The Pasta Shop: A Tasty Backup Plan

Apologies again for the late posting! It's been a hectic week, and it promises to be a pretty hectic month as well, and sadly, I don't have as much time as I would like to dedicate to this blog!


For now, however, I want to share one of my favorite places to eat when I need a quick meal that is sure to be delicious: The Pasta Shop! Both their Rockridge Market Hall and 4th Street locations have a wonderful deli with delicious prepared foods, perfect for when you are having a busy day, are hungry and need something tasty fast! 

The Pasta Shop's Prepared Food. A Lifesaver.
Photo Credit: http://rockridgemarkethall.com/pasta-shop

Sure enough, a few days ago, that very situation arose. I had been shooting my friend Estherina (with a camera––don't worry, I'm not going to jail and she is fine!) for her blog, Estherina's World and for her lookbook. I had just finished a long day of classes and was pretty hungry, but I couldn't pass up the chance to spend a few hours with Estherina before she jetted off to London. So after a fun couple of hours of fashion and photogeeking together, I was delirious with hunger and had my heart set on the Pasta Shop! 


I drove us, god knows how, to Market Hall (my favorite place in the world), and we entered the Pasta Shop. This store is a veritable foodie's dream, it has all sorts of cheeses and fancy olive oil bottles and lots of treats to satisfy even the sweetest sweet tooth. But one of the best things about them is their prepared foods and deli section. Whenever I've been so tired and hungry that I can't even think, this is the place that saves me. And this is the place that saved me that very night.


I ordered their Phat Thai, which I had had before and knew was delicious, as well as a Summer Fruit Galette for dessert, something I had been wanting to try all summer and now, I finally allowed myself t.  Estherina, like me, has a strong sweet-tooth and, after ordering herself a slice of Pesto Lasagna for dinner, also got herself a slice of Chocolate Cream Pie and a packet of homemade Italian Butterhorns. After eating a bites of my Phat Thai in the car to ensure that I had the energy I needed to drive us home safely, we made our way back to my place to enjoy our meals together. 

Phat Thai in the Car. Keeping it Classy.

The Phat Thai was delicious, as I knew it would be. Unlike most other Phat Thai I've tried, this is refreshingly tangy and the peanut flavor is complementary rather than overpowering. For me, this is what makes this Phat Thai stand above the rest. I had a few bites of Estherina's Pesto Lasagna, which was good and filling, but probably not the best thing that I've had from Market Hall. (A word of advice: get their pasta salads, they aren't called the Pasta Shop for nothing). I also had a couple of her Italian Butterhorns, which were so sugary, cinnamony, and buttery that I knew they were bad for me, but they tasted sooooo good. I decided to save my Galette for breakfast in the morning, and at the end of our meal, Estherina headed home and, later, off to Londontown to begin her studying abroad adventures. I was glad I got to spend a few hours with her doing the things we loved to do the most: eating, taking photos, and being all around goofy. 

Photo of Estherina taking a photo of lasagna. This is one of the many reasons we're friends. 

The next morning, my Summer Fruit Galette awaited me, and I was so glad I had saved it. It made the perfect breakfast pastry, it was simultaneously sweet and tangy, which if you know me well, these are the flavors that drive me wild! (And the reason why I love orange juice so much.) 

Summer Fruit Galette Morning Wonderfulness.

So what did I learn from this culinary adventure? First, the importance, for me at least, of eating on time. When I don't, I get delirious and dysfunctional and all around unpleasant. Second, the importance of having a backup plan when you can't eat on time. For me, the Pasta Shop provides one of the tastiest backup plans you will ever encounter.

In the Kitchen: PLT with Basil Mayo

Delicious, quick and easy: PLT with Basil Mayo.

PLT? Yes, you read that right. I have discovered my new favorite twist on the classic Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato sandwich using...prosciutto! Prosciutto is an Italian dry-cured ham, that has a strong and delicious flavor, and, though it can be a little pricey, I was able to find a cheap-o pack at Trader Joe's for about $5. Thankfully, using prosciutto as a substitute for bacon in this sandwich doesn't seem to compromise the spirit of the BLT. While it may not be any healthier than bacon, in terms of taste, you can hardly tell the difference between the two delicious meats. 


