After a day’s respite from our first visit as described here, Mr. K and I returned to explore more of the mobile food truck cuisine that gathered in force for the Eat Real Festival in Jack London Square last weekend.  I forgot my phone on the charger at home and so immediately became separated from Mr. K.  No worries, because he knew I was making a beeline for the ATM…  I had just enough money to get one taco from Hapa SF, which is run by William Pilz, the former pastry chef at Citizen Cake.  He uses fresh locally sourced ingredients including spices from le Sanctuaire to make organic Filipino pulutan (finger food) cuisine. 

I was starving but knew I had to pace myself.  I had the Sisig Taco ($4), which is Pilz’ signature dish.  It is basically lime-soy-and-shallot-seasoned pork shoulder, cheeks and jowls that are cooked several times over during which time it develops an amazing array of textures. There are crispy, chewy, tender and rich and creamy bits too.   The taco came garnished with a tiny perfect lime half which added a lovely tartness and uplifting aromas.  There were paper thin slices of crisp radish and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro that added fresh flavors and texture to the rich spicy filling.  I liked that the taco was served on a single corn tortilla that was a bit larger than the usual taco truck double layer, so the ratio of corn tortilla to filling was just right.  I savored each bite while I fended my way through the slow moving crowds towards the ATM.

I hooked up again with Mr. K at the ATM where we stood in one of many long lines that day.  Funds replenished, we moved on to check out Le Truc, which was a tricked out yellow school bus serving up edgy gastropub fare.

We settled on trying the Thai Bao ($4), which is made from  llano seco organic pork, prik king, and the menu said that it pairs well with odonata saison, a local beer.  The unfortunate thing is that they did not have said beer, and getting the beer required hauling through the crowds to stand in another long line, so we just had the bun.  It was tasty and had a lovely slice of pickled lemon that added a delicious jangly buzz, but we thought that the Thai flavors (curry and/or fish sauce) were too muted .

We also tried an interesting Stoopenkuchen ricotta cheese thing drizzled with a beer reduction made from Stoopid Ale from Lagunitas ($4).  I don’t remember the details, but it was a savory thing that we thought would be really good with beer and pretzels.  Too bad we didn’t have one…

Mr. K made a beeline for the booth of Oakland restaurant Tamarindo Antojitos, which was serving gorditas, handmade flour pockets from Northern Mexico.  We started with the Carnitas ($4), which was tender and rich and delicious drizzled with the spicy house made Salsa Verde.  Mr. K liked this so much that he got another one.

I loved the Vegetarian Gordita, which was filled with thinly sliced onions and cabbage and Black Beans with pungent Cotija cheese ($3).

I caught the eye of a fellow wolfing down an empanada with obvious enjoyment, who pointed me in the direction of the sign for El Porteño Empanadas Argentinas.  The line was inexplicably long so I felt compelled to try one of each of the savory pies…

The Carne ($4) was packed with tender pieces of  Prather ranch grass fed beef, briny green olives, raisins, and chopped hard boiled eggs.  It had a good ratio of flaky dough to filling and the bits of olive and raisin added bursts of flavor. 

The Champinones Empanada was made from local organic mushrooms from Far West Fungi, shallots, parmesan cheese, creme fraiche ($4).  It was smaller and less vibrantly flavorful than the Carne, but quite good.

Finally, I was able to visit Spencer On The Go, the cart run by chef Laurent Katgely owner/chef of restaurant Chez Spencer, which I visited here in 2008.  He was recently the local representative in the Food Networks Great Food Truck Race.

I have long wanted to sample the Escargot  Puff Lollipops ($3), which I found to be even more delicious than I had expected.

The buttery pastry was drenched with a rich garlicy sauce, concealing the chewy morsel of snail within. 

We also split a Lobster Cappucino ($5), which Mr. K though tasted like dishwater.  It smelled like lobster, but had the texture of cappucino with a foamy top.  I was not a fan either, I definitely like the thicker texture of a bisque or chowder better than cappucino texture for a soup…  We called it a loss and tossed it.

The Eat Real Festival is a wonderful opportunity for people in the East Bay to sample the delicacies of the many mobile food vendors gathered in one location.  The free entrance and $5 cap on prices had obvious allure as the crowds and long lines can attest.  On our way out, we walked around  the new Jack London Market building, which gave a taste of the very cool artisinal food mecca which will open one day soon.

