pampas

palo alto, ca

website

this is a favorite special occasion spot for derek and myself. peak times require a reservation, but we prefer to dine early when it's less crowded and everything is fresh. it's a churrascaria, similar to churrascaria plataforma in nyc - a set price for all-you-can-eat. they give you a disc that is green on one side, red on the other. flip it to red while you check out the salad bar (my favorites are the marinated mushrooms and the coconut couscous). flip it to green for servers to come by and slice you a piece of meat. my favorites are the top sirloin, the skirt steak, and the tri-tip. they also bring around filet mignon, lamb, spicy chicken, housemade chorizo, and grilled pineapple.

one of their tricks to keep you from eating too much expensive meat is to put really good sides on your table - gougeres, fried polenta, and fried bananas. the gougeres are amazing, especially fresh out of the oven. pacing yourself is key when you eat here - it helps to order a good bottle of red wine. we like the napa cabernet sauvignon from their wine list. flip the disc to red, take a wine break, maybe even a little conversation with your dining companion, then flip it back to green for more meat.

hobee's

palo alto, ca

website

hobee's is a chain of restaurants in the bay area. looks like a shari's-type family restaurant and we thought it would be a good place for brunch. clearly they are famous for their blueberry coffee cake - we saw everyone order the blueberry coffee cake and they even sell it at the front desk. breaking one of our cardinal rules (order what everyone else is ordering), we got the peach walnut coffee cake (pictured). it was okay - a little dry, very light, but could have used more peaches.

for our entrees, we each ordered the hash browns with various toppings. mine was topped with cheese, mushrooms, and onions. derek's was topped with chicken apple sausage, green peppers, tomato-basil sauce, and cheese. we were really hoping for the shredded-style hash browns like the ones they serve at joanie's. no such luck, they ended up being small wedges of potatoes. not a fan. it seemed like a popular spot, but derek and i really should know better than to stray from our favorite brunch spot, joanie's.

chairman bao

sf bay area, ca

link to twitter

i've seen this food truck featured on numerous tv shows and in numerous magazine articles, but it's usually parked up north, in san francisco. i was thrilled to find out last week that it would actually be parked right outside my office building in palo alto. it's so much easier when good food comes to me rather than vice versa. their menu has steamed buns, which are small white mantao pockets (pictured on the right). the menu also offers baked buns, which are much larger (as you can see on the left).

not that you can tell from my blog, but i'm trying to eat a little healthier. when faced with chairman bao's amazing menu, i decided to order the steamed bun with pork belly (smaller portion of pork belly) and the baked bun with tofu (larger portion of healthy tofu). what i actually received was a steamed bun with spicy chicken and a massive baked bun with ridiculous amounts of pork belly. i did not discover this discrepancy until i had already walked the 20 yards back to my office. clearly too far to turn back, right? the pork belly was crispy and fatty, the baked bun was slightly sweet, and the pickled radish balanced the flavors - very very good. i hope they come back.

ppq dungeness island

san francisco, ca

link to yelp

crabs prepared asian-style - perfect for large parties to share. but parking is a nightmare. we spent 40 mins circling and ended up half a mile away from the restaurant. seriously, if we weren't there to see j+j visiting from nyc, we might have just headed back home. otherwise, it was a great spot for j+j to meet up with their many sf friends. the $40/crab matches what we used to pay for fatty crab in nyc, but the set menus for larger groups provide better value.

our table shared 3 crabs and a few side dishes, including excellent garlic noodles. we had black pepper crab, roasted crab, and spicy crab. the roasted crab was definitely the best for me - deep fried and infused with garlic. others preferred the spicy crab. i didn't actually eat a lot of crab - i prefer the main shell over the legs (too much work). but i really enjoyed the dessert - fried bananas with mango ice cream. everyone else was too full from crab to eat the dessert - which just meant more for me.

