Ritz-Carlton Sunday Brunch, San Francisco, California

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Ritz-Carlton Hotel
San Francisco, California

Thanksgiving weekend was also special because it was my niece's first birthday. Happy birthday !!!

Brunch at the Ritz was actually a very festive affair. The dining area and the service is a bit formal, but it does add a nice luxurious touch to the occasion. The brunch is part buffet, but you also get to order your main dish.

Brunch menu.

The buffet section includes bacon and sausage, home fries (very good---light and crispy), an omelette station, some fresh fruits, and pasty/sweets. All arranged very temptingly. The brunch comes with a complimentary glass of champagne, mimosa or kir royale. I had the kir-- nothing like it to start your Sunday!

Brother D's pickin's from the buffet station: omelet, sausage and bacon, croissant. Fresh squeezed oj was available too.


Brother D ordered pancakes with fruit.

Lobster omelette with American caviar (paddlefish?) and home fries. The lobster was sweet and tender. Their home fries are crisp all over, and very light and perfectly seasoned. I did not like the caviar too much; it tasted like murky pondwater.

Brother F got the corned beef hash.

The buffet selection was well-edited, and not as overflowing as with most other brunch buffets. Then again, there was quite some overlap with the menu selections. They were out of the smoked salmon when I checked, although it was replenished when I returned.

One of the dessert selections.

Happy birthday, B!

Pho Hoa Ty, Hayward, California

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Pho Hoa Ty
Hayward, California

After a long day at Napa, we made the trek back to our hotel in Hayward. We were feeling hungry and agreed that soup was the way to go. As I had mentioned somewhere earlier, Asian food is ubiquitous in California, so it was not too hard to find a place for pho.

Goi cuon. It was made fresh and did not disappoint.

Fried chicken wings. Although we ordered this as an app, it did not come until we were well in the middle of our entrees, so we did not finish it. Pops felt that it was a tad salty.

Mixed seafood soup. This came with a bunch of fish cakes, fake crab meat, shrimp and squid. The squid tasted off.

Rice platter with grilled shrimp and a pork chop. Brother D scarfed this all up, so I think he liked it.

Rice platter with grilled pork chops. Brother F likewise scarfed his meal up.

Moms did say that she liked the house pho, which she shared with Pops. That night, we all went to bed with full bellies.

V. Sattui Winery, Napa, California

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V. Sattui Winery
1111 White Lane (off Highway 29)
St. Helena, California 94574
(707) 963-7774
www.vsattui.com


After visiting the Robert Mondavi winery, we headed a few miles down to St. Helena to visit V. Sattui. This winery is highly recommended by our friends in the West Coast area, and is a great place to bring your family to. The grounds are beautifully landscaped, with a lot of rose vines and bushes.

The winery has an on-site deli and cheese/cured meats shop. On weekends, they also have hot grilled ribs, sandwiches and pizzas for sale. [There's also a Dean and Delucca across the highway, although you're not supposed to bring outside food.] The grounds are open for picnickers, so bring your blanket!

Superfatty's super friends and family enjoying the awesome grounds. I was unable to take picutres of the food---we were all so hungry! The outdoor grilled food was pretty good; we had the pizza margherita, roast beef sandwich, grilled chicken and bbq ribs. Moms picked up some very chewy bread and a salad from the store. We all loved the food.



View from the parking lot. Like a lot of the big wineries in the area, it was packed with tourists and daytrippers last Thanksgiving weekend.

V. Sattui's tasting room was much bigger and more well-equipped to handle the hordes of people; I counted at least six tasting stations, in addition to a reserve station in a separate area. The staff were also very friendly and helpful, with none of that snooty oneophile attitude.

I picked the "premier" wines, which allows you to sample six out of nine wines. One of us tried the "regular" sampler,which allows you the same number of tastings for their lesser wines.

Brother D (left) and Brother F (right) liked the lighter wines in the list. The wines were, on the whole, very pleasant and quaffable. The atmosphere was very convivial and relaxed, and we had a great time. We all settled on the Madeira, which reminded me of a light port. Tasted like raisins and spice.

