Bongo Burger – Berkeley
American
1. The Alley (Oakland) – what to order: steak
2. Bay Wolf (Oakland) – what to order: duck liver flan and basically anything duck
— 37th Anniversary Double Duck Dinner
3. Bistro 1491 (Albany)
4. Bongo Burger (Berkeley) – what to order: burger (duh!)
5. Buckhorn Grill (Emeryville) – what to order: steak
6. Cafe Rouge (Berkeley) – what to order: NOTHING! Stay away from this place.
7. Commis (Oakland)
8. FIVE Restaurant and Bar (Berkeley) – what to order: roasted bone marrow
9. House of Prime Ribs (San Francisco) – what to order: prime ribs (duh!)
10. Millbrae Pancake House (Millbrae) – what to order: Swedish pancakes
11. Nation’s Giant Hamburger (the Greater Bay Area)
12. Nola (Palo Alto) – what to order: NOTHING! This place is not worth visiting.
13. Plum (Oakland) – what to order: NOTHING! This place is also not worth visiting.
14. Prime Spot (Oakland) – what to order: steak
15. Revival (Berkeley) – what to order: anything vegetables and/or fruits
16. UCafe (bakery) (Berkeley) – what to order: avocado smoothie!
17. Venus (Berkeley)
18. The Waterbar (San Francisco) – what to order: BBQ baked oyster
19. Zut! (Berkeley) – what to order: desserts!
Burmese
1. Burma Superstar (Oakland) – what to order: coconut rice and sauteed eggplant
Cambodian
1. Battambang (Oakland) – what to order: sach chrouk aing (lemongrass grilled pork)
Caribbean
1. Mango Caribbean (Palo Alto) – what to order: mango jerk chicken
Chinese
1. 99 Ranch Market’s Bakery (Richmond)
2. Delicious Food Company (Oakland) – what to order: mini apple pie in foil cupcake cup
3. Garden Fresh (Mountain View) – what to order: chive pancakes and vegan “duck”
4. Hai Ky Mi Gia (San Francisco) – what to order: dried flat noodles with charsiu pork (contrary to popular media, you should NOT get the braised duck noodle soup)
5. Hong Kong Lounge (San Francisco, dimsum) – what to order: baked pork bun, pan-fried turnip cake and salted meat porridge
6. New East Lake Seafood restaurant (Milpitas, dimsum) – what to order: duck tongue and mango pudding
7. Renee’s Place (Albany) – what to order: NOTHING!
8. Shanghai Dumpling King (San Francisco, dimsum) – what to order: steamed duck, xiao long bao (Shanghai soup dumpling), zhi ma tang yuan (sesame dumpling)
9. Sheng Kee Bakery (Taiwanese) (Richmond)
10. Sum Yee Pastry (Oakland)
11. Szechwan Restaurant (Oakland) – what to order: zha chai rou si mein (pickle and pork noodle soup)
Mocha walnut cake from Masse’s, Berkeley
Dessert and Bakeries
1. 99 Ranch Market’s Bakery (Richmond)