Everyone is talking about the Eat Real Festival which is going on this weekend in Oakland. Eat Real’s mission is to make real food as accessible and as affordable as fast food.  It’s a gathering of the Bay Area’s best street food vendors cooking up a wide range of delectables: tacos presented in a variety of ways (Chinese, Korean, Mexican, Filipino), BBQ, flat-bread, noodles, curry, falafel, ice cream and more!   There are demonstrations, a literary review, live music, endless opportunities for people watching and best of all there’s no entrance fee… it’s free! And all of the glorious food is $5 or less.  It’s going on through Sunday, and Mr. K and I ventured over to check it out last night even though it was cold and foggy and only part of the full list of vendors were serving up food.  There was some really good food and we want to go back before it ends Sunday.

I really must insist that you stand in the long line for the buns at Chairman Bao. Really, I’m serious!  We loved the buns so much that we got back in the absurdly long line for round two.   The live music performed by Ethiopian Dance Factory Sun Hop Fat seemed like the perfect music to wait in line by…

The line moves along and if you have dining partners, there is ample opportunity for on to pickup interesting products from the other booths to enjoy and pass the time.  We even got friendly with our neighbors who shared treats with us like this delicious Creme Brulee from Sweet in a jar. The chocolate was amazing…

Here is the highly anticipated plate of buns, two chickens and two porks.

This is the Tender Pork Belly with pickled radish ($3.50), my newest obsession… The fatty parts were creamy and melted in my mouth, and the meaty parts were tender and delectable.  The succulent meat was infused with fragrant five spices and the crunchy slices of pickled radish and grilled onion are an invigorating accompaniment.

The Red Sesame Chicken with Scallion and Bok Choy was pungently spicy, the chilis made my lips burn deliciously.  It was messy and finger licking good.  The chicken and the pork are a good combination, they contrast each other beautifully.

The food trucks and booths sprawled along interspersed with drinking stations serving kombucha, coffee, artisanal juices, but we just kept going back to Reinhold’s Last Saloon which was serving beers in large plastic cups (versus the environmentally friendly but tiny glass mason jars…)  We were compelled by the smells coming from Venga Paella towards the end.

There were so many other things to tempt us, but the gigantic vats of paella were mesmerizing and I hadn’t had paella in quite some time.

We shared a Seafood Paella ($5), which had snapper, prawns, calamari and spicy chorizo sausage.  It was flavorful and delicious, we gobbled it up before it got cold.

Even though it was cold and windy, this particular ice cream vendor called Smitten, had quite a long line.

The science project aspect of the liquid nitrogen based freezing contraption caught my attention first, the clouds swirling from the bowl added dramatic effect.

But the ice cream, which is made before your very eyes, was sublime… the texture was incredibly creamy and rich. Yes, we were absolutely smitten with this modern interpretation of creamery ice cream!

It’s a wonderful opportunity to be able to sample the cuisine of the many mobile food carts in the Bay Area.  And it’s all fresh, local, handmade and rather affordable.

The lovely Modern China Cafe was opened in early 2010 by Eric Zhang, who formerly owned Zheng Long Noodle House, which closed in 2008 after a terrible fire.  It’s right downtown with an outside area in the front where you can enjoy the summer breeze while kicking back by the stone buddha fountain and watch the world go by…  They have a full bar with an exciting happy hour menu that includes a $10 dimsum buffet on Tuesday evenings, especially cool because you just can’t find good dim sum served at dinner.

The interior is modern yet very comfortable with sleek white oak tables mixed in with Asian artwork, antiques and grainy photos of old Shanghai hanging on the walls.

I like the bold contrasts between the old and the new…

The regular menu is broken into four categories:  land, water, grain, and greens.  I say regular menu because they have a separate one for lunch, dinner, parties, one written Chinese, and a separate one for Dim Sum, which was created by Chef Wang, the former Dim Sum Chef from Koi Palace in Dublin.

We got there early for a small family reunion and ordered a few plates from the dim sum menu to share while we waited for everyone to show up.  The pork potstickers were huge things, stuffed with ground pork, ginger, napa cabbage ($3).  The wrappers were thin and deliciously blistered along the crunchy bottoms.  They were served with a spicy ponzu dipping sauce that had a good chili kick.

The stuffed eggplant were quite large and had to be cut into pieces which we shared.  The eggplant was soft and creamy, filled with shrimp paste and topped with a savory black bean sauce ($3.50)

These plump round dumplings ($3) were filled with a deliciously pungent mixture of Chinese chives (also known as garlic chives) and shrimp. Chinese chives have a fantastic garlic scent and flavor which pairs well with the tender pieces of shrimp.  The texture of the wrapper seemed a bit dense and chewy because the dumplings were served on a plate rather than traveling around the room in the steam basket.

