Foster City :out of a swamp

The Crown Plaza Hotel is wonderful because it has very spacious, cozy rooms and a handsome lobby and dining area which is enhanced by falls and waterways laden with koi fish. The service at the restaurant is also impeccable. They make a wicked banana brulée oatmeal. Staying here made our visit a definite pleasure.

The cuisine is quite varied and always tasty. We were treated royally at the Burger Brasserie one early morning, as we cruised to find an open café for breakfast. At the Bridgepointe Shopping center, lunch at Mimi’s was very charming, with an atmosphere laden with airs of Provence. I was smitten with the fairy tale-like exterior.

We tasted Istanbul again with dinner at Kapadokia , with authentic Turkish and unpretentious surroundings.

We had many hours of fun browsing the antique and asian furniture stores in Burlingame and Redwood City. We also drove for quite a few miles down El Camino Real , literally translated as the Royal Road. It was awesome to see the huge eucalyptus trees towering over the street on both sides with beautiful , almost white trunks and roots which spoke of a century or more of life.

Quick Tips:

Although its prices were a bit steep, everything at Oriental Antique Furniture was discounted at 50%. Maria, the store manager, was very solicitous, and eager to talk to us about New York and 9/11. You can find some extraordinary armoire reproductions for under . Make a point to go to 3rd Avenue in San Mateo, where you’ll find a wonderful emporium of mostly Balinese furnishings, crafts, and objets d’art. Located on 2 floors, your eyes will never rest for a moment.

Best Way To Get Around:

You really do need your car, although they do have a free shuttle that takes you around downtown San Mateo.

The Crowne Plaza at Foster City looks very unpretentious from the outside, and is not the usual towering edifice that one expects of this chain of hotels. In fact, the very unique design of it is what I found totally charming , and once inside, it is easy to become enamored with the atrium, with its cascading falls, enormous koi fish, Japanese style garden mini-walks and bridges, and tall and luscious green trees, especially in the open restaurant by the elevators.

If you are not driving, as we were, they will provide a complimentary shuttle pick up for you from the airport in San Francisco, which is minutes away.

Every time we stayed here, we had a room on the 3rd floor in the tower with a view of the tree lined boulevard below. Gaining access to the tower is a bit tedious as you must trek from the registration desk to a side exit door which travels the length of all the conference rooms and eventually leads to the outside. Cross the street, re-enter another building and take the elevator to your designated floor. The room décor is quite sunny, and the bed ultra comfortable. Our quarters were equipped with a full size desk computer with high speed internet access, which always puts a smile on Chuck’s face. Actually, the PC came in quite handy for our apartment search as we look for temporary lodging in the Bay area.

You will also have video check out ease through your color TV, and if you’re lazy and just want to hibernate for the day, there are in-room movies, Web TV and Sony Playstation to help you escape reality. The very necessary hair dryer is there, iron and ironing board, complimentary paper including the locals which I thought was a bonus as I got to learn about all the art and theater venues all around the Bay area. You can find extra copies of those at the reception area as well. They have 3 restaurants on the premises, but we kept going back to the Florian Café for breakfast and dinner once or twice, mainly because of the ambiance, and the sound of falling water, as this is the one located in the atrium. If you happen to be there on Sunday, give in to the Sunday Champagne brunch.

They do have banquet and conference accommodations, which were taken up by a company event the first time, and a wedding the second time where a maximum of 1500 people can attend.

I wouldn’t hesitate to stay there again; we also do get fantastic rates through the internet.

Parking is plentiful and free of charge for guests.

Mimi’s Café could be a photograph taken out of a fairy tale; you will see what I mean when you see the exterior of the place. This chain of eateries is south and west coast, and that’s why I had never heard of it.

This particular one was part of the Shopping Center at Fashion Island Drive which is a stone’s throw from the Crowne Plaza Hotel. We went there for lunch and it was quite a crowd. Although the name implies a French connection, the food is definitely American with some Louisiana twists. The signs within the restaurant are delightfully set in French, and this does give it a bit of elegance. Although, the décor, especially the choice of curtains, is very very "Provence" with predominantly blue and yellow colors. I felt quite comfortable.

