Taylor's Automatic Refresher in the Ferry Building, SF

I had lunch at Taylor's Automatic Refresher recently - the one in SF, not the one in St. Helena. It was not as satisfying as I had hoped. Oh, I'd been to Taylor's before. I make it a point frequent as many diner dives as I can, but for some reason, the food didn't taste as good this time.

In my quest to beat the lunch rush, I got there around 11:30am. There weren't that many staff people there, and much of the food had been prepared in advance. For example, the Chinese Chicken Salad, and the milkshake I got had all been prepped and were simply pulled out of the fridge/freezer. The only thing warm was the grilled cheese (made fresh then and there). Even the sweet potato fries were cold.

The salad was fine, but the real standout was the spicy asian dressing. The fries were tasty, but cold, which detracted from their luster. The chocolate milkshake, as usual, was superior.

By 12noon, the place was hopping and every seat was taken. It looked like the salads they were handing out were still pre-made, but everything else was fresh. In other words, get there later so that you get the fresh-made food after they run out of their pre-packaged stuff. The downside is the crowd, but at least you get good, hot food.

Darbar in Palo Alto, CA

I love Darbar. Quick, cheap, and good Indian food in the upscale downtown Palo Alto area is hard to find, but this place fits the bill. The lunch buffet is plentiful, with standards like aloo gobhi, chana masala, butter chicken, lamb vindaloo, and chicken tikka masala all well-prepared. They also have a ground lamb and chickpea dish called Kheema Chole that MH loves. Lots of little dishes (like pakoras), and the usual accompaniments (like sliced cukes, tomatoes, and chutneys) round out the buffet. Fresh, hot naan is brought to your table while you're getting your food.

You can be in and out in 20 minutes if you wolf down your food. Which you won't want to because it tastes so good. Everything is decently spiced, but not overly so. The vindaloo is genuinely hot, though.

Dinner is quieter, but the food is still great. Check in the Palo Alto Weekly or in the Stanford Daily for 2-for-1 coupons and deals.

Parking can be tight. I like to park on High Street or in the back, residential area behind the restaurant. Don't park in the tiny parking lot next to the restaurant. It belongs to a private gym, and they'll tow you.

Town Hall in SF, CA

Had a wonderful dinner a few nights ago at Town Hall, a hot SF joint that opened in 2003 to rave reviews. Sexy young things gathered at the bar and the walk-in communal table by the door, scoping each other out, and laughing uproariously. I planned in advance (we were with an older couple), and made reservations on Open Table weeks ahead of time. There was a slight wait, but the hostess was lovely, and made us feel welcomed while we were waiting in the foyer. When I expressed a desire to sit inside instead of outside under the heat lamps, she said, "Of course you can sit inside! Outside is for walk-ins only!"

The cocktails at the bar were tiny (don't waste your $$), but the food was awesome. I had perfectly-cooked salmon on a brussels sprout hash with grits. Now, I hate hate hate grits, but I swear these grits tasted like rice pudding. I love rice pudding, so I ate every last bit. I couldn't believe how good they were. Even thinking about them now gives me the chills. MH started with a butter lettuce salad with candied walnuts and bleu cheese dressing. It was very well-put together, with just the right amount of dressing coating each lettuce leaf. MH got a delicious-looking lamb for the main, and wouldn't let me try any (it was that good). UL got a salad with mebrillo (yum!), and the rib-eye steak. We had an incredible wine (New Zealand Marlborough Pinot Noir), which was pricey, but excellent.

As we were leaving (just after 9:30pm), a large table full of young-ish women in cocktail dresses was just sitting down for the evening. We pushed our way out through the bar past the sexy young things - it was even more crowded than it had been at 7:30, elated to be out in the night air. We drove home full and happy.

K&L Bistro in Sebastopol, CA

Stopped into K&L Bistro in the sleepy town of Sebastopol a few weekends ago for lunch. What a disappointment! I'd read rave reviews of this place in the Chronicle and in Zagat, and I think both were off the mark. First off, the place is the size of a postage stamp. Even though we'd made reservations, we were seated at a terrible table completely on top of two other tables. Poor MH was crammed in between my seat and the seat of a large man at the table behind us. It was also seriously loud even though not all the seats were taken.

