Burger King - 1901 Webster Street Alameda, CA (510) 521-2378 &

November 17, 2012 – Today we stopped by Yojimbo to drop off a brochure. Greta ran in and said to the sushi chef who was making a beautiful dish, “Hello, me and a few people outside were here are few weeks ago and are part of the Alameda Restaurant & Compost Blog. We would like to give you this brochure. Please give this to your manager.”

Then we went to South Shore to check out the recycling and compost compliance at the “Off the Grid” Food Truck area. Each truck has recycling and composting, but we are not sure that they have composting back at the food truck staging area in Hayward. We will report back on the status.

Recycling and Composting at Off the Grid - Alameda South Shore Center

Today we visited both of the Burger Kings in Alameda. At 2200 Otis Drive we ordered:

• Tendercrisp Chicken Sandwich – Vera loved the chicken sandwich, “I would give it a billion out of one star.” We discussed whether this ranking is higher than a billion out of five stars and we decided that it was.

Burger King at Otis Drive

• Premium Alaskan Fish Sandwich – Greta ordered hers without tarter sauce (because she hates mayo). This left the patty a bit dry.
• French Fries – The French fries a thicker cut than at other fast food restaurants. Ketchup is served out of a pump container into little paper cups (all potentially compostable!).
• Sprite – Greta never had a Sprite before. In fact, the only soda she can remember having is a Shirley Temple and a root beer float. Greta said the Sprite “exploded in my mouth.”
• Chocolate Handspun Shake – This starts with chocolate syrup, then blop a lot of soft-serve ice cream on top. Then they stick a pipe in it and mix it up.

At 1901 Webster Street we ordered:

• Kids Meal – chicken strips, value fries, fruit punch & a Rock ‘um Sock ‘um Robot toy – According to Vera, the best thing about the kids meal is the toy.

Compost Report – We know that the owner of the Burger Kings has expressed interest in composting. Jessica has been trying to recruit them into the program since 2010. Almost everything that is thrown away at Burger King is recyclable or compostable. In fact, even though we ate in at the restaurants, we brought our stuff home to recycle and compost it. So, we gave the on-site managers at each of the Burger Kings a MASC brochure. Both of the McDonalds restaurants in Alameda are recycling and composting, so we know that they can do it!



Composting wrappers from Burger King




We composted all of the paper wrappers and recycled the plastic cup.
The only thing that went to the landfill was the straw.



Asena Restaurant – 2508 Santa Clara Avenue, Alameda, CA 94501 (510) 521-4100

November 10, 2012 – Today, we went to Asena, a popular and venerable Mediterranean restaurant that has been in Alameda since 1996. We were able to get a reservation for eight at 5:15 p.m. The owners are from Turkey and there are many Turkish-inspired dishes on the menu. The adults in our party tried the Turkish wine, which was excellent.

The restaurant was full when we were there with a big surprise party in the back. There was a line of patrons waiting for a table when we left.

We had:

• Pan-seared Mahi-Mahi with Mashed Potatoes – Greta says, “It was amazing! The taste was full of spices that made you feel warm and cozy. The mashed potatoes and vegetables were very yummy.”

• Eggplant – Jean says, “The eggplant dish was a light take on a traditional eggplant parmesan. Slices, rather than breaded and fried, were grilled and the edges were charred perfectly. The slices were layered with mushrooms and surrounded by a light tomato slices and artichoke hearts, After eating such a light meal, I did not feel guilty about having cheesecake for dessert!”

• Asena’s Signature Chicken Curry Triangle – Jen says, “The chicken curry triangle was quite good. The curry was very mild and sweet and heavy on coconut. There are apples raisins that also sweetened up the dish. The curry is served in a giant filo triangle.”

• Margarita Pizza – Vera says, "It was very cheesy and stretchy. And every time you got a bite you had to put the cheese back on separately."
• Caesar Salad – Linnea had a salad for an entrée, but could have used a bit more food. She helped Vera finish her pizza.
• Ravioli with Smoked Salmon – Ruth had a very tasty and dainty portion.
• Crème Brulée – Greta says, "The Crème Brulée was warm at first until I had this photo shoot that took a really long time. It was very delicious, but at the same time very filling. I would give it four and a half out of five stars."

• Pot de Crème au Chocolate – Vera says, "The chocolate was very rich and the top was rough with peaks." Fred says, "It was very chocolaty and had the texture of Crème Brulée."

• Blood Orange Cheese Cake with Raspberry Coulis – Jean says, “Very light and creamy with a delicious nut crust.”

Compost Report – We spoke to one of the waiters about the recycling and composting program and he said that they had recently started on the program (and had one of each of the 96-gallon blue recycling containers and green compost containers). Yay! We gave him a brochure in case they would like free training or internal containers.

Please visit Asena and have the Turkish wine and delicious, light Mediterranean cuisine. And thank them for recycling and composting!

