Firehouse Grill & Brewery

Pretty good for a brewery to have at least one vegetarian item in each category. I like this place and have been there numerous times. You don't get too much of a choice as a vegetarian but the food is quite good and so is the service.

Starters: Bruschetta - Tomato, Basil, Garlic, Sourdough Crostini
Mozzarella Sticks. They also have Fire House Garlic Fries for dinner.

Soups & Salads: Fire 'House' Salad - Seasonal Greens, Carrot, Cucumber, Red Onion.

Pizzas: Margherita - Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella.

Pastas: Roasted Vegetable Ravioli - Tomato Basil Sauce, Parmesan Cheese.

Sandwiches: Fire Roasted Portabello - Fontina Cheese, Spinach, Eggplant, Roasted Peppers, Pesto, Served Open Faced.


Surprisingly enough, I still haven't gotten a chance to try out any desserts at Firehouse. They have Blackberry Parfait (includes alcohol I believe), Chocolate Mousse, Crème Brûlée Cheese Cake, Mud Pie, Apple Pie, and assorted Gelatos & Sorbets.


My rating for Firehouse Grill: 3/5.

Name: Firehouse Grill & Brewery
Type: Brewery
Average Price: $10-14/person (Lunch), $12-18/person (Dinner)
Address: 111 S Murphy Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94086 (At Evelyn Ave)
Phone: (408) 773-9500
Website: http://www.firehousegrill.com/

Fina Estampa

Got to eat lunch at this place back in September of last year. I didn't really have a choice to decide because I was there with a group and majority of the people wanted to eat Mexican so we decided to go to this place. The place does not look very impressive from the outside. It is located right at the corner of Van Ness and Geary in SF downtown. Once we were inside, the atmosphere was quite authentic. The place has a Spanish/Peruvian decorations and the looks quite nice, not too fancy but makes you feel at home.

The menu has two lists of items - one Peruvian and the other Spanish/Mexican. A lot of Spanish names sound very original and you can tell it's not American-Mexican but authentic Mexican food.

They have THE BEST salsa ever. The chips and salsa are served as soon as you are seated. They also serve warm fluffy white bread (looks and tastes mostly like the French bread) slices with butter. There are four different kinds of sauces/condiments served as well.

After trying to make up my mind between the two kinds of ethnic foods, I decided to go with Peruvian. They have separate section on the menu for veg. items. This dish I tried (I forget the name) has sauted vegetables with French fries and is served with steamed rice. It was very delicious and has become my favorite now. I can't wait to go there again and try out other veg dishes that they serve along with the dessert.

There is parking available on the street as well as across the street under the Cathedral Hill Hotel where public can park for reasonable hourly rates.

For the fans of Mexican/Peruvian food, this is a must-eat place.

My rating for Fina Estampa: 4/5

Name: Fina Estampa
Type: Peruvian & Spanish/Mexican
Average Price: $8-14/person (Lunch), $11-16/person (Dinner)
Address: 1100 Van Ness, San Francisco, CA 94109 (At Geary Street)
Phone: (415) 440-6343
Website: http://www.finaestampasf.com/

Tabla Flavours Café

So last night I got to eat at this place. First of all, I didn't know where it was located so we had to roam around the shopping plaza to find the place. Eventually, we ended up finding it hidden behind other shops in the Charter Square Shopping Center.

I found out at the end of my dinner that they call themselves a cafe. Since I didn't know about that I had expected a little more. And then I thought since the place was in Foster City, it would have it's signature charm, etc. but sadly enough I was when I entered the place.

I had seen the menu outside so I was looking forward to find out what the South Indian food tasted like. The service was below average... the main waiter looked like he was having a bad day and didn't smile all throughout the ~45 minutes we spent there. We had just been given the seats and he walks over and asks us whether we already ordered. I felt like giving him don't-you-have-any-common-sense look but refrained. We told him we hadn't ordered so he threw the menus at us, literally. We ordered all the things we wanted but he forgot to write down the last item that I had ordered, which I realized half way through my meal because it never did come. Just to double check, I asked him whether I had actually ordered it, he said yes and that he remembered I ordered it, but then he came back from kitchen saying I hadn't ordered.

The food took quite a while to come, specially the thaali. So two of us who didn't order thaali got the meals quicker and rest of the two were waiting till the first two were done with their meal. So at any given time, two people were sitting at the table, just waiting - either for food or for others to finish their meals. Quite ridiculous if you ask me.

The food was alright but quite spicy, which I don't mind but it was mainly the service that disappointed me a lot. If you're craving for spicy Indian food, this is the place to go, but be prepared to face the waiters who seem like they haven't been fed any food for days and are mad at you for just being there.

Their menu mainly has the basic South Indian items. It also has quite a few non-veg items made from halaal meat.

We requested the grumpy waiter to make sure our food was vegetarian and he looked annoyed, we had to soften him up saying we just wanted to make sure for it. He didn't seem to like it.

They have the veg thaali listed with $7.99 but we were charged $8.29 + tax and similary the mysore masala dosa we ordered was actually for $5.99 but we paid $6.29 + tax. We didn't wait to deal with the waiter any longer so we just kept mum and paid and left the place.

They also have a few other locations in the bay area, I wonder whether they are the same as this one. Would I go to the place again? I seriously doubt it.

My rating for Tabla Flavours: 1/5 (that's for the food).

Name: Tabla Flavours Café
Type: South Indian/Pakistani
Average Price: $8-$10/person (Dinner)
Address: 1088 Shell Blvd, Ste C, Foster City, CA 94404
Phone: (650) 638-1555
Website: http://www.newtabla.com/