Cali Eats: Panini Cafe

Date Visited: Lunch on Wednesday Apr 16, 2014
Company: Walk-in for 5

One of the fanciest places we got to check out in California was definitely Rodeo Drive in LA. The streets were so fancy and populated with brand name stores everywhere. We weren't sure exactly where we would find a place to eat but right by where we parked the car, we found a reasonably-priced restaurant, Panini Cafe. It looked very quaint on the outside with a large patio and very rustic furniture. We were seated rather quickly considering how busy it was and their inside didn't look very large.

Our waiter was pretty awesome, he was a large Italian man? We had a bit of a debate on what his background was, but I think he was the owner. He was quick with the jokes and really wanted us to try their specials. After checking out their menu, most of us went for a Greek plate rather than a Panini, much to our dismay considering the restaurant name. Everyone's orders coming out around us looked so incredibly delicious though, it was hard not to order a larger meal.

I went for the Charbroiled Chicken Shish Kabob served with Basmati Rice and Mediterranean Greek Salad. When my order came though, I got a Romaine Avocado Salad instead of what I ordered. There was a bit of confusion when we all got our plates because I didn't think any of them were mine, but luckily our waiter was overlooking us being served and he said that the plate was mine. I told him what I thought I ordered and he got me a side plate of Greek Salad on the side shortly thereafter :).

The plate was very colourful and had great appeal overall. The chicken looked slightly charred but I was impressed that it maintained its juiciness. The skewer had tomatoes and onions between the large pieces of chicken breast. The flavour was very mild and nice to add some lemon on it to complement the grilled taste. They must have used very small onions because there were so many layers to each piece. The Basmatic Rice was pretty plain, the top layer had yellow rice which I guessed just had some butter in it. Other than that, it was plain rice and a bit dry. I got to try both salads and I think I liked the Avocado Salad better. The Greek Salad had tons of feta and was topped with tomatoes, cucumbers, black olives and onions. I thought it could have used a bit more dressing as it was a bit plain. The Avocado Salad was mixed better with the dressing (maybe because it wasn't prepared in a rush?) and had tons of avocados which was the highlight. 

I was glad we had a somewhat healthy meal during our trip, all the ingredients were extremely fresh and they kept everything nice and simple. It was affordable but still had the appeal that it was an upscale restaurant you might see a celeb at.

Food: 3.5/5 - Amazingly filling and well-prepared meal, only complaint is that it could have used a bit of different seasonings to tingle the taste buds a bit.
Decor: 4.5/5 - So quaint and cute.
Service: 4.5/5 - Spectacular customer service!
Willingness to go back: 4/5 - Would definitely check out any of their many locations in California again.
Overall: 4/5 
Website: http://www.mypaninicafe.com/

Cali Eats: El Toro Taqueria

Date Visited: Late Lunch on Sunday Apr 14, 2014 
Company: Walk-in for 5

After a long walk to Twin Peaks, we ventured back to the Mission District where we started to find a spot for an early afternoon lunch. There were tons of Mexican places we passed by when we were walking around the area so it wasn't difficult to find a place to eat. El Toro seemed like it was a fairly busy cafeteria style place right on the corner of Valencia and 17th, it was very welcoming with colourful signage and windows to look in. It looked like it wouldn't take us long to get food and had a table to sit, so it was exactly what we were looking for... and also some fish tacos for us to try!

Their menu was pretty simple but with lots of options, the foods are all there in front of you to awe at while the servers make your delicious plate of food. I decided to order a Super Prawn Taco Dinner, which ended up being around $8. The taco was only $3.50 itself but I wanted to add all the fixings! They also give you free nachos (which probably never get eaten after having that huge plate) and there's a salsa bar off to the side for you to try their different homemade salsas.

The plate looked delicious and packed with colourful foods, they let you choose the type of beans you want, either black or re-fried, I choose re-fried but I don't really like beans anyway. They topped it off with some shredded cheese and layer it a bit with your rice. There was nothing too special about the rice and beans, very average and just filled you up. There was a salad on the side with an excessive amount ranch dressing which was pretty okay, added some veggies to your meal. Now the taco on the other hand, was definitely the highlight of the meal... there were so many prawns, you could really taste a nice grilled, spiced flavour. They double tortilla'd it so it wouldn't fall apart which really helped but the tortilla was already pretty thick to begin with. It was a gloriously messy taco but was delicious with very fresh ingredients. Their guacamole was packed with zesty flavour and was nice to have with the nachos too. They also give you tortilla with the dinner meal but I didn't want mine.

Food: 3/5 - Prawn Taco was amazing, everything else was mediocre.
Decor: 3/5 - Quite clean and nice place to sit inside for a bit on a hot day and still enjoy the sun.
Service: 2.5/5 - Fast to clean tables, free ice water, few misunderstandings with my order, and busy line-up though.
Willingness to go back: 3/5 - Tons of taco joints to check out in the area, wouldn't necessarily go back to this one but I wouldn't complain either, cheap and easy.
Overall: 3/5

Website: http://eltorotaqueria.org/

Cali Eats: Patxi's

Date Visited: Late Dinner on Sunday April 20, 2014
Company: Walk-in for 5

+Elliott was telling us about an awesome Deep Dish Pizza place in Palo Alto during our visit to San Francisco and luckily for us, we were going to pass by during our way out of the city. After our final stop of sight-seeing at Marin Headlands, we were heading out to get closer to Yosemite National Park for the next morning and it was just past dinner time, so we were all ready for some delicious pizza. We drove through a quaint neighbourhood which I guessed was downtown Palo Alto to find parking for the restaurant after a long drive out of San Francisco. Even though it was pretty late, the restaurant was still busy and we still had to wait for a table. 