There is one way in which, for me, prosciutto trumps bacon in this sandwich––and that is in terms of its convenience. On my busy days, when I only have a one hour-long break between classes, I want to use the majority of that time to unwind, relax, to not think about the next thing I have to do. It is at these times, when I am at my tiredest and hungriest, that I haven't the time to spend cooking an elaborate lunch. Okay, I admit that frying up bacon can hardly be considered elaborate; nevertheless, I need every little bit of energy and time saved that I can get. (Plus, there are those dishes, and that lingering smell of bacon in my apartment that will tease me when I return, to consider.) So, prosciutto offers me a ready-made, slap-it-on-the-sandwich, unapologetically-lazy alternative to bacon for this sandwich, one that tastes good to boot. 


When I first made this sandwich, however, I wanted it to be extra special and extra delicious, so I did manage to put in just a little extra effort. I had tried Elmwood Cafe's BLT with Basil Mayonnaise, and though generally I'm not a huge fan of mayo, I thought the sauce added a tasty bit of freshness to their sandwich. Since I had mayo in the fridge and had just bought more basil than I knew what to do with, I decided to embrace my love for DIY and try to make it myself.

Cutting up basil. Someone buy me a food processor!

Finished basil mayo, with lemon juice.

 I took a few basil leaves, cut them up as small as I could (these are the times when I wish I had a food processor). I added them to the mayo along with a bit of lemon juice to cut through my least favorite part of mayonnaise: its thick and creamy texture. And voila! I had recreated the Cafe's flavorful spread (albeit somewhat crudely), which gave my sandwich an little something special. And, of course, being the lazy cook that I am, I made enough so that I could have some leftover and save time in the future. Along with grapes and a glass of iced tea, this sandwich made the perfect quick, simple and, most importantly, tasty lunch for a busy student like me.

Blog Backlog + In the Kitchen: Banana Bread

Dearest readers, I must apologize for my lack of blogging in recent weeks. The start of the school year has been keeping me busy (lame excuse, I know). But I'm back and hope to be posting more in the coming weeks, though my budget and my busy student life may necessitate writing posts less frequently or else broadening the scope of this blog a bit. Since I am currently taking an 'Edible Education' class, taught by Michael Pollan and Nikki Henderson, attended regularly by Alice Waters (I sat two rows behind her yesterday, awesome!), with amazing guest speakers so far, I feel that my thinking about food is shifting and that I am becoming more interested in the food movement and food justice in general. So, maybe a few of my future posts will address this theme, along with my regular restaurant reviews and in the kitchen posts. 


But for now, let me bring you up to date on one my culinary adventures from a few weeks ago. I had just returned from Santa Cruz and had lots of leftover food that was too much for me to eat alone. I recruited Ben and ate Zachary's pizza more frequently than I would like to admit and had been making good progress. But there was one item that I received that I was just not interested in eating: three overly ripe, browning bananas. I found this one item to be so frustrating because I really hate throwing away food, especially when there are others out there who are hungry and I was able to get this for free. (This sentiment has only been reinforced by a recent 'Edible Education' lecture by Carlo Petrini, the founder of Slow Food International, who said that in the U.S. alone, we throw away 22 tons of food a day. Eek!). So it felt wrong to waste these bananas, but it seemed I had no other choice, until Ben suggested that I make banana bread. Such a simple idea had never occurred to me, but as soon as he mentioned it, I was thrilled! This way, I got to use my bananas and eat something delicious, win/win. 

Banana Bread: Waste Not, Want Not. 

We decided to spice our banana bread up a bit with some chocolate chips, and after looking up a recipe, ran down to the store to get some. We returned to Ben's apartment and baked up a banana bread storm, which was much simpler to do than I thought it would be. It was, of course, delicious and the bananas were at the perfect overripeness for making banana bread. We did, however, make the mistake of refrigerating the leftover banana bread, which made it pretty tough when we ate some the next day. While it was still edible, it would have been much more enjoyable had we not done that. Overall, though, I felt triumphant in being able to create something pretty darn tasty out of something I was considering throwing away. 

The Santa Cruz Family Vacation Eat-A-Thon

Fuzzy family at Twin Lakes State Beach, Santa Cruz, Ca. 

