Having gone to school in Texas, I am partial to their style of BBQ, especially  beef brisket.  Was craving some good BBQ over the July 4th weekend, so decided to look up some BBQ places on Yelp.  Found The Smoking Pig and according to the reviews seemed pretty good and located fairly close to us in San Jose.

Smokers outside

 Real hardwood for smoking

Pulling into the parking lot, you are greeted with the smells of smoky goodness.  Often when dining out, you can not see a restaurant’s kitchen setup. But for the Smoking Pig, it’s in plain view behind the restaurant – large black smoke boxes fueled by real burning hardwood and seasoned with years of smoking meats on a daily basis.

The menu consists of some appetizers, including their signature one, Wolf Turds, which are stuffed jalepenos wrapped in bacon, then smoked in the BBQ pit. We did not try that, but I glanced at another table which ordered it, and it looked tasty.  Entrees include personal platters consist of 1, 2, or 3 meat combinations that come with cornbread and  personal sized side order, which includes cole slaw, potato salad, etc.  Since we were a large group (5 adults 3 kids), the waitress suggested we do the a la carte option and order the meats by the pound and share. We opted for pound each of the pulled pork and brisket and a full rack of ribs. I had also seen pictures and read rave reviews of the mac and cheese online, so we ordered the quart size to share.

BBQ Beef Brisket

The beef brisket was by far the favorite around the table. You can request whether you want “fatty” or “lean” cuts of the brisket, and we opted for a 50/50 split. Slow smoked/cooked Texas style, the flavor of the rub and smoke penetrated deeply into the meat, which really required no BBQ sauce

The Ribs

Ribs were done St Louis style, slightly dry but with a slathering of sauce on it. Ribs were meaty and well prepared. BBQ sauce is optional on this one, depending on if you are a fan of wet or dry ribs.

Pulled Pork

The pulled pork was prepared Carolina style, and came shredded. with a good combination of crisp , burnt edges and moist interior. Unlike the other 2 meats, I think BBQ sauce is a must on this one with the Carolina style BBQ sauce pairing well with this.

3 Types of BBQ Sauce

Like any real credible BBQ joint, Smoking Pig makes its own homemade BBQ sauce, three types in fact.  The Carolina Sassy has a vinegary profile with a bit of mustard and as mentioned before pairs well with the pulled pork. The Kansas City Hot is powered by habeneros and has a nice heat kick at the end, just enough to burn a few seconds and fade into the background. The California Honey was a bit on the sweeter side, a bit too sweet for my personal preference, but went well with the brisket.  I mixed the KC hot with the Carolina Sassy to create a more balanced sipping sauce for the pulled pork.

Mac and Cheese with bits of BBQ meat in it

I am a big fan of good mac and cheese. I’m not talking about the ones with the sauce you make from a powder, but from real cheese in a bechamel sauce poured over pasta, and sometimes baked off in a casserole dish.  i was anxious to try The Smoking Pigs version because I read they also incorporate bits of their BBQ into the sauce.  When the waitress bought the quart sized container to our table, I could tell it was gonna be good because of the weight. This stuff was dense.   Scooping some out, you get a satisfying thud as it hits your plate, meaning this stuff is rich, and met my expectations of how a good mac and cheese should be made.  The bits of BBQ lent a nice smokiness that differentiates it from other restaurant’s mac and cheese.  My suspicion is if you were to refrigerate this overnight, it would solidify back into its natural, unmelted, cheese block form, which means it was made right (in my personal opinion at least).

Verdict:
The Smoking Pig is definitely a place I would recommend for good BBQ. They do it well and prices are pretty reasonable.  The brisket is a must order,  although the ribs and pork are no slouch food either. Worth a trip from anywhere in the South Bay, especially if you like really good BBQ.

Tips:
We went for an early dinner because Theresa read it gets crowded during the peak dinner hours. When we left, I noted the dining room was almost full, and the parking lot had no empty spaces.  Since slow smoking takes a while, they can only cook a set amount of meat a day, so if you go later, there is also a danger they will run out of meats. So my advice is to come early so you can to ensure you can get what you want. They also do take out orders, which we will definitely do in the future.

 

The owners of Red Hot Wok have opened another restaurant, Mango Garden in Cupertino. We actually stumbled upon Mango Garden because Theresa called Red Hot Wok asking for Oliver or Dominic, and was told “they are at the new restaurant”.  We were very eager to try it, especially since the cuisine is Singaporean.  Equally exciting was they carried over their “snow” desserts from RHW, which we really enjoyed.

We started off with Roti Prada and Chicken and Beef Satay. Both came with a curry dipping sauce. The roti was nicely made, slightly sweet, which complimented the spicy curry well. Satay chicken and beef were tender and flavorful.