The waiters let us know that if we were ordering the Chicago style pizza, it would take about 40 minutes so we could pre-order to minimize the wait when we got a table. We of course took him up on the offer as it probably would have taken a while to decide what we were getting anyways. There was 5 of us so we split off in 2 groups as we wanted different toppings. +Elliott and I went for a Small Authentic Chicago Stuffed Pizza with Pineapple, Spinach, and Garlic-Fennel Sausage pricing at $20.50. 

Shortly after, we were seated at table right in the middle of the fairly small restaurant. It looked more liked a bar with the TVs on the wall and the rustic wooden decor. The seating area wasn't that big and covered only about half the restaurant, the bar was situated near the front side going half-way back, the kitchen was in the back with a window looking in, and stairs going up to the very nice bathrooms. They had a nice selection of beers but I opted for a water since I was driving. 

Our wait seemed to take forever, especially because we were starving and it was pretty late already. We were seated after a few tables which didn't have their meals yet so I knew it would be a while. But finally, when our food arrived and it looked amazing and well worth the wait. That first slice from the pie was just oozing with cheese on all sides with a layers of toppings in there also. The small pie has 6 pieces and feeds 2-3 people. Both groups got the small so ours was a bit excessive since we had to have 3 slices each (but we did it). 

I have to say though... it was the best deep-dish pizza I've ever had, I haven't had much but this definitely sticks out in my mind. There was so much sauce and cheese, I felt like that was all I was eating... the sauce wasn't too extravagant and stuck to the simple but bold tomato flavour. The toppings we had were delicious and fresh, lots of spinach in there! They also had honey on the table for the crust (because we saw other people eating it this way!) and it was kind of interesting and tasty, it obviously added just a hint of sweetness to the crust and tomato sauce. I was thinking that it was pretty pricey for pizza, being about $15 each, but the quality was great and they really stuffed that pizza to the max... totally worth the splurge.

Food: 5/5 - Amazing! Been craving this ever since and looking for some deep dish places in Toronto to check out now!

Decor: 3/5 - Pretty small but very comfortable and roomy, they need more tables!

Service: 2.5/5 - Average service, at least they warn you about the wait time!

Willingness to go back: 4.5/5 - Yes, definitely would try to find one of their locations if I was nearby! Glad we made the trek to find this place!

Overall: 4/5

Website: http://www.patxispizza.com/ 

Cali Eats: O3 Bistro & Lounge

Date Visited: Late Dinner on Saturday Apr 12, 2014

Company: Walk-in for 5 

During our first night in San Francisco, we stayed at the HI near City Centre and decided to go to Smuggler's Cove, the famous rum bar which was just only about a 10 minute walk away. On our way, we decided to stop somewhere for a late dinner, a mission which seemed easier than it made out to be. After passing by a few restaurants, we finally decided to stop at O3 which situated at a busy intersection with very little people but a lot of traffic going by. We weren't looking for a nicer place like this but it was all that we found!

There was only about 2 other parties at the place as it was pretty late on Saturday for dinner. The place was very nicely decorated, clean, and modern. They had a variety of Thai cuisine on the menu from the classic pad thai to more authentic dishes. Their prices were all pretty reasonable, I guess which is standard for Thai food... $11 for Pad Thai is like every restaurant. I decided to be a bit adventurous as I wasn't extremely hungry and ordered a Pork Tom Kha Noodle Soup, which is Coconut milk soup, mushroom, tomatoes, bean sprouts, lemongrass, galangal, Kaffir lime leaves, green onion, and cilantro. I wasn't sure what exactly to expect but was pleasantly surprised with our meals. 

The presentation of all our dishes was very well done, I loved the huge soup bowl mine was in and all the colours present. The pork was very tender and went well with the broth... I was a bit unsure because the waitress seemed surprised I wanted pork with the Tom Kha and I wasn't sure how the pork pieces would be either. The overall flavour of the soup was very rich and milky, but not too salty. The spiciness was the perfect amount and really enhanced the flavours of all the unique vegetables. It was a great dish to warm your stomach and leave you pleasantly filled. I was pretty impressed with the portion sizes and prices because it seemed like a very classy restaurant which made me skeptical on going there with our budget.

Food: 4/5 - Was a bit adventurous with my choice and it paid off, all the other orders seemed delicious also.

Decor: 4/5 - Beautiful restaurant with dark wooded furniture and unique decor, seemed so fancy for how reasonable the prices were.

Service: 3/5 - Pretty typical for an Asian restaurant, wasn't too overbearing... actually quite friendly.

Willingness to go back: 3/5 - If I was passing by, I wouldn't object to eating here again!

Overall: 3.5/5

Website: http://o3restaurant.com