Max's Restaurant

      

       For years, my family and I have been going to the Max’s Restaurant that is located on 1155 El Camino Real in South San Francisco. Until recently, a new Max’s opened up in Milpitas on 1535 Landess Ave. It is open 7 days a week from 11am to 9 pm. Ever since the opening, it has become quite convenient for my family because we like eating there every once in a while and taking relatives that are visiting. Max’s Restaurant is a family friendly Filipino restaurant with a casual atmosphere. If reserved, one could also hold events such as baptisms or small family parties there even though the place itself isn’t that big. As one of the most known Filipino Restaurants in the Bay Area and the Philippines, Max’s Restaurant serves a variety of Filipino foods alongside their famous fried chicken.

       After going to Max’s Restaurant in South San Francisco for a number of years, my family already knows what dishes to order on the menu. So, the first time we went to the new Max’s Restaurant in Milpitas, we basically ordered the same food we had usually gotten at the other location. The order we placed was Max’s Fried Chicken, lumpia, pancit, crispy pata, sisig, steamed rice and Sinigang na tiya ng bangus. In comparison to the other location, the food at the restaurant was pretty much the same. Both places had a reasonable portion of food for every dish. Each plate of food tasted savory and delectable. The lumpia and crispy pata were perfect, crispy on the outside and juicy/meaty on the inside. The sisig was juicy and very flavorful, the fried chicken was big and tasty, and the Sinigang was hot and tasted just like it was home cooked.

       All things considered, I would recommend Max’s Restaurant to others. It is a good place to try out and eat some Filipino food if you are around Milpitas. But, if you are looking for a cheap take-out place for Filipino food, I would not recommend it because it is a little bit more expensive. Max is a nice casual restaurant where one could take their family or relatives or friends to on any sort of occasion. Most of the food portions are pretty reasonable for what you pay for the food. All in all, I would give Max’s Restaurant a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars just in comparison to Yelp’s rating of 2.5 out of 5 star rating. One of the reasons behind this is because I think that the service and food is pretty good. The servers are pretty attentive to your needs and are pretty good at following up on requests. The food on the other hand is a bit expensive but rather tasty.

Famous Dave's

             

           This past Father’s Day, my family and I went to Famous Dave’s BBQ for the first time. While we were waiting in line for Boiling Crab, we saw Famous Dave’s right across the street and it caught our eye so we planned to try it in the near future. The restaurant is located on 61 Curtner Ave in San Jose. It is open Monday to Thursday and Sunday from 11 am to 10 pm and Friday to Saturday from 11 am to 11 pm. Famous Dave’s has a casual atmosphere and is family friendly. Not only can you sit down and eat but you can also order take out from them as well and have them cater for an event you have planned. Famous Dave’s is an American Barbeque restaurant that serves a variety of barbecued meats, ribs, appetizers, salads, and burgers.

            When you walk into Famous Dave’s you notice a country-western type theme. The tables are dressed with picnic style table cloths and the walls are covered with various decorations.  The type of decorations include objects you would find in a country home such as cabinets filled with cups and cans, shelves with random house items, and old pictures.  At the bar, you will find multiple TVs where you can watch sporting events while having a drink. The restaurant is dimly lit to give a warm and cozy atmosphere. The friendly servers are dressed in all black attire to compliment the lighting.

            Since it was our first time dining at Famous Dave’s we had idea what to order. Looking over the menu, there were so many plates to choose from that looked appetizing we still had trouble deciding. So, when the waitress came over to our table, we asked her for some recommendations and she gave us a couple dishes that suited what kind of food we wanted. Before you receive your food, the waitress gives you a tour of the 5 different sauces that are placed on your table. The names of the sauces are Devil’s Spit, Texas Pit, Rich and Sassy, Georgia Mustard and Sweet and Zesty. We ended up ordering a rack of their award-winning ribs, the Ultimate BBQ Burger and the All-American BBQ Feast. All of these meals were AH-MAZ-ING. The ribs were juicy and the meat was very tender. The Ultimate BBQ Burger was big enough to feed maybe 2 people and you could taste every ingredient that was put in the burger. Compared to the other two meals, the All-American BBQ Feast was enormous. The Feast included, “a full slab or St. Louis-Style Spareribs, a whole Country-Roasted Chicken, ½ lb of  Georgia Chopped Pork, Creamy Coleslaw, Famous Fries, Wilbur Beans, four corn-on-the-cob and four corn bread muffins.” This was a meal fit for at least a family of four. We probably didn’t even need to order any other food besides that because it was so big. All of the food in the All-American BBQ feast was tasty and very satisfying.

            Overall, I would recommend this restaurant to large parties and small ones that are looking to eat some good tasty barbeque. From the number of times I've eaten here, I have never had anything but good experiences. The dishes are reasonably priced for the amount of food you are served in each platter. I would give Famous Dave’s a 4.5 out of 5 compared to Yelp’s star rating of 3.5 out of 5. I wouldn’t give Famous Dave a full 5 out of 5 rating because it still a little bit pricey compared to other local barbeque restaurants. But since the food portions are pretty big and the food is very mouth-watering it makes the price reasonable.

