Elisa wrote: >Enough with all the negative comments about Miyake. What I'm really >interested in is where all the good but reasonably-priced Japanese >restaurants are. I do like sushi and especially sashimi, but I also like >the combinations like shrimp tempura, oden, chicken teriyaki. Good sushi in the South Bay is hard to come by. The quality is generally inferior to what you can expect in San Francisco or the East Bay (a very good sushi chef I spoke to in San Francisco confirmed this, that beginning sushi chefs can get work in Silicon Valley, which is considered the "farm team", since it's easier to sell mediocre sushi around here, while the standard is much higher in SF, Berkeley or North Oakland. He had formerly worked in the South Bay when he was getting started). Ikenohana in Cupertino, a couple of blocks northeast of the Stevens Creek/ De Anza intersection (don't remember the exact street), is a good choice.
San Francisco Bay Area, CA
GOOD JAPANESE FOOD RESTAURANTS
Allan S. wrote: > >better, sometimes worse; Fuki Sushi, which is too expensive; and a Yes. Ate there last night and the fish was wonderful. Really superior. But it has to be a treat. I can't afford this on a regular basis. >My advise is to avoid Sono, a place in which I witnessed a truly >disgusting food preparation/sanitation "mistake" made by the chef and >still given to customers. Gross. And their sushi is on the little >boats, which means it has the potential of, uh, aging before being >picked up. Ate there last week. The sushi I special ordered from the chefs was delicious, the stuff from the boats less so. Much less so. I'll go back if only because I got out of there for $20, but I will do my best to get stuff that is freshly prepared.
Elisa wrote: >Enough with all the negative comments about Miyake. What I'm really >interested in is where all the good but reasonably-priced Japanese >restaurants are. I've always enjoyed Satsuma, a consistently good sushi place at El Camino and Americana (1st block east of Hwy 85), in the complex where Emporium used to be and a Lucky's is under construction. Their $14.55 all-you-can-eat rolls on Sunday evenings is a fine deal, but there are those who feel the quality wanes during all-you-can-eat. I would suggest going first on a "regular night". Their Super California roll (a calif. roll with unagi on top), Gyoza roll, Spicy Tuna roll, and Spider roll are my favorites. I also like their various Donburi, and have heard good things about the Udon. Although: skip the Agedashi tofu, it isn't as good as other places I've tried it. Prices are reasonable. Other sushi places in mountain view are.. Yakko, which is good, sit at the sushi bar if possible; Subaru, which is similar and sometimes better, sometimes worse; Fuki Sushi, which is too expensive; and a place on Castro called.. Kamei? that is just awful. Shogun has wonderful dinners but no sushi (only calif. rolls). My advise is to avoid Sono, a place in which I witnessed a truly disgusting food preparation/sanitation "mistake" made by the chef and still given to customers. Gross. And their sushi is on the little boats, which means it has the potential of, uh, aging before being picked up. Allan
Someone wrote: : Enough with all the negative comments about Miyake. What I'm really : interested in is where all the good but reasonably-priced Japanese : restaurants are. I do like sushi and especially sashimi, but I also like In many ways, "good" and "reasonably-priced" can be mutually exclusive, depending on your definition of both. Good sushi can be had at a number of places, others here can let you know their favorites. My favorite in terms of "good" and "reasonably" priced is Ikenohana in Cupertino. : the combinations like shrimp tempura, oden, chicken teriyaki. I also I personally prefer two places for home-style cooking, Gombei in San Jose and Menlo Park and my second choice is Azuma in Cupertino next to Vallco Shopping Center. Gombei does not offer tempura but does have ebi-fry and ika-fry. Both of these restaurants cannot compare with truly authentic food in Japan but it's about as close to authentic as you can expect here in the US. I would call them competent and tasty. : would like to know where the good noodle shops are, I mean real authentic : Japanese-style noodle shops that have excellent udon and ramen. So far in I'm a champon fan and I still like Ringer Hut for Nagasaki Champon. I have yet to find real good ramen here in the US. : the few months I've been here, I've only found 2 good places. One is in : Santa Clara. I can't remember the name, but its in the shopping center at : the corner of El Camino and Scott. The other is in the Marina shopping Not Kobe, the sushi boat place? Haven't been there and may not go in the near future. : center in Foster City near the intersection of 101 and Hillsdale Blvd. If : anyone has any suggestions for other good restaurants for good generic : Japanese food or good noodle shops, I'd love to here from you. : Thanks. Basically, Gombei, Gombei, Gombei. I don't own the place and I don't have any interest in it. The crowds can attest to this.
