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Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Evan Angelo's Gelateria and Coffee Bar

20141230:
Coming here for the first time, I had to try several samples (though I guess I'd try several samples regardless).

Caramel Popcorn (left) and Cookie Dough (right).

The strawberry sorbetto was amazing. The rum raisin was just okay. The caramel popcorn was delicious. The Italian cookie was only alright.

The lemon basil tastes great, I love when the basil flavor hits. The Ferrero Rocher is not bad. Finally, the sweetness of the cookie dough crept up on me.


After all the samples, I decided to choose cookie dough and caramel popcorn. 3:50PM PT

The cookie dough chunks were good, but overall the flavor was not as special nor as sweet as the caramel popcorn. 5:55PM PT



Evan Angelo's Gelateria and Coffee Bar

Relevant Links:
Evan Angelo's Gelateria and Coffee Bar
Evan Angelo's Gelateria and Coffee Bar - Carson, CA (Yelp.com)

Friday, December 26, 2014

Sugar Shack Cafe

20141226:
Today I came to Sugar Shack for the first time. After looking through some reviews on Yelp.com, I decided to get a Main Street Omelette with hash browns, raisin toast, and Monterey Jack cheese.

Of the various ingredients, the avocado is probably best part.


Otherwise, eating the omelette plain was an underwhelming experience. Adding Tabasco sauce makes it good, and adding ketchup makes it even better.

Unfortunately, I didn't really like the omelette, and this could have been for a number of reasons. One, it could be because I've consciously been eating less cheese. Two, it could be because there was just too much cheese. And three, it could be because a different cheese would have tasted better. 1:49PM PT


Menu Description:
MAIN STREET OMELETTE* Avocado, mushrooms, onions, sprouts & cheese. 9.50

In any case, my friend Tiffany didn't eat all of her eggs Benedict and so I volunteered to finish it. It was delicious.


Menu Description:
EGGS BENEDICT Served w/ hash browns.** Whole 8.75 Half 7.25

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that everybody ordered a Surf (coffee & hot chocolate) except for me.

*Every omelette has the following: '3 EGG OMELETTES; Includes Hash Browns & Toast: Substitute Fruit for Hash Browns 1.25; White, Wheat, Rye, Sourdough, Raisin, or English Muffin; Served with American Cheese, Cheddar, Swiss, or Jack'


**The following substitution is available: 'Substitute Fruit for Hash Browns 1.25'

Sugar Shack Cafe

Relevant Links:
Sugar Shack Cafe
Sugar Shack Cafe - Huntington Beach, CA (Yelp.com)

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Star BBQ

Beef brisket, pork belly, and marinated beef rib.

The buffet costs about twenty-six dollars per person.

Beef brisket.


20141220:
The brisket was first to finish. It's thin, but tasty. The pork belly (looks like meat with fat) tastes great with the radish wrap! The combination has a perfect taste and texture. The marinated beef rib is tasty too.

Left to right: intestine, spicy chicken, beef tongue, and (more) beef brisket.

I had the tongue first and like the texture. The spicy chicken is spicy and tasty, but was a little burnt in some places.

Intestine

The intestine tastes both fatty and chewy.

Left to right: bulgogi, pepper pork collar butt, bottom sirloin triangle
Bottom sirloin triangle (top), butt (bottom left), and bulgogi (bottom right).

The bottom sirloin triangle is pretty juicy. Unfortunately, there's not much flavor. 9:17PM PT

(probably) butt

We ordered duplicates, but I stopped writing it down and taking pictures.

(probably) bottom sirloin triangle.

The dessert is a bit icy, but its tart flavor makes its tasty. I guess its more like lemonade-flavored Italian ice. 10:00PM PT



Star BBQ

Relevant Links:
Star BBQ
Byul Daepo - Star BBQ - Garden Grove, CA (Yelp.com)

Monday, December 15, 2014

The Sandwich Spot

20141215:
Today I came to The Sandwich Spot for the first time and ordered The Billy Parlay with no cheese, secret sauce, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onion & peppers.

