Bon Chon Chicken

Location: Sunnyvale, CA
Cuisine type: Korean chicken wings/drumsticks/tenders
Atmosphere: casual, cafe style seating
Meal: late lunch
Overall score: 8.1

Nina

Couldn’t think of anything better for a quick weekend (late) lunch than chicken wings. After coming across Bon Chon online, we knew we absolutely had to try it, adding a Korean flair to an American classic sounded like a cool idea. Their restaurant is small, very simply decorated, with plain laminated tables and cafeteria style chairs. More interestingly, their menu was very simple and to the point, with relatively few choices, but a satisfying diversity for this kind of joint. Essentially, there were three types of chicken (wings, drumsticks and tenders) with two types of sauce (mild or hot) and a few different order sizes. Additionally, there were a few classic sides (cole slaw, fries, sweet potato fries) and a couple of Korean inspired ones (kimchi, pickled daikon).
We got both wings and drumsticks, with both types of sauce, and a side of both Korean and classic slaw and finally sweet potato fries. Everything was quite delicious, good flavors, a great amount of spice and the chicken was incredibly tender and juicy. If I had to pick on something, it would be the breading on the chicken which was a tad bit thicker than I would prefer, but the perfect crispiness on it made up for the thickness.
I will definitely keep this place in mind for next time we’re in search for wings, though since the atmosphere doesn’t add much to the experience I would probably just order take-out next time and enjoy the food from home.

Food	8
Drinks	7
Atmosphere	7
Service	8
Value	8

Ben

We stumbled on this place before having heard or read anything about it. I found it simply awesome. They offer only fried chicken (in “small,” “medium,” or “large” portions), which consist of varying numbers of wings and drumsticks. There are two sauces: soy garlic and spicy garlic, which are lightly applied to the breaded and fried chicken. The chicken is simply fantastic - the perfected combination of very juicy but not too greasy. We also got a generous portion of sweet potato fries which were great as well. This is maybe my favorite type of place - very simple menu that does one thing but executes it flawlessly - and after eating there I had to wonder why this model is not more common. The prices are really good: an $11 medium is enough to split between two people, sides are $3-4 and beer is ~$3-5. If you don’t want fried chicken ... don’t go. But if you do … it’s fantastic. The atmosphere is upbeat and relaxed, overall a pleasant place. After we ate there, we googled reviews and were not surprised to find that it seems to have almost a cult following.. a cult which I have now joined.

Food	9
Drinks	8
Atmosphere	8
Service	8
Value	9

Rok Bistro

Location: Downtown Sunnyvale
Cuisine type: fondue restaurant, hot rock cooking, modern American
Atmosphere: intimate, modern decor
Meal: dinner
Overall score: 8.1

Nina

I picked this place for dinner mainly because it was on my way home from work, and because fondue is always a cool type of meal to share with family and friends (and we had Ben’s sister to entertain, so perfect excuse). Their atmosphere is subdued and intimate, with dim lighting and a mix of booth and chair seating. Unlike other fondue type places I’ve been to, the general layout is quite a bit more crowded, with tables less than a foot apart along the walls (I believe there was a bit more privacy in the full booth seating perpendicular to walls, but the entire dining room was one large room).
The difference between getting an entree with cheese fondue and a full meal was small, so we had to go for it - a full spread of salad, cheese fondue of choice, entree served with a sizzling hot rock to cook it on, and finally chocolate fondue, yum! The salad was fairly simple on the surface - baby spinach topped with avocado, carrots, onions tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette and topped with feta crumbles and almond slices. However, the balance they struck was quite amazing, just the right amount of each ingredient, and the dressing was well balanced as well, I would say it was one of the best salads I’ve ever had.
For cheese fondue, we ordered the Classic Swiss since it is, after all, a classic combination - white wine with kirsch, garlic and seasonings, used to melt a mountain of sharp gruyere and fontina cheese. On the side, we were brought the usual spread - different kinds of bread cubes, cauliflower, carrots, broccoli and most deliciously, apple slices. The waitress was also careful to ask us if we wanted extras of anything as we ran out - and I got more apple slices and cauliflower florets.

