Cesar

City: Berkeley, CA.

Address: 1515 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94709 (in the Gourmet Ghetto)

Telephone: (510) 883-0222

Website: http://www.barcesar.com/

Food type: Spanish style tapas, often shared. Nice place to go with small to moderate sized groups.

Price range/person: $20-30/dinner

Wait time: Variable, none when we visited.

Service: Sophisticated, suave.

Ambiance: Rustic, jovial, chic.

Dish Focus On:

Grilled asparagus with smoked salmon & caper-lemon sauce, $9.75


Cold dish with delicious fillets of smoked salmon and plump grilled asparagus. Comes out really fast!

Paella de la semana: pollo estilo andaluz (chicken, asparagus, green beans, almonds, mushrooms, jamón serrano & saffron in a chicken broth; Need 25 minutes for preparation), $19.75



Larger than expected plate of flavorful rice, mixed with various veges and mushrooms. Resembles Chinese flavored sticky rice, but with a Spanish twist. Dish is actually very shallow, but portion large enough to share among at least 3 people.

Type of seafood cake…


Marinated olives (the first dish is complimentary), $4.75
Not shown.

Yummmy Factor: 4/5

Yummmy Rambles: Location on popular street in Berkeley. Place is often busy, as a local hang out for swanky minglers. Large bar. Much attention given to small plates of food. Dishes are pricey, but presentation and ambiance make for a fun night out!

Cafe De La Paz

City: Berkeley, CA.

Address: 1600 Shattuck, Berkeley, CA. 94709

Website: http://www.themenupage.com/cafedelapaz.html

Food type: Tapas, Nuevo Latino

Price range/person: $15/brunch (not including alcohol)

Wait time: None to be seated (choose your own seat and take your own menu); 20-30 mins for the food (even on a relatively quiet afternoon)

Service: Slow, relaxed, short-staffed. Seemed like there was only one server for the day.

Ambiance: Colorful, Cheerful, Casual.

Dish Focus On:

Cachapas De Jojoto - The café’s signature, Venezuelan corn pancakes



Delicious moist pancake patties, topped with special sauce and cheese. I would be fine with this as the main entree rather than an appetizer.

Chicken Scramble served with home-fries and cornbread (jalapeno)



Corn bread has a kick. Eggs are tasty and filling. Potatoes are a bit excessive.

Yummmy Factor: 3.5/5

Yummmy Rambles: Not the place to dine if you are in a hurry. Service is unbelievably slow. Restaurant is very spacious with large rooms available for private parties, but it appears that the smaller room upstairs is the most often utilized. Food is decent, but not spectacular. Street parking. Not in a rush to go back soon...

Bridal Shower!

Look at all the foodie food food!!!

Food from Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Plain quesadillas with guacamole, salsa, and beans














Just average.

Beef with potatoes and guacamole













Meat was juicy, but cut was unusual. Potatoes were dry, but guacamole was pretty tasty.

Combination taco platter: chicken, fish, steak, sausage, and cactus













Overall good. Cactus was new to me - a bit like sour green bell pepper...

Combination fajitas: chicken, steak, and shrimp













Served with fresh tortillas and sides. Although food tasted good during dinner, my tummy didn't feel as hot that night or the next day. Shrimp gone wrong?

Chicken tacos
















"Chicken" item on Mexicana flight 918














Cannot believe I actually ate this. I guess I was that hungry. "Chicken" was served with corn, something that resembled carrots, bland rice, possibly beans, and crumbled up cheese? Other "pasta" item wasn't too impressive either.

Yummmy Factor: 2/5

Yummmy Rambles: Overall, food in Playa del Carmen was not very good. Dishes in San Diego, CA were far better. Maybe we picked the wrong restaurants or the wrong city to dine in, but food was not our day's highlight. Prices were high as well. Cocktail drinks were decent. Seafood may give you stomach problems, so I recommend staying with chicken, beef, and Mexican style dishes. Male waiters tend to be very flirtatious with the women.

Firefly Restaurant

City: San Francisco (Noe Valley), CA.

Address: 4288 24th Street, San Francisco, CA 94114

Website: http://www.fireflyrestaurant.com/

Food type: American, contemporary

Price range/person: $35/dinner

Wait time: Reservations recommended. Bar is open for walk-ins.

Service: Meticulous, proper, attentive.

Ambiance: Whimsical, serene, child-like elegance. Adorable paintings decorate the walls, enchanting chandelier hangs from the ceiling, and colorful candle-lit tables and settings brighten the room.

Dish Focus On:

House Bread with a black bean, jalapeño, and tomato spread.

Fantastic spread! The bread was fine, but the black bean spread made it fabulous! Wish I could buy this from the store...

Tomasa’s Rockin’ Pork Empanadas with Tomatillo Salsa, Cabbage Slaw and Sour Cream 9.25

Empanadas were good. Pork inside was prepared nicely - shredded with adequate seasoning. Slaw was tangy and very fresh - beautiful color! Portion slightly smaller than expected.

