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.

Dolores Park

One of the great things about living in the yay area is that there is no shortage of delicious hearty veggie sandwiches. Like the Pesto Special that we just devoured at Dolores Park Cafe.

I'm not the biggest seitan fan (that rhymes!), but after having this yummy seitan sandwich, I might just change my mind.