There are themed rooms which are intended to take you to places like New Orleans, as in the Garden Room . We sat in the Café area where there were comfortable booths and counter seating as well. There was a large display of pastries staring at me during the entire meal. I was much more interested, though, in letting my eyes admire the mixture of textures and colors that made this a most unusual place. It is very different from a Bennigan’s for instance, or a Pizza Uno or even an Applebee’s . There is no theme of nostalgia here with antiquated license plates and baseball hats cluttered on the walls. White and blue checks tablecloths give the bistro an intimate feeling where one can have a romantic dinner as long as you don’t mind the crowds.

Now for the food: the wait staff is slow. By any standards. I had a Thai Chicken wrap that was so huge, I could not finish it. Chuck had the Café Corn Chowder with carrot bread and French bread that was delicious. It took forever to get our food, and people kept streaming in. Some folks came in just to purchase baked goods and left. The menu itself is quite varied, but if you were to substitute some of the French names for American equivalents, it wouldn’t be extraordinary. For instance, they have a sandwich called "L’Express"; curious yet? Well, it’s basically grilled ham and cheese, or a croque monsieur as they’d say in Paris. But they add tomato and 1000 island dressing. You can get very basic here with Pot Roast or get a bit fancier with a Fromage Burger . Feel like pigging out? Then save room for the Nu Awlins Bread Puddin’; a composition of French bread, cream, eggs, sugar, raisins, vanilla served warm with whiskey sauce (yeah!) and whipped cream. I’m going back just to admire those curtains!

I found this place while browsing the local papers at breakfast one morning. The name caught my eye, even though the ad was quite small and of course, if we find anything remotely middle eastern, you can bet we are going to sample it.

So the same evening, we headed out for Redwood City, which is still in the same area code as San Mateo and Foster City. Broadway Street is considered to be a main shopping/eating area, and it was beautifully lit, with mini-light bulbs in the trees. Well, it is not easy to find this place, as we must have gone past it twice. Finally, after digging out the number from the catacombs of my purse, we realized it was a corner restaurant and the name was definitely not in view!

Kapadokia has a very modest interior, but when we walked in, the familiar scent of Istanbul’s aromatic foods teased our nostrils. We knew we hit the jackpot. It was not particularly crowded this evening, and we were seated midway through the restaurant. The menus came quickly, and it seemed that some of the wait staff had not been here very long as they had difficulty understanding and speaking English.

The offerings are simple, but classic: the prerequisite Iskendar Kebab , or Alexander Kebab is featured. We had sampled this dish while in Bursa which you can read about in this journal. The Cacik cucumber/yogurt salad also figured on the menu. The babaganoush was not prepared well unfortunately, and I find that to be true in many middle eastern restaurants in the US. They drown the eggplant with Tahini (sesame) sauce and manage to completely kill the taste of the eggplant. We shared the Mixed Meat Kebab which was wonderful, and preceded by a fresh , well seasoned salad. The bread was outstanding, and we could have made a meal out of it.

It was very obvious that this is a family run business, and when we got up to pay the bill, daughter Aycan was very proud to tell us about her parents, Sultan and Nursel , her mother; the young man who had served us was her cousin Cumhur . Ullas is the family name. We told them we were going to review the restaurant, and that made them beam with pleasure; we also asked them to do something about the invisible sign. If you want to see a menu, you can fax them at (650)363-2054. I think that Mama Nursel cooks all the food.

I have come to realize that the number "4" in California is very significant. It seems that 4th Street in almost every town/city I have visited is a focal point. And San Mateo is no exception. Except here, it's Fourth Avenue. And if you think you've seen all the coffee houses in America, Le Boulanger is here to surprise you. What is even more bizarre is that Starbucks is right next door to it.

Part of the attraction here is the name; let's face it, if you're going to give your feet a rest from walking on Fourth Avenue, and you have a choice between a place that evokes French bakery, and Starbucks....who are you gonna choose?

Well it's obvious that most people didn't feel the way I did today, because Le Boulanger was fairly empty. There was some seating outside, and after we ordered our lattés, we got comfortable on plastic chairs and were ready for some serious people watching.

