206 replies to this topic

[Spicy]

Most Friendly Servers: O!Brot café.
Quite attractive too.

O!Brot café (previously Ettore)
510 Natoma Station Dr. #100
Folsom
985- BROT

[Parizienne]

Ahem...

Forgive me. I must make a slight, tiny, itsy bitsy teeny weeny leetle correction.

It's prix fixe, not prefix. It's pronounced "prefix"(sort of), though. Pehaps this was said in jest? If so, forgive the teensy, weensy correction. If not -- Vell, vee all make zee meestake, non?

I happen to love, love, love the Oriental Pearl's fried rice in Frisco. It was so good, I thought about ordering it by Fed Ex when I lived near L.A. Not greasy, but oh so flavorful. Unique, but simple. Now, in just about 90 minutes I can have all my tummy desires! Wheee! Yum.

Bon appétit, alors.

Pari.

Thank you for the info. I will checkout Lucky Dragon in the near future.

Tommy Toys in San Francisco is one of my TOP favorite Chinese Restaurants.
A perfect balance of classical, refined, and traditional Chinese recipes with the fine dining experience of French service and presentation.

Try their Prefix Menu $68++/Person. AMAZING FOOD!.
RSVP. Dressy Attire

Ambiance 5
Service 5+
Food 5+

http://www.tommytoys.com/index.html

Bon Appetit

[Spicy]

Ahem...

Forgive me. I must make a slight, tiny, itsy bitsy teeny weeny leetle correction.

It's prix fixe, not prefix. It's pronounced "prefix"(sort of), though. Pehaps this was said in jest? If so, forgive the teensy, weensy correction. If not -- Vell, vee all make zee meestake, non?

I happen to love, love, love the Oriental Pearl's fried rice in Frisco. It was so good, I thought about ordering it by Fed Ex when I lived near L.A. Not greasy, but oh so flavorful. Unique, but simple. Now, in just about 90 minutes I can have all my tummy desires! Wheee! Yum.

Bon appétit, alors.

Pari.

Pari,
Thank you for correcting the word "prix fixe"
French : prix, price + fixe, fixed.

The majority of the French don't eat spicy food, BUT If you like Fried Rice & spicy food, try this restaurant:

Osha Thai Noodle Café

GREEN CURRY PASTE FRIED RICE $ 6.95
Fried rice with green curry paste, coconut milk, bamboo, long bean, bell pepper and a choice of beef, chicken or pork (shrimps add $1.50).


696 Geary St, San Francisco 94102 (At Leavenworth St.)
Sun-Thu: 11am-1am
Fri-Sat: 11am-3am

Cheap Eats, Open Late

http://www.oshathai.com/1/

Bon appétit

[ducky]

I know I've mentioned this restaurant before, but have you tried Taste restaurant in Plymouth, Spicy? It is wonderful. I haven't been since they have their new autumn menu, but I'm sure it won't disappoint. It's a drive, but it's worth it. Definitely need reservations.

Nice catch on the prix fixe, Parizienne.

[Dave Burrell]

I know I've mentioned this restaurant before, but have you tried Taste restaurant in Plymouth, Spicy? It is wonderful. I haven't been since they have their new autumn menu, but I'm sure it won't disappoint. It's a drive, but it's worth it. Definitely need reservations.

Nice catch on the prix fixe, Parizienne.

Good to hear about that place - I've passed it often but never stopped in to try it.

Out in Plymouth there's a really good BBQ place called Incahoots, the ambience, service and quality is top notch - check it out sometime folks

[Spicy]

Hey, Spicy, you're a tough critic. What restaurants to you LIKE? But maybe you should put that on a new thread (Spicy's Restaurant Suggestions). KANDA

Here is mt $.02...Just for you KANDA....

Local Chinese restaurants Ambiance, Service, Food
Fats 4 3 3+
Pei Wei 3 3 2
T2 Yan 3 4 3
Jennies Palace -1 -1 -1
Emperor’s Garden 1 1 1
Hop Sing 1 1 1
China House 1 1 3

Bon Appetit!

Jennie's Palace is closing down on or about 11/15 according to a reliable source.

