All reviews now tagged and mapped

I've finished editing all 56 reviews to date, adding tags and Google Maps/Street View links. Now you can sort the reviews by restaurant name or city. Enjoy!

I Tapas & Wine Bar

Name: I Tapas & Wine Bar
Address: 445 Emerson St, Palo Alto CA 94301
Phone: 650-325-4400
Web site: itapaspaloalto.com
Date & Time visited: Saturday, June 16, 2007 9:30 PM
Guests: Jennifer and me
What we had: Tapas are "small plates", basically appetizer-size portions served family-style. We started with a fresh guacamole with queso fresco, served with warm corn tortilla chips and a tomato salsa. I ordered the pimientos de padron and shrimp & chicken corn dogs. Jen had prosciutto-wrapped asparagus spears and barbecued baby back ribs, and we shared an espresso flan and a sorbet trio for dessert.

The guacamole was indeed fresh and chunky, just right. It did unfortunately come garnished with a scoop of cilantro, as did almost everything else (except the dessert). The salsa was pretty average but made a nice contrast to the guacamole.

My pimientos de padron were essentially roasted pepperoncinis drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with kosher salt. Very unusual and tasty. Jen and I both tried putting one on top of a chip with guacamole and that went well. Jennifer said her asparagus spears were perfectly cooked, with just a little snap. My shrimp and chicken "corn dogs" were actually closer to fritters--balls of chicken and shrimp deep-fried and skewered, served with cocktail sauce and spicy Chinese mustard. Fun to eat and tasty, too--they reminded us of conch fritters. Jen said her ribs were excellent, once she scraped the cilantro off; the server brought an extra cup of sauce in case she'd had to remove too much from the ribs and that was appreciated.

Jennifer enjoyed the sorbet trio. I liked the honeydew melon flavor though I'm usually not much for sorbet. My espresso flan was good, though for some reason I was expecting it to be served warm instead of cold. The menu didn't say that, so I'm not sure where I got the idea. Either way it was enjoyable.

Service: Very good, no complaints. Quick water and iced tea refills.

Would we go back: Yes, we barely scratched the surface of their extensive menu of small plates. Going back is a must.

Junnoon Restaurant

Name: Junnoon Restaurant
[see below for location & Web site]
Date & Time visited: Saturday, June 9, 2007, 9:30 PM
Guests: Lani, Alex, Jennifer and me
What we had: "Lemonito" pitcher (Jen and me), Coriander Fennel Chicken bites (Jen and me--appetizer), Tapioca/potato fritters (Alex and Lani--appetizer), Goat cheese Naan, Black Pepper steak (Jen), Prawns in coconut mustard sauce (Alex, me--separate portions), Rice flaked sea bass (Lani).

Jen had ordered a different nonalcoholic beverage that it turned out they were out of, so we got a pitcher of "Lemonito" to share; it's basically a nonalcoholic Mojito with Sprite in place of rum. Lani had club soda and Alex stuck with water.

We shared the appetizers around the table and both were quite good. They were each served with a different sauce, one minty and the other a bit spicy. Unfortunately both were heavily laden with cilantro so Jen couldn't enjoy either one. The goat cheese naan was warm and soft and cheesy.

I didn't try Jennifer's black pepper steak (it was a bit odd to find a steak on the menu at a supposedly Indian restaurant, but it's more Indian-fusion with emphasis on the fusion) but she said it was very good; she wasn't as thrilled with the potatoes. Alex and I both enjoyed our prawns in coconut mustard sauce, and I especially liked the flavorful charred bits that flaked off the tails. I neglected to ask Lani how she liked her rice flaked sea bass, but she finished it so it couldn't have been too bad.

We passed on dessert as the kitchen was about to close.

Service: Good but a little odd. Our initial server described the specials and answered questions, and then introduced another guy who would be taking over for the rest of the meal. Okay, we figured, he's done with his shift and going home. No, he was still working other tables and even helped serve our table. Maybe our guy was on break when we were seated? No real problem, anyway.

Would we go back: Yes.

IKEA Restaurant

Name: IKEA Restaurant, East Palo Alto
Address: 1700 E. Bayshore Rd. East Palo Alto, California 94303
Phone: (650) 323-4532
Web site: ikea-usa.com
Date & Time visited: Friday, June 1, 2007, 7:30 PM
Guests: Jennifer and me
What we had: Swedish meatballs with gravy & fries (Jen), vegetarian wrap & side of rice (me).

I'm really only writing this because looking over my archive of reviews they seem overwhelmingly positive. Tonight's dining experience was less than overwhelmingly positive.

I can't comment on Jennifer's meatballs, but she did eat them all so they couldn't have been too bad. My wrap was bland, the vegetables--red pepper, onion, cabbage--were dry, and the tortilla tasteless. The rice was plain American white rice with no seasoning; salt & pepper helped a little but not much.

Service: It's a counter-service cafeteria style place. The line moved very slowly, but this may have been due to indecisive people ahead of us. In fact, check that, that was definitely the reason. When we got up to the counter, the server was pleasant enough and the food in the steam table was hot and reasonably fresh.

Would we go back: Probably. We've had better meals there in the past and it's conveniently located.