Asian Box - Mountain View!

Sophia says: Today for lunch we went to the Asian Box! It is a place where you decide what food you want, and then they put it together for you in a box. The first thing you choose is the base. You can choose short grain brown rice, long grain jasmine rice, Asian vegetable salad, or chilled rice noodles. Next you choose your protein. For this you can choose, chicken, pork, beef, tofu, or shrimp. They also have vegetarian only food too. Finally they finish your box and you have box toppers or house made sauces. There is a choice of sides and drinks. For the kids meal you can only choose the base and a protien. For the base, I choose chilled rice noodles and chicken and apple juice. When you order, the waiter/waitress gives you a number and calls that number when your food is ready. Our number was 151 and it got called pretty quick. We came at just the right time because it got crowed later on. It was a nice day so we sat outside. My lunch was really good. The chicken was sweet and tender and the noodles were white and had a good plain taste. I had a really fun time and would come back.





142 Castro Street, Mountain View, CA (650) 584-3947

                                













Mr. Snappy "Before"





Mr. Snappy "After"



Josh says: Today we went to the Asian Box for lunch. You walk up to the counter and order your food. Then you pick a table, outside or inside and we chose outside. Our lunch came really, really fast. I ordered beef over rice noodles. I thought it was kind of plain. But I liked the beef. And we also had apple juice. The most fun part I had was after lunch. We went to the fish store and got crickets. Last week, my grandma got me and Sophia a Venus fly trap! That is a type of plant that eats bugs but not ants. We didn't have anything to feed it so we got 4 crickets from the fish store. We brought them home and started to feed Mr. Snappy. My mom had to pick them up and put them in our plant's pods. It was exciting and scary because they kept trying to run away. We even took pictures to show you!

Jodie says: I really liked the Asian Box. 10 minutes after we got there, they had a line of people waiting to order. I ordered a combination of rice noodle and salad with beef and some toppings. We had just sat down when they called our number.  Everything is gluten free and all their packaging is compostable and biodegradable which was really nice to see. They serve a lot of food and the prices are very reasonable. And in case anyone is wondering, I've never fed live crickets to a plant before, it was an exciting day for all of us!

Food: ****

Service: ***

Atmosphere: ****

Overall:

4 Ladybugs!

The Basin!

Sophia says: Happy almost Valentine's Day Readers! Tonight we went to The Basin. My mom and dad have been there before and they said it was good so we went there for an early Valentine's Day dinner. When we got there, we were the first ones. We made reservations so we got seated quickly. The restaurant was smaller than I thought, but really cute and fancy.We ordered seafood gumbo, trout, steak and ribs. The seafood gumbo came first and we shared it and they brought each of us a little bowl. When I tried it, it was the best soup I had ever tasted. It was nice and hot and you could feel it running down your throat and it was so delicious! For dinner Josh and I shared ribs and they brought us each a plate. The ribs tasted more like pot roast but they were nice and tender. I tried some of my mom and dad's dinner and it was really good. Our waitress was super nice and someone came all of the time to fill our water and take away our plates. Before I knew it, it was time to go. We were too full for dessert because our food was very rich. I would definitely want to come back anytime and order the gumbo again!                                                                                                                                  

14572 Big Basin Way, Saratoga, CA 95070 (408) 867-1906

our seafood gumbo

Josh says: Happy Early Valentines Day Readers! Tonight we to The Basin for a special dinner. When we got there, we sat down right away. And then we got some bread to eat. Then we ordered our food. We had seafood gumbo. It was kind of spicy for me but I liked it. For dinner I shared the ribs with my sister. And the ribs were good but too spicy for me. Especially the vegetables. I ate most of my dad's mashed potatoes instead. p.s. I asked him first! And we did not have any dessert because we were full. But we got girl scout cookies at home for dessert! I would really love to come back because it's a nice restaurant. 

Paul says: The Basin is a downtown Saratoga favorite! Every dish is perfectly made and seasoned. The staff is incredibly attentive and knowledgeable. I ordered the steak and it was amazing.  I would come back anytime. 

Jodie says:  This is one of my favorite special occasion restaurants. I had the trout with sauteed kale which was also amazing! I can't say enough good things about the food or the service. I would recommend The Basin to anyone looking to have a lovely and delicious evening out! 

Food: *****

Service: *****

Atmosphere: *****

Overall: 

5 Ladybugs!

Chipotle Mexican Grill!

Sophia says:  Hi Readers, we have a special review for you! The other night we went to Chipotle with our friends, Noreen, Julia, Katia and Lucy. Chipotle serves Mexican food and I have never been there before. When we got there, I noticed it was not that big and you stand in line to order at the counter. I ordered a taco kit from the kid's menu and on it I asked for black beans, chicken and white rice. They did not offer lettuce or cheese. The food was good but my chicken was kind of spicy. The kids meal comes with a drink and chips. My chips were salty. I had fun because it is a loud and crazy place and I would come back again sometime.

1039 El Monte Ave, Mountain View (650) 919-8448

Lucy & Katia!

Josh says: Hi Readers! We went to Chipotle with our friends. P.S. I am older than Lucy and Katia. When we got there, we had to go to the line to order our food. There was a lot of people waiting. The restaurant is kind of small but a lot of people ordered and took their food home. We stayed there to eat. I ordered the chicken quesadilla and I loved it. When we were done, we were about to leave until Katia's big sister Julia let us play a Temple Run game on her phone. Temple Run is a cool game. And then we left. I would definitely come back! 

Noreen says: I found Chipotle to be delicious, quick, efficient, healthy and reasonably priced. The staff is always very friendly. The food always tastes fresh and the servings are generous. I love the taco salad and the kids are always happy with their bean burritos. The pinto beans with bacon are especially good as is the cilantro-lime rice. We will definitely keep going back.

Jodie says: We had such a fun time at Chipotle! There was a long line of people but it moved pretty quickly and we were able to order and find a table. I ordered the taco salad and they assemble everything in front of you at the counter. Even though it was very busy, all the staff were extremely friendly and the work space was very clean and organized. I accidentally chose hot salsa so my dinner was very spicy for me but I still liked it. Special thanks to Julia for taking all of the photos for this review! 

Food: ***1/2

Service: **1/2 (self serve after you order)

Atmosphere: ****

Overall: 

 3 Ladybugs!

Hong Kong Bistro!

Sophia says: Hi Readers! Tonight my mom and I went to a Chinese restaurant called Hong Kong Bistro. Just so you know this is NOT the same as Hong Kong Bakery because there is a bistro at the end. When we got there, the waitress led us to a table in the back near the back entrance. We had to let our waitress know when we were ready to order. They did not have a kids menu and I ordered shrimp chow mein and honey lemon iced tea. My chow mein was so big it was enough to feed 4 people. I did not know that because our waitress never said it was going to be that big. Our food took about 15 minutes to come and we never saw our waitress again after that.  Since there was so much chow mein I ended up getting it to go. I would wait a long time before I came back.

                        147 Castro Street, Mountain View 650-968-8938

Jodie says:  We have seen Hong Kong Bistro many times and decided to give it a try.  Once we were seated we had to flag our waitress down to order our food and once she brought it, we never saw her again.  I had the pumpkin vermicelli Saturday special. It was HUGE but tasted very mediocre to me.  There were a lot of people there but I would not go back anytime soon.

Food: **1/2

Service: *

Atmosphere: **

Overall: 

 2 Ladybugs!