Places I like to eat at
Here are the all time greats that I found in my four years at Cal:
- Acme Bakery - My favorite bakery of the many in the Bay Area; if you live in SF or the East Bay, get yourself over to a location right now. Otherwise, find them at any number of grocery stores. Store bought bread has been ruined for me thanks to Acme.
- Sliver - best sober pizza in Berkeley, hands down. It's basically the famous Cheeseboard, but closer and more convenient and their green sauce is fantastic.
- Pedros Brazil Cafe - the other best green sauce place in Berkeley. Also, great sandwiches and meat plates.
- Standard Fare - turns out "farm-to-table" isn't just over-hyped and trendy when done right. The food is always fresh, light, and incredibly tasty. Their parfaits are a fantastic post-meal treat.
- Cheese n' Stuff - Sam knows how to make a great sandwich for a ridiculously affordable price. Now that Montagues is closed, Cheese n' Stuff reigns supreme.
- Wat Mongkolratanaram (Thai Temple) - A Sunday brunch only affair; come here for authentic Thai curry, noodles, fried chicken, and more. Fantastic Khanom khrok.
Here are some of my favorite restaurants across the greater Bay Area:
- La Victoria Taqueria - My favorite taqueria in the bay. Their orange sauce is divine, and their quesadillas are grilled to perfection. My go-to has to be a super burrito though, just for the simplicity. While it's not as pure as many of the burritos in the mission, there's just something about how all the ingredients in a La Vics burrito meld together to become something greater than their individual selves. Conveninetly located across San Jose with one location in Hayward!
- Pizza Antica - Best margherita pizza for the price that I've found so far. Good crust, great sauce, and just the right amount of cheese.
- Salt and Straw - My favorite "bougie" ice cream. Unfortunately, only available in the city.
- Sweet Retreat - My favorite ice cream parlor. This was my neighborhood joint when I grew up, but it's not just nostalgia that makes it good; their Oreo cookie ice cream is the best rendition of cookies and cream I have yet to find.
- Isla Vida - Authentic Caribbean and Jamaican food. Super flavorful and tender roasted chicken, succulent plantains, and the best traditional churros and chocolate this side of the Atlantic. Definitely check them out; their food and prices are incredible but not enough people frequent the area.
- Darda Seafood - Who knew that Muslim Chinese food would be so good? Up there on my list of favorite Chinese food in the bay; their lamb dishes are great as well as their large scallion pancakes (Da Bing).
Things I like to cook
These are some of the things that I like to make; I usually put my own spin on them compared to the "regular" recipes.
- Pizza - I get Trader Joe's pizza dough and sauce and low moisture mozzarella. I'll preheat a cast iron pan to as hot as my oven will go, take the pan out, slap the dough on, spread some sauce and add some chunks of cheese, drizzle some high quality olive oil, and back in the oven it goes. Quick, easy, and tasty.
- Steak - I'll get whatever USDA Prime cut that Costco has, and I'll either bake it or sous vide it until it's rare, usually 130F. After that, I'll just season it with salt and pepper and sear it, finishing it off with garlic and butter.
- Aglio e Olio - Pretty much just this. Why mess with perfection? For other pastas though, I do do things differently. I'll usually add some fish sauce and/or soy sauce to red/meaty sauces (think marinara or bolognese) to amp up the umami. I'll always cook the pasta slightly under al dente so that I can finish the pasts with the sauce in a pan, adding pasta water, butter, and olive oil to bring the sauce and pasta together.
- Kimchi Fried Rice - I'm super flexible on how I make my kimchi fried rice; if I don't have all the ingredients that's ok. However, here are the must haves: Day-old/stale rice - fresh rice just doesn't work for fried rice. Kimchi and kimchi juice - how would this be kimchi fried rice without the titular ingreident? I'm not super picky about where I get the kimchi from as long as it's half decent. Sesame oil - just brings a wonderful flavor and binds everything else together; plus you need oil for fried rice. Fish sauce - once again, I like to add a bit of fish sauce for umami. And that's it. There are a lot of other things you can add, like Spam, seaweed, fish cake, green onion, eggs or gochujang (still not sure if KFR should have it or not), but they are all extra for me.
- Dukbokki - I really like Maangchi's recipe but I like my dukbokki less sweet and more salty, so I'll cut down on the gochujang and I'll add fish sauce for some more umami and salt.
- Pickles - Just make a bring of equal parts sugar and salt, mix in vinegar, and add whatever extras you like. I like dill, garlic, and sometimes red pepper flake. Then, just throw in the cucumbers in whatever shape you like (spears, chips, etc). You definitely want Kirby or Persain cucumbers as they'll hold up better. I like to use mason jars for the seal. Also, be aware that unless you submerge them in a boiling water bath, these may not last forever as they aren't completely sterile. That being said, I don't like boiling the jar as it tends to make the pickles lose some of their crunch and I eat them fast enough that it's never an issue
- Egg Salad Sandwich - A lot of people really seem to dislike egg salad. I've always liked it, but Adam Rapoport's recipe is next level. Always make sure to use good artisan bread; it adds a contrast of textures as well as a good flavor, and honestly it's not that much more than processed loaf bread.
