THE WEDDING, non-professional

*** UPDATE ***
In case you weren't sure... Yes, I DID make all of these! I took off work the week preceding the wedding, and basically spent 24/7 in the kitchen. I didn't take any pre-wedding pictures because I was too consumed and stressed out with getting the food out, but our dining room table housed the 200 tart shells after they were baked, half of the living room had about 400 cupcakes scattered all over the floor... and the rest was kept in the fridge and assembled the morning of.

Thanks to people who helped during the week, and everyone who helped the day of! Stressful, but I'm glad I did it. There were about 900 items total, and everything was made from scratch (except for the dollops of whipped cream on the mousse. Making that would be too unstable). Phew! I'm so glad it's over.

Here are pictures of my sister's wedding dessert table. I'm sure the professional pictures will look really good, but I have to wait awhile for them. In the mean time, these are pictures courtesy of Jon (modern Abe Lincoln).

If you've been following my blog, you'll notice that I've posted about almost every one of these desserts before... that's because I was practicing/experimenting with the menu!

L: view of the table
R: Valrhona truffles - Grand Marnier rolled in chopped hazelnuts, Coffee Liquer rolled in cocoa powder, cinnamon & cardamom coated in chopped pistachios (not pictured)


L: Lavender cupcakes with lemon frosting & garnished with candied lemon zest "confetti", Mascarpone cheesecake with pomegranate champagne mirror glaze & garnished with pomegranate seeds
R: Coconut tapioca with red & yellow watermelon, drizzled with basil lime syrup


L: Valrhona chocolate mousse
R: Fruit tartlets with vanilla pastry cream (blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, baby kiwi, and pomegranate seeds), Lemon Cream tartlets garnished with candied nasturtium petals



One of everything for the "Midnight Snack" box
(not mentioned above: Red Velvet Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting)

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Macarons Part Une

I had a TON of leftover egg whites because I needed a lot of yolks for the wedding food. I didn't want them to go to waste... and despite vowing not to make anything at home for a few weeks, I gave in and decided to make French macarons (not to be mistaken with the coconut macaroons of America)! I had never made them before, nor had I ever even tasted one... so I had to do my research.

According to the lovely internet, there seems to be a lot of people who spend their entire lives trying to perfect the macaron. I extensively read forums on this fragile little cookie, and went through a variety of recipes until I decided to go with Pierre Herme, because he's, well, Pierre Herme! My pastry chef at the restaurant made a sample batter to help me know what to look for - the consistency called "macarone," which basically means... looks like macaron batter... which obviously isn't the most helpful.

They turned out really well, although I think I made the batter a little TOO "macarone" because they came out pretty flat. The picture is of the cookies in a bag ready to show my chef. I was too lazy to take them out and make them look nice =P I will make some more tonight with some tweaks, and maybe make a filling for them to be sandwiched (that's how they're usually served).

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Modern Tea

602 Hayes St. (& Laguna)
(415) 626-5406

Tea Salon/Cafe in Hayes Valley

In place of my sister's bachelorette party, I planned a Spa Day for the day before the wedding. To go with the theme, I arranged to have lunch at Modern Tea (i.e. tea = relaxing). I've walked by this place many a time and have always wondered what it's like.

I must say that it's beautiful on a nice day since they have large windows and the light just pours in. The service is also great - very warm and friendly... the type of staff that reminds me of the comfortable chillness of Berkeley restaurants.

They have quite an extensive tea menu, but they're primarily hot teas. They only had about 5 chilled tea drinks, which was disappointing since it was a pretty hot day. I went ahead and got the iced soy chai which I sweetened to my liking with simple syrup. The two hot teas that my sisters tried were eh... I don't really have a palate for teas, so I can't really go into much detail. I don't remember what they were, either =T But they came in their own individual cute mini teapots!

The food is good here - I love heirloom tomatoes and got a sandwich with just those and cucumbers = light and yummy. My little sister got a chicken meatloaf sandwich (it was strange tasting meatloaf made out of chicken), and a friend got a savory bread pudding = yummmmy. I wish I had gotten that, but I didn't feel like getting anything too heavy.

I would definitely come back and try more of their teas and hopefully become more educated. They are also supposed to have good desserts, but we didn't have time to try them. Next time!

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freedooooommmmmmmm

I've been on hiatus from the interweb because, well, my sister just got married! Normal maid of honor duties... but moreover, I made her dessert table, enough for 220+ guests! Despite taking the entire week off of work, I couldn't have pulled it off without the help of my friends. It turned out beautifully, and I am definitely lucky to have gotten the opportunity to do this regardless of how stressful it was.

Pictures to come, but here's one of my sister's dog eating her food. =)

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Cupcakes Must Die

I'm not completely against cupcakes. I mean, I make them once in awhile, mostly because I know people like them. However, it's random that a fashion blog would express my exact sentiments for the last few years.

It amazes me how people can pay so much money for a tiny little cake, even for uninspired flavors. I wonder if they'll ever go out of fashion....

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Luka's

2221 Broadway St. (& West Grand)
(510) 451-4677

"Taproom" in Oakland (like real Oakland, not Berkeley-Oakland)

So this place is trying to be a neighborhood "brasserie," according to their website... which to me means upscale bar food. That's pretty much what it is, although Mike compared it to A Cote (does not even come CLOSE though). So the experience didn't start off very well, since despite the seemingly spacious area and lack of people there, we had to wait almost 20 minutes for a table when the host told us 10. He seemed nice, but while we were waiting at the bar, the bartender wasn't the most warm or friendly. Maybe it's just me, but it seemed like there was a trend with the female staff (i.e. bartender, waitresses) being cougar-ish and having plenty of attitude. Or maybe I'm just not used to the real Oakland (i.e. not right next to Berkeley, not Jack London's Square). Either way, I was kind of put off by the people there.

