Dishola: Reviews by the Dish
- dishola /dish•ō•lâ/
- v. To share the love of food - dish by dish. n. The ultimate source to find real meals at real places that rule.
kblood's Profile
Bacon Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry
182 Ranch Dr,
Milpitas, CA
(408) 719-9811
kblood
on 04/04/08
During the lunch hour, there is always a long line outside Banana Leaf, and finding parking can be next to impossible. Located in a strip mall, the restaurant's polished interior decor was quite a surprise, as was the formal attire of the wait staff (white tuxedo shirts and black bow ties). Having observed both the decor and the attire, I was expecting to see a fancy plate of food appear at the table -- but what I got was closer to down-home cooking. The gratis bowl of clear soup served as we sat down was delicious -- nose-runningly spicy and fragrant with fish sauce. (The three roughly cut chunks of celery that floated in the broth, however, seemed like a sad after thought.) The Red Curry Chicken shown in the photo was good -- but I only managed to eat half of the large bowl full (along with white rice on the side). The sauce was slightly hot-spiced and rich with coconut milk. The copious amounts of chicken swam in the bowl alongside okra, potato, tomato, green beans, carrot slices and a few other vegetable-like things that I couldn't quite put my finger on... The only real downside of the dish was the chicken, which tasted a little tired -- perhaps even cooked the day before --and as if it was tossed into the mixture at the last minute.
357 Castro St,
Mountain View, CA, 94041
650-605-1200
kblood
on 04/19/08
You say MÌ, I say Small Number 8; let's call the whole thing off... If I could, I'd eat this soup every day -- but only if my favorite waiters allow me to add greens to the bowl. Sometimes what arrives as an add (at an additional cost) is bok choy; sometimes it's Chinese broccoli. The Mountain View location is only one of the many Nor Cal locations of this chain.
159 Brick Ln,
Poplar, GB
(020) 7729 0616
kblood
on 04/02/08
This is one of the best things I have ever eaten! Brick Lane Bakery is open 24/7 and the hot salt-beef beigels (aka bagels) are the only thing I have ever ordered because absolutely nothing else on their menu could possibly taste this great. The lean salt-beef is similar to a heap of perfectly cooked corned beef (not stringy or gristly, just flavorful and butter-soft) and the chewy bagel is dang good too. The thing that pushes this sandwich over the top from great to EXTRAORDINARY is the addition of a flaming hot mustard. When the counter-person asks, "mustard?" say YES YES YES! This place is not fancy -- you'll probably choose to take your sandwich to go in a brown paper bag.
Roppongi Hills Hillside 2F 6-10-1 Roppongi Minato-ku,
Tokyo, Japan
03-5772-7500
kblood
on 04/23/08
Served as part of the chef's tasting menu at Tokyo's L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, the gelato/ice cream was acidic (possibly grape/wine) and paired very nicely with the tuile (cookie) stuffed with mascarpone cheese. Fresh spearmint leaves are sprinkled over the top of the white peaches and wine jelly.
15970 Los Gatos Blvd,
Los Gatos, CA, 95032
408-356-4902
kblood
on 04/04/08
Viva is a neighborhood restaurant where you can linger over happy-hour-priced wine and appetizers, or enjoy a casual dinner seated at the out-door patio. The restaurant's prosciutto wrapped sea scallops come propped on top of an herbed-potato-pancake sitting in a puddle of beurre blanc with drizzles of blueberry coulis. The citrus-spinach served alongside the potato pancake takes this dish from good to really darn good.