Fat Angel’s menu is focused on nibbles to go with their exceptionally long list of beers, wines, and meads, including after-dinner selections for all of their beverage categories. As usually happens, that leads to meat and cheese boards, nuts and olives, and in their case, a selection of fancy butter schmears served with Firebrand breads.
Read more

There’s a lot that I love about Sweet Bar Bakery: their commitment to locally sourced, fair trade, and cage-free ingredients; that they know the difference between a latte and a cortado; that you can usually get a seat without too much of a hassle on a weekday. But I’m befuddled by how their baked goods,
Read more

First Mac & Cheese Night of 2015! This outing took us to Farmerbrown, just about a block from the Powell St. BART stop in the heart of downtown San Francisco. Our original location was meant to be Grub in the Mission District, but it turns out Grub must have closed sometime in December! That makes
Read more

I have fulfilled another entry on my foodie bucket list. Okay, I’m lying. I am way too lazy to have made a foodie bucket list, but if I had, Pink’s Hot Dogs would assuredly be on it. Since 1939, the Pink family has been perfecting the hot dog, and as all good Californians know, perfecting
Read more

Neumanali is one of Hayward’s few fine dining restaurants. Bijou, just a few blocks up B Street, is the only other one that immediately comes to mind. Neumanali is tucked away by the downtown Hayward BART station in a beautiful Victorian that most people don’t even realize is a restaurant as they walk past. I’ve
Read more

The next stop on my Burger Joints of Hayward tour is Cecil’s Famous Burgers, found due to its Yelp rivalry with Val’s Burgers, the most iconic Hayward burger joint I can think of. Being as I’m not that enthused with Val’s (still planning a return visit for a review), I was rather intrigued by this
Read more

For my sixth Mac and Cheese Night, the husband and I went a little upscale, heading to Paragon right outside AT&T Park. That picture reminds me that I wish we’d sat outside, but I had suspected it would get chilly so outside seemed the less desirable option. But it never did get chilly, and inside,
Read more

Fifth macaroni and cheese night already? And I’m not even sick of the stuff yet. I must say, though, that all this mac and cheese analysis has affected my standards. Let’s just say that a recent order from a fast food chain was NOT up to snuff. Bright orange sauce lacking flavor and overcooked noodles
Read more

Sapporo is the sushi restaurant’s answer to the overly familiar neighborhood pub. If you need to be greeted warmly by a hostess and have your every need catered to in a reasonable time frame, I’m not sure it’s the place for you. There’s nothing wrong with those expectations, but Sapporo won’t meet them. Instead, the
Read more

The newest burger joint in Hayward is Red Rocket Char Grill, right in the heart of the downtown strip (1057 B Street). This qualifies as the second echelon of burger joints, the ones classed up enough that you don’t worry about whether your chair will collapse beneath you or if you’ll pick up splinters from
Read more