Copied and pasted from the old log:
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DAT: 2005-11-11
TIM: 17:30 PST
SRC: Kabuto A&S (San Francisco)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Foie gras, sammy roll (shrimp, salmon roll with curry sauce), 2 other special rolls, japanese pumpkin (a large piece of pumpkin on a small piece of rice), bonito, clams in clear sake broth, fried salmon dumplings, finished with matcha creme brulee. It was all definitely interesting, clam soup was surprisingly good and the special sushis were all quite nice. Also, this being my first experience with foie gras, all I can say is that it was pretty nice, not liver'y at all.
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DAT: 2005-10-30
TIM: 15:15 PST
SRC: Chaat Cafe (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Samosa chaat (me) and papri chaat, chicken wrap (Amy). Interesting take on the samosa chaat this time, with the samosas cut up into smaller than usual pieces. It's fascinating how much the preparation of Chaat Cafe food can vary, yet it's still decent all the time.
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DAT: 2005-10-29
TIM: 19:30 PST
SRC: Sufficient Grounds (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Shared Sufficient Grounds club on focaccia with potato salad. Still a nice kinda unique sandwich in my opinion. I still miss the days when they had jalapeno jack bread though.
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DAT: 2005-10-28
TIM: 18:30 PST
SRC: Cha-Ya (Berkeley)
WHO: Me, Conrad, and Christian
DSC: Cha-Ya nabe (vegetable sukiyaki) and tonchi nasu (deep fried eggplant with stuff in it) combo dinner. I ordered vast amounts more than my fellow diners, but then again I was a repeat customer so I knew it would all be good again. I think the tonchi nasu and La Mediteranee baba ganoush have created an interest in eggplant for me that never existed before.
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DAT: 2005-10-26
TIM: 19:45 PST
SRC: Intermezzo (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Turkey sandwich and watermelon fresca. Bread wasn't quite as inviting as last time, but still a solid sandwich.
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DAT: 2005-10-23
TIM: 20:30 PST
SRC: Intermezzo (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Tuna salad sandwich/vegetable chilli combo (me) and vegetable salad (Amy). I liked the bread, and seeing firsthand now how large the salads are, it's kinda really scary. Food was especially tasty after "invigorating" run to the bank to grab some cash after ordering and realizing that we didn't have enough cash.
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DAT: 2005-10-22
TIM: 20:00 PST
SRC: Manpuku (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Shared sushi combo and curry. After a 2 month break, it really hit the spot as comforting food.
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DAT: 2005-10-21
TIM: 19:00 PST
SRC: Thai Basil (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Herbal beef soup (me) and pineapple fried rice (Amy). I finally got to taste Amy's staple of pineapple fried rice, and I can see it's strong appeal. The beef soup was strangely sweet and then strangely sweet/sour/spicy when the side sauce was added. And, I really liked the hot tea they had, it smells like Thai iced tea so you think it's going to be sweet but then it just tastes like tea (very cool for some reason).
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DAT: 2005-10-19
TIM: 19:00 PST
SRC: Jandara (Washington DC)
WHO: Me and parents
DSC: Fried fishcakes (think tian bu la), pad thai, yellow curry, and something else. Pretty decent thai food. I was disappointed to only find 3 potato pieces in the curry.
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DAT: 2005-10-18
TIM: 19:00 PST
SRC: Mr. Chen's Organic Chinese Cuisine (Washington DC)
WHO: Me and parents
DSC: Corn and egg soup, string beans, mongolian beef, kung pao chicken. Slightly above average cheap Chinese food? My mom wasn't enthused, but it decent for a Chinese restaurant catering to American tastes.
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DAT: 2005-10-17
TIM: 18:30 PST
SRC: Taste of India (Washington DC)
WHO: Me and parents
DSC: Samosa and chicken tikka masala dosa. Samosa was interesting in that it's a lot larger than those included in Chaat Cafe's chaat (like a large triangular prizm), and the dosa was very interesting as it was like a giant crepe (for some reason I thought it was going to be like a pizza). I liked the beef kabob my mom ordered.
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DAT: 2005-10-16
TIM: 19:30 PST
SRC: Cafe Paradiso (Washington DC)
WHO: Me and parents
DSC: Pasta with chicken, artichoke hearts, and tomatoes. First night in DC, pretty blah.
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DAT: 2005-10-15
TIM: 20:30 PST
SRC: Anzu (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Sushi combo (me), tonkatsu (Amy), and green tea ice cream. I liked the tonkatsu it was a much thicker cut of meat than restaurants usually serve, the sushi was kinda blah. Complimentary green tea ice cream is always a plus though.
