Kristine d.'s Profile

I've been going to this place since I was a little girl, so I'm going to preface this review by saying that it may be tainted with years of childhood memories.

That being said, I really like this place! They have the best ham and cheese croissants I've ever had (I still don't really know what kind of cheese they use, but it's so much better than the unfortunate ham and cream cheese/cheese Wiz croissants I've had in the past), and they have a fairly large selection of freshly baked donuts and drinks. Sure, they're not going to be the best gourmet donuts you've ever had, but Jax is a great place to make a quick stop at before you jump on the 210 in the morning.

I've been coming to Toro a long, long time, way before they even moved into their hip, new location right off the 10 freeway. And let me tell you, in all the years I've been going to Toro, not once have I been disappointed with the quality of the food or service I've received. Not once!

I don't even know how to begin talking about Toro. I guess I'll start with the last dinner I had there, which was last night. I normally get the seared pepper salmon nigiri and baked orange (which I can only describe by copy and pasting the explanation from their menu "Diablo mix wrapped with salmon and topped with avocado and dynamite sauce. Torch and seared and finished with eel sauce"), as well as a side of rice to have with the orange (it's a bit too spicy for me without it). The nigiri always has thick, generous slices of fish, and everything tastes incredibly fresh, as if they have a tank of live salmon, tuna, and etc. at their disposal in the kitchen.

My dinner companions shared the kobe beef sliders, pepper salmon roll, and the super diablo roll, and of course, none of it disappointed. I think my favorite thing about the sushi at Toro is that it comes topped with the most delicious toppers and sauces: the eel sauce, wasabi-cream sauce, garlic-onion vinaigrette, crispy red onions and garlic chips all come to mind. Not mention, the kobe beef sliders came with a side of wasabi ranch sauce that was both inventive and well-balanced -- it was neither overwhelmingly ranch or wasabi-tasting and tasted delicious with the kobe sliders.

Some other dishes I've really enjoyed at Toro include the chicken katsu (really good for fussy kids who aren't down with raw fish) and the moun-10 roll. One of the sushi chefs, Merlin, has also made my sister and I a few speciality rolls that were so unbelievable, it's almost a travesty they're not on the menu. That's another thing amazing thing about Toro that you can't find at other sushi restaurants: the wait staff and sushi chefs get to know you on such a personal level, they start to remember your food  preferences and will call you by name. Not only that, but if you go enough on certain days, you may find yourself getting close to other regular customers as well. Pretty soon you'll find yourself best friends with the owner, Al, and you'll wonder what life was like before Toro. Seriously. Toro also hosts karaoke on Thursdays, which is great fun to both watch and participate in.

All in all, Toro is not only my favorite restaurant in the area, it's also one of my favorite restaurants in general.

I've only had brunch at Venus so I can't comment on their dinner or anything, but wow, I've had brunch at quite a few of the more popular brunch places in Berkeley, and Venus by far takes the cake.

The first time I went I ordered the 2x2x2 (two scrambled eggs, two slices of french toast, two slices of bacon), which although tasted fresh and delicious, was a bit underwhelming. Though you can chalk that up to me being stupidly unadventurous, so I decided to give Venus another try last Saturday with my boyfriend.

Thank God for Spring Break, because we ended up not having to wait more than a couple of minutes to get a table (the last time I came it took my two friends and I almost an hour to be seated). Our waiter was really friendly and knowledgeable, and even when a line started to form outside, I never felt that he was rushing us to get out the door.

I ended up getting the black forest omelet (Niman Ranch ham, gruyere, spinach, scallions, and tomatoes stuffed within perfectly cooked eggs) which exploded with flavor and was overall very satisfying. My boyfriend got the Venus benedict with lox and seemed to be especially pleased with his decision. I'm not really a fan of poached eggs (I usually only have my eggs scrambled), but I had a bite of his benedict and was absolutely blown away. The combination of the egg, tomato, lox, avocado, and the homemade Hollandaise sauce was  incredibly delicious, and the English muffin was the perfect balance to all of the flavors piled on top of it. Definitely one of the best brunches I've had in Berkeley.

However, this review would not be complete if I didn't give a quick shout out to the biscuit that came with my omelet, because that biscuit was to DIE for. Seriously. It was fluffy, but not too fluffy, and tasted incredible with a little butter and the homemade jam that came with it (perhaps it was boysenberry jam?). I ended up enjoying it so much that after we finished our meal, I just had to order another one. Mmm, I'm salivating just thinking about it.

Venus is definitely a great go-to spot for brunch, as long as you're willing to suffer the (typically) hour wait outside.

I can't believe this gem of a cookie shop is located in Rancho, a place which I have never associated with first-rate desserteries. In fact, my over-familiarity with my hometown almost caused me to completely pass Rojus on the street, as it's nestled into a predominantly business-y kind of mini shopping center.

When I walked in, I was greeted very warmly by who I can only assume was one of the owners. I ended up buying three chocolate chip cookies, three snickerdoodles, and one oatmeal chocolate chip cookie (at only 99 cents a cookie, it was hard to not buy more than that). Before I bit into the oatmeal chocoloate chip cookie I wondered, will this cookie disappoint me? Will it live up to all the delicious cookies I've had from Milk in LA or Mrs. Munchies in Berkeley?

Let me tell you, that cookie did not disappoint. In fact, that cookie definitely outdid all of the other cookies that have made their way into my mouth. It was moist and delicious, which is no easy feat for cookies with oatmeal, as I've found most oatmeal cookies to be a little on the dry side. The center of the cookie was incredibly soft, but the edges had just the right amount of crispiness so it didn't taste undercooked. The chocolate chip and snickerdoodle cookies were also equally as impressive.

Oh, and also, Rojus has a really cool deal where you can create your own batch of freshly baked cookies for just $14.99/dozen. Basically, you go in, choose your base flavor (Vanilla, Chocolate, Peanut Butter, or Oatmeal) and then up to 3 different toppings (which are too numerous for me to just list here), wait just 30 minutes, and voila! You have your won custom batch of delicious Rojus cookies.

Man, after writing this review, I've decided that I definitely need to go back and stock up on cookies before I go back to school in NorCal in a week.