Belachan Okra

Belachan is a shrimp paste/sauce used in Singaporean cuisine and often serves as a seasoning agent and stir fry sauce for vegetables and meats. The okra did not have the typical “slime” you associate with okra, but the dish was a little wetter than previous versions I have had before.  My personal preference is to have it a bit drier, but most people will like this dish.

Sizzling Penang Prawns

Brought to your table on a black hot plate, Sizzling Penang Prawns come in a creamy sauce with onions, peppers, and in this case curry leaves.  You can really taste the buttery goodness, and the sauce is really good over rice, so make sure to get a bowl or two.

Siam Salmon- Spicy/sweet sauce with mango.

Stir Fried Crab

Oliver made a suggestion for the crab, which is not on the menu, a mix of their sambal and special curry. The sauce clung to the crab similar to the way a dry rub clings to ribs, which is a good thing.  While I am not the biggest crab fan, Theresa and her cousin are, and they were all over this one. The sauce was very tasty, and and goes well with rice.  Will definitely have to try the other flavors on our next trip.

Mango and Taro Snow

Milk Snow with strawberries, sweet red beans and coconut jelly.

The dessert is a carry over from their other restaurant, Red Hot Wok.  It’s a “snow ice”, which is basically like Italian shaved ice. The mixture consisting of ingredients similar to sorbet or ice milk are frozen in a block and then run across a blade to create shavings. This creates a fluffy textured dessert. This is then topped with fresh fruit.  My table mates were the most excited about this part of the meal, especially since it was a rip roaring hot day in the South Bay.  Rarely do I cite a dessert as the must have dish when you go to a restaurant, but this is one of those instance. Save room, as this is worth it.

Verdict: 
Mango Garden will definitely be on the regular rotations of restaurants we dine at. Lots of choices, and great take on Singaporean food.  If that was not enough, it has the snow desserts that we crave. Would highly recommend it for fans of Singaporean food and a great addition to the Cupertino area.

 

Jang Su Jang has a two locations in the Bay Area — Santa Clara and Milpitas. They are known for Korean BBQ, although if you get a non-grill table, you can still get BBQ that is served on a hot/sizzling plate and brought to your table. They also have noodle, dumpling, and tofu soup dishes.

If you order the package meals, it comes with a selection of meats that the staff cooks on the grill in the middle of the table for you.  We order the brisket and marinated short rib. Each person gets their own dipping sauces.

As with most Korean BBQ places, you get rice and a number of side dishes, which you can get refills. There was one with beef chunks that was really good, but that one was not refilled, so we only got some for the table.

Verdict: 
Staff was efficient at rolling out orders and  cooking the meats at the table. Sides were tasty and made you want to eat more rice.  The Santa Clara location is pretty popular, so definitely expect a wait if you walk in during dinner time.  I would suggest making reservations, especially if you want a grill equipped table. A group of 4 or 6 is probably ideal, as you can order a larger variety and share.  Definitely would put on rotation of restaurants that are good for small groups, especially those that love to eat meat. I have been to the Milpitas location for lunch, ordering the lunch specials. Experience was the same, so if that location is closer to you, would recommend you try that one.

Theresa and I made some last minute plans to meet up with our friends Steven and Stacy last Saturday night.  Since they live further up the Peninsula, we figured it would be better to meet somewhere in between there and the South Bay so no one had to drive too far, and decided on Palo Alto as a good in-between point.  Theresa yelped this place, and it got decent reviews so we decided to check it out.  La Bodeguita del Medio is a Cuban restaurant located on California Avenue, which is away from the main hustle and bustle of the trendier and much busier downtown area/University Avenue.

Entering the door beyond the hostess stand is the lounge/bar area where you can grab drinks from the house bar and order some small plates/appetizers.  If you are there for a full meal, you would be seated in main dining room off the main entrance to the right, which is where we were seated.

The menu consisted of typical Cuban fare like roasted pork, seafood dishes, stews, plantains, rice and beans, etc.   We looked around at the other tables and noted that entree portions seemed generous, so we decided to do family style and share dishes. The hostess and waiter both recommended the Ropa Vieja, and from our casual scans around the dining room, the paellla seemed to be pretty popular too, so we decided to order that and round it out with a side order  of plantains.

The plantains were nicely caramelized but were softer, less starchy, and a bit sweeter than what I was expecting, having a mouth feel and taste profile closer to bananas.  I am not being necessarily negative on the dish, as it was well prepared, just a matter of personal preference.

The Ropa Vieja is shredded skirt steak with chilis, peppers on a bed of rice and plantains and accompanied by a fried plantain chip.  This dish reminded me of Carolina pulled pork in terms of mouth feel and consistency, but with Cuban seasonings.

