Pampas: Brazilian churrasceria

Last year I took Boyfriend to Alexander’s Steakhouse for dinner.  I know how much Boyfriend loves meat but didn’t want to do a formal steakhouse again so I chose Pampas.  It is a Brazilian churrasceria and Boyfriend had never been to one before so it was perfect!  (Thanks Richard for the suggestion!)

We started out with these little appetizers.  From L to R: fried plantains, cheddar bread balls and something else fried.  I don’t know what these long fried sticks were but they were good.  Not as good as the cheddar balls though.  I mentioned how good the cheddar balls were and the waiter gave me some to take home!

We went with the “Rodizio” which includes the all you can eat salad bar and all you can eat meat.  There are 13 different meats to choose from and we made a point to try all 13!  The waiters come around to your table and carve your meat for you.  Here is the chicken and skirt steak.

My favorite was the tri tip.  It came with a chipotle dipping sauce but I thought the meat was so good that it didn’t need it.  We were also able to choose from filet mignon, top sirloin, pork sausage, and a bunch of other meats.

We left the restaurant feeling uncomfortably full.  They brought out a birthday dessert for Boyfriend on the house which of course, we consumed even though we were full. (not the picture below)

We had a birthday BBQ for Boyfriend over the weekend and a friend brought us this delicious ice cream cake!  Happy Birthday!!

529 Alma St.  Palo Alto, CA

Chowders

My all time favorite place to get clam chowder is Chowders at Pier 39.  I’ve loved this place since my parents used to bring me there when I was younger.  They’re always crowded but service is fast.

I always go with the clam chowder in a bread bowl!

My other favorite is fried clam strips!!  Luckily, my non-seafood eating boyfriend was able to eat these and ordered them to share with me.  He is miraculously able to eat seafood when it’s fried.

After you’re done eating you can walk around the different shops and see some sea lions too!

A new favorite – Sprout Cafe!!

I’ve been MIA lately.  Perhaps I’ve been a little disappointed at the food in America since returning from Japan?  A little lazy uninspired?  Okay, maybe a lot LAZY.  Luckily, I’ve discovered a new favorite and decided to share my new find!

I wanted to take my Dad to a new resturant for Father’s Day lunch.  He wanted something light and suggested a sandwich or salad place.  That is when we discovered the wonderfulness of Sprout Cafe.

As soon as you walk in, there is a table with little clipboards and pencils to fill out your order form.  You create your own salad!! How exciting is this?!?  I’ve been to Pluto’s and thought it was great… Sprouts Cafe is ten times better!  For $6.95 for a full salad ($5.25 for a half salad) you make all the decisions.  You choose whether you want red leaf lettuce, romaine, spinach, butter lettuce, etc.  You can also choose SIX “standard” items you want in your salad.  The choices were phenomenal and we had a really difficult time deciding!!

I went with butter lettuce (a recent favorite!), red onions, toasted almonds, somen noodles, edamame, fresh tofu and sweet corn.  The sweet corn looked like it was cut off of a cob and was  really sweet.  Any additional items from the veggie list are .50 cents each and you can also add meat and such from the “premium” list.  I added sauteed shiitake for $1.50.  My parents both had very similar salads to mine with slight variations – they both copied me and added sauteed shiitake to theirs so the pictures would’ve looked the same.  I chose a soy ginger vinaigrette dressing mixed in.  You can choose to get light dressing, dressing on the side, etc.  Anything you fancy is yours for the taking!

Boyfriend went with a steak sandwich.  All sandwiches come with a small side salad!  The marinated tri-tip was tender and flavorful and the sandwich had crispy potatoes (!), sauteed corn (!!), lettuce and mayo on ciabatta bread.  It sounds kind of weird but it was so scruptious.  What was supposed to be a taste test of the sandwich turned into another bite.  And another.  And another.

I can’t wait to go back!!  This weekend perhaps??

168 University Ave.  Palo Alto, CA

Ryokan by Mt. Fuji

I wanted to make sure Boyfriend had a true Japanese experience so I booked one night at a ryokan (Japanese Inn) in Kawaguchiko.  Although it was expensive, it was definitely worth it.  We were treated like a King and Queen the night we were there and ate great meals!  Dinner and breakfast were both included.

Our dinner consisted of seven or eight courses.  Many included the freshest seafood from the area.

We received a menu of the night’s dishes but since it was all in Japanese, I couldn’t read all the kanji and we didn’t know what we were eating half of the time!  This was fresh sashimi of some sort.

The teapot had soup in it and we poured it into the teacup to drink. 

We both went with the beef course and had our own little grill to cook the meat and veggies on.  Later on, they brought out onigiri for us so put on the grill so we could have yaki onigiri!  We also had the option of turning our yaki onigiri into ochazuke.

This was our view from our balcony.  We had our own rotenburo on the balcony with onsen water flowing in continuously.  As we sat in the bath, we could enjoy the amazing view of Mt. Fuji.

This is the closest I’ve ever gotten to Mt. Fuji.  It was absolutely beautiful waking up to this picturesque view!

Fushimi Inari

One place I had wanted to visit for awhile is Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto.  I’ve been to Kyoto numerous times and have seen other temples but never all the famous red torii at Fushimi Inari.

