Pearl Thai in Benicia

You're looking at the best item I've had at Pearl Thai in Benicia: the Calamari Salad, cooked perfectly, the calamari still slightly warm, and dressed with a mix of lime, garlic, chili, ginger/galangal. This wakes up the palette, that's for sure.

Best salad dish in Solano County, by a wide margin.

Their version of Drunken Noodles is great for the variety of vegetables perfectly cooked, the texture of the noodles, and the sauce within, and that basil which tastes like it was just harvested. But the accompanying chicken was incidental and so bland it bordered on irrelevant. We noticed this last time. I'm guessing that the rent is pretty high in Benicia and the owner's gotta cut corners somewhere. Plus, Solano County is known for bland tastes.

Finally, the Red Curry, which was fantastic, and again, so were the vegetables, particularly the eggplant. But the 6 shrimp were pretty plain--they were good, there was no marriage of the protein and the sauce. I think back to the Thai restaurant I used to go to in East Austin--the curries here are so much  more vivid, I'm thinking those others must be made from mixes.

That said, this is easily the best Thai restaurant this side of El Sobrante. Embarassing how much more accomplished Pearl Thai is compared to Thai restaurants here in Vallejo.

Highway 37: Springtime Fecundity

Highway 37. This two lane highway across the wetlands NW of Vallejo looks very different these days  thanks to an ongoing wetlands restoration project and the ending of the four-year drought. Most people in Vallejo think of this as just a shortcut or alternative to nightmarish commutes, but there's really some beautiful scenery. For those reading my blog who need orientation, these first four photographs are on the bridge crossing the Napa River heading west from Vallejo towards Sonoma and Marin Counties.

Napa River. Napa the city in the distance on the right side of the horizon.

Pretty sure that's Mt. Tam on the left side of the horizon. Plus you can see another reason I was taking photos yesterday: bottleneck traffic.

California poppies and green stuff growing from the ground.

You might be able to see terns & geese swimming in those gullies, by clicking on the photo.

Now, we're heading back, having seen City Of Gold in San Rafael. Federally protected wetlands. Click on most of these photos and you'll see some of the waterfowl.

Mt. Diablo on the left hand side of the horizon.

Here, we've just crossed the 37 bridge back across the Napa River, and are heading home as the sun sets.

Shandong Deluxe

Yet another brilliant Szechuan/Northern Chinese restaurant, this one on Taraval in the Outer Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco.

Hand-pulled noodles with seafood.

Deep soulful food.

Smashing umami broth.

We also got lamb skewers, sprinkled with chiles and cumin.

And hand made dumplings that are sublime. These had a mixture of pork, shrimp, chive and Chinese mustard. I doused mine in the chile garlic sauce at the table which I spooned onto my plate.

Taj Grill Vallejo

Buffet selection, June 2016.

We returned to Taj Grill, this time (5/25) for dinner, for the first time in a while. Above and below is the Lamb Saagwala, tender cubes of lamb with a rich blend of spinach, spices, and, I'm pretty sure, ghee. 

Above is Taj Grill's Baingan Bharta, fire-roasted eggplant with masala blend. Below is their Garlic Naan.

Above is Taj's Chicken Biryani, the saffron and spice blend quite evident on the nose and tongue. Below, some of everything on my plate. The father of this family owned three restaurants in San Francisco, sold them, then his sons opened this one. They use the father's recipes, and most of their menu is North Indian, but Taj Grill has their own approach worth checking out.

Surprisingly good Indian restaurant in Vallejo. We've been here before, when it first opened, for dinner. Pretty sure we had a lamb curry & chicken tikka masala before. Today we hit the Lunch Buffet, which, at $8.95, is one of the best bargains in Vallejo, especially considering the calibre of the cuisine at Taj Grill.

The Saag Paneer at Taj Grill is one of the best versions I've had: clearly made with ghee, the cheese has great flavor & texture, and the spinach tastes fresh. They had a nice looking salad on the buffet, but with such good Saag Paneer, that's kind of redundant.

I guess I've had so many dial-it-in versions of Dal, I'm used to ignoring it, but not here: perfect blend of spices with the natural nutty umami of yellow lentils. Spot on. Same deal with the Tandoori Chicken. This version was flavorful and not totally dried out, which is usually what I've found. Gotta be the case that they don't put too much out at a time.

Soya Balls. Ever encounter that dish in an Indian restaurant...or anywhere? Essentially balls made from Textured Vegetable Protein, served in a nice curry. Most of the rest of the buffet was a mix of stuff along these lines, several with chicken, some with vegetables, and what was the oddest selection of all, Meatballs. Tasted like a typical Meatball served in tomato sauce with spaghetti, but I'm pretty sure that was not ground beef (lamb would be my guess).

Quite clearly, Taj Grill has great options for vegetarians, one of the only examples I can think of here. And not just a settle for less option: these are exemplary. 

http://www.tajgrillvallejo.com

Thistle Meats in Petaluma

Little pig, little pig: I'll huff and puff...

Breakfast sandwich at Thistle Meats: merguez, egg, cheddar & arugula on brioche.

Thistle Meats finally got their front facade repaired, so they're back in business via their storefront.

Butcher plying his trade.

Some of my selections.

Robin & I split a chicken salad on a fresh baguette. Organic, free-range chicken that has some actual flavor to it, I might add.

Everything that's old is new again. The Seed Bank & Thistle Meats at E. Washington & Petaluma Blvd are at the forefront of bringing it back, whether we're talking about seeds for thousands of heirloom vegetables, herbs and fruit for the former, or the traditional meets and condiments purveyed at the latter. Thistle Meats recently had to move their operations to the back alley since someone plowed into their front facade, but they've reacted brilliantly. Note this perfectly cooked burger Robin's eating. They didn't even ask how she wanted it done, they shouldn't have to. Perfect medium rare.

I had a pastrami sandwich. Sublime.

We also got some fantastic mousse and terrine. We've had their stuff before. This is the way it always was done until the wretched corner-cutting advent of factory farming.

Here's their back porch set-up.

Easy parking in the alley facing the muddy Petaluma River. Just look for the pig.

They hope the front facade will be done by next month. 

Check them out!

www.thistlemeats.com

SF Construction sites

Construction of the new Trans Bay Terminal, as viewed from the SE (6/21/16).

This is the hospital they're building across the street from work (6/15/16). Note that the crane is lifting modular exterior windows, to be set in place. 

Here's a bunch of shot of all the construction happening at and near the new Trans Bay Terminal in downtown San Francisco, April 1, 2016.

This might be my favorite shot of this set. Trans Bay Terminal, April 1, 2016.

Most of these are shots of the hospital being built on the former site of the Jack Tar Hotel in San Francisco @ Geary & Van Ness.

Here's a shot of the new Trans Bay Terminal Building being built

Not sure what kind of behemoth this will be, but it's just north of the present Temporary Trans Bay Terminal.