i like to eat.

Before heading over to the Fox Theatre to see Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, Jason surprised me with dinner at Townhouse in Emeryville.

As we pulled into the rear parking lot, I kept saying "seriously? THIS place?" I've driven by the building before and it looks like a shack. I even remember my dad distinctively saying, "wow, that's a rundown place. You wouldn't want to be here at night."

When I got out of the car, I could see an outdoor seating area. As I slowly walked closer, I was surprised and relieved that the interior looked decent and this rundown shack was actually an operating restaurant. Jason definitely shocked me by picking this random place.

The interior was quite large with exposed beams, an open kitchen, long counter bar and even an area with live music. Nice. Not what you expect from the exterior.

I ordered the chicken picatta with mashed potatoes and broccolini. The chicken was tender, moist, smashed thin and smothered with a savory lemon, caper, white wine sauce. I was craving for some mashed potatoes and these hit the spot - extra fluffy with olive oil. The grilled broccolini was really good too, not bitter at all.

Jason was craving for a burger and ordered one. He said it wasn't bad, but nothing that special. The fries, on the other hand, were so good - fresh, extra crispy and thin.

We enjoyed our dinner with a bottle of Argentinian red wine, Malbec. It was really good - full bodied with soft tanins, similar to a cab. I've never had Malbec before, but I enjoyed it very much. This variety is certainly going into my wine repertoire.

Although dinner was rushed since we had to go to the concert [ partly my fault - a girl takes awhile to get ready! :P ], I thoroughly enjoyed the surprise (both dinner and finding this hidden gem). As the saying goes, never judge a book by its cover. :)

Thank you Jason!

     

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Surprise_Dinner_tag_townhouse_.zip (549 KB)

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The street food continues......with Chez Spencer.

Charles Chocolate Factory in Emeryville was hosting an outdoor screening of Ratatouille and Chez Spencer was going to be there.

My friends arrived before me and they ordered a whole bunch of stuff: frog legs in curry, braised lamb stew, sweetbreads with sherry and escargot puffs. They recommended the lamb and escargot, so Jason and I ordered those two and garlic shrimp.

Ratatouille cup with almond crust was on the menu, but unfortunately, they were not serving it. How could they not serve ratatouille when they were going to play the movie?! tsk tsk.

My first bite was from the "safe" dish - garlic shrimp, which was what it was. Shrimp drenched in garlic and butter, nothing new.

I'm not a huge fan of lamb, so I was hesitant to eat the stew, but hey, I have to try everything. Very gamey. Exactly why I hate lamb.

Escargot was next. I've only had escargot once a long time ago and don't remember the taste. Deep breath... One bite and I don't know if it was in my head, but I instantly started to taste dirt. The escargot was chewy and all I could think about was to try not to spit it out.

Overpriced food ($7-9 per dish, $2 for each escargot), considering this is from a truck. Street food is suppose to be affordable! Chez Spencer is definitely not my cup of tea and I would never go back.

       

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More_Street_Food_tag_food_fren.zip (924 KB)

For the second week in a row, my friends and I went to Cafe Biere. This time, it was packed. What a huge difference it was from a week ago! Oh no, the word is out that Cafe Biere is a cool spot!

The place is already tiny and cramming twice as many people was claustrophobic. Our lovely friend and owner, Ivan, remembered us (yay!) and we fortunately were able to grab a seat at the communal table.

Free tasting came around and I tried many dark stouts. I'm usually a light ale drinker, but hey, it's free, why not give it a try? ;) Last week was all about the lambic and this week was all about the stout.

My favorite of the night was Scottish Stout from Belhaven. It was full (but not so full where it left you really stuffed), complex, roasted flavor and a little bit chocolatey. It was darn good. I still prefer lighter beers, but if I had to drink a stout, I'd grab this one.

   

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Cafe_Biere_Part_2_tags_drinkin.zip (430 KB)

March 19th marked my eighth year with my boyfriend. To celebrate, we stayed in and did the whole pizza, wine and movie thing.

I LOVE love A16 in San Francisco (see post - sorry, pictures don't justify its yummy-ness!) and have been wanting to find something similar. You're probably wondering why I want to find something similar when I claim A16 is already the best. Not sure why, I think I want to try other places that might beat it. I searched Yelp and discovered Rotten City Pizza. It sounded like it'd be the same type of pizza I like - super thin.