Boiling Crab

       In recent years, Boiling Crab has become a popular restaurant destination in the Bay Area. Since my senior year of high school, I remember hearing my friends talk about a really good seafood place that was somewhere in San Jose. They would always tell me about how good the food was such as the shrimp, fries and crab. Sometimes, my friends would also talk about how they would have to wait in line for an hour or more just to eat there because it was just THAT good. This past year, a new Boiling Crab location had opened up at the Plant on 71 Curtner Avenue Suite 20. The first Boiling Crab that opened up in San Jose is located on 1631 East Capitol Expressway.  At both locations, the restaurant is open 7 days a week, Mon-Fri from 3pm to 10 pm and Sat-Sun from 12pm to 10pm. Although I have not been to the original Boiling Crab on Capitol, that my friends were talking about, I have been able to go to the one at the Plant a number of times since it has opened. For this review, I will only be basing my opinions and critiques on my experience at the Boiling Crab location at the Plant.

       The first time I went to Boiling Crab, my brother treated me and my parents out for dinner. Upon entering Boiling Crab, you will notice many decorations inside. The theme of the restaurant is based around a fishing boat. There were fishing nets, fake fish, boats and many other decorations on the walls and ceilings. The walls and floors of the restaurant were all made out of wood to make you feel like you were eating on a boat. One thing that is unique about the wooden walls is that customers can write on any part of any wall with a sharpie or pen. For me, when I first saw a bunch of scribbles all over the wall, I thought it was random graffiti or a wall design. But as I looked closer, I could see people’s names, random quotes, pictures, etc. that people had written and drawn. Not only was the place decorated with fishing decorations and such but there were also multiple flat screen TVs stationed around the restaurant which usually played sports programs. The restaurant is a good place to take your family, a group of friends, or a date to either dine-in or take out. Even though the place itself isn’t that big it can still seat around 100 to150 people. But since the restaurant isn’t able to seat a lot of people at once, it does affect the wait time. Luckily, when my family and I went, we got there 20 minutes before it opened so we didn’t have to wait in line.

       One of the things Boiling Crab is most known for is how they serve their food. Once your party is seated at a table or booth, the waiter gives you either limes or lemons and a couple plastic containers that have salt and pepper in them. With those ingredients you can choose to mix the lime/lemon into the container to make a dipping sauce for your food. Before you even order your food, there is only a white paper table cloth and napkins/paper towels on your table. Right before they serve you the food, they tie a plastic bib, with the  Boiling Crab logo, on each person at the table. At the Boiling Crab, they do not give you any utensils, plates, or bowls to eat your food with unless you ask the waiter for some. The reason behind not giving you any utensils or plates to eat with is because dun dun dun…. you get to eat with your hands!!! The whole table is basically your plate, so all of your dirty napkins and food that you are throwing away is left on the table and when you’re done eating the waiter/bus boy will make a sack out of the paper table cloth and throw it all out. Of course, I have seen some first-time customers who do not like eating with their hands so they end up asking for utensils because of sanitary reasons, table etiquette or any other explanation. For me, I think that eating the food with your hands gives you a whole different experience because there are not many, if ANY casual restaurants like Boiling Crab that give you the opportunity to do that. I like the feeling of being able to touch my food especially if I am eating seafood such as shrimp, crab or lobster. I find it to be sort of fun tearing everything apart trying to get all the meat inside. Like myself, my family had no problem eating without any plates or utensils.
       When you look through the menu, you will find a variety of seafood as well as other extras. They not only serve different types of crab, but they also serve other types of seafood like shrimp, clams, and crawfish. With every order, you can pick a certain type of seasoning to go with your food. There are four types of seasonings which are rajun cajun (original), lemon pepper, garlic butter, and the whole sha-bang (which is all the seasonings in one). With every seasoning, you can also choose how spicy you want it to taste. The different levels of spiciness are non spicy, milk, med, and xxx. That seasoning will be mixed with your food in a clear plastic bag. The various sauces that your food is prepared in is what makes Boiling Crab unique from any other seafood restaurants. Also featured in the menu is a selection of fried foods and side orders. Among the fried foods are dishes such as fried shrimp, chicken tenders, and hot wings. There are also many side orders to choose from such as gumbo, sausages, steamed rice, and extra condiments. In addition, Boiling Crab also provides its customers with one size free soda refills. They not only serve soda but also water and alcohol.

The night my brother took my family out for dinner, we ordered a couple pounds of shrimp, blue crab, an order of snow crab legs and crawfish, chicken tenders, cajun fries and sweet potato fries. With our seafood orders we picked a seasoning and how spicy we wanted it to taste. For the shrimp we chose the whole sha-bang mild, for the snow crabs we chose lemon pepper non spicy, and for the crawfish and blue crab we chose garlic butter mild and non spicy respectively. In my opinion, I thought everything was DELICIOUS. All of the seafood was cooked thoroughly, the two fries were very tasty, and the chicken tenders were crispy and appetizing. All in all, I would rate Boiling Crab a 4.5 out of 5 compared to Yelp’s 3.5 out of 5 star rating. The only reason why I wouldn’t give it a 5 out of 5 is because it is a bit on the pricey side. But considering the friendly and casual atmosphere of the restaurant, the unique dining experience, how good the food tastes, and the helpful staff it is worth the price. Even though it is pricey, I would highly recommend Boiling Crab to any seafood lovers out there and any people who have never tried seafood before. The dining experience and the food are well worth one’s time and money.