Mary "snarkle face" V.'s Profile

i re-visited and am upgrading my review to 4 stars here. they have expanded and everything seems less pricey. i got a flat (6 pints) of strawberries for $7. the vendor told me "pesticide free" but they were't certified organic, so i hope he wasn't yanking my chain 'cause that's a helluva price. also, peaches for $2.50/lb, much cheaper than the $3.99/lb at whole paycheck-i-mean-foods. prather ranch there now; they also sell ground raw dog food meat (has organ meats ground into it) for $5/lb. same wonderful looking pastries, olive oils, nuts, etc. it's gotten crowded and i love running into folks i know from the hood shopping for good healthy food. also, cute vendors!

we live in the neighborhood and are quite excited to see some fancy mexican food (aside from nopalito) round these parts. don't get me wrong, i love a down home taqueria too, but marino has brunch and lunch specials and seems a bit upscale. it's somewhat pricey but very good. i've sampled the ceviche, taquitos, a bite of rice and beans, and the guac and salsas, which are all very good. haven't eaten in yet, just take-out, so not sure about service, but i am really psyched to come back for brunch. they are heavy on the seafood dishes obviously and i'd like to try some of the camerones too. not really nutritionist approved due to all the fried food and mexican kinda, well, sits with you. but i like and will return.

let's just say that if you may have hypothetically had a rat trapped in your bedroom while you were sleeping, and its clawing/scurrying woke you up and you FREAKED THE F out and had to get rid of it but had no idea how, these are fine folks to call. minus one star for quite pricey, but efficient. let's just leave it at that.

NUTRITIONIST APPROVED!
have been meeting my biz partner here lately for lunch meetings. it's a spacious, nice, clean establishment w outdoor seating right on polk and plenty of room to spread out and work. they have a good salad selection - beets & goat cheese; romaine, egg, avocado; and cobb salad. each salad is around $8 or $9. if you add some chicken breast for $4 extra (!), that's a $14 salad, which is kinda ridic, no? my partner says the coffee is excellent and they have a tea selection too. b-fast menu (looks healthy enough) served all day and sandwiches too. i think some of it may be organic (free range eggs at least), but docking a star or 2 for a $14 salad. it better be flecked with gold or something for that price.

NUTRITIONIST APPROVED! wow, this was great for lunch. my biz partner and i had some biz in the neighborhood and popped in here for lunch. they offer great lunch specials - you get soup (hot and sour or miso, miso recommended) + your entree and brown or white rice (brown rice, plz). I had chicken and shrimp curry with veggies. veggies very fresh and crisp, everything = excellent quality! the entrees are all teeming with fresh veggies (eggplant, asparagus, broccoli, etc) and the protein is good quality too. my partner had sauteed sole + scallops with bok choy, also v good lotsa veggies. plus, CHEAP. lotsa food for around $7 lunch specials. we both took home another full meal's worth - it as about a 2 portion size. cute space, also. was crowded, so obvs the word is out, yum!

whatevs. yes a lot of veg options and meatless stuffs. the dim sum is way sub-par, esp the veggie dumpling. lo mein was overly sauced with weird soy-based slightly sweet sauce. sweet & sour chicken was a color not found in nature and consisted mainly of fried nuggets lacking in meat. on the plus, food came out super fast. would eat there again if the apocalypse came and it was only remaining food in SF.

i freaking love going to wine country. but when we can't make it out of the city, arlequin is the next best thing!! for $14ish, you can taste around 8 wines from all different regions. they have an awesome selection. v friendly staff. buy a bottle and take it out back to the cute patio. go next door and eat. what more could you ask for?

we've stayed here twice, and i really like this property and their cottages. the first time, the cottage we stayed in was huge - like a large-sized one bedroom (by SF standards anyway) with a den, long hallway, big kitchen, back bedroom, bathroom with a tub, patio, etc. the pool and the hot tub are awesome. the place looks like a remodeled military housing base or something - several presidio-looking little houses spread about the property. anyhow, on the second visit, we paid close to the same amount for about half the space. it was still a really nice cottage but very small for $200. breakfast (muffins, fruit) included. not dog friendly (ours is a service dog, so she came anyway and they accommodated). very quiet and pretty, well manicured grounds. friendly staff.

in the time my co-worker and i have been lunching at this spot, it has been turkish, indian buffet that started off awesome and fizzled dramatically, and now, this place. dropped in for lunch today. expansive menu with inexpensive options. most veg dishes are around $4-5. we got a lunch special: chicken, lamb, or daal with rice and saag. this was a huge double portion and was delicious. a little greasy maybe, but i had trouble stopping and am still full like 8 hours later. saag was very flavorful, saffron rice was a huge portion and chicken was delicious. my dining mate enjoyed her veg daal option very much. bill for 2 for what amounted to 4 portions of food = $14 before tip. a deal. many menu options can be made dairy-free. awesome. i'm high maintenance like that. my one complaint is no buffet. that's what we like for lunch. i hope this place keeps it up and doesn't flail like its predecessors.

NUTRITIONIST APPROVED! this is a real treat. alice waters is, of course, a legend in sustainable and seasonal and local and a master at making simple food delicious. we went on a monday for lunch in the cafe. prices very reasonable! we started with an avocado/citrus/beet salad and this was my favorite item by far. it was perfection: beets and orange and grapefruit (i think) with the most delicious avocados salted and covered in cracked pepper, with a simple olive oil citrus dressing. $8! i also had halibut tartare in romaine hearts. they were out of the halibut entree, which i totally would have ordered. i chose pork instead (maybe $16ish?), served sliced in medallions with black beans and cabbage slaw. it was good but i wish i'd had the chicken: served with spinach and peas, it looked delish. had rhubarb compote with ice cream and mexican wedding cookies for dessert. service was fine, maybe slightly lacking. but when too much time elapsed between apps and entrees, they brought us olives to munch on. an ok touch. even the iced tea was good: green tea infused with citrus and gingko. i really need to come back for dinner. the space is just gorgeous and feels very berkeley (which, under other circumstances, is not a selling point for me). would be great for celebrations and special events.