P F Changs- A Saturday Happy Hour

Saturday is our least favorite food day as there are virtually no restaurant deals to be found. Most dinner deals are Sun-Thurs. and happy hours are Mon-Fri. Feeling adventurous we decided to go on a quest to find a great dining deal on a Sat. and since we had to go to San Jose on business we decided we try to find something there. Once we hit town we quickly found a Metro newspaper and scanned for some kind of food deal. We immediately found an ad for an everyday happy hour at PF Changs, but the only location I knew about was in Saratoga and we were headed downtown. So we decided to take a walk through downtown, up First Street and back down Second. Most restaurants didn't open till 5 and the ones that were open didn't have happy hours on the weekend. Just about when we were about to give up and head for our favorite Burrito shop, Irina said, "isn't that place on the corner a PF Chang's?" Sure enough there it was on the corner of Second and San Fernando and right out front was a sign announcing happy hour, everyday, 3-6pm.
Upon entering we were greeted by a friendly hostess and as she started to pull out dinner menus I quickly informed her that we were there for happy hour, not wanting her to get us setup in the dining room and then have to move us. Without batting an eye she asked if we wanted to sit in the bar or the dining room. We chose the dining room and were immediately seated in a comfy booth. Soon after being seated we were approached by a smiling server, who started explaining that she was going to mix up a special sauce for us and how it would work with dinner. Again, I informed her that we were going to be ordering from the happy hour menu and she said great, and that the sauces she could mix up would go great with our appetizers. We were impressed, in a lot of places once they know you're there for happy hour you're shuttled off to the bar and treated like poor relatives. These people were earning major points and we hadn't even got to the menu.
What a menu it is. There are 14 food items ranging from 3.00-6.00. Drinks also run in the same price range and cover all the bases; beer, wine, sake, well and specialty drinks. The food selections cover a wide range from spring rolls to spare ribs, enough variety to satisfy pretty much any craving you might have.
First a note about the dipping sauces. When you arrive the server brings a variety of ingredents to the table. These include; vinegar, soy sauce and chili oil along with a chili paste and wasabi sauce. You're asked if you want mild, medium or hot. We asked if we could have mild and hot and it wasn't a problem. Once the basic sauce is made the ingredients are left on the table for further enhancement, a nice touch.
There are so many choices is was difficult to narrow them down to three choices. Since this was our first visit we had lots of questions about different items and our server, Virginia, seemed to enjoy taking the time to answer all of our questions. We finally decided on Pork dumpling ($4 for 4), Northern style spareribs ($6) and Sichuan Chicken Flatbread($4). With the dumplings we also had a choice of steamed or crispy pan fried, we chose the crispy option. For drinks we went with a Kirin draft ($3) and an Asian Pear Mojito ($6). Our drinks came quickly and after a short wait the food arrived. Drinkwise the Mojito was a real hit, it came in a large glass and was an expert blend of ingredients. Its basic flavor was a very good Mojito, a good balance of rum, lime, mint and soda and then a very subtle but distinct pear flavor finished it off, hats off to the bartender for this one.
The food was beautiful and tasted just as good as it looked. The dumplings were perfectly crisp, the dough wasn't too thick and the filling was very tasty. The soy vinegar garlic sauce that comes with them was really good too. These disappeared way too fast, next time two orders. The Chicken flatbread initially confused us as I think of flatbread as something crunchy, but our server informed us that is was more like a tortilla. It was really an asian influenced quesadilla, with a twist. The wrapper was infused with Scallions, while subtle really livened up the taste. Inside were stuffed chicken, green onions and a little cheese to hold it together. This came with a chili mayo dipping sauce, which was awesome. Once the flatbreads were gone we spooned up the remainder of the sauce. this also came with an Asian Slaw, which had a nice lemon flavor that helped clean the palate and keep all the different flavor distinct, a nice touch. I've mentioned before that I'm a fan of dry rubbed ribs and the Northern Ribs are done that way with an Asian dry rub. I liked that the rub was used sparingly and that they gave you more on the side so you could season to taste. The portion was six good size meaty ribs, hardly any fat and moist and fall off the bone tender. As we started eating our meal we realized some rice would make this a full meal, but when we checked the menu there was no side order of rice. So we asked our server about that and she said if we'd like rice she'd be happy to bring some, no charge! Remember the sauce we mixed up at the beginning, well dumping that on the rice and now we were reaching something very close to Cheap Eater Nirvana. Could it get any better than this? Yes it could. We had been watching these colorful little shooters passing by on their way to the other tables around us. Turns out these are a variety of dessert shooters and at $2 each we couldn't pass them up. We got a Chocolate cake with Raspberry and a Strawberry Shortcake. Though small they packed an intense amount of flavor, the perfect way to top off this delicious meal. So for less than $30.00 we got a wonderful filling dinner, top of the line drinks and dessert! Along with fantastic service.
We've decided we could come back many times and make a different meal each time. One item that seemed to show up on most of the tables was the lettuce wraps, which come in tofu or chicken, they looked so good we wished we had ordered them, but definitely next time.
After dinner we talked with the Manager, Kat, and she explained that the happy hour menu was very a new addition and that a lot of thought had gone into it and that a concious decision had been made to put the best and most popular items on the menu. Hats off to management for this decision.
A couple of things to know. This is a chain and I am only reviewing the downtown San Jose branch. I do know that the two San Jose locations along with the Sunnyvale and Palo Alto are offering this menu. If you are in another area I would check the website or call the branch you are considering and ask what their happy hour policy it, as it may vary.

