O'mei Chinese - Westside

One of the great things with catching up with friends is reliving the funny stories from our past. They usually start with "do you remember..." and end with both of you laughing. Paula is one of those friends to me and we met at O'mei Chinese Cuisine last week for some Gan Pung and some giggles.

O'mei Chinese Cuisine

The front entrance to this place is very nondescript. I wonder why they don't spruce it up a bit? Well, they have been here since 1979, so they must know something. We got there at 12 noon and there were plenty of seats.

I liked the decor inside, a bit minimalistic, but tasteful. Our starter soup came a few minutes after we sat down.

I asked the waitress what was in it and she said sauerkraut and pork. It was sort of watery, but still had flavor. Sweet and sour is what they were going for, but didn't quite make it. And there were little red rings of fire (spicy pepper) hiding between the cabbage.

Speaking of peppers, I ordered the Gan Pung Express, which came with steamed rice ($8.95). This has been a favorite of mine for years and I always have to order it. Chunks of breaded, fried chicken, water chestnuts, green onions and peppers in a sticky, sweet and tangy sauce. If you bite into one of those peppers, you win a fire-mouth prize! Needless-to-say, I pushed them to the side.

Paula got the Lemon Chicken Express ($8.95) with brown rice ($1 extra) and liked it very much. Not too sweet, like some I've had, and a nice natural lemon flavor. It was on some shredded cabbage and veggies.

The lunch express menu says it's smaller portions and cheaper versions of their normal menu, but the food was still plenty for us. I was at that point where I was full, but there wasn't enough left to take home. Oof, one more bite then!

A nice touch was the orange slices at the end of the meal. Reminded me of playing soccer as a kid and loading up on these at halftime. It was juicy and fresh.

Over 30 years and O'mei is still going strong. For the dinner service, they turn the lights low and make it more of a fancy place. But lunch is a better value. Good quality Chinese - you owe yourself a trip if you haven't been.

Scores out of 10:
Food: 8
Service: 6
Atmosphere: 7
Value for price: 7 (lunch express)
Overall: 7

Parish Publick House - Westside

Over on the Westside of Santa Cruz is a British pub called Parish Publick House. It's has too many windows for a real British pub, but they have a lot of beer and mixed drinks for your imbibing celebrations. They also have food, but since this was a workday lunch, no drinking for us!

Parish Publick House

Jim and Seth joined me for this meal out and it's a short drive to the Mission St. Safeway parking lot. Watch for tight corners and slim spaces as you drive through. Better yet to just park on the street.

We grabbed menus at the front and chose a window table. Most of the seats are by a window. All the pubs I went to in England were dark, but cozy places. This place is still cozy, but at least it was foggy outside. It usually is on the Westside.

Our waitress came over quickly and asked about drinks. Then she came back to deliver them and take our order. The place was wasn't very full, so she was prompt and pleasant. My iced tea was a bit soapy (an unrinsed glass?), but she offered to replace it for me.

Jim ordered the Irish Dip with fries ($13). It was a take on the classic French Dip, but with Irish cheddar, Irish stout mayo and Jameson Irish Whiskey added to the au jus. That's a lot of Irish! It was a hearty plate of food, which he enjoyed.

I got the Almar Shuffle, which was turkey, avocado, Swiss cheese and grilled mushroom on sourdough ($13). Served with a salad, it was good and filled me up. You don't see mushrooms on hot sandwiches very often, so I always go for it. Thumbs up! Also, they put raw, chopped onions on the salads here - I like 'em, but some folks don't!

Seth got the Side Door, a veggie burger with fries ($11) and had all the toppings on the side. I'm in support of this, since you get to make it as you like it. He piled on all the goodies and drove in. He also gave it a thumbs up. You gotta love the throwback, crinkly fries.

As with all British pubs, the standards are here: Bangers and Mash, Shepherd's Pie, Fish and Chips. There's a pool table in the back and big TVs all around to watch sports. During football/soccer season, you can bet they are all tuned in. It is the European sport of choice after all. Happy hour is 4-6pm and all day Sunday if you want to get your drink on.

Scores out of 10:
Food: 7
Service: 8
Atmosphere: 7
Value for price: 6
Overall: 7

Zameen's Foodtruck UCSC

Ever get hungry on campus? You know the one. Famous for little yellow slugs and 420 celebrations. Picking are slim up there, but I got a new way to stuff your pie hole if your tummy's rumblin'.

