The Best Fish n' Chips This Side of the Pond (That I've Had So Far at Least...)

Fish and Chips + Allagash White
(It would be even more awesome if there were Mushy Peas, but one shouldn't be greedy.)

After a whirlwind day with Tob-asco, which included In-n-Out, a car overheating in Santa Cruz, getting the car towed, finally walking to the beach, and being picked up by her parents, we all decided to get dinner cuz we were effing hungry. After much discussion about what to eat, the parentals decided on Martins West. GREAT CHOICE. Three of us ordered Fish and Chips and the other ordered a burger, which Tob-asco and I probably would've ordered if we hadn't eaten In-N-Out. Fish was fried to perfection and actually tasted like fish. Chips were similar. Tasted like actual potatoes. Beer selection was pretty decent, especially for Redwood City (according to natives). Know that this place is a bit pricey, but if you're in the area, then there's probably nothing better to do, so check it out.

Martins West Gastropub
831 Main St., Redwood City

Homeroom: A+

Beer Float (Oh yes, that is a mason jar.)

Spicy Mac
(Okay, it looks like they just sprinkled the pepper flakes that come in the little glass containers next to the parmesan at pizza joints, but it is not!)

Ever since Eat Real, Special K. and I have been awaiting Homeroom's opening. It has taken them forever, but they have finally set up shop in a somewhat random location (i.e. not that convenient if you do not have a car and not really near anything else). We got there at 5pm, which sounds incredibly crazy, but believe me this place gets packed quickly! There were already people when we arrived, and the place filled up in about half an hour...it was Friday though. Special K. and I decided to order our favorite from Eat Real, the Spicy Mac. However, we made the request of potatoes chips on top, which usually only come with the Trailer Mac. Tob-asco opted for the Vermont White Cheddar. The mac was as good as ever. Portions are just right for the extremely hungry diner (you will be full). Or just wrap half of it home and grab some dessert. I ordered a Beer Float made with Old Rasputin Stout and Three Twins Vanilla Ice Cream. It was certainly interesting. If you are a huge fan of Stout and Ice Cream, I would say give it a try or share it with a friend. It is definitely different. They also have huge Homemade Oreos that look delicious. Tob-asco and I were kicking ourselves for not buying one and taking it home. Oh, and if you want to be healthy, they offer veggie sides! Towards the end of the meal, the owner came out to ask for some feedback. Apparently, they are looking into changing the menu by offering add-ons. Perhaps, they'll go the Grub route and just have a make-your-own-mac option?

Then comes the question, which one is better, Grub or Homeroom? That is difficult to answer, since I am in love with the fries, lobster, and truffle oil at Grub. However, Homeroom knows how to choose their cheese and season their mac. These two mac hubs have very different atmospheres as well. Grub has a more swanky, bourgie feel. Homeroom, as you can tell by its name, is a bit more fun. They have paper-airplane-making directions on their menus! Basically Grub is mac for grownups, while Homeroom is your childhood dream come true. If you are trying to decide which to try, I would suggest checking out the menus first.

Homeroom
400 40th St (b/w Shafter Ave & Webster St)
Oakland

For those who want to take BART, it is about a 15-minute walk from Macarthur, but I am not sure about the safety or shadiness of the area.

Dark Indeed...

"...veiled in mist and darkness..."
(Sorry too much Kafka today)

Reunited at last!

The Hitachino Espresso Stout is aptly named and tells no lies. As the label touts, a "Japanese Dark Ale Brewed with Coffee Beans," this little guy is a must try for Hitachino and Stout enthusiasts. It's quite chocolately in taste with hints of espresso and not very hoppy, but that's about all I can say, since I'm not a beer connoisseur. Took me a while to track it down, but I finally got mine at Berkeley Bowl. Whole Foods might also be a good place to look. Happy Drinking, Mates!

Birthday = Foodday

One really must treat oneself on a birthday. I think that's a rule or maybe not. Nonetheless, I started out my own with some delicious Japanese food from Kirala 2. I also discovered that if you purchase more than $10 worth of food, you get a day-old item for free! Beef Donburi, California Rolls, and Kara-age made an amazing lunch that day...and leftovers for the next. For the evening, I arranged an outing with the gang to Show Dogs and Thermidor.

First up, Show Dogs:
Part of me really wishes this were in a better location. It's kind of in a random spot on Market, nestled near the Warfield, and smack in between Powell and Civic Center Bart Stations. However, Show Dogs met my expectations. A lot more casual than Foreign Cinema, Gayle Pirie and John Clark's second venture lives up to its name or breeding so to say. The food was fresh and the beer selection was impressive. The only complaint would be that various items were sold out, but this may be due to it being close to the end of the night. For some reason I had my heart set on fried chicken that day, so I didn't actually order what the place is supposed to be known for: sausages. That being said the chicken was good and the mashed potatoes were creamy and flavourful. Everyone else, however, gave the dogs a try. Dogs digested: the House Maple Bacon Pork, the House Chicken Curry, and Field Roast Vegetarian Sausage. And since we were feeling extra awesome, we ordered BBQ Fries AND Onion Rings. All good with no complaints. GET THE BBQ FRIES.