So what's different about Le Boulanger ? Their espresso menu is essentially the same, but they don't offer special flavorings; also there is only one variety of tea, and it isn't chai. They go beyond the scone/cake/focaccia sandwich: they also offer omelettes, soups, salads, and pizza. You can buy great breads here as well, such as Sour Dough loaves and French baguettes. They invite you to call them for catering affairs and sell wholesale to businesses like hotels, restaurants and other venues. They are very spacious, with table and booth seating, but no cushy armchairs and sofas like "you know who". And finally, they have not taken the country nor the rest of the world by storm. They reside only in California. Their beverages are priced a bit lower than the coffee house leader, but it's altogether a different ambiance.

As usual for us, we fell into this place driving around, as we didn't want to do breakfast in the hotel that morning. We spotted a patron eating outside with her dog attached to a tree, and she lingered, which was a good sign. Either the food was excellent or the newspaper was hard to put down.

There were signs in the window which spoke to Korean burgers and other ethnic foods, but another sign said breakfast, so we braved the elements and walked in.

Very few people were actually there, as the hour was young. We found some booklets on apartment rentals and settled comfortably in the first booth by the window, where we could benefit from the sun's rays.

The Monterey Jack omelette which I ordered was nothing less than perfect together with black tea. As a matter of fact, you can build your own omelette here; $5.95 for 2 ingredients and $6.35 for 3, choosing from ham, bacon, american cheese, swiss cheese, pepper jack cheese, caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms or sautéed bell peppers. There is also a Spanish Omelette on the menu which incorporates avocado.

Chuck had the pancake short stack with fruit compote which I tasted and rated A. The service was attentive and friendly. Refills offered on coffee and tea.

Owner Kee Duck Lee had a chance to chat with Chuck and was exremely excited to find that we were going to review his restaurant. The atmosphere is very family and friendly and the place is quite clean, down to its restroom for which I can personally vouch.

Burger Brasserie is not just breakfast; they offer their classic "Mannalia" burger, and more sophisticated varieties such as the Paris burger which sports Brie Cheese and mushrooms, the Western burger with aged cheddar cheese and homemade barbecue sauce, the California burger with avocado, Jack cheese and sprouts and 4 more combinations.

For the vegetarian, another impressive roster of choices which mirror the meat burgers with their additives. They also do chicken a few different ways, including Teriyaki and Cajun and offer 7 different salads including Chinese Chicken which is made with grilled chicken, jicama, red peppers, sprouts, crispy noodles and peanuts.

As if this were not enough, the menu serves up deli sandwiches with choices of sourdough bread, multi grain, white, rye or French baguette. They are happy to fax you a menu if you call them, and if you're thinking of catering, they can help.

Warm, cozy, friendly and great food. A super place for the first meal of the day!

You can't miss this place, as it is literally huge and they had signs everywhere in the window calling attention to the fact that everything was discounted 50% or more as they were closing the location. I don't know if there are other locations, but we liked what we saw displayed in the window, so we walked in.

Maria, the saleswoman, cashier, and bottle washer it seems, was lonely because there was no one in the store. She was eager to talk, so naturally, when they find out we are from New York, the conversation inevitably turns to 9/11. In the interim, I was hunting for a real bargain and was sorely disappointed. The smaller objects, like statues, end tables, vases and such were uninteresting; the furniture was absolutely gorgeous, especially the tall armoires with a brass circle at the top of the doors. They claim that all comes from the mainland in China, and are true antiques from the Ming dynasties of 1500-1800. I'm not that well trained to be able to recognize a fake when I see one. They do have an enormous assortment of odd pieces, incomplete bedroom sets, chairs made of cherry wood with the high arched back rests. By now, I can easily recognize the exquisite lattice woodwork, especially emphasized on screens, which are made mainly from camphor wood. It can also appear on the edge of a headboard, or the upper portion of a chest of drawers.

While we were there, Maria finally had a client come back to pick up a piece he had apparently ordered from her previously. We were thankful for this interruption. It's a interesting venue to browse, but I'm not sure that I'd make a purchase here. When we passed by the second time we were in the area, the store was still open and had the same signs in the window.