Author Archives: 510foodie

Ippudo: In My Own Eyes

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Ippudo Berkeley opened up in late July and I posted a blog about my friend’s experience on opening day. People waited three hours to get a bowl of ramen at Ippudo. After almost two months since opening, lines can still get quite long especially with school in session. Here’s my account of a recent visit with another friend to Ippudo. After waiting thirty five minutes in line outside, we were led inside and seated.

We started out with Ippudo buns. You can order the soft pillowy buns with either chicken, pork belly, or vegetables. Our buns were spread with mayonnaise and had a thick slice of tender pork belly in a tangy glaze. Biting into these were soft and heavenly.


We were debating whether to get the chicken kara-age or the fried chicken wings. The waitress recommended the chicken kara-age. The flavor was subtle and the chicken did not have much of a coating to give it a textural component. It fell flat and I was disappointed in my waitress.


The ramen came in three flavors and you have a choice of how firm you want your noodles. I was drawn to the description of the Akamaru Modern which is a more bold translation of the original pork broth with thin noodles topped with Ippudo’s secret “Umami Dama” miso paste, pork belly chashu, cabbage, and sesame kikurage mushrooms, scallions, and fragrant garlic oil. I added a soft boiled egg and requested my noodles to be bari kata, which means firm. The flavors of my ramen broth and noodle texture were very much prepared to my liking.


My friend loves spicy so she ordered the Karaka Spicy which has the original “Tonkotsu” (pork) broth with an added kick, thin noodles with Ippudo’s special blend of hot spices, topped with pork belly chashu, bean sprouts, sesame kikurage mushrooms, scallions, and fragrant garlic oil. She ordered hers kata which is al dente. The bowl suited her as well.

In our minds, we still thought we made a bad choice with the chicken kara-age, so we decided we would go ahead and order the fried chicken wings. The chicken wings are glazed in a black pepper sauce. Unfortunately, the wings didn’t meet our expectations either.

  
I would definitely return to Ippudo for the buns and ramen if the wait isn’t too long. The prices are a bit high for a bowl of ramen, but it’s worth it to satisfy a craving now and then.

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Paradise Park Cafe: Welcome to the Neighborhood

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There is an up and coming neighborhood in North Oakland called Paradise Park that sits on the borders of Oakland, Emeryville, and Berkeley. I am familiar with the area because I drive through it twice a week when I take my nephews to school at Oakland Military Institute. A new cafe that shares its name with the urban Paradise Park neighborhood opened up last month and I was invited to a media event to check it out.

Paradise Park Cafe serves coffee from local Equator Coffee & Teas from San Rafael. Two thumbs up for the espressos that I have been making with their coffee beans. With opening hours of 7am on weekdays, I am likely to stop by for a morning latte before work. The cafe also specializes in juices. I sampled a few options and using purely fruits and vegetables, they’ve made something vibrant and delicious.
Vegetarians and vegans have quite a few choices at Paradise Park Cafe. They offer a quinoa burger and plenty of salads. I was impressed with their homemade chickpea tofu which is the protein in their vegan wrap and an option to add to their salads. This works really well for the health conscious.
On the other hand, their grass fed burger is served on a brioche bun and topped with Vermont cheddar cheese, fried onions, and a garlic and pepper aioli. It was juicy and packed full of flavor. The French fries held its own.
My favorite item on the menu is the fried chicken sandwich. The chicken breast is marinated, grilled, and then fried in a light tapioca batter. This photogenic sandwich includes fresh carrots, radish, and kale, pickled onions, and a sriracha aioli. It also includes a side of crispy tasty French fries.  
Having a kids menu really speaks to the neighborhood. I would recommend the creamy homemade mac and cheese. For those that care, it’s also gluten free. 
For dessert you can order an ice cream burrito. Ice cream is wrapped in a flour tortilla and flash fried. I would recommend sharing this one and eating it pretty fast, otherwise you might make a hot mess.
I’m sure those in the Paradise Park neighborhood are happy and excited to find a new cafe in town. I would definitely keep an eye on Paradise Park Cafe as they plan to utilize part of their space for pop-ups.  

I Dream of Sushi

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I recently met my BFF at Angel Fish in Alameda for dinner. Sushi is always a good choice on a hot day and Alameda is usually a bit cooler as well. My BFF has been a regular at Angel Fish for almost two decades. Every time I have dined at Angel Fish, I have enjoyed it very much. Come to think of it, it is one of my favorite neighborhood sushi restaurants, even though it is not my neighborhood. The fish is always fresh and the prices are reasonable.

