Citrus. Cilantro. Beef

Lot of people do not like sour or tangy stuff. Lot of people dislike cilantro. Lot of people enjoy beef. Luckily, I'm not the type who fits in the first two statements, I'm actually the complete opposite. Those two components plus beef married between a soft sandwich roll. Hoorah.

Cute dog that was hanging around the shack. Yes, I said shack. They do have another location that's fairly close. This shack is something I like though. Get to chill out next to some construction zone by Berkeley campus, watch all types of characters eat next to you, watch people pass by. There's something different about eating outdoors in Northern California. Anyways, this dog was very nice ... and obviously wanted goodies.

Mango smoothie. I think it comes free with combos or add $1? It tastes mostly like ice with mango nectar. Free is good. Anything over a buck I would rather get something else to drink.

The infamous garlic cilantro lime sauce with tri-tip. I like it. Soft bread. Most of the meat is tender, some pieces were a little over done but eh. Some fatty pieces here and there but that's to be expected. Would I love filet cut pieces of meat? Well heck yeah ... but then it would cost a lot more. Just go get this sandwich unless you really hate citrus and cilantro. I like this thing. I think I will try to grab it when I go visit friends next time in the area.

Brazil Fresh Squeeze Cafe
2161 University Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94704
510-845-8011

- spam

Asian Drinks. No Long Lines.

Guess this review is a long time coming. Found this gem with a great friend of mine randomly since I love gambling on new places. Whenever my fiance is around, I'd have to say we drop by this place on a weekly basis. I'm sure those of you who frequent Asian eateries enjoy boba ... more specifically honey boba. When we speak on honey boba usually the first thing that comes to mind is Half & Half. What goes hand in hand with Half & Half? A wait long enough for your shit to take a shit on itself. I value my time as a living human being. I cannot stand waiting for a boba drink for 30-60 minutes. Hell, I cannot comprehend why any person would. Back to the Cat-Inspired Cafe I was talking about.

This place has pretty good drinks but I like things less sweet and usually ask for less sugar. Anyway, Half & Half has their iced milk with boba and pudding. Yes, Half & Half does have pretty good boba but not always and depends on the location. But their pudding is crap. Tastes like it came out of one of those cheap packages you can get at a market. Meow Meow Cafe does their pudding some damn justice. LOVE the pudding. It's almost like flan.

They have this brown sauce that they add to it too. It's nice. With Half & Half it just starts tasting like milk when you eat up all the goodies in the drink. With this drink it's still flavored milk. Like I said I like half sugar but my buddy loves the normal amount. But he is not afraid of sugar. My fiance and I just went there yesterday to be honest. They have another drink, I believe it's #3 on the menu, Frosty Wintermelon with boba and pudding. Same idea as this except some blended milk with wintermelon tea. Wintermelon is very sweet by itself and the milk tone down the sweetness and make it smoother. Great drink also. If you don't want to waste time at Half & Half, definitely come here.

Meow Meow Cafe
3646 Nogales Street, Suite A
West Covina, CA 91792
626-965-9789

- spam

Girl. Bistro.

Who is she? Brenda? Melissa? Nah, it's Vanessa. Hahaha, got rave reviews. And good thing is there is a second location in Walnut Creek. I believe the hours are better at this location because every time I went with my fiance they were closed. You hear a lot of things and expectations tend to get high for a place with reputation. This does not deter me because I walk in with no expectation. If it's good, score! If not, oh well, it just doesn't win my taste buds over. Vanessa's Bistro is not bad. There's some things I enjoyed. Other things that my tongue did not like as much. I will have to say it is a little pricey for the portion size. Fair warning though ... the establishment does stress the dishes as tapas.

One of my favorite dishes that I like to try. French Onion soup. Vanessa's has an interesting play on this dish. The onion flavor is okay, a bit more sweet. I assume this is an Asian thing. French is more savory. Asians have more foods with sugar. Was this dish good? It was okay. Not that much cheese and the puff pasty on top is a bit ... underwhelming and almost seems out of place. The reason I say this is because with heat the cheese flavors the bread (and soup); thus, adds a bunch of flavor. I would not order it again because it does not tickle my special spot.

There's the cheese. Not as much. Sad face. Maybe it's the glutton side of me. Love the cheese. Lust for the burnt, toasty cheese. Hahaha.

Filet Mignon Salad. This one was quite tasty. Vietnamese and French know their filet. Yum. Tender, juicy, with the savory garlic butter mixed with the crispy cool vegetables. Yum

Almost all gone. Haha.

