Miyako Japanese Restaurant - Hollister, Ca

I am officially stuffed. I feel full from many Holiday dinners, snacks and party beverages. At work we celebrated for probably a month straight from Thanksgiving on in to Christmas. There were too many goodies floating around the office and then those goodies ended up into my stomach. For dinner tonight I did not want Mexican food for once, I wanted sushi! Tonight I wanted something maybe a smidge lighter than my normal fare. So I went to the San Felipe Business Park and walked into Miyako Japanese Restaurant.




Miyako's is a lovely little spot. They recently upgraded the space and added a tiki type bar setting, a different paint color for every wall and fancy flat screen televisions. It usually is busy at this time but, I guessing that since it was a Tuesday evening it was probably just a off day.




I started off my Japanese meal with something a little odd. It sounds gross but I have kind of grown to love the Quail Egg Shooter. The shooters come in your average double shot glass and consist of a raw quail egg, a little tabasco, some massago fish roe, a sprinkling of green onions, a dash of sesame seeds, sesame oil and a shake of sake. Obviously there are a lot of variations, but it's always something gooey and salty in a shot glass. It kind of tasted like breakfast in a glass. It is definitely an acquired taste. Miso soup was also brought to the table. Miso soup is Miso soup to me - dashi, tofu, seaweed and green onion.





First up is Maguro, the Japanese term for bluefin tuna, perhaps the best known and most commonly eaten fish in all of sushi dining. It tastes rich and is tender as can be. If you would like to try "raw" sushi - this is a good option for beginners. Which I may be considered as well! Next up is two pieces of cooked Unagi, which is eel. It is very nutritious and contains 100 times more vitamin A than other fish. Also ordered the BMW Roll - a special roll with shrimp tempura, tuna, cucumber drizzled with sweet unagi sauce and a creamy concoction based with mayonnaise. That is one of my favorites as well. The last roll pictured is what I ordered - the Lion King Roll. It is a very impressive roll indeed. Perfectly cooked Salmon, creamy mayo sauce heated over a roll filled with crab, avocado and cucumber with a topping of massago - smelt roe. Delicious! This roll is a meal in itself and the price reflects that - $15 but well worth it!

I have been meaning to review Miyako's for quite some time now. I have been so consumed in my Mexican food addiction I have kind of neglected the rest of the cuisines that are out there! The owner's of Miyako's are extremely friendly, hard working people. They aim to please every time. I recommend this restaurant to sushi beginners or to those of advanced status. I believe it is one of the best options in the Hollister Restaurant scene. 1.75 thumbs up for a fantastic selection of fresh seafood, creative rolls for the less adventurous and a great attitude to their employees and customers.

-MD

Firehouse Brewery - East Palo Alto, Ca

Sunday afternoon Jennifer, James and I set out for the San Fransisco Airport. James needed a ride to begin his month long vacation to New Zealand. The lucky bum will spend 30 days of exploring the countryside with no plans or early wake up calls. I am truly envious. Anyhow, we all needed a bite to eat so we saw a little sign passing IKEA off the 101 and pulled on in...





We sat down in the far corner of the restaurant and seemed to get the attention of the waiter fairly quickly. We let him know we had to be at the airport and needed speedy service. We browsed over the menu and were brought out bread and spread. The spread seemed to be a sun dried tomato, olive oil, lemon puree. It was awkward tasting at first but grew on me. Almost addicting. The menu was very eclectic - ranging from Pan Roasted Mussels to Media Noche - a Cuban roasted pulled pork, smoked ham, swiss cheese and spicy mustard sandwich.





The three of us decided we needed a appetizer to share so we chose the Calamari. The batter could have stayed in the quick fryer a little longer, it needed to be crispier. But, I am not going to lie - anything fried tastes delicious so it was not so bad. The tarter sauce had a touch of capers so I enjoyed that with the cocktail sauce finishing a close second. James ordered the Flat Iron Steak Salad - the wonderfully rare steak shared a plate with red onion, tomato and mixed greens. The balsamic vinaigrette was a nice tangy balance to the meal. Jennifer ordered the Fish Tacos and was slightly underwhelmed. The grilled mahi mahi, chipotle aioli, cabbage and pico de gallo did not have that wow factor. Meh. And last but not least, I ordered a cup of the Five Alarm Chili. I enjoyed this very much. The emphasis of this chili was on the meat! There were black beans and other veggies in it but the ground beef was the star. I defientely felt the heat, it snuck up on me though... slow burn. Ring the alarm!

All in all, I was pleased. The food was not the best but it was pretty decent. I mean we were at a brewery after all. The waiter gave us a 25% discount because we had a slight wait, it was not a big deal. That was nice of him. The restaurant seems like a cool place to go and watch sports because of all the flat screen televisions strewn about. I give this place 1.5 thumbs up for being a grown up sports bar. I would return.


We dropped James off with plenty of time for him to check in and go through security. I hope he has a safe, fun filled trip. Bon Voyage!

Hey Sam!

