Virgo in Wonderland

I’m picky about my Chinese food.  Regional, more specific kinds of Chinese food is what interests me.  No plain jane stirfries or chow mein for me.

Now, I love Shanghainese food but a lot of it can be rather heavy and greasy (it’s mostly dumplings and noodles, less rice).  They say that the farther north you go in China, the less rice dishes you’ll see. The typical rice and stirfries are from the southern part of China (like the Canton or Szechuan regions).

That’s what makes Happy Cafe in San Mateo so…simple.  The dishes are classic Shanghainese: pig’s kidneys (sooooo good here without any gamey flavor), cold noodles with spicy meat sauce and shredded cucumbers (refreshing with such bold flavor), and fried pork chop over rice and greens (the pork is perfectly flavored and fried without being too greasy). Their boiled chicken appetizer with a lightly spicy sauce is also perfection. The chicken is silky, juicy and tender, and that sauce is again, bold and the perfect partner for the chicken.

My only complaint here is the tiny space (not good for groups and long waits during peak times since they don’t take reservations) and their Xiao Long Bao (steamed dumplings), which is usually the mark of a great Shanghainese restaurant.  The dough on them is too mushy, the meat filling doesn’t have the right flavor, and the soup inside the dumpling is bland.  Just skip it.

This is a classic “hole in the wall” joint, but if you order well, you’ll be richly rewarded. I’ve never left unhappy. 🙂

So I’ve never been happy with Pancho Villa Taqueria in San Mateo. No offense to them, but it’s always been a slightly subpar, unsatisfying experience. It’s okay, but nothing to write home about.  And there are plenty of other Mexican joints in the area, but they’re mostly sitdown places that leave you feeling…bleh. I was looking for a good authentic taqueria around here. One that wouldn’t make me feel like I’d eaten a brick afterwards and tasted fresh and homemade.

Enter Los Moreno in San Mateo. It hasn’t been around that long, but I hope and pray it will stay forever. I’ve eaten here twice in the last week, so that should tell you something.

My hubby and I have had the shrimp tacos, nachos, beef, chicken, and cheese enchiladas, and the beef tacos. Yes, a lot of food for just two visits between the two of us, but we were hungry…both times.

The enchiladas are solidly good. Tastier than most than most we’ve had in this area of the Peninsula. So were the nachos. And the beef tacos were simply made, dressed only with cilantro, and wrapped in soft corn tortillas. It was super fresh, flavorful, and the carne asade was cooked to perfection. I loved ’em. Simply loved ’em.

But it was the shrimp taco that sealed the deal. It was one of the best tacos I’ve ever had. It tasted like all the flavors of the grill were sucked up by the shrimp. They were tender and flavorful, and they didn’t skimp on the portions either. And it was dressed with grilled onions and mushrooms. Just delicious. I want one now, just thinking about it.

I hear that their burritos and numerous other homemade items on the menu are simple yet delicious as well. I can’t wait to try more. And to make things even better, their beans and rice are pretty damn tasty too.

The owners are also super friendly, which makes me feel even better patronizing them. I feel like my search for an authentic Mexican taqueria is over.

Los Moreno Taqueria – 37 W. 43rd Ave, San Mateo – www.losmorenotaquerias.com

Pasta Pomodoro and Il Fornaio may be reliable Italian standbys, but I was looking for something a little more chic but not too high end. Basically, something a little different.

Enter Stella Alpina Osteria in Burlingame. I’d heard about this place and driven by it several times, so when my husband’s sister requested Southern Italian food, it was the perfect choice.

It is definitely a cute little place. The atmosphere is definitely well-to-do, but the decor is very low-key. We walked in without reservations and they gave us the evil eye, despite their having a considerable amount of empty tables. Fortunately, they redeemed themselves with quick seating and a smile.

The menu is diverse and we started with a beet salad, beef carpaccio, and escargots (strange for an Italian menu) to share. The salad was the weakest appetizer with it’s honey mustard vinaigrette. The sweetness seemed too much for the already sweet, yet slightly undercooked, beets. Not a good combo. But the other two were tasty.

For entrees we ordered the osso bucco special, roasted rabbit, and orecchiette with mushrooms, speck (which I now know is a type of ham) and asparagus. My husband’s fave dish of the night was the pasta with its rich parmesan cheese sauce, but my fave was the Osso Bucco with it’s deep earthy gravy that tasted like something out of your Italian grandmother’s kitchen. And the accompanying marscapone polenta was divine, not only because of its luxuriously creamy texture, but because the Osso Bucco sat on top of it so all its gravy mixed in with it.  Yum-yum! (And I don’t even like polenta!)

The rabbit was tender and juicy, but it could’ve used a tad bit more salt. The meat itself was just a slight bit bland.

The food alone has now made Stella Alpina Osteria my fave Italian joint on the Peninsula. It was definitely up to snuff and I would come back for a special night out. But it’s not without its faults…

The prices are a little steeper than its quaint and cozy persona implies (entrees run $15 (pasta) to $28 (lamb chops)). Service is a bit slow too. And like I’d mentioned earlier, the pretentiousness at the front door is a definite turn off. It probably comes from the fact that the clientele looked like they’d all returned from an afternoon at the country club.

But I digress… 😉