Calamari. Although the calamari was tender and lightly battered, it does not strike me as something I must have. Nothing really screams spectacular. Tender calamari, good. Nice lightly grilled onions with some spice, good. So, I would assume the issue right now is with calamari itself. My fiance loved it. She loves fried goods. Hahaha.

Overall, this place is not bad. Go for Happy Hour, definitely more worth it if you want to give the place a try. If you do not like it at that price don't go back. Would I come back here again? Yes, well when I'm in the neighborhood and if there is nothing else around the neighborhood I want to eat but hell, there's a lot of good eats in Northern California.

Vanessa's Bistro 2
1329 N. Main Street
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
925-891-4790
http://www.vanessasbistro2.com

- spam

Nearby. Set Dinner.

I have no idea when or how my fiance and I got into eating better but we did. I am definitely glad too. She still enjoys the occasional In & Out, McDonald fries, that whole thing. Not too often which is good. I do not care for it. I enjoy my arteries free of fast food. Hahaha, but sometimes I eat it. Once or twice a year I actually say alright I'll eat it. Since I am a strange freak I usually encourage my fiance (and usually friends) to try something new. Just so happens there is a place a quick drive away that has a very good three set course menu. Of course appetizer, entree, and dessert. Pretty decent price $25-30 per person, depends on the day of week.  So without adding more mumbo jumbo crap that comes out of my mouth (and in turn my fingers) here we go:

Nicely toasted bread. I do not mind the size of it, I have a big mouth to accommodate this. Plus, not filthy puns for this one, thanks. The outside is not too hard, and the core is very very soft. With the salted butter, it's a nice filler. They toast it with a bit of butter too.

Unknown Salad. I can't remember what this was. Spinach, bacon, feta. The Caesar was definitely the one that stood out.

Caesar Salad with Anchovies. This was very good. Although the anchovies did sound strange, the chef did not over saturate the salad with dressing. The dressing itself was a little tangy. Pretty good. Tart from a bit of citrus with the savory from the anchovy. Approved. Haha.

Nice shoestring fries. Tasty, but since the potatoes were cut so thin a lot of pieces were hard from being in the fryer for too long. I like my fries with a little tenderness in the middle.

Bone marrow. Not enough marrow. Ever! EVER!

Short Rib Ravioli. This dish was good, but I would say it was not great. The short rib did not stand out in the ravioli. It's weird, I would have to say it was as if the chef has some left over braised short ribs then thought, "Dude I'm going to totally use the leftover meat in some ravioli and just use the same sauce!" That's how I see it anyway ... sauce was good, starchy, seems like a bit of wine was added.

Gnocchi. Usually, we don't order it. But since I went with my fiance, best friend and his wife, we were able to order a little of everything to see what the chef excels best at. I'm not a good judge of gnocchi so for me it just tastes like Chinese rice balls and it would be in dessert. I personally have to pass on gnocchi.

Camping Trip. Camper who? Yeah you heard the dish: Camping Trip. And your mind will trip out all right. You think ... well what the crap did I just order? I thought I received salad already. But wait! There's a sizzling stone with your awesomely cooking salmon underneath all the greens. That's correct ladies & gents, the salmon is still getting cooked (a little) when it is brought out. Don't touch the river stone. The host or waiter will repeat this. The salmon is seasoned well, the balsamic reduction adds a bit of tang then you get the coolness from the greens. Great great dish. Get it.

Chicken & Waffles. This was my first taste of the infamous Chicken and Waffles combination. I have no clue how other places make it but usually I see the gravy/cream crap all over. This ain't a porno. But with this entree, there was some mental moaning. It was good. The waffle was not saturated with maple syrup, the chicken was tender and juicy, there was enough of the secret white sauce for the dish. I enjoyed it. Just depends if you're in the mood for an seemingly breakfast like dinner.

Yum. Peppermint with chocolate. Always a good combo. I forgot what it was exactly but their menu changes depending on what is in season.

Cheesecake. Why not? Was not horrible dense. Pretty good berry sauce. But it's just cheesecake.

Shortbread with ice cream and forgot the reduction on it. I remember it being a lemon shortbread of some sort. Since my tongue is a slut for contrasting flavors, it definitely approved.

Little chocolate cake with ice cream. Basic, light and fluffy. Not dense, not overly chocolaty where you want to pour a glass of milk down your throat.

I guess after all the good appetizers and entrees the desserts seemed ... anti-climatic? They were not bad because my taste buds were definitely satisfied. Usually I need a bit of sweet to end my meals. There was enough sugar to wash away whatever was on my palate. But ... to be honest none of the desserts were whispering in my ear: "Yeah baby, next time you order me." This is a place you do want to try if you live in the area. I would call it a hidden gem. Portions are right, price is fair, service is good.

