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I'm changing the Click to Buy page to
recommendations of things I like. I shall recommend local
restaurants and stores and other products I like. If you have
a recommendation to share, please email me at contact@sanramonobserver.org.
These are not paid ads. The businesses may not even know I'm
listing them here. You can still click through to Amazon.com at the bottom of
the page, and I'll make a small percentage of the
sale.
Zachary's -
Is it Really So Good?
Zachary's Pizza in San Ramon opened on
September 14, 2006. I had never heard of Zachary's but the
reputation of the restaurants in Berkeley and Oakland is evidentally
well-known. The San Ramon store is the first new one in years.
I thought Sunday at 4 pm wouldn't be that
busy, but boy was I wrong. The place was a madhouse this first
weekend. The kitchen was so busy with eat-in diners, that they were
not taking phone orders for take out. My friend Marci and I were
going to phone in our orders so we wouldn't have to wait, because we
wanted to go the the California Symphony concert in Central Park at
5:30, but eat there.
I got there at 4 and Marci at about
4:05. It took about 40 minutes for the pizzas to be ready. I
wanted their special spinich and mushroom, but they were not using
spinich because of the health scare; so I got the Zacharys Special
deep dish. That's green peppers, sausage, onions, and mushrooms with
diced tomato sauce on top. Marci tried the thin crust, with
pepperoni, green peppers and mushrooms. I prefer thin crust
pizza and liked Marci's better than the one I got. I had to
eat mine with a fork, because it's too lose and drippy to eat
by hand. It didn't seem like pizza to me.
It's very pricy, with a small deep dish
going for over $15, and medium for over $20. The thin crust is
less expensive, but still higher than most other local
pizzarias. If you just want to feed a bunch of kids after
soccer, I don't think it's worth the expense. I'd
like to try the spinich and
mushroom deep dish pizza after the spinich scare is over. Marci
said she'll be back for more of the thin crust pizza, which is very
good, but most of the time I'll stick with Mountain
Mikes.
Restaurants
Click here to download San Ramon
Restaurant Guide
Giuseppe’s - Upscale Italian
in shopping center across from Safeway on San Ramon Valley
Blvd. I take friends and relatives here and never had a bad
meal. Prices are from about $15 to $30.
Pearl Garden, Imperial Delight, China
Delights - Hey I like Chinese. What can I say. I
usually buy the take out special. These are all good, and
depends on what part of town I'm in when I get the yen. China
Delights is in Country Club Village Shopping Center at 9150-D
Alcosta Blvd. Imperial Delight is 290 Market Place. Pearl Garden,
which also delivers, is at 2101 Camino Ramon.
Diablo Deli - I haven't been there
for awhile, but it's a good, homestyle deli for sandwiches and deli
stuff. In the Safeway shopping center on San Ramon Valley
Blvd.
Mountain Mikes Pizza - My favorite
local baked Pizza. It's really in Dublin, behind the Shell Station
on Alcosta Blvd. at San Ramon Valley Blvd. You can now order online, for pickup or delivery.
I also like Pavlo's in the back of
the Safeway Shopping Center.
Papa Murphy's - The best way to
get hot, fresh pizza at home is to bake it yourself. If you have a
good oven and a Pizza Stone from Target, Papa Murphy's has great
take and bake pizza. You can find it in the Albertson's
Shopping Center on San Ramon Valley Blvd. and
Alcosta.
Entertainment - with or without
Dining
Mudds - Mudds is now featuring
comedy acts on Friday nights provided by Laugh-a-Lot
Productions. Marci McGuire, Donna Kerger, and I went to the
early New Year's Eve show, and enjoyed most of it. There were
four commedians, and I liked three (really 2.5) of them. The
headliner, Chicago Steve Barkley, was worth the price of the
ticket. Mudds is also featuring singers in the lounge and a
new lounge menu with sandwiches and fish and chips. Since
O'Kane's departed about a year ago, there hasn't been a good place
for fish and chips. It's nice to see Mudd's
diversifying. Maybe when the new City Center
is finished there well be more lounge acts, but for now
Mudd's is filling the gap and doing it well.
Ken Cooper - Singer/Guitarist
Have
you had a rough week or you're just looking for a fabulous way to
ease on into the weekend? MUDD's lounge, just off the main dining
room, has exactly what you're looking for! Most every Thursday evening,
Ken Cooper and his magic guitar play some of the best light rock
music in the San Ramon Valley. It's like having James Taylor
playing sweet ballads just for you.
