Best Restaurants In Town

I’m linking up with “Tell Me About Your Town,” and thought it’d be fun to join in and make my own “blating profile” (“blog” + “dating” ) because this one was super cute! It also gives me a chance to share my favorite places to eat from the different places I’ve lived in! (For the record, I have many other favorites, but limited this strictly to towns I’ve actually lived in.)

In the past 8 years, I’ve lived in 6 towns/cities, 8 places, and 4 different states (just you wait until the latter half of this year–there’s no telling where I’ll be!), so I’ll be introducing you to a whole lot of different places across the country, namely, California, New Jersey, West Virginia & Kentucky. :]

Might I also mention that I’ve reviewed almost 400 places and have been a Yelp Elite since 2009? :O Thanks to all the moving around though, I still haven’t ever been able to go to a single Yelp Elite event! :'( (Someday!!!)

So here we go!

Fremont, CA

• Shalimar / Pakwan
  We have a billion places with awesome Indian food in Fremont, but these two are my favorites! Shalimar is a little more dark and shady-lookin’, but it’s the first one I discovered and converted my family into loving, so it holds a special place in my heart. Pakwan is more brightly lit and maybe a dollar more expensive (if even) per dish, but you can’t go wrong with the food at either of em’! <3 Added bonus: both of them have free masala chai tea! :D There are plenty of vegetarian options, and also all sorts of meat dishes. And I love that fluffy naan! <3
• Le Moose Crepe Cafe
  I love crepes, and this has an awesome mix of savory or sweet crepes…and even if you don’t like crepes, you can get noodles, pasta or Thai food, so…something for everyone! :D I usually go for the savory ones, although once in a while, I can’t say no to a dessert crepe!
  

  Spicy Peanut Chicken Curry Crepe!

• Bob Sang Korean BBQ & Tofu
  This is my favorite all-you-can-eat (AYCE) Korean BBQ place in the bay area. <3 When they first started, they actually used to let us take the leftovers at our table home(!), but asswipes (‘scuse my language) started exploiting that and they had to stop. The CA drought has unfortunately also caused prices to increase, but their food is super good, and they don’t ever give you crap about a single person eating enough to feed a small family, which I really appreciate. :O
  
• New Yong Kang
  My parents are avid fans of Chinese food, and this place makes pretty good food! We have followed this restaurant since it was just “Yong Kang” back when we lived on the other side of Fremont. They moved to the other side of town shortly after we did, so my parents were pretty happy about it! Super affordable ($21 for 3 dishes + a soup) and great for if you want to have leftovers for later meals! My favorites here are the…Beef Stew Clay Pot, Salt and Pepper Rock Cod, String Beans with Ground Pork (…I pick out the pork), Pineapple Fried Rice, and XO Beef.

Davis, CA

• Davis Sushi Buffet & Jusco!
  I love sushi. If there were a such thing as a proposal food, salmon sashimi would be where it’s at. :O You can sit by the boats and pick the dishes you want at Davis Sushi Buffet, or also order stuff from the kitchen. At Jusco, you mark off what you want and they’ll just keep bringing you stuff until you stop ordering. (I liked it there because the menu stated what was in each roll, so I didn’t have to keep asking!) On your birthday, it is free for you if you come with 1-3 paying adults (depending on which one you go to), which may be why they started randomly closing up shop on my birthday. ._.
  

  I definitely wouldn’t say no to this sashimi salad though. >_>

  

  

  This wasn’t taken at Davis Sushi Buffet or Jusco, but I just wanted to illustrate that this is the usual aftermath…of one person.

  

  I got to celebrate one birthday at Jusco (it decided to randomly close on my birthday the following year :'( )!

• Sophia’s Thai Kitchen
  Thai food is my other favorite cuisine, and Davis had/has a billion of them. (I think they still have 10-14?) This one holds fond memories though, and the food is delicious! I love the bottomless Thai iced tea here (my record thus far is 8 glasses, I think, and last I heard, the restaurant record was 14), and the curry is awesome.
• Pluto’s Fresh Food
  This was one of my favorite places to get a quick, healthy, customizable meal. I’d build my own salad (a “main” salad–none of this side salad nonsense, because it wasn’t worth the bang for my buck) and pile on the fixings (yay for the seasonal fruits!), but if you’re not in the mood for a salad, they also have sandwiches and desserts!
• Kathmandu Kitchen
  Want more super flavorful Indian food? :D Go here! They have a lunch buffet at lunch where you can stuff your face if you’re feeling especially hungry. I really like their Chicken Tikka Masala. :] (They also had a super good appetizer that I currently cannot recall the name of, because it’s been a good…7…years; my, how time flies.)

New Brunswick, NJ

• Soupervan
  I’ve mentioned Soupervan before in many an old post, and this food truck may well be my favorite eatery on the planet, but I don’t think they’re currently in operation. ;_; They made super delicious, healthy wraps, sandwiches and soups from using local ingredients and for each meal purchased, they’d donate one to the local soup kitchen. <3
  

  This is their “Hungry Bunny” wrap!

  I loved their cannolis and also their Apple Nachos! This week’s Foodie Friday theme is “Copycat Recipes,” so be sure to stop by and check out how to make this lovely goodness!

  

  (Here’s a sneak preview! <3)

Lewisburg, WV

• Fujiyama
  They make me miss home a little bit less, because I can at least get my sushi fix from somewhere! Krishna (one of the staff there) dreams up all sorts of awesome yumminess, and it’s wonderful. :] I’ve tried to recreate their Curry Fried Rice, but can’t get the flavoring right just yet. My favorites are the Paradise Roll (yay for avocado, tuna + salmon topped with more salmon!) and the Spence / Awesome Roll (mango, avocado, tuna, sriracha), and I also love their cauldron of Miso Dumpling Soup! Sadly, I mysteriously do not have pictures of their Paradise Roll, but here’s the Spence/Awesome Roll + their Valentine Roll!
  
  
• Stardust Cafe
  I love farm-to-table restaurants, and although this place is a little pricey, I love the food there. <3 My friends and I made a stop there after one of our school-related activities (Early Clinical Encounters) and inhaled a bunch of food. Since we’re super poor, coming here usually tends to be just for special occasions (aka birthdays).
  

  “Trust Me” Salad.

• Stella’s
  They’ve since moved to a bigger location (taking the place of what was the only Italian restaurant in town), but I believe they’re still under the same management, so the food is as good as ever! I came here with my friends for dinner during the 2014 Chocolate Festival!
  

  Passionfruit Creme Brulee!

• When Pigs Fly Barbeque
  They’ve got me sold on their stuffed baked potatoes with PULLED CHICKEN! <3! This is especially exciting to me because I can’t eat pork, and all the other places only ever have pulled pork. :O Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of that either, so…say hello to the beef brisket special with steamed kale + a baked sweet potato in terrible lighting!

Ashland, KY

• Suplex Tacos
  Also known as my inspiration for recreating Pollo Asada Fries–this place has super cheap prices (e.g. a tofu + chicken burrito stuffed with guacamole on a whole wheat wrap for $3.75?!)
  

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