When our kids were very little, we used to go to Porky’s Pizza Palace for dinner quite a bit. It’s a large and noisy restaurant, and the kids could play with the game machines in the back. They could be loud and nobody noticed.
As our kids grew up, and started having better restaurant manners, we stopped going to Porky’s as much – and I think it’d been three years since our last visit when we headed back there yesterday (to eat out for education). It hadn’t changed much – though the place was pretty quiet at 7 PM.
Porky’s menu seems to have stayed the same. This time we shared a “giant” (16″) half Porky’s Combo half cheese pizza ($25) as well as an order of half spaghetti/half ravioli with meat sauce ($7). We also had an order of their onion rings ($4).
Porky’s onion rings are among my favorite, their ranch sauce is just right (not too bitter, not too sour) and they are served hot. The portion wasn’t huge, but neither was the price.
The girls and I liked the pasta. The ravioli had a nice filling, and the meat sauce (apparently homemade) had a satisfying old-fashioned flavor.
The pizza, however, was just OK. Neither Camila nor I liked the very salty taste of the cheese pizza. I’m not sure if the problem was that the pizza didn’t have enough sauce to stand up to the salty cheese or what, but it just wasn’t too tasty. The combo part was better, though again a bit too salty. Porky’s is very generous with its toppings (perhaps too much), and the toppings do tend to slide off the crust.
Still, we had a nice meal and I’d like to go back again, specially if our snooty friends would come along 😉
Porky’s Pizza Palace
1221 Manor Blvd.
San Leandro, CA
(510) 357-4323
http//www.porkyspizzapalace.com
Original Review
San Leandro Restaurant Reviews
Author: admin (Page 25 of 51)
A few days ago I bought 36 eggs at Safeway because they were cheap and they had a buy-one, get one-free offer. We are not big egg eaters so I had to figure out what to do with them. My answer was to make flan. Flan may be my favorite dessert in the world – though it being so sinful, it’s not something I often partake of, and I wanted to try making it from scratch. It really cannot be more simple – though I had a problem with the cooking time. I doubled the recipe I found to fit my somewhat large fluted pan – but I wasn’t sure how long it’d take to cook and at what temperature. I started with 275F, but after two hours it hadn’t set. Then I cooked it at 325F or so for 45 more minutes and that seems to have done the trick. I think the next time around I’ll start it at 325, and see how long it takes. The problem may also have been that I used 1% fat milk – what I had available.
I’m giving the measurements in metric because this time, instead of converting them, I actually weighed the sugar and I used a metric measuring jar. Sorry about that.
In any case, the results were amazing, too amazing – I can’t stop myself from eating it now!
Ingredients
-600 grams + 2/3 cup sugar
-1 lt. milk
-2 Tbsp. vanilla
-12 eggs.
Melt 2/3 cup sugar over medium heat in a small sauce pan. When it’s just light brown, remove it from the heat and immediately pour it on the bottom and sides of the mold you’ll be using. Be careful not to burn yourself and do it quickly before the sugar hardens.
Put the milk and the vanilla in a medium to large saucepan, mix and heat over medium heat until warm. Add 300 grams of sugar, stir until blended, and cook, stirring occasionally until it boils. Remove from the heat and transfer to a very large bowl to cool down.
Meanwhile, put the eggs in another large bowl and beat. Add the remaining 300 grams of sugar and mix well.
When the milk mixture is almost at room temperature, pre-heat the oven to 325F.
Wait until the milk is at room temperature, then pour in the egg mixture and whisk until well combined. Strain into another bowl and pour into the prepared pan.
Fill a large deep baking pan (I use my lasagna pan or my roasting pan) with 1″ water, and place the pan with the flan in the middle. Put in the oven and cook until it solidifies.
Last night it was a friend’s birthday and we went to Tanjia for dinner, a Moroccan restaurant located in Oakland. It was a good experience, though somewhat ruined by what we found out at the end of the evening.
Even though it was Saturday night, Tanjia was rather empty – there were only four or five parties other than us. I’m not sure why that is, it’s reasonably priced ($23 – $25 for a 5 course dinner), and it serves reasonably good food. The belly dancer is not very good (nobody bothered to look at her), but with so few Moroccan restaurants in this area, that doesn’t seem like a strong reason to keep away. Anyway, the place is definitely not popular.
Reviewers in Yelp have repeatedly complained about the bad service – but I thought the service was fine. The waitress was sort of sullen and at one point she was rude to the birthday girl – but we didn’t have to wait for service, water was refilled promptly and the dishes came at good intervals.