Saying that my extended family and I ate too much over our vacation last weekend in Santa Cruz would be a gross understatement. Though we had 16 mouths to feed, it never once crossed my mind that we would run out of food (and kudos to my parents, aunts and uncles for ensuring that). After securing the copious amount of food into the fridges (yes, thankfully, there were two) of our vacation house, my family went hard to work on our first nights dinner, which consisted of many boxes of Zachary’s pizzas, which my parents picked up half-baked in Berkeley as they drove over. The pizza was, as to be expected from Zachary’s, delicious, and my aunt and I made a simple salad of mixed greens, bell peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers to go along with the meal. Overall, the dinner was simple, easy, and delicious, which was just what we needed on the first night while we were all still settling in. After dinner, the adults of the family had margaritas with a store-bought mix, Jose Cuervo silver tequila, fresh lime, and salt on the rim. Though I’m a notorious wussy when it comes to alcohol, I found myself drinking this like it was juice, and these margaritas became a little vacation tradition that we indulged in each night. After our drinks, we took a little night walk on the beach, which was well lit by the full moon, countless bonfires and even a few kids with sparklers. It was a beautiful way to end our first night in Santa Cruz.

One of two of our fridges, completely full.

Maragarita, sans salt.

The next morning I was greeted by the smell of bacon when I entered the kitchen, which happens to be one of my favorite ways to wake up, especially on a Sunday morning. But besides the bacon, our breakfast also included: eggs, cantaloupe, watermelon, smoked salmon, bagels, two types of cream cheese, grapefruits, plums, croissants, sausages, jam, toast, vanilla honey Greek yogurt, grapefruit juice and orange juice. Breakfast happens to be one of my favorite meals, and this one was a delicious and plentiful feast from which I thought I would never recover.

Cantaloupe and Watermelon from our delicious feast.

Smoked Salmon and Bagels mmmm!

But, miraculously, I found myself wanting to eat again a few hours later when lounging on the beach with my family. It was a specific craving, one that always seems to plague me when I’m near the sea: Salt and Vinegar potato chips. If I were a poet, I would write an ode to eating salt and vinegar chips by the seaside; so salty and tangy, these chips are the most delicious companions to the sea breeze. They are also highly addictive. I knew that I was sharing these chips with my entire family and that I should go easy, but I couldn’t stop and soon, they were gone. I was full and, amazingly, still hankering for more, but I focused on the beauty of the ocean and enjoyed my time in the sunshine instead.

I love you, salt and vinegar chips.

After hanging out at the beach, my mom wanted to put together a little lunch for everyone, but we were just not that hungry. But since we had brought so much lunch meat, she decided to make a lovely spread for all of us to enjoy, including a choice of salami, turkey, and mortadella for meat; pepper jack, havarti and cheddar for cheese; tomatoes; lettuce; mayo, peppercinis and pickles; ciabatta bread to put it all on; and lots of fruits and veggies to snack on. It would have been wonderful if I had been hungrier, but I still made myself half of a sandwich out of respect to my mom and all the work she had done.

After a few hours of foosballing, relaxing and talking with family, we were back at the dinner table again; this time for barbeque. We had two different types of tri-tip, corn on the cob, roasted asparagus, barbequed tomatoes and bell peppers, and one of my favorites: my mom’s pasta salad with orzo, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, feta, olives and balsamic vinegar. Like everything else we had that weekend, it was so tasty that we overcame the laws of digestion and our full bellies and ate copious amounts anyway. We continued to eat later that night when we celebrated three August birthdays with a very rich and chocolatey cake. We continued our nightly tradition of margaritas and had a quick walk on the beach before turning in for the night.

Tri-tip steak, orzo pasta salad, and lots of veggies.

Happy Birthday!

The next morning, we had another breakfast feast, which was very similar to the last one, but also included sunny-side up eggs, straw and blueberries, sliced tomatoes, Persian bread and cheese, and quiche. We went back to the beach again after eating, and, to my delight, there was another bag of salt and vinegar chips, which I hit hard. After having eaten so much, I decided to be a little bit more active on the beach and went for a walk to try to burn off some of the extra calories I had ingested this weekend.

