Aqui

5679 Snell Ave

San Jose, CA

95123

Phone: (408) 362-3456

We stopped by Aqui after picking attending my first parent teacher conference for my son's preschool. I've always seen the signs and was curious to try out "cal-mex" as they called it.

Inside you'll find a more southwestern decor. It is more of a self serve restaurant. If you ever been to Sonoma Chicken Coup, they you'll know what to do. You order you dish and then wait till your order is called or buzzed (with the pager they give you).

On the menu you'll find the typical Mexican dishes but with a bit of California fusion flare. For example, I had the teriyaki beef burrito. You'll find a couple of other twist to other dishes. There are daily specials, and you should be aware of them.

I ordered the guacamole with chips as an appetizer. It was somewhat bland. It tasted fresh, and the chips had a nice crisp. The guacamole was creamy enough. But somehow it just came off flat. In fact, you'll see this as a repeating pattern.

My wife ordered some chicken tacos. It wasn't bad. She said it tasted fresh, yet once again the dish came out a bit bland.

I ordered the teriyaki beef burrito. It came with an accompanying cole slaw and chips. I like the fact that there was a salsa bar with different types of salsa for the chips you get. The cole slaw as crisp and fresh, though it did lack any distinctive flavor. The burrito was fresh. The meat inside was sweet and there was plenty of rice. However if you were to bite into the burrito all the flavors seemed to just wash each other out, and you lose any kind of dominant flavor.

Final Thoughts: Everything tasted fresh, but they need to work on their seasoning.

Food: 2 1/2 stars

Service: NA

Price: Average

Overall: 2 1/2 stars

Applebee's 2 for 20.

Applebee's is currently offering 2 for 20 bucks special for those that missed the Chili's 2 for 20 special. You get 1 appetizer which is a standard size and 2 entrees. The selection menu for the special is a bit limited. It is no where near as good as the Chili's special. In fact the Chili's special even threw in a full size desert. Applebee's special is okay, but after looking over the menu we selected 1/2 rack of ribs each, and so spinach dip. The food was okay, on par with Chili's. I wish the menu for the special had a greater selection. These 2 for 20 specials is quite popular. There was a bit of wait before we were seated. Overall, the special at Applebee's will save you a few bucks. Too bad the 2 for 20 at Chili's is over.

Sweet Passions Cupcakes vs. Kara's Cupcakes

Cupcakes by Sweet Passions Bakery

@ Valley Fair Mall

2855 Stevens Creek Blvd

San Jose, CA 95050

vs

Kara's Cupcakes

3055 Olin Avenue, Suite 1010
San Jose, California 95128
P 408 260-2222
F 408 260-2227

Since I just tried Kara's Cupcakes, I think I would match it up against Sweet Passions' Cupcakes.

We'll judge both on the following criterias: Presentation, Taste, Selection, Value.

Presentation: I say it is a tie. Both cupcakes looks appealing and quite appetizing. Kara's cupcakes are smaller and look cuter, but Sweet Passions' cupcakes larger form appeals to some. I think Kara's looks a bit more professional, but my wife prefers the look of Sweet Passions. Therefore this one is a wash.

Taste: Both my wife and I agree, that for taste we had to judge similar cupcakes. Both have a lemon type of cupcake, we'll judge base on that. Both cupcakes has a fruity filling in the middle and both has a sweet frosting on top. The frosting on Kara's is more sweet, but I find I like the semi sweet frosting of Sweet Passions better. The cake in Kara's was a bit more dry, and both my wife and I love the moistness Sweet Passions. The filling was a bit better in Kara, it tasted like a lemon curd, with a decent sour punch. However, overall, I would have to give it to Sweet Passions due to moistness and not so sweet frosting.

Selection: Right now sweet Passions has about 4 to 5 types of cupcakes, but Kara's has well over 10. Kara also changes their selection regularly. There is something for everyone at Kara's and I'm told some of their seasonal cupcakes are pretty good. Perhaps, this category will be more of a contest once sweet passions expand their selection. This category is easily won by Kara's.

