Estrellita's (Los Altos)

http://www.estrellitarestaurant.com/

Estrellita's is a small restaurant on the Los Altos/Mountain View border. We strolled in on Sunday at 6:15pm. Estrellita's always puts their special plates of the day on display at the entrance so you can see what's on offer.
I'll warn you from that start that service is usually slow here. I've come before and it's usually one bus boy and one waitress (who is also the hostess) for whatever customers are in the restaurant. It takes a few minutes after we are seated and we get chips and two types of salsa. The chips are better than average for a Mexican place and you get a green (tomatillo) salsa and a smokey red salsa. Both are spicy and both are good. It takes a few minutes but the waitress comes over and takes our order.
While the service has been slow the last two times I ate there once you put the order in for the food it has come in a reasonable amount of time. I got the special Habanero & Mushroom Chicken and "Bewitched" Pork. The chicken (on the left of the plate) was so tender and juicy and had a nice smooth sauce on it with a little heat from the habanero peppers. This was quite tasty and just plain good. In the middle of the plate were pinto beans and rice which were standard. On the right was the pork which seemed to be in a type of adobo sauce. The sauce was very tasty and had a good depth of flavor with earthy spices coming through. The meat itself was a little dry and a little tough. This really stood out as a contrast to the tender chicken. It's too bad because otherwise I couldn't have asked for anything more. But now I must ask for tender pork next time. I also order a special tamal on the side. It was a Rajas Tamal featuring the peppers of that name. This was good again featuring nice spices and depth of flavor. Tony got a special sweet corn tamal which was similar to a cornbread and a must try in my opinion if you like sweet things. The other diners had Mole Poblano, Enchiladas Suizas, and Alicia got a chicken dish with a dry spice rub on it that was good. There were no complaints from anyone. Tony commented that his Mole was stronger on the cinnamon than chocolate flavors and had less heat in it that some others he has had. They claim to put 38 ingredients in their mole and I've had it before myself and definitely appreciate the taste of it.
We all enjoyed our meals and actually had to box some up as well because the portions are above average. It took like what seemed forever to get the check. It was maybe 10-15 minutes it's hard to say. Oh, and Tony ordered a beer and that took too long as well. If your blood boils when you get slow service then I would suggest you don't come here. I have a feeling you will get slow service with a smile :) I love the Mom & Pop feel of the place and all the Mexican decorations and art. I also love the food here. The prices are reasonable as well. 66$ included 4 main courses (came with salads) two tamales on the side, a beer, and tax. This place specializes in south Mexican food (there is a long history/story on the menu....you can read it while you are waiting for service) and is worth trying if you are ever in the Los Altos/Mountain View area.

Nick's On Main (Los Gatos)

http://www.nicksonmainst.com/
http://www.siliconvalleyrestaurantweek.com/

Today we ate at Nick's On Main in Los Gatos. It's part of Silicon Valley's restaurant week which let's you eat a fixed price 3 course meal (35$). Since Nick's had the best rating on Yelp of the participating restaurants (in Los Gatos/Saratoga) we decided to give it a go.
Nick's is a tiny place with a black/white theme. They had an old brick wall with some nice character, I didn't see much else. We brought our own wine (20$ corkage) and they brought out some soft foccacia and olive oil with sun dried tomatoes to dip for the bread. Let's talk about the appetizers.
Butternut Squash Soup: all three of us agreed it was tasty. It had a nice texture and was seasoned well.
Crab/Lemon Risotto: Alicia and I agreed this was the best appetizer. The risotto was a perfect al dente and hot and creamy. The crab was light and fresh and in good amounts on top of the risiotto:
Wild Mushroom Ravioli: Three ravioli's (house made pasta) with cut up and sauteed asparagus and tomatoes along side. The ravioli's had no mushroom flavor and were filled with a mild green filling. Were these spinach ravioli by accident? Couldn't have been, spinach has a very unique taste. I guess it was mushrooms blended with an herb which gave the green color. Really bland. The side vegetables were nicer than the ravioli. There was also too much oil thrown on the ravioli for dressing at the end. It was edible but not really enjoyable.
For the main courses:
Nani's Meatloaf: My Mom got this, we all agreed it was good. It came with a nice mushroom sauce and it was tender and moist and spiced well. The mashed potatoes it came with were standard.
Ahi Tuna: This dish was a little weird. To start with the quality and cooking of the tuna were great. It was a clean and fresh tasting tuna seared just enough on the outside. It came with a side of white Italian beans which were cooked to a nice al dente texture much like the risotto. The weird part was all the crap thrown on top of the tuna. There was a chopped mix of herbs and garlic with goat cheese on top of the tuna. It was way too much and made the quality of the tuna get lost in the mix. Goat cheese and tuna do not mix. The goat cheese was good with the herb mix but on top of tuna? Oh yeah, it came with asparagus.
Pork Tenderloin: My favorite of the three. Three medallions of tenderloin with a nice crispy char on the outside but tender sweet pork down below. There was a nice bourbon glaze on the pork as well. It came with string beans and mashed potatoes which went well with the pork. It also came with some tomato reduction on top but this was just overkill again. With that nice subtle glaze with crust and nice quality meat I didn't need that crap on top of it. It tasted fine too it just didn't belong on the pork.
Okay, it was a 3 course meal so here comes desert.
Chocolate Decadence Cake: Like a flour less chocolate cake (maybe it was). Rich and dense served with some raspberries. It was likable but I'm sure you've had better chocolate deserts somewhere else.
Creme Brulee: Alicia loved the crust (she is a sugar crust snob, has to be just right for her). She thought the custard was tasty but needed to firm up. To me the custard had the consistency of creme anglaise and therefore I took one bite and was done. So what if you can burn some sugar, give me a good custard mate.
Banana Bread Pudding: This is a must get if you like bread pudding. What I really liked that set it apart from other bread puddings I've had is again a nice crust on the top probably from being finished under a broiler (or accidentally burned in the oven?). Either way I love things that bring a contrasting texture to the dish. Whether intentional or not. There was a maple and caramel after taste and this is probably the perfect desert for a comfort food type meal. This was my favorite bread budding I've had that I can recall.

