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The menu is "eclectic Mexican/Brazilian/Asian" with a "Hawaiian North Shore vibe." Bamboo sticks are tied to supporting metal beams, giving the place the look of an urban shanty. Surfboards hang from the rafters, and surf stickers hold the walls in place. Though most entrees carry familiar Mexican names (e.g., enchilada, tacos, burritos), these aren’t your average south-of-the-border pickings. You’ll find Polynesian-style shrimp as an option on many dishes. Carne asada (lean steak) has been marinated in soy sauce. Also, there are no red rice or refried beans here; instead, find "Ahi" rice and black beans or spicy Cajun white beans. Ahi rice is white rice mixed with parsley and contains no Ahi tuna, as its name suggests.

Wahoo has a short list of appetizers and starters, like Maui Onion Rings, Quesadillas, and Taquitos. Chicken Tortilla Soup is made with carrots, onions, cabbage, and white cubes of chicken breast ($2.49). The soup comes steaming and spicy hot, despite the "mildly spicy" menu description. More lime would have added depth. Polynesian-style shrimp added to quesadillas were plump, but left me suspecting the qualifier "Polynesian-style" is a bit like when people describe themselves as "spiritual" –- what it means is not readily apparent.

The hardest part about choosing your entree is the filling. Tacos, enchiladas, and burritos come with your choice of flame-broiled or blackened fish or chicken, steak, braised lean pork, blackened mushrooms, sautéed shrimp, or vegetables. Try the Wahoo –- a white-fleshed fish with a mild taste similar to mahi mahi (at one time, Wahoo was plentiful near Oahu, Hawaii, which accounts for its name, but a more imaginative explanation attributes the name to the sound made by the lucky ones who got away). The white morsels of fish are as tender and fresh as the young man who takes your order.

The runner-up is carne asada, which is tender and flavorful. Chicken is white breast meat and tends to be dry. If you’re not a fan of spicy, skip the "blackened" choices.

Tacos here are "soft"; two corn tortillas plate a small amount of filling, two kinds of cheese, and a heap of shredded greens ($5.49 for the Two Taco combination platter). Cabbage tops the seafood fillings, and green lettuce is used for the meats. Black beans, Cajun white beans, or a mix of both accompany combination platters. Beans have not been simmered to creaminess, but perhaps beans are like mattresses –- some people like them firm.

Surf’s up at Wahoo. Go experience the American dream.

Jujubi caters to the lunch and late night crowds. Lunchers can choose from two dozen rice or noodle dishes, all priced at $6.99 or less. Rice dishes are a more diverse clique than their noodle counterparts, with options like Korean BBQ Beef with Kimchee and Seafood Porridge. The menu is filled with tantalizing descriptions of the victuals, proclaiming Crispy Tender Pork Chop to be "very crispy and juicy," and informing us that Mango Salsa Fish is "grilled-to-perfect."

Willing to be led on, I ordered Ginger Basil Chicken with Salad, described as "skinless, boneless, chicken cut into cubes and marinated with authentic Taiwanese seasoning, sautéed with green onion, ginger, Asian basil and sun-dried chili." What showed up were carmel-colored bites of chicken, half a snowball of white rice and a small pile of anemic raw cabbage. Chicken came piping hot and flavorful, tasting mostly of soy and ginger. But what underminded this dish was the presence of several large slices of ginger and greasy strings of fried basil mixed in with the chicken that give the impression there’s more chicken than actually meets the mouth. They lie around like the Mounds bars in the trick-or-treat candy basket – you have to pick around them to get to the good stuff. Jujubi attempts to liven up the cabbage salad with a dribble of wasabi dressing. Certainly, this dish tries hard to satisfy. You might even hear yourself whispering, "It’s not you, really." But no one should be left with a dish that leaves you hungry, no matter how good it sounds on paper. Noodle dishes sound good, but are not extraordinary. The exception is Green Curry Udon Soup, which is extraordinarily spicy and should not be attempted if the date’s going well. Fortunately, the late night crowd fares better. Those simply looking for a good sip have over forty smoothies, milk teas, coffees, icees, and juices to ponder. Drinks are inventive (Banana Lemonade, Grapefruit Smoothie) and available with boba (tapioca pearls). Snacks like Popcorn Chicken are greasy, but crispy and finger lickin’ ($5.99). Chocolate Fondue is expensive, at the odd price of $9.59, but fun to share. It comes with marshmallows and chunks of banana, apple, kiwi, melon, and grapes. And on weekends, long after its neighbors at 99 Ranch Plaza have closed their doors and gone home, Jujubi is still buzzing until 3am, proving that its customers are not just there for the food.

Everyone should have a go-to place for dependable tacos. El Grullense Drive-Thru can be yours. El Grullo is a city in Jalisco, Mexico, and is a slang term for a peasant. "El grullense" is the place where peasants go to eat and has become associated with home-cooking. Tacos at El Grullense are done in the old country manner – two-ply flat, not folded, corn tortillas plating a spread of beans, your choice of chicken, beef, or pork, lettuce, cheese, fresh salsa, sour cream, and guacamole ($1.65). The ingredients, while standard, are exceptionally prepared. The chicken, beef, or pork is not ground, but grilled and finely minced, a method of preparation which is more labor intensive and flavorful. Lettuce is not the typical flavorless iceberg, but the nutritionally superior romaine. A sprinkle of lime livens the party considerably.

In Mexican cooking, good basics generally mean good burritos. And sopas. And tostadas. And whatever else is built using those basics. El Grullense’s popular Super Burrito folds the basics (minced chicken, beef, or pork, lettuce, beans, cheese, salsa, sour cream, guacamole) and Mexican rice into a large flour tortilla ($6.25). This burrito weighs almost two pounds, which is about the weight of my sneakers (that only comes to mind because you’ll probably need your sneakers after you eat this). Sopas pile the basics onto a dense, slightly chewy cornmeal cake ($3, or $2.50 for vegetarian).

One disappointment was the chile relleno found on one of El Grullense’s few combination plates – Enchilada y Chile Relleno ($6.75). While the enchilada was up to snuff in its fresh, tomato-ey red sauce, the chile relleno’s top half was so filled with seeds and fibrous stem as to render inedible most of the chile. However, sidekicks beans and rice are creamy and fluffy, respectively.

The menu at El Grullense Drive-Thru is an abbreviated version of various sister restaurants throughout the Bay Area. As with all El Grullenses, this one serves Camarones a la Diabla, which is shrimp sauteed in a spicy red chile and garlic sauce ($11.25). Also on the menu are Menudo, Flautas de Pollo, and Chicken Hamburgers. Bebidas include Jamaica, a bright red hibiscus drink reminiscent of cranberry juice, but sweeter, Horchata, a sweet rice drink made with cinnamon, and freshly squeezed orange juice.

They say that nothing worth having is easy to come by -- but tacos worth having are easy to drive by.

Specifically, we have Brigitte’s Foie Gras terrine, marinated with thyme. You can now die happy. This buttery wedge of Sonoma Moulard duck foie gras melts in your mouth like a milk chocolate bar. It is accompanied by little piles of cheering attendants – fruit compote of cranberries, raisins and prune, crisp slivers of pear, and a bit of mesclun, each carefully chosen to elevate your "oh!" to an "oh la laaa!" The dish comes with warm slices of walnut bread for spreading ($15).

The bad news is that foie gras is not always available, but the good news is that whatever Brigitte’s chooses to replace it with will surely be as memorable. Menus can change daily, according to what’s in season. Brigitte's menu is a thoughtful garden of fresh, uncomplicated offerings just waiting to be picked. Just two years new, Brigitte’s strives for authenticity and simplicity in cooking.

There are a handful of starters in addition to foie gras, and most can be ordered petite or regular, like Cauliflower Crème Soup ($4.25/$6.25).

Main dishes offer something for carnivores, herbivores, and oceanivores alike. The Skate and Cod Salad featured several odds-and-ends pieces of pan-fried fish over lemony shavings of fennel, radishes, and carrots ($16.99). It is served with two dollops of eggplant "caviar." If you’ve never had Skate (a.k.a. stingray) before, be prepared for its stringy appearance. But if it’s cooked right, the meat should be delicate and similar to lobster. Brigitte’s politely introduces this French favorite to American palates by mixing it with the more mild-tasting cod.

Pork and Polenta combines six medallions of roasted pork tenderloin with three crisp-seared, albeit under-seasoned, triangles of polenta and a bit of baby greens and dried fruit ($14.99/17.99). Medallions are so-called because of their resemblance to a large medal. Hang a few of these juicy morsels around your neck and watch them come running.

It’s hard to pass up dessert here, so we don’t. We opted for the French classic Oeuf à la Neige, a pillowy soft meringue afloat on a pond of crème anglaise and caramel ($5.75). Moelleux au Chocolate is the French version of molten chocolate cake, and Brigitte’s offers it with crème anglaise ($6.50, or $3.95 without crème anglaise).

After a night of fine dining at Brigitte’s, you may never need to leave Santa Clara again.

However, if you want Santana Row Amber’s more experimental dishes, you’ll have to order from the regular menu. Lunch buffet here is more or less a traditional affair. Obviously, Santana Row caters to a different clientele than its brother. Buffet prices reflect this difference ($11.95 vs. $13.95).

At Amber India, buffet food is not allowed to grow tepid, and brass-hammered serving bowls are kept brimming. With the exception of a handful of staples, buffet items rotate daily. Piping hot naan is rushed to your table as soon as you’ve brought back your bounty.

The day I went, zucchini fritters, or pakoda, were on the menu. Amber’s pakoda calls to mind those fried zucchini appetizers that were the rage circa 1980, although about 100 times improved. Pakoda’s batter is made of chickpea flour, which provides a grainier, sturdier crunch than white flour or breadcrumbs. Inside the pakoda, zucchini was steaming hot and tender. Zucchini is one of several vegetables in Tawa Subz, a buffet staple. The tawa is a round, thick iron griddle upon which the veggies are cooked until crisp-tender.