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DAT: 2005-10-01
TIM: 13:30 PST
SRC: Szechuan Trenz Spices II (San Francisco)
WHO: Me and family
DSC: Dan dan noodles, fried eggplant with basil, fried tofu, hot oil wontons, and lots of other spicy dishes (we got suckered into ordering way too much). Spicy and stuffed. The hong you chao shou were too my liking (I usually ask to get them at any restaurant that serves them at least once), no weird extra vinegariness or peanuts. The eggplant and basil was good too, mostly because of the sweet basil.
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DAT: 2005-09-30
TIM: 19:30 PST
SRC: La Mediterranee (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Mediterranean Meza (basically 2 of almost everything). Stuffed.
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DAT: 2005-09-29
TIM: 12:00 PST
SRC: Korean Bulgogi House (Concord)
WHO: Me, Brian, and Swapan
DSC: BBQ chicken combo. New Korean BBQ place in Concord (replaced a sushi place that moved), it was OK if not very Korean-like (not much meat and shrimp tempura plus potstickers on the side).
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DAT: 2005-09-24
TIM: 19:00 PST
SRC: Cha Am (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Shared fried fish with vegetables; red curry with chicken, eggplant, and bamboo; and finished with mango and sticky rice. I liked the fish, and the sticky rice was good as usual as well.
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DAT: 2005-09-17
TIM: 13:00 PST
SRC: La Note (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Scrambled eggs, bacon, pancake (me); marmalade omelette, toasted cinnamon brioche, grapefruit (Amy). MMmm... brunch at La Note. It's funny how it's a same size restaurant as Cesar but infinitely quieter. Some nice breakfast/brunch eats with a fair amount of French flair.
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DAT: 2005-09-16
TIM: 19:30 PST
SRC: Cesar (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Shared some more tapas: braised ribs over mashed potatoes, patatas bravas ("brave potatoes?"), grilled tuna with mojo verde sauce, and orange-carmel bread pudding. Befitting the tapas, I had a half-pint of beer and Amy a French apple sour cocktail. It was all pretty good, the ribs were really nice and the bread pudding was really good.
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DAT: 2005-09-12
TIM: 12:45 PST
SRC: Quiznos Sub (Concord)
WHO: Me
DSC: Small Cabo chicken. New sandwich at Quiznos with the intro price at $2.99 to get you to try it, so of course I tried it instead of getting my regular deli tuna. It's OK, doesn't seem that diffrent from other subs.
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DAT: 2005-09-11
TIM: 18:15 PST
SRC: Little Caesars (Pittsburg)
WHO: Me
DSC: Large pepperoni pizza. I agree with my brother's opinion that it's kinda ok when still hot but pretty bad once it gets cold. But it is kinda too cheap to resist.
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DAT: 2005-09-10
TIM: 18:15 PST
SRC: Chaat Cafe (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Shared Karahi chicken, papri chaat, and a mango lassi. I was really hungry after taking my certification test, and we needed to eat quickly so I could get back and do my weekend work, and the food really hit the spot.
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DAT: 2005-09-05
TIM: 13:30 PST
SRC: Hong Kong East Ocean Seafood (Emeryville)
WHO: Me, Amy, mom, and dad
DSC: Dim sum with all the regulars plus gai lan and oyster sauce (not a regular for me, but it was surprisingly not as bitter as home cooked stuff) and deep fried su ji (oily but interesting). My parents seemed to like the place, but I'd rate it as just a decent dim sum place, nice view of the bay though.
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DAT: 2005-09-04
TIM: 20:30 PST
SRC: Cicero's Pizza (San Jose)
WHO: Me and mom
DSC: Large Belly Buster. Still my favorite place for pizza, not sure why it doesn't get more buzz off of Chowhound.
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DAT: 2005-09-04
TIM: 13:00 PST
SRC: California Buffet (Sunnyvale)
WHO: Me, mom, dad, and grandma
DSC: Moderate priced Korean/Asian buffet. Other than the Korean BBQ beef it was pretty unspectacular. And I'm still haunted by the feeling that I will die of heart disease if I go to these things at more than a monthly basis.
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DAT: 2005-09-03
TIM: 16:30 PST
SRC: Sketch Ice Cream (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Shared lemon granita and earl grey tea medium sized cup. Very nice, it has less variety than Gelateria Naia, but I think the flavors are maybe more distinct (at least for the tea).
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DAT: 2005-09-03
TIM: 14:45 PST
SRC: Bette's Oceanview Diner (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Maryland breakfast (me) and herb and cheese omelette (Amy). I liked the corned beef hash that was part of my meal, but I think I liked scrambled eggs over poached ones.