It was so serene and once we were there, I felt like we were officially in Japan.

The shrine is at the bottom of a mountain named Inari and there are many trails leading up to smaller shrines.  Inari is the god of business so each torii is donated by a business and their names are carved into the back of each one.

After walking through the torii and viewing the temples there, we stopped in a random restaurant on the main road.  Boyfriend went with the curry soba and liked it a lot.  He tends to like anything curry flavored though!  I’m actually not a fan of curry udon so I probably would not have liked his dish had I tried it.

I was intent on eating inari sushi since we were at Fushimi Inari.  I went with zaru udon (cold udon that you dip in sauce) and inari sushi on the side.  The inari were quite sweet

My cousin ordered soba with grilled fish in it.  This particular kind of fish is very popular in Kyoto, I believe it is Sabo Ajitei.

My cousin’s wife went with a yuba udon for her meal.  It looked really good but I was too shy to ask if I could try a bite.  If I ever go back, I’d love to try it.

Eki ben

We spent a lot of our time on the train getting from one place to another so we ended up eating a few meals in transit.

The bento (Japanese boxed lunch) are very convenient and can be found almost anywhere in Japan.  They are sold at convenience stores such as 7-11, in the Depa Chika (see previous post) and at train and bus stations.  Most “eki ben”, or station bento for short, taste great and are reasonably priced.

The Shinkansen (Bullet Train) is very spacious and clean.  There are people who walk through each car and sell bento and snacks to the passengers and even come by with a trash bag after!  When travelling long distances on the Shink, you will notice the bento choices will change because they sell the food of the region you are travelling through.

This is a kashiwa bento I bought in Akama (Fukuoka) when we were leaving my Aunt’s house heading to the Mt. Fuji area.  They are known for having great kashiwa bento and we were not disappointed!

Depa Chika

There are many great stores attached to the train and bus stations in Japan so you never need to go outside if the weather is undesirable.  It tends to be extremely humid during the summer and it snows during the winter so there are many days that you would rather not fight the elements.

The basement of department stores are known to have wonderful food courts and stations to buy food.  Many people grab lunch in these basements or dinner on the way home.  They are called “depa chika” for short.  (department basement)

I love looking at the displays because everything is about presentation in Japan.  My aunt had told me that she was making maki sushi for dinner that night otherwise, I definitely would’ve loved to try one of these.

You can also buy various kinds of rice according to weight.

They have almost every kind of Japanese food imaginable!  Tempura, tonkatsu, sushi, etc.

After you are done eating your meal, they always have some wonderful dessert waiting for you too!

Green tea and chocolate!

This will be my last post about matcha green tea stuff, I promise!  (for now, at least)

I ate this tonight.  It was scrumptious.  I wish they were sold in the U.S.   The end.

Maid Cafe

Maid Cafes are a big part of otaku culture (Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga, and video games) in Japan.  Apparently, Maid Cafes are pretty popular right now, specifically in the Akihabara area of Tokyo.  Someone suggested we check one out while in Akihabara and I was intrigued so we decided to go.

 

 

As soon as you step out from the train station, you see girls dressed in French maid costumes trying to get you to go to their Maid Cafe.

 

 

We chose this Maid Cafe for no particular reason.  As soon as you walk inside, the maids come up to you and say stuff like, “Welcome home Master!  You must’ve had a long day.”

 

 

The menu is very simple and standard.  I went with a shrimp rice pilaf and Boyfriend got a dry curry.  All entrees were 1200 yen (!!) and all soft drinks were 600 yen.

 

 Pictures aren’t allowed inside the restaurant but we snuck a few.  You can PAY to take a picture with a maid and/or have a video made of a conversation you have with them.

I wouldn’t go back to a Maid Cafe although it was interesting to see.  I thought the clientele would be young, lonely, dorky males but there were a lot of females dining there as well.  The married couple sitting next to us even asked for a frequent diner’s card so they can collect points!  I’m glad we saw what a Maid Cafe is like since it’s definitely something unique to the Japanese culture.

After we ate, while walking around, we saw these cars about a block away.  Otaku culture at it’s finest!

Breakfast again anyone?!?

After our amazing sushi breakfast at Tsukiji, we ate our second breakfast of the day back at our hotel.  We stayed at the Tokyo Hilton and breakfast was included so we decided to check it out.  I knew we would be eating a lot on this trip but breakfast usually isn’t my meal of choice.

It was a breakfast buffet and although I wasn’t hungry, I forced myself to eat some stuff after I saw the spread they had.

One side of the buffet was Japanese style breakfast and one side was American style breakfast!!  We could choose from rice, fish, tsukemono, etc. for the Japanese style breakfast.

Japanese people often eat salad as part of breakfast too.  Both of my Aunt’s whose houses we stayed at served salad at breakfast. 

There were plenty fruits and oatmeal too.

There were all sorts of juices, fruit, sliced meat, breads and pastries to choose from.  They had fried rice, shumai and miso soup.  It was amazing!  They even had a made to order omelette bar at one end.  Our huge sushi breakfast was just 3 hours prior but I couldn’t resist trying this breakfast buffet out.  I was definitely excited to take full advantage of it the next morning on an empty stomach!!