shellEProductions under Creative Commons/File

Eating with your parents will be a special experience, as you are up and coming into the world of work, freedom and independence. And while you can make it all the more memorable by bringing them to your favorite restaurant, that’s only the beginning. Here are some tips for having a great dining experience with family:

View from the bar at Ippuku. Image by shellEProductions under Creative Commons

1. Book dinner somewhere nice. Take your parents to Top Dog — but not every night that they visit. Your parents’ visit is your chance to eat at the places that you can’t afford as a starving college student. Book a dinner at one of Berkeley’s astoundingly great restaurants. In the summer, be sure to book dinner seven to 10 days in advance; otherwise, it’s hard to get a reservation at the time and place that you want. Here’s a list of some places (by no means authoritative) to take your parents for dinner.

Chez Panisse — The legendary restaurant whose founder, Alice Waters, recently dined with Michelle Obama when she was in town. Book far in advance for the restaurant or upstairs diner.

Angeline’s Louisiana Kitchen — This place is for the omnivores, with big, hearty portions and delicious sides, complete with a lively atmosphere.

Belli Osteria — This place offers delicious homemade pastas and boasts a Saucier like no other. Order multiple courses and wine to get the full experience of this delicious, impressive new restaurant.

Ippuku — This place has the most unique atmosphere and rarest style, described as Japanese soul food. Like other restaurants on this list, it is somewhere to eat before graduation multiple times. Be sure to book at least a week in advance.

Zachary’s Chicago Pizza — This restaurant is nice in a different sense. It has some of the greatest pizza ever conceived and is bustling all night. It’s definitely a family place.

Eating at Zachary’s should be a graduation requirement. Image by da5ide under Creative Commons

2. Bring your friend(s). When your parents visit, introduce them to your friends. The dinner table at a nice restaurant will spur interesting conversations and bring out new things in you and your buddies. Let your parents know ahead of time so that you don’t surprise them. Bring one or two friends to a nice restaurant, but bring as many as you want if you eat somewhere like the Cheese Board, which has a great laid-back atmosphere. If dinner with parents and friends doesn’t strike your fancy, entertain the idea of going out for drinks at Freehouse, which is impressive, or Pappy’s, which is a throwback.

3. Encourage your parents to choose their favorite place. No one doesn’t like good food. Bring out your parents’ inner foodie. Send them links to some of the restaurants in Berkeley to get them stoked about dinner. Plus, it gives your parents the chance to eat some of their favorite cuisines.

The Legendary Breakfast at Brown Sugar Kitchen. Image by swnktstic under Creative Commons

4. Know where you want to eat in San Francisco and Oakland. Plan lunch and dinner into your trips to San Francisco to avoid eating at the lame eateries that swarm many of the tourist sites in San Francisco and Oakland. It’s also a good way to make sure that you don’t miss out on every possible opportunity to eat the best meal of your life while your parents are visiting. For breakfast in Oakland, we recommend getting the chicken and waffles at Brown Sugar Kitchen. For lunch in San Francisco, we recommend the open-face sandwiches at Tartine (which are big enough to split) in the Mission District. Reservations not needed or taken at either establishment.

5. Get dessert; order a drink. When you’re eating in Berkeley with your parents, don’t hold back. Take no prisoners. Go to Babette’s at the Berkeley Art Museum for desserts baked daily by the head chef Joan Ellis herself. Grab a house-crafted brew at Jupiter after dinner. Wherever you are, grab a drink — beer, coffee, or boba tea. Order the homemade lemon scones or triple-chocolate, gooey apricot upside-down cake with vanilla ice cream. YOLO.

What are your favorite places to take your parents out to? Let us know in the comments!

Contact Josh Escobar at jescobar@dailycal.org

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Erin Alexander/Staff

What’s the best thing about having your parents visit you for the weekend? It is undeniably the two or three days of freedom from the monotony of the dining halls and from spending money of your own. As well as spending that cherished, quality time with them, of course. My parents came all the way from Florida to visit me for a few days and while they were here, we wanted to explore one of the most fruitful and delicious regions of California – Napa Valley. I could not have been more excited to spend some much-needed quality time with my parents and try some of the best food and “grape juice” in the world.

