Farm House Restaurant Soon to Open in Belmont!

We’re excited about the upcoming opening of the Farm House at 1301 Sixth Street in Belmont, which many of you may recall was the location of the old Belli Deli.Farm House Restaurant

The place sat empty for the last several years but we recently stopped by to check out what’s going on since there’s a new sign out front.

The chef, Josh, was doing some work on the refrigeration, (they picked a good day since we’ve been in a mini-heat wave).

We get a lot of techies in Belmont since were so close to the action, and Josh is no different. He was a chef for Google before landing a spot as head chef for the new Farm House restaurant.

Josh is an affable guy who seems genuinely interested in doing some simple good food.

What’s in store? We’ll let the owner Katie weigh in on the details, but Josh hinted that the menu will be down to earth farm staples like rotisserie chicken. They’ll also be open for dinner soon which is always welcome news for Belmont foodies. Josh said they’ll probably keep the menu simple at first and grow it along with the business. It appears to be more of a real restaurant than it’s predecessor with a full kitchen and sit-down dining inside an out.

Watch for them to open sometime in July, if all things go as planned.

We welcome the new Farm House and wish them the best in their new endeavor!

Real Crab Sushi – Finally at Seiya in San Carlos

I wasn’t on a budget today so prices were not was I was looking for. When it comes to sushi like many things in life, “Good things aren’t cheap and cheap things aren’t good”.

What I was looking for was a place that had real crab sushi–not imitation KRAB. You’d be surprised how many local places use that crap (i.e. Sushi Monster and M E N U in Belmont, Ganko in San Carlos)–the list goes on and on.

Why is real crab for sushi important?

I explained to Kau my aversion to fake crab and he then handed me a piece of some of the sweetest snow crab I have ever eaten. If you’re getting fake crab, you have to wonder what quality of fish a place is buying.

Black Cod at Seiya
Real Sushi Crab

I’ve had to-go from Seiya in San Carlos on Laurel Street before but this was my first experience at the sushi bar. Kau, as I later discovered was his name, is a charming and capable sushi chef/owner.

I was one of only three people eating a late lunch at the sushi bar so it was rather quiet and I had a nice conversation with the Kau who handily dished out some choice custom creations as well as menu favorites.

To start I had a few Zensai [appetizers].

Hamachi Carpaccio was my first choice which he sliced thin and seared, very tasty and fresh if not a little pricey [$16.00] but worth paying extra for the quality.

I tried two Robata skewers–the pork belly [Butabara $5.00] which was not as tender and rich as I would have expected, and the scallops [Hotate $7.00] which seemed sweet with a nice relish atop–a rather good size portion for one skewer.

Kau made me one of my favorite hand rolls–the Morgan Roll–a very Americanized hand roll with salmon skin, eel, cumber, and avocado. Nice crunch from the eel and cucumber, balanced with the creaminess of the avocado [$8.00]

Albacore Tataki [$15.00] was nicely presented and once again the quality of the fish showed through. And the fried garlic really added a nice crunch and woke up this otherwise predictable dish.

But my favorite was when I asked Kau if he had any butter fish–also known as, black cod. It was one of my favorites ever since I had it at Sansei Sushi on Maui. There’s a lot of confusion around “butterfish” as it’s really a Hawaiian preparation rather than an actual fish. In Hawaii, ‘butterfish” is black cod marinated in a rich miso sauce and usually slightly cooked. The claims that it is also sablefish or escolar are wrong and can be actually dangerous. But don’t believe me, Google it…

I asked him to prepare the cod anyway he liked and this is when his talent really shown through. He once again seared it ever so lightly, sliced it thin and added citrus ponzu sauce, truffle oil, and topped it with chopped wasabi leaves, daikon leaves and finally caviar [$21.00].

Thanks Kau, definitely worth a trip.

Houston’s Thai Beef Salad – or a Close Approximation

Anyone wondering where the beef was in the Ranger’s hitting squad during the 2010 world series need look no further–we’ve got a recipe for you to chew on straight from Texas.


When I was traveling to Austin in 2009, I would contemplate where I could dine next to pass my culinary time. A friend of mine and local Austin REALTOR, Jeff Niemeyer, recommended I try Houston’s near the arboretum; trying to stick to lighter fare when on the road, I’d often eat salads for lunch and or dinner, so when I arrived and found a Thai Beef Salad on the menu I was set.

Many of you may have already experienced restaurants by the Hillstone Group, who own, among other restaurants, own the Los Altos Bar and Grill.

