Tara’s Organic Ice Cream is a little ice cream shop on Telegraph Ave. in Oakland (next to Burma Superstar). We stopped by for a cone after lunch.

It’s very small inside…

Here’s the ice cream selection.

I ordered white pepper chocolate chip.  Originally I ordered it in a cup but then I saw the waffle cones… the SESAME waffle cone.

Here’s my cone! As you can see, my cone is pretty well-done…

White pepper and chocolate chips aren’t really two things I would ever consider putting together, but for some really weird reason these flavors work together. I’m not a pepper person. I don’t add pepper to my food and I rarely eat anything that is peppery.  The first lick of this ice cream was very strong. The flavor is white pepper but it was just as strong if not stronger than any black pepper I’ve ever had. Imagine putting a frozen spoon full of pepper into your mouth and then toss in a chocolate chip. Cold and peppery with sprinkle of chocolate.

So much pepper… in a way I was just eating it so I could get to the chocolate chips… it hard for me to finish but I did all the way down to the last bite of cone. It was interesting to say the least. Who can toss an ice cream cone? Not me.

There’s a lot of art hanging on the wall.

Tara’s Organic Ice Cream
4731 Telegraph Avenue
Oakland, CA 94609
www.tarasorganic.com

The post Tara’s Ice Cream: White Pepper Chocolate Chip appeared first on Fryhole.

So, it was a TUESDAY and I thought I would sneak in a quick lunch at Geta around 1:30pm (assuming the lunch rush was over), but I get there to find a completely full restaurant, people standing outside, and no room at the bar. Whaaaat?!! I had to wait about 10 minutes… since I was alone I grabbed a seat at the sushi bar.

The miso soup at Geta is totally legit. I’ve had a lot of bad miso soup in my day and this soup is freaking awesome. Can’t go wrong with the miso soup here.

I looked up above the sushi bar and saw this… Darn, didn’t try anything on any of those signs.

This is the fish in front of me.

…it’s almost sushi time!

Wahahahaha my favorite roll, the classic shrimp tempura. The only thing I wouldn’t mind leaving out is the lettuce. Since when do they put lettuce in sushi? Weird to me.

Spicy tuna roll, mmmm….

Here’s the outside.

Geta Japanese Restaurant
165 41st St
Oakland, CA 94611

The post Geta Sushi: Spicy Tuna Roll, Shrimp Tempura Maki appeared first on Fryhole.

Note, Mama’s is CASH ONLY. They do have an ATM machine there in case you forget cash…

Since we arrived early (about 7:30am), the place was pretty empty so we got a booth, woo hoo! Here’s a tight shot of the room with the booths. There are aprons hanging all over the walls.

When’s the last time you saw a restaurant jukebox? Here you go… they don’t work but they’re nice to look at. People have carved their names and messages in the booths.

I ordered the Combo breakfast which includes 2 buttermilk pancakes, bacon, and an egg (I ordered over-medium). It does not come with toast so I had to order that separate.  The pancakes are freaking awesome. I’m not really the type to order pancakes or waffles or any sweet things for breakfast (unless I’m at Perkin’s bc I love their apricot syrup, lol)…. but I was in the mood for pancakes – and the bacon adds a nice salty touch. You know, a bite of pancakes, a bite of bacon…. until it’s gone.

I love these pancakes and bacon!! The pancakes are light and fluffy and absolutely perfect.

This is the view from our booth…

Here’s the main room that you enter when you walk into the restaurant.

On your way out, look up and you’ll see a bunch of strange masks and a giant coffee cup, lol.

Here’s the outside of Mama’s.

All in all, Mama’s is great for breakfast. I highly recommend their pancakes and bacon, soooo good! Very satisfying.  Just don’t forget to bring cash, and get their early if you don’t want to wait 2309485743w587 minutes in line.

Mama’s Royal Cafe
4012 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94611
www.mamasroyaloakland.com

The post Mama’s Royal Cafe: Buttermilk Pancakes and Bacon appeared first on Fryhole.

Like clockwork, I usually order the same thing when I go to this restaurant, and I always have the same reaction (I don’t know what’s wrong with me). I order the chilaquiles verde, because I really like the sauce and I love how they serve scrambled eggs on top, but i can’t stand how soggy they are! I swear I’ve ordered them before and the chips were crunchier, or maybe my particular dish on this particular day sat under a heatlamp for too long, but really, they were very soggy and I could not finish them. This is consistent though, it’s nothing new – they are always like this, so just be warned!

I think in the back of my mind I have an inner ray of hope that they will arrive on the crunchier side, since I really like their regular tortilla chips, but perhaps the authentic way to serve them is soft and floppy? Please, someone tell me so I can manage my expectations and order something else next time I go there!

Above is the menu in all its glory! Below is my dish, as it looks after it arrived at my table.

Very beautiful placement and food styling… love the avocado and the layers. The tortilla chips (should I call them chips or just tortilla triangles?) are tossed in green verde sauce which is tangy and has a spicy bite (not too hot).  The eggs are fluffy and make this dish an awesome breakfast meal.