The first stop on our list was a tour at Hall Wines, a picturesque, family-owned property in the hills of St. Helena. The group was small and our guide, Gary, laid out the basics of grape harvesting, wine production and barreling. The highlight of the tour was the tasting room, located inside a hillside cave lined with centuries-old Austrian brick and decorated with a small portion of the owner’s private art collection. The long hallway of the dimly lit cave was lined with wooden oak wine barrels, the smell of which permeated through the air, and led to a large private dining room where we had our wine tasting. The standout feature of the dining room was the large chandelier made out of carved tree branches and covered in Swarovski crystals and small yellow lights. The soft glow and sparkle of the lighting paired with the brisk chill of the underground cellar created a calm, almost enchanted atmosphere. We sampled a selection of both subtle and robust red wines, some of which have aptly been voted the best in the world.

Next up was Regusci Winery, located right in the heart of Napa’s Stags Leap District. The experience at Regusci was far more laid back, though no less memorable. I was greeted at the entrance by an adorable chocolate lab and corgi, followed by Allison, our guide. The feeling at Regusci was casual and ranch-like, which makes sense considering the property originally doubled as a farm and vineyard. Our private tour took us throughout the property and inside the original 1878 stone wine cellar, which was no doubt the coolest part of the experience. The large, two-story building was stacked floor to ceiling with wine barrels, all of which are actually used in the process of aging Regusci wine. We even got to try samples from a selection of different barrels that were in different stages of the aging process, so we could taste the transition from a newly barreled wine to one that is ready for bottling.

At this point in the day, around five o’clock in the evening, our stomachs were aching for food. We headed over to Yountville, home to three of Chef Thomas Keller’s world-renowned restaurants. Of the three, my parents and I opted for Bouchon, a one-Michelin starred French bistro. The maître d’ was a tad short with us when we arrived asking to be seated ten minutes early, but the staff was hardly impolite. To start, we ordered a cheese plate with fresh cow, goat and sheep’s milk paired with honeycomb, candied almonds and freshly baked bread. To accompany our cheese course, we chose a decadent plate of bone marrow, roasted with garlic, parsley, shallots and sherry vinegar (my personal favorite of the evening). My entrée of grilled pork belly was a bit fatty and over-seasoned for my taste (I found it difficult to finish), although it was paired well with big juicy prunes.

By the end of the night, I was happily stuffed and thoroughly satisfied, having spent a wonderful day catching up over great food and drinks with family. The magic of Napa Valley lies not in its world-class wineries or restaurants, although they are undeniably essential to the experience, but in the experience shared among the friends, family or even someone on your wine tasting tour you encounter by chance. We shared the flavor profiles of a particular wine and the enthusiasm for a specific dish, and we found that the conversation, much like the wine, flows freely and with ease in this special valley.

Contact Erin Alexander at ealexander@dailycal.org

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Levon Minassian/Staff

Since the start of last fall semester, I have been one of two food managers at Cloyne Court, the largest house within the Berkeley Student Cooperative system.  I decided to run for the position the previous spring, when my fellow housemate Maddie Tien asked if I would join her in being responsible for food-related matters within our house of 150 members.

Food and kitchen managers in the Berkeley Student Cooperative are elected by the members of their houses, and their main tasks revolve around ordering food for common use and dinners. Some of the co-ops have only one, while larger houses like ours split the duties between two managers and have another two managers be in charge of the kitchen and its cleanliness. Our main job is to buy food for our respective houses based on the collective preferences of our members as well as a food budget that credits $9.35 per resident per day.

Each member has the ability to express dietary preferences regarding budget allocation through surveys, house meetings or other methods by which opinions are cultivated. This process occurs differently at each house, but a common norm is that members are very vocal about knowing where their food comes from and are eager to express their preferences. While some may see this as a privilege for students — not having to worry about eating enough food to get through college — I believe that this has been one of the most important values that living in the co-ops alerts you to and that will stay with members after they leave.

