Looking for good cheap eats on the peninsula.

[j918kny]

We recently moved to redwood city from ny, and my wife and I are huge goodies!
We are looking for relatively cheap eats located on the peninsula(like the places on diners drive ins and dives with home cooked food) Everything from crab shacks to bahn mi and everything in between would be very helpful. Thanks for replying.

[bbulkow]

I'd suggest narrowing down your request a little. Each of the types of food you're asking about has different places. For example, I think the best Bahn Mi in RWC is Hometown Noodle near the corner of 5th and Middlefield. I don't know of any in MP, PA, or MV - although that place at San Antonio and ECR looks like it should have one - until right across the Sunnyvale border.

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Hometown Noodle Restaurant
3151 Middlefield Rd, Redwood City, CA 94063

[Mission]

I always make a point of going to Woodside delicatessen in Redwood city when I am in the area.

Really great Sandwiches at a reasonable price with friendly service.

Woodside Deli

1453 Woodside Rd
Redwood City, CA 94061-3567
[phone]

[ROCKLES]

There are some good places and a couple great places in San Carlos on Laurel street. Unfortunately my memory of the names are pretty bad. Maybe take an afternoon stroll down there and check em out. Also check out University Ave in Palo Alto.

[wolfe]

Do a San Carlos search to jog your memory.
http://www.chow.com/search?query=san+...

[ROCKLES]

That didn't help..hmmm..maybe I will drive down there and see. Or maybe they have closed since I was down there. I will check it out and get back to you all. Thanks wolfe, I am learning more and more about all that Chowhound has to offer.

[lrealml]

Welcome! My SO and I have lived in RWC for the last 4.5 years (he is from Long Island). We are quite happy here food wise (and in general actually) and have found many great restaurants here and nearby.

As mentioned above, RWC is taco central. Unfortunately, the list in the link above is old and is missing some new places like the new board favorite Los Gemellos.
There are also a ton of ramen places (if you are into ramen, search the board and you will find that many of the recommended places are nearby). Unfortunately, the peninsula is void of bahn mi (or any really good Vietnamese food), and for Indian food, we normally drive down to Sunnyvale.

My recommendations:
I will second the recommendations for The Refuge, Crouching Tiger, Old Port Lobster Shack, Spices 3, Chavez, Higuma (omakase sashmi and chirashi) and Everyday Beijing.
Some other great places are:
El Hueco (Peruvian), Shalizaar (Persian), Tannourine (Lebanese), New Kapadokia (Turkish), Kabul (Afghan), Little Shanghai (my favorite Chinese in the area), The Noodle Shop (aka Mao Family Cooking), Sushi Sam's, Gourmet Haus Staudt (German beer garden/groceries), Back A Yard Caribbean, Coconuts (Caribbean), Yakitori KOKKO, Gracie's Delectables (Turkey Sandwich), Alice's (hamburgers), Mingalaba (Burmese, a little far.. but worth it), and Alana's (Breakfast).

I am sure I am missing many... there are so many places we still haven't even tried yet. Also, the best restaurant in RWC is Martins West Gastropub (but they are a little pricy).

I see you posted on food shopping earlier; definitely check out Sigona's (the in RWC location for produce, chicken, and grass fed beef), Suruki Supermarket (Sushi/Japanese), and K&L (for wine). Ranch 99 (a large Asian market hidden in Foster City) is great for seafood.

Also the San Carlos farmer's market starts back up next Thursday evening (4-8pm). It is small, but nice with decent prices (although the Mountain View market Sunday mornings is the best in the area).

[lrealml]

Correction: I believe that we meant Spices 4, not Spices 3 (Spices 4 is in Foster City and Spices 3 in Oakland).

[rotiprata]

In Redwood City:

La Casita Chilanga for torta.

Higuma for lunch ramen specials.

Hand-made tacos on Middlefield.

Estampas Peruanas for Peruvian fried fish/chicken, chicha morada and that greenish superhot dip.

David's Hawaiian Drive Inn (divey) for Hawaiian bbq chicken.

[hannah]

Refuge in San Carlos for pastrami sandwhiches

Sancho's Taqueria in Redwood City--big fan of their fish tacos

Crouching tiger in Redwood City--good spicy chinese...I crave their dry cooked prawns and the dan dan noodles are yummy.

Woodside Deli Redwood City--good sandwhiches

[ML8000]

Do a search for Sushi Monster's taco map/thread. Lots of excellent, inexpensive taquerias in RWC. I found it here but not the CH thread:

http://www.emeraldlake.com/tacos/

[Alan408]

My RWC go-to Mexican is on Woodside Road, at Gordon, they also have a location on El Camino, used to be an A&W. Another favorite Mexican is/are the taquerias in Chavez Market. Two Chavez markets in RWC.

