Eating in Oakland, CA

What better way to start off a primal eating blog than to show me eating NOT PRIMALLY?! Well, I think I did okay considering I was traveling and sort of on vacation. I definitely got some ideas that I want to take home with me.

Last week, my husband and I went to visit Oakland, CA. We looked for places to live and did a job interview. If we get the job, we get to move there the first week of July. If we don't, we'll move in August when we attend graduate school. Needless to say, it was hard to remain completely primal on this trip - we didn't have a fridge or microwave in our hotel, so we ate out every day for two meals, then dropped by Whole Foods for an evening snack. Our non-primal food consisted of cheese, potatoes, and the occasional 1/2 slice of wheat bread. All in all, we did okay - especially since we're new to primal eating.

The first is Lynn and Lu's Escapade Cafe on Grand Ave. While they have Asian dishes on the menu, we were there for breakfast, on more than one occasion.  We indulged ourselves on the potatoes, but avoided bread (to the best of our ability).

This is Eggs Escapade, which my husband ordered - a three egg scramble of tomatoes, green onions, avocado, and cheese. It came with grilled potatoes, topped with a dollop of sour cream. It came with wheat bread too, but we didn't eat it (I forgot to ask them to hold it - not used to asking that quite yet).

This is the tomato, mushroom, and brie omelette. 

We came back again another day, where I ordered the Eggs Escapade and my husband ordered an Italian sausage frittata.

We stopped in Chinatown one day, where we ate at the King of King restaurant. I got the Eggplant and Seafood plate - which was absolutely huge. This dish was terrific - bright purple Japanese eggplant and calamari in a spicy brown sauce. I could barely manage half the dish.

My favorite stop on this trip was Sura, a Korean restaurant on Telegraph Ave. in Temescal. This place was absolutely fantastic, and you definitely get your bang for your buck. Before our meal was served, the server brought out these mini-dishes. I have no idea what most of them were, but they were amazing.

This was easily one of the best dinners I've ever had - from Sura. It was a bolgot soup, with tender beef, cabbage, and an amazing broth. It came out at a rolling boil in a hot stone pot. Right before they brought it out, they cracked an egg in the soup, so it was cooking right in the pot. There were pieces of egg floating in the soup. I didn't realize that this dish came with cellophane noodles at the bottom, which I easily avoided. For a dish that was so simple, it was amazingly satisfying. I will come back just to eat this soup again.

Oakland is an amazing place for food! I can't wait to move there!