Food in the Patio of the States

Over a year ago, Lorenzo told me of a magical baked good found in his homeland of Texas, strawberry cream filled churros. Since then, I have long yearned to try the lone star delicacy. Lucky for me, GameStop decided to move their manager's conference to San Antonio from its previous locale of Vegas!

For some reason, my checkin at the Hyatt took forever so I got to chat up the workers. I told them of my mission and they thought I was some combination of crazy and hilarious, so they pointed me to their favorite local mexican bakery, Mi Tierra.

A mile each way in the humid heat, and i found the place. As cool as the Riverwalk seemed, I'm always glad to get out of the tourist centers. When I got in this place people were hardcore staring at my teal hair and pink sequined True Religion jeans, a good sign of local-ness. I am a big enthusiast of the San Antonio decor, very mexican inspired with lots of bright colors and sombreros! (I just wish they all played the mexican hat dance like my salsa bowl back in utah.....)

The entrance to this place was no exception.

I was super excited to enter and find a ticket dispenser. Growing up in Utah, it was sadly rare to go to a place that had one (chains don't normally have such novelties), but I have fond memories of using them back in the good ole days of ZCMI and their in-store bakery :). Man, I wish I was 5. 

Luckily there was a bit of a line because I was overwhelmed with the selection. As much of a baked good officienado as I am, I actually am quite incompetant with mexican pastries. Beyond my and Damien's forever joke of the Holiday concha bread, I have no idea what's what. So that means I had to buy a lot <:D. I had already ordered three items before I realized I had forgotten the churro I quested so wholly for. Turns out they only serve them on weekends anyways, so no loss. Plus, let's be honest, I've been to xooro.... anything will be underwhelming after that!! (guess that should be my next back blog)

one of three sections of baked awesomeness!

fresh tortillas <3

I ended up getting a toasted coconut cookie, a caramel empanada, and a tres leches cake. Since I hadn't eaten, I also grabbed some enchiladas to go. 20 mins, a whole lot of sweat, and a melting food bag later, I was in my hotel and ready to pig out. The enchiladas were good, definitely authentic tasting. The highlight was the pile of 4 fresh tortillas they included :) eating tortillas makes me think of Disneyland and the Mission Factory <3

I'm proud that this was all I bought

On to the important part, DESSERT!!! I started out with innocent intents, I'd try a little of each, and save the rest for dessert/my 6 am flight tomorrow. Ha.

I started with tres leches since I had been craving that lately. Holy. Freaking. Crap. it was so so sooooo good. I think there were at least 2 cans of condensed milk alone in that thing... and the fruit was so fresh and juicy :) :) :) eeeeeek. So I  started planning on eating 1/4, to 1/2 to... yeah. I ate the whole freaking cake.

Look at the ridic amount of leches oozing from the cake. it's totally consuming the fork. SO GOOD

In my very limited defense, I was having some hardcore work crises. Of course this is normal with my job, but being Sharon, I tend to freak out. Luckily I am a simple creature and can only freak out about one thing at a time. I also stress eat with the best. Combine the two and we have me eating the entire cake in a sitting. The good news was that once I was stressing about how hugefat and sick I was from eating it all, I was able to approach my work with a clear and logical mind and block some of the shiz from hitting the fan.

I have since sampled the other items. Both were quite tasty but overly sweet. Not sure if that's typical of mexican baked fare. Either way, it ended my San Antonio food adventures. I can only consume so much.

Back to the Bay in the morn!

My Favorite Food on Earth

I have such a love-hate relationship with trade shows. On the one hand, I am overjoyed and eternally grateful for having, to me, the coolest possible job and getting to travel to all sorts of weird places. On the other, I swear I'm alwayyyyys alone and so there is a disturbingly depressing pattern of me wandering around cities starving because I'm too snooty to go to a chain yet too embarrassed to go in to a sit down place (even for takeout) when everyone else is there 20 deep having a party night.

Thus, I'm sitting in the super swanky Grand Hyatt in San Antonio right now, minutes away from the famous Riverwalk, tons of bars and restaurants, and like 10 thousand people in the video game industry... and I am about to write a blog post. My plan is to play my DS late in to the night so I can stumble in tomorrow exhausted, and blend in with the masses who are out getting trashed right now. It's easier that way- avoids questions :P

Hardcore digression!! ANYWAYS- I can't believe this is my 18th post and my first mention of froyo?! Froyo is totally my thing. I love all food, but this is the only category I will claim mastery at :). So, fittingly I'll start with my absolute favorite: Yogurtland. 

