Honeyberry

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I love me some bread and all things breadlike. Asian type breads, even better.  Honeyberry is a pretty popular Asian dessert chain all over the South Bay.  Along with specialty coffees, Honeyberry serves frozen yogurt, gelatos, and shaved ice.

But they are most known for their roti buns.  Freshly baked every 15 minutes and even warmed up for you if asked, these round bundles of bread are worth the hype.  They are so well loved that most people buy them by the half dozen and dozen.

The plain roti has a sweet taste with a fluffy, airy center.  The outside part is what makes this tasty treat.  It has a slightly crunchy top that is noticeably messy to eat.  Its somewhat similar to a Chinese pineapple bun (see post HERE).

The chocolate butter roti bun is my favorite of the three.  Made with the same base as the plain roti bun, but sweet buttery custard inside oozes out once you hit the center.  I wish there was a bit more creamy center.   Tiny chocolate chips are speckled around the top of the crunchy top.

The yogurt roti bun is similar to the chocolate bun, but it has yogurt chips on the top and a cream cheese flavored custard center.

   

Address:                   HoneyBerry
                                  3488 El Camino Real
                                  Santa Clara, CA
 

Type:                         Asian/dessert

Popular chomps:       roti bun
                                  shaved ice
                                  gelato

Chomp worthy:         roti bun     

La Ciudad De Mexico

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La Ciudad De Mexico is such a cute, welcomed sight in the Richmond District of San Francisco.  The place is small enough to get a whiff of the delicious smell of grilling.  As with all Mexico City spots, the must is the tortas.  Along with tortas, I was excited to see items with squash blossoms and even grilled cactus.   

Originally, I was going to just get the torta, but I couldn't walk away without tasting the squash blossom quesadilla.  Fresh tasting and delicious with a slightly charred tortilla. 

Possibly the best torta I've had in SF, although the torta at La Casita Chilanga (see post HERE) is still my best in the Bay.  There are two sizes- small and large, but the small size is more than enough for one person.  My go to torta is always the mother of all tortas - the cubano which is ham, pulled pork, chorizo, egg along with all the fixings of beans, mayo, onion, cheese, and avocado.  The bread here is soft and chewy and works with the sandwich.  It holds well even against all the hefty filling. 

Address:                   La Ciudad De Mexico
                                  200 6th Ave.
                                  San Francisco, CA 
 

Type:                         Mexican

Popular chomps:        torta

Chomp worthy:          torta cubano
                                   quesadilla squash flowers   

Los Compadres Taco Truck

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Downtown lunchtime options usually consists of salads and sandwiches, along with some fusion spots.  Everything is almost always overpriced and rarely satisfying.  When having Mexican food cravings, I've often BARTed to the Mission.  I've justified it since for about the same price (transportation + food) I can get a higher food satisfaction value.  The only downside is its not a quick lunchtime grab.  Thank goodness for the discovery of Los Compadres Taco Truck.  Within walking distance and legitimately tasty plus they take cards!  There is always a line, but the food comes out quick.

They cover the standard taco truck items and keep to the safer, non adventurous meats.  The prices are a little higher, but understandable considering the area. 

My meat tastings always start off with tacos.  From right; counterclockwise: carne asada, al pastor, carnitas.  Not a huge fan of the tortillas and wish they were griddled it a little more.  The carne asada was a little salty, but tasty.  The al pastor was probably the worst of the three choices.  It was much too oily and had no flavor.  Surprisingly, the carnitas was the best of the bunch.  It was just missing the charred bits, but still worth going back and getting.

The carnitas burrito here can be dangerous.  A delicious burrito with a chewy tortilla wrapper and flavorful meat.  A total gut bomb that is best devoured when you can afford the food coma in the rest of the workday.

Address:                    Los Compadres Taco Truck
                                   Spear St & Folsom St.
                                   San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                          Mexican/taco truck

Popular chomps:        burritos
                                    tacos

Chomp worthy:           carnitas burrito/taco
                                    carne asada     

Butter & Zeus Waffle Sandwiches

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Every once in a while I come across food mashup that I wish I thought of.  Butter & Zeus waffle sandwiches is one of them. 