As
a composer, performer, and teacher Ken really knows his music and it
shows throughout this quality performance. Playing from 5:30 to 8:30
p.m., Ken's gentle voice, popular tunes, soft candlelight, a glass
or wine with a light dinner (or just dessert and coffee) can make
peace with your worst week and start your weekend a bit early.
No
cover charge for ambiance that only MUDD's in San Ramon could
create. If you want company, it's the perfect evening with someone
special. Check Ken's website at http://www.kencoopermusic.com/
and catch him at MUDD's or other quality East
Bay
locations.
Bakeries
Denica's - 6058 Dougherty Road,
Dublin, about one block north of Dublin Blvd. Fabulous,
giagantic, oatmeal, raisen, walnut cookies. These are a meal in
themselves. Turnovers, so flaky they crumble in your hand. Mmm
good. They also have a Taco Lounge which didn't impress me. I'm not
a big fan of tacos.
Marie Callenders - Pies of
course. Next to the Marriott Courtyard on San Ramon Valley
Blvd.
Home
Maintenance
Mr. Minh Phan - Mr. Phan has been
doing yard work at my house for several years. He installed a new
lawn with sprinklers, a new fence, new paving of my walkway into my
house, gardens, and weekly maintenace. Mr. Phan is a San Ramon
resident, and highly reliable. I read recent news
stories about fly-by-night and dishonest contractors ripping off new
homeowners in Dougherty Valley. If you need someone to do
paving, fencing, landscaping, or any outside work in your yard, you
can trust Minh Phan. He can be reached at (925)
556-0989.
Clark Pest Control - I subscribe
to Clark's semi-monthly service to keep my yard and house free of
ants and fleas. They are very responsible and professional. If
I have any problems between service calls, they come out and provide
treatment without charge. Call Clark at
1-800-936-3339.
Auto
Repair
Monument Auto Parts - Andrew Range
recommended Monument Auto Parts for parts for my Maverick. I
used catalogs, eBay, and Hemmings Motor News to find
parts for my 33 year old car. But Monument was able to order the
thermostat housing and other parts I didn't think would be easy to
find. Monument isin't that easy to find. It is almost in
Danville, set back off the road at 1965 San Ramon Valley Blvd.
Ray's Dublin Garage - Ray's worked
on my Maverick, which I had taken to several auto shops in San Ramon
last year and there was still goop on my garage floor from leaks.
Ray fixed everything these other places left undone, and changed me
less than what I paid for unnecessary or inept work done
elsewhere. Ray's is at 6985 Dublin Blvd. The phone
number is (925) 829-8272.
Gadgets
Soda-Club - Make your own soda or
seltzer at home. Uses extra large CO2 Carbonator
cartridges that will fizz up to 110 liters of fresh, cold
water. Add flavoring or drink plain. Fun for kids,
easy to use, convenient, and saves money. Click here for
more information.
Reader
Recommendations
Pasta
Pomodoro - This is Marci McGuire's favorite restaurant. It's a
pasta place in the Shops at Bishop Ranch. Lots of interesting pasta
creations and sauces, good wines, and deserts. Reasonably
priced.
Recommended by Linda Brewer:
Chef Chan in Crow
Canyon Commons (Lohmann’s/Albertson’s) on Crow Canyon
Road. Lovely owners, members
of the Chamber of Commerce, excellent Singapore
noodles and the Dim Sum is really popular. Yang’s at
Canyon
Lakes
(off Bollinger, in complex across from Club Sport and also Chamber
members) is freshly redesigned with interesting dishes (try the
Crispy Sea Bass Roll appetizer) in modern
surroundings.
Recommended by Marvin Matey: I agree that
China Delights and Chef Chan's are good. We order from
both places equally as well as Shangri-La in Dublin (Village
Parkway).
Near Chef Chan's, on the other side
of Rite Aid, is a new place called Grand Buffet. We tried
them and really liked it. (Note from Roz: I really like that one
too. Update - this is nolonger Chinese, but is a Buffet place
now.)
Over on the other side
(east side) of the parking lot is Allouette's which is
excellent. Next to Allouette's is Z Pizza which isn't as good
as Mountain Mike's but worth a try for something
different.
