critiCALmass L.'s Profile
Date
1 Previous Review:
-
12/11/2011
The tiny sushi bar seats 5. The owner and sushi chef is Toki-san. He is from Kyushu.
His dishes are geared toward the typical foothill customer ... thus he doesn't carry shellfish normally found in authentic sushi bars. But no deduction for that ... No, the deduction is for serving oversizes slabs of fish on my nigiri sushi and poor knife skills.
"What?" you shout. "How dare you deduct for generous proportions of fish!" Yes, yes, yes--I know--most people freak out because they don't understand sushi very well. Folks, it's not the quantity but rather the quality and proportions and expertise in the cut that make the difference.
Another deduction for lower than average knife skills for a Japanese sushi chef. If you find strings of fatty tissue in the fish, it's because the cut was poorly done or the quality of the fillet was suspect. That's what I got at Sushi Q.
Here's the deal. I believe Toki-san can make nigiri sushi the correct way, the way you would get it in Japan. But I believe you must ask for it that way. Otherwise, you get a massive hunk of fish that overpowers everything. But I'm not certain if his knife skills are up to snuff.
Very good Japanese sake selection.
Nice ambiance.
Good service.
3.25 Stars
Concord, CA 94521
(925) 524-0768
Bronze Buddha Thai Fusion
Category:
Thai
Wow! Shockingly high reviews for this one. Why, why, why?
The sort-of Thai food here is quite bland. In Thailand, one would never get something as tasteless as their wannabe Pad Thai. Okay, okay ... I guess it really isn't Thai food since it's fusion. But, really, isn't calling it "fusion" just an excuse for making terrible Thai food? I can't think of a time I had a Pad Thai as tasteless and greasy as the one I had there last week.
And the prices! Don't get me started. The prices are way out of line for the quality of food they serve.
The ambiance is nice. The service is fine. So stars for that.
Please find yourself a finer Thai restaurant!
Walnut Creek, CA 94598
(925) 287-9273
Tatsu Sushi
Categories:
Japanese,
Sushi Bars
The owner is supposedly Japanese, but he's never there. The people there are Chinese. The food is a Chinese interpretation of Japanese food. That's why everything tastes so off.
The knife skills of the Chinese sushi chefs is horrible. They served me old, fishy tasting shiro-maguro sushi, bigger and stinkier cuts than they should've been. Why? Because they wanted to rid themselves of the rancid stuff? The rice was poorly prepared, of a low quality and texture, and tasteless. I had to return it.
The giant Chinese vases is a dead give away that this place is not Japanese in the slightest sense. Of course, it's hard to ignore the workers hollering Chinese across the dining room at one another. Hot tea served in coffee mugs?
The service is good. They are attentive. But the food is so bad, that I had to struggle to give more than just one star.
Bottom line ... there are plenty of Korean run Japanese restaurants that are much better than this one (good luck finding an entirely Japanese run Japanese restaurant in the East Bay).
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 297-0070
Angelini Osteria
Category:
Italian
Neighborhoods: Mid-City West, West Hollywood
The handmade pasta will remind you of Rome. The sauces are all made fresh from scratch. The meats and fish are of the highest quality. Execution is superb.
The service is wonderfully Italian.
The ambiance feels like an Italian restaurant ... cramped and bustling.
This is not an American Italian restaurant. It's an Italian restaurant. Don't bring the kids or expect mushy pasta and sugary sauces here. If you are a true foodie, give this one a try.
The food at this restaurant is well prepared with fresh ingredients. Their savory red sauces are especially good. The seafood pasta dish is outstanding, and the chicken pasta dish with eggplant is excellent. Even the starter bread with sun-dried tomato spread is wonderful.
The service is good. It's not as friendly as I would like it to be, but they are attentive and accommodating.
The ambiance is nice for a little strip plaza unit. The place is always clean.
Easy parking and access to freeway, it's a good choice for a nice dinner or lunch.
The hostess seated us, gave us menus, and we sat there for thirty minutes unattended. The waiter completely ignored us ... never even looked our way once.
My niece wrote on a napkin, "VERY HUNGRY CHILD HERE!" and held it up to no avail.
So, we walked to In-n-Out ...
I'm happy to report that this is not the case at Kenro's. Kenro-san is a very skilled sushi chef from Japan, and the previous owners (still there) understand Japanese cuisine and reproduce it reliably close to the way you would get it in Japan. Sacramento is lucky to have this restaurant.
4.5 Stars
San Francisco, CA 94121
(415) 386-8439
Beach Chalet
Categories:
American (Traditional),
Breakfast & Brunch
You will find old favorites on the menu like French Dip. My friend ordered that and I had their hamburger for lunch. We were pleased with both dishes. Prices were a bit high but it was expected.
Service was good.
Ambiance was good.
3.5 Stars
Pleasant Hill, CA 94523
(925) 671-9925
Jo's Sushi Bar
Categories:
Sushi Bars,
Japanese
I ordered something really simple, tsukiyaki-don. Like oyako-don, it's Japanese comfort food and easy to make. Wow, was I surprised to receive something so tasteless and incorrectly made I couldn't finish it.
The tempura and sushi my family ordered was just ok.
If you understand Japanese cuisine, please avoid anything prepared in the kitchen here. I don't know who's back there, but they are either not Japanese or just can't cook or both.
The sushi is ok for US standards.
I ordered the ham and cheese sandwich and my gf got the lobster bisque. The bisque was as good as any I've had. The sandwich bread was loaded with butter and fried. It was greasy, and sorry to say it reminded me of that fried ham, cheese and egg sandwich thing you can get at Denny's.
Service was excellent.
Ambiance is typical Napa upscale.
Good, but a bit pricey for lunch.
3.5 Stars
1 List
"The priorities: Food, Service, Ambiance . . . in that order."
- 34 Friends
- 163 Reviews
- 13 Review Updates
- 4 Firsts
- 5 Fans
- 1 List
-
Rating Distribution
Loading...
- View more graphs »
Review votes:
358 Useful, 123 Funny, and 194 Cool
Walnut Creek, CA
Yelping SinceApril 2008
Things I LoveCulinary Arts, British Rock, American Blues, Italian Leather, Japanese Blades, Fine Wine and Spirits
Find Me InJapan, California, and anywhere else that has great food.
My HometownWalnut Creek, CA / Nagoya, Japan
When I'm Not Yelping...I'm eating, drinking, cooking, and traveling
Why You Should Read My ReviewsYou shouldn't unless you're a foodie.
My Second Favorite WebsiteThe Requiem Shark / The Samurai's Garden
My First ConcertPeter Frampton Comes Alive at Winterland
My Favorite MovieTwilight Samurai / Once Upon a Time in the West
My Last Meal On EarthMom's food
Don't Tell Anyone Else But...I like In-n-Out and Mos Burger
Most Recent DiscoveryCherimoya
Current Crusha Mexican/American woman
It's okay for just fusion rolls, but not authentic sushi. Sorry.