Oh no, my ultimate soggy nightmare. I can’t even… sorry. I love this place, I really do – they have bomb ass margaritas and drinks, the dinner entrees are fantastic – and this dish is delicious minus the sogginess of the tortillas. So please, for the love of gods, be warned if you order this dish because the tortillas are NOT crunchy and crispy – they are soggy and they will flop on your fork.

If you’re in Berkeley, I highly recommend a trip to Doña Tomás’ sister restaurant, Tacubaya, which is more in the style of a tacqueria. I always appreciate their awwesome crunchy salty homemade tortilla chips!

The post Doña Tomás: Chilaquiles Verde appeared first on Fryhole.

If you haven’t been to Homeroom yet, it is a mac and cheese restaurant. It’s really good and you should definitely go!

Here’s the outside. There’s usually a line, even on really hot days. I’m always surprised because it can be in the 70s and sweltering hot, yet people are still waiting around to stuff their gullets with creamy mac n cheese… I don’t get it, but whatever lol!

I start off with an iced tea. It’s house-brewed and has a floral essence to it… really good.

Ahhhhh the TRAILER MAC, my FAVORITE. Mac and Cheese mixed with hot dogs and topped with a generous handful of potato chips. BEST. In the spirit of my fat kid soul, I usually start inhaling this by the forkful – a few chews, but mostly so good I end up swallowing it whole before the heat wears off. I don’t suggest doing this – if you can, try to slow down and enjoy it.

OMG, the homemade oreo cookie. I don’t usually crave baked goods, but this cookie is too good to be true! It is NOT a cookie for sharing, get one of your own!

Homeroom Oakland
400 40th St
Oakland, CA 94609

The post Homeroom: Trailer Mac + Oreo Cookie appeared first on Fryhole.

There are  teacups hanging along the wall…

I decided to order a custom omelette today – spinach and feta. I always thought that spinach and feta was a standard omelette combination, but apparently I was wrong… on the menu they have a spinach and jack but no feta.  I credit this way of thinking to being from the East Coast where most of the diners are owned by Greek people.  I miss east coast diners.

The omelette was good. A little too much feta but it was tasty and very filling.

I have to be honest… like this place, but I don’t LOVE it. It’s not a place I necessarily crave, but I don’t mind eating there, mostly because there’s not really anywhere else to eat in our neighborhood and it’s good just not great (but alot of people really love it, don’t get me wrong).

My main qualm is that they serve breakfast potatoes and they don’t have hashed browns (unfortunately not many places do in the bay area). That’s really it. I’m a hashed brown snob.

Disclaimer: this place gets crowded. If you don’t want to wait forever, go early in the morning before 9am.

Mama’s Royal Cafe
4012 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94611

The post Mama’s Royal Cafe: Spinach Feta Omelette appeared first on Fryhole.

I was telling my friend about how disappointed I was in T-Rex’s fried chicken sandwich and she told me about Bakesale Betty’s fried chicken sandwich. I decided to go there immediately the following weekend to try this thing out myself.

I live in Oakland and I don’t really do anything over here in the East Bay so I was excited to try out something new. Bakesale Betty’s is in the Temescal area of Oakland, kind of near Rockridge I think… Anyhow, the place had a line outside that went down the street, AND it was raining. I waited in line, and it reminded me of the line outside Tartine in SF on a weekend (kind of looked like Tartine too).

Once I got inside it looked like a deli on the righthand side with a whole bunch of pastries and muffins. Everyone was yelling their orders and when it was my turn I said I wanted a fried chicken sandwich ($7.00) and along the back wall was the “fried chicken sandwich station”. It was seriously a factory line of fried chicken sandwiches, and someone bagged one up and handed it to me. There were no chairs left inside so we went outside and sat down at the dryest ironing board table we could find.

Here she is, the fried chicken sandwich. Intially when I opened the paper and saw it, I was surprised at how much slaw there was in there… I’m not a huge slaw person. Slaw aside, I picked it up and took a bite. The abundance of slaw is probably my only complaint becauase it was really wet and greasy – otherwise, this is the best gdamn chicken sandwich I’ve ever had. I seriously wanted to scream out to the world to eat one. The bread was soft and buttery, the chicken was tender, moist and juicy and the breading around it was buttery, crunchy and salty. The slaw had a freshness about it – the vinegary kind, not the sweet kind with a little bit of pepper… It was really, really good.

I ended up getting one of the sandwiches that was premade in the pile of chicken sandwiches when i went in — I imagine if I got a fresh from the fryer sandwich where the breading was hot and crunchy it would be 2349328947572x’s better, but I wasn’t so lucky. So yes, the sandwich was still amazing even though the chicken was cold.

This sandwich is also not small. It took me a while to eat and I chewed each bite to its death before swallowing.

Lastly, a shot of yours truly, in the midst of consumption. This was the best chicken sandwich I have ever had.

Bakesale Betty’s
5098 Telegraph Ave
(between 49th St & 51st St)
Oakland, CA 94609
(510) 985-1213

The post Bakesale Betty: Fried Chicken Sandwich appeared first on Fryhole.