Is It Sushi? Is It A Burrito? Or Is It Something Else Entirely?

It’s a strange concept. Take a dish that is naturally light, fresh, delicate, and dainty — supersize it — and throw as many crunchy, creamy, fusiony ingredients as you can into it. What do you get? A sushirrito.

Even before I had moved to San Francisco, Sushirrito was already near the top of my SF must-eat list. There was just something about that super-hyped, unusual sushi-burrito hybrid that I just couldn’t resist trying for myself. Yes, I know the concept sounds a little ridiculous — why would anyone want to shove sushi ingredients into a burrito format. And yes, I know that the Japanese have already mastered the supersized sushi form through handrolls. But, I do love sushi and I do love burritos, so I was curious enough to find out if this Bay Area combined evolution of the two would form a recipe for success.

(more…)

Continue ReadingIs It Sushi? Is It A Burrito? Or Is It Something Else Entirely?

This Incredible Chinese-Creole Cross-Over is Unlike Anything You’ve Ever Had Before

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I also don’t know how you could have possibly missed it. Over the summer of 2015, fried chicken was quite the hot trend, completely dominating all mainstream food media outlets with hyped up content. With big name heavy-hitters like David Chang opening his much-hyped Fuku and Danny Meyers launching a fried chicken sandwich at his much-loved burger shop Shake Shack, seemingly everyone was scrambling to get into the fried chicken game. Every place was busy concocting their own signature breading type, fry-style, and of course secret spice blend.

But, there’s one fried chicken variant that I had this year that was invented long before all of this summer’s madness and I still can’t seem to get it out of my head. This insane fried chicken creation has literally crept into my dreams on more than one occasion like Freddy Krueger, taunting and torturing me to return from within. Unfortunately, this unconscious itch can only be scratched in one place — and this unusually creative shop called Red’s Chinese is located in a way-off-the-beaten path New Orleans neighborhood called Bywater. If you’re in NOLA without a car, Red’s Chinese is not the easiest to access, but if you’ve got one, it’s an absolute cannot-miss. Actually, you better book your flights to NOLA now, you’re gonna want to experience this one for yourself.

(more…)

Continue ReadingThis Incredible Chinese-Creole Cross-Over is Unlike Anything You’ve Ever Had Before

Old School Italian Sub Sandwiches at Lucca Delicatessen in the Marina

When people ask me what I miss most about New York, the answer pretty much solely correlates to food. There are a lot of things that are better out here in SF, but there’s some things that I’ve found particularly difficult to get my hands on. Specifically, I truly miss my weekly stops in at the old Italian meat and cheese shrines at Di Palo and Alleva in Little Italy. Their prosciutto, mozzarella, porchetta, meatballs, and other sliced meats rank as some of my favorite things to eat in all of New York and it sort of feels like I’ve lost a part of myself without them in my life.

Upon moving to SF, I learned the hard way that finding incredible versions of these simple Italian classics wasn’t nearly as easy as it was back east. Sure, SF has North Beach – its own unsatisfying version of Little Italy, but just like New York’s Little Italy, most of it is just touristy dreck. In SF, to find the good stuff, you’ve got attack the city with a little bit more of an informed approach. And that’s exactly what brought me to Lucca Delicatessen on this Sunday afternoon.

(more…)

Continue ReadingOld School Italian Sub Sandwiches at Lucca Delicatessen in the Marina

Asian Inspired Brunch at Kitchen Door in the Napa Oxbow Market

Here’s the thing about Napa. It’s pretty freaking expensive everywhere. Between the wineries and their extra pricey tastings and the extremely high-end eateries, it’s pretty easy to burn through a lot of cash quickly in Napa. Even if you actually want a meal on the cheaper side, it’s not so easy to find anything that’s actually good so it takes a bit more digging and information than most places and you’re still likely to end up disappointed. But, I do actually know of some great meals that can be had in Napa for less than an arm and a leg and I’m happy to share this info with you.

(more…)

Continue ReadingAsian Inspired Brunch at Kitchen Door in the Napa Oxbow Market

Fast, Fresh, and Cheap Sushi at Geta in Oakland

One day, Amy and I were headed to Oakland to check out the California International Antiquarian Book Fair (it’s way more awesome than it sounds, I promise). This year, the event relocated from its usual San Francisco venue to the Marriott City Center Convention location in the Piedmont neighborhood of Oakland.

Well, I’m pretty much always on the hunt for great, cheap sushi and I knew we would need to grab a good lunch before heading into the event, but I wasn’t very familiar with the area’s food selection. So, I pulled up Foursquare and did a quick search to gauge my options. Immediately, I was presented with an obvious lunch solution – a tiny hole-in-the-wall well-regarded for its quality fish and reasonable prices called Geta Sushi.

(more…)

Continue ReadingFast, Fresh, and Cheap Sushi at Geta in Oakland

A Perfect Day of Eating & Wine Tasting Across Paso Robles

To celebrate my lovely girlfriend Amy’s redacted birthday, we planned a glorious weekend getaway to the Paso Robles wine country. We had heard excellent things about the remote region’s beauty and density of high-quality wineries so it seemed like a great way to spend a couple of days and the perfect way to mark the occasion.

On the Friday of her birthday weekend, Amy drove down from San Francisco to pick me up from work in Sunnyvale before we headed off into the beautiful, winding, south-of-SF countryside only to stop quickly in Moss Landing for dinner before reaching Paso Robles at around 11 PM.

(more…)

Continue ReadingA Perfect Day of Eating & Wine Tasting Across Paso Robles

Dunk Your Beefy Sandwich in Beef Juice at Adamsons French Dip in Sunnyvale

20140709_153602_edit

Adamsons is not the kind of place you’d expect to find in a strip mall in the heart of Silicon Valley. It feels like a franchise that should have already spread its seed throughout the Nor-Cal landscape but this is the only one. This singular shop is family owned, but you wouldn’t guess that by the decor. Despite all of this it’s comforting and refreshing to learn that it does exist.

(more…)

Continue ReadingDunk Your Beefy Sandwich in Beef Juice at Adamsons French Dip in Sunnyvale

It’s So Much More Than Just Plain Old Greek Yogurt at Chobani in SoHo

DSC_4234_edit

In a neighborhood where models, fashionistas, and shopping enthusiasts roam wild it’s almost unsurprising that a cafe like Chobani exists. I’ll be the first to admit that I openly scoffed at the idea of a fresh Greek yogurt specialty shop when they first opened up in SoHo, but I’ll also be quick to tell you that everything is actually incredible.

You, like me, are probably saying “Really? It’s just Greek yogurt with toppings in a bowl?” Well yes, that would be the simplistic way of looking at it. But, there are actual chefs back there behind the glass wearing actual chef coats putting together super-fresh, interesting, flavorful sweet and savory Greek yogurt and gourmet topping combinations.

(more…)

Continue ReadingIt’s So Much More Than Just Plain Old Greek Yogurt at Chobani in SoHo
Read more about the article Seriously Good, Cheap Fried Chicken at Dirty Bird To-Go in NYC
Dirty Bird To-Go Review

Seriously Good, Cheap Fried Chicken at Dirty Bird To-Go in NYC

20131007_132836_edit

In TriBeCa, nearly invisible, tucked away under some construction scaffolding on Chambers Street for as long as I can remember, you’ll find some of the best and most reasonably priced fried chicken in NYC. This is no dive. It’s a very well designed, polished space that feels like they should be charging double what they are. This is one of the those gems that feels like such a deal and nearly the entire menu is excellent.

(more…)

Continue ReadingSeriously Good, Cheap Fried Chicken at Dirty Bird To-Go in NYC