The Sunny Side Cafe, a choka (長歌) - Berkeley, CA [Eating]

(Pictures for this restaurant review taken with my Apple iPhone 3Gs.

For fun, I wrote this restaurant review of the Sunny Side Cafe as a choka (長歌). See the section below the review for more details.)

Up at 6:00am,
Sleep-fogged mind barely working.
Strange bed, no wife - Huh?
Disorientation and
confusion. Panic.
Relief when I realize
that I'm on a business trip.



Running for the BART.
Caffeine and adrenaline.
surging through my veins.
This irritation is too
familiar to me.
A nostalgia that I'd
rather do without.



Hello Berkeley,
I AM IN YOU!!! At some point,
this meme will get old.
But, that day is not today.
Sorry, Twitter friends.
Thanks for putting up with my
abuse of the CAPSLOCK key.



Hungry. I have time
before I need to reach the
office. Breakfast calls!
I have no idea where to eat.
First, I follow Yelp.
Then, I follow the students.
CAL is around the corner.



Sunny Side Cafe.
Navigation achievement
unlocked for teh win!
Only 30 minutes left
until I need to
get my ass to a meeting.
I can has tasty fuds now?



Fried Egg Sandwiches!!!
To Go only? *whimper* Sadness...
Time for Plan B.
The Raspberry Hanger Steak
Benedict special
looks interesting. Maybe
scary. You only live once.



Waitress super nice.
Open kitchen with counter.
How do the chefs not
feel like they are on display?
Students, locals, and
academics everywhere.
A real neighborhood joint.



Benny dished up fast.
Cloud-like eggs on pedestals
of toasted muffins
and caramelized meat, wreathed
in a buttery
shroud of luxurious, rich
Hollandaise. Be still my heart.



Cut into the egg.
Anticipation becomes
disappointment. Yolk,
an overcooked hockey puck.
Does not coat other
ingredients on the plate.
Was the special a mistake?



Citrus in sauce adds
way too much acidity.
Steak is drowned out by
raspberry, overpowers.
Potatoes are nice.
Laced with rosemary, lemon.
Crispy and fluffy.





The Sunny Side Cafe - Service is awesome, the portions are big, and the food is a decent value for Berkeley. They probably overreached on the special. The flavors clashed, but the overall dish was still tasty. However, Eggs Benedict is supposed to be one of the Sunny Side Cafe's signature items and my order was only one the two line cooks were working on. In addition to the hard boiled eggs, the muffins were under toasted and soggy because the eggs weren't drained properly. I'm not sure that was their best effort.


Bill:

Raspberry Hanger Steak Benedict - 12.50


Flavor: C-
Ambience: A
Service: A
ROI: C

Overall: B


The Sunny Side Cafe
2136 Oxford St.
Berkeley, CA 94704
1-510-845-9900
Restaurant website


Original Location:

1499 Solano Ave.
Albany, CA 94706
1-510-527-5383

What is a Choka (長歌)?

A choka is a form of waka (和歌) or Japanese poetry. Like the more commonly known haiku, choka are composed lines with 5 or 7 syllables (onji) arranged in a pattern. Each stanza has two couplets with a first line of 5 onji and a second line of 7 onji. The stanza is completed with a katuata of three lines. The first line in the katuata must be 5 onji and the second line must be 7. However the third line can be either 5 or 7 onji. So, each seven line stanza of a choka can have a series of 5-7-5-7-5-7-5 onji, or a series of 5-7-5-7-5-7-7 onji.

For example, this stanza from my choka is in the 5-7-5-7-5-7-7 onji pattern.

Sunny Side Cafe. - 5 onji
Navigation achievement - 7 onji
unlocked for teh win! - 5 onji
Only 30 minutes left - 7 onji
until I need to - 5 onji
get my ass to a meeting. - 7 onji
I can has tasty fuds now? - 7 onji

This stanza in the choka is in the 5-7-5-7-5-7-5 onji pattern.

Citrus in sauce adds - 5 onji
way too much acidity. - 7 onji
Steak is drowned out by - 5 onji
raspberry, overpowers. - 7 onji
Potatoes are nice. - 5 onji
Laced with rosemary, lemon. - 7 onji
Crispy and fluffy. - 5 onji

Cat's the poet, not me. However, I think choka are a lot of fun, even if you end up looking a bit silly counting out syllables on your fingers. I cheated a bit and used How Many Syllables.com. There's also a project called Choka On It dedicated to writing the world's longest choka by crowdsourcing it. Try contributing a couplet!