The entree came with a spectacular presentation, and one I had never seen or experienced before. My plate had mashed potatoes and steamed veggies one one side and the other of a heavy, ultra hot slab of stone. Separately, I got a slice of buffalo (not sure what cut) completely raw, and from that point on it was up to me to cook it as I wished on the rock in front of me. I went for medium rare, since the meat was extremely tender, and it really went well with the au jus which came on the side. I wasn’t super impressed with the steamed veggies which were a little plain, but the mashed potatoes were creamy and delicious.
Last but not least, we got the Chocolate Truffles fondue for dessert. It was really the perfect finishing touch for the meal - dark molten chocolate, with dark caramel mixed in, and sprinkled with pink Himalayan salt for a nice finish. The spread of dipping bits was delightful - cheesecake bites, marshmallows, rice krispies, bananas, strawberries and shortbread. The only one that was a tad bit disappointing was something described as “brownie bites,” which turned out to be nothing more than marshmallows covered in oreo crumbs. As before, the waitress brought us extras as we ate through the initial batch, because of course we needed to sweep up the last drop of chocolate from the bowl. We left Rok Bistro well fed and quite happy with the experience.

Food	9
Drinks	9
Atmosphere	9
Service	9
Value	7

Ben

Rok Bistro is a fondue restaurant in Sunnyvale. The decor and atmosphere are pretty casual, a large and well lit restaurant with a lot of relatively closely packed tables. It has the feel of a family restaurant, but the prices of what I would expect from a more upscale fondue place. Fondue is fondue; fresh vegetables and melted cheese / wine combinations are a reliably tasty course (though the portion was somewhat small for 3 people). The salad was one of the dishes that stood out as particularly good: a fresh and light baby spinach with avocado, feta, onions ,carrots, with feta and almonds.

My main course of prawns & scallops was simple but solid, in that the scallops were large and fresh .. all cooking was controlled by us as they are served raw on a hot stone. The dessert of dark chocolate truffles was definitely a win. There is a decent wine menu with reasonable prices, we ordered a Napa chardonnay, which was a pretty solid pair for the meal as a whole. The service was a combination of overly polite and then somewhat abrupt... but generally pretty good. Overall, the place has solid - but unremarkable - food, with the real draw seeming to be the hot stones on which they are served. The restaurant is not particularly romantic and even a little crowded, which makes the prices a confusing ... particularly as the ingredients weren’t exotic and cooking efforts from the staff seem relatively marginal for most dishes. I guess the repeat demographics may be families on a special night out, or couples desperate for closeby fondue.

Food	8
Drinks	8
Atmosphere	7
Service	8
Value	6

Gamine French Bistrot

Location: Cow Hollow, San Francisco
Cuisine type: traditional French
Atmosphere: casual European style cafe
Meal: brunch
Overall score: 8.4

Nina

Whenever I watch the Bay Area “Check, Please!” show (featuring three area residents talking about their favorite restaurant) I try to make mental notes of what I should try next. Unfortunately, I rarely remember those places long enough to follow through. This time, we happened to find ourselves in San Francisco the very next day after I got really excited about the presentation on this very tempting French establishment called Gamine. I looked up the address, and decided we would go there for brunch, since it came highly recommended.
We almost missed it the first time we walked by - this is a small and subdued place, with a couple of tiny tables outside (for that authentic European cafe feel) and still tiny and crowded tables inside, also quite true to form with French bistros I’ve experienced in Lyon. The atmosphere is light and casual, with very friendly service and an open kitchen space which you can see from the dining room and observe up close from the bar counter seating (no formal bar in the restaurant, though). They serve water in glass carafes with no ice, which just adds just another touch of authenticity.
The meal started, of course, with crunchy crusted French baguette and butter - I often think you can’t really wish for anything better than that, and they didn’t disappoint. The bread was a perfect balance of chewy and fluffy, with a deliciously crunchy crust, and the butter was fresh and just salty enough to bring out the flavors even better.

