Over the past month or so, we’ve been fortunate enough to get to travel to some awesome places. When I travel, my #1 priority is always finding the best food, so my pre-departure checklist always involves hours of Yelp-ing to find the critically-acclaimed restaurants and top spots to grab a local favorite in the area.  However, for various reasons – a lack of time, knowing a local, and traveling to a country that is not necessarily known for its food, among them – I kind of just left the culinary aspect of these trips up to chance. I may not have eaten at the top restaurants in each city, but I lived in the moment, went with the flow, and honestly enjoyed every bite. I hope you enjoy these tidbits of my favorite foods while traveling over the past month or so!

So, first up was Berkeley, CA to see Brad’s sister Tara and watch Northwestern win our first football game of the season! The first thing I learned about Berkeley food is that there is a lot of it – from hole-in-the-wall Chinese to super “California” organic fare – and brunch is one of the things the city does best. On our first morning, we went to a French breakfast spot, La Note, that looked adorably authentic and was perfectly packed. We split a pain au chocolate as our “brunchitizer” (my new favorite thing) and it was flaky and delicious, with just a little dark chocolate running through the middle for a perfect sweet touch. For an entrée, I got one of the specials, called the Cote Nord – two eggs, perfectly scrambled with cream cheese, atop thick multigrain toast with fried potatoes and roasted Provencal tomatoes. Not only did it totally open my eyes to a delicious combination I’ve never tried before (scrambled eggs and cream cheese…what!) but it was a perfect hearty start to the day. The fried potatoes were perfectly prepared, spiced with big chunks of various herbs, and the tomatoes were also really good – roasted with olive oil, cheese, and herbs, they were a total surprise burst of flavor.

Another place we really liked was BUILD Pizzeria, a pizza place and bar that is a relatively new addition to the Shattuck Ave. lineup. We went to this place 3 times in 3 days, so you know it had to be good.  BUILD encourages you to customize your own pizza with a variety of super fresh gourmet toppings, so obviously I was all over this. My favorite combo was a white pizza base with thinly sliced potatoes, broccolini, caramelized onions, and a cracked fresh egg on top. In my mind, there’s hardly anything better than runny egg on a pizza, and this was no exception! Although our service wasn’t the most prompt, I really liked the classy yet casual atmosphere of BUILD and, of course, getting to be a control freak with my food. The extensive beer and cocktail selection didn’t hurt, either. I had an awesome local IPA, the Denogginizer from Drake’s Brewing Co. in San Francisco. At 9.75% ABV, it was dangerously good, a darker IPA that was super hoppy and fruity – my favorite!

Finally, probably my favorite meal of the weekend had to be the chicken and waffles at 900 Grayson, an adorable little restaurant set in a house in West Berkeley. After a 45-minute wait to whet our appetites, we sat down at a shaded table in the cute back porch area and promptly all ordered the same thing: the Demon Lover, a.k.a. fried chicken and waffles. My love of chicken and waffles is no secret, but this one was truly special, with a spicy fried chicken coating, a thick, perfectly-cooked buttermilk waffle, and the combination of both a savory, creamy gravy and a sweet and simple Vermont maple syrup to top it all off. It was totally worth the trek over to the West side and the lengthy wait, and honestly, can you imagine a better breakfast before a day of beer pong and football?!

Next up: Edinburgh and London!

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