However, the food did come through. I'm surprised I've never heard of this place, but it was basically upscale bar food, which reminds me of that Top Chef episode. We had mussels in a cheesy chorizo-corn sauce - I've never seen mussels with that kind of sauce, but it was good. I was amazed by how plump the meat was that I took a very bad camera phone picture (left). We also had some Belgian cut fries with different dipping sauces (paprika ketchup, some kind of lime-herb aioli, and a chipotle aioli) which were ok. Another starter we shared was the seared gnocchi, which came with chanterelles and other butter-laden goodness. I thought this was the best dish of the evening, but I'm also a sucker for anything with chanterelles.

Part of the reason why we went was because I love mac n' cheese, and they have a pretty good one. A crunchy/breadcrumby top is always important to me, and Mike of course splurged and added the $2 bacon. With all that cheeseyness, bacon/fatty meat, butter, and beer (oh yeah, they have a pretty extensive beer/Belgian ale menu), I was about to pass out. But being the gluttons we are, we ordered dessert - an amaretto sabayon that came with some plums and sucky peaches. I can't really tell if they have a real pastry chef or not, because sabayon is something that takes a lot of effort to make (so much whisking!!), whereas the rest of the dessert menu was eh.

Overall, I thought this place had very satisfying food. They did have lighter dishes on the menu, but they were also a little more on the boring side. Although I was impressed with the food despite our mediocre service, I have to say that... I liked it because you cannot go wrong with bacon and cheese, you know what I mean? How can you make something with ingredients like that, and not have it taste good? I definitely enjoyed my meal, but aside from the gnocchi, everything was just overpriced bar food. Oh yeah, they have $1 oysters on Mondays. Sounds a bit sketch, but maybe they have high turnover and they aren't too bad?

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Cheeseboard

1512 Shattuck Ave (& Vine)
(510) 549-3055

Pizza/Cheese in Berkeley

Cheeseboard is one of the true Berkeley staples (the others being Zachary's, Rick & Ann's, Gregoire, etc). If you're wondering, I go to Berkeley maybe like once a month. I'm just nostalgic like that (this time was for Arcade Fire though*). There's always a long-ass line, but it moves quickly since you don't really have to put much thought into ordering (one type of pizza, so you just decide how many slices/whole/half you want). The space is pretty cramped, and is even more so when they have live jazz, but it's a real treat while you're waiting. If you want to eat there, however, you can easily nab a seat if there are any open tables outside, or cop a squat on the grass in the Shattuck median - just don't get run over.

Some people don't like Cheeseboard's pizza because they don't use sauce (i.e. tomato). But you see, that's what's so great about it! It's all about the fresh ingredients of the day, which includes of course, the CHEESE. An example of a typical thin crust pizza of the day would be... 3 cheeses + onions + herbs (+ olive oil). Simple, but delicious. The pizza shop is just an addition to its next door cheese shop (which also sells a lot of drool-worthy pastries...

2:47 PM Michael: i just had the shattuck blue roll from cheeseboard

its a pastry with blue cheese, candied pecans and cream cheese

i think it might be one of the best things ive eaten!)

The location is also great - prime Berkeley foodie area, close to the "gourmet ghetto" (I don't know the real name for this food court... Epicurious I think?), Gregoire, Chez Panisse, etc.

* I've tried to do the whole matching food to music thing, but I just don't have that talent. Arcade Fire, to me, is like a cheese souffle or quiche because their music is so grand and just fills the air (hence, souffle)... whereas other people might think cheese+meat, heavy Eastern European/meat+potatoes, or Guerilla Cafe (??? I love that place, but that just doesn't make sense, sorry haha). So yeah, I'm just not going to try.

** Edit: Stopped by for lunch over the weekend and they've remodeled! I haven't decided how I feel about it yet. It's definitely a glossier and more spacious shop, but I feel like some of its original charm is gone now. Oh well, still good pizza! They had an heirloom tomato + asiago pizza. I had 3.5 slices droool (pictured above).

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A Cote

5478 College Ave (& Taft)
(510) 655-6469

Californian/Mediterranean small plates in Oakland

Technically it's Oakland, but I still think of the Rockridge area as part of Berkeley. Regardless, this is an incredible restaurant. I don't know anyone who's dined here and left unsatisfied. Maybe I'm feeling generous, and have just been on reliving-Berkeley-glory-days overload, but I just couldn't think of anything bad enough about A Cote to give it less than 5 stars. The one thing is the hostess. She's kind of spacey - on a recent visit here, my friend and I walked in without a reservation, and after waiting a good 20 minutes, the hostess asked us if we were quiet people, or planning to cause a ruckus. I don't see the relevance in that at all, because the table she took us to was in the back in their outdoor patio area, surrounded by other tables talking loudly... whatever.

Even on a Monday night there was a crowded wait, so it would probably be good to make reservations for a more popular day of the week. The staff is great - our waitress was totally chill and friendly. They have a fairly extensive drink list (separate menus for Belgian ales and rose flights), and we decided to try some Belgian ales on tap. I don't remember what they were called, but one was blonde but pretty thick (Mike really liked that one), and the other was darker and Guinness-like, which I liked, except for the slightly metallic aftertaste. I can't imagine what the $20 bottled beer tastes like.

So this place is small plates style, and the website claims it's Mediterranean cuisine... yet it's just so Californian that I don't really see a strong Med influence. Regardless, the food is amazing.
- "tango salad" w/ hazelnuts, ricotta shavings, pluots (plum-apricot hybrid): the ricotta was sparse but salty enough to contrast the sweetness of the fruit (seasonal is always the best)
- mushroom+leek tart: basically a quiche, this was amazing. I LOVE quiche, and this was not too eggy or cheesy = perfect
- pancetta-wrapped quail w/ porcini bread pudding: the quail was ok (moist, tasted like quail...), but the bread pudding was laden with mushroom and buttery goodness. I had never really had a savory bread pudding before, but I like!
- grilled pork chop w/corn, fava beans, and this cherry sauce: juicy (Mike was in love). Alice would've liked the corn.