L&L hawaiian barbecue

palo alto, ca

website

i'm surprised i haven't blogged L&L's yet because derek and i frequently eat at their many locations in the bay area. my favorite entree is the kahlua pork with cabbage + side of rice + side of macaroni salad. the macaroni salad is addictive. the portions can be pretty large, but they offer a mini version, which is a good size for lunch.

after running some errands, derek and i were hungry and needed a snack before dinner. we decided to stop by L&L's on our way up to san francisco. we ordered the spam musubi which has grilled spam, rice, and teriyaki sauce wrapped in nori (dried seaweed paper). delicious. and of course we also ordered a side of macaroni salad. a perfect snack.

kirk's steakburgers

palo alto, ca

website

the picture of the giant steakburger, stuffed with toppings, dripping with sauce, outside the restaurant was too appealing for derek and i to pass up. while the topping bar is cool, the burger itself was dry and tasteless. i didn't even finish mine. what i did finish, however, were the chili cheese fries. the chili had great flavor and nice chunks of beef. the cheese was well-melted. the onions were tasty. but i doubt we'll be back just for the chili cheese fries.

rick's ice cream

palo alto, ca

website

slowly but surely, derek and i are discovering all of the little hidden gems in the south bay. rick's ice cream is definitely one of them. tucked away in a little strip mall (as everything in california tends to be), there's a little ice cream shop serving incredible small-batch ice cream. my mocha almond fudge tasted of strong coffee, rich chocolate, and had tons of almonds. there's so many other flavors i want to try - salty caramel, sideways (cabernet flavored!), rocky road, computer chip, chocolate brownies, black raspberry crunch ... i'm sure we'll get to them all eventually.

pho vi hoa

los altos, ca

website

this is a real pho restaurant, as opposed to madame tam, which is a vietnamese-ish restaurant that happens to serve pho. so of course there are going to be some things that the real pho restaurant does better: (1) better fattier beef, (2) selection of pho - i can choose a bowl that has tripe, tendon, and all these weird chewy bits, and (3) price.

the real pho restaurant also serves an excellent fresh lemonade - a little sweet for derek's tastes, but perfect for mine. but what was missing from the real pho restaurant, however, was the flavor of the broth. it was good at pho vi hoa, but i think madame tam, surprisingly, has a richer and more flavorful broth. so, pho vi hoa for the meat and madame tam for the broth. hmmm.

pamplemousse

redwood city, ca

website

never had a canele before, not entirely sure how to pronounce it, but it looked delicious. waiting for derek to get his hair cut, i decided to hang out at a cute little french bakery on broadway. the display case beckoned with beautiful little macarons and lots of pretty cakes. the canele was delicious - caramelized sugar at the bottom, moist cake in the middle. eggy and rich. yum.

txoko

san francisco, ca

website

california is going to ban foie gras beginning in july 2012. i don't actually like foie gras, but it shouldn't be banned. based on all 3 articles i've read on this issue, i believe there are humane ways to make foie gras. also, i'm generally a fan of allowing individuals to make informed choices about their ethical obligations when it comes to food - over a certain baseline standard, of course. given that there are humane ways to make foie gras (the duck/goose doesn't seem to be in any discomfort or pain), i don't think that baseline standard is met.

okay, what does that have to do with txoko? april is on a quest to try all of the great foie gras dishes in the city before the ban begins. while i'm not a fan of foie gras itself, i'm a fan of restaurants that serve foie gras, so derek and i joined april and lennon at txoko for dinner in the city. april enjoyed her foie gras appetizer and did a full write-up on her blog. derek and i shared the massive rib-eye which was very juicy and fatty. i started with an amazing green garlic soup - creamy, garlicky, and delicious.

tenfu chinese restaurant

menlo park, ca

website

this chinese restaurant is within walking distance of our car wash spot. wash and wax is just enough time for us to walk to tenfu, eat lunch, and walk back. the restaurant gave us the english-language menu, but we noticed that the other table had the chinese-language menu. the english menu said "beef stew noodle soup," but thankfully it turned out to be normal beef noodle soup.

and it was surprisingly good - rich beefy broth, chewy dense noodles, and solid chunks of beef. i wasn't expecting a place so convenient to have such good food, but we'll definitely be back for the noodle soup. we were in such a hurry, i forgot to take a picture until i had slurped down all of my noodles. well, that's what the empty bowl looks like.

bar agricole

san francisco, ca

website

vanita found this great space for the gang to get together for dinner. it's a beautiful restaurant with wood panels, high ceilings, and a cool atmosphere. originally they were going to place us in the back of the restaurant, which was dark and depressing. instead, we waited an extra half hour and got a better table in the front of the restaurant (vanita, rajesh, and i had to wait for the rest of the gang anyway). next time we'll know to request a front table.

