42174 Tue Dec 20 02:52:42 -0800 2005 4 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 204419 I'll be driving through Menlo Park tomorrow and Back A Yard looks like the place to eat. A couple of questions: How packed should I expect it to be on a Tuesday night around 6 or 6:30? Will I be able to get a table or will I have to get things to go? Any spots around the area that would be good to bring food? How is parking? How long can I expect dinner to take? Thanks in advance. Tue Dec 20 02:52:42 -0800 2005 0 Morton the Mousse 1 204528 I don't expect it to be packed in the evening -- most orders seem to be to go. I wouldn't bring the food to any nearby spots since it will be dark at that time and the neighborhood doesn't sport a lot of evening- friendly picnic areas. Parking's not bad -- drive up the "frontage" road in front of the restaurant and you're sure to find street parking within a 100 yards of the restaurant. You should be able to order, eat, and be done in 1/2 hour tops. The food takes a little while to be plated or prepared depending on what you order, but I've never had an interminable wait. Tue Dec 20 17:50:03 -0800 2005 204419 0 Peter Yee 2 204531 Thanks, Peter! Now I just have to pray that the rain wont slow traffic to a crawl; I have 2 hours to make it from Berkeley to Menlo Park. Easy parking and a half hour meal will make the evening that much easier. Tue Dec 20 17:57:04 -0800 2005 204528 0 Morton the Mousse 3 204578 I tried to get there by 6:30pm today to do a week in advance trial for you, but got hung up at the office and didn't slide in until 7:30pm. One customer was coming out with a bag of take-out and there was no one seated. I now count 10 chairs. (G) My to-go order was ready in less than 10 minutes, and I didn't call it in ahead of time. Today's special was Caribbean pot roast. It was made with a NY steak. Kinda of a waste of a steak, even when cooked about medium, it was coarse and dryish except for the fatty cap. Nice gravy with carmelized onions and carrots though that were tasty with the rice and red beans. My brother and I thought the jerk pork was fantastic. A thick slab of pork, juicy and tender with nice grilled flavor that melds with the jerk seasoning. The bit of sauce that they give you on the side looks like the ginger condiment you get at Chinese delis, and I confirmed tonight that it does have fresh ginger in it. Also loads of allspice, and this batch seemed hotter than the last. The mac and cheese was really good. I agree with David that it could use more cheese, but the mild cheddar can stand on its own too. I liked that the elbow pasta wasn't bloated and mushy. The sauteed mixed vegetables were delicious, a mix of chayote (I think), zucchini, red and yellow sweet peppers, onions, and carrots. Not in coconut milk this time but seasoned in a savory vegetable broth with some olive oil. The plantains were less ripe and squishy this go round, more like the usual, but still expertly cooked. Oh, and the box with the mac and cheese in it had a small dinner roll. Very nice, reminded me of Parker house rolls. For dessert, we had the sweet potato pudding, which each of us felt had a wet heaviness more like a Chinese pudding. I was expecting something more like a pumpkin pie and while this has a cake-y crust to it, it's much denser, milky-tasting, and has raisins in it. The key lime pie was completely different than the first time. Tonight it was green-tinted and chiffon style with a graham cracker crust, still good but I liked the other version better. Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/41917#202820 Wed Dec 21 01:14:47 -0800 2005 204531 0 Melanie Wong 4 206467 Based on your report, I tried the jerk pork last night. It was quite good, although I felt the sauce was a little salty. Definitely more bite than the first time I had Back A Yard's jerk on the chicken. Wed Jan 04 14:50:51 -0800 2006 204578 0 Peter Yee