Owen's Bistro
5210 D Street
Chino, CA 91710
909-638-0452
www.owensbistro.com

- spam

High Tea. Circa Now.

This is not the traditional high tea. No British accents. No floral prints. No heavy tea pots. No Victorian furniture nor decor. Clean edges. Darker colored interior, nice place to chill, chat, and have a bite to eat. I'm surprised I stumbled on this place. The employees really understand their teas. A nice menu that separates teas by typical styles: black, green, white, herbal, fruit. At least I remember it being something like that. Hahaha. The actual food menu is short. Majority of it is quite pleasant. Tranquil Tea Lounge.

My fiance and I love love love this place. Yes, I apologize for the delay in posts (besides being a lazy turd). I had a lot of planning to do and proposed to my better half this past weekend. She said yes. Awesomely happy. Yay. Back to the Tea Lounge. Here's the menu.

Makena's Passion. Deliciously refreshing. We enjoy our teas a little bit sweetened to bring out the flavors of the tea. If anything ask for the simple syrup on the side. You can adjust sweetness to taste. This tea really tastes tropical. When I took my first sip I imagined myself wanting to be on Maui, just on a lounge chair getting serenaded by the ocean. Man. Guava and pineapple just really helped with the whole tropical feel of it all.

Geisha's Kiss. On the lighter side, that's for sure. The flavors are not as bold but the lychee does stand out the most. Was it good? Yes, most definitely. We have been back a number of times and my fiance usually sticks to one of these two because they're her comfort drinks. I'm usually the psycho who tries the new things and ends up complaining to her if I messed up. Haha. Oh well, how else would I find some other flavorful drink?

Teas that are for sale. Well, the ones here are on display and for you to smell. They have them nicely lined up near the register so you can enjoy the perfume.

Love the teas on display. Really. Just lovely to see.

Here's the Makena's Passion. You have the choice of either hot or cold. They give you a nice little extra serving. Great for when you're thirsty or when you're just taking your time chatting with your buddies. I sweat easily so for the most part I always choose cold.

Fiance's Geisha's Kiss. They usually bring out the tea and let you smell it before it gets brewed. The box on the left is the tea pot. Cool double layered cup so it is not hot to touch. We both really enjoyed our tea. If you just give the employees an idea of what type of flavor you are looking for, I'm positive they will be able to give you an awesome suggestion.

Their portion size seems small but high tea is usually like that. But the whole point of tea time/lounge is to just eat a bit, to hold you over, and just chat away. Their portions do just that. When we're more hungry we order separate items. This time we went we got their Tranquil Trio, which is an awesome bargain. Choice of tea, half sandwich, and smaller salad for ... $9 I believe. This one was the turkey sandwich. Nicely toasted sandwich. Enough meat, good tart and savory from the fontina & sun-dried tomatoes, slight bitterness from argula ... good stuff. Lots of flavor.

Roast beef. I'm not sure why I chose roast beef because I rarely ever want to eat roast beef. Usually it's dry and just really beefy. Haha ... does that even make sense? Anyway, roast beef with creamy tomato soup. The soup changes daily from what I know. I love tomato soup so tomato chunks in this soup are wonderful.

Here's another angle. So the sandwich. Remember how I mentioned how I like trying new things and sometimes I really mess up? This instance was not really focus on messing up but reinforces how I'm very indifferent when it comes to roast beef sandwiches. The one real issue I did have with this sandwich was the bread. Kalamalive olives, way too overpowering. Almost like they shoved freshly marinated olives right into the sandwich. If you like roast beef just tell them to change out the bread. Seriously.

I'm a sucker for sweets so I got a scone. Their baked goods aren't bad. They're not the best. Definitely has that home baked freshness to it. I think I ate about half before I decided I was full and did not want to be too full. The sauces are a nice addition if the scone is too dry for you.

I cannot stress it enough but if you have time go. If you don't have time, make time and go with your friend, best friend, significant other ... just live it up, laugh, talk about farts, sex, ugly people, politics, whatever you want. Just take some time to enjoy and relax. Lounge this place is. Tea they do have. Tranquil will come.

Tranquil Tea Lounge
106 W. Wilshire Ave.
Fullerton, CA 92832
714-869-3577
http://www.tranquiltealounge.com/

- spam

Worthwhile. Comfort.

One of the places my girlfriend and I wanted to try.

Yep. Yum. Straight up. It was awhile back but definitely still good. I was glad we got a chance to try it because my girlfriend is a busy frickin' bee. Work work and work. Funny 'cause she stresses a lot and it's difficult for her to put that stress aside. However ... when it comes time to eat she's open eyes, open nose, open mouth, indulge.

