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What I Ate: April 11, 2009 (Old Port Lobster Shack)

Posted 11 April, 2009 at 11:40pm by Michael Chu
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Tina and I split the left over pizza from last night.
Left Over Pizz’a Chicago

At dinner, we drove up to Redwood City and ate at the Old Port Lobster Shack (851 Veterans Blvd, Redwood City, CA‎ - (650) 366-2400). Russell Deutsch, the owner of Old Port, was there, so I asked him what he thought was the best item on the menu. He suggested we try a lobster tail with barbecue. Having had a fair amount of barbecue during the last year, I wasn't really looking forward to trying the 'cue at a restaurant specializing in East Coast seafood… but I ordered the Shack Tail with Half Rack of Ribs. The lobster tail was cooked just right - soft and tender and no where close to becoming chewy and rubbery. The tail was "stuffed" so it had a flavorful topping that worked well with the lobster. The barbecue isn't quite ready for prime time. The smoke flavor isn't prominent enough for me - I prefer fruit wood or hickory or mesquite smoke while they used oak which, I think, provides a milder smoke flavor. The spice rub they used was also a little light for our taste - most of the ribs flavor relies on the BBQ sauce that you pour on at the table. I made a few suggestions to help bring the BBQ to the next level and, hopefully, they'll improve their barbecue in the future.
Old Port Lobster Shack - Shack Tail and Ribs

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What I Ate: April 11, 2009 (Old Port Lobster Shack)

What I Ate: April 10, 2009 (The Prolific Oven, Pizz'a Chicago)

Posted 11 April, 2009 at 12:55am by Michael Chu
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I met Daphne, the last manager I had before leaving Intel, for lunch at The Prolific Oven (3938 Rivermark Plz, Santa Clara, CA‎ - (408) 986-8388) where I had a California Chicken Sandwich.
The Prolific Oven - California Chicken Sandwich

After a full day of packing, we ordered a medium sized pizza from Pizz'a Chicago (1576 Halford Ave, Santa Clara, CA‎ - (408) 244-2246). I chose to have a half-and-half pizza made with The Fridge (their combination pizza) and The Sun Times (Pesto sauce, Italian sausage, red onions, pineapple & fresh basil). I had never had The Sun Times before and felt it was a bit mild compared to The Fridge.
Pizz’a Chicago - The Fridge / The Sun Times

What I Ate: April 9, 2009

Posted 10 April, 2009 at 1:05am by Michael Chu
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Packing, packing, and more packing. Had a late lunch of reheated Korean food.
Bulgogi and Rice Leftovers
Jab Che Leftovers

Dinner was a very late McDonald's Southwest Chicken sandwich with tomato and lettuce (eaten with a glass of Mumm Sparkling Wine because we ran out of wine boxes).
McDonald’s - Southwest Chicken Sandwich with Lettuce and Tomato

What I Ate: April 8, 2009 (Google, Alexander's Steakhouse)

Posted 9 April, 2009 at 1:14am by Michael Chu
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Today is going to be a treat for those of you following this blog. I eat at two South Bay locations that are unique.

After my friend Jean-Yves heard that I had lunch at Google a little over a week ago, he insisted that I join him for lunch at one of the better restaurants on the Google campus. I joined him today at Cafe 7 where fresh sushi was served. Was the sushi quality any good? I'd say it was as good as any decent sushi restaurant - which is astounding since they provide the meals for free. I salad was very nicely dressed with a sweet and tart dressing that paired will with the salty tobiko and fresh sashimi.
Google Cafe 7 - Sashimi Salad

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What I Ate: April 8, 2009 (Google, Alexander's Steakhouse)

What I Ate: April 7, 2009 (Hard Knox Cafe, Chili's)

Posted 7 April, 2009 at 10:31pm by Michael Chu
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Food today was a little bit of a disappointment. At my request we headed over to Hard Knox Cafe (2526 3rd St, San Francisco, CA‎ - (415) 648-3770‎) which I've always had great to stellar quality food at. Today, we arrive a bit late (a little after 2pm) and the food was subpar. I had the Fried Chicken with Corn and Rice & Gravy. The cornbread that came with the meal was a bit too dense and tough (usually it's very tender and crumbly). The chicken itself seemed a bit over fried (but still quite tasty).
Hard Knox Cafe - Fried Chicken with Corn and Rice & Gravy

