Kome - formerly Todai, Daly City
JC Dill
eater. (Did I mention he's a big eater?) One of his favorite "splurge"
(for him, he's quite frugal in his meal choices) lunches was the buffet
at Todai in Daly City. The business has changed names, now it's Kome.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/kome-sushi-buffet-daly-city
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/foodie/2010/02/full-body_contact_at_insanely.php
It's a cavernous multi-asian buffet restaurant. In the center back is
the sushi station, with platters full of maki roll slices, grilled tuna,
sashimi, Japanese salads, etc. You can also get hand rolls, and they
had 4 different types of gunkan-maki that I haven't ever seen before.
(These are pads of rice and a taller cylinder of nori (seaweed) with a
loose topping on top of the rice, contained within the nori. The
topping is usually a mix of small bits with a sauce of some type.)
On the right near the front are sliced melons and other fruit and a
desert bar with many different desert choices (including 5 flavors of
ice cream), followed by bamboo steamers with dim-sum items (e.g. pork
buns - I didn't have any and didn't look at all the steamers), followed
by 2 buffet lines for hot dishes of (apparently) Chinese and Japanese
items. The also had a soup bar - I tried a small bowl of the miso (blah
- just soup and tofu, no mushroom, no seaweed, no green onion - I'll
skip it next time).
We at sushi. Lots of sushi. My friend (he of the big eating) had 2
very large plates full of sushi and sashimi. He also had 2 large
bottles of Saporo beer. I had 1 small hot sake, 1 plate of sushi. I
had several of the small deserts. We both had ice cream, including
green tea, chocolate, and coffee. (Urp.)
There's not much in the way of ambiance. The place was clean and well
lit, with high ceilings and fake chandeliers. Tables are fairly close
together - making it easy for them to push several tables together to
seat large groups. They had 2 TVs (that I could see) playing different
asian TV channels but with the sound turned off. The TV closest to us
was playing what appeared to be a Japanese reality show with teams of
college age people playing a series of silly games in a pool (Push a
girl in a wooden tub to a spigot of water, she fills a bucket from the
spigot, push her back to the edge of the pool where she pours her bucket
into a larger tub. Timed rounds, the team that gets the most water in
the allowed time wins that round.), basic good clean fun, it seems.
It was a bit noisy as it got crowded, but not as noisy as I feared given
how big the rooms are. We were able to converse easily across the table
without shouting.
We got there just before 5 pm, and the place was almost completely
empty, and we waited less than 30 seconds to be greeted by a smiling
waitress and seated at a 4-top (at my request) without any objections.
The sushi trays were full, fresh, cold. When we left around 6:15, there
was a line waiting to be seated, and it was a bit of a dance to get past
the line for the hot food to the desert section.
Service was excellent. The waitress quickly brought our drinks, quickly
brought water later when we asked, quickly brought my friend his second
beer. Dirty plates were whisked away. One time a server asked if I
wanted him to take my plate when I still had a few items left on it - it
was gracefully asked, and I gracefully declined as I was still working
on finishing.
Our total (2 dinner buffets, 2 large Saporos, 1 small hot sake) came to
$59.95 with tax, without tip. If your party is 8 or more they will add
a 15% gratuity to the bill. They bring the bill to your table and you
can pay your waitress directly rather than take it to the register near
the exit.
For the price, it was an excellent value. I've had slower service and
less excellent sushi for twice the price at small mom-n-pop joints where
they charge $6-12 per order of maki roll (8 slices). We probably had 50
slices of maki roll and 30 slices of sashimi. (Did I mention my friend
is a big eater?) It would have easily cost $100-$150 at regular sushi
prices.
On the way out my friend chatted with the lady at the cash register near
the exit, and he asked about their birthday policy. She said you can
get a free meal on your birthday if you go with a friend - you must
order 2 buffets and 2 drinks, 1 buffet is then free.
If you like sushi and don't hate buffets, give it a try.
jc
Phil Gustafson
JC Dill <jcdill...@gmail.com> wrote:
>I have a friend who is a big eater, big fish lover, big sushi lover, big
>eater. (Did I mention he's a big eater?) One of his favorite "splurge"
>(for him, he's quite frugal in his meal choices) lunches was the buffet
>at Todai in Daly City. The business has changed names, now it's Kome.
>
>http://www.yelp.com/biz/kome-sushi-buffet-daly-city
>http://blogs.sfweekly.com/foodie/2010/02/full-body_contact_at_insanely.php
>
>It's a cavernous multi-asian buffet restaurant. In the center back is
>the sushi station, with platters full of maki roll slices, grilled tuna,
>sashimi, Japanese salads, etc. You can also get hand rolls, and they
>had 4 different types of gunkan-maki that I haven't ever seen before.
