Kimi "Aloha Monkey" N.'s Profile

This is not a special occasion kinda place. You don't go here for the ambiance or the decor, but you come again and again and again for the food, value and service. We eat here at least once a week if not more, right at the sushi bar.

We ate here several days after eating at Hotei (Ebisu) and realized that we would never go back to Hotei. The back to back experience demonstrated how superior the food and prices were at Kyoto.

Our favorites include:
- Pink Pather Roll ($9.95 vs. $12.50 at Hotei)
- Hamachi Kama appetizer
- Nigiri mix (10 piece mix)
- Spicy Sashimi Salad
- 99 cent sapporo
- $6.95/large carafe of hot sake

Oh, and we love Yoshi, the Sun-Thur night sushi chef. Can't understand half of what the guy says through his mubbled English/Japanese, but he is friendly, generous and fun!

This was our rain or shine V-day adventure. The clouds parted and we enjoyed patches of blue sky and endless trails with not a soul other than us and the birds to be seen for miles. The park rangers at the Bear Valley Visitor Center were geniunely cheerful and very helpful. We wanted a trail with a view, so they recommended starting at the BayView trailhead and taking the Inverness Ridge Trail all the way to the top for 360 degree views of Tomales Bay AND Drakes Bay. It took us 2.5 hours to hike about 5.2 miles round trip.

The other must-see for this time of year was the mating of the Elephant Seals. Now, personally I didn't need to see this graphic discovery channel like display for alpha Elephant seal male dominance but it sure was memorable. The kids on the overlook deck squealed with each alpha male charge and female mounting (groan). For those interested in a close up, the telescopes proved powerful and left little to the imagination. If you intend to go out to Chimney Rock were the seals are, be prepared for the long, windy road out, passed 10 or so dairy farms and the one way road at the very end. The lighthouse was another draw, but it was SOOOO windy, we only made it halfway up the hill before nearly getting blow over and turning around. Standing atop the rocks and looking down the cliffs to the beach, we had a 'titanic' like moment with arms outstretched and the wind blowing in our faces. Again, unforgettable.

All in all, we saw mountains, we saw creeks, we saw oceans, we saw peaks. WAS FAB.

In my head, a good bowl of pho should be had for $5-$7. So, throwing down $10 was splurging. The atmosphere is better than most, the serving dishes lovely, the soup broth OK, the noodles were northern style with mung bean in the the soup already (not served on the side) and the service s-l-o-w. They were understaff for a Saturday night with two servers and about 20 tables. Not good.

The pork belley starter was luke warm and un-impressive. The spring rolls your average fair.

All around, it was OK on the food scale and sub-par on the service level.

Where to take an out-of-town food lover up for something, very SF and somewhat exotic? THANH LONG.

Not your typical foodie joint, but complete with fine dining-esque servers and full bar, this place is great for one reason -- the garlic crab and noodles. You can get dungeoness crab many places but the way they make this one is unique and DELISH. 3 of us ordered, 2 crabs and 2 orders of garlic noodles. Forget everything else, we went straight for the rich stuff.

This was my first NORTHERN Vietnamese pho experience. Before this, I didn't know there were regional differences. The noodles are wide and flat and served without the typical greens and mung beans of what I think of as more traditional Pho. The broth was a 7 on a scale of 10 but and the meat and fixings were a 9. Overall there was so much in my bowl, I didn't finish (and I always finish).

The fried spring rolls were excellent, with better than expected presentation and a healthy amount of lettuce and pickled veggies.

I'm tempted to come back for the other food dishes which looked yummy. Place was clean, and staff friendly and attentive.

These guys know mushrooms.

Wanna know when to use mushroom powder versus fresh versus dried mushrooms? Just ask. What is the difference between South American porcini and Italian porchini mushrooms? Just ask.

They have renewed my inner mushroom.

Oh, and they have to-die-for truffle salt. SO GOOD on popcorn, if not , one hellava pricey treat!

Lovely vendors. Good cause (Gala supports the Asian Art Museum).

Snot-nosed, politically-biased, unfriendly show managenent company(Caskey Lee). Wish there was a way to support the vendors and cut the management company out.

4 stars for kid-friendliness
3 stars for brewery
1 star for food

The only reason to go to this place would be if kid-friendly is a requirement. Otherwise, don't bother. The fried foods were acceptable and what you might expect, but the main entrees were bleh.

Sadly, we were one of two tables there on a weekday night. The placed seemed like it had bustling potential but there just weren't patrons in the seats. I like the atmosphere and simple decor. The menu looked creative but in the end just OK with a few standouts. The crawfish pie was EXCELLENT and a few other of the Bon Temp apps were tasty as well. Staff was knowledgeable and friendly. Just hope this place survives.

With wings as a given, everything else was delicious too. It was a pretty penny in the end, but well worth it. The ribs, egg salad, and pork belly were memorable and repeat-worthy. We sat upstairs in the large 'group' area which lacked ambiance but the food still shined. Inside, downstairs would have been more charming but alas, you get what get. Would go back in a heartbeat.