This and that around the Bay Area

Aside from planning out reservations for new restaurants, nostalgic bites, spontaneous eats and recommendations from locals and friends fill the rest of my eating and drinking time in the Bay Area.

My trips back to the San Francisco area always satisfy my cravings for contemporary American bar food, Mexican fare, and Northern Californian wines and beers.  From dishes I used to have as a grade school kid to new discoveries, it all tastes like home away from home these days.

Fish and Chips at Bourbon Pub
Petrale sole, salt and vinegar tots, tartar sauce

Robata in Santa Clara

After the first two visits to Sumika (within the same week), I was curious about the owner's third restaurant (the first being Orenchi).

Iroriya is located in the same strip mall as Orenchi in Santa Clara.  It's actually right next door.  To the right of the ramen shop's entrance is an unmarked wooden door.  If it wasn't for reviews and blogs, new customers would have no idea about Iroriya.  Word of mouth works.

Robata is grilled foods over a special Japanese white charcoal, binchotan.  The proteins are primarily seafood as this kind of cooking originated from Japanese fisherman.  Reservations are highly recommended for this place.  When you do get seated, first check out the daily and seasonal specials.

Diners come here ready to spend.  The seafood selections are premium fishes and shellfish.  And a great pairing with this kind of food is sake and sochu, which you see many bottles around the tables.

This is a great, authentic robata experience for seafood lovers.  If I had to choose between the two, I readily go back to Sumika because of the variety of the menu, the meat options, and the fact that it's a bit more affordable so that eating there often won't hurt your wallet as much.

Robata counter

Cold mug of Sapporo draft beer

Nibbling around the San Francisco Bay Area

This last trip back to San Francisco was pretty indulgent, a true eat-fest.

Here are pictures from the many other bites that I had during my two week trip.  It was filled with nostalgic eats (like the chicken wings by my alma mater), fun finds while catching up with old friends (which is the root to my love for bar food), and new bites which I can't wait to have again on my next trip (Smore's Pie at Bi-Rite!)

If you cant see the slide show here, check out my Flickr album: SF Nibblings

My New Favorite Ramen in the Bay Area

My favorite ramen restaurants are all in the Bay Area. When I have ramen, I look for either miso or tonkotsu broths. Given one choice, I'd readily choose tonkotsu. There's something about that milky pork bone broth that is so attractive and addicting.

Since I moved, my Ryowa and Santa Ramen friends have been raving about a new place in the South Bay, Orenchi Ramen.

And that's where I went for my first meal back in town.

After a sip of the broth and a bite of the noodles...this is my new favorite ramen place. The broth has that right amount of milky, pork tastiness. The noodles have that al dente chew that I love. And that Japanese style hard/soft boiled egg is a great addition to the bowl.

I also ordered the karaage. It's really good, but it's not as delicious as Ryowa's karaage. I think if Orenchi had gyoza on its menu, this could be the perfect ramen restaurant.

Right now I literally looked at the time to see if Orenchi is open yet (they have limited lunch and dinner hours - and get there early because there's always a line). I only have a few days left here, so every meal counts.

If you can't see the slideshow check out my Flickr album: Orenchi

Gyro Search Continues

Ever since I had that amazing gyro in Seattle, I’ve been in search of a gyro here in the Bay Area that at least matches that tastiness.  So far, I’ve had no luck.  They have been tasty, but they don’t have that wow factor that hit me when I ate at Aladdin’s Gyro-cery.

Athena Grill, Santa Clara
This place is located in the middle of business complexes.  Once you enter, it’s like you’ve entered the set of My Big Fat Greek Wedding.  It’s pretty fun.  Overall, I really enjoyed this place.  I will probably go back to try other items on the menu.

The Beer Pairing
Whenever I see a beverage menu, I try to order something I’ve never had before.  I’d definitely never had Greek beer.  So I ordered Hillas.   At first, the taste resembles a crisp Japanese beer.  Then, the after taste kicks in which resembles a Corona, with a hint of Jasmine.

Gyro Plate
Thin-slide spicy beef over a warm pita with red onion, tomato, and tzatziki with Greek fries.  Overall, it was good and everything was fresh.  The fries were nicely seasoned.  However, I was hoping the meat would have a more intense taste.

Japanese Craving

Japanese izayaka and yakitori are comfort foods for me. Over the past few months, I've been trying out the best Yelp rated restaurants in the South Bay. I've tried Gochi, Sumiya, Tanto, and now En. En is my new favorite. It's casual, yet classy, and the food is well made and authentic.

My mom was craving for a plate of Yakiudon. I called Gochi, but their reservations book was filled and a walk-in wait was over 30 minutes (and we were trying to catch a movie after dinner). So we drove to Tanto, but as soon as we entered we were crudely rejected. They, too, were all booked for the night. Driving back down on El Camino, I saw that bright red sign of En and I immediately turned in the parking lot. To our pleasant surprise, they not only had open tables, but they also became our new favorite Bay Area izayaka restaurant.

The Inside, Front Room

The Inside, Back Room

The Beer Pairing
Sapporo on draft. I love the refreshing taste and feel of Japanese beer when I eat izakaya. The beer cuts through the grilling and complements the meal so well.

Creamy Scallop Croquette
I grew up loving Japanese croquettes. My criteria is a light, crispy outside, and a light and creamy inside. This nailed it. The outside was nicely coated with Panko and well fried, yet not overly done. The inside was smooth and creamy with tasty bits of scallop. Delicious!


Teba
Grilled Chicken Wings. The wings were generous in size, well grilled, and still moist and flavorful.

Yakiudon
Like with croquettes, I also have a criteria for yakiudon. Chewy noodles and that high heat taste. Another success. This place is awesome.


UPDATE: The following night and another night soon after that, we went back to En to try out more items on their menu.
Oyster with Miso Sauce
The oysters were smaller than we had expected, and the miso sauce was a bit too overpowering and sweet.

Oyster Agedashi
Oysters wrapped in Bacon, then fried in a tempura batter, and topped with Agedashi sauce. Delicious! The oyster doesn't get lost in the bacon. All the flavors go so well together.

Shishito Peppers
Nicely grilled. A great side.

Bitter Melon with Tofu
I love bitter melon, and this was well done!

Kushi Katsu
Fried Kabobs. This order mixed white fish, salmon, and pork. It was pretty good, but nothing special.

Grilled Saba
Mackerel. The fish was fresh and meaty. The grilling was done so well. The fish was still tender, moist, and with a nice bite.

Uni Fried Rice
Rice topped with Uni, a Ikura, and a Poached Egg. So good! It was a meal in itself. I love all the elements on their own and to put it all together was just awesome.

Late Night Yakitori

After the movies, my mom and I were researching places around Santa Clara to have dinner past 10pm. On my Yelp search I came across Sumiya Yakitori. It's open until 11:30pm every night.

Grilled Beef Tongue

Grilled Green Onions

Shio Ramen
I don't recommend this. The broth and noodles were bland. It tasted processed and store bought. Stick to the yakitori.

Grilled Squid

Grilled Chicken Wings

Grilled Shitake Mushrooms

Grilled Eggplant


Unfortunately, not all my photos came out. We also ordered Bacon Wrapped Asparagus (It was okay, but the bacon was too much. Yes, I believe in such a thing as too much bacon.), Bacon Wrapped Okra (A nice single layer of bacon, delicious.), Smelt, and Pork Belly.

Overall, dinner was enjoyable. The yakitori was delicious and authentic. The chefs had great timing of how to cook the meat, seafood and vegetables. This is definitely a repeatable place to dine.