In article , [email removed] (carolyn seaman) wrote: > > I'm going to a conference at Stanford and will be looking for places to eat > near the campus that are inexpensive to moderate. I especially like all > ethnic food, and places that are out of the ordinary in some way. > > Carolyn Seaman > [email removed] (don't forget the 's') Well- Stanford/Palo Alto is not exactly a hotspot for cheap food- but here are some places that you may like: Places to eat in Palo Alto/ Mountain View/ Menlo Park: Gombei- Japanese food. Under $10. You can get a nice bowl of noodle soup or-my favorite- the croquettes. Miyake- Japanese food. Very enthusiastic waiters. The specialty is sushi, which can quickly get expensive- however, they have a great selection of vegetarian sushi at 6/ $2. Empire Tap Room- Bistro/sandwiches. These people make incredible burgers and fries- for $6, I think. Also delicious salads and pastas. Desserts, as far as I remember, were not as good. I would go to one of the local coffee houses for that. One really nice thing about this restaurant is it has a outdoor patio/garden (with heaters) that is very lovely. Has an indoor yuppie bar. Stanford Bar and Grill- You can get anything you want, as long as it's greasy. Sometimes you just feel like bar food. Tied House- Brewpub in Mountain View. Good burgers, very nice beer. Much better than Gordon Biersch, which is across from the Empire Tap Room. Mandarin Gourmet- Chinese food. Best in the area, which is saying a lot. An elegant place, food $8-$15/ entree. Get the breaded, deep-fried eggplant- I don't remember the name. Ask if they have the rice-cake entree- it's not on the menu. Ming's- Chinese food. Also very elegant, but not as good as Mandarin Gourmet. Worth going to for dim sum lunches, which they have during the week, too. Jing Jing- Good Chinese food. Green beans are a standout. Kirin (Mountain View)- The best hot and sour soup I've ever had. Otherwise, pretty good. (You might ask around if you are very interested in Chinese food- there are lots of good Chinese restaurants in the area.) Indian Cook(book? House?)- Mountain View. An absolutely terrific all-you can eat brunch. Dinner upper moderate, but worth it. ***Do not go to Gaylord's in the mall- it is way too expensive for the quality of the food. Some people will tell you to eat there, but I have no idea why.*** Jose's- Wonderful Cuban food. Get the Barbeque beef Empanadas- they are absolutely delicious, and I've never had any barbeque sauce like it before. A little expensive ($9). The rest of the menu is also very reliable. This place also has dancing and comedy, and a good bar. Mae's Latin Cafe- My husband and I decided to make a meal here out of tapas- unfortunately we didn't realize how many tapas it takes to fill a person up. We visited this place on a very off night, when Mae wasn't around, and never came back. However, other people like this restaurant. Andre's- in Menlo Park. Swiss food. If the music doesn't drive you crazy, you can have a very tasty fixed-price dinner. Dessert included. Sort of expensive, but I recommend the food, and where else are you going to get raclette? Also a bakery. Applewood Inn- Pizza. Very unusual toppings. No delivery. I like the spinach/feta. Coffee house across the street is expensive, but has great desserts. NY Pizza- Very unusual toppings, personal pizzas, and they deliver. Round Table Pizza- Good generic pizza, if you want good generic pizza. Hobee's- "Health" food. Known for their blueberry coffee cake. A favorite for brunch- expect a huge wait. I love their black bean hash browns, available all day ($6). Several locations. Whole Foods Market- They have extraordinary sandwiches, particularly the Portola (blue cheese/turkey/bacon/spinach) ($5). Great bakery too. Florentine- Rather hearty Italian food. Overpriced, but good. Places to eat at the mall: Fresh Choice- Just how hungry are you? Probably the best deal on this list- an all you can eat salad/pasta/muffin place for under $10. Delicious, very fresh salads- some premade (a great Chicken Caesar). Pasta is wonderful, especially a cream-tomato sauce. My sister got the chicken noodle soup every time. Leave room for muffins, especially the blueberry. They also have frozen yogurt, fresh fruit, and delicious tapioca pudding. You should definitely go here. (?)- I don't remember the name of the Mexican place at the mall, but they have wonderful tortas. They also make fresh juice. They're near the McDonalds. Oakville Grocery, La Baguette- Fresh French bread, nice and crusty. Monterrey Market- Fresh fruits and veggies. Places to eat on campus: The Student Union- Unfortunately, one food company runs everything in here, so the food is overpriced. In the main room, I recommend the chicken burritos ($5), say yes to sauce. Hamburgers are okay. Just before the Corner Pocket closes, they sometimes give away free pizza. You can get yogurt and a baguette at the Express. In the Coffee House, all the hot food appears to have been reheated with a microwave. I recommend the sandwiches. There are also little snack bars concealed in various places on campus. ENS, Terman, School of Education and Poly Sci have generic sandwich/soda/dessert places- of these, School of Education probably has the most diverse options, and ENS has a really good deal on cheesecake. The real surprise is the one in the Psych department. I believe that it's Thai food- anyway, they have great, spicy curries. It's on an upper level, and you'll smell it as you're getting close. Generic recommendations: You may have the chance to have one fancy meal in the area. Some people will tell you to go to Il Fornaio. I've found this restaurant, in general, overpriced and overrated. I would go to Mandarin Gourmet instead, and just buy the Il Forniao bread and biscotti from their bakery. "The Guide to the Good Life at Stanford" is a very reliable guidebook, sold at the bookstore. Don't leave California without eating Acme bread! Jennie