The menu was pretty much the same as the one they had when I visited in 2006. It’s a set menu that consists of a small bowl of lentil soup (which I enjoyed), pickled vegetables and an eggplant dip (yummy, but more about this later), bastilla (not the best, but good enough), an entree of your choice, and a dainty piece of fried banana as a dessert (very good, though oily). I had the lamb with honey, and I enjoyed it a lot. The lamb was tender and had a subtle sweet flavor that complimented it very well. Nobody else raved about their entrees, but I didn’t ask them how they liked them so I can’t quite comment. Desiree did say that she wasn’t happy that the bird advertised as “chicken” was actually cornish hen (which is much more bony and hard to eat). I don’t know why they aren’t honest about what they are serving.
The whole menu is supposed to be eaten with your hands (they bring warm water at the beginning and the end to wash them with), but as some of our group objected, they brought forks and knives. Much easier for the bony lamb and chicken.
The low point of the evening was to find out that the half-eggplants, used as a base for the brochettes/kebabs, are actually re-used into other dishes. We asked if we could take them home, and the waitress was quite honest in saying that they chop them up, cook them and serve them. That, of course, is illegal and quite gross. They could have fallen on the floor or been licked by previous guests, for all you know. This practice make me question what else they do in the kitchen to save costs. Well, perhaps I don’t want to imagine it. It’s sufficient to say that I would not go back.
Tanjia
4905 Telegraph Ave.
Oakland
(510)-653-8691
http://www.tanjias.com/
As everyone who reads my blog knows, I’m a big fan of Grocery Outlet. For one, it’s just across the street from my house – which makes it very convenient to grab those items we are out of or have just forgotten. It’s also a good place to get cheap treats and I enjoy seeing what’s new on each trip. You have to be careful, though, they are not always good about keeping expired products off the shelves – so you do need to check expiration dates carefully. Also, their prices are not always the best – sometimes you can get better deals at the supermarket. But in general they are cheaper to much cheaper than regular stores.
What I really like about the San Leandro Grocery Outlet, however, is how dedicated the manager is to make the store pleasant and family friendly. They moved here to San Leandro from Seattle, and it’s really clear that it’s their baby. The store is always clean, there are always people around to help and the lines are MUCH shorter than at the supermarket. They strive to never have more than 3 people in line, and today I saw the manager open a new line when the others started getting over that. There is also always a dedicated person to bag your groceries, so you can get out of there quickly.
I also like that they seem to make a concerned effort to hiring people with disabilities and minorities. My only concern is that they are not unionized, but I don’t know anything about their labor practices. I’ll ask the manager at some point.
—
So I finally asked the manager about their labor practices. Workers are started at $8.50 an hour (50 cents over minimum wage in California) and they are not provided with any kind of benefits. The manager say they can’t afford it. GO managers have a base pay of $90K a year, which is not bad – but the manager at San Leandro’s GO works there 6 days a week most of the day, so clearly they work hard for what they make.
The question for me are just how high the profits are for the owners – GO is a privately held company so I wasn’t able to find out how well they do. Are wages so low because they have a small margin on their products, or because the owners are reeking in the profits? I’d like to know.
I’m a moderate tea drinker and mostly a fan of Twinings English Breakfast Tea
I usually like plain black tea mixes – like English breakfast, though I’ll have the occasional cup of Earl Grey. I drink my tea with milk and sugar.
Only “Pure Ceylon Black Tea” is listed as an ingredient on the Barrigton English Breakfast tea box, but I could swear the tea has some sort of flavoring in it. I can taste hints of mint and something else which makes the tea taste particularly sweet. It’s not as robust as the Twinings, but it stands well to milk and sugar, a bag is strong enough for two mugs and it doesn’t seem to over-brew very fast (I don’t usually remove the tea bag while I’m drinking the tea). In all, I’m quite happy with this tea and I’ll probably go and, given the price, I’ll probably go and pick up a few more boxes of it to keep in case Grocery Outlet stops carrying it. The tea expiration date is 11/12, so it should be good for quite a while.
A final thing that I like about this tea is that the bags come in plain paper covers. Twinings’ come in sealed waxed/metallic paper bags, which I don’t think I can recycle/compost.
Finally, I haven’t found much about the Barrington Tea company online – which makes me assume it’s quite new. According to its website, their corporate offices are in Palo Alto. The tea comes from Sri Lanka.
—
Update
I just got a box of their Ceylon tea and I’ve enjoyed it very much as well. It’s a robust black tea, with some hint of flavoring but not as strongly as in the English Breakfast. It’s very nice with milk & sugar. I’d buy it again, though now I’m curious about trying the Trader Joe’s tea, which is even cheaper.
I’ve also tried the Earl Gray tea and this one has disappointed me. It’s very weak and it doesn’t really have a different spicing than the other teas – it’s just weaker. I won’t be buying it again.
