Linkity Friday

When will the mustache craze end?

Since I've been back from the Czech Republic and Belgium, the ho-hum of my daily routine has been shaken up. Summer days that actually feel like summer (you'd understand if you lived in the coastal fog) have helped, too. Dining al fresco, trying new restaurants, cooking with new foods, and brewing new beers has been standard here. Today's post will be a summary of things I think you'd like to discover, too!

The Freakonomics podcast aired three food-centric episodes that questioned if locovorism is as green as we assume and if the industrialization of food is such an evil thing. Clearly, I have my own opinions on the matter, but it was interesting to here the opposing argument. As much as I love Alice Waters, I cringed every time she spoke. Thank goodness for Michael Pollan.

• You Are What you Eat, Part 1 and Part 2
• Eating and Tweeting

Oakland and Berkeley have so many good places to eat! I've been picking a new place for us to dine a couple times a week, and I've been so pleased! Who says you have to cross a bridge for a good meal? (Michael Bauer from the Chron is so over.) Here are some places I've tried and loved.

• Homeroom: over 10 types of mac and cheese, peanut butter pie, and local beer served in canning jars. 
• Kiraku: a Japanese izakaya that serves inventive dishes like pesto udon, sesame shochu, and a mean bowl of ramen to wash down all that fat and liquor.
• Comal: if the tripe is on the specials board, order it and wash it down with a spicy cocktail or a glass of homemade horchata. The back bar is the place to sit.
• Ahn Hong: ok, I know it is obnoxious to say things like, "this was recommended to me by two Vietnamese ladies," but... This was recommended to me by two Vietnamese ladies when I asked them their favorite place for 7 courses of beef. While I cannot vouch for the 7 course of beef (yet), I can tell you that they have a tasty selection of roll-your-own spring rolls and a good selection of beers on tap.
• Boot and Shoe Service: why eat eggs for brunch when you can instead have a braised pork shoulder with fried polenta and a good cocktail to boot?

Recently, I've subscribed to a handful of East Bay food blogs to get the scoop on what's happening in my backyard. Here are the best ones:

• What the Fork: Luke Tsai, the food critic at East Bay Express, is hands down my favorite food critic. He doesn't make me want to gag, like Michael Bauer. Plus, Tsai finds little hole in the wall places, like a Thai restaurant in Alameda that also has a miniature car track. Yeah, these are the place I want to eat at, too.
• East Bay Dish: Christine Mitchell's interviews are casual and insightful, and she definitely knows what's going on around town. 
• Diablo Dish: although the focus is more on the more eastern East Bay, there are still food news gems in here, like interviews with local chefs.

The boy always liked beer pre-brewing days, but now he has beer Aspergers. If anyone's interested, I can find out the podcasts he listens to that intensify said Aspergers, but now I can at least share the places we've visited all in the name of beer.

• Anderson Valley Brewing: $5 gets you a beer tour by one of the knowledgeable employees, and that $5 can be later used for anything in the gift shop or some beer at the tasting room. Their tasting room, more like a regular bar, has some barrel aged goodies and some sours that are totally worth the trip. You can also play disc golf here for a small fee, but it was really hot the day we went.
• Russian River Brewing Co.: Although it is a total mob scene here, the sour beers are worth it. It's almost a badge of honor to say how long you were ignored at the bar before getting your drink.

Got any more places for me try, food podcasts to listen to, food blogs to read, or good brewery tours? Let me know in the comments section. Also, if any of you have chickens and live near Berkeley, PM me. I have so many spent grains that I am overwhelming our regular chicken lady.