Jerry C.'s Profile

Simply the best breakfast in North Tahoe.

Adding too much text to this review seems like "guilding a lily" -- the other 4 and 5 star reviews do a fine job.

I will, however, say that the cheesy, veggie potatoes that come with the Fire Sign Special were loaded with vegetables and simply delicious.  5 Stars!

Fredrick's struck us as "hip" when we entered -- copper tables, big murals on the walls, and really friendly servers.  It is somewhat small though (28 seats at tables, 12 seats at the bar), so reservations are a must.

We started with Lettuce Wraps (Pork, $13) and then went to Filo Wrapped Crab ($14) and Hearts of Romaine Salad ($9).  Main courses included Striped Dragon Roll ($15), Filet Mignon ($30), and Spicy Beef Tenderloin ($22).

The kids had a Tree Hugger Roll ($11) and split the Chicken Breast and Rissoto ($26).  The kids devoured both dishes -- when asked for their thoughts on the food, big nods and smiles were the response.

For the bigger kids, the meal went through a bit of a sine wave.  It started out high with the Lettuce Wraps, Filo Wrapped Crab and Hearts of Romaine Salad.  Each of which was presented as a work of art (including that the Lettuce Wraps were actually wrapped with what looked like bow ties).  And each dish had a taste that was equal to the presentation.

When the two orders of Spicy Beef Tenderloin were brought to the table (they came out as the first wave of entrees), however, the disappointment was palpable.  The tenderloin was served as ground meat on top of a very thick slice of bread.  On first impression, not only was the meat not in medallion form, but it looked like the kitchen only gave each dish about 5 tablespoons of meat.  The Filet came out next and I could tell that the two that ordered Tenderloin were coveting the Filet (a nice normal steak).

But, I said that the meal went through a sine wave...so how did it go up from there?

First, the really thick slice of bread was almost entirely hallowed out and the portion of meat was actually quite generous.  Second, the taste was amazing -- so much so that both dishes were emptied.  One diner commented that the dish went from a 1 to a 10 almost entirely due to the flavors.

The Filet was wonderfully prepared, with an rich and flavorful reduction.  The FIlet was also served with (i) a polenta that was dry (which is a good thing) but also moist and flavorful; and (ii) Chineese long green beans that were sauteed almost crisp in a wonderfully flavored oil.

The Stripped Dragon Roll was served with a different form of fish roe on each slice that made the entire roll quite colorful.  And the Dragon Roll was so tasty that the diner that ordered it refused to share it with others at the table.

Notwithstanding the sine wave in our meal-experience, Fredrick's was quite a success....5 stars.

Tried to go to Fat Cat but it was closed for renovation.  We started to walk back to the car to re-group, saw Rosie's a few shops down the street and decided to give it a try.  What a gem!

Our order included Quesadilla (8.99), Fried Green Beans (9.49), Fish Tacos (9.99), and Philly Cheese Steak (10.59)

First, it's important to note that the menu made us nervous - they have a boat-load of different dishes.  A place that does everything often does nothing well.  In fact, we view it an outright gamble to try fish tacos at a place that serves so many different types of food (we presume that a "serves everything restaurant" can't possibly go through fresh fish fast enough to keep it fresh).  Since it was a Tuesday, and many folks get their new supply of fish on Mondays, we rolled the dice.  Score!  The fish was super fresh!  What a pleasant surprise!

Next the Philly Cheese Steak.  In general, Philly Cheese Steaks are usually a cardiac arrest on a plate -- dripping with grease and cheese.  This one, however, had almost no extra grease (arteries and wife breathing sigh of relief).  No grease yet it was flavorful and cheesy with loads of peppers and onions.

Our kids loved the Quesadilla and the Fried Green Beans.  And you know that they are kid-friendly when they serve Milk in covered paper coffee cups with straws that are trimmed to kid size.

Rosie's is now on our North Tahoe list and we are coming back!

We went for Mother's Day and were quite pleased.

Dishes at the table included an "Off Menu" Vegetable Platter for the appetizer, a Filet of Beef that was one of the specials, an Almond Crusted Halibut, a Rib Eye Steak and a Baked "Mac and Cheese."  In all that food, it is hard to find examples of poor execution.  So let's focus on the good.