I don’t usually make burgers so before a few days ago I hadn’t perfected a “recipe” – but a few days ago I actually made some and then repeated them yesterday, and I have to admit they were very good. Here is what I did:
– I chopped London broil (the first time) and chuck (the second time, eliminating the external fat) in the food processor. The results weren’t as soft as a regular burger but fine anyway. I liked the texture of the London broil better, but the flavor of the chuck was nicer.
– I mixed the chopped meat with some salt, ground cumin, garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce. I eyed the quantities – my eye seems to be pretty good as both times they were well seasoned. I think the Worcestershire sauce is key.
– I cooked them in the pre-heated Foreman grill until medium-rare. I put a slice of cheese on them and then closed the grill for a minute or so.
And that was it.
2012 Update
I have recently found out that Ernie’s hasn’t given any of the proceeds from the Eat Our for Education program to the San Leandro Education Foundation as promised. Therefore I will no longer eat at this restaurant. You may want to dine at more honorable restaurants as well.
January 2010 Review
Yesterday was the first Wednesday of the month, so we went out to eat for the San Leandro Education Foundation Eat out for Education program. Basically, on the first Wednesday of the month, participating restaurants donate 10% of the bill to San Leandro schools. You do need to bring up a coupon, though – so make sure that you print one next month!
Anyway, even though Ernie’s Seafood Original Restaurant (open since 1953) is only a few blocks away from my house, we hadn’t been there in many years. I’m not sure why, as we both love fish and chips, I guess it just doesn’t come to mind. That’s too bad because we had quite a satisfying meal there last night.
Ernie’s is not much to look at. The small dining room features formica tables and metal/leatherette chairs. It looks like a diner and the walls are only decorated with 50’s like posters and a big wooden fish. Don’t come here for the atmosphere.
The menu is quite limited and includes basic seafood (prawns, scallops, cod, clams & calamari) as well as burgers, seafood and chicken sandwiches. For some reason they also have a NY steak sandwich and gyros. Prices are moderate, with most sandwiches in the $7-10 ratio and combination seafood platters in the low teens.
We all shared onion rings ($4.25) and a shrimp cocktail ($6.25) appetizer. The onion rings were just fine, I didn’t care for the overly salty but not very flavorful breading. They were not oily, however. The tartar sauce wasn’t that great either. The shrimp cocktail was, in the words of my husband, “awesome”. There were plenty of small tasty shrimp and cocktail sauce. My 8-year old also liked it a lot. She was also very pleased with the clam chowder she had for dinner ($3.75 for a quite large “small” bowl). Nobody else tasted it, so I can’t give you the adult review of it, but she was happy to take the leftovers for lunch at school today. Camila, my 5 year-old, had the chicken strips from the kids menu ($5.25). The portion was a good size and the strips were OK, good enough for a kid.
Mike and I shared the large fish & chips platter ($12.75) which comes with 8 sections of fish (cod). I found the fish and the breading to be quite tasteless – I don’t think they were at all seasoned, and I didn’t like the tartar sauce either, I think it lacked acidity. BUT, the fish was actually quite good when salted. The pieces were warm and plump, nicely cooked and not at all oily, and very satisfying. I’d definitely would order it again.
The fries, on the other hand, were quite mediocre.
Service was probably the low point of the evening. Despite the few people at the restaurant, the waitress seemed distracted and she forgot to bring Mika’s clam chowder until we asked for it. She also never brought us the vinegar we asked for. But she was otherwise competent.
In all, it was a good meal and I’d return – probably on the first Wednesday of some month.
On a final note, according to their menu Ernie’s has a banquet room for up to 40 people.
Ernie’s Seafood Original Restaurant
13775 East 14th St.
San Leandro, CA
510-357-2246
M-Th 11 AM – 8:30 PM
F 11 AM – 9 PM
Su CLOSED
I got a bottle of Villa MIlena Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I don’t remember how much I pay, I’d guess about $7-8 for a 1 lt bottle) at Grocery Outlet a couple of weeks ago because I had ran out of it and I didn’t have time to go to Trader Joe’s, where I usually buy my EVOO (I get the Greek Kalamata one in the large bottle, it’s quite good and cheap). I wasn’t expecting much, but I still managed to be disappointed. The oil is a green-yellow color and has a fruity beginning, no middle whatsoever and a *very* bitter finish. Indeed, it leaves a bitter taste in your mouth when you are done.
I’ve used it for sauteing/pan frying and it’s fine for that, but definitely not for salads or with bread.
August 2011 Update
We’ve gone to Boulevard Burger a few times since my last update and the quality of the burgers seems to have gone downhill. I always get the MBA burger (with avocado, bacon & mushrooms), medium rare, and the last few times I’ve ordered it it has been very dry. I don’t know if they got a new cook who is not as good making burgers or it’s been a coincidence, but I’m less enthusiastic about going there now.