Yogurtland is, in fact, the best froyo chain out there. The first visit I had was in LA last fall when they were doing the tokidoki promo (my favvvvv brand) and I was instantly hooked. From the adorable Japanese fusion decor, to the ridiculously unbeatably low price of 30 cents an ounce to the plethora of flavors and toppings, this place can not be topped (PUN). Not to mention: BEST TART EVER!!!!

the usual. tart, mochi, all berries, cap' n crunch, yogurt chips, condensed milk

I don't know what else to say... basically they have at least 14 flavors per store and like 30 or 40 toppings (all sorts of fruit, candies, mochimochi, condensed milk, etc.). The only bad part is that the closest one is in freaking Cupertino. That said, according to my foursquare, I've been 18 times since April... AND I'm not even the mayor! It's that good. Seriously. 

OMFH I JUST LOOKED AT THEIR WEBSITE AND ONE OPENED IN WEST JORDAN, UTAH!!!! GOGOGOGOGO!!!!

i want to marry an archaeologist

ha- my nerdiness and love for 8 bit video games and the dagger of amon ra will never allow me to make any sort of reference to flappers, the 20s, or speakeasy's without alluding to that song. I MISS YOU SIERRA OF THE 90S!!

if you hadn't guessed, tonight after zero zero, we hit up Bourbon and Branch, SF's local speakeasy :). Since it was a last minute plan on a Saturday night, we had to go in the "library" room. The other side is the two-story lounge that you need a password to get in to. Still super awesome tho, the walls were covered in filled bookshelves and the bartenders definitely dressed the part. I really want to make a reservation so I can see the lounge side. I only had a hint at it tonight when someone from the other side pushed the secret passage bookshelf open for a split second. so intriguing!! I think we are going to throw our 20s party, year 2 there, so stay tuned for details next month. 

The drinks were expensive, but very cool and made with love. I even ended up getting a "pomegranate ginger" which was really delicious sans vodka.

had to sneak the picture, they are anti modern technologies!

Super cool place, total Disneyland feeling, i would highly recommend it for a group night out!

Gold Medal Pizza

So stoked. I had the best dinner tonight :D. I hit up Zero Zero, the super trendy new italian/pizza joint in SOMA. You can tell from the outside this place is hopping. It's got a great atmosphere, all mood lit and two stories & two bars. It's definitely got the swanky- I'm cool & I know it vibe. The entire meal i was fixated on a bizzare picture that covered the back wall with a Pinocchio-esque puppet stuck to a pizza. If that doesn't scream hip, i don't know what does.

Anyways, FOOD!! Seriously, so great. For an appetizer, eugi and I split ricotta stuffed fried butternut squash in pesto w/ tomatoes. Quite good, it was tempura-ey and the tomatoes were an awesome pallet cleanser from the bold flavors of the squash. Only complaint was that the bowl had three. wtf. there are two of us!! Couldn't you at least give us an even number?? It's like when you go to dinner with 4 people and they give you 5 breads, someone's gotta be the douche and take the last piece.

Pizza Filer!

But the pizza completely outshone that. For the record, outshone is apparently a word because there's no red squiggle action going on. Bizarre. I knew we were in for a treat when our waiter brought the "pizza filer" to our table :). There was quite a nice menu. I got a white pizza with rosemary oil, mozzarella, parmesan, and potatoes and eugi got margherrita. mmmmm so freaking tasty!!! It was so light (meaning i didn't feel like crap when i horked my entire pie) and the flavors were so potent and fresh! Mine was incredible with some red pepper flakes to spice up the flavor and eugi's was classic amazing.

