Posts tagged food
friday five
Oct 7th
I’m baaaack! For this Friday Five, here’s what I’ve been up to since March…
- I went to Wondercon in April. It was nerdy and amazing. The best part was sitting in on the Dr. Who panel, which included Neil Gaiman.
- For spring break, the bf and I went to New Orleans. The architecture was pretty, the effects of Hurricane Katrina are still visible, and the food was unreal. Mmm, beignets.
- This summer I spent a month in Guatemala so that I could study Spanish. I took five hours of Spanish class each day, but I also got to travel around the country a bit. The Maya temples in Guatemala are pretty incredible.
- After I got back to the states, I spent some time with my family and friends in the Midwest. I also got to visit the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, which was also nerdy and amazing.
- Now I’m back in California and loving the bay area. Two weeks ago I went to the 4th Annual Salsa Festival in my town. I live in a predominately Hispanic part of town, so the Salsa Festival was the place to be. Great food, great music, great dancing.
el hueco
Mar 22nd
One of my favorite things about living in the bay area is the food. I’m serious. We bay area dwellers are so spoiled with amazing food, both in variety and quality. It’s one of the reasons I have a hard time imagining living anywhere else (sorry, Mom).
Peruvian "Popcorn"
Anyway, my boyfriend and I recently came across El Hueco in Redwood City. El Hueco is a hole-in-the-wall (which is appropriate, since el hueco means “the hole”) Peruvian restaurant nestled in a small strip mall off Woodside Road. The restaurant is tiny; I think I counted a total of eight tables in the dining room. However, the food was INCREDIBLE.
El Hueco’s specialty is ceviche (also spelled cebiche), which is seafood marinated in lime and salsa and served cold. We ordered a mixed ceviche that came with octopus, shrimp, clams, mussels, fish, corn, and sweet potato. Yum. Sometimes the lime can be pretty sharp with ceviches but ours was milder than usual and I thought it was perfect.
For my main dish, I had adobo de chancho, which was pork cooked in chica de jora (corn beer). It was sooooo good. My boyfriend had carapulcra, which had chicken, pork, peanut butter, and chocolate in it, if I remember correctly. Both of our dishes were served with rice and potatoes, which is a nice change from the usual rice and beans fare of other Latin American restaurants.
I’m already looking forward to going back again soon so I can try out some of the other dishes. It is definitely worth a visit if you’re in the neighborhood.
El Hueco is located at 593 Woodside Road in Redwood City.
shabu shabu
Feb 27th
If you ever need an idea for something fun and social to do with 25+ people, I recommend going out for shabu (Japanese fondue). Last night I went out with friends to celebrate two birthdays at Shabu House in the Richmond District of San Francisco and had a great time!
Shabu House is a bit pricey – $30 for all you can eat, $40 for all you can eat and drink – but it’s a lot of fun. I think the eat/drink combo is the best deal. The beer and sake was overflowing at our tables. For food, you get a variety of vegetables and meats to cook in your choice of broth. My table picked the spicy miso broth and it was delicious. My favorites were the kobe beef and mushrooms cooked and dipped in the ponzu sauce.
For dessert, you get your pick of either green tea or red bean ice cream. The green tea ice cream is pretty good, if that’s your thing. In my opinion, the red bean ice cream is much much better.
Shabu House does have a regular menu that is not “all you can eat” and I think they also have lunch deals/specials. The restaurant is always busy on Friday and Saturday nights, so make a reservation ahead of time. Especially if you have a large group!
Shabu House is located at 5158 Geary Blvd, between 15th and 16th, in San Francisco.
pamplemousse cafe
Feb 23rd
It has been quite some time since I last posted about a local bay area haunt. Well, I decided today that this cafe is too good to not mention. For serious.
Oh my goodness.
If you live in the bay area, you must go there IMMEDIATELY and buy yourself a croissant. Or two. We won’t tell. The croissants are amazing.
They serve breakfast all day. You can get French breakfast (tartines) or other breakfast foods. Lunch is also great. The quiche is delicious. The soup is fantastic. Oh yeah, they also make cakes. I’ve not yet sampled them, but they look unreal. And delicious.
Pamplemousse Patisserie & Cafe is located at 2401 Broadway in Redwood City (corner of Broadway & Winslow).
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andree: It smelled really good! I didn't try it because of my chocolate allergy.
Renegade: The "popcorn" looks nommy. ^^ I'm having a hard time imagining the taste of chicken and pork...
Alex Humphrey: I posted a music video on my blog celebrating pi day (it's not me in the video, I'm just spreading...