About the Joy of Food

Articles by: Joy

Marutama Ramen

in Carbapalooza, Comfort, Canada, Vancouver, Japanese 6 comments

Vancouver, Canada (The Joy of Food) — In the great melting pot of Vancouver ramen joints, Marutama stands apart from the pack by focusing on the chicken instead of the pig, not to mention a divinely superb egg. Cutting into this egg, you get a slow trail of perfect bright […]

Cloak & Petal

in Dessert, Drink, Gone Fishing, Healthy, United States, Japanese, San Diego, CA 3 comments

San Diego, CA (The Joy of Food) — I’d avoided Cloak & Petal for a long time as a serious sushi contender in San Diego, given its presence in what’s supposed to be an Italian-centric area. Little Italy in name only now, it’s filled with trendy steak houses, modern burger […]

Porto’s Bakery

in Breakfast and Pastry, American, Carbapalooza, Comfort, Dessert, Drink, Cuban, French, United States, Los Angeles, CA, Mexican 8 comments

Los Angeles, CA (The Joy of Food) — Porto’s is a Cuban-French-Mexican-American bakery in and around the L.A. region popular for a mishmash of breakfast and lunch offerings at low prices. The catch? That would be the interminable line every minute of the day. In a world of designer drinks […]

Tenuta Vannulo

in Naples, Comfort, Dessert, Italy, The Milky Way, Italian 4 comments

Naples, Italy (The Joy of Food) — Buffalo mozzarella is the pinnacle of dairy: that wondrous thing somewhere between yogurt and custard and cottage cheese and ricotta. Somehow, it manages to be both solid and liquid at the same time. When cut, it will weep outwardly in a perfect river […]

Juan in a Million

in Breakfast and Pastry, Austin, TX, Carbapalooza, Comfort, Greasy Stuff, The Milky Way, Mexican 2 comments

Austin, TX (The Joy of Food) — Austin loves the food puns. Coat & Thai, Thai, How Are You?, Bananarchy, Pho King, and of course, Juan in a Million. This is dining by Mother Goose. Juan in a Million is a hole-in-the-wall purveyor of traditional Tex-Mex cuisine, easily rating as […]

El Borrego Restaurant

in Comfort, United States, Meaty Goodness, The Milky Way, Mexican, San Diego, CA 4 comments

San Diego, CA (The Joy of Food) — On University Avenue, slightly east of the gentrified North Park area, stands El Borrego, a gem hiding in plain sight. It’s an eccentric operation, this one, with a screaming orange exterior paint job and bright, colorful interior that gives way to equally […]

Kogi BBQ Truck

in Comfort, Los Angeles, CA, Meaty Goodness, United States, Korean, Mexican 4 comments

Los Angeles, CA (The Joy of Food) — Kogi was the food truck that started a revolution. In 2008, Kogi was the right idea at the right time, thanks to a few circumstances — the novelty combined with a recession economy made this concept of quality food at affordable prices […]

Waffle House

in American, Breakfast and Pastry, Carbapalooza, Comfort, Greasy Stuff, United States, Louisville, KY 4 comments

Louisville, KY (The Joy of Food) — When God closes a window, he will lovingly remind you that Waffle House’s doors are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The prices are low, the service is friendly, and the menu is straightforward and simple, […]

Amy’s Ice Creams

in American, Austin, TX, Dessert, United States, The Milky Way 2 comments

Austin, TX (The Joy of Food) — To visit Amy’s Ice Creams is to buy ice cream from Cirque du Soleil, a place famous for their high-flying ice cream acrobatics, where team members (‘ice cream heroes’) are trained (yes, paid) to do things like hurl balls of ice cream into […]

Sarkis Pastry

in Breakfast and Pastry, Dessert, United States, Orange County, CA, Middle Eastern 4 comments

Orange County, CA (The Joy of Food) — Sarkis Pastry is the house that baklava built, a Near Eastern bakery specializing in every type of baklava found under the sun. There’s one walnut-filled baklava called “kul-wushkur” which translated from Arabic means “taste and give thanks to heaven,” a phrase that […]