2. Blue Danube Cafe (Palo Alto)
3. Crixa Cakes (Berkeley) – what to order: Boston cream pie and poppyseed rugelach
4. Ici (Berkeley) – what to order: ANY ice cream to your heart’s content
5. Comparison post: Masse’s Pastries vs. Reuschelle’s Cheesecake (Berkeley)
6. Orange Leaf (San Jose)
7. Sheng Kee Bakery (Taiwanese) (Richmond)
8. UCafe (Berkeley) – what to order: avocado smoothie!
Ethiopian
1. Cafe Eritrea D’Afrique (Oakland) – what to order: orange cream drink
French
1. Bistro Liaison (Berkeley) – what to order: seared pork loin
2. Cafe Grillades (San Bruno) – what to order: mango crepe brulee
3. Crepes A-Go-Go (Berkeley)
4. Crêpes Café (Menlo Park) – what to order: savory crepe with chicken & creamy dijon sauce
5. Grégoire (Berkeley) – what to order: grilled seitan sandwich
6. La Bedaine (Berkeley) – what to order: smoked salmon on baguette
7. La Bohème (Burlingame) – what to order: duck confit stew
8. La Note (Berkeley) – what to order: frankly I’m not impressed by this restaurant at all to recommend anything here.
9. Shokolaat (Palo Alto) – what to order: quail-stuffed brioche
German
1. Speisekammer (Alameda) – what to order: elderflower soda (or if you drink, beer and sausage, of course!)
Catfish curry noodle soup from Dara, Berkeley
Hawaiian
1. Wiki Wiki Hawaiian BBQ (Berkeley) – what to order: teriyaki pork chop, loco moco
Indian
1. Biryani House (Berkeley) – what to order: chicken tikka masala
2. Himalayan Flavors (Indian and Nepalese) (Berkeley) – what to order: mango kulfi
3. Zante Indian Pizza (San Francisco) – what to order: kabulinan (nan bread with raisin and shredded coconut)
Indonesian
1. Jayakarta (Berkeley) – what to order: ayam kalasan (roasted chicken with palm sugar), mi goreng (fried rice noodle) and pangsit kuah (chicken wonton soup)
Italian
1. Corso (Berkeley) – what to order: NOTHING! Do NOT go here.
2. I Squared (Oakland) – what to order: this place is not that great.
Japanese
1. Anzu (Berkeley) – what to order: any Americanized sushi rolls
— first visit
— second visit
— sushi
2. B-Dama (Oakland) – what to order: monkfish liver (and everything else!)
3. Cha-Ya (Berkeley) – what to order: vegan chocolate cake
4. Ippuku (Berkeley) – what to order: EVERYTHING! (to be fair, I strongly recommend the chicken liver, squid ink fried rice and black sesame ice cream)
5. Izumiya (San Francisco) – what to order: okonomiyaki
6. Kiraku (Berkeley) – what to order: corn tempura, lotus root chips, Kiraku ribs
7. Mifune (San Francisco)
8. Miyuki (Berkeley)
9. Musashi (Berkeley) – what to order: gyutan (grilled beef tongue)
10. Nojo (San Francisco)
11. O Chamé (Berkeley) – what to order: grilled caramelized eel
12. Shimizu (Oakland) - what to order: “volcano scallop”
13. Sushi Ko (Berkeley)
— sashimi
— uni (sea urchin roe) sushi
Jogi gui from Sura, Oakland
Korean
1. Berkel Berkel (Berkeley)
— first visit
— second visit
Now changed to: 1a. Cho Korean BBQ (Berkeley). UPDATE (August 2011): it has changed to a vegi house. UPDATE (March 2012): it was gone in a fire, and it is still an empty lot of debris at the moment.
