Three friends and I went on a journey around Oakland and Berkeley eating at places we’ve never been to before. We planned this earlier and even created a google map document siting all the restaurants we wanted to try. A large cluster of them were in the Berkeley area so we made a day out of it.

First stop: Bakesale Betty

The place was so popular that they didn’t even need a sign other than some butcher paper taped their outside wall. Brought me back to elementary school days. Anyway, their menu was extremely simple. Chicken sandwich, tofu sandwich, and cookies. Being such a simple menu, they were able to get the food out extremely fast. The line wasn’t that long when we got in it so we were in and out of there in about 5 minutes. They made the food so fast that as I was paying for the sandwich, they had already finished making it. Talk about efficient!

The tables outside were ironing board inspired tables! I loved it! Along with the buttermilk fried chicken sandwich, I also picked up a ginger molasses cookie. Enjoyed them both, although I wish the coleslaw in the sandwich had more sauce to it.

Gregoire for Crispy Potato Puffs

Okay so I’ve been here before, but it was one of my friend’s first time and those potato puffs were just a must in Berkeley. I initially described it as deep fried mashed potatoes, but after taking a bite in it again, it was much better than that. It was on another whole level of creaminess and I got to relive the amazing flavor and texture. I was melting with each bite. They were that good. I want more!

Philz was just a block away, and who could pass up coffee? I got “the best thing ever” or some name like that, and it was pretty awesome. I don’t know about the best thing ever, but it had a nice nutty, toasted flavor to it, as it was described in the menu. Didn’t taste the roasted beets they had noted, but I’m not that great on picking up on the subtle flavors of coffee.

Since we sadly can’t be continuously eating throughout the day, we got some workout done by walking around the Lawrence Hall of Science. We planned to go to the Big C, but it was a struggle finding parking. We parked at Lawrence Hall and tried finding our way from there, but it turned out to be much more difficult.

Everything was gated off and we were forced to go around the entire area which stretched into this dangerous long path walking alongside a road. No sidewalks. After only making a quarter to the Big C and were already out of shape, we ended our trek and headed back. At least now our stomaches have emptied a little bit for our final destinations.

Nation’s for Banana Cream Pie

I’ve never even heard of this place before, but apparently it’s a chain restaurant and my friends have told me their banana cream pie is the best. We shared half of a banana cream pie.

The pie was pretty good, but I didn’t find it overly amazing as it seemed everyone else had reviewed. To me it was like instant pudding mix with bananas. Good, but not really good. The whip cream on top was so heavy I couldn’t finish it. Maybe I was still full from lunch, but it just didn’t make me feel that great.

Final destination: Burma Superstar

I’ve only been to the San Francisco location once, but I had to try their tea leaf salad once again. Along with the tea leaf salad, we also ordered the rainbow salad which had 22 ingredients and it even said on the menu that it was a party in your mouth. Taking a bite of it, it really was. Every single bite had a different texture and flavor and I really liked it. The tea leaf salad on the other hand, was of course amazing. A lot saltier than what I remembered, but it still impressed me.

The trip was a success! We got to go to all of the places we planned and I thoroughly enjoyed the day. Lots of good food with a short hike included. My kind of day.

Until the next food exploring day, keep adventuring on!

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