Elisa wrote in article ... ..snip > Santa Clara. I can't remember the name, but its in the shopping center at > the corner of El Camino and Scott. ..snip The restaurant you're referring to is called Kobe. I was told that there is a restaurant in San Mateo called Kaimuki Inn on El Camino that has udon but I haven't had the opportunity to go there. Here are a couple of other Japanese restaurants I like: Seto Restaurant (one in Sunnyvale and one in Santa Clara) Azuma (Cupertino) Sushi Zono (Campbell) hope this helps.
Lisa wrote: >... Here are a couple of other >Japanese restaurants I like: > >Seto Restaurant (one in Sunnyvale and one in Santa Clara) >Azuma (Cupertino) >Sushi Zono (Campbell) OK, I missed the original posting, but I have to add: Minato's in San Jose Japantown -- excellent katsu curry, large portion. Gombei in San Jose Japantown -- excellent unagi don. If you go for lunch, make sure you get there before 11:40, or you'll usually have quite a wait. Tim
In something of another category are the Japanese all-you-can-eat places. The one I know best is Monokichi in downtown Palo Alto. Something like $8 for lunch. It's cafeteria style, and the food ranges from passable to pretty good. I like it as a place to bring newcomers to sushi, because there's a loarge variety of sushi and sahimi laid out for people to check out, but if you don't like it you haven't blown the mortgage and there's lots of other stuff to eat. No udon, though. There's a similar place a few miles south on El Camino, but I haven't compared them. Has anyone else done so? Regards af
Joe B. wrote: > >Ikenohana in Cupertino, a couple of blocks northeast of the Stevens Creek/ >De Anza intersection (don't remember the exact street), is a good choice. Jon Singer to the contrary, while Ikenohana may be a good sushi restaurant, my one experience (and some other allusions on ba.food) indicate that it's *not* a good general-purpose Japanese restaurant, and you may not even get good sushi unless you're friends with the chef.
Someone wrote: : In something of another category are the Japanese all-you-can-eat places. : The one I know best is Monokichi in downtown Palo Alto. Something like $8 : for lunch. It's cafeteria style, and the food ranges from passable to : pretty good. I like it as a place to bring newcomers to sushi, because : there's a loarge variety of sushi and sahimi laid out for people to check : out, but if you don't like it you haven't blown the mortgage and there's : lots of other stuff to eat. No udon, though. There's a similar place a few : miles south on El Camino, but I haven't compared them. Has anyone else done : so? Minokichi is one of my favorite places to eat, though I don't go all that ofen because it's a bit out of my price range. The value is incredible though. It's $13 or so for dinner, Monday-Thursday. Add about $3 for dinner Friday-Sunday. Lunch is cheaper, yes. You supposedly get lobster on the weekends and thats why it costs more...but I've gotton lobster every time Ive been there, no matter the day. You can sometimes find coupons in the Palo Alto Daily News. Its on the corner of University and High Street in Palo Alto (a little hard to see, it's set back from the street...go down High just south of Univ). The staff are very friendly and encourage you to eat more. It's a reasonably wide selection of foods there. A friend of mine and I have gone there two Christmas days in a row (we're both Jewish and it's one of hte few resturants that's open). She doesn't eat any seafood or sushi at all yet shes happy there and always fills her plate with a variety of items. The food is good but not gourmet. The sushi is fine but there aren't many "unusual" things there. SOmetimes late in the evening the sushi is a bit old, but not always. It is best right when they open though. They have a mediocre salad and dessert bar. There are several non-sushi dishes (seafood, meat, and veggie) that are good. Minokichi: 150 University Ave, Palo Alto. 415-324-9536. It's wheelchair accessable with bathrooms on the same level. I think the main enterence has a couple steps down but there is a side door. No smoking anywhere inside and no patios or open doors to smokers. I have also tried that place south on El Camino that you mentioned (can't remember the name). I was not impressed. The atmosphere is more cafeteria style. The range of the selection is similar to Minokichis but slightly different. The quality of the food is a bit lower. The staff is okay but not as friendly or helpful as Minokichis. Also WC accessable and non-smoking. Prices are about the same but you are more likely to find coupons (either in Metro or SJ Mercury). Cyndi
Cyndi N. wrote: > >I have also tried that place south on El Camino that you mentioned (can't >remember the name). I was not impressed. The atmosphere is more cafeteria >style. The range of the selection is similar to Minokichis but slightly >different. The quality of the food is a bit lower. The staff is okay but >not as friendly or helpful as Minokichis. Also WC accessable and >non-smoking. Prices are about the same but you are more likely to find >coupons (either in Metro or SJ Mercury). Fumiyoshi, about two blocks south of Rengstorff, on the ocean side.
Someone wrote: >If >anyone has any suggestions for other good restaurants for good generic >Japanese food or good noodle shops, I'd love to here from you. I really like Ramen Club, in Burlingame, for noodles. I don't recall the name of the street it's on, but go west on Broadway off of 101, then turn left on the street immediately after the railroad tracks. Ramen club is a few blocks down on your right. Lusty