Zameen's Foodtruck

My bro and sis-in-law met me down by the Digital Arts building on a beautiful sunny Santa Cruz day in January. Unusually high temps make you love living here and there's good eats too! This truck, which is an offshoot of their restaurant in Aptos, shows up here from 11-2:30 weekdays.

Gyros, falafels. salads, burgers, chips and fries - you can't go wrong. Everything's so tasty and spiced up so well. We all got gyros and the garlic fries. They have sodas and waters to drink and sauces to pour over everything.

The gyro had the wonderful slices of beef and lamb that melts in your mouth. Also in the wrap was lettuce, tomatoes, grilled onions and Tzakziki sauce. I'm used to raw chunks of red onions in my gyro, so the grilled onions were a nice change and made the meal a little bit sweeter. The green sauce was fresh and flavorful. A little zing, but mild. Parsley and cilantro?

Mike's gryo got the red sauce treatment, which was a spicy concoction. You can see the pepper seeds in it... Zowwee!

Here's a bit of the ocean view with a side of fries. More Tzakziki dip too! They were greased up with the garlic oil and a few chunks here and there. Make sure you get a drink to wash them all down.

Glad to see the campus getting into the food truck craze with this eclectic choice. Zameen's got taco trucks beat for sure. Next time I'm getting their falafel and will report back!

Scores out of 10:
Food: 7
Service: n/a
Atmosphere: 8 (lots of benches around)
Value for price: 7
Overall: 7.5

Jack's Hamburgers

How could I have a food blog with Santa Cruz in the name without having reviewed Jack's? Today, I rectify this predicament! Jack's has been around downtown SC for decades. The story I heard is when the original owner was going to sell in the 90's, the printers at the Sentinel newspaper bought it. They had been going there for years and didn't want to see it closed. Thank you, printers!

Jack's (Yelp)

I met Big Al for lunch here and he texted me there was still a few spots in their little parking lot around back. It's right on the corner of Lincoln and Walnut, so there's other (paid) parking all around.

You go in to order and it's your standard burger menu. Burgers, shakes, fries. But there's always specials posted on the wall too. I've gotten a good tuna sandwich there when I wasn't feeling like a burger. But burgers are where they shine. They call your name and you pick it up at the outside window. Lots of tables outside to soak the sun. Bring shades.

Big Al got the Cheeseburger Basket ($7.25) with a coke. Is there anything more American? It's served in a coffee filter (brilliant!) and the burger is wrapped up too. The fries are crispy outside and soft and fluffly inside. They are sized in between a shoestring and a steak fry. And they go great in ketchup. Lettuce, tomato slice, pickles and red onion round out the hearty sandwich.

I went with the Mushroom and Swiss Special Turkey Burger Basket and a drink ($8.50). These take a bit longer, but so worth it. I added some mustard and enjoyed it to the last bite. It did get a bit sloppy at the end, but who doesn't love that? Good to the last drop.

Who like deals? This is a late lunch or early dinner deal, but look at the value! They also have a sweet deal for the kiddies = hot dog and a drink for $4. That one is for anytime. They are closed Sundays and there are no bathrooms, so plan ahead.

Scores out of 10:
Food: 8
Service: n/a
Atmosphere: 8 (sunny), 6 (cloudy)
Value for price: 7
Overall: 7.5 - one of the better burger joints in SC!

DeLaveaga Lodge Restaurant

Nestled up above it all, in the woods north of Branciforte, is the DeLaveaga Golf Course. This is where I spent my youth searching for golf balls and getting poison oak. Well, not my whole youth, but one fateful day that I won't soon forget. But what does this have to do with food? There's also a restaurant upstairs above the Pro Shop.

DeLaveaga Golf & Lodge

I met my folks one Saturday morning, up at the DLGC for breakfast. The parking lot was full of hopeful birdie players and many golf carts were zipping around. I didn't see a sign clearly stating the restaurant upstairs, but just take the steps up and you're there. It was mostly full at 9am on Saturday, but we found a table. You could also eat at the bar.

The coffees were filled quickly and the menu is good-sized with pancakes, omelettes and waffles. Yes, the oatmeals and cereals are there too, but who gets that at a restaurant? I scanned the list and chose a personal fave.

The Chili Omelette with hash browns was served with a side cup of sour cream.  Looks good, right? It was good, but my surprise was that the omelette had just cheese inside. The only chili was scooped on top. Psych! It was still good to eat, not greasy and filling. But c'mon man! Where's my chili?

