After a long hard day of work, sometimes all you want is a beer and a smoke. Unfortunately it’s no longer possible to enjoy those two pleasures simultaneously if you’re in a bar (at least in most American cities), so Jim Meehan of PDT devised a clever way of joining them together in a drink that’s aptly named Beer and a Smoke.

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“After September 6th, everything will make sense,” a friend told me. She’s referring to New Years Day of the Mayan calendar. It was supposed to be a comforting prediction, but I prodded her with questions. So, the Mayan calendar was developed thousands of years ago by a civilization known for their advanced math, writing and astronomy skills. They consider corn a gift from the gods and they nestle babies in between cobs for protection at night.

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I woke up thinking about breakfast. During my time in Italy ten years ago, I picked up the habit of not eating in the mornings at all–Italians tend to just have a cappuccino and cornetto (a little croissant-like pastry) for breakfast, opting to save space for a humongous lunch instead.

But I’m trying to fine-tune my routine here in Oakland now, and have started incorporating breakfast into my day.

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I am not talking about the big mole scene from Austin Powers. This is one of the most complicated food I have evermade. Why did I make mole?  Because my friend went to Mexico and brought back a bunch of dried chillies. When you have bag full of chili, you naturally make mole, right? I think I’ve had mole about three times in my life, so I have no idea how it should taste.

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These are probably the best Baja/Ensenada-style fish tacos I’ve had since the epic Fish Taco Crawl in San Diego last year (Umamiventure #21). The FISH TACOS neon sign just kept screaming out at me whenever I drove past this little joint, on a busy strip where Berkeley and Oakland meet.

I always order the fish tacos. Two if I’m ultra hungry.

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Met up with fellow Umamimartians last week at The Trappist, a Belgian beer bar in “Old” Oakland, downtown. I made SF folks come out to the East Bay– and they actually did! On a school night! Such trickery.

The thing is, The Trappist is so much more than just a specialty beer bar. Oh, so much more. The kitchen serves up some dishes that really need to be taken seriously in the Bay Area food community.

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Sorry, these posts on Chicago are totally lagging. I’ll crank these last four out this week, I PROMISE! These will be la creme de la creme of what Matt and I ate during our trip.

We went to Rick Bayless‘ well regarded nouveau Mexican joint, Frontera Grill on our first night in town. I practically had to sacrifice my left pinky to get a reservation.

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I finally ate my first torta two weeks ago – on Superbowl Sunday. My friend Kishi, who lives in San Francisco, took me to Tortas Los Picudos on 24th Street between Alabama and Harrison.

I guess it took me this long to actually try a torta because of my intense love for burritos. If both a torta and a burrito are available on a menu, I always choose a burrito.

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The day after the epic Fish Taco Crawl, Nate asked me, “Do you want to get lunch at one of the best Mexican joints in San Diego?”

Uhhhh… I was still stuffed to the chin from the holy trinity of fried fish, cabbage, and tortillas, and had absolutely no plans to consume a bite of anything that day. Really.

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Years ago, Kristi took me to Juanita’s for a burrito and to this very day, I still fantasize about it. So of course it was the first place I asked her to take me as soon as I landed in San Diego. They put fries in the burrito!!! Reason #1 to move to SoCal.

You could imagine my indecision.

The California Burrito has landed.

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