Restaurant Reviews – Page 13

Indus Village Restaurant

September 17, 2011September 17, 2011

It’s no secret that Berkeley is home to countless South Asian restaurants, and it’s easy to get lost in the mix. But Indus Village is a notch above the others, and that’s saying a lot. When I asked my friend Veena for a new recommendation, she listed Indus among her favorites, and now it’s one of mine too.

Nestled on San Pablo Avenue among a string of halal markets and sari boutiques, Indus Village offers all the usual South Asian fare like okra masala and chicken biryani, plus an impressive list of halal Pakistani regional specialties like goat karahi and lamb nihari.

During my first visit, I was craving the ubiquitous chicken tikka masala, which I ordered alongside beef jalfrezi and basmati rice. The tikka masala had an underlying smokiness that I haven’t tasted anywhere else, and best of all, it wasn’t as cream-laden and unhealthy as most restaurant’s renditions. The jalfrezi was rich, oniony, and delicious alongside the fluffy rice. I washed it all down with a refreshingly salty lassi.

Indus Village is ridiculously well-priced and the service is friendly too. I’ve been back countless times since my first visit (in fact, it was the first restaurant I ate at when I returned from my last trip, exhausted and in need of fortification), and I’m yet to have a disappointing meal. It’s no wonder Indus Village is always busy, despite the stiff Berkeley competition.

Cafe de la Presse

August 14, 2011August 14, 2011

I rarely eat French food. It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just that, well, I don’t know what I’m doing when it comes to ordering off a French menu. The last time I tried, I wound up accidentally ordering sweetbreads deep-fried in butter. (Word to the wise: sweetbreads are not what they sound like.)

Thankfully, when I visited Cafe de la Presse in San Francisco’s Union Square, I went with my cousin, who was raised in Paris. I never would have known about this classic, rustic restaurant quietly tucked away from the bustle of the city were it not for her suggestion. Filled with vintage posters and foreign-language magazines, I could easily forget that I was on Grant Avenue and not in Le Marais.

We started with a salade aux petits lardons, which was topped with a wonderfully gooey egg that melded perfectly with the piquant Dijon vinaigrette and savory bacon. I have a French cookbook with this recipe that I’ve been ignoring for too long, and after sampling this salad, I’m determined to learn how to recreate it.

We also shared a tarte Provencale, topped with tomatoes, basil, Nicoise olives and a light smattering of cheese. The real highlight here was the crunchy, crispy flatbread: thin, but hearty enough to hold up against the toppings.

Service is friendly and timely at Cafe de la Presse, but in the interest of full disclosure, my cousin conversed with our waiter only in French, so I suppose that didn’t hurt. Still, Cafe de la Presse convinced me that it’s time I give French food another chance. And with a little corner of the 4th arrondisement in our own backyard, I no longer have an excuse.

Wat Mongkolratanaram

August 11, 2011August 11, 2011

Wat Mongkolratanaram, better known as the Berkeley Thai Temple, is one of those secrets that you’re excited to learn about, only to discover that everyone was already in on it. When my colleagues organized a brunch outing to celebrate the Thai new year this past spring, I was delighted to learn that one of the East Bay’s brunch locales is really a temple and community center. The place is immensely popular for brunch with Thai folks and non-Thai alike, with more hungry stomachs than seats. (No matter, eaters spill out into nearby Berkeley lawns.)

Wat Mongkolratanaram serves brunch only on Sundays, but the process is simple: arrive early, get in line, and exchange your cash for tokens. There are separate lines for different dishes and drinks and food can be eaten at the temple’s garden or packed up as take-out. The dishes are very reasonably priced, which means more sampling of what’s some of the best Thai food I’ve ever had. My colleagues and I shared our food family-style, and I got to taste a bit of everything.

Everything arrived so quickly that I could hardly keep up, but the first dish I tried was a rich, mildly-spiced meat curry over rice. I was ravenous, so this quickly whet my appetite.