A real waka expert would probably have a field day with my choka, to which I reply with this haiku:
You pretentious prick.
Giving you the finger while
thunder roars outside.

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Takoyaki Tanota (たこ焼き たのた) - Costa Mesa, CA [Eating]

(Pictures for this review taken with my Motorola Droid.)

With his shaggy hair tucked into a black baseball cap, he looks like a worn out roadie as he hunches over the sizzling hot griddle. A skilled flick of an oil-soaked cloth cleans each indentation, brushing a glistening layer over the ebony surface. Then, a thin, creamy batter is ladled on in a explosion of savory steam, filling the trays to the brim.



Large chunks of tender, stewed octopus are added next, unerringly dropped into the starch-shrouded wells and blanketed in a fragrant rain of thinly sliced green onions, fried tempura crisps, and pickled ginger. He waits patiently as the mixture thickens and puffs... then bursts back into motion, hands a blur as he criss-crosses the tray with a pointed metal skewer, neatly dividing each mound into squares.



A few deft twists, and each pallid serving is magically transformed into a golden orb of goodness. Another short wait as the takoyaki set up before they're nonchalantly flipped from the griddle into waiting boxes to cool.

Streams of Japanese mayonnaise and tart sauce, a dusting of seaweed powder, more sliced green onions, and the cooking is finally over. But not, alas, the waiting.



Inside each glorious sphere is a molten tide of mouth-searing custard waiting to gush forth in a tongue-blistering torrent. It's a test of wills. How long can one resist the maddening aromas? How long before the urge to satisfy lust overwhelms caution and rational thought? Unfortunately for me, it's never long enough...




Takoyaki Tanota - Ow! Mmmm...


Bill:

4 pieces - 3.00
6 pieces - 4.00
8 pieces - 5.00

Flavor: A
Ambience: A
Service: A
ROI: A

Overall: A


Takoyaki Tanota
(In front of Marukai most weekends)
2975 Harbor Blvd
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Takoyaki Tanota website

Their event schedule can be found here.

They also have a food truck that cruises Los Angeles. Follow them on Twitter!

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Valhalla Table - Costa Mesa, CA [Eating]

(Pictures for this review taken with my Canon PowerShot SD800is.

This article is dedicated to Kelly von Hemert of Galley Girl for her friendly and persistent nagging. She's in your kitchen and my head!!!)



Valhalla - The Hall of the Slain. It’s the final resting place of the Einherjar, heroes felled in glorious combat and selected by Odin the All-Father to serve in his personal guard. Raftered using spears and thatched with golden shields, it was said to always have room, food, and drink sufficient for all within it. Only warriors brave of spirit and whole of body could reside there, feasting and drinking as they waited for the final battle of Ragnarok.

It was basically a giant sausage fest.


(Duck, Bacon, & Jalapeno Sausage with Caramelized Onions)

When the eponymously named Valhalla Table opened at the CAMP, I couldn't wait to try it. After all, it was owned by Liv Karnaga & Chef Ehrline Karnaga, the same dynamic duo of sisters responsible for Layer Cake Bakery. They'd already given me my favorite Orange County source for deliciously decadent desserts. Their paean to homemade, organic, tubular delights surely wouldn't disappoint. Surely...



Valhalla Table is decorated in the minimalist industrial style that seems popular amongst eateries trying to be chic. Everything is composed of clean lines and muted tones. Black, grays, and white are dominant, giving the small space a cavernous feeling. It's very sterile.


(They sloshed a bit out of the bowl.)

When your food arrives, the splashes of color are a relief. Presentation, like the decor, is sparse. The flavors, on the other hand, are vivid and bold. Their piping hot Cream of Tomato soup begged for a grilled cheese sidekick. It enveloped the inside of my mouth in a soothing blanket of rich sweetness with just the right balance of acidity.



The Currywurst, on the other hand, arrived at the table an already dead, cold, and rapidly congealing mass of meat and fluids. The tomato-based curry sauce liberally slathered on top was reminiscent of store-bought Tikka Masala, completely overwhelming the lightly fried sausage pieces drowning underneath.



Belgian Style Potato Fries came highly recommended on Yelp and various food blogs (see below). The thickly hewn, twice-fried timbers of tuber were reminiscent of In-N-Out's "well-done" fries. They were simple, crunchy, and honest, although they could have used salt.


