No hot dog stand in Vancouver this time...

But I did fall in love with a coffee house - Caffe Artigiano. I left Vancouver with a pound of their French Roast goodness, and am dreading the day that I get to the last bean. Mmm...

5 onions, hands down.

Vik's Chaat Corner, Berkeley

This has to be my favorite Indian restaurant.

Dahi Batata Puri. I LOVE yogurt in my food so this is my favorite dish. It comes packed with potatoes and garbanzo beans. Oh and let's not forget the tamarind!



Bhatura Cholle. This big puff is just a bigger version of the small puffs you find in Dahi Batata Puri but without all the toppings. This is a must if its your first time. Its texture is almost like that of a soft lumpia wrapper cooked in corn oil.



This one, I forgot what its called but its very potatoe-ish.



Here's the same dish but sliced in half...mmm, potatoe goodness.



The name of this dish also alludes me.



blu0ni0n rating: 5 onions

-a

Foster City Arts and Wine Festival

A couple of weekends ago, we checked out the Arts and Wine Festival in Foster City. Decents eats and the following were probably the two most interesting items:

Fried Mushrooms. A delight for you mushroom lovers out there. Simple and tasty. Twas served with a side of ranch.




Donut Sundaes. Get some if you can find some in your area! Unfortunately there was no ice cream served with this dessert--it actually didn't need any as the toppings took care of the sweets. For all you folks who are tired of eating funnel cakes, this makes for a good alternative. It's pretty much donuts holes with sundae toppings. The owner of this stand told us that the machine that was used to make the donuts was shipped all the way from France. Once again, the French have done it again.



blue0ni0n rating: 4 onions

-a

Intramuros

When Katrina and I visited the Philippines in '06, we took a trip with our class to Intramuros, also known as the "Walled City". Just the other day, we ate at the new Intramuros Restaurant in South San Francisco for Katrina's Uncle's 75th Birthday.


I'm not that big on Pilipino Cuisine when it comes to dining out so I have an unrelenting bias towards restaurants that serve anything Pilipino--mainly because I grew up surrounded by family who could whip up a quick Pilipino meal with their eyes closed swimming in a tank of sharks and yes, sea monkeys. As with every Pilipino restaurant out there, Intramuros does not differ. I have yet to be truly wowed.

Anyway, here are some pictures:

"Bangus Belly". I accidentally ate fish bones and I nearly choked.



"Pancit Bami (Visayan Pancit)". It really should just be called Pancit. Nothing special about this dish except that you're paying for the plating which is not much of a plate either.



BBQ? I don't know, I don't eat meat anymore.



Mango Cake. Not sure if its on the menu, but if you want to cop one, it'll probably have to be your birthday. This was probably my favorite dish.



After pondering long and hard, I still don't know how the hell that place looks like the original Intramuros. I don't know, maybe it has art stuff with architecture? artitecture?

This is a picture of their new "Veranda", where our dinner party was held.



I give it 3 blue onions.

-a

Valentine's Day Breakfast

I like spoiling my girlfriend with riches. And by riches, I mean unecessary calories. Look what I made her on the morning of V-Day this year.

Best boyfriend ever.

-a

Do you like cheap and delicious eats? Well don't go to Spenger's Fish Grotto. You're practically paying for the ambiance and let me tell you, if you aren't into that nautical shit, then you're better off at Long John Silver's.

This is what fancy plating can do for a restaurant:

Don't let the picture fool you--they used actual motoroil to season this salad that Katrina had.

This here was probably the best dish, Lobster Raviol:

And finally, this is the Ahi Tuna that I ordered. First off, what the flying f***?!. If I wanted Sushi, I'd run across the street and get something that's near decent.

blue0ni0n opinion: this restaraunt can suck on my fish balls.

-a

Eritrean's Transform!

If Optimus Prime was somehow Eritrean, that is what he would have said after eating some of SF's best (and rare) Eritrean restaruant.

