Tag: restaurant

Posted in Dinner, Food, For Kids/Parent, Lunch, Peninsula, South Bay

Going to Town

Posted on by virgoinwonderland

The peninsula has a shortage of higher-end, hip, sophisticated eateries.  It’s just the nature of suburbia, and a trek to San Francisco is less than 30 minutes away.

That’s why Town Restaurant on Laurel Street in San Carlos is the hippest place to be on a Friday or Saturday night.  They do a good job of combining family-friendly eatery (good kids menu and service) with hot nightspot and bar (after 8pm the noise level is overwhelming with all the crowding around the centralized bar).  If you have kids, you’re only safe from 5:30-8pm.

That being said, I’ve never had a bad meal at Town.  If you love a hearty meat and potatoes meal, this is the place for you.  Portions are large, prices are equal to a joint in the city, and the cocktails are tasty.  You should definitely go with one of their suggested martinis (love the pear flavored one w/Gray Goose vodka).

I’ve had the Chicken and Ribs, Meatloaf, and their Pork Chop on previous visits.  But this time around, I had the newly added Bourbon Glazed Flank Steak.  It was cooked a perfect medium rare and had a delicious sweet yet tangy glaze with bourbon and brown sugar.  It was the best steak I’ve had in a long time.  Juicy and tender, there was a great balance of flavors and it didn’t mask the flavor of a quality piece of beef.  (My husband makes a MEAN steak so I don’t compare restaurant steaks to his :).)

If that wasn’t enough for you, the meal came with two hugely portioned sides.  You can choose from a laundry list of enticing sides, which is half the dilemma when ordering, like heirloom tomatoes with bleu cheese, broccoli bernaise, garlic mashed potatoes or a fully loaded baked potato.

I went with the fresh buttered corn and the mac and cheese.  Man, these sides were good!  This is my kind of meal.  The kind you’ll regret when you get home but it’s damn good going down.  This is like “last meal on earth” good.  I love how the corn was fresh off the cob, tender, still slightly crisp, and full of good buttery goodness.  And the mac and cheese is now my favorite on the peninsula: creamy and gooey, but enough baked breadcrumbs on top to give it texture.  LOVE IT!

It’s great to have a spot to go to where the food is always reliably fantastic and the scene is definitely hipper than the usual hole in the wall. 

Sometimes suburbia needs a touch of the city life.

Town: Chops, Steak & Seafood on Urbanspoon

Posted in Events, Food

Italian in Mountain View

Posted on by virgoinwonderland

rist.jpg Courtesy of www.dongiovannis.com

If you’re ever in downtown Mountain View, specifically Castro St., you’ll never have any trouble finding a good Asian restaurant. There’s a wide selection of Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese joints all up and down the street.

Unfortunately, my friend and I weren’t in the mood for Asian food. And our options didn’t look good, until we saw Ristorante Don Giovanni.

I was a little afraid upon entering the place because of it’s stereotypical Italian bistro decor of peach colored walls, dime a dozen Italian posters and the pungent smell of garlic. The place needs a facelift to make it more modern and give it some distinction.

Upon opening the menu, I noticed an abundance of typical Italian favorites you’d expect to see like pastas and scallopinis. Nothing terribly innovative or exciting, but there were a lot of choices.

If you love veal, you’ll love this place. There is a ton of veal on this menu and not as much in the way of chicken or beef. I decided on the Veal Scallopini with Marsala and Mushrooms. I LOVE marsala dishes, so I was hoping for the best.

But first, my friend and I shared the crab cake appetizer. There are so many ways to screw this dish up, but fortunately, it exceeded my expectations. The crab meat was flavorful, fresh tasting, moist, and the breading was light and crispy. A solid dish.

My friend ordered the ravioli stuffed with ricotta in meat sauce. She loved it and practically licked the place clean. And my veal marsala was surprisingly good. The veal was pounded thin and was moist and tender. The mushrooms and marsala sauce were sweet and tangy, just like it should be. It was simple, but delicious.

At one point we both stopped ourselves in mid meal realizing how fast we were eating! We enjoyed the food thoroughly, and the service was friendly and attentive. The menu and decor could stand a little more imagination, but the simple food was hearty, yet not heavy, and solidly good.

If none of the Asian restaurants on Castro are calling your name, you could do a lot worse than this place.

Ristorante Don Giovanni – 235 Castro St., Mountain View – 650.961.9749

SPECIAL OFFER: On Thanksgiving, November 22nd, 2007, Ristorante Don Giovanni will be serving their annual FREE Thanksgiving meal, as a thank you to all their loyal customers! Just show up between 11am-4pm to get a free turkey meal! Not valid on takeout orders, while supplies last. Please call the restaurant for more details.