And maybe we ordered incorrectly, but the Salade Nicoise was so drenched in thick dressing it was barely edible. The warm, seared tuna on top was superb, but the soaking lettuce just couldn't make up for it. MH's Cobb Salad was fine, but the ratio of toppings to lettuce was skewed, with a mere handful of greens crushed beneath the heaps of cheese, meat, and eggs above. It looked like most other folks were getting burgers and fries for lunch.

I wouldn't rush back there, but if I did, I'd skip the salads and go straight for the grease.

Maru Ichi in Mountain View, CA

You like ramen? So do I. You need to check out Maru Ichi, a great Japanese noodle house in downtown Mountain View. The place is cheap, relatively fast, and really good. I always get the Miso Ramen. It's a little less delicate than I'm used to for miso broth, but it's quite tasty. MH didn't love the Tonkatsu, saying the broth wasn't that flavorful.

For value, try the combos. Combo C with a huge bowl of ramen (your choice of broth) and a donburi bowl (stick with the sliced, white tuna rather than the fatty tuna) is a great deal (under $10). Potstickers are so-so.

The TV in the corner blaring crazy Japanese variety shows just adds to the delightfully tacky decor. Get there early for lunch. Dinnertime is usually much less crowded, but they're good with crowds. I went recently with MH, SM, AB, MB, and BP and we got our piping hot food really quickly!

Udupi Palace in Sunnyvale and Chaat Paradise in Mountain View

Two chaat places in two days! A record for me. I haven't had chaat since the day when I dragged CHF and MH up to Vik's Chaat Corner in Berkeley. Both places are vegetarian, so if you're a carnivore, forget about it.

Udupi Palace was up first. I must admit that I wanted to go there because I'd seen it in Zagat's for years, and was curious about the place. The restaurant, located in a stand-alone building on El Camino in Sunnyvale was bare-bones, with cafeteria-style tables and chairs. Although they had a lunch buffet, MH and I opted for ordering a la carte. MH ordered the chana masala (whole chick pea curry), and I got the medhu vada appetizer (small, fried lentil cakes with salad and dipping sauce), and the paper masala dosa, a huge paper-thin dosa with a thick potato and onion side to spread on the bread. All were tasty, but not terribly spicy, even though we told the waiter to spice it up. The dosa could have used more tang; I've had them taste almost like sourdough bread, and I like them better that way.

Chaat Paradise was next. It's located in a strip mall on El Camino in Mountain View, just north of I-85. This place also had bare-bones decor, and service was terrible (we had to flag down waiters any time we wanted anything, including simply to order), but the food was awesome. I got the Chaat Thali 1, with two vegetables (their choice), dal, raita (excellent, and thick), kadhi, rice, papad, and two plain rotis. MH got an incredible samosa in spicy chickpea sauce - the best dish of any that we tried at either restaurant. MH also got a potato and onion-stuffed roti, which was really tasty. I'd go back to this place over Udupi Palace, but would be more aggressive with my demands to the waiters.

Both places were extremely cheap. About $15 for two people. You really can't beat that for a filling lunch.

Kabuto Sushi in SF, CA

I'd heard so much about Kabuto Sushi in the Outer Richmond, so last weekend, MH and I dragged some friends up there. Three years ago, I'd tried to go there. When I showed up, there were 30 people ahead of me in line. It was raining (this is SF, after all), so I left.

Imagine my surprise when we arrived around 7:30pm on a Saturday night, expecting a huge wait, but found only two groups ahead of us. I should have known something was up. I'd heard rumors since an ownership change that the food just wasn't as good. The rumors were right. What I found was a seriously overpriced sushi bar with inferior food.

I really hated the wakame salad. It was slimy to the point of inedibility. The sushi was mostly fresh, but didn't have a ton of flavor, either in the rice or in the fish. The one highlight was the pre-made Mochi ice cream MH had for dessert. I felt terrible we'd dragged our friends out in the cold, drizzly night. Disappointment!

I do need to give a shout out to the great guys in front of us in line. They were a party of three, but their third hadn't arrived. They let us cut in front of them because our whole party was present. Two thumbs up for courteous SF residents! Two thumbs down for Kabuto.