Pan Tao--Sunnyvale, CA

It had been several years since we'd been to this standalone restaurant near the Sunnyvale-Cupertino border, so curiosity drove us to come back. Two key dim sum staples, shuimai and ha gao, were both served hot and fresh. Others, including the cha shao bao (sweet pork bun) and tsong tse (lotus wrapped rice) were also good. Not as acceptable was the coconut jello, which came with canned fruit, providing an overwhelming syrup. Today's atrocity, however, was the shao lung bao, which had no soup inside, a skin that easily fell apart and a filling far too large. By now, I should know to never order this Shanghainese delicacy at a dim sum restaurant, but my weakness for this dumpling makes me think with my appetite and not my head. Unfortunately, when I think of today's lunch I think of the horrible shao lung bao and the fact that we had to wait more than half an hour for the first ha gao to arrive. In those first thirty minutes, the same dishes passed by over and over again.

From the looks and sounds of Pan Tao's clientele, this is a restaurant where the locals eat. And, getting to Pan Tao after noon would almost certainly mean waiting for a table and no available parking in the restaurant's lot. However, this crowd would surely find more variety and better quality dim sum down the street at Dynasty. And, they certainly wouldn't do worse by wading through the options in the Cupertino Mall just a block away.

Pan Tao

1686 S Wolfe Rd
Sunnyvale, CA 94087

(408) 737-9976

Hot Lips Pizza--Portland, OR

I was on the campus of Portland State (which has the largest student population of all universities in Oregon) today and jumped into Hot Lips Pizza. I ordered a slice of the bacon and spinach pizza, which they tossed into the oven to warm up. The bacon was good and fatty, adding flavor to the pizza, which had a crisp, thin crust. What sets Hot Lips apart, though, is the soda they make on-site. Today's featured drink was blackberry soda, which was a delicious dark blue sludge with bubbles percolating to the top. The man behind the register apologized that it was so thick and suggested that I dilute it with soda water. He said the texture changes from day to day. I liked the homey charm of a soda gone slightly awry, though, and drank it as is. The consistency and flavor was much like that of what a fizzy blackberry smoothie might be. It was a meal in itself. Hot Lips features all organic ingredients in their food which may have justified the cost, but it still didn't come cheap--the slice and the drink set me back $6.95 (there's no sales tax in Oregon).

Xanh--Mountain View, CA

Of the fifty or so restaurants I tried this year, Xanh sticks out as being the best value. A mere $12 buys you an all-you-can-eat hunting license to roughly twenty dishes, most of them creative and delicious. I ate myself silly and now, six hours later, I'm still stuffed and skipping dinner.

The test I use to determine my favorite dishes is to see which ones I grabbed that very last trip to the buffet--the dishes that I just had to have again even though I was thoroughly sated. Those dishes were: lemon grass chicken (tender and flavorful), baby pork ribs, spicy fish (catfish) and the spicy sour soup (featuring basa fish and an extraordinarily delicious seafood broth that was slightly spicy, slightly sweet).

The best of the rest includes the grilled chicken, which I would be considered a top tier dish at any other buffet in this price range. I also enjoyed each of the three rolls which featured marinated beef (Kobe roll), tofu (Buddha) and, my wife's favorite, the basa fish (Eskimo).

Xanh's the best weekday buffet I've ever tried here in the Bay Area. I eagerly look forward to a return trip--and to be sure, I'll be wearing my loose pants.

Xanh

110 Castro Street
Mountain View, CA 94041
(650) 964-1888

www.xanhrestaurant.com

Tom's Depot--Los Altos, CA

A ten-minute walk from home, my wife and I stopped by Tom's Depot for breakfast today. I went with Matthew's Choice, which featured an omelet as creative as it was delicious. Bay shrimp, avocado, American cheese, chopped mushrooms and onions combined to form a creamy, scrumptious entree. For sides I chose the English muffin (could have had toast instead) and a fruit cup (in lieu of hash browns).

My wife got the chocolate chip pancakes and was pleased with them--I noticed there was chocolate in every bite.

