Uva Bar & Cafe

Name: Uva Bar & Cafe
[see below for location & Web site]
Date & Time visited: Friday, October 14, 2005, 11:00 PM
Guests: Jen and me
What we had: Ketel One vodka martini (me), Washington Apple-tini (Jen), mezze platter plus an extra side of pita.

Everything I've said about the Uva Bar still holds; good atmosphere, fair service, very good food and drink. Not too many smokers this time, which was nice. The mezze platter is a stack of warm pita served with three Mediterranean dips: baba ganoush, roasted red pepper puree, and hummous. All three were delectable, and our only complaint was that the amount of pita was not enough to use up the supplied dips. We got an extra side of pita for $1.

Service: Decent.

Would we go back: Yes.

Tomatina

Name: Tomatina
[see below for location & Web site]
Date & Time visited: Friday, October 14, 2005, 1:30 PM
Guests: Jen and me
What we had: Tomatina garlic rolls, Pizzetta (Jen), Express lunch [two slices of 3-cheese/pancetta plus salad] (me)

This was a quick lunch on our way to the airport, and so the Express lunch worked perfectly; the spicy three-cheese pizza had the unexpected bonus of pancetta and italian parsley and was very good. Jen enjoyed her Pizzetta, basically an arugula salad on pizza dough, very much. The garlic rolls were excellent as usual.

Service: Quick and friendly. This place caters to the local lunch crowd during the day--Yahoo, McAfee, Sun and WebEx all have offices within walking distances--and so the wait staff know they need to get their customers fed and on their way.

Would we go back: Yes.

Taxi's Hamburgers

Name: Taxi's Hamburgers
Address: 403 University Ave, Palo Alto, California 94301
Phone: (650) 322-TAXI (8294)
Web site: TaxisHamburgers.com
Date & Time visited: Saturday, October 8, 2005, 3:20 PM
Guests: Jennifer and me
What we had: Santa Cruz special (Jen), Blue Cheese burger [turkey patty] (me), onion rings

The Santa Cruz special is served on Ciabatta bread with Daikon sprouts, avocado, tomatoes (though Jen left those off), pepper Jack cheese and Chipotle-lime dressing. It's huge. Jen really liked it, but the sprouts and avocado tended to fall out. My blue cheese burger was pretty standard--I've had it before and it's always good. Taxi's onion rings are perfectly done; cooked enough to be crispy, but not burned or soggy with oil.

Service: Good. Orders are taken at the counter and then food is brought to the table, and our food arrived pretty quickly. When Jen's soda cup collapsed (the result of an ill-fitting lid) the manager and a busser were there within seconds helping to clean up.

Would we go back: Yes. It's a frequent destination for a basic, quick, good lunch on weekends.

Mexicali Grill

Name: Mexicali Grill
Address: 3149 Mission College Blvd, Santa Clara, California 95054
Phone: (408) 588-9865
Web site: MexicaliGrill.com
Date & Time visited: Saturday, October 1, 2005, 9:00 PM
Guests: Jennifer and me
What we had: Chicken nachos (Jen), Mole Rojo (me)

Jen's chicken nachos were very good, with fresh chips and guacamole creating a nice mix of flavor; no one ingredient (chicken, salsa, cheese, etc.) overwhelmed the dish. My Mole Rojo was, quite simply, one of the best entrees I've ever had. The restaurant's menu says about this dish:

Imported ingredients direct from Oaxaca, Mexico. This truly authentic dish comes with two chicken enchiladas covered with our rich mole sauce made with 36 different ingredients. Topped with queso fresco, Crema Mexicana. Served with rice and black beans.

I'd never had Mole anything, though I'd heard about it. The sauce was complex and very tasty, and the chicken enchiladas provided enough substance to play backup without overpowering the sauce, which was of course the real star of the dish. I'm going to have to seek out other Mole dishes.

Service: Very good. This is another restaurant at the Mercado shopping center (near Tomatina) and the service was efficient without being pushy; we got to our movie in plenty of time.

Would we go back: Definitely, if to have that Mole again if nothing else. We've been there before for margaritas and nachos instead of a full meal before a movie and we'll likely do that again as well.

Pacific Wharf Cafe

Name: Pacific Wharf Cafe
Address: Disney's California Adventure, Anaheim, CA 92802
Phone: 714-781-DINE (3463)
Web site: (on Disneyland Resort Web site; Flash)
Date & Time visited: Sunday, September 25, 2005, 12:40 PM
Guests: Jennifer and me
What we had: Turkey baguette sandwich, corn chowder in a bread bowl.

This is part of the Boudin Bakery Tour complex in the Pacific Wharf section of DCA, and as such the breads and baked goods could be expected to be of superior quality. Jen's baguette seemed to be pretty ordinary, but my sourdough bread bowl was fresh-baked and delicious. The corn chowder soup was thick and hearty, though it did benefit from a splash of Tabasco. Jen enjoyed her sandwich as well.

Service: Not really applicable, as it's a counter service location. The Cast Members working the counter were friendly and efficient and we got our order within a few minutes.

Would we go back: Yes.

Uva Bar & Cafe

Name: Uva Bar & Cafe
[see below for location & Web site]
Date & Time visited: Saturday, September 24, 2005, 11:30 PM
Guests: Adrienne, Tony & AVP, Alex, Sheila, Mox, Jennifer and me
What we had: Calamari appetizer, spicy chicken wings appetizer, chicken Panini sandwich, Gazpacho, Manchego compressed salad, Cobb salad, penne pasta with tomato sauce. I don't recall who had what except that I had the salad and Jen had the pasta.

Service: Fair to good. Granted this was a large group (eight) on a busy night, but we were rather neglected at times. It took probably twenty minutes to get a table (or more accurately, two round tables pushed together), but drink and food orders were taken pretty quickly. The worst wait was, unaccountably, when it came time to request the check; our server was nowhere to be found. Drink refills were reasonably frequent.

Nearby smokers were again an issue, especially the guy with a stogie at the next-but-one table. As the Uva Bar was the only place still serving food at this late hour, we were stuck unless we wanted to go to Denny's.

Would we go back: Despite the somewhat negative tone above, the answer is still yes. In fact, we'll likely be there tomorrow night, and I'm eagerly anticipating a Ketel One martini.