San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Stanford/Palo Alto recommendations
Jennie G. wrote: >Miyake- Japanese food. Very enthusiastic waiters. The specialty is sushi, >which can quickly get expensive- however, they have a great selection of >vegetarian sushi at 6/ $2. I find their sushi ok, but not the best. If you're willing to splurge on one meal, try Sushi-ya, just down the street. >(You might ask around if you are very interested in Chinese food- there are >lots of good Chinese restaurants in the area.) My very favorite Chinese restaurant is Yuen Yung, on Santa Cruz Ave. in Menlo Park (next town north from PA). Their hot and sour soup is wonderful. Also, if you like Thai, try Siam Garden on Crane St., also in Menlo Park. Good food, good service, fairly good prices. And if you want Vietnamese, there's a little family-run place in Menlo Park, at 1010 Doyle Street at Menlo Ave. It's called simply Vietnam Restaurant. >Andre's- in Menlo Park. Swiss food. If the music doesn't drive you crazy, >you can have a very tasty fixed-price dinner. Dessert included. Sort of >expensive, but I recommend the food, and where else are you going to get >raclette? Also a bakery. Andre's recently changed hands -- don't remember the new name. It's on Santa Cruz Ave. in MP as well, at University Drive. > Coffee house across the street is expensive, but has great >desserts. The name of this place is Cafe Borrone's. It's next to Kepler's Bookstore, which I freely admit is not a restaurant, but which I recommend anyway. :) >Places to eat at the mall: >(?)- I don't remember the name of the Mexican place at the mall, but they >have wonderful tortas. They also make fresh juice. They're near the >McDonalds. Taqueria Una Mas. >Jennie Hope this helps! (Yes, I'm from Menlo Park. How could you tell? :) -E.B.
Oh, and I almost forgot: there's a Chili's (Tex-Mex) Grill and Bar on El Camino in Menlo Park; relatively inexpensive and good. And if you like fish and chips, try Cook's Seafood on El Camino, MP. -E.B.
Emily B. wrote: >Tied House has some good beers, but the food is pretty unimpressive, in >my opinion. I much prefer Gordon Biersch - the beer is tasty, and the >food has been outstanding when I've been there. (Admittedly, I haven't >been there for some months.) If you are visiting the Bay Area for beer, skip Tied House and Gordon Biersch and by some Anchor: Steam, Liberty Ale, and/or Porter. Sierra Nevada also produces some excellent beers. Tied House and Gordon Biersch are quite run- of-the-mill in comparison. If, on the other hand, you are interested in food, the vicinity of Palo Alto has a lot of good restaurants to choose from. Chinese: Yuen Yung on Santa Cruz in Menlo Park is one of the top 5 in the Bay Area; Chef Chu's on San Antonio in Los Altos introduced (along with Johnny Kan's in SF) chinese food with flavor to the Bay Area and is still excellent. California: Flea Street Cafe on Alemeda de las Pulgas in Menlo Park is quite good; California Cafe in the Stanford Shopping Center is a chain, but OK; McArthur Park by the PA train station is another chain and quite good. Italian: Il Fornaio off University in PA is excellent, a bit pricey, and one of our favorites; in the Stanford Shopping Center Bravo Fono and Babbo's are both quite good; a step down is the Florentine's chain in PA, etc. and Frankie, Johnnie, and Luigi's in Mt View. French: Chez T.J.'s in Mt View is one of the finest restaurants in the Bay Area, pricey and well worth it. BBQ: Armadillo Willy's at San Antonio and El Camino in Los Altos will make you think you were in San Antonio. Japanese: Fuki Sushi on El Camino in south PA used to be quite good, but I haven't been there is a while. There's more, but this list is a good start. Chris Prael
One of my favorite chinese food places is located in Menlo Park. It's called Ten Fu, and they have a really good honey walnut prawn dish. Also Try Su Hong which is also located on El Camino Real. If you like good greasy hamburgers, try eating at the Oasis(El Camino), The Dutch Goose(Alameda de Las Pulgas), or Kirks on California. Good Italian food in MP is Fontanas on El Camino. If you like big sandwiches, go to Luttikens on the Alameda. Try their "Dutch Crunch"\ bread. In Stanford shopping center, try La Bagette. GOOD bread. Happy eating. Jason
Jennie G. wrote: >Generic recommendations: >You may have the chance to have one fancy meal in the area. Some people >will tell you to go to Il Fornaio. I've found this restaurant, in general, >overpriced and overrated. I would go to Mandarin Gourmet instead, and >just buy the Il Forniao bread and biscotti from their bakery. An opposing opinion: I had dinner at he Il Fornaio in San Jose about a month ago on my trip there and would highly recommend it. I found it neither overpriced nor overrated and I eat in a lot of Italian restaurants (if you want to talk overpriced and overrated, Emile's in San Jose has my vote on both.) I'm aware that the quality may vary from restaurant to restaurant, but I really, really enjoyed my meal in the San Jose location. /S
Chris P. wrote: >Japanese: Fuki Sushi on El Camino in south PA used to be quite good, but I >haven't been there is a while. >Chris Prael I went to Fuki-Sushi for the first time recently, and was not very impressed with the sushi. However, the menu is quite extensive, and some of the appetizers we ordered were nice. (Can't vouch one way or the other for the entrees.) As I remember, the original post requested inexpensive restaurants, which Fuki-Sushi definitely is not. :) But hey, it could be worth it as a splurge. -E.B.