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DAT: 2005-09-02
TIM: 18:30 PST
SRC: Cafe De La Paz (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Cornbread; blackened seacakes; pumpkin seed encrusted salmon (they were out of sea bass) with mashed potatoes, mango salsa, and fried plantains; and a mocha-kahlua-chocolate mousse (more chocolaty than coffee flavored). A nice sized meal, the tapas were pretty decent, and I wish the mashed potatoes I make were as good as the one included with the fish.
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DAT: 2005-08-23
TIM: 21:00 PST
SRC: Gelateria Naia (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Shared a vente (? large size) with the following flavors: champagne, green tea, thai ice tea, blueberry, mango, and nutella (the first 3 are Amy's choices, latter 3 are mine). A colorful ice cream treat.
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DAT: 2005-08-23
TIM: 19:30 PST
SRC: Manpuku (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Unagi don (me), Manpuku ramen (Amy), and gyoza.
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DAT: 2005-08-21
TIM: 19:15 PST
SRC: Chaat Cafe (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Samosa chaat and some of Amy's papri chaat. The process of learning to order less and less (because there will be lots of leftovers otherwise) from Chaat Cafe continues. The previous meal still made us feel stuffed.
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DAT: 2005-08-21
TIM: 13:00 PST
SRC: New Korea House 2 (San Francisco)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Gom tang (me) naeng myeon (Amy). I had a fair bit of Amy's cold noodles, as neither of us really liked it too much, the soup was decent though. We maybe should've gone with the normaller standards of soon tofu and bibimbap.
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DAT: 2005-08-21
TIM: 12:00 PST
SRC: Acme Bread (San Francisco)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Cinnamon swirl. Tasty.
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DAT: 2005-08-19
TIM: 19:30 PST
SRC: Crepevine (Oakland)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Bombay crepe (me) and Tuscan crepe (Amy), and cherry blintz for desert. My crepe wasn't as good as I remember it being (from the days when there was a Crepevine on Shattuck in Berkeley), I liked Amy's though. Kinda sad because the Bombay crepes are what I used to treat myself to after taking midterms or finals.
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DAT: 2005-08-14
TIM: 20:15 PST
SRC: Le Bateau Ivre (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Kaffe wien. A nice conversation with Amy over coffee at a candle lit table after tofu and wandering around Whole Foods. Still one of the better cups of coffee I've had.
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DAT: 2005-08-14
TIM: 19:00 PST
SRC: Pyung Chang Tofu House (Oakland)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Mild dumpling soon tofu. I especially liked the garlic chive side dish was really good.
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DAT: 2005-08-13
TIM: 12:30 PST
SRC: Canton Delight (Cupertino)
WHO: Me and parents
DSC: Dim sum. No shao mai, but all the other dim sum staples were covered, plus some nice rice porridge. It was nothing spectacular, but it was quick and there was no waiting and food was plentiful (i.e. it didn't run out by the time it got to our table). Only item of note is the egg custard tart, which had a very cookie like crust and had a pale white colored center leading me and my mom to believe it was made using egg whites.
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DAT: 2005-08-12
TIM: 19:00 PST
SRC: Manpuku (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Vege don (me), unagi don (Amy), and a salmon skin hand roll (their speciality? and the only type of hand roll they offer). The hand roll was interesting, with quite a lot of fried, crispy salmon skin.
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DAT: 2005-08-11
TIM: 19:00 PST
SRC: Chaat Cafe (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Papri chaat, bhel puri, and spicy seekh wrap. The bhel puri had a lot of unexpected flavors (me never having puri or knowing what bhel puri would be like), and the leftovers made a decent breakfast for the next day in combination with ice cream.
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DAT: 2005-08-10
TIM: 12:00 PST
SRC: Lok Tao Chinese Retaurant (Concord)
WHO: Me, Brian, Swapan, and Adelina
DSC: Chinese buffet. I prefer this place over the other cheap Chinese buffet choice of China Wall Buffet, it is less offensive to my refined tastes (or so I wish). Less items than China Wall, but better quality and they have unagi rolls (too bad they were subpar).
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DAT: 2005-08-07
TIM: 14:30 PST
SRC: Rest area (Avenal)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Chicken curry. Prepared by Amy's mom for the ride home.
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DAT: 2005-08-07
TIM: 09:00 PST
SRC: Amy's house
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Dan bing (egg pancake), luo bo gao (raddish cake), and warm soy milk. More breakfast than I've eaten in a long while.
