Race Street Seafood Kitchen

When I seafood, I eat it!

Race Street Seafood Kitchen
247 Race Street
San Jose, CA


I loved the charm of this place.  Half market and half restaurant, it was really fun to browse the fresh fish counter while waiting for my order.  It was also fun salivating over everyone else's orders, as usual.

I pretty much wanted to order one of everything on the menu.  But in the interest of looking at least somewhat ladylike, I settled for the giant Grilled Ahi Sandwich.

Ahi grilled to perfection arrived on grilled bread (!) with shredded lettuce. I forgot to add tartar sauce, but honestly, it didn't need it (neither did my hips, although I did sneak a couple bites of delicious cole slaw).  My dining partner's shrimp and chips looked equally amazing.

Everything's made to order behind a glass barrier, which is especially fun to watch when they fling giant planks of pescado towards you.  Did I mention all of their grilled items can be made into a sandwich at no additional charge?  Clearly, I need to move closer to this place.

Rockridge Market Hall

Eating on the sidewalk never tasted
so good!

Rockridge Market Hall
5655 College Avenue
Oakland, CA

Peek inside and you might think this is just another gourmet bakery, florist or butcher shop.  Step inside and you'll discover it's all of those...and so much more.

With eight distinct vendors under one roof, Rockridge Market Hall is your first - and last - destination whether you're grabbing a quick snack or planning an elaborate dinner party for twelve.  Grab some java at Highwire Coffee Roasters to sip while perusing grass-fed beef at Marin Sun Farms Butcher Shop, choosing between gnocchi and ravioli at The Pasta Shop, or contemplating a catfish sandwich from Hapuku Fish Shop.

Snagging a table outside may prove to be a challenge, but you can probably find a vacant mini-bench alongside parallel-parked cars out front.  Enough for your butt and a grocery bag, it's a nice spot to park yourself before you wolf down a sourdough roll filled with crunchy fried oysters, slaw and tartar sauce.  Heaven.

Dairy Belle

Riptide!  Riptide!

Dairy Belle
2285 W. Tennyson
Hayward, CA


I love, love, LOVE places like this!  Sure, it looks and feels like a Dairy Queen knock-off, but can you really pass up a roadside joint run by Asians that serves burgers, ice cream...and Mexican food?

Skip the Mexican food.

Order the 1/4-lb. Burger with its perfectly toasted bun and charred patty, piled high with juicy tomatoes and pickles and crisp lettuce.  Bypass the soda in lieu of a Riptide: soft-serve blended with your choice of candy or fresh fruit...I highly recommend strawberry!

So, so yummy.

And if you're lucky, maybe you, too, will be forced to witness a single mother breast-feeding three feet from you!  Egad.

Penny Candy Store

Where copper turns to candy!

Penny Candy Store
10221 Live Oak Boulevard
Live Oak, CA

Had I known the Penny Candy Store sold over 30 varieties of Hawaiian Snow starting at $1.50, I probably wouldn't have guzzled down a malt from Ice Burgie down the street only moments before.

Luckily, you CAN take candy home to enjoy later, unlike an ice and syrup creation.

Stepping into the Penny Candy Store was like a trip down memory lane for me.  One bite of a Brach's Sundae Neapolitan Coconut cube and I was transported back to my great-grandparents' house - this time, without the lingering cigarette smoke.

With most candies selling for several cents apiece, "Penny Candy Store" may very well be a misnomer.  But really, who cares with such a great mix of classic confections like Necco Wafers and modern treats like Pez and Junior Mints.  There are several giant bins dedicated to different-flavored Tootsie Roll Midgees, and this is the only place I can recall that sells bite-sized Turkish Taffy in both chocolate and strawberry.  You will even find individual Sugar Daddies on sticks here!  Chocolate snobs can choose from dipped nougats and bon-bons behind a glass case while watching a snow cone being artfully carved for patrons approaching the walk-up window.

Fond childhood memories...a bargain for a few hundred pennies!

Burr's Fountain

Shhh...a master's at work.

Burr's Fountain
4920 Folsom Boulevard
Sacramento, CA


What's better than watching food being prepared on television?  Watching food being prepared right in front of you.

Lucky for me, all of the counter seats were available during my lunchtime visit.  I plopped down on a comfy, padded stool and tuned out the nonsense of the boisterous crowd behind me.  I instead focused on my sandwich and soda fountain options, trying not to salivate down the front of my hoodie.

Corned Beef Sandwich and Chocolate Phosphate, please!

I then turned my attention to a quiet, reserved older gentleman manning a station piled high with sandwich fixings, alongside two industrial-sized panini presses atop bread shelves filled with sourdough, 7-grain and both light and dark ryes.  After only a few moments, I realized this individual was single-handedly cranking out each and every food order, from hot dogs to Reubens to turkey salad...with nary a word spoken to the young men and women picking up and dropping off their orders.  He moved gracefully, yet speedily, as if to say, "A party of 20 just walked in?  Bring it on."

I was enjoying the show so much I was almost disappointed when my order came, providing a slight distraction from the one-man machine.  It was a delicious distraction, however: the perfect combination of juicy corned beef and rye, all washed down with a fizzy chocolate beverage that told me I wouldn't be needing another meal for hours.

The food and fountain treats are reason enough to come back, but the one-man show is the real highlight.  His frenzy likely started well before I arrived and ended quite some time after my departure.  I'm looking forward to that quiet entertainment again.

Squeeze Inn

Drool much?

Squeeze Inn
Various Locations In & Around Sacramento, CA


The Squeeze Inn was one of Sacramento's best-kept secrets until the establishment was featured on the Food Network.  As if the lines weren't already long enough, all hell broke loose and today, the now-franchise is a true legend in Northern California.

I come often for burgers and tacos, but mostly to watch the creation of the Cheese Skirt.  Fistloads of shredded cheddar are dropped over sizzling patties on a flat-top grill, and the intense heat proceeds to morph that queso into a crisp, chewy topping, flavor concentrated by the heat and evaporation of some of the cheese's moisture (there's a bit more to it but I won't ruin the fun for you). The result is a "skirt" of cheese that is often 6-7 inches wider in diameter than the patty itself.  You have to see it to believe it.  And you'll have to taste it to experience it.  It's the icing on the cupcake, if the cupcake were a juicy, beef patty coupled with fresh produce on a perfectly chewy bun.

Over the years, Squeeze Inn has expanded to locations in Galt and West Sacramento and is still on the move.  No matter which location you choose, expect a wait.  Squeeze Inn doesn't rush the process just because there's a line out the door.  Impatient?  Chew some gum and wait your flippin' turn.  You won't be sorry.