Ham and cheese waffle with thin slices of ham along with a melted cheese.  All the waffles they use here are the same.  You can even buy just the waffle.  The waffle has a slightly sweet and buttery flavor with a crisp exterior and a fluffy interior.

 Usually, I'm not a fan of waffle fries, but these fries are crispy and seasoned well and still maintains the potatoey inside.
 

The barbacoa pork waffle is topped with coleslaw.  Shredded pork with more sweet flavor than a spicy, smokey flavor.

Barbacoa shredded pork topped on the waffle cut fries. 

Of course, I have to get fried chicken and waffles.  The juicy chicken has a lightly fried batter, but I wish it had a little more flavor.  No worries, they provide several types of hot sauce (Crystal!) and syrup.  I highly recommend adding both.

The portions here are great.  It's just enough to keep you satisfied, but still gives you some room to taste dessert.  Banana cream pudding served up in a cup, but enough for a couple people to share.

    

Address:                  Butter & Zeus Waffle Sandwich
                                 2213 Tasman Dr.
                                 Santa Clara, CA
 

Type:                        American

Popular chomps:      chicken and waffles
                                  waffle fries
                                  smoked salmon waffles
                                  pesto, eggs, and ham waffle
                                  banana pudding waffle

Chomp worthy:         chicken and waffles
                                   waffle fries

United Paleteria y Neveria

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Who would have ever guessed this small Mexican dessert spot in an obscure strip mall would be so popular?  It's not even summer and the weather has barely started heating up and the constant lines of this small shop amazed me.

It reminds me of a Mexican Baskin Robbins with all sorts of goodies.  It's a little hard to decipher the menu, but looking around most people tend to order the same things.  They have a lot of crazy flavors of ice cream, like rose and corn, but it seemed like pistachio and coconut were the popular choice.  Oddly enough, I've never seen a place in San Francisco that served some of these items.

Almost everyone who came in order at least one of these mangonadas.  There are only two things that make up this brightly colored dessert.  Mangos and chamoy.  Chamoy sauce is one of those sauces where you either love it, like you are obsessed about the taste, or you just don't care for it.  Its a tangy, slightly sour, spicy sauce made from apricots and chilis.  Here its prepared with a scoops of mango sherbet and topped with freshly cut mangos and then drizzled with chamoy sauce and powder.  A straw is stuck in so you can actually sip the mixture, but for the ultra obsessed, the best part is the chamoy covered straw.  I used to like chamoy sauce a lot, but lately my taste buds don't seem to be as entertained with extreme flavors.  That being said mixing up everything does provide the best balance of sweetness from the mango flavors and the tangy chamoy.  If you love that sweet/sour combination, on a hot day, this is probably a satisfying option.

Another items that appears in almost everyone's hand is the tostilocos, which reminds me of a Mexican frito pie.  This Tijuana street food is made with salsa verde Tostitos chips and topped with pickled shaved jicima, pickled pig skin, soy coated peanuts, chopped cucumbers, and then mixed up and topped with chamoy sauce, lime juice, and hot sauce for even more punch.  I've never had anything like this.  Its possibly the craziest combination of tastes and textures I've ever had, all in one small chip bag.  Your tastebuds are given this indescribable flavor explosion.  Its got crunch.  Its got tang.  Even the sweet and spicy combo.  Its really interesting, but not my thing.  Way too much going on for me to enjoy.  Also, another item a chamoy fanatic would love.

Address:                 United Paleteria y Neveria
                                410 S. King Rd.
                                San Jose, CA
 

Type:                       Mexican/ice cream

Popular chomps:     mangonada
                                 bionico
                                 tostilocos

Chomp worthy:        mangonada      

Ca Mau

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As always my Vietnamese food urges always get the better of me.  This time trekking out to East San Jose.

So its not as famous as San Jose's Bun Bo Hue An Nam (see post HERE), but Ca Mau still has a small following of bun bo hue followers.  I never liked the bowl I had at Bun Bo Hue An Nam so at this point Ca Mau's is probably the best I've had in San Jose, but best ever?  No that slot goes to Rosemead's Nem Nuong Ninh Hoa (see post HERE).  Here the bowl of bun bo hue has much more flavor than Bun Bo Hue An and still hits the spot, but its missing just a twinge more lemongrass flavor.

