Clarissa "Too Many Interests" R.'s Profile

Clean, fairly large, and easy to get around. The parking in the back is, as someone noted, less crazed.

Smaller selection of Japanese and Korean items than my local 99 Ranch Market or Lion Market. Japanese items are overpriced, but they don't have much competition for Japanese stuff in this area (Seafood City carries very little). Japanese items are spread out throughout the store, so do look in more than one place if that's what you want.

There's a mini Sheng Kee bakery inside, and a hot deli.

Steam table lunch combo is $7.50, which is a lot more than my local place, too. It seems fresh, though. The dim sum is a good price at 3 pieces for $2.30 ($2.50 with tax), but it wasn't very fresh (one item was dry on the bottom and falling-apart gooey wet on top, though the filling was good). Both the steam table and the dim sum items are completely unlabeled in either Chinese or English, which I think is a big drawback. I can't eat shrimp and it can be hard to tell with dim sum items if there's no label.

Bubble tea is $3 now; didn't seem worth it for the mix-based kind when I can get handmade bubble tea elsewhere for a similar or better price. In this area, you don't have many choices, though.

I got some Pearl soymilk for $1.61. Pretty good! Check the sales.

(And other reviewers: Don't blame the STORE because you bought something in ignorance and didn't like it. Good grief.)

Friendly enough, but their hours are so inconvenient that I can never go in when they're open. Isn't Saturday (and Sunday) when people usually travel? Why are they closed then? When I'm working is the last time that I need them!

The tow trucks and repair guys in the local area have been fine (except that one time in Hayward, but that probably wasn't his fault).

Four stars for food (very good!), and a fifth star for excellent, accommodating service.

Creative, charming, fresh, and tasty! This place admittedly gets an extra star because it doesn't have enough competition in Fremont (it has a few weak spots in ambience and execution), but it's a good place regardless. It looks like a generic Sysco sandwich place that you might find in any "mixed-use development." It's not! Most of the items on their menu are unique. They have some unusual flavor combinations, some interesting sides like beans (not just potato chips or fries), and good sizes. Even people who don't like sandwiches--like me--will be won over.

They also appear to have a really nice high-quality hot chocolate (not out of a machine or a packet), but i haven't tried it yet.

In addition, the ginger creme brulee TASTES LIKE GINGER. It is delicious.  Go in and be surprised! That reminds me, I think my husband owes me an order of it ...  oh ho ho ho!

P. S. Vegetarian friendly! There are a couple of interesting choices on the menu.

I love offbeat places with good food. This place qualifies on both counts!

Keep in mind that I don't know anything about Philly cheese steaks. I'm going to count that as a plus, here, because it means I can just judge it on how it tasted.

I never would have gone in if not for Yelp. The signs are offputting. But it's worth zipping around back and making your way inside for some delicious, tender meat piled up on a nicely toasted hoagie roll, with mushrooms (me) or peppers, more peppers, and red pepper flakes (him). Tasty!

We also tried the "tempura onions." At first we were disappointed because they looked like onion rings and there weren't many, but then! Not only were they PIPING hot, but they were so clearly freshly made--a lot of local places use frozen Sysco specials. There was a lot of just-sweet-enough, just-crunchy-enough onion, and the batter was thin and delicate, truly more like a tempura rather than a regular onion ring. A win! It's only about 9 rings for your $3, but other places charge about $5 for maybe 12-15, so it probably evens out.

We had fun trying the hot sauces out on the bar and looking at the tacky ones on the wall. I found a chipotle and habañero sauce that was really nice with my mushroom hoagy steak.

Service was really cheerful and prompt. I didn't find the "order at the table, pay at the register" thing offputting. It's not exactly a white tablecloth place.

Negatives: $4 for one trip to the small salad bar is a bit much, I think, and the decor is fading...Also, the slice of (American) cheese you get doesn't cover enough of the sandwich. I'll ask for another slice or upgrade to Provolone next time, and we'll see how they handle substitutions.

And thanks to the people who mentioned it was Korean-run: my husband despises how Americans cook beef, but when I told him Koreans were in charge, he was off the couch. I can't speak to any individual Korean's beef-cooking skills (any more than I can be assumed to even know how to make sauerkraut or Cornish pasty), but Korean cuisine has delicious, tender, wonderful beef covered. And sure enough, the beef tasted pretty good! I rarely eat it, so when I do, I want it to taste good.

That goes for the whole meal, actually: I don't eat junk food often. And this is junk food for sure, but it's delicious and satisfying. Once every couple of years I somehow wind up buying something from Wendy's or Burger King or something, and it's always disappointing and icky. I'd rather spend my money and calorie count on something tasty.