So first I have to admit I was late for dinner. My BFF had already gotten us seats at the sushi bar and ordered some nigiri at happy hour prices. From 5pm- 6pm, there are some specials, so she ordered the hamachi (yellowtail), sake (salmon), and maguro (red tuna). I was so delayed that she had to eat my portion. It was fine by me as I wouldn’t want raw fish sitting too long. When I arrived, I ordered my own serving of salmon. It was fresh and delicious as expected.
It was my first time having agemono. I loved everything about these deep fried tempura lobster bites. With a splash of lemon, I’m in heaven. One of the best things about Angel Fish is that it doesn’t always have to be about the raw items. They have a nice variety of cooked items that are unique and creative.
We ordered amaebi which I did not photograph. It’s not my favorite item, but I do like consuming the crispy fried shrimp head. Toro is one of the most expensive fish. When this fatty tuna belly is available at Angel Fish, you really should get it. It was so buttery, it melted in my mouth.  
Some other patrons ordered the cha soba so we decided we would share this as well. Cold noodles are a perfect choice on a hot evening. To enjoy this dish, you would dip soba noodles and seaweed into a sauce where you would first mix in minced daikon, green onions, and a quail egg.
One of my favorite things to eat is an unagi hand roll. With the added texture of cucumber and avocado, this is the perfect bite to me.  
Although Chef Taka still had a few pieces of uni out, he purposefully opened up a brand new box of uni for us. The opening of this box of imported uni from Japan really made our day.  
The uni was elegantly placed on top of a shiso leaf and rice and came with crispy roasted seaweed on the side.
In front of me in the sushi case was tamago that I had been eyeing throughout the course of the evening. I was relaying my limited experience and enjoyment of tamago. Typically, not a favorite of my BFF, we decided we would try it. We learned that Chef Taka makes this deliciousness every other day.

It was a great light dinner and we decided we would start dining at Angel Fish together once a month. I’m already dreaming about it.

Gio’s Pizza: A Revival of Giovanni’s

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People may recall Giovanni’s as an old school Italian restaurant that had been in business in Downtown Berkeley since 1961. In 2015, it closed its doors after a major fire caused serious damage. Today the restaurant has reopened as Gio’s Pizza & Bocce, playing homage to the former restaurant.  
As you enter the front of Gio’s, the fun begins. The open bar space is to the left and an indoor bocce ball court is to the right. The dining area and kitchen are located towards the back half of the restaurant.  I was invited along with my friends to Gio’s to try out their new food and cocktail menu. The first item to come out was fried calamari with lemon aioli, fried parsley, and citrus slices. I thought it had a nice light batter. I liked the fact that it had both the rings as well as the tentacles because our party each had our preference.  

The mushroom bruschetta arrived next. The toasts were topped with lemon ricotta, wild mushrooms, garlic, and thyme. As much as I love mushrooms, it was the mushrooms that brought this dish down for me. The texture of the mushrooms were tough. It tasted as if dried mushrooms were used and not soaked long enough. I am hoping that this was a fluke.
Karen’s Cucumber Salad was brought to the table. I don’t know who Karen is, but I wouldn’t mind attaching my name to this salad. The freshness of the farmer’s market cucumbers was apparent in the crunch. The salad included a variety of cucumbers, roasted peppers, cherry tomatoes, croutons, and a champagne vinaigrette.
My friends and I really enjoyed the mushroom and squash ziti that we were presented with. The pasta dish was cooked in butter, thyme, and white wine. Soft and delicate, these mushrooms had no resemblance to the ones on the bruschetta.  
Gio’s also includes two pizzas on their menu and you can order them New York style or Sicilian style. We got to try the sausage and mushroom pizza and the Margherita pizzas as single Sicilian style. I normally prefer red pizza over white pizza, but in this case, I preferred the sausage and mushrooms toppings. To me Sicilian pizza resembles a focaccia bread. I enjoyed the occasional crispiness from the bubbles that form in the dough.

Dessert is a polenta cake with ricotta creme, summer fruit, and kettle corn. To offer one dessert is a huge risk. I found it to be worth going “all in” because it was a highlight for me.  
Another area of focus at Gio’s is their cocktail menu highlighting Italian amaro and vermouth. The bar manager, Nick Stolte, spent time in Italy immersed in the culture and building relationships with vermouth and amaro purveyors. He designed and created a cocktail menu that highlights Italy’s best.  
The most interesting aspect of Gio’s is the secret back room. Behind the olive oil can door, is a private dining space that hasn’t changed since it was Giovanni’s. It is a cool space that makes your imagination of who would hang out here go wild. 
With a short menu and simple Italian food in a playful setting, I think Gio’s Pizza & Bocce will bring in a UC Berkeley crowd looking for some fun. However, I found meat offerings at Gio’s hard to come by so carnivores might be challenged.  

