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Leena Eats: Nex in Oakland

Leena Eats: Nex in Oakland
Some of tastiest grilled prawns I have ever had the pleasure to eat at Nex Restaurant in Oakland.

You have to really be looking to spot Nex Restaurant in Oakland. It’s on the outskirts of the Uptown neighborhood, smashed in between a bunch of car dealers and it’s sister restaurant, Mua. The restaurant was fairly empty early on a Saturday night when I arrived, but quickly filled in with happy and talkative customers.

The first thing that really made me stand up and notice this New American restaurant? Their AMAZING grilled prawns. This dish is a study in simplicity and perfect cooking technique–it is simply prawns, grilled, with a garlicky, citrusy rub. That’s it. But they are grilled so perfectly, the shell has just started to brown, and meat remained moist and succulent. Food porn prawn of the HIGHEST order.

Leena Eats: Nex in Oakland
Nex Restaurant’s blink and you’ll miss it front entrance.

More food porn and restaurant review after the click.

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February 23rd, 2011
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Leena Eats: Brunch at Bellanico Restaurant and Wine Bar in Oakland

Leena Eats: Brunch at Bellanico Restaurant and Wine Bar in Oakland

I had serious plate envy over a fellow diner's choice: country French toast with whipped mascarpone, huckleberries, pomegranate and maple syrup.

I’ve realized quickly after becoming pregnant that all pregnant women are in a sisterhood of sorts, where people from all backgrounds can meet and agree about a few key facts: pregnancy is awesome and crappy all at once, and give me some food, now, please! That’s why I loved meeting up with my local expecting mamas group at Bellanico to share some pregnancy perks, pains, and of course, heaps of delicious food.

Like this French toast. Which? I did not get and sadly did not try, but drooled over greatly while a fellow mama dined on it. Bellanico is a cute little Italian restaurant (named after the owner’s kids, Bella and Nico) with a menu that changes weekly and affordable but delicious wine flights. Click on for more food porn from my Bellanico brunch!

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February 18th, 2011
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Posted in California, East Bay, Leena Eats, Oakland | 2 Comments »

Leena Eats: Chop Bar in Oakland’s Jack London Square

Leena Eats: Chop Bar in Oaklands Jack London Square

A big old plate of charcuterie and homemade locally sourced pickles? Don't mind if I do!

There are a few select ways to get into my heart: 1. adopt an adorable kitten from a local shelter and let me help name it/play with it. 2. Wrap something–anything–in crispy bacon. and 3. Serve me salty cured meat with homemade veggie pickles. There is just something so irresistible about salty pork products paired with vinegar-y, garlicky pickles. It’s like my kryptonite. Set a plate of it in front of me, and I wouldn’t care if you gave a mohawk to my cat or tripped a homeless person–I just want my salty meat and pickles, damn it!

And I’d blame this on my pregnancy, but let’s be honest–I had these sort of weird food cravings since well before I started growing a baby in my stomach. Thankfully, Chop Bar in Oakland’s Jack London Square is happy to meet my needs (and knows not to take the plate away until I have eaten EVERYTHING on it). It’s a local gastropub that has been getting rave reviews about their burgers and brunches. While I had neither, I did have a ton of delicious food.

Click on for heaps of food porn from Chop Bar!

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February 2nd, 2011
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Leena Eats: The Bay Area Food Guide

Leena Eats: The Bay Area Food Guide

The BBQ Scotch Egg at Wexler's in SF.

For the past 14 months, I’ve had the pleasure of living in the Bay area of Northern California. As the finale to the 4 year birthday of Leena Eats This Blog, I thought it would be fun to compile a Bay Area food guide of all the deliciousness I’ve consumed over the past year or so. If you live in the Bay Area, are visiting, or just like to look at some good old fashioned food porn, this is the guide for you.

Happy Eating!

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January 28th, 2011
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Leena Eats: Dopo – Italian for Pork in Oakland

Leena Eats: Dopo Italian for Pork in Oakland

To start at Dopo: Freshly baked (and slightly burnt) bread with pork fat-laced butter. Yes. Pork butter.

This winter in the Bay area is a wet and rainy one, one where you either long to cook up a big pot of warming food, or you long for someone else to do it for you. Not as a bitterly cold as Chicago, mind you, but enough to warrant complaints and the occasional dinner out.

Enter Dopo– a lovely little Italian restaurant in my neighborhood that is always packed, even on a weeknight, and of course, does not accept reservations. Lucky for my husband and I, we slipped in just between the early night rush and the late night rush on a busy and wet Wednesday night. We were a bit bummed the bread was so burnt, but once we tried the pork butter, it was easy to forgive.