FWIW, crab season is open until the end of June.

[artemis]

I don't know RWC, but in San Mateo: Hotaru (homestyle Japanese, like oyakudon). Ramen Dojo. Himawari. Everyday Beijing. Spices3! in Foster City. something something Tofu House (korean) in the strip mall at Hillsdale and S. Norfolk, which also has Langkawi (Malaysian)- I've yet to try it but it gets decent reviews here. People also like Little Shanghai.

The San Mateo farmer's market on Saturdays at College of San Mateo is excellent.

Old Port Lobster Shack in RWC is not actually "cheap" but it's cheap for lobster, and great.

It's not crab season anymore. We get our crab in Half Moon Bay at Pillar Point. I like Barbara's Fish Trap (one entree is big enough for 2, no kidding), and have heard good things about Ketch Joanne.

In and Out is opening soon in San Carlos.

There are lots of reviews on Redwood City ("RWC") if you do a few searches, too.

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Old Port Lobster Shack
851 Veterans Blvd, Redwood City, CA 94063

Everyday Beijing
637 South B Street, San Mateo, CA

Himawari
202 2nd Ave, San Mateo, CA 94401

Barbara's Fish Trap
281 Capistrano Rd, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019

Ramen Dojo
805 S B St, San Mateo, CA 94401

Ketch Joanne
17 Johnson Pier, Princeton-by-the Sea, CA 94018

[artemis]

See also:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/673940

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/714365

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/702745

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/608206

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/507551

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/530990

[lrealml]

There is already an In and Out in RWC on right on Veterans (not that I've ever eaten there).

[yimster]

Sadly, in and out is my burger of choice at the moment. I have eaten there more then once. To the OP you need to park the car on Middlefield Road and 5th and walk a couple blocks either way and check out the Mexican food. It will take you a couple of weeks to try them all.

Then there is my current favorite for Mexican Mi Perblo in EPA.

[mhuang]

The Tofu House is Myung Dong Tofu House. The thing to order here are their tofu soups, although they also do a decent job of grilled/pan sauteed dishes.

In that same plaza is Sheng Kee Bakery (for Chinese bread) and Marina Foods for asian groceries.

Windy City Pizza on El Camino and 92 (San Mateo) is pretty good for a Chicago Deep Dish (non stuffed) pizza and their barbeque and hotlinks are great.

Creola in San Carlos is good new orleans-style food. They have crawfish buckets when they're in season.

City Pub on Broadway in Redwood City used to be a usual stop for me; if I recall, they had an excellent crab cake sandwich.

Higuma in Redwood City is also worth a visit for good Japanese food; they do excellent sushi, but I also encourage you to try some of their other foods like kara-age (Japanese fried chicken) and gyoza, which are amongst the best I've had on the peninsula.

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Windy City Pizza
35 Bovet Rd, San Mateo, CA 94402

Sheng Kee Bakery
34332 Alvarado Niles Rd Union, City, CA

City Pub
2620 Broadway St, Redwood City, CA 94063

[artemis]

Yes, that's it. I love the tofu stews there.

[bbulkow]

City Pub is a burger stop for me, and they have fresh beer. Solid. Also in that category is BBC in MP, The Office in SC, The Refuge get special mention because of the pastrami topped burger, Jack's Prime, Jeffery's, Peninsula Creamery, Martin's West, and the bar menu at the Village Pub. If I loved beer more I'd also stop at Rose and Crown in PA, but I dislike the authentic british pub smell. Also on my negative side for atmosphere, Dutch Goose (too many kids, substandard beer) and the Oasis (substandard beer).

For chicago pizza, we're blessed with Paxti and Pizza Chicago in PA; I haven't tried Windy City. I'm not a fan of the style, but I've had both often enough to opine on their taste factor. Tasty.

This is what I mean by requesting categories.... for each, there are favorites.

Original Poster? Help us out?

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Peninsula Creamery
900 High St, Palo Alto, CA 94301

Village Pub
2967 Woodside Rd., Woodside, CA 94062

City Pub
2620 Broadway St, Redwood City, CA 94063

Pizza Chicago
1576 Halford Ave, Santa Clara, CA 95051

Jack's Prime
3723 S El Camino Real, San Mateo, CA 94403

[Alan408]

Not really a "chowhound place" but closer to DDD and very inexpensive, try Harry's Hofbrau.