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Pad See Iew (#45): Thai rice noodles, carrots, broccoli, egg, an exceptional sweet black bean sauce, pork.
My ode to San Pablo Avenue continues this week with a quick review of Sa Wad Dee Thai Restaurant in Richmond, which for me is the East Bay’s best option for Thai cuisine. That said, I’m always a bit hesitant to crown any place king. I’ll certainly admit, there may be another local restaurant that offers more authentic Thai fare, but Sa Wad Dee definitely earns the benefit of the doubt. During my most recent visit, an overcast day prompted an [... read more ...]
Now that summer has finally arrived, this late sweltering heat makes me want to sip on some iced tea and listen to the Quiet Storm. What I mean is, I’ve been fostering very little motivation this week, but I do have some pictures from my excursion to the East Bay on Tuesday.
The frankfurter with chili @ Top Dog, Berkeley. Sure, a generous mound of shredded yellow cheese might add some visual flair, but I also have to admire the red-monochrome guise of a stripped-down, no-nonsense chili dog. And here it is. Cash only, player.
The #11: Sometimes hot really means hot.
So many Asian restaurants seem to be closed on Mondays, and I always seem to fall into this trap again and again. Today, I had driven down to Berkeley on another ramen mission, this time to Norikonoko on Telegraph, which is catty-corner from one of Berkeley’s best used book shops, Shakespeare & Company Books. I found a killer parking spot just off of the main drag, fed the meter full of coinage, and soon found out that Norikonoko was closed. Fortunately, Berkeley offers a target-rich environment when it comes to Asian [... read more ...]
Shoyu ramen with pork, spinach, and bamboo shoots.
Living in the Napa Valley, I’ve long been searching for a decent bowl of ramen that doesn’t require a bridge toll. Unfortunately, there’s no realistic solution to this problem, so far as I can tell. For what it’s worth, I can at least find the Vietnamese counterpart to ramen at Pho #1 in Vallejo, which I also recommend wholeheartedly. But despite their superficial similarities, pho is not ramen, and the latter dish still requires a $5 trek across the Carquinez Bridge, if not the Golden Gate. I mention this fact [... read more ...]
Crispy Shrimp with Ginger and Onions.
As I’ve been dining out these last few weeks, I’ve been making a concerted effort to broaden my horizons, although my approach itself has been somewhat passive: Basically, I’ve simply committed to ask my servers about their own favorite dishes, and then agree (no questions asked) with whatever recommendation is proffered. It may not seem revolutionary, but it’s actually a much different approach than my typical routine, where I might become fixated on, say, chicken and waffles, and then attempt to sample every option available in the Bay Area. Since beginning this [... read more ...]
Few streets in the Bay Area can match the quaint charm of Albany’s Solano Avenue, the heart of which occupies about two dozen blocks between San Pablo Avenue to the west and The Alameda (an odd street name, for sure) to the east. To its credit, this crosswalk-laden stretch of Solano Avenue features very few franchises or chain stores, yet it does boast plenty of neighborhood restaurants and shops, perhaps none more noteworthy than China Village. Most of the time, I’ll include a visit to China Village whenever I’m catching a flick at the Albany Twin (or perhaps at [... read more ...]
As I’ve mentioned here before, my goal in life is to only eat well, whether that means cooking at home or dining out. With that basic principle in mind, I definitely try to document everything delicious along the way, although sometimes certain meals get lost in the shuffle. And sometimes I may repeat myself, especially when I have certain favorites that I’ll revisit when I have the chance. I’ve actually mentioned all three of these lunches in previous posts, but never presented a photo alongside the article (I only upgraded my camera last May). Eventually, I’ll insert these photos [... read more ...]
In New Orleans, po-boys are very serious business. And while I was cooking professionally in the Crescent City a few years ago, I had the envious opportunity of sampling sandwiches from all of the city’s most legendary spots, from Mandina’s down on Canal Street to Gene’s over on Elysian Fields. Not only did I taste them all, but I revisited these restaurants several times over, especially as out-of-town guests would stop through to visit. For as many sandwiches as I consumed, the experience of eating a bonafide New Orleans po-boy never wore thin. Quite the opposite — I still [... read more ...]
Oakland Booty: The apple cider syrup can almost make you forget about maple.
The Brown Sugar Kitchen is a great little breakfast-lunch spot located in West Oakland, a vibrant little oasis flanked by imposing industrial buildings on every side. The restaurant is hardly a secret these days, and it seems to be flirting with “destination” status — a place that bustles with regular neighborhood-type business, despite being so far removed from any actual neighborhoods. Every time I’m there, I tend to wonder where most of the patrons come from, although by the looks of them, I’m pretty sure [... read more ...]
Whole Lotta Beige: The Demon Lover (also known as fried chicken with a waffle). Shoestring onions are pictured in the BG.
Given my last post, I suppose that a fried chicken theme is emerging here. It’s what I’m into at the moment. That said, I decided to head to Berkeley to catch a movie and to see about the oddly-named “Demon Lover” at 900 Grayson. I’m really not too sure about the name of this particular dish, although I do recall a movie named “My Demon Lover” from 1987. The film starred Scott Valentine, perhaps better known as [... read more ...]
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