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P. F. Changs
Second and San Fernando Streets
San Jose, CA

Crow's Nest-Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor

The sun finally came out today and we knew there would be a great sunset and one of the best places to catch a sunset is at the upstairs lounge at the Crow's Nest. Fantastic view of the Bay and coast.
The great thing is there is a wonderful happy hour from 3:30 to 6pm. Pints of beer, wine and well drinks are $3.30 ea. All appetizers are half off and are there some good ones. After settling on a vodka tonic and vodka cranberry for our drinks we poured over the appetizer menu, trying to make a descision. They have great crab cakes and tasty natchos, but tonight we were after seafood, so we settled on the smoked salmon appetizer ($4.95) and the Ahi ruby rare tuna ($5.25). Wow so much flavor packed into each bite. The salmon comes with a Wasabi mayo dipping sauce and the tuna is crusted with cajun spices and comes with a soy dipping sauce with wasaibi and ginger on the side. Nice portions that are rich and filling.
Good drinks, great food and a wonderful sunset, life doesn't get much better than that.

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Crow's Nest
Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor

Michael's on Main - Soquel, CA

Michael's on Main is a great little restaurant tucked away on tree lined Main St in Soquel, CA, overlooking the Soquel Creek. Its got a large airy dining room and a separate cozy bar with a fireplace and french doors that open onto a large patio overlooking the creek. While the dining room is a little more formal, the bar is relaxing and cozy. It has tables but there is also a very comfotable couch that sits in front of the fireplace.
Prices on the menu are on the higher side, but since this is Eating out Cheap, we were here for the happy hour and boy do they have a happy hour. What usually brings us here is the Cuban pulled pork sliders, which are worth every bit of $12.00, but for happy hour these bad boys go for $6.00.
Usually for these reviews I fill up one side of a 3x5 card with notes, but today to get all the specials in I needed both sides of the card.
Starting off with the food deals, there is a poriton of the appetizer menu that is half off during happy hour, which runs from 4-6pm Tues-Fri. Besides the pulled pork sliders there is; Garlic Pepper Wings, Fish and Chips, Popcorn chicken, Garlic Fries, and Sweet Potato fries. At happy hour they range from $3-6.
On the drink side we have; draft beer at $3, House wine and well drinks $4. They also have specialty drinks for $5, usually $9 and those include; Margaritas, Lemon Drops, Mojitos and Appletinis. There is something for everyone.
We ordered the aforementioned sliders and the fish and chips, along with a Mojito and Margarita. The fish and chips are a generous portion; three filets of battered deep fried fish and a mound of delicious cross cut fries, if there weren't three delicious sliders waiting we might have stopped here. The sliders are to die for, a fat mound of tender pork with just a hint of barbeque sauce and some shredded cabbage inside a toasted bun, heaven on a plate. The drinks were handmade and potent, something I like about this bar. We will definitely be coming back.

