top dog

berkeley, ca

website

i love hot dogs. it's one of my favorite foods. people have told me about how hot dogs are made and even shown me pictures of the manufacturing process in an attempt to convince me how bad hot dogs are for me. it doesn't work. anyway - every berkeley grad that i've met has raved about top dog. i had to go to berkeley for a work event and i convinced michelle to stop by top dog with me to find out what the fuss is all about. the verdict? i'm not sure. the hot dog itself was fine. there was way too much bread. eh. the verdict is eh.

carnevino

las vegas, nv

website

i wonder if jenny and i are the only people who go to vegas for the food and shopping. it's a nice option for me because most of the great nyc restaurateurs have opened up outposts in las vegas. as we walked along the strip, jenny (the native new yorker) was surprised to see the names of familiar restaurants - mesa grill, carmine's, tao, and the list goes on and on. of course, the restaurants are not completely authentic - the food is generally a small step below in quality compared to the nyc originals. but i was very happy to see a batali restaurant and the pasta was almost as good as the pasta you get at his nyc restaurants. batali's pasta is simply the best. i recommend carnevino to everyone who goes to vegas. don't get the steak, get the pasta!

burgr

las vegas, nv

website

the restaurant is called BurGR - get it? - GR for Gordon Ramsay. oh, so clever. anyway, it's a burger joint in the planet hollywood casino. their milkshakes are served with a british twist - each shake comes with pudding on top. for example, the strawberry shake comes with coconut pudding. apparently british people like pudding. the shake was fine. the burger was fine. if you're craving a gourmet burger while walking the strip, this place is as good as any. but i wouldn't make it a priority.

lotus of siam

las vegas, nv

website

lotus of siam is possibly the most famous thai restaurant in the united states. it's been featured many times on foodtv and other foodie shows as a chef favorite. it's not close to the strip and requires a car or cab if you're staying on the strip. but it's definitely worth it. saying that this is the best thai food i've ever had seems too limiting - in fact, this is one of the best meals that i've ever had. i can't remember exactly which dishes we ordered, only that we asked the waiter to guide us to the favorites. jenny, jenny's cousin, and i devoured the food so quickly that i only remembered to take a picture when the dessert showed up. i really can't wait to go back again. hopefully next time i take better notes and more pictures.

wicked spoon

las vegas, nv

website

love the name. love the food. jenny and i were kids in a candy store. except instead of candy there were all kinds of foodie treats, including piles of bones from which you could extract delicious bone marrow. unlimited! well, i'm sure at some point they would run out of cows. but otherwise unlimited amounts of bone marrow! of course, there was more than just roasted bone marrow (you can only eat so much before you can start to feel your arteries clog). my next favorite was the french toast, which i topped with strawberry sauce and whipped cream. yum.

fatted calf

napa, ca

website

we decided it would be smart to have some food in our stomachs before we started wine tasting, so we picked up some sandwiches at the fatted calf in downtown napa before heading out to the wineries. fatted calf specializes in charcuterie but also has various cheeses, crackers, drinks, and other gourmet foodstuffs that are great to stock up on for later. the porchetta sandwich is my favorite. deliciously fatty pork nicely balanced with tangy stuff. not too heavy. the first winery we went to let us eat our sandwiches on a picnic bench outside. beautiful view overlooking the vineyards. nice glass of red wine. heaven.

casa mia

richland, wa

website

you'll note that i blog very few restaurants in richland, washington. although that is where i was born and raised, none of the restaurants can compare to my mom's cooking. but when we decide to give mom a break from the stove, we go to casa mia. this is my FAVORITE salad, although i'm not even sure it's fair to call it a salad. some crunchy iceberg lettuce topped with thousand island, pizza-style mozzarella cheese, and olives. lots and lots of olives. although there's lettuce under there somewhere, it's coated with three fatty items - dressing, cheese, and olives. so good. i also get the spaghetti here so that i'm not only eating fat+fat+fat+lettuce, but their pasta is just okay.

wong's king seafood restaurant

portland, or

website

home of chris's "bbq pork guy" (doesn't everyone have a bbq pork guy?). when in portland visiting chris and amanda, we go to wong's king for great chinese food. my favorite dish here is the enoki mushroom with chicken and egg tofu. i love egg tofu. i don't know why it's called egg tofu or how it's made, but somehow it's silkier and creamier than non-egg tofu. delicious! when visiting portland with my parents, we went to wong's king twice. after stuffing ourselves for dinner on saturday night, we went back on sunday morning for dim sum. so good.

pho van

portland, or

website

visited chris and amanda in portland. they took me to a yummy vietnamese restaurant. really good pho, but the highlight was the make-your-own summer rolls. you get a huge plate with shrimp wrapped around sugarcane, a bunch of herbs and veggies, and crisp sheets of white paper. it took a few minutes of staring at and folding the white paper, but eventually chris figured out that you dunk the white paper in some hot water and it turns into the translucent noodle-like wraps that you fill with herbs, veggies, sauce, and meat. yum.

sakura teppanyaki and sushi

redwood city, ca

link to yelp

the lovely stacey was in town and we decided to show her a good time in redwood city. ah yes, september 6, 2012. what a night to remember... okay, so the photographic evidence indicates that we ordered beef. i think the beef was pretty good. but all i can remember of the evening was that the fried rice was ridiculously delicious (being cooked in beef fat might have had something to do with it) and that we had to park really far away from the restaurant because redwood city was hoppin'.