Value: Both cupcakes are around 3 and a half dollars. However, Kara's Cupcakes are significantly smaller than Sweet Passions. Infact, I would say that Sweet Passions are almost twice the size. Therefore you get more bang for your buck at Sweet Passions.

Winner: Sweet Passions. By winning 2 out of the four categories, I had to give it to Sweet Passions. Perhaps, I'll visit this contest again in the future, since I love cupcakes.

Roux Louisiana Kitchen

Roux Louisiana Kitchen

3055 Olin Avenue

San Jose, CA 95128

408-249-8000

My wife and I decided to hit trendy Santana Row for another night out. We decided to try Roux Louisiana Kitchen for dinner. Upon entering, the restaurant, you'll see a bright color interior with fanciful decorations. Think of the old french quarter in New Orleans, and you'll get an idea. We were seated quickly, there was not a crowd when we went.

After glancing at the menu, we decided upon the crab cakes, Hush Puppies, Filet Mignon, and blackened catfish. We weren't really going to have two appetizers, but upon seeing everyone else ordering the Hush Puppies, my wife had to try it.

The crab cakes were okay, it was a pretty solid, but it had quite a bit of filler. There was a strong taste of bay seasoning, which drowned out the crab flavor. The salad that accompanied it was decent. It tasted fresh and had a nice vinaigrette that had a decent amount of acidity

The Hush Puppies was a okay, but I didn't see why everyone was ordering it. It had a nice taste, but was a bit on the dense side. The accompanied tartar sauce, I thought did not match well with the Puppies. It really need a sauce more on the sweeter side.

The corn bread that was provided was really good. It was sweet, soft and moist. They also served it with a sweet butter spread. A nice touch since the sweetness of the butter stands up well to the sweetness of the corn bread.

The Filet Mignon was served with demi-glace and fried oysters. The fried oysters was pretty good. It added a nice change of texture to the dish. The steak itself was good, I ordered my medium well, since I knew it was gonna to be served with the sauce. The sauce itself was okay, but it lack the strong flavorful punch I was looking for. Other than that the dish overall was good.

My wife's blackened catfish was pretty good. It was well seasoned and had a nice robust flavor. If you never had blackened food before, think of it as a spicy rub. The spice turns to a rich dark color upon cooking, and does not mean your dish is burnt or over cooked.

The fish itself was soft and moist, and the accompanying potatoes matched well with it.

Service was decent. We were checked up upon frequently and had our drinks refilled often. We only had to track down our server a couple of times. There wasn't much of a crowd at the time, so this was to be expected.

Final Thoughts: A nice place to grab some southern cuisine

Food: 3 1/2 Stars

Service: 3 1/2 stars

Price: High

Overall : 3 1/2 stars

The Art of TakeOut.

A relative brought home some take out the other night. It was some grilled meat with some rice.

By the time we got to eat it, the meat and rice were dried out. No amount of sauce was gonna bring back those dishes to life. So this got me thinking. What would constitute a good takeout dish. You have to take certain things into consideration.

1) Time. You have to go get it, bring it home, and plus you may not eat it right away. So will the dish be cold or hot. Do you need to reheat it? How much time is actually pretty essential. Say a salad not eaten right away will be mushy and stale. Sauces will become dried out. Meat will dry out. I suggest you get dishes that will not be affected by time that much. Stews for example can be easily reheated and be just as good. Some noodle dishes that is already soaked with sauces can stand up to time. Just don't get crunchy noodles, they will always fail.

2) Moisture. Pipping hot dishes will give out lots of steam. When trapped in a confine space like take out boxes, this will causes the dish to become soggy. You can alleviate this problem by ensuring that proper ventilation, in the packaging. However, be careful, too much ventilation will dry out the dish and makes it cold faster.

