Stuck on Philly Cheesesteaks

For some reason, I am stuck on Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches. I don't know why since the sandwich is unhealthy for me. Perhaps, I enjoy bouts of gluttony, but in all honesty, I am driven to find a great Philly Cheesesteak.

I ate at Burgermeister on Sunday and of course ordered a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich. I was curious about their version of the sandwich because I tasted all of the other places around the island and I am still not content with what is available. Call me a masochist.

The first bite of the Philly Cheesesteak was pretty good. My first impression was that the sandwich was better than the sandwich I had at Yo! Philly Cheesesteak. The cheesesteak from Burgermeister had better flavors of beef, onions, grilled peppers and melted cheese. The sandwich was amply filled with meat and vegetables in a regular roll. In terms of price, Burgermeister is more expensive, however, the atmosphere is much more pleasant and you can sit down and enjoy your food.

Recommendations for a satisfying Philly Cheesesteak in Alameda...not the Cheesesteak Shop in Nob Hill, and definitely not McGee's Bar & Grill. I suppose it is a toss-up between Yo! Philly Cheesesteak and Burgermeister.

Have a Ghoulish Night!

Call out to demons and witches for a party tonight. I am certain there will be hundreds of children running around the Gold Coast area trick or treating. Be on the lookout for ghosts and goblins and be careful while driving.

I definitely love Halloween for the dark humor of the festivities. I also enjoy eating pounds of candy, chocolate and sugar and not feel guilty. What a fabulous event.

Have a ghoulish and safe night.

A Steak is just a Steak

When Pappo first opened, it brought an edge to the Alameda restaurant scene. The place was cool, hip and the food was better than other places around town. Now, the place is empty and lacks character. I ate dinner here last week after work. The restaurant was sparse. Not many patrons were dining.


The menu list also lacked luster. There was no spark that would capture one's attention on the food. Even though the dining room is still the same, something is missing. I can't pinpoint what it is, but there is no life in the room. The place now seems like a regular joint and no longer stands out. The bright star that once shined, is now dim. The edge in the food is gone; a steak is just a steak.


The aesthetics of the dining room is great, but the food needs to express itself. The owner needs to come back to the kitchen and bring the magic.

Kamakura...Unexpectedly Busy

I was around town for lunch one day and had a client with me. The client had never been to Alameda before and it was lunch time, so I decided to take him to Kamakura. I didn't think much about it since it was a business day and did not think the restaurant would be busy. I went there for the first time during lunch and the place was packed. I was in total shock. We had to wait for a while and then we were seated. We didn't have a lot of time since we had meetings to attend. We ordered our food and the service was fairly quick. I ordered the Oyaku Donburi and the client ordered the Chicken Teriyaki. My chicken bowl was palatable. The sauce was slightly bland, but I still ploughed through it since I was hungry and had a long day ahead of me.

A second time, I called the restaurant on a Sunday afternoon to see if the place was open. The owner, Faith, answered the phone and she said they were open for business. During the call, I could not hear any noise in the background and thought it would be a good opportunity to bring a group of six people. I came approximately 45 minutes after I initially called. I took my gang with me and again, unexpectedly, the restaurant was completely packed. Ugh! I put my name on the list and the hostess could not tell me how long the wait was. Who would have thought the place would be crowded on a late Sunday afternoon. And with a group of six, tables were not going my way since four other groups were ahead of me. We waited and waited. We could not wait any longer and decided to walk away.

Kamakura may not be affected by the recession. Kudos to them.

Yo! Philly's Cheesesteak Fails to Please

I am a big meat eater. I love beef. I love the taste of beef. When I noticed the new cheesesteak place on Park Street, I became curious. The first time I went over to the restaurant, it was a Sunday. Yo! Philly's Cheesesteak is closed on Sundays. I then looked over the menu and decided to come back another day.

I ordered a Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich with the works which consisted of mushrooms, onions and bell pepper. The bun was a submarine sandwich bun, almost one foot long. The cook grilled the beef after I placed my order. The place is basically a counter and no room to eat the sandwich on the premise. I took my cheesesteak sandwich home and was excited to taste the beef treat. The look of the sandwich looked great, the owner was not skimpy on the amount of beef. There wasn't a lot of grease oozing out of the bun and it looked like it was worth the $7.50 that I paid for it.

I was perplexed on my first bite into the sandwich. I could taste the beef, mushrooms and peppers, but all of the flavors combined was not impressive. There wasn't a strong beef flavor from the meat. I felt that all of the ingredients resulted in a bland product. I also noticed in the sandwich that the mushrooms were canned and not fresh, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but more of an observation. Usually there is a special sauce the meat is grilled with that brings out the flavors, but I am not certain if the cook has a "sauce".

I will say that Yo! Philly Cheesesteak turns out a much better product than other competitors in Alameda. The amount of meat inside the sandwiches far exceed others. In addition, Yo! Philly Cheesesteak is the only place where you can purchase Tastycake products for dessert.

I will check back on this place and report to you later. For right now, I am sticking to my original blog entry on April 24, 2009; there is no decent Philly Cheesesteak in Alameda.

The Fall of Gourmet Magazine

I was saddened and disappointed to read that Gourmet Magazine will stop production and shut operations. Conde Nast who owns Gourmet Magazine claims the reason for the closure was due to weak ad sales. Gourmet was the premiere food magazine where critics were highly honored and respected.

Not only do humans require food as a means of survival, but food is also utilized as a peacekeeper to bridge people of different backgrounds. Food is neutral, non-political and non-denominational.

The Hob Nob

After reading some of the comments on this blog, many people consistently wrote about The Hob Nob. I had gone there a few times for drinks, but never for food when it first opened two years ago. In the few times I had gone there, I was not a huge fan of board games in a dim lit room on a Friday and Saturday night. I then decided to go there for food and see what all the fuss was about.


The restaurant is popular for their brunch menu and light fare food items. The prices on the menu are very reasonable with a good selection of food. The Fish and Chips for $9.00 consisted of three slim pieces of fish and a mountain of french fries. The fish was nicely cooked and the batter was just right of not being too thick. The french fries were tasty and crunchy and not soggy. The malt vinegar for the fish complimented the fish, but the tartar sauce was too sour from an over abundance of lemon.

The Cuban Sandwich is basic and not really satisfying. The sandwich has thin slices of Serrano Ham with pickles and condiments between two slices of egg bread. The sandwich came warm to the table since it was on the grill, but this was not a wow item.

The spicy Chicken Wings were good and the sauce definitely had a kick. The wings were cooked perfectly without biting into red or bloody chicken bones. The sauce was a bit oily, but it gave the wings tons of flavor. The ranch dressing that came with the celery and carrot sticks was too sweet and the viscosity too thin. The dressing had the same problem as with the tartar sauce; the chef is heavy handed with lemon.

The Truffle French Fries were slightly more expensive than their regular fries, but the taste is worth it. The truffle oil on the fries were subtle and the melted Parmesan on top was pure heaven. The fries had a great texture and crunch, which is extremely important for a tasty french fry. The sauce that accompanied the fries had a much stronger flavor of truffles and it complimented the potatoes just perfect.

The space has not changed much when it was called Kelly's. The space was a mixture of modern, pub and country kitsch interiors. The one aspect I did not enjoy in the dining room was the wood chairs with the little cut out hearts. The chairs brought a dowdy feeling to the room.

The Hob Nob is a friendly, neighborhood hangout that serves good food. You don't want to miss out on the fun and comfortable atmosphere.