Across Crow Canyon, is
Max's Diner. We were there a couple weeks ago and had a great
braised short rib stew. It was on a special winter stews menu. We
are going back again on Monday night for a school fund-raiser but no
one needed to twist our arms for that!
New
from Marvin Matey:
Hi
Roz,
We've purchased dinner from a new place 5 times
already this year and I figured that if I keep returning, you'd want
to know about it.
Orient Express -- It's in the Crow
Canyon shopping center between Safeway and Longs. It looks like a
little hole in the wall--just for take out, no tables--but it's
great. The people are nice and they always over-stuff the take out
boxes with tasty food. Last night we fed the family for $12. They're
good for catering too. Two months ago, we bought enough food for
about 140-150 people. (We fed 112 and had lots of left overs!) The
total cost was about
$450.
Thanks,
Marvin
Recommended by Donna Kerger:
Roz,
I took my family (6 of us)
to our newest restaurant Saturday night....and everyone (including
my two young grandchildren) enjoyed their meal. While I would
like to see a greater variety for children's selections (hamburger
or a pasta dish) it was hard to make a final selection for an adult.
The 3 adults ordered prime rib
(superb); chicken piccata (delicious) and bbq ribs - some shared
with grandchildren - and everyone raved about the taste. The
Izzy's pototes were outstanding and the desserts - well the
cheesecake was so good you couldn't finish it but had a
delightful second filling the next day and the "children's" sundae
was so large an adult "had to help" finish
it.
The decor is striking - yet
you feel comfortable and at home. The bar area is amazing
and it was a pleasure to listen to the baby grand piano in the room
while waiting for a table. We arrived at 5 pm - didn't have to
wait but by the time we left at 7 pm people were waiting and
listening to the tinkling on the piano keys.
I'm so happy Izzy decided
to come to San Ramon - it is definitely a good
fit..........
Donna
Hi Roz,
Last Friday (May 18,
2007) three of us had "girl's night out" at Izzy's Steaks and Chops
at the Marketplace (next to the Library where O'Kanes used to be).
The food was terrific and the crowd lively. Our orders of Filet
Mignon, Prime Rib and Steak Kabobs (each comes with two side
dishes), one salad, two appetizers and a bottle of Merlot came to
about $140. Not a once-a-week place for us, but definitely well
worth the price.
My Filet was
exquisitely tender and tasty and I couldn't quite finish it all. My
side dishes of Sweet Potato with Pecans and Creamed Spinach were
wonderful. The calamari appetizer was crispy as promised,
and the "tonight's special" appetizer of peeled Cajun shrimp
was perfect. Just spicy enough to bring a small tear to your eye and
make you want more! This isn't a place for a quiet rendezvous. It is
noisy and cheerful with folks having a good time. And of course I
was very pleased to see their San Ramon Chamber of Commerce plaque
proudly displayed at the hostess station.
Linda Brewer
I
finally tried Izzy's. Marci McGuire took me there on my
birthday in 2007. The place is always packed and parking is
hard to find, but we managed to get a table without waiting.
It is expensive (for me at least), but excellent. Service was
great, steaks were tender, appetizer (I also got the Cajun shrimp)
was delicious. I loved the creamed spinich too.
This is a great addition to San Ramon.
Roz
Recommended by Bob
Patrino:
Roz, I have to
recommend Chutney's for their wonderful Northern Indian cuisine.
Chutney's is located in the Shops at Bishop Ranch, next to Peet's.
You might recall that Pot Belly Deli used to be there.
We visited on a crowded
Saturday night, where almost every table was occupied. There several
reasons for that, 1) the food is excellent, 2) the service is
fantastic; friendly, attentive and consistent.
Our meal started with the
Vegetable Samosa appetizers. Two large turnovers were filled with a
potato based filling, that were accompanied by two dipping sauces.
Excellent tasting, and they were served steaming hot.
We have tried two
curry dishes there that are excellently prepared. My companion
ordered the Chicken Masala, better known as "butter chicken". Many
people hesitate to try curry, mistakenly believing that all curries
are ablaze with chili and excess heat. Chutney's provides the option
of ordering their curries with varying levels of spiciness. The
butter chicken is superb, a gentle blend of chicken in a very rich
tomato based curry. On this visit I ordered the Chicken Coconut
Curry, while on a previous visit I ordered the same curry, but with
lamb ( a third variation is with prawns). The heat level was set to
medium, which gave it a bit of a kick, without overwhelming the
coconut undertones of the dish.
