Eat Real Fest- Oakland, CA

the new trend this summer seemed to be food festivals. this was the final one of the summer and the only one i was able to attend. from what i read about the others, this one definitely was the best of the summer. everything costed between $2 and $5, which made it easy to try all the different vendors. on top of the food, there was a beer garden where every few hours you could meet the brewer. i look forward to attending next year.

falafel w/ pita and tomato and cucumber salad from liba

bulgolgi taco from seoul on wheels

chicken and sausage rice from localicious

official eat real fest glass and one of many local beers

chocolate cupacke w/ caramel frosting from sweetface bakery

Houston, Texas

in august i took a trip for a few days to houston to visit some relatives. as usual travel means lost of eating

chocolate bar- my sister also came from new york to see our family. the day she arrived was her birthday so we took her to get some chocolate cake. we tried a few of the different cakes and pies and they were all very good. perfect with a tall glass of milk

muffaletta- this sandwhich originated in new orleans. the name refers to the sicilian bread used to make the sandwich. in the sandwich is a marinated olive salad, capicola, salami, mortadella, emmentaler and provolone. it was good but after awhile i couldn't eat anymore.

the breakfast klub- this was a great breakfast soul food place. this place seemed family owned so the service was impeccable. they treated us like we were part of the family. i had the chicken and waffles. The waffle was nice and fluffy and the fried chicken was not too greasy. i definitely recommend this place to everyone.

Spec's- basically bevmo on steroids. would come back to houston just so i could look around this place for a few hours. as my uncle said- disneyland for adults

lankford grocery- don't let the name fool you. this is in no way a grocery. it is a small whole in the wall burger joint, the kind you would see on diners, drive-ins and dives (and it was on there). it's not the cleanest or healthiest place, but it was damn good. you can top your burger with everything from grilled onions to a fried egg. i would also recommend this to anyone visiting houston.

the refuge- san carlos, california

i am thankful i have tons of family who are as into food as i am. whenever my uncle and i are both home around dinner time, we make it a point to try a new restaurant in the area. one such opportunity arose and so we went to the refuge. i had been wanting to check out this place for awhile since i had heard a lot of good things about their belgian beer selection and their pastrami sandwich.

the beer selection- the list was made up of about 20+ belgian beers. the beers we ordered came in glasses that were specifically made for them. reminded me of one of my favorite places in seatlle (brouwer's), although brouwer's beer list is a bit more extensive. this is place is a must even if it's just to try the beers.

the food- we decided to order a pastrami sandwich and a cheesesteak (yelp review recommended). the cheesesteak was mediocre. i've definitely had much better cheesesteaks. however, the pastrami sandwich was very good. i would definitely come back for it.

leffe blonde and la chouffe

pastrami and cheesesteak

mack's bbq- san carlos, california

every once in awhile i crave a pulled pork sandwich. i was ecstatic to find mack's bbq just down the street from me in good old san carlos. and guess what their specialty was….their pulled pork sandwich! it was probably one of the best pulled pork sandwiches i've had. for my side i had their mac n' cheese. it was good but i generally like mine a little stickier. the cornbread was just ok for me. i had a ginger ale to drink. it tasted like a typical natural ginger ale which i love.

sprecher ginger ale

la petite camille- millbrae, california

i have never been one to crave vietnamese food. of asian food it has always been my least favorite. that is until i ate at la petite camille. it combined affordable with good quality and fresh ingredients. i have always found this hard to find in terms of vietnamese food. every dish we had was so flavorful. thank you zeedeeaye for introducing me to la petite camille!

imperial rolls

crab fried rice- my favorite of the night!

house garlic noodle w/ prawns

beef look luck

best of the east bay party 2009

last minute i decided to go to the best of the east bay party in oakland with maryanne, lraine, and dunds. of course the best of anything must include food. i wouldn't say the vendors at this event were the best i've tried. however, since this is the bay area, the food was very good. the tacos from otaez hit the spot but i wish they had some guacamole. the kettle corn was soooo good and comforting. as one person said to us, "can i have some because you guys look so happy eating that??" overall an applause for the east bay.

carnitas and carne asada tacos from otaez mexican restaurant

kettle corn from miggy's island kettle corn

bocadillos- san francisco, california

bocadillos in san francisco is an amazing amazing restaurant. i absolutely love spanish tapas and this is the perfect place to go. thank you foodicles and family for the recommendations!