We were going to do a cheese course, but by this time, we were both incredibly full. However, being the dessert snob I am, I had to at least try one. I recently took a pastry class on seasonal fruit desserts, and it was coincidental that we went over clafoutis and noyau, which were both on the menu. I'm whatever about clafoutis because it's so easy to make, but noyau gelato? How often do you see that? So we got a "warm peach pie" that had that as an accompaniment, and it definitely hit the spot. The gelato was definitely spot-on for the flavor - basically tastes like almond extract (different from almonds themselves). Simple, but good stuff.

*** Edit: I went here again over the weekend for my sister's birthday, and as a party of 6, we sampled practically the entire menu! Since this restaurant changes its menu seasonally (if not more often), the only familiar item was the fries (pommes frites) which my dad really enjoyed. Since we tried so many different things, I'll just highlight the good ones.

- duck sausage (Karen's fave)
- gazpacho verde (Lucy's fave)
- fig (both green and black mission varieties) & pancetta flatbread
- chanterelles with fingerling potatoes, leeks, and truffle oil * (my fave)
- pink apple galette with mascarpone filling: a tad dry (needed more sauce), but we all liked it
- mussells (dad's fave)

* Mike began his bitterness towards truffle oil after reading this times article on what it's actually made out of. I still like it! =P

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September = Summer!

Unlike the rest of the Bay Area (and the country), June-August isn't really summer in San Francisco. Our heat wave comes in September! What better way to kick off this lovely season than with a jam-packed Labor Day weekend?

Mrs. Foodie and the Feast has been on hiatus, partly because she has a bun in the oven! I made the food for her brunch baby shower, with a little help from some of the other ladies there.

L: Orange Oatmeal Pistachio Muffins, M: Deviled Eggs, R: Tea Sandwiches
(smoked salmon + cucumber + herbed cream cheese, garlic & artichoke hummus + olives + sundried tomatoes, chicken salad + apples + walnuts)
Not Pictured but very yummy: Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes! (some were stuffed with breadcrumbs)

L: Pate Sucree Fruit Tarts w/ Vanilla Pastry Cream (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, & white currants),
R: mini chocolate-vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting)

Other weekend activities included a wedding, time with the fam, and the Cal-Tennessee game. I'm blog-happy and made a new one! Another random aside, this song is my official summer anthem. Yay for summer!

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A Barter... Arrrrrr

So almonds are kind of essential in pastry (particularly for tart shells), and one of my coworkers grew up on a nut farm that produces for companies like Blue Diamond. He brought me a ton of almonds (which he pronounces a-mons), and in exchange, I had to make him blueberry muffins. He ate 6 in one day! I was going to bring more the following day but my roommates ate them. Not a bad exchange to an endless supply of amons and walnuts! Sweeeeet

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Brazil Cafe

2161 University Ave. (& Oxford)
(510) 845-8011

Brazilian Sandwich Shack in Berkeley

L: Taken from Yelp , R: Taken from my phone

In honor of Spare the Air Day, Stacy and I took a long lunch and trekked to Berkeley for free! It was hot and I was craving something outdoors... which to me means Brazil Cafe! This place is known for their Tri-Tip, which is smothered in this incredible cilantro garlic sauce. It's like heaven in the form of a sandwich. The tri-tip is definitely the winner, but their other sandwiches are pretty good too (Mike likes the chicken salad). They have student specials, too - for $7.99 you can get a tri-tip sandwich and mango smoothie. Yummmmyyyyyyyy.

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An Experiment with Mochiko & Pluots/Plums

So I've been wanting to replicate Citizen Cake's Ume Mochi Cake from a few years ago, but haven't been able to find any remotely similar recipes, save for a few for a traditional Hawaiian butter coconut mochi cake. The Demolition Desserts cookbook also isn't out until October, so no luck there.

Luckily I have an Asian mother, and she just happened to have two boxes of mochiko and a can of coconut milk lying around. I also helped my little sister move into Berkeley last weekend, and the super DC happened to have really sweet plums and pluots (they never had such good fruit when I went to school! Shafted!). I happen to use a very large purse, and the 14 plums/pluots I took (not stole - I could've theoretically eaten them all in one sitting...) fit nicely, albeit a bit heavily. So I was super ready to make my plum mochi without spending a dime! Except for some plum wine I got from J-town after my coworker suggested using it.

So I made 3 versions: the traditional butter-coconut that had an actual recipe, a cake based on that but instead of using coconut milk using pluot puree (the pluots were sweeter than the plums) + heavy cream + choya, and another using less puree and more cream & choya. The 2 plum versions are pictured above, but unfortunately one of my roommates really liked the coconut one and ate it all!

I also bought black sesame seeds and toasted/grinded them with some sugar and water to create a paste = YUMMY. I LOVE LOVE LOVE black sesame and kept eating it while I was making it. So good.

So I'm not sure how I feel about the plum mochi. I don't really like it! The version that used less puree was better, mostly because I don't really like the sweetness that the baked fruit brought (I think sweetness from fruit is different than the taste of sugar). It tasted almost artificial, despite the fact that it wasn't at all! I thought about reversing it and doing a black sesame mochi cake (as opposed to a mochi ball with black sesame filling) and a plum sauce, but that's so... typical...and not what I was going for (i.e. Citizen Cake). Hmm I don't know!