>(These are pads of rice and a taller cylinder of nori (seaweed) with a
>loose topping on top of the rice, contained within the nori. The
>topping is usually a mix of small bits with a sauce of some type.)
>
too: It's now called Tatami, although they don't have any. I will say
that a $15 buffet at an ex-Todai is a much better deal than the usual
$10 generic Asian buffet, especially if you like squid.
Ph.
--
"We are all Bayesians at heart, but when it comes to actions in this
world their approach, which at times may be the only one available,
leaves much to be desired." R. W. Hamming
Peter Lawrence
> In article<i32u0t$93d$1...@speranza.aioe.org>,
> JC Dill<jcdill...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> I have a friend who is a big eater, big fish lover, big sushi lover, big
>> eater. (Did I mention he's a big eater?) One of his favorite "splurge"
>> (for him, he's quite frugal in his meal choices) lunches was the buffet
>> at Todai in Daly City. The business has changed names, now it's Kome.
>>
>> http://www.yelp.com/biz/kome-sushi-buffet-daly-city
>> http://blogs.sfweekly.com/foodie/2010/02/full-body_contact_at_insanely.php
>>
>> It's a cavernous multi-asian buffet restaurant. In the center back is
>> the sushi station, with platters full of maki roll slices, grilled tuna,
>> sashimi, Japanese salads, etc. You can also get hand rolls, and they
>> had 4 different types of gunkan-maki that I haven't ever seen before.
>> (These are pads of rice and a taller cylinder of nori (seaweed) with a
>> loose topping on top of the rice, contained within the nori. The
>> topping is usually a mix of small bits with a sauce of some type.)
>>
> The Todai at the moribund shopping center in Cupertino has changed names
> too: It's now called Tatami, although they don't have any. I will say
> that a $15 buffet at an ex-Todai is a much better deal than the usual
> $10 generic Asian buffet, especially if you like squid.
There appears to be only two actual "Todai" restaurants left in the Bay
Area. The one in Eastridge Shopping in San Jose, and another at the Sun
Valley Mall in Concord.
- Peter
sf
Gustafson) wrote:
> The Todai at the moribund shopping center in Cupertino has changed names
> too: It's now called Tatami, although they don't have any. I will say
> that a $15 buffet at an ex-Todai is a much better deal than the usual
> $10 generic Asian buffet, especially if you like squid.
I'd try it once for a $15 buffet. $30 at Daly City is highway
robbery.
--
Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.
JC Dill
> On Tue, 3 Aug 2010 03:55:49 +0000 (UTC), ph...@mauve.rahul.net (Phil
> Gustafson) wrote:
>
>> The Todai at the moribund shopping center in Cupertino has changed names
>> too: It's now called Tatami, although they don't have any. I will say
>> that a $15 buffet at an ex-Todai is a much better deal than the usual
>> $10 generic Asian buffet, especially if you like squid.
>
> I'd try it once for a $15 buffet. $30 at Daly City is highway
> robbery.
The lunch buffet at Kome is ~$10. The dinner buffet is ~$20. Our tab
was ~$60 for 2 because we also had alcohol (sake, beer) in addition to
the buffet. For the amount of sushi and sashimi we ate, it would have
been well over $100 (perhaps over $200 - my friend ate a LOT of sushi
and sashimi) if we had dined anywhere other than a buffet.
jc
sf
wrote:
> The lunch buffet at Kome is ~$10. The dinner buffet is ~$20. Our tab
> was ~$60 for 2 because we also had alcohol (sake, beer) in addition to
> the buffet. For the amount of sushi and sashimi we ate, it would have
> been well over $100 (perhaps over $200 - my friend ate a LOT of sushi
> and sashimi) if we had dined anywhere other than a buffet.
I'd try it for $10. Todai charged something like $40 for dinner, but
they had a huge fresh seafood section. How is Kome with seafood?
spamtrap1888
When Todai opened, they provided only the cheapest sushi -- I remember
the best one featured salmon skin. How does Kome's sushi and sashimi
compare to specific Japanese or Korean joints'
Golden California Girls
> In article <i32u0t$93d$1...@speranza.aioe.org>,
> JC Dill <jcdill...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> I have a friend who is a big eater, big fish lover, big sushi lover, big
>> eater. (Did I mention he's a big eater?) One of his favorite "splurge"
>> (for him, he's quite frugal in his meal choices) lunches was the buffet
>> at Todai in Daly City. The business has changed names, now it's Kome.