Several chickens, none of them rubber, were offered in varying costume. There was Merg Methi, boneless chunks of chicken infused with the aromatic fenugreek leaf. This Merg Methi did not leave the bitter taste too often caused by over-steeping with this herb, and the dish was medium spicy. Next was the classic Tandoori Chicken, full of flavor and not too salty. Last was Butter Chicken, Amber’s signature dish and another buffet staple, made velvety smooth and tangy with the traditional ingredients of cream, yogurt, and tomato.

Although I have no beef with chickens, I had expected to find a more diverse meat population in the buffet stand, reflecting the regular menu, which features several dishes made from lamb and seafood.

In addition to fresh fruit, Amber gives you a choice of two desserts, like Gajjar Halwa, sweet grated carrots spiced with cardamon, and Seviyan, a creamy soup of thread-thin vermicelli noodles also flavored with cardamon. Both provided a pleasing finale to an outstanding lunch.

Tofu dinners come with beef, pork, seafood (oyster, shrimp and clams), kimchee, or mushrooms ($8.99). You choose the level of spiciness, then sit back and wait for the side munchies to arrive. Typical of most Korean restaurants, these side dishes are shared among all at the table, stemming from the belief that sharing from one bowl brings relationships closer. Kang Nam gives you eight side dishes that rotate daily, save for the ever-present kimchee, or fermented vegetables spiced with red pepper powder. Although there are over 200 kinds of kimchee, Kang Nam serves one with universal appeal, with its mixture of medium-spicy cabbage and radish.

Regulars at Kang Nam know that no one moves a muscle when the iron pots of bubbling tofu arrive.

Your tofu comes with a bowl of mixed white, sweet, and black rice (the latter colors the whole sticky bundle magenta), and a raw egg for you to crack into your iron tofu pot. Kang Nam takes great risk in presenting us with these raw eggs, which could also be turned against them if the tofu is not tolerable. But it is, and perhaps Kang Nam knows that raw eggs are not such a danger after all (salmonella and Halloween aside). Tofu is fresh and virtually odorless. The silky cubes are almost delicate enough to break upon contact with the large metal spoon provided for slurping. The combination ingredients you order provide more textural interest than anything. Tofu with Mushrooms, for example, hardly gives you enough enoki and sliced button mushrooms to make a mouthful.

Kang Nam also offers more traditional Korean fare, like barbecue short ribs, pork, or chicken, and sizzling stone pots of steamed rice with meat and mixed vegetables (dolsot bibimbab) for $10.99. Dolsot bibimbab starts with a heap of white rice, upon which minced vegetables and beef are arranged in pie shaped wedges. In the middle of the "pie" sits a raw egg, which quickly coagulates in the residual heat of the stone pot. The insides of the pot are oiled, which allows the rice to develop a golden crust. A full squeeze-bottle of red chile paste (gochujang) is set to stun.

Kang Nam’s bimbimbab was a bit like eating those marshmallow Easter chicks – looks good, but in the end, you’re left with a mouth of fluff. Under-seasoning made me wonder why I was eating it when there was all this good tofu about.

Behind them are baskets laden with several varieties of pineapple buns, so-called not because they contain pineapple, but because of the unique crusting that occurs during baking which resembles pineapple rind. There are red bean buns, taro buns, mochi buns (the sticky rice-flour mochi provides the filling), coffee buns, and even French liver buns. And then there are several varieties of breads baked fresh daily, like coconut bread, black sesame bread, and seven grain bread.

In fact, owners Johnny and Judy Lee, originally from Taiwan, bake 50-60 varieties of bread and pastry each day. They also ply out hot crepes on demand, in several sweet and savory varieties, and will even top it all off for you with a scoop of Dreyer’s ice cream.

Just when you’ve finally picked your poison, L’Epi D’Or offers you lunch. Lee’s lunch menu, like its bakery, is heavily influenced by Japanese cuisine. You’ll find several "bento box"-style lunches, like Pot Stewed Chicken Leg Bento, Fried Chicken Bento, and Eel Fish Bento ($5.50 – $7.50). These are also made to order, and each come with rice, a sprinkling of pickled vegetable, a few shrimp chips, and a small side dish of ground pork. Try the Japanese Style Tasty Fried Tofu – the tofu is deep fried for a hard, crunchy exterior and then glazed with a sweet and spicy sauce ($3.50).

But wait, there’s more. A large posterboard urges you to try one of several Vietnamese sandwiches, like the ham sandwich or pork roll ($2.50). Order one, and you can have a pearl milk tea for just $0.99 more.

And that’s not all, folks. There’s also a freezer full of items to take and make at home, like chive pot stickers and pork scallop wontons. Chive pot stickers have a wrapping made of rice flour and are easy to pan fry. There’s a sushi roll made with sweet shredded pork "sung" and pickled vegetable. If by now you’re dizzy with the vast array of choices here, hurry in and order now. The offerings won’t last long – just until tomorrow, when they are baked or made fresh once again.

Maria Elena’s red roofs and Mexican-woven café curtains bid a cheery hello to its jovial lunch crowd. There are no tricks here – good old Mexican food is what they’ve come for, nothing fancy or contrived. Maria Elena uses the same recipes handed down from her parents’ first Mexican restaurant, established over 40 years ago in downtown San Jose. You’ll find one-, two-, or three-item combinations of enchiladas (beef, pork, cheese, or chicken), chicken or beef tacos, tamales, flautas, or chile rellenos ($6.99 - $8.99), served with the familiar sidekicks of rice and beans.

Chile rellenos were perfectly fried in a delicate batter and oozed Monterey jack cheese. Flautas (meaning "flute") are corn tortillas tightly rolled around chicken or beef and deep fried. "Flauta" means "flute," so eat them with your fingers (resist blowing the filling at your neighbor). They are crunchy and lip-smacking. Tamales are large enough to tuck your sunglasses in. Chicken ones use dark meat for a juicier filling.

Specials of the house include Chicken Mole ($8.99) and Mexican Steak, a chopped steak with onions, tomatoes, and chiles, which is "prepared from scratch" but "worth the wait", as the menu modestly informs you ($9.29). Enchilada Suizas are smothered with a creamy, jade-hued sauce. They are served with guacamole and a tiny pile of mixed greens, topped with queso fresco, a crumbly Mexican cheese ($8.99). Maria Elena also offers a handful of daily specials. We tried the Shrimp Tostadas, three crisp, CD-sized discs plating a generous pile of tender-crisp shrimp. Cilantro and lime here are well-balanced, and the dish scores a low mess factor; I managed to eat one without the shell breaking into a hundred pieces.

Wash it all down with some of Lupe’s Special Blend Sangria or Los Cabos Margaritas (both $4 for a glass, $10.50 for a pitcher), spotted lining the tables of the larger parties.

Vegetarians are welcome. The menu comes with a separate insert of vegetarian options, like burritos (filled with broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots, $6.99) and tacos (filled with beans, $5.49).

With 19 restaurants now in operation or development, serving fast, inexpensive, and tasty food, Le just may succeed. The Bay Area is home to eight of these restaurants – just head towards the colossal floating bag of baguettes in the sky, looking remarkably like a super-sized order of french fries, and you’re sure to find one. They are anchored atop most of the newer stores.

The Vietnamese "banh mi" sandwich is to Lee’s Sandwiches what the hamburger is to McDonald’s. Banh mi starts with a baguette the length of your forearm, filled with cold slices of BBQ pork, chicken, ham, or paté, pickled daikon radish, carrot, mayonnaise, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Most are $2. The grilled chicken sandwich is excellent – the chicken has been marinated in soya and blends perfectly with the pickled radishes and carrots. Less unique are the "European Sandwiches" (as Lee’s dubs those which are more familiar to American palates), which come in different turkey/ham/roast beef and cheese combinations on a baguette or croissant for $3.50.

The counter holds a motley crew of "to go" foods on plastic trays, like shrimp-and-pork rolls and tofu-and-veggie rolls, which are wrapped in rice paper and include a sweet peanut dipping sauce. Shiny happy workers are on hand to explain the more unusual fare, like the sticky coconut rice, which is colored bright green or orange, and sticky rice- wrapped bananas, where bananas have an unusual pink tint. Thumb-sized shrimp-and-yam rolls are deep-fried (3 for $1).

Longer than the list of sandwiches is the selection of drinks. There is Lee’s special Café, filtered French coffee with condensed milk served iced or hot, fresh sugar cane juice, and a host of curious smoothies, like carrot smoothie and soursop smoothie (an exotic fruit with a custard-like center).

A steam table filled with a kaleidoscopic assortment of soupy looking desserts provides a fun finish to your meal. Each dessert is served in a bowl and topped with coconut milk syrup. Try the unusual tapioca-stuffed mung bean dessert or a banana dessert afloat in white tapioca pudding. Many desserts are bean-based, like the kidney bean dessert or black-eyed bean dessert. If the thought of eating beans for dessert worries you, you can ask for samples, enthusiastically doled out by servers who just know you will love it. Desserts are $1.25 each, or you can buy two and get a third free.

There’s lots of food to be had here for pocket change, so go wild.

While this item is a standard fare at most Iranian restaurants, we are not yet at the point where finding an Iranian restaurant is as easy as driving a few blocks down El Camino. Happily, Negeen Restaurant has come to town. Even more happily, its Kashk-e-Bademjan is eggplant nirvana, a sweet, creamy puree of eggplant and olive oil played against a tangy topping of kashk (Iranian whey, similar to yogurt), fried shallots, and dried mint ($4.95). It’s what all eggplants strive to be when they grow up.