Tom's broad menu also features Mexican food, burgers, fries, shakes, malts and a trainload of sides. When I was a boy and my mom came home early she'd take me to the nearby burger and malt shop. Likewise, I look forward to enjoying burgers and sundaes at Tom's with the boys if I can escape work. It'll have to be early, though, as Tom's closes at 2:00 Mondays and 4:00 the rest of the work week.

Tom's Depot

991 Fremont Ave
Los Altos, CA 94024

(650) 948-8515

www.tomsdepot.com

Backayard--Menlo Park, CA

I would never have guessed that such a little restaurant in an unassuming, mixed commercial and residential neighborhood in Menlo Park could serve dishes packing such a powerful punch. With my wife's parents watching the young 'uns my wife and I bolted for some Jamaican jerk chicken and oxtail at Backayard. Both meats were devastatingly tender, with the oxtail meat falling off the bone at the slightest touch. The dark-meat chicken came coated with a jerk sauce with zip.

The rice was delicious, too. It was soft, flavorful and even included pinto beans in the mix. The plantains were terrific--it wasn't overly sweet and the outer crust was carmelized to a chewy perfection.

If there was any drawback, it was that the meal left both of us thirsty for hours. Because of the punchy jerk sauce, I didn't really detect an abundance of salt, but we both drank water constantly throughout the afternoon and early evening. I'm still going back, though. My wife tells me the Backayard in Palo Alto offers a great experience, too!

Backayard

1189 Willow Road
Menlo Park, CA 94025
(650) 323-4244

www.backayard.net

Vaso Azzurro--Mountain View, CA

Having committed to lunch with an equipment supplier but without a car for today, my associates graciously agreed to meet me on Castro Street not far from where I live. We tried Vaso Azzurro, where I went with the Salmone Stromboli, which surprised me in that it wasn't really salmon wrapped in a turnover. Rather, it was presented simply as a fillet with white wine sauce. The fish was extraordinarily tender and the vegetables (carrot and broccoli) crisp.

For dessert I had the bowl of fresh mixed berries, which was tremendously overpriced. At $6.95 I received seven blackberries and four cut strawberries with "a splash of Grand Marnier".

Vaso Azzurro reminds a lot of Birk's, where customers overpay for good food knowing they're protected by fat expense accounts. All three of us enjoyed our lunches, but the portions were small--I was starving by the mid-afternoon. Also, the restaurant would have done well to show some creativity when plating the entrees. My dish looked exactly like today's special, English Sole, except the fish was different. The sauce, the positioning of the carrot, broccoli and mashed potatoes were identical. My wife, who'd eaten here a few times before, told me dishes tend to come with the same vegetables at Vaso.

If you have a big lunch budget (I caused more than $30 in damage today) but are short on time, Vaso might be for you, as you won't have to wait in line--the restaurant was only about 30% full (at most) during the lunch hour.

Vaso Assurro

108 Castro Street
Mountain View, CA 94041
(650) 940-1717

www.vasoazzurro.com/

Clarke's Charcoal Broiler

The distinctive, drool-inducing aroma that could only come from a charcoal grill wafted throughout Clarke's parking lot at lunchtime today, setting up high expectations. And, none of us were at all disappointed by the boys' cheeseburger, my wife's mushroom burger (featuring fresh mushrooms) or my cheddar burger. All three burgers had patties were 1/3 pound and could be dressed up using extras from Clarke's generous condiment bar, which included lettuce, pepperoncini, jalepenos, red onions, white onions and every kind of wet condiment one could want with a burger. The fries were served hot, but there were a few soggy ones in the basket.

I'd go back to Clarke's which among made-to-order burger joints is a full notch above, say, Kirk's (the one that serves canned mushrooms and a condiment bar that closes down at 1:30--though they'll still shamelessly still sell you burgers at that time leaving you stranded without mayo, lettuce and everything else you'd expect with a burger). However, considering the family experience, convenience and overall value, I still prefer In-N-Out.

Clarke's also offers a complete breakfast menu featuring staples such as omelets and pancakes.

Clarke's Charcoal Broiler

615 W El Camino Real

Mountain View, CA 94040

www.clarkes.com