Phillips: Ooh, look at this.

Sbrocco: California brunch with a Latin twist in Redwood City.

Crispy fried chicken with all the fixings in San Francisco.

Gregory: Here it comes.

Sbrocco: And a creative sushi spot tucked away in Petaluma.

On "Check, Please!

Bay Area."

Giovannini: I put some cornbread in my purse.

Sbrocco: You should call it purse-worthy cornbread.

Sbrocco: Hi.

I'm Leslie Sbrocco.

Welcome to "Check, Please!

Bay Area," the show where regular Bay Area residents review and talk about their favorite restaurants.

Now, we have three guests, and each one recommends one of their favorite spots and the other two go check them out to see what they think.

Joining me at the "Check, Please!"

table today are social entrepreneur Domenica Giovannini, endurance athlete Debbie Heard and purchasing director Carlos Obando.

Welcome, everyone.

You ready?

All: Ready.

Sbrocco: As a breakfast lover, Carlos is always on the hunt for the quintessential corned beef hash.

He thinks he's found the gold standard at his lively neighborhood spot located in downtown Redwood City.

It's Angelicas.

♪♪ ♪♪ Angelica: I think with Angelica is, it's more -- it's a Californian cuisine with a Latin flair.

But I always say simple ingredients and all the sauces has to be fresh, homemade sauce.

My style, it is more from Jalisco style, and that goes back to my roots.

My mom used to cook with simple ingredients and make the best food.

So it's just changing the flavors and put them together and twisting them around a little bit.

That's what make it fun.

Peter: What gives us the joy is every time people walk in there for the first time, they go, "Wow, we weren't expecting this."

We want people to have an experience like they're in their backyard or their garden, if they have a nice backyard, and if they don't have a nice backyard, come and visit ours.

Angelica: The corned beef, the reason we elevated or we changed it is because now, well, people that want to have the hash and then the eggs Benedict, now we combine it together.

So people really enjoy this.

And so the meat also, we don't cut it very small.

We cut a little bit bigger so people can have actually a good bite.

Peter: A lot more chunkier.

Angelica: Because it's really tasty.

The hollandaise sauce is very simple.

You have to be patient with it.

Otherwise it can break, can do.

[ Laughs ] The only different things that I put is probably a little white wine that people don't realize that I've put in.

It's just only one ounce of it.

Peter: The amazing thing about her is everything to her is simple.

You know, she goes, "It's this easy.

This is easy, that's easy."

But when I try to make it, it ain't easy, you know.

Angelica: My favorite thing is when they come in and they really enjoy the food and they keep coming back and that's what Angelica is.

This is their house and we want them back.

And we welcome every single person.

Man: Finally found a new place.

Sbrocco: Now, Carlos, how did this become your go-to spot?

Obando: First of all, it's in a beautiful part of Redwood City.

It's on Old Main Street.

It's a historic part of town and just kind of sticks out as just this beautiful restaurant.

So my wife and I just love the brunch there.

And I have to say, I'm a big fan of the corned beef and hash in a can, but... [ Laughter ] Sbrocco: That is not the gold standard.

Obando: That is not the gold standard.

But I have to say, Angelicas has taken the can out of the way because that dish is like a two for one, in my opinion.

The reason I say that is because it's basically eggs Benedict with corned beef hash all rolled into one, and it's got this delicious, you know, the hollandaise sauce, the buttering that's going with the potatoes.

Giovannini: I did the corned beef hash.

I don't think I've ever had a hollandaise that was so kind of silky and well-balanced and not that really heavy kind of stick to the back of your throat type of hollandaise.

And it was really great.

I just needed to add a little bit of hot sauce because I'm a little spicy.

Obando: Tapatio on it, yes.

Giovannini: Yes.

I like a little kick on it.

And then everything together, it was really good.

Sbrocco: And, Debbie, what did you have when you went?

Heard: I think the question is, is what didn't I have?

So pretty much every place we went to, we had a very large group with us and we're able to try a lot of the menu.

And what I really thought about the restaurant that surprised me is everything that had potatoes in it was so good.

