Someone wrote: : Where does one find a good restaurant for the subject title?? I've : the Sofitel Hotel has a good one and I would like to know if it's good from : someone who's tried it. I would also appreciate names of other places. Here's a summary of what I got when I asked this ~6 mo's ago... --Michael -------------------- FLEA STREET CAFE Generally I like Flea Street Cafe in Menlo Park. They don't cost much more than Hobee's with much better food, although they are better when the owner (Jesse) is in the restaurant. 3607 Alameda de las Pulgas, 854-1226 101, Woodside exit W, 3 miles & turn left on Alameda de las Pulgas, 1.25 miles up on the left. -- HEARTS (PA) We usually stay close to home when we go out to breakfast on the weekends. Within walking distance of my house is a reastaurant calledHearts, located at the SW corner of California and Park (Palo Alto).You can even ride CalTrain to breakfast, as it is a stone's throw from the Cal Ave station. They make good scones; I usually get the Saturday special, since it is a good deal (I like their sausage, which they make on the premises). someone else: I've never been able to get past their ricotta cheese pancakes to try anything else on the menu. -- REDWOOD CAFE AND SPICE CO. Try the Redwood Cafe and Spice Company on Main St. just west of Middlefieldin Redwood City. The atmosphere is unique for this vicinity - it's in a rather elegant old house, perhaps the most interesting building in Redwood City. The brunches are similar to their regular breakfasts, with a few add-on's. Quality is as good as (not necessarily superior to) those of the above places IUve been to, but I find the surroundings particularly pleasant. The Swedish (oatmeal?) pancakes are unusual and excellent; egg dishes are well prepared; and they provide a nice mixed basket of breads and muffins. > > Re. Redwood Cafe and Spice House - I forgot to mention prices, which are > pretty much all under $10 per person. Really? I found it impossible to get out for less than that. I remember small portions; no a la carte selections (I prefer to assemble my own brunch a la carte, partly because I don't eat most normal American breakfast dishes AND my appetite is relatively small); and mostly absent service. The food was reasonably tasty, and I like the outdoor garden setting; but I won't go back unless they cut their prices by at least a third. another: I guess I didn't make myself clear when I panned the Redwood Cafe and Spice House. I should have just said that for about the same price you can go to the Flea Street Cafe and have much better food and much better service. -- MACARTHUR PARK Another place which we have gone to is MacArthur Park, coincidentally right next to the downtown Palo Alto train station. A bit more expensive than Hearts, but a much nicer room and a piano player; outdoor seating also. -- FARMER'S MARKET We used to go to the "Farmers Market" on California Ave. in Palo Alto a lot (next to Country Sun) while my wife was at Stanford. They have the best fresh squeezed OJ. They changed owners a while back and the new owners have put in some middle-eastern type food while preserving the old menu. They have a patio in the back (a bit run down) which is good if you have kids, and is not spilling over at the seams like Hobbees or any of these other places. I prefer an unhurried, lazy brunch/breakfast and the ambiance here is more suited to that. I been back only a couple of times, but the service was very warm and the food while not brilliant was pretty good. They were also very pleasant about amending some of dishes to taste.
San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Sunday brunch on the Peninsula
Michael O. wrote: >Someone wrote: >: Where does one find a good restaurant for the subject title?? I've >: the Sofitel Hotel has a good one and I would like to know if it's good from >: someone who's tried it. I would also appreciate names of other places. > >Here's a summary of what I got when I asked this ~6 mo's ago... Here's two more (yes, I know they're chains, but they're very good chains): The Good Earth (Palo Alto, Cupertino, Las Gatos, Redwood City) (There are other locations, but they're owned by a different company; most of the comments still apply.) Hobee's (Palo Alto (2), Cupertino, San Jose, and probably others) I know some will argue, but they're virtually interchangeable. Both serve "healthy food" in large portions at medium prices. Hobee's has stayed a little closer to its roots as a "health food" place (at one point, both chains were almost strictly vegetarian -- ovo/lacto, that is), but I prefer The Good Earth. Both places are *crowded* and *noisy* if you go at the wrong time, and Sunday brunch is prime time for both -- go before 9am if you can. They are also completely non-smoking, regardless of the local laws. Both have an outdoor patio at the Cupertino location, but The Good Earth only opens theirs between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The primary obvious difference between them is that Hobee's has a salad bar -- it's fresh, but selection is limited (by Fresh Choice or Sweet Tomatoes standards).
Mean M. wrote: > >The Good Earth (Palo Alto, Cupertino, Las Gatos, Redwood City) >(There are other locations, but they're owned by a different company; >most of the comments still apply.) > >Hobee's (Palo Alto (2), Cupertino, San Jose, and probably others) > >I know some will argue, but they're virtually interchangeable. Both >serve "healthy food" in large portions at medium prices. Hobee's has >stayed a little closer to its roots as a "health food" place (at one >point, both chains were almost strictly vegetarian -- ovo/lacto, that >is), but I prefer The Good Earth. > I disagree. I have given up going to the Good Earth, as their food and service have become uniformly terrible. I`ve had to wait for a half hour or so while the wait staff have been standing around with nothing to do. Several complaints and finally, we get something like, oh, I thought you were being served by someone else. Their tea has never been near as good as Hobee's. The last straw was when my fiancee got frozen shrimp on her salad - still frozen. When she complained, the server asked, "It's too cold for you, is it?" As she explanied, it wasn't too cold, it WAS FROZEN! Despite the crowds, we have been pleased with Hobees.