Bay Eats

Verve Coffee. Santa Cruz. California.

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, we decided to treat our palates to a little comida de mexico! We ventured out towards the coast to Santa Cruz and settled on a tiny little Mexicano restaurant called Taqueria La Cabana.

At the Taqueria we tried the shrimp tacos and shrimp super nachos.

The shrimp tacos were muy delicioso y fresco! Topped on three soft tortillas the shrimp and salsa mixture made a nice, light, and refreshing dish. Covered in lime the tacos had a nice tangy flavor which accompanied the succulent shrimp perfectly! 

The next dish we tried were the shrimp super nachos. The nachos were perfect. They were everything we look for in good quality nachos: cheese, beans, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, jalapeños, and shrimp! The cheesy goodness of the nachos made them a perfect side dish to the light shrimp tacos.

For drinks, we tried Horchata, a traditional South American drink made of rice, cinnamon, milk, and vanilla. This dish helped cool down the caliente shrimp tacos and super nachos! Tasting kind of like a blended churro, the drink is yummy and definitely a must try! 

With summer just around the corner, we highly suggest you all take a trip to eat some yummy shrimp tacos. After lunch, go visit The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, in the warm California sun! 

Mucho Amor,

M&S 

Pie. It’s what’s for dessert. 

The very under-rated and at times forgotten dessert has surely made a come back. While we tend to only remember the wonderful dessert around the holiday season, pie is one of our favorite after dinner treats. Luckily, if you’re in the mood for good pie at any time of the year, you can check out Chile Pies and Ice Cream in San Francisco’s NOPA district. 

Known for their infamous green chile apple pie, Chile Pies and Ice Cream specialize in traditional pies with a twist!

The spicy sweet green apple pie is definitely nothing like your mother’s. The pie made with green chilies is a nice spicy twist on traditional apple pie. Although not our favorite of the bunch, served with a side of Three Twins madagascar vanilla ice cream, the green chili pie is worth trying especially for those who enjoy sweet and salty dishes. 

The pecan mexican chocolate pie was good, but too chocolaty for our taste. Other times, we love pecan pie, but this dish is only for serious chocoholics. However, the maple butter ice cream paired well with the mexican chocolate pecan pie and balanced out the flavors very nicely. 

The strawberry rhubarb pie and peach pie were our personal favorites out of all we tried at Chili Pies and Ice Cream. The fruit-filled treats and the flakey, crumbly, buttery crusts made the trip to San Francisco worth it. 

<3 M&S

we like them fries.

Huckleberry. Santa Monica, CA. (Part two!)

Yeah. We loved this place and its brunch so much, we wanted to, again, tell you about our most recent venture into Santa Monica’s acclaimed Huckleberry. It was like revisiting an old friend: the introduction was swift, the meeting oh-so-wonderful, the parting sad, but content, and, in the end, a plan for another visit well on its way. The samples of freshly-baked cinnamon bread greeted us warmly while we waited the usual 20 minutes to order our food. After ordering (and exercising the extent of our self-control in front of the bakery window), we were seated amidst the cool rustic-chic decor waiting for our food to arrive, sipping on our lattes and water poured out cool, vintage-looking water vases. 

Because it was our second time at Huckleberry, we wanted to mix things up a bit. Here’s what we had this time:

Soft-baked Eggs with Roasted Tomato Sauce, White Beans, Basil and Parmesan. Served with a thick slab of country bread. If you enjoy a warm, hearty (and very healthy) start to your day, this is “breakfast soup” is for you. Though roasted, you could tell the tomatoes were very fresh by the tartness of the soup. The white beans added heartiness, and the amount of basil and freshly-grated Parmesan was perfect. My only adjustment to this otherwise very comforting meal, would be to have them bake the eggs until they’re medium-well. Runny egg-yolks in an already soup-y soup isn’t something I prefer. 

We also tried the Fried Egg Sandwich with Sunny Side Up Eggs, Gruyere, Niman Ranch Bacon (we obviously left out the bacon), Arugula, & Aioli on Country Bread. This is quite the popular menu item; most tables around us were plated with at least one of these. This particular sandwich was the first we have ever tried with an actual sunny side up egg inside of it. Practicality aside, the sandwich was a feat just to bite into because of the thickness (and hardness) of the country bread, the runny eggs (again, get them medium to well done!) and the decent size. But, on the whole, the sandwich was flavorful and exactly how a fried egg sandwich should be. 

The Huevos Rancheros with black beans, sunny side up eggs, and Parmesan on a couple of tostadas were unlike any we had seen before. Huckleberry has successfully stream-lined the Huevos Rancheros, making it super simple, different and delicious.

Of course, we had to have the Poached Eggs over Market Fresh Vegetables with Pesto and Breadcrumbs again. Ah, the wonderful “Breakfast Salad.”The market fresh vegetables this time included different types of tomatoes, arugula and more! Always a winner.

To satisfy our sweet tooth at the end, we treated ourselves to the Blueberry Ciabiatta. So perfectly sweet and fresh, and a perfect ending to our healthy and incredibly-filling meal.