Bo Kho is a spicy Vietnamese stew often served with a crusty French bread for sopping up all that hearty soup.  I rarely order this in restaurants because I think its best homemade and its hard to find a good tasting one in restaurants.  The soup is a little thicker than the average Vietnamese soup with chunks of beef and vegetables, usually carrots.  Surprisingly, this was one of the best bo kho's I've had in a long time.  Spicy, fragrant, and very much a comfort food.

 

As always, salt/pepper with lemon and a handful of basil leaves are provided to flavor your soup.  Lemon is commonly squeezed into the salt/pepper mixture and used to dip your meat in.  I don't usually do this, but it is a common way many Vietnamese like to eat their meats, even their seafood at Boiling Crab (see post HERE).  Its almost like a custom made lemon pepper dipping sauce.

The best part of this bo kho is their really crusty French bread provided for dipping into your stew.

  

Address:                 Ca Mau
                                2847 S. White Rd.
                                San Jose, CA
 

Type:                       Vietnamese

Popular chomps:      bun bo hue
                                  mi quang
                                  com bo luc lac                                     

Chomp worthy:        bun bo hue
                                 bo kho (beef stew)      

Park Burger

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The seasons change and most people focus on putting away their winter clothes and bring out their summer clothes, but I start to focus on my summer eating.  Burgers, of course, top out the list.  

Strawberry milkshake made with Dryer's ice cream.

I'm a sucker for anything with avocado.  This is the first I've seen it on a hot dog.  The California hot dog is topped super, crisp bacon and slathered with a thick layer of guacamole.  A little hard to eat, but I just had to appreciate how they sliced the hot dog in half for more surface area crispiness.  And yes, the bun is grilled and toasted too.

There are a good number of burgers to choose from, but you can't go wrong with a simple cheeseburger.  A nice fluffy bun that soaks up all the juices in their medium rare cheeseburger.  A solid cheeseburger, overall.  I think I like this one better than my burger feeding at TrueBurger (see post HERE).

Best thing eaten in this meal were the fries.  Somewhere in between McDonalds and In-N-Out, these handcut fries had super crispy pieces and some of those soggy pieces that I love in McDonalds fries.

Address:                     Park Burger
                                    4218 Park Blvd.
                                    Oakland, CA 
 

Type:                           burger

Popular chomps:         fries
                                    classic
                                    cheese
                                    bacon cheese
                                    garibay
                                    california
 

Chomp worthy:           fries
                                    cheese     

Flour + Co.

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Flour + Co. is a newly opened bakery whose space feel light and airy, a perfect area for some springtime snacking.  All the items are freshly made and bonus points for serving Stumptown coffee!  All the item are a little on the smaller side, but that just makes for more room to taste more things. 

I had come here hoping to taste the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but they didn't have it today.  At least, they had the pretzel sandwich.  The pretzel sandwich was so creative, but I like my pretzel a little more dough and the skin a little more chewy or even toasted.  Somehow this one fell somewhere in the middle of all that.  There is not much bready insides to this pretzel. Made with cheese, bacon, and tiny dots of marmalade.  It gave an unexpected combo of sweet, salty, and savory.

With two savory and one sweet housemade poptarts, the one that screamed eat me was the nutella, banana, and nuts.  Nutella being the key ingredient to sway me over.  As with all things nutella, you can never go wrong.  Rich with little bits of banana flavor to cut through the chocolate hazelnut flavor, I only wished the pastry was a little flakier. 

The $5 toast and coffee combo has a choice between cinnamon swirl bread or wheat bread with jam or peanut butter.  With a toast resurgence happening all over the city, I was a little disappointed with this cinnamon toast.  I wished it was a thicker slice instead of the machine cut standard sliced bread.  Also the cinnamon toast didn't have much cinnamon flavor and tasted a bit dry.  The berry jam, however, was delicious and reminded of the fruity, housemade jam at Outerlands (see post HERE).