(Chicken & Apple Sausage)

Sausages run about $6-$7 dollars and are served simply grilled on a toasted roll. Each order comes with a choice of caramelized onions, sauerkraut, sweet peppers, salsa verde, or Indonesian sambal. Additional toppings run $1 extra each. No sides are included.

The sausages that I tried were both imaginative, but varied in their execution. The Chicken and Apple sausage was mild, surprisingly moist, and laced with gentle sweetness. The hefty amount of cinnamon used to spice the sausage, however, threw both Cat and I for a loop.

The Duck, Bacon, & Jalapeno Sausage (picture second from top) had a strong presence, but the ingredients clashed more than they complimented. The distinctive aromas of duck and bacon warred against each other like the Einherjar against Fenrir the wolf. The battle was intense and epic. Ultimately, like Fenrir, the bacon dominated by devouring all that stood in its path. The jalapeno added a nice bit of zing to the experience.




Valhalla Table - The concept is fun and the service is excellent. The quality of the ingredients and the care taken with their preparation really shines through. Unfortunately, the food could use some polish and balance, and the prices are on the high side.


Bill:

Cream of Tomato - 4.75
Currywurst - 5.50
Belgian Style Potato Fries - 3.50
Chicken & Apple Sausage - 6.00
Duck, Bacon, & Jalapeno Sausage - 7.00

Flavor: C+
Ambience: C-
Service: B
ROI: D

Overall: C


Valhalla Table
2981 Bristol Street (The CAMP)
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
1-714-549-2960
Valhalla Table website


Don't Take My Word for It - Reviews from other food blogs:

• Valhalla Table Coming To The Camp in Costa Mesa by Edwin Goei of Stick a Fork in It


• Valhalla Table Opens at The Camp. Rasta Taco & Ecco? Not So Much by Edwin Goei of Stick a Fork in It


• Valhalla Table's Sausage House Concept Comes From LA, but the Most Inspired Items Hail From Indonesia by Edwin Goei of Stick a Fork in It


• the very essence of cool by ILA of i nom things


• Valhalla Table - Costa Mesa from Notes... from the napkin


• Viking Feast at Valhalla Table? by OCEater of Eating My Way through OC

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Mukmuk Zamboni!

That's just fun to say. I need to start blogging again, so here's a short post to warm me up.



Scored me a sweet pin of Olympic mascot sidekick Mukmuk driving a Zamboni when I was up in Vancouver last week. Then the wife blogged about it on Outblush. Mukmuk is the bomb!

Support Mukmuk in his drive to get promoted from mascot sidekick to full Olympic mascot. According to the lil' guy's bio, "Mukmuk is a small and friendly Vancouver Island marmot who always supports and cheers loudly for his friends during games and races." Doesn't he deserve some love too?

See Mummuk on his Zamboni when you play this game!

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Bell Pepper Beef Stir-fry - [Cooking]

(Pictures for this recipe taken with my Canon Rebel XTi.)



It's bell pepper season at the farmers' market! With modern growing and transportation methods, bell peppers have become so ubiquitous as a year-round staple that most of us probably don't think about their natural growing cycles. However, bell peppers are actually a type of berry. Like all fruits, they're best enjoyed at the peak of their ripeness and freshness. Bell peppers become the most sweet and flavorful between July and November, which means that now is the perfect time to load up at your local farmer's market!



The optimal way to appreciate bell peppers in season is raw. However, if you intend to cook your bell peppers, you should pick a cooking method that preserves their natural sweetness and crispness. Stir-frying is ideal for this, since the short cooking time leaves the bell peppers close to their natural state. This basic recipe for Bell Pepper Beef Stir-fry is quick, easy, and delicious to make. It's a great meal on a hot summer day.

Bell Pepper Beef Stir-fry Recipe

Gear:

1 Santouku, chef's knife, or Chinese cleaver
1 cutting board
1 large wok or frying pan
1 metal ladle or spatula


Ingredients:




2-3 large bell peppers
1/2 lbs of flank steak
1 shallot
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp of sugar
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp of Chinese rice wine
1 tsp of sesame oil
1 tsp of salt
1 tbsp of vegetable oil (preferably rice bran)
Additional salt to taste


Prep work:

1. Slice the flank steak into 1/4-inch by 1/4-inch by 2-inch long strips. The grain of the steak should be perpendicular to each strip. Shorter muscle fibers will keep the meat tender and make it easier to chew.