Grilled Alaskan Halibut with Warm Truffled Potato Salad, Asparagus, Black Trumpet Mushrooms and Grilled Red Onion Favetta 23.50

Meaty and tender filet of fish. Potato salad was very creamy. Asparagus and mushroom medley was cooked properly and very tasty. Sauce on top was slightly sweet and enhanced the fish nicely. An overall terrific entree.

The Fried Chicken of Your Dreams with Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, Peas & Carrots and a Damn Fine Buttermilk Biscuit (that you probably can’t have unless you order the chicken…sorry) 19.75

A classic, even at a finer restaurant like this. All 3 tables around us ordered this item and everyone seemed to love it. A customer beside us even asked for an extra biscuit, but the server said that there were not enough. Chicken was tender and the skin was perfectly crisp.

Yummmy Factor: 4.5/5

Yummmy Rambles: Restaurant is a hidden gem in a residential area. Food entrees are creative and delicious – also take quite awhile to be served. Items slightly pricey, but ambiance and service enhance the experience. Servers clean table tops between courses and fold napkins when you step away from the table. Casual dress is fine. Street parking only. A pleasant dining experience.

Gregoire's Takeout

City: Berkeley, CA

Address: 2109 Cedar Street, Berkeley, CA. 94709

Website: http://www.gregoirerestaurant.com/

Food type: French

Price range/person: $10/lunch

Wait time: 5 mins to order; 10-20 mins for food

Service: Friendly, fun.

Ambiance: Quaint, cheerful.

Dish Focus On:

Smoked shrimp salad with mango & mint in pantofolina. $7.50








Smoked shrimp has distinct and delicious flavor. Mango and veges keep the sandwich chilled - very refreshing. Colors are gorgeous together.

Olive oil poached English sole with avocado & tomato salad on toasted white deli bread. $7.25










Incredibly tasty sandwich - combo of fish and avocados is sensational. A nice upgrade from the typical tuna sandwich.

Crispy potato puffs. $4.50











Freshly deep-fried balls of mashed potatoes. Served HOT and with a delicious dipping sauce - which changes periodically (keeps things exciting).

Other delectable sandwiches from past visits.







































Yummmy Factor: 5/5

Yummmy Rambles: A favorite lunch spot of mine in Berkeley. Have not visited the new Oakland location yet. Menu changes monthly to keep you coming back. Side salads (always tasty), served with all sandwiches, change often as well – appears to be weekly, but not sure. Restaurant is tucked away on a small street in a busy town, but place manages to stay busy with loyal customers. Portions are perfect and leave you happily satisfied. Potato items are tasty and fun (love the roasted fingerling potato & onions) and desserts are prepared/baked fresh. The banana chocolate fold is amazing! Food served in cute brown boxes - you save $0.25 each time you re-use the box (didn't learn that until I had been there over a dozen times). Very limited seating area and parking can be difficult, but the food makes everything better! You can find Gregoire himself there at times.

Kokkari Estiatorio Restaurant

City: San Francisco (Financial District), CA

Address: 200 Jackson Street, San Francisco, CA 94111

Website: http://kokkari.com/

Food type: Mediterranean, Greek, Helenic Cuisine

Price range/person: $40/dinner

Wait time: Make a reservation! Place is often packed, even at 6:00 pm on a typical weekday.

Service: Very professional, polite, pleasant.

Ambiance: Lush, rustic, elegant.

Dish Focus On:

Olives
An assortment of olives, served alongside bread and salt. Rich and salty - maybe even a little too salty, but that's the way olives are!

Kolokithokeftethes - crispy zucchini cakes with cucumber & mint-yogurt dressing


Crispy shell coats the delicious zucchini cake. Cucumber slices and the yogurt dressing are fresh and very refreshing! Nice appetizer. The server was actually able to pronounce the name!

Garides Yuvetsi - wood oven roasted prawns with tomato & feta cheese

Succulent prawns served in a hot tomato sauce. Feta cheese is a great addition to the shrimp. A bit of the shell was still left on a prawn piece.

Arnisia Paidakia - grilled lamb chops with a lemon-oregano vinaigrette & Kokkari potatoes


Perfectly prepared medium-rare lamb chops. Server suggested this item as a house special - and the meat sure was yummmy! Side of potatoes were tasty and tangy, but nothing extraordinary.

Kokkari Sundae - Chocolate & vanilla ice cream with hot fudge, whipped cream & toasted hazelnut





















Not quite the Mediterranean influence, but what a delicious dessert, especially on a hot evening. The hazelnuts were a terrific topping. Whipped cream was noticeably fresh.

Yummmy Factor: 4.5/5

Yummmy Rambles: Surprisingly busy on a Thursday night! Fireplace is lit inside to enhance the warming and comfortable dining area. Full bar open, with several dining rooms in the restaurant. It always amazes me how large restaurants are on the inside, given the outward appearance! Smaller rooms are available for private parties as well. Bathroom is hidden in the basement, but is still quite pleasant. Although food was very pricey and presentation was just mediocre, the service was impeccable and the food was sensational. Hostess even brought out reading glasses for a customer who was having trouble reading the menu! Talk about full service.

Street side view