Having lived in Cloyne since Spring 2011, I’ve come to see multiple shifts in the house’s food preferences and simultaneous changes in the kinds of foods in the kitchen as well as a constant level of concern about where food has come from.  Sometimes, some voices would be much louder than others. Each semester, though, the debate within the house can be roughly boiled down to whether to buy with an environmentally responsible mindset or prioritize low costs, which surrounds the co-op’s mission statement of how to prioritize low cost and quality housing. While ordering food, I’ve tried to find a balance between the two concepts.

In determining how to find this balance, I’ve relied on our members’ constant comments and conversations to guide how I spend the budget. Some members only wanted organic quinoa cereals, and others preferred cereals laced in sugar. Some only wanted fair-trade chocolate chips, while others felt any chocolate chips were a staple, regardless of where they came from. Most of our members were happy with the cow we bought direct from a farmer in Petaluma, but I also received complaints that the levels of meat at dinners was both too high and too low. I only purchased organic produce, but whether we should buy in-season or local, depending on the price difference, also yielded differences of opinions. In our pantry, we purchased a mixture of organic dried goods, as well as commercial ones such as brown rice, to reduce costs.

My experience has convinced me that any time a large number college students are put in charge of feeding themselves, there is bound to be lots of disagreement. But living in a co-op, where members have an equal say and equal share, has ensured that these disagreements are resolved through deliberation and debate rather than arbitrary decision-making.

Holding the food manager position at Cloyne has given me the opportunity to have these conversations to determine what is best to order while incorporating the dietary preferences and concerns for the environment that our house has had.  I find great value in having them, because they have prompted me analyze where the food I order and eat comes from, how it is produced and whether it is cost-effective. When people see something in the way that food arrives on their plate that they don’t like, they should have the chance to voice their concerns about it. Being a part of the co-ops allows students to engage with the food system this way.

These conversations fulfill what I see as a simple responsibility we all have of knowing how our dietary habits affect the people that produce our food and the land it is produced on. One of the main things I have learned upon leaving Cloyne is that such dialogues need to be expanded in order for communities to understand how their diets relate to the issues of nutrition, food access, farm labor and environmental protection. The voices that I’ve been witnessing while ordering food over the past year makes me optimistic that such discussions are on the rise.

Contact Levon Minassian at lminassian@dailycal.org.

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bitzi/Courtesy

Unfortunately, this week’s fun food fact is not, in fact, so fun. You may have heard recently that the seemingly innocuous challenge of eating a tablespoon of cinnamon, also known as the “cinnamon challenge,” can actually be extremely dangerous.

If you thought cheap, flavored alcohol and whipped cream cans were the only substances abused by bored teenagers, think again. Never heard of the cinnamon challenge? Luckily, you can educate yourself on its website, entirely devoted to the challenge. The site describes the goal of the challenge as trying to swallow a spoonful of cinnamon in 60 seconds without drinking water. The task is not easy because cinnamon in large quantities (or anything in large quantities, for that matter) triggers a gag reflex.

But apparently, this unpleasant feat is attractive to more adolescents than it should be. According to data compiled by the American Association of Poison Control Centers, there were 222 cases of “abuse or misuse of cinnamon by teens” in the United States last year. During the first half of the year, there were about 30 cases of cinnamon ingestion that required medical treatment. The medical journal Pediatrics recently published an article stating the dangers of the cinnamon challenge. While most reports of taking on the challenge involve a burning sensation in the airways, nosebleeds, lack of consciousness, vomiting, difficulty breathing and puffs of rust-colored smoke spewing from the daring individual’s mouth, apparently the damage done can be far more serious. In the worst of cases, teenagers have suffered collapsed lungs and ended up on ventilators.

After reading this, you’re probably tempted to YouTube “cinnamon challenge” to see for yourself how dire the results really can be. You’re not alone. Dr. Steven E. Lipshultz, the author of the report in Pediatrics, says that, “We have seen a rise in calls to poison control centers around the United States that mirrored the rise in YouTube videos and their viewing,” confirming that food as a vehicle of masochism is an appealing subject. In fact, the cinnamon challenge website states that more than 40,000 challenge videos have been posted on YouTube.