2. Mix the sugar, soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, and salt in a bowl. Thoroughly coat the steak with the mixture. Cover and set aside to marinate for at least 30 minutes. Do not let it sit for over an hour.


3. Clean the bell peppers, removing the stems, caps, seeds, and other fibrous material. Slice the bell peppers into 1/4-inch by 1/4-inch by 2-inch long strips.


4. Clean and finely mince the shallot.


5. Clean and finely mince the garlic.

Instructions:



Set your wok or frying pan over high heat. Allow to heat for several minutes. The cooking surface needs to be smoking hot.

Drizzle in the vegetable oil, then add the garlic and shallots. Stir briskly. You don't want them to burn.



Once the garlic and shallots have released their aroma and begin to color (15-30 seconds), add the marinated flank steak, reserving as much of the marinade in the bowl as possible.

Fry the steak until half cooked (~1 minutes), turning once or twice, and then add the bell pepper strips. Stir-fry briskly, drizzling in the remainder of the marinade, until the steak finishes cooking and the bell pepper pieces have softened slightly (~1-2 minutes). Don't overcook the bell peppers. They should still be crispy and juicy.



Add additional salt to taste if needed. Plate and serve immediately with lots of steamed rice.


Serves 1-2.

Good eating!

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Daddy Cakes Bakery (Highly Recommended) - Newport Beach/Orange County, CA [Supplying]

(Pictures for this review taken with my Canon Rebel XTi.

Daddy Cakes Bakery is holding a Father's Day Pancake Brunch this Saturday, June 20th, from 10:00am-12:00noon at the Whole Foods in the Tustin District. Dads dine for free! Everyone else pays only $5. All proceeds go to a local food bank. See you guys there!

Disclosure: Daddy Cakes Bakery generously sent Chubbypanda.com samples of their pancake mixes to review. However, it was agreed that a review was not required. Daddy Cakes exercised no editorial control or content approval over this article. The following is my unvarnished opinion of their products.)

I've never been fond of commercial pancake mixes. Call it either a distrust of processed foods or simple food snobbery, but I've never been able to convince myself that a powder from a bag can produce a pancake equal to the ones I make from scratch. It might just be bad childhood memories of my mom's attempts with Bisquick Pancake Mix. I don't know if it was the mix or the fact that pancakes weren't something she grew up with in Taiwan, but the final product always had a gluey, gummy texture and bitter aftertaste that left much to be desired.



For the past ten years, I've muddled along happily with a recipe of my own devising, using both the Joy of Cooking and Alton Brown's instructions on making your own pancake mix. However, I was captivated by the story of a local pancake mix business made good. Daddy Cakes Bakery, a Newport Beach company founded in 2007, is the brainchild of two brothers who are also fathers. They started out with the goal of making a healthy pancake mix for their kids, but decided to try selling the final product to the general public. Two years later, their line of amusingly named mixes is being carried by gourmet markets throughout Orange County, including Whole Foods in Tustin, Sprouts in Irvine, and several Mother's Markets. As a staunch supporter of local businesses, I had to give them a shot.


(Quirky sense of humor.)

Dan Byers, one of the founders, generously sent Chubbypanda.com a crate of their products to review. Cat and I expected to get one or two sample packs. What arrived was nearly their entire line of pancake/waffle mixes - Better Batter Buttermilk, Sensuous Strawberry Sensations, Sinful Cinnamon, Criminal Chocolate, Glamorous Gingerbread, Vivacous Vanilla, and Bountiful Buckwheat. Most of Daddy Cakes' mixes are vegan; a few are vegetarian.



Our initial impressions were favorable. The mixes seemed uniform, with little separation between heavier and lighter elements. By following the instructions on the packaging, we able to able to create airy batters with good cohesion. We found that 90g of mix and 71mL of water produced nine 2-inch (5.1cm) pancakes, a nice portion for 1-2 people. We incorporated the water and pancake mix using the standard method of aerating the mix, adding the water on top, and then stirring gently for just enough time to bring the two together. To minimize gluten formation, we allowed for somewhat lumpy batter. We also allowed each batch of batter to rest for five minutes before cooking. All of the test batches were cooked in a lightly oiled, 18-inch cast iron skillet over medium-low heat. Cooking time was approximately 3 minutes for the first side and 1 minute for the second, although times will vary based on batter thickness, stove strength, and cooking vessel.