I don't know how they do potatoes that well, whether it was the French fries or the corned beef hash or just side potatoes for breakfast.

So that was one thing I really enjoyed about the dish is their potatoes were perfectly spiced, just the right texture.

So, I also tried the lechera pancakes.

So, I really like sweet food.

I like sugar.

I could put it on anything.

And so this was a very different twist on pancakes for me because it was covered in condensed milk.

But to cut through that sweetness, they had this tart, acidic fruit compote.

So if you got the perfect bite, you got pancake, you got condensed milk, you've got the fruit compote.

It did not even come with syrup and you did not need it.

And it was -- Sbrocco: Sounds like dessert to me, doesn't it?

Heard: It sure tasted like it.

Sbrocco: Did you have anything sweet, you guys?

Giovannini: Just a mimosa.

[ Laughter ] That was my sweet.

Sbrocco: The bottomless mimosa.

Giovannini: Absolutely.

Obando: Bubbles on Main, I think, is what they call it.

And they bring you a bottle of champagne and then they have different juices along with the fruits.

It's definitely -- Looks like a little buffet in front of you.

The other thing that I want to point out is Angel was the bartender there.

He makes a great coffee drink.

He puts a little great little garnish on top of a coffee bean.

It's our number two if we didn't want to have mimosas that day.

Sbrocco: Yes.

Alright.

So what else did you have?

Because you said you ran through the menu there for brunch and they do do lunch and dinner.

Let's just get that cleared up right now.

But it is definitely brunch we're talking about right now.

Heard: Well, we had the chilaquiles, which were amazing.

So for that, for me, I've tried that at several different restaurants.

And one of the things that really gets me is that it gets soggy quickly.

I don't know what magic voodoo they're working in the kitchen, but that stayed crispy with every bite.

There was a crunch and a snap to every bite, and it had a magical green sauce on it.

It was a very bright flavor.

I always like that sort of vinegar profile where it's just a little bit bright like that.

And so this was a perfect add-on to that dish.

Sbrocco: And what about the breakfast burrito?

Giovannini: So my boyfriend actually had the breakfast burrito and he loved it.

He ate that whole thing.

I didn't think it was possible, but it was really good.

Sbrocco: You mean the burrito the size of your plate?

Giovannini: Exactly.

Exactly.

And he's a big chorizo lover.

So that was one of his big comments, too.

Sbrocco: And what did you think about service?

I mean, the ambience.

You can eat indoors, you can eat outdoors.

There's a lovely outdoor patio.

Giovannini: So that was one of my favorite parts about Angelicas, was that from the street, it looks nice.

It actually looks quite small.

And then you walk in and it's this expansive restaurant.

And so we sat on the outside patio and it's absolutely beautiful.

You feel like you're in a courtyard in Mexico or South America.

And the staff were just on top of all our asks and they were really enthusiastic and in a great mood.

I don't even know if I would be in that kind of a mood when I was that busy on a Sunday.

But it was really great and I really would definitely go back.

Sbrocco: You would go back just for the service and the ambience?

Giovannini: Oh, absolutely.

They almost had to pry me out of my seat because I just wanted to sit, digging mimosas all afternoon.

Sbrocco: You'll have to try it for lunch or dinner.

Giovannini: Yeah, exactly.

Sbrocco: If you would like to try Angelicas, it's located on Main Street in downtown Redwood City.

The average brunch tab per person without drinks is around $35.

As an endurance athlete, Debbie's no stranger to the art of carbo loading.

One of her favorite places to fuel up?

A small but mighty soul food spot in San Francisco's Bayview neighborhood, appropriately named Frisco Fried.

Man: Pan hot.

♪♪ Gregory: [ Speaking indistinctly ] Marcel: Me and my uncle, we're close.

We were born and raised in Frisco.

All our lives, our whole family.

Been here -- what?

-- about 60 years?

Gregory: Forever, ever.

[ Both laugh ] We the originals.

Marcel: Got to have these party wings ready.

You know, the soul food is just what I grew up on.

That's what we ate.

And we got the concept of the flavor from my grandfather, which is his dad, Jesse Banks.

