Category: Food

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Sendai Sushi in Milpitas.


Wanted to try a new place, Theresa yelped places nearby for sushi and found Sendai. We were seated quickly, and it looks like we had just beat the rush at 6:00 or so. Service was fast and efficient as we got our food all of our food within 10 minutes. of placing the order. They have multiple sushi chefs, which may explain the speed.

 

We got the “chef’s choice” sashimi platter. Pieces were nicely cut and the quality about what you would expect in this price range.


Sendai offers the standard variety of rolls and nigiri.  We tried the spider roll and the ikura nigiri. Tasty and satisfied that sushi craving we had.

Had to take a picture of this cool looking sake decanter. I imagine it could have use with other liquor, like vodka. .  

Conclusion:

Food was fresh and good value for the price, which explains why it gets really busy at night  Is seems like it  gets super crowded during typical dinner times, so go early or late if you want to avoid a  wait. The parking lot is also small, so parking can be an issue and you will have to find nearby street parking. If you are in the mood for sushi at a good price, would recommend Sendai.

Update: We returned in June and ordered the 16 piece sashimi dinner, agedashi tofu, and the orgasmic roll.  Confirmed our initial conclusion that Sendai is a great place with good value and efficient service.

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Europe 2012 – Paris Food Pictures

Wine, complements of the Hotel Baltimore

Pizza from a local pizza shop (it was late Sunday evening and most restaurants are closed on Sunday),

Cafe Kleber on Place de Tracadero – Shrimp salad, French Onion Soup, Duck Breast with gravy, fried potatoes, green beans, Smothered steak with Pomme de Terre Frite, Chocolate crepe, and fruit tarte

Breakfast buffet at Hotel Baltimore – various cured meats and cheese, fruits, toasted brioche, breads, yogurt, hard boiled egg,  hot tea

Il Sorrentino – Bruchetta, stuffed ravioli with house made tomato sauce, mixed seafood grill, warm chocolate cake with caramel and creme angalise

Restaurant Perraudin (bistro) – Vegetable soup, salad of roasted peppers, bread,  Braised beef with carrots (special of the day), Beef Bourguinon, chocolate mousse dessert

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Europe 2012 – London Food Pics

A pint of Old Golden Hen with some English baked pudding/pie and Bangers and Mash at the Prince Albert Pub near Victoria Station.

Breakfast buffet at the Rubens includes sausage (regular and blood), bacon, eggs any style (including freshly poached and fried), hash browns, various baked breads, fresh fruits, cold cuts and cheeses, yogurts and cereals, hot oatmeal, coffee and tea, juices

A pre-theater dinner at the Rubens with Prime Rib, Onion Tartm Yorkshire Pudding, vegetables, fried fish; dessert of meringue topped with berries,  chocolate covered cream puff with creme anglaise, chocolate mousse cake, tiramisu and melon

We also decided to go simple during a couple of dinners by going to Mark and Spencers for sandwiches, chips, and fruit.

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Europe 2012 – Harrod’s London

Went to the world famous Harrod’s department store in London, where Theresa instantly bonded with the Harrod’s mascot bear. This place is massive, with rooms upon rooms of luxury merchandise covering multiple floors and spanning the entire interior of the building. They even have a small area dedicated to Princess Diana. Besides durable goods, Harrod is also known for its vast  Food Halls, which were several rooms filled with both prepared and raw foods. They have separate halls for meats of all types, seafood, baked goods/desserts, coffees and teas, chocolate, and vegetables.   Each hall also has a restaurant area where you could sit and eat the hall’s specialty. For example, the seafood hall had a caviar counter and a small cafe that served sashimi. Great place to browse and look, but it can get pricey to actually buy and/or eat food there. You will most likely leave Harrod’s either hungry or with a lighter wallet.

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Europe 2012 – Belgo London, Belgian Style Mussels

Belgo Restaurant in London, famous for their mussel dishes,  is located in the Covent Garden area of London.  After ordering a pint of beer, we decided to get two types of mussels, the traditional ones cooked with wine and herbs and a spicy one cooked with a chorizo and tomato broth. Restaurant was really busy even during the weekday in the early afternoon when we arrived for a late lunch.  Seating was mostly benches around picnic style tables within a warehouse type setting.  Prices were reasonable for London and portions were satisfying.  L

Fun fact: Check out the water closet. The male and female water closets share a common sink, which is a fountain looking affair. To activate the water, you step on a rail, which starts the flow of water. (picture below)

Gallery:
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Hogg Island Oyster Bar

Our visit to Hogg Island Oyster in the SF Ferry Building in July

Freshly shucked oysters from the HI farm as well as some smaller ones from the east coast. We sampled the four types on the menu that day and ordered a dozen more of the smaller oysters because we liked it so much (name escapes me now, as I am writing this 5 months after the fact)

I was initially skeptical when i saw the grilled cheese sandwich with homemade pickles on the menu, but ordered it based on the glowing yelp reviews,  I must say that it lived up to the hype. the sandwich had a combination of some decadently melty cheese between two perfectly grilled ciabatta-like bread slice. The pickled veggies provided a nice acidic counter point  to the rich sandwich.

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Chicago – June 2012



Went to Chicago this June for Marla and Scott’s wedding. Took some additional time off before to wander around the city.  As you can probably tell from the marque above Conan O’ Brian was in town to tape his show.

Conan folks were all over downtown, particularly the Magnificient Mile. They set up vending machine that they set up to distribute “swag” from the show. You could pick up a card the day before, and then you had to line up in the morning and exchange your card for a change to use the machine and get stuff.  They had 4 or 5 of these scattered throughout the downtown area.

Place Visited:

“The Bean” in Grant Park, State Street for some shopping, Magnificent Mile,

Restaurants Visited:

Gino’s East, Oak Tree Barkery, Joe’s Prime Steak and Stone Crab, Pot Belly (sandwiches), Grand Lux Cafe, Andale Mexican Cafe (at SFO’s Terminal 2)