BBQ time! The lines, though long, move fast.

We had a very lovely time here. I think that the crowds and the tourists are just inevitable in Napa. V. Sattui smartly decided not to fight it, and instead decided that everybody---novices and wine lovers alike--- should enjoy their winery experience.

Update: DJKung and I cracked open the Madeira. I am pleased to say that it tasted how I had remembered it. I recall that I really liked this because it reminded me of a very good (potent) Portugese port that we brought home from Spain... Pops finished the bottle before I even barely had a taste. The V. Sattui maderia was a lighter version of this.

Robert Mondavi Winery, Napa, California

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Robert Mondavi Winery
Napa, California

I must confess that I was hoping for a Sideways-type experience when we went to Napa. Driving through Sonoma County, with its rolling hillsides dotted with grape vines and its quaint downtown section, felt like the movie. But today, we were headed to Napa. THe Robert Mondavi winery was our first stop.

The winery is indeed pretty. As we entered, there was a nice profusion of rose bushes. Their front courtyard had a big fountain. The building itself was low-slung, whitewashed and looked like something from an old hacienda. It appeared that most of the building was off-limits to visitors.

Their tasting room was small (considering the large number of tourists) and only had three tasting stations. One was for their reserve wines, another for their regular wines, and the free tasting for their muscadet. The staff looked clearly overwhelmed by the sheer number of people walking in and out. The room had a very musty smell. These, and the $15 fee for tasting three wines (the tasting glass is yours to keep), were sufficient disincentives to partake.

Grape vines. Because it is already late in the season, the vines are already becoming dormant. Their "CS" vines (cab sauvignon) are forty years old.

Outdoor courtyard. Lots of picture-taking went on here.

The private function room. The place had a bit of a funereal feel to it.

Pasta Pomodoro (San Ramon, California)

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Pasta Pomodoro


Various locations in California

I was immediately struck by two things upon visiting California: (1) strip malls and shopping malls are ubiquitous, and (2) Asian cuisine is standard fare, whereas European/Middle Eastern cuisine is "exotic." Pasta Pomodoro well-exemplifies these two observations. This is a chain Italian restaurant that serves semi-Italian fare. By that, I mean that their kitchen had an idealized vision of what Italian food is, but I find that it does not translate too well on your tastebuds. With that said, however, their prices are about half that you would find at a NJ/NY family restarurant.

For apps, we ordered a caprese salad and bruschetta (both unpictured). The caprese's mozarella was not as milky and creamy as the buffalo mozarella that you can get at our NJ /NY groceries. I was surprised that their tomatoes were the watery kind that you usually see at the supermarket during the middle of winter. The bruschetta was ok.

I ordered their butternut squash ravioli (for their apps selection) as my main dish.

Butternut squash ravioli with crispy sage leaves. The filling was rather sweet but bland. I liked how the sage complemented the squash.




Chicken parmesan, ordered by Superfatty's brother. He found it a bit bland, too.

On the whole, the food here is ok, albeit generic. It's too bad because their menu does such a great job describing their dishes. They have a decent selection of drinkable wines by the glass.

Been to Binh Duong Yet?

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Binh Duong Restaurant
61 1/2 Belleville Ave.
Bloomfield, NJ 07003
(973) 680-8440

Binh Duong has been a mainstay of the Ultimate Fun Club's SUPERROTATION for its tasty and filling pho. The location is excellent too, and you can shop for Asian groceries and produce at nearby East West Supermarket.

On our last visit, DJKung and I got the pho. Ozzie Wan and her posse tried a few dishes too.

Garnishes for pho. Counterclockwise from top: fresh bean sprouts, lime slices, jalapeno slices, basil. Sometimes they also have this long-leaved and serrated herb that tastes like a funkier version of cilantro. I favor a lot of bean sprouts and basil, while DJKung likes lime and a lot of Siricha pepper sauce (in background).


Thai iced tea. Forgot to rotate this picture. I did not get to try this, but everyone agreed it was refreshing.