>>
>> http://www.yelp.com/biz/kome-sushi-buffet-daly-city
>> http://blogs.sfweekly.com/foodie/2010/02/full-body_contact_at_insanely.php
>>
>> It's a cavernous multi-asian buffet restaurant. In the center back is
>> the sushi station, with platters full of maki roll slices, grilled tuna,
>> sashimi, Japanese salads, etc. You can also get hand rolls, and they
>> had 4 different types of gunkan-maki that I haven't ever seen before.
>> (These are pads of rice and a taller cylinder of nori (seaweed) with a
>> loose topping on top of the rice, contained within the nori. The
>> topping is usually a mix of small bits with a sauce of some type.)
>>
> The Todai at the moribund shopping center in Cupertino has changed names
> too: It's now called Tatami, although they don't have any. I will say
> that a $15 buffet at an ex-Todai is a much better deal than the usual
> $10 generic Asian buffet, especially if you like squid.
Interesting as the Todai website still lists it as their location. Guess
their webmaster can't be bothered to keep the site accurate.
JC Dill
> On Tue, 03 Aug 2010 14:48:36 -0700, JC Dill <jcdill...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> The lunch buffet at Kome is ~$10. The dinner buffet is ~$20. Our tab
>> was ~$60 for 2 because we also had alcohol (sake, beer) in addition to
>> the buffet. For the amount of sushi and sashimi we ate, it would have
>> been well over $100 (perhaps over $200 - my friend ate a LOT of sushi
>> and sashimi) if we had dined anywhere other than a buffet.
>
> I'd try it for $10. Todai charged something like $40 for dinner, but
> they had a huge fresh seafood section. How is Kome with seafood?
Tons of sushi and sashimi. :-)
Seriously, I didn't even look at the steam tables of non-sushi food, but
there was a lot of food there. One of the signs at the steam table that
I could see/read from the table said that dish was Lobster. I could
also see shrimp tempura and crabs.
jc
Steve Pope
>Tons of sushi and sashimi. :-)
>Seriously, I didn't even look at the steam tables of non-sushi food, but
>there was a lot of food there. One of the signs at the steam table that
>I could see/read from the table said that dish was Lobster. I could
>also see shrimp tempura and crabs.
If this is the same place I am thinking of (or its successor),
it is so crowded with silicon valley employees at lunchtime
that it would actually be a logistical feat to visit all the
different tables of food and select what you like best.
Maybe it's possible to go during an off-hour.
Steve
JC Dill
> JC Dill <jcdill...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Tons of sushi and sashimi. :-)
>
>> Seriously, I didn't even look at the steam tables of non-sushi food, but
>> there was a lot of food there. One of the signs at the steam table that
>> I could see/read from the table said that dish was Lobster. I could
>> also see shrimp tempura and crabs.
>
> If this is the same place I am thinking of (or its successor),
The one I was at was in Daly City,
> it is so crowded with silicon valley employees at lunchtime
definitely not likely to be full of Silicon Valley employees at lunch.
jc
jcdill
> Interesting as the Todai website still lists it as their location. Guess
> their webmaster can't be bothered to keep the site accurate.
It's highly likely they don't *have* a webmaster. Odds are high that
they hired someone to build the site, and then haven't done anything
since because they'd have to pay (whoever built it) a pretty penny to
get even the most modest updates done, and they don't have the ability
to update it themselves.
jc
Peter Lawrence
I'm not sure which Todai site Gary is referring to, but the one that shows
up in a Google search doesn't list Daly City as a location:
http://www.todai.com/new_todai/locations/locations.php
- Peter
Golden California Girls
Phil Gustafson wrote:
> The Todai at the moribund shopping center in Cupertino has changed names
> too: It's now called Tatami, although they don't have any. I will say
> that a $15 buffet at an ex-Todai is a much better deal than the usual
> $10 generic Asian buffet, especially if you like squid.
That one
Peter Lawrence
That one (Cupertino) isn't listed on their website either.
- Peter
SMS
We used to go to the Todai in Vallco occasionally. The sushi was of
course of mediocre quality, and there was a very limited selection, but
it was all you could eat. When Todai's quality began to decline and
prices began to rise we stopped going, as apparently did enough others
that they couldn't survive.
All of these Asian seafood buffets seem to follow the same pattern,
start off being a good deal with a good selection and decent quality,
but then they start lowering quality and increasing prices until they
close and another Asian seafood buffet repeats the cycle. I've heard
good things about Kome from relatives up the peninsula so it's probably
worth a try.
JC Dill
> All of these Asian seafood buffets seem to follow the same pattern,
> start off being a good deal with a good selection and decent quality,
> but then they start lowering quality and increasing prices until they
> close and another Asian seafood buffet repeats the cycle. I've heard
> good things about Kome from relatives up the peninsula so it's probably
> worth a try.