Gregory: My dad, he made the best fried chicken in the world.

Now we make the best ever.

[ Both laugh ] Woman: I'm gonna do the garlic chicken strips and fries.

Marcel: If you come to Frisco Fried, you can order a chicken dinner.

We have two-way combos, three-way combos.

We have chicken and waffles.

Gregory: Yeah.

When people come in, I usually tell them just get one of everything.

Marcel: Sounds good to me.

Gregory: The secret to success is don't tell your secrets.

Yeah, I don't measure.

I don't think I made this food the same once.

How are you feeling today, man?

We gonna have what?

Spicy.

Spicy catfish today.

Whatever the ancestors want me to do.

It's all how I feel that day.

But it's all good.

It's all me.

The lemon pepper chicken is, like, the best there is.

It's crispy on the outside, juicy in the center, and the bone is completely cooked.

That's the key.

I got the collard recipe from my mom.

She made the best.

It's one change that I made because I'm being more conscious.

We took the pork out, and now we're using the smoked turkey.

We pick them, we clean them, we cut them, and then we cook them with 11 herbs and spices.

Marcel: 14.

Gregory: We added some.

[ Both laugh ] Child: [ Speaking indistinctly ] Marcel: It's just an honor to be able to give back to the community.

And we're blessed to have people coming from everywhere, just for us.

San Francisco style soul food.

Gregory: Check, please.

It's Frisco Fried.

Pride with pride.

Sbrocco: Debbie, how did you find this spot?

Heard: Well, we were on a quest to find all the best fried food in the city.

So, of course, we do what everyone does.

And we Googled it, and every single list we found had Frisco Fried.

So we thought, well, we've got to try it.

And also, I feel like Bayview is a little-known San Francisco neighborhood.

The food there is so great.

It's dynamic, it's vibrant.

And so we found it and we went there and we tried it out.

And my favorite thing there is actually not fried chicken.

My favorite thing there is the fried catfish.

I love the fried catfish.

It's not something that you can get very many places in San Francisco.

Well, actually in Northern California.

And theirs is not mushy.

It's very flaky.

But it also has that great fried batter on the outside that just makes it amazing.

And they serve it with tartar sauce.

I mean, how many times do you get to eat tartar sauce in your life?

Not enough is the answer.

Giovannini: I had never had catfish before, but I figured I had to do it because it's something that's really unique and you don't find it, to your point.

And it was perfect.

I had no idea that I liked fried catfish, but I definitely do at Frisco Fried.

I'm really simple with it -- just a little bit of citrus.

And I had the collard greens, which is also very difficult -- Heard: I was going to ask if anyone had had those.

Sbrocco: They're known for their collard greens, for sure.

Giovannini: And it was a perfect offset to that kind of salty fried food to have that collard greens to kind of level things out.

And then I also did the red beans and rice, which is -- I love red beans and rice.

And this was absolutely delicious.

Sbrocco: That was your "healthy thing," right?

Giovannini: Yes.

Kind of, if you call it that.

Heard: Greens and beans, it was very healthy, greens and beans.

Giovannini: Exactly.

Sbrocco: It's a pretty big menu.

Obando: It's a pretty big menu.

We definitely went with the fried catfish.

We did the fried chicken as well, which I believe was like a dinner combination.

It came with corn and mashed potatoes.

And then we had the lemon pepper wings, which were by far my favorite.

I mean, those were probably the best lemon pepper wings I've ever had in my life.

I love the fact that it was nice and crunchy, too.

The other little thing I loved was the cornbread.

Those were by far probably the best little cornbread muffins ever.

Actually, I tried to have some with my coffee the next morning with those.

They were just -- Had to have some.

Giovannini: Yeah, I put some cornbread in my purse for the next day, So I just stuffed all that extra cornbread in my purse.

Sbrocco: We should call it purse-worthy cornbread.

Giovannini: Exactly.

Exactly.

Sbrocco: If you're willing to muck up your purse with all those crumbs... Giovannini: Oh, yes, totally worth it.

Just put it right in there.

