Sameer p.'s Profile

Had a spectacular bistro lunch today at Pastis. My wife had the burger and I had mussels and frites.

The burger is hands down the best burger in Palo Alto now and Ive pretty much tried them all. The balance of fat and meat is perfect - not greasy but lots of juice. We got it cooked medium which was cooked all the way through but only so much that it stays moist.

The muscles had all the classic tastes to it - garlic, white wine etc but I was surprised how well the Kalamata Olives and Cured Artichokes go with the broth. My wife couldn't keep her hands out of my plate. And whilst Joanie's had good fries, they've kicked it up a few notches here.

Malek and Max run a tight ship over there. I highly recommend it and cant wait to taste some of the bistro dinner fare they have on the menu.

A great business lunch spot in the day and a great dinner menu as well.

Ive been going to Dittmers every Saturday morning (and save maybe 3-4 in a year when I'm traveling, I mean *every*) for a few years now with my son since he was a few months old.

Ill get into the food in a second but Im really at a loss with all these comments about the service. 90% of the staff knows me and my son by name and vice versa. They rush to get my son a sausage when he enters or to send a sample my way if they think I would like it without me even asking.

I've had regular discussions with Mark, Miguel, Pedro, John on how to cook a new cut of meat that I might buy or a new twist to an old recipe that they experimented with that was a success. So really, it could be that  they were really busy but some of the nicest people I know or have ever been served by work there.

On to the meats - not much for me to add. Its simply the best stuff. Some of the sausage highlights for me are the Hanover Wurst, the Creole Smoked Sausage, Weisswurst and the Landjäger. As far as the sandwich meats go, in terms of  the basics I can't bring myself to eat roast beef from anywhere else.It tastes like real meat and stands up to a good horseradish cream like no other roast beef. Other favorites of mine are the copa, german beef salami and the Westphalian ham.

Joanies has been our home kitchen, away from home. My wife and I have been going there for about 7 years now. I give it 5 stars not only for the food and people but for its consistency. Consistency is something that's becoming a rare find when dining out but the fact that the staff there has been around for ever pretty much guarantees that if you liked something once, you'll always like it and if you didn't, well its going to taste the same the next time you order it. My standard breakfast orders always come out how I remember it to be the last time I went. Huge points in my book.

Some of our favorites: pretty much anything on the menu for breakfast, killer burgers and for dinner order the mussels, and the lobster ravioli.

Nicest people too. Max and Susan are just awesome.

My wife, son and I went to Bijou for lunch on a weekend and had a really good meal. We were with another couple and decided to order a bunch of small plates to share the food and get a sense of what Bijou had to offer.
The lamb chops and crab salad in particular were awesome and my son loved the gourmet mac and cheese.

Folks here seem to complain about the portion sizes. You need to go to this restaurant with the mindset that your there to experience the creativity of the chef first. The portions are no different from a tapas restaurant and I don't believe Bijou is trying to compete on quality or quantity with other Hayward restaurants. They are trying to bring something new to Hayward that you would experience only in SF. So if you left with your palate satisfied, its mission accomplished.