Yojimbo Sushi - 1221 Park Street Alameda, CA 94501 (510) 523-4120

November 3, 2012 -- We were going to go to Asena (but it is closed for lunch on Saturdays) and since it was Vera’s birthday (yay!) she chose to go to Yojimbo for the restaurant blog. We seem to keep having this problem, showing up to restaurants when they are closed:

• When Angelfish was closed, we went to Angela’s Bistro and Bar
• When Ark was closed, we went to La Penca Azul
• And when Asena was closed, we went to Yojimbo (kinda outa alphabetical order, but oh well the food was good)

Greta and Vera had been to Yojimbo a lot before and always gave it great reviews. Greta especially liked the crab sushi. Vera liked the ball of rice with a slabber of raw fish on top (nigiri sushi). This was the first visit for Ruth, Fred and Linnea.

Décor – One of the best things about Yojimbo is the décor. The restaurant has original paintings based on Japanese movies and animation. They also have TVs in each room showing some of the films they feature on the walls. It’s really cool!

We had a big party, so we got to sit in the booth.  

We had:

• Ramuné – Vera says, I really like this drink because it has a marble in the bottle and is strawberry flavored. We have lots of empty ones at our home out on the deck.
• Sashimi Over Rice – Greta says, I emphatically enjoyed the sashimi over rice because it was very flavorful and juicy. It was very fancy too because everything was in layers they had tuna, salmon, fried egg, and some kind of light pink fish that tasted very good. I liked that the rice was on the bottom because it got soaked with fish which made it very sweet and umame at the same time (which I like).     
• Cucumber Roll – Vera says, they are really good and I always get them at any sushi place. But if they don’t have them then I choose something else. My sister got three and I got three and that means there were six (because three plus three is six).
• Dragon Roll – Linnea had the dragon roll which was a California roll with spicy tuna on top. It was very good, but very spicy (so Ruth had to eat the tuna).
• Tempura Roll – Ruth had the tempura roll and it was good.
• Teriyaki Chicken – Fred had the teriyaki chicken and the portions were enormous (we all had some except for Greta who is a pescetarian).

 

Compost Report – We are embarrassed to say that we forgot to bring the Miss Alameda Says Compost brochure and they were very busy, so we did not get to ask about recycling and composting. We checked outside and it looked like they had a one-yard bin and a very small space that they share with their neighbor (so it could be challenging to get more service). We will stop by later when they are less busy.

We talked to Jessica about the opportunities for composting at Alameda Grill, Ark and Yojimbo. She said that she would follow up with them.

Ark Chinese Restaurant - 1405 Park Street, Alameda, CA 94501 (510) 521-6862

October 28, 2012 – Seven of us went to Ark Chinese Restaurant for dinner. 

Vera and Greta have had take-out garlic noodles from Ark many, many times. But we had never eaten in and seen the noodle show before. This place is known for their house-made, hand-pulled noodles. We had:

• Fried Cheese Crab Wonton – Jen says, “They were creamy and tasty.”
• Juicy Pork Steam Dumplings – Greta says, “I loved the taste of them because it tasted very tofu-sausage-y and I love that texture. I would give it five out of five stars.”

• Braised Egg Tofu – Greta says, “I loved it a lot. The texture was very juicy and mushy and I like that type of texture when I am eating tofu. I loved the taste of it and the long chewy mushrooms that came with the dish. I would give it five out of five stars.”

• Wonton Soup – Greta says, “I loved the taste of this because it felt nice and slick and chewy at the same time. I would give it five out of five stars.”
• Kung Pao Meatless Chicken – Jen says, “I loved the Kung Pao meatless chicken. The “meat” was firm and dense and umame, tasting vaguely of mushrooms. And it was just the right amount of spice and the vegetables were also very good.”
• Baked Portuguese Chicken with Rice – Greta says, “This dish comes with baked curry rice and little chunks of chicken. I loved the fried potato because the texture of it feels like dough. I would give it five out five stars as well.”
• Stir-Fry Mixed Vegetable – Jen says, “The vegetables were very good, the snowpeas, broccoli, and feathery mushrooms. The zucchini could have been cut thinner. I like mine more well-done.”
• Garlic Noodles – The garlic noodles are house made, hand pulled and one of the specialties of this restaurant. We had a great view into the kitchen and could watch the chef make the noodles – all different thicknesses. Vera said, “They were really garlicky and I really liked them. And it looked really cool when the guy was making them.” 

Here is the noodle show (filmed by Greta): 

This restaurant is also famous of their beautiful fruit sculptures. Plus you get some fancy fruit with fortune cookies for dessert.

Compost Report—We asked our waitress about composting, but she wasn’t too sure what they had. We gave her a brochure to give to the chef. The chef was making noodles, so we will need to come back later.