Address:                   Flour + Co.
                                  1030 Hyde St.
                                  San Francisco, CA

Type:                         bakery

Popular chomps:       biscuits and gravy
                                   egg and bacon sandwich
                                   tasty tart with nutella, banana, and nuts

                                   bacon scallion biscuit
                                   peanut butter and jelly sandwich                                 
                                   pretzel sandwich
                                   monkey bread

Chomp worthy:         tasty tart with nutella, banana, and nuts        

Heyday

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With Chez Panisse alum Jeremy Scheiblauer as the driving force behind this healthy weekday lunch option in the SOMA/Financial District, its no surprise all the ingredients are organic and fresh.  Heyday is a nice lunchtime option that offers a mix and match choice of one item for $6, two for $10, and three for $14.  The portions are a little on the smaller side, but they are still satisfying.

I was really excited to see Heyday sells Starter Bakery goodies, especially their famous kouign amann.  This pastry has quickly become one of my favorites and knowing these sweet treats are a closing walking distance is a bit dangerous.  Essentially the lovechild of a croissant and a morning bun, it has the most wonderful crunchy, caramelized top and flaky insides.

The ham and cheese croissant was a little disappointing.  Airy and flaky, but the ham and cheese inside was almost nonexistent.

I passed on their famous turkey sandwich for their special sandwich of the day - roast pork shoulder with fennel, sage and creme fraiche.  Light and savory with bread adding just a tad of chewiness.

The special salad of the day was the fingerling potatoes with fresh artichoke and herbs.  Fresh and tasty, but with a healthy kick. 

Address:                   Heyday
                                  180 Spear St.
                                  San Francisco, CA
  

Type:                         American

Popular chomps:       turkey sandwich
                                  farro salad 
                                  roasted chicken 

Chomp worthy:         roast pork shoulder sandwich 

Forge Pizza

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I'm all about Oakland food movement, especially reviving the Uptown and Jack London Square area so I really wanted to love this place.  The space is amazing.  Right on the waterfront in Jack London Sqaure, its the perfect outdoor area on a sunny day in Oakland.  Firepits in the outside seating area are lighted so you can even enjoy the chilly nights outside.

Fried crispy cheese curds.  Little Miss Muffet couldn't have had it any better.  These globs of cheesy goodness deep fried in a light tempura batter were just amazingly delicious.  The single best thing of this meal.  Though, the side of marinara sauce was a little bland.  I wish it had a bit of spiciness to it, but it served its purpose.

The margharita pizza came with your usual toppings: mozzarella, basil, and tomato sauce.  The pizza was limp and soggy.  The ingredients along with the pizza tasted like one giant mush. 

The burger, albeit very juicy, wasn't that great.  It lacked much taste and heartiness.  The fried potato puffs on the other head took second place for best side dish of this meal.  Puffs of crisp potato with a pillowy soft center.  It reminded me of Gregiore's potato puffs, but better! (see post HERE).

   

Address:                      Forge Pizza
                                     66 Franklin St.
                                     Oakland, CA
       

Type:                            pizza

Popular chomps:         burger
                                     pizza
                                     fried cheese curds

Chomp worthy:            fried cheese curds   

La Costa

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 Spanish music blasting and every table is filled with Spanish only speaking people, which I hoped was a good sign of some tasty food to come.  The shaded outside patio was a nice spot to enjoy Mexican food on a seemingly summer day. 
 

The cerviche de cameron (shrimp) was a little disappointing with the small chopped up shrimp.  Also, there was a meager serving of shrimp amoungst the plentiful cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes.  The cerviche was pretty bland and needed all the help it could get from the Tapatio (and ketchup, if that's your thing).  The tostada did stay crisp and held well with each bite.

From right; clockwise: carnitas, carne asada, al pastor, al pastor.   While its kind of a no brainer to order something with seafood when the sign of the restaurant says mariscos (seafood), the al pastor seems pretty popular as well.  I still tried to round up the usual items: carne asada and carnitas just to cover the bases.  The carnitas was a little too tender for my taste.  No crunchy or burnt bits that make carnitas so tasty.  Same for the carne asada.  Too cooked as if the meat had never seen a grill.  Also, a tad on the salty side.  The al pastor was probably the best of the bunch.  Saucy with some flavor.  Not good enough to order again though.
 

Address:                     La Costa
                                   1805 Alum Rock Ave.
                                    San Jose, CA
 

Type:                           Mexican

Popular chomps:         al pastor
                                     cerviche de cameron tostada

Chomp worthy:           nothing