MmmMm...I'll let the pictures do that talking:

So just like our previous post, this was near Assab. This Eritrean joint was cleverly named "New Eritrean Restaurant".  I don't think you can ever go wrong with Eritrean, though I want to warn you: if you hate sour bread, this isn't for you.

-a

We had steak for dinner tonight, and since I don't eat meat, my sister picked up this veggie-friendly alternative (thanks, sister!). After seven years of experimenting with different meat substitutes, I'm pretty cynical when it comes to trying new faux meats. But I was pleasantly surprised by this one. The texture isn't weird and stringy, which is what I've found with Boca and other brands -- probably because it's made with all natural ingredients, which is awesome. I checked out the product web site, and found an extensive line of other yummy-looking products, which I hope they sell at my local Whole Foods!

Two new discoveries

On Saturday evening, my cousin Karla suggested we eat at one of her favorite restaurants in the Sunset, Assab. It's an Eritrean restaurant, which I was excited about because I haven't been to one yet. I've been to a couple Ethiopian restaurants in Berkeley, all of which were dark and dingy for some reason. Still not sure what the differences are between Ethiopian and Eritrean food (I know, ignorant, right?) but I do know that they both serve honey wine, which I'm a big fan of. We ordered 4 different dishes that were served on a huge platter with injera, that yummy spongy tortilla-esque bread. It didn't take long for four of us to clean up that platter!



On Sunday morning, Aaron and I went to check out Patio Coffee Shop in San Mateo, on 25th Avenue. It's a charming little breakfast/brunch spot that I know I'll be returning to. I'm particularly looking forward to trying their blueberry pancakes next time.

Comfort food on a dreary Saturday afternoon

Shioyaki Salmon at Mikado Sushi. Perfectly cooked fish, lightly seasoned, with a bowl of soft white rice. Mmmm.


And we are still on a quest to find agedashi tofu that tops that of Tokie's. After about two years , still no luck.

Clay Oven Cuisine of India

Friday night dinner at Clay Oven: channa masala, vegetarian curry, biryani, garlic and cheese naan, and chai. Topped it off with rice pudding for dessert. We've driven by this little restaurant on 3rd Avenue in San Mateo tons of times through the years, and just tried it for the first time. The food was way less heavy and ingredients more fresh than Naan n Curry, my old favorite greasy cheap Indian joint. Decently priced. I'd give it 3.5 yelp stars.

Soft food diet

I just got my wisdom teeth pulled. For the past 3 days I've been living off of ibuprofen, chocolate pudding, smoothies, frozen yogurt, and what I've come to decide is my favorite soft food: rice pudding! 

 

- K

Washington DC

We were lucky enough to be among the millions who went to DC for inauguration earlier this month. Needless to say, it was awesome to see history in the making. And it was almost AS awesome to be introduced to the wonder that is blue crab.


We also learned how to crack the crabs the right way. With tools! Our waitress "Meg" gave us the tutorial, and in a matter of seconds we slapped on our bibs, mallet and knife in hand, and went to work.


I've never been a big fan of crab. I've always felt like it required too much work, and the returns for all the effort are just not worth it. But with Meg's tutorial, I felt confident. I had direction; I was getting bigger chunks of crab meat. It was so much fun! And you better believe I tore up that mallet. At the end of the meal, I realized that my bib was on the floor. Who knows for how long. It was that good. Mmmm. Thanks Lissy and Diana for taking us to the Dancing Crab and helping us see crab in a whole new way!


We topped it off with malt shakes at Z Burger for dessert, which was a recommendation from our ever-so-helpful waitress at the Dancing Crab. (We love Meg!) I had a swiss chocolate maltshake - soooo heavenly. Yes, it felt like 15 degrees outside, and yes, my fingers felt like they'd fall off at any second. But I would do it all over again! If I could only find a place in the Bay Area that has maltshakes that good.