I just had sushi take-out from Masa’s Sushi & Grill on 2210 S Bascom in Campbell. Excellent Covid-19 protocol. Excellent food quality and generous portions.
BTW, don’t confuse this place with Sushi Masa or other Masa’s.
Guisados Del Patron, new taco joint from the Tacos Patron folks, but this one specializes in guisado (“stew”) meat and veggie tacos. Funny both of their shops are on S. Van Ness but 9 blocks apart (this one at 17th the other at 26th). I had the Tinga De Pollo, Mole con Pollo and Cochinita Pibil ($3.25 each). ( I think there was another board that showed a bunch of veggie options beyond the pic I posted) All were excellent with distinctive flavors and came with pickled onions that had a strong Mexican oregano flavor. They were stacking tortillas that came out of a toaster oven like contraption but I couldn’t tell if they were just heating and stacking them or if they were handmade (I had questions but the owner was power washing the sidewalk and I couldn’t hear a damn thing).
There’s a place in LA called Guisados that I’ve been to a few times that does a sampler platter with sort of small one bite mini tacos, so you can get 10 for $10 if I recall and it would be great if they did something like that since there are so many varieties to try. I also recall a couple super spicy habanero sauced tacos that I was hoping Patron would have but did not see.
Overall really good and nice addition to the SF taco scene.
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I got takeout at Yi Jin Chang Fen in Berkeley (2132 Center Street) last night. Easy online ordering, and 20 minutes after I ordered, my items were bagged and waiting for me. You pay at the restaurant, and there is parking in front so you can park, grab, and go. Parking is easy during these COVID times, but it won’t always be that way since this place is right next to Cal.
I tried 4 rolls: shrimp, shrimp and beef, corn, and bbq pork. All rolls are wrapped with lettuce, something that my family does that gives the rolls a nice crunch, and something I don’t see when it is served at other restaurants. Cheung fun (noodles roll) texture was silky with a nice chew, even an hour after after picking it up. Both shrimp rolls had a lot of white pepper, and the bbq pork was on the sweet side. All rolls had generous filling, and the rolls not cylindrical, but rectangular. One order is one big roll, enough for two people. I cut them in 1/2.
I’ll be back to try their other offerings, but I am crazy for cheung fun so it is going to take discipline to deviate from the rolls, especially now that I know they’re really good. Sorry, the only pics I took were after I remembered and ate half of the roll, so it doesn’t do the food justice.
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Thanks for the report! I had never heard about Yi Jin. Their website says they have been around since 1958. Is anyone familiar with their history?
They have a shop in Pleasanton too.
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I found some history:
’ Yin Ji Chang Fen is a Chinese chain that specializes in cheungfan , or rice noodle rolls. If you’re familiar with dim sum, you likely already know the Cantonese dish. Cheungfan is made with thin, sheet-like rice noodles wrapping fillings, such as char siu pork, dried shrimp or marinated beef; the roll is then steamed and topped with a light soy sauce. Along with the rice noodle rolls, Yin Ji offers various congee (rice porridge), several sweet and savory snacks, and beverages like Hong Kong-style milk tea. The original Yin Ji opened in Guangzhou in the 1950s, but the restaurant has since become a popular international chain.’
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East Bay takeout:
Rotisserie whole chickens from El Cerrito Natural Grocery’s Prepared Foods Annex:
10387 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito, CA 94530
Priced by the lb. so they range in sizes. I always buy the biggest one I can find. What we like most about them is they don’t overcook their chickens - the breast meat is still soft and tender yet the dark meat is properly cooked.
AND, they don’t oversalt their chickens! Lots of herb rub on the skin but none of that excessive sodium which none of us need.
Prices range from $16-$22, depending on size. Note you should put it one of the plastic bags (there’s a roll by the display case); this chicken is juicy and the packaging may leak even though it’s a triple layer on the bottom.
We would rank the roast chickens at Market Hall Rockridge a touch better, but:
- Parking is harder
- It costs more
- MH cooks it on point, so if it sits around too long, it overcooks.
At both places it’s best to get the chickens just before lunch, or soon after 1p - both for widest selection and best flavor.
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Farmhouse Thai, Mission SF.
This is their Little Lao dinner set for 2, $59. I never order delivery because I just don’t think most food travels well, excessive fees, etc. but Uber Eats emailed me a $30 coupon [US30 promo code at checkout for those in SF] so I felt compelled to get delivery. This is a lot of food, comes with an extra pad see ew for a kid plus 2 Thai iced teas or beers (I ordered beers but they delivered iced teas). The papaya salad and beef shank were great. The pad Thai was so sweet I might as well have been eating a plate of Jolly Ranchers. The rest was basic sort of Americanized Thai.