Although cinnamon is harmless, delicious and has even been shown to have healthful effects when consumed in small amounts, it can be caustic to the airways when inhaled. The damage is caused by cellulose, a starch found in cinnamon powder that is harmless but does not break down. Therefore, when it is becomes lodged in the lungs due to coughing, it remains there in the long term. If the lungs are coated with caustic cinnamon oil, it can lead to chronic inflammation and eventually scarring of the lungs — a phenomenon called pulmonary fibrosis, a condition equivalent to getting emphysema.

Clearly, while shoveling a spoonful of cinnamon down your throat may sound like an entertaining and exhilarating way to spend your night, you might want to think again.

Contact Erika Chan at echan@dailycal.org.

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Livin' Spoonful/Courtesy

Spring has finally sprung in Berkeley, and with it comes an exciting array of spring produce, including asparagus. While to some this means delicious asparagus risotto, grilled asparagus and creamy asparagus soup, to others it signifies the return of the dreaded asparagus pee.

If you’ve kept your concern about curious-smelling urine after eating asparagus a secret all this time, do not be alarmed — you are not alone. A funky odor in your pee is a natural biological phenomenon, and although it may not be the most savory topic, asparagus urine is certainly something many of us have dealt with. What causes this bizarre odor?

Asparagus contains a high concentration of a sulfur-containing compound called asparagusic acid, named for the vegetable, of course, which can also be found in other pungent-smelling foods such as rotten eggs, onions and garlic. When your digestive system breaks down asparagusic acid, it releases volatile odoriferous components that are the culprits of the strange smell associated with asparagus urine. This process is so quick that the distinctive smell can develop within 15 to 30 minutes of eating asparagus, which can lead to unfortunate social circumstances such as awkward dinner-party bathroom breaks and avoidance of all beverages when asparagus is on the menu.

However, the asparagus pee phenomenon does not affect all asparagus-eaters equally (though this is not an excuse to deny that you were the one who left a strange-smelling aroma in the bathroom). As asparagus pee is such a hot topic in the both the scientific and culinary world, there have been various studies regarding it, and apparently between 22 percent and 50 percent of the population report having pungent urine after eating the vegetable in question.

So why isn’t the other 50 percent to 78 percent of the population familiar with the acrid stench of asparagus pee? There are two schools of thought on this issue. One is that only certain people’s digestive systems work in such a way that breaks down the asparagusic acid to release the sulfurous compounds. Therefore, certain people simply do not have the metabolic ability to create asparagus urine.

The other school of thought regarding asparagus’ odoriferous effects on urination is that the DNA code-associated nasal receptors that detect the specific compounds created by asparagus urine only exist in some people. In this case, all humans produce funny-smelling pee after ingesting asparagus, but only certain individuals with a particularly sharp sense of smell can (unfortunately) detect the odor. In other words, while all of us have the ability to produce volatile-smelling urine, only some of us have keen enough noses to suffer from the results.

Sadly, it is is not currently the No. 1 priority of food scientists to nail down the exact DNA sequence that codes for either the ability to metabolize asparagus into sulfurous compounds or the sequence that allows us to smell said compounds. So until researchers are able identify this variation in your genome and subsequently alter the DNA sequence to desensitize you to the pungent aroma produced by eating this delicious spring vegetable, you’re stuck with smelling asparagus urine for the rest of your life.

Since this is the case, I say that the 22 percent to 50 percent of us who cringe at the thought of the alarming smell of asparagus pee should no longer hide in fear. Now that the elephant in the room has been addressed, you should not be ashamed to release those volatile sulfurous compounds after savoring a delicious side of asparagus to accompany your springtime supper. Asparagus is only in season for a few short months out of the year, so don’t let the fear of producing asparagus pee hamper your enjoyment of this tasty vegetable. Instead, celebrate your genetic gift, and cross your fingers that the person who uses the bathroom next lacks the ability to smell asparagus urine.

Contact Erika Chan at echan@dailycal.org.

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We’ve all been there before: You brush your teeth to freshen up for a night out and gag on your first shot of vodka — not because of the alcohol, but because your orange juice chaser tastes like snake venom. Or you enjoy a refreshing bowl of pineapple only to find that your taste buds are shredded for the next 18 hours. Have you ever noticed that eating a fresh artichoke makes all other foods taste cloyingly sweet? Yes, brushing your teeth is great for your oral health and general social acceptance, and eating your fruits and vegetables will make you grow big and strong, but why do these foods make things taste so awful?