If you go to Nick's I've got the perfect meal for you. Get the Butternut Squash Soup, follow that with Pork Tenderloin, and finish with Banana Bread Pudding. The ultimate comfort food meal. Go during restaurant week and this is 35$. Go another time and throw another 10$ on probably for regular prices. I should also mention the servers were very friendly and professional, very much appreciated. This is a nice place to dine if you don't mind the prices. I think they are overdressing some things (mushroom ravioli, the ahi tuna, and even the pork). But you can just push that stuff off with your fork.

A snack at Capers (Campbell)

http://www.caperseatanddrink.com/

Alicia and I walk out of the new gym we just worked out and decide to grab a bite at a place called Capers which is next door. The menu seemed a little pricey but I wanted to try it since someone at the gym had just recommended it.
We sat at a bar table and I decided to order just a few appetizers. There were lots of TVs around tuned to different football games. Seemed like a good place to watch some football. The bar was half full and the tables were maybe 1/4 full on a Sunday @2pm. I ordered a chicken quesadilla, ahi tuni salad, and sauted shrimp.
The give you bread and oil/vinegar to start, standard stuff. The shrimp were served in a lemon butter sauce. It was 6 medium shrimp bathing in a pool of the sauce. The sauce was tasty and the shrimp were cooked well enough. The ahi tuna salad was good as well. It had black sesame seeds on the outside of the seared tuna. It came with the usual stuff; pickled ginger, soy sauce, and lemon. It also had a really bland salad of rice noodles with it that weren't worth eating. The 8 slices of tuna were clean tasting and seared well. The chicken quesadilla was plain but had lots of chicken on it and had very crisply cooked tortillas which I prefer to softer ones. It came with sour creme and a salsa fresca which was mostly chopped tomatoes.
So everything was okay but I won't be going back. Why? With tax and tip the bill was 46$. 46$ for three appetizers and no drinks? I'll pass next time Capers.....

Bai Tong (Saratoga)

http://www.baitongthai.com/

Alicia gets home tonight and I have a dinner ready to make at home but Alicia wants to eat out. What the lady wants she gets and I start searching through Yelp to see the local food joints around our new rental in Saratoga. Saratoga sure has a lot of overpriced restaurants and I wasn't in the mood for any of that so I decided on the only Thai place in town: Bai Tong.
We make the 10 minute walk over and fortunately don't have to wait for a table. It's a small place that can maybe seat 30-35 at most. It has the usual Thai theme decor and it's a nice atmosphere. I place an order for spring rolls and chicken satay to start.
The spring rolls come out first and are served with a peanut sauce. There are 4 of them cut in half and they are filled with various vegetables and herbs. There are also tubular things as well that I guess are made from vegetables. The spring rolls are good and have a lemon/basil/mint type aftertaste which goes well with the slightly spicy peanut sauce. I kind of hate paying 8$ for a protein less appetizer but for what it's worth they were good. Then came the chicken satay. Three skewers of chicken served with peanut sauce and some cucumber relish type salad. The satay was one of the better ones I've had. The chicken was seasoned well (yellow I guess from tumeric) and was very tender and juicy. The cucumber relish was almost like a palate cleanser after eating the satay. So far so good.
Then out came the two dishes we ordered: kang karee (chicken yellow curry) and Pad Kra Pow (chicken/basil/vegetables). We opted for brown rice instead of traditional white on the side. The yellow curry was quite good. The vegetables were cooked through nicely and had just the right amount of bite in them. I love biting into a perfectly cooked piece of potato, all the better in a nice sauce. The curry had just the right spice. We had asked for medium and the waiter said that their curry is fairly spicy and we may want to go a little less. It was a good call by him. The Pad Kra Pow was good as well, lots of basil and again perfectly cooked root vegetables like carrots putting up little fight as I bite into them and send them to the black abyss of my esophagus and digestive tract. (For some reason carrots aren't on the online menu for this wat?).
We passed on desert because two appetizers and two entrees were more than enough. We probably could have skipped something but I read online their portions were small. I guess if you are used to the Cheesecake Factory then it will seem small but each entree is enough for two people to share. Alicia did get a Thai Iced Tea though and liked it. I tried it and didn't but I don't like Thai Iced Teas.
The service was good and the wait staff was very professional and friendly. It is a family run business and they obviously all take pride in running the place, from the back of the house to the front. So whats the downside?
Only the price. Everything is about a 1$ or 2$ over the typical price you find on Thai menus. Even the brown rice was $2 each (come on now Bai Tong). The bill came to 44$ with tax and then throw eight bones on for the tip. Like I said though we easily could have dropped an appetizer or entree because it was more than enough. And even though it's pricey for Thai I am pretty sure none of the other restaurants in Saratoga can give me a better meal for $25 a person. Although I will try to find one. If you like Thai and are in Saratoga then I would say check this place out and save the $29 entree restaurants for another night (like when someone else is paying). I'll probably be going back.