One thing is clear, this place is crowded (with university students) at 12:40PM.


In any case, the sandwich was good. It was also well-sized: I only ate half before feeling close to full.* 1:09PM

*To be fair, I have also been eating less in every meal. I should also note that I ate the other half for dinner.

Menu Description:
The Billy Parlay $7.99 Turkey, Ham, Roast Beef & choice of cheese

The Sandwich Spot

Relevant Links:
The Sandwich Spot Website
The Sandwich Spot - Downtown Berkeley - Berkeley, CA (Yelp.com)

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Mel's Drive-In

20141214:
My friend and I decided to eat here after watching Interstellar (2014).

I ordered a medium rare mushroom burger with sweet potatoe fries.


For the most part, I thought the burger tasted like your standard, run-of-the-mill burger, and I hardly even noticed the mushrooms.

Unfortunately, the average tasting burger was accompanied by below average tasting sweet potato fries.

Fortunately, I had a taste of Michael's reuben and thought it was delicious. 6:22PM PT

Overall, Mel's Drive-In was an okay experience. 7:08PM PT

[20141225 Edit]

Mel's Drive-In*
*Technically the name doesn't have an apostrophe, but even the website itself occasionally throws in the apostrophe (see the Wikipedia article)


Relevant Links:
Mel's Drive-In Website
Mel's Drive-In - Financial District - San Francisco, CA (Yelp.com)
Mel's Drive-In (Wikipedia.org)

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

T. C. Garden

20141210:
Today, my friend and I venture off to Hearst and Euclid, North of the UC Berkeley campus, where an area known as Hearst Food Court resides. Among the possible restaurants in the area, we eventually decide to eat at T. C. Garden, a Chinese restaurant that is known for their cheap prices.

While I don't remember what I ordered, I did note that the beef tasted good.

I also wished it had come with a boiled egg, because eating it reminded me of Vietnamese dish called thit heo kho trung (braised pork with eggs). 2:45PM PT


[20150117]

T. C. Garden


Relevant Links:
T C Garden Restaurant - Berkeley, CA (Yelp.com)

Monday, December 8, 2014

Ohana Hawaiian BBQ

20141208:
Today I got BBQ chicken and some musubi.

Spam Musubi (20141208)

All these chicken slices have some skin on them and have an almost perfect amount of fat, possibly edging on too much.

This Spam musubi tastes much better than the spam musubi I had from Lee's Deli (Berkeley). 9:11PM PT



BBQ Short Ribs (20141209)

20141209:
I went back today and got the BBQ short ribs. Unfortunately, they were overly salty and possibly overcooked, because the non-muscle linings on the inside and edges were too hard (I'm not sure if that's fat, tendon, or what). Further indication of overcooking is a charred flavor on the bones. 7:09PM PT



BBQ Pork (20150106)

20150106:
BBQ Pork. Spam Musubi.

On the drive home, the smell of the Spam musubi filled my car and smelt so good. The smell of the BBQ pork filled my room when I opened the container. In any case, the BBQ pork was tasty, though there was an insufficient amount of rice. 6:41PM PT



Spam burger (20150131)

20150131:
Today I ordered a Spam burger and the Hawaiian BBQ Mix. I had the Spam burger first and it was pretty good. I did, however, dislike the sunny side up egg whites. On the other hand, the raw onion wasn't excessively strong and contributed a nice flavor.

Hawaiian BBQ Mix (20150131)

Taking a while to get home, the fries got a bit cold and regardless they were a bit oily.

As a note of interest, the last time I had fries was at Lee's Deli in Berkeley, another Hawaiian restaurant. 8:10PM PT

[20150219 Edit]


Fried Island Fish (left), Fried Shrimp (adjacent), BBQ Chicken (right) (20150205)

20150205:
Ohana Seafood Combo: Fried Shrimp, Island Fish, and BBQ Chicken (BBQ Item). Spam Musubi.