The Stuffed Bell Peppers topped with shrimp paste ($3.50) were served with more of the spicy black bean sauce.

The pork spareribs with black bean sauce ($3) were rich and meaty and my Mom couldn’t get enough of the savory morsels…  Just looking at these photos reminds me that is has been way too long since I’ve feasted on dimsum.

Because we wanted to share everything, we ordered most of the dishes from the dinner menu, rather than the lunch menu. The meal began with Roast chicken in Lettuce Cups with pine nuts, mushrooms, crisp bits of water chestnut and crunchy fried rice sticks ($9).  The iceberg lettuce has its place in the world and excels in its role here as edible wrapper, adding the perfect crisp to this classic dish of exquisite textures.

The home made Peking crispy roast duck with pancakes ($15) seemed much less fatty than most, although the crispy skin did have the requisite layer of fat underneath.  The fluffy buns were the perfect shape to cup in your hands while you smear dark smoky hoisin sauce down the split in the bun and tuck in shredded green onion and then bits of crispy skin or succulent meat.

Spicy scallops & shrimp and eggplant slices cooked w/ fresh basil, jalapeno and onions $14

I had to order the Fried Rice with Chinese Sausage (9) when I saw that on the menu.  The rice dish was full of crisp pieces of sauteed bok choy, peas and carrots, pieces of egg and liberally dotted with bits of the luscious chewy sausage.

We gobbled up the Shaking Black Pepper Beef (10), which is normally found on contemporary Vietnamese menus. The pan-fried thin slices of meat were marbled with fat and infused with a sweet garlicky marinade.  It was served with a small bowl of fresh squeezed lime juice mixed with salt and black pepper to dip in.  I loved the combination of flavors.

The Sauteed Pea Shoots had a garlicky wallop and added a good vegetable crunch.

And any kind of celebratory meal must include noodles for long lives, so we ordered Hong Kong style Crispy Noodles, which were topped with big chunks of chicken and beef and lightly sauteed vegetables. ($8)

The last course was bamboo steamed Chilean Seabass, which was fragrant with ginger, green onion and cilantro.  The bulbous eye jiggled ominously.

Underneath the pile of fragrant fresh herbs, the flesh was tender and sweet and fell off the bones.  Why do these gigantic fish dishes always come at the end when you’re really too full to eat, but can’t resist the intoxicating aroma?

Awww, here’s my cousin Roy with nephew Ken, who has the sweetest smile ever…

The tea was served in heavy iron pots that required almost two hands to pour when full, but kept the tea warm throughout the meal.  Our server was very attentive and checked in with us frequently.

It was a fine meal and we were glad to have found this Chinese restaurant in Walnut Creek after our old favorite Tin’s Tea House closed last year.  Since it was a hot day out in CoCo County, afterwards we walked down the street to the San Francisco Creamery where we enjoyed refreshing ice cream cones and treats.

I met some xcoworkers at this lovely new restaurant in the Uptown district in Oakland for dinner a couple of weeks ago.  The chef Sarah Kirnon is known for her boldly flavored menu featuring the flavors of her heritage which includes the Caribbean and the American South.  She is especially known for serving the best fried chicken in the land.  My friend DebbieG loves Caribbean flavors, and the rest of us love fried chicken, so it was a most auspicious and happy gathering of friends.  We arrived in time for Happy Hour which runs from 4pm ’til 7pm and features $5 Violet Mules, Caipirinhas, or Summer Calypsos.

I got a $2 Red Stripe beer and perused the shelves lining the walls that are filled with interesting tchotchkes and beautiful and at times edgy artworks.

I believe this is the Summer Calypso, served in the old fashioned cocktail glass that looks so festive, but is so easy to accidentally slosh over the low shallow edged brim.

The dining room is airy and elegant, brightly colored paintings line the walls, and beautiful faceted hanging lanterns glow softly overhead.  Once seated, our server told us we could continue ordering drinks from the happy hour menu even in the main dining room, how cool is that?