But enough about bread, let’s talk food. I picked the beef tartare for an appetizer, especially after a particularly good experience with it recently at Arcadia I was looking for more. The dish was good, though I did take one point off the food score for the heavy handedness in their use of seasoning on the meat, particularly Worchestershire sauce. While the meat was delicate and finely chopped, with a luscious creaminess from the quail egg yolk and in pleasant contrast with the crunch of the toast bits, the dressing was overwhelming at times and distracted from the dish.
Since we did make it there for brunch, I decided on a decidedly brunch-worthy dish, the oeufs cocottes with salmon and goat cheese. The concept was brilliant and the flavors were all there, but the seasoning missed the mark a bit (thus, the second point deducted from the food score). basically, I had a poached egg, surrounded by bits of lightly smoked and cooked salmon and spinach, and drowned in a cream sauce with goat cheese. However, the sauce was a bit too salty and as I ate it became almost overbearing, if there were only less of it or less salt in it, it would have been a delightful dish.
What French meal could ever end without coffee and dessert? While Ben ordered a shot of espresso, I picked the chocolate mousse, which did not disappoint. It came in a large sundae glass, and it was more than plenty for the two of us to share. The mousse was rich and creamy and smooth, with an intense chocolate flavor, and it was topped with freshly whipped cream that provided a lightly flavored counterpoint to the chocolate. Fantastic ending to this meal, and definitely left me with a yearning to go back someday.

Food	8
Drinks	8
Atmosphere	9
Service	9
Value	8

Ben

I couldn’t tell how french the service was, but the style, feel, and menu of Gamine was very authentic (not too much california-french fusion here). The french onion soup was perfect; obscenely cheesy, with a great caramelized onion flavor and crunchy little crouton. I will go back, if just for this soup. The tartare was solid, simple and flavorful, a slightly small portion for the price. While I really enjoyed the egg yolk, I found the sauce too acidic and would have preferred it more plain.

One of the best things was simply the baguettes; very fresh, slightly crunchy crust but very soft in the middle... one of the best baguettes I’ve had (stateside or otherwise). I sort of swung and missed with the lamb merguez sausage panini. The side salad was amazing, some magic with a fresh and simple vinaigrette over greens. The merguez were little sausages that were a little dry and awkward in a panini. I guess that’s what I get for ordering a spanish/italian fusion at a french restaurant (one of the few non-classic-french looking things on the menu). Nina’s salmon & chevre poached eggs were very good. Looking around, I am sure I will try the mussels (moules mariniere) next time. For dessert we had a fantastically rich but fluffy chocolate mousse, which went perfectly with the true european espresso I ordered. Overall a very pleasant place, though a bit cozy with many adjacent tables, there is outdoor seating (for when the weather is a little warmer).

Food	9
Drinks	8
Atmosphere	8
Service	9
Value	8

Tayyibaat Meat And Grill

Location: Milpitas, CA
Cuisine type: Afghan, kebab
Atmosphere: ultra-casual, very basic decor
Meal: dinner
Overall score: 7.9

Nina

Not much to describe about this place. It’s a small, bare-bones fast food style place, where they prep their meat fresh in house (and sell some cuts fresh or marinated in the back too). Their menu is made up of two distinct sections - middle eastern style food and classic American, though we only tried stuff off the former.

I ordered the lamb chili, since I always go for lamb when it’s on the menu. It’s essentially ground spiced lamb, molded on a skewer and cooked to juicy perfection. It was served with a side of rice, fresh tomato salad (almost like a pico de gallo), flatbread and yogurt sauce. We also ordered curly fries with the meal (I guess we did try something from the American menu after all :) ), which were a delicious balance of crispy and chewy.
For dessert we shared a piece of baklava, which is a sweet and sticky treat of crispy layered filo dough and and honey nut mixture.
This place is definitely going on the list of affordable and delicious meat based meals, I’m also interested in trying out their burgers next time.

Food	9
Drinks	7
Atmosphere	5
Service	9
Value	10

Ben

A restaurant / butcher shop with a wide array of fresh raw meats and various spiced meat dishes. They offer classic kabobs, rotisserie chicken, and burgers at reasonable prices. We ordered a lamb chili kabob (ground lamb, onions and various peppers / spices) and a chicken tikka kabob (cubed chicken breast with tomato spice blend), with a side of curly fries and a baklava - which was free with a yelp checkin. I find this is one ideal type of restaurant - simple and forward, with quality ingredients (and, of course, I love meat and I love spicy foods...). The lamb dish was fantastic, a generous meaty portion with a lot of flavor and just enough kick. The fries were served with a sort of tzatziki sauce,complementing the spicy food well. The seating area is a bit small - it can feel like a butcher shop first and a restaurant second - but the service is friendly and gives the place an overall cozy hole-in-the-wall feel. If you appreciate good meat and a fair amount of spice, it is definitely a quality bite (and we noticed it is pretty popular for take-out).

Food	9
Drinks	6
Atmosphere	6
Service	8
Value	8