California Grubbin'

food: 4.5/5 experience: 4/5 overall: 4.5/5 Ooooh a 21 and up restaurant. Shmexy. When you enter the restaurant you'll be walking through a large skull. It's primo for a photo op. I went here with my friends during my vacation in Atlanta. Open late. Nice. They specialize in burgers. According to their website they are considered "the Godfather of Atlanta burger joints." We all got different kinds. Delicious. Sriracha on a burger? Count me in. It also has guacamole and chipotle cream cheese . What. Yes. In my mouth. Now. The Four Horsemen, topped with horseradish sauce. I've never had it before but it's actually pretty good. It's bitter. My friend was making fun of my other friend because she's a mutant - she has the gene that can't detect bitter. Meaning she isn't equipped for survival and probably would've died of poisoning if it were ancient times. So long story short bitter foods are her favorite. And last, the one I...

food: 5/5 experience: 5/5 overall: 5/5 Alright so it might not be fair to rate this place based on food, but tea is made from products that technically you could eat, right? I mean, it's just flavor extraction via hot water... DAVIDsTEA is awesome and is definitely one of the highlights of my trip to Vancouver. I first found Davids when I was looking online for teas. I was amazed by their selection but their prices seemed a little high. Granted I didn't know Canadian conversion rates make it cheaper. But after passing this one by on our bus tour I had to stop in later. Their selection is marvelous. Better than Teavana  by miles. They put the ingredients on the label unlike Teavana. And it just tastes better. Plus the service is very personable unlike Teavana which always seemed to be rushed. We got five teas total. You buy by the gram unlike Teavana which required you to buy minimum two ounces. We ended up getting about that much of each anyway. All non-caffeinat...

food: 5/5 experience: 4/5 overall: 5/5 Needed something to eat after the beach. Checked out the local restaurants. Nothing looked too exciting but this place has some delicious looking photos and an interesting menu. I was curious. Almost didn't go though because wtf Greek food? What even is. Fabuloussss. We got the spanakopita, feta salad, and gyros. Spanikopita is already delicious but theirs is just so flaky and soft and mmmm. Shame they only give you two pieces. The Greek salad is pretty filling. But the gyros, man. The gyros. Yee -ros. Meat is so flipping tender I didn't know what to do with myself. Did not leave any on my plate whatsoever. The salad with it is pretty good, hummus on the plain side as is the pita, but it's still very soft and nice. And that yogurt tzatziki stuff I just never like anyway so that's a wash. If only they replaced that with more gyros. It's a cute little place with checkerboard tablecloths. If you're in t...

The California Livin' series continues with part three! Link to parts one and two . Evangeline. Mmmm... I want to make love to this store. Sure, it's in tourist central, but it's a hometown must with products like these. And yes, it can be a bit overpriced, but as I already told you, it's in tourist central - there's a reason for that. This is essentially SacTown's own Spencer's Gifts. Tons of knick-knacks, none of which you need... ...all of which you must have. Ironic mugs, ironic cards, ironic magnets, ironic books, accessories, a kids' section, ironically placed right next to all the adult toys and paraphernalia... ...and that's just one side of the first floor. The other side is stocked with wigs, shades, a taste of their costumes... Costumes!!!! Yes, the illustrious and magnificent Costume Mansion upstairs, open year-round now! You must experience the costume mansion. Any sort of ...

food: 3/5 experience: 5/5 overall: 3.5/5 Dad's has character. It has pizzazz. It has great service. It has, uh, a bunch of kids there all the time for some reason. Do people in this neighborhood just like breeding? I dunno. What they don't have is a very good brunch selection. Not the portion I sampled, anyway. They've got your standard omelets, eggs and bakey and breakfast taters. I like my breakfast carb-y though if I'm gonna cheat. We just tried a few things. Biscuits: 1.5/5 Wow, these are amazingly awful. They definitely microwave them judging by their rubbery texture. It takes some muscle to pull them apart and they're chewy, not flaky or crisp. The flavor is pretty bad as well. Not buttery just kind of bland. Not as bad as Denny's biscuits but it's among the worst we've tried. French toast: 4/5 Their French toast is solid though. Made on that lovely brioche bread, you get four decent-sized slices along with a meat of choice (below...

