Buckeye Roadhouse

Name: Buckeye Roadhouse
Address: 15 Shoreline Highway, Mill Valley, California 94941
Phone: 415-331-2600
Web site: www.buckeyeroadhouse.com
Date & Time visited: Monday, December 26, 2005, 1:30 PM
Guests: Jennifer and me
What we had: Crab bisque, pan roasted artichoke with tarragon dip (both Jen), Santa Fe spiced grilled chicken sandwich (me).

Not quite what we were expecting when looking for a quick lunch on our way home, but the Buckeye Roadhouse filled the need quite well. I had a taste of Jen's crab bisque and found it creamy and tasty. My chicken sandwich was excellent, with the spices, avocado and sauce all coming together to make one of the better chicken sandwiches I've had. It was served on a sourdough roll that was just soft enough to allow the sandwich to be eaten instead of shoving the contents out the back when I took a bite.

Service: A bit slow, but the place was quite busy. The server was pleasant if perhaps a little less funny than he thought he was.

Would we go back: Yes. Make reservations and perhaps request an upstairs table (not so loud), but yes.

Seafood Brasserie

Name: Seafood Brasserie
Address: 170 Railroad St, Santa Rosa, California 95401
Phone: 707-636-7388
Web site: (on Hyatt Vineyard Creek Web site)
Date & Time visited: Sunday, December 25, 2005, 7:00 PM
Guests: Jennifer and me
What we had: Salmon Carpaccio, Caesar salad, Apple/Endive salad, Bouilliabaise, Panko rolled Fish and chips, bread pudding.

For Christmas dinner, we wanted something extra nice, and the restaurant attached (sort of) to the Hyatt Vineyard Creek hotel (where we were staying Christmas weekend) fit the bill nicely. We arrived early and had cocktails in the lounge before being seated.

The salmon carpaccio appetizer was wonderful; the smoked salmon was of the best quality and highly flavorful. It was served with some kind of stem lettuce which name I cannot recall, but complemented the fish perfectly. My Caesar salad was decent: good but nothing really special. My Panko rolled fish and chips were very good, but I could only finish two of the three large pieces. Jen's Bouilliabaise was crowned with a large Dungeness crab and also included mussels, clams and a few other fishy ingredients. Finally, the bread pudding dessert, which we shared, was very nice but between us we could only eat about half of it.

Service: Disappointing, especially based on this review linked from the Vineyard site. Granted, it was Christmas night and the place was packed--it actually seemed to be over-full as if they'd overbooked. As noted above, we arrived 20 minutes early for a 7:00 reservation, but were not actually seated until almost 7:30 and after waiting to order drinks and appetizer, waiting to receive drinks and appetizer, and waiting to order main course, we didn't actually start on the main course until well after 8:00. Throughout it all, though, the server and bussers--no doubt at maximum hustle--were smiling and working hard to keep things moving. I don't blame the service staff at all for the slow progress of the meal; rather, either accidentally or deliberately, the restaurant had more guests than it could handle.

Would we go back: Probably. I'd like to experience the restaurant on a night less busy than Christmas, to see if the service rises to the level of the review linked above. Regardless, the food was excellent and worth the wait. We'd likely go back if in Santa Rosa, and certainly if staying at the Vineyard Creek Hyatt again.

However, and for some reason this was highly annoying to me, there was no way to get from the hotel to the restaurant without going outside. Wouldn't have been a problem except that it rained all day, so we had to put on jackets and use umbrellas to avoid being soaked as we walked the short distance from the hotel lobby to the restaurant entrance. There's obviously an internal connection between the two, as the restaurant kitchen serves room service requests, but nothing for hotel guests.

Tex Wasabi's Rock-n-Roll Sushi-BBQ

Name: Tex Wasabi's Rock-n-Roll Sushi-BBQ
Address: 515 4th Street, Santa Rosa, California 95401
Phone: 707-544-8399
Web site: www.texwasabis.com
Date & Time visited: Saturday, December 24, 2005, 6:40 PM
Guests: Jennifer and me
What we had: Vegas fries, Emily's roll, Tootsie roll (see menu at linked site).

The strangest concept restaurant I've ever visited, Tex Wasabi's was also highly entertaining, affordable, and open for dinner on Christmas Eve. Who knew that buffalo-hot sauce shoestring french fries went so well with tempura shrimp and crab rolls? It works and works well. The only negative was the noise level, which was rather uncomfortably high.

Service: Very good. I felt just a bit rushed towards the end of our meal--and we weren't there all that long--as if the manager might be urging the server to turn the table, but aside from that service was quite good. Drink refills met the crucial "before they were empty" standard and she came back to check on us twice.

Would we go back: Next time we're in Santa Rosa, sure.

Note: A few months after this review was posted, restaurateur and Tex Wasabi's owner Guy Fieri competed in and won season two of "The Next Food Network Star".

Three Seasons Restaurant

Name: Three Seasons Restaurant
Address: 518 Bryant Street, Palo Alto, California 94351
Phone: 650-838-0353
Web site: www.threeseasonsrestaurant.com
Date & Time visited: Friday, December 23, 2005, 12:30 PM
Guests: Betcy, Herman, Vlad, Bill, Coco, me
What we had: Ahi Tuna rolls, Scorpion rolls, Spider rolls, Steamed Chilean Sea Bass, New Zealand Rack of Lamb, Spicy Green Beans, Japanese Eggplant, Crispy Tofu, Chicken Satay, Yellow Curry Chicken, brown rice & steamed rice.