When I got home (around 9:00pm), Tina and I headed over to Acapulco (where Tina wanted to have the tortilla soup), but they were closed. We ended up at Chili's (around 10pm) and I ordered a half Mango Lemonade and half Sprite (which is a great combo) and Steak and Portabello Fajitas for dinner (which was so-so).
Chili’s - Steak and Portabello Fajitas

What I Ate: April 6, 2009 (Los Compadres Taco Truck, Choi's Kitchen)

Posted 7 April, 2009 at 10:20pm by Michael Chu
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I fell asleep early last night, so I didn't get a chance to post what I ate. At lunchtime I had to make a quick trip to the data center, so Papa and I grabbed some lunch at the Los Compadres Taco Truck and ate it on the Embarcadero while overlooking the Bay. That's the last time I'll be doing that (at least for the foreseeable future).
Los Compadres Taco Truck - Tacos

For dinner, I ordered some food from a local Korean restaurant called Choi's Kitchen (3530 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA‎ - (408) 615-0200‎). I ordered jab chae, pa jun, and bulgogi.
Choi’s Kitchen - Jab Chae, Pa Jun, Bulgogi

What I Ate: April 5, 2009 (Ma's Restaurant)

Posted 6 April, 2009 at 1:53am by Michael Chu
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I had to make a quick trip to Costco today, so I had a Costco hot dog and slice of pepperoni pizza for lunch.
Costco - Hot Dog
Costco - Pepperoni Pizza

We ate dinner with Tina's parent's friends in San Jose at Ma's Restaurant (1715 Lundy Ave # 168, San Jose, CA‎ - (408) 437-2499‎) which serves Islamic Chinese food. Ma's restaurant does a good job with the style of cuisine they offer:
da bing (big/thick pancake) - a staple in Islamic Chinese restaurants. It's covered with sesame seeds and layered (with salt, oil, and scallions in between the layers). Order this.
Ma’s Restaurant - Da Bing

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What I Ate: April 5, 2009 (Ma's Restaurant)

What I Ate: April 4, 2009 (Prima Ristorante)

Posted 5 April, 2009 at 3:50am by Michael Chu
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Today was another crazy day. I didn't get a chance to eat until we went to Dave and Rachel's new home in Walnut Creek (where I got to snack on some cheese and crackers prior to heading to dinner). We walked around downtown Walnut Creek for a few minutes before deciding on dining at Prima Ristorante (1522 North Main Street, Walnut Creek, CA‎ - (925) 935-7780‎).

We started off with some speck (smoked prosciutto).
Prima - Speck

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What I Ate: April 4, 2009 (Prima Ristorante)

April 3, 2009 (KFC, Hong Kong Saigon Seafood Harbor Restaurant)

Posted 4 April, 2009 at 1:11am by Michael Chu
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For lunch, I grabbed a box of ten hot wings from KFC. Sometimes, I just can't fight the craving - they are tasty.
KFC - Hot Wings

After a busy day, Tina and I headed over to Hong Kong Saigon Seafood Harbor Restaurant (1135 N Lawrence Expy, Sunnyvale, CA‎ - (408) 734-2828‎) for some dinner. We ordered several dishes where the ingredients were not what we normally get to eat.

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April 3, 2009 (KFC, Hong Kong Saigon Seafood Harbor Restaurant)

What I Ate: April 2, 2009 (La Mar)

Posted 3 April, 2009 at 1:44am by Michael Chu
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I met Harold McGee for lunch at La Mar Cebicheria Peruana‎ (Pier 1.5, The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA‎ - (415) 397-8880‎) near the Ferry Building in San Francisco. I had never met Harold before but had read many of his writings and discussed several of his articles with Papa and my wife (most recently, this one for the New York Times on How Much Water Does Pasta Really Need?). Harold is friendly and easy to talk to (he's got a great easy going attitude but carries himself with an air of attentiveness) - we ended up talking about everything from my upcoming move to Austin, some of the best restaurants in the Bay Area, and, of course, his incredible book On Food And Cooking (which everyone that reads Cooking For Engineers should have a copy of).
Harold McGee and Michael Chu

At El Mar, they started us with fried chips (plaintains, sweet potato, potato) with dipping sauces. The chips were so good I forgot to try the dipping sauces that came with them.
La Mar Cebicheria Peruana - Chips

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What I Ate: April 2, 2009 (La Mar)

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