[Darthvader]

Jennie's Palace is closing down on or about 11/15 according to a reliable source.

Wow, guess your rating system is right on then huh? Can you conjure up some winning lotto numbers while you're at it?

BTW, Hop Sing is the best Chinese food in town. Better than Fat's and 1/3 the cost. I'm sure Hop Sing is too yucky for such a sophisticated pallet like yours though but that's your loss.

[bishmasterb]

BTW, Hop Sing is the best Chinese food in town.

I liked Hop Sing as well. Not sure how anyone could rate it low on the ambience scale though...? It's a Chinese restaurant and has a very fitting atmosphere.

[Spicy]

Wow, guess your rating system is right on then huh? Can you conjure up some winning lotto numbers while you're at it?

BTW, Hop Sing is the best Chinese food in town. Better than Fat's and 1/3 the cost. I'm sure Hop Sing is too yucky for such a sophisticated pallet like yours though but that's your loss.

Darthvader & bishmasterb,

Thank you for your response. Jennie's Palace is closing due to high rent and decreased revenue.
You don't need to win lotto, just Work Hard, Work Smart and Spend Less than You Earn. Get it, Save it, Add to it, Share it.
I really enjoy GREAT food and did spend 5 years traveling throughout the USA looking for best restaurants and am very much familiar with Chinese restaurants. I respectfully disagree with you both about Hop Sings. Bill, the owner is a nice person, but I would prefer Fat's or PF Chang's instead of Hop Sings at any given day. The food cost is much higher at Fat's and PF Chang's because they use better ingredients than the local Chinese restaurants.
Chinese restaurants just like many of the ethnic restaurants tend to use too much MSG. Classic example: Vietnamese phở noodle soup is loaded with MSG.

Bon appétit!

[cybertrano]

Jennie's Palace's closing is not a surprise to me. I was never impressed .

[mylo]

What's with all the closings? Is this like a "close in winter, open somewhere else in spring" effect?

[Spicy]

What's with all the closings? Is this like a "close in winter, open somewhere else in spring" effect?

In the US, 40% of all new restaurants fail within the first three years in business, and roughly half of those fail in the first year.
Many of these failures occur when “ordinary” folks attempt to do something “ordinary” like going into the restaurant business. Many simply forget to do their homework, or even more simply, try their hand at the industry before they invest into it.

People love to cook, they are generally really good cooks, then take their talents into an industry that is certain to put their patience to the test. Often they do not attempt to enter the industry beforehand, and lose their shirts before they even open. This is much of the 40% who fail in the industry. To run a business successfully is a very difficult challenge.

In Folsom, most restaurant owners are from the Bay area and have limited knowledge of the food business.
I have met numerous business owners who failed miserably. Very often, if their business doesn’t do well, they blame everyone including the city of Folsom, Chamber of Commerce, Customers, Employees, and/or the Landlord/Property Management.

The majority of ethnic restaurants don’t advertise, not because they have no budget but they don’t believe in spending $ in marketing.

Jennie’s Palace might survive if Jennie does the following:
!) aggressive marketing
2) improve the quality of customer service (almost impossible for Chinese restaurants)
3) improve the quality of food

China Buffet restaurant (E Bidwell & Blue Ravine) will have a big impact on the local Chinese and Japanese restaurants.
A few more of them will go out of business.

Fat's, Pei Wei, Hop Sing's and T2Yan will be ok.
Sakura Buffet, Tokyo Sushi, Teriyaki To Go, Sushi Shack Express, Kirala Sushi, and Suishin Sushi will be affected.

My $.02

[cw68]

Spicy, you definitely bring up some good points.

Regarding Jennie's, I have only eaten there one time and was really disappointed. I won't miss it. T2Yan last week was pretty good, I look forward to seeing how they deal with their location and how they grow once the opening pains get worked out. Pei Wei was not good, but I believe they will do well because of their capital behind them.

Disclaimer: I much prefer Thai over Chinese. Since "discovering" Thai food 20 years ago, Chinese seems much less interesting and tasty and I always compare the two. My bad, I know. They are separate cuisines.

