Redwood Cafe

 

Redwood Cafe is one of my favorite hot spots for breakfast burritos in NorCal. I know many places are good with this dish, but I feel Redwood Cafe is so special that it makes other restaurants in NorCal below par. Before discussing about their burrito, let me first show what the place looks like.

 

 

Overall, the interior is filled with artwork by artists throughout the county wanting to sell their material. Every time I come in, the place is always looking different. One month will have graffiti art, another month will have a collection of oil paintings. Regardless, there is always something new and different when coming in.

 

One of the best things about this place is that they have outside seating. There are a lot of interior tables, but it can be a bit gloomy for some. However, Redwood Cafe is located in Sonoma County where they have beautiful weather in the spring and summer. Therefore, it is great they provide outside seating for customers who want to enjoy the weather with their meal.

 

Now to their breakfast burrito. This bad boy is special to me generally for the tortilla they use for their burritos. This burrito contains two eggs with home fries, scallions, tomatoes, cheddar & jack cheese wrapped in a tomato tortilla w/ an option of bacon or/and sausage for an extra fee. This is probably the only restaurant where I have seen a tortilla like this available for customers. At first when I ordered this dish for the first time years ago, I was skeptic. I had no clue why it had its color nor knew it was a tomato tortilla. However, after I got that first bite in I knew it was going to become one of my top dishes to recommend people when visiting NorCal.

The combination of meat and eggs is great to chew through. The texture is soft yet have flavor in every bite. One additional thing I like to do when ordering this burrito is requesting ranch on the side.

 

The ranch is honestly the frosting on the cake for this burrito. The mix between the eggs and the tortilla wrap makes this dish to die for breakt burrito advocates. Therefore, if you are ever craving a breakfast burrito and in the Sonoma County area, I highly recommend checking out Redwood Cafe. 

If you are coming with a group this place is still good for eaters who aren’t craving a burrito. Their menu is generally filld with breakfast dishes, sandwiches, beer, wine, etc. They are able to meet the need of any type of eater.

Overall, check this place out breakfast burrito lovers. You will not be disappointed.

Later Days…

8240 Old Redwood Hwy
Cotati, CA 94931

Mon-Thu, Sun 7:30 am – 9 pm

Fri-Sat 7:30 am – 10 pm

CLICK ME! I AM THEIR MENU! MY BREAKFAST BURRITO IS BEAUTIFUL AND HAS INCREDIBLE GIRTH!

House of Bagels

 

Oddly enough, I did not become a fan of bagels until I went to graduate school. Basically, during this time I became into a student on a budget and bagels were my go to food. Since then, I have been noticing the popularity and ability to be creative with bagels. As a result, I wanted to share one place that is not afraid to experiment and that is House of Bagels in San Francisco, CA.

 

House of Bagels is a popular shop in the Richmond district where they serve pastries and bagels. The unique thing about this place is they have a variety of different kinds of bagels and do many different hings with them. For instance, you are able to order salmon on top of your bagel. This may not seem strange for some, but to me it was the first time I heard about this.

 

 

In the photo above they have a rack of different kind of bagels customers can order from. This helps customers know what is currently on stock.

 

My favorite thing to order is their jalapeno bagel with jalapeno cream cheese. Unfortunately, this is the only one I have had thus far from the place so I can’t really give a review on their dishes beside this one. Regardless, it is my favorite to always order. I guess in some ways this just shows how good the place is if I am able to find my favorite right away.

 

Before ending this I want to share one more thing, this place sell bagels on a discount for ones that weren’t bought the day before. This is popular among customers. Every time I have come in, I have always seen someone pick something from this rack. Therefore, if you love to get bagels on a bargain, just know they have a clearance rack.

Later Days…

5030 Geary Blvd
San Francisco, CA 94118

Mon-Sun 6 am – 6 pm

CLICK ME! I AM THEIR WEB SITE. I CAN’T THINK OF A BAGEL PUN!