Gregory: I'll put the yams together.

Heard: And their yams are out of this world.

They're amazing.

In fact, every time I bring friends there, they all say, "Oh, I don't have to get dessert now because I got the yams."

Sbrocco: Right, and I don't think they have dessert.

I think it's just the yams, right?

Heard: So good.

Sbrocco: And you can eat outside or you can take it with you, right?

Obando: Talking on the portions that they give you, we actually took some of the leftovers also to my mom.

So we were actually able to feed a fourth person for the amount of food that they give you.

Heard: And aren't you surprised at how well the takeout holds up?

I expect, you know, if you're going to get fried catfish or you're going to get fried chicken or even potato salad, I'm always surprised that when we do that, it still just tastes as good as if we were eating right there.

Sbrocco: Alright.

If you would like to try Frisco Fried, it's located on Third Street in San Francisco's Bayview neighborhood.

The average tab per person without drinks is around $40.

Marcel: You good.

That's what I'm talking about.

Sbrocco: As a social entrepreneur, an avid foodie, Domenica appreciates delicate flavor profiles and artful presentation.

She finds both in the creative rolls and omakase specials at her hidden gem tucked away in a quiet corner of Petaluma.

It's Kinka Sushi.

♪♪ Alex: Our restaurant is Kinka.

And "kinka" is a Japanese word.

It mean "gold coin," and gold coin symbolize luck and peace.

Van: So we want customer come to feel relax, comfortable, and have a good time together.

Our menu is Japanese traditional menu.

Alex: So we keep everything simple but enough choices.

Goolan: I think what sets Chef apart is his commitment to providing an experience that people are going to remember.

Man: Thank you, sir.

Goolan: The best part about the fish is it's entirely fresh and is sent here overnight.

Alex: So this one is special.

We call it skipjack from Japan.

This is a Thai red snapper.

Barracuda, bluefin tuna.

And this actually horse mackerel.

Goolan: A lot of our regulars know the morning it's going to come in and they're going to be here that day.

Alex: This is a kinmedai -- golden eye snapper.

I try to change my menu every week or every month.

Depend on the season so customers can feel something new every time they come.

♪♪ Van: Alex knew different method to cure the fish.

Like, the smoke, he used the cherry wood.

And for mackerel, he cure it with salt and vinegar.

Goolan: Okay.

Alex: For a good sushi, right, we have to balance between sweetness, acidity and umami.

Goolan: So we marinate the rice with red vinegar, as opposed to what a lot of places use, which is either rice wine or rice vinegar.

So this is what gives it what everyone thinks is brown rice because it's red mixed with the white and just kind of gives a light brownish hue.

And the flavor pairs really nicely with the fish.

It makes it so you don't necessarily need to dip in any soy sauce or anything because it's got a really nice balance of flavors.

Woman: Thank you.

Very nice.

Van: The Kinka special roll is hamachi and avocado and on top, spicy scallop mixed with homemade ponzu and spicy aioli.

Actually it's my favorite, so -- Alex: Just make it for her.

Van: We rename it Kinka.

Alex: When I see a customer a lot, the food, I pick for them.

You know, I feel very happy.

Van: Especially the moment when they taste their first bite and they're like, "Wow, oh, so good, so good," and they yell to the chef.

Alex: Yeah, it's a reward.

Woman: Good night, you guys.

Sbrocco: Domenica, you and I are both Petalumans.

And even for us, this is tucked away in a little spot, right?

Giovannini: Very much so.

Sbrocco: How did you discover it?

Giovannini: I was actually told by a friend that used to go to lunch there that worked in the corporate parks that are nearby.

And so I just gave it a try and walked in those doors and never looked back.

Obando: Oh, man.

So I just want to say I was -- Yes, it was in a strip mall.

But once you're in there, it's like -- they have this great jazz music going on.

It's just a great ambience.

We started out with the hotate ceviche, if I'm saying that correctly.

There's this lemony sauce that it comes in with, like, paprika and probably some other magic that they sprinkle in there.

We literally -- After we were done with it, we poured it back into like another little side tray because we wanted to keep dipping that.