When the pizza boy came, it was huge - a large (we didn't have the option to choose the size). We ordered the funghi that came with tomato sauce, mozzarella, provolone, parmigiano, cremini mushrooms, garlic chips and we added salumi for an extra $3. The toppings were very similar to what we get at A16.

I'd have to say, it was decent, but still not A16. Then again, it's hard to judge because I got Rotten City's delivered and I always eat A16's piping hot, fresh from the oven - huge difference. Plus, the service at A16 is fabulous, so that adds to the dining experience.

I wouldn't rule Rotten City Pizza out, but after you've had A16, it's hard to find a place better.

PS. I love you Jason. Happy anni! ;)

A few friends and I went to Cafe Biere for the first time couple of Wednesdays ago. We've all been raving about The Trappist (see post), so we wanted to check out Cafe Biere, another Belgium bar, to see if it was comparable.

Umm....$50 later, yes, it's a pretty freaking cool place

Cafe Biere is much smaller than The Trappist with about 6 tables. The ambiance of Cafe Biere isn't even better, which again, I have to say, I loveThe Trappist's coziness and pub-like atmosphere.

       

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Cafe_Biere_tags_drinking_beer_.zip (893 KB)

I don't even remember how we ended up at Skates on the Bay in Emeryville again (see previous post). But, the same posse - Jason, Mike, Neel and I, went there for dinner.

Everyone got the house burger since Jason and I were raving about it last time. Unfortunately, it wasn't as good as we remembered. This time, the waiter did ask how I liked it and I told him medium-well, but it was overcooked and wasn't juicy enough.

Maybe the experience wasn't as good as the first time because it was too soon since we went back or like many say, the first time is always the best. OR, the chef could have just sucked and overcooked the burger. I'd prefer to think it was the last excuse. Either way, it was a little disappointing not having the same experience. The first time was, just, so, good.

     

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16_Burger_Wine_Part_2_tags_foo.zip (712 KB)

Jason, his dad and I had dinner at Miyozen in Emeryville before we went to a Warriors game a few Sundays ago. It was a rainy, gloomy day and I ordered beef udon to hopefully, warm me up.

The bowl of noodles was pretty. I was just about to dig in and decided it was worth a post. The thin slices of beef were tender and the noodles surprisingly quite good. They were slightly chewy unlike most udons I've had where they've been overcooked and soggy. The only mishap is the broth. I like my broth to be rich and savory, but unfortunately, this one was too sweet.

All in all, it was a good experience. Miyozen is actually quite big, classy and modern. But the good thing is, their prices do not reflect a classy and modern establishment. They even have a sushi boat which looked tempting. Next time...

Lunch with Jason and his parents was at the Public Market in Emeryville. For those of you that are not familiar with the Public Market, it was built in 80s and hailed as THE place for international cuisine. You can taste flavors from all over the world in one place. It's basically a giant food court with different cuisines - now ubiquitous in every mall.

I was craving for some rice so I went to to Pamir Afghan. I've been there before and enjoyed their spiced chicken (they pass out free samples of this as you walk by), but I wanted to try something different.

I opted for the spinach and chicken. It was creamy, full of flavor and went perfectly well with the rice . There wasn't a lot of chicken, but I didn't care, I figured, I should be eating more vegetables anyway. ;)

Their "naan" is not naan. They should just call it a big piece of bread. It's not soft either. Chewy and bland. I tend to not eat it since I'm already full from all the other stuff on the plate.

Overall, Pamir is a hit at the Public Market. Great value and a satisfying meal.

I was in Emeryville on Saturday and when I'm in Emeryville, Wally's is the place to go. :)

I previously posted about Wally's and raved about its greatness. Saturday's round two experience was no different. It's so freaking good!

This time, my boyfriend and I split a beef kabob plate that included rice and a salad. The plate is big enough for us to share. Again, we were served lentil soup before our meal and baklava for dessert. A three course meal for about $14! Unbelievable!

I didn't really care for the beef. It was a little tough, very meaty. I think I'll try the chicken next time. The rice was absolutely delicious! I've never had rice like that. At first, it's kind of mushy, but the mushy-ness comes from the broth they cook it in (I think?). It was so flavorful and yummy. I could eat an entire bowl of that rice. The salad was light and refreshing, a great complement to the heavy-ness of the meat and rice.

You HAVE to go to Wally's if you're in Emeryville. it's my new favorite place. :D