This was a group from the office, and Three Seasons encourages "family style" dining, where dishes are passed around and shared so everyone gets some of everything. I had a bit of everything except the eggplant and lamb and it was uniformly delicious. The spicy green beans were perfect; not too raw or overdone and spiced just right. The Chicken Satay avoided the common problem of dryness and the accompanying sauce was tasty.

Service: Good, especially considering the large group and a certain amount of confusion at order time. A bit of a wait for food to arrive, but the restaurant was pretty busy. Drink refills were frequent.

Would we go back: Yes. Jennifer has been wanting to eat here, so she and I will have to go now that I've been without her.

Tortilla Jo's Cantina

Name: Tortilla Jo's Cantina
Address: 1510 S. Disneyland Drive, Building A, Anaheim, California 92802
Phone: 714-535-5000
Web site: www.patinagroup.com/tortillaJos
Date & Time visited: Saturday, December 17, 2005, 8:00 PM
Guests: Shawn & Colleen, Jen and me
What we had: Tacos Dorados [crispy chicken tacos] (me), Tortilla soup (Jen), Beef nachos (Shawn & Colleen split).

We've been to the Cantina several times (though somehow I've neglected to review it until today) and never been disappointed. By contrast, we've eaten inside the main restaurant twice and had poor service, wrong food and generally unfortunate experiences both times. The Cantina is one of those hidden-in-plain-sight secret places; excellent food, huge portions, inexpensive and rarely a wait to be seated.

My crispy chicken tacos were very tasty and Jen liked her tortilla soup. The soup is not on the Cantina menu but she was able to order it--actually off the childrens' menu--from the main restaurant. I didn't ask Colleen or Shawn how they liked the beef nachos, but the plate was empty when we left so it couldn't have been too bad.

Service: Excellent. Our server was training a new employee and managed to provide a high level of service at the same time. Drinks were refilled before they were completely empty, food orders were taken as soon as we were ready and delivered quickly, all with a smile.

Would we go back: Yes.

Blue Bayou

Name: Blue Bayou
Address: Disneyland, California, 92802
Phone: 714-781-DINE (3463)
Web site: (on Disneyland Resort Web site; Flash)
Date & Time visited: Saturday, December 17, 2005, 1:10 PM
Guests: Shawn & Colleen, Jen and me
What we had: Crab cakes (Jen), Clam chowder (Colleen), Mardi Gras salad (2; Colleen & Shawn split one and I had one), Monte Cristo sandwich (Shawn & I split).

I'd been craving a Monte Cristo for some time, but can't finish one myself, so it was pleasant to be able to share one. Jen loved her crab cakes, and the Mardi Gras salad was good for a "mixed greens" dish.

Service: Very good. We'd actually had this particular server on a previous visit, with a party of ten, and were rather less than impressed. This time, with just four, he was fine. We were unfortunately seated towards the back of the restaurant, near the kitchen, but on the positive side we were under a light; rare in the very dark atmosphere of the Blue Bayou.

Would we go back: Definitely!

Max's Cafe

Name: Max's Cafe
Address: 1001 El Camino Real, Redwood City, California 94063
Phone: 650-365-6297
Web site: www.maxsworld.com
Date & Time visited: Thursday, December 15, 2005, 8:50 PM
Guests: Jen and me
What we had: Jennifer had the lemon dijon salmon she'd enjoyed so much at the Stanford Max's back in July and was not disappointed this time. I had Prawn and Sausage Pasta and a side salad. The dish was loaded with shrimp; so many times when you order a shrimp-and-pasta dish, there are maybe three or four shrimp. This dish had at least ten, plus sausage, onion, red peppers and a spicy garlic sauce. It was fantastic.

Service: Unfortunately the service was not so fantastic. In fact, it was rather disappointing. We were seated almost immediately, had our beverage (iced teas for both) and dinner orders as soon as we were ready, and the food came quickly. After that, however, we didn't see our server again until some time after we'd both finished. There was no "second visit", where the server comes back five or ten minutes after delivering the order to make sure everything is good. When he did come back to clear the table and offer dessert, he didn't bring iced tea refills. In fact, neither tea nor water was refilled during our meal.

Would we go back: We don't usually go to this Max's location, but we've been there before and enjoyed it. We'll likely go back when at the Sequoia Station shopping center.

Mike's Cafe

Name: Mike's Cafe
Address: 150 Middlefield Rd, Menlo Park, California 94025
Phone: 650-324-6453
Web site: none; Google Local info page, Amazon.com Yellow Pages entry
Date & Time visited: Saturday, November 26, 2005, ~11:00 AM
Guests: Jennifer and me
What we had: Salmon Benedict (Jen), 2-egg Spanish omelet (me)

Jen enjoyed her Salmon Benedict, and was impressed by the selection of teas. The menu has the Spanish omelet with three eggs, but since I didn't think I could eat that much I asked if they could make it with two instead; there was no problem with that request and the result was very good, though it could have been a touch spicier.

Service: Good, no complaints.

Would we go back: Yes.

Temporary (?) delay in updates

See the main site for all the grisly details. I have several places to review but I'm going to wait until the greater problem is resolved.