Gastro Monkey // 美食家

Normally, I prefer New York Style pizza. I like thin crusts that aren't cracker thin, but have a little crunch to them. Based on that, I thought I wouldn't like Zachary's Pizza. But, I do! The cheese can stretch across the table and all down your chin. It always comes out piping hot since they make it to order. They are always busy, and the location is very cozy. Luckily, you can put your name down and hang around nearby in the used bookstore or at Peet's. I prefer the bookstore. You never know what you'll find! And anyway, isn't good pizza worth waiting a little bit for? Also, the last time I went, they gave us the wrong pizza (we were so hungry and it was pretty similar so we ate it anyway without noticing). They noticed the error and gave us a discount on our pie! Note: I also find it's a great place to take out-of-towners as just up the hill is Indian Rock and a great (albeit now super crowded) place to view the City and watch the sunset.  Chees...

If you haven't figured it out yet, I am always looking for a few favorite items. I like eating a lot of things, but certain things I feel like the search is never ending. These are my comfort foods, and because I can't make them the way I like it myself, I have to maintain the hope that someday, I'll find something relatively close to where I live. Shanghai Restaurant is located in Oakland's Chinatown. It's a comfortable little space, and the owners speak Shanghainese (this always makes me feel better, like having a Taiwanese person make my pearl milk tea). I ordered the salty soy milk with some oily sticks, stinky tofu, soup dumplings, and pan fried buns.  The salty soy milk was alright. Better than the other places I had tried before in the Bay Area, so it means I would actually go back for it again. I don't know how the places in Taiwan make it so good, but compared to those ones, this one lacked flavor. I added some vinegar in there and it was better. ...