Negeen is in a small strip mall, easy to miss if you’re exceeding the speed limit. If it’s true that the color green has a calming effect, bring your slippers with you. Green is everywhere here, from the jade tablecloths, mint chairs, and forest green carpets. As you enter the restaurant, on your immediate right is a wall of cascading plastic and real plants, trying hard to impersonate the side of a mountain. Perhaps it is intended to call to mind the verdant landscape that once was the ancient cradle of civilization.

Negeen also offers a variety of kabobs – there is Koobideh (ground beef mixed with egg and onions), filet mignon, chicken, shrimp, vegetables, and lamb combinations, all served with plain basmati rice or lavash, a soft, thin flatbread perfect for wrapping your food in. Kabobs are a reliable choice here. Chicken kabobs are succulent, skinless chunks of dark meat, simply seasoned with saffron and lemon ($10.95 – $15.95).

As good as Nageen’s kabobs are, it pays to try the special rice dishes, all served with chicken which has been cooked in a small amount of water and spices. It’s unusual for rice to take precedence over meat in a dish, and here, rice (or polo) does an excellent job in the leading role. Choose between Albaloo (sour cherries and saffron), Zereshk (dried barberries – tiny, ruby-colored berries with a sweet and sour flavor), or Shirin (pistachios, almonds, candied orange peel, and saffron) Polo, or try them in combination for a few dollars more ($10.95, $12.95).

For dessert, there’s Baghlava, paper-thin pastry layered with honey and pistachios, and Faloodeh, a dessert prepared with rice noodles and rose water syrup ($2.50, $3).

South Taste provides a healthy dose of appetizers and "snacks," from $1 - $4.95. Be prepared for dishes that are, shall we say, foreign to American taste buds, like Simmered Pig Feet and Sliced Boiled Pork Diaphragm. Less adventuresome buds may wish to stick to the ever-popular Deep-Fried Stinky Tofu, which, although it calls to mind gym socks, is crunchy and creamy in the middle and features a delicate soy sauce, vinegar, and chile-oil topping.

Soups run the gamut from the simple (Meatball Soup, Wonton Soup) the herbal (Don-Que Duck Soup for regulation of the female system, according to MIL, and which, yes, may cause you to grow your own uterus, guys), and the interesting (Fried Taro and Sparerib Soup). The herbal ones require some getting used to -- the aromas and flavors, while not gym socks, often have bold, sometimes bitter flavors.

Generally, "Pan Fried" specialties are either pork or curious seafood-based, like Yellow Croaker with Dry Seaweed or Sautéed Periwinkle with Basil (periwinkle is a small marine gastropod; if you don’t like snails, fughetaboutit). There are a handful of dishes which let you choose beef or lamb as the main event, like Sautéed Beef or Lamb with BBQ Sauce. The only chicken dish is House Special Chicken in Pot, which MIL translated as "Three-Cup Chicken," so-called because it is supposedly made from one cup of soy sauce, one cup of sesame oil, and one cup of wine. The sauce was redolent of basil, but South Taste only gives you snipped pieces of wing, making this dish very Kate Moss -- that is, skin and bones. At $7.95, this is one of the few dishes that is not a good value.

If you’re looking for adventure, there’s Sautéed Uteri with Basil. When I turned to my MIL with a look of dismay, she replied, "Don’t worry, it’s probably not uterus, it’s duodenum." Duodenum? The small intestine, amateur!

Most luncheoners come for the noodle or rice plates. Tainan Ground Pork with Mushroom Dry Noodles features wheat noodles, bean sprouts, and cilantro. Tasty but short on mushrooms, but who’s complaining at $3.25 per dish?

Other popular entrees are Tainan Sha-Cha Chow Mein, which has a spicy satay-like sauce made from peanuts, ground shrimp, and chile peppers, and Omelet Rice, a mound of rice with a paper-thin layer of egg covering it. Most noodle and rice dishes are under $5, a real bargain.

While I’m unconvinced that South Taste offers the "best" Taiwanese food in the area, it certainly is authentic. Step out of your routine and check it out. At these prices, you can afford to try the duodenum.

Roughly a quarter of Last Chance’s menu comes straight from the fryer, like Jalapeno Poppers, Fried Calamari, Shrimp, or Scallops and Fries. Fish and Fries are two pieces of cod, fried golden and crisp, served with a small paper cup of tartar sauce that’s thick enough to stand one of your many ruffle-edged fries in ($5.99). Filet O’Fish sandwich is much the same as Fish and Fries, only the fish is served on a steak roll ($5.99).

Then there are the grilled entrees. Choose your bun (grilled sesame seed or steak roll), and your meat (burger, steak, chicken, or dog). A neglected side table of rather tired-looking condiments stands ready to adorn your entrée. Teriyaki Steak Sandwich comprises a rib-eye steak large enough to overhang the roll that cradles it ($6.99). The steak’s sweet teriyaki gloss and melted Swiss cheese make this sandwich pleasant company. The gristly bits are bothersome, but that’s what the plastic knives are for.

Deli items (e.g., Hot Pastrami Sandwich, Chef Salad), and eight combo pizzas round out Last Chance’s offerings. Last Chance proclaims their pizzas to be "The Best Around." Crust here is about as thick as your thumb and somewhat doughy; upgrade to "sesame seed crust" for $.95 for if you like the nutty flavor of sesame. Pesto Pesto! with Italian sausage, artichokes, green olives, mushrooms, and tomatoes, is something different for those bored with tomato-sauced pizza ($14.99 for 12"; $16.99 for 14"). So is Garlic Chicken, with creamy garlic sauce, chicken breast, peppers, onions, and cilantro ($14.99, $16.99). Those with cubicles should think twice about ordering this one; heavy garlic and barely cooked onions may have your coworkers pulling out their gas masks for the war against odor. The pizza is hot, cheesy, and dare I say it, greasier than Elvis’ hair floating on the Exxon Valdez spill. Tissue-paper thin napkins, though abundant here, do nothing to help you manage the mess. Bring wet naps or wear absorbent sleeves -- whoever you brought is not likely to care anyway.

Soup starts every meal, often a clear broth sharply soured by lemongrass to cleanse the palate. Lunch specials are almost twenty plates of specialties like Utama Basil Chicken and Red Curry Vegetable ($7.95, $6.95). Siam Salmon is topped with Chef’s special ginger flower sauce and fresh mango and is served on a banana leaf ($8.95). Southeast Asian cooking prefers less ripe mango for its tang and firmer texture. Here, mango slivers help cut the strong flavor of the salmon. Salmon comes as two small steaks; ours were slightly overdone, and copious bones made conversation difficult.

If you have a bone to pick with bones, Hainan Chicken may be ordered with bones or without ($6.95). Similar to my last trip to the spa, the meat is steamed, then chilled (analogy ends here) and served with soy sauce and a mound of Hainan seasoned rice. The steaming process makes the chicken extremely tender and juicy.

Indian Mee Goreng are pan-fried yellow noodles with prawns, squid, chicken, tofu, eggs, and ground peanuts ($6.95). Noodles are perfectly al dente and swathed in a tomato- and soy-based sauce. Red chiles give pleasant warmth to this dish without causing you to lose your sweater. Other noodle specials are Chow Kueh Teow (stir-fried rice noodles) or the crowd-pleasing Pad Thai (pan-fried rice noodles), both $6.95.

It’s easy to get lost ordering off the regular menu, where dishes may not always be translated. But don’t let that stop you from wrestling explanations from waiters, who are busy but helpful. Gado Gado is a motley crew of fried prawn cake bits, lettuce, and tofu covered with a sweet peanut sauce ($6.95). Roti Prata is a multi-layered homemade Indian bread that looks like a deflated balloon, but pulls apart easily ($2.95). It is served with a creamy curry dipping sauce that is so tasty, refills are available for $2.

Service is quick here -- so quick that one sneeze into your napkin may inadvertently signal someone to clear your dishes before you can check what your sneeze netted. But look at it this way -- anything that shortens that long lunch line is a good thing.

Pho Nam makes it easy for you to order, with a slick menu filled with pictures and a user-friendly pricing structure. All Pho Bo (beef pho) comes in two sizes, small ($4.55) and large ($5.15). Pho Bo always starts with a beef broth and flat rice noodles; you choose what cuts of beef to add in. Each bowl comes with a generous plate of bean sprouts, basil, chile sauce, and lemon wedges. The menu suggests that "first-timers" stick with one cut of meat – steak, lean brisket, or beef balls. But in the spirit of reality television, I recommend facing your fear factor and trying the more interesting House Special combination, which adds flank, tendon, and tripe to the above cuts.

Your meal begins with a bowl of rice noodles mounded with beef and a separate bowl of broth. Pouring in the broth immediately lets the noodles relax and unwind and cooks the raw slices of steak before the broth becomes too cold. The noodles are deliciously chewy, the broth fragrant with scallions and cilantro. Steak is tender as a slice of brie cheese. Flank and brisket are sliced so paper thin as to make these ordinarily tougher cuts dissolve in your mouth. Tendons are the translucent bits which, though they appear rubbery, are actually pliant and almost flavorless. Tripe, from the stomach lining of the cow, is rough-textured and crunchy. Like tendon, tripe takes on the flavor of the broth.

Pho Nam also offers bun, or thin rice vermicelli served over a stack of bean sprouts, and your choice of grilled pork, shrimp, fried egg rolls, or grilled onion-beef rolls. A fistful of cucumbers, pickled carrots, and shredded lettuce accompanies each bun dish. Although the vermicelli was perfectly cooked, slip-ups like bitter cucumbers, tough beef rolls, and junior-sized shrimp make Pho Nam’s bun their weaker suit compared to pho. However, at $5.55 a plate, bun is still a good value.

