Category: Dine Burlingame

  • Restaurant Review: Nachoria

    Some bloggers got pretty excited about the Nachoria opening; like this comment from Pat Giorni

    "I laughed when a coffee shop opened and expected to last while charging the unheard of price of $3.00 for a cuppa coffee and now we all call it 5 Bucks. I was again amused when I read about the concept behind Nachoria and wondered once again how long this business would last until I went in at 4pm today to check it out. I know you were understaffed because it took about 10 minutes to place my order with only 3 parties ahead of me…all deuces. But after sitting down my order was placed before me in under 10 minutes. All during my meal people continued to POUR in. When I left at 5:45, your restaurant was turning the tables for a second full seating. Having worked in the full service restaurant business…not fast food… for 35 years I have never seen tables turn so fast, especially during the dead period between lunch and early bird dining.

    "I had the Super quesadilla filled w/ Pollo, Carne asada, and carnitas. I will definitely be back when the Al Pastor makes its debut! I enjoyed the use of a thick sour creme rather than the usual watery stuff. The quesadillas were crisped up nicely, and a cut above the usual preparation. The only thing I would add is that if they are grilled w/ butter rather than oil, the flavor and appeal would be spectacularly enhanced. bottom line is that your food is good enough to bring me back again and again.

    Well, I had a bit more of a mixed reaction partly based on what I ordered and what I didn't drink.  I ordered the triple tacos with diablo shrimp (an extra $2) and they were pretty shrimpy.  Nicely spicy but 9 small shrimp for the price didn't cut it!  A dinner partner ordered the salad with ceviche (extra $3) and that was a much more substantial meal.  Selection envy set in.  Another dinner partner ordered the nachos.  While there were plenty of nachos, the meat was a bit sparse.  Like the tacos, they were more of an appetizer than an entree.  The real shocker was the $12 glasses of wine.  The selection (Acacia, Ferrari-Carano, William Hill) was pretty good, but in a nacho place with no table service and modest stemware I would have thought $8-9/glass would have been the right price point.  The sparklers were priced higher!

    All in all, I don't think Sixto's, Steelhead or the pizza places on the Avenew have much to worry about.  I also did Rangoon Ruby (take out) last week and while very good, they also appear to be accounting for the rents on the Avenew–or maybe a bit more than accounting for their rent.  Here is Nachoria.

    IMG_1501

  • Coffee and a Newspaper

    Do you remember how the Internet was going to kill libraries?  It may be happening in some places, but I was in the main B'game library this week and it was pleasantly busy.  The remodel gives it a bit more of a communal feel and the imminent arrival of the cafe will add to that feel.  With Philz about to open a block away, I wonder what brand(s) the library will be serving?  The sign that says Fika is a Swedish reference to "coffee break", but that may or may not translate to using the Gevalia brand.

    Library Cafe

  • Pizza War on the Avenew? Bye Isobune

    Please pardon my obsession with the comings and goings of restaurants in town and on the Avenew in particular.  It's my compensation mechanism so I don't obsess about the amazing number of hair and nail salons we have.  Or the lack of any real music venue downtown.

    On tomorrow night's Planning Commish docket is an application for Rise Pizza to go into the space long occupied by Isobune.  Isobune and its authentic plastic display food in the front window have been in that spot for as long as I can remember.  That might go all the way back to 1983 or so when I first started going to the Sly Fox, the Bombay Bicycling Club, the Bit and Goa Poang!

    Rise's story is a beehive wood-fired oven and this is apparently their first location.  They will need something special to compete with Blue Line, Pizza My Heart, Delfina's and Il Fornaio in the "pie wars".

    Isobune

    April 13, 2016 Update:  Here is the sign indicating the end of a 33 year run for Isobune.

    Isobune done

  • B’game Star (Michelin That Is)

    The new Michelin restaurant ratings are out and for the first time in my memory, a B'game restaurant has made the list with one star!  The Times has the full list here.  Reservations at Rasa just became harder to get and that is a good thing.  While not as dour as the entertainment drought in B'game, the dining scene has been improving very slowly.  Given how much work Rasa had to put into the space, this star will come in very handy.

    Michelin stars are not easy to hold on to either.  All Spice in San Mateo just lost the one they had.  I've eaten there several times and it is quite good.  Oddly, they opened a new location in EssEff and it got the star in its first year.  My guess is that is more about the level of service than the food.  Great restaurant anyway.

    Rasa_Star

  • Shopping Trip? Breakfast?

    A regular reader forwarded this totally cute photo from this morning on the Avenew.  Could Mom be taking the ducklings out for school supplies?  Or were they just headed for Alana's for some bread crusts and maybe a few pancake scraps?  The sidewalks look pretty good, too!