After the talk of Amarin being for sale, I got a craving for their food. (Have always loved their downtown location.) Last night did not disappoint. The Tom Yum soup was excellent, especially nice at the end of a cold. The shrimp (no extra cost versus chicken) were incredible! Briny, salty, tasted like the sea! Just like a good shrimp should. The yellow chicken curry was top-notch, the Path Woo Sen salad was outstanding. However, the Rad Nar we got for the kids was simply OK. Not bad by any means, but not as up to par as the other dishes.

I highly recommend Amarin. Go while it's still around!

[Darthvader]

In the US, 40% of all new restaurants fail within the first three years in business, and roughly half of those fail in the first year.
Many of these failures occur when “ordinary” folks attempt to do something “ordinary” like going into the restaurant business. Many simply forget to do their homework, or even more simply, try their hand at the industry before they invest into it.

People love to cook, they are generally really good cooks, then take their talents into an industry that is certain to put their patience to the test. Often they do not attempt to enter the industry beforehand, and lose their shirts before they even open. This is much of the 40% who fail in the industry. To run a business successfully is a very difficult challenge.

In Folsom, most restaurant owners are from the Bay area and have limited knowledge of the food business.
I have met numerous business owners who failed miserably. Very often, if their business doesn’t do well, they blame everyone including the city of Folsom, Chamber of Commerce, Customers, Employees, and/or the Landlord/Property Management.

The majority of ethnic restaurants don’t advertise, not because they have no budget but they don’t believe in spending $ in marketing.

Jennie’s Palace might survive if Jennie does the following:
!) aggressive marketing
2) improve the quality of customer service (almost impossible for Chinese restaurants)
3) improve the quality of food

China Buffet restaurant (E Bidwell & Blue Ravine) will have a big impact on the local Chinese and Japanese restaurants.
A few more of them will go out of business.

Fat's, Pei Wei, Hop Sing's and T2Yan will be ok.
Sakura Buffet, Tokyo Sushi, Teriyaki To Go, Sushi Shack Express, Kirala Sushi, and Suishin Sushi will be affected.

My $.02

The more I read what you write the more I think you've eaten too much. China Buffet will have a big impact? That hell hole hasn't even opened up yet and it's going to have a big impact? It's got one of the worst locations in town, nearly impossible to get in and out of, they have a sign that says their menu is all over the map, chinese, bbq, sushi, italian, whatever. You slam businesses for not using quality ingredients, etc but you say this place can do it all and will force other places to close?

Me thinks you have a hidden agenda.

[Spicy]

The more I read what you write the more I think you've eaten too much. China Buffet will have a big impact? That hell hole hasn't even opened up yet and it's going to have a big impact? It's got one of the worst locations in town, nearly impossible to get in and out of, they have a sign that says their menu is all over the map, chinese, bbq, sushi, italian, whatever. You slam businesses for not using quality ingredients, etc but you say this place can do it all and will force other places to close?

Me thinks you have a hidden agenda.

Darthvader,

I have NO hidden agenda. I am a no one, just tell like it is. YES, I live to eat.

Here is the estimate cost for restaurants:
Prime Costs: 65-70% of sales.
1) Food 30%
2) Labor 40%
Fixed Expenses: 6-8% of sales
1) Rent
2) Insurance
Average pre-tax profit margins range from 4-7%

Seafood restaurants usually have higher food cost. Scott's: 37-45%. Ethnic restaurants: 17-25%. Buffet restaurants also have higher food cost but much lower labor. It’s A Grind or Starbucks: 20-25%.

China Buffet restaurants have caused a lot of fear within the Asian community in southern and northern Ca.
China Buffet is known for:
1) Low Price
2) Great Selection
3) Causing Nightmare for many of the Chinese/Japanese Restaurants in the area (some Chinese and Japanese Restaurants may have to close down eventually)

The reason China Buffet can afford the $20,000.00/Month Lease in Folsom because the majority of the kitchen employees are imported directely from China and DO WORK FOR FREE.
The owner of China House (711 E Bidwell St, Raley's Center) already migrated to Vallejo because of China Buffet.
China House is currently running by employees.

As soon as China Buffet is open, I will be there checking out their food/place although I usually don’t eat buffet food.

Bon appétit!