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Easter Sunday is not a good day to walk the streets of Roseville, looking for a new restaurant to visit, as around two-thirds of the non-chain/non-fast food restaurant are closed, due to the holiday. Actually, today, I'd planned to visit an elusive Thai restaurant that I've yet to review, only to find them closed for the holiday. I'm resourceful, and always have a back-up plan in my strategy, to "Plan B" was to visit Leo's Kitchen, across the street, which was open on this beautiful spring day.
Photo: Leo's Kitchen has been in business in west Roseville since January, 2013, but today was the first opportunity that I had to visit this fine restaurant. The restaurant is located in a small, upscale shopping center, and features plenty of safe, free parking. In my opening paragraph, my statement naming Leo's as "Plan B" is not meant to detract from them in any way, as they've been on my radar for over a year. I just wanted to visit the elusive Thai restaurant, located across Foothills Blvd. from Leo's... Since the elusive restaurant was closed - which seems to be the norm - I chose to visit Leo's Kitchen.
Photo: Today, Sunday, April 20, 2014, Easter Sunday at about 1215, I walked in, and I had the whole restaurant to myself! I sat myself at the table at the far right of the photo, where the Tsingtao beer bottle stands. The dining room is divided into two portions, as to the right of the beer bottle, there is a low partition, and on the other side of the low partition, its booths. View is when you enter the restaurant; the cashier's station is to the extreme right of the photo. Note the LARGE table in for center of the photo, which seats around 18 people, and the turntable to make "passing the food" really easy. The dining room is expansive, comfortable, but somewhat spartan in decor. Oh well, the food is excellent!
Photo: The menu features a vast array of anything Chinese that your heart desires, and more than you could ever imagine. The menu is several pages long, and it's grouped under categories, such as "Combination Platter, Noodles Soup, Chicken, Beef, Seafoods," and more than you can imagine. There are so many choices listed on the menu, that the "sides" are not even listed, so you either have to roll the dice, or ask your server. Photo shows the "Seafoods" section of the menu, which represents less than 10% of the total menu. Folks, I've NEVER seen a menu this extensive in a Chinese restaurant! You could spend a lot of time enjoying every item on the menu. But, today was Easter Sunday, I praise Jesus for HIS resurrection, so I just "rolled the dice" and chose #1 from the "Seafoods" menu, Sweet and Sour Shrimp. Woo hoo!
Photo: The double doors to the left of the photo lead into the kitchen, and you just can barely peek through the windows to get a glimpse of what's going on inside. I would have LOVED to grabbed a kitchen shot, but the owner, Leo, was a tad on the shy side, was very hesitant about having his photo taken, so I didn't want to act like a "boor" and overstep decent protocol. I did ask him what about the food on the plates for the shrines. He told me that it's a Chinese custom to leave food on the plates for the shrine-guys to eat. I suppose it's sort of like setting out cookies and milk for Santa Claus on Christmas eve...
Photo: What's in a name? I asked her name, she repeated it twice, but I just didn't "get" it. Sorry, hon, but you pour a great Tsingtao beer, and your company and friendly smile were appreciated.
Photo: The owner of the restaurant, Leo, delivered my lunch to me, and graciously snapped my photo. Besides he and the gal, pictured in the previous photo, there were two gentlemen working in the kitchen. On this Easter Sunday, 2014, business was slow, but two other couples were seated in the restaurant as my meal arrived.
Photo: Oh this is delicious Chinese food! This is "Sweet and Sour Shrimp," from the "Seafoods" menu, and a large Tsingtao beer on the side, as an option. The meal includes the shrimp and veggie plate, along with a bowl of steamed rice; obviously, the beer is extra. The shrimp was breaded, deep fried, and delicious, and I ate it all, including the tails. The veggies are a mix of carrot, pepper and pineapple, bathed in red sweet/sour sauce. Oh this is good! Leo brought an extra plate, so I spooned some of the rice on to the plate, added a couple pieces of shrimp, a chunk of veggie or pineapple, and ample sweet/sour sauce. So, I sort of drizzled the sweet/sour sauce over the rice, along with the veggies. So, it went like this: A spoonful of rice... A spoonful of fish ... A swig of beer... And so on, and so on, for the next half hour, until I had devoured the entire meal, and I was stuffed. Oh yeah! Great Chinese food! Leo's Kitchen produces delicious Chinese food, albeit, the food is a tad on the pricey side. However, the fare is delicious, the service is great, and the atmosphere is slightly reserved, but friendly. I ate lunch at Leo's, but ordered from the dinner menu, rather than the lunch menu, as the lunch menu is on the last page of the "way extensive" menu. Silly me... So, on my next trip to Leo's Kitchen, I'll order from the lunch menu, and add my final opinion to this article. Leo's Kitchen Copyright(c) 2014 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. This site has been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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