3) Temperature. What if you do not have the time to reheat or can not reheat at where you are at. Will that affected the dish? Some dish taste terrible cold, for example most fish dishes taste fishy after time. If you are getting a salad, you just have to worry about soggy vegetables. Keep the salad dressing separate can take care of that problem.

4) Reheating. Will the dish stand up to reheating? Some dishes cannot be reheated. I've tried some that make the sauce separate and was quite unappealing.

Then you may ask, what examples are there for a good takeout dish?

Well, I'll give you two. The first is Chili's ribs. They are not temperature sensitive, but when you reheat just don't reheat too long, that will dry time out. They are usually quite moist so you don't have to worry about moisture.

The second dish is what I consider an artful takeout. Lobster Noodles from the New Sam Kee Restaurant by my house. Most of their Chinese dishes is okay, but they have a Lobster Noodle dish that is perfect for take out. When you get it it is wrap in saran wrap to retain the moisture. This always retains the heat as well. Now, the noodle is given time to actually soak up that great sauce. So in a way the dish actually taste better than it would be at the restaurant. They give you plenty of lobsters and it is quite filling for a single person. I usually have to share this with my wife. It isn't cheap, but we not talking about simple chow mien here are we?

So just take some of these points as consideration and you'll have some decent takeout, and not that cold dried out mess you are use to.

Left Bank

Left Bank

377 Santana Row # 1100
San Jose, CA 95128-2058
(408) 984-3500

I've been to Left Bank on multiple occasions. I must admit it is a hit or miss with me on this restaurant. Sometimes I'm blown away and other times, I'm left disappointed.

After a hard days work, my wife and I decided to unwind at Santana Row. After walking among the plethora of restaurants, we decided to go with Left Bank.

The place was packed, but we were seated right away. After skimming over the menu we decided to start with the Ahi Tuna tartar. My wife would have the steak and fries and I had the duck served two ways.

Our server quickly took our order and brought over some bread. They actually brought over two batches. The first batch was room temperature and we quickly devoured it since we were so hungry. The second batch was better, it was still hot, like it just left the oven. The butter was okay, but it was a bit hard, which made for spreading a bit difficult.

Our Ahi Tuna was brought pretty quickly. It appeared nice, but it was quite bland. There was little to no seasoning. We were a bit disappointed. Perhaps they thought the small amount of olive oil would provide the flavoring. The tuna itself was okay, but it lack the fatty buttery taste of a good tuna. The micro salad was okay, it had a bit of a peppery kick to it.

My wife's steak was okay, though it was a bit small. The meat was tender, but once again was a bit bland. The fries was decent. If you ever had McDonald's french fries, this was similar. This is not to knock that the fries were bad. In fact a freshly made McDonald's french fries are some of the best. My wife remarked that I had made better steaks at home. After taking a few bites from her dish, I tended to agree. The side carrots were decent, they were both soft and sweet.

My duck was better. The leg was served confit style, while the breast was roasted. There was a sweet apricot salad in the middle. I often like fresh fruit with the main dish, it makes the whole dish more fresh and appealing. The duck itself tasted okay, but it lack that signature bold flavor that would have put it over the top. The dish felt almost there, but seem to lack that one thing or ingredient.

Service on the whole was good. We were catered upon and had our drinks refilled without asking. Even though the place was busy, we never felt neglected.

Final Thoughts: It was a miss this time.

Food: 3 stars

Service: 4 stars

Price: Above Average

Overall: 3 1/2 stars

Chili's 2 for 20 bucks

This is more of a public service announcement than anything else, we'll do a full review of Chili's another time

Right now Chili is offering a really good deal.

There is a select menu where you can get an appetizer, two entrees, and a dessert for 20 dollars.

That is a pretty good deal. The portions are decent with only a slight cut back from the regular menu, but hardly noticeable.

I suggest you take advantage of it while the deal last.

I already been there twice since they started and still think it's a great deal.