Dad got the Scrabbled Egg Whites and Chicken Apple Sausage. It think that's applesauce in the little cup above. It's his stand-by and enjoys it very much. Not sure why his hash browns were flattened compared to mine.

Mom got the French Toast with a side of bacon. "Want some, honey?" Aren't moms the best? It was crispy and chewy - always a sign of a cook who knows his way around a kitchen. This is also her stand-by and was happy.

You know the theme song to the TV show "Cheers"? Where everybody knows your name... My folks knew like five people hanging out up there. And they don't golf! So, if you are looking for a causal breakfast joint with fairway views, you could do a lot worse than DLGC.

Scores out of 10:
Food: 7
Service: 7
Atmosphere: 7
Value for price: 7
What can I say? Solid 7s - better than average. Not as good as Pebble Beach!

El Burro - Campbell

This week, one of my best friends, Dan was in town. He used to live here, but now calls San Diego home. When he visits, we use it as an excuse to dine out at our favorite places. This time we wanted to hit up some record stores in San Jose, so El Burro in Campbell was the choice.

El Burro (Yelp)

Take the Hamilton exit from Hwy 17 and turn left, then left again on Bascom. El Burro is in the Pruneyard Shopping Center and has been there for years. It's a magical place, if you like Mexican food. Big wooden doors greet you as you walk in.

It's dark and authentically decorated. Deep reds and iron bars make you feel south of the border. We sat in one of the many back rooms (this place is huge) and our chips and salsa came quick.

The salsa was fresh and definitely had a kick. The over-sized menus had dozens of choices. For huge appetites, try the Nina, Pinta or Santa Maria platters! Dan and I enjoy a filling meal, but we're not in high school anymore.

But before the main course, they serve a small salad with dinners. There are two choices for the dressing: oil & vinegar or 1,000 Island. Ha! When's the last time you were only given those options? They were not much to write home about, except for the slice of beet included in each.

Dan got the Carnitas Plate ($14.95) which came with rice, beans and salsa fresca. It's a favorite and he made short work of it all. The beans were very tasty, not runny and the rice was fluffy. I'm not sure if he squeezed the lemon on there.

I went with the Pollo Fajitas ($14.95) and it came with onions, peppers and sour cream and guac. But that guac was really "green" sour cream - no avocado flavor. But what big portions! The chicken was succulent and slightly charred. Just the way I like it. I couldn't finish it and got the perro bag.

Authentic, homemade Mexican dishes - not fancy like El Palomar in Santa Cruz. Just great tasting food at huge sized plates for a good price. Check it out if you are hungry or at least, want great leftovers the next day. Muy bueno!

Scores out of 10:
Food: 8
Service: 7
Atmosphere: 9
Value for price: 9
Overall: 8.5

Tampico Kitchen + Lounge

Game night! The Santa Cruz Warriors were playing last Saturday night in town, so we needed food close to the arena. Tampico Kitchen, located at Pacific and Maple Avenue, fit the bill. It's been around forever and I've been a few times, but not for awhile. Let's try it out and write it up!

Tampico Kitchen + Lounge

Alan and I were looking for a filling, hot meal since it was like 40 degrees outside. Not typical Santa Cruz weather! Some rice and beans in our bellies should keep us happy as we watched the game.

We sat in the main dining room as opposed to the bar lounge area. The place was packed for a Saturday night and I didn't see an empty table. And they didn't have the playoffs on, so the dining room was it for us.

Our chips and salsa came quick, which was great. Not a full basket, but they offered free refills. The salsa was thin, but packed a punch. I'd rate it a 6 out of 10 since it did spice up the food, but not spectacularly. And why so little in the bowl?

Alan got the Killer Quesadilla (($12.95) - he had heard it was pretty good from others. His pint of Negra Modela draft was $4.50. Well, I thought quesadillas were flat with two tortillas and everything squeezed in between. Not here! He said it looked more like a big soft taco. The chicken inside was good-sized and plentiful. But he was sad the rice and beans were cold.

I got the Chicken Mole ($12.95), which also came with rice and beans. My domestic bottle of beer was $3.50. The chicken was tender and had a mix of breast and thigh meat. A few bits of gristle didn't deter me from enjoying the dish. The mole sauce was decent, but not amazing. I did like the flour tortillas that came with it to roll my own.

So if you said "Mexican food downtown", I'd still pick El Palomar over Tampico, but it's a decent second place. And it's a shorter walk to the Arena.

Scores out of 10:
Food: 6
Service: 6
Atmosphere: 7
Value for the price: 6
Overall: 6.25