Gelato Classico Italian Ice Cream

 

Whenever I am in Fremont, I usually have a hard time finding good food spots to try. Commonly, when I drive around, I usually see plazas and plazas full of popular chain restaurants like Applebee’s, Red Lobster, etc. However, after driving through so many different plazas, I think I found my food gem in Fremont. That food gem is Gelato Classico Italian Ice Cream.

 

Generally, Gelato Classico Italian Ice Cream is a little shop owned by a friendly ol’ school Italian man who serves gelato desserts. Personally, I am a big fan of gelato. However, it is always hard for me to find good spots in the Bay Area that aren’t conservative with their flavors. Many have the typical generic flavors like chocolate, vanilla and so forth, but never crazy ones that make them stand out on their own. Thankfully, Gelato Classico Italian Ice Cream had enough flavors that were unique and different, which allowed me to feel this place was special.

 

Overall, many of their flavors tasted fresh. My friend, girlfriend, and I went crazy on trying flavors and sharing each others’ gelatos. Each flavor I was able to try made me appreciate the Italian owner’s heart and dedication on keeping these flavors a great experience for customers.

 

 

 

 

For my friend, she ordered their chocolate hazelnut and vanilla flavor gelato. I got to try her chocolate hazelnut and I thought it tasted very similar to Nutella.

 

As for my girlfriend, she got the stracciatella and strawberry lemonade. I have no clue what stracciatella was, but it had a very nice sweetness and texture to it.

 

And lastly for me, I had their strawberry cheesecake and birthday cake flavor. Honestly, I thought mine was the best one out of the three. The strawberry cheesecake was good as usual, but the birthday cake flavor made me leave craving for me. I really have no clue how to describe it because it tasted like a cake, but with something else included. Therefore, I recommend to try this flavor out if you are ever in this store.

 

If you noticed, in each ice cream cup there is a pointy flat bread stick stuck in. These are wafers and the owner included these in each cup. It is a good combination because it gives you a cone-like texture to add to your moist ice cream. By having two contrasting textures, it makes the cup as a whole a good experience.

In conclusion, I highly recommend trying this place out if you have nothing to do in Fremont. Commonly, you might get bored of seeing the same typical chains so this place is a good change-up. Also, if you enjoy friendly staff members then you will love this place. The owner is very chill and was trying to teach my girlfriend Italian while serving us. Sadly, I wanted to tell him that he was wasting his time trying to teach her.

Later Days…

39191 Farwell Dr
Fremont, CA 94538

Mon-Fri, Sun 11:30 am – 10 pm

Sat 12 pm – 10:30 pm

Bob’s Hoagy Steaks

 

A few week’s ago, I had the opportunity to check out Bob’s Hoagy Steaks in Fremont, California. I am rarely in this area of the East Bay, but one of my friends from Orange County was coming up to visit NorCal. Since, I do not know much about the area, I had to look up some popular food spots for us to catch a bite at. Thankfully, through the help of Yelp, I was able to find Bob’s Hoagy Steaks.

 

Bob’s Hoagy Steaks is generally a cheese steak shop. If you are not from the states and have no clue what that is, it is basically cooked shredded meat and cheese on bread. Pretty simple yet very popular and tasty. Commonly, people eat these for the juices of the meat. If the meat is juicy then it is normally a good sandwich. Thankfully, Bob’s Hoagy Steaks were.

 

Before I display the food we ordered, I want to point out this place has a lot of different hot sauces. In fact, on their walls some are framed. If you are big on trying different hot sauces outside of Tapatio, Cholula, or Tabasco then this might be a good spot for you. Unfortunately, I did not try any because I did not know we could until the end when we were walking out. Consequently, make sure to take advantage of this if you do decide to come here.

 

For my meal, I ordered the Mexicana Cheese Steak. I do not remember what the ingredients were, but I do remember enjoying the mushrooms and meat. It was very juicy and wasn’t rough when biting into them. Definitely, good when combined with hot sauce.