food: 4/5 experience: 3/5 overall: 3.5/5 Piggies seem to be a theme at the Porch for some reason. Mom said it was for "good luck." Are pigs good luck symbols? I don't think so. Anyway, they have them on the menus, inside, on the logo. Whether you can bring your pet pig onto the Porch's actual porch is undetermined. This restaurant was a nice change from South . It's less crowded, there's actually service... oh yeah, and the food is better. Pancakes: 4/5 Decent, they taste like pancakes. Not much to comment on here except they aren't very fluffy. They're sure big though. A side pancake took up the whole plate. You may not be able to tell but it's a big plate. They put powdered sugar on it which was a nice touch. French toast: 5/5 Made with thick Brioche slices and soaked in batter (custard?). Dense but not too rich a la Tower French toast. And not overly sweet either. Dusted with powdered sugar which they seem to put on everything...

food: 3.5/5 experience: 3.5/5 overall: 3.5/5 Just a little sushi restaurant in Berkeley where we ate when I visited my friend in the city. Not much to say about sashimi. I just ordered the chirashi dish which is usually my standard at Japanese seeing as I'm allergic to both soy and  sesame seeds (lucky me), among other intolerances. Had to pick off the eel because it's cooked in soy. Decent amount of fish, all fresh. Comes with egg as well, and of course a bunch of rice which I didn't really eat so no comment there. It's just rice. I tried their fried calamari. I do my best to avoid fried foods but fried calamari is too good to pass up. We got the legs. They're not the tiny calamari legs, these are full-grown squid legs. Covered in tempura batter. Normally I'm not a big tempura fan but these work. The tempura falls right off. We also got a bunch of rolls. Spicy scallop (bottom right), spicy tuna (bottom left), tuna maki (top right), and kaise...

food: 4.5/5 experience: 3/5 overall: 4/5 Heaven-Ly's Yogurt. Emphasis on Ly, for some reason. Greenhaven's yo-go-to spot for froyo, with another locashe in East Sac. I've been here many times due to the convenience factor. Yes, it freaking melts. And fast. The yogurt in the base of the machine is not as cold as the rest of the supply, so when you push the lever what you're getting is the least frozen yogurt on hand. I told the cashier this one time and she told me next time to kindly let her know what flavor I wanted ahead of time so she could "prepare the machine" (how?). Flavors are alright, basic. Sometimes I judge yogurt shops on the caliber of their plain/tart-flavored yogurt and theirs is fine. But it 's half liquid AaaRGgggHh! And then you factor in the time putting on the toppings, weighing it, finding a seat outside, blah-ty-blah - don't even think about saving it until you drive home, it's soup. They do have lots of differen...

food: 3.5/5 experience: 3/5 overall: 3.5/5 Fish lovers unite at Red Lobster. No matter what city you're in, Red Lobster will (probably) be nearby. If you want seafood in Indiana? You got it. Miserable in Missouri without fish? No problem. Shrimpless in Alaska? Well, they have seafood there already so probably go elsewhere. But nowhere else can you get unlimited cheese biscuits. These actually don't do it for me anymore though. They're not as crisp and cheesy as I remember. Oh well, less carbs and fat for me. Eat them right away or they get all hard and crusty later. You can take extras home with you no charge. I don't know how anyone could give lobster a bad rating to be honest. Sure it's expensive but it's expensive everywhere. Back when I used to eat lobster this is where I'd find myself. Speaking of lobster... Lobster tacos! This is the closest you'll get to trying lobster without breaking the bank. Three tacos and rice for fifteen buc...