So I'm in Berkeley, California

[MarketStEl]

Don't shoot me.

I've also had an In-n-Out Burger so far. (Up there with Five Guys, in case you were curious.)

Had a fabulous dinner/pig-out night in Seattle last night, courtesy of a wonderful bunch of Seattleite eGullet Society members -- I've got a suggestion for you, Katie, should you find yourself out that way -- and am returning to the Bay Area tomorrow, with more indigenous fare on the agenda.

Reports will be posted to the relevant boards, as above.

Tonight: Dinner at my brother's home in Woodinville again. Sean and his wife Kristin welcomed me with delicious burgers on Wednesday, and they're serving vegetable lasagna tonight. (I'm up this way mainly to see my new niece.)

More on that when I get around to posting on the Pacific Northwest board.

Edited April 7, 2007 by MarketStEl (log)

[moosnsqrl]

Mon dieu! Sandy, where are your priorities? I thought we had raised you better than this! Imagine putting family and babies ahead of dining in your hierarchy. I am truly disappointed.

The obvious Berkeley is that little place on Shattuck. I know it can be pricey at dinner but check out the upstairs for lunch while you are there. Also Fanny's is less spendy and more casual and still supports the whole sustainable, schoolyard garden thing that's going on there.

Apart from that, there are many (many!) Thaii places in "Bezerkley" (perhaps the locals can provide names but I've had great success and happiness just stumbling around) as well as other ethnic restaurants whose price point might be more appealing.

Enjoy whatever you find and your family -- that's the important part.

[Vadouvan]

I wasnt aware that birth announcements were allowed on e-gullet ?

.......and shouldnt this be on the california board ?

Your thoughts Katie ?

[MarketStEl]

I wasnt aware that birth announcements were allowed on e-gullet ?

.......and shouldnt this be on the california board ?

Your thoughts Katie ?

←

Check your PMs.

[guzzirider]

Don't shoot me.

I've also had an In-n-Out Burger so far.  (Up there with Five Guys, in case you were curious.)

Had a fabulous dinner/pig-out night in Seattle last night, courtesy of a wonderful bunch of Seattleite eGullet Society members -- I've got a suggestion for you, Katie, should you find yourself out that way -- and am returning to the Bay Area tomorrow, with more indigenous fare on the agenda.

Reports will be posted to the relevant boards, as above.

Tonight:  Dinner at my brother's home in Woodinville again.  Sean and his wife Kristin welcomed me with delicious burgers on Wednesday, and they're serving vegetable lasagna tonight.  (I'm up this way mainly to see my new niece.)

More on that when I get around to posting on the Pacific Northwest board.

←

Personally, I think In-n-Out stands head and shoulders above Five Guys, but that's just my opinion. Five Guys always seems *too* overcooked for me (at least they have a sign that warns you of so much, though).

As for the cheese steak / hoagie issue... I always find it interesting to get one when traveling to other parts of the country, because how they interpret it gives you an instant window into the psyche of the indigenous people. Like the "Philadelphia Cheese Steak" I got in Houston, that was made with pepperjack or some such.

I still have no explanation for the most horrible cheese steak I got once that was Steak-ums, BBQ sauce, and Kraft grated parmesan. The most confusing part about this monstrosity is that it was purchased at Pocono Raceway... about an hour outside Philly. Whoever put that thing together should have been taken out and shot...

__Jason

[Vadouvan]

Check your PMs.

Thanks..

Seems eating cheesesteaks anywhere outside Philly is just a bad idea.......though TonLukes in NY wasnt bad.

[MarketStEl]

FWIW, another Bay Area eGer has offered to take me to a Silicon Valley joint that makes 'em like home, or so she claims.

I may take the offer up, or I may suggest another option. My encounter with the place in Berkeley was pure serendipity, and -- just as I don't order regular breakfast fare when eating brunch out because I can do that just as well at home -- I hadn't planned to travel all the way across the country to eat cheap food that I can get better in Philly.

[rockhopper]

FWIW, another Bay Area eGer has offered to take me to a Silicon Valley joint that makes 'em like home, or so she claims.

I may take the offer up, or I may suggest another option.  My encounter with the place in Berkeley was pure serendipity, and -- just as I don't order regular breakfast fare when eating brunch out because I can do that just as well at home -- I hadn't planned to travel all the way across the country to eat cheap food that I can get better in Philly.

←

If you get to SF try the Slanted Door at the ferry building.

[MarketStEl]

FWIW, another Bay Area eGer has offered to take me to a Silicon Valley joint that makes 'em like home, or so she claims.

I may take the offer up, or I may suggest another option.  My encounter with the place in Berkeley was pure serendipity, and -- just as I don't order regular breakfast fare when eating brunch out because I can do that just as well at home -- I hadn't planned to travel all the way across the country to eat cheap food that I can get better in Philly.

←

If you get to SF try the Slanted Door at the ferry building.

←

Hit the Ferry Building yesterday. Gorgeous restoration job, neat high-end food emporium inside. Tasted a Persian lime California olive oil that I will have to order online once I return and get paid again.

Saw, but did not go into, the Slanted Door.

Bought a loaf of alleged sourdough bread from a bakery at Fisherman's Wharf to bring to dinner. Didn't realize that it wasn't really sourdough until I ate some. Found out later from my hosts that I probably should have bought a loaf from Acme Bread in the Ferry Building instead. (The place I bought the bread, so you can avoid it when visiting, is called Boudin.)

Prepared a variant on chicken cacciatore for my friend: two boneless breasts, browned in olive oil then tossed into a mix of two cans tomato paste, half a container of organic chicken broth (~1.5 cups), a bulb of chopped fresh garlic, chopped white and shiitake mushrooms (all of these sauteed in olive oil before I added the liquid), a chopped poblano pepper and about 1/4 cup chopped cilantro. Simmered that for ~20 min, then served it over egg noodles with roasted broccoli and cauliflower.

As the sauce is simmering and I tell him that I'm bequeathing him the leftover produce, my friend tells me -- after I had asked him twice if there were any foods I should avoid -- that he hates cilantro.

He loved the dish.

We are going out to dinner at a place on 18th between Dolores and Guerrero that's apparently a very hot table tonight. (He couldn't get a reservation after 5:30 or before 9:30. We're dining at 9:30. I may end up on his couch tonight, as the last BART trains depart at midnight.) I may try to sneak the camera in, but I'm not among confirmed foodies.

I hope he can make it back to his hometown sometime soon. I don't think we realized that we missed each other until last night. (I do try to stay in touch with him regularly, something I don't always do well with distant friends and acquaintances.)

[MarketStEl]

Hit the Ferry Building yesterday.  Gorgeous restoration job, neat high-end food emporium inside.  Tasted a Persian lime California olive oil that I will have to order online once I return and get paid again.[...]

←

I now have a full report on this day and the day I spent pursuing good cheap restaurants on the California board. After reading it, I realized I wrote it for a non-San Francisco audience.

See for yourself.