camino

having visited tartine on a recommendation and been thoroughly impressed, my friends and i were given another california restaurant suggestion to try and squeeze into our trip. this time  camino  was our destination. heading up there late on a sunday we were slightly worried it might be closing up or there'd be no one else in there. when we got there however it was really buzzing. a large dining room done out in a rustic-industrial style, all over looked by the main feature: a huge wood burning oven in the open kitchen at the back. with soft lighting and a laid back atmosphere this is a great setting for a social gathering or a date. smoky quail with roasted apples, sauerkraut and horseradish a platter of rustic sourdough bread arrived at our table with a big wedge of butter for us to get tucked into before our starters arrived. i kicked things off with the quail. i was surprised to see this on a menu in america, i'm not sure why, i guess living in the essex countryside i just associate game with being a very british thing. the bird was chopped up into breast meat, legs etc and had so much delicious meat on it with perfectly crispy skin. i'm not usually a huge fan of fruit in savoury dishes but the hot roasted apples balanced well with the sharpness of the sauerkraut and the wholedishcame together perfectly. also on the menu were oven baked oysters. i know oysters are a delicacy but i really can't get my head round necking back raw oysters as is the traditional way, however in america you quite often see them on the menu cooked so i gave it a go and tried one. it was really tasty and accompanied by a lovely fresh salad. wood oven baked oysters with absinthe, breadcrumbs and belgian endive-celery salad california is a great place for fresh fish and seafood so i chose the sea bass for my main course. i've never seen such a huge, meaty fillet of sea bass in my life, the ones we get at home are so small this was a real treat. it came served in an extremely tasty broth

camino’s brunch menu offered the food you crave on a saturday morning: homemade donuts, stoneground oats, poached eggs, and french toast. there were so many items we wanted to try that we ordered enough to share. in many circumstances, if you order five dishes you might love three, which still makes for a good meal, but we couldn’t stop gushing over everydishstrewn across our table.

should have taken a pass.. a friend recommended my girlfriend and i try the brunch at camino, so when my parents came into town we brought them here. i really wish we hadn't

the service at camino was severely lacking. after placing our orders, it took nearly 20 minutes to get our coffee, and after that we did not hear from any server for another hour. after a good hour and a half, i was about to stand up and ask on the status of our order (attempts at eye contact were avoided and ignored), when our entrees began to come out. i asked the woman serving us (not our original waiter) about the donuts we had ordered as an appetizer, and she snapped at me that she, "only had two hands" and that they were coming out with everything at once. minutes later she returned to say that that order never went in, and did we want to wait for them. we declined.

the entrees themselves were very expensive, laughably small, with little or no sidedishor garnish to speak of, and full exotic/unique ingredients that came together for mediocre dishes in the end.

the coffee was sour/burned, came in tiny glasses, and refills were not free, which is just cheap in my opinion.

if you want a nice brunch, go elsewhere.

never again!!!. we chose to have a special birthday dinner at camino. we chose a monday night, so that we would not have to deal with the weekend crush. there were four of us and on the whole it was a very disappointing experience.

the menu selection was much too limited and for minuscule portions, the prices were exceedingly high.

with the exception of the "stuffed trotter" the food was not very well prepared nor tasty. 

the paella was a disappointment. thedishwas bland, the chicken in the paella was overcooked and dry and the sausage in thatdishwas undercooked. we've eaten paella in homes and restaurants in spain ... the idea is to cook thedishin one pan and have the flavors meld, it is not to assemble the improperly and separately cooked ingredients on the plate. what you served was not paella. the tomato soup was good but the serving size was tiny.

the petrale sole was bland and uninteresting, the skin was not crispy, it was soggy, not what one would expect for fish cooked over an open fire. the tastiest part of the meal was the dessert. although we had appetizers, a maindisheach and 2 shared desserts, when we left we were still hungry, which was ridiculous after spending $180 on a dinner that included no frills except one half filled glass of wine.

the service was mediocre, the main meal was long in coming, and although we had 2 identical desserts, only one was served, and it was consumed by one couple before the other was brought to the table...we had to remind the waiter that two had been ordered.
seating was at tables in long rows, wood surface, no tablecloths. seating was next to strangers.
frankly, we will never eat there again.

give it a chance. the wood oven here dominates the menu which is limited to some but clean and simple to me. i am filled with millions of choices that i have to make and having a menu with few choices all done to perfection, a limited drink menu that encourages trying something new and a restaurant decor that helps you focus on your meal is so relaxing to me. the brunches are fantastic, again an oven baked eggdishis devine. this is not for the uber picky sorts but for real fresh food done well. the whole octoberfest thing was marvelous and the boudin blanc specials are some of the soul satisfying meals i have had this year. these folks are craftspeople with hotpads.

disappointed again but some hope?. so, i've been several times now. i did a review earlier but i wanted to see if they were listening...dinner is still a great disappointment. i, unlike other reviewers, love the huge tables (yes, the chairs are uncomfortable) but the wood is lovely and each time i've been, they make an effort to space our party so we are no closer than we'd be if we were in separate tables jammed in like so many other places. the bright spot is brunch on the weekends. it too is a small menu and not for everyone...very limited choices but if you want a change, each item was delicious and the space was quiet - not full - so we had a relaxing morning. the food was excellent but again only a few choices. the baked eggs with cream and the grilled bread made me very happy. coffees - cappuccino's are small - like european size so some people grumbled but they were perfect - strong and rich. so, camino, if you are listening. please do some re-evaluation of your dinner menu...add one or two more items but mostly make them more interesting!!!!!


-----31 jul, 2008-----

disappointment. i really wanted to love this restaurant. it's in my neighborhood and i've been waiting a long time for a real destination restaurant to make it here.
but, sadly, the food was just o.k. everything i ate, except the lovely chicken was bland or uninspired. i had a halibut salad with "crushed herbs" that should have sparkled with the freshness of the herbs but instead was flat. all the sides to the chicken (blanched greenbeans and polenta) were also bland and just like a side you'd get at a million restaurants. dessert was promising - a honey creme fraiche mousse with roasted plums - but again bland. no discernable flavor of honey - just a mouthful of cold creme. there were 4 small halves of plums that should have elevated thedishbut were too few to flavor the mousse and also too sweet (not tart) to balance the dish. so, my review is this. good meal but with such a limited menu, eachdishshould be perfect. attention needs to be paid to the details if you want to rely on the fresh taste of the ingredients!