pickled vegetables

lamb burgers

house-made chorizo

braised tripe

gambas- my favorite of the night!

falafel drive-in - san jose, california

nothing helps a work day like a great impromptu lunch with a good friend. since i only had an hour we decided to go to falafel drive-in. this was my first time there even though i've lived near there for six years now. i don't eat falafels very often, but these were probably the best i've had. their banana shakes (which they are also known for) are a little heavy but very good!

small falafel

banana milk shake

pilita grill- san carlos, california

it has been my mission to find a good gyro in the bay area. nothing has really come close to the gyro at aladdin's gyro-cery on "the ave" in seattle. the one thing always missing is the the pita. the bay seems to love to turn the gyro in to a wrap. although slightly different in taste, pilita grill's gyro could match aladdin's if it was just in a pita. my cousin and i shared this and the greek burger. the patty was made with ground lamb and topped with feta cheese. very yummy.

bread w/ tomato olive-oil dip

gyro and fries

greek burger

hotaru- san mateo, california

for me downtown san mateo has become a great (and convenient) place for japanese food. one of my favorites is hotaru

cold udon- refreshing on a hot day

inari(tofu skin), saba(broiled mackerel) , salad w/ japanese dressing

ryowa- mountain view, california

on guam one of my favorite places to eat is aji ichi. some of my favorite things to order there are the japanese fried chicken and fried rice. i actually find ryowa's chicken better than aji ichi's. however, i do find aji ichi's japanese style fried rice better but not by that much. ryowa definitely fulfills my aji ichi cravings while i find myself away from home.

happy birthday america

nothing says happy birthday america like food and wine. since flying apparatus was in town i joined him, foodicles and our friend abby for a day out in napa.

bistro jeanty

jeanty started us off with a basket of warm bread. it had the perfect balance between soft and crunchy.

creme de tomate en croute- i could swim in this all day. it was a delicious, creamy tomato soup w/ a flaky, buttery puff pastry that wasn't too heavy

saumon fume au bistro- a carpaccio style salmon. it was very refreshing for such a warm summer day.

moules au vin rogue- these mussels were amazing. i wish i ordered them. i could eat these for days.

next stop- bouchon bakery

i'd have to say the chocolate chip cookie was pretty normal. their signature bouchon, however, was very good. i wish i bought more!

after we eating we went to two wineries for some tasting. our first stop was peju

we were lucky enough to have been with a member. the staff was very attentive at informative. i don't consider myself a wine connoisseur, but i thought the wine here was very good. i would definitely bring people here in the future.

the 2nd winery we went to was silverado. very scenic views. it's the kind of place i would like to wake up in every morning. the wine here was also very good.

overall, it was a great day of food, wine and friends. can't ask for much more.

san diego adventures

a few of my girlfriends and i spent a week in san diego to celebrate closetcouture's 25th bday. a vacation always means lost of eating.

1st night- la puerta for a late night meal. this was my first carne asada fries experience and they were pretty darn good. the border tacos with freshly made guacamole were very good too.


day 2- a trip to san diego would not be complete without a trip to islander grill, a restaurant that serves chamorro (guam) food. being the only one who knew what to order, i ordered for everyone. the meal was both satisfying and filling.

red rice, short ribs, cabbage salad, chicken kelaguen, empanada

after a relaxing day at pacific beach, we went to eat at pacific beach alehouse. they brew their beers in house. their beers were good but i was surprised at how good their food was. the star of all the food was definitely the lobster mac and cheese.

front to back- pacific sunset ipa, whitewash wheat

calamari

lobster mac n' cheese

spinach artichoke dip

mile high ice cream pie

day 3- started with lunch at sand bar sports grill in mission beach. to continue my taco kick i ordered the carne asada and mahi mahi tacos. for the price these were pretty good. i've had better but these were quality for a sports bar.


after another day at the beach (mission beach this time), we went back to our new hotel, the porto vista hotel. we decided to have a drink at the hotel restaurant, the glass door, before going out. i'm glad we made a trip there because our bartender made the most amazing drink. i have a great appreciation for cocktails made with fresh ingredients. she made us a dragon berry mojito.

day 4- on our way back to the bay, foodicles and i stopped at stone brewing co in escondido. i recommend visiting here if you are ever in that area. they put a lot of work into the design of the restaurant and this extends to their food menu. you can tell they value the quality of their overall product and image.

13th anniversary ale

spud buds

bbq duck tacos