Wake up and love Butter Cafe in Munich!

https://www.yelp.com/biz/butter-münchen

According to Dude Food G. on Yelp, this Butter place found on Blutenburg Strasse in Nuehausen, Munich is really cool. You know right from the beginning that this is not your normal everyday cafe. Butter is the diamond in the ruff waiting to be discovered. This place has babies, art, coffees, music, food and is full of life’s positive vibrations. These guys are a couple of psychologists dressed as music loving ravers.

If you just need a coffee to blow out the cobwebs from the previous nights Augustiner Helles, then Butter is perfect. If you need a veggie or meaty sandwich to go with your coffee than Butter is perfect. If you need a ginger, apple, carrot fresh juice than Butter is perfect. If you need a shoulder to cry on and a doorway to block than Butter is probably not for you.

Stop in and say “Aloha dudes” to the guys from Butter from the Dude of Food.

Butter

Blutenburg Strasse 90

Nuehausen, Munich

Open 8am http://alles-butter.de

The Dude of Food really likes Joe Matos Cheese Factory in Santa Rosa, CA

The Dude of Food met the chief of cheese in Santa Rosa, Joe Matos. He has been making cheese since 1979.

To get to Joe Matos Cheese Factory you will need to go to the end of a small road. Inside you will find and sweet woman at the counter and tons of cheese behind her. The aged is really good. The Dude of Food thanks you Joe Matos.

Keep up the good work.

The Dude of Food discovers California’s Best Sushi

http://www.hanajapanese.com

If you love sushi then all you need to know is the above web address. This will lead you to a place called Hana Japanese Restaurant and the Best Sushi in California!! I have never heard of black throated mackerel and normally don’t like mackerel unless it’s aji, but this black throated mackerel is great. The blue fin tuna belly was so good I had seconds. Same with the black throated mackerel.

The special thing in a spoon was really good. It was all good. The bill was $100. for lunch and the Dude of Food could have easily gone bigger but it was awesome tasting and well worth the splurge.

If you are ever near Santa Rosa or in Rohnert Park, CA, go to this place and see for yourself what quality sushi is supposed to be like.

The Dude of Food has a favorite Vietnamese restaurant.

HUE HOUSE – Vietnamese Food

The Hue House, located in Munchen, Germany, is the best Vietnamese food the Dude of Food has ever tasted. It came recommended from 3 of my 5 friends there and the Hue House menu could be found in 2 of their kitchens! We had a party of 4 and everyone asked for something different.

Arriving at the table before the main courses were served were the best spring rolls the Dude of Food has ever had the pleasure of eating. These things were hot but not oily. Slightly crispy and full of vegetables but light. These springs rolls were a delicious food conundrum dancing delicately between the tastes of awesome and unreal.

Then the Hue House laid out 4 main courses in front of us. All of the dishes were incredible and we couldn’t decide which dish was the best. They were fresh and incredibly delicious.

Find Hue House on Yelp, Facebook or they can be found online at www.huehouse.net

The Dude of Food finds 1 of the best pizzas in Europe, at the Dusseldorf airport!

The Dude of Food had just left Munich. It was with a painful heart that he dragged himself away from Minga, a city that he loves. He had prepared for the long flight back to LA by staying up all night on his last visit in town before he left. He knew he had a 1 1/2 hour layover in Dusseldorf Airport’s Terminal ‘C’. Upon arrival to Gate 32 Terminal C a vision similar to an oasis housing a food mermaid revealed itself to this hungry traveler. A restaurant at the next gate had a sign announcing food and beer that read Zigolini.

At gate 34 this small restaurant named Zigolini offered some good looking pastas and pizza for a reasonable price. The Dude of Food asked for a large beer. The guy next to me received a veggie pizza and that was it. I needed one also. A sausage and bacon pizza was asked for. There is no exaggeration in saying that this may be one of the best pizzas ever!

The next time I flew through Dusseldorf it was a no brainer to go back. Zigolini was still there waiting for me in all her delicious glory. The only thing that was different was the sign now reads Marche. You can read more about Marche at http://www.marche-restaurants.com.

Muhamad Ali, the head chef and designer, personally told the Dude of Food that the restaurant is still called Zigolini even though the sign has changed. The receipt still reads Zigolini. Chef Ali has one of the best secret recipes ever and is a sweet guy that loves sharing with his customers. His pizzas are simply amazing and he will happily add the ingredients you may want if you don’t see the combination you like on the menu.

This pizza was better than nearly all I’ve ever had in Firenze, Rome, Germany, New York, Chicago, LA or maybe even ever! Certainly the Best Valued and Best Tasting Airport Food that the Dude of Food has ever encountered. If you are ever near the Dusseldorf airport and have some time to kill, the Dude of Food highly recommends that you go see for yourself about the pizza at Zigolini Italian Food.

Chef Muhamad Ali is doing it right and deserves the title of ‘the Champ’!

Zigolini

Dusseldorf Flughafen Terminal B or C by Gate 34 Airside 40474 Dusseldorf

Handheld cheese / veggie graters with storage drawers

 Sagaform brings traditional Nordic design to your kitchen

So the folks who added the drawer / container to the traditional grater have really done the Dude of Food a huge favor. Say goodbye to the grater sliding off the plate and the paper towel under the grater to catch the gratings. Now we can cut, use and store with little effort. No mess and by simply plopping the top back on the container you are preserving maximum freshness.

