Lime Leaf Restaurant
by  Michael McCarthy

20634 Rustic Dr  Castro Valley, CA  94546
510-881-LIME

My family has been going to the Lime Leaf Thai restaurant in the Castro Valley Village for the past few months, and have been enjoying the food there so much that we've been keeping a running list of which dishes we've tried so we can be sure to work our way through the entire menu.

There is quite a selection of entrees, and so far every one we've tried has been delicious.

My daughter and her boyfriend, who live in Walnut Creek and frequent Thai places, say it's really hard to find a really good Thai restaurant, and the Lime Leaf really impresses them; they ask to go there every time they're in Castro Valley visiting us.

The staff is great, service wonderful, prices reasonable – worth checking out!

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Genghis Khan Kitchen
by Carole Rogers
8/25/02
(510) 537-3862 
20855 Redwood Rd, Castro Valley, CA 94546

For a family style buffet restaurant.  Don't be put off by the "Chinese" menu because every fussy eater can find something they like on the sumptuous menu at affordable prices. (The Chinese invented pasta!)
 
Lunch: $ 7.50 per person, Dinner $12.99 per person. Childrens prices are:
                   Lunch        Dinner
3-5 years old      3.50       3.99
6-8 years old      4.50       6.99
9-10 years old     5.50       8.99
 
The best kept secret is that they also serve the best sushi (all you can eat too!)  Sushi lovers - both cooked & raw - will love this place.  Did you know that you can call Mr. Lee with a few hours notice and he will make up a beautiful sushi party tray for you to pick up/take out for that pot luck party - I stopped counting at 50 pieces for $20 on my tray! Enjoy!

Map to: Genghis Khan Kitchen

The first sensation walking into the Paradiso on Bancroft Ave. in San Leandro is the smoky sweet smell of their wood fired oven. It put me in the mood for the manly faire of slow roasted meats.

Having been to the Paradiso soon after they opened a few years ago, I was pleased to see that they have settled into a groove. Their service has improved and their prices have even gone down a smidgen. One can strive for San Francisco culinary excellence, but one can’t really get away for long charging San Francisco prices in San Leandro.

After scanning the menu for the smoky meat entrees that would unite me again with that first burst of olfactory pleasure, I ordered the rack of lamb. My Scotch-Irish parsimony was pleased to see it listed for $19.95 instead of the $28 to $30 I was expecting.

My wife ordered the more delicate pan seared sea scallops ($15.95). As we waited for our food to arrive we glanced occasionally out to the curb to see several nattily attired senior citizen couples arriving. It seems the 5 o’clock hour is very popular with those of us who are in bed by 10 p.m. or who don’t have it together enough to make reservations for a more sought after dining hour.

We forgot to order a salad, and our waitress did not suggest one. We called her back to order one small green salad ($3.95) to share and it was delightful. The waitress did not split the salad and we were afraid to ask since the $5 plate splitting charge the menu stated was more than the price of the salad. Unafraid of whatever virus we each might be harboring, we set the salad between us and shared the experience.

This is not a salad that you need to order with the dressing on the side for fear that the oily glop will drown out the taste of the vegetables and drip down the front of your shirt before you can get the fork to your mouth. The mixed baby lettuces with grape tomatoes, red onion, and croutons were perfectly dressed in refreshing citrus vinaigrette.

After my rack of lamb arrived, I groused to my wife that it was medium (no pink) instead of medium rare (pink, but warm) as I had ordered. Even so, the eight tender chops satisfied my Cro-Magnon cravings. I didn’t hesitate to finish each chop off by lifting the bone by hand to mouth and sucking every tender morsel free. I contemplated eating most of the rack and then complaining that it was not medium rare in order to score another full rack, but I decided that would be unethical and I was just enjoying myself so much I did not want to stop and wait for another serving.

The pan-seared scallops were sweet and big and tasty, but the buttery sauce in which they rested obliterated whatever crunchiness the pan searing was intended to add to the encounter. Again not hesitating to embarrass my wife with my table manners, I enjoyed a few of the melt in your mouth scallops off her plate, but I was mostly attracted to the thin crisp French fries that accompanied her meal instead of the mashed potatoes on my plate. Whenever I thought I could get away with it, I speared a few of the crunchy strips. These fries are as you remember the McDonalds variety from your teenage years when it seemed you could never get enough, but far superior to the reality at McD’s today.

I should add that the vegetable medley of green beans, asparagus, broccoli, zucchini and carrots that accompanied both of our meals were precisely steamed until bright in color, cooked throughout, but still crispy.

Though we were feeling quite full and satisfied, we convinced ourselves that since our account would be shared, we simply had to order dessert. Two separate desserts though were out of the question given our current state of middle-aged spread. The issue then was did she prevail and order something lemony or could I overcome her objections and order the chocolaty gooey thing. After serious negotiations that noted a lack of lemony desserts, we settled on a gooey, but not chocolaty Affogato. Served in a clear glass, the Affogato consisted of hot espresso, in a well of hazlenut gelato, topped with whipped cream and dusted with cocoa.

The dessert’s espresso gave us the perfect pick-me up to send us off to the movies instead of home to an early evening nap.

Paradiso - 685 Bancroft Ave. San Leandro 510.430.9310


Bob lives in Castro Valley and likes to cook for relaxation.

Don Jose's

I'm writing to tell everyone about the experience I had at Don Jose's Restaurant in Castro valley in the Village shopping center on Mother's Day.

