State Street Market — Restaurant in Los Altos

A new addition to Los Altos downtown that we checked out this past week. It is always nice to have more of these type of clean and casual food courts around, so you can go with groups of friends and there is usually something for everyone. Seating is spacious, although this could change. For now, there is ample space between tables so you don't hear each other's conversations. This review is for Bao Bei, and not sure if our ceviche and drinks were from Murdoch's or Ostro. If you are looking for authentic Asian flavors, or value, (ten dollars for one bao!) look elsewhere. Service was great, and while the fusion food was a hit or miss (for us), it's well executed, and we appreciate having a place like this nearby, and would definitely go back when we want a quick bite in a clean environment in the 'hood. We ordered salmon ceviche, spicy pork belly bao, fried shrimp bao, and Dan Dan mian. Salmon ceviche was actually a poke, which we should have guessed from the ingredients list. Had an odd metallic aftertaste for us. We appreciated the spicy pork belly bao had some meat and not mostly pure fat like a lot of pork belly out there. Fat had some crisp rendered areas. No warmed over flavor here either. Zero Gochujang flavor though. (Being Korean, maybe I expected too much) Fried shrimp bao was a fried pureed fish mix, and tasted like there was more filler than shrimp. (In all fairness, Eddie Huang ruined us for baos, the bar is high. So sad baohaus is no more. Seriously we dream of those baos we would get after shopping in union square) Dan Dan mian was overwhelmingly peanut buttery. But still, if you don't want to sacrifice ambiance, (let's face it, we don't enjoy eating at Asian hole in the walls, and only do it if the food is so good you can't make it yourself or get it elsewhere) and want some Asiany style food that is more American, there are worse places. I enjoyed my Monte Carlo, but not the brown spotted citrus peel and floaty waxy bits. One of the reasons I tend to mix drinks at home.

Updates: visited at least twice more, most recent April 23 after 3 pm. Come on Bao Bei, do better! BAO bei visually more appealing, but quality of filling decrease, and size of BAO buns increase. For anyone familiar with Taiwanese BAO, you may not be happy. BAO buns themselves are very thick, noticeably sweet. You could fill up on one plain BAO bun, they are that big. Spicy pork belly BAO now has a generous drizzle of gochujang sauce, but roughly 2/3 of filling is pure fat. One of our two spicy pork baos was 1/4 meat, and that's being generous. I did speak with the manager Andrew about that one, and requested a replacement. The replacement that you see in the pic was better, but better in that only half was fat. The fat is not being rendered properly period. And the thickness of the pork is a third, if that, of the bun. The fried chicken BAO is about 3 times the size as the pork belly (bun remaining same in size) but of poorly trimmed chicken thigh meat. It's a typical Asian style chicken cutlet, but they should really trim the gristle and fat, and pound it to an even thickness. The mushroom BAO, tasted mostly like Sriracha, as opposed to unami. It had one big stem on the bottom, and thinly sliced heads on top (maitake/shimeji), and as a mushroom lover, felt it could have been meatier. On another note, nice that they offer soji, that isn't the ubiquitous green glass bottle. Was leaning towards a mixed drink today, so gave the Monte Carlo another try. Service at the bar was attentive, and the coupe glasses were perfectly chilled. Orange peels could have been better, and do always check your glasses for chips, I almost cut my lip on my second Monte Carlo (yes, it was that good). Bartenders would do well to always check glasses prior to pouring the drink, since this is not...

The brand new State Street Market is open for business! My wife and I visited today. Here's what to expect. Outside dining and takeout only so far. Inside dining will open later. (COVID-19) They are trying to be tech friendly so you can find the menu by scanning a QR code prominently displayed. When seated, you are provided with a QR code for the table. Each person can scan the code and add their items to the order for your table! I like this feature! I ordered the Pepperoni Flatbread. My wife ordered the B&B Burger with Herbed Fries. They were both good! The only problem is I had finished the flatbread before her burger arrived. This is the only reason why I didn't rate them a 5. If they can get this resolved it would be great! After we finished we were brought another QR code with the bill. Unfortunately that QR code wouldn't scan with either one of my phone's QR readers or my wife's phone. I'm sure they will work out this glitch quickly. I did say this was day 2 of the business... Maybe if they send the bill to your email with a link to use to pay would be simpler. But it would require entering your email address. The staff quickly resolved the issue by providing a printed receipt and I paid via credit card. All the staff was friendly, professional, and helpful! Looking forward to seeing more added to the menu! Note: The cell service in downtown Los Altos is poor at best. State Street Market provides free Wifi which resolved my connection issues....

I sooooo want to give this place a chance. It’s new, but I think my 2 stars are fair. Expensive food court. Positive- service from the attendants were really good and food was good. But details count. As they should. My first complaint- Serving decent restaurant plates with glass wine glasses but then providing plastic forks and plastic water glasses??? Los Altos is better than plastic. Green Los Altos? Second complaint which is now everywhere I go- unnecessary but forceful tipping with their iPad cashier checkout, where you feel a 25% tip is not needed because you did all the work and yet feel guilty, and worse, you are unsure of the service you will receive based on your pre-tipping. Yikes- My power salad (no cooking necessary) came 30 minutes after my husband’s roasted chicken. Third complaint- the app. Tin Pot has two things to order, yet you can only go to the store to see all menu items and pick up there. Confusing! We are Silicon Valley- pioneers of the internet and apps and more than I will ever know. And we seem to be behind the times! Recommendation- stop the nonsense tipping, get the app together, or get rid of it completely and make it easier for the consumer. Going out should be relaxing, fun...