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Yes, we found Farmhouse very disappointing in that respect. What’s worse is that Daughter Thai, which was going to be their ‘authentic’ Thai, started out so beautifully but later went downhill in an all-to-familiar sea of sugar.
The one thing that was very good at Farmhouse were the chicken wings - sweet sauced, but not overcooked or heavily battered. But I noticed recent photos show something different than what we got (we went when they had only been open for about 6 months), so I guess the recipe changed.
SE Asian food is drowning in sugar these days and it’s really disappointing. It’s lost the wonderful medley of tastes: bitter, tart, hot, salty, fishy, aromatic - with sugar as a contrast, not a main ingredient in every dish.
Other than some dishes at Kin Khao, Vegetarian Thai I’ve had has usually been like the trite “vegetarian entree” at a wedding. So I was pleased with the vegetarian version of this sampler platter. Most of it was sweet or tame enough for my toddlers, but there was a well thought out variety of meat alternatives in the mix, including a gluten “fried chicken”.
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Yeah, I hate to say anything negative about a restaurant in these hard times for them but I did have higher expectations based on what I’d read. The last time I had Thai was at Luv2Eat right before the pandemic in Los Angeles, and it is just in a such a different class compared to what you can get around here. Lers Ros has some good stuff but the menu is so massive it’s a bit of a minefield to navigate. I haven’t been to Kin Khao and it looks really good, but it is kind of pricey - I’m going to try is soon.
Very true. We were fortunate to be introduced to Thai food with Khan Toke in SF, which was one of the first, if not the first, upscale Thai in SF. We were living in the Richmond district at the time - mid-'70’s - and were wowed by the amazing flavors (and heat, whew!) of this cuisine.
Vietnamese food, same tale. In the early days you had to go with a Vietnamese friend because none of the staff in any of the restaurants in SF Chinatown spoke any English! So an emigre friend kindly would take us along and show us how to wrap fillings in lettuce leaves and rice papers. We went to Vietnamese banquets which were far beyond the “7 Beef” standards.
That cuisine also became progressively sweeter and sweeter. The curries are almost inedible these days. Temple Club owner/chef Geoffrey Deetz and I had a conversation about this depressing trend the last time we ate there. He said the food even in SE Asia itself is getting more and more sugary.
Ran across this article that talked about Thai food with a list of the interviewee’s fav LA Thai places. Makes for an interesting read:
Jan 2019: How Thai food took over America
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I don’t have any idea where to post about it but this thread might be it (feel free to move it).
I grabbed a brioche feuilletée from Maison Nico at the Ferry Building.
Brioche dough formed like croissants pretty much. Nice shatter on the outside, and butter doughiness on the inside. Sweetness reminds me of a morning bun actually, but all in all this thing is delicious and you probably need a trip to the local cardiologist…
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Where is Maison Nico? They must be new–I don’t remember them at the Ferry Building.
Maison Nico has an outdoor stand on Saturday’s for the Ferry Building Farmer’s market. Their brick and mortar opened 2 weekends ago where Nico used to operate at 710 Montgomery St.
As for the brioche feuilletèe, I thought it was good (perhaps a bit doughy in the center) but not great. The lamination on these look great and it all photographs well though. They also have a mini brioche feuilletèe, but they were sold out.
For something similar and smaller, I like the flavor and sweetness level of the Kouign Amann at Arsicault more.
However, I will revisit to try the meat pies (pâté en croûte), terrines, and other pastries (Parisian flan).
https://maisonnico.com/menu/
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I cut the loaf into toaster slices and just placed them in the toaster oven and baked them briefly to warm it up. Thought it was great.
But yeah definitely reminds me of a Kouign Amann as well. I really wish Dominique Ansel would open up in the bay, loved his DKA
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Oof the prices lol. I like them, but not that much…
I also wish they shipped their HK stuff:
Though… costs would probably be killer as well.
Probably cheaper (if not deadlier) to fly to LA and pick it up…
Edit: scratch that… the LA location is closed now 
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What’s chef Deetz doing these days do you know?
Yeah, I also went to Luv2Eat last year. Its definitely different from anything we have here.
I guess I will file my good memories of Daughter Thai. Had a few good meals there over the years but haven’t been back for a while.
Nari is good. I had a great meal there last year. But its more upscale.
Arrggh I had a reservation at Nari last April for my birthday dinner then Covid hit. Hopefully It will still be around when things are back to normal for indoor dining.