Weekend in Yosemite

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I just returned from a weekend in Yosemite National Park, a crown jewel of California. Just a four hour drive from the Bay Area, it’s another reason I love where I live.  On Thursday, my friend and I both entered the lottery to get a permit to hike Half Dome on Saturday. At midnight, I received an email indicating that I won a permit. We left Oakland before sunrise on Friday morning to head to Yosemite. We wanted to ensure we would miss traffic and be able to get in a good hike before dinner at the Majestic Hotel, formerly the Ahwahnee Hotel.  
At the visitor center, we got a recommendation to hike Upper Yosemite Falls to help us get acclimated to the elevation before we set off to conquer Half Dome the next morning. 
It was a pretty intense hike to get to the beautiful Yosemite Falls. We got back barely with enough time to check in to the Half Dome Village tents and make our dinner reservation.

It was actually my friend’s birthday so I treated her to dinner at the Majestic Hotel. She started her meal with the soup of the day which was a salmon and bacon chowder. The bacon infused the soup quite well and gave it a smokey flavor.
I had the Caesar salad which was probably the best prepared dish of the evening. I loved the addition of boiled egg, croutons, and anchovies to the romaine lettuce. The salad was perfectly dressed as well.
My friend ordered the prime rib which came with mashed potatoes, corn polenta, and green beans. The meat was a bit tough and came with a gelatinous gravy. We both agreed it would’ve been better with an au jus. However, the corn polenta was delicious, creamy and fluffy providing a custard like texture.  
I ordered the rack of lamb. This lamb was roasted with a garlic crust. The flavor was great but was not cooked to my liking. I asked for medium rare, but it came out almost medium well. 
I was disappointed in the meal compared to my last visit at the Ahwahnee several years ago.  
With an early start the next morning, my friend and I got set on the trails for Half Dome at 5:30am. We reached Vernal Falls within a short time after, which was an awesome site to see. 

 After about six and a half hours of treacherous hiking and climbing, we finally made it to the base of Half Dome. Already fatigue, I put on my gloves to endure the steel cable climb. It actually was a lot easier than I expected. But while climbing we began to hear thunderstorms and feel some sprinkles. My friend was encouraging me to just hurry up and get it done, so we trekked up a little further. Other hikers ahead of us began to get nervous and started making their descent. We finally agreed to play it safe and climb down as well. We expected a storm that was going to be worse than the night before that included a hailstorm. Hurrying down the granite dome without a proper break to avoid the forecasted storm, I wore myself out by the time we reached Half Dome Village. I have never endured such a rigorous and physical activity. I felt like my feet were going to break at any moment. 

When we got back to Half Dome Village, we were ready for dinner at Pizza Patio. We ordered the Tressider pizza which had pepperoni, sausage, bell pepper, mushrooms, olives, and tomato. The hand tossed pizza was perfect after such a long day. The pizza reminded me of Round Table Pizza, but better. I had three slices. The dough had a nice thick and chewy texture and the ingredients tasted very fresh. I would say I preferred the pizza dinner over the previous night’s dinner at The Majestic Hotel.

We slept well the second night in the tents. I’m surprised I was able to walk today, although my thighs and calves are a bit sore when I walk up or down stairs. Although I didn’t quite make it all the way to the top of the dome, I feel very accomplished. I know in my heart that if weather permitted, we would have made it to the granite peak. Nonetheless, it was an awesome experience and I can check it off my bucket list.
P.S.  I forgot to mention that we also encountered a baby bear on the hike to Half Dome!