<3 M&S

Food Trucks. They’re delicious. They’re convenient. They’re diverse. 

We recently had the opportunity to check out the Gourmet Food Truck Festival at the Pleasanton Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, California. At the festival there were fourteen fantastic options to try food from. Also, an extra special treat for all the zabihah-eaters out there, almost every truck had seafood and vegetarian friendly options! At the festival, we tried many delicious sea food dishes, inspired from different parts of the globe! 

The first dish we had were Caribbean fish tacos. These tacos were stuffed with grilled cod in a sweet Caribbean glaze topped with a sweet and spicy mango pepper salsa. The salsa on top of the tacos were perfect for the warm weather and very refreshing. 

The next dish was lobster mac and cheese. The spin on classic mac and cheese was wonderful! The seafood flavor integrated into the creamy cheesy pasta was warm and comforting. Our only complaint, the dish did not compliment the atmosphere. We would have enjoyed this dish much more if we were in a restaurant or at home and if the weather was much cooler. Overall, the lobster was juicy and flavorful and the pasta was cream and cheesy. They made an excellent pair. 

Big Shrimp’n Fries: This dish was fantastic! The curly fries were fried with pieces of shrimp and covered in a spicy chipotle mayo sauce. If we had to pick a favorite truck, it would probably be this one. We forgot the name of the truck (sorry!), but the truck was dedicated to shrimp. The spicy chipotle mayo sauce that was smothered on top of the fries were addicting. We pretty much wanted to eat the sauce with everything. This dish was able to take such a simple concept (fries and shrimp) and make it into a wonderful creation. 

The shrimp tacos that we also tried came from the same above truck. Now, the fish tacos were wonderful, but the shrimp tacos were AMAZING. Perfectly grilled shrimp on a bed of lettuce, onions, and cabbage covered in the addicting chipotle mayo sauce and siracha. Even without the shrimp, the slaw was tangy and tasty and made a great veggie taco. 

Overall, the festival was awesome. There was a great variety of food and plenty of zabihah options. We highly recommend you check out the Gourmet Food Truck Festival’s website and see if it’s coming to a location near you! 

http://the-mobile-gourmet.com/wordpress/

<3 Always, 

M&S 

Taste of Thai. Davis, California.

Unlimited Thai Iced Teas. Need we say more? 

<3 M&S

Samovar Tea Lounge. San Francisco. Ca. 

Offering a variety of teas from around the globe, Samovar Tea Lounge is the perfect place to grab a light meal and delicious cup of tea! With themed tea menus, you can indulge in tea and snacks from a variety of countries. I had the oppourtunity to try the Moorish Tea Service, the Russia Tea Service, and the Grilled Agor Cheese Sandwich. 

All three menu items were delicious and unique. I will admit, the food was not super filling, but the experience was well worth it, so i’d recommend this place for if you’re in the mood for a light in between lunch and dinner meal.  

The Grilled Agor Cheese sandwich was a spin off of the traditional grilled cheese. It included sun dried tomato, pesto, and was served on whole-wheat ciabatta. The Moorish Tea service was the best plate we ordered that day. Gaining inspiration from the Middle East and Africa, the Moorish service included Halloumi (a type of cheese) and veggie kebabs, mint salad, hummus, roasted egg plant, greek yogurt, herbed crackers, and chèvre-stuffed dates. The Russia Tea Service included tarragon-marinated beets, smoked whitefish and horseradish, deviled egg with caviar, herbed crackers, fresh fruit, and a chocolate brownie for dessert!

When it came time for tea, we decided to try a variety. I had  the Jasmine Tea Lemonade which was incredibly floral, sweet, citrusy, and refreshing. I also tried the Samovar Masala Chai, which was sweet and spicy. It was classic black tea mixed with cloves, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, palm nectar, and milk. It was creamy and delicious. The last tea I tried was the Samovar Russian Blend. This tea was very interesting and tasted very unique, but enjoyable. It was a strong black tea, with a smoky, sweet, and fruity flavor. 

If you’re in the mood for exotic tea and menu items, make a trip to Samovar Tea Lounge! 

<3 M&S

Blu Jam Cafe. Los Angeles, CA.

Craving some seriously delish brunch to start your day off right? Head to Blu Jam over on Melrose, home of the wildly creative, yet traditional brunch fare (and lunch/dinner which we didn’t get a chance to try). We had the Crunchy French Toast with Vanilla bean sauce — French Toast coated with corn flakes, topped with strawberries and blueberries, served with a side of their special vanilla bean sauce. …Maple Syrup who? We also had the flavorful Poached Eggs over nest of Sauteed Vegetables, as well as a burrata, roasted tomato, & pesto panini. The star of the show was definitely the Crunchy French Toast. It was quite the standard brunch fare with a twist. Warning: The wait is long, and I don’t think they take reservations. The only plus side to the wait: having time to peruse the vintage and not-so-vintage stores in the area meanwhile!

<3 M&S