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mascarpone cheesecake with pomegranate champagne glaze

Yummy. Mascarpone is ridiculously expensive, but it makes cheesecake so much lighter (which I prefer). $5 for 8 oz?? Apparently you can make it pretty easily, which I may try....

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Liver in the East Bay, or Picnic at the Marina!

So Katherine and I had a bottle of Reisling and a can of foie gras we've been meaning to devour so we finally came around to doing so this weekend. I'm not completely certain of how Katherine prepared the liver since I was busy foraging Emeryville for toothpicks (see below) but I think she just pan fried it with a little salt and pepper and a few knobs of butter. Spread on crunchy Acme bread that was molested with garlic (couldn't help it, I think it's funny how foodies frequently relate food and eating to something sexual), it tasted buttery and creamy and... livery. It was good! We also took fresh figs and stuffed them with Castello blue cheese, wrapped them in prosciutto di Parma, stabbed them with a toothpick and pan fried them in olive oil. They were tasty, had the whole sweet and savory thing that I like... I don't think you can really offend any sane person by handing them something that's wrapped in bacon. I think Katherine liked them a little more than me... there's something about the simplicity and beauty of just good bread and fatty meat that made me prefer the first course... or maybe I'm just a caveman.

The company was nice, the food was good, and the sun was out. What more could you want?

*** Edit by Kathy: The foie was canned, which I bought in France about a year ago (it's supposed to last for 4 years). Mike is right - I just browned it in lots of butter (not that there isn't already enough fat... just for the flavor), and mashed it up with some salt and pepper. This picture isn't the best (Mike's camera phone because his normal camera was acting funny), but the foie is pictured spread on the bread since it looks kind of gross by itself (didn't have anything to garnish it). Yay for picnics on nice days! How cliche.

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red velvet cupcakes

One of my roommates thought the cream cheese frosting was too powerful, but I prefer it that way (and I just use less). I garnished with cocoa nibs, but she also suggested using something orange. I refuse to use sprinkles, and I don't think candied orange zest would compliment it flavor-wise (would it?). Any other suggestions?

These look perfect unfrosted. I should really invest in a pastry bag + tips!

Edit: I just wanted to add another picture of the inside to show the color.

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rosemary & olive oil cake

Took this from the Babbo cookbook, which you can find online here. I used supposedly great quality olive oil (I have no idea really, but that's what the person who gave it to me said). I thought it was from Italy, but after actually looking at the label, it's from California (Balzana - does anyone know anything about it? Of course the website says good things about it...).

So I really liked how it turned out texture-wise. It was crunchy on the outside and spongy inside (my roommate's mom said it was the "best" cake she's ever tasted. I think she's just very nice haha). I think it's best eaten right after it cools after baking, because it kind of lost its moisture pretty easily. As for the flavors, I think the rosemary was a bit too much - I'd probably use only one tablespoon instead of two next time. I couldn't really pick out the olive oil despite putting in a little more than what the recipe called for. Maybe my palate just isn't sensitive enough to its flavor?

Regardless, this is a very simple cake with good results. I didn't make anything creamy-ish to eat it with, although it kind of needs that kind of accompaniment. Figs are in season... but I don't feel like shelling out for them. =P

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Oliveto Cafe

This is an addendum to my review of Oliveto Restaurant (upstairs). I went here for lunch today with a friend I haven't seen in years (those meals are always fun). My experience today was pretty comparable to last time. We shared a small plate - stewy broccoli rabe, artichokes, potatoes, olives, and other veggies. Great for eating with their pillowy bread. We also shared a large pizza with buffalo mozzarella, slices of garlic (yummy), and very light tomato sauce. The crust was incredibly thin, which I believe is characteristic of [Sicilian?] pizza - kind of like Gaspare's but a lot better. It would've been nice to have a little more substance to it (the cheese was very sparse), but I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they're staying true to tradition instead of catering towards my American tendencies towards gluttony.

Anyway, I really like this place, and it's cheap (relatively)! We had coffee/tea afterwards and our total was $15/person.

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White Peach Tart w/ Pistachio Frangipane

This weekend my roommates and I did a massive kitchen cleaning, which included throwing out ~7 bags of old food that used to occupy three fourths of our fridge/freezer/kitchen table. One of the girls had some white peaches that were getting soft - they hadn't gone bad yet, but they were going to soon. I happened to have some pistachios on hand, and I was enamored by these photos a little while back, so I decided to make a tart.

So the outer crust is kind of burnt, and that's because the rice I was using to weight it down during the first baking ended up absorbing most of the heat so the middle didn't bake as quickly, so I decided to keep it in longer = overbaked edges. My pictures look totally different than the originals - I don't know how her peaches stayed white?? Mine look like they're apples. Oh well! Perhaps it's because hers are mini tarts so they were baked in less time...? I have some leftover dough and frangipane so I'll try minis later and see how those turn out.

** Edit: After talking to a pastry chef, the problem with the bottom of the tart being undercooked is apparently common in most home ovens, and can be solved by using a pizza stone (which should be around $12). Also, the problem with the browning of the peaches, she said, can be solved by poaching them beforehand. I will have to try this next time!

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Zuni Cafe

1658 Market St (between Franklin & Gough)
(415) 552-2522

Mediterranean/Californian in Hayes Valley

I went here on a fellow foodie's recommendation, and I was extremely disappointed! The ambience is great - right on Market, with big glass windows and a woodsy feel - very classic. This place is definitely happening, and popular for its oyster bar. Yes, the oysters were good. However, the rest of the food, was not so much. I don't quite remember what we had, but I remember getting the sea bass, which wasn't anything special. Risotto was actually pretty good - not too cheesy (risottos are usually too cheesy for me), and shinie's poultry (I think it might have been hen... not sure) was nothing special, either.

Go for the ambience, but don't expect anything spectacular from the food (except for the oysters).

