Reviews - Cha Ya, Meekk's, Dasaprakash, Millenium, BayLeaf Cafe, Garden Fresh

[Guest guest]

I would like to contribute my own restaurant reviews. I've recently

moved to this area, and am pleased with the epicurean quality of life

for vegetarians. I've visited far more than just the restaurants

below, but I believe each merits more mention (if for no reason than

that someone else new to the area may quickly learn of some fabulous

restaurants).

 

Some prefatory notes:

1 - I don't distinguish between vegan and vegetarian. I'm a lacto

vegetarian since the age of 5 (by personal choice), and to me,

vegetarian has always meant what others now call vegan, and I believe

that people should add caveats as appropriate. With that in mind,

vegans should have no difficulty with the restaurants below. Most

are primarily vegan.

 

2 - I like to travel and I like to eat. If I say that a restaurant

serves the best X (cuisine) that I've had in Y (geography), it is a

sign of my high regard for that restaurant, not a personal statement

of my travel.

 

3 - I've added notes that I've written to myself (such as the

address) beneath each review. I hope it's useful.

 

Now, the important stuff: food!

 

David

 

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* Cha Ya (Berkeley)

This place is definitely worth the wait. In my experience, it's

the best vegetarian restaurant I've been to in North America, and the

best Japanese food I've had outside of Japan. I recommend many

visits, in order to familiarize yourself with their offerings.

Before visiting it, I had heard a number of things, and would like to

offer comments on these perceptions. (1) " It's a vegetarian sushi

restaurant " -- Incorrect. They serve sushi, but much more. It's

also important to realize sushi isn't raw fish (a misperception

understandably held by Westerners who don't understand the importance

of rice) -- sushi is vinegared rice, and the things add to the rice

can include fish, etc. (2) Vegetarian Japanese food isn't all that

strange. A number of Buddhist temples have restaurants associated

with them, which serve vegetarian food. The best are in Kamakura,

Japan, and the food I had there was beyond description in English or

Japanese.

 

Cha-Ya

510-981-1213

1686 Shattuck

Berkeley, CA

North Berkeley

Downtown Berkeley BART

5pm-9:30pm Tue-Sun

 

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* Dasaprakash (Santa Clara)

This is perhaps the best Indian restaurant I've visited anywhere.

It's South Indian, which is often vegetarian. They do everything

right - quality of the food, the presentation, etc. But, beyond

this, one can see the real care that the owners show for making sure

that the food is exquisite. For those who love spicy foods, I really

recommend the " Andhra Heat " - it's very savory. I've never visited a

better South Indian restaurant in America, though I look forward to

visiting Madras and other places in the future.

 

Dasaprakash - South Indian

408-246-8292

2636 Homestead Rd.

Santa Clara, CA

 

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* Millenium

I had expected that this place would have a very elegant interior

decor, to match its menu prices, but was pleased that it was

relatively casual. That said, the experience was definitely on the

higher end of what I would typically pay for a meal. I took my

brother there, a few days before his summer visit came to an end. We

had appetizers, entrees, desserts, and drinks, and I think the total

was around $70. Since the menu changes seasonally, anything which

isn't written in the very recent past will likely be out of date, but

general characteristics are likely to remain. First, I would say

that this is a place I would go for a dinner with a date or some

special occasion, rather than a night out with buddies. The food is

American or Western, and really shows a great creativity in the

combination of ingredients. I can't think of a better Western

vegetarian restaurant that I've visited in North America (again, I

like to travel, and I like to eat at vegetarian restaurants, so this

statement isn't meant to be pretentious, but to convey my high regard

for this restaurant). I won't disparage (or name) the one at Fort

Mason, but that one doesn't even merit a review. The waittress we

met was very nice and really knowledgeable about food, so we let her

guide us through a very delicious dinner.

 

Millenium - Vegetarian

Work: (415) 487-9800, ext. 0

246 McAllister Street between Hyde and Larkin

 

http://www.millenniumrestaurant.com/

The website has all the important stuff:

 

" We accept dinner reservations seven days a week

(barring any special events) for seating any time between 5 and

9:30pm.

 

Millennium is located at 246 McAllister Street between Hyde and

Larkin, in the charming Abigail hotel. We are centrally located in

San Francisco, within walking distance to The Golden Gate Theater,

The Orpheum Theater, Davies Symphony Hall, The Opera House,

City Hall, and the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. "

 

 

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* BayLeaf Cafe

 

A friend of mine used to work with one of the owners, and it's

through him that I found out about this restaurant. I think this is

a very nice little restaurant, and the prices are reasonable;

actually, the prices are good for the Palo Alto area, I think. I

wish this restaurant a great deal of success, since they are just

starting out and they are really putting their heart into making very

good organic vegetarian food. I think it's great when you can talk

with the owner (and chef) in casual environment, and learn about the

food they've prepared and their decisions in choosing that day's menu

or other aspects of their endeavor. Cindy, the co-owner I've met, is

wonderful, and I was very impressed the other day that she mentioned

they'd made iddly, but the rice hadn't been as good as they wanted,

so they decided not to sell it. That reflects a great attention to

the customer, which I think is missing at many restaurants. If

you're in Palo Alto, give Bay Leaf a visit. The daily special has

been very good (and tempting) so far, and thus I don't have any

comments on the usual menu. The soy cheesecake, if they serve it, is

almost as good as my grandmother's (and there's no other cheesecake

I've had, anywhere, which is as good as grandma's).