For apps, we ordered vegetarian goi cuon (fresh spring rolls) and fried squid.

In foreground: crispy squid. It is dipped in batter and fried, and does not come with sauce. It is way lighter and more tender than your average calamari. Sometimes they provide a dry roasted salt-and-pepper dip.
In background: vegetarian goi cuon. This comes with a peanut dip, although I like to spoon hoisin sauce in too.

House special pho. This comes with a variety of cuts of beef and is very filling. We have always been satisfied with the stock that their kitchen makes.

Fish ball soup. The broth is much lighter because you do not get a lot of the beefy heft and flavor with actual meat cuts in the soup. Great for those chilly days, or if you're feeling under the weather!

Ozzie Wan's crew ordered the vegetarian fried rice, string beans in garlic sauce and fried noodles with vegetables. I cannot be too descriptive because I did not get to try them---I was too occupied with my soup. They did say that everything was good.

Vegetarian fried rice. It comes with carrots, peas, broccoli and baby corn.

String beans with garlic sauce.

Mixed veggies over fried noodles.

The Eagle has Landed!!!

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El Aguila Restaurant
Main Avenue and Monroe Street
Passaic, NJ
(862) 591-1863


The Ultimate Fun Club is pleased to share with our loyal readers this awesomest Mexican joint in the heart of Passaic, NJ. It is so smokin' new that it is barely mentioned in the online directories! This place is seriously good, and UFC agrees this is the best Mexican we have had (outside of Mexico/San Diego, that is).

"Aguila" is the Spanish word for eagle. The Passaic area in general has a large influx of Central and South American immigrants and it seems that a lot of the restaurants that cater to this population have a mish-mash of cuisines on their menus. El Aguila, however, definitely is Mexican solamente. We were particularly impressed at how confident and solid their menu was. I suspect that this may be an overseas branch of a Mexican fast food chain, but could not find anything online to confirm this.



This complex includes a supermarket, a small bakery section and a fast food-style restaurant. We were too hungry to check out the supermarket.

The menu is quite overwhelming to us, as we did not recognize a lot of the items, apart from "tacos", "platillos" and "empanadas." We took our time ordering.

Fresh squeezed juices at the counter. The pina was popular, so we got it.



Hot food counter. You can point to these when ordering your platter, which comes with rice and beans. On this day, the chicken soup looked really good. The most striking thing we saw were goat skulls atop a platter.

Behind the counter, the workers were busily chopping meat and assembling tacos, burritos and hot plates.

While deciding, we also checked out their tortilla-making machine that was cranking them out as fast as it can. A steady stream of customers were picking up bags of tortillas.

Another section that we overlooked before ordering was their tortas and grill section. They make nice toasty sandwiches to order, with tomatoes and avocados. Defintiely a must try on our next visit.

In the end, we opted for a fried fish platter for me, and a platillos del dia and a carnitas burrito for DJKung. We were told that he could pick among the hot items on display, so he ordered the mole poblano chicken. Alas, churros were not available after 11am! After paying, we got a numbered receipt, and they call your number out.

Note the size of the fried red snapper (fried to order). It must be at least two pounds. I was only able to finish one side (the other side made great fried fish fried rice the next day). The fish was fresh, and was cheap considering its size. The rice was delicately seasoned, though a tad oily. The beans were divine; definitely from scratch, and definitely how refried beans should taste like. Everything tasted brighter with the chili sauce and pickles that you can add from the condiment section.




Too bad the picture for this mole poblano platter came out blurry. We were too hungry since we'd gone hiking that morning. DJKung proclaimed it "the best mole" he had ever had outside of Mexico. The sauce was dark, smoky and luxuriant (luxurious?)---great for sopping up with some tortillas. Fresh tortillas are waaaaay lighter and tastier than the supermarket version!

DJKung, too, was only able to eat half of his plate. Once we got home, the furs declared the rice and chicken as "simply divine." The carnitas burrito were savored later in the evening and still tasted fresh. It was a very generous portion as well.

Based on this visit, it is easy to forsee that this will be a favorite for a long time to come. We have to make it there for breakfast one of these days and get the churros.