We looked over the menu which offers Chef Kirnon’s homage to Caribbean Creole cuisine  with an emphasis on seasonal produce.   The Watermelon appetizer was brilliantly yellow and so sweet…

We split a few appetizers, beginning with Sweet Plantains with garlic oil ($4).  These were marvelously dense and creamy.  Both Liz and DebbieG said that these are what you dream of when you think of fried plantains… the intoxicating  flavor from the garlic balanced the caramelized sweetness of the fried plantains.

The Spicy Lamb Topped Grits went down like velvet.  The  tender minced lamb was sauteed and tossed with fresh herbs, leeks and carrot coins and made a savory topping to the rich creamy grits.

Liz said she would share her fried chicken with me if I ordered the pepperpot, this is her pile of Miss Ollies Fried Chicken ($21) served with fingerling potatos in a lemony sauce, and a pile of summer succotash made with Brentwood corn, english peas, carrots.

We marveled over the thick, crunchy batter and I was compelled to gnaw every possible savory and delicious bite.  Hidden inside, the tender meat is juicy and full of flavor.  The chicken is fried but in no way greasy.  I am a dark meat girl and snagged a thigh, which meant that I missed out on the wonderous breast meat, which was stuffed with fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro, and thyme).

I steered clear of the House hot sauce made with habanero peppers which are 50 times as hot as a jalapeno pepper, which I find challengingly hot enough to my wimpy tastebuds.   The brightly colored pungently aromatic sauce was served in a repurposed glass Coke bottle.

Brennan enjoyed this big fat Molasses Brined Pork Chop served over braised black eyed peas, house cured pork belly, mustard greens, salsa verde (22).

The slightly pink meat made sweet by a brine of molasses, ginger and butter.  I just love brined porkchops and look at the nuggets of pork belly…

Amerindian Pepperpot ($22) was an soulful stew of slow cooked oxtail, pigs feet, short rib, duck leg topped with dense chewy leaves of kale.  It looked dark  and mysterious, full of jiggly wiggly stewed meats.

The stew is dark sweet and spicy thickened with cassareep, a cassava-based syrup, infused with the pungent flavors of cloves and cinnamon.  The trotters were gooey and gelatinous.  Secretly, although I enjoyed this dish?  I was a little bit jealous of  the porkchop and fried chicken plate, but that’s what friends are for – sharing…

My dish came with a side dish of Rice and beans that I barely remember tasting.  I think they were spicy.,,

For dessert, I ordered the Buttermilk Panna Cotta, topped with tiny grapes (6.5).  The texture was firm and gelatinous, but didn’t quite wobble enough for me.  It was rich and creamy and tart and the tiny gemlike grapes were sweet and juicy.  They were so small at first I thought they were pomegranate seeds.

We shared the Pumpkin and Pecan Skillet Cake topped with whipped cream (6).  This disappeared in the blink of an eye.

We made Cody share his Warm Soft Chocolate Cake, with Lucero Farms strawberries, vanilla ice cream (7.5).  Warm molten chocolate, need I say more?  Things got competitive…

Rum Raisin Bread Pudding ($7) topped with chocolate ice cream. I must have been too full because I don’t remember a thing about this.

We had a wonderful meal, the service was very friendly and around when we needed it.  What I especially loved is that we ran into Kristina, another xcoworker who recently moved back to the Bay Area.  Afterwards, we walked past an old ice skating rink to a rather empty lounge where we enjoyed a nightcap before parting paths.

Sonic Burgers recently opened up in nearby Hayward.  They are famous mostly because they have carhops who will bring your order out to your car.  There is something nice about being able to driveup and park and look over the menu without worrying about holding up the drive-thru line. But for me, I was excited because they serve tatertots covered with chili and melted cheese.  The tots were crisp and chewy and the topping just made it insanely delicious. Infinitely better than the standard ketchup!

Warning, fast food alert!  This is the KFC DoubleDown, two battered and fried chicken patties surrounding two slices of cheese and two slices of bacon and a smear of special sauce.  People seem to fear this KFC speciality while others revere it.   I felt a bit indifferent, because I found it to be an unsatisfying experience without the bun and it is in reality a much smaller than I expected.  Very guilty, very little pleasure.  

Now, if you want to talk big and scary, take a look at this, the Three by Three (3X3) burger at In-n-Out.  That would be three hamburger patties smothered with mustard before grilling, topped with three slices of cheese served animal style which includes extra pickles, grilled onions and lots of special sauce.  These additional items can be found on their secret menu.

You can order the Fries Animal Style as well, but admittedly it was overwhelming as a side dish. 

