Golden Dragon Buffet - Brentwood, CA

Golden Dragon Buffet
6281 Lone Tree Way
Brentwood, CA 94513
(925) 516-9858

Golden Dragon Buffet offers a $7.99 lunch, Monday to Saturday from 11am - 4pm. We ate here for the first time and being a buffet, it was good to see that it was busy! They offer the typical items that a Chinese buffet offers: Chinese, Sushi, Seafood, Mongolian BBQ, fried food, salad bar, fruit bar, dessert bar and so on.

I discovered the most delightful dessert there...Tapioca Taro! It's actually a soup and I know it sounds odd, it even looks odd (check out my pic at the bottom of this post)...but it was SOOOOOO good that I kept going back for more, despite being a hot summer day. :)

I also liked their Sake (Salmon) Nigiri - which I made "sashimi" because I didn't eat the rice. The green beans in their Chinese food section were spectacular, the Chow Fun and General Chicken were good and the Chicken w/Broccoli and Chili Chicken were so-so. The sushi rolls weren't that great, but it's what you would expect from a buffet, anyway. The salmon was surprisingly moist, but it didn't have much flavor. The crab salad (from the salad bar) was awful.

Golden Dragon Buffet is MUCH better than the two Chinese buffets in Livermore and I definitely plan on returning for more of that Tapioca Taro soup! :)

















Sushi, Salmon and Crab Salad


Chinese Food & Fish


Tapioca Taro

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers - Brentwood, CA

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers
2385 Sand Creek Road
Brentwood, CA 94513
(925) 516-9020
redrobin.com

This Red Robin just opened in the last month or so at the Streets of Brentwood Shopping Center, so we decided to go there for lunch. Brand new restaurants typically offer excellent service and food...and this one did not disappoint!

The Banzai Burger, which I must admit I've had at least a dozen times at several different Red Robin locations, was absolutely the BEST one I've ever had! The meat was perfectly cooked, the pineapple slices were perfectly placed, it had the perfect amount of teriyaki sauce and again...it was the BEST Banzai Burger I've ever had. :)









Royal Red Robin Burger


Banzai Burger


Bottomless Steak Fries

Melo's Pizza & Pasta - Brentwood, CA

Melo's Pizza & Pasta
6580 Lone Tree Way
Brentwood, CA 94513
(925) 626-3773
melospizzapasta.com

Melo's Pizza & Pasta is a great discovery for pasta in Brentwood, as we found out during our first visit there. It's located in the WinCo shopping center and quite easy to find with ample parking. Service was excellent and they are fairly new to Brentwood (although I just discovered their other locations are in Pleasant Hill and Livermore).

I was tempted to order their Mediterranean Special pizza, but decided on one of my all-time favorites - Gnocchi Bolognese. Unfortunately, it was so awful, I couldn't eat more than one piece...so I sent it back and got their Fettuccine Ferrari instead (egg fettuccine topped with a ragu sauce of veal, chicken, pork and porcini mushrooms.) This pasta dish was a winner and I would probably order it again on my next visit!









Fettuccine Ferrari ($11.50) - EXCELLENT!!!


Rigatoni w/Meat Sauce ($9.50) + Sausage (add $3.95)


Gnocchi Bolognese ($11.50) - I do NOT recommend this dish.

Tailgaters - Brentwood, CA

Tailgaters Sports Bar & Grill
8065 Brentwood Blvd.
Brentwood, CA 94513
(925) 513-8281
brentwoodtailgaters.com

The best thing about my first experience at Tailgaters was their Black and Blue Burger (a Cajun style blackened Tailgater with gorgonzola melted on top) and the worst thing was that our party of four sat and waited for 10-15 minutes for our table to be cleared and cleaned.

The other three in my party ordered the Monday $10.95 All-You-Can-Eat chicken wings (drummettes, actually) which are served as a basket of 12 the first time, then in quantities of 6. They said they were okay, but nothing special.

Seems like a great gathering place for watching games and although the owner/manager himself was actively involved in clearing tables and taking orders, the quality of service from servers was lacking at this time.

Yogurt Pizazz - Brentwood, CA

Yogurt Pizazz
3860 Balfour Rd.
Brentwood, CA 94513
(925) 626-7840
yogurtpizazz.com

Yogurt Pizazz is the only fro-yo place I've been to that offers peanut butter as a topping...and for a peanut-butter-and-chocolate fanatic like me, that makes me a fan for life! :)

Their other merits for a 5-star rating are: cheerful and welcoming staff, sparkling clean facility, an extensive selection of toppings and $0.38 per ounce pricing. They're my favorite fro-yo in the East County!

Shutters Brasserie - Brentwood, CA

Shutters Brasserie
2013 Elkins Way
Brentwood, CA 94513
(925) 516-4131
shuttersbrasserie.com

Shutters Brasserie is the last thing you'd expect to find in its light industrial location among warehouses, surrounded by residential neighborhoods. There is a A-frame sign with "Shutters Brasserie" on it to ensure you that your navigation is not malfunctioning...you are indeed at the right place.

We came here for the first time (believe me, everyone who comes here MEANS to come here) and found the service to be exceptional and the food quite good. This dish was excellent:

Idaho Boneless Trout - Pan-Roasted with Brown Butter Sage, Over Warm Baby Spinach, Lentil, Asparagus, and Sweet Corn, Roasted Walnut, Balsamic Reduction $17

Outdoor Patio:






Idaho Boneless Trout $17:

Brentwood Nines - Brentwood, CA

Brentwood Nines
100 Summerset Drive
Brentwood, CA 94513
(925) 516-3400
ninesatbrentwood.com

Nines quite possibly has the best burger in the Bay Area...and it's not even Kobe Beef! We haven't been here since they changed ownership from Bunkers Grille and we noticed a vast improvement in quality of food. Kudos to you and we'll be back again and again for your "Whole Nines Yards" burger!

Alaskan Halibut $19.95 - Pan-seared Parmesan-encrusted fillet of halibut, topped with a tomato-basil compote.

The “Whole Nines Yards” Burger $9.95 - Half pound of ground chuck grilled to order and served on an onion roll with your choice of toppings: avocado, bacon, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, Jack, Swiss, Bleu and Cheddar cheese.

You can add an iceberg wedge (topped with Gorgonzola cheese crumbles, beefsteak tomato, fried onion strings, cucumber and carrots) or Caesar (Romaine with Parmesan garlic sourdough croutons) side salad for an additional $1.50, which is well worth it and both are delicious.

TIP: Substitute their fries (good) for asparagus (AWESOME!)







Alaskan Halibut $19.95


The "Whole Nines Yards" Burger $9.95