This question can be answered by simple science. Let’s start with toothpaste.

Toothpaste contains sodium lauryl ether sulfate and sodium lauryl sulfate, both of which cause toothpaste’s foamy qualities when you brush your teeth. The two function as surfactants that lower the surface tension on your teeth and tongue, allowing debris and grime to be brushed away. However, they also have nasty side effects that cause food to taste far less palatable. First, these ingredients suppress taste bud receptors that perceive sweetness. Second, their surfactant qualities break down phospholipid fat molecules, which usually coat your tongue to protect it from overwhelmingly bitter tastes. The combination of suppressed sweetness and enhanced bitterness explains why drinking orange juice after brushing your teeth tastes like ingesting rancid bile.

So how do you maintain your personal hygiene and continue to enjoy the flavors of otherwise delicious foods? You can brush your teeth after eating. Also, there are SLES-free toothpastes on the market that will leave your taste buds unaffected and squeaky clean (though far less frothy). You can also try clearing away the toothpaste residue by eating nonsweet foods such as bread or crackers and cross your fingers that it does the trick before you go for that refreshing glass of OJ (or tequila sunrise).

What about pineapple? While some are more sensitive than others, many people experience a burning, prickly sensation after eating pineapple, so much so that it can destroy your taste buds for the remainder of the day. The suspect is a protease enzyme in pineapple called bromelain that breaks down proteins. In fact, it is often used as a meat tenderizer or in marinades. Unfortunately, it is also responsible the prickly sensation people experience while eating pineapple. How do you avoid this tastebud-ruiner? Most of the bromelain is contained in the core of the pineapple, so try to avoid eating this part. Also, with time or cooking, the enzyme breaks down, which is why canned pineapple does not induce this sensation. Instead of eating your fresh fruit right away, cut it up and let it sit out overnight to lessen the attack on your taste buds. Or you can take the nutritionally beneficial route of restricting your pineapple-eating to pineapple upside-down cake and fruit cocktail.

After all of this depressing news about things that make foods taste like poison, are there any foods that actually enhance flavors? For many of us, it would be a dream come true if all foods tasted sweet. Look no further than the artichoke. Have you ever noticed that after eating a fresh artichoke, even a sip of water tastes sugary? As it turns out, this is due to a chemical reaction from two chemicals found in artichokes, cholorgenic acid and cynarin. Cyanarin in particular inhibits taste buds that detect sweet flavors. Therefore, any food or drink consumed after eating an artichoke will wash away the cyanarin, causing your taste buds to detect an extreme contrast in sweetness, which your brain perceives as an overwhelmingly sweet taste. Artichokes may not be able to make vegetables taste like candy, but they can be used to mask slightly unpleasant flavors like, say, vegetables, toothpaste-induced bitter orange juice or post-pineapple prickle-mouth.

Photo credit: Orofacial, Micaela Vega and foodiesathoome.com via Creative Commons.

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cerealmarshmallows.com/Courtesy

Unless you had a deprived childhood, you must be familiar with cereal marshmallows. Some of you may not have thought about these small, crisp, pastel morsels of joy in a decade or more. Others may recognize these dehydrated puffs as an entire food group, which allow you to subsist when all other options fail you in the dining halls. Either way, we can all agree that cereal marshmallows, found in Lucky Charms or Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa, are a scientific revelation that uniquely color the American diet.

I sympathize with those of you who sift through bags and bags of Lucky Charms to painstakingly remove all of the hearts, stars, horseshoes, clovers and blue moons. Even worse, what is one to do when traveling abroad and cereal marshmallows are nowhere to be found?

Look no further than Cereal Marshmallows, a website devoted entirely to selling, well, cereal marshmallows. Whether mega-sized 95-pound bags are your thing or if you prefer individual 7-ounce packages, this website will satisfy your sweet tooth. And, if you’re counting those carbs and trying to slim down for spring break, coming soon are 100-calorie single serving bags that will practically melt the fat away.