Finally, Pho Nam offers several cold and hot concoctions to sip with your noodles. There’s Vietnamese-style coffee, served hot or cold with condensed milk, as well as fresh coconut juice, soy bean milk, sweet bean drinks over ice, and tropical smoothies. For something different, try the Custard Apple Smoothie ($2.35). The custard apple is a white-fleshed tropical fruit with a soft perfume and a taste similar to a pippin apple.

The folks at Zeni Ethiopian Restaurant explain all of this as they set a platter the size of a sledding saucer before you. The food is served family style upon this platter, arranged in piles atop the injera. A basket of additional injera rolled like guest towels sits ready for sopping.

If you’re new to Ethiopian cuisine, it helps to know what’s wot. Wot means "stew." There are two basic varieties here, kei wot, made with bebere, a thick sauce of red chiles and spices, and alicha wot, a milder yellow stew based on turmeric. Zeni makes both kei wot and alicha wot with chopped lean beef, but chicken (doro wot) is also available ($7.50). The chicken drumstick or thigh is skinless to allow the berbere to permeate the meat more easily. Although the bebere is spicy, the ginger and garlic used in this sauce do not stand idly by. Along with the clarified butter used here and in most dishes, these aromatics balance well with the chiles.

One of Ethiopia’s most distinctive dishes is kitfo, rare or raw steak seasoned with clarified butter and mitmita, hot chile powder. Unless you ask for your kitfo raw, Zeni will serve yours cooked. The meat comes finely minced and is one of the hotter dishes on the menu ($10.50). You may temper your mouth fire with some of the home made cheese that is served with this dish. It is the consistency of cottage cheese and is mildly tart.

Zeni offers several vegetarian dishes, developed for the fasting days when the Ethiopian Orthodox Church forbids eating any dairy, meat, or eggs. Instead of clarified butter, vegetable oil is used. Yemisir wot are split red lentils that have been pureed and simmered in berbere ($7.50). Pureeing the beans makes them easier to scoop up with injera. Gomen wot is collard greens simmered with onions and herbs ($7.50). The greens are chopped fine and cooked until soft but not mushy. Kik Alitcha is split yellow peas with turmeric and onions ($7.50). Piled on your injera, it has the appearance of creamed corn, and is mildly spicy and flavorful.

You may conclude your feast with a traditional Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony, an important ritual of hospitality in Ethiopian culture ($25).

This shanty is adorned with paraphernalia reminiscent of the old West, like horseshoes, vintage photos, and a pot belly stove. Kids and certain husbands will shriek in delight over the mini train that chugs its way around the dining room on overhead tracks, as well as a flashing railroad crossing sign. You mosey up to the counter to place your order, and then park yourself down to await the fixin’s. Heated patio dining is available as well.

Choose from an array of smoked goodies, including Baby Back Ribs, Marinated Chicken, Homemade Italian Sausage, and Beef Brisket and Pork. Barbecue here is "Texas style," that is, slow cooked over a hard wood smoke (typically Mesquite, but here, it’s oak wood), and served with sauce on the side. The sauce here is dispensed through squeeze tubes, thoughtfully provided at each table along with a good supply of napkins.

The hearty fare includes Barbecue Platters of your choice of meat, like Bar-B-Que Pork, or Beef Brisket, which the menu boasts has been smoked 14 hours ($8.95 - $16.95). Or pony up for the Sampler Combo which lets you choose three from Baby Back Ribs, BBQ Beef Brisket, BBQ Pork, Chicken, Sausage, or Beef Ribs ($14.95). The Baby Back Ribs surpass the Beef Ribs in tenderness and meat to bone ratio, but that’s nearly always the case with squeal vs. veal. If you’re partial to cow, the Beef Brisket is the way to go – sweet, smoky and tangy all at once without a hint of chewiness. Apparently, 14 hours on the grill is a good way to unwind. The sauce has a small bite to it, but not enough to feel if chased with a slab of the garlic bread that comes with each order. Although the garlic bread was satisfactory, I’d have preferred cornbread, which is not served here.

Marinated Chicken is the hind quarter and is juicy and lemony. All platters come with a choice of two sides that typically come with Texas style barbecue – potato salad, cole slaw or beans.

If you still have room, Sam’s offers Mudd Pie and Fresh Baked Apple Pie which is sold by the pie or by the slice ($8.95; $2.50). However, I hesitate to recommend the Apple Pie, as my slice tasted suspiciously like barbecue and made me wonder if pie had snuck out to chill with the Beef Brisket during its 14 hour smoke. Hopefully you won’t have that problem with the Mudd Pie.

Look no further, the search for somewhere to satisfy your barbecue hankerings is over.

The twinkling display case holds the sandwich fixings and the quiches. It’s point-and-pick ordering at its finest. Sweet Pea’s offers three of its homemade quiches daily, like Quiche Lorraine, Portobello Mushroom Roasted Red Pepper Quiche, and Mexican Boudin Quiche ($7.95). Quiche comes with a small cup of fresh melon, pineapples and kiwis, or a green salad. Mexican Boudin Quiche is mostly polenta. Even with its hearty chunks of poached chicken, green chilies, and jack cheese, this quiche manages to remain soft and light as the freshly driven snow.

There are salads to please even those who never stroll the produce aisles, like Chicken Salad with cranberries, pecans, and apples, and Pasta Salad with orzo pasta, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, and feta cheese. Apple Gorgonzola Salad combines dapper-looking mixed greens, cubes of Fuji apples, and gorgonzola cheese ($5.75/half; $8.75/full). Cayenne- and cinnamon-sugared pecans punctuate this salad; sweet balsamic vinaigrette brings everyone together.

Overhead tableaus recite the menu in pastel chalk. Perhaps you’d like a sandwich? Sandwiches here are assembled with every kind of bread. Roasted Turkey and Bacon gets a Dutch crunch roll, Roast Beef and Brie, a ciabatta bun ($5.50, $6.50). The Veggie Wrap starts with a tortilla spread with your choice of tomato cream cheese or humus; grilled eggplant, caramelized mushrooms and onions, and sprouts and avocado are furled within ($5.50). The Grilled Ahi Tuna Sandwich sits on a nine-grain roll and features wasabi mayonnaise ($8.50).

If you’re still set on crepes by the time it’s your turn to order, what are you waiting for already? You still need to nab yourself one of the hard to get tables. If I were you . . . well, I wouldn’t be writing this column, would I? No, but seriously, do try the Beef Briand Crepe, with finely sliced beef, caramelized onions, and brie cheese oozing from the folds of a blanket of buckwheat ($6.75). A side of creamy horseradish gives the crepe some kick. Fresh Salmon Crepe has wilted baby spinach and an ethereal white-wine mushroom sauce ($7.75).

The crepe is at the height of its power when served as a dessert, which is why smart men will make sure the Grand Marnier Crepe precedes any marriage proposal. Banana Chocolate and Cream Crepe ranks as one of the best desserts in the South Bay, with its filling of bananas, chocolate hazelnut spread, and custard, all topped with a chilly clod of whipped cream ($5.50). More ladylike is the Strawberries and Cream Crepe, with sliced strawberries with sweet cream cheese ($5.25).

Now in its third year, Sabor Salvadoreno (translated, "Salvadoran flavor") Pupusas Factory is a tiny restaurant with a hot kitchen. But the pupusas, it turns out, are big in personality. These flat discs of cheese-filled cornmeal are made to order in several combinations of pork, cheese, chicken, zucchini, and loroco (a type of flower bud similar to capers). A side of finely shredded spicy cabbage increases the heat factor. With a diameter of about five inches, one pupusa is not enough for a meal. So go crazy and order a few. At just $1.75 to $1.95 each, you can afford to. Greasy, cheesy, and guaranteed to put you into a food coma for a few hours (that’s why I always tell people to go for the 17-inch computer monitor), it’s comfort food El Salvador-style, and people love it.

Sabor Salvadoreno also offers several Salvadoran specialties, like yuca frita, a starchy potato-like vegetable that’s fried to a golden crisp. However, Sabor’s version has spent too much time in the deep fryer, making it a poor choice for food fights. It comes with stringy yet flavorful bits of pork ($7.25). Chicken tamales are made from creamy cornmeal and filled with dark meat and a smattering of green beans. They are wrapped in banana leaves instead of the corn husks and come two per order ($4.95). Put them on your to-do list.

Empanadas de leche are made from plantains, which give these egg-shaped packages a sweet and sour flavor ($3.25). The inside is creamy and sweet. You can also get these with frijoles, or beans, instead of cream. If you really want to go bananas on a Friday afternoon (and who doesn’t?), order the platanos fritos crema y frijoles-a plateful of fried plantains with Salvadoran cream and smooth refried beans ($4.95).

For a sweet finish, try the horchata salvadorena, which is a special Salvadoran version of the Mexican rice-water drink that adds cinnamon, sesame, and ground cacao ($2.50). Mine came lukewarm, but I enjoyed it anyway.

In addition to the Salvadoran plates, the menu also sports a handful of Mexican entrees, like burritos and quesadillas. However, stick with the Salvadorans. Together with the collage of photos and maps of El Salvador paneling the walls, they’ll make you feel like you’ve really entered the land of the pupusas.

The menu is replete with descriptive titles that start your juices flowing. Take, for example, the Double Baked Three Cheese Souffle ($8.95) appetizer and Crab Cakes with Housemade Remoulade and Petite Salad ($9.95). The soufflé looked like a country biscuit, but this was no biscuit bumpkin. Parmesan, fontina, and ricotta cheeses blended well into a smooth tang, and the soufflé was almost light enough to hover above the lightly dressed greens that adorned the plate. Delicate crab cakes the size of silver dollars had a crunchy cornmeal crust; remoulade added a creamy accent of hot peppers.