Bread. Freshly, baked in house. I recall being pretty hungry so we ate a good amount. Plus, Napa is not very close to many things. Butter was salty, creamy goodness. Actually, maybe too salty ... haha.

Tearing up that basket.

Salad with capers and a sweet-ish vinaigrette. Very refreshing, balanced. Except the chickpeas were a bit salty. Good contrast in texture but I could not eat too many of those things due to the salt.

I did not mention but, if you are unaware Ad Hoc is pretty much a set price per person and the food just comes out. Very much family style. So imagine you come home with your friends for dinner. Your mother is surprised to see you brought guests. (Hopefully, your mother did not shun your friends and kick them out). She'll end up deciding to cook more so everyone can enjoy dinner together. Anyway, I like this aspect of Ad Hoc, very warm, very inviting. Very easy to get your elbows dirty on the table and just shove food into your mouth and not care if you smeared all that sauce onto your cheek.

Back to the Flat Iron Steak with bleu cheese. It was good. It was salty. What do you expect from American/French? Salt brings out those flavors that make you salivate in ecstasy. Oh just talking about it while staring at this picture make my tongue crave more. But don't ever forget to down a couple gallons of water during and after the meal. Cooked perfectly. Potatoes and steak are best buds and just so happens the potatoes pick up a good amount of sauce so when you bite into that steak and pair it with the potato. Yum, chew, slight crunch from the potato, cream from the cheese, savory from the reduction sauce (whatever it was). Dang. Your face will be exhausted just from smiling.

Toasted bread, cheese, and honey. You know, I love Northern Californian food. I love Seattle food. The greatest thing about it is wanting to buy food locally. The quality really shines and your tongue can appreciate it. Your wallet might not but who gives a crap, indulge sometimes otherwise you need to .... alright I won't continue with my sentence. This was simplicity. Thick, creamy, savory (cheese) in one hand (or on one utensil) with toasted bread drizzled with a super, slick, non-excessively, sweet honey. I forget the type of cheese but it was a bit dry, breaks off in chunks, easy to bite into. easy to chew, very creamy with a bit of a musky tart outer layer. There is something about tart + sweet + creamy + crunch. It definitely places with all your oral senses ha ha.

The dessert. Fresh Fig Panna Cotta & Citrus Cookies. At least I think it was citrus cookies. Who cares it was good anyway. The fig panna cotta was damn good. I was just nibbling and enjoying how refreshing it was then my girlfriend devours hers and snatches mine and hurls the mini jar at me in disgust as if I wronged the establishment somehow for not releasing my inner beast on the dessert. Just kidding, my girlfriend loved it though, she loved it so much I gave her a bunch of mine. I was a bit full because she did not want too much of the steak.

Thomas Keller. Oh I want to get dirty with French Laundry. That will have to wait until my food savings account is higher though. It's great. My Better Half and I enjoy this place more than Bouchon. Go, you must eat there since it's easier to get in than French Laundry. I really really wish we got a chance to try their famous Fried Chicken but that's usually on ... Mondays I believe? One day, we will go back for whatever they're serving that day and maybe, hopefully, even that Fried Chicken.

Ad Hoc
6476 Washington St.
Yountville, CA 94599
707-944-2487
http://www.adhocrestaurant.com

- spam

Dessert. Quick.

I'm craving dessert right now and stumbled on this. Just a quick upload. Some times when I want a dessert, it doesn't have to be super sweet. Even that subtle sweetness is fine. Or fruits. Fruits for dessert are great. Maybe it's because I have Asian blood. It's alright if you want to make that type of stereotype, Asians always offering stupid slices of oranges after your meal. Well, fruits are good and they got some vitamins. What's not to like? On a serious note ...

Silky tofu with tapioca and mango. Yum. Do you like silky tofu when you go to Dim Sum? It does not have the candied ginger sauce but it is sweetened a bit and has mangoes to do with it. Phoenix Food Boutique is an Asian cafe with some desserts. There's a gang load of them in Rowland Heights and in the San Gabriel Valley. Been opening up like crazy. They have some alright food but I usually just go for dessert. This, the mixed fruit tea or tapioca, and this Black Sticky rice with mango and tapioca. It's a bit similar to above except sweeter, with warm black sticky rice. Try it!

Phoenix Food Boutique
1709 Nogales St.
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
626-810-8988
http://www.phoenixfoodboutique.com

- spam

Chain. Tacos.

