Poutine, Octopus and Cocktails

This weekend we decided to get a little crazy in San Francisco before starting my juice cleanse and found Wayfare Tavern. After reading that a  Canadian poutine chain is coming to the US I haven't been able to get poutine off my mind! Luckily for me, they have it on their menu. We ordered the oxtail poutine and grilled octopus. Their oxtail poutine is amazing and I will be back for more. The grilled octopus was so-so, but then again it's going to be really hard for someones grilled octopus to wow me after having it from Hubert Keller's restaurant Fleur. Overall this place is awesome and I can't wait to go back and try more.

Food that we loved: oxtail poutine

Drinks that we loved: Pear 75 (pear cognac, cubeb pepper syrup, prosecco) Gin Spiced Mule (hendricks, lime, cucumber & ginger beer)

Drunk food for the win

We all have a favorite place to eat when we are drunk. It doesn't matter if it's after the bars or after day drinking; you can't stop thinking about stuffing your face with their food. In my case, Nicks Crispy Tacos is my go to "I'm so hammered I need food" spot in San Francisco. Unfortunately, I honestly can't tell you if this place is good sober (I'm sure it is), but I can tell you that ordering any taco "nicks way" or burrito will make you one happy drunk person.

WARNING: Do NOT let your fiance stumble to the bar alone. He will come back with 3 shots of tequila and corona and then eat your entire burrito. 

LA in Walnut Creek at 310

I am all for trying new things. LA style street food in the East Bay? Why not . . . I guess my first question is what is LA style street food? I like street food, so we are half way there. 310 Eatery's  answer is a mishmash of American comfort food made to order in a small venue that is easy to miss. Honestly, I didn't know it was there and we almost walked by it.

Since we had already eaten, Denise and I only tired one item instead of our usual half the menu. I guess if you only order one thing, get the half bacon half ground beef burger topped with lobster tail. That's right, a surf-and-turf-turf burger! The picture does not do this justice:

PROS: Apparently it's open late (in Walnut Creek this is rare). You can ask for lobster tail on your burger but you do have to ask for this.

CONS: This place is easy to miss and it's repping L.A. right next to McCovey's . . . awkward

Vegan Soulfood

When I lived in Sacramento I made frequent trips to the Sunflower Drive-In in Fair Oaks, CA (order their nutty tacos) So after moving to Walnut Creek I've been in search of good Vegan restaurants. Surprisingly there are no strictly vegan/vegetarian restaurants in WC, but luckily Groupon introduced me to Souley Vegan in Oakland. VEGAN SOULFOOD! I know it's hard to believe that soulfood can be vegan, but this place will blow our mind. My mouth is watering as I sit here thinking about their southern fried tofu and mac and cheese. If you know me, there is a chance that I have told you about their mac and cheese multiple times, I'm a little obsessed.

What we've ordered and love: Southern fried tofu, mac and cheese, biscuits and gravy, portabella mushroom burger.  

Feeling thirsty? They have local beers on tap and make delicious soju cocktails, and the cayenne lemonade (non-alcoholic) is refreshing 

Can someone please open a vegetarian/vegan restaurant in Walnut Creek?

Brown Sugar Kitchen

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day and I'm no where near being a picky eater. However, the thought of eating chicken and waffles together always made me feel sick. Ian finally convinced me to try Brown Sugar Kitchen in Oakland. There was a long line of people waiting outside and total wait time for two was about an hour on a Sunday, but it was worth the wait. When I order fried chicken, I worry that it will be dry. I could not believe how juicy the chicken was and that I was actually eating it with the most amazing, fluffy waffle I have ever tasted. I no longer think that the combination of chicken and waffles is crazy thanks to Brown Sugar Kitchen. 

Sushi Burrito Part 2 - Wrap'n Roll

The second entry to find the best sushi burrito takes us to Sacramento's Wrap'n Roll. Right off of 18th and L in Midtown, Wrap'n Roll is bigger, sauce-ier and more deep fried-ier than anything we have had thus far.

The Deep Fried Burrito (pictured above), is sushi burrito to a new extreme. It is packed with salmon sashimi, imitation crab, cream cheese, guacomle, veggies and then DEEP FRIED; magical.

The Volcano Nachos (pictured above), which we ordered as a side, ended up being the favorite. Nachos should be fully loaded and these did not disappoint. The won-ton chips are smothered with minced tuna, tobiko, guac, veggies, and habanero/siracha aoili. It is a hot orgy mess of nacho goodness.

What we loved: They will deep fry any roll for you, the burritos are very large and can get messy, there is indoor and outdoor seating. These burritos fill you up (but you still want more)!

Say tuned for our trip to Sushiritto (SF) 

Sushi Burrito Part One - Torpedo Sushi

The Magical Sushi Burrito

If you haven't heard of a sushi burrito then let me explain to you what this glorious creation consists of. Think sushi roll making love to a burrito and spawning giant and delicious half-breed sushi burrito babies. The first time I heard about this, I had to have one, well actually eight and counting. But this is not enough. I need need to know which sushi burrito reigns supreme.

From careful research three sushi burrito restaurants have been selected to find the ONE.

First on the list is Torpedo Sushi. I give Torpedo an early lead due to their Groupon that cut the price in half. Torpedo is located in an inconspicuous restaurant front off of Grand and Broadway in downtown Oakland. The small restaurant has a friendly staff, at least one of them was in training, and a decently sized menu. We cashed in our groupon for a Slam'n Salmon and Rainbow Roll. The Slam'm Salmon won this round: wasabi aioli deliciously paired with the juicy cuts of salmon between avocado and cabbage! Thank you Torpedo Sushi for popping my sushi burrito cherry. The downside we quickly found after two burritos: we were still hungry. The California Crab and Chips Basket finished us off and we ordered two more rolls to go.

What to get: Slam'n Salmon or the Half Baked Roll

Pros: Good sauces and fresh ingredients

Cons: Not enough sauce and the burritos were too small leaving us hungry. There was also a lack of sides: SIRACHA anybody?

Coming soon-Round 2-Sacramento's Wrap N' Roll