2. Casserole House (Oakland) – what to order: bulgogi jeongol
3. Crunch (Berkeley) – what to order: tteokbokki
4. Kang Nam Pho (Oakland) – what to order: pho (naturally)
5. Kang Tong Degi (Oakland) – what to order: fried chicken and green onion
6. Koreana Plaza (Oakland)
7. Kunjib Restaurant (Santa Clara) – what to order: seolleong tang (beef bone soup)
8. Namu (San Francisco) – what to order: NOTHING. This place is not worth visiting.
9. Oriental BBQ Chicken Town (North Oakland) – what to order: gan jang chicken
10. Sahn Maru Korean BBQ (Oakland) – what to order: chulpan bulgogi, haemul pa jeon (seafood pancake)
11. Secret Garden (Bi Won) (Santa Clara) – what to order: kalbi tang
12. So Dong Gong Tofu House (Palo Alto) – what to order: bibimbap
13. Sura (Oakland) – what to order: jogi gui (grilled fish), but actually, I only like this place for its banchan, which comes for free with any order
14. To Hyang (San Francisco) – what to order: so gori chim (braised oxtail)
Algiers Merguez crepe from Cafe Grillades, Daly City
Lao
1. Champa Garden (Oakland) – what to order: nam kaow
2. Dara Lao Thai Cuisine (Berkeley) – what to order: sticky rice roll, mordin
Mexican
1. Tacubaya (Berkeley) – what to order: taco al pastor, torta al pastor
Middle Eastern
1. Alborz (Berkeley)
2. Azerbaijan Cuisine (Berkeley) [CLOSED]
3. Cafe Renaissance (Palo Alto) – what to order: khoresh-e fesenjan (pomegranate chicken)
4. I Squared (Oakland)
5. Razan’s Organic Kitchen (Berkeley)
Pizza
1. Cheeseboard (Berkeley)
2. Pie in the Sky (Berkeley)
3. West Coast Pizza (Berkeley)
Scandinavian
1. Copenhagen Bar & Restaurant (Redwood City) – what to order: roasted pork loin
Seafood
1. Thanh Long (San Francisco) – what to order: broiled mussel, roast crab
2. The Waterbar (San Francisco) – what to order: BBQ baked oyster
Thai
1. Bangkok Noodles & Thai BBQ (San Francisco)
2. Champa Garden (Oakland) – what to order: nam kaow
3. Da Nang Krungthep Thai Cuisine (Berkeley) – what to order:
4. Dara Lao Thai Cuisine (Berkeley) – what to order: sticky rice roll, mordin
5. Hawker Fare (Oakland) – what to order: “24h pork belly”
Candied ca-na from Vua Kho Bo & O Mai, San Jose
Vegan
1. Garden Fresh (Mountain View)
2. Green Cafe (Milpitas)
3. Herbivore the Earthly Grill (Berkeley) – what to order: ollalie berry pie, rhubarb pie
4. Gather (Berkeley) – what to order: vegan “charcuterie”
Vietnamese
1. Ánh Hồng (Berkeley) – what to order: bo nuong sa (lemongrass grilled beef sausage) and bo mo chai (fat-wrapped beef sausage)
2. Bánh Cuốn Tây Hồ – what to order: banh cuon (steamed rice roll with pork and mushroom filling)
— San Jose: before and after revamped.
— Oakland (old)
— Oakland (new management)
3. Bánh mì Ba Lẹ (Oakland) – what to order: any type of banh mi, mung bean milk
— bánh mì ốp la (fried egg bánh mì)
— steamed cassava
— banana dog (chuoi nep nuong – grilled banana in sticky rice)
4. Ba-Lê Deli (Oakland)
5. Bánh mì Hương (San Jose) – what to order: the following items:
— bánh mì thịt nướng (grilled pork sandwich)
— bánh bột lọc (translucent banh)
— bánh bao (steamed pork bun)
6. Bodega Bistro (San Francisco) – what to order: bun cha gio cua (crab spring roll with rice noodle)
7. Cao Nguyên (San Jose)
8. CD Bakery & Deli (San Jose)
— nước mía (sugarcane juice)
9. Cơm Tấm Thiên Hương (San Jose) – what to order: com tam (broken rice)
10. Eurasia Delight (San Jose)
11. Green Cafe (Milpitas)
12. Hương Lan Sandwiches 4 (Milpitas)
— bánh mì gà nướng (grilled chicken banh mi)
— bánh tét thịt (sticky rice log with meat and bean paste)
13. Kang Nam Pho (Oakland)
14. Kim’s sandwiches (San Jose)
15. Lemon Grass (San Jose)
— first visit
— second visit
16. Le Petit Cheval (Berkeley) – what to order: only go here if you want food ready in 5 minutes, otherwise it’s not worth it.
17. Le Regal (Berkeley) – what to order: banh hoi with grilled meat
— fried rice and bánh hỏi
— cá kho tộ (claypot fish)
— phở
18. Phở Hà (San Jose) – what to order: bo kho (beef stew)
19. Phở Hòa (Berkeley) [CLOSED, now changed to Toss]
20. Phở Vỉ Hoa (Menlo Park)
21. Saigon Express (Berkeley) – what to order: another cheap place that I don’t recommend.
22. Thanh Long (San Francisco) – what to order: broiled mussel, roast crab
23. Thảo Tiên (San Jose) – what to order: roasted quail
— bánh tét chuối (bánh tét with banana filling)
24. Vanessa’s Bistro (Berkeley) – what to order: beef carpaccio
25. Vua Khô Bò & Ô Mai (San Jose)
— banana chewy candy
— cà na
— ô mai
Broken rice from Com Tam Thien Huong, San Jose