** Edit: I wrote this original review about over a year ago and gave this place 2 stars. However, after a recent visit, I've increased it to 3 because this time the food was very good. My friend and I shared their 1 hr chicken (roasted to perfection) served with these giant crouton-like pieces of toasted and buttery bread and some greens. Other people had veal which was amazing (but the beans accompanying it were kind of an off-putting grainy texture), and someone had the salmon which I didn't try but they liked. We also shared marinated olives where the oil was great for dipping.

The service, however, was questionable. I originally made the reservation for a party of 4, then changed it to 5, then when we got there, we changed it back to 4 because we thought one person wasn't showing up, but she decided to show up after all! So understandably, the staff might have been a little frustrated, but after that, our waiter wasn't nearly as friendly. He was almost snotty which definitely didn't make me feel at ease. It might have just been me, but despite the fact that I've been to very nice restaurants, the waiter made me feel like I didn't belong here. He even served us our chicken (which he had beforehand made it a point that it be "presented" to us) while we were in the bathroom. Rude! Whatever.

But yes, the food has been redeemed since my first visit. I really liked it and it would've been worthy of more than just 3 stars, except that I'd have to go again to actually know for sure since my first time sucked so badly.

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Bissap Boabab

2323 Mission St (& 19th St)
(415) 826-9287

Senagalese in the Mission

I've been here quite a few times in the last few years, and I recently visited to find their menu changed. They still have a lot of the same dishes, but it's definitely more condensed and more organized.

On my most recent visit, for food we had the plantains, the "seafood coconut" with tilapia, and the "yapou khar" which was basically lamb in a veggie sauce. The sauce in the seafood coconut dish is really yummy, which is the one thing I've remembered from my past visits here as well. The rest of the food that I've tried is good, solid, and hearty.

This is a cool spot for a chill dinner with drinks (they have a nice selection of hibiscus and ginger cocktails). It's not that big, so a party of 6 is probably as big as I'd go.

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organic lemon cream tartlets

I based these tarts off of this recipe, making a few minor adjustments. I was also breaking in my new food processor (!) so it took me much longer than anticipated.

These apricots are from my dad's backyard. I must say that using organic lemons felt more flavorful. Maybe it's just me, but the rinds were more oily and fragrant.

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$1 meals, or an Exposé on my Food-Related Spending Habits

My recent experience at Oliveto took place during a visit to my friend Erina's open house for a missions project she's leading called BayUP. In short, BayUP is intentional living in urban neighborhoods across the Bay Area. After the open house, the hordes of visitors split up to take out each of the 5 team members to dinner, and because I'm special (so special!), I got Erina all to myself.

Oliveto, to me, was relatively cheap. We ended up spending about $25 per person (I treated), which to me is a great price considering that it's a well-known and classy Berkeley joint. She, however, felt guilty, and with reason. Here is an excerpt from an update she sent out after her first week at BayUP:

Food has also been on our minds a lot. We all have a budget of $15/week for food, which comes out to less than a $1/meal for an entire week. While God has been sufficient in providing for our team, many of us are trying to learn what it means to have to ration food and eat just enough. God has definitely been challenging us about what true "Hunger" is and what it means to spend our money and labor on what can truly satisfy and to delight in the "richest of fare" (Isaiah 55).

I tried to appease her guilt by justifying that there's nothing wrong with enjoying life and having nice meals once in awhile. Living that lifestyle, however, could be questionable, I said.

Right after I made that statement I realized what I hypocrite I am! I mean, I HAVE A FOOD BLOG! Just the day before Oliveto I had a conversation about French Laundry, where we spent $460 per person. The day after Oliveto I went to Pearl. I do eat out a lot, but definitely not as much as I did before... but relatively, it is still fairly often.That's my credit card activity since the beginning of the month for the most part (I can't recall what the "Queen House" purchase was though... strange. It might be a Taiwanese restaurant in the MVizzy). Everything on there is food or food-related. Would I be able to try $15/week for food? That means absolutely no eating out, since lunch in financial averages around $10 for a sandwich! Everything in moderation.

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Oliveto

5655 College Ave.
(510) 547-5356

Italian in Oakland's Rockridge area

This place is really big! The downstairs is for their more casual wood oven menu, and the upstairs menu is more extensive with more variety. We went upstairs, and were welcomed by a great waiter. We ended up ordering what he suggested....

To start, we had the crudo (Italian sashimi, basically) with halibut and avocado - this was amazing. The amount of citrus was perfect and, with the salt, made the dish cohesive. For entrees, we shared paccheroni (the beef wasn't as good as I thought it would be. It felt slightly overcooked) and the strozzapreti which I liked. I think I just like anything with ricotta salata - I like salty things.

We had a pretty light meal, but it was good quality and well priced. The non-pasta entrees are about $15+ more expensive, which is why our meal doesn't match the pricing on this entry (we spent $25/person). I like this place! I need to go a few more times to get a better feel.

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ruff ruff

I just thought this picture of my older sister's dog, Bonnie, was cute. That is all.

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rice pudding, or Food Rejected by the Suffering

My little sister just got her wisdom teeth pulled, and being the youngest child she is, she's been sobbing melodramatically over her unrelinquishing pain. So being the good sister I am, I went home to visit her, and today she said she wanted pudding. We only had jello mix, but she didn't want jello (silly Kathy); she wanted pudding. Chocolate pudding. Well we didn't have chocolate, so I decided to make her rice pudding. I liked it, but the rice wasn't soft enough, so she automatically spit it out and huffed about how she wanted smooth chocolate pudding! Grrr. Whatever. It's in my tummy now. And now she's eating cookies. WTB??

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Chapeau!