Next came the ubiquitous yellow chicken curry. Filled with chicken, carrots, onions, potatoes and spiked with a hit of coconut, this was better than anything I’ve had at a restaurant.

My favorite dish of the meal came next. I’m not sure what this chicken was spiced with (I think I detected coriander but I’m not sure what else), but it was fried to perfection: crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

A simple but flavorful vegetable and tofu stir-fry also came around. Flecked with bits of baby corn and mushrooms, this lighter plate was welcome after so many rich dishes being passed around.

There was simply too much going around for me to capture it all: soups, noodles, and more curries made their way around our communal table until I couldn’t take any more.

And yet there was still dessert. Fried bananas and black sticky rice lent our meal a sweet finish before we got up to explore the rest of the Wat Mongkolratanaram.

With a thriving vegetable garden, a Sunday school for children, and cultural programs for the Thai Buddhist community, the temple is a Berkeley gem. I may have been late in learning about the East Bay’s unique brunch secret, but I’m making up for it now.

House of Nanking

August 7, 2011

I must have walked past House of Nanking dozens of times in the last year, but I never paid it much attention. Located on the border of San Francisco’s Chinatown and North Beach, this colorful, slightly wacky restaurant attracts its fair share of tourists, so I tended to eschew it. That is, until a friend suggested we try it out for lunch one day.

We began with the fried calamari, which was a welcome change from the greasy run-of-the-mill fried calamari dishes I’ve had so many times before. Lightly battered, velvety, and served with a light sauce that smacks of vinegar, I couldn’t stop nibbling these.

Our next dish was the Nanking sesame chicken, which is touted as one of their specialties. Served with paper-thin sliced and glazed sweet potatoes, this decadent entree was rich, savory and perfect alongside rice. My only complaint is that the sauce coating the fried chicken was a little too sweet for my taste, and yet it was entirely complimentary with the potatoes.

Service is brisk and borderline curt at House of Nanking, but that’s because it’s so perpetually busy. Be prepared to share your table with other diners, as there is often a line. Dishes are served family style and the menu is pricier than comparable Chinese eateries, and it’s also less authentic. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. If you’re looking for something a bit different without sacrificing flavor, then House of Nanking is your place.

Sazon

August 6, 2011August 6, 2011

I’ve written before about the proliferation of ethnic cuisine in Sonoma County in the last few years: Ethiopian, Thai, Korean – the list goes on and on. It was with delight that I recently learned Santa Rosa can now add Peruvian to that list. Located in Santa Rosa’s Roseland district, Sazon is in an unassuming building on Sebastopol Road. You could easily miss it, were it not for the crowd inside.

Sazon’s interior is small, with only a few tables and a short bar to accommodate hungry diners, and when I arrived with my family on a weekend night, it took over half an hour to be seated. The staff was accommodating and attentive, bringing us drinks as we waited.

Instead of the usual complimentary bread and butter, Sazon brings diners a plate of canchitas, or fried Peruvian corn, to nibble on. These were addictive: salty and crunchy; like corn nuts, only more refined.

I’m a sucker for plantains, so I couldn’t resist ordering a plate of fried plantains with sour cream as an appetizer. The sweet, buttery plantains were plated on top of pickled red onions, which helped offset the richness of an otherwise heavy dish.

I know I need to branch out, but nine times out of ten, I can’t help but order lomo saltado when I dine at a Peruvian restaurant. I can’t help it: sirloin marinated in vinegar, soy sauce, tangy spices, and served over rice and French fries. What’s not to love? My only complaint was that my lomo was on the dry side, with little sauce to sop up my fries with.

Sazon is a welcome addition to Sonoma County’s changing restaurant scene. I’m welcoming the ethnic food trend with open arms, and couldn’t be happier that Santa Rosa now has a Peruvian restaurant to sate my lomo saltado and plantain cravings.