The Off-Menu Vegetable Platter had way more than your standard vegetables -- artichoke, asparagus, portobello mushrooms, baked/stuffed chile relleno...oh and it also had squash (you didn't think it was all cool vegetables, did you?).

The three steaks were ordered at different temps (rare, medium rare and medium) and they were all delivered together and each perfectly cooked.  One more note on the steaks....the Garlic Mashed Potatoes were amazing!

The baked Mac and Cheese for the kids was also a pleasant surprise.  Mac and Cheese is so easy to let slide.  Our surprise was that this dish got some serious attention.  Lots of interesting (but kid friendly) cheeses and hey...it was baked.  How cool is that.

We are big fans of Spindleshanks and yes, we are absolutely coming back.

Meh.

Lanza's wasn't bad but I can't say that I want to go back.  The food was generous in size but it did not have much taste.  In fact, the spaghetti and meat sauce was clearly lacking basic herbs and other seasoning.  That dish was significantly improved by a liberal application of the salt shaker.  One diner described the sauce as being akin to a Mexican restaurant making salsa out of ketchup.  

Other dishes at the table that fell flat included Veal Scallopini (sauce was clearly burnt), Chicken Marsala (sauce was sickeningly sweet) and a small child's plate of butter pasta that included nearly six large cloves of slivered garlic.  Come on folks...these are kids...you can ease up on the garlic a bit.

Sorry, but it will take some convincing to get me to return.

Solid breakfast.  We all agreed that it was a place to return again on this trip.  The kids could have split one meal and one milk as their portions were quite generous - and they certainly didn't skimp with the adult meals.  Paula got a veggie scramble and was quite pleased - she thinks they use butter for oil.  In any event this is a solid breakfast place - and we are snobs about breakfast.

This review is way overdue.  We were there for breakfast on Easter 2009.  First, it was Easter, and they were open.  Second, the food was excellent.  Lastly, and most importantly, they were truly wonderful with our kids and that earns big cudos from us.

Another excellent meal at Tomaato's.  The whole wheat crust was crispy - perhaps the best whole wheat crust we have had in a long while.  We ordered both a large Old Fashion and a small cheese (we had our two daughters with us) and those pizzas plus 4 medium salads was plenty to feed 2 kids and 4 adults.  And both pizzas were excellent. They also had Red Tail Ale on tap and it was probably the freshest we have ever had.  Great service all around -- Julia moved this review from 4 stars to 5 all by herself.

Night before Easter...long day of driving to get here and cranky kids....and yet we had a wonderful time.

Jacob served us and he was excellent!

We love being able to get great food at affordable prices.  This place serves food that is nearly gourmet and yet the value is amazing.

The menu is not huge but we all found something to enjoy.

Short Ribs (slow cooked / smoked / braised) were the special and they were wonderful!  We also ordered two Beppo pizzas and three salads (there were 4 adults and 2 kids) and every bit of food on the table was devoured in no time...and yet none of us left hungry.  

The wine was also very good (bottle of Russian River Pinot, but can't remember the name).  But the really interesting thing is that the espresso (with which we ended the meal) was REALLY good.  It wasn't Barefoot (http://www.yelp.com/bi...), but it was better than nearly every other restaurant espresso that I have been served...and this was a wine bar!

And one last really positive point...they greeted the kids with balls of pizza dough that the kids got to work...and then, after the dough was whisked away for a short while, back came fresh-baked flat bread (from the kids very own efforts).

Rosso Pizzeria and Wine Bar is highly recommended by this crew.

I have been really tardy in getting this review typed....we first found Cafe Elote in late August, 2008.  So I am 5 months (or so late).

Like one of the other reviews, this was the last night of our vacation.  That was lucky for us because if we had found this earlier, we would have gone again and again.  I will not smear those "other" Mexican restaurants that were SO disappointing, but I will say that Cafe Elote was a superstar in comparison.

Some specific additional points:

*  This place doesn't look like much from the outside.  Don't be fooled...go in and sit down.  This place is way better than it looks from the outside.

*  The staff was really wonderful with our small children -- happily making special orders and actually including REAL vegetables!  [Don't laugh; that's a real problem with restaurants generally.]

We can't wait to return to Sedona...we will go here first...I just hope that we can make it to some of the other restaurants.