The Zilla Dog, a bacon filled hot dog, topped with $$$ sauce, kimchee and chicharrones from 4505 Meats at the SF Ferry Building.  Yes topped with chicharrones … And yes, the celebrated hot dog is loaded with bacon.   Which means the snappy tube of meat is fatty and luscious with little pockets of rich bacony flavor, the kimchi adds an uproarious pungent spicy kick which is soothed by the curly frills of angelic pork rind topping.

And while we’re on the topic of outrageous eats, have you tried these wacky flavors from Doritos?  Tacos at Midnight taste just like you are snarfing up Jack in the Box crispy tacos from the drive through lane on a late night munchy run, I swear I even taste shreds of iceberg lettuce…  The All Nighter Cheeseburger tastes mostly like ketchup and mustard, which makes them a perfect accompaniment for a cheeseburger.

I am also elated to see another childhood favorite, MUNCHOS® back in the supermarket, at $2 a bag.  Mr. K insists that these are not real food, but I love them.

When we dined with Mr. K’s family, I was introduced to a decadent pairing of french fries dipped into the chocolate shake. 

And speaking of desssert, chocolate and peanut butter is another one of my weaknesses.  This is Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter smeared on a Peanut Butter Girl Scout Cookie.  I was so smitten I had to take a picture to capture and relive the moment.

The bad news is after snacking on things like this, I am on a bit of a regimen as I need to deflate my spare tire…

When we were in Minneapolis last month for family festivities, we planned one dinner out by ourselves.  I made reservations at Restaurant Alma in the Northeast section of town, which was walking distance to our hotel.  The plain brick building did not look very promising from the outside, but the interior was lovely with high ceilings and brick walls that had an intimate and contemporary feel.  The menu offers three course tasting menus, where you select any three dishes for $45 per person, although everything is available ala carte.

We shared everything and began with the Marinated Chickpeas & Squid, farro, rosemary soffrito, chili pepper ($10).  It was fresh and brightly flavored although I was disappointed that the focus on the dish was on the chickpeas and that the squid was treated more like a garnish. More squid for me please!

The wines were served in such beautiful glass I had to take pictures. I ordered wines by the glass from California…  a glass of matchbook chardonnay

The Pasture Raised Bison Tartar served on bibb lettuce ($11) was delicious.  The meat was pristine in the manner of sashimi and infused with the subtle flavors of shallot oil, mint and ginger.  The finely shredded carrot and radish provided a bright fresh crunch along with the crisp lettuce underneath.  To me, this was finger food because it invited me to pick it up with my hands.

Mr. K enjoyed the Grilled Quail, fresh ricotta, roasted scallions, vin cotto ($13).  He gave me a leg/thigh which made me feel like the 50-foot woman as it was about the size of my pinkie.  It was succulent and meaty and I loved the crisped skin that was infused with savory sauce.

Bucatini Pasta, fennel & garlic sauce, bottarga, breadcrumbs ($13).  The long noodles were springy and elastic and were served in a rich soupy sauce, topped with delicate fronds of fresh herbs.  The grated bottarga (cured fish roe) and crunchy bread crumbs added a heady blend of flavors and textures.

The entrees were served on elegant white platters, and we split the Gently Cooked Trout, which was topped with king crab sauce, and served with sauteed green tomatoes, summer beans (27).

Up close, you can see the lovely strands of delicate crab flesh nestled under the green beans.  I think this was the first time I’ve ever had fried green tomatoes and they were amazing in this dish.

Montoya Pinot Noir

Next was the Pan Roasted Sturgeon, warm potato salad, snap peas, smoked chorizo jus ($28).  The skin on this was crisp and transluscent, all of the fat had been rendered out leaving just the most gorgeous crunch

Even though we were stuffed, I couldn’t resist the Dark Chocolate Pudding Cake, mostly because I wanted to try the surly ice cream, which turned out to be made from a local beer.  It tasted creamy and effervescent piled over the rich chocolatey bread that was so good dragged through black currant coulee, and topped with pistachio (8).

They included chocolate treats along with the bill, something to sweeten the deal.  I tucked these away in my purse and enjoyed them with coffee the next morning…

We were glad to walk back over the bridge, this is the Mississippi river btw, the evening weather was warm and balmy, so unlike the chilly summer we’re having in the Bay Area.  While Mr. K liked our meal, he thought the fantastic dinner at 112 eatery we enjoyed last year was better.  This was a bit more expensive, but I like to try new restaurants, so maybe next time we’re in town, we’ll check out Brasa, the moderately priced rotisserie also owned by chef Roberts.