The story of the website is really quite touching. Nathan Wratislaw, a connoisseur and epicurean of cereal marshmallows, searched far and wide to attain these little gems — but to no avail. However, after contacting several wholesale distributors and tasting second-rate “soft, yucky, marshmallows,” he finally struck gold and ordered 10,000 pounds of the creme de la creme of cereal marshmallows. Lucky for you, he portions the marshmallows into user-friendly packages that you can order and have delivered right to the comfort of your own dorm, apartment or home.

The website not only allows you to buy mass quantities of air disguised as small, sugary and colorful bites, but it is also a great source of culinary knowledge for expanding your palate and use of cereal marshmallows. Who knew these little delights could be used to create cereal marshmallow brownies, or even cereal marshmallow mac and cheese?

Bored of Lucky Charms? The website’s creator provides more than 15 videos of himself eating cereal marshmallows in all kinds of cereals, from Shredded Wheat to Cookie Crisp — complete with commentary, ratings on a scale from one to 10 and very audible chewing. With this plethora of options, you’ll certainly want to consider joining the Frequent Buyers Club, in which you can “Qualify for a lot of Discounts and Specials and a FREE Birthday Gift!!”

For those of you that have been searching far and wide to satisfy your addiction for crisp, artificially-colored, rehydratable goodness, order your very own stash today. From what I hear, they’re magically delicious.

Contact Erika Chan at echan@dailycal.org.

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Carli Baker/Staff

Some of my grandma’s favorite stories to tell me are of the dinner parties she used to throw and attend when she was of college age. Friends, friends of friends, significant others and sometimes a stranger gathering together to share a good ‘ol-fashioned Texan dinner. The communality of sharing a meal, space and calories, along with stories, laughter and bottles of wine, sounds like a perfect evening for someone of any generation. But with all the dietary restrictions of my friends, colleagues and neighbors, how could I hope to recreate these idyllic evenings my grandmother treasures so much, even 40 years later?

First off, I’m a pescetarian. I have been since I was 14 and realized how shitty most meats made me feel. Believe me, a good steak is not worth hours and hours of debilitating stomach pains. My partner is your run-of-the-mill omnivore who loves a good steak but also sees the deliciousness of eggplant parmesan. Then there are my various vegan friends, ranging in stereotypes from the food-conscious healthy vegan to the vegans who cringe whenever they have to sit on a leather car seat. But no, it doesn’t end there.There’s that guy down the street who’s obsessed with the Paleo Diet and its claims of increasing muscle mass and starving fat cells. One of my friends now swears by a monthly juice cleanse, and there are tons of people I know who are gluten-intolerant, lactose-intolerant or are trying out a raw lifestyle.

You may think that I’m exaggerating, but I know at least one person with each of these dietary restrictions — either for health or by choice — and a lot of people who are somewhere in between. My grandma never mentioned any problems like this when she was growing up (have you ever tried to explain a meat-free diet to a Texan?), but this sudden explosion of alternative dietary lifestyles can’t just be a thing of the 21st century. And I doubt it is. My partner’s mom enjoys telling me about her hippie macrobiotic days in the ‘70s and ‘80s, and I know that religious folks have made conscious dietary choices for generations. Yet I worry that the overwhelming influx of diet fads, size-zero models and normalized plastic surgery may contribute to some people’s desire to break out of the omnivore’s dilemma into an entirely different brave new world.

Some words of wisdom for those of you thinking about taking something out of your diet that you haven’t tried before: First, patience is key. Slowly start changing your diet, and pay strict attention to how each new day makes your body feel. If you suddenly go from eating hamburgers and grilled chicken every night to a diet of raw veggies and fruits, your body is most likely going to freak out. Try keeping a food journal for a few weeks to document your food intake and how you feel throughout the day. Not only will this remind you of your commitment to your new dietary excursion, but it will empower you to see the control you’re exercising over your body.

Second, do your research. If you think that vegetarianism, veganism or a Paleo diet is right for you, take the time to figure out how this dietary lifestyle is going to affect your food habits. Replacing meat and dairy with cereal, soy milk and veggie chips isn’t going to make you feel better, and you’ll probably see a change in your waistline more than anywhere else. Changing from an omnivore diet to a more selective one usually requires more time to prepare your food than you’re used to, so embrace it. Learn how to stir-fry, spice up your salads and have fun with the experience of making food. It will make it taste so much better in the end.