El Aguila is also open 24 hours, which will be a great option on those late empty-refrigirator nights. This joint is cash-only.

Are you Game for Gam mee ok?

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Gam mee ok Restaurant
485 Main Street
Fort Lee, NJ 07024
(201) 242-1333

This restaurant always intrigued us. It is in low-slung striking modern-looking building with a lot of glass, and shielded by bamboo plants. The parking lot is always full no matter what time of day it is, AND this place is open 24 hours. DJKung's been hankering for some Korean food, and so we went.

Interestingly enough, the place is actually smaller than it looks. The menu is straight-up Korean fare, and a lot of pork. I must say, this cuisine respects---nay, reveres pork, which was present in different forms on the menu.

Of course, the meal starts off with some kimchi. They bring out a metal pot of kimchee (cabbage and radish), and snip it into bite-sized pieces with a pair of scissors.

Kimchee in center. It was pretty good, and the spice/fermentation was not too heavy. Other items: top left: napa cabbage leaves and long green peppers for pork soup; vinegar-soy dip for pork legs Bottom right: two sauces for pork soup.

I ordered the pork noodle soup. The broth was very porky, a bit on the bland side. You're supposed to garnish it with chopped scallions and salt (available at the table),the napa cabbage leaves and the long green peppers. And the sauce. I'm afraid I overdid the salt this time and could not finish it. Next time, I'll be more careful.

Pork noodle soup. Notice the milky broth. DJKung got the same thing, except that his came with tendons. The kitchen was extremely generous with the tendons, which were gelatinous and filling.

DJKung also ordered the sliced pork hocks. It looks like the pork hocks are boiled for a long time to tenderize the connective tissue, then cooled and sliced. DJKung was in pork heaven after a few bites. "Amazing," said he.

Sliced pork hocks, with a little salad of greens, peppers and garlic. This was a popular item on the menu.

Other interesting dishes we espied from other tables include the kalbi ribs and bimimbap, which we shall be trying at another time. Gam mee ok also has some sochu on hand, which we shall try too!

Always happenin' at Jaimito's!

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Jaimito's
389 Lexington Avenue
Clifton, New Jersey 07011
(973) 546-2549

Jaimie's, as we fondly refer to this place, serves awesome homestyle rib-stickin' Chinese-Peruvian food. It has been a mainstay of our rotation for quite a long time.

The Clifton-Passaic area has seen an influx of Peruvian immigrants the last couple of years or so. A lot of Peruvian restuarants have sprouted up in the area to cater to the increased demand. Jaimie's predates most of 'em, and still brings in the crowds. The space is pretty small, but over the years, they have updated their decor. This week, we notice that they have a flat screen tv now!

Apart from the dishes we picked this evening, our top picks also include pollo a la brasa, fried maduros (sweet bananas), lomo soltado (stir-fried steak with tomatoes and potatoes) and papa a la huanica (potatoes and chili-spiced cheese). I swear there are quite a few more on our roster, but I forget them at the moment.

For some reason, we do not seem to order the Chinese entrees as much. Which is really too bad because the kitchen makes those dishes Chinatown-style.

This evening, we got seco de res, tacu-tacu and jalea.
Jalea. It's a healthy-sized mound of fried shrimp, fried white fish (whiting?), fried squid, fried mussels and half of a crab. This comes with a red onion salad and a roasted potato. The mussels and crab are not always fresh, and I think they add it there just for looks. The squid and fish comprise majority of the dish and are deftly fried and crispy.
Seco de res combinado. This is beef stew cooked in a cilantro sauce, I think. Comes with a side of the onion salad, white rice and white beans. Note the house picante (pepper pesto at the upper left of photo), which is a must for this cuisine. Picante brightens the flavors of fish and meats and also adds a nice touch of heat.
Tacu-tacu. Fried rice and white beans with paprika andseasonings. I love how they give the rice a nice smoky char. Likewise excellent with picante.

