Bakesale Betty's

Bakesale Betty's

5098 Telegraph Avenue

(On the corner of 51st Avenue)

Oakland, CA. 94609

Grub-O-Meter: 5 out of 5 Bellies-Up

Cha-Ching-O-Meter: $$ out of $$$$

Bakesale Betty's in the heart of Oakland's Temescal neighborhood is known for its fried chicken and cole slaw sandwiches, strawberry shortcakes, chocolate chip cookies, chicken pot pies, and of course its owner the blue haired owner betty. Right away upon arriving you notice the ironing boards outside used as tables for its customers to eat on. The line was not too bad because it was only 11 o clock but a lot of people were there eating already. We ordered the strawberry shortcake and the chicken sandwiches and sat down on one of the ironing boards. Wow the first bite is truly delicious and the chicken is fried but not oily, crispy, and the cole slaw goes well with the texture of the chicken. Probably one of the best chicken sandwiches I have ever eaten. The strawberry shortcake for dessert was killer as well, it's what you expect a good strawberry shortcake to be, kinda chewy and sweet of course. Overall a great bay area find, another reason why the bay area is the greatest place to live.

Doobu

Doobu

Japantown (Between Post and Sutter)

1723 Buchanan Street

San Francisco, CA. 94115

Grub-O-Meter: 4 out of 5 Belllies-Up

Cha-Ching-O-Meter: $$ out of $$$$

Doobu is one of the regular joints my fiancee and I go to for our Korean food fix. Right in the heart of Japantown, Doobu is a straight forward, tasty, and quality restaurant. Of everything I have tried here I would say the best deal from this restaurant is the lunch box. For $7.95 you get a bento box with your choice of meat, tofu soup, salad, and sides.  What a deal, always leaves me satisfied and full and tastes great.

Mission Street Food

Mission Street Food

Corner of 21st and Mission

San Francisco, CA. 94110

Thursday nights only, 8pm-2am

Grub-O-Meter: If I could give more than 5 Bellies-Up then I would

Cha-Ching-O-Meter: $ out of $$$$

Mission Street Food is the definition of what the Bay Area Grubhub is about. Tasty, cheap, quality, and of course grubbin. On a food tip from a co-worker my fiancee and a couple of friends went out to the Mission to see what this cart was all about since it is only 3 weeks old and there were rave reviews. The whole story with this place is a line chef from Bar Tartine decided to rent a food truck to start his own thing only on thursdays nights of every week from 8pm-2am or until they run out of food. The success of this idea is amazing because word spread like wildfire and now there are hundreds of people lining up to catch a taste. So we arrived around 7:45 expecting a line and as soon as we arrived in front of the truck as the first customers a line began  to form behind us. We chatted with some of the people running the truck and they were really friendly and were making a movie about the whole starting of the truck. We got interviewed and asked us about how we heard of it etc... So we finally got a chance to order after a short delay, and we tried everything on the menu since there are only 5 things to order: PB & J (Pork Belly and Jicama w/ jalapenos and cilantros, on homemade flatbread) , King trumpet ( mushroom, triple fried potatoes, sour cream, garlic confit), Mission Melt ( Roasted pasilla jalapeno peppers, avocado, melted cheese on homemade flatbread), Asian Pear Slaw ( Julienned Asian pear, lettuce, edamame, in horseradish dressing), and Filth Rich Brownies with brie and hazelnuts).  Wow, all of them were sooooo good except in my opinion for the Asian Pear Slaw which was a little wet and something you might find at any restaurant. But all the dishes were great- but my favorite was definitely the Pork Belly because it was like a flavor explosion in your mouth, it was like eating bacon but on a much grander scale. Anyways one of the better Grub Hub restaurants for sure but if you go get there early!

Cafe Cacao

Cafe Cacao (In the Sharffen Berger Chocolate Factory)
914 Heinz Avenue
(between 7th St & 8th St)
Berkeley, CA 94710

Grub-O-Meter: 3 out of 5 Bellies-Up
Cha-Ching-O-Meter: $$ out of $$$$

Cafe Cacao in the Sharffen Berger Chocolate Factory in Berkeley is the place to go if you want

to fill your chocolate fix. Pictured above is the fresh banana and chocolate pancakes, drizzled in chocolate along with a serving of regular syrup, sweeeettttt. The pancakes are actually quite good, a bit crunchy and fluffy at the same time. Along with these treats they serve brunch and lunch and have a menu with regular stuff including omelets, sandwiches, and pastries which all are pretty decent. The restaurant is inside the Chocolate factory and smells delicious, also the store sells a variety of sweet treats to give you cavities.

Pho Phu Quoc or PPQ Restaurant

Pho Phu Quoc or PPQ Restaurant
1816 Irving Street
(between 19th Ave & 20th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94122

Grub-O-Meter: 4 out of 5 Bellies-Up
Cha-Ching-O-Meter: $ out of $$$$

A neighborhood favorite of mine in the Sunset District, PPQ has the best 5 Spice Chicken dishes around. They specialize in the chicken and use it in a variety of dishes including rice, pho, or vermicilli bowls. My favorite dish is the the vermicilli bowl with egg rolls along with the 5 spice chicken (pictured above). They give generous portions and hits the spot when I get the craving. The other dishes on the menu including the pho are ok but for sure this dish is the star.

