Sonny's BBQ- Eating in Florida

My first time in Florida is this Thanksgiving to spend this holiday with my fiance's family.

Jeremy, Jeremy's mom, and I went to eat at Sonny's BBQ, which is a large chain of BBQ places around Florida.  Jeremy had wanted BBQ so we went for lun-ner on Tuesday.  Jeremy was excited for the sweet tea and all you can eat pulled pork.  I also had a sweet tea, which they served in ginormous cups.  Jeremy downed his first glass, but I'm not sure if I even finished the first big glass because they kept filling my cup.  I had to also get a glass of water because I'm not used to drinking so much of a sugary drink, but I must admit the sweet tea was very tasty, though even sweet tooth Jeremy thought it was a bit sweet.

For our meals, I got a half rack of baby back ribs with cornbread.  For my 2 sides I chose baked beans and green beans, since I'm usually lacking vegetables when I go out to eat.  The ribs were good but nothing special to call home about.  The meat was nice and soft, and the sauce was good- not overpowering in sweetness or smokiness.  I highly enjoyed the cornbread without butter, especially with the rest of the food that was very flavorful.  The baked beans were really good with ham or bacon pieces baked in.  It was on the sweeter side, but I still highly enjoyed it.  The green beans were good too.  They were very soft since they were stewed in a pork base, but very flavorful.

Jeremy got the all you can eat pulled pork with garlic bread and his 2 sides were fries and baked beans.  Apparently it's all you can eat on every part of your meal- great news for Jeremy! The first batch of fries for both him and his mom were cold but the second batch were oh so fresh and hot.  I had one of those, and yet again as usual, burned my tongue because of my lack of patience.  They were the normal crinkle fries- I'm not enough of an expert to say for sure that it was the frozen kind, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were. I didn't try any of his garlic bread but he says "It was AWESOME." He also got second helpings of it, so it must have been good. Now onto the main part which was the pulled pork.  That was actually quite delicious and I actually felt like I should've ordered that too.  It was easier to eat and scrumptious, especiall since you are able to doctor it up if you want to with the 4 available sauce bottles at the table.  I believe we used the "Sizzlin' Sweet" sauce on Jeremy's mom's recommendation which was a good one!

We were definitely too full for dessert, but the menu looked good.  Besides, there was superb homemade apple pie and Publix Cookies & Cream ice cream waiting for us at home when we were ready for it!  I would definitely go back to Sonny's again to try either something new or go for that pulled pork, cornbread, baked beans, and... I'll decide on that last vegetable side dish later :)

Thanks for Lun-ner Jeremy!

Royal Tofu House

A colleague and I went to Royal Tofu House recently for lunch, because it's really close by and I felt like something warm but healthy in the cooling weather.  I had been to other korean restaurants such as in Cupertino Village but had not tried this one, so we finally went.

Overall, it was good, but there weren't as many side dishes that came with our food as some other restaurants I have been to.  However, each of the side items were good.  A broccoli with tofu dish, little fish dish, bean sprouts, seaweed, and of course kimchi.  I'm not a kimchi expert, but I thought it was actually quite good.  I dipped it into my soup to spice it up a bit more, as well as eat it with my rice.  I can be pretty weak sauce when it comes to spiciness but this was just right for me!  So all you really spicy kimchi lovers may not enjoy it as much.  

I ordered the vegetable tofu pot, mild spice, and thought it hit the spot.  Of course I burned my tongue as usual since I'm so impatient when it comes to food, especially when I'm very hungry! Their rice was good too.  I would definitely go back again, especially with the proximity, but I can't say it was the best ever!

First Ethiopian Food Experience

To celebrate my roommate Christina's birthday and experience Ethiopian food for the first time in both of our lives, we went to Zeni Restaurant in San Jose, which got great reviews on Yelp.  I was expecting long lines since we didn't get there until close to 8pm, and Yelp had warned that lines are long between 7-9pm on weekends.  There were 6 of us that went, so we ended up waiting 40 minutes or so, but we went next door to a discount shop to roam around and hang out so it wasn't too bad. Besides, if there are a lot of people always waiting to eat at this place, that must be a good sign!

We finally got in and the place was cute.  A bit cozy in between the groups so if one person had to get up to wash their hands, it was a tiny ordeal but we managed.  The seats were actually quite cushier than I thought, and quite comfortable although most of them had no backs. Okay on to the food...