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DAT: 2005-08-06
TIM: 19:30 PST
SRC: Amy's house
WHO: Me, Amy, Michelle, and Amy's mom
DSC: Cabbage and chicken, roast chicken, squid, BBQ pork, and something else I can't remember. Yay for home cooking, even if it's not my house's home cooking.
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DAT: 2005-08-06
TIM: 16:30 PST
SRC: Amy's house
WHO: Me, Amy, and Michelle
DSC: Roast chicken, squid, and BBQ pork. Welcome home snack. I found the squid unexpectably enjoyable.
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DAT: 2005-08-06
TIM: 11:30 PST
SRC: In-N-Out (Kettleman)
WHO: Me, Amy, Amy's coworker, Amy's coworker's friend
DSC: Hamburger with grilled onions and shared fries with Amy. Lunch time break from the drive down to socal. A better ride down than a bus (Amy may disagree).
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DAT: 2005-08-03
TIM: 21:00 PST
SRC: Manpuku (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Vege yaki soba. Plus a fair portion of Amy's tempura don, which had pumpkin that I didn't recognize as pumpkin (it looked like zucchini to me). But pumpkin is good is my general impresion nowadays (especially the small'ish green ones).
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DAT: 2005-08-03
TIM: 21:00 PST
SRC: Fujisan (Milpitas)
WHO: Me and Ian
DSC: Unagi donburi. We walk into the random Japanese restaurant at the Great Mall, 30 minutes before closing and grab some quick farewell dinner. There was lots of Chinese bantered around by the waitresses and chefs making it seem all the more authentic, if only we didn't have to ask for tea like 5 times before we actually got refills. Food overall was pretty blah.
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DAT: 2005-08-02
TIM: 19:15 PST
SRC: Home
WHO: Me
DSC: Frozen microwavable xue cai rou shi mian (mustard green and meat noodles). Of the same brand that makes the frozen microwavable curry rice that I like. It actually turned out a lot better than I expected, and for cheaper than curry rice, I'd get it again. The other varieties look kinda shady.
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DAT: 2005-08-02
TIM: 09:30 PST
SRC: Office
WHO: Me
DSC: My half of the ma la gao (Chinese sponge cake). Spoils of the 99 Ranch trip, and quite nice and filling too. I think I still like my mom's best though.
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DAT: 2005-07-31
TIM: 20:30 PST
SRC: Chaat Cafe (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Papri chaat, samosa chaat, and lamb stuffed naan. Very fulfilling after roaming around 99 Ranch for groceries earlier.
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DAT: 2005-07-30
TIM: 19:00 PST
SRC: Baja Fresh (Cupertino)
WHO: Me
DSC: Chicken "Burrito Dos Manos". I didn't heed the "It's huge" warning on the menu and assumed I would finish it in one go (me being the destroyer of burritos). It was pretty big through, so I only ended up eating a little more than half of it.
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DAT: 2005-07-30
TIM: 15:00 PST
SRC: BJ's Restaurant (Cupertino)
WHO: Me and 20 some other class of 2000'ers
DSC: About 3 pints of beer over 3 hours and a chicken wing. High school reunion with minimal attendance, but still interesting to hear about some people.
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DAT: 2005-07-29
TIM: 19:00 PST
SRC: CheeseBoard Pizza (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Pizza of the day (bell papers, olives, feta cheese). Too bad I let it get a little too cold (with me scrambling around on the phone trying to figure out if there was going to be a high school reunion the next day).
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DAT: 2005-07-28
TIM: 10:00 PST
SRC: Music Tunnel KTV (Richmond)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Iced green tea. Very sweet, but needed something to keep up with the singing (even though Amy was doing most of the singing).
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DAT: 2005-07-28
TIM: 20:30 PST
SRC: Gelateria Naia (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Shared an affogato (espresso and ice cream) with straticella (my choice) and Madagascar vanilla (Amy's choice).
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DAT: 2005-07-28
TIM: 19:15 PST
SRC: Manpuku (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Shared sushi combo and tobikko nigiri.
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DAT: 2005-07-25
TIM: 12:40 PST
SRC: Quiznos (Concord)
WHO: Me
DSC: Small chicken cabonara. Only noteworthy because it's my first purchase with my Citi Professional card. Well, actually, I don't think I've eaten at Quiznos for a month or so, kinda odd.
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DAT: 2005-07-25
TIM: 19:30 PST
SRC: In-N-Out (Milpitas)
WHO: Me, Ian, and Marcus
DSC: Double-Double with grilled onions and animal style fries. A farewell dinner for Marcus, I think In-N-Out is definitely a place to hit up before getting sent off to Iraq.