The paella had clams, mussels, fish, chicken, chorizo, and shrimp in “spiced” yellow rice and came in a traditional paella pan.  It’s a bit tough to gauge the size of it based on the picture above, but it is substantial.  The menu stated the paella “serves two”, but when it arrived at the table, we were all a bit taken aback by how much food was in the pan.  Easily could feed 3 people with pretty hearty appetites or 2 really really big eaters, so plan accordingly.  The clams and mussels sat atop the rice, with the other proteins mixed into the rice.   Stacy and I both noted it was a bit wetter than other paellas we have had in the past, and overall, I would put it in the middle of the pack of all the paellas I have had.  Nothing too stellar to make it stand out, but I would recommend ordering if you do come here.  Bodeguita also has a Ajaico, which is basically a stew with a whole variety of seafood served in the same large pan with a side of rice and beans. We had seen other tables order it and it looked really good. Definitely want to try that on our next trip.

Steve had been eyeing that night’s dessert special, the Banana Tres Leche, since he saw it on the menu, so it was a must order when dessert time came around. We also ordered the key lime tart.

Sometimes when you  go to restaurants and they feature a dessert that is flavored with something, what they actually do is top the dessert with that ingredient or element, especially if it’s fruit. We asked the waiter if this was the case, and he stated the banana was actually incorporated into the tres leche cake and topped with a rum whipped cream.  Nice combination of flavors, but like the Ropa dish, I felt it was decent, but nothing super memorable about it.

Everyone’s first reaction when tasting the key lime tart was “wow that’s tart”.  The baker definitely did not spare the lime juice when making the filling. On the spectrum of all the key lime desserts I have had, this one definitely is one of the tartest.  If you’re like me and really enjoy sour and tart (think sour patch kids candy or lemon drops), then this was a good dessert. Otherwise, I would skip this in favor of something else.

Portion-wide, the desserts were of decent size. If you are a dessert person and have/save room after the meal, then order one for yourself, otherwise I would recommend sharing.

Verdict:
I would classify Bodeguita as good casual. semi-upscale place with fun atmosphere. The bar seemed to be hopping when we left, so i can see it being a good option drinks with friends, especially if you don’t want to fight the crowds of downtown Palo Alto.  I have only tried one other Cuban restaurant in the area (Habana Cuba, San Jose) and never having been to Cuba, the Caribbean, or Miami,  I have little to compare how authentic Bodeguita’s Cuban fare is. My impressions were that the food was well cooked and service was nice, but nothing that night stood out as an overarching reason to return in the near future or go broadcasting to my friends that this is the new “must try” place along the Peninsula.   I would, however,  keep this on my list of suggested Palo Alto restaurants, especially if my fellow diners want something a bit different than the normal Asian, Italian, California cuisine.

Bill of Restaurant is an unassuming restaurant tucked behind a Rotten Robbies gas station, in what can be described as a dated, Waffle House looking exterior. We have driven past it many times on Saratoga Ave and not given it much credit for being a good restaurant, expecting it to fold as we never saw patrons there for dinner. We finally decided to try it a couple months ago based on some online reviews, which explained that BOF was a breakfast place. We liked it and returned a a second time about a week ago.

What BOF known for is breakfasts, which is really the only meal they serve, as they close up shop around 2:30pm. Run by a Cantonese family, it serves up typical American diner breakfast fare with some Asian touches.

In addition to a full breadth of American style breakfasts -omelettes, waffles, pancakes, toast, eggs, OJ, etc, you can substitute a side of rice for your breakfast potatoes or hash browns. They also offer fried rice and Fujean style egg omelettes.  They even bring your soy sauce in addition to ketchup for your eggs.

On our most recent trip, Theresa got the pork chops and eggs with a side of rice and I got the Linguica and eggs. Nothing highly gourmet about it, but for diner food, it’s well done. Ingredients were a bit higher quality than your typical greasy spoon, so I would say definitely a cut above Denny’s, IHOP, Waffle House, etc.  For instance, the OJ was freshly squeezed, not from a soda fountain machine and the coffee was not the 7-eleven variety, although for coffee snobs, it is a cut below your typical Starbuck’s expresso drink. but hey, with free refills, what do you expect? Did not have a chance to try their omelettes on either trip, but they seemed to be a popular choice at the other tables. That will be on the next trip, along with the bacon fried rice.

Portions are typical American sizes, which is to say generous,  so come hungry and expect to spend some extra time on the treadmill to work off this breakfast.  Like the gritty looking exterior, this place is unapologetically a greasy spoon, albeit with some Asian touches. If you are in the mood for a hearty, good ole American diner style breakfast or brunch, I would recommend hitting this place, and putting it on your rotation of breakfast places. There is a reason they have been around since 1979, and from all signs, doing well ever since.