waiting gave us the opportunity to explore their cocktail menu. i had a planter's punch - white agricole rum, lime, grapefruit, and bitters. then a rye gin old fashioned - rye gin, gum syrup, bitters, and two zests. both were excellent, although the old fashioned was quite strong. then i think i had another planter's punch. the rest of the night is a little fuzzy - the anchovies i started with were okay, but needed bread. (what kind of restaurant doesn't give a bread basket?) i ordered an entree too, but i can't quite remember what it was.

sorabol

san francisco, ca

website

after breakfast at the ferry building i walked over to union square to do some shopping. having learned my lesson from my last visit to the westfield shopping center, i went back to tina's food court recommendation - korean food at sorabol. i'm pretty sure they cook the bulgogi in butter. according to jinny, that's how real koreans cook, anyway.

in an attempt to be healthy, i decided to add some spicy tofu, which was good but uninteresting. next time i'll just get extra bulgogi. the kimchee is free - grab a few containers when you get to the end of the line. good flavor to the kimchee, it adds the right amount of acidity to match the buttery bulgogi. there's probably better korean food in the city somewhere else, but sorabol is a great option if you get hungry while shopping.

blue bottle coffee

san francisco, ca

website

the day after the exam, i decided to wander the streets of san francisco by myself. i started the day at the ferry building for breakfast. there were so many choices - do i get a cute little cupcake from miette, a meat cone from boccalone, or a roll from acme bread company? i decided to try blue bottle coffee to see what all of the hype is about. each cup of drip coffee is individually brewed, but thankfully i ordered a rosemary-studded olive oil shortbread cookie to munch on while i waited for that process. and it really is a process - there's a contraption with a row of coffee cups and coffee filters filled with coffee just above them. a woman with a teapot of hot water pours a little bit into the filters, watches them, pours a little bit more, watches them again, repeat.

18 minutes from entering the line to getting my coffee (although the line was even longer by the time my drink was ready). it was $3.75 for a drip coffee with foamy steamed milk swirled into a pleasant design. this is special occasion coffee - making this a daily habit might dent both your wallet and your patience. but i had the time and the funds, so i enjoyed sitting at the blue-bottle-customers-only counter, sipping my exceptionally aromatic coffee while watching the comings and goings of the ferry building.

b restaurant & bar

oakland, ca

website

b restaurant had that upscale farm-to-table rustic look that usually indicates good food and good drinks. my drink was called "high hopes" (which i thought was good to have before the final day of my exam) with gin, benedictine, grapefruit, and lime. don't worry, i was still able to study after one cocktail. derek's cocktail, called "love on" tasted like a mix of cough syrup and lotion. bad.

the tables were turned when it came to the food. i ordered the fish, served on saffron risotto with squid ink and oyster buerre blanc. sounds delightfully fishy, doesn't it? it wasn't. it was bland. derek, however, really enjoyed his housemade fettucine with rainbow swiss chard, garlic, peas, cranberry beans, and pecorino. we shared the excellent caesar salad with amazing housemade croutons and white spanish anchovies. for dessert, the pecan tart with bourbon whipped cream was delicious. overall, it was kind of hit-or-miss, but the hits were very good.

cock-a-doodle cafe

oakland, ca

website

i haven't lived in the bay area for very long so all i know about oakland is what i see on the local news and it usually involves protestors and/or violence. i had to take my exam in oakland so i was stuck there for a few days. turns out, there's this very charming and hipster-ish hood called "old oakland" near downtown. that's where i found cock-a-doodle cafe.

the cafe was nearly empty at 11 am on a wednesday, it was just me and one other person who was clearly studying for the same exam. service was very friendly and it was a perfect spot for breakfast. excellent iced tea, served with giant wedges of lemon. the chicken-apple scramble was amazing - chicken-apple sausage, mushrooms, mozzarella, spinach, grilled onions, and roasted pepper. the biscuit was a little dry, but their homemade blueberry jam covered any and all imperfections. delicious.

indochine

palo alto, ca

website

derek and i like to be able to walk to restaurants. now that we no longer live on university avenue, we have fewer walkable choices. indochine is one of them. it offers thai & vietnamese cuisine. i'm always wary when a restaurant offers more than one cuisine - it usually means that they don't do either well. but we've ordered takeout from here a few times and they make a pretty good pad see ew with tofu.