Breakfast Feast #2

When we got home, I became even more active as I got far too competitive with games of foosball against family members. I had hoped to win against my dad, who had single-handedly creamed my brother, my cousin and I earlier that weekend. I had been playing my aunt a lot and felt confident enough in my newfound foosball skills to call for a rematch. Though I scored the first 5 goals, I must have gotten a little overconfident, as my dad came back with a score of 8. I almost caught up to him, and the score was 8 to 9 when my dad scored the final goal. Normally, I don’t tend to put too much stock in these little fun games, but for some reason, after this loss, I was devastated; I blame the corrupting influence of competitiveness. I ate away my pain later that night, when we basically had a leftover banquet and tried to eat as much of our food as we could, as we were leaving the next day and couldn’t take it all with us. It was a challenge to be sure, but we got through a fair amount of it.

Too much foosball competition!

A margarita and a full nights sleep was all that separated us from the end of our trip. The next morning, we ate a simple milk-and-cereal and eclectic leftover breakfast before packing up and leaving, and before we knew it, our lovely long eat-a-thon weekend was over. If there’s one thing I can say about my family, besides the fact that it was loads of fun to hang out with them on this trip, it’s that they know how to eat and they make the roots of my love for food apparent. 

A Trip to the Davis Farmers Market and Down Memory Lane.

View of the Davis Farmers Market

Over the weekend, I visited my quaint little hometown of Davis, which is unwarrantedly notorious for its cow smell, but very deserving of its bike-friendly reputation. As you can probably tell by its defining characteristics summarized in the previous sentence, Davis can be a challenging place to find something interesting to do. But despite its boringness, Davis is my hometown, and as such, it can offer unique experiences that make me feel nostalgic in a way unlike any other. One such experience is the Davis Farmers Market, which I re-visited last Saturday morning.

This logo brings back memories. Credit: http://www.davisfarmersmarket.org/

Taking place in Davis’s Central Park, the Farmers Market is not only a place where you can get fresh produce and other goods, but also a place to enjoy the sunshine with family, run into old friends, listen to live music and to see that same guy and his son who have been running the Hot Dogger stand forever. Ok, ok, maybe I’m romanticizing it a bit, but you have to understand that my love for the Farmers Market stems from attending it on countless Wednesday nights. Each time I see the Market’s characteristic logo of a bitten watermelon, a flood of childhood memories rush into my head, including, but most definitely not limited to: the time we bought my first kitten, the times when my friends and I would dorkily dance to whatever local band was playing that night, taking  a ride that giant gyroscope, playing in the water fountains in the summertime, eating incalculable slices of Steve’s pizza, and so much more.

Bolani, yummy yummy. Credit: Diana Prichard

As a kid, I frequented the Wednesday night Farmers Market much more often than the Saturday morning ones. Nevertheless, Saturday morning Farmers Markets are still delightful experiences and my most recent visit was no exception. I went with a few members of my family and my friend Emile, and in the most Davis-like fashion, we ran into a few other members of my family. We strolled through the crowds of people, making stops at a few stands to sample the food. One of the more memorable stands was the East and West Gourmet Foods’ stall, which sold all kinds of Bolani and sauces. After sampling a generous portion, my family bought a few spinach Bolanis and their delicious cilantro pesto and garlic mint cheese sauces. Maybe it's the Middle Eastern side of me (Bolanis are Afghan), but I can’t get enough of the stuff, especially with the garlic mint cheese sauce, which has the consistency of yogurt and is so very very good. And through a bit of industrious internet detective work, I discovered that East & West is Bay Area based and their products are sold in grocery stores (Whole Foods and Andronicos specifically) and farmers markets around the Bay. So I will definitely be revisiting that.

Fat Face Menu: Breakfast Sammies and Popsicles

Emilie's Strawberry Rhubarb Rosemary (left)       Briana's Hibiscus Mint Grape (right)

Another memorable culinary experience of this trip was the Fat Face stand, which specializes in sandwiches and popsicles. I was thrilled because Fat Face just recently closed down Davis location before I got a chance to try it. Luckily for me, they moved to Midtown Sacramento and still make appearances at the Davis Farmers Market, so I was able to taste their Hibiscus Mint Grape Popsicle. It was as delicious as it sounded; the mint was so refreshing for a hot summer morning like Saturday and the little frozen half-grapes inside the Popsicle were fun surprises.

There were a few other notable experiences of this visit to the Farmers Market, both culinary and otherwise. One of these was buying the best apple juice of all time (Apple-A-Day Ratzlaff Ranch), which is a must-do at the Farmers Market; drinking this apple juice seriously helps you realize the amazing and delicious fact that apples are naturally super sweet. There was also band that brightened my day by playing Klezmer music, complete with accordions (an instrument that I will someday learn) and violins. I seriously felt like doing this dance from Fiddler on the Roof (below, circa 3:00, after the amazing bottle dance, with all the clapping) but was just barely able to restrain myself before I made a fool of myself in public.