Sbrocco: Keep dipping in the sauce.

Obando: Into the other.

Giovannini: Your wife didn't put it in her purse?

Obando: No, no, no.

Although we were close enough.

Sbrocco: It's not purse-worthy.

Stay away from ceviche.

[ Laughter ] Obando: And then we moved on to the crispy crab roll.

And that was also very flavorful.

It was probably, I have to say, some of the best sushi I've ever had.

Sbrocco: Ah, that's great.

[ Indistinct conversation ] Giovannini: What they do at Kinka is very traditional, and so I kind of go towards more of the chef specials and the miso soup is definitely a go-to.

So they make everything from scratch, everything from the soy sauce to the miso soup.

Sbrocco: And Chef Alex absolutely does omakase tastings.

He has, like, toro tasting.

Alex: This part, they call by otoro.

Over here between loin and belly, they call by chutoro.

Giovannini: I love the toro tasting because every time it's a little bit different.

But generally there is one that has a little bit of a citrus essence and all you see is this little piece of lemon zest on top, but somehow it packs so much flavor in that piece of toro.

Sbrocco: And what about the scallop tartare?

Giovannini: This is one of the most unique dishes I've ever had.

It's just this perfect tartare on the crispy shiso.

It's just this perfectly balanced flavor.

There's like a little bit of a kick, but it's creamy and it's fresh.

I was a little nervous that I wasn't going to like it because it's not something that I would normally eat raw.

But it was -- it was perfect.

Heard: So if you are typing in a group text about Kinka Sushi, it will always autocorrect to "kinky sushi," in case you're wondering.

So we had some very interesting conversations about when are we going to Kinky Sushi and what are we ordering at Kinky Sushi.

[ Laughter ] So the table favorite was by far the truffle hamachi.

You cannot go wrong with truffle, clearly, on anything you put it on.

Sbrocco: It's very aromatic.

Heard: Very.

But I will say it was interesting to put it on hamachi because that's very delicate and you wouldn't think it would pair well with truffle, but you would be wrong because that was an amazing dish and everybody liked it.

Alex: This side here, it's still red.

That's meaning fresh fish.

Heard: Another table favorite -- red snapper.

So that one can be difficult to do well because it can be bland-tasting.

But this one was so fresh and so delicious.

And then my favorite, as always, uni.

I will always order sea urchin wherever I go.

And I eat a lot of sushi.

And it is how I test sushi restaurants.

If they have good uni, it's a great place.

I would definitively drive from the city to Petaluma to get that uni.

Sbrocco: Just to get that uni.

Top praise.

Heard: It was amazing.

Sbrocco: Alright.

What about dessert?

Obando: Okay.

Dessert.

Yay.

I get to talk about it.

[ Laughter ] So we tried the black sesame seed ice cream.

Oh, my God.

It was definitely one that was not too sweet.

Had a real nutty flavor to it.

My wife and I shared it.

We usually don't usually go for dessert, but in this case, it was a go-to dish.

Heard: We got the matcha green tea, and it was really funny.

There was clearly some locals that go there all the time and there were two orders left.

There was four of us at the table.

And so they didn't want to disappoint these poor locals.

So they said, "Alright, we'll give you one order of the ice cream and then we'll give another to these locals."

And so we shared an order.

I don't even know if I've ever said this about ice cream, but it felt so fresh and we loved it.

We were all fighting over the last spoonful at our table.

It was fantastic.

Sbrocco: What did you think of in terms of value?

Obando: Price point was great, actually.

Yeah, I mean, for the quality.

I mean, I fed my family and I didn't feel like I overpaid.

In fact, if anything, I would love to go back.

Sbrocco: Alright.

If you would like to try Kinka Sushi, It's located on South McDowell Boulevard in Petaluma.

And the average tab per person is around $50.

And now reporter Cecilia Phillips brings us more Bay Area bites you've just got to try.

♪♪ Zielinski: We always say District Six is like the little park that could.

So, it's 20,000 square feet of everything from a barbershop to the food trucks to our bar, entertainment concerts.