1408 Clement St. (and 15th Ave.)

(415) 750-9787

French in the Richmond

I ate here with a friend for his birthday a long time ago, and I honestly don't really remember much about the food (doesn't say much for the food). It was good, but not striking, obviously. I just remember having a lot of meat. Oh and the trio of sorbet which was interesting. i thought that the food was so good, more **** than *** (it might have been because of the two bottles of wine though. for appetizers we had the tuna tartare served on a crouton which was perfect, not too fishy but still tuna, a delightful foie gras, and smoked trout that was very flavorful (maybe a bit too smokey though). the next course was sea bass on top of a scallop served with a seafood risotto and a tasty lobster sauce, it was absolutely wonderful. =]. for entrees, we had the duck and the cod. they were both really yummy too (and sounded a lot better on the menu than they do right now). and for dessert, we had some sort of strawberry with whipped cream with a vanilla pudding, a tart, and chocolate puffs on the house - so good, but we were so stuffed by then too.

On the other hand, what's quite memorable about this place is the service - it's EXTRAORDINARY - by far the best service I've had in SF. i agree! definitely the BEST service i've had. the waiters are very accomodating. the owner/chef/host comes out of the kitchen every so often just to see how the meal is going. Since it's in a residential neighborhood, it's not that crowded (which I love) but definitely gets a good amount of business. (it's been completely booked the two times i've tried to go there, definitely make a reservation if it's the weekend) Our waiter was extremely friendly and attentive, and really made the experience 10 times more enjoyable. our waiter was great too When we asked about the sorbet trio (the menu didn't list the flavors), he said it was a surprise and that we had to guess hahaha. We got 2 of them right, and were very close on the third =) The check is served in a hat ("chapeau" in french) - very cute. We had heard that the owner/chef makes sure he meets you after the meal, but we didn't see him so we decided to just leave. As we were rounding the corner, he ran after us and hugged/thanked us for coming =) we saw the owner/chef/host quite often. he came to speak with us many times, including when we were asking about a wine that i would like. his wife is one of the waitresses/hostesses as well.

Although the food wasn't memorable, everything else was! Very very cute. =) i liked it so much! i would definitely go here again.

- k - s

*** Edit: I went here again for a belated Father's Day dinner with my family, and it was a pretty lackluster meal. I really liked the broth in the mussels appetizer, but other than that, the food was eh. I think I would only go back for their "Early Bird Special" - a prix fixe for $25 on Sundays and weekday early evenings.

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Poleng

1751 Fulton St (& Masonic)
(415) 441-1710

Asian Fusion in Western Addition (more like Pan Asian than Fusion, actually)

This is a very trendy place - lots of yuppies... I've never been here for an event, but most of the people who've mentioned this place to me have gone for music-related events (e.g. hip hop, reggae). I went here for my friend's birthday dinner, and he set up the menu himself with wine pairings (he's an oenophile). I don't really believe in Asian Fusion (that's a whole other post), but because I'm such a good friend (!), I caved and made an exception.

The food was decent. This place is small plates style, which is to the restaurant's advantage -- when it comes to food that isn't spectacular and nothing special (but still decent), the more there is, the worse/more normal it seems because you have to keep eating more and more of it. Or at least that's how I feel. We had... (unless there are comments, it was normal)

- ahi poke
- sweet potato fries w/ banana ketchup (I don't like banana anything unless it's actual chunks of banana... otherwise, it reminds me of banana-flavored anaesthesia that my dentist used to give me as a kid... shudder)
- beef with bone marrow: I had heard from people that this was good, but I couldn't taste anything, ie it had no flavor... I wasn't the only one that felt this way. Beef wasn't very good - tough and bland.
- garlic crab noodles: surprisingly lots of crab, but the noodles felt like panda express chow mein quality
- edamame: I know, I know. Can they really be that different? I think this was my favorite part of the meal, which sounds weird. They were grilled, unlike most places, and the char flavor really gave it a kick.
- shrimp
- chicken satay: they used lemongrass stalks as skewers, which was pretty creative, and it definitely gave the chicken an enhanced flavor
- calamari
- cod
- dessert was like stuff you'd get at a Chinese restaurant. What it actually was escapes me at the moment

Wow, we got almost everything on the menu! So yes, the food was decent, and for $30, that's actually very good value. The wine pairing, of course, was not included since my friend brought all the wine from home.

I'd come here again for an event, and to try the tea (supposed to be really good but I didn't get to try it). The food is whatever, but the ambience is great for a night out with good company if you don't want to hit the bars/clubs.

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chocolate truffles

In honor of the 4th of July, I made the worst thing imaginable: chocolate truffles. It was HOT, and one of the BBQs I went to was in the MVizzy, which was like 90 degrees. I had to stick them in the freezer like every 15 minutes. What was I thinking??

On the left: almond & vanilla, the right: kahlua & baileys rolled in cocoa powder.

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Ajanta

1888 Solano Ave.
(510) 526-4373

Indian in Berkeley

This is an "upscale" (kind of) Indian restaurant in Berkeley's cute Solano area. By upscale, I mean that the restaurant has a nice interior and the food is cleaner (i.e. less greasy, more subtle flavors, if Indian food can be subtle).

For the food, we got chicken biriyani (rice, chicken, nuts, yogurt sauce, and other stuff), chicken samosas (mine had chicken cartilage in it! ugh), these scallop and corn fritter things (few pieces of scallop, and heavy on the fish paste), and the "madras jhinga masala," which was basically prawns with an onion sauce. The scallop fritters were gross - all you could really taste was the fried-ness. The samosas and the biriyani were OK. The prawns were REALLY good. I could just eat the onions+sauce with naan and be satisfied with that.

The beer we got was pretty rich, dark, and chocolatey - Ayinger ale from Germany... the brand was Celebrator I think. Anyway, this is a lackluster review for a whatever meal. Satisfying, but you can get Indian food just as good for cheaper. The end!

