Entries Tagged 'Food and Drink' ↓

I was on teevee today as a chip eater. Yes, really. Double dipping story featuring me stuffing my face for approximately 3 seconds starts at minute 1:30.

Ever since moving to Berkeley I’ve heard about the beloved Berkeley Bowl grocery store. It’s been two months and a week since moving to Berkeley, and today was my first visit to the greatest market in all of grocery land.

I didn’t think it was possible to get so giddy over a food market. I’ve tried Safeway, which blows. I like Trader Joe’s, but their produce section is shitty, and the farmer’s markets in Berkeley are so highfalutin that you (or at least, I) can’t really afford to buy anything. (Can you say $6 for a dozen organic, free range, hand-petted, cuddled-at-night hen eggs?) I’d heard fantastic things about Berkeley Bowl, that they have the largest produce section in Northern California and that they have everything you could imagine, ever, but I’d also heard that it was crowded to the point of bursting. Today these proclamations were tested.

Somehow, like a little kiss from the parking gods, a spot beside the front door was open just after we pulled in the lot. I snagged a buggy, which was very long and hard to maneuver, then plowed inside and hung a right. The first thing I saw was bread: seeded baguettes and sourdough rounds and hard, rye rolls and cheese focaccia. I swooned a little at the bevy of fresh carbohydrate options in front of me, when I turned the corner and found three more rows just like it. I almost passed out. Spelt bread with no salt, oatmeal with currants, scones and croissants. And, people, that was just the bread. There is also an olive bar with dozens of different options, 12 rows of wines, every possible ethnic food under the sun, two rows of mixed salad lettuces and about 30 things in the produce section alone I’d never even heard of. I am not shitting you when I tell you there over 30 kinds of apples to choose from.

Here is the best part: Fuck Whole Foods prices, this stuff is actually affordable! Cheaper than crappy ol’ Safeway by far. 89 cent pomegranates, do you hear what I am saying? This is not some break the bank Wild Oats-style supermarket. It’s independently owned, and it’s breathtaking in scope and size. I can’t wait to eat up all this food, just so I can go back. No more lunches out, I’m back on the fresh food bento train thanks to my new boyfriend, Berkeley Bowl.

Some time I hope to run into this guy.

[Cross posted at Yelp.]

Restaurants and bars I’ve experienced in the Bay Area since my move in mid-November:

• LuLu
• LuLu Petite
• Zachary’s
• Lanesplitter
• Casa Latina
• Sushi Solano
• Unicorn
• Elephant & Castle
• Vesuvio
• Lee’s Deli
• Boudin Bakery
• Grumpy’s
• E’ Tutto Qua
• Golden Star Vietnamese
• Specialty’s
• Cafe Leila
• YoYo’s
• Four Seasons Restaurant and Cocktails
• Henry’s Hunan
• (more as I remember them)

I am not on vacation out here in the Bay Area, so I need to quit eating like I am. All the deliciosity will be here next week and even the week after that.

I toted a big 42 ounce bottle of sparking water, lemon flavored, with me to work today in my bag. I walked the ten blocks from BART, stopping at the Embarcadero Center post office to buy stamps. The stamp buying stop was a bust because the line was 12 people long and the machine only took exact change. I actually had $8.20 in cash for a book of “forever” stamps, so I pulled out a five, three ones and 2 dimes and started plugging them in the machine. Turns out by exact change they meant precisely that. The bill accepter didn’t even attempt to accept my dollars. I had to leave the post office stampless. I had to hurry to work since the stop took longer than anticipated. I got to my desk thirsty, so I opened the sparkling water only to get blasted in the face and chest with carbonated beverage. Mineral water rained down off my phone and monitor. It looked like a stunt for a sitcom; the water went everywhere. I feel extra awake now and lemony fresh.

Even the Starbucks out here are different. They offer breakfast sandwiches made with whole grain english muffins, egg substitute, reduced-fat cheese and turkey bacon. They have fruit and cheese plates and fresh salads boxed up, overpriced and ready for purchase. All the Starbucks back home had in the way of food was sticky sweet pastries and crumbly coffee cakes.

Maggie Mason says no one cares what I had for lunch today, but I’m mentioned in her book, so that allows me to break the rules. Right? Right!

I walked down to the Ferry Buildings for lunch today. It was my first time inside the food pier — wow, such options. Artisan breads, fancy cheese and infused honeys sat perfect and pricey alongside jarred olive tapinade and imported Italian olive oil. I opted for a slice of cheese and potato quiche from Lulu Petite because it was cheap ($4.75). I should have gotten the $7 egg sandwich, because the quiche was a bust. The egg part was almost liquid-y, and the crust was a soggy disappointment. I hate that my first meal from the Ferry Building bombed. Oh well, I ate just a few bites of what would have been an overly caloric lunch. I’ve been saved from stretch pants by a coagulated quiche.

I’m not strong enough to resist the siren song of the culinary delights that surround me in the Bay Area. I’m either going to go broke or die of an acute myocardial infarction, probably both. Not sure which will happen first, but either way, I hope the health benefits have kicked in.

Pomegranate. Somehow I’d lived my whole life never having eaten one. Now I’m hooked. I have two in my fridge now; I ate one this afternoon. I love the tiny pearls of tangy sweet juice that explode on your tongue and teeth when you chew. The fibrous little beads make it a satisfying snack. I’m slightly in love. I wish they weren’t so expensive and were easier to de-seed. Otherwise, damn near perfect food.

Currently my favorite cocktail is a vodka gimlet. Made with Belvedere, Rose’s lime juice and shaken like a crying baby, this drink is pure perfection if the ratio is right. Three parts vodka, one part Rose’s lime juice–that’s it. It is surprising to me how many bartenders (in this area) don’t know what a gimlet is, especially considering its very simple ingredients.

Is there a drink you love that you find yourself explaining to bartenders?