When I originally made my commitment to go to Redwood City for 2 days (some 15-20 miles away, so it was a big sacrifice), I thought I'd check out the Peruvian restaurant and the Turkish restaurant. Nothing against Sultan "Mediterranean & Turkish Cuisine," since I didn't try it, but we were simply uninspired by the menu. It didn't include any of the mysterious & wacky Turkish dishes we had wondered exactly how to make (eggplant-gelatin cups, chicken dessert, you name it), and so we decided not to go. There were several good-sounding lamb entrees on the menu, but we can make lamb. And the appetizers were your standard Eastern Mediterranean fare. Maybe we missed out; I'm still somewhat curious. I needed a dish on the menu which I hadn't had before to really inspire me.
So we went to CreoLa in San Carlos, which isn't far at all from Redwood City. We decided to go last night, so no switch was involved from my previous allusions. I had never been to San Carlos before (unless you count the stretch of 101, and I have no idea if that's officially in San Carlos). It was a pleasant town. I liked it. I think I could live there. Since we finished and got there before they opened, we had a chance to walk around San Carlos a bit too. My kids liked that there was a nice hill right there, so close.
The restaurant itself, if it isn't obvious from the name, is Creole style. They describe themselves as having all of the flavor from New Orleans, without all of the spiciness. They also strongly urge reservations, so I did call them for 5:30 (when they open). The place was not at all full on a Wednesday, although it's a small place, but it did seem to matter that we had reservations. They must be staffing less than their tables. The whole place was starting to pick up in business & sound when we left around 7:00.
Short version: Everything was great. Food was excellent, service was attentive, we want to go back whenever we can. There's no comparison between this place and Nola in Palo Alto. Nola has an interesting atmosphere with the courtyard, whereas CreoLa is simply a tasteful bistro setting, but the food at Nola is only so-so. CreoLa is no more expensive, and much much better. It compares with the best Creole food we've had. Now, I haven't been to New Orleans in over 20 years, so I can't say much about that, but there are some other places we like. New Orleans by the Bay, the vastly overpriced event at Shoreline Amphitheatre, is something to which we've had free tickets for close to a decade. There is a place there from Markland Louisiana, although I've forgotten the name, and they have great food. They told me they're the only "certified" cajun place at the festival. A word to the wise, there. You can see the "Markland" at least on their booth. Also, in old-town Sacramento, there is a restaurant called Hot & Spicy, which we also like. We've been through there a few times for various reasons. We've also been to Emeril's place in Las Vegas; it's a bit wacky, but definitely has some good items.
Anyway, this might not have had quite the marvelous & unpretensious balance of the Markland place ("Quality Foods" or something, it's called? Something totally unmemorable, but I always recognize it), but it was damn fine food. I read some reviews suggesting that there wasn't enough food for the price, and although it wasn't the enormous portions of Estampas Peruanas, I had quite a good-sized dinner.
My wife & I both fixated on the crawfish etoufee & soft-shell crab combo, so we didn't get to try a variety of entrees. Both were excellent. The soft-shell crab was probably the best I've had on the West coast, and the etoufee had a great body to the sauce, good otherwise. Neither were salty, or otherwise skimping on flavor by trying to trick your tongue. My youngest daughter was extremely enthusiastic about her plain butter pasta. I don't know what to say about that, but the place has a good vibe. My older kids also both fixated on the same thing, the crawfish hushpuppies, and loved them. I had half of one, and it was good, but maybe a bit heavy for me. My wife had a gumbo for appetizer, and it was a fairly non-standard gumbo, focusing more on broth per se with some chunky goodies in the broth. The broth was quite tasty, again not at all salty or with other defects, just good flavor.
I had the Blackened Voodoo beer, a couple of bottles (good, but not quite as good as the draught version at New Orleans by the Bay), although they had a decent-looking wine list and many options by the glass. My wife usually won't drink wine, and I like beer, so I get that. I drink wine if she says OK, so I didn't peruse the wine list as closely as I might have, but they seemed to be proud of it. I also had a Graham 6-grape port with dessert. I had the French Silk for dessert, which was a little different than most, although probably the least notable thing I ate. The vanilla wafer crust was excellent though. My wife had the bread pudding topped with creme brulee, and it was notable. It was definitely a more special-tasting dessert.
All-in-all, the bill was $102. I didn't think that was bad, and it was the American-style service people like, where we didn't wait for anything. The waitress checked when we were done, brought out our entree right then, etc. Water, bread, etc., all such that no one could complain.
Definitely an impressive place. I'd like to try other items. They had several items which didn't seem very New Orleans at all, such as the wasabi tuna steaks. I have a feeling those are good too. There were also other New Orleans-style dishes, including a shrimp dish one of us surely should have tried....San Francisco Bay Area, CA