| Bay Area chain serving up healthy takes on classic american dishes. |
Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 1040
Reviewed: 9/14/2006
Rating: 7.5
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I've been to Hobee's a number of times from my early days at Microsoft. We used to grab breakfast items for lunch and finished it off with their famous blueberry coffeecake. I've been to the Palo Alto, Mountain View, and now the Cupertino location. One of my co-workers brought in coffeecake which sparked my interest in making the visit, and we can't forget Jen S. for reminding us every month for the last 194 days :)
Looking for a lighter meal I went with the florentine chicken sandwich on wheat with a bowl of fruit ($8.25). The wait time was a little longer than expected but might have to do with the lunch rush in full effect.
I thought I was getting a healthy sandwich but didn't read that it came topped with 2 slices of cheese. The grilled chicken was sandwiched in between gooey cheese and spinach/mushroom mix. The grease from the chicken and cheese turned the toast to sog. Chicken was a thin slice of breast but juicy enough to leave flavor drops all over my plate and hand. It's a good sandwich but look elsewhere if you want something healthy (my fault).
Bowl of fruit was a mix of cantaloupe, apples, watermelons, and plums. Fresh like it was cut earlier in the morning. Even Esteban got a kick out of the sweet watermelon (picture #7)
If I had to choose all over, I would stick to their solid breakfast menu and finish it off with the blueberry coffeecake. I don't have a picture of it but it is one of the thickest cuts of cake you will see. You can buy a tin of it togo and will put a smile on any co-worker. In the past I've always had great breakfast in the 8 range but todays lunch was in the low 7's. Final rating averages to a 7.5.
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Reviewer: Terry
Total Reviews: 739
Reviewed: 9/14/2006
Rating: 7
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Jason had mentioned Hobees a few times before and I was always hesitant as I thought it was a national chain, but turns out they appear to just be a bay area chain, so away we went. The place has a definite country feel to it (inside). Not exactly my cup of tea (more like a souped-up dennys vibe to it, if anything). I overlooked this and scanned the large menu. Most people are sure to find stuff that will appeal to them. All of the dishes are more on the safe side, very few that dig deep into any particular ethnic cuisine. I decided to go with the mushroom and spinach lasagne, which according to the menu is something they are famous for. To drink, I went with the raspberry iced tea.
The iced tea arrived first, and I was impressed. Its not your normal restaurant raspberry iced tea, where you get the iced tea and they mix in a sweet raspberry syrup. This was very tart and had little to no sugar in it, just the iced tea and the fresh raspberry flavoring. Not bad! But it could be bad if you are not expecting it.
The service was a bit slow, but it wasn't a big deal because we arrived close to noon so the place was full. The plate arrived and it filled the little casserole dish in the middle of the plate, and was accompanied by 2 slices of grain bread with garlic mixed in it (or on top of it). The bread was tasty, but not too special. I finished it but am not sure why.
The lasagne didn't have much flavor. It was just OK. The veggies didn't have any kind of zing to them that make veggies special. It was just kind of a mosh inside that was warm and filling, but for me didn't do a whole lot more. The sauce and cheese on top added extra flavoring but just ended up getting mixed into the slosh. I guess that is what lasagne is, and I shouldn't be complaining at all. But there really was nothing in it to make it stand out and make me want to order it again. It just felt like a solid safe vegetarian friendly dish.
I wouldn't mind returning and trying another dish. I could definitely see this place as a good lunch place to go with coworkers who wouldn't normally be too excited about journeying to jatbars other, more-exotic eating destinations.
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Reviewer: jsatre
Total Reviews: 75
Reviewed: 9/4/2006
Rating: 8.5
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Hobees is all about the breakfast for me. They do offer a nice and fresh salad/soup bar for lunch/dinner and there are some nice menu offers but crazy me, Ill still order an omelet. I can see that Terrys experience was ho-hum… Probably because he didnt try the coffeecake, even great for lunch!
My last visit was on Labor Day 9-4 with a friend and her son. We arrived at the Campbell location around 2 for a late brunch and our host told us they close at 3 pm… Crud, good thing we didnt stall any longer.
Even picky eaters will find something delicious to order. My friend is super picky, but since I had a gift certificate, she couldnt turn down a free meal… Maybe it was my charming personality…. nah, it was the free food.
I order an iced tea while we review menus. They were VERY accommodating to 1 year old Skyler! He received crayons, coloring pages, a child sized water sippy cup, stickers and even some toast right away. Shoot, the little ones have it good here. I got to color in some letters though.
Drinks were brought out quickly. Hobees iced tea is made from paradise tropical iced tea – a nice improvement over bland Lipton. I only add a touch of sweetener. I ordered the Pruneyard Omelet with a side of blueberry coffeecake. The omelet consists of turkey bacon, fresh spinach (yeah, yeah, Ive heard the news), red onions, mushrooms and garlic folded into a 3-4 egg omelet. On top is a delicious tomato-pesto sauce. Stuff is so good; Ive ordered more of it on the side before.
Coffeecake is something of a sight. Thing is 4-5 inches high, light and fluffy with real juicy blueberries throughout. The top is a nice thick Streusel topping full of brown sugar and cinnamon. They do add a scoop of whipped butter and if you let it melt in a tad, youre in for a treat. I do think its way too much butter, so I take off ½ or more.
Our food was up quickly, maybe 8-10 minutes. I barely came up for air. The filling was cooked just right, light sautéed so the spinach was still bright green, onions had a little crisp to them, bacon was soft like turkey bacon should be, mushrooms still had texture. They basically dont cook the hell out of the filling and I really appreciate that. It preserves the flavors and textures instead of cooking them into mush. How about the tomato-pesto? Excellent as always, where can I get a jar of this stuff?
Service is impeccable. They have water/coffee only people so your glass never gets low. Ive been to 3 locations and they all have this. The extra mile our waitress went to keep Skyler-man happy and that was a blessing. Skyler also received a plate of fruit in the shape of a big smile. Clever!
Value – Overall, a bit more pricey than Cocos but the quality is far superior. Just check out the salad bar next time you are seated. I also like the healthier choices they offer, and its unique to Hobees.
So perhaps their lunch offerings arent as exciting, but when I think breakfast out, that means one place to me – Hobees!
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Reviewer: ne00
Total Reviews: 187
Reviewed: 11/24/2006
Rating: 7
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Hobees is all about their omelets and blueberry coffee cake. Ive tried their other items besides their omelets and have never been really satisfied or happy. I once tried their lasagna and it just had overkill amount of cheese.
After stopping by the bank, my friend and I had some lunch at Hobees. The place was busy so we had a short wait before they called us. My friend knew what he wanted, the Mountain View omelet with hash and I went with the Stanford omelet with blue berry coffee cake. There coffee cake is the best side item as it is usually a huge square piece of cake with melting butter on top. My friend also ordered some coffee and I ordered a soda.
My soda arrived 5 minutes after my meal in this narrow 8-ounce glass. Drinks were $1.95 each. Not very worth it as they served the same coffee outside the restaurant for free to the waiting patrons.
My omelet was a lot smaller than what I remembered it to be. The inside was a bit bland and the turkey tasted dry. I poured the entire cup of salsa onto my omelet and it had just enough flavor. My coffee cake was room temperature so the cold butter had difficult time melting on top. I remember they had better coffee cake than this. I usually eat at the Palo Alto location so it could be a difference in the way it is prepared or served at different locations.
For drink refills, we had to flag down our service. This was just an average meal. There was not much food so the meal was quickly devoured. Total bill came to be $25 with tip and tax.
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