Bluefin: When you can’t decide between Japanese and Thai food

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Last week my family decided they wanted to go out to dinner. There was a lot of debate over what to eat. My mom had been in the mood for Japanese food lately and hadn’t gotten her fix. I was thinking Laotian or Thai food. My sister in law had suggested a restaurant in Alameda called Bluefin that serves both Japanese and Thai food. We all agreed to give it a try.
We ordered the fried chicken wings to share. They were cooked to a beautiful golden color and were crispy and flavorful. I enjoyed the fried herb that complemented it.  
I ordered the sake sashimi appetizer. When it came out there were some oohs and ahhs. It was very fresh and presentation was on point. I think I ate all five pieces in under sixty seconds.  
My brother and mother like cooked sushi, so they ordered a four sushi rolls: 1) The Dancing Roll is a California roll topped with BBQ eel. 2) The Lion King Roll is a California roll topped with salmon and baked with a special sauce. 3) The Bluefin Bomb has tuna, salmon, avocado, asparagus, scallions topped with a spicy sauce. 4) The Lobster Tempura roll has crusty fried lobster with avocado, masago, asparagus, and special sauce. These all were presented in a bamboo sushi boat.  
My sister in law wanted Thai food and ordered the Papaya Salad which has green papaya with prawns, tomatoes, peanuts, and a spicy lime dressing. I thought this was really fresh tasting.
I ordered the Tom Kha which is a Thai soup with coconut milk. My “bowl” runneth over with chicken, mushrooms, tomato, onion, lime leaves me galangal, and lemongrass. It was a large bowl that I couldn’t finish in one sitting. I ended up having it for lunch the next day and it was still delicious.  
One of my nieces ordered the Teriyaki Beef dinner. Bluefin knows their teriyaki. The beef was cooked a perfect medium rare and the flavor had the right amount of sweetness. It was laid on top of cabbage, carrots, and broccoli.  
My other niece wanted udon. We got her the tempura udon with the tempura on the side so that everyone could indulge in the fried goodness.
I definitely had a good overall experience at Bluefin. It’s easy to find parking, the staff are really nice, presentation is awesome, and their was a great variety of food that was quite enjoyable. I don’t know why the Yelp reviews are mediocre.  I would add an additional star.  I thought the chefs were able to conquer Japanese and Thai cuisines very well. I personally would go back to Bluefin to try more of both cuisines.  

King of Kebabs: The Kebabery

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After hiking nearly thirteen miles today from the Golden Gate Bridge to Muir Beach along the Bay Ridge Trail, my friend and I were hungry. Since I have another week of my diet of not eating carbohydrates and sugar, my options are somewhat limited. I have friends who dined at The Kebabery on Friday evening with a positive review and since kebabs are a great choice for me, I suggested we have dinner there.

The folks behind The Kebabery are the same people behind the very successful Camino. This casual joint is located in North Oakland, bordering Emeryville. Unlike Camino where the focus is cooking from a wood fire oven, The Kebabery celebrates the grill.

We tried to order as much variety as we could for the two of us. We started with their soup which was a vegetarian soup with garbanzo beans, celery, tomato, Swiss chard, and mushrooms. A dollop of Greek yogurt and some infused oil was placed on top. After blending it with my spoon, the soup thickened up. It was comforting and tasted delightful.  Another side dish to consider are the spiced fries. The other night, my friends ordered and polished off every last piece of the shoestring potatoes.  
We each ordered a Kebab Plate which includes a choice of one kebab, two side dishes, yogurt, herbs, spicy picked chiles, and either flatbread or red lentils. My friend’s plate had the lamb kebab, spiced carrots, mashed beets, and the flatbread.  
I ordered an extra kebab on my plate so we could try all three varieties. The two kebabs I ordered were the marinated chicken and the spiced king trumpet mushrooms. My sides were the mashed eggplant salad and the homemade pickles. In lieu of flatbread, I ordered the red lentils.  
All the side dishes are purposely cold. It reminds me of eating a mezze platter. My favorite sides were the mashed eggplant salad and mashed beets. The homemade pickles were kind of fun because it had an assortment that included carrots, cauliflower, fennel, and celery.  The lentils were mild in flavor and a creamy texture that I liked. My friend enjoyed the grilled flatbread. I am a sucker for flatbread and really wanted to taste it so I sampled a piece the size of a quarter. It was warm, fresh, and chewy. 

Of course the real star of The Kebabery are the kebabs. The lamb, the chicken, and the mushroom kebabs were all marinated with delicious spices that lend to a great grill. The lamb kebab was particularly flavorful. The chicken kebab was ever so moist and the pieces with chicken skin were crispy and amazing. The king trumpet mushrooms were also quite delicious. This option really gives vegetarians the opportunity to enjoy a full meal.
Every ingredient used at The Kebabery is organic. With that said, I think the prices are very reasonable. A sandwich goes for $12 and a kebab plate runs $15. Another thing to note is that there is no tipping at The Kebabery. This tells me that the staff at The Kebabery are paid a fair wage and the prices you pay go towards that. I like this innovative approach and I’ll be back when I don’t feel like cooking.