Pan Tao

Pan Tao
1696 S Wolfe Rd
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
(408) 737-9976

Vitals:

kid friendly
credit cards accepted

I’ve only tried the dim sum here, and while the dim is slightly above average, it is at a much better price than at surrounding restaurants serving dim sum. There are the usual dishes here and you won’t want for anything. I found that the skins are thicker than what I’m used to and pretty mushy and sticky, so much so that each dumpling almost breaks up when I try to pick it up.

Come early (before 11:00 am) or come after 1:30 pm otherwise you’ll be in for a long wait. Another reason to come early is to score a parking spot as there aren’t nearly enough spots to accommodate the crowds of people that come here.

Tomatina

Tomatina
3127 Mission College Blvd
Santa Clara, CA 95054
Phone: (408) 654-9000
Fax: 408 654-9009
www.tomatina.com

Vitals:
Mon-Thurs: 11 am - 10 pm
Sat: 11:30 am - 11:00 pm
Sun: 11:30 am - 10 pm
Good for groups
kid-friendly

Tomatina is named after the festival in the village of Bunol, Spain, where for one day each year, there is a town food fight using ripe tomatoes. Tomatina is a casual pizza joint that serves some good thin crust pizza (although the pizza crust reminds me of naan bread, which is fine by me), which is baked in a brick oven that makes the crust bubble up and crispy. I really like this place as the food is good, cheap and it's a convenient place to go to before you check out a movie.

Starters are pretty standard, garlic rolls, bruschetta and soups (which generally range from $3.50-$8.50). They also serve pan-roasted mussels, which are particular good. The mussels are fresh and the sauce is made of garlic, white wine, some spices and tomato sauce. I don’t know what they put in that sauce but it’s delicious (I even like to dip my bread in the sauce).

Interestingly, they also serve piadines (pronounced like “pee-ah-dee-nees”), which is essentially a flatbread topped with your choice of salad that you fold in two and eat like a huge taco (generally run around $9-$10). When I first ordered one, I couldn’t imagine how anyone could finish the whole thing (they are pretty large), but once you start eating one, you can’t stop and lo and behold, you are left with an empty plate and a full stomach. My favorite piadines are the caprese (the bread has a slight drizzle of pesto and it's made with romaine lettuce, roasted tomatoes, fresh mozarella, parmesan and topped with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing, but instead of romaine lettuce I ask for baby spinach) and the chicken (the bread is spread with some garlic paste and it's made with baby spinach, roasted red peppers, mozzarella and parmesan cheese and topped with a citrus vinaigrette) .

I’m not a pizza aficionado, but the pizzas here are pretty good as well but the pizzas are a bit on the small side. My husband and I can easily finish a medium sized pizza (although I’m sure we could do some damage on large pizzas as well). Pizzas range from $11-$24, but personal pizza starts at $8. My favorite pizza here is the “Spicy” Three Cheese pizza. It’s a simple pizza that packs a lot of flavor in each bite - it’s made of a blend of feta, fontina, parmesan and mozzarella, with pieces of proscuitto, roasted garlic paste, peppercinis, onions and fresh parsley. The blend of cheeses is decadent and provides a good salty base that nicely complements (and doesn’t overpower) the pieces of proscuitto and is highlighted by the spicy kick provided by the peppercinis. I’m not a big fan of the parsley, so I just pick those out. I have to stop talking about this pizza…. The Pesto Chicken is also good, which is made of tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese , with pieces of roasted chicken, roasted red peppers and drizzled with a sun dried tomato and basil pesto sauce.

Pastas are adequate, but not memorable (prices range from $9-$11). Can’t say when I’ve ever been impressed by a pasta dish. I’ll keep searching for that perfect plate.

This is one of my favorite cheap South Bay Eats!!!!

Pho Little Saigon

Pho Little Saigon
855 E. Homestead Road
Sunnyvale, California 94087
(408) 245-5570

Vitals:
open 10 am to 9 am daily
cash only
kid friendly
price: $5-10


Across the street from Ranch 99, Pho Little Saigon is a no frills Vietnamese restaurant that serves some authentic pho.

What is pho? It's a traditional Vietnamese noodle soup dish. Pho is generally served in a large bowl and consists of white rice noodles in a clear and fragrant beef broth with different and thin cuts of meat on top (the picture above shows cuts of Tai or rare steak on top). Generally, you can choose what types of meat you'd like to have with your pho:

• Tai - rare steak
• Nam - brisket
• Chin - lean brisket
• Sac - tripe
• Gan - tendon

Generally, if you go to a restaurant that is named for a particular dish, you should try the specialty. I like this place because where else can you get a filling meal for $5.25 (small) or $6.25 (large). Trust me, you should try the small first as their portions are very generous (the bowls are huge!).

The menu lists a bunch of different combinations, but you don't need to stick with any of them. You can create your own combination and Tai Chin is my favorite combination. I love the broth, it has a complexity of flavors, but they do seem to use MSG. I've been to some places where the cinnamon or anise flavors were overpowering, but at Pho Little Saigon, the flavors meld together well and there is a certain richness to the broth. I do have to say that there may be issues with consistency sometimes. The broth is not always the same and sometimes it is too salty (maybe it's the soup from the bottom of a pot?). Along with the pho, you are provided a plate of bean sprouts, chiles, thai basil, some other herbs and slices of lime. Tip - in order to keep the broth warm, ask for cooked sprouts.

Some people tend to put the hoisin sauce and pepper sauce right into the soup. I like my pho plain, but like to mix the sauces on the side in order to dip pieces of beef.

When I'm not in the mood for beef pho, the chicken pho is ok, but it almost tastes like chicken broth with noodles.

The other dishes, such as the bun or the rice dishes, are average. If you need something to accompany the pho, then I'd suggest the egg rolls, which add a different crunchy texture that contrasts nicely with the soupy chewy noodles.