Chain restaurants. What an annoying headache they are. I try my best to avoid chain places since quality of ingredients or processes usually gets trumped by the thousands/millions of dollars they're bringing in. Either that or they just taste like crap. All the fast food restaurants, sit down chains such as Cheesecake Factory, and franchised eateries. So back to what I was getting at, I like King Taco. I'm no expert in Mexican food but my taste buds let me know that this place is not too bad and I will not be required to run for the toilet hours after my meal.

Carne asada tacos. Small, snack size really. Real tacos aren't supposed to be huge anyways. I like these. Lots of onion and cilantro. I enjoy putting the red salsa on. Flavorful spice. Yum. I do have one little irk about this though. Since King Taco does get busy, I'm sure they end up just keeping the beef and once done it goes onto the steam tray. I haven't had many carne asadas where the meat was still juicy but King Tacos ... well ... some of those pieces can get jerky tough. At least the salsa provides some moisture. There's obviously better places in the Downtown LA for some great Mexican eats but I'll have to look into that when I'm in the neighborhood.

Tortas. I like this thing. Has some crumbled cheese, the bottom is slightly fried which gives good texture. So you get salty/savory, creamy, cool/refreshing (from the lettuce), spice from salsa (if applicable) and a crunch from the bottom. It is a bit difficult to eat and of course everything starts falling everywhere so make sure to hold onto that plate before you get some torta droppings on your clothes. Honestly, there is not too much to say about this place. They're very fast in service like a fast food joint but the quality is definitely better than some places and at least it is clean (from my experience).

King Taco
406 N. Mountain Ave.
Ontario, CA 91762
909-933-9150

- spam

More. Ramen.

I assume there's more ramen places popping up near the Rowland Heights area and San Gabriel Valley which is good because I do not always want to dedicate the time and drive to Little Tokyo or wherever else. What can be said about Daikokuya ...? Big name, probably around these parts.

My girlfriend being silly. She's wonderful.

Little, basic, side salad/slaw thing. I think of it as slaw. The greens in there are mostly cabbage too so it's quite textured. The dressing is the usually Thousand Island variant. Better Half did enjoy it at the time. She tends to at least take a couple bites from it but I just leave it.

Fatty slices of pork. Delicious. Juicy and tender.

Katsu-Don pretty much. The shoyu/mirin mixture had a bit too much mirin. Was a little bit sweet for my liking but the actual pork was not over fried. Small portion so it's better, more room for ramen (if you have a big appetite) but better for sharing. My better half and I aren't gluttons so a combo with side fried rice or small rice bowl of some sort will leave us content. These bowls are good portion sizes for one person (or mild sharing in this case).

The ramen. Oy, what can I honestly say about this? Not too shabby. I hate, hate, hate the overpower and overuse of the green onions. Doesn't make sense to me because the broth soaks up the flavor. You don't get a good taste of the pork. Meh, that's why I just get the green onions on the side. Daikokuya has this other option for extra fatty broth. I forgot the name but that thing is heavy. *Edit: My Better Half just informed me that the fatty broth is kotteri.* If you love your pork essence, that is the one to get. Daikokuya, this location, is a-okay. I have heard the original Little Tokyo location is hands down, way better but I'll have to go there sometime to give it a judge. I like this place. I really really enjoy their rice dishes so yeah I would go back for either ramen or other things they have to offer. Swing by for your fix.

Daikokuya
15827 Gale Ave.
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
626-968-0810
http://www.daikoku-ten.com

- spam

Waffles. Late at Night.

So there aren't many places nearby with waffles. Yes, there's the waffle trucks and whatnot but I'm not the type to stalk those trucks on Twitter follow them to the edge of the planet. Found this place randomly when I craving something sweet. Ends up they serve up coffee too, Coffee Bean coffee. Hoorah.

Menu.

 Beans from the Coffee Beans.

Korean shaved ice. Never tried it and had no idea Koreans were into shaved ice. I am not sure if it was their recipe but I was not a fan of this. The ice was literally just ice. I was not expecting snow but I was expecting finely shaved ice. This was like ice chunks. Hahaha. Not a like of mine.

The waffle. Yum. It was pretty good. I do not like the whipped cream but I usually just sort of push aside all the cream. This waffle is Asian, that should mean something. Not too crispy, not too fluffy, not too sweet. One thing I really must say: the pink scoop of ice cream is divine. I love this ice cream. YUM! It has a slight sweetness to it. Texture is a good balance between creamy and icey. I have no idea where they get this stuff but I want to buy gallons worth. My taste buds love excitement so eating this waffle with a cup of black coffee was just great. Late night snack. Win. Lastly, service is very friendly and eager to help out.

Cafe Haus
20627 Golden Springs
Diamond Bar, CA 91789
909-598-0815

- spam