Time to talk about food....again! Seems to be one of our favorite subjects.....We got a bit off track with our weekly blog entries, but we're getting back on track! As we've mentioned, we're trying to do an entry each week talking about our favorite things. We have lots of good ideas that we want to share, but would welcome any suggestions or anything you want to know about us....within reason, of course :)
So this week's topic is our favorite restaurants. Well, there are so many, which makes this hard. I've come to an obvious conclusion.....Pascha and I love to eat! Tough, almost daily workouts leave me hungry, and a great benefit of being in shape and being healthy is having a boosted metabolism. Now don't get me wrong here, while I definitely love to eat, I love to eat healthy. There are so many incredible healthy things to eat in this world, and I feel so blessed to live in an area where it is so easy to find fresh, local and organic foods. I love how so many restaurants in the area focus on serving foods that are local and sustainable. That being said, onto my favorite restaurants....(by the way, we decided we could only pick 4(!!!), otherwise we would be writing forever!)
I have to say that my absolute favorite restaurant for the last couple years is The Wood Tavern on College Avenue in Oakland, woodtavern.net. The food is amazing, from the roasted chicken to the BEST burger in town! I can't say enough wonderful things about this restaurant. The ambiance is wonderful, the staff is so warm and friendly, and the food is delicious. I highly recommend this wonderful restaurant, but make sure to make reservations in advance, it is always packed.
My favorite place to grab a quick, healthy bite to eat is Nature's Express on Solano Avenue in Berkeley. This fast food place is not your average fast food joint....it's all vegan and super healthy....and totally yummy! While I'm not a vegetarian even, I absolutely love this place. They have the most amazing daily, seasonal soups and I love the Thai Chick-un Wrap. So yummy!
Another restaurant that I love and want to give a shout out to is Las Camelias in San Rafael, www.lascameliasrestaurant.com, a wonderful Mexican restaurant. I've been frequenting this place since I was a kid, and have so many warm memories from sharing countless meals with my family growing up. The owners are the loveliest people--Gabriel is the chef and Carol, such a sweet and warm hostess, does much of the art work displayed throughout the restaurant. Her sculptures are very unique and really cool, and the restaurant is just so cute! And the food is wonderful! They have the most amazing salad here, and so many delicious entrees.
My fourth favorite restaurant is Tamarindo in Oakland, www.tamarindoantojeria.com, another Mexican restaurant. This place mainly does small plates but does have a couple entree sized choices on the menu. Everything is delicious! And the place is really cute too! I love going with my husband or with a girlfriend and sharing lots of the delicious small plates, and of course with a margarita! They do a tamarindo margarita that is so good!
So there's my top four list! That was a challenge to narrow it down to four :) Now onto Pascha's favorites.....
Being a Vegetarian has it's challenges without many exciting dining options that offer healthy, yet flavorful foods. Vegetarians do appreciate variety and great tasting food as well, we don't limit ourselves to bland salads, veggies and tofu. With that said, I would like to express my gratitude to my top four favorite restaurants. These restaurants offer a variety of healthy, balanced meals packed with flavor and are a Vegetarians paradise!
I would first like to start with the Millennium in San Francisco millenniumrestaurant.com a gourmet vegetarian restaurant that even the average carnivore will love. My favorite course
the crusted oyster mushrooms and the Blue Corn Tamale filled with butternut squash, seasoned fall greens, black bean mole and apple cilantro salsa! Yum!
the crusted oyster mushrooms and the Blue Corn Tamale filled with butternut squash, seasoned fall greens, black bean mole and apple cilantro salsa! Yum!
Next would be none other than Natures express in Berkeley www.natures-express.com. This cafe has everything from breakfast, to lunch. They also offer great sides and snacks(kale chips yum!), fresh made juices and teas and tasty treats. Natures Express also makes their own home-made patties for burgers (Veggie of Course), and the soups are great! My personal favorite is the Avocado and tofu Wrap and Thai Curry soup.
If you like Puerto Rican food, Sol Food in San Rafael (solfoodrestaurant.com) is a must! I always order the Vegetariano with black beans, but you can choose pink beans as well. It is a healthy sized plate loaded with spanish olives, herbs, peppers, onions, cilantro and fresh avocado over rice. The green salad has tomato with their lemon garlic dressing and is delish! If you have a sweet tooth after all of that, I recommend the Maduras(sweet plantains).
Last but not least, I would like to Thank my friend, good ole' Siriji for recommending say what.... Burma Superstar in Oakland burmasuperstar.com. My daughter loves the garlic noodles with tofu, best garlic noodles ever! Now this may sound odd, but their Tea Leaf salad is the Bomb! It is the best tasting salad I've ever had! This salad has even been featured on the Food Network! It is made with fermented tea leaves, fried garlic and peanuts; As odd as it sounds, this salad is sooo gooood!
Now that I've totally made you hungry, if you have not tried any of these restaurants go for it and tell us what you think. If you have already we would like to hear your thoughts as well and share some of your favorite restaurants with us.
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