The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it.
The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday at noon.
Today’s question:
QUESTION: What is your favorite restaurant in all of Contra Costa County, and why do you love it so much?
Talk about it.
Eds Mudville Grill. Location, atmosphere, staff, food. I Love Ed’s and have for over 20 years. Spaghetti Factory is number 2.
Can’t tell if that’s sarcasm or not but neither of those places even cook their own food. Outside of maybe some of the BBQ dishes at Ed’s, all they do is buy premade foods and heat them up. I mean one test of a good restaurant is….you know…actually cooking.
By far the worst fish ‘n chips I’ve ever ordered, anywhere.
Don’t really have one so I’ll say…my kitchen because my wife is an awesome cook. Probably because she loves to cook and bake goodies. Wouldn’t trade her for anything.
😊
Eureka is great if you are gonna Door Dash. Yan’s China Bistro is hands down best Chinese food. My favorite restaurant is Bella Siena in Benicia which is Solano County. Amaroma is really good in Moraga.
Lin’s Buffet , followed closely by Coldstone Creamery in Pleasant Hill.
Lin’s burned down the other day. Sanitary health violations at Coldstone.
Sounds like you would also enjoy the chum bucket, followed by the krusty crab
The sides of cockroaches and rats are free too!
Wally! Are you the one living in the dumpster behind Water world? I love Coldstone’s delicious roach sherbet ! I like roach eggs as the mix in. Yummmm!
Good one, Wally.
Barney’s Hickory Pit, family has been going there since they opened, comfort food for me even though it’s not as good as it used to be.
nytemuvr—
The last time this question came up someone
mentioned “The Embers” in Pinole as their
favorite restaurant. Now it’s become one of our’s.
Very much like Barney’s Hickory Pit or Emil Villa’s
use to be years ago. Give it a try for great barbecue,
large portions and reasonable prices!
@nytemuvr
We still enjoy Barney’s also. Ribs are great and so are the French Dips.
@Shoulda Coulda….I’m sure it’s good but there’s no great memories of breaking bread with lost family members like at Barney’s, really not about the food.
nyte, shoulda, cyn, how does the Q at Barney’s compare to Back 40, with regard to quality of cut, flavor, proportion?
Sushi Sho in El Cerrito. They don’t serve sauced up mega rolls with a million ingredients in each roll. If you’ve seen Jiro Dreams of Sushi this is more in line with that style. Pricey, but each piece is served individually to you. If you don’t like being told how to eat your sushi, this is not the place for you. If you come with an open mind you will be blown away by just how different the same piece of nigiri can taste by just dipping a corner in soy sauce vs eating it plain. He also makes the best Tomago i’ve ever tasted and his smoked salmon is amazing. The Chef will talk your ears off and is very friendly.
Used to be the Deadfish. Since new ownership its went down hill a little though
Went to the Dead Fish recently – not a good experience.
They changed the recipe for Fish ‘N’ Chips.
The fish is now breaded, not battered; was baked instead of being deep-fried; and was cooked enough to overdo the breading but not cook the fish properly. It looked great, but was not satisfying.Suggest cooking longer, but at lower temperature.
The chips did not have the same seasoning that they used to have.
Did not know about the change in ownership. Changing the recipes is a mistake that new owners often make, and then they wonder why revenues drop off.
On the whole, not going back for a long time.
IT WENT DOWNHILL A LOT!
who charges for stale bread? Employees drinking on the job and many violations of health codes.They treat their customers very poorly.
Taco Bell on Clayton. Authentic Mexican cuisine.
Chopan Kabob in Concord (tandoori fish is best tasting fish dish I ever had). My favorite pizza is Rocco’s. So I would have 2 favorite restaurants in CCC. I have not eaten anywhere else where I said I needed to come back to eat. Been to a few where I said not really planning on coming back again (not naming as I don’t think that would be a cool, or nice, thing to do). Much like Simonpure above, my home kitchen is the best, the chef there is tops!
Good call Chopan is great
Glad to see the Chopan love- I’ve been eating there for nearly 25 years…
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Cornsnakes’
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Maria Maria in Walnut Creek.
Fiero’s in the VINEYARD Plaza on Clayton Road next to where K-MART was.
We do not love it as such but the service is great and the food is top notch.
KEUN JIB on Pacheco Blvd across from the California Casino. This is Korean food and has a very friendly. The server will recommend and explain to you about the food. He is also seems to be a GIANT fan.
@Concord74
Fiore makes an outstanding Caesar salad with prawns.
Man. I wish their was a French Laundry in CCC. Remember. Peasants stay home while I and my elite friends get to go.
Thanks,
Gavin
place seems a bit greasy lately…
Round Table Pizza. Any Location.
…. none really – Scott’s in WC closed as well as El Charro in Lafayette 🙁 …. next inline I guess would be Hick’ry Pitt on Main St in WC
Mona’s
The Habit
Peets in Oak Grove Plaza
Buttercup Grill
Los Ponchos in Pacheco
I love teriyaki and sushi in Concord. Amazing food. Try their bibimbap
The Mecca, always and forever!!
Wouldn’t know. Haven’t been to a restaurant for over a year and a half……..
Off the top of my head, Five Guys is pretty good… Dang it, now I’m craving their food!
Baskin Robins.
I like Wendy’s in Pacheco. Da fo fo fo is made fo aristocrats with ethically sourced and grass-fed chicken nuggets. I also really like Sasa, but it’s kinda mid compared to Wendy’s.
Concord: Los Gallos Taqueria
Pleasant Hill: Osha Thai
Walnut Creek: Silk Road/PF Chang’s (tie)
Danville: Piatti’s
Piatti’s is a definite No-No for us! Nanci Pelosi’s family are part owners of that business. Been boycotting it since I learned of their involvement.
County Waffle. Haven’t ever got a bad breakfast and the service is always good.
Country Waffle not County Waffle.
Esin in Danville. Great food, good service.
Bierhaus in Walnut Creek. Amazing staff. Great food .
It’s just too hard to pick one so I go by style:
Mexican Cuisine- El Aguila in Pleasant Hill ( trained chef leaves cutthroat SF restaurant industry to start his own featuring the best mole ever)
Mission style Mexican- La Primavera in Martinez ( theres a reason its been there over 30 years)
Middle Eastern- Chopan Kabob in Concord ( also pushing 30year serving traditional Afghan fare, unpretentious, budget friendly and just slammin good.)
diner style breakfast- Giant Chef in Pleasant Hill ( cash only, worth the long wait)
Hawaiian – Got Plate in Benicia( Ok not CoCoCo but damn close)
As far as a steak or smoked bbq dinner, Im challenged to find a sit down thats better than what I can do at home…
After some thought, I retract the above statement about steak: given the choice for a bday steak dinner, I choose Casa Orinda.
1. Peony Garden in Walnut Creek has the best Chinese food I’ve had anywhere in the County. Both traditional dishes and Americanized ones. Their Gai Lan with Oyster Sauce is simple but delicious. That’s the dish that tells me if a place knows what they’re doing.
2. Shout out to Canasta Kitchen in Concord as well, their Mole is great but their Barria is the real MVP for me. It’s often overlooked, even by my household, because they’re slightly off the beaten path when going to the square in Concord.
3. Zachary’s Pizza has the best deep dish in the county too. Their tomato sauce is so flavorful.