Once, I tried the Thai Beef Salad at Houston’s in Austin, but I never ventured any further down their menu. It was absolutely one of the best salads I have enjoyed. People who know me know I enjoy the challenge of deconstructing something I have tasted while dining out to detect what ingredients were employed. Often, it’s fairly easy as some flavors overpower the dish and are easily identified. But every so often, a chef develops a recipe that is so complex, so well balanced that it titillates the taste buds with a mosaic of contrasting flavors where one could spend days attempting to deconstruct the recipes–or, as in my case, eating the salad many times and taking copious notes.

First and foremost, the salad plays with all the senses of taste- bitter, sweet, sour, and salty- and introduces spice with perfectly contrasting flavors of just enough heat and spice, followed by refreshingly chilled mango. It satisfies your sense of umami with refreshing rice noodles and a perfectly grilled beef filet.

The salad starts with a bed of rice noodles cooked, fried lightly, and brought to room temperature, then ever so lightly tossed with sesame oil. A medley of julienne red bell peppers, carrots, tomato wedges, shredded cabbage, and cubes of mango add complementing textures and wonderfully wild flavor combinations, which serve to enhance the colorful presentation further and add more depth with each irresistible bite.

The dressing offers spice and bitterness with fresh lime, orange juice, and fish sauce, while Sracha adds a kick and is well paired with shiso to create depth to the dressing. Finally, the scallions and crunchy dry roasted peanuts offer a nice contrasting crunch.

While each ingredient has been carefully chosen to perform its respective role of adding texture and color and smacking all the senses of taste, the warm cubes of medium rare beef filet lightly marinated in the dressing, then charcoal grilled, adds the ultimate umami to finish the dish.

When I returned home with my notes in tow, I checked on the internet to find out if Houston’s posted the recipe—no luck. But I found an interestingly close approximation written by Kayla Williams (with my notes added in pen as to what brought it closer to the recipe I had in Austin). For example, the shiso, which is most often associated with sitting alongside your plate of sushi as the Japanese equivalent of parsley, is introduced in the salad as a complex version of what might be confused as a mint and cilantro combination, and, if you can’t find shiso, that’s a relatively logical substitution.

So, without further ado, here’s my collaborated best approximation of one the best salads I’ve had:

https://morganhomes.com/recipes/Thai_Salad.pdf

Belmont’s Local Pub–Marvin Gardens

MorganhomesBelmont’s host to a few casual dining spots. Marvin Gardens is a good one and has been one of my favorite haunts since I was in college. Locally famous for its Starvin Marvin hamburger–a 1/3rd pound burger on a artisian soft roll–they’ve added pizza and appetizers like chicken wings since the original days. Gone are the days of an all male crowd arriving solely on two wheeled vehicles and throwing peanut shells on the floor. Today, the more family friendly eatery offers a relatively clean indoor or outdoor dining experience. Stop by and say hi to Jamie who bought the beer garden pub from Chip several years back. 1160 Old County Road, Belmont .

Red Lantern in Redwood City-A Feast for the Senses

If you want to try a restaurant that has an upbeat edge to it the Red Lantern in Redwood City will hit the spot.

Red_lantern

We read…"Owner Jeffery San Diego Viognier and MC2 has assembled a team that includes executive chef of Betelnut in San Francisco." The ambiance is very clubbish, a little loud, downright dark, but intriguingly decorated with an Asian flare.

Do: Get a reservation

Don’t: Order all your dishes at once or you’ll be swamped with food served with complete disregard for vegetarian specific patron requests or the pairing of sides with entrees.

THE FOOD

The fare offers a wide selection of Asian, Indonesian, Thai and Philippine influences. Think of your favorite upscale Thai restaurant and multiply it times 10! This restaurant does not apparently know the meaning of the word subtle. Everything we had with the exception of the Rangoon Clay Pot fish was flavored over the top and in your face but the food works and certainly stands up to the generous cocktails they promote at the bar.

It’s best to go with a group of friends—if you’re adventuresome you’ll want to try as many dishes as possible. There’s a section called Delightful Bliss which could be equated to the appetizer section of most menus. In most restaurants this section is where you’ll find some of the chef’s best creations and the Red Lantern is no exception.

All of the dishes can be shared family style or you can stake claim to one all for yourself. One of our guests was a vegetarian and she felt quite comfortable with the menu’s varied selections.

We started ordering from the small plate section and no sooner did we do so than dishes started arriving. Next time I plan on pacing the kitchen since the wait staff we dealt with didn’t—they tend to really crank out the food fast and furious.

First to arrive was the Poke Tuna ($10) (which I’ve had before) and is by no means a belly filler. Despite its overly salty flavor the Tuna was fresh and enhanced with a drizzling of sesame oil which delivered an Asian flare. The four of us could have easily had two orders of this but we opted to save our appetites in order to try as many dishes as possible.

