Monday, October 20, 2008

points of joy, culinary style

sometimes i am just so thankful that i live in the bay area- land of deliciousness. my amazing friend daphne is in town visiting us and so we've been on a food tour today and yesterday. here are a few points of joy, a la good-places-to-eat in oakland and environs.

1. fenton's creamery. hello- coffee cookie dream? cookies and cream? ccac? (creamy caramel almond crunch) seriously, it is not for the lactose intolerant. 

2. bakesale betty fried chicken sandwich. so worth the 2,000 odd calories. it can turn a vegetarian into a carnivore. or at least a fried-chicken-ovore.

3. carne asada burritos at a. mi pueblo supermarket or at b. taqueria san jose

4. chocolatine croissant or morning bun at la farine. um, so freaking good- layers of buttery goodness! 

5. pizzaiolo. pretty much everything. another reason that oakland is a fabulous place to live is that people just assume that it is ghetto, and so they miss out on great restaurants like this; they head to sf instead for good eats. that just means more goodness for us oaklanders.

6. camino's super delish but admittedly kind of weird combo of mint ice milk with pomegranate seeds. i know- i was skeptical as well, but it is so yummy. sweet and fresh all at the same time.

7. zachary's sausage and mushroom deep dish. i could eat it for days.

8. gregoire's potato puffs. crunchy on the outside + creamy potato-ness on the inside. sigh.

9. over the bridge and into the city of san francisco for a little bit of heaven at tartine: today we had their croque monsieur. SO good. country bread with bechamel, tomatoes, ham, and gruyere. heart attack waiting to happen, yes. but crazy delicious? also yes.

10. our weekly csa box from full belly farm. it's kind of like chose your own adventure cooking. who knows if you'll get potatoes or apples, squash or bok choy. my favorite is going to places like dopo or pizzaiolo whose menus change daily and are shaped by local farms and purveyors and seeing that their entire menu has all of the same ingredients that week as our box!

11. last but not least, my mom's cooking: warm oatmeal bread, lemon meringue pie, pork buns, swedish meatballs, molasses cookies.... so good. and the best thing is, she usually drops the treats off at your doorstep!

how about you? any culinary points of joy in your world?

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