 

For my girlfriend, I believe she ordered their Deluxe sandwich. Again, no clue what is inside, but the sauces were what made this memorable. Made me kind of wish I ordered her dish instead because I feel with this type of meat you need some good sauce mixed in.

 

Lastly, we also ordered their curly fries. These were surprisingly good. They were not too salty nor bland. They gave a good kick to the taste and was great with their tartar sauce.

 

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of my friend’s meal and the side order of deep-fried clams. If possible, do order their clams. They were very good and probably the best part of my dinner. Sadly, I was very hungry and forgot to snap a photo. Therefore, you are just going to have to take my word.

Either way, I recommend checking this place out if you are driving through Fremont. It is a pretty fast and simple meal that can get you full. The good thing is they have a pretty good list of different sandwiches on their menu so it should hopefully meet everyone’s needs if going with a group. Their side orders are probably the best part to me though so make sure to order some while you are there. Also, get their tartar sauce and try out any of their hot sauce. This will probably make your visit memorable.

Later Days…

37404 Fremont Blvd
Fremont, CA 94536

Mon-Sat 11 am – 9:30 pm

 

Saiwaii Ramen

 

Saiwaii Ramen in San Francisco is probably hands down own of my favorite ramen places to eat out at in California. I know there are ton of other places similar in the bay area, but for some reason I am always coming back to this location.

 

I have probably been going to place for about a year now and have tried many of their popular ramen dishes. Overall, many of them are very similar, but each have their own uniqueness. Regardless, each dish is very good and I recommend this place to hardcore ramen lovers.

[Spicy Mala Ramen]

[Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen (Pork Flavor) w/ an extra egg]

[Tonkotsu Ramen (Pork Flavor)]

The three photos above are some of their popular ramen dishes. The thing I like about their bowls is the texture of the ramen. The ramen noodles are very fresh and have a great texture in each chew. The broth they cook these ramen is also very tasty. In particular, I especially enjoy their spicy bowls because their broths give a very nice kick and spiciness.

In addition, another positive is they give the customers the option to add additional ingredients for an extra fee. For example, if you choose to add a hard boiled egg or seaweed, it would only be about $1-2 extra to your bill. Not very much, but typical for a ramen restaurant.

And lastly, another positive about Saiwaii Ramen is that they also have a sushi menu for customers who prefer to eat solid food rather than soup. The photo above is of their Lion King Roll. I haven’t ate this for a very long time, but from what I remember the sauce on the sushi was the highlight for me. I remember the moisture combined with the rice is what made this very appetizing.

As for this dish, this is their Unagi Donburi. In general, it is basically eel on top of rice. If you are a huge unagi fan, I highly recommend this dish. Their eel is very soft yet flavorful. Therefore, making it a great combination when eating with rice.

Overall, I would recommend this place to people who enjoy Japanese cuisine. I know some have never experienced true ramen in its best form. Therefore, if you are ever in San Francisco and want to taste how ramen is supposed to, I would recommend checking out Saiwaii Ramen. It is a great way to introduce to the ramen world.

Later Days…

2240 Irving
San Francisco, CA 94122

Mon-Sun 11 am – 3 pm

Mon-Thu, Sun 5 pm – 10 pm

Fri-Sat 5 pm – 11 pm

900 Grayson

A few weeks ago, I finally had the opportunity to check out 900 Grayson in Berkeley, California. I first learned about this place via Yelp when I was browsing popular breakfast/brunch locations in the East Bay. Through browsing, I came across a photo of one of their signature dishes. As a result, causing me to bookmark the location as one of my top to-go-places in the future. Thankfully, a few weeks ago I was in the Easy Bay and had an open time slot to stop by and try this popular dish.