We ordered the vegetarian combo which came with I believe a spicy lentil dish, a cabbage dish, a greens dish, perhaps a potato-ish dish, and a cold type of bread salad using their spongy unleavened bread.  They were all different flavors, but tasty and flavorful.  The only one I didn't have much of was the spicy lentil one, because it was very spicy and I'm a bit weak sauce when it comes to pure heat. We also ordered a chicken dish that looked like it had a tomato flavored sauce, including chicken, onions, and carrots. It tasted quite good alone as well as with the spongy bread they give you.  The third thing we shared was the beef dish which was a green curry type sauce but not spicy.  It had some potatoes and a few other vegetables I believe, but that was really good too.  It kind of reminded me of a pulled pork type look for the meat, but again very tasty when the sauce absorbed into the spongy bread.  

I'm glad we also got the appetizer salad to have some raw, cold greens to balance the warmth and different flavors of the other dishes.  The bread alone wasn't my favorite thing due to the sourness that it had.  I really liked the pieces on the plate underneath the various sauces, because the flavor had soaked in and made the bread very flavorful and not so sour.

We also got a bottle of the Ethiopian honey wine because we had heard that it was pretty tasty and went well with the meal.  I like plum wine so I thought I might like it, but I wouldn't get it on my own again.  It was a bit too sweet and had an odd alcohol or wheat-y aftertaste to it.  I'm not sure it really complements the food that great either, but again I'm not a wine expert!

Overall, the food was good, but not at the top of my cuisines list.  I am willing to try more Ethiopian restaurants if there are specific really good ones people recommend, but I'm more likely to go eat a different cuisine.  I'm biased but Japanese and other asian foods still rank at the top of my list! Aside from that, the point was to spend time with beloved friends and celebrate a birthday so it was a success and HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTINA!

Sushi Tatsumi

I went here for lunch the other day since it is close to where I work.
When I looked at the menu, it was a bit pricier than the usual lunch sets, but I said what the heck and went for the sushi and broiled mackerel. I was very pleased with what I received, because it was not just the typical lunch set but so much more.

I knew I couldn't describe everything and give an idea of how good it looked, so here are some pictures. The first is of my lunch set which included rice, salad, tofu, fried spring roll, potato salad and miso soup along with my 2 choices for the lunch set. The salad was different from the usual lettuce with creamy dressing. Instead it had mixed greens with other veggies and a light vinaigarette which I liked a lot. The tofy was in a dashi sauce that was great. The mackerel was quite tasty with a squeeze of lemon and lots of daikon oroshi! The spring roll was nice, hot and crispy. I also would like to mention that I highly enjoyed their rice which glistened more and you could tell it was a higher quality rice.

The second picture is the 4 pieces of nigiri sushi I got. The fish was very fresh and tasty. I wish I had salmon instead of ebi, but maybe I'll ask if I can trade next time. The ebi was actually better than I expected though! Overall, I must say I was very pleased and would go back again! Of course it can't be every time since it's a bit pricy- probably $20 with tax and tip for this lunch, but worth it!

My Bday: SushiMaru

For my 24th birthday I wanted sushi, so guess where Jeremy took me... SUSHI!  I had heard that Sushi Maru, which used to be in Sunnyvale but is now in Milpitas, is pretty good.  I had to try it out myself, so that was where we went!  I read that they have sushi boats, which I'm typically skeptical of since they float around for who knows how long waiting to be taken by someone.  To their benefit though, the items actually looked rather fresh, except for the fried items which I would never get off the boat.  I didn't end up getting anything off the boats, but I saw them add a number of items as well, so I would've chosen those- maybe next time :)

What I DID have, was the sushi dinner.  I got some of my favorite nigiris like aji, hamachi, salmon, and tuna among others.  I was actually quite impressed with their California roll, as was Jeremy, because it wasn't too mayonaise-y which I hate.  I believe they also use actual crab instead of imitation crab which makes it taste better.  I enjoyed all the pieces of sushi in my meal... gosh I love sushi.  I also made Jeremy try some of my raw fish.  He had eaten them before but just wanted to share some sushi love with him :)  I also liked their miso soup that came with the dinner.  I can't pinpoint exactly what I liked about it, but it had enough miso flavor balanced with some seaweed and tofu pieces.  There were a few pieces of salad that looked kinda sketchy to me, as in a bit brown, but nothing detrimental to my health at all.  

Jeremy got the katsu curry and enjoyed it.  He really liked the pickled daikon that was served along with it too.  Of course I sampled a little bit of the tonkatsu as well as the curry and must say I enjoyed the bite as well.  Jeremy is a big fan of curry, and a big eater, but he didn't quite finish all of it.  He finishes mine though as he pointed out, so mine must be better :P

Overall a pleasant experience and I would definitely recommend it to friends as well as go back again for some more sushi!  Thanks Jeremy for my bday dinner.