I ordered the Stuffed Watsonville Artichoke to show support for the locals. However, when it appeared, I remembered why I never ordered stuffed artichokes: too often it is too much work for too little reward. By the time you forage down to the heart of the matter, your fingers are greasy, and you’re left with a pile of half bitten leaves that have no place to go but your small appetizer plate. The artichoke comes stuffed with herbed breadcrumbs, but moisture from the cooking process has transformed the crumbs into mush.

My Sesame Cabbage Chicken Salad mixed finely julienned red, green, and Savoy cabbage with flakes of crispy wonton skins and bits of chicken in a sesame vinaigrette. It was delicious.

Siena offers a selection of sandwiches, pastas, and meat and seafood dishes for your main course. Although the dishes generally do not disappoint, accidents happen. The open-faced Greek Vegetarian Sandwich sported a mound of romaine lettuce, olives, roasted red peppers, feta cheese, artichokes, and cucumbers atop a disk of pita bread hard enough to play Frisbee with ($9.25). Attempting to slice the hard pita with a knife was dangerous, and the too-widely sliced leaves of romaine prohibited eating this sandwich like a pizza. I ended up pushing off the toppings, which left me feeling like I had ordered a Greek salad with a side of Frisbee.

Thankfully, the Cavatappi with Wild Mushrooms more than made up for the Vegetarian sandwich. Shitakes; morels; and portabella and button mushrooms are perfectly sautéed in a brandy cream sauce; and cavatappi pasta, shaped like long chubby corkscrews, were pillowy soft.

Despite a few misses, Siena’s virtues–idyllic ambience, varied menu, and a chef’s deft hand at combining flavors-make this bistro a true find once you find it.

Lunch specials are extremely well priced ($4.99, tax included) and loaded with goodies. You choose your main entrée, and China Palace combines it with rice, green vegetables, a smattering of "meat sauce" (ground pork in a soy based gravy), a tea egg, and a wedge of braised tofu. Among your choices are Smoked Duck, Chicken Steak, and Unagi. Fried Chicken Steak came crispy and pounded thin. Pork Chop is also hammered out for a quicker fry time that doesn’t dry out the meat.

Noodle and rice dishes are also popular among the lunch bunch. The extensive line up of noodle dishes are mostly variations on a theme. There are twenty or so iterations of Noodle Soup; with barbecued beef, simmered hog foot, soy sauce chicken leg, or lamb and pickled cabbage ($5 - 5.50). There are also twenty something varieties of Fried Rice. Shrimp Fried Rice is dependable, but for a dollar more, choose Shrimp Fried Rice Wrapped with Lotus Leaf ($6.50). This is rice that has been fried with egg and both dried and fresh shrimp, and then wrapped in a lotus leaf like a bundle of laundry and steamed. The lotus leaf imparts a smoky tea-like flavor.

Beef Chow Fun in Black Bean Sauce suffers from too many green peppers ($5.50). Clumped up noodles prevents the sauce from permeating the spongy layers of the fun.

Tossed noodles are thread-thin egg noodles, so called because of the method of combining the noodles with the sauce at the end of the preparation of the dish, rather than stir frying them along with the rest of the ingredients. The beef in Brisket Tossed Noodles was fatty but tender ($5.00). Bok choy in this dish was overdone.

Peeled Chestnut and Chicken Clay Pot, where whole chestnuts, black mushrooms and ginger make for a rich, complex broth ($6.50). This dish is not child-friendly, however. Chopped chicken bones leave shards which take some work to extricate.

At China Palace, while some dishes could use retooling, ample selection and affable service should be enough to keep you content until then.

Together with brother Sean, Barry opened Premier Pizza in 1990 at the River Oaks Parkway Plaza in San Jose, with a second branch at Santa Clara’s Rivermark Plaza opening last year. Because much of Premier’s business is delivered to its corporate clientele, the dining rooms are snug. Bench tables lend a picnic ambience.

If you enter one of Premier’s two eateries unsure if you’re in the mood for pizza, the strong smells of roasted garlic and tomatoes practically grab you by the chops and force you into a chair. Sauces are made fresh each morning. Premier selection of toppings is more gourmet than your average pizza joint, with artichoke hearts, pesto sauce, and applewood-smoked bacon. Vegetables are fresh, and cheese is 100% Wisconsin. But the genius lies in the crust. Hand-tossed, then baked in a rotating convection oven for more even browning, Premier’s crust is thick without being doughy and crisp without being crunchy. Ten minutes from placing your order, you’ll have yourself a Frisbee that you’ll want to hoard, not toss.

I’m a big fan of DIY, but if you’re at Premier, trust their tried-and-true Pizza Combinations. There are 16 to choose from, the most popular being the Creamy Garlic Chicken. This house special features sweet bell peppers, mesquite-grilled chicken, and roasted garlic, all covered with a creamy garlic sauce and a layer of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. My favorite is The Cowboy, rounding up mesquite grilled chicken, sweet barbecue sauce, red onions, and bell peppers. If you don’t like tomato sauce, several pizzas have pesto groundwork instead, like the Doc O’, which sports olives, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, and Parmesan cheese.

The Classic is European-style with its thin crust and Roma tomatoes. Premier also offers a Cheeseless Pizza that is so crowded with veggies (mushrooms, green bell peppers, sweet onions, black olives, zucchini, marinated artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, and roasted garlic) that you won’t even notice who stole your cheese. Toppings here are well-proportioned and ample, meaning you’ll rarely get a bite of just crust. But even if you do, that’s okay, as the crust is the raison d’être here anyhow.

Loyal customers know that while Burnt Almond Cake is a good reason, it isn’t the only reason to visit this sweet spot. Dick’s Bakery has been in the baking business for 47 years now, time enough to perfect several recipes, like glazed donuts and pumpkin pie. Everything here is made fresh daily without preservatives.

This is a good place to stock up on cookies to leave for Santa. There are sugar cookies, thin and lemony, and walnut delights, which taste similar to a Mexican wedding cookie, with shortbread-like texture and walnut bits. There are peanut butter cookies and cinnamon nut cookies, oatmeal cookies and swirly vanilla and chocolate cookies. And then there are chocolate chewies, shiny and crackled on the surface but chewy on the inside and astonishingly low in fat. You—ahem—Santa will thank you for minding his belly. Most cookies are a polite three-inch diameter—none of those super-sized monster cookies that rely more on heft than grade to sell. They’re the kind you’ll find in grandma’s cookie jar.

Glazed donuts, bars, Bismarcks, and twists are just a few of the dozen or so donuts made each morning here. Traditional glazed donuts are light but filling, with just enough glaze to keep your mouth happy and your fingers goop-free. Want a more refined sugar high? Try one of several French classics: a chocolate-custard Napoleon, cream puff, or éclair. It’s enough to give you cavities just thinking about them.

Dick’s Bakery also offers breads, like Dutch Crunch and Jalapeno Cheese ($2.20, $4.95). Onion Cheese Bread will not give you halitosis, and the cheese is evenly sprinkled throughout the loaf. Bread is baked Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, but be assured that whichever day you go, the bread will be good. And so will the Burnt Almond Cake.

Thai knick-knacks adorn the chestnut-toned walls, and white tablecloths lend an air of elegance. The lunch crowd can be noisy. Go early to avoid the noon rush.

The menu informs you that pineapple fried rice is a house specialty ($9.59). Unlike many of its Thai brethren, Krungthai does not present this dish in half a shelled pineapple—a plus for those of us who wonder if the pineapple shell has been recycled from the last table who ordered it. A simple oval platter is all that is needed to showcase this dish’s many textures. To say this is a rice plate is only half the story. Chunks of pineapple, bits of chicken, prawns, cashew nuts, peas, raisins, carrots, and corn make this dish a complete meal. The thinly sliced chicken is somewhat dry, a minor fumble that should not prevent you from ordering it.

Twenty lunch specials are a value, at the odd price of $7.59. Several of them simply ask you to choose the seasoning (chile paste and onions, or ginger, onions, and black cloud-ear mushrooms) and the seasoned (chicken, beef, pork, prawns, or vegetables). BBQ chicken is a hot seller; the marinade gives the chicken an appealing burgundy cast after barbecuing. Again, the chicken was dry, and with its only companions a lump of rice and a spring roll the size of your thumb, there isn’t much to fall back on here. You’ll need to bum some pineapple rice off your dining companion.

If you’ve ordered Panang fish, you’ve made a good choice. Bite-sized portions of cod filet have been fried and then simmered in a smooth Panang curry, sweetened by coconut milk. Strings of basil provide fragrant top notes to this rich stew. Pad Thai is not a lunch special but is available á la carte. If you’ve never tried Pad Thai, Krungthai sets the bar high. Rice noodles are thin and cooked perfectly al dente ($8.59). The tamarind-based sauce is not overly sweet, and all of the traditional add-ins are present: shrimp, tofu, chicken, bean sprouts, egg, peanuts, and a wedge of lime. If you want to measure the skill of the chef, observe her technique with eggs—here, a fast fry in hot oil produces silky threads of scrambled eggs, which adorn the noodles like the right accessory.

For reliably good Thai cuisine, find your way to Krungthai Restaurant—the original, that is.

The menu fits on one page, but that’s all you need. There are several appetizers to start you off, like skewered shrimp or green mussel stew ($5.95). Lunch entrees arrive hot and fresh, and none cost more than $10. The Bul Go Ki is boneless, marinated beef, thin and lacy as a doily ($7.95). Bits of carrots and scallions add color and crunch. As with every entrée, Bul Go Ki comes with a good measure of rice and side dishes of kimchi (spicy pickled cabbage), cucumbers, and bean sprouts. The cucumbers here are at their most charming, having been wrung of their water and salted, leaving delightfully squeaky crunches. Bean sprouts taste lightly of sesame. Kimchi is medium-hot, not searing.

Chap Chae is a classic Korean dish of noodles made of mung bean, also known as cellophane noodles for their translucent appearance. Here, the highly absorbent mung bean noodle produces a dish that is very flavorful without relying on a sauce ($7.95). Entangled in the noodles are crisp-tender vegetables like spinach, carrot, green onions, and broccoli.