The menu includes fish and chips (and yes! there's malt vinegar on the table), a couple of vegetable/vegetarian options, and lighter options like tuna salad, teriyaki salmon, and steamed fish. I really think this place is a quirky treasure, so if you can deal with the odd interior and are craving some protein-oriented junky goodness, hie thee to Hoagy Steaks.

(P. S. If you make your way out the back away from the train tracks, out toward the houses, and follow your way toward the Orthodox Church, you can get out to other major streets without making an unprotected left on Fremont Blvd., if you need to head  that way.)

Really good Thai food. Our other favorite place is Sala Thai (either one), but the menu is different here. Whether you're a vegetarian or not, ask for the extensive vegetarian menu. There's a lot of good stuff on it! Mm, pumpkin.

I hate the TV playing awful movies, though. It's distracting and irritating.

Prolific Oven is one of the best choices for "new American" food in Fremont. I wish there were a real full-service restaurant version of it, though, because right now it occupies this strange twilight zone  between a casual bakery-cafe and a nice restaurant, and it disappoints people who approach it as the latter. It's not a full-service restaurant: the servers wear t-shirts, you have to ask for table service, and many of the dinner-type items appear to be pre-cooked and just assembled/heated there (ingredient changes usually can't be accommodated). We could use a place with a similar menu, but a chef in the kitchen and ... oh well.

That said, many of the dinner items are very good (and unique), they have some great salads (that macadamia-nut chicken one is great!), there are some excellent soups (their clam chowder is excellent), and they have some very good desserts.

I have mixed feelings about their breakfast; the savory items are good, but a waffle (or something) that was supposed to come "with fruit" came with just one strawberry or something like that. In that case, it's a garnish--don't bother to mention it in the description! Grrr. Maybe they had a shortage that day. Anyway, they have some interesting eggs Benedict options (including a vegetarian one, I think) and some other good choices.

They also have free wifi, so you can have a slice of cake and some coffee while getting some work done. And unlike Panera, the noise level isn't off the charts--plus they serve alcohol, if you drink. They also add items to the menu regularly, and you can find out about specials and special offers if you follow them on FB or Twitter.

The service is generally friendly; if they make a mistake (it's only happened once or twice to me), they make up for it.

Prices are reasonable. If you order appetizers and desserts, it can add up, but you'll also be stuffed.

Dohatsuten is one of two good ramen choices in Fremont (the other one is Ajisen, a chain from Japan; there's also Tadamasa in Union City and Maru Ichi in Milpitas). It's up by Ohlone, and a bit neglected due to its weird location. I'll be honest: I would give it 5 stars just because I'm hooked on that yuzu-miso broth. That stuff is great! ($1 extra.) I'm trying to branch out from the Dohatsuten ramen with yuzu-miso, but it's so good...Their chashu is good, the Korean chilis they use add an actually noticeable amount of spice, and that broth is just wonderful.

I also appreciate that they have some non-Americanized sides/snacks on the menu, like chicken cartilage. I didn't like it, I'm afraid, but friends did, and it was interesting to try it. There are other things on the menu that are less challenging (the pea sprouts were good). The yaki-onigiri is strangely way overpriced, but other than that, prices are par for the course.

Also, they DO offer one vegetarian ramen with a vegetable-based broth. Few places do this, so if you're a vegetarian who's feeling left out of the ramen craze, go on over to Dohatsuten!

It's not hard to find after your first time, and there's parking in back or a couple blocks away. Bring cash!

I'm confused by my lack of having reviewed Il Porcino. What happened? I guess I just assumed that everyone already knew about it, but clearly not--people still go to Massimo's and Olive Garden! Seriously, Il Porcino has the best Italian food in the area, and although it's sometimes a little hit or miss (and sometimes not *precisely* as described on the menu), it's usually very good, very satisfying, and with friendly service. You can eat something refreshing and full of vegetables, or something luxuriously creamy. There's really something for any mood! The prices are reasonable, with great lunch specials. The decor, well, it's a bit kitschy, but that's okay--this is comfort food, after all.

The one good thing: The fries were good. But seriously, there were way too many. I know it sounds weird to complain about getting too much, but when I'm ordering a single serving of something that doesn't keep well (fries do NOT keep well), I hate getting 2.5 servings. So American, in a bad way: I ate more than I should have and THEN threw away a lot. Sigh.

The main bad thing: The burger was so-so. I ordered grilled onions and sauteed mushrooms. The onions weren't grilled and the mushrooms weren't sauteed--minus big points right there. How can they screw that up? I was pleased about all the choices when I came in, but what's the point if you don't get what you ordered?

And the walls lavished with encomium after encomium ... offputting. Was that just to school the uneducated Bay Area in their awesomeness, or do they do that everywhere? Tacky! I could have overlooked it if the burger had been suitably fantastic, but unfortunately, Jack's (or you-know-who) is better. For that matter, even your uncle Bob probably knows the meanings of both "sauté" and "grill."