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Michaels on Main
2591 Main St
Soquel, CA

The Hindquarter-Santa Cruz, CA

The Hindquarter Bar and Grille has been on our radar, because the shear number of ways they have to dine there and save money doing it. Besides the usual half off happy hour you find at loads of places, they have nightly specials, internet coupons and now specials that they have through their Facebook Fan Page.
We decided to try two of their specials, the Sunday night special and the Facebook members special. The special for Sunday night is Applewood smoked Pork chops for $13.99. Being a member of their Facebook fan page we were informed that we could upgrade a half rack of baby back ribs to a full rack for the half rack price which is 15.99. That's a savings of $5.00 off the pork chops and $8.00 off the ribs. This was going to be a meaty dinner.
We started off by splitting a house salad with Blu Cheese dressing. They are happy to split the salad and serve it on two plates and its a generous portion presented like two portions. The salad comes tossed with the dressing applied, the way I like it. I have never got used to the idea of dumping a big glop of dressing on top of a salad. If you don't like salad served this way, be sure to ask for the dressing on the side.
BTW service was great, water and two kinds of bread arrived almost as soon as we were seated and the server took our drink orders shortly thereafter. Very nice.
We were just finished with our salad when dinner arrived. Wow, the portions here are amazingly large. The special consisted of two large thick juicy pork chops, scalloped potatoes and sauteed root vegetables (beets, parsnips, rutabaga, and onions). The ribs were a large rack with the scalloped potatoes and cole slaw.
This place knows how to treat meat. The pork chops were nicely cooked, juicy and firm but not at all dried out. The ribs were meaty with a nice crispness on the outside from the Honey Peach glaze they use. This is a refreshing change from the usual red barbeque sauce, yum. We really like their scalloped potatoes, and so do most patrons as we've been here when they've run out early, but not tonight. The really nice surprise were the veggies. A mix of root vegetables sauteed in a delicous sauce. Really, really tasty. The cole slaw was no slouch either, crispy cabbage in a well balanced sweet/tart dressing. In the end we had one of the two pork chops and half a rack of ribs leftover. Going to make a nice dinner tomorrow.
This is a great place for family gatherings and intimate dinners. They have several rooms to accomodate both these kind of groups and even when they're packed we've seen them work overtime to keep everyone satisfied. A good sign is for all the years we've been coming here we've seen the same staff and they're friendly and efficient.

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The Hindquarter Bar & Grille
303 Soquel Av
Santa Cruz, CA

Winter on the Wharf

Today was the type of day that screams, "This is why you live in Santa Cruz!" It's the middle of January and today was clear and warm, no tourists and the waves were excellent.
We did a late afternoon walk near Natural Bridges and then went over to Lighthouse Point watched the surfer's at Steamer's Lane. The waves were huge and the rides extremely long, winding around the point into Cowell's beach. From where we were standing on the point we could see across the water to the Santa Cruz wharf, which is situated next to the Boardwalk. Being a wintry Monday, the area was fairly deserted, which gave us an excuse to cruise on over to the wharf and see what kind of deals were available. We parked at the beginning of the wharf and walked the length, checking each of the restaurants for the best happy hour deals. Almost all the restaurants had some kind of specials, but nothing got our attention till we got to the end of the wharf and checked out Stagnaros Bros. restaurant.
This is an old school family restaurant attached to a seafood market. Its also got one of the best views of the Monterey Bay great for watching a sunset. They have some nice looking dinner specials but the real deals are in the upstairs bar. Windows on three sides of this room give a wonderful panoramic view of the bay and coast. The place has recently been remodeled, but thankfully they kept the old time nautical theme that reminds me of my youth, we'd come from San Jose for a day at the beach and then dinner on the wharf.
While the view is great, it was food we came for. The room was full, but luckily there was one table near a window available, which we grabbed. Almost immediately a server brought us some warm sourdough rolls with butter a nice touch for a happy hour setting. Your can order from the regular menu if you choose, but most people seemed to be here for the happy hour menu, and with good reason.
Drinkwise for three dollars you could choose from several craft and import beers, served by the pint, a glass of Salmon Creek wine or a well drink. I choose the Stagnaro Bros. Pale ale, which was light and flavorful.
The appetizer list was the most extensive we had seen on our walk down the wharf. Normall we would have choosen two apps for the two of us, but we were famished and frankly there were too many good things and we couldn't make up our minds, so we chose three. We chose, deep fried Calamari (5.95), Crab Cakes (6.95) and Blackened Ahi Tuna (6.95). When they all arrived we realized we could have stopped at two, the portions were very good sized, particularly the Calamrai, which was a huge portion. In the end though we were glad to have been able to try all three. Two other items of interest were the coconut prawns and half dozen oysters on the half shell. These both seemed popular at the other tables.
As I said the Calamari was a large portion battered in a nice flour based batter. The Calamari was tender and the batter was just right, slightly crisp and not greasy. My only quibble was the batter was a little bland, but the tartar sauce and cocktail sauce helped bring up the flavor. What really kicked it into gear was the Aoli sauce that came with the Crab Cakes. The fresh garlic in the sauce really finished off the Calamari. If you order just the Calamari, I'd ask for a side of Aoli.
Their were two Crab Cakes in a serving and they came on a bed of salad, which had a light vinigrette. The cakes were slightly crunchy on the outside, fro the cracker based coating and moist and flavorful on the inside. Plenty of crab and not a lot of filler. My wife usually leaves these to me, but one bite and she claimed her full share.
The real standout here was the Blackened Ahi Tuna. This was more of a seafood salad. The tuna sat atop a mound of "Asian greens" and was drizzled with a slightly spicy sauce. Even split there was plenty for both of us, though I might be tempted to order this one just for myself. All this food, including drinks set us back around $25.00, throw in the view and you have one great deal.
Since we had been so frugal, we decided to treat ourselves. So on the walk back to the car we stopped at Marini's at the Beach, a local candy store or maybe just candy heaven. We choose two plump candied apricots dipped in dark chocolate, a great way to top off a great meal.