Rolled seaweed rice and vegetables with pot stickers are finger-friendly ($7.95). Essentially, these are nine pieces of tightly wrapped vegetable and egg sushi. The tiny slivers of vegetables (carrots, cucumbers, seaweed, pickles) and shredded egg show off the chef’s knife skills. Three pot stickers have an interior of chopped mung bean noodles and mixed meat, and they are long, rather than fat, which means less filling, more wrapper.

Totoro offers a few soups to cure the winter blues, like spicy beef stew with vegetables and vegetables with noodle soup ($5.95). The noodle soups use the thicker wheat noodle called u-dong (like the Japanese udon). You can have yours with chicken and/or deep fried vegetables ($8.95). The broth is the best part—those with a chest cold take note—it is steaming and rich.

The furnishings are modern, the service is friendly, and the food is delicious. Simply put, you should go.

Order at the counter, then seat yourself in one of the bright, cherry-colored booths and wait for your number to be called.

There is smoked barbecue chicken, smoked barbecue pork ribs, baby-back ribs, sliced beef barbecue, and hot links ($5.95–10.95). Most of these may be ordered in combination. Lunch is served in a red plastic basket with your pick of potato salad, coleslaw, or french fries. Barbecue anything here is a good choice. Manning’s barbecue sauce is red, sweet, and tangy. Skip the ketchup and dip your fries in sauce instead. French fries are cut thick as your fingers. Heck, skip the fries and dip your fingers in barbecue. No one’s looking; they’re too busy finding their own things to dip.

If you like lunch that goes crunch, order from the fryer. Fried chicken has a light cornmeal, salt, and pepper batter ($6.95). The 10-foot distance from the fryer to your table isn’t a long cool-off period, so be careful. You get three pieces of thigh, wing, and drumstick. There’s also fried catfish and fried red snapper, using the same cornmeal batter ($9.95, $10.95). As with traditional fish fries in the South, hush puppies or corn bread accompanies the meal. Hush puppies are cornmeal fritters the size of ping-pong balls. A dip in the fryer gives them a hard crust; the interior remains somewhat cakey and has a subtle sweetness.

House of Soul Food knows there’s a lot of fun to be had on the side. That’s why they’ve got a long list of side orders sure to make the primmest among us pick up a drawl while reciting them: corn on the cob, yams, baked beans, fried okra, mac & cheese, collard greens, cornbread, black-eyed peas, and red beans and rice ($0.75-$3.95). Y’all pass me some of them fixins before I whup you with a ham hock.

Collard greens are slightly bitter and cooked al dente. Yams are soft as ripe melon and have been warmed in maple syrup. Coleslaw is cold and finely shredded and has not been over-gooped in mayonnaise (as is too often the fate of many a cabbage head).

For dessert, take your pick of Screamin’ Peach Cobbler or Goin' On Sweet Potato Pie ($3.25 each). While the cobbler is full of soft peach slices, a watery interior causes the crust to become soggy. Sweet Potato Pie is so popular, you can order whole pies to go.

With weekends come specials like chicken and waffles, smothered pork chops, and chitlins ($11.95, $13.95, $18.95). Hats off to second careers, Mrs. Manning.

The folks at Zeni Ethiopian Restaurant explain all of this as they set a platter the size of a sledding saucer before you. The food is served family-style upon this platter, arranged in piles atop the injera. A basket of additional injera, rolled like guest towels, sits ready for sopping.

If you’re new to Ethiopian cuisine, it helps to know what’s wot. Wot means "stew." There are two basic varieties here, kei wot, made with bebere, a thick sauce of red chiles and spices, and alicha wot, a milder yellow stew based on turmeric. Zeni makes both kei wot and alicha wot with chopped lean beef, but chicken (doro wot) is also available ($7.50). The chicken drumstick or thigh is skinless to allow the berbere to permeate the meat more easily. Although the bebere is spicy, the ginger and garlic used in this sauce do not stand idly by. Along with the clarified butter used here and in most dishes, these aromatics balance well with the chiles.

One of Ethiopia’s most distinctive dishes is kitfo, rare or raw steak seasoned with clarified butter and mitmita, hot chile powder. Unless you ask for your kitfo raw, Zeni will serve yours cooked. The meat comes finely minced and is one of the hotter dishes on the menu ($10.50). You may temper your mouth fire with some of the homemade cheese that is served with this dish. It is the consistency of cottage cheese and is mildly tart.

Tibs are grilled or sautéed meats, usually lamb or beef. Ye Beg Tibs are small cubes of lamb fried with green pepper and onions ($9). Rosemary and turmeric work well together here, although the lamb was somewhat dry.

Zeni offers several vegetarian dishes developed for the fasting days, when the Ethiopian Orthodox Church forbids eating any dairy, meat, or eggs. Instead of clarified butter, vegetable oil is used. Yemisir wot are split red lentils that have been pureed and simmered in berbere ($7.50). Pureeing the beans makes them easier to scoop up with injera.

You may conclude your feast with a traditional Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony, an important ritual of hospitality in Ethiopian culture ($25). Coffee is Ethiopia’s main export and central to their daily life. If you don’t have time for the coffee ceremony this time around, Zeni’s hospitality and distinctive cuisine will ensure this won’t be your last visit.

Country Inn serves old-fashioned favorites like chicken-fried steak and liver and onions. Even the descriptions are old-fashioned. For example, dinner entrées are served with soup or salad, vegetables, and an "appropriate starch," or what we nowadays call carbs. But never mind that, as carbs meaning nothing in a world where pancakes, including their famous Swedish pancakes, are served all day.

For lunch you will find good-sized salads, sandwiches, and burgers. Try the hot pastrami ($8). Country Inn’s version serves it on a soft sourdough roll, the kind that collapses to a tenth of its original size under the pressure of your hungry man grip. Fillers like Swiss cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, peppers, and raw onions give this sandwich personality.

With all sandwiches come fries, soup, or salad. The homemade beef and macaroni soup gets its flavor from bacon. There’s plenty of macaroni here elbowing around with tender cubes of beef.

While most of Country Inn’s fare satisfies, if it’s Chinese chicken salad you want, don’t go looking for it in a country diner. Anemic lettuce wilts under the strain of too much dressing like a thatched roof piled up with snow, and stale fried rice noodles are about as easy to eat as pine needles ($9). At least the chicken was plentiful. A better choice is the Country Inn burger with its three-quarter pound of ground sirloin, but those wanting a salad rarely can be convinced to have a burger, although it might be healthier in the long run to give into temptation now and then.

Home cooking ain’t nothing if it don’t include dessert, and at Country Inn, there is bread pudding, plenty of homemade pies, and an enormous chocolate cake to finish you off. Peach pie has peaches with substance, none of that gooey canned stuff better for filling dry wall than pies ($4).

The Country Inn Café is one of five family-run businesses in the South Bay, starting in 1957 with Uncle John’s Pancake House.

Start with vegetable rolls stuffed with rice vermicelli, fried bean curd, radish, and lettuce ($3). The fillings get rolled up into a sheet of rice noodle as thin as paper but surprisingly sturdy. The rolls have the heft of an uncut roll of sushi and are served with a soy dipping sauce. Pliable and served warm, they are delicious.

Pho, or flat rice noodles in soup, requires you to choose from a mélange of beef parts, including steak, brisket, flank, fatty brisket, tendon, and tripe (the small is $4.15, the large is $5.15). The steak is raw; plunging it into the steaming broth cooks it quickly without sacrificing tenderness. On the other hand, brisket can be like chewing rubber bands. The tendon should be chewy but not longer-than-a-minute chewy, as was sometimes the case here. The broth, a major reason for ordering pho, was full of flavor. Each bowl of pho comes with a plate of raw bean sprouts, mint, and lemon wedges.

Ordering rice plates for the rice and not the stuff that goes with it is sort of like buying a pair of shoes because you like the box it comes in. It's not? Is anyone reading this? The turmeric rice alone merits ordering a rice plate. The rice is "broken" and infused with turmeric, which colors it a deep yellow. Broken rice is a result of the milling process and has a faster cooking time than unbroken rice. The texture is both sticky and dry, with a slight resistance. I ordered mine with a combination of chicken sate, barbecued pork, and a shrimp skewer ($7). The chicken sate was meaty with a hint of heat from red pepper flakes; the peanut sauce was creamy and sweet. The barbecued pork was nicely caramelized. The shrimp skewer sported two rather meager but tasty shrimp.

Thin rice noodle dishes (Bun Thit Nuong) come with pork, chicken, tofu, egg rolls, and combinations thereof. To wake up the noodles, you can mix it with raw cucumbers, carrots, and bean sprouts and splash the whole thing with the sweet vinegary fish sauce that accompanies all of these dishes.

The grilled beef wrapped with onion and the egg roll with rice noodles has a crispy thin egg roll filled with more rice noodle and minced meat. A thin sheet of grilled beef is wrapped around fried onions, sprinkled with scallions, and then chopped into bite-size pieces. Each bite is chewy and redolent of mellowed onions.

You will know when you walk into the spacious dining room that Italian food is served here. There are impressionist paintings of the Italian countryside lining the walls and weathered-looking wood rafters overhead reminiscent of an Italian farmhouse. The waiters call out ciao and other charming Italian phrases that one can only hope don't require responses.

Service is attentive; a loaf of fresh bread the shape of a flattened football touches down as soon as you sit. It comes with a small dish of olive oil bathing several cloves of roasted garlic, a few snippets of basil, and red pepper flakes. The bread is soft and delicious with the oil.