- Avocado Toast - The quintessential millenial food. My mom would make this all the time when I was growing up, but I was a dumb kid and didn't like avocados; I've since learned the error of my ways. These days, I enjoy a good piece of avocado toast just as much as the next millenial. I'll always make it myself though; I like it a certain way and I can never justify the restaurant price. After all, it is just a slice of bread and some avocado. Anyways, I'll always use a slice of toasted artisan bread; preferably something like a levain that adds a good contrast in flavor and texture compared to the avocado. I'll then make a mash with the avocado (I like it when it's more of a mash, like guacamole, as opposed to discrete pieces), adding in sesame oil, salt, lots of black pepper, and sometimes garlic and onion powder. I'll spread the mash on the toast and voila, my ideal avocado toastl.
People I like to learn from
My passion for food and my breadth of knowledge in the subject has been propelled by the amazing indvidiuals out there who are exploring the world of food and contributing their findings and experimentation for the world to learn. I'm so fortuante to have access to all this information; I don't know where I'd be without these people.
- Alton Brown - Altown Brown was probably one of my first food figures. Ever since watching episodes of Serious Eats on the Food Network, I've been hooked on his great presentation skills and real life recipes. He's still working on stuff, and I can't wait to see his new show.
- J. Kenji López-Alt - J. Kenji López-Alt's videos are always a treat to watch. They're either mesmerizing accounts of his late night snacks, or great videso about how to cook something better based on scientific research. He always has new ways of cooking things that you thought you knew how to cook; definitely check out his youtube channel and his written pieces.
- Binging with Babish - Food and cooking through the lens of a professional cinematic artist. What's not to like about Andrew Rea bringing to life movie foods in a high production show? Thanks for satisfying my cinema curiosities for me.
- Bon Appetit - Bon Appetit manages to not only stay alive but stay relevant and fresh in a time where print media is dying. They've managed to stay ahead of the curve and innovate, constantly providing content that people want to consume. But enough of their adaptability. B.A produces high quatliy video content to both teach and entertain, such as It's Alive by Brad Leone, but they also have deeper investigative works like their Best New Restaurant in America ratings each year. Of the one restaurant I've tried from their recommendation, Turkey and Wolf, I've got to say they're spot on. B.A. just comes out with an incredibly amount of content and they'll certainly keep any foodie satiated.
- America's Test Kitchen - America's Test Kitchen is the source when it comes to kitchen equipment. Many a tool I've purchased for myself or for friends has come at their recommendation. I'm someone who does very thorough research before purchasing something, and it's nice to not have to do that, especially when it comes to cooking, since not everyone is able to compare tens of competing items. ATK takes the guess work out of stocking your kitchen and will give you the absolute best tools to equip yourself with. They also have great informative content like What's Eating Dan, where you learn the science behind the foods you eat. If you're ever in need of some new kitchenware, check out the ATK breakdown before you buy.
- Adam Ragusea - Adam stuck out to me from the very first time I watched one of his videos, when Youtube recommended his New York pizza home recipe. I was instantly struck by how down to earth and realistic he was. His videos felt like a friend just talking to me compared to all the overproduced and glamorized content that exists on the site. Beyond that, Adam teaches you to cook realistically; he doesn't have a fancy six burner stove and access to a myriad of exotic ingredients. Instead, he has a electric coil stove, just like so others do, and shows you what to do in his regular sized kitchen. His content always focuses on the every man, and it's a refreshing change of pace to feel related to. Home cooks, definitely check him out.
- Glen and Friends Cooking - Youtube was recommending Glen's channel for the longest time, but I kept refusing to click on a single video. I don't know why I didn't watch; I guess I just thought I woudln't enjoy his content. Eventually I broke down and watched one of his videos on how to make root beer, and I was hooked. Watching Glen feels like watching my friendly Canadian uncle teach me about what food was like when he grew up and how he figured out how to recreate his childhood cuisine. He delves into the history of the foods he makes, and then will go through experimentation and ideation to come up with his own solution. It's a fascinating process, and just like Adam, Glen is very down to earth and real. No Jake Paul vlogging here. If you've ever wanted to learn how to make soda, check him out.
- Steve1989MREInfo - Nice. I've been watching MRE content long before Steve's channel blew up along with his many compatriots, but there's something about Steve that is just so endearing. It's no wonder that he's become so popular despite there being many great MRE content creators. Steve's charm, optimism, and depth of knowledge make him such an enticing watch that even if you have no interest in food or the military, there's a fair chance you'll still be saying Nice when you watch his videos.
- Really Dough? - Perhaps the single greatest food show to ever exist. Ok, that's definitely an exaggeration but Really Dough? is one of the best things I've watched in a long time. It's not just a show about an iconic pizza maker and a pizza geek, it's a show about the human condition, and how much people can truly take. The show has so many twists and turns that you can't see what's coming next. Sure it might be scripted, but the food is real and the editing is unreal. If there's one thing that you have to check out from this entire page, it's this show. Watch it from start to end and tell me you aren't happier.