Next we simultaneously received an onslaught of small plates; six shelled Westcott Bay oysters with a sweet dipping sauce, Balinese seared bay boat scallops ($10) severed over crisp coconut rice, their Adobong Pinoy ($9) pork short ribs with Adobo sauce and black pepper, and the Lumpia ($7) vegetarian taro egg rolls were fried perfectly and served with their sweet chili dipping sauce—an excellent value.

Disappointingly the Oysters were minuscule and couldn’t stand up to the overly sweet sauce. At $18 for six these were a letdown.

The scallops are served three to an order and since there were four of us our waiter thoughtfully told us he’d have the kitchen make us an extra one. Unfortunately, he promptly forgot. Having received only three I didn’t want to intrude on the others and passed on that dish; though everyone who ate them said they were delightful and at $10 they seemed like a fair price for their size.

The short ribs at ($9) were good but tasted boiled not broiled and lost some of their flavor in the process—always a trade-off when the chef tries to make fall-off-the-meat ribs; though the accompanying Adobo sauce was nice, it wasn’t as spicy as I would have imagined it should be with Chipotle peppers.

A healthy portion of the Adobo eggplant arrived which was nicely spiced if a tad bit overcooked.

We took a short break and ordered another round of their house Mojito and waited for several main courses and side dishes which we had wisely ordered well after our small plates.

The service was a little scattered and our drinks never arrived until well into our main courses. Their system employs food runners which mean you often get your food fast and hot out of the kitchen but you’ll have a hard time tracking down your waiter when you want them.

Somewhat incongruently the Crab Fried Rice ($9) (a house specialty we were told), and their Oseng Oseng Buncis ($10) spicy green beans reminiscent of those at Betelnut , Chiang Mai ($9) or green papaya salad (named after its Thai roots) with Kaffir lime leaves, and the Siamese Beef Salad ($9) were plopped at our table before the main entrees arrived.

The crab fried rice is good if not a bit expensive for what you get—essentially a bowl of fried rice with bits of crab.

I’ve had more exotic beef salads at some local Thai restaurants but I’m not complaining. It had a nice blend of flavors including fresh basil and lime and the sprouts were crisp with the meat cooked perfectly medium rare. The Green Papaya salad ($9) we shared was served dressed excellently in a traditional Thai sweet sauce but the few small shrimp they threw in were utterly unnecessary and flavorless.

The green beans may be pricey but worth a try at least once. The menu says they are in a Palm Sugar Soy with more Kaffir lime leaves but they also give them a dousing of what seems like Thai red chili sauce—nice touch.

At $22 (the most expensive dish on the menu) the Rangoon Clay Pot consisted of the freshest Chilean sea bass I have ever tasted swathed with mushrooms and a black bean relish. Though I would rather see them serve a more sustainable alternative to Chilean Sea Bass, I thought it simply one of the best I have had and worth every dollar they charged for it.

Since I like spicy and I mean spicy as in hot food, I ordered the Chicken Rendang ($14). Cooked in a thick coconut broth with chilies and galangal this dish was absolutely delicious and a meal in itself.

Of course we were stuffed beyond belief but having felt we were close to conquering a good sampling of the menu, we continued and ordered the Putri Nanus—a Pineapple upside down cake with vanilla bean gelato and warm cinnamon sauce just to punish ourselves. And that we did. That dish added another $8 to the bill and offered no satisfaction whatsoever. The cake itself tasted more like Pillsbury shortbread and it was dense and, well, unremarkable.

Total bill for all this $205 including two rounds of cocktails—the cab ride was extra.

Pros:

  • Multiple variations of ethnic foods prepared sometimes flawlessly
  • Lots or thoughtful vegetarian dishes for everyone to enjoy—not your perfunctory meatless variation of another dish
  • Affordable pricing—you can go all out or attempt some self discipline

Cons:

  • A little loud and the dining area gets turned into a weekend night club dance floor so they sort of rush you out at the end (11:00).
  • The wait staff seems disinterested in firing orders to the kitchen in any order that makes sense to the patrons.

But don’t get me wrong. I’m absolutely going back.

Situated near the newly redeveloped downtown section of Redwood City just off Broadway at 808 Winslow–(650) 369-5483.

Get their full menu here

or visit their web site.

Drew Morgan, the author, Ex-chef and Restaurateur, now enjoys being a guest.

Restaurant Reviews await…

Having been a chef, restaurateur and owner of a contract food service company in the 1980’s, I feel qualified to make some articulate comments about where to dine in and around Belmont.

Watch for new restaurant reviews and add some of your own. We’d love to hear what you think and who knows, perhaps even the local restaurant owners will take heed…