I highly recommend this new
San Ramon restaurant.
Bob Patrino
Martha Beth Lewis
Recommendations
Grand
Buffet
This has changed
ownership and provides a broader selection than just
Chinese. The old recommendations or criticisms no longer
apply.
China
Villa
Recommend three dishes
at China Villa in SR, which is located in strip center across from
Crow Canyon Cinema on SR Valley Blvd. Katy's, Togo's, and a
Japanese restaurant are in the same strip. China Villa is
right next to the Japanese place. To the other side there used
to be a bicycle store. Now there's a you-prepare-and-take-home
kitchen in the space. China Villa has the BEST honey walnut
prawns on the planet. I've had 'em in a lot of places, but
those iterations pale. The lemon chicken is good and the hot
and sour soup, too. But the woman sees me come in the door and
says, "The usual?" because the prawns are so good I'm never temped
away.
Sakura
Best sushi is at
Sakura in the Loehmann's shopping center on Crow Canyon in SR.
In fact, Sakura is just to the left of L's.
Chutney's & Madras
Chutney's is a no-go,
in my opinion, though Bob P. liked this place. This restaurant
used to be in Blackhawk Plaza and was excellent back then.
Good tandoori, superb naan, idli, etc. The reincarnation (they
must have been in hibernation a while because it was 6 years ago,
maybe more, that I last ate there) is not half as good.
Service lackadaisical. Way overpriced. Portions
skimpy. No pickles, sauces, (and no chutney!) served with
entrees (or at all) - - tho there were papadam on the table,
gratis.
The place for Indian
food in San Ramon is Madras, on SRV Blvd. The clientele is 95%
South Asians, always a good sign. (I saw no Indians at
Chutney's.) There can be a wait for a table at Madras, so it's
a good idea to make a reservation. Now, -there's- a place that
knows how to make paneer! I have eaten there often, and I have
yet to find anything that I didn't think was super good.
The Tilley hat
This is the best hat
in a blow. Mine has sailed many, many miles offshore as well
as clocked many, many, miles of dog walks, and it has saved my
skin. Sailing is not a good choice if you value your
complexion. At the flat statement of the dermatologist 26 years
ago, I got the one with the big, all-around brim. In fact, if
you drive along Crow Canyon btw Golden View School and El Capitan,
you may have seen it "in action." Expensive, but it's an
investment.
Katy's
If you've not been to
Katy's (in the same strip mall as China Villa), grab the car keys
and GO! It's a breakfast place, but they're open until 2
pm. In days gone by, one could arrive on Sunday at 9 am and
get a place right away. If you arrive at 9 now, bring your
lunch. It'll be a long wait! Everything I've eaten on
the menu is wonderful, but I particularly recommend any of the eggs
benedict (I usually get the one with the avocado in it - - can't
recall the name) and the blintzes. And the cafe mocha,
too! Anything with chocolate in it is fine by me!
While I'm in this
email, I'll add that Safeway (across from Katy's and China Villa)
has pretty darned good sub sandwiches. Easily better than
Togo's (which is......you guessed it!.....in the strip center with
Katy's and China Villa - - I don't get around much, you see!).
A far quicker.
And last, let me
clarify, if I might, my review of Grand Buffet. Jim Quon noted
that he didn't like it, but the price sounded intriguing and I have
a son who eats a lot, so I thought I'd investigate it. So his
review pre-dates mine.
Jim Quon, Restaurant Reviewer for
Epinions
I stumbled onto your
site by accident by trying to Google Grand Buffet. I write
restaurant reviews on Epinions.com. I had lunch there (Grand
Buffet) today and it was terrible. The people there seem to
have no real appreciation of Chinese food. Savory sauces are the
hallmark and they have none. Many of the chicken dishes were
similar. Teriyaki Chicken was dry - almost like a Satay - not
like teriyaki at all!
To see a place with
price and enthusiasm for the food and service, try a new place,
Woks Up, on Dublin Blvd. just East of the Hacienda Center
complex. It's a small, sit-down Asian food place with good
food, fast but courteous service and reasonably priced.
Review of Sergio's
Roz,
Recently,
there was a bit of a firestorm over a review written by the
Valley Times food critic, Nicolas Boer. He really panned
Sergio's up at
the top of Bollinger Canyon Rd. that used to be
the German Cafe and,
later, Mangia Italia, across from Club
Sport, San Ramon. Many readers
wrote in protesting the low
rating. So, we decided to go check it out
and we really
liked it..