Next up, Thermidor:
After we were filled, we ventured to Thermidor in Mint Plaza for drinks. Yes, be ready for bourge. However, the cocktails were quite amazing (although I've decided that I'll never get an actual English Pimm's in America). The bartender was extremely nice and not only gave me a free shot of Laphroaig, but also kept refilling Special K's glass with wine after we figured out that the price was not the one listed. And as a snack, we ordered chips with caviar. Delicously bourge. I would suggest going here for drinks (especially at happy hour) and maybe getting a small snack.

Kirala 2
1511 Shattuck Ave. (b/w Cedar St & Vine St. It's in Epicurious Garden.)
Berkeley

Show Dogs
1020 Market Street (on the corner near the Warfield)
San Francisco

Thermidor
8 Mint Plaza (From Market walk down Fifth St. The plaza is across from the mall.)
San Francisco

Post Giants Game Nosh @ Ironside

After watching the Giants crush the D-backs, K.yo, Tob-asco, and I sought a place to eat, drink, and be merry. We were originally heading to 21st Amendment, but that place was packed as hell, so we went to Ironside instead. GOOD CHOICE. We ordered a pitcher of the Ironside Special (firestone honey blonde). It was happy hour, so the pitcher was only $14! As for food, Tob-asco and I had the Baked Meatballs with pecorino and toasted baguette, while K.yo opted for the Baked Mac and Cheese (smoked cheddar & gruyere). The meatballs were awesome, but we would have liked more baguette. I questioned K.yo about the mac recently, and she said it was the best mac she's ever had...better than T-Rex. WHOA. So, go there...even though it's kind of in the middle of nowhere. Definitely a good place to go before or after a Giants game. Speaking of which, if anyone has some extra tickets to games, let me know. :)

Ironside
680A 2nd St. @ Townsend St.
San Francisco

Vote for Vo's? Kind of a No...

K.yo won a certificate to Vo's in the land of Oaks about half a year ago, so we decided to finally use it for our pre-xx at the Fox fix. I'm going to try to say this as nicely as I can, but extremely fancy Asian food is usually a miss. And, I am not the only one who thinks so! We ordered Crisp Tofu and Eggplant sautéed with scallions and garlic sauce. It was tasty, but I could have either gotten the same thing from Chinatown or made it for a lot cheaper. Also, I can't approve of having to pay extra for rice. Why would anyone ever order an entree at a Chinese restaurant without rice or noodles?! Or any asian restaurant for that matter?! No, I do not plan on eating a plate of sweet-and-sour pork or green curry by itself!

Now that I'm done bitching, I'll move onto the pluses. The drink selection looked pretty good. It sucked that they were out of La Fin du Monde, which K.yo really wanted to try. However, the Hitachino Red Rice Ale was pretty good. For dessert, we ordered a Sunday Basket (Vanilla Ice Cream served in a Waffle Basket and topped with Creme de Menthe). It was also pretty tasty, but also something that we could have made on our own. To be honest, K.yo and I probably would not have gone to this place without a certificate, and we probably won't go again unless we have one. Oh, and did I mention that this place also claims to be a blend of "Chinese, Vietnamese, and French" cuisine that is a "combination of contemporary and traditional styles," i.e. FUSION.

Vo's Oakland
59 Grand Ave. (b/w Broadway and Webster)

This be a new blog.

Enjoy!

Hitachino Nest While Ale @ Public House in AT&T Park

Public House
AT&T Park
24 Willie Mays Plaza
San Francisco

(I have included posts from a previous blog that I co-administrated with a friend.)

Der Älterer

Finally, I got my hands on some Pliny the Elder. Extra points for it being freshly bottled two days prior. This baby was number two on Beer Advocate's list of Top Beers on Planet Earth. If you're into IPA's, then you'll definitely like this. If you're not, at least give it a try! :)

*I've been going a little post crazy, since RC has gone on vacation and hasn't been able to put up posts to balance mine. But, I'm probably going to be a lot more busy now, so there won't be as high of an influx. Radpanda=Sadpanda.

Places in Berk where said drink can be found:

Bobby G's Pizzeria (It's on tap.)
2072 University Avenue @ Shattuck

Beta Lounge (They gots bottles.)
2129 Durant Avenue Fulton

Word o' advice: Take it easy with the Pliny. Ease yourself in and don't be too ambitious.

--RP has spoken.