Filed under
snacks
Eat Real Festival, Part 2
Oakland's highly anticipated Eat Real Festival was in full swing. I arrived with Kate around 2 and we were ready to roam and try some food trucks.
Except, it was ridiculously hot. So hot that we felt lazy and became indecisive about what to eat.But, one thing we did know for sure was to get into the building with AC. The building was filled with a ton of different vendors that sold fresh produce, garden kits, yogurt, flowers, baked goods and other foodie related stuff. After we cooled down a bit, we were ready to eat. There was so much to choose from - bbq, tacos, Mexican, cupcakes, pizza, Korean, chowder, Southern, baked goods, desserts..the food trucks were endless!Our first stop was Tapas To Go, a truck from Whole Foods. We ordered garlic chili shrimp that was hot, but not super spicy, garlicky and delicious. The shrimp were large and fresh. The best part? Only $5. All the food at the festival was $5 or less! It was still really hot and I didn't feel like waiting forever in a line (I know, I know, the good trucks have the longest lines, but still, it was way too hot!) I saw Pizza Politana had a short line and I was intrigued that they had their own little brick oven - definitely fresh! I ordered a slice of Market that had cheese, greens, onion and bacon. My favorite part was how amazingly thin the crust was. It was sooooo good. I love thin pizza and this was one of the thinnest I've ever had. The crust was crispy and held the toppings well, no soggy crusts here! So good. Kate ordered a hot link from Phat Matt's BBQ that came with some sort of cheese dip and saltine crackers - interesting combination. Not bad.I saw some ladies making fresh pupusas at Los Angeles de Pueblas Frutas, so I had to give it a try. Yummy and filled with beans and cheese. Seoul on Wheels had a long line, but I was determined to try their version of the Korean taco. They unfortunately were sold out of the rib eye taco, so we got chicken and spicy pork. LAME. Tacos were cold, meat was chewy and there was nothing special to it. No special sauce or toppings. I can make this at home! I don't get their hype. As soon as the boys came, we had to leave, but we tried some of their food before we left - falafals from Liba (not bad and not dry) and also pork ramen from Poleng (decent, you can see the hair on the pork!). The festival was a lot of fun and exciting to try all the different trucks. I wonder if this truck craze will last... Either way, I'm enjoying it and so happy that I was able to try so many in one place.EDIT: The hot link was actually from Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q. Sorry for the mixup. Thanks to Charlotte for the catch! :)
Comments [2]
Zucchini + Corn Fritters
I had a ton of zucchini in my fridge, so when I saw this recipe, I knew it was a great way to get rid of the vegetable. I've never made anything like this before, but I was anxious to try since it reminds me of potato pancakes.
The recipe was pretty easy to make, but the fritters weren't crispy at all! :( After frying them in oil, I placed them on paper towels to drain, so maybe that is what caused them to soften. Although they did not have a crispy crust, the combination of shredded zucchini and corn was good. The vegetable was soft with a slight sweet crunch from the corn. An extra dollop of sour cream also sealed the deal. I could only eat a few in one sitting, but the leftovers made a great snack the following several days. I still prefer potato pancakes, but this was a sure way to get rid of zucchini quick.
Comments [4]
La Boulange
My friend, Kate, came back from her month and half trip and I was excited to see her. We chatted and caught up at La Boulange on Fillmore x California.
La Boulange is the perfect day place to hang out with a friend, read a book or just enjoy a cup of coffee. It's a cute French bakery that serves homemade bread, baked goods, sandwiches, other small eats and espresso. I wasn't too hungry so I got a mocha and a vegetable tart while she got soup and fries (no idea they served fries). I was a little skeptical drinking mocha so late in the afternoon, but thankfully, it didn't keep me awake that night. The warm vegetable tart was on a thin flaky crust topped with grilled zucchini, peppers, tomatoes and onions. There was a little bit of goat cheese here and there. It was a nice snack that went well with my big mocha. Welcome back Kate!
Comments [0]
BDay Celebration, Part 1
The sweet crew of my creative department threw me a little "surprise" celebration of Ciao Bella gelato and cupcakes for my birthday.
