Our Last Post - Bella Vita!

Sophia says:  Hi Readers!  We have some sad news, this is our very last post for awhile.  Today is my dad's birthday and we went to  Bella Vita, an Italian restaurant for dinner.  When we got there, it was really busy and we waited about 10 minutes to get seated.  Our table was in the middle of the restaurant but it was nice. I ordered Italian soda and penne pasta with tomato sauce.  Our waiter brought out bread and it was delicious and warm! It took a while for our food to be served but like I said, it was really crowded.  When we got our food we were so happy!  My dinner was really good. Since it was my dad's birthday, our waiter brought a chocolate mousse dessert.  By the way, our waiter was very nice and checked on us a lot.  Overall I had a pretty good time and the restaurant is beautiful.

We started this blog in 2011 and I loved reviewing restaurants. Readers, feel free to email us at ladybugfans@gmail.com if you have a special restaurant review request and check back in on us.  Thanks for being great readers!

Goodbye for now!

                          376 1st St, Los Altos, CA 94022, (650) 917-0300

Josh says:  Hi Readers: This blog was fun because I got to eat at so many restaurants. My pizza tonight was great and the whole dinner was really good.

Food: ****
Service: ****
Atmosphere: *****
Overall:                              4 1/2 Ladybugs!

Oops!

Sophia says:  Hi Readers!  This has been the fastest month ever! I promise we will do a review before the end of the year! Thank you for reading our blog and happy holidays to all!

Big Bites Vietnamese Sandwich Eatery

Sophia says:  Hi Readers -  Happy November! Sorry it's been so long but we have been very busy and have had a crazy month. Today for lunch we went to Big Bites! It used to be Sweet Leaf Cafe and we did a review on that restaurant last year.    I guess it went out of business and we saw the new sign for Big Bites.  When we got there, we looked at the menu on the wall. It is the kind of restaurant where you order at the counter and they bring you your food. Josh and I ordered a grilled pork noodle bowl to share. They are huge! The food took awhile because everything is freshly done. It reminded of the food at the Asian Box.  I liked our food, but I didn't love it because there were too many mint leaves and cilantro. I think we needed to mix everything up a little bit better.  There were quite a few people that came in for lunch after us and it has been open for 2 months.  In case you are wondering, it is located right next to Dickey's BBQ.  The lady at the counter was very nice but I thought she was only person working there because everyone else was in the kitchen.  She checked on us one time. Overall, the restaurant wasn't one of my favorites, but I would come back to try something else.

570 N. Shoreline Blvd. Mtn. View, 650-390-0860

the menu

food!

drinking cucumber water

happy face!

grilled beef sandwich

eating the beef noodles

looking for a fork!

Josh says: Hi Readers!  Did you have a good Halloween? I did and I was a ninja! Today for lunch we went to Big Bites. It is new. When we got there, we first ordered and then we got a seat. I had grilled beef with noodles. It was okay because the noodles were a little bit plain. They had chopsticks but I needed a fork. I liked my mom's sandwich the best. The restaurant is nice and warm.  The lady that checked on us was nice we had a fun time. Maybe I would come back but not have any salad with my beef.

Jodie says: I know the kids weren't crazy about their lunch but I loved Big Bites! I had the grilled beef sandwich and it was so fresh and delicious. It was so good I ended up sharing it with Sophie & Josh. It came with cucumber, pickled carrots, daikon radish, jalapenos, cilantro and aioli.  I'm not a big fan of cilantro but it tasted really good with the sandwich. I also loved the side salad with the fresh dressing.  It is self serve style but the woman behind the counter checked on us and everyone else.  Their food is organic, locally sourced and most all their packaging is sustainable. They also had an entire coffee menu that I would love to come back to try. 

Food: ****
Service: ***1/2
Atmosphere: ***1/2
Overall:                              4 Ladybugs!

HoneyCreek!

Sophia says: Tonight for dinner my family and I went to Honey Creek. It is located on Castro Street. Honey Creek serves desserts, drinks ( including tea, smoothies and cocktails ), and Chinese - style food. When we got there the hostess led us to a table. THE CHAIRS WERE SO AWESOME!!!! They were purple and they were cushioned, and they had diamonds ( fake ) on them. My family and I decided to order a bunch of different things and split them. We ordered popcorn chicken, omelet pancake, 2 orders of BBQ pork buns, spring rolls, and pot stickers. Also I ordered a strawberry yogurt smoothie. Everything was pretty good. After dinner, my family and I ordered dessert. My brother and I shared chocolate pudding. My dad ordered chocolate snow which is shaved chocolate ice and it was huge! When we got it, it looked like pulled pork but it was delicious. Our waitress checked on us and took all of our plates away. I would definitely go back for more desserts!

