burger club of oakland

Recently my friend Hanna Strange introduced an idea for a few of our friends to start a burger club. Eating at various burger joints in the bay area and rating them. Tonight was our first crack at developing our club. Tasks of the evening included an agenda of rating systems, categories, name and of course eating.

I had a simple "baby" burger, a 1/3 lb of beef with cheddar cheese, tomato, grilled onions and onion rings , pickles, lettuce served between a french roll.

Vals is a historic burger diner tucked away in the east bay in the heart of Castro Valley. It is a bit of a trek but the ambience is nice. Full of east bay history Vals has been making burgers since the fifties. I heart this place. If you havent been there venture out! It will be worth it.
As for our overall rating you'll have stay tuned and look out for the burger clubs blogs for ratings and dining tips.

brunch on bikes

SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!

brunch on bikes

Come out this Sunday for brunch on bikes down at POPUPHOOD. My CoffeeBike and the El Taco bike will br out front of the shop Marion and Rose 11:30-2:00pm. I will even be serving up my first decaf roast for all who wanted the non buzz.

Sunday January 29th on 9th and Broadway 11:30-2:00pm in front of Marion and Rose. Come
Eat, come shop!

new additions

This year has started very productive in the studio. I was contacted by a friend, who opened a lovely shop called Mariom Rose down in the POPUPHOOD, to carry some work and be one of their vendors. Hopefully this will keep me very busy this year as well as make a little dough. I recently make a silk screening station out of my old drafting table and transformed my dads old steamer trunk for a desk. The studio is all cleaned up and organized ready for working.

crab feast

Crab is probably my numer one crustacean. Win Walker graciously hosted a wonderful crab bake last night, a rad idea that can be economical and fun for dinner and friends. 99 RANCH has these tasty ocean floor dwellers for $6 a pound, try and get em at the height of the season, i have picked some up as low as $3 a pound. Nevertheless if everyone pitches in a makes a side dish your well in your way for a good night od crab. The dinner was accompanied with a homemade "bakesale betty slaw," bread, baked potatoes and a slew of dipping sauces. As i was very prepared for a evening of crab carnage i brought my own sheller, appron and face towel, but i loved everyones enthusiasm with some DIY shell tools such as, a garlic press and of course forks. After dinner we were delighted with a awesome slide show of wedding pictures and of course a round of WIi bowling.
Hurry and get them crab before the season ends!

bahn mi picinic

You gotta love the french influence combined with vietnamese ingredients. My latest food creation, the bahn mi sandwich. Broken down into three parts this ingenious combination of slaw, meat (tofu in this case) resting between a crunchy baguette.
Jullienne carrots, dichon and zuccini.
In a sauce pan boil a ration of 2 : 1 water and distilled vinegar and sugar to taste. Let cool and add the slaw and set aside for a 30 minutes. In a pan i sauteed tofu with a black bean chili sauce and fresh ginger garlic and sweet onions. Cut the baguette to desired length. Mayo is optional. Lay thinly sliced cucumber on bottom slice of bread. Next lay a generous amount of the tofu or meat. Top the tofu with the slaw and top ot off with fresh cilantro and enjoy!
My mom gave us a new picinic basket we packled the sandwiches and some soup in. With the dogs and the basket we headed out to Briones Regional Park for a nice picinic and hike with our pups.
With leftover slaw I did my own mixing of cultures and made a pulled por bahn mi for my Monday work lunch, this is a highly recommended mix.
Check out the pictures and Merry Christmas!

popuphood recap

POPUPHOOD was so RAD! Thanks to everyone who came out to support local makers and new business owners. The new shops are truly amazing. Keep your ears open as the CoffeeBike and El Taco Bike are planning a popup brunch soon. The Chrome Van came out and was slinging shoes for $25. I also met a 63 year old cyclist who regullarly tours to Denver on his bike, he looks like hes 25. I ran out of both roasts and got some really good reveiws and interest about roasting at home. I think I actually inspired some people. Anyway if you live in or around Oaklnd, go downtown and check out the new shops on 9th and Webster. I heart OAKLAND! Oh and Jean Chuan even stopped by for a cup and a photo op haha!