Bongo Burger

Berkeley is one of my favorite food cities because there is so many good ethnic restaurants. My favorite Mexican, Korean BBQ, and Persian restaurants are in this little city. I actually get a little nervous before a trip there because I have to choose one place to eat at. Tonight the choice was easy. I picked Persian food. I went to visit my little cousin who just started at Cal. Since she is away from home, I thought she would love to visit Bongo Burgers for some Persian Burgers and Doogh. Turns out she really wanted an American burger, which they also make well. I enjoyed my Persian Burger, Doogh and our stroll through the moon lit campus.

Nihon Whiskey Lounge

Thanks to a recent Groupon deal, I had a nice dinner at Nihon Whiskey Lounge in the Mission for a better deal than usual. With drinks, a dinner at Nihon can get pricey, especially since Whiskey is their specialty. This time it was not too pricey even with the green tea whiskey drink I ordered.  Thanks Groupon. We also ordered the Thunderbird and Samurai roll. The Samurai comes with jalapenos on top. I've found jalapenos are always a tasty addition. This time I also tried the Mackerel Robata, which was delicious. For appetizer, we got this avocado salad with fried chips. I can't remember the name and they don't publish their menu for me to double check. But, if you see an appetizer that comes with fried chips and avocado get it no matter what the name is.

Zero Zero Pizzeria

Zero Zero is located in SOMA.. So great to get a new restaurant in sleepy SOMA. Follow my blog with bloglovin

Bodega Bistro

I recently discovered Bodega Bistro through a friend's suggestion. It's a casual Vietnamese restaurant located on Larken near Eddy. To most San Franciscans this location may not come as a surprise but I actually just learned that we have a "little Vietnam" area there filled with Vietnamese restaurants. The dishes I shared below were really delicious. I especially loved the Nom dish. I loved it because of the fantastic name for a dish - "NOM!" Also, the fact that it had these little spicy beef jerky meat dispersed in shredded papaya and herbs made it irresistible to me. 

           

          

Viva Las Vegas Local Restaurant FireFly

 I recently had dinner at Firefly Restaurant in Vegas and the experience reminded me once again to never judge how good a restaurant's food is by the decor. Firefly Restaurant is located in front of an abandoned hotel tower and from the outside this place does not look appetizing. But after trying the tapas, I found a whole new reason to all the other reasons why I love Vegas. The tapas are unique,and  delicious. Here are a couple of my favorite things to try:

#1 Filet Mignon Sliders

#2 Stuffed dates. These are some rich dates.. They are stuffed with bacon, almonds, and blue cheese. 

The tapas are so tasty and reasonably priced that like all things in Vegas it's hard to remember your limit. 

Salad-e olivieh

I woke up this morning craving salad-e olivieh. Waking up thinking about food is not that unusual but craving salad-olivieh so early is a first even for a shekamoo. Salad-e olivieh is the Persian version of potato salad. It’s my brother-n-laws best dish and a family celebration would not be complete without it. I think this craving must have been triggered by the fact that I am leaving for a family Tahoe trip today. I am hoping that I will be eating a lot of this dish this weekend (hint, hint).