    Ducks on the Ave

    Russ and I always appreciate a candid local photo– and it doesn't have to be wildlife.  You can always email me at joe@baylock.com with anything you deem interesting.

  • Downtown Eats: Going and Coming

    I'm catching up after a busy week of business travel where I mused about Ocean Beach.  But it's always great to get back to B'game and check out what is changing.  Aside from the widespread consternation about the massive over-development that may subsume the south and east sides of town, the typical churn of downtown restaurants also proceeds apace.

    People are wondering which way Which Wich went as it left town.  I must say, having only eaten at one of them that was in San Diego, I am not surprised.  We have many better alternatives from Sam's and CJ's to Bonne Sante which has expanded to San Mateo as well.

    Which way Wich Wich

    The next establishment to take a shot on the Avenew is Rangoon Ruby going in where a few have had moderate success before.  That is not a comment on the location since two doors down, Mingalaba continues to have lines out the door at its smaller space.  Good luck, RR.

    Rangoon Ruby

    And yet we still have no regular music venue on the Avenew.  It's pretty sad.

  • Party at Starbucks

    The County Times reported that Starbucks is trying to extend its business day by adding beer and wine in selected locations.  B'game has two of the first 15 locations that Starbucks has in mind.

    By my count we have five Starbucks in town but I could have missed one along the way.  Burlingame Plaza and the B'way shop are the ones seeking the limited alcohol licenses.  I would guess the small one at the Marriott and the one in Safeway are not ever going to be in the running for more licenses, but not seeking one for the Avenew location is a bit of a surprise.  Perhaps the competition is too tough on the Ave?

    The shop on Broadway in Millbrae is also on the list.

  • OTG: Very Chilly Outdoor “Dining”

    I thought I would check out tonight's Off The Grid since it was a cold, windy night.  Every commercial enterprise is a risk and OTG is no exception.  Perhaps I was a bit late (7:30 pm) but the truck vendors likely lost money tonight.  It was cold and quiet on California Dr. as you can see here.

    Off the Grid2_Cold May

    There was the usual set-up.  Chairs but no tables even the dogs were shivering.  When the nightly Union Pacific freight train rolls through one is reminded of real industry that still occurs in small batches on the SF Peninsula.  OTG would consider that ambience.

  • “There Are Like 150 Restaurants”

    This month's edition of San Francisco magazine is focused on the rise of the Chinese-American establishment in EssEff and the rest of the Bay Area.  The closing of the grand dame of Chinese restaurants in Chinatown, The Empress of China, generated this sentiment

    What's more, the restaurants most favored by Chinese customers aren't located in Chinatown anymore.  "You go to Millbrae, and there are, like, 150 restaurants," says realtor Anton Qiu.  "And, frankly speaking, the restaurants there are far better." …According to Betty Louie, a prominent landlord on Grant Avenue "Chinatown is the last place to go for food."

    So our neighbor to the north is making great culinary headway.  What are the Voice readers' favorite Chinese restaurants in Millbrae?  I may want to try something new besides the awesome standby Hot Wok Bistro just over the border into San Mateo.

  • Dinner and a Massage on B’way?

    The process for making changes to the composition of our B'way business district took another step forward this week.  As the Daily Journal reports

    With a vote of 7-0, the Planning Commission approved changing a zoning code to remove the restrictions on health services above the first floor and food establishments in the Broadway Commercial Area Monday night. Last year, the Broadway Business Improvement District, or BID, sent a letter to the City Council in support of measures like this. For 20 years, Broadway has sought to encourage retail by restricting certain types of businesses but, in recent years, the nature of retail and the demands of the community has changed, according to the letter. The city currently allows only 28 food establishments on the street, based upon the City Council approval of Broadway food establishments in October 1999.

    We will see.  Unlike B'game Ave. that I almost always walk to, I always drive to B'way–and I do it often–and I just don't see the parking problem that is the main focus of the article.  I think this commenter has a better perspective

    “We have a large number of restaurants (in Redwood City),” he (Dave Simpson) said, according to a video of the meeting. “I’ve seen the retail businesses in Redwood City die. This is really tough because I look at the street (Broadway) that is only two blocks long and that many food service businesses on that short block. The concern is about the relative traffic of the restaurant business. It turned Redwood City into a terror now; it’s deserted during the daytime and it’s a parking lot at 6 o’clock at night.”

    We should all be watching that bit about "health services above the first floor".  If you want to talk about what could help the image of B'way, it would be a bit more attention paid to "health services" businesses.

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