Eat Around the World

On our first 'date' (which was actually what I call a fake date), Jason and I discovered a potential problem that would continue into our soon-to-be relationship. It was November of 2009, and we had just spent a few hours helping out with an organization called Trade As One. While we were driving home, Jason asked if he could take me to dinner. I said sure, and then we faced the problem...where to eat. We hummed and hawed and didn't know where to go, until finally Jason suggested a restaurant. Well, the same routine occurred over the next few months every time we wanted to eat out.

Then, one night in January when trying to figure out where to eat, Jason suggested we try something 'exotic', something we have never eaten before. I had heard that Ethiopian food was good, so decided to give that a go. We headed out to Berkeley to a restaurant called Addis, and we ate their combination platter of Ethiopian meats and vegetables. We loved the 'cultural' experience of eating with our hands, along with an African ambiance in the restaurant.

Since we had such a great experience, we decided to try and 'eat our way around the world' by trying exotic cuisines we had never experienced from different countries. And...(this was when I really began to think that Jason was 'the one') we decided to color in a map for each country whose cuisine we ate, along with the date and restaurant we dined at. So began our adventure!

Well, I neglected to bring along my camera until recently. So, here is an update of where we have been so far, along with our rating out of 10...

• Ethiopia: Addis in Berkeley (1.29.10) Rating = Excellent (9)
• Greece: Simply Greek in Pleasanton (reoccurring) Rating = Good (8)
  
• El Salvador: La Pupusa House in Livermore (1.30.10) Rating = Good (7)
• Singapore: Old Town Cafe in Dublin (2.13.10) Rating = Excellent (9) *closed
  
• Peru: Cholas in Concord (2.25.10) Rating = Poor (3) *closed
  
• Tibet: Cafe Tibet in Berkeley (3.2.10) Rating = Awful (1)
• Thailand: Sri Thai in Dublin (4.24.10) Rating = Good (8)
• New Zealand: The New Zealander in Alameda (5.15.10) Rating = Poor (4) *closed
• Japan: Yoshis Jazz Club in Oakland (5.28.10) Rating = Good (7)
• Iran: Shiraz in San Ramon (6.19.10) Rating = Average (6)
  
• Korea: Sam Won BBQ House in Oakland (8.13.10) Rating = Good (8)
  
• England: The Crown in Danville (1.7.11) Rating = Average (6)
  
• Vietnam: 19 Market in San Jose (2.11.11) Rating = Average (5)
  
• India: Cafe Tandoor in San Ramon (4.29.11) Rating = Average (5) (I recommend Sansar in Livermore)
  
• Afghanistan: Pamir in Dublin (5.7.11) Rating = Good (8)
  
• Burma/Yemen: Burma Superstar in Alameda (5.20.11) Rating = Excellent (10)
• Brazil: Cafe Brazil in Berkeley (6.11.11) Rating = Excellent (10)
• Israel: The Holy Land in Oakland (7.12.11) Rating = Good (8)
• Turkey: A La Turca in San Francisco (8.10.11) Rating = Good (8)

With the exception of a few restaurants, most of the food we've tried has been great! I plan to give you a more in depth update of some of the last few restaurants we've been to and then hope to keep you updated as we go from here. My goal is to eat 30 new cuisines that I have never had before I am 30. From the list above, I had eaten a few of the listed cuisines before Jason and I started our journey. Take Greece, Thailand, Japan, Korea, England, and India off that list, and I have had 13 new cuisines so far...leaving me with 17 more to go! You might think that's a lot of additional cuisines to come up with, but we've done our research and you'd be amazed at some of the cuisines that are out there. We're loving this adventure so far!