Eat. Travel. Eat!

Having enjoyed vegan/vegetarian focused restaurants in the past ( Cafe Gratitude , Real Food Daily ), we started off a visit to Santa Barbara by visiting Mesa Verde for lunch. It had been positively reviewed on multiple websites, and its own website showcased beautifully crafted vegetarian cuisine. Housed in its own quaint grey and green building, parking is a tight, only having a few dedicated spots in the parking lot.  Although we arrived relatively late for lunch (around 2pm), we still had to wait more than 10 minutes for a table. The restaurant was near capacity, and employees were busy in the kitchen and serving customers seated indoors and outdoors. The environment was still relaxed, with locals enjoying a wide number of items from the menu. The owner happened to serve us that day, and apologized for the wait. After ordering and asking for his input on recommended lunch items-- the Patatas Bravas Tacos and Picadillo Empanadas came highly recommended--he provided u...

Mercado La Paloma, a local community gathering place, is also home to a fine hodgepodge of quality restaurants--Thai, Ethiopian, American, Mexican, and Yucatecan cuisine can be found here. Chichen Itza, the restaurant that consistently has the longest queue of all the restaurants, specializes in Yucatecan cuisine (southeastern Mexican cuisine)-- the menu is filled with unique regional specialties . After ordering in person at Chichen Itza's counter, one receives a wooden stand with a number (for the employees to keep track of where to bring food to). Prior to the arrival of the food, an employee will bring over beverages as well as Chichen Itza's house Habanero Hot Sauce. It's a potent, fruity, extremely spicy, and slightly acidic hot sauce.

Back in May, I attended the UC Irvine Undergraduate Research Symposium , an annual symposium featuring undergraduate research. Although I only attended the afternoon session, there was still much to see and to learn--I was unable to visit all the presenters' posters or oral presentations! This research symposium featured undergraduate research from the entire university, meaning that one could find research in computer science, engineering, humanities, biological sciences, and more in the same spot! There were also two parts: oral sessions, where presenters discussed their projects with projected presentation slides to a small audience in one room, and poster displays, where presenters discussed their projects next to their posters outside. The research was quite diverse; a few of these topics discussed at the symposium include home automation, car security, dorm design, autism, solar stove, literature, autism, chemically powered modeled cars, solar airplanes, and rockets...

During another conference at the same location as some previous ones , I knew where to walk to for a meal: Boudin SF. Having experienced breakfast at Boudin SF one time and recognizing the positives of Boudin's Food, I knew that Boudin SF would be a dependable option this time, and it certainly was! When we arrived at the conference area, we had to make our own dinner plans and since none of us had access to a car, my friend and I walked that one block to Boudin SF. He had already eaten dinner and so ordered a grilled cheese with turkey (7.99 USD), but in my case, I ordered a Soup and Salad Combo (8.59 USD). My friend felt that he had received a mediocre deal after seeing the size of this combo in contrast to his relatively tiny sandwich and bag of chips; it took me much longer to eat all of this food, and I was stuffed for less than a dollar more than what he paid!

After reading David Ng's article on Boudin , I reminded myself to visit the Fisherman's Wharf location on a future trip to San Francisco. So, after visiting UC Berkeley, we promptly went back to San Francisco for a late lunch at Boudin. The Fisherman Wharf's location is a prime tourist spot; its glass windows and prominent logos make it distinctive among the other buildings in the area, and it houses five different sections: Peet's Coffee and tea, Baker's Hall, Bistro Boudin, Boudin Museum & Bakery Tour, and Bakery & Bakeshop. There is plenty to see and do in just this confined area! We skipped viewing most of the building and went upstairs to Bistro Boudin, a full-service restaurant. One will pay a premium at Bistro Boudin for its full-service capabilities, dining environment, cutlery, and additional items on the menu. Several selections, however, are the same as those of Bistro Boudin, but  presented in a more casual manner. Paper or ...

  It so happened to be a random sighting when a dining companion and I were driving on Brand to go to the Glendale Galleria for some shopping that popped an idea to visit Porto's for dinner one day. I had heard about Porto's first from the blog Brand Eating , where the author talked about Porto's Cheese Rolls . That is actually a trademarked name, according to Porto's menu! Actually, I had seen Porto's during a visit to the Alex Theatre for Shakesperience, but I never visited. So, since we were able to find a parking spot after out visit to the Glendale Galleria (and for free too, since it was out of the restrictions for paid parking that day), we decided to eat there. Inside, it was bustling. You could just call it the Cuban version of the popular Asian bakeries JJ Bakery and 85C Bakery and Cafe . There were two giant lines; one was a snaking line in the "Bakery" section of the building (entrance that says Porto's Bakery) while the cafe section had ...