Except for the California Buffet at Remington and Sunnyvale-Saratoga.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/california-buffet-sunnyvale
The reviews say Todai is better!
For some reason, that buffet has stayed mediocre and overpriced for over
10 years. I keep watching, waiting for a new business to appear at that
location. My theory - it's being used to launder money.
jc
Peter Lawrence
>
> The reviews say Todai is better!
>
> For some reason, that buffet has stayed mediocre and overpriced for over 10
> years. I keep watching, waiting for a new business to appear at that
> location. My theory - it's being used to launder money.
There used to be an old Mexican Restaurant, called the Red Pepper, on El
Camino Way (not El Camino Real) in Palo Alto, that was across a side street
from the original Palo Alto Togo's (which is no longer there either).
The restaurant was there for years and years, and supposedly open. Yet I
never ever saw any car parked in the parking lot except may one or two
around lunchtime or in the afternoon.
No dinner traffic, no lunch traffic.
Yet it remained open all those year. I used to suspect that restaurant was
being used to launder money.
:)
- Peter
Aahz Maruch
Peter Lawrence <humm...@aol.com> wrote:
>
>There used to be an old Mexican Restaurant, called the Red Pepper, on El
>Camino Way (not El Camino Real) in Palo Alto, that was across a side street
>from the original Palo Alto Togo's (which is no longer there either).
>
>The restaurant was there for years and years, and supposedly open. Yet I
>never ever saw any car parked in the parking lot except may one or two
>around lunchtime or in the afternoon.
>
>No dinner traffic, no lunch traffic.
>
>Yet it remained open all those year. I used to suspect that restaurant was
>being used to launder money.
Hrm. I've been to the Red Pepper for lunch and it was usually half- to
two-thirds full. Dinner was usually smaller. Given the neighborhood, I
expect they had mostly walk-in traffic. I really liked the Red Pepper
because the food was decent and it was reasonably quiet even at lunch.
My hunch is that they could survive because they either owned the land or
had a killer lease.
--
Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6 http://rule6.info/
<*> <*> <*>
...the "golden rule of customer service": Do unto customers as bosses have
just done unto you. --Rosabeth Moss Kanter (Men and Women of the Corporation)
Peter Lawrence
> In article<i3ntcj$kn$1...@news.eternal-september.org>,
> Peter Lawrence<humm...@aol.com> wrote:
>>
>> There used to be an old Mexican Restaurant, called the Red Pepper, on El
>> Camino Way (not El Camino Real) in Palo Alto, that was across a side street
>> from the original Palo Alto Togo's (which is no longer there either).
>>
>> The restaurant was there for years and years, and supposedly open. Yet I
>> never ever saw any car parked in the parking lot except may one or two
>> around lunchtime or in the afternoon.
>>
>> No dinner traffic, no lunch traffic.
>>
>> Yet it remained open all those year. I used to suspect that restaurant was
>> being used to launder money.
>
> Hrm. I've been to the Red Pepper for lunch and it was usually half- to
> two-thirds full. Dinner was usually smaller. Given the neighborhood, I
> expect they had mostly walk-in traffic. I really liked the Red Pepper
> because the food was decent and it was reasonably quiet even at lunch.
>
> My hunch is that they could survive because they either owned the land or
> had a killer lease.
There was a time when I was younger and in my twenties (the 1980's), when I
used to frequent that Togo's that was across the side street from it with
regular frequency. I never saw anyone during that time either walk into or
out of the Red Pepper.
How often did you eat there? When was the last time?
Just curious.
- Peter
Aahz Maruch
Probably the last time was about six or seven years ago (that must right
because it was when my last job was located in Palo Alto). Never really
ate there while I was living in Palo Alto (70s and 80s), for some reason
my family just didn't eat Mexican food (probably because my parents
feared getting their mouths burnt). After I convinced them that you
could get mild Mexican food (early 90s), I guess I and/or they ate there
about once every couple or three months with the occasional hiatus for no
particular reason.
It would not surprise me if you and I had ever been in that Togo's at the
same time. ;-) (You're about 5-10 years older than me.)
Al Eisner
Red Pepper was the first Mexican restaurant I ever ate at (discounting
some seriously-off imitation on the east coast). But I haven't been
there in literally decades -- once I learned from comparisons that it
was basically mediocre, I never went back. I don't recall it being
particularly empty, however.
That Togo's, I believe, was about the third or fourth of the entire
chain? There was a thread about that here quite a few years back.
--
Al Eisner
San Mateo Co., CA