Sushi Boat

Location: San Jose, CA
Cuisine type: Sushi Boats bar
Atmosphere: sushi bar or table option, smooth music, traditional decor
Meal: dinner
Price range: ~$3 - $6 / sushi plate
Overall grade: 7.25

Nina

The fact that I don’t remember too much of what I ate here speaks to two different things - one, that it’s been quite a while since I ate here and I really should be more diligent about keeping up with the blog; two, the food here has not been too memorable. Of course, that means not only that I was not particularly blown away by their selection, but also that there I didn’t encounter anything particularly bad - that would stick with me for much longer.
In broad terms, this place is a somewhat typical mall restaurant - accessible, quick, and with just enough unique atmosphere to make you forget you’ve already spent half the day on your feet, hopping from store to store for a dress you’re only going to wear one. But I digress. We chose the serving style that’s near and dear to my heart - the sushi boats - where fishy yumminess passes slowly in front of your eyes on little boats chained together, while you pick and choose which plates will leave the boats and join the growing stack on your part of the counter. I like this not only for the large variety of choices (at the better places, which I would say this one qualifies as) and the option to ask for customized plates from the sushi chef directly, but also for the bite-sized portions on each plate which allow you to try much more things than if you had to settle for a couple off-the-menu rolls or even a “chef’s choice” variety platter.
Aside from the usual variations on the overdone California roll, this place did have a few unique offerings. One example would be the baked stuffed shrimp covered in a creamy sauce, or the roe nigiris with their fishy yet delicate oily mouth feel. The thing that probably stuck with me most was the dessert, which I was not able to find in most other restaurants of this type. On the boats they also had these thin slices of green tea cheesecake, which I had on my mind from the moment I sat down until the satisfying moment when I decided I had eaten enough fish and wanted to dig into a mildly sweet and unique dessert.

Food 7
Drinks 6
Atmosphere 7
Service 8
Value 6

Ben
A nice place for a restaurant in a mall (Valley Fair in San Jose). We went with the sushi boats during prime dinner time. The cuts were pretty fresh and pretty generous portions. They had nice cuts of all of the classics nigiri (including sea urchin, a gooey delicious favorite) and a good amount of creative rolls as well. We enjoyed that the counter was high, so it was easy to see the behind the running boats chefs, cutting sashimi pieces off a large salmon. It was a lively atmosphere of people coming in and out, and the running boats are conducive to quick snacks between shopping or full meals. Overall most of the dishes we tried were very good, the green tea cheesecake was probably the only real disappointment (firm and bland, not as good as it looked..).

Food 8
Drinks 7
Atmosphere 7
Service 9
Value 7

Amarin Thai

Location: Mountain View, CA
Cuisine type: Thai
Atmosphere: authentic decor, lively
Meal: late dinner
Price range: $9 - $15 / entree
Overall grade: 7.3

Ben

It is a difficult decision choosing a restaurant when on Castro Street in Mountain View, but this place looked lively and I was in the mood for Thai, so we tried it out. We started out with a curry shrimp soup served in a fresh coconut shell - what could be more Thai than that? I generally do love these flavors, but I found this dish fantastic. Combining the taste of the creamy soup and shrimp with fresh coconut scraped from the walls is a delicious way to start a meal.. I recommend it (you pay a slight premium for the coconut but I think it's definitely worth the flavor and experience). I ordered a green curry and went with the highest spiciness level - which I was very satisfied with. The dish was rich with flavor and the chicken and vegetables were very well cooked, I really enjoyed it. Our fried mango ice cream dessert was a perfect ending to the meal. The drink selection was decent, a few beers but better wine selection. The atmosphere is lively, chatty, and busy, in a pleasant way. Our only problem was the service was incredibly slow and inconsistent. We had to wait about 30 minutes from when we were finished with our food to wave someone down to order a dessert, then had to chase someone else down 15 minutes later to get the bill. We ended up taking the bill to the register and paying there so we wouldn't have to chase anyone else down to move on with our night. We generally didn't see the same service people twice and they seemed severely understaffed or just slow. The overall food experience was great, but was severely marred by the atrocious service (we were so surprised we looked at other reviews, and found this is a common experience). 

Food         9

Drinks        7
Atmosphere 8
Service       3
Value         7

Nina

Friday night is a good opportunity to take a break from coking dinner at home and try out something new. Going to Castro in Mountain View is an easy decision because of all the amazing choices it hosts within a couple of blocks. Choosing a restaurant, however, is the farthest thing from easy - so many choices! After walking up and down the street a few times, we stopped at Amarin, the first Thai place we've tried in a long time. The restaurant was very busy, with small tables close together and very few open seats.  The food was great, but unfortunately the service suffers from a staff shortage - or at the very least low level of efficiency in service.


It took a while for us to place our order, it seemed like they were quite a bit short on servers for how many customers they had for dinner. I ordered a Castro Cosmo, which was a classic cocktail with an exotic twist - lychee juice. The appetizer was also exotic in flavor, and even more so in its presentation - coconut curry prawn soup in a young coconut. The seafood was tender and perfectly cooked, the broth was mild a creamy, and the mushrooms, corn and young coconut pulp were perfect complements to complete the dish.


My entree was also something I had never tried before - whole soft shell crab, deep fried in panko bread crumbs and served on a bed of lettuce with a cucumber hoisin salad and crumbled peanuts on the side. The breading on the crab was just a tad too greasy, but otherwise the inside was tender and juicy, overall a positive first experience with this type of dish.


To finish such an interesting meal, we just had to order a unique dessert - the fried mango ice cream. The breading was similar to that of the soft shell crab, almost too similar, but the creamy ice-cream inside was delicious.

Food         8

Drinks        9
Atmosphere 8
Service       5
Value         7