Turn--Los Altos, CA

A visit from the grandparents permitted Jenny and me to escape to dinner at Turn Monday night. The best came first with the grilled baby lamb chops, ordered as an appetizer. It was rare, but juicy and tender. I was shameless about holding the bone and ripping off every last morsel. Things got disappointing from that point onward, however.

I got the pork belly pizza, partly because I wanted to try for a value play (at $16, it was one of the cheapest items on the menu) and I love eating pork. The problem was, there were at most four or five small strips of pork in the whole pizza. I mean, look at the photo, how much pork do you see? The pizza tasted fine, but it was dominated by the figs (which themselves were on the watery side).

And, the fried chicken Jenny ordered? It was OK, I guess. I just don't understand the $22 price tag. Not at all. I had some of the dark meat and it was tender and juicy, but then a fried drumstick is a slam dunk.

Despite the mediocrity of the entrees--entrees I'll never experience again because I'm not going back--one highlight was our server, Mahran. He tended to practically every need and always wore a bright smile. If you get him tending your table, consider yourself fortunate.

Turn Bar and Grill
www.turnbarandgrill.com

Flavor--Half Moon Bay, CA

My wife, beautiful inside and out, recently surprised me with a trip to Half Moon Bay, where we had brunch at Flavor. Always in the mood for eggs (at any hour!), I didn't make it past the Eggs Benedict on the menu. Mine was with corned beef and I especially liked how Flavor made perfect thick patties out of it.

Jenny chose the Seafood Pot Pie, which was loaded with halibut, clams, shrimp and scallops in a peppery cream sauce. Though the most expensive item on the menu at $24, the delicious filling of this pie plus the spectacle of the giant puff pastry made it worth every penny.

Tyler's a tough critic of everything bacon and his bacon waffle didn't disappoint. Note that not only was there bacon on top, but it was there in the waffle mix itself. Dylan went with a burger with fries, a dish that wasn't bad at all, but it wasn't the standout of any of the other three.

You can see the harbor from Flavor, but don't go there for the view. Yes, the ambiance is fine, but it's the food that carries the day.

Flavor

www.flavoronthecoast.com

Lobster Cobb salad at Birk's--Santa Clara, CA

For lunch Friday I enjoyed a lobster Cobb salad at Birk's. I normally think of Birk's as serving good food (their pork chops are a can't-miss), but slightly expensive. Twenty-five dollars is a lot to pay for a salad, but this dish is one of the best values on the menu.

I also had a homemade watermelon and ginger lemonade. It was good, too, but the lobster salad won the day.

Birk's
www.birksrestaurant.com

Jang Su Jang--Santa Clara, CA

Pork belly

Earlier this week I enjoyed Korean barbecue at Jang Su Jang, where we ordered pork belly and prime rib. The Korean barbecue experiences I had previously were all-you-can-eat, grill-it-yourself affairs. Even on the weekends, you could get out of there for less than $30/head.

So, I was a little surprised to see a plate of pork belly for $27 and our prime rib plate was $45. And, there was nothing all-you-can-eat about it. The big difference is the service. You don't have to lift a finger (and I didn't) and the meat goes from the kitchen to the grill to your plate--cooked to perfection (or at least pretty close) and cut.

Pork belly

Remember that because of this level of attention, there's a two-person minimum for barbecue. (One person is fine if two dishes are ordered.) And, the level of attention is highly personal indeed. Throughout the two-hour meal, servers passed by constantly to make sure our needs were tended to.

Prime rib

I wrapped up the dinner with a seafood soon tofu. The "seafood" was clams and shrimp (shell-on) and the tofu was soft, soft, soft--almost impossible to pick up with chopsticks. When you get the soon tofu, make sure you have rice to go along with it. This dish is spicy, about the highest level of spiciness as you'd find in a typical Korean tofu house.

Prime rib on the grill

I had a great time at Jang Su Jang and if invited as a guest I'd love to go again. However, while I appreciate the high level of service at Jang Su Jang, when it comes to Korean barbecue, I'm an all-you-can-eat guy. Also, I don't mind grilling meat on my own. So, coming back on my own, I'm afraid, is unlikely.

Seafood soon tofu

Jang Su Jang
www.jangsujang.com

The Table--San Jose, CA

Roasted Bone Marrow -- $13

Jenny and I took the kids to The Table in San Jose. I wanted to go largely because I was curious about the bone marrow. I have to give credit to the honesty of our server, who, since it was 9:00 in the morning, recommended against the marrow. He said it was more of an afternoon dish. As it had a greasy consistency, I can understand his point.

Ricotta Beignets -- $6

If I were the server, though, the real recommendation would be to order a meal in addition to the marrow. It simply wasn't filling enough for brunch or even breakfast. (To get that sated feeling I went to Manley's Donuts down the street afterwards). To scoop the marrow out of the plate you're given a marrow spoon. You then dump some marrow onto a piece of toast and enjoy. (By the way, the kids loved the toast plain.)

"Kids Eggs"--The bacon makes this a worthwhile purchase at $7.

Sugar coated and as light as air, beignets kicked off our breakfast. The delightful pastries bore a very similar to the Hong Kong style egg puffs you'd find at Cooking Papa. The beignets arrived with a lemon dipping sauce and had the texture of pudding.

Anson Mills Grits -- $15

As commonplace as eggs and bacon are at breakfast, Tyler and I marveled at the thick slab of bacon and how lean it was. Ever since, we've had our eye out for similar strips whenever we shop, but we have yet to find them.

Jenny had the Anson Mills Grits. For her, the experience was a textural affair that she enjoyed but wouldn't specifically seek out.

If you're looking for food a little out of the ordinary in a very pleasant, bright environment, come to The Table. You won't get filled cheaply, though.

The Table
www.thetablesj.com

Sauteed sea scallops by Gobble

Jenny prepared a meal tonight with ingredients delivered by Gobble. I liked it a lot! The scallops tasted surprisingly fresh, without even a hint of the bitterness that can plague scallops that are too old or not constantly kept cold in transit. The pea puree added a creamy sweetness to the dish. I even enjoyed the radish, which was nice and crunchy! All the ingredients shown in the photo were provided by Gobble, who delivered the food to our door.

www.gobble.com

Noodle Talk--Sunnyvale, CA

Stewed beef noodle soup

Noodle Talk is one of those overcrowded restaurants that left us wondering, "Why?" We just couldn't understand the popularity when we went there last weekend. I'll get to the point: Noodle talk: is expensive (the cheapest of the bowls shown here is $10), will leave you hungry with their small portions, is skimpy on the meat (what you see is what you get--all of maybe four pieces of beef in the stew above) and prepared ribs bowls for the kids that were too oily and salty for one of them finish (the other twin had a different reason, which I'll get to later). This last point isn't something to trivialize. Tyler LOVES grease and salt. For him to push the bowl away with the nauseated look on his face because of its being too oily and salty was impossible for me to fathom. To make matters worse, Dylan found a hair in his soup. We knew it couldn't have been ours since it was long and brown. 

Stewed pork rib noodle soup

It was the first time in memory my wife and both twins would not finish their meals because of distaste. I felt bad for everyone.

Stir fried pork with green pepper and noodle

From the look of things, though, Noodle Talk will thrive. At least for a while. Prepare to stand in line if you go. And, if you've never been to Noodle Talk before and don't know what to expect, the waiting will be the best part.

Noodle Talk
www.noodletalksunnyvale.com