World-class Japanese food. The softest, sexiest, tenderest teriyaki chicken you could pray for. The Sassy Connoisseur has not visited a better Japanese restaurant in the entire Bay Area, and trust me I've visited a few. The sushi is impeccable and more reasonably priced than in most other restaurants. This is a win-win establishment.
Between forty dollars and fifty dollars for two with tip and limited alcohol and sushi consumption.
43486 Ellsworth, Fremont, California, 94539
Tel: 1.510.656.4255
The good news is that this is a strictly vegetarian restaurant with wonderfully interesting fare. The bad news however is that this establishment sits in my "screaming bowels" category. While the food is savory, the next time you use the restroom . . . well, you get the picture. I ordered one of their South Indian Combos, and rather enjoyed it. I'm not sure how well their cusine will sit with stomachs that are not entirely geared up for that fare, but this is a good place to escape from the ever-present burger.
More than ten dollars for lunch with tip for one.
165 E. El Camino Real, Mountain View, California, 94040
Tel: 1.650.965.1111
Oh for the Italian in cooking. You'll get some of it here at Fellini O. This restaurant was surprisingly difficult to find. We'd heard (Blondette and myself) that there was a mystery Italian restaurant in Fremont somewhere. Well, it took some block circling in our car, and some web snooping, but we finally found it. The wait was pretty well worth it, and while this restaurant was not a perfect 10, it was a nice meal, in a clean restaurant. I could have done without the Spanish radio noise coming from the kitchen, but those are small potatoes.
After we sat, we started off with a couple of glasses of their house merlot, which was a nice glass of wine. Next, the bread and some olive oil, garlic, and pepper bread dipping sauce arrived. The bread was nice and hot, and was cut all the way through, which is a nice touch, since you don't have to sit at the table tearing bread like a savage.
Our appetizer was mozzarella on tomato with basil leaves and olive oil. I believe the name was Caprese. It was fresh and tasty and very nice. Salad was fruity combo, that was too big for one, but could be split by two easily. The salad was excellent. Following, I had a stuffed chicken. It was served piping hot, had a nice side arrangement of carrots and broccoli and potatoes. Altogether, this was an excellent meal. This is a good find for an Italian restaurant in the Newark area. The service was excellent, the place clean, and the food good.
Three glasses of house merlot, an appetizer, two salads, and two entrees netted us about seventy shells without tip. You do the math.
3900 New Park Mall Road, Newark, California, 94560
Fellini O, while a tasteful restaurant, is a bit hidden in plain sight. It sits across from Newpark Mall (to the west) in a nice three or four story office building that is next to McDonalds.
Tel: 1.510.7950943.1111
I tried A.P. Stump's on a Sunday night when they serve their "Prix Fixe." This is a special three course meal, with your choice of soup or salad, entree, and desert. They had one soup or one salad to choose from, two entrees, and two deserts. I had their barley and pork soup, beef stroganoff, and something very chocolate. The service was excellent, the soup very good, the entree was nice with a sour tang, and desert was fine. This was a good meal if not great. The atmosphere is upscale, but a little too noisy for the Sassy Connoisseur's delicate ears. A good meal, a little pricey, but worth the visit.
The "Prix Fixe" three-course meal on Sundays caught me for about eighty dollars for two, tip included, with two cheapish glasses of red wine and a bottle of carbonated water on the table.
163 West Santa Clara, San Jose, California, 95113
Tel: 1.408.292.9928