Another thanks to my roomie Christina for getting me a delicious Cookies N Cream Ice Cream Cake- what a way to finish the night!  I had Carvell ice cream cake at work because my lovely coworkers had gotten me a cake as well, but hey if you can't splurge on dessert on your birthday, when can you??  I love birthdays- until next year!

Brenda's Bday

Happy Birthday Brenda!  For those that don't know, Brenda is my best friend from high school that lives up in SF.  I decided that I don't see her or Erika hardly often enough even though I always try to get up there more often... so since all of us are september babies, I decided I have no excuse this time to not go at least for dinner!  We met up at Cha Cha Cha's, which is a Cuban tapas restaurant, in the Haight because it was right by the bar they were going to celebrate further with a group later tonight. 

The sangria we got to drink to kick off the night/dinner was quite delicious.  It didn't have too much alcohol and I didn't drink too much since I was driving, but I enjoyed what I had- the fruit in there was good too soaked in the wine and juice!  

As for food dishes, we got 4 dishes: a creamy shrimp dish that had a hint of spiciness to it, fried plantains with black beans, BBQ chicken quesadilla with guacamole and salsa, and a mixed greens salad.  All the dishes were quite delicious!  The shrimp was good, especially as you dipped the bread in the creamy sauce and munched away.  I'm really glad we had salad to even things out, especially since I've been feeling vegetable deficient from eating out so much lately.  I must say my favorite though was the fried plantains.  There were crispy parts that I love, and a perfect ripeness and sweetness to the plantains. It's a small side dish but yet can be a dessert too!

Brenda, happy birthday and I'm really glad I got to see you on your birthday!  Thanks for all the laughs & good times over the years and may 25 be a great year!!  I love you and love that you're a part of my life. I can't be thankful enough for friends like you and Erika who I may not talk to for long periods of time but feel comfortable like nothing has changed when we get together... I'm saying it again but we need to get together more often!!

Gombei San Jose

Fine dining club strikes again! My two wonderful, food-loving roommates Angela & Christina and I went on another adventure to try a restaurant that none of us had ever been to called Gombei in San Jose. They apparently have 3 stores now, in Menlo Park and Santa Clara, but San Jose Japantown was the first one. It is definitely a good sign when the people you talk to on the phone and that greet you are actually Japanese!

We went into the place knowing that it is technically not a FINE dining restaurant because the food there is more of a set dinner and more of a home cooked feel than like a 4-course, high class meal. I do like the fine dining experiences every now and then, of course, but the home cooked, good bang for your buck places are more my style! We ended up getting 3 "set" meals and split them all. Each set came with veggie sides (kiriboshi daikon and stewed greens), really well cooked white rice and miso soup. I highly recommend looking at the white board of specials because they all looked quite good. We got three sets off the specials board:

1) Sashimi set which came with tuna sashimi and hiyayakko (cold tofu)

2) Broiled yellow tail with yuzu and salmon creamy croquette set also came with salad

3) Salted and broiled hamachi-kama served with Agedashi Tofu.

They were all very satisfying, but we all particularly liked the veggie side dishes that came with each set- thankfully we each got one! I especially liked the kiriboshi daikon, which is not surprising since I love when my Mom makes it! I also liked the hamachi-kama and yellow tail with yuzu, even though I didn't really taste the yuzu too much, both piled with daikon oroshi. I LOVE daikon oroshi. Nothing tastes as good as oily and lightly salted broiled fish with a squirt of citrus and refreshing grated daikon... YUM. I wasn't particularly impressed with the creamy croquette or the agedashi tofu. Not that I drank the tofu broth, but it was quite strong in saltiness. The tuna was good but apparently women aren't supposed to eat too much tuna as we discussed in the car ride over... that is very sad news and I might be in trouble if that really causes issues since I grew up on fish and love maguro/tuna!

I think the only disappointment for us was that Gombei doesn't offer dessert. We sat and drank tea for a bit since it wasn't too crowded on a Thursday night, but I do wish they had dessert. To satisfy Christina's and my craving for something sweet, we went to... McDonald's for soft serve ice cream cones- what an interesting twist of events for our "Fine" Dining Club dinner. That's why I love my roomies- spontaneity and appreciation for good food regardless of cost! Gombei was definitely fiiiiiiiine food- we'd all go back again any time :D