Before reading this post please read Fuzia - Morgan Hill, Ca

I got a comment from a person named, "Sam" - Sam has no blogger profile so I am not sure who Sam actually is, but I have an idea. Read the comment:

"Mellisa:
I very much believe the saying -(those who cant bitch) You uneducated restauranteure... In the circle of food and beverage perfessionals (both management and owners) we smile and appreciate when a hostess, cook or even a patron goes out of there way to correct an employee..If it is a critique you are looking for, here it goes-Trying to pass yourself off as a half ass food critque takes a bit more knowgledge of running a restaurant and a few less pics that make you look like a craigs list hooker

Sam
And yes I have owned a restaurant in the past & having people like you walk in and try to speak about something they know nothing about is a joke..."

Now it is my turn....

Sam,

I thank you for your comment but I am not sure you read the review I did of "Fuzia -Morgan Hill, Ca" correctly. I enjoyed Fuzia very much, the food was delicious and the setting was beautiful. Which leads me to believe you are the hostess, or a friend of the hostess, at Fuzia - the one part of the restaurant I had a problem with that day. You are right I have no idea what it takes to run a restaurant, I never claimed to be an "educated restaurateur" either. I have this blog because it is fun! I enjoying posting pictures and writing about my experience that day. I don't mind someone correcting an employee, but to be rude and talk down to someone in front of paying customers is wrong. Plain and simple, I don't care what line of business you are in. I may be a half ass food critique indeed, but I go to the restaurant, tip well and then give the restaurant some advertisement as well. That is really not something you should discourage in your line of work. Especially with the economy we are in today, the first thing people will stop doing is going out to eat. All in all, I know what I like and know what I don't like so I am going to keep on keeping on! Good luck to you Sam!

-MGT

Victoria's - Gilroy, Ca

I have joined the wonderful world of Yelp. Yelp is a user based review website, that just so happens to review restaurants! Yahooooo... I read online that Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive- In's and Dives - An All-American Road Trip" book was out. So I just HAD to go to Gilroy to purchase it. "Diners Drive-In's Dives" is my guilty Food Network pleasure. I yelped a Mexican food restaurant in Gilroy and was intrigued with "Victoria's" so I wandered north to 757 1st Street in Gilroy.


As we walked up we couldn't help but notice how packed it was. Almost all the tables were full and everyone seemed like they knew each other! That was pretty cool. Drink order was taken, salsa and chips were brought to the table. The salsa was pretty spicy! I liked that, it made me keep on eating it! There could have been a little bit lemon added to the salsa. The Margarita was a bad idea. It was wine based. Blech... Headache city.





I ordered the Cheese Enchilada with EXTRA green sauce. I was in love. I was happy that they actually listened and put EXTRA sauce on my plate. Most places I ask to do this seem to have a hard time with it, I don't know why. I do have a pet peeve with Mexican food restaurants who put that little, lame salads on the plate. Does anyone ever eat that little, pathetic salad of chopped iceberg and tomato? I mean really... Anyhow, I give this dish the MGT approval. Also ordered was the Carne Asada Soft Taco with rice and beans. He enjoyed it, saying that the meat was very flavorful.

Overall, I give this restaurant 1.5 thumbs up. I would have given it 1.75 but the service was pretty bad. There were two waitresses and they were concentrating on socializing with the customers than actually doing their jobs. I understand that some schmoozing is a good thing but, come on! Do your job. There were tons of people coming in and out picking up To-Go orders and that also seemed to sucking up their time. That needs to improve, just my humble opinion.

-MD

Christmas Day

After presents were opened my Mom's side of the family came over. More family, and of course, more food! Appetizers were served: the same Artichoke Dip, Stuffed Mushrooms, Antipasto type platter of Salami,Cheese, Olives and my Nanny's favorite - Caviar and Cream Cheese. One of the main courses was cooked by my cousin Charles - a Goose! We also had Prime Rib, Zucchini Custard Bake, Asparagus, Oven Roasted Potatoes. For dessert a homemade Mince Meat pie and ice cream cake (from Baskin Robbins - easy way out). Everything was delicious. Kudos to my mother for always doing such a fantastic job.

The family enjoying appetizers.

Mom working on the Zucchini Custard Bake

Cousin Charles tending to the Goose.

Asparagus!

Well done Stuffed Mushrooms... oops!

Me, Cousin Rebecca, Jennifer.

Mom basting the potatoes with Prime Rib juice.

Still tending to the goose...

Rebecca :)

Uncle Charlie trying out my Mom's new calf massager.

La Crema Chardonnay and Martenelli's Apple Cider - my creation.

Nanny and Papa.

Patrick and James, my brother.

Jennifer in boots.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was spent with my father's side of the family and a few friends. We had two appetizer's that were quite tasty... Crab Dip and Artichoke Dip - Artichoke was my favorite. It is always served so hot and I burn myself eating it every time... you would think I would learn! Salad was served dressed with a tangy vinaigrette, topped with avocado and beets. The meal was a Chicken Cordon Bleu, Rice Pilaf, Gravy, Vegetable Bake and Strawberry-Jello-Pretzel creation. For dessert Banana Bread Pudding was served with whipped cream. Oh,and Mojito's! Too full...

Swag my mom made for the tables.

Cooking Chicken Cordon Bleu.

Jennifer modeling the beaded silverware she made.

Now it is my turn ;)

We use Tanimura & Antle for all our produce needs. You should too.

We had a professional bartender on hand to make mojito's!

My cousins: Drew and Todd.

Crab and Artichoke dips. Yum.

My mom and yours truly...

Salad.

Dinner is served!

The crew.

Banana Bread Pudding