We went to Miyake Restaurant with a group for a friend's birthday. It was a lot of fun, though not the best food. If you like sake bombs, frat boys, Asians (Note: Beth's addition, not mine) and iffy sushi named after Palo Alto tech companies, this'll rock it for you.
Grant: I must say, when I have to wait in a roped line to get into a building, I expect the interior to have girls dancing. Sure enough, women were on tables taking shots throughout the meal. Classy.
Beth: I don't even know where to begin...
The cheesy disco ball with the fog machine was a bit unnecessary. It reminded me of, I don't know, a dirty casino? I don't even know.
Grant: I hate the smell of the fake fog. It's just gross and kinda gets stuck in your nose. Service was pretty average from start to finish. The only thing the did quickly was get us sake bombs. And you know what sake bombs meant? More fog and disco lights.
Beth: I would hate to work there. Service sucks.
Grant: I think we're too used to really good San Francisco sushi. When 90% of the rolls on the menu contain fake crap or are essentially California Rolls + Other ingredient, I'm not too excited. Also, I know Electronic Arts (my employer) isn't in Palo Alto, but every other company (including Google, also not in Palo Alto) gets a roll named after them. Huh? EA's the fourth largest software company in the world. Lame.
Beth: Be prepared to be yelling if you want to have a conversation. The music is really loud and there are a ton of people yelling and getting drunk. It's really noisy in there, much like a (crappy) dance club.
I didn't expect the sushi to be good. They pretty much met my expectations. I had a roll w/ tuna hamachi and pineapple, but the rice was a bit soggy and gross. I also had a Philly Roll and it didn't taste good at all. I only ate it for fear of drinking on an empty stomach later.
Grant: I think it was fun overall. You honestly don't go to too many restaurants with that many people if you want great food. It was fun for a group, casual, party-like atmosphere.
Beth: Yeah. You only go there to drink sake bombs.
Grant: It's really not that pricey. Sushi prices are reasonable. I think we paid $26 per person with 15 people, approximately 2 rolls per person, 2 sake bomb rounds, lots of edamame, etc. Not bad.
Do you like tall, dark, accent having, handsome men who say "excuse me" every time they enter your presence? Do you like these men to have large quantities of hot meats? Would you find an ideal evening with these men one in which they place their hot meats on your plate? Well, Rei Do Gado in San Diego is the place to go.
Grant: I'll start -- this place rocked. It was expensive, but worth every damn penny. I could eat here every day. I wouldn't be able to fit in my pants, but then again I think the Brazilian gaucho pants would cover my fat butt.
Beth: I think it was worth it for what we paid. It wasn't outrageously expensive (Note: $38.25/person. It's cheaper if you go Sunday through Thursday). Plus, it's all you can eat people. All you can eat.
Grant: They had 17 meats to sample. It started off perfectly with the bacon wrapped fillet mignon, then continued with some top sirloin. It was so rare and delicious.
Beth: I think the top sirloin was my favorite. That and the skirt steak.
Grant: The skirt steak was one of the only meats to be marinated and it was absolutely delicious. I can't even describe it, it was just really juicy and full of flavor.
Beth: The chicken drumsticks with cheese were okay, just a bit ordinary. The pork loin was dry and the lamb was decent -- a bit overcooked.
Grant: Lamb is disgusting.
Beth: When lamb is cooked well, it tastes good.
Grant: I disagree, but that's another argument to be had.
Beth: I was really impressed with the salad bar. Typically when you go to "all you can eat" places, there's a lot of variety but not a lot of things you want to eat. Here, there was a ton of good stuff.
Grant: The scalloped potatoes were so good. Smothered in cheese and cooked perfectly. I didn't care for the green beens. They were too...stiff? It saddened me, because I love green beans. I recommend you lay off the side bar. There's so much good meat to have and the salad bar is full of very filling foods. I couldn't stay away and I wish now that I spent more time consuming meat.
There was this very scantily clad girl (heels, cutoff shorts (sweet!) and a low cut "check out these" shirt) known as the Caipirinha Girl that served...you guessed it, Caipirinhas. We would have grabbed one if we knew they were complimentary. We said no thanks, because we were being cheap. Shame on us for skipping free booze.
Beth: I liked the meat. The meat is good.