I hooked up with some of my favorite dining companions at Koryo Wooden Charcoal Restaurant, an old-school Korean dining institution in Oakland. The restaurant has been around for at least 20 years where you cook a variety of meats over a flaming hot charcoal grill at your table, or you can order from an extensive list of casseroles, sauteed/broiled marinated meats and classics like bibimbap and jjigae stews. I chose this restaurant after my friend KC described the cold noodle soup dish that is enjoyed in the summer called Naengmyeon.  She said that the chef at Koryo makes the thin buckwheat noodles fresh daily and has earned a reputation for serving the best bowl in the area.

The panchan are served first, delightful little dishes of spicy crunchy fermented vegetables, lightly pickled beansprouts, cucumbers, tender slices of fish cake, crunchy fried potato coated in a sweet sticky glaze.  It’s always fun to explore these little plates, which get your taste buds primed for the feast to come and add wonderful accents to the meal.

Here is the Naengmyeon, the cold noodle dish which is a refreshing counterpoint to the piles of grilled meat and spicy stews and casseroles.  The thin slippery noodles are made from buckwheat and served in a chilled beef broth that has been seasoned liberally with vinegar. The beef broth is made from simmering brisket or flank steak, which is then sliced and served on top of the noodles along with thin slices of cucumber, crunchy thin ribbons of pickled radish and hard-boiled eggs.

Hot spicy mustard and a bottle of vinegar to mix into the broth to add additional kick.  I loved the mustard, which has a nasal clearing quality like wasabi.  You can add chili paste or spicy kimchi in too.

It’s served in a big shiny stainless steel bowl.  The thin noodles are chewy and elastic and there is something about the cold tangy soup and crunchy vegetables that makes you want to slurp it up very noisily.  I can’t stop thinking about how good it was…

Koryo is best known  for the bbq grills filled with real wooden charcoal that you cook over at your table.  The temperature rose about 30 degrees when they carried this over.  The heat radiated off in waves, ready for us to begin cooking right away.

We had a combination platter, which included kalbi (spareribs), bulgogi (thinly sliced beef), chicken and pork.

The thin slices of meat were quickly cooked and plates of the succulent crispy edged tender flesh were soon being passed around the table.

I like to slather beanpaste chili sauce over the grilled meats, which adds a savory and harmoniously rich tang, tuck in slivers of raw garlic, an occasional slice of jalapeno and wrap it up in the crisp lettuce leaves.

The pungent housemade kimchi adds a powerful burst of flavor to the rolls, and should be nibbled throughout the meal.

We shared the Seafood Pa-jun, which is a thick chewy pancake filled with vegetables, green onion and chopped seafood. The pajun is panfried and then sliced into squares for dipping in a sauce of scallion, ginger, soy and sesame seeds.

DHan Jang Chigae, is a bubbling stew made from soybean paste full of meat and vegetables and soft tofu.  We each shared  a few sips, it was hot and spicy, the kind of dish you crave in the winter.

After we finished with all the raucously spicy dishes, they dropped off little bowls of cold and refreshing sweet barley tea with soft grains of rice.  It was the perfect way to end the meal.

Thanks again KC for introducing me to my newest obsession, and JT for organizing!  I must also extend thanks to Frank and Amid who braved the heat and took on the task of cooking over the hot coals… ahh the pleasures of being fed and the generosity of friends!

Now, as for my birthday… I got a new camera!  It’s part consolation, part mid-life crisis, but it’s also something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.  It seems huge when compared to my little point and shoot and then there’s the learning curve… these were taken with a macro lens.  Pardon me while I get used to a fixed focal length, it’s very different having to physically zoom in or out and even so, for most of these pictures I was standing back at least 2 feet from the plate…   As I was saying, Mr. K had a lovely selection of sashimi which we devoured along with fresh shiso and green onion from our garden

He also found some fresh wasabi, which tasted earthy; like dirt and had literally no pungency.  Maybe it was not so fresh…  Fortunately I always have tubes of S&B prepared wasabi in the fridge, which I find has a pretty good kick.

There were two lobsters cooling on ice that Mr. K had steamed earlier in the day.  My task was cracking and cleaning these beasts.  I thought about getting a hammer and chisel, the shells were thick like armor, but from what I understand that means the meat will be very tender and sweet.

Which it was… my favorite way to eat it is with a squeeze of lemon and dipped into melted butter.