one night, i was craving pho and we decided to walk over and try indochine in person. the pho was not good. the meat had clearly been cooked (and over-cooked) before it was added to the soup (real pho should have sliced raw beef placed in the soup just as you're about to dig in - the beef cooks in the hot soup). the broth was bland. very disappointing. we'll still get pad see ew here, but we'll trek over to madame tam on university when we want pho.

la bodeguita del medio

palo alto, ca

website

this is one of my favorite lunch spots on california avenue. lovely ambiance, white tablecloths, and excellent iced tea. it takes a little bit longer than some of the other spots nearby so my co-workers and i come here only if we have the time to spare. we always ask for their bread because they serve it with an amazing chili oil - so good. i get the fish sandwich - similar in appearance to a filet-o-fish, but its actually delicious. crispy flaky fish filet topped with tartar sauce in a soft bun.

so i had high expectations when i brought derek here for dinner. the prices are quite a bit higher in the evening and they don't offer the fish sandwich. sticking with the fish theme, i ordered a white fish they had on special. a little bland, unfortunately. derek's dish, however, was excellent - the ropa vieja - shredded skirt steak in a rich and buttery sauce served with delicious plantains. well, now i know what to order if i come back for dinner.

so gong dong tofu house

palo alto, ca

link to yelp

the volvo ended up requiring overnight repairs so i was stranded. derek left work to pick me up and we decided to grab a meal nearby at so gong dong tofu house. i had been there before when we first moved from new york and i remember having a very disappointing bibimbap.

well, i've either forgotten what good korean food tastes like or so gong dong tofu house just does a better job with their soon du bu (spicy tofu soup). my soup was quite tasty and derek actually enjoyed his kalbi. i need an real korean person to try this place out and let me know if my taste buds are still working.

alison bakery

palo alto, ca

website

the volvo needed a check-up, so i left the car at the volvo dealership and walked across the street to find a place to study for my exam. the giant starbucks looked like an obvious spot, but i noticed alison bakery right next to it. the glass display full of giant croissants, cakes, and cupcakes drew me in (we all know how mediocre starbucks' baked goods are). the bakery also had ample seating with a sunny interior, so it looked like an excellent place to study.

the proprietor was quite happy to see me walk in. this bakery recently opened and it must be difficult to get people out of their 'bucks habit. no espresso drinks but they have an excellent and cheap drip coffee. the proprietor mentioned that the banana muffins had just come out of the oven, so of course i ordered one of those. the muffin would have been good, but ordinary if it was cold. however, fresh out of the oven it was extraordinary -- crunchy on the outside, warm and moist on the inside. yum.

como esta taqueria

palo alto, ca

website

we were exploring our new neighborhood and were thrilled to find a taqueria hiding next to walgreen's. looked like a popular neighborhood spot with a colorful chalk menu and outdoor seating. what is interesting for this hole-in-the-wall spot is that they really care about the quality of the ingredients and they offer various healthy options (whole wheat tortilla, low carb burrito, etc.)

of course, we didn't actually choose any of the healthy options. derek ordered the tortilla soup and a carne asada burrito (both decent). i ordered what is possibly one of the best vegetarian burritos i've ever had - the chile relleno burrito. delicious - the chile was stuffed with gooey cheese and covered in an eggy batter. refried beans, rice, and lettuce were added, then wrapped in an soft, chewy tortilla. top it all off with some of their excellent housemade salsas and it is vegetarian perfection.

buck's of woodside

woodside, ca

website

we were hoping to finally try the famous burger at the village pub, which has been highly recommended by rajesh, but unfortunately it was closed on saturday. instead we went to an upscale strip mall nearby and found buck's. from the outside, it looks like a standard diner. from the inside, it looks like ye olde curiosity shop. there's all sorts of strange things hanging on the walls - like a narwhale tusk and a model ship. there's a lot to look at while you wait for your food.

derek ordered a burger, per usual, which was solid. i really enjoyed my club sandwich (although the waitress was baffled when i asked to leave out the avocado). the coleslaw on the side wasn't very good, but skipping the sides allowed me to save room for dessert. the highlight was definitely the dessert - a delicious and massive strawberry shortcake. homemade whipped cream, perfectly sweet strawberries, all sandwiched in a delicious crumbly biscuit. amazing.