 

BayLeaf Cafe - vegan, organic

(650) 321 7466

520 Ramona Street

Palo Alto, CA 94131

Mon-Sat: 11:30am-10pm

Sun: 11:30am-6pm

http://www.thebayleafcafe.com/

 

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* Garden Fresh

 

This is the first vegetarian restaurant I visited since moving out

here. The staff are very friendly, and this place is rather hidden,

in my opinion, so it can make for a nice evening chatting with the

staff about their food. They serve good Chinese vegetarian food, at

very good prices. My brother and I liked the variety, the quality,

and the prices. A couple of times, we would even order additional

food for the next day's lunch. If one is so inclined, there's also a

Baskin-Robbins next door, for ice cream afterward. In any case, I

presume that the reader is familiar with vegetarian Chinese food, so

I won't go into the various offerings, but can say this restaurant is

above average, and seemed to be a good value.

 

 

Garden Fresh

Work: 650-961-7795

Fax: 650-061-1811

1245 W. El Camino Real

Mountain View, CA 94040

Sun - Thurs: 11am - 9:30pm

Fri & Sat: 11am - 10pm

 

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* Meekk's Kitchen

 

Unfortunately, I have to say Meekk's was a disappointment. Their

food is fine, their presentation is fine, but they come up short in a

few areas which hurt their business. I think these shortcomings can

be overlooked and one can enjoy a good meal, but it's important to

know the shortcomings for the community's benefit and for Meekk's own

improvement. First, I should give some background (as I understand

it):

I am told that Meekk's started as a kitchen in a Jewish cultural

center in the Silicon Valley area. I've not found a reference to

this, but suppose it to be true. That said, they have been in

business for only a few months, and it seems they're still getting

the hang of it. They serve (kosher) vegetarian food. A number of

the terms may be familiar to many readers, such as " Parve "

and " Cholov Yisroel " -- these relate to food being Kosher. It was

rather confusing at first to see vegetarian sushi with " Parve " next

to it in parentheses. Although not Jewish, I wondered what the heck

was going on with this sushi. :-) A Jewish friend suggested that

maybe Meekk's doesn't describe these terms because they don't want to

scare off people who might think Kosher food isn't for them. That's

possible, but I think it might be written up to a certain lack of

experience which seems to show up in a lot of aspects of their

business.

Okay, the review: The food is good. The menu changes weekly, so

visit their site for the latest info. When I visited, they only

served a buffet at lunch, and one could choose a buffet or a la carte

at dinner. The buffet price was all inclusive - appetizer, drinks,

buffet, dessert, etc. On the one hand, that's great, on the other,

it means that regardless of whether or not you want a drink (or just

water), or want to skip dessert, you still have to pay the whole

price. The first time I went, we thought the price (I believe $16)

was just too much for lunch, so we skipped it. But, I wasn't going

to give up on trying it, so I visited a few days later, with another

friend. The food was good, but it wasn't worth $16, especially since

we weren't interested in a big lunch. The price isn't competitive,

basically. While we were there, we saw at least 3 or 4 different

groups of people come in, inquire, learn the price, and then decide

it was too much. That's unfortunate. My recommendation: they should

do as many places do, and charge separately for the drinks and the

dessert. For a light lunch, these aren't necessary, and it could

bring their price down to $12 for a lunch buffet, which is still

high, but more accessible than a price which is 33% more.

Other things: it's not easy to find Meekk's. When I visited, I

didn't see that the building number was visible from the road, and

the sign outside indicated the name of what I believe was the

previous tenant. Even on their own front door, the sign indicating

that it was Meekk's was very small. Fortunately, they did have

business cards, which helps when recommending a restaurant to friends.

I would like to try Meekk's again during dinner, and will likely

visit this week. I'm hopeful for a better experience, and would like

to encourage the management to improve the experience.

 

 

Meekk's Kitchen

http://www.meekkskitchen.com/

 

3750 Fabian Way, Palo Alto

You can order by phone: 650-424-3900, fax: 650-424-3903

or email:

orders

 

Restaurant Hours

Sunday 10am - 2pm 5pm - 9pm

Monday - Thursday 11:30am - 2pm 5pm - 9pm

Friday 11:30am - 4:00pm

Saturday 7pm - 9pm (?)

 

Store Hours

Sunday - Thursday 8:30am - 9pm

Friday 8:30am - 5pm

Saturday Closed (?)