Up close and personal pizza

As if this wasn't good enough, Zero Zero is also known for their soft serve ice cream!! It's even build-your-own, so the waiter brings you a paper and pencil and you mark off what you want (unfortunately no fried egg). I got vanilla w/ caramel and toffee. The softserve was so insanely creamy <3 a very pleasant experience. they also had some neat "bases" for their ice cream like cinnamon waffle, but i'm too cheap to pay an extra $4 for one. Great great place. I'll be back to try more!

giant soft serve

P.S. the joke in the name is that the menu said "zero zero is the flour used in italy to make dough." so i asked eugi if it was fancy and he scoffed and said no, its the most generic brand there is. then i fantasized about there being an american restaurant named "gold medal" in italy :) hilarious to me and prolly me only

Fried Makes Everything Better

I am completely in love with Butter bar on 11th and Harrison (SOMA near Mission). It is totally dive, proudly "white trash" themed, and such a great place to bring a group and hang-out. They are only open on the weekends, but Sunday is karaoke night which makes it all ok. (don't be intimidated, they are eminem, dream on, and g-pop friendly!!) The crowd is bizarre (my hair is the tamest there), but all very eclecticly fun. There is a combo of goth, hipster, and then old people who wear shirts with realistic animals they bought at national parks.

karaoke w/ bill the pimp

mmmmm

but who cares! cuz it's allllll about the food <:D. Not only do they keep you content by offering unlimited free popcorn, but they also serve the most comforting-comfort food you will find. Fried everything! I've been twice and gotten: White Castle sliders, mo-sticks, fried Uncrustable (yepppp PB&J, fried, topped with whipped cream, choco sauce, sprinkles and marshmallows), chili cheese tater tots, and my new favorite: FRIED MACARONI AND CHEESE! i don't even get how it works?! ok, i kind of do... they are little bread-fried nuggets filled with mac & cheese goodness. the science behind it is beyond me.

Also- pretending you drink more than diet coke, they have a cool selection of beverages. Lots of fruity yummy looking selections that can get you trashed fast.

winnebago!

PS: the manager Dennis is all about video games, so EA people, you can get free drinks if you bring him games!! :)

groupon ftw

It pisses me off to no avail how you always see the groupon banner ads with pictures of cupcakes, macaroons, and froyo and claims of 90% off. Then i get the email every day and it's like "$150 for $350 worth of upholstery cleaning in Berkeley!" f.t.s.

One day a couple of months ago I did score though, $15 for 2 dozen gourmet, delivered cupcakes from Cupcakes on the Go. This Fremont operated bakery offers a great selection of gourmet flavored treats. I ordered "Peach Pie" which consisted of: peach cupcake, whipped frosting, peaches, and a cinnamon crust cookie. Needless to say they were delicious :)

Asian Paradise

i'm starving and waiting to go to dinner... so i think i'll start doing random backlog reviews. last month, i was in long beach for a dragon boat race, naturally this means the most important thing i can possibly do is call up mr. michael j last minute, and heckle him in to driving me to yummy asian food and/or disneyland. this fateful night, i somehow scored both :D! by recommendation of Dennis, we headed out to Irvine to this crazy-amazing strip mall: the Diamond Jamboree Shopping Center. and boy, what a jamboree it was! this place had like every type of awesome asian dessert ever! i didnt even look twice at the Yogurtland since there was so much else : | there. we found our destination, 85C, by the line of like 30 people out the door. it moved fast though, and it was very worth it. apparently 85C is a massively popular chain store in Taiwan, and this is the only US location. They have an amazing selection of pastries, breads, cakes, and of course, extra sugary and delicious bubble tea. i think this picture (of just one section of the store) speaks for itself. i had a strawberry cream cake and it was amazing. presentation was even better :). and i highly enjoyed my large, caramel milk tea. definitely check out next time you are in SoCal! 

so hard to decide! of course Ishii got one of everything

oh... and in case you were wondering. we ended up going to Disneyland after, arriving at midnight (close time) and watching "Salt" (terrible movie) in downtown disney. I LOVE ISHII AND WANT TO MARRY HIM (when we are both 40 and desperate)

Journey Deep in to the Crocker-Amazon!

have you ever wondered what exists in that long stretch of land between south san fran and the mission?? you know, the random part that looks like some foreign country with houses piled on top of each other? its hard to notice since it falls in the middle of the confusing part of 101 where the road forks five directions, but it's there, looming mysteriously. i freaking DTS-ed tonight. within lies one of the best named boroughs of sf, Crocker-Amazon.

such awesome painting on the walls

Thanks again to Dave's suggestion, tonight i hit up Broken Record with eugi and ken. this place is a great dive bar/gastropub fusion with fun music, cheap drinks, and AMAZING food!!! the menu is small  but incredible. i started the night with baked mac & cheese (you can add bacon) and a giantttttttttt "side" of sweet potato fries ($3 ftw). i thought life was good. but then, after a heated match of scrabble arose between the three of us, ken decided to get more food. Enter the Truffle Parmesan fries with garlic ailoli!  i'm having a hard time putting the deliciousness in to words. you need to try them ASAP!! sooo soo good.