With all these distinctive experiences aside, it was amazing to me how little the Davis Farmers Market has changed. Sure, maybe there aren’t as many familiar faces among the crowds and maybe I’ve grown up a little bit, but the Farmers Market is and will undoubtedly continue to be a Davis staple for a long time to come. 

Gioia Pizzeria: Better than Cheeseboard?

This photo seriously does not do Gioia's delicious spinach and red pepper flake pizza justice.

Is there a pizza place in Berkeley better than Cheeseboard? To answer ‘yes’ to this question is almost blasphemous: Berkeley residents (myself included) unanimously adore Cheeseboard and its truly delicious pizza. But my visit to Gioia’s Pizzeria left me feeling far less confident about where to find the best pizza in town. Though it is difficult to say for sure which takes first place, Gioia’s hole-in-the-wall charm along with the perfect crust on its delicious New York style pizza has won my heart and quite possibly my loyalty.

             I made my visit to Gioia’s Pizzeria a few weeks ago, before my little food poisoning debacle. Ben and I arrived there at 7:15 p.m., about 45 minutes before they closed for the evening and about 30 minutes after driving around aimlessly, trying to find the place. (We eventually discovered that it is right across the street from Monterey Market, a place we visit frequently). My driving frustrations began to melt away as we approached Gioia’s beautiful brick exterior and detected the scent of freshly baked pizza coming from inside the delightfully small pizzeria. Since we arrived so close to closing time, their selection was somewhat limited, but I was still able to order the flavor I wanted: spinach with red pepper flakes. To drink, I ordered the appealing looking reddish-pink beverage that I saw behind the counter, which turned out to be strawberry lemonade.

            When I first picked up my slice, I was slightly disappointed at how floppy it was; I felt like I couldn’t get a good hold on it. But when I did manage to take that first bite, the pizza’s limpness seemed a trivial matter. Ah, it was wonderful! I am a sucker for spinach on pizza and the red pepper flakes gave it a snappy little kick. The best part about the pizza, though, was its crust, which tasted (for lack of a better word) real. Unlike some pizza crusts that just exist for the purpose of having something on which to put the pizza toppings, Gioia's thin and crispy crust had a life of its own, complete with lovely little air bubbles that were burnt in the most delicious way.

Gioia's beautiful exterior. Credit: 2008 Foodnut.com

In terms of tastiness, Gioia’s homemade strawberry lemonade kept up with its pizza counterpart. Every sip came with an abundance of tiny, tasty strawberry seeds, a testament to its authenticity. It was a tart and tangy supplement to the meal that brought it to the next level of deliciousness.

Overall, I loved my experience at Gioia’s Pizzeria. My only complaint, if it can even be called that, was that it was so light and delicious that I could have had at least one or two more slices (which is a lot for me). Sadly, their prices and the fact that their selection was waning prevented me from indulging myself in a few more slices, but the discovery of a potential new favorite pizza joint in Berkeley was fulfillment enough for me. 

In the Kitchen: A Coupla Summer Salads

Caprese Salad

Salad Shirazi

My high expectations for my blogging this week have been somewhat dampened by the fact that I ate bad eggs earlier this week, and now have some form of food poisoning. I won’t go into too many details (this is a food blog after all), but it has been a frustrating experience for me. Although so far my symptoms have been pretty mild, they have lasted for a few days and I just haven’t been my usual hungry self. In fact, the idea of using adjectives to describe food at this moment in time is not the most appealing one.

With that in mind, I want to keep this post short. I was able to make a few very simple salads before this unfortunate egg incident that were quick to make and yummy to eat. The first was a Caprese salad: mozzarrella, heirloom tomatoes, and basil, with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. The second was Salad Shirazi, a Persian favorite which consists of tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions, with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. These two salads are super fresh, super tasty, and perfect for summer. 

 And that is all I have the stomach for right now. Stay tuned for more posts soon (I may just have found a place that can rival Cheeseboard). For now, however, it's time to watch as many Parks and Recreation episodes as is humanely possible for the rest of the day.