Dishcrawl San Jose

Posted on July 22, 2011 by bayareafoodie


Dishcrawl is a new company that hosts walking food tours in select cities across the Bay Area. I love a good food tour where you get to sample new and unique eats. Mike and I decided to go on the San Jose crawl on Tuesday June 28, 2011 at 7pm. Each crawl features 4 destinations.

Our night started off at Billy Berk’s large outdoor seating area where we checked in and got our dishcrawl team assignment (we began as one large group then split into 2 smaller 30+ person groups). We stayed here 1 hour and were able to have cocktails (not included in price) and sampled Billy’s American fare which included very good flatbreads and so-so fried zucchini.

Next we walked to House of Siam a Thai restaurant maybe 2 blocks away. After we took off our shoes (thank goodness I wore socks!) we were seated and ate a plate of fried sweet potatoes, a pickled salad and a spicy chicken curry (I think….we were not given any formal description of what we were eating). We were here for 45 minutes which left plenty of time (maybe too much) to chit chat with our fellow crawlers.

Then we were off to the Eat On Monday food truck which was parked a few blocks away to nosh on fried pork sandwiches with wasabi slaw, beef tacos and churros with strawberry sauce. This was our favorite spot of the night.

Last stop was the Dishcrawl San Jose office to nibble on Li’l Puffs Artisan marshmallows (they don’t have a storefront). They served up mini smore’s cupcakes as well as marshmallows.

The evening lasted about 2.5 hours and was co-hosted with LikeList who gave us some cool parting gifts (tshirts/flashlights). The Dishcrawl organizers are young, energetic and ready to have a good time. The majority of the people on our tour were in their 20’s to early 30’s but there were a handful of older folks like us. Although outnumbered we didn’t feel out of place. Overall it was a fun time.

The only drawback I see is that they don’t let you know where you are going until the last minute – if at all. In the first few months they were good about telling you what restaurants you were visiting but now they don’t say anything until maybe 4 days before. If you watch their twitter feed you might find a couple hints. I don’t know about you but I’m not interested in crawling to a bunch of places I’ve already been so I didn’t order our tickets until 2 days before the event.

They seems to add new cities and states every month so there is bound to be a Dishcrawl you would like to check out. I look forward to seeing what they have planned for Saratoga, Mike’s old stomping grounds.

Website: http://www.dishcrawl.com/

Our night in pics:

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Filed under: Northern CA, PLACES TO EAT/DRINK, San Jose, Silicon Valley (all cities) | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Paris Left Bank Food & Wine Walking Tour

Posted on August 26, 2010 by bayareafoodie

After hours of online research on Paris restaurants and food I was overwhelmed and decided I needed help. When I found Wendy Lyn’s website on Paris I knew she would be the best tour guide. Wendy, originally from the South, has been living in Paris for 20 years, works as a food writer and is very well connected. Our tour began with a visit to Eric Kayser’s boulangerie. Kayser is known throughout Paris as one of the best bakers. Here we sampled a traditional french baguette, chocolate croissant and little airy sugar coated balls of dough all while hearing about the history of bread making.

Then we headed to the local farmers market to chat with vendors and sample their goods. We ended up purchasing salted caramels, Foie Gras and a dried herb and vegetable bouillon pack. Unfortunately, the cheese shop Wendy usually includes on the tour was closed for renovation so we didn’t get to see that but she did give us some information on how a cheese shop operates.

Next stop Chocolatier Patrick Roger’s Boutique. Roger is known as a chocolate artist in France. In addition to his edible creations he makes chocolate sculptures. On display the day we visited was a giant elephant. My favorite confection was hands down the hazelnut praline chocolate bar which Wendy referred to as “chocolate crack”.

Our final destination was Chef Yves Camdeborde’s tiny wine bar “L’Avant Comptoir” where we drank wine, ate ham croquettes and BUTTER while learning about French wine varietals.

Mike and I had a blast on this excursion through the Left Bank. Wendy was super sweet and full of knowledge about the French food scene. We can’t wait to go back.

Website: http://www.thepariskitchen.com/

Filed under: France, PLACES TO EAT/DRINK | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »