Foster City San Mateo

[dbwave]

Hey CHs.

Visiting from San Diego next week. Could use some great recommendations on any cool casual foodie restaurants in the area. Ethic or non......up for anything. Just nothing real pricey.

Thanks!!!!!

[mliew]

I moved to Foster City about 9 months ago and have had an opportunity to try most of the restaurants in the FC/San Mateo area that are discussed on here. While there are a couple of gems, I've generally been disappointed in the quality of the places and the lack of variety. There seem to be plenty of choices for a quality bowl of ramen (Santa Ramen and Ramen Parlor being at the top of that list) and a couple good chinese places (Cooking Papa and Little Shanghai) but everything else is pretty mediocre.

Would love some suggestions for good vietnamese, indian, and thai. For "indian" the most popular place seems to be Curry Up Now but I find their Tikka Masala way too sweet and the menu too non-traditional. Would love to find a nice hole in the wall place mid-peninsula without having to drive down to Sunnyvale but it seems that none exist.

[bbulkow]

Have you tried Tabla Flavors? about 3 years ago I loved it, then it turned into Paradise which I didn't care for, now it might be Tabla again, depending on whether you believe Yelp....

[mliew]

Haven't been there. I do remember reading about it on Yelp but last I checked it was marked as "Closed". Interesting to know that it has reopened. Will have to try it out sometime.

[dbwave]

Sorry for the delay in posting. I have been to a few now. Highlights below.

Cooking Papa. Probably would need to eat there and know more what to order. Had excellent Shrimp Dim Sum.

Hotaru. Great Mackerel

Curry Up Now. Fantastic. We had the Tikka burrito and the chicken french fries and both were amazing. This place is a gem.

Himawari. Ate there tonight. Some of the best food ever. Had a braised pork appetizer and my friend ordered New York rolls. Both were incredible. The ramen broth was so flavorful and the the stewed pork melted in my mouth. Highly recommend this place. Fantastic.

.

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Himawari
202 2nd Ave, San Mateo, CA 94401

Cooking Papa
2830 Homestead Rd, Santa Clara, CA 95051

[dbwave]

Back in the San Mateo. Any additions or deletions I should make to the list?

[SardoNumspa]

San Mateo's hidden gem is Rainbow Pizza. Great food , huge portions , the pizzas are insane .
Also try Draegers Kobe pastrami sandwich .

[dbwave]

Awesome recommendations. Went to Osteria Coppa for dinner. Had the squid pizza which was very fresh and very good. We also had the short ribs pasta dish. This was fantastic in taste, but very small in portion. I saw such remarks on Yelp (I could not see much reviews on CH). I politely gave feedback to the waitress who said she had heard this before. Overall, great food, good service and i would go back. Only knock was the portion size for the pasta.

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Osteria Coppa
139 S. B Street, San Mateo, CA 94401

[foodeye]

Romolo's in San Mateo is worth a detour for cannoli and maybe ice cream or cappucinos.

Lots of reviews can also be found here, with pull-down listings for Penninsula cities, under Daily Eats: http://bunrab.com/

[dbwave]

Well I set up to eat at Little Shanghai and they are closed on Mondays. I ended up at Joy. Tried to order the pork chics in pigs blood (sounded very cool and authentic). The waitress told me not to and recommended the 3 cups chicken. Good soup, great presntation for the dish and good flavor. My knock was the quality of the chicken was not good. Seemed at least a few days old. Will try Osteria Coppa tonight.

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Little Shanghai
17 E 25th Ave, San Mateo, CA 94403

Osteria Coppa
139 S. B Street, San Mateo, CA 94401

[bbulkow]

thanks for reporting back. Hopefully you'll consider Sushi Sam's. The place is unique in america. I don't know of any other bustling formica table place with such an intensely good whiteboard. My favorite indian place isn't there any more.

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Sushi Sam's
218 E 3rd Ave, San Mateo, CA 94401

[shanghaikid]

dwave:

something totally different from sushi sam would be yu zu sushi on 54 -37th ave. san mateo, it's a sister operation of sakae sushi, burligame .

had omakassee for 2 (110) a while ago, 7 various j. country entrees. impressive. not cheap. didn't see it on their recent online entree. many japanese nationals dining here. only 6 tables, 6 seats at sushi bar.

yu zu has nigiri, tapas (yakitori), sashimi, makimoto(american/japnaese) .....and SHOUCHOU!

tues/ thurs. 5:30-7, raw oyster and fried tempera (1), dine in only.

[dbwave]

This fantastic. I love the ethnic choices.......especially Japanese. I have a place here that serves home Japanese cooking. I can't wait to try some of these recommendations.

Anything NON ethnic you guys recommend?

[artemis]

Japanese is strong in San Mateo. There's also Nijiya and Suruki markets downtown - great for make your own sashimi dinner. Non ethnic... hmm. I live in the area and can't think of any non-ethnic restaurants in our regular rotation.

See also Mingalaba in Burlingame (Burmese).

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Mingalaba
1213 Burlingame Ave, Burlingame, CA 94010

[Robert Lauriston]

Martins West is Scottish-ish.