The seaweed wrap on the musubi was damp and didn't tear easily. The fried shrimp in the seafood combo was fried to the point that it was extra crisp and I couldn't taste any shrimp. Fortunately, the fish tasted delicious. 6:43PM PT



Spam Musubi (top), Chicken Musubi (bottom) (20150315)

20150316:
Yesterday (20150315) I had the grilled chicken musubi for the first time. I love the grilled chicken here at Ohana. The chicken musubi serves as a great snack.

Today (20150316) I got the fried island fish. While I was thinking about getting the seafood combo, I remembered the disappointing shrimp from before (20150205).



Fried Island Fish (20150409)

20150409:
On 20150316 I have a note for fried island fish, but no picture. Today I have a picture of fried island fish, but no note. Put two and two together and what do you get? Four! Voila!

[20150504]


Visually you can kind of tell the Spam is cut thinner.
But it's even more clear when you bite into it. (20150630)

20150630:
Today I ordered the exact same thing I got on 20150205 (Ohana Seafood Combo w/ BBQ Chicken and a Spam Musubi).

While the Spam musubi has been good in the past, today the slices were about half as thick and it was upsetting. 8:32PM PT

[20150812]


Beef Saiman (20150822)

20150822:
Today I ordered beef saiman for the first time. As far as I could tell, it was ramen with a bitter vegetable, beef, and very hot (high temperature) broth.

Impatient and full (I also ordered a rice dish), I closed the container and ate it later when it was cold. Yum, the noodles and vegetables soaked up all the sodium.

Beef Saiman (20150822)


Ohana Hawaiian BBQ

BBQ Chicken (20141208)

Relevant Links:
Ohana Hawaiian BBQ Website
Ohana Hawaiian BBQ - Pinole, CA (Yelp.com)

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Taiwan Restaurant

20141218:
Today was the first time I came here and I didn't like the feel of the place.

Some sort of appetizer soup.

In any case, I ordered the Petals of Pork Soup. It has a strange smell, but its tasty and occasionally there's this nice sour taste. The consistency of the soup reminded me of thick shark fin soup. 1:05PM PT


[20141210 Edit]

Taiwan Restaurant

Petals of Pork Soup

Relevant Links:
Taiwan Restaurant Website
Taiwan Restaurant - Downtown Berkeley - Berkeley, CA (Yelp.com)

Monday, November 17, 2014

Kirala 2

20141117:
Today my friend and I walked a distance in hopes to go to Cheese Board Pizza, but it was closed and so we looked around and decided to go to Kirala.

Tempura

Looking at the options, I decided to get the Shrimp Tempura Noodle Soup. Given the choice between udon and soba, I chose to get the udon.

Overall, I thought the soup was just okay. In particular, I felt as if I could get quality like this anywhere. In addition, the tempura was also ordinary. Then again, I rarely eat udon noodle soup and perhaps that disqualifies me from overgeneralizing.

(Udon) Noodle Soup

Having paid with one card, we had spent enough to get any item with a sticker. Among the possible items, we decided to get the chicken katsu bento box. While we warmed it up a bit in the microwave, we could have probably let it go for another minute or two, because some of it was still icy. 1:48PM PT

[20141208]

Kirala 2

(Discounted) Chicken Katsu Bento Box

Relevant Links:
Kirala Website
Kirala 2 Japanese Cuisine - Gourmet Ghetto - Berkeley, CA (Yelp.com)

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Thai Noodle

20141113:
Today I came for the first time and ordered the pad see ew with pork. The dish had a great smell as it was brought to the table and it also had a great taste. 2:54PM PT

Menu Description:
Pad See Ew Pan-fried rice noodles with broccoli, egg, black soy sauce and choice of chicken, beef or pork.