I went with my mom and kids to Don Jose's for dinner. The food was great but what really made the day was the service and the host. When we went to pay the bill, my mom was shocked to find that she had left her money at home.  She explained to the host the problem and offered $19 toward the $60 bill as a deposit and asked if it was at all possible to run home real quick and come back with the rest. The waiter was so polite, he said go ahead, without even thinking about it!

Kudos to Don Jose's! Not only a good restaurant but good people! PS we did come back with the rest of the money! :-).

This letter was sent to us by Veronica Craven of Castro Valley.

A note From Mr. Eats: I recently had the pleasure of eating at Don Jose's and the food/flavor has changed for the better! The dishes were much more authentic, with a little more kick to them. I will be visiting them soon again and will report back with a full review.

You think you’ve had the best burrito in town? Think again. There’s a NEW burrito (and Taco) in town and it’s housed at the “CHIPOTLE,” a new restaurant on Castro Valley Blvd.

This restaurant just arrived to Castro Valley and did so in high fashion. The décor is one of a modern, high tech flavor. An atmosphere one might find only comfortable for short stays, which seems to be of design. But you don’t go to Chipotle for comfort. You go for the food! And the food is Fantastic!

You get two choices: Tacos and burritos. Here’s how it works- you order and pay for your meal, specifying what type of meat you want. Then you slide down a line, similar to a hofbrou setup. As you gaze on to the delicious fillings that are spread out in front of you, you get to point and pick out what you want in your burrito. It’s sort of like going to a Burrito bar, if there is such a thing.

I had a steak burrito that knocked my socks off. Every morsel of every piece of filling in the burrito I consumed, was perfect. The beef was seasoned and cooked perfectly as was everything else I picked. This is not a typical, mushy mess stuffed into a tortilla; this is a true gourmet feast.

Chipotle burritos give a new meaning to “supper burrito,” use caution. These things are big! The price was very reasonable. Expect to wait in a short line during prime time dinner hour, but it’s well worth it. I declare the Chipotle, the best burrito in town! Can’t wait to try their tacos!

Mr. Eats

Jenny’s Café is a perfect place to take your Mom to breakfast or lunch, or to go to after church. The accommodations are clean, airy and the service is excellent. The food is good, fresh and above average for a “mom and pop” café, which is what Jenny’s Cafe is.

But this isn’t your average “mom and pop.” Jenny and Henry Shaw were just picked as the Business Person(s) of the year, by the Castro Valley Chamber Of Commerce.

Unique to a local Café, Jenny’s serves beer and wine too.

When was the last time you took your mom out for breakfast or lunch? We recommend you take her to Jenny’s Café today.

Mr. Eats

Tonight’s has to be a take-out night. You’re dead tired.  The Carry Outee (pronounced Carry-out Tay by my family) menu rises in your memory.

You thought you’d be the good citizen and take BART to work in the City.  Sounded good and you arrived on time for a change.  But when the 5:04 Dublin/Pleasanton train came to take you home, it was only four cars long instead of the 10 or 11 cars headed to other east bay destinations.  As you stepped on board, you thought the heat was on instead of the air conditioning.  No problem, you thought, it’s only a 30-minute ride to Castro Valley.

You didn’t anticipate the 30-minute wait in the Transbay tube in the 98° train car, nor the burly construction worker who passed out in the heat and was only held up by the sheer numbers of bodies pressed together.  You gave up your seat to him and stood the rest of the trip on a train so crowded you could not even grab on to anything except your briefcase as the train lurched from station to station.

Ah, but gourmet take-out is only fifteen minutes away at the Carry Outee.  Try the Kung Pao Shrimp with fried rice and an egg roll.  Onions, green peppers, good-sized prawns (as we call them in California) swimming in an oyster sauce heated with dozens of dried red Thai peppers.  The rich brown fried rice waits to soak up the deep red sauce of the Kung Pao Shrimp.

Split the egg roll in two and there is more than enough food for you and your significant other to eat well and be stuffed.  But, if you want to over indulge your culinary senses add on the pot stickers, won ton soup, or fried prawns.  You have more food than two people can possibly eat and the bill is under ten dollars.

Combination plates with fried rice and an egg roll run from $5.15 to $5.40 and can easily serve two.  For larger families a la carte pints of entrees are priced from $5.40 to $6.95.  There are no steam trays here.  All food is cooked to order and can be ready 15 minutes after you phone in.

So, if you’re too tired to cook and sick of pizza, drive west on the Boulevard just past Lyon’s Restaurant to that little pink and green shack known as Carry Outee for fine Chinese food in the comfort of your own home.

Dell Cafe is my favorite breakfast spot anywhere near Castro Valley. It's located on Castro Valley Blvd., near Ace Hardware on the south side of the street. For less then $10, including coffee or juice and tip, you can get a huge truck stop like breakfast. The establishment is decorated in 1950's like diner motif. There is a veneer covered bar complimented with vinyl covered stationary stools or you can sit at one of the over padded booths. It's funky and simple. The food is good and you get lots of it.  A perfect place to dine when you just don't feel like getting dolled up and combing your hair. Dell Cafe is family run and their service is good and efficient. If you eat there more than once, you'll usually be acknowledged by the cook/owner/dad. I recommend Dell Cafe as a must after a rough weekend night out or when you just desire a good old fashion big breakfast.
Mr. Eats

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