La Note - Berkeley

La Note is an authentic is a cute little French restaurant in the heart of downtown Berkeley. The warm, inviting interiors are unfussy, and full of French charm. The menu is a mix of bistro fare, and rustic Provençal dishes.

Despite being with a vegetarian group, we found there were plenty of options on the menu. From a brie and Provençal tomato sandwich, to Ratatouille, to French style lasagna or ravioli -- there was something for everyone.

We quickly settled on the sandwich, and the ravioli. The restaurant was still pretty busy though we were there pretty late.

Our dinner arrived - the brie and tomato sandwich came on a perfectly crisped French roll, and a side of country potatoes. Carb overload, I know, but it was a rainy night... Don't judge! The melted brie, and the confit tomatoes added just the right amount of chewiness.

The ravioli was also very French. The sauce more like a ragout -- rustic, but with entirely unique flavors, and came with plenty of mushrooms.

We skipped dessert, and got espresso. French roast, of course. The coffee came with just the right amount of some really good chocolate.

We left with full stomachs, and completely satisfied. More than we expected for a quick dinner late at night. I would absolutely like to go back to try their pate, and the mussels.

If you are in the area, I highly recommend you check them out!

Bottom Line:

Price - $$
Ambience - Rustic
Vegetarian Friendly - Yes

Progressive Dinners: 3 Courses -- 3 Restaurants

Not like I need an excuse to eat out, but...

Many of you have probably attended progressive dinners. You know, each successive course is prepared and eaten at the residence of a different host.

We are going to mix it up and have each course (of a 3 course meal comprising of drink/appetizer, dinner, dessert) at a different restaurant. The challenge -- to keep the spending at $50 per person, or under for all 3 courses.

Sound fun? Let us know if you have any recommendations on places to try, or if you would like to join us on one of these jaunts.

Watch this space for our first Progressive Dinner post!

Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot - San Mateo

My first Hot pot experience was at dinner at a friends place, and I was hooked. As I have said in posts before, there is almost nothing better than a good bowl of flavorful broth. Hot Pot is just that, plus you get to add various meats and vegetables to it, making it a pretty well balanced meal.

Little Sheep Hot Pot (unfortunate name, I know), in downtown San Mateo is a great place for hot pot. They also have a location in Cupertino on Stevens Creek.

The concept is simple:
1. Pick a broth, or 2 (they even have a completely vegetarian broth!), and they have a pot that keeps the 2 separate
2. Pick your meat, there are plenty of vegetarian options as well.

Soon, a steady stream of food set up in front of you. Bowls of vegetables - cabbage, bok choy, mushrooms, tofu, fish balls and fish cake come with every order. Another tray holds thinly sliced frozed meat. All this, and lunch only runs about $9.95 per person!

Every table is equipped with a heating coils in the center - this keeps the huge bowl of broth hot. Once the broth gets to a rolling boil, use tongs, and ladles to immerse the ingredients into the hot pot. The meats only take about 30 seconds to cook, while the fish balls and tofu etc. take a little longer. You can even ladle some of the broth into your bowl to enjoy as a soup.

Picking the 50-50 bowl allows you to enjoy 2 completely different broths, or as it was in our case, allows vegetarians to enjoy food with the rest of the group.



Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot
(Clockwise From Top Right: 50-50 Pot with Spicy Vegetarian, & Original broth
 Fish, Beef, Pork, Lamb, & Vegetarian Accompaniments)

 There is something really comforting about sharing this meal with a group of friends, and the interactive cooking makes it a fun, relaxing meal.

Fair warning though, lunch, or dinner, you are bound to have too much food.

Bottom Line:
Price - $
Ambience - Trendy

Vegetarian Friendly - Yes

The Attic - San Mateo

Have you noticed how Sisig is everywhere? From food trucks to restaurants...

Well, wanting to leave no stone unturned, we had to find our own sisig source. Armed with our resident Filipino, we decided to check what the fuss was all about at Attic. This place also came highly recommended by a friend.

Though Attic originally started more as a lounge and dinner destination, they recently started serving lunch. It is a very basic, no frills lunch, with a limited menu. You order at the bar, the food comes in to-go containers, but you can eat there at the bar as well. The bar itself has a lot of visual interest, from meat grinders that accent some of the smaller tables, to a giant old style citrus juicer at the bar.

We all got the same thing - the Long Life Garlic Noodle Bowl - now, how do you resist a name like that? Could one really pass up the change to live a long life, smelling of garlic? Didn't think so.

Anyway - the order comprised of a few bowls topped with crab, and a few with sisig, and an order of the chicken wings. The noodles (Pancit) were yummy, really garlicky, with a nice spice to them, and the crab was cooked perfectly! The sisig on the other hand was sweeter than expected...

The chicken wings were really good, the adobo sauce was mild, but very flavorful. One thing missing on the menu was vegetables of any kind. A salad, or steamed/sauteed vegetables added to the noodle bowl would make it a much more well rounded meal.

Attic Restaurant
(Clockwise from Top Right - Long Life Noodles with Crab,
Long Life Noodles with Sisig, Adobo Chicken Wings, Drink Menu)

They seem to have really good happy hour deals ($1 oysters on Fridays, taco Tuesdays), and the menu showed some really creative drinks. Remember the citrus juicer at the bar from earlier in this post? Well, they use fresh squeezed juice (orange, grapefruit, ...) in their cocktails. None of that prepackaged stuff will do!

Will have to go back there for happy hour and dinner one of these days...

Bottom Line:
Price - $$
Ambience - Eclectic

Vegetarian Friendly - No