But, we made fresh pasta

I lightly sauteed garlic with lots of butter, then added some fresh corn and then the lobster to heat it up.  It made for a light and delicious topping on the fresh pasta.  Very good topped with chives from the garden, then drizzled with truffle infused olive oil for a touch of extravagance.  It was delicious.

For dessert, we had an assortment of little chocolate treats that Mr. K picked up. 

They were beautiful to look at and I marveled at the exquisite details, everything was so beautiful and sweet – perfect for the occasion.  Mr. K is such a keeper!

The people of Gilroy threw their annual big bash this weekend, in which they celebrate all things garlic with the 32nd annual Garlic Festival.  It’s one of the largest food festivals in the United States with over 100,000 devotees of the stinking rose gathering together for the three day celebration.  According to wikipedia, Gilroy’s nickname is “Garlic Capital of the World,” although Gilroy does not lead the world in garlic production. While garlic is grown in Gilroy, its nickname comes from the fact that Gilroy Foods processes more garlic than any other factory in the world; most pickled, minced, and powdered garlic comes from Gilroy.  The Great Garlic Cook-Off is the centerpiece of the festival, along with celebrity cooking demonstrations, garlic braiding contests and of course the many booths of vendors selling garlicky foods, beverages, arts & crafts, as well as live entertainment.  It’s huge and well organized, there were even big air conditioned shuttle buses to transport the revelers from the parking lots to the festival grounds.

Everyone crowds around the exhibition cooking by Gourmet Alley where pyromaniac chefs cooked over at times dramatically raging flames.

We’ve been quite a few times over the years and like the food along the strip designated Gourmet Alley the best.  All of the booths along Gourmet Alley serve dishes that feature garlic prominently.  This is the garlic lovers paradise: Garlic Fries, Garlic Bread, Garlic Sausage, Garlic Chicken, Pesto Pasta, Scampi, Mushrooms stuffed with garlic.

The one dish that we always make a beeline for is the Scampi which comes with a single piece of garlic bread ($7), you can see the chunks of garlic in the rich buttery sauce.  It was delicious and we were transformed into fire breathing dragons.

Mr. K’s favorite were the Stuffed Mushrooms ($5).  The lines were starting to get long, so he stood in line for those, and I got a bag of garlic bread ($2.50).  A delicious combination, the mushrooms were juicy and filled with a rich cheesy garlicky center that was lightly browned.

There are many different areas beyond the alley which offer some more regular festival foods like these grilled turkey legs and flank steak sandwiches, tacos, eggrolls and a variety of cajun fare and lots of fried foods and things on sticks.

But since we were at the Garlic Festival, I was drawn to the dishes that featured garlic…

And so I had to try the Garlic Crab Fries ($8), beer battered garlic fries topped with dungeness crab and crab aioli.  This was delicious and fresh from the fryer, and the rich aioli and pieces of crab were a fantastic topping on the garlic fries.  I think that all of the dishes outside of the Gourmet Alley were way more subdued in the amount of garlic used.

Mr. K got an ear of corn that was drenched in garlic butter that he topped liberally with chile powder.

And of course I just had to try the garlic ice cream.

I asked the woman in the window what was her favorite, and so had the Pistachio Garlic Ice Cream ($4.50).  It was good, but not as creamy as some of the high-end ice creams out there.

Hi I can take your order… that would be Ryan Scott himself, who had a booth way in the back of the festival.  He came up to the the window and posed for a quick picture then ducked back into the kitchen.

Chef Scott won the Garlic Showdown in 2009 and is a prominent local Bay Area chef, but when I saw the Homemade Chocolate Cream filled HoHo on his menu, I stopped in my tracks…

The chocolate cream filled HoHo reminded me of the whoopie pie from Myth Cafe that I raved about here.  It was only lacking the spiral design and chocolate icing but it was a much better tasting package overall.

At the urging of the pursuasive woman at the window, Mr. K decided to get the Pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw, garlic aioli and sesame seed bun ($7).  Why not, we were waiting for my HoHo anyways?  And this was the most delicious thing we had that day…  The pork was tender and luscious and had a good balance of texture and flavor from the coleslaw and garlic aioli.

Besides the food there were arts and crafts for sale, I saw a lot of people wearing hats from this shop.

I saw people walking around with these blow up aliens which were a popular prize from the kiddie arcade/playground area.

