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