Jaimie's also carries special drinks and desserts. Do try the chicha morada, a drink made from purple corn. DJKung likes the bubblegum flavor of Inca Cola. Check the counter to see if they have alfajores (dulce de leche sandwich), which they keep in a big glass jar.

Tuna Festival at Mitsuwa

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Mitsuwa Marketplace
www.mitsuwa.com
595 River Rd
Edgewater, NJ 07020
(201) 941-9113

This weekend, we headed for the Giant Tuna Festival at Mitsuwa. I belive they have this event once a year, during fall, where they have a live demonstration of how a giant tuna (400+ lb) in its whole fish form gets to the sushi- and sashimi-size that most people recognize. The process is quite an undertaking.

We arrived early for the noontime exhibition and perused the kiosk that was set up for this occasion. On hand was the already-decapitated giant tuna head, which filled a goodly sized bucket. This would make great sour fish soup, but it won't fit in our fridge.

Giant tuna head on ice. I think this was on sale for $200. This particular fish was 400lb.

To kill some time, we wandered around the supermarket area and snagged some lunch at the food court before the action started. Once a crowd started building, we hurried along to get a prime spot.

This is the body of the tuna. Some prepwork was apparently done behind the scenes (gutting and removing the head), which was probably messy. Doesn't it look like an alien pod fromthis angle?

Alas, we were a bit slow as the fish butchers (fishmongers?) had already filleted one side. One team started cutting slabs for sashimi-grade tuna already.

Sushi-grade tuna in foreground. See that nice hunk of ruby red meat he's trimming? Three grades of sushi tuna were available, from toro ($60+/llb) to lesser cuts. Even novice that I am, I could see that the marbling on the better cuts was finer and more even. I guess that's why toro is like butter in your mouth.

It was a pretty involved process trying to cut the meat as close to the bone as possible. The fish butchers had to take frequent breaks too.




The sushi that they were making fresh on the spot was limited to only three per person. The cut is not from the fatty toro part, but neverhteless, it had a very silky and unctuous feel. That's the difference that real fresh fish has!

Take me to Takahachi!!!

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Takahachi

85 Avenue A

New York, NY 10009

(212) 505-6524

http://www.takahachi.net/

This place has staying power. I remember coming here back when we when this area was rough around the edges. We were always broke back then but we wanted to still hang out "in the city"... As with all sushi joints, the size of the sushi has gotten smaller over the years, but Takahachi continues to deliver fresh, fresh fish.

I usually get the bento box. It comes with a nice array of tempura, a piece of fried salmon fillet, your choice of sushi or sashimi, a little salad, and dessert--- all very prettily arranged. The chirachi is not bad, either. DJKung prefers the beef skewers and the nabeyaki udon.

On this particular visit, we were in the mood for something different. We ordered some items from the seasonal menu.

Fried flounder. This dish is simply divine. The fillets are crispy golden on the outside, juicy on the inside. The bones are fried separately and are crunchy. Served with a citrus-soy sauce.



Fried vegetable tempura. (I think we were craving fried food that night). Their tempura is one of the best I have tried around, very light batter, very crispy, and cooked just right.


Fried shrimp. This is shrimp dipped in batter and fried, but without the panko crumbs. Nevertheless, it is light and crispy. It is served with a thin mayo-based sauce. (Yeah, I think we were really craving fried food.)

Onigiri special. Their daily special is served between 5pm and 7pm, and is a very good deal. That night, I had squid tentacles and greens (broccoli rabe?) and tuna over rice.

Sashimi platter ordered by DJKung.

If you have some spare cash and are jonesing for something new, give their tasting menu a shot. This is a five-course gustatory adventure and the dishes are impressive. We tried it some time ago, and I can no longer remember the specific things we had. There was a sorbet in the middle. And a dish of cute napoleon-like constructs of sushi in the end. Everything was very pretty and quite delish. On the other hand, if you are hungry, the dishes are tiny and not at all filling.

On a final note, the music here is quite notable for a restaurant. Not that the music is throbbing or in-your-face, but rather, it seems to match the mood. We learnt of a great band, Hauschka, from one of our visits here.