Someone wrote: >Emily B. wrote: >>Tied House has some good beers, but the food is pretty unimpressive, in >>my opinion. I much prefer Gordon Biersch - the beer is tasty, and the >>food has been outstanding when I've been there. (Admittedly, I haven't >>been there for some months.) > >If you are visiting the Bay Area for beer, skip Tied House and Gordon Biersch >and by some Anchor: Steam, Liberty Ale, and/or Porter. Sierra Nevada also >produces some excellent beers. Tied House and Gordon Biersch are quite run- >of-the-mill in comparison. > Agreed on the Anchor beers, I don't have experience with the Sierras. But the Tied House would be a great place for beer and food. >If, on the other hand, you are interested in food, the vicinity of Palo Alto >has a lot of good restaurants to choose from. > >Chinese: Yuen Yung on Santa Cruz in Menlo Park is one of the top 5 in the Bay >Area; Chef Chu's on San Antonio in Los Altos introduced (along with Johnny >Kan's in SF) chinese food with flavor to the Bay Area and is still excellent. > Agreed on Yuen Yung. I can't figure out why people rate Chef Chu so highly - maybe it's resting on its laurels. I think it's blan and over priced. Plenty of better deals around. >California: Flea Street Cafe on Alemeda de las Pulgas in Menlo Park is quite good; California Cafe in the Stanford Shopping Center is a chain, but OK; >McArthur Park by the PA train station is another chain and quite good. > Agreed on the Flea St. Cafe. California Cafe is overrated. My fiancee had a very bad experience in service there a few months ago, too. She was there at 2pm on a Monday, and business was slow, but they took too long to deliver her order, and when she complained, she was given the runaround. >Italian: Il Fornaio off University in PA is excellent, a bit pricey, and one >of our favorites; in the Stanford Shopping Center Bravo Fono and Babbo's are >both quite good; a step down is the Florentine's chain in PA, etc. and Frankie, If you can afford to splurge a bit, try the Italian places owned by the Hamdi borthers - Cafe Pro Bono in PA off California, and the three that are on or off 4th St. in San Mateo - Spiedo's, Ayla's (best in price) and Bogies (best all around). >Johnnie, and Luigi's in Mt View. > >French: Chez T.J.'s in Mt View is one of the finest restaurants in the Bay >Area, pricey and well worth it. > The Dining Roon in San Mateo is also really worth it. >BBQ: Armadillo Willy's at San Antonio and El Camino in Los Altos will make >you think you were in San Antonio. > >Japanese: Fuki Sushi on El Camino in south PA used to be quite good, but I >haven't been there is a while. > >There's more, but this list is a good start. > >Chris Prael > >
>Italian: Il Fornaio off University in PA is excellent, a bit pricey, and one >of our favorites; in the Stanford Shopping Center Bravo Fono and Babbo's are >both quite good; ...... Don't forget the new Piatti at Stanford shopping center. Jer
John A. wrote: >Someone wrote: >>French: Chez T.J.'s in Mt View is one of the finest restaurants in the Bay >>Area, pricey and well worth it. >> > >The Dining Roon in San Mateo is also really worth it. If one is going to San Mateo, a few minute's drive from Palo Alto, then 231 Elsworth is VERY good and fairly priced. Chris Prael
Someone wrote: > >If one is going to San Mateo, a few minute's drive from Palo Alto, then >231 Elsworth is VERY good and fairly priced. > >Chris Prael > I *did* miss this one. The price is fair for the quality of the food and experience, but it ain't cheap! It's a fairly pricey place. But well worth it. > >