It is run by a nice Italian couple, Sergio (from
Florence) and his wife,
Francesca. The menu is fairly
complete with all the classic Italian
dishes. Commendably,
they make their own gnocchi. You can have it as
an
appetizer or an entree with your choice of sauce. They also
have
Wild Boar and Braised Lamb Shank. My wife had the
Wild Boar and it was
very good. I had the Lamb Shank and
it was excellent - very tender and
the sauce was
wonderful. Also, it came with sauteed vegetable medley
plus both creamy Polenta with a tomato sauce on it and mashed
potatoes
with the sauce over it and the lamb shank.
The
bread they provide is quite tasty - very soft, moist as is the
crust. They provide both butter or olive oil with chopped
olives for
dipping. And, they were giving homemade
Lemoncello - an Italian lemon
liqueur and a small chocolate
pudding that was superb, at no charge.
They also have
Tiramisu and a line of Italian made frozen desserts.
The
pricing is realistic with most entree running $12 to $18.
Portions
are generous and the service is very good and
attentive. Sergio is very
personable and quite a
character. It's both a nice and fun place to
dine!
Jim
Review of Incontro in San Ramon
There is a new Italian restaurant in town, Incontro. It is located in the former
Kabob House II site at 2065 San Ramon Valley Blvd. They opened about a
month ago and the food and service are excellent.
We went for our first visit on August 8, 2006. We had a party of three and
we had the Steak ala Griglia, a flatiron steak with sauteed Swiss
Chard, Cannellini beans with a shallots/wine reduction sauce, a
Fontina Cheese Gnocchi and a Sweet Sausage, Tomato sauce
Risotto. All were
outstanding! The gnocchi was homemade - soft, tender pillows of
potato dough with a really rich cheese/cream sauce. The risotto was terrific -
creamy but still with individual rice grains with a rich tomato
sauce that was not overly bright or spicy. My steak was done just right
- medium rare and very tasty with a nice sauce to compliment it but
not overpower it. We
also had a layered tomato, mozzarella & grilled eggplant salad
with Basil E.V. Olive Oil.
They are faithful to the Italian cuisine by making sure
that the best of natural ingredients are used and the flavors are
allowed to show through without being covered up with any intense
sauces or flavorings.
Our host, Luigi was really nice as was our waiter,
Giuseppe.
Pasta dishes range from $10 - $13 and meat dishes run $13
to $20. The menu
represents a good range but not a tremendous number of items. But, that's fine because I
prefer few items done well than many items done with less
perfection. I highly
recommend it. I think
it is a welcome addition to the Tri Valley dining
scene.
Jim
Here's a
review I wrote for Epinions:
http://www.epinions.com/content_227630026372
Also, here's the
review of our only local Hawaiian eatery, Kilohana Grill, San
Ramon: http://www.epinions.com/Kilohana_Grill/display_~reviews
Other reviews I've
written in the local area are:
Bing Crosby's, Walnut
Creek: http://www.epinions.com/content_225819266692
Chow,
Lafayette: http://www.epinions.com/content_224488361604
Delatorre's,
Pleasanton: http://www.epinions.com/content_219490717316
Swenson's,
Pleasanton: http://www.epinions.com/content_219065716356
Royal
Afghan, Dublin: http://www.epinions.com/content_210393403012
Those
are just the recent ones and limited to the local Tri Valley
area.
And here is the review for the best Asian buffet that I
know of in East Bay: http://www.epinions.com/content_100671131268
It was written back in '03 but it is still current and applicable.
The name was changed to China Wall. It is located in Concord.
For some
background, I've been a food enthusiast all my life and spent 15+
years working in restaurants as one of the ways to work my way
through college. I also was a Special Contributor to the
Prodigy Classic Food BB. I've been writing reviews for
Epinions since '99 and that has paid off handsomely for me. I
appeared in the national TV ad campaign for Weber BBQ grills last
year. They found me via the review on Epinons that I wrote
over 7 years ago.
Hats
My readers know I like hats. Here
are two of my favorites. See Mary Beth Lewis' recommendation
of Tilley hat above.
Tilley Hat
 Montecristi Hat 
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Two very funny cat art books
 
The incredible Dyson vacuum cleaner
Brother MFC8500 Laser
Printer/Copier/Fax/Scanner
The best clock radio made
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