It’sDiningTime!
San Francisco/Bay Area restaurant reviews by Chris NorrisArchive for East Bay
Rubio’s, Fremont
Rubio’s, Fremont
July 2007
S’Ok. Rubio’s doesn’t look like much when you walk in – first impressions are of just another fast food Mexican restaurant. Look a little closer though! Rubio’s actually has quite a lot of baja inspired dishes, including baja style street tacos, shrimp tacos and burritos, several kinds of fish tacos and burritos, and really great carnitas. It’s my favorite of the “run in and grab a bite” Mexican restaurants. I especially like the shrimp burritos, the carnitas street tacos, and the fish tacos.
Interestingly, during my Sunday morning routine of watchin’ some food shows, I saw Tyler Florence kick off an episode of ‘Food 911’ at a Rubios. Forgiving Tyler for his current stint as Applebee’s “designer chef” (what IS he thinking?!), you’ve got to credit him for his good tasted in choosing Rubio’s! By the way, that episode of ‘Food 911’ featured chicken burritos and fish tacos, which are easy to fix and way good. He features a really terrific sauce for the tacos (mayo, sour cream, chipotle chilies and some lime juice) that you should try at home!
Comments off
Panera, Fremont
Panera, Fremont
July 2007
Hmmmm. Panera is a quasi fast-food, deli, gourmet sandwich restaurant that is beginning to show up around the Bay Area. If you don’t have a lot of time and don’t want greasy fast-food or “sub-sandwiches”, Panera is a nice alternative with a large variety of gourmet sandwiches to choose from.
Comments off
Papillon Restaurant in Fremont, CA
June 2007
S’Ok Don’t confuse this restaurant with Le Papillon in Saratoga, CA. This Papillon is on the east side of Fremont, not far from Niles Canyon. My wife was looking for a nice place to meet a client for lunch somewhere between Los Gatos and Oakland, and dug up Papillon as a good candidate. The choice turned out to be a success, and I later booked a table for ten for a work function and was pleased with the outcome. I had the Sea Bass which was quite nice, and by observation and solicited third party opinons (the guys who ordered the steak told me this) the beef was good. While I don’t know Fremont well, my sense is that “formal dining” doesn’t have a major commercial presence in the town. There are many fast food restaurants, quite a respectable selection of Asian restaurants, and lots of tweeners of all qualities like Olive Garden, PF Chang’s, etc. But, Papillon has a nice formal dining atmosphere, food that is not bad, although not competitive with my typical “Way Good” rated restaurant, and can handle groups large & small. It’s near the top of my “S’Ok” rated restaurants!
Comments off
Bombay Garden in Fremont, CA
April 2007
S’OK. Bombay Garden is an Indian restaurant in Fremont (ok, technically in Newark) that seats many, and has a very large lunch buffet. Large selection of chicken, lamb, and vegetarian dishes, and easy and fast to eat for lunch. My friends now know that if Chris gets to choose where we go for lunch, they are likely to hear, “do you like Indian…?” If you are looking for a good Indian lunch to break up the work day … Bombay Garden on Mowry, west of 880.
Comments off
