I can still picture that wide, California sunshine grin on my host friend’s face as he told me, “Don’t make dinner plans for Monday night.” I didn’t. As we had for many of our meals on this Bay Area trip, my Belgian travel buddy and I left restaurant selection up to him, fully confident that…
Mua in Oakland is too cool for school. The set up? A repurposed industrial building with an ex-warehouse-y feel, plenty of exposed brick and junkyard chic chandeliers. Upon entering, one walks through a narrow foyer, along a very long bar to the right, until arriving at the host stand flanking the dining room. The space…
At Pier 39 in San Francisco, one can stare at sea lions for only so long. The mind starts to wander, conjuring up images of these happy, chubby creatures ferociously devouring prisoners of Alcatraz who attempt escape by swimming ashore. Or maybe that’s just me… Either way, the unapologetically touristy waterfront rubbed me the wrong way.…
You know kids, sometimes a food experience is made special not just by what you’re stuffing into your face but by where you are and who you are with and how you feel on that day…. is something a wise old man would say and he would be right. A prime example that comes to…
An unexpected stop on our trip to Marin County was Sol Food in San Rafael, a local Puerto Rican favorite of my host friend which I would’ve never have found on my own. The dine-in restaurant (appropriately referred to as “The Big Place”) is adjoined to a takeout counter, which is necessary considering the tremendously…
A sleepy Sunday morning in Sonoma County found us sipping brunch beverages at the delightful Girl and the Fig near leafy green Vallejo Home State Park. We had just visited Marin Civic Center Farmer’s Market, where I could not help gorging on the painfully fresh local produce cut up into neat little slices for sampling.…
Wine Country on an empty stomach is never a good idea, especially on the Saturday morning after a Friday night out in Oakland. The thought ran through all three of our minds as we headed out, the trunk packed with sheer white tops and boat shoes. So we rolled back down to Oakland during brunch…
Roaming around The Embarcadero of San Francisco around lunch time one day, we stopped by the Ferry Building to check out the market within. Our host had recommended a sandwich shop in there, and a huge building full of specialty food products is never easy to say no to. There are cafes, creameries and delis…
Fresh off work, our host brought us to a place called Monk’s Kettle for a much desired afternoon beer. And this place had many to choose from. 200 rotating beers, with 24 of these on tap, mostly Belgian but with a huge variety of styles and flavor profiles. The bar wall is adorned with hundreds of…
After day-drinking a crispy bottle of Napa Valley rosé in Dolores Park with my travel buddy and an “eclectic” bunch of Canadian musicians on their way to skinny dip in a Calistoga hot spring, I was in the mood for a late afternoon snack. We walked through the Mission and passed a place called El Majahual…
That Best Bite 