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Rick & Ann's

2922 Domingo Ave (& Ashby/Claremont)
(510)649-8538

Californian in Berkeley

It's safe to say that this is my favorite place in Berkeley. I'm really hesitant to give 5 stars, because that would really mean perfection, but 4 would just not do justice, because I enjoy my experience here every single time I visit. * I've never been here for dinner, and although they also have a lunch menu, I think I've only eaten off their breakfast menu even during lunch time (which runs until 2:30pm). On weekends there is always a wait, especially when the weather's nice.

Nothing fails here. The staff is friendly, the ambience is very country/cottage, which is quite characteristic of that neighborhood in Berkeley. The food is great. I'm more of an eggs person when it comes to breakfast (by far the best meal of the day), but their whole wheat pancakes are fluffy and divine (and healthy!). Everything is uber Californian, and yummy! I went here earlier this morning for a late brunch and had the buttermilk waffle which wasn't the best, but I wasn't complaining. Their French toast is pretty good, but when Mike had it before he couldn't really taste the Orange (they add orange extract into the egg batter - I overheard a cook explaining it to a diner). Other than those examples, just about everything here is good!

* Edit: I change my mind. This is still one of my favorite Berkeley restaurants, but I realized that I'm over-hyping it by giving it 5 stars. I still believe their whole wheat pancakes are divine though.

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lavender lemon cupcakes

The flavors are subtle, but if you know what lavender smells like, you'll be able to pick it up in the cake.

I infused cream (I didn't have whole milk on hand) with the lavender buds for the batter, and also added some lemon extract. For the frosting, I used vanilla extract with a bit of lemon extract, and then food coloring to make it lavender colored.

Cute, yeah? =)

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Suppenkuche

525 Laguna St (& Hayes)
(415) 252-9289

German in Hayes Valley

I've heard a lot about this place, so finally I decided that my birthday was the right occasion to try Suppenkuche out! For those of you wondering how to pronounce it, the voice on the machine said something like "soopenkookah". Apparently it means "soup kitchen" in German.

Before the majority of the party arrived, a few of us arrived early to check out the bar. The decor was simple, with large minimally finished wooden tables and chairs, but it was appropriate for the restaurant type. Immediately I was excited about their beer selection. I love beer, but I can't say I know much about German beer (other than knowing that I like Heifeweisen). I consulted with the friendly bartender who let me have a taste of some of the five or six varieties of Heife they had on tap. I opted to go with a .5 Liter of Schneider Weiss (which was also the bartender's favorite). Jeff, on the other hand, went for the 2 Liter boot of a special Pilsner they had on tap that day. Just as a warning, the boot is pretty fragile, and they will charge your credit card $50 if you break it.

Once the entire party of 10 arrived, they were prompt about seating. If you have a party larger than 6, you should definitely call ahead to make a reservation. Since the menu had so many enticing options, we stalled for time by ordering an appetizer of potato pancakes with applesauce. As a lover of potatoes, I enjoyed these very much. It was the perfect amount of crispy on the outside, and the applesauce complemented it well. After some pondering, I ended up ordering a sauteed porkloin with mushroom sauce and spaetzle. The portion was pretty huge; I definitely couldn't finish it all. The pork was a little dry, but the mushroom sauce was flavorful. The spaetzle was a little greasy, but I enjoyed it as well. A couple of my friends ordered a cabbage roll stuffed with chicken (or sausage). I would highly recommend ordering this. The cabbage was full of flavor, and the meat was very tender. For dessert, I ordered an Apple Streudel, which was tasty enough, but nothing to write home about.

Though at first the wait staff made me nervous by mentioning that we need to be out of the restaurant by 8 to accommodate for another party, the waitress was relaxed and let us sit with another round of beers before leaving. All-in-all, it was a very pleasant and delicious experience, and I was glad to spend my 25th birthday there.

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TOP 5: food & liquor

I'm generally very healthy, but that all goes out the window at 2am after a couple of drinks when I'm starving.

1. Pizza: Pizza Orgasmica is open until 2:30am, (what?? I go to the Marina?? No, but they deliver) and Escape from NY seems to always be around whenever I'm out (Castro, Russian Hill, etc). I don't know if I'll ever be drunk enough to try this though. It would also require me to be in Philly (or would it??).

2. Pancakes: sometimes you just want breakfast in the middle of the night. There's an IHOP in the Marina (What?? The Marina again?? Fortunately Brian moved out of there. Yes!), and Bagdad Cafe is close to Cafe du Nord. Mel's is also open late, but I never like going there (I got yelled at once in the Berkeley location).

3. La Burrita & Top Dog: I don't know any hot dog places in SF (are there any?), but for the non-college-student, this Berkeley pair hits the spot after a show in the Greek (or if you happen to be in that area for any other reason).

4. Ramen: it's just the answer to everything! Chef Boyardee? It seems to go well with the magical rap stylings of Ms. Lil Mama. What better reminds you of lip gloss that's poppin than the pasta of our elementary school days?

5. Sweethearts' popcorn chicken: I haven't had this since college because boba places just do not exist in convenient locations in SF (there's a Quickly in the Castro though. Random!).

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coconut tapioca with strawberries & basil lime syrup

I've been wanting to try a rendition of La Folie's tapioca for awhile now, and I finally got around to it. I didn't have enough time, so instead of making the pudding from scratch, I just used a mix and used coconut milk instead of regular milk. This was a mistake, since the vanilla flavoring in the mix is so strong that you couldn't even taste the coconut really. Oh well!

I really just wanted to see how the basil sauce played out (epicurious recipe), and it was actually really good! Strawberries and basil go really well together, so everything just complimented each other. Yum!