They made butter with pork, people. Dopo can do no wrong in my book.

More food porn and commentary on Dopo after the jump.

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January 7th, 2011
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Posted in California, East Bay, Food Porn, Leena Eats, Oakland, Pizza | Comments Off

Leena Eats: Woodhouse Fish Company–Crabs you can be proud of!

Leena Eats: Woodhouse Fish Company Crabs you can be proud of!

A whole lotta crab at Woodhouse Fish Company in SF.

Friends were in town and craving seafood, and it was late November–the start of the local crab season, so we headed to Woodhouse Fish Company in San Francisco to get our hands on some (affordable) delicious local crab. Heaps of crab porn after the click. Read the rest of this entry »

December 29th, 2010
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Leena Eats: Vedas Indian restaurant in Milpitas, CA.

Leena Eats: Vedas Indian restaurant in Milpitas, CA.

Complimentary app: pappadums with two chutneys at Vedas.

I joined a friend to review an East Bay Indian restaurant, and this is the food porn from that event. Vedas restaurant tries to come off as more than just your average Indian restaurant with their modern Indian decor and slightly modern food plating. For me, most dishes were either hit or miss. Check out my opinion and food porn after the click.

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December 22nd, 2010
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Leena Eats: Tropisueno in San Francisco

Leena Eats: Tropisueno in San Francisco

A trio of salsas started the night off at Tropisueno--mild, hot, and burn your bum off hot flavors.

When a pregnancy craving calls, you don’t ignore–you drop everything else and make it YOUR GOAL to get that food. My mission: Mexican food in San Francisco’s SOMA neighborhood to catch up with friends. My results: Tropisueno.

Thoughts on the food, service and plenty of food porn after the jump.

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December 8th, 2010
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Posted in California, Leena Eats, Mexican, San Francisco | Comments Off

Leena Eats: More cupcakes from Love At First Bite!

Leena Eats: More cupcakes from Love At First Bite!

The toasted coconut cupcake from Love At First Bite. A vanilla cake with a marshmallow frosting topped with toasted coconut. Ridiculously rich and delicious.

I heart cupcake pron. What else do you need to know? Love At First Bite is in North Berkeley, around the corner from Chez Panisse.

More cupcake pron after the jump.

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December 1st, 2010
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Leena Eats:Thanksgiving 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

Leena Eats:Thanksgiving 2010

My Thanksgiving turkey, lookin all brown and Norman Rockwell-ish.

A day late, but isn’t it pretty?

~LTG!

November 27th, 2010
Posted in California, East Bay, Food Porn, Holidays, Leena Eats, Oakland, Thanksgiving, The Gastronomical Leena | Comments Off

Leena Eats: The Marshall Store and heaps of oysters!

Leena Eats: The Marshall Store and heaps of oysters!

Three kinds of oysters at The Marshall Store: barbecued, Rockefeller, and chorizo butter. Hot DAMN.

As Thanksgiving draws closer, I figured you folks might want a break from all the turkey talk. Thus far, my trip to the Marshall Store has been my single best eating experience since moving to the Bay Area.

I know. I KNOW. Powerful words for a gourmand like myself. But look at that freaking photo above! Heaven. Pure heaven.

Food porn of  my heavenly experience after the jump.

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November 24th, 2010
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Posted in California, Leena Eats, Seafood | 1 Comment »

Leena Eats: Gather in Berkeley

Leena Eats: Gather in Berkeley

The vegan charcuterie platter at Gather in Berkeley.

Leena Eats: Gather in Berkeley

The list of vegan charcuterie served that day at Gather in Berkeley. I really like the mushroom tartare.

Gather is a “new American” style restaurant in Berkeley, California that dabbles a bit in vegetarian and vegan foods, as well as food for meat lovers, so when my parents came into town (one is a vegetarian, the other a meat lover), I knew we had to try it out.

We started with the vegan charcuterie, an oxymoron if I’ve ever heard one, but surprisingly delicious. I really liked the mushroom tartare (front and center in the top photo) and the carpaccio of heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers and “tonatto” sauce (a play on an Italian tuna sauce). I wouldn’t say they could replace meat on a regular basis in my life, but I definitely did not miss meat while eating them.

More food porn after the jump!

Leena Eats: Gather in Berkeley

Gather restaurant in Berkeley.

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November 17th, 2010
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