[20141207 Edit]

Thai Noodle


Relevant Links:
Thai Noodle - Downtown Berkeley - Berkeley, CA (Yelp.com)

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Huong Tra Vietnamese Restaurant & Deli

20141108:
Today I came here for the first time and ordered a bowl of pho dac biet. After prepping, the temperature of the broth was drinkable without blowing. While generally most people would prefer that it come out warmer, I suppose it was convenient.


In any case, I thought the broth was good and not salty. Maybe, however, I shouldn't have added the lime today, because the broth already had a good balance of flavors.

The mixed meats (flank, tendon, etc.) were also good, but the main beef slices weren't as good as some other pho places. I also thought the beef balls were a bit under average as well.


Overall, the bowl was good and came in a good portion. In particular, I finished the entire bowl, including the broth, and I just reached the point of feeling full. 4:27PM PT

Huong Tra Vietnamese Restaurant & Deli


Relevant Links:
Huong Tra Vietnamese Restaurant & Deli Website
Huong Tra - Richmond, CA (Yelp.com)

Friday, November 7, 2014

Sliver Pizzeria

20141107:
This is my first time at Sliver Pizzeria. To drink I had a Bison Organic Honey Basil.

The pizza here was good. It was simple (cheese and corn), but good. 8:01PM PT

(20141118)


20141118:
Today I came and had a Drake's 1500. As for the pizza, I'm pretty sure I can occasionally taste the butter (delicious). Damien points out the use of potato. While it definitely contributed to the texture, I didn't notice it until Damien pointed it out - I like it! This is a good, simple slice of pizza. 5:44PM PT

20150126:
To drink I had a Bison Organic Honey Basil. Apparently that's what I got the first time I came here.

(20150126)

The slice today looks like a tomato pizza. 6:42PM PT

I like eating the slice with the sauce. However, the slice itself was a bit too cheesy. 7:04PM PT

Sliver Pizzeria

(20141107)

Relevant Links:
Sliver Pizzeria Website
Sliver Pizzeria - Downtown Berkeley - Berkeley, CA (Yelp.com)

Eureka!

20141107:
Wow, what makes the fries here so tasty? 6:09PM PT

Besides the fries, I also had a Bear Republic Racer 5.

Truffle Fries (20141205)

[20141204]

20141205:
Today was my second visit to Eureka! and once again I had some of these delicious fries.

[20150118]

20150325:
Looking for a snack to eat, I order a set of fish tacos, though I eat one and share the other with my friend. While I didn't take any notes on it, I recall finding it agreeable, though not worth the price.

Fish Tacos (20150325)

To drink I had the Hangar 24 Barrel Roll No. 3 and the Hangar 24 Betty IPA.

20150401:
Today I came here with my friend and for the first time I actually ordered something substantial. In order to get more variety, we decided to order two burgers and take half of each burger. After some thought, we got the Napa Burger and the Bone Marrow Burger, both medium rare.

Instead of the signature handcut fries, we upgraded to sweet potato fries and truffle fries (they give you truffle sauce on the side). 8:26PM PT

Bone Marrow Burger (20150401)

Menu Description:
Bone Marrow Burger (Limited Availability Per Day) bone marrow porcini butter / charboiled onion / mustard aioli / oven-roasted tomato / signature handcut fries 16.5

I started with the bone marrow burger and found it juicy. In particular, the bone marrow porcini butter basically tasted like they just put truffle sauce in the burger. As such, I enjoyed the burger, but its not as special as I had hoped it would be.

Napa Burger / Truffle Sauce / Fries (20150401)

Menu Description:
Napa Burger roasted Roma tomato / pesto aioli / Havarti / pancetta / arugula / signature handcut fries 11.5

Getting to the Napa burger, I found the patty had a completely different taste from that of the bone marrow burger. I liked the pesto aioli and other sauces in the Napa burger.

Overall, both the bone marrow burger and Napa burger had good flavors to offer, but their relative costs make the Napa burger a better deal. 8:41PM PT

Sweet Potato Fries (20150401)

Since nothing on the dessert menu looked that great, we decided to head on over to a nearby The Cheesecake Factory for some cheesecake.