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Stagnaro Bros. Restaurant
Santa Cruz Wharf
Santa Cruz, CA

Takara- Japanese dining made affordable

When it comes to a style of food we love, the winner has to be Japanese cuisine. The problem is usually the price. We have several favorite places in the Santa Cruz area and one we frequent is Takara, located in Capitola. On our last visit we were surprised to find an addtional menu tucked into the regular menu. At the top it said, "Dinner for Two $25", and it didn't say "each". So we confirmed with our server that indeed for $25.00 you get; an appetizer, two soups, two salads, two order of rice and two entrees. Now usually on these kinds of specials we've found the selection to be limited, but here we found the listings to be extensive. There were four different appetitzers, nine entrees and nineteen different rolls! This list doesn't exclude vegetarians either from that list; three apps, three entress and seven rolls were listed as vegetarian. So I'm guessing from that list you should be able to satisfy everyone in your party. One nice thing is you can substitute the entree for two sushi rolls. This give you a lot of options. Two main entrees or one main entree and two roll or four sushi rolls. The selection of rolls is like a "Best of" list of their best rolls. There are two additional entrees that you can choose for $2.00 extra; Broiled Salmon or Salmon Teriyaki. Whew!
For our visit we chose the Chicken Wing apps, Sesame Chicken with Lemon Sauce and Beef teriyaki. Our soups and salads arrived quickly and were very tasty. I'm especially fond of the miso based salad dressing that's used here. The Chicken Wings arrived shortly thereafter and were a treat. I'm not a fan of Chicken Wings at all, but I'll make an exception for these. Six small wing pieces fried crispy with a not overly hot sauce cooked into the skin. The skin was crunchy and I liked the subtle sauce. The chicken inside was moist and tender. They come with a Blue Cheese dipping sauce, which I found unnecessary as the wings were plenty tasty on their own. We were starting to feel pretty satisfied at this point, but there was more to come. When the entrees arrived we were very happy to see this were not scaled down portions at all. We have the Sesame Chicken quite often when we dine at Takara and this portion was exactly the same size as off the regular menu, two large pieces of white meat chicken, deep fried in a light Tempura batter. This comes with a lemon dipping sauce on the side, but I like the chicken plain or dipped in Soy Sauce. The Beef Teriyaki was to die for. I'm picky about my teriyaki and I don't usually order any beef dish in Oriental restaurants. The Teriyaki because I'm not fond of overly sweet sauces and I more often than not disappointed with the quality of beef used in sauced dishes. Well this dish changed my mind in a big way. The beef was a very tender piece of sliced steak and the Teriyaki enhanced the flavor without overpowering the dish. My wife doesn't usually eat red meat, but this time she claimed her fair share of the dish. Rice rounds out the meal.
For $25.00 I haven't found a meal to equal this in quality or quanitity. We had enough left over for a late night snack or light lunch.
We talked with one of the owners who told us that him and his wife had spent over six weeks coming up with this meal deal. He said they debated, coupons, percentage off deals, etc. and even brought in staff suggestions before deciding that what they wanted to do was offer a real honest deal that was difficult for people to pass up. And in my book they've done just that, my hats off to them.
They haven't decided how long to keep this deal available, so I'd suggesting checking before you go down there to make sure you're not surprised, but I definitely suggest taking advantage of this offer as soon as possible.

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Takara Restaurant
41st Av and Capitola Rd.
Capitola, CA