Betterware makes this cool grater with a drawer shown here in black. They also have been seen in white and pink.

California Chardonnay Taste Test Winner

From the 6 bottles tested in round 1 of the Dude of Food’s search for the best inexpensive Chardonnay on June 22, 2015 we have a winner. The results are in. The notes have been compared and the winner of this tight competition was Sonoma County’s Storyteller Chardonnay. That was until I updated this story on July 28, 2015. While the Storyteller was holding down the 1st place spot the Dude of Food added three more bottles of Chardonnay to his list. The new results follow-

1st Place – Nitty Gritty Chardonnay Napa Valley 2012 3.9

2nd Place – STORYTELLER 2012 3.8

3rd Place – Ghost Pines Chardonnay blend 2013 3.6

4th Place – Kendall-Jackson Vinter’s Reseve 2013 3.5

5th Place – Benziger 2012 3.3

6th Place- Frei Bros Reserve 2013 3.2

7th Place – Hawkstone 2013 3.0

8th Place – EDNA Valley 2013 2.9

Paella search Barcelona? See the Cheriff.

When the Dude of Food was wandering around the streets of Barcelona asking folks where he could find the best paella in the city there was 1 name that kept popping up. Located on a corner in the easily accessible Barcelonetta district, it’s easy to find this restaurant named Cheriff.

Cheriff opens for dinner at 8p and there were 3 parties waiting to come in when the doors opened. The Dude began with a bottle of local dry white wine and a salad.

Both were satisfying. Then when it came time to order I had a last minute change of mind and instead of ordering the normal seafood paella I decided to try the black ink squid paella.

The choice turned out to be a good one and the black ink paella with fresh squeezed lemon was delicious.

The Cheriff is a family run place, where mama is running the kitchen and papa is managing the finances. They are great and make awesome food.

The Dude of Food thinks when visiting Barcelona you need to go here!

Barcelona’s newest best, El Mar-Amor restaurant / bar.

If you are staying at the Marriott hotel at the end of the Diagonal St you can easily walk or get off the Poblenou exit of the metro in Barcelona like the Dude of Food did and make your way to the cities newest quality restaurant, El Mar-Amor.

The place is newly opened, mid May 2015, and was already doing a decent morning and evening business 4 days into it. Owner, manager and great host Hamid has put together a really great place to get to know. Hamid knows how to create and entertain. His hospitality is top notch and genuine. Let me give you some examples,

“Come in. If you don’t like it you don’t pay.” I heard an offer I couldn’t refuse, so I came in and asked for a beer. They had cold Estrelle Damm on tap.

When I told him I only had 20 euros on me and the paella was going to be 18 euros he said “no problem”. “but I already spent the other 2 euros on this beer and I want to drink more” the Dude of Food replied. Again Hamid replied, “no problem” and filled my empty beer glass. He then explained that “the paella is made fresh to order and will take at least 20 minutes but is only made for 2 people. It’s 9 euros each and the chef makes it for 2 people.” “No problem” said the Dude of Food. I reached in my pocket and gave Hamid the last 20 euro bill i had in my pocket.

Hamid took my bill and smiled, “we will take care of you” and he was true to his word. Hamid’s team prepared an awesome paella for 2 and filled my beer glass 4 times. The paella was served in a giant 14″ hot dish and was devoured by the Dude as soon as it had cooled enough to eat.

Hamid and his team took great care of me again when I returned for breakfast. They made me fried eggs, with ham bacon and some fried potatoes and coffee with milk. Hamid even left his bicycle for me to borrow. They offered to stay open past their normal 12:30a close if our crew wanted to stay and drink until 2am. The hospitality of Hamid just didn’t stop.

Located at Carrer Jonaquera 4 in Barcelona, and only a long block from the ocean near the Poblenou metro exit, The Dude of Food returned 6 times and tried nearly everything on the menu, all fresh and all delicious. The future is bright for this rising restaurant star and if you are in the area you need to have a meal at El Mar-Amor of Barcelona.

(the sausage is made local and is delicious with eggs)

Donostia / San Sebastian extraordinaire – Bar Desy

When in Donostia / San Sebastian you will find many options of good restaurants, but not many small ones that match Bar Desy. You can start your day there with a coffee and tapas or end your day there with a drink and tapas. Bar Desy is a father and son operation and is one great place to eat and meet locals. Bar Desy offers a well rounded variety of tapas both hot and cold from various fish items to meatballs.

The cod cheeks were pretty good and would make a great sandwich. Actually everything was really good but the fresh cod fillets, cod cheeks, squid with lemon, white wine and fresh bread were my favorite things besides the generous hospitality.

These guys take great care of their customers. Located at Ronda 4, a couple blocks back from the surf beach and a couple blocks over from the river. Bar Desy is a great place to get to know the tapas deal. The staff is as great as is the food.
Thank you Bar Desy.

Bar Desy can be found on Facebook or by clicking on the photo or links.