Finally, listen to your body. There are several signs you have to watch for to ensure that you’re taking care of your body and not starving it of the nutrients it needs. Make sure you’re getting complete proteins if you’re removing meat or dairy from your diet, and take a multivitamin if you don’t think you’re getting enough vitamins or minerals as you experiment with your diet. If you start developing acne or are constantly starving or exhausted, then your body is probably unhappy. Respond by trying different kinds of food or by going to a doctor or a nutritionist. Most people try these alternative diets to get healthier or to regain control of their food choices in a more meaningful way. No matter your intent, make sure you’re being thoughtful about your food choices, and never believe that there is no such thing as a healthy and conscious omnivore. Food is one of the few areas in our lives that we have complete control over, so take the time, no matter your diet, to ensure that you’re eating food you can believe in.

My friends and acquaintances have chosen to adapt their diets to reflect their health needs or moral or ethical beliefs. This probably means I won’t be able to have the same kind of relationship with communal food my grandmother did, but it doesn’t mean that I won’t be able to share a fun meal with the people I care about. Trying new foods, being conscious of others’ dietary restrictions and pushing our food limits isn’t always easy, but no matter what food is on our plates, the fun and memories will last much longer than the food itself.

Contact Carli Baker at cbaker@dailycal.org.

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Annie Chang/Staff

When I found out that my family was going to New Orleans for a week during winter break, I immediately started looking up delicious restaurants and specialty dishes. I learned all about jambalaya, shrimp or crawfish etouffee, beignets, alligator sausage, seafood gumbo and bread pudding. The first full day I was there, I was not about to pass up any chance to try the local fare.

My first meal was at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville, where I ordered jambalaya. The dish originated in the Caribbean Islands, and there are two types: Creole and Cajun jambalaya. The first is more common and has meat, celery, peppers, onions, tomatoes, other vegetables, seafood and rice added last. The second has no tomatoes. The taste and complex flavors in the dish reminded me of Spanish paella, the vaunted seafood rice dish. Four strong and immediate flavors hit me when I first took a bite — the smoky chicken, fresh tomato, tangy burst of onions and the zesty spice blend. The texture is similar to that of soupy rice, just barely moist enough so that the rice has weight and sinks in. The moisture made the rice less dry and put more weight in it, so it filled me up, unlike just a bowl of soup or a typical rice dish.

Right after lunch on the same day, we walked around on the streets and saw the original 1862 Cafe Du Monde coffee stand in the French Market. The cafe is famous for its chicory coffee and beignets, which are square pieces of dough that puff up when they are fried and then are covered in powdered sugar. When I read travel websites and blogs, this cafe kept coming up, so I was very excited to experience the hype. I was a little disappointed in the coffee and the beignets, though, because the chicory in the coffee was too strong and left a caramel aftertaste rather than a coffee aftertaste, which reminded me of eating caramel candy. The French originally added chicory to soften the bitterness of the dark roasted coffee, but I prefer to have that strong coffee taste. The beignets also did not taste any better than doughnuts. They made me think of crunchier Krispy Kreme doughnuts without the glaze.

For dinner that night, I decided to add to the list of exotic foods that I have tried, which includes guinea pig, buffalo and kangaroo. I had never had crawfish before, so I added that to my list by having crawfish etouffee. Etouffee is shellfish over rice and a thicker-than-typical stew. The dish is made with a blond or brown roux — a mixture of flour and fat to thicken sauces, soups and stews. The combination of vegetables, spices and meat tasted similar to jambalaya except with less tomato aftertaste, and it was noticeably spicier. I really enjoyed the texture of the crawfish because it was quite similar to that of scallop, a little bit chewy but springy as well. I was thankful that the meal came with two slices of white bread, because it was becoming increasingly salty due to the heavy spices and sauces. As someone who cannot handle any spiciness, I had to drink two large cups of water to balance that out. After this meal, I began to realize that many local dishes were variants of heavily spiced stew paired with rice, an assessment my next few meals proved to be true.

