Back to the Roots Biodynamic Cinnamon Clusters: This boxed cereal comes in a milk carton and is composed of just four ingredients: stoneground whole wheat, cinnamon, salt, and cane sugar. The cereal is orecchiette shaped, and the stoneground whole wheat gives it a unique irregular texture in the same way that bronze dies do for pasta. It has a great spiced flavor and stays crunchy in milk. One of the best cereals I've had in some time. 4.5/5.0
exceptional organic berkeleybowl cereal backtotheroots biodynamic cinnamon clusters 4.5
Seabold Ginger Beer: When in LA, you may stumble across a glass bottle of ginger beer with a hand-written expiration date less than a month away. It feels hefty, matching its $7.50 price tag, with a misty yellow hue. Its packaging instructs you to invert and gently mix, enabling the ginger sediments disperse throughout. The drink is balanced – not too sweet with a good dose of lemon juice and a decent level of spice that fades as quickly as it arrives. It's not quite as good as the absolute best ginger beer ... (read more) 4.5/5.0
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Uji Black sesame soft serve: The best sesame soft serve I've ever had was at a small tea shop at the Mitsuwa in Edgewater, NJ. Whenever I see black sesame ice cream on a menu, I will typically order it to see how it compares, and the one at Uji comes really close. Uji is a small Japanese sweets shop on Telegraph in Berkeley whose menu includes soft serve (matcha, tofu, black sesame), mochi ice cream, and taiyaki. I ordered a cone of black sesame soft serve which comes in a generous portion and can be optionally ordered ... (read more) 4.5/5.0
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Trader Joe's Triple Ginger Brew: I was super excited to finally get a chance to try this seasonal item, which our cashier informed us was an item people protest about once it leaves the shelves. It comes in a really handy and reusable glass soda bottle and is well sized for a small gathering. Wanting to impress my Taiwanese family, who knows a thing or two about ginger, I brought this out during a dinner and poured everyone a cup. My aunt said it tasted like Spirte with a tiny bit of ginger aftertaste, but I disagree – o... (read more) 4.5/5.0
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Trader Joe's Turkey Stuffing and Seasoned Kettle Chips: After moving, Berkeley Bowl has become the only grocery store I go to, but when I went home, I was brought to Trader Joe's and remembered all its special seasoning items. Taking advantage of the opportunity, I purchased a bag of Thanksgiving-flavored potato chips, which are the most memorably flavored chip I've had in recent memory. The texture of the chip is solid, but the gravy-flavored seasoning is really what makes these chips stand out. It's robust and concentrated, yet still easy to... (read more) 4.5/5.0
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I-Tea 3G milk tea with boba, grass jelly, and pudding: I made a dangerous discovery that my new favorite bubble tea shop has a location in San Francisco, much closer to work than the Downtown Oakland spot. I ordered their third most popular drink, the 3G, named because of its three toppings: boba, grass jelly, and pudding. It comes with classic milk tea, and, by default, is served in a "chubby" container that's short and squat. I opted for the more portable standard cup (all drinks come in a single size). The black milk tea was done just right -... (read more) 4.5/5.0
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