                   124 Castro Street, Mountain View 650-988-8880

lights

strawberry and strawberry yogurt smoothie

                                             Mom And Dad

Popcorn Chicken

Yummy!

the bar

                                    eating the pudding

                                           chocolate snow

Josh says:  Hi Readers! Tonight we had dinner at HoneyCreek.  It is a new restaurant. When we got there, we got a nice seat. The seat was relaxing and decorated pretty. A waitress came when we were ready to order. We shared a lot of different things. My favorite dish was the pork bun, the drink and the dessert. The dessert was so good because it was flavored chocolate and my favorite flavor is chocolate. I would love to come back!

Paul says: Great new surprise in Mountain View! The decor was swanky, velvet seating and very comfortable.  The pancake omelet was phenomenal! I loved the chocolate snow ice cream for dessert.  The service was very attentive - I would definitely come back.

Jodie says: We wanted to try something new and saw the HoneyCreek was now open. I love the decor, it's really pretty and elegant. The tables and chairs are beautifully done and the whole restaurant has a lovely lounge style look.  The menu has a huge selection of tea, appetizers, noodle and rice entrees and desserts. We came early in the evening and tried a few different things and I liked them all. There were a couple of very small glitches with the service and the check but our waitress went out of her way to fix everything.  We had a really nice time and I would like to go back and try something else! 
  
Food: ****1/2
Service: ****
Atmosphere: ****1/2
Overall: 
                                                                      4 1/2 Ladybugs!

DJS Homecooked Meal!

Sophia says:  Hello Readers! We have a very special review for you. My friend Deanna, Josh, and I decided to have a dinner party for my mom and dad. We planned it a month ahead of time and I was really excited. The menu was edamame for an appetizer, salmon with sun-dried tomatoes for the main course, Greek lemon roasted potatoes and glazed carrots for side dishes, and last but not least, strawberry shortcake for dessert. We made everything from scratch, and my mom and dad didn't know the menu till that night. It was really fun baking, stirring, and chopping food, and my mom and dad LOVED it. It was a wonderful time. I hope you like my photos and my captions!

the menu

Deanna and Sophia

edamame

Josh and Mom

the atmosphere

salmon with sun-dried tomatoes

playing around

glazed carrots

dinner

serving the shortcake

strawberry shortcake

enjoying dessert

Sophia, Josh, and Deanna

Josh says: I made an incredible dinner! I was the one of the chefs and I had a good time!

Paul says:  What a delightful evening! A well planned and executed gourmet dinner! The salmon was cooked to perfection with beautiful parsley and sun dried tomato topping. The home cooked potatoes were lightly seasoned with the perfect degree of crispiness.  The carrots were warm and tender and delicious - I had thirds and I'm seeing much better today! The dessert was incredibly delicious. I would definitely go here again - what a treat!  

Jodie says: Last night we had a great dinner at Deanna's house and everything was a complete surprise! Deanna is a good friend of ours and a beautiful hostess.  After enjoying our edamame appetizer, we sat in the dining room for the main course. The salmon was perfectly cooked and restaurant quality!  Sophie & Josh brought out the dishes and each one was delicious! My favorite dish was the homemade strawberry shortcake.  It is one of my favorite desserts and having it was a real treat!  We had a fantastic time and I wish we could do this every week!

I know this isn't our usual type of review but we wanted to post this because our dinner was everything a great restaurant meal should be.

Food: *****
Service: *****
Atmosphere: *****
Overall:                                                   5 Ladybugs!

Sushi Hachi!

Sophia says: Tonight for dinner my mom, my brother and I went to Hachi. They opened a few weeks ago and this was still their grand opening. This restaurant serves Japanese food. When we got to Hachi, we were the only people there. I ordered the salmon terryaki bento box. There is no kids menu. Our food took a while to come, but when we got it the bento box was huge! The salmon was really tender, but pretty good. Also, miso soup came with our bento boxes. Our waiter was nice, and she filled our waters when ever they were getting low. The bathroom was pretty clean. During the end of dinner, I tasted my brother's chicken, and it was all spongy. But overall, it was a nice restaurant.

  1711 W. El Camino Real, #B, Mountain View, CA 94040 650-988-6938

 

Josh says:  Tonight we went to Sushi Hachi. I ordered chicken terryaki.  My food was good. Our waitress was nice and the bathroom was clean. I thought the sushi was the best part. I had california rolls which has seaweed, avocado and crab. It was delicious. I had good time.  We said bye to our waitress and went home. 

Jodie says: We were driving by and saw the "grand opening" sign the other day and decided to check it out. The restaurant is very small and set up nicely.  At first, we were the only ones there and finally, some other people came in.  I ordered the salmon and avocado roll. I thought everything was just okay and my food was very mediocre. The kids liked their dinner a lot better.  They have a pretty extensive menu with many specialty rolls and house special tapas.  If we ever go back I would try something completely different.

Food: ***

Service: ***

Atmosphere: ***

Overall: 

                           3 Ladybugs!