Aldo's offers Italian classics like scaloppine al limone, a pounded steak of veal sautéed in white wine and lemon. There's also carpaccio, raw slices of beef simply dressed with extra virgin olive oil, lemon, capers, and arugula. But people come to Aldo's for the pasta. You'll find penne, tagliatelle, tortellini, and gnocchi, sometimes mixed with unexpected ingredients like truffle paste, nutmeg, and blue cheese.

Artichokes ravioli is a plate of a dozen oval-shaped ravioli arranged like petals on an enormous pasta flower ($15). Finely minced artichoke combines with ricotta cheese for a creamy sweet filling. A heavy dousing of pesto cream sauce makes everything yummier. Toasted pine nuts add a lovely crunch.

Penne al salmone affumicato is tubular pasta tossed with smoked salmon, scallions, and mascarpone cheese ($13.50). Smoked salmon is by nature salty, but here it is the smoky flavor that permeates well into the penne. Penne is perfectly cooked al dente, Italian for "to the tooth," meaning that the pasta should have slight resistance in the center when chewed.

It's hard to pass up desserts here, especially after you learn they are all made fresh on the premises and include things like tiramusu, pera arlecchino (poached pears filled with ice cream), and profiteroles. Torta capese is a traditional Italian cake made from chocolate and pulverized almonds and served hot ($5.50). It reposes in a web of chocolate and zabaglione sauce. The cake has a grainy, not cakey, texture from the almonds and is not overly sweet.

This is a good idea, because the cramped waiting area and the overpowering smell of flapjacks will have you feeling like a cub in a cave of ravenous, pancake-eating tigers. What if there's not enough? But thankfully, that danger is nil at the OPH, where a customer has not left feeling hungry since the great buckwheat shortage of 1998.

But back to the Dutch Baby. Cut off the top portion of a chef's hat; invert it; swaddle it simply in butter, lemon, and powdered sugar; and there you have your Dutch Baby ($8.25). Of course, the Dutch Baby is hot and airy, just as the chef's hat is filled with hot air, but you get the picture. Apple pancakes are for those who like their breakfasts to have some semblance of healthfulness, even though the apples come baked with scads of butter and caramelized sugar and the whole thing is large enough to feed a herd of buffalo ($9). They are best eaten hot, before the fried batter turns leaden.

If you have not called ahead or you simply cannot wait 20 minutes for your meal, order one of several other variations of pancakes; there’s one to satisfy every mood. There are fresh banana pancakes with hot tropical syrup, Georgia pecan pancakes, and the dubious clam pancakes, which Pancake House avows is "a true taste from the sea ... DELICIOUS."

Crepes are also in the house, along with waffles, omelettes, and a handful of salads and sandwiches for those who've already crossed over to a lunch state of mind. Orange juice is freshly squeezed and sugar-sweet, and coffees are regularly refilled. I guess the folks at OPH know you'll need a whole lot of coffee to wash down that entire pancake.

Any place proclaiming its food "American" must include chili and cornbread, and here you'll find it among a handful of starters that also include crispy calamari and steamed mussels. Village's Texas chili and cornbread is full of pinto beans and zesty ground meat ($7.50). A thin slice of cheese oozes down the square of cornbread like melted candle wax. The cornbread is cakey and crumbles easily into the chili. This starter is hearty enough to be lunch.

Upscale salads and sandwiches comprise the bulk of the lunch fare. Salads are organic and include classic cobb and roasted winter beets ($10 and $9). Salads may be plumped by the addition of a chicken breast ($3.50), grilled salmon ($5), or gulf prawns ($5).

Sandwiches range from the half-pound burger to the more finicky fresh crab club ($9 and $12). The roasted turkey breast comes on toasted brioche that is crusty on the outside and soft in the middle. Buttery brioche may be delicious but makes this sandwich difficult to hold together ($10). Roasting gives the white meat flavor, and field greens and cranberry jam keep this sandwich from sticking in your throat. A smallish wedge of brie is tucked in the middle. With your sandwich, choose roasted tomato soup, field greens, or bistro fries. The bistro fries are loaded with paprika and are more wooden then crisp.

You'll understand why there's a separate section marked "Hearty Fare" after ordering the herb ricotta ravioloni ($12). Ravioloni are simply large ravioli, which is why only two are needed to make a meal. The pasta sheets are thin and with bundle of filling of creamy ricotta and herbs. The ravioloni sit in a pool of beurre blanc, a sauce primarily composed of white wine and butter, and here, flavored with sun-dried tomatoes. The finishing touch of truffle oil is like adding whipped cream to your cheesecake, which is not necessary but no one's refusing. This dish comes with four wedges of baby zucchini and yellow squash cooked crisp-tender.

The ambience inside the restaurant is casual, with leather booths and high ceilings. A full wine bar encourages you to hang out inside, even if the weather isn't perfect outside.

Ramen noodles originated in China but have been popularized by the Japanese. These thin wheat noodles gained popularity in the English lexicon when some enterprising soul figured out a way to reconstitute dry ramen in a Styrofoam cup. However, traditional ramen is far from instant, sometimes taking a whole day to make. Although ramen can be served by itself, it is usually found bathing in a broth made from pork bones (tonkatsu) or flavored with miso or shoyu (soy sauce). Tokyo Ramen offers all of these soup bases with its ramen ($7). Each steaming bowl also includes a sprinkling of vegetables and a boiled egg. You can liven things up with beef brisket, pork ribs, or barbecued eel.

The beef brisket ramen has a few dense medallions of brisket that are chewy but palatable. The crinkly ramen is perfectly al dente. A briny broth is needed to make the noodles sing, and here, the shoyu broth does just that. The miso broth is also good; try it second. Minor missteps happen, however. The vegetables were fresh but sparse, and the boiled egg was salty and tough.

The special tear noodles are flat and irregularly shaped from being "torn" like bits of paper ($4.50). They have a slippery, soft feel in contrast to the "crunchiness" of ramen. For a change of pace, there are the lotus leaves meals, which come wrapped in a wet lotus leaf-like a bundle of laundry. The curry chicken meal starts with a generous base of rice covered with a mild curry of chicken, carrots, and onion ($7). Small piles of spinach and shredded omelet add interest. While the chicken is tender, be mindful of the shards of bones. The lotus imparts a smoky flavor to the whole dish.

If a big bowl of noodles or a bundle of laundry isn't enough to stay your hunger pangs, several appetizers are there to help, like gyoza (fried dumplings); a California roll; or pao-bing, fried pancakes with a thin layer of banana, corn, pineapple, or coconut. Pao-bing is best eaten right away, when the hot dough makes the greasiness forgivable ($4.25).

If it's ramen you want, head for Tokyo Ramen and listen for the sounds of the whumps.

Several "cold dim sum" options are meant to complement the stewed items ($3 to $5). Pick what you want from a refrigerated display case, where items wait in clear plastic boxes so you can see what you’re getting. Most have been simmered or pickled, like the preserved vegetable, a chopped leafy vegetable that becomes sweet and sour like bread and butter pickles after preserving. The pickle and bean sheet has chopped greens and soybeans mixed with shreds of bean curd sheets. They are cool, crunchy, and salty.

The lunch crowd can choose one of several hot lunch boxes to go ($5.50 to $6.50). Each lunch box comes with a generous portion of fresh vegetables, rice, meat sauce, a salty hard-boiled egg, and a wedge of braised bean curd. The beef shank lunch box features a shank the size of a medium potato thinly sliced to expose marbling of beef with the tendon, connective tissue that becomes slightly chewy and gelatinous after cooking. The tendon is prized for its health benefits, especially for joint problems. The shank is tender, and there is the aroma of star anise. The unagi lunch box comes with three small strips of barbecued eel, which are delicate and sweet.

Less interesting is the handful of rice or noodle lunches, like chicken cold noodle or shrimp fried rice ($5.50 and $6.50). Satay beef chow mein is made of wheat noodles tossed in a weak curry sauce with a small amount of napa cabbage and beef. Won Stew House also has an assortment of sweets, like smoothies and green or red bean soup. Skip the red bean and Taiwanese taro ball soup, where the purple taro balls are chewy and uninteresting, and bob among red beans that are hard instead of creamy ($3). Instead, opt for one of several smoothies, like mocha or lychee, well priced at $2.

The list of appetizers is as long as the lunch menu, which tells you not to take them lightly. Tofu salad is a must here, with two scoops of crumbly tofu atop greens lightly anointed with a soy vinaigrette ($8.50). It seems every table had one. We opted for duk bokki, "sautéed Gaesung-style, snowman-shaped, traditional-shaped rice cake." While it may be odd to see the word "snowman" on a Korean menu, the word fits. The rice cake was sweet and chewy and came in rod shapes (traditional) or as two balls stuck together (snowman). These are sautéed with cabbage, plenty of soft tofu, and flat triangles of fish cake in a sweet and spicy (or not) sauce sprinkled with peas and shredded egg. You don't come across this kind of cooking every day.

Whatever entrée you choose will be served with pan chan, side dishes of pickled and marinated items. Pan chan is half the reason for eating Korean food. Here, they could be your sole reason. There are 10 dishes at dinner, standouts being spinach with crushed tofu, sweet and nutty from the addition of sesame seeds; pickled radish cubes; slices of medium-spicy kimchee stacked like playing cards; black seaweed, briny and sweet; and crunchy bean sprouts.

The standard at lunch or dinner is the tofu pot, a bubbling mini cauldron of silken tofu cooked in beef or seaweed broth ($8.75 for lunch, $11.25 for dinner). You tell them how much heat you can stand, from mild to very spicy. The original is with beef and pork, or you may have seafood (oysters, clams, and shrimp), beef or pork with kimchee, or assorted mushrooms. Crack your raw egg into the pot when it arrives if you like yours well done; wait awhile if you like it sunny. The entire stew is delicious served atop sticky sushi rice.

