foodquest

Well as they say, 'tis the season to be jolly, and nobody ever got jolly by going on a diet. I had a week off from work and no travel plans, so JT and I decided to spend it touring the bay area and visiting some of the best food places we know to eat the things we crave. It was a whirlwind tour of good eating and good times, for sure! If you are looking for some good indulgent food, try one of these places:

• Home of Chicken & Waffles in Oakland
• Arinell's Pizza in Berkeley
• University Chicken in Santa Clara
• Marvin Gardens in Belmont
• Barbara's Fishtrap in Half Moon Bay
• El Farolito Tacqueria in San Francisco
• Heidi's Pies in San Mateo
• Cafe Durant in Berkeley

There's nothing like the taste of fried chicken and waffles for breakfast -- they just taste right together at the Home of Chicken & Waffles. I couldn't believe the amount of butter they serve with the waffles and grits though. That's Southern style cookin' for ya!


The thin-crust pizza from Arinell's is one of the best NY-style pizza in the Bay -- Vito's is the other top contender.





JT takes on the Global Thermo Nuclear chicken wings from Chicken University. At the lower levels of hotness the wings are fantastic, but at Global level they are just downright painful. Your mouth and lips go numb for at least 20 minutes, and you'll be paying the price for hours if you know what I mean...

The fried calamari at Barbara's Fishtrap. They're pretty good, although I have to say I like the garlicky calamari at the Flying Fish Grill even more.




The banana creme pie and the blueberry sour cream pie from Heidi's Pies are very tasty but they don't come cheap -- they're like $10 each.






The strawberry and banana crepes at Cafe Durant. Good food, generous portions, and low prices make this a favorite college student hang-out near the Berkeley campus.




We did end our fantastic culinary tour with some disappointment though ... we made the journey up to Woodland so JT could try the triple-prime burger at Ruby Tuesday's but when we got there the restaurant was closed that day for repairs. Unbelievable! In search of a memorable burger experience we went to Red Robin instead but the meal was only decent. I did score an extra free milkshake when they brought out the wrong order ... we left completely stuffed for sure. At the end of the week I am up 8 lbs. so it is time to reacquaint myself with the treadmill...