July 2011 Update
In the last year and a half, Boulevard Burger has become my favorite casual-food restaurant in San Leandro. We go there at least once a month. The burgers are almost always perfectly cooked medium-rare, as I request them. They are very juicy and tasty. The bacon in the MBA burger is top quality, and the vegetables are always fresh. I’ve grown to like their onion rings (they might have improved them), but their fries are just adequate. In addition to burgers, they have now chicken sandwiches and veggie & portobello burgers. They have a variety of children dishes for $5. My kids don’t love it, however, but it’s not all about them.
December 2009 Review
I’ve been looking forward to go to Boulevard Burgers since I first heard it was opening, back in August. But I don’t go out to lunch that often, so the opportunity didn’t present itself until today – when our empty stomachs and a very dirty kitchen convinced us that a lunch out was a good idea. And, indeed, it was. Both Mike and I were very pleaed with our burgers and are sure to go back.
Boulevard Burgers is the latest venture from restauranteur Mike Wiesner, the owner of Paradiso. It occupies the space on MacArthur Boulevard where Sonoma’s had been until a few months ago. Sonoma’s had attempted to be a “nice” restaurant, but I was never enthralled with its food – though I hope that my negative review wasn’t a major reason why the venture failed. Boulevard Burgers is a much less ambitious endeavor. It’s basically a semi-upscale burger joint. Upscale in that they use “grass-fed, grain finished California Angus which has no steroids, antibiotics, hormones or pesticides” and which comes from a nearby ranch – but not quite gourmet as the burgers they offer are quite basic; toppings include four kinds of cheese, avocado, mushrooms, grilled onions and little else. Don’t come here expecting a Kobe burger with saute foie gras and homemade Dijon mustard (if that’s what you want, Hubert Keller’s Burger Bar in San Francisco will be more your thing).
The important thing, however, is that the burgers are good. Both Mike and I had ours medium-rare, and they were perfectly cooked and very juicy (so much so that they did manage to soak the bottom part of the bun, a problem easily solved by just turning the burger around :-). I had jack cheese, bacon and avocado on mine – and the combination was very good. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The burgers are between 6.5 and 7 oz, a good size for a good appetite; I couldn’t finish mine. They range in price from $5 for a simple hamburger to $8 for the “Whole Enchilada”, a burger with avocado, bacon, sauteed onions, mushrooms, jalapeños and cheese. I think the prices are quite reasonable for the quality of the food. The burgers come solo, but you can order fries ($2), sweet potato fries ($3.50) or onion rings ($3) on the side – we got the fries (a HUGE portion) and found them to be un-exceptional. Thin, crispy and tasty enough, but not addictive.
Boulevard also offers grilled chicken sandwiches and a portobello mushroom burger. There are also salads. We didn’t try them.
At Boulevard Burgers you order at the counter and have the food brought to your table. Service was quick and very efficient, and the servers/counter people were very attentive.
In all, we had a very pleasant experience and I’d definitely return.
Boulevard Burgers
1027 MacArthur Blvd.
San Leandro, CA
510-632-3100
http://www.boulevardburger.com/
Open 11 AM – 9 PM
Marga’s San Leandro Restaurant Reviews
For Xmas morning I made buttermilk pancakes, with butter & maple syrup, and bacon (from TJ’s). The pancakes were absolutely delicious, very fluffy and light and with a good flavor of their own. I made them from this recipe (also copied, with modifications, below) from allrecipes.com – but I added a little bit more sugar to the batter and substituted milk & cream for a third cup of buttermilk, as I didn’t have enough. So, if you don’t have cream, you can just use 3 cups of buttermilk and 1/2 cup of milk.
The original recipe asks that you don’t mix the dry ingredients with the wet ones until you are ready to cook the pancakes. I did so for my first batch, but a few ours later I wanted some more and I used the leftover batter (which I’d left on the counter); I did not perceive any difference in quality. I did follow the original instructions about gently mixing the dry with the wet ingredients, until the former were just moistened. Though that meant the flour wasn’t fully dissolved, this was not an issue when cooked.
Buttermilk Pancakes
3 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup milk
1/2 cup whipping cream
3 eggs
1/3 cup butter, melted + butter for cooking
Mix the flour with the sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl combine the buttermilk, milk, cream, eggs and melted butter. Pour the buttermilk mix onto the flour mix and gently mix, with a fork, until just moistened.
Heat up a large griddle to medium/medium-high heat and melt a small pat of butter. Pour about 1/2 cup (I used a ladle filled half-way) batter onto the griddle and cook until the bottom starts to brown, flip and repeat. Serve with butter and real maple syrup.
Marga’s Best Recipes
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