phyncke

Henry's Restaurant (Campus Area, Durant Avenue)
Durant Hotel
Restaurant review

Basic info:
Kind of pub grub as part of a hotel setting in Berkeley. Joie de Vivre hotel chain.

This place has always been iffy. Kind of a dice roll when you go there and I knew they had a new chef so I wanted to see what was going on here. We had an occasion for a group lunch, student leaving so we thought we would try this place. It is nicely situated in the hotel and I really like the decor and tile floor. Chairs are comfy.

Well, I really wish I had not. My burger tasted like a piece of tasteless wood and it totally fell apart. Not good. I did enjoy the fries with sea salt and the little pot of ketchup that came with them. That was cute. But the mainstay of my meal was not good. I also found that there menu was not very interesting. Not much to choose from and not much variety. Berkeley is a foodie kind of town and so our choice will not be this place as there was not much to draw me back there.

Thumbs down here. Also, too expensive for what we got.

Website:
http://www.henrysberkeley.com/

Over all rating:
So so.

Recommend:
Not so much.

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post 34/100 in the 100 things challenge

PS - I am going to add previews and trailers to my culture vulture posts and count those. I need more posts and think those count. I will do commentary with those.

Gypsy's Trattoria
Berkeley, CA (Campus Area, Durant Avenue)
Restaurant review

Basic info:
Italian Cuisine, entree price 6.50 per plate including bread, side salad 1.99.

This is fresh Italian food for sure. You go in, order at the counter and they cook your food while you wait. No chafing dishes here. No food that was cooked hours ago. It is all prepped per order and very fresh. Big plates of food for this price too and really good. My go to meal is the penne gorgonzola with spinach but I have also had the meat lasagna. I have seen their massive calzones which seem really popular with the students. This is good, rib sticking food and truly delicious. Always good and you can get take out.

Website:
http://www.gypsysitaliana.com/

Over all rating:
Excellent! Fresh food!

Recommend:
Definitely. Highly!

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post 27/100 in the 100 things challenge

Philz Coffee
Berkeley, CA (North Berkeley, Shattuck Ave)
Restaurant review

Basic info:
Coffee place with locations in SF, South Bay. You order your coffee and they make it for you, adding the cream and sugar for you.

This is a fun, very hip coffee shop with excellent coffee. I got a little coffee therapy as the barista helped me figure out what I really wanted. I had the tesora on ice with cream and sugar. He made it up for me, it was delicious and the coffee could stand up to being iced. A lot of coffee weakens too much when you ice it but not this stuff. Holds up to that. Friendly atmosphere here and really great coffee. The people who work here really love it and know their product well enough to consult with people coming in. A true find. I will go back there and add it into my coffee circuit.

Website:
http://www.philzcoffee.com/


Over all rating:
Excellent! Fine example of Bay area coffee culture.

Recommend:
Definitely.

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post 24/100 in the 100 things challenge

California Pizza Kitchen
Walnut Creek, CA

Restaurant review

Basic info:
Entrees $10-12.00. Asian infused and creatively done pasta and pizza.

This is a California cuisine take on italian cuisine and a national chain and I usually love the food here but tonight I was totally disappointed with the tasteless experience. Typically I have very flavorful and well done food here on this chain but it did not cut it tonight. I really wish we had gone for the fried chicken and waffles and stuck with the plan.

For an appetizer we ordered the foccaccia bread with herb olive oil. I guess 'foccacia' is a loose term because this doughy thing was more like undercooked pizza dough with some cheese on it. Definitely NOT foccaccia bread. It might have tasted good if they had cut the amount of sugar in the flour mixture. It was too sweet by far. I did enjoy the olive oil with herbs in it and that was a nice touch but in general this appetizer failed in its aim being NOT foccaccia bread. I think they just use some of the dough from the pizza and shape it differently.

I ordered a pasta - garlic fettucine, add the chicken. I always change the noodle to penne as those are easier to eat. My food was bland bland bland bland...did I say BLAND?! Where was the garlic? No where near my plate, I will tell you that. I salted my food to add some life to it and I usually only like to add a dash of pepper to taste. This was a huge disappointment. They over portioned on the pasta - gave me more than was usual for the plate and the sauce was bland and not enough for the pasta. I considered sending it back but that would have kept us there longer. Not worth the trouble.

Give me the check and get me out of there. The restaurant is noisy.

On the plus side? Our service was excellent. Very conscientious server, attentive and fast.

I will go back there to see if it was just a bad night or if the food has gone down hill.

Website:
http://www.cpk.com/menu/


Over all rating:
Bland and tasteless

Recommend:
Not this time but usually I do.

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post 13/100 in the 100 things challenge


www.laurahonest.com

Hotcakes Bakes
Los Angeles, CA

Restaurant review

Basic info:
Cost per cupcake is 3.00.

Hotcakes Bakes Bakery won Cupcakes Wars in 2009 so that is their claim to fame. They made our list of cupcakes to try while I was in Los Angeles.

I have to say, I was underwhelmed. First off, the cupcake was served very cold from the fridge. Frosting cold, cake cold...it was cold. I really prefer my cupcakes room temperature. They taste better and the texture of the frosting is just way better. The bite of this was hard and just no fun. This fact alone ruined the cupcake for me and I pretty much could not get past that. Cold cupcake = yech tooey.

I sampled their coconut cupcake to compare it to the one that I had from Sprinkles. This was plain vanilla with a cream cheese frosting. It was smaller than the Sprinkles one and no lemon in this one. I honestly think my cupcake had spent a good long time in the fridge and the flavor was not there. Hands down, Sprinkles beat out this cupcake. Lackluster to say the least. I am sure some people think this is a good cupcake but not me. The flavor would have come through a bit better if it had not been chilled.

Anyways. Worth a mention. I did, of course, finish the cupcake.

Website and restaurant information:
http://www.hotcakesbakes.com/


Over all rating:
Fair.

Recommend:
Not as much as Sprinkles.


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post 10/100 in the 100 things challenge


www.laurahonest.com

La Cocina Poblana
Mexican Restaurant
Emeryville, CA

Restaurant review

Basic info:
Moderately priced (16-19 on the entree) Mexican Restaurant with a bar in the restaurant and open kitchen format. You can watch the food prep from the dining room. Casual dining, street parking.

This is our go to place when we go to the movies over in Emeryville. The food is delicious and the menu can accommodate special food needs for a person with food allergies. The staff is willing to adjust plates for diners personal tastes. Example, tonight I asked for mole sauce to be replaced with verde sauce and that was no problem. The staff are courteous and attentive and check their tables frequently.

We started with chips and guacamole which arrived elegantly plated and with an ample enough portion to last through the whole meal. No wimpy plates here. I ordered chicken enchiladas and as I indicated above I did a sauce substitution to their usual. No problem there and it was a delicious offset to the crema that comes with the meal. The rice here is also cooked in a hint of cream and everything tastes rich and delicious. Portions are large and I usually have left overs to take home.

For dessert there are a lot of choices but I am a fan of their flan. I had the coffee flan which is a nice dark, rich color and beautifully plated. Light and airy, this melts over the tongue with a smoothness that flan should have. Perfect every time.

Cocina Poblana always delivers the flavor, service and portion that I expect. I was not disappointed tonight and will go back again. Absolutely.

Website and restaurant information:
http://www.cocinapoblana.com/


Over all rating:
Excellent

Recommend:
Highly

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post 4/100 in the 100 things challenge


by niftybabe313