The beef short ribs stew (gal bi tang jeong shik) is actually more of a soup than a stew ($13.50). Meaty short ribs wait at the bottom of your bowl for discovery like sunken treasure. The soup is clear, flavorful, and not overly salted. Slippery crystal noodles add variety.

Gaesung also offer traditional dishes from Gaesung, a city in North Korea that was once the capitol of Korea during the Corya dynasty. Squash kimchi soup with a beef, pork, or anchovy soup base and dehydrated cabbage in a soy bean paste soup are just couple samplings, providing you more reasons to visit this intriguing hideaway ($10 each).

Cambodian cuisine is similar to its neighbor to the north, Thailand. Ingredients like galangal (a type of ginger), lemongrass, basil, and coconut milk are staples in Cambodian cupboards. Like Thai soups, Cambodian soups often end on a sour note, which is a good thing. For example, the hot and sour soup (chicken or shrimp) and tomato-pineapple sour soup make good palate cleansers.

A safe appetizer is lhord, or Cambodian spring rolls (six for $4.75), which come tightly rolled and filled with minced ground chicken, carrot, taro, jicama, and shallots. The fillings are finely ground together and harmonize well. They are served with a sweet-and-sour glaze. Several salads start with a base of shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, carrots, and peanuts ($8 for a small). Choose your proteins (shrimp, chicken, beef, or squid), and liven it up with a citrus lemongrass vinaigrette.

Samlaw korko moin is chicken with green papaya, orange squash, green beans, eggplant, and spinach topped with roasted rice ($8). Orange squash, like butternut, is often used in Cambodian stews and curries. Here the stew was thin and redolent of fish due to the use of prahok, a preserved fish paste used to amplify the flavor of a dish. A little prahok goes a long way, so prepare your nose. Do try the amok, a Cambodian curry, unusual because it is steamed instead of boiled ($8). Chunks of catfish (or chicken) are seasoned with galangal and lemongrass, and then combined with coconut milk, egg, and spinach. The whole thing is steamed in a banana leaf. The steaming results in a loaf firm enough to cut into slices but moist enough to pass as a pudding. Coconut milk makes the dish sweet and custard-like. kuy tiew cha, or fried rice noodles, is a cousin of pad Thai, with flat rice noodles stir fried with bean sprouts and tamarind and topped with peanuts and shredded egg. Paprika gives it a twist. Beef is bite-size and easy to manage with chopsticks.

Bie moin is rice with barbecue chicken and a ginger sauce ($8 for a small, $12 for the large). Thin strips of white meat straddle a generous portion of sticky rice, and slices of tomatoes and cucumbers provide balance. The chicken is somewhat dry, but grilling gives it a healthy glow and smoky flavor.

With a dozen or so of these snacks, Chaat Café is a good place to come with some friends for some, well, chaat and a decent cup of house chai tea. But Chaat knows that appetizers aren’t enough to tie one over, metaphorically speaking that is, which is why they offer a full selection of dinner and lunch entrées. Chaat’s self-proclaimed invention, the tandoori wrap, uses naan, the traditional Indian leavened bread that has been baked by being stuck to the sides of a tandoor oven. The naan encloses your choice of chicken, vegetables, paneer cheese (like pressed cottage cheese), or lamb. All wraps are made to order, come with spicy potato or cucumber salad, and at $4 to $6, are a good value.

More traditional fare is present as well, like a variety of curries accompanied by either basmati rice or naan and biryani, fried rice dishes. The lamb curry came with four hearty chunks of meat in a sauce thick enough to stick to your chin without falling off ($7). The meat was not fall-from-the-bone tender (even if there were bones) but was well flavored with cumin and plenty of spice. We faced a similar dilemma with one of the specials, mint chicken tikka, where the meat was dry but well flavored ($7).

Instead, choose one of several stuffed naans, particularly the chicken pesto ones, which hang off the plate and are large enough to make a meal. Chicken pesto naan is filled with an even layer of minced chicken that has been fried with garlic, butter, and basil ($3.50). A side of spiced yogurt cools any hot spots. Chaat’s stuffed naan makes pizza look mundane.

Black-and-white photos of Indian movie stars shine down on you as you eat, while Desi pop tunes serenade overhead, providing the perfect setting to enjoy your chaat.

On weekends, arrive before noon for the best seating, or you might find yourself tucked in one of the backrooms where dim sum carts frequent less. The service is courteous and efficient. As with all dim sum establishments, the first order of business is what type of tea you would like. Jasmine tea is a good bet, fragrant and steaming hot. There’s also bo lei (also known as pu-erh), a full-bodied, fully fermented tea good for the digestion, and oolong (tea is $1/person).

Within a few seconds of seating, stainless steel carts bearing dim sum appear. Dim sum means "touches the heart" and describes the small steamed, baked, and fried dishes eaten with tea for lunch or breakfast. If you’re new to dim sum, Canton Delights is a good place to begin. Unlike other dim sum establishments that serve trendier variations on the basics, Canton Delights sticks with the traditional and does them quite well. For example, dumplings, either fried or steamed, are outstanding. The steamed shrimp dumplings (hau gau) have paper-thin wrappings and an interior of the freshest shrimp. Steamed scallop dumplings feature large bits of scallops intertwined with pea shoot greens. Steamed veggie dumplings look like miniature satchels and are filled with the tiniest cubes of tofu along with shreds of shitake and wood ear mushroom.

Fried taro dumplings (wu kok) are complex fellows with their trio of textures and flavors. The dcumplings have an outer coating made from potato flour that gives the dumpling an unusually lacy and delicate crispness. The dumpling itself is made from taro, a purple root vegetable, that has been mashed to the creaminess of mashed potatoes. Nestled inside the taro is a filling of minced pork, scallions, and mushrooms, which add a third texture as well as a savory richness to this dish. The taro dumplings here are light and not too greasy.

A classic dim sum dish, baked egg tarts, has tarts the size of half dollars and come four to a plate. The pastry is light and crumbly while the custard filling is dense. The Portugese egg tart is slightly bigger than the baked egg tart and has a cookie-like crust with a filling of egg whites and cream. Both are good.

One disappointment was the rice noodle with salty donut. The salty donut is a long piece of dough that has been deep fried, like a Mexican churro on steroids but without the cinnamon. The dough is wrapped with a thin sheet of rice noodle and served with a sweet, vinegar soy sauce. While the rice noodle was tender and pliable, the salty donuts fell flat, literally. Instead, try the rice noodle with shrimp; the shrimp are plump and accented with chives.

Loyal customers know that while burnt almond cake is a good reason, it isn’t the only reason to visit this sweet spot. Dick’s Bakery has been in the baking business for 47 years now, time enough to perfect several recipes, like glazed donuts and pumpkin pie. Everything here is made fresh daily without preservatives.

This is a good place to stock up on cookies to leave for Santa. There are sugar cookies, thin and lemony, and walnut delights, tasting similar to a Mexican wedding cookie with its shortbread-like texture and walnut bits. There are peanut butter cookies and cinnamon nut cookies, oatmeal cookies and swirly vanilla and chocolate cookies. And then there are chocolate chewies, shiny and crackled on the surface but chewy on the inside and astonishingly low in fat. Santa will thank you for minding his belly.

Most cookies have a modest 3-inch diameter, none of those super-sized monster cookies that rely more on heft than grade to sell. They’re the kind you’ll find in grandma’s cookie jar.

Glazed donuts, bars, bismarks, and twists are just a few of the dozen or so donuts made each morning here. Traditional glazed donuts are light but filling, with just enough glaze to keep your mouth happy and your fingers goop-free.

Want a more refined sugar high? Try one of several French classics: a chocolate custard Napoleon, cream puff, or éclair. It’s enough to give you cavities just thinking about them.

Dick’s Bakery also offers breads, like Dutch crunch and jalapeno cheese ($2.20 and $4.95). The onion cheese bread will not give you halitosis and the cheese is evenly sprinkled throughout the loaf. Bread is baked Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, but be assured, whichever day you go, the bread will be good. And so will the burnt almond cake.

Drinks are their specialty, ranging from the basic milk tea (shaken until frothy) to more interesting variations like taro milk yea and pine nut milk tea - a steaming hot concoction of sweet brewed tea scattered with floating pine nut bits. Several drinks actually sound healthy to boot, like wheat germ milk tea, watermelon juice with aloe, and avocado green tea smoothie. Most drinks come with tapioca pearls, which are black, chewy bubble gum-sized balls made from the cassava root. For a few quarters more, you may invite other chewy bits to the party, like grass jelly, sweet cubes hinting of licorice, or dark bricks, which is coffee-flavored jelly. Verde’s teas are not overly sweet, and the top layer of froth on the cold drinks gives you a sweet moustache to lick off. Pearls have a caramel-like flavor and are soft and pliable, not overly chewy. Drinks range from $2.25 to $4.

Where there are drinks, there are snacks, and Verde Tea is no exception. For beginners, there is a variety of "thick toast" – a 1-inch slice of white bread covered in your choice of chocolate, peanut butter, or a variety of jams. But beware the chocolate toast – underneath the chocolate lurks a layer of margarine, prompting my tea companion to exclaim, "This stuff is fattening!" though we managed to eat it anyway. Then there are a host of Taiwanese snacks, like the salty fried chicken, irregular-shaped morsels of dark meat dusted in flour and deep fried to a delicate crispiness. They come with fried fingers of yams, which, if not eaten at once, become soggy and limp.

There is also a fried yam/fried sweet potato combination, which is a nice alternative to french fries. The sticky rice is a pyramid of glutinous rice mixed with peanuts. The center holds a prize of one boiled yolk, a shitake mushroom, and one chunk of pork. Another rice dish with a less appetizing title is the oily rice. Unlike its sticky brother, oily has not been steamed in tea leaves. Tea eggs – hard-boiled eggs steeped in strong tea and star anise – are available for $0.75 each.