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DAT: 2005-07-24
TIM: 20:00 PST
SRC: Trattoria La Siciliana (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Half a crab, seafood risotto, and tiramisu. I really liked the herbs and olive oil they had for the bread. All in all it was quite good, the only cons were that it was pretty loud (mostly because of a large party on the upper floor) and that they take only, which necessitated a cash run to Wells Fargo before desert.
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DAT: 2005-07-23
TIM: 20:55 PST
SRC: Pho Victory II (Richmond)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Large beef pho with almost everything and pork and shrimp spring rolls. Too much meat and not enough noodles for the pho, but it was still good.
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DAT: 2005-07-23
TIM: 14:00 PST
SRC: Amy's
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Tofu with tomatoes, eggs and onions, and potatoes and tuna.
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DAT: 2005-07-22
TIM: 19:00 PST
SRC: Manpuku (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Unagi don and negihama maki.
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DAT: 2005-07-20
TIM: 20:30 PST
SRC: Chaat Cafe (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Aloo tiki, assorted vegetable pakora, and samosa chaat. That plus eating some of Amy's chicken curry and papri chaat, we ordered way too much. I really need to stop underestimating how much food I'll get from here.
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DAT: 2005-07-19
TIM: 12:15 PST
SRC: Taqueria El Farolito (Concord)
WHO: Me, other Concord FFS people, and visiting FFS'er Chris
DSC: Al pastor super quesadilla suiza. My current standard taqueria fare.
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DAT: 2005-07-18
TIM: 19:30 PST
SRC: Amy's
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Cauliflower with tomatoes and "3 cups chicken." I'm always amazed by the quality of the food we churn out, we being mostly Amy doing the cooking and me doing the dishes.
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DAT: 2005-07-18
TIM: 14:00 PST
SRC: Office
WHO: Me
DSC: Berkeley Bowl vegetable chips.
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DAT: 2005-07-17
TIM: 22:00 PST
SRC: Starbucks (Oakland)
WHO: Me
DSC: Vente green tea frappuccino. Despite Conrad's reservations about it, I got it because I was pretty sure Amy would want some of it too once she got off the plane, and of course she did. A vente was a little too much though, as I gave up on it at about the 2/3s mark, and Amy was unable to finish the rest. It probably would have been better in smaller doses.
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DAT: 2005-07-17
TIM: 20:00 PST
SRC: El Sombrero Taqueria (Berkeley)
WHO: Me
DSC: Chile relleno burrito. Sadly they were out of al pastor, so no al pastor special burrito, which was a staple of my junior and senior years, for me today. Also sadly the prices went up by a lot, $5 used to get you my usual, this time I had to pay $7 for my burrito. Maybe the low prices of Concord burritos are spoiling me.
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DAT: 2005-07-17
TIM: 14:00 PST
SRC: Home
WHO: Me
DSC: Salami sandwich and a Heineken. Gotta work hard to finish that beer that I got last night (can 3 of 6).
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DAT: 2005-07-16
TIM: 19:30 PST
SRC: Home
WHO: Me
DSC: DiGiorno thin crispy crust supreme pizza. After a failed 2 hour experiment with making gnocchi, I settled for the DiGiorno frozen microwavable pizza I got at Safeway earlier today after the disappointment with Little Caesars.
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DAT: 2005-07-16
TIM: 12:40 PST
SRC: Burger King (Pittsburg)
WHO: Me
DSC: Chicken sandwich combo with onion rings. The original plan was to go to Little Caesars, but the one that was supposed to be nearby was closed.
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DAT: 2005-07-15
TIM: 18:40 PST
SRC: In-N-Out (Oakland)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Cheeseburger with grilled onions, and I split fries and a Coke with Amy. It was close to the airport, so after Amy's flight was delayed we had time to grab some burgers.
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DAT: 2005-07-15
TIM: 12:00 PST
SRC: DJ's Bistro (Concord)
WHO: Me and Brian
DSC: Bavarian meat loaf and a small Pilsner Urquell. I've never had much Czech or Eastern European food, but meatloaf is always a safe and steady choice for me. It was pretty good, but I didn't really care for the purple sauerkraut like thing.
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DAT: 2005-07-14
TIM: 18:15 PST
SRC: Manpuku (Berkeley)
WHO: Me and Amy
DSC: Shoyu ramen combo, which included cha-han and gyoza, a shared poki maki, and I munched on some of Amy's chicken curry. I added too much pepper/hot oil to the ramen, but it was still good, and Amy seemed to be very infatuated with pickled ginger with fried rice.