By far the best Daddy Cakes mix we tried was the Vivacious Vanilla. The pancakes made from this mix were very fluffy, with a soothing vanilla flavor and no bitter aftertaste. Cat was enthralled. To date, we've purchased and used five additional packages of Vivacious Vanilla from the Tustin Whole Foods.



The Better Batter Buttermilk came in a close second. It was very similar to the Vivacious Vanilla, although without the extra flavoring. This is Daddy Cakes' core product. I found it superior for a number of additional culinary applications, including crepes, waffles, frying batter, and beignets. I'm ashamed to admit that this batter produces a better pancake than my own from-scratch recipe. It's also noticeable better than other pancake mixes I've tried in the past.



The Bountiful Buckwheat Buttermilk is less sweet than the others, with a pleasantly nutty aroma. Using the 90g:71mL ratio, this mix produced thinner, crispier pancakes.



On the other hand, the Criminal Chocolate Chip made much heftier cakes using the same 90g:71mL ratio. Streaked with chocolate and with a good chew, this mix is sure to please the munchkins while remaining relatively healthy.



The Sensuous Strawberry Sensations mix is another surefire kid pleaser. It's lighter than the Criminal Chocolate Chip, but packed with even more strawberry flavor. It might be too intense and sweet for adults, though. I found myself oddly reminded of strawberry Froot Loops cereal.



Even punchier is the Sinful Cinnamon, which Cat commented was perfect for those in love with that tropical spice. However, if you're only in like with cinnamon, or even indifferent, it's a bit much.



The Glamorous Gingerbread was intriguing. Dotted with small pieces of ginger spice caramel, these cakes emit a heady bouquet. However, like the Sinful cinnamon, it might be too extreme from anyone who isn't absolutely in love with gingerbread. Like all of Daddy Cakes' mixes, it remains a quality product.




Daddy Cakes Bakery - Excellent products for parents or professionals who need to be able to put together a healthy meal quickly. Just add some fresh fruit, maybe a little turkey sausage, and you've got a nutritious breakfast low on additives. As for me, I'm not about to retire my own recipe just yet. But, Daddy Cakes has raised the bar. Until I can make a pancake better than theirs, I'll probably be buying many more packs of Vivacious Vanilla to keep up with Cat's growing appetite for them.



Daddy Cakes® International, LLC
517 Superior Avenue
Newport Beach, CA 92663
Toll Free 1-800-315-1928
Direct 1-949-309-2669

List of Daddy Cakes resources:

• Website and online store


• YouTube Channel


• Facebook page


• MySpace profile

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Kaju Market Hotteok Stand - Los Angeles, CA [Eating]

(Pictures for this review taken with my Canon PowerShot SD800is.)



What's your snack of choice when you're cruising the city late at night? Do you like wrapping your lips around the obscene, incestuous porcine coupling that is the Bacon-Wrapped Hot Dog? Are you lured to the kaleidoscopic glitter of roasted meat served up at the many taco stands that dot La La Land? Maybe you're the kinky type, seeking out flavor-packed abominations that aren't completely one thing or another, only to find yourself crying in a shower the next morning. No, it never washes off. But, if you're like me, you'll find yourself obsessively checking Twitter again later that day.



Still, I usually like my after dark street food encounters like I like my women; sweet and almost too hot to handle. Near downtown Los Angeles that can mean only one thing. Hotteok, the Korean version of crispy fried napalm with a nutty finish. Luckily, I can always get my fix in front of Kaju Market on the corner of 5th and Western.



Cooked to order on a flat griddle, each one of these candy coated pancakes is filled with a tooth-melting mixture of sugar, honey, nuts, and spices. Give the nice man your order and he'll slap them into a container straight from the stove. The smell coming off each golden disk is maddening, promising pain and pleasure with every bite. With a melting point of 365°F, the molten syrup nestled in each crunchy and chewy cake is hot enough to raise blisters. It's a delicate balancing act. Bite down too soon and the filling will explode into your mouth like lava from an erupting volcano, with much the same result. But, wait too long and the hotteok will lose their crispy candy coating to airborne moisture. It's a battle of wills between your mind and your stomach.





Kaju Market Hotteok Stand - The mind always loses. Hurts, but it's worth it. Time to find another drink. Something with ice.


Bill:

Hotteok - 1.50/each


Flavor: A
Ambience: (N/A for street food)
Service: A
ROI: A

Overall: A


Kaju Market Hotteok Stand
450 S Western Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90020

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