Grant: Say it again.
...
A full list of the meats:
- Picanha (top sirloin)
- Picanha No Alho (top sirloin in garlic...not as good as it could have been)
- Filet Mignon wrapped in bacon
- Maminha (tri-tip...not bad, not as good as the top sirloin)
- Fraldinha (skirt steak. Incredible!)
- Costela de Bol (beef ribs. A bit disappointing. Good ribs are so good.)
- Costelinha de Porco (baby back ribs. Tasters.)
- Linguica (Pork sausage. Delicious.)
- Coxa De Frango (Chicken smothered in cheese. Sounds better than it tastes.)
- Lombinho (Pork loin. Terribly dry.)
- Peru Com Bacon (turkey wrapped in bacon. Was too full to try.)
- Presunto E Abacaxi (Ham with pineapple. Surprising addition to the meal and very tasty!)
- Coracao de Galinha (Chick hearts. Didn't see this one...and I'm glad.)
- Pernil De Ovelha (Lamb. Some like it, some don't.)
- Coxao (top round. Good, not as good as the top sirloin.)
Our first dining outing for our trip to San Diego was Chive, a fairly classy restaurant that features a selection of "New California" or "Fusion" style foods, located in the Gas Lamp District downtown.
Grant: Outside appearance is very stylish. There's a patio, nice clean exterior.
Beth: Inside it reminds me of an "ultra-lounge", but we instead opted for the patio. It was a good idea because the atmosphere was more relaxing...
Grant: ...but it was really damn hot outside. And the smokers at the bar next door were a bit unfortunate. I thought it took our waiter a little too long to get to us.
Beth: Service was definitely a bit spotty early on. Our waiter didn't get us our drinks and it was really hot outside.
Grant: The blueberry mojito was a good idea -- big glass and cool presentation. But it was a bit strong for our taste. I'm a bit of a woman when it comes to booze, though.
Beth: I was really impressed by the presentation as well. The crushed blueberries gave the drink a purple tint, which I thought was really cool. Our first dish was the Hamachi Crudo with grapefruit and caviar. I thought the grapefruit really complemented it and I personally liked the dish a lot.
Grant: Grapefruit is a disgusting fruit. It can die.
Beth: You can die.
Grant: I thought the Scallops were a much better second option. They were huge and smothered in this delicious brown sauce. They also had small bits of braised pork, which is delightful.
Beth: Okay, I agree. Not (!) that it was a better dish, but that it was good.
Grant: The Tuna, Mac and Cheese, and Jasmine Tea Glazed Halibut all came at once after the first two. The meal really got good about...here.
Beth: I thought the dishes before were good, I don't know what your problem was.
Grant: Other than the grapefruit abomination I was happy. I'm just saying it got really good here.
Beth: You barely noticed the grapefruit. I really liked the tuna -- it was one of my favorites.
Grant: Tuna done right is just so tasty. It's such a good piece of fish. This one was crusted in sea salt and the flavor was so unique, and it came with this slightly green, nondescript pasta that really went well with it.
Beth: The halibut was my least favorite. The coconut tamarind mixed with jasmine tea just made a weird taste.
Grant: This was slightly better in my opinion than the hamachi, but it really didn't taste right. Not bad, just odd. Maybe the chef has a different taste -- I just didn't get it. The mac and cheese was right up there with the tuna for me. I was sold when I saw peas in the menu -- I just love the way the peas fit in with their subtle taste and crunch. One of my favorite dishes growing up was this macaroni/tuna/pea casserole. I could eat piles of it.
Beth: I liked the dessert. The ice cream was awesome. It was a flavor I've never tasted in my life -- sweet and creamy.
Grant: Honestly, when I read "caramel balsamic ice cream" I was a bit worried. Sounds like something you put on bread at an Italian restaurant.
The Yummers Wrap-Up
We really liked Chive overall. When service picked up they were on for the rest of the time. It's a hard restaurant to recommend slightly, because the
format is such that you pay a lot of money for very little food. The
food itself is excellent, but the portions are a bit lacking. The only one that didn't leave us wanting more (portion wise) was the mac and cheese. Everything else was a bit skimpy. We know less is trendy, but sometimes you need to add a bit more to the plate.
