Who ate out for Christmas?

[rworange]

Due to a cold, I didn't.

However, people are always asking where to eat on Christas and we get so few reports back.

GapingMaw had these two nice reports

Christmas Eve at Osteria Stellina
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/605891#5278116

Christmas Dinner at Nick's Cove
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/4971...

[rightstar]

It was a cold night which is why I drank two mugs of tea at Miyuki in Albany.

Otherwise, I didn't like the meal. However, my friend and SO did. We had the salmon miso. It was way too salty for me. The seaweed salad wasn't my favorite, but then again, it was my first time trying it and I wasn't a fan. My friend said it was excellent. He used to live in Japan so I'm assuming he knows a good seaweed salad when he sees it. The vegetarian eggrolls were nothing special but my friend and SO liked them. The vegetable garden roll was the only thing I liked. It had crispy pickles inside. For dessert we had Miyuki Sweet which is egg roll with banana, pine nuts and vanilla and mango ice cream. It sounds better than it tastes. However, my friend and SO liked it much better.

[Ruth Lafler]

For the second year in a row my family had Christmas dinner at East Ocean in Alameda. They were slammed, and the food was slow coming out, but it was delicious and at least the staff were apologetic about the fact the service was subpar. I think this was the first Christmas they've had the side room open -- I'm pretty sure it wasn't open last year when we had dinner there. The weary manager (? I've always assumed this woman was the manager, but I don't know that for a fact) said it had been like that since they opened at 9 a.m. (they have extended dim sum hours on holidays) and that she appreciated us being understanding.

[david kaplan]

Koi Palace Daly City for dim sum Christmas morning had a bit of a meltdown. Service was extremely slow, and even at 10:30 -- 90 minutes after opening -- few carts and trays were making the rounds. While it was crowded, it was probably no more so than a regular busy Sunday morning, so I was surprised that the kitchen couldn't keep up.

[escargot3]

We also went out for Chinese food on xmas eve.
Shen Hua on College Ave in Berkeley was full. The service was a bit slower than usual -- which I liked. It was nice to have a leisurely meal. And the food was great.

[Robert Lauriston]

Shen Hua was closed when I walked by on Christmas. King Yen was the only restaurant open in the Elmwood.

[Solop]

Last year we had a kitchen disaster, so we went to Zaki Kabab and had an excellent Xmas dinner (http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/5726...). So we thought we would hit them again this year, but on checking ahead, learned they were going to be closed.

Instead, we went to Everest Cafe, based on the glowing reviews. The dal was tasty, though it didn't live up to the standard set by Zaki's lentil soup. I had a lamb curry whose name escapes me at the moment -- knew I should have written it down. Very tasty, but at "medium" it was a bit less spicy than I would have preferred. My wife had the accurately named "goat curry", which was IMNSHO the better of the two entrees. Enough zing to satisfy, even at "mild", and the goat had enough flavor of its own to stand up well to the sauce.

[shanghaikid]

made it to shanghai bund for lunch. they have very tasty xiao long bao's, full of juice and melt in your melt innards. the chives dumpling and pan fried dumplings were notable for their skins. the braised fresh bamboo was disappointing in that some some ruffrage was used.

also
had a memorable baked ox tongue over rice at v.i.p. with their signature milk tea.

[Nina]

Xmas Eve at Panda Country Kitchen. At 5:30 we were one of only two tables occupied, but by 6:30 the joint was jumping. PCK is excellent compared to most local Sichuan restaurants, but not as good as China Village for me. The two dishes we had that I've also had at CV -- West Village spicy fish fillet and charred cabbage. The fish was one-note hot, not complex like CV. The cabbage was fine but not fabulous as it usually has been at CV. I liked the PCK version of cold bacon-cut pork in garlic sauce, and another fish dish, the dry braised dish on the house special menu, was tasty and had the authentic numbing effect. The best dish was the house special Sichuan twice-cooked pork. $70 for four people with a round of drinks and plenty of leftovers. Friendly staff, pleasant room.

Xmas Day at R & G Lounge. My friend and I were feeling nonconformist so we didn't have the crab and the giant mound of pea shoots that were on virtually every other table. We made up for it with salt and pepper scallops and soy sauce duck -- both very good -- and some rather forgettable vegetable combo. I kind of regret the crab now, but I'll go back another day. R & G is a good place to lose the holiday blues, loud and cheerful but elegant. Portsmouth Square garage was almost completely full at 2 PM, though it had thinned out a bit when we left.

[rworange]

Thanks to all. This is all fabulous info. It is also hilarious to me. No reports about traditional Christmas dinners. All from people who go for the Chinese food. This is great because I have read so much about people who don't celebrate Christmas, eating at Chinese restaurants. In rebellion aagainst tradition, one year I had Thanksgiving dinner at China Village. Anyway, I found it fasciinating knowing what to expect at Chinese restaurants on Christmas.

[Ruth Lafler]

I think gentiles are starting to co-opt our sacred Jewish tradition of Chinese food on Christmas!

[david kaplan]

Not to mention the Chinese tradition of Chinese food on Christmas.

[Sushi Monster]

From the 'burbs:

Our family had originally set a course for either ABC Seafood dim sum lunch in Foster City or Hotaru sushi dinner in San Mateo. A great storm of lethargy and sloth washed over us. And thus, we ended up getting our reliable takeout (goat tacos, etc.) from Grullense Grill on Woodside Road in Redwood City. Given the ethnic makeup of Grullense's staff, we were mildly shocked to see them open. (And we suspect many of the usual Chinese options on the Peninsula were shuttered that night because the back-of-the-house crew is largely Hispanic.)

Sushi Monster
www.emeraldlake.com/sushilist.html

[Cary]

We had a xmas lunch at "Shanghai Dim Sum" in Cupertino. Sadly they had none of the weekened breakfast/brunch items available.