sport because that's where we headed after Cheeseboard Pizza. However, the one concession I had to make was to BART it from the Dublin/Pleasanton station over to Castro Valley where she would pick me up. A small price to pay for many eats today! With GPS set and me at the wheel, we set off for San Rafael. Before we knew it, we were there. Apparently, it wasn't as far as we thought it would be. So before it even hit 11:00am, we were onto meal #3!

At the very least, this meal was going to be far and away the most unique of the bunch. Being a Puerto Rican restaurant, I was looking forward to trying their something a bit different. The Camarones Criollos caught my eye. It's a dish comprising of prawns sauteed in a tomato sauce with garlic and onions. It's served on white rice and comes with a spring salad, avocado quarter, Toston Con Mojo and Marduro. Despite what you see in the picture, the prawns are not terribly overcooked. Yes, they are cooked longer than what you'd find in Chinese cuisine; but they were still very good. To me, the texture resembled that of cooked lobster. The tomato sauce itself was not overwhelming with just enough garlic and onion flavour; thus I could still taste the sweet prawn. Although, I did add some hot sauce and it made it all the more better.

I'm not the biggest fan of Tostones Con Mojo (fried green plantain smashed and fried again) since I find it dry and flavourless, so I'm a bit biased. This one was pretty much consistent with the ones I've had before. Again, with a bit of hot sauce, it made it better. However, I did like the Marduro (fried sweet yellow plantain) since it resembled a fried banana. Sal had the Mofongo, which is fried green plantain mashed up with olive oil and garlic. Naturally, I wasn't a big fan of it; but Sal seemed to enjoy it. It was a bit sweet and quite dense, she could only eat one half.

Overall, a pretty satisfying meal which is a bit out of the ordinary. I thought the prices were quite reasonable for the amount of food we got. There are not a lot of places to eat here. In fact, there are only 3 real tables outside. 2 of which are on the sidewalk. Most of it is bar seating. You might want to take it to go. So was it worth the drive out here? We thought it was since the food was pretty good, the ambiance was sorta neat and we had a good time walking around looking at all the shops in the neighbourhood.

The Good:
- Nice selection of dishes
- Good portions
- Authentic

The Bad:
- Not a lot of seating