Before, I focus on this dish let me first describe the interior. Overall, the place was very popular and kind of small. There were about 8-10 tables inside, but they filled very fast with customers. Even though it is a bit tiny for my liking, there is an additional outside seating area for customers. Consequently, if you do decide to come and feel this inside may be too cramped for your liking, just ask if there are seats outside available and you should be good. Since it is located in the East Bay, there is a lot of sunny days so a table outside isn’t a bad idea.

As for food, my girlfriend ordered their Grayson Burger, which is the photo above. The Grayson Burger is generally dish that contains a Creekstone Natural Beef, Nueske’s Double Smoked Bacon, N.Y. White Cheddar, Crispy Shoestring Onions with a side order of Herb French Fries. My girlfriend really loved this dish. She gave me a few bites and I believe the highlights of it was their white cheddar and crispy onions. Generally, all the different ingredients included made it a really good dish, but I felt the texture and warmth of these two specific ingredients is what made it memorable.

Now to the signature dish I was referring to in the beginning of this food post. For my dish, I ordered their Demon Lover. According to 900 Grayson‘s menu, they describe the Demon Lover as a “Spicy Buttermilk Fried Fulton Valley Chicken Paillard, Buttermilk Waffle with Old-Fashioned Cream Gravy”. The description makes it sound really fancy, but if I had to sum it up it is basically chicken and waffles with gravy drizzled all over. If you prefer Maple Syrup instead of gravy, they do give the option to do that instead. They also offer both if you are that crazy.

On the whole, I really loved this dish. The chicken was crispy and boneless, the waffles was soft enough to pierce with the chicken, and the gravy was a home run to finish it all. This dish alone, honestly, makes this place my top place to go for breakfast in the Bay Area. This dish was the right combination on how a chicken and waffles should be made. Every time I took a bite all I was thinking about was how Roscoe’s in SoCal is nothing compared to this. Therefore, I highly recommend everyone to try this dish out at 900 Grayson. Their Demon Lover is hands-down a top dish everyone should experience once in their lifetime. With every bite being a touch a heaven, you will want to become a regular here after taking one bite.

Later Days…

900 Grayson St
Berkeley, CA 94701

Mon-Fri 8 am – 3 pm

Sat 8 am – 2:30 pm

CLICK ME! I AM THEIR WEB SITE! I AM THE ONLY PLACE THAT CAN MAKE CHICKEN AND WAFFLES LOOK FANCY!

C.R.E.A.M.

If you are from the Bay Area, you probably have heard of a place called CREAM in Berkeley, California. If you haven’t, generally this is a popular dessert place that serves ice cream sandwiches to customers. The major difference though is their cookies are actual cookies. Therefore, if wanted you can order an ice cream sandwich with chocolate chip cookies as the outer layers.

In all honesty, this is a simple design yet very smart at the same time. Personally, I am a big ice cream sandwich fan. Consequently, learning about a place that serves this, but with actual real cookies makes this place even more of a fan favorite.

The good thing about this place is they serve a good variety of different ice cream and cookie flavors. Another positive is they actually warm up their cookies before combining them with ice cream. As a result, making it a nice bite per bite.

For my girlfriend’s ice cream sandwich, she ordered their chocolate chip mint ice cream with chocolate chip cookies. And for mine, I ordered their vanilla ice cream with snicker doodle cookies. Both were very good and very affordable. The only warning I give is that these are very messy to eat. Since the cookies are warm, the ice cream melts faster. If your cookie isn’t warm enough, it will be harder to take a bite since the cookies will flatten out the ice cream.

That being said, I still recommend to check this place out at least once. Even though it is a simple dessert place, it is still good to at least try out once.

Later Days…

2399 Telegraph Ave
Berkeley, CA 94704

Mon-Wed 12 pm – 12 am

Thu-Fri 12 pm – 2 am

Sat 11 am – 2 am

Sun 11 am – 11 pm

CLICK ME! I AM THEIR WEB SITE! I KNOW YOU LIKE CREAM IN YOUR MOUTH!