A couple of weeks ago, we went to Boiling Crab for a Saturday lunch.  This location is in a strip mall/retail center off Curtner Avenue in South San Jose. They have another location on Capitol Expressway.

The restaurant opens at high noon, and this place is popular. Yup, that is a line you see below, stretching across 2 store fronts,  with about 10 minutes to go before opening. The line continued to grow as noon approached. If we had gotten there around or shortly after noon, we would probably would have had to wait for a table.

The format is the same as Red Crawfish: Order X pounds of seafood, with some sides and accompanying beverages.  The seafood is boiled/steamed, and then immersed into a sauce and delivered to you in a large plastic bag. One major difference is BC does not offer a prix fixe package that includes appetizers, side, seafood, and dessert. You have to order everything a la carte.

Boiling Crab has 4 spice levels and 3 types of sauces, with the 4th sauce, called “The Whole Sha-bang!”, a combination of the 3 main sauces.   The mild spice level has a small kick to it and is probably good for most people, as the medium can be too numbingly hot to be enjoyable after a few bites. The highest level is probably only for the people who enjoy drinking a cup of hot sauce for breakfast or think a meal is not a meal unless your tongue is numb 2 hours after the fact.

 

Crawfish is sourced from Louisiana and prices are “market based”, so always ask when ordering. When deciding how many pounds of crawfish to order, keep in mind that a good portion of the crawfish’s weight is the body, meaning the yield of meat compared to total weight ordered will be low.  If you are sharing everything at your table, I would recommend supplanting some of the crawfish with shrimp, which tends to have a higher meat to total weight ratio.  Another consideration: beer pairs well with spicy seafood, so remember to plan accordingly  For normal appetites, I would say 2 total pounds of seafood per person plus some sides and beer is enough. Larger eaters might want to bump that figure to 3 pounds per person. For every 3 pounds of seafood of the same type, you get a corn on the cob included for free in your plastic bag.  When in season, dungeness crab and blue crab can be cooked in the same style  as the crawfish and shrimp. Fried seafood plates/platters, including oysters when in season, are also part of the menu..

We opted for both crawfish and shrimp, with a side of “cajun” fries and a cup of gumbo. The dark roux based gumbo was well stocked with seafood and sausage, without being too thick or “slimy” like okra based gumbos. You have the option to add rice to your gumbo, but we decided to get it without so we could get more gumbo in the cup. It was a bit salty for a “standalone” soup.  A decent approximation of a Louisiana gumbo, but as mentioned before, could probably use less salt. Maybe next time we get a separate side of plain rice to eat with the gumbo and use the remainder  to mix in with the crawfish sauce (like I saw the couple at the table next to ours do).

Cut lemons wedges and salt/pepper mix were delivered ahead of the seafood, which arrived shortly afterwards nice and steamy in the aforementioned plastic bags. This time around, I tried the Rajin Cajun sauce by itself, but found the cayenne pepper element to be a bit too heavy handed. I’ve had The Whole Sha-bang in the past, and would recommend that, as it provides a better overall balanced flavor.

Peeling the crawfish and shrimp is a hands-on, predictably messy affair, so bibs are available for those of you not wanting to splatter spice laden liquid onto your nice clothes.

Because the seafood is boiled/steamed separately from the sauce, it can taste underseasoned to some. So BC provides salt and pepper in little plastic cups for every diner.  Another popular alternative is rubbing all that excess sauce that sticks to your hands onto your freshly peeled seafood.  If that is not enough,  you can coat the meat with the sauce sitting at the bottom of the bag.  Just make sure to let the sauce cool a bit, as the salt and cayenne pepper will make your singed fingers feel ten times worse.

Also, as per family style dining etiquette, you should not double dip your seafood into the common bag. If you are a double dipper or just like to drench your seafood in sauce, then I would advise dumping out the salt and pepper that comes in the little plastic cup and use that to scoop out your own personal portion of sauce. Or another option is just get your own bag of seafood.

And don’t forget the fat and roe in the crawfish heads. Crack open those heads and scoop it out! Or if you are adventurous enough and don’t care (or need) to see what goes into your mouth, you can just suck it out of the head right after detaching the tail.

If you’ve done it right, the meal should end with a nice large pile of shells and dirty napkins in front of you. Now is the time to  use those leftover lemon wedges to clean off those saucy, smelly fingers and hands.

Verdict:
Boiling Crab is popular and the pre-opening lines attest to that.  Overall the seafood is fresh and cooked properly to just the right doneness. The sauces are tasty and meld well.

I prefer Boiling Crab’s flavors over Red Crawfish in San Mateo. Prices are also slightly lower than RC. The other advantage BC has for us is proximity: a 15 minute drive as opposed to 35-40  minutes.  If you need a crawfish fix, Boiling Crab is a great place to satisfy your cravings.