So kind of a one-stop shop for anything you think of just to, like, get outside, have some fun.

Phillips: You do all sorts of food-themed events.

What do you specialize in?

Zielinski: Yeah, ube definitely.

Really, we kind of just get creative with the themes and being able to reach out to all of our vendors to be creative with their menus.

Phillips: You actually brought a piece of ube here for me.

Ballesteros: Ube is a purple yam, and in the Philippines, it's used in lots of desserts.

Phillips: Why is ube so important to the Filipino culture?

Numbers: So, ube in particular has been so important because it's quintessential Filipino.

Folks have tried to grow it in other regions as well, and it just doesn't grow there.

It almost like rejects other soil and just wants to be Filipino, so I just love it.

Phillips: Alright, halo-halo.

This is awesome.

Ube has a really distinct but, like, a kind of hard to describe flavor profile.

How do you describe ube?

Hill: Oh, man.

Woman: I feel like it tastes like a sweet potato almost.

Wilson: It tastes like a sweet potato, but also kind of like a cotton c-- I don't know.

Woman #2: It tastes like the color purple.

Man: It would really taste like a blueberry.

It takes on whatever flavor.

Hill: It reminds me of a pancake for some reason.

Woman #3: It's like a sweet fruit.

Woman #4: I would describe it as rooty and a little fruity.

Yeah, that rhymes.

Yeah.

Phillips: Ube Area.

Temporosa: Ube Area.

So we have like a kind of fusion because a lot of our desserts are Filipino-inspired and also Hawaiian-inspired.

Phillips: So what is this?

Temporosa: Ube-Wan Kenobi.

Phillips: How did you come up with the name?

Temporosa: We love Star Wars.

[ Laughs ] So that's a reference.

So, those are ube truffles, ube crumb cake.

Ube crinkle cookies.

Ube rice krispy.

Ube pocket pies.

Ube bars, ube white chocolate chip cookies.

Phillips: I'm familiar with sticky rice, but the custard.

Ooh, look at this.

Temporosa: Cheers.

Phillips: Cheers.

This is a great bite.

Temporosa: Alright.

I like the dance.

Phillips: That's all I can do.

Wilson: It's a family specialty.

We're famous for our classic banana pudding.

Oreos are my favorite, so they're always a good combo with ube, I believe.

Phillips: What did you do with the ube macaroon today?

Wilson: It has ube buttercream in and it has ube jam in the center and then it's garnished with a ube pretzel.

Our ube blondie -- So it's topped with a fresh ube powder on the side, and then it's just our classic blondie.

It's good.

It's good.

Phillips: Okay, so what makes this ube ice cream spicy?

Ballesteros: So we use Carolina peppers.

It tastes like ube and then it kind of, like, takes a few seconds.

Phillips: Oh, my gosh.

Did you say a few seconds?

What makes your doughnuts whack?

Hill: Oh, well, not whack, actually.

They're pretty good.

But that's why I call them whack donuts, because everyone associates things being whacked as bad.

So when you have my doughnuts, you get the complete opposite.

Phillips: This doughnut is whack.

Hill: Still whack.

Sbrocco: I want to thank my great guests on this week's show.

Carlos Obando, who winds down his busy week with brunch at Angelicas in Redwood City.

Debbie Heard, who shared the soulful Southern comforts of Frisco Fried in San Francisco.

And Domenica Giovannini, who can't get enough of the innovative omakase at Kinka Sushi in Petaluma.

Join us next time when three more guests will recommend their favorite spots right here on "Check, Please!

Bay Area."

I'm Leslie Sbrocco, and I'll see you then.

Cheers.

And cheers to you.

Did you have fun?

♪♪ Angelica: Bubbles on Main -- We come out because our street is Main Street.

So we decide let's put in Bubbles on Main because it's just right there.

We come out with a set so people can make it so they can put as little juice they want or as much as they want.

And we give them three different choices without doing bottomless.

Now they have their own mimosa.

Peter: And boy, do you feel bubbly afterwards.

[ Laughter ] When she drinks champagne, she's bubbly nonstop.

[ Laughter ]