emmie "[citation needed]" k.'s Profile

cafe van kleef is a very nice place to have a cocktail.  it's fun, quirky, and eclectic, all without seeming cultivated or trite.  they've got beers on tap and very tasty cocktails, though i wish they had cider.  the end-of-the-night peppered popcorn is exactly the thing one wants to eat after having a couple of yummy cocktails.  there is also live music, which seems to veer strongly in the direction of jazz or classic rock, and can be a little loud, but ultimately adds to rather than detracts from the experience of just going in for a drink.

amazingly tasty, perfectly spiced, rich, hot, fresh curry for not too much money.  the tikka masala may just be the best thing i've ever put in my mouth, and the eggplant dishes also shine.  it's nothing fancy, and they don't have a huge variety of dishes, but the decor is nice, the folks here run a tight ship, and the food tastes amazing.  the chai is also free, which is nice.

so, i admit it, i was a little worried when i arrived at casa vallarta.  it's a weird looking little place, and while the positive yelp had reeled me in, i wasn't quite sure what i was getting myself in to.  all my fears evaporated when the salsa arrived.  that was some tasty, tasty salsa.  

i got the green enchiladas with whole beans and an horchata.  the horchata was thick and rich with a strong cinnamon and vanilla flavor.  the enchiladas were easy to enjoy, and i ate the whole plate.  the beans were cooked perfectly: no splitting, not hard, not mushy just perfectly tender and flavorful.

@siam cuisine is a very, very pleasant place to have a meal.  a friend and i went here looking for a late night (by east bay standards) nosh and i was certainly willing to eat whatever came my way, not expecting anything too swank.  

we ordered the tom gai, a green curry with veggies, and some spring rolls.  the soup was amazingly tasty and rich with a good bite.  our charming server mentioned that in most parts of thailand, it's served much tangier and stronger flavored, but i'd be willing to wager i'd like it as much either way.  the spring rolls were hot and nicely spiced.  the accompanying sweet sauce was fresh, not some goop from a jar.  the curry was really strong, and spicy with a wide variety of veggies and tofu.  

the atmosphere is a little more upscale than a lot of places in the area, and i think they're really trying to jazz up the standards.  it's more a place for a quiet, leisurely dinner than a regular weeknight sort of thing.

tasty and affordable! BSK is just the sort of restaurant you'd want in your neighborhood, which explains why, just a few weeks after opening, it's full of people.  people are a good sign.  

both times i've been i've ordered the grits with poached eggs, which are amazingly tasty.  the coffee is strong and fresh.  the waitstaff are attentive and OMGPONIES, there are cheese grit fritters.  

cheese.

grit.

fritters.

seriously.  

that is all.

the food at piedmont cafe is nice enough, and the staff is quite friendly, and the prices are reasonable. still, piedmont cafe can't seem to decide what it wants to be.  up at the front, there's a baked goods counter, like you might find in a retail bakery, and tables in the rear serving coffee-shop style breakfast and lunch food.  it's not a bad place to eat, but it lacks focus and charm.  the hash browns are good.

gwpc is a nice addition to the touchstone gyms in the area, though i think if this were the only place i climbed, it would lack variety after a while.  the slace is cool though, and since i mostly climb at ironworks, i like the additional height and variety of having two gyms in close proximity.  the bouldering here is a little taller than at ironworks, and there is a beginner area with shorter routes graded 5.5-5.7

toomie's makes some damn fine food.  i went there, unsure what to expect.  for years, i've seen toomie's across the street while waiting hours for a table at la pinata.  i'd often wondered if there was tasty food i could be eating that did not require me to wait months for a table, but until recently, i'd never been to toomie's to find out.  

we had the fresh spring rolls to start out, and they were especially full of goodness and well rolled with a peanuty sauce.  a couple of people got this really good soup with a savory, tangy red broth, which i would gladly eat several times a day forever.  i ordered the green curry with tofu, my standard barometer of thai deliciousness and hot damn was it tasty; not particularly spicy, but definitely flavorful and curry-tastic.  i'd love to come back to toomie's again, especially since they won't make me wait out on the sidewalk for 45 minutes on a saturday night.

jimmy bean is the sort of place i can see myself going pretty often.  in fact, in the two weeks i've known about jimmy bean, i've been here twice.  i think that's pretty high praise on its own.  i've gotten the western vegetable omelette both times.  i've also had their soy lattes, and orange juice.  the lattes are made with care and taste great.  the orange juice seemed fresh squeezed and deliciously sweet.  the omelette was well constructed and tasty each time, with amazingly crisp, savory homefries and three lucious dipping sauces.  the pesto manages to taste rich without being too sharp, the creamy pink sauce strikes a nice balance between spice and softness, and the salsa fresca tasted nice, even though january is assuredly not tomato season.  i've also seen the wraps and pancakes and things on other peoples' plates and everything looked quite good.

the food here is okay, though a little expensive for what it is, and a little salty.  i live in the neighborhood, and have been looking for a mexican place nearby for a while.  last night i got the nachos, which, as another reviewer mentioned, were a slightly different take on nachos than what you usually get.  they're more of a northern mexican, tijuana nacho with queso fresco, whole beans, and a strong baja sauce.  i liked them and liked that calaca loca is trying to do something a bit different from the standard taqueria fare, though they were really salty with the queso fresco.  maybe they need to tweak the recipe a bit.   i'd like to come back here again and try the crispy and soft tacos, which seem to be a star dish.