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Mitchell's Ice Cream

688 San Jose Ave (& 29th St)
(415) 648-2300

Ice Cream Shop in Noe Valley

Mitchell's is definitely a San Francisco staple. Although yelp says it's Noe Valley, it's like borderline Noe Valley/Bernal Heights (or even Glen Park according to someone else, but I think that's really stretching it - I just tagged it as all of those places kind of). Parking isn't bad since it's pretty far out, and there's also a small lot behind the place. It's also pretty accessible by public transportation - it's a decent walk from the 24th & Mission BART station, or you can MUNI it.

Expect a wait. On any given day. You can also buy their ice cream in cartons and to go.

Mitchell's is known for their "exotic" flavors, meaning Filipino flavors like ube, halo halo, etc. All of their flavors are pretty good, including the standard ones (french vanilla custard? mmmm). A lot of people like Tropical 4, but I think it's kind of boring. Their "grasshopper pie" is REALLY GOOD (mint chocolate chip + fudge + oreos), and that's coming from someone who isn't big on chocolate. They also offer ice cream sandwiches (between 2 cookies, reminiscent of Diddy Riese), shakes, and other sweet concoctions.

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lychee & black tea granita

IT'S HOT! LET'S MAKE GRANITA!

I was at my parents' house this weekend and wanted to make something since their kitchen is so much nicer than mine, but they had hardly any ingredients to make anything and I didn't want to spend any money... but I found some cans of lychee. My mom is also a tea fanatic, so I thought why not.

I also got this idea from Sketch in Berkeley after a recent visit there (actually, I don't remember if they also used tea in theirs). It pretty much tastes exactly the same, except the lychee overpowers the tea in mine. I'll have to use more tea bags next time (I just used one).

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peach clafoutis, or I am the Best Friend Ever

So my friend asked me to make something for a morning meeting because it was his turn to bring food. I decided to make banana nut muffins (easy) and something a little less normal - clafoutis - as inspired by this class I took recently. Although clafoutis is traditionally made with cherries, I decided to use peaches because I had peach pie on the brain. That almost sounds dirty.

I didn't follow any particular recipe exactly, but kind of tweaked a conglomerate of a bunch of recipes I found via blogs/slashfood/epicurious. Pictures aren't very nice because I made this at night (finished around midnight) and I had to give it away. Thus, no natural light for nice pictures. The other is taken by a camera phone.

How does it taste? Not bad. Pretty much how it was supposed to taste (custardy). People supposedly liked it. This dessert is all about the fruit... too bad you can't see how nicely I fanned the peach slices out! It was pretty. =)

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Sushi House

2375 Shoreline Dr. (@ the marina)
(510) 865-0999

Japanese in Alameda

Anyone who went to Cal has been here. Just a 10 minute drive down 880, Sushi House is the reason why people even know where Alameda is. It has definitely gone downhill over the years (portions are smaller, food is less carefully prepared, etc), but it will always hold a special place in my heart as comfort food should.

What's special about this place is the large selection of sushi rolls - many of them baked or accompanied with a special sauce. These mega rolls have caught on to most sushi restaurants, but none can beat Sushi House's. The Bay Scallop roll is by far my favorite, but almost all of them are good (another popular is the Lion King which is a California roll topped with salmon and then baked with a sauce).

Another dish I like to get here is the chirashi, which is like a sashimi salad or an open sushi roll, depending on where you are (like in San Diego, there's this place where it really is like a salad salad). At sushi house, it's just a bunch of raw fish and stuff on top of sushi rice. Since Sushi House is so popular, they are constantly getting fish, so you know it'll be fresh. Hamachi is like butter here.

If you have never been, you should eat at the restaurant at least once. It's a long wait though. You honestly would have to go at odd hours in order to avoid any wait at all. Calling ahead and getting take-out is ideal if you don't have the patience.

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Rivoli

1539 Solano Ave. (and Neilson)
(510) 526-2542

Italian/Californian in Berkeley

I've been here twice - the most recent occasion was for 2 family birthdays a few weeks ago. The other was over a year ago, and although I never wrote my own review, I found Kevin's travbuddy review from way back then. It's quite amusing, and it definitely describes the feel of our meal that night - e.g. being the sommeliers that we are, we chose the wine based on the fact that we thought the name was cool haha.

This place is pretty small, but the mirrors that line the walls and the huge windows definitely create the illusion of more space. During my recent visit, we started with their signature portabella fritters (fried mushrooms? how can you not like that), cheese souffle with prosciutto (yum), and this minced scallop thing in a phyllo shell (don't really remember).

For entrees, my dad and I had stuffed veal (pictured) and it was incredibly good. I'm a sucker for veal, and this one did not fail. My little sister got the ravioli Kevin had last time which was eh (but a first for her! She just about ALWAYS orders chicken or whatever the most boring item on the menu is), my other sister got a risotto cake which I really liked, my mom got salmon (like my little sister, she gets salmon everywhere she goes. I don't know why though, because it tastes the same no matter where you go or how it's prepared), and the Joe got a big chunk of pork which was fatty.

Service this time was definitely more competent haha, and I think any waiter/waitress that can serve my family and still be really nice is always a trooper. Desserts were typical. No wine this time - my mom freaks out if I have more than one glass of wine because I'll "get drunk."

Note: I tagged this as a wine entry per the travbuddy review.

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chocolate mousse

I know I said I didn't want this blog to do too many things, and I still want to maintain that. However, I made this yesterday and just couldn't help myself!

The mousse was incredibly rich and denser than I had imagined, even after reading the reviews. I'm not a huge chocolate person, but it was pretty good (yes, I am patting myself on the back as I type). I also made shot-glass sizes, and that was the perfect amount for me because I personally cannot eat that much chocolate.

In the picture on the right, those are just phyllo squares/triangles I made to use up the rest from the rolls I made recently. Not the best pictures, but whatever!

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