May Foodgrams

For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you probably know that 90% of my pictures are of food. So I’ve decided to start a monthly roundup of my favorite food snaps. I was eating out a lot in May…I blame that on school stress, but I’m definitely not complaining. So here we go!

1. CooperVino Wine Bar: I think this was my first wine bar experience! I’m a complete wine noob, so I honestly can’t tell the difference between different wines unless I sample them at the same time. And even then, the difference is pretty subtle. The Spring Fling flight here is amazing (all white wines), and the Smith Story ’14 Riesling was my absolute favorite! The cheese/meat platters here are amazing as well (you can customize them). Highly recommend the Humboldt Fog and Brillat Savarin cheeses!

2. Umami Burger: Not the best burger I’ve had, but this is definitely up there. I got the KBBQ burger! The meat was a perfect medium-rare and had so much flavor. The sauce they use (or it might’ve been from the kimchi) adds an ever-so-slight spice kick and lots of additional flavor that complemented the meat so well. I wasn’t a huge fan of the scallion-cilantro salad topping….I think it’s cause they put in too much. It’s a bit sour, and mixed with the kimchi the sourness just became too much. The highlight of this burger is definitely the meat, but you can also taste the asian fusion-ness of the burger as well, so I think it did it’s job. Secret fact: the cheesy tater tots are amazing (but they’re not on the menu so you have to explicitly ask)!

3. Porky’s SJ Food Truck: Best food truck I’ve encountered in a while! I got the Sir Oinks-A-Lot bowl ($10) (their names are so funny) with spicy BBQ chicken (really not that spicy…very mild). Service was super fast and my food was ready in less than 5 minutes. The meat was delicious! Perfectly seasoned, very tender, with a ton of flavor, especially with that special “WOO-HOO” sauce they use. They give you a very generous amount. At first I was like why is there so much rice, but the amount of rice ended up balancing out the amount of meat/sauce perfectly. The daikon/carrots went surprisingly well with the dish as well–lightens up the dish ever so slightly. My friend and I also decided to split an order of the Piggy Style Tots ($8), which were also really good! I was kind of taken aback by how much meat came with the tots. The meat, once again, was delicious! The tots were aite, but went well with the meat. It’s all about the meat here, man.

4. Veggie Grill: I consider myself a pretty big meat eater (maybe lover, not eater), so the thought of vegan food usually weirds me out. But that fake chicken that you see in the picture up there…it was pretty tasty! Definitely didn’t taste like real chicken (it was more like tofu), but the deep-fried crust and the toppings made it taste prettaaay good. The fries aren’t bad either, and they give you a very generous amount. Prices are reasonable, the food is good, AND the food is healthy. What more could you ask for? (Besides meat)

5. Patxi’s Pizza: I loved this picture, haha, but didn’t really like the pizza. This was my first time trying deep-dish, and I think my expectations were way too high. I thought they overdid the sauce. And it just seemed like the pizza came in layered pieces that didn’t come together very well. The top part was way too sauce-y, the middle part was just watered down vegetables. I was expecting the cheese to be completely like molten and interlaced with the veggies, but it was literally just the veggies by themselves in the middle. The bottom part of the pizza tasted a little raw. Maybe I’m just not a deep-dish kind of gal. But glad I gave it a try. Would love to hear from you guys’ if ya’ll have deep-dish recommendations.

6. Happy Lemon: The newest boba place to hit my hometown! Salted cheese foam is the specialty here. Salted cheese foam sounds hella weird, I know, but you have to try it!! It really doesn’t taste like cheese at all unless you’re just drinking the foam part, and even then its only a small hint of cheese flavor. They gave me a small sample cup with a bit of the cheese foam to try before I ordered, and that was the only time I could actually taste the cheese. I got the black tea with salted cheese, and it was so good! I was like bracing myself when I took the first sip, but the flavor of the salted cheese foam blends so well with the milk tea! It balances out the sugar very well. Definitely worth a try!

7. KoJa Kitchen: I’m obsessed with this place, omg. If Asian fusion is your thing, you gotta try this place! The food is SO DELICIOUS (and creative), and prices are very reasonable for the amount of food that you get. The ahi tuna bowl and kamikaze fries are amazing. The ahi tuna bowl is basically like a poke bowl (but cheaper!)–it even includes imitation crabmeat and seaweed salad. I like how they put in rice AND salad, so you’ll have more room for those kamikaze fries 😉 The tuna was very fresh, and they give you a pretty generous amount of fish! Good amount of toppings as well. I really have nothing bad to say about it! The kamikaze fries were so gooood. A bit on the heavy side, but totally worth it.

8. Gelataio: Best gelato I’ve had in the bay! This isn’t the creamiest gelato I’ve had, but the flavor and perfect level of sweetness make up for it. And it’s been so hot these days that I’m actually happy it’s not super creamy–it would melt way too fast. The hazelnut flavor is my favorite! Literally tastes exactly like nutella but not as creamy or sweet (in a good way). The pistachio flavor was also delicious–lighter and more refreshing than the hazelnut, so it balanced out perfectly. I love how they also include a wafer and milk chocolate drizzle from their chocolate fountain. Their chocolate fountain…omg…I’m tempted to just ask for a separate cup of chocolate next time (I’ve heard some people actually do that next time).

9. DishDash: Mediterranean food doesn’t get any better than this. The dishes here are all very rich in flavor, but you don’t leave feeling super bloated or gross (the beauty of Mediterranean food). Loved all the colors in the dishes that we ordered–presentation of the food here is awesome. And prices are very reasonable for the amount of food that you get. You get a ton of food, so I highly recommend ordering different dishes to share. Literally everything is good here: meat, seafood, veggies, RICE…even the pita bread that they start you off with!

And that’s the roundup for May! Hope you guys enjoyed reading! If ya’ll have any food recommendations, please let me know in the comments below! I’m always on the hunt for new places to try 🙂

XOXO,