OH! and, they give you 50% off your first beer coupon for checking in on foursquare! after months of wasting time checking in, it's all paid off..

mmm baked mac & cheese and sweet potato fries

it's real

follow up!!! i'm sure you all were waiting with baited (totally spelled wrong) breath to find out about the Denny's "Fried Cheese Melt." Well, being sharon and awesome, as promised i totally hit it up on opening day. I dragged my EASL team buddies out to lunch at the SLC location. they thought it was ridiculous until they tasted the incredible value that was this sandwich. $4 plus fries. insanity! best part was that it even looked like the picture :) denny's, you are comin back. the VI better watch out 

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Philadelphia in Italia

today i happily fb statused "i wish more foods had fried egg and/or cream cheese as condiment options" so when we stopped at our very favorite SF late night diner, i could do nothing better than order an omelet with cream cheese and jelly. that sounds pretty disgusting, even for me... but ironically the person who suggested it was EugiEugi. Apparently in Italy, it's a common dish to put jelly and Philadelphia in an omelet?! What is even crazier, is how this ridiculously flamboyant, semi-grubby diner in the Castro picked up such an international delicacy?? I think the answer is that Orphan Andy's and it's 24/7 goodness just pretty much rocks. I've only been there at very off-times (11 pm on Weds, 1:30 am sun night) and it's always PACKED! it's tiny and the bathroom is smaller than one on an airplane, but the food is delicious and the portions generous. Each breakfast food comes with a side of pancakes! Also, they have a variety of exotic burgers (also involving cream cheese). but don't go if you are from Romania. it doesn't meet the country's cleanliness standards. 

in case you are wondering if that's a slab of cream cheese and strawberry jam in an omelet: Yes.

Lychee, the Ven Diagram Synergy of Bubble Tea

A week or so ago, Mr. Gee Unit and I got in an argument at work. I always get fruity bubble tea, and he always gets asian. somehow this led to an argument about where Lychee falls in the mix. i present the solution below. i hope this saves you years of philosophical thought

synergy!

My Fav Bay Area Brunch

I freaking love brunch foods!! I actually very rarely eat them though, something about stuffing myself with pancakes etc at 10 and then feeling sick the whole day kinda turns me off :(. With one exception, guests visiting! When my mom came to visit, I had to do some serious planning. I knew we were ferrying over to Sausalito, so i yelp quested for a non-touristy spot. Stupidly, i picked one over a mile away so we had quite the trek.. but it was so freaking worth it! Fred's Coffee Shop is the greatest brunch spot ever. Their whole menu is amazing, and they have FRIED FRENCH TOAST. seriously?! yes. yes they do!!!!! both times i've been i've gotten the one pancake (also great) one fft combo. mmmmmmmmmmmm :) it's also a very cute place. the wait staff is friendly and you can sit at the counter and watch the cooks prep up your food. worth the drive, worth the sickness. check it out next weekend ~~

they even use powdered sugar <3

it seemed like a good idea at the time

sometimes i do stupid. kinda frequently when it comes to my adventurous eating habits. the other night my padre and i went to Shalizaar persian cuisine in Belmont for a "quick" dinner. The kabob meat was totally incredible :) but meat is BAF so i'm not going to type about it. the main point of this post was the nasty @$$ drink i ordered. it was like, liquidey yogurt beverage with salt, pepper, and mint leaves. i guess it wasnt even a good idea at the time. i knew what i was getting in to and i did it anyways. so dumb. so nasty. i drank like 2 sips and had to stop. by the end of dinner it had all separately into yogurt and oil clumps. gross.

oooog look at the nasty floaty things

if you on the shore then you sho' not me, oh!!!!

cuz, I'M ON A (SUSHI) BOAT MOFO-ER!!!

for years (and by years, i mean months since kevin came to visit) i have heard tell of the magical concept of "sushi boat" : |. i finally went last Friday, and it was every bit as pure amazing as i had hoped and dreamed. eugi, manu and i hit up Warakubune Sushi in the Castro. so awesome!!! for those of you who have not yet experienced the magic, at sushi boat places you sit around a central island counter. in the middle is a chef... he is consta-refreshing little plates on these boats that sail around the moat in front of you. each plate is priced, and you reach up and grab whatever you want! so great :D. The sushi here was decent, especially for a serve yourself type place. Also, they had one spicy roll that was topped with Taro fries, highly recommend!