Ali Baba's Cave

Ali Baba's Cave

531 Haight Street

(between Filmore and Steiner Street)

San Francisco, CA 94117

Grub-O-Meter: 5 out of 5 Bellies-Up

Cha-Ching-O-Meter: $ out of $$$$

Man Ali Baba's is the best falafal in the city by far. I have been to many joints around but always come back to this place because of the taste, the value, and the quantity. Introduced by a roomate a couple of years ago I have been a fan of Ali Babas since I could remember. The lamb and turkey shawarmas are also quite delicious and another deal of the day is bringing your own plastic container to be filled with hummus for only 2 bucks or so. To give you an idea of the scale take a look at my co-workers Pauline's head compared to the falafal above. Da Bomb!

All Star Tamales

All Star Tamales

The City Farmers Market

United Nations Plaza

San Francisco, CA 94102

Grub-O-Meter: 3 out of 5 Bellies-Up

Cha-Ching-O-Meter: $ out of $$$$

All Star Tamales comes to town every Wednesday for the farmers market right near the civic center downtown. All Star Tamales has several location around including Alemany, Walnut Creek, and Oakland. There is always a long line of people waiting to eat here so I decided to give it a go. I tried the green chicken tamales and they were to me a little on the bland side but with the hot sauce that comes with it makes it alot better. They use simple ingredient including potatoes, chicken, corn, and chiles. As far as Tamales go not too bad and would give this place another shot.

Cha Cha Cha

Cha Cha Cha
1801 Haight St
(between Shrader St & Stanyan St)
San Francisco, CA 94117

Grub-O-Meter: 4 out of 5 Bellies-Up

Cha-Ching-O-Meter: $$ out of $$$$

Cha Cha Cha is a restaurant in upper haight right near the park. Along the way you will see a lot of characters which gives the neighborhood its flavor along with lots of  unique shops and history. Usually packed like crazy during dinner we actually got lucky for a table for 3 and ordered  5 dishes along with a pitcher of Sangria. All the dishes here are so tasty and grubbin, and being that it is tapas its nice to sample everything. We ordered the fried calamari, black mussels, chicken pillard, cajun shrimp, and the special ahi tuna tacos.  Overall no complaints about the food and the atmosphere has a lot of energy and excitement, and is a great restaurant to take friends for a fun and loud dinner.

Skates on the Bay

Skates on the Bay
100 Seawall Dr
(between Fishing Pier & University Ave)
Berkeley, CA 94710

Grub-O-Meter: 4 out of 5 Bellies-Up

Cha-Ching-O-Meter: $$$ out of $$$$

Skates on the Bay in Berkeley is by all means not for penny-pinchers but it is a pretty nice restaurant for having a Sunday brunch with the family or taking a date. The breakfast is actually quite good, they have everything from omelttes to steak to clam chowder. I tried the avocado and shrimp quesadilla which was really good, the blt was great because of the honey-dipped bacon, and the omelettes are not bad as well. The view is also awesome because its opposite SF so you can see the whole SF skyline and the Golden Gate Bridge. Also if your there request the free pastries, fresh blueberry muffins and cinnamon sticks. Overall a very nice restaurant for a sunny afternoon.

Five Happiness

Five Happiness
4142 Geary Blvd
(between 5th Ave & 6th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94118

Grub-O-Meter: 3 out of 5 Bellies-Up

Cha-Ching-O-Meter: $$ out of $$$$

Recommended from a friend, decided to try this restaurant in the richmond district of SF. It's funny because I have lived on 5th avenue for 2 years back in the days, but I have never thought to give this place a try because the outside of the restaurant looks ghetto. But reading about this place the shanghainese breakfast supposed to be pretty good. So upon entering it wasn't as bad inside but a little dark. We ordered the green onion pancakes, soy milk, sticky rice, shanghainese noodles, dumplings, and pan-fried meat buns. Everything was average except the green onion pancakes and the sticky rice. Those were actually above average but everything was super fried to the max and a little oily. Overall not too bad and if you have a shanghainese breakfast craving then this would do the job.

Tong Kee

Tong Kee
2191 Irving Street
(on the corner of 23rd Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94122

Grub-O-Meter: 4 out of 5 Bellies-Up

Cha-Ching-O-Meter: $ out of $$$$

Tong Kee is one of those restaurants that I have to visit every other week at least to get one of my favorite dishes, scrambled eggs shrimp over rice. I have tried this dish everywhere but I always come back to this joint because they do it the best. The eggs are runny not scrambled all the way, and the hot sauce they make is to die for. The scrambled eggs beef over rice is just as good but I always end up eating the shrimp. All the other dishes in the restaurant are so-so, barbeque is ok, but the main attraction for me is this dish for sure!

Daimo Chinese Restaurant

Daimo Chinese Restaurant
3288 Pierce St
Richmond, CA 94804

Grub-O-Meter: 4 out of 5 Bellies-Up

Cha-Ching-O-Meter: $$ out of $$$$

Whenever I visit my parents in the east bay, Daimo is one of our favorite restaurants to go to. Located in the Pacific East center in Richmond Daimo is a pretty good restaurants for family or if your flying solo or to get to-go orders. Their bbq chausui is the best I've ever had. I have eaten a lot of bbq pork but daaanngg this is the bomb digitiy! They always serve it up fresh and straight off the pig so its extra succulent. I would say their strong suit is  the bbq, noodles, and some other dishes such as ostrich are also great.