The next distinct dish I ate was alligator sausage and seafood gumbo at Red Fish Grill, located on the legendary Bourbon Street. Gumbo is a full-flavored mixture of meat or shellfish, a thickener and vegetables for seasoning such as celery, bell peppers and onions. Sometimes gumbo is served over rice, and it is usually an appetizer. The alligator meat in the dish added to my list of exotic foods, though it didn’t taste any different from regular breakfast sausage. The overall taste was a combination of seafood with a flavorful spiciness, not just plain bitter spicy. For me, the taste was similar to etouffee even though the dishes are different.

Because I had a small dinner, I needed to supplement it with a great dessert. There was nothing better to end with than double-chocolate bread pudding with white chocolate ice cream and chocolate almond bark. The dessert was cooked to order, and it came puffy and inflated like a successful souffle. The souffle was not sickeningly sweet because the restaurant used dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate, which made it complement the sweeter almond bark and ice cream. Like a perfectly made souffle, the bread pudding was gooey and creamy in the center yet still fluffy, and the chocolate fudge sauce sank into the bread pudding, keeping it warm and moist. The ice cream definitely helped cool down the souffle, and the almond bark added a crunchy texture to the creaminess of the souffle and ice cream.

As my food adventures in New Orleans came to an end, I realized that the city had not won my heart. I didn’t fall in love with the food enough to inspire a return visit, but it was a nice Southern culinary education. I was glad to try all of the strange and exotic new dishes, and I look forward to my next exotic culinary adventure.

Contact Annie Chang at achang@dailycal.org.

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Michael Tao/Senior Staff

The night before I visited UC Berkeley for the first time, my parents and I had dinner with Thom, a family friend who happened to be an alumnus. We talked all throughout dinner, and late into the night, he told me about his time on campus during the Free Speech Movement and the protests. I was excited to hear all about the campus I would soon be calling home. Having already read the Wikipedia page about 10 time, a firsthand account was exhilarating.

When the check came Thom handed me a handwritten list. “This is everywhere you need to eat,” he said. “There are a lot of choices out there, but these are the ones that I remember after 30 years.”

The next day, my parents and I flew up from Southern California with the list in my pocket. My tour was like any other I had seen — an overly enthusiastic tour guide showed me all the buildings on campus and imparted a bit of lore on our group. I was underwhelmed. It looked like any other campus I had seen in the movies. I was convinced that I had made the wrong choice, that I didn’t belong and that it wasn’t my campus.

The tour was over, and we were starving. We hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast back home. We decided to consult the list and picked the first entry — La Val’s Pizza. We walked in through the courtyard shared with La Burrita, ordered and sat down. With the smell of pepperoni and a hint of parmesan on the air, my mother and I played pool as we waited for our pizza. We began to talk, and I shared my anxiety about starting at Berkeley with her.

“I guess I would feel this way regardless of where we were,” I said. She nodded, sunk the eight-ball and then it was time for pizza.

As I bit into the slice of pepperoni pizza, I felt all the fear and anxiety wash away. We ate in silence, which is a rarity for my family, bussed our table and played a final round of pool.

Flash-forward a year, same spot. My freshman roommates and I are playing a doubles game of pool and taking turns attacking the four mini pizzas that we have ordered. Once again, I’m anxious, this time for a different reason: Finals were coming. We talk about finishing off the semester and where we’ll be living next year and what classes we’re on the wait list for. After the round of pool finishes, we get refills on our sodas and walk back to Bowles Hall, refreshed and ready to get back to procrastinating.

It’s summer time, and I’m sitting in a booth attempting to finish my problem set. Sophomore year has come and gone, and I am living in the co-ops now, but my house doesn’t offer food in the summer, so I have taken to eating out for most of my meals. I sit, staring at the restaurant’s LED display, waiting for my number to pop up on the screen. 149. A few moments later, I finish my problem set and with it the remains of my pizza.

Now, once again, I find myself at La Val’s a little anxious as I finish editing my first post for Eating Berkeley. I have eaten two slices of pizza, and it’s coming up on closing time. I think back to that list I was handed so many nights ago, and I know this will be one of the places I tell people about 30 years from now.

Contact Andrew Steinsapir at asteinsapir@dailycal.org.

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