endless possibilities await... raining sushi, slingshot sushi, train sushiiiiii

Sibby's

I am such a cupcake/baked good enthusiast. One day last year, I was sitting at work and whinnnnnnning to Dave about how much I wanted a cupcake. Luckily he was on board, so we started researching the area for the best places. I stumbled upon a hole-in-the-wall place, Sibby's Cupcakery, in San Mateo. Long story short, we shelled out $40 a dozen and discovered our total favorite bakery. Since then, we look for any excuse to order them :). My favorite flavor is by far the Snickerdoodle <3 mmm. Sibby's is great about making their cupcakes very moist. The other great part about Sibby's is their willingness to decorate the cupcakes.Yesterday, we sadly had to celebrate Sarah's last day (....again), and got some awesome Pony themed goodness! I love this place, but I think the pics will speak louder than words. 

STABLE OF HORSES ;)

Hasbro Themed 

Game of Life Spinner!! Adorable

Finally- Santa Ramen!

I need to preface this by stating: I am a white girl from Sandy, Utah. I know nothing about good ramen. To be honest, it all kind of tastes the delicious same to me.... that said! I had a very pleasant meal at the Santa Ramen in San Mateo yesterday. I feel stupid that it's my first visit considering the rave reviews I've heard (mainly from Alice), and the fact that I live on the same street :P

Gee Unit and I went for lunch at 11:30. It was already quite packed when we arrived but we were seated. Immediately like 50 people showed up, and the line was insane (piles of people stuck outside). This may be 1. because it's good, and 2. because it's SAF (s for slow). The ramen itself was quite good, I loved the broth! The one bummer was that you had to pay extra for the egg, and according to my asian counterpart, they didn't cook it right. lame! either way, i highly enjoyed.

I think it's a common place for us game industry folk to hang out. I know EA people go there tons, and I hear that Capcom people love it too. As i was leaving, I noticed a table with that one dude from Sony with black hair and all the tatoos.... I don't know his name but I think he's PR or community management cuz I always see him at trade shows. wow, CREEPY STALKER! here's hoping he never stumbles upon this post. :)

MoStick Sandwich!!!

I am never ceased to be amazed by how easily I am excited by new, ridiculous food products. Today it was brought to my attention that Denny's is coming out with a new, mozzarella filled grilled cheese sandwich!! the best part is, it's only $4!!! That's like Costco Hot Dog meal value <:D. I wish I could eat it with Ishii..... <3

That said, it's coming out on the 24th. I wonder if they will have a midnight release party on the 23rd?

I know I'll be there

http://consumerist.com/2010/08/dennys-fried-cheese-melt-pushes-gooey-cheese-tolerance-to-new-levels.html

lame!

as much as i like most food, the one thing that drives me totally insane are restaurants that are overpriced and "fancy" just for the sake of it.
Tonight I went to Donato's in Redwood City and it was the biggest waste of space. The meals were all super expensive ($15-$30) and there was absolutely nothing differentiated or special about them. I find that that can be a trend with Italian places. For some reason it's acceptable for them to cost a ton just because it's "classy". FTS. Even the bread at this place was crappy!!! And they tricked you in to thinking it came with a yummy pesto sauce, but no!! It was like olive mush or something. I don't even know. It sucked and the service was slow. Next time I'll just drive to Hayward and go to the Olive Garden.

Blog Party

THIS IS FOR YOU JEANENE!!

i love food. a LOT!! I loooove eating in random places, and I have a ridiculously high foursquare score because there are very few places I'm willing to go more than once :). After growing up in the chain-ridden Utah, I cannot get enough of the wonderful one-off spots the Bay Area has to offer, and I plan to visit as many places as I possibly can (afford mostly)

I like all types of food. Except Mediterranean. dill yogurt sauce is freaking disgusting. My favorites are sweets though, so I feel like there will be an irrationally large number of posts involving baked goods.

Ironically i had a breakdown today because i received my new CA license and realized i have become a hugefreakingfat in the past 7 years. Nothing serves as good of a kick-in-the-youneedtostopeating4000caloriesaday-pants as juxtaposing your current picture with the identical version from your 16th birthday :(. that said, i will likely still eat and therefor have material.