We had a gelato buffet line with flavors of Tahitian vanilla, pistachio, coconut and Madagascar chocolate. I, of course, had to try one of each. The pistachio was surprisingly really good. I thought it would be a little weird (it sounds weird!), but it was a nice fragrant flavor. Madagascar chocolate was too rich for me, almost like fudge. It even had the consistency of fudge. Coconut flavor was really coconut-y and I felt like I was on a beach. Tahitian vanilla was certainly not plain, but creamy with a ton of vanilla beans. BFF Alison brought homemade cupcakes with yellow cake and chocolate frosting. I usually don't eat chocolate frosting since it tends to be too sweet, but it was just the right amount of sweetness. And the yellow cake was moist, fluffy and delicious. Thank you creative team all so much!
Comments [0]
Afternoon Snack
When I'm traveling, I always want to eat food that I can't find back at home.
This wasn't the case.Jeff saw a Beard Papa after we meandered through the Walk of Fame and Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. I frequent the San Francisco location and my philosophy of eating unique things while traveling instantly ran through my head, so I said no. I finally caved in when he said, "let's go" and my thoughts transitioned into delicious cream puffs. The cream puffs are fresh and filled to order. We ordered two - vanilla creme and cookie crumb. I took one bite and quickly fell in love with the puff again. The pastry shell is crispy, flaky, yet soft. And the creme? I can eat it as is! It's full of vanilla beans and has just the right consistency of creaminess. Delicious. The second one had the same filling, but a crunchier topping. It was good, but I still prefer the original. Other fillings they have are strawberry, coffee, green tea, pumpkin and Earl Grey tea. I always get vanilla, but I need to try the others!
Comments [1]
Afternoon Delight
It was my vice president's birthday a few weeks ago and we got sixty Kara's Cupcakes to celebrate. I've always wanted to try Kara's, so I was anxious to see if it was worth the hype.
The celebration with chocolate and vanilla cupcakes started at 10:30 in the morning and I thought it was way too early for sweets. I grabbed a coconut topped vanilla cupcake for later. I tend to not really like shredded dry coconut flakes, but all the other cupcakes were chocolate and I prefer vanilla ones. When 2 o'clock rolled around, my sweet tooth kicked in and I was ready to devour the cupcake. It was delicious. The cake was extra moist and the cream cheese frosting was perfect - not overly sweet. I didn't even mind the coconut flakes. Yummy. It was a nice afternoon snack that quickly picked me up and worth the hype. I wonder how it compares to Sprinkles, that's the other cupcake place I want to try.
Comments [3]
Hot Pink Donut
My copywriter walked over with a large, bright pink box last Friday and I was instantly disgusted by what I saw.
It was a gaudy looking box filled with only one, lonely, greasy, unappetizing donut. We saw that it was once filled with a variety of flavors, but the hot pink donut was like in elementary school - the last one to be picked in dodge ball. But this time, no one wanted to pick it (or so I thought).
The funniest thing is the packaging: "ULTIMATE DONUT! the tastiest donut, the box proclaimed. This donut was for sure ultimate, but it did not look the tastiest with its smeared artificial frosting.
Plus, if you had a Safeway club card, it was only $3.99 (reg. $5.99)! I was kind of shocked that this was from Safeway. I would have imagined it came from somewhere cheaper, like 7-11.
We all got a good laugh and after I took my pictures, it went back to the kitchen. Minutes later, the box was in the garbage can, without the donut. I hope whoever ate it didn't get sick!
Thank you to MJ for thinking of me and Erika for her art direction. :)
Comments [3]
Fresh From the Oven
This is pretty cool. BakerTweet is a device that tells the baker's followers on Twitter when fresh and hot items are out of the oven. The first bakery to implement is Albion in London (follow their tweets here). Reading their tweets is making me salivate......maybe I should stop by Miette for some sweets.
Anyways, check out the video.
Comments [0]
The Go-to Place: Hobson's Choice
Oh my! It's been so long since I've last posted! I got super busy during the Holidays and work all of a sudden. Sorry! I'll be back in business in no time. ;)
Hobson's Choice....new favorite hang out spot on Haight x Clayton. I'm finally expanding my five block radius and discovering new joints. ;)
Comments [1]
Comments [0]