While they do have a Garlic Festival Queen, Mr. Garlic is not affiliated with the official garlic court royalty.   And above the festival were two floating chickens who were there to promote Foster Farm’s Say No to Plumping marketing campaign.

And there were plenty of people who busted out their wacky festival gear….

The best thing I got was free, from Gilroy Foods.  A little muslin sack filled with garlic bulbs and instructions for planting!  Apparently October is the month to plant for spring bulbs, so I have plenty of time to find a spot in the yard for these…

I was recently invited over to my friend Daisy’s for a bbq.  She and her mother wanted to share some of  their family favorites to celebrate her birthday.  What a wonderful idea! This is my plate, completely packed full with lumpia, adobo, karekare and pancit…  be still my salivatory glands!

Lumpia, are the Filipino version of the eggroll and no spread is complete without them.  These crunchy, chewy treats are cigar shaped with a luscious meaty filling and the petite size will have you reaching for just one more… especially with the spicy, sticky sweet and sour dipping sauce

Another favorite is Pancit Palabok a rich and goopy noodle dish with an extravagance of toppings from Red Ribbon Bakery.  The thin rice noodles absorb the delicious shrimp based sauce that has a brilliant orange hue that is derived from annatto seeds.

This dish is all about the garnishes and Daisy took me on a tour of the specific qualities of each one.  The fried garlic in the pink bowl was of particular merit, but I don’t remember why… special garlic from the Phillipines?  The noodles are drenched in a savory seafood based sauce and topped with hard boiled eggs, green onions and a thick layer of chicharrone and some sort of dried fish flakes, which all kind of melts into the sauce.

There was even a bowl of crushed pork rinds, ethereal cloudlike crispy bits bursting with the essence of pig… all of these garnishes go on top of the noodles along with a good squeeze of fresh lemon and heaps of fresh green onion.

Her husband P brought in a platter of lightly grilled asparagus and slices of tomato

There were mounds of fatty sausages that had a most delicious garlicky snap

Lovely steaks, beautiful with flecks of fresh rosemary and black pepper.  P was a busy man at the grill…

Caribbean jerk chicken from some place in the Peninsula.  Jerk is a currylike spice mixture that combines the flavors of allspice, cloves and thyme spiked with incendiary heat from Scotch bonnet chiles.

It is accompanied with a sauce that is like a balsamic vinaigrette but one with a lot of interesting spices and herbs.

Luscious looking Kalbi, or beef shortribs that are cut into thin strips across the bones, marbled with strands of fat which melts and infuses the meat with flavor which had been marinaded in a garlic soy mixture.

At the end of the table was a platter of fish stuffed with tomato and onion that was wrapped in foil and cooked on the grill.

The special dishes were kept on heated chafing dishes on the back table.  This is the Kare-kare, an incredibly rich peanut based sauce flavored with curry that traditionally is made with oxtails, but this was made with chicken.  You can see how thick and lush the sauce is, imagine this poured over a mound of fragrant steamed rice… there were two large rice cookers on this special back table with the outlets for the heated dishes.

This dish is considered to be the epitome of Filipino comfort food and is served with a pungent fermented shrimp paste called bagoong.

The other dish served on the special revered back table was the Adobo Pork Ribs,  a taste sensation of two delicacies that I love… adobo and slow cooked ribs. The meat just slid off the bones and melted in your mouth, infused with the piquant flavors of vingar, garlic, soy, bay leaves and black pepper.  There’s probably more to it than that, but it was finger licking, lip smacking good!

Daisy showed me this special bowl of chicken skins that were reserved as a treat.  Are these the new chips?  Quite possibly…

Lychee Almond Float, wow my auntie Ki-chan used to make this dish, I haven’t had it in years… I like the sweet lychees best, they are like grapes that have been transformed from being plain little things hanging in a cluster, into magnificent edible jewels.

The fruits on this plate were sweet and juicy.  I just love the intense flavors of fruit in the summer…

Daisy’s sister Bing made a delicious rich and creamy Flan.  It had a beautiful mahogony color from the caramelized sugar, the custard was dense but wobbled wonderfully..

Someone busted out a box of Sylvanas, which are constructed from a layer of buttercream sandwiched between two cashew-meringue wafers, coated with cookie crumbs. The brilliant purple colored one is Ube, along with the original Buttercream, Mango, and Chocolate

Catherine brought this cake that was made with two different batters and topped with a rich chocolate glaze.  Happy Birthday Daisy (a little late!) and thanks for sharing such a delicious feast, I’m lucky to have such good friends…

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