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Martins West
831 Main Street, Redwood City, CA 94063

[lrealml]

Yeah, Martins is more CA food with a Scottish twist; really good.
The Refuge isn't ethnic either.
That is it really for non-ethnic....

This area is primarily known for great ethnic food: Afghan, Lebanese, Persian, Turkish, Peruvian, Japanese, Burmese, Chinese, and Mexican all nearby

[Windy]

I'd say pastrami is the very definition of ethnic. (Whatever ethnic means.)

[Robert Lauriston]

The Refuge's pastrami sandwich and a couple of other dishes are American Jewish deli standards, but the menu goes in a lot of other directions as well.

http://refugesc.com/wp-content/upload...

[Windy]

Yes, but pastrami is only real reason to go there, besides beer and wine. Otherwise it's just another expensive San Carlos spot.

[lrealml]

Really? I just thought ethnic meant "not American" and pastrami is pretty American.
Ethnic really is one of those words that is hard to define (esp. in our melting pot of a country).

[Windy]

Pastrami is Jewish, traditionally Romanian/Eastern European.

[Robert Lauriston]

The Refuge's Belgian beer selection is another reason to go there. 18 taps and more in bottle.

The Refuge's house-made pastrami isn't very similar to traditional New York pastrami.

[Melanie Wong]

lrealml, you may find this older thread on "ethnic dining" amusing.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/286638
(and the Taiwanese pastrami referenced was produced at the now defunct Brothers Deli in Burlingame by a Taiwanese ex-fighter pilot)

[mhuang]

Artemis' list of Japanese/Asian places is pretty spot on -- I'd add to that list Tokie's Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar in Foster City. Tokie's has been around for a long time, but their sushi and appetizers is always top notch.

(The dinner plates and rolls I feel are probably more geared towards less adventurous clientele).

Non-ethnic places I wouldn't mind going back to:

Windy City Pizza and BBQ is a Chicago-style pizzeria that does some good barbeque and chicago dishes.
Mr. Pickle's Sandwich Shop does some pretty nice sandwiches.
North Beach Pizza and Amici's Pizza are both local chains that do pretty good pizza.
Armadillo Willy's -- local chain of Texas-Style Barbeque.

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Mr. Pickle's Sandwich Shop
621 4th St, Santa Rosa, CA 95404

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

Tokie's
1058 Shell Blvd, Foster City, CA 94404

[artemis]

I like Draeger's sandwiches better than Mr. Pickle's - better meat and better lettuce. I also love how Draeger's has sprouts, red leaf lettuce, roasted red bell pepper and awesome spreads, especially Draeger's house spread. And great service: one time I ordered a turkey avocado, the deli man tested the avocado he had, decided it wasn't ripe enough, and walked out to the produce section to get a better one. Love that.

I'll have to give Tokie's a try. Every time I cheat on Sushi Sam's, I end up wishing I hadn't. His quality can't be beat.

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Sushi Sam's
218 E 3rd Ave, San Mateo, CA 94401

Tokie's
1058 Shell Blvd, Foster City, CA 94404

[Robert Lauriston]

Recent topic on San Mateo: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/763411

Recent topic on Redwood Shores, next to Foster City: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/798093

[charliemyboy]

Little Shanghai in San Mateo--
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/530990

The Refuge in San Carlos --
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/497116

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Little Shanghai
17 E 25th Ave, San Mateo, CA 94403

[artemis]

yes: Sushi Sam's Edomata, Hotaru, Ramen Dojo, Sweet Breams, Myong Dong Tofu Cabin

also consider: Curry Up Now, Osteria Coppa, Himawari

not my style, but well regarded: Everyday Beijing, Little Sheep,

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Everyday Beijing
637 South B Street, San Mateo, CA

Himawari
202 2nd Ave, San Mateo, CA 94401

Sushi Sam's
218 E 3rd Ave, San Mateo, CA 94401

Sweet Breams
220 2nd Avenue, San Mateo, CA

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

Osteria Coppa
139 S. B Street, San Mateo, CA 94401

[shanghaikid]

cooking papa (former diamond harbor) on edgewater just opened . great hong kong style food. must get the cream puff.

"joy" for xiao long bao and other taiwanese delights.
pricing at both moderate to slightly pricey.

[osho]

What would you recommend here at Cooking Papa?

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Cooking Papa
2830 Homestead Rd, Santa Clara, CA 95051

[K K]

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/801119

[shanghaikid]

note: cooking papa at foster city is cash only, prices have also gone up since i visited santa clara.

would skip the xlb. it's ok but pricey

recommended:

-N6 braised beef brisket noodle soup

clear broth

-F3 braised beef brisket rice noodle soup in fish broth

milky broth, fish flavored, little msg, very tender brisket

-RR2? rice noodle roll (3.95)

as good as any dim house place

-DS1?-hong kong style cream puff(3.95)

much better than bearded papa's

-C11 pan fried noodles with beef & tomato sauce

classic, made the old fashioned way

-N9 chiu chou style fish ball & fish cake noodle soup

interesting change of pace

chow fun experience not so good. singaporean and beef were just so so.