Tag Archives: ca

Trouble Coffee Co

Posted in East Bay Area, San Francisco by

Trouble Coffee Co comes off like a hipster coffee joint because it sells $4 toast. However, it all started when Giulietta Carrelli opened up shop selling her personal comforts like coffee, toast, coconuts, and grapefruit juice to help keep stability in her schizophrenic life. The menu simply consists of the four items listed above but you better know how you like your coffee and toast because this place doesn’t have a defined menu. From the looks of it they seem to offer everything possible: espresso, drip coffee, chocolate toast, butter toast, etc.

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I got my usual soy latte and was pleased. The infamous cinnamon butter toast was a child’s dream breakfast. Sugary, cinnamony, and crunchy. Next time, I’m will try the nutella toast.

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Locations: 1545 Willow St, Oakland, CA 94607 (the Original)
4033 Judah St, San Francisco, CA 94122
1730 Yosemite Ave, San Francisco, CA 94124

Kiku Sushi

Posted in East Bay Area by

Fresh sushi places for a decent price are hard to come by in the Bay Area with its rising cost of living. Kiku Sushi keeps their prices reasonable despite being in Berkeley. The upside to this is getting to enjoy fresh sushi without breaking the bank.

The negi toro roll was decadently fatty. After one bite, I wanted more and couldn’t stop until the plate was finished.

From the specials menu, I got the sardine and hiramasa. Hiramasa (yellow amberjack) is the pink fish pictured below. It was fresh and delicious. I was excited to try the sardine since it was served in two parts: two nigiri pieces and a deep fried body. The nigiri was salty, just like sardines, but flavorful. The fried body is dipped in a special ponzu sauce before consuming. It was crunchy and tasty.

The chirasi bowl was different from the norm since they only offered one slice of fish per variety. It had eel, sardine, hamachi, salmon, albacore, tuna, and tomago. The fish was fresh however, the eel was coated in a cinnamon sugar sauce, which was off-putting. Otherwise, I would recommend this.

(1316 Gilman St., Berkeley, CA 94706)

Hard Knox Cafe

These days the Dog Patch neighborhood of San Francisco is looking to face lift everything, but one place that hasn’t changed in the past 16 years is Hard Knox Cafe. This inconspicuous restaurant, located across from Mr. & Mrs. Miscellaneous ice shop, serves up hearty Southern style comfort food. For $13, you can get a three piece fried chicken dish with two sides of your choice and corn bread. The fried chicken is meaty and perfectly crisp. The mac and cheese is the classical hearty and cheesy mac and cheese that everyone loves. My favorite was the corn bread. It was sweet and moist.

They also serve chicken and waffles and ribs of all sorts. I’m definitely going back to try those next.

If you’re in the Richmond district, look out for their second location.

Locations: 2526 3rd Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
2448 Clement Street, San Francisco, CA 94121

RN74

Posted in San Francisco by

The Michael Mina restaurant group is offering a three course #outtolunch special for $29 at all three restaurants: Michael Mina, Pabu, and RN74.  For those who haven’t tried it yet, I highly suggest you hurry and make your reservations soon since this deal ends on August 31.

At RN74, the out to lunch options are:

  • Appetizer- Butter Lettuce Salad or Sweet Corn Soup
  • Main- Pork Schnitzel or Traditional Bouillabaise
  • Dessert- Valhorna Chocolate Bouchon 

The sweet corn soup was not as sweet as stated. The soup was sweet while the corn bits were sour. It was marinated in a vinegar-like flavor.

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Everything about the pork schnitzel was perfect: the thinness, the breadcrumb layer, and the flavor bomb it left on taste buds. On top of the schnitzel was a light salad, roasted pecans, and pommes anna (Anna pototoes) topped with an apricot mustard. 

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When they took our order, the waiter asked if we would like the dessert to go. I loved that they offered this option, considering how difficult it is to enjoy your lunch in an hour time slot, I definitely wanted to savor my dessert. The Valhorna chocolate bouchon reminded me of a crumbly cookie brownie.

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Now go taste Michael Mina’s work for a fraction of the price before it’s too late. 

(301 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105)

Elote Man 

The Elote Man, Timoteo Flor de Nopal, has been turning healthy corn into a heart attack snack for 27 years in Lincoln Heights. For $1.50 you can get corn on a cob or a bowl of corn topped with a heaping spread of mayonnaise, generous drizzle of butter, even coating of Parmesan cheese, and a dust of chili powder. When you to try to eat the corn, it’s a game of balancing the newly gained weight of the corn, about half a pound, so it doesn’t lose to gravity. Don’t worry! This doesn’t scare people away. On warm summer nights, the lines can get long so go early before he runs out. He’s open from 9:30 pm until 1 am or until he runs out. It’s worth it for this heart attack concoction that will change the way you eat corn. You won’t be able to eat it any other way.

(2338 Workman St., Los Angeles, CA 90031– by the 99 cent store)

Churro Borough


What once started out as a food truck, Churro Borough is now brick and mortar in downtown Los Angeles. There is about a 30 minute wait but once you bite into this, you forget about it.

The concept is simple, ice cream sandwiched by churros, but mind blowing. The churros are made fresh so they stay crunchy with every bite.

You can sample from all the ice cream varieties before selecting one to go with your churro. They also offer a large selection of sorbet for those that are lactose intolerant, like me. I got the browned butter cookie sorbet and was very pleased.

For $4, it is pricey for its size (about the size of a palm) but makes it the perfect personal snack.

Can’t wait to go back for another bite!

Churros and ice cream. What a concept!

(1726 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027)