[20150507]

20150421:
Today I had a chicken taco with lime (one for me, one for my friend). It was tasty, but somehow there was a bit too much meat at the end. While I love meat, this made it a bit dry tasting.

Having split an order of chicken tacos, we decided to get the bruschetta. While the bruschetta tasted good, it had cost five dollars for just five bite-sized pieces of bread with vinegar and diced tomatoes.

Bruschetta (20150421)

[20150506]

20150424:
Today I thought about getting the jalapeno egg burger, but then I started hearing about the Fresno fig burger. Since I've had an egg burger at other restaurants (e.g., The Hangover Burger at Golden West Cafe), I ultimately got the Fresno fig burger (medium rare) with sweet potato fries.

Overall, I'm glad I got the fig burger. The fig marmalade (as expected) has the consistency of a jam and tastes good together with the patty, cheese, and bacon.

Menu Description:
Fresno Fig Burger fig marmalade / melted goat cheese / bacon / tomato / red onion / arugula / spicy porter mustard / signature handcut fries 12

Fresno Fig Burger (20150424)

Today the sweet potato fries had a lot of honey poured on them. After finishing them, I looked down into the container and saw a little pool of honey.

[20150507]

20150722:
Today my friends and I planned on coming to Eureka! for the Steal the Glass special. Unfortunately, we came several hours after the start of the special and missed it. I had no idea the glasses would run out so quickly! I was, however, not disappointed.

In any case, I decided to order a Pearl Street Blues Burger, medium rare, and upgraded the fries to sweet potato fries - strictly for sharing. 9:32PM PT

Pearl Street Blues Burger... without the Blues :(  (20150722)

Menu Description:
Pearl Street Blues Burger melted blue cheese / herb sautéed wild mushrooms / grilled onions / chipotle ketchup / signature handcut fries 11.5

As for drinks, since the 'Steal the Glass' special was out of the question, I decided to order a beer flight: The Bruery Cuivre (7th Anniversary), Lagunitas CitruSinensis, Lagunitas Equinox, and Victory Sour Monkey.

Unfortunately, the waiter - after taking my order - came back and said the restaurant didn't allow beers above a certain ABV to be part of the beer flight. Consequently, I chose Bottle Logic Goldzilla in place of The Bruery Cuivre.

Osso Buco Riblets (20150722)

I would, however, note that the rule wasn't written on the menu and I was also disappointed there was no option to add such a beer for some additional cost.

For an appetizer, my friends and I split an order Osso Buco Riblets; they were amazing.

Menu Description:
Osso Buco Riblets sherry braised pork / firecracker aioli 9.5

Chicken Taco (20150421)

When the burgers arrived, I realized the kitchen forgot to put blue cheese in my Pearl Street Blues Burger. However, it soon became apparent that my friend requested for no cheese on his burger, but received, that is, either the waiter or cook messed up the orders.

Beer Flight:
Bottle Logic Goldzilla
Lagunitas Equinox
Lagunitas CitruSinensis Pale Ale
Victory Sour Monkey

Beer Flight

[20150826]

20171121:
Today I ordered the Kimchi Burger and it was awesome. I liked the kimchi. I'm not sure if the patty was specialy, but I liked the overall taste of the burger.

Menu Description:
Short Rib Kimchi Burger pork rib angus patty / cheddar / kimchi / garlic aioli

The fries were also deliciously herbed.

Short Rib Kimchi Burger (20171121)

The beer I got, One Way Or Another, went well with the burger.

[20171205 Edit]

Eureka!

Relevant Links:
Eureka Restaurants Website
Eureka! - Downtown Berkeley - Berkeley, CA (Yelp.com)
Eureka! - Huntington Beach, CA (Yelp.com)

Cross Sections of the Napa Burger (left) and Bone Marrow Burger (right) (20150401)