All posts tagged: nom nom nom

cafe and chill.

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My fave thing to do on a day off is to explore and hang out in cafes to try the local flavors and relax. In grad school I remember dreaming about going to hang out in cafes instead of going to study in cafes. It’s everything I imagined. 🙂 Here are a couple of my recent finds, pre-shelter in place. I can’t wait until this is all over to do some more exploring! Add these to your list, too! fig and poe. I enjoyed a lovely breakfast here before a conference in Oakland, and when I accidentally combined a waffle and toast order, I loved it! For the win: jalapeño and cheddar liege waffle with goat cheese, plus a turmeric oat milk latte. The staff are fun, the decor simple and inviting, and you feel like a regular even if it’s your first time. farm and flour. Hubby and I ventured here just to hang. We arrived just in time because we snagged the last pieces of bread. I had the avocado toast and an …

brw20.

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Nom nom nom. Berkeley Restaurant Week! I tend to always miss it, but this year my friend invited me to a special kick-off event, and I actually made dinner date plans with my girlfriends to try a new restaurant in town. All the noms below. BRW Kick-off The special kick-off event was held at the Double Tree in Berkeley. Visit Berkeley hosted and invited influencers from the area. I met a travel writer, restaurant and art gallery owners, and overall nice people! There were bites from the Boathouse and wine from local wineries. I was seen without a glass of wine and someone brought me one! First class! If you get to visit the Boathouse I highly recommend the Brussels sprouts and the chocolate ginger crème brûlée. To top off the evening, Trumer Pils etched custom pint glasses! I got Crafterateur printed on mine. Shout out to my friend Jerico for inviting me to the kick-off! It was so fun! Fish and Bird Sousaku Izakaya Later in the week my friends and I enjoyed the …

lemon roll.

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Lemon roll: a wonderful way to spend an afternoon, food for your soul, what the Hubs and I look forward to on San Diego trips. My first time at Tokyo Sushi Loha was back in 2006. It was the closest sushi place to my grad school apartment and they passed the spicy tuna roll test (When trying a new sushi restaurant, I always try my go-to roll: the spicy tuna roll. If I like it, I can eat there again.). I found myself frequenting the restaurant, often bringing guests and getting take out for evenings in. In the process I was able to try a number of their rolls. Then along came the Lemon Roll. Nobody makes it quite like Tokyo Sushi Loha. Nobody. The closest you can get to it in the Bay Area is a 49er roll, but it’s not the same. Trust. Ingredients: California roll base Fresh salmon and yellowtail Thinly sliced lemon, rind on Green onions Cracked black pepper Sesame seeds Special sauce (crack sauce) The rind is kept on the …

food of DC.

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I can’t recap a trip without a food posts! Here’s a food overview for my DC trip plus links to my in depth Yelp reviews. Jinya Ramen My coworker friend and I stayed in the Logan neighborhood, and after a day of traveling, we decided on Jinya Ramen, just a few blocks from our lodging. I had the Slurp up Cilantro Ramen and we shared the cripsy chicken with garlic and pepper. Compass Coffee Before the conference started, we adventured to the U.S. Botanic Garden, then stopped for a quick bite at Compass Coffee, conveniently located near the Convention Center. The iced jasmine green tea was perfectly steeped and perfectly perfect for the hottest day of our trip. Poke Papa Fish for dinner! This place has sakura-shaped radish and unlimited fried garlic toppings. Milk Bar There’s a Milk Bar in DC! I went for my fill. National Portrait Gallery Cafe We went to the gallery to see the Obama painting plus lunch. You might choose to go for wine by the glass! A Baked Joint …

monterey munchies.

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Hubby’s tennis team made it to Sectional Championships this year. They represented the East Bay Area in Monterey. All of the matches were held at Chamisal Tennis and Fitness club (like last year!). We didn’t get to explore much in between matches, but when we did, it involved food. Here’s a short guide to Monterey munchies. Day 1. On Day 1, Hubby’s team had back to back matches. I’m not sure how they all survive off of protein bars and sports drinks, but here’s what we ate afterwards. Culturas Hidaldo y Oaxaca Restaurant: pinwheels, seven tacos, shrimp diablo, and cucumber lime aguas frescas. The star of the meal was the aguas frescas! Day 2. On Day 2 they had one morning match which meant we had a whole afternoon to explore. We grabbed burgers at Bagel Kitchen (they ran out of bagels by the time we showed up) and headed to Lover’s Point Park for a picnic. Bagel Kitchen had already turned off the fryers, too, so we picked up fries at the beach snack …

sweet treat.

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Taste test time! We gathered many treats from Japan and we brought them home for sharing and taste testing. We finally tried them all. First up: Tokyo Banana. These things were everywhere. I had to try one for myself. Opening this box was a delight. It was beautifully packaged. Branding: on point! There are eight Tokyo bananas individually wrapped. They look like Twinkies. They have a Twinkie texture, too, but there’s a legit fresh banana inside! I was surprised – how do they keep that fresh for so long? Sorcery! The banana was covered with a thin layer of sugar glaze, and then somehow placed in a fluffy yellow cake which was subtly shaped like banana. Green tea brownie. The Nagano treat box gift sets are insanely beautiful. Look at this box! The green tea brownies came in a pack of four, and each came with it’s own mini fancy box and mini spoon. The brownie was decadent and I actually enjoyed the green tea flavor on this one. Not too bitter, not too sweet. …

itadakimasu.

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I travel for the food. How about you? Drool with me now; it’s time for my Japan food recap! Itadakimasu! Sushi for breakfast, Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo This is what dreams are made of. We woke up at 11:30PM Friday and waited until the Tsukiji Fish Market opened at 7AM Saturday. Yaa, we had reverse jet lag. Before breakfast we strolled the Kachidoki Bridge for some just-after-sunrise views. I had the maguro salmon don (left) and Hubby had a kaisen don (right), plus miso soup with a big helping of seaweed. That’s wassup. That fish was fressssh. And I am obsessed with sushi rice. Noodles for breakfast, Rokurisha, Tokyo I’m a big fan of being able to eat out somewhere I can have rice or noodles for breakfast. And if there’s a place open by 10AM in the States I am a super fan. It took Hubby and I a while to find the tsukemen (dipping ramen) restaurant on our must-list because buildings in Tokyo are confusing. I saw a line and no English restaurant …