Eats by E, Recipe For Success

I was disappointed to miss a friend’s UYE (Unofficial Yelp Event) at popup Eats by E a few months back so I vowed then to eventually try Chef Eric Pascual’s food for myself.  Cooking from his heart based on his Filipino roots and summers in Hawai`i growing up where so many dishes are influenced by the early migrant plantation workers from Japan, Portugal, Philippines, China, and Korea, his “Hawai`i, a Culinary Crossroads” collaboration with Chef Bautista and Chef Tabura is the perfect fusion.  

Add in a small “talk story”/background by Lanai before each dish, you will feel like you are sitting in their homes enjoying this special feast prepared with love and aloha. 

The evening began a little late running on Hawai`i time but it was worth the wait starting with the traditional Hawaiian Ahi Poke perfectly seasoned and marinated to be eaten in its purest form 

unlike what you find at most Mainland poke shops, dependent on those toppings for flavor, that has been popping up as fast as boba shops.   

Next up, Cold Ginger Chicken reminiscent of a Chinese staple but refined with the macadamia nut oil and Hawaiian sea salt in the ginger sauce, served with noodles wrapped around the chopsticks that almost made it too beautiful to eat, almost!

One of our favorite dishes followed, elevating chicken to a whole new level, taking their two favorite Japanese preparations, mochiko chicken and chicken katsu and melding it into the perfect food baby. 

Then an homage to the Korean influence with a rich 6 hour braised Beef Short Rib Kalbi so tender, no knife required, served with kimchee fried rice and banchan of pickled vegetables. 

It was genius to follow up with a lighter presentation of the seared salmon in a Filipino Sinigang, a lemongrass, ginger, and tamarind base bone broth.  The acidity was perfect after a rich dish. 

Finishing the night with the two top influences of Chef Pascual’s cooking a Hawaiian-Filipino pineapple bibingka.  

Just like Hawaiian hospitality, you do not leave hungry as we got another taste of our favorite dishes, the ahi poke for me and the mochiko chicken katsu for him which coincidentally is on the menu for tomorrow’s Summer in Hawai`i, Hawaiian-Filipino inspired dinner.  Over wines and our shared love of the islands with other guests at our table, including Chef Bautista’s sister and Hawai`i born, now California based KWIN morning DJ Nikki Blades, by the end of the evening we were departing with a hug like ohana.

This collaboration with Chef Jude Bautista Jr. whose previous experience include Ayesha Curry’s International Smoke and Chef Lanai Tabura, winner of Food Network’s Great Food Truck Race was a winner.  Call it the trifecta of perfection, a recipe for success or the best consolation ever for missing that UYE. 

Eats by E - https://www.eatsbye.com/

2940 Seventh Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
510-755-5055

Fruits of Our Labor in Ripon

My favorite part of this time of year is the late spring berries and summer stone fruits.  Unfortunately, partly due to the strange late May rain we received damaging the cherry crop causing the fruits to split, it resulted in much higher prices at the local Farmer’s Markets and Cherry Festival.  At $7 per pound or $13 for the large 2 lb basket, we found that ¼ of the fruits were either, split, bruised, or already starting to mold.  Disappointing when you waited all year for them. 

In the past, I would plan on heading up to Brentwood to pick my own cherries - http://aroundthebayandaway.blogspot.com/2016/05/u-pick-cherries-white-peaches-loquats.html but with the busy May I had and being under the weather the first weekend in June, I figured most farms have already been picked over by the huge crowds they get nowadays.  Over the years, I have picked cherries, apricots, nectarines, and peaches in Brentwood, olallieberries in Pescadero, apples in San Luis Obispo and last year strawberries in Watsonville.  

But the one that seemed to be elusive is the U-pick blueberries, my dad’s favorite fruit and one of the pricier ones at the market.  After 1 ½ hours hand picking them ourselves at Jessop Farms in Ripon in the Central Valley

on a warm Saturday morning, I realize it can get labor intensive hence the higher price point.  

However, halfway through it, I finally got the hang of it (grab a bunch of berries, hold your bucket underneath them, rub the bunch with your fingers and the ripe ones will drop in your bucket leaving behind the unripen ones).  

Fully ripe blueberries will be entirely grey blue in color while those with a tint of red can still be ripened at room temperature.  

At just $3.75/lb we left only $10.50 lighter but almost 3 lbs heavier with our bag of blueberries.  

Since we were already in the area and it was before 11AM, we decided to seek out Harris Orchards 

for cherries just 3 miles down, recommended by my Boston transplanted nephew Alex who went the week before.  Upon arrival and seeing the beautiful rainier cherries (my favorite cherries) and less than 10 cars in the lot, I just about jumped for joy right in the middle of the parking lot.  So you can only imagine how I felt when I saw the U-pick price of also $3.75/lb.  I felt like a kid in a candy store and considering how sweet some of the cherries were, it is nature’s candy.  Being able to pick our own straight from the tree meant a better chance of avoiding those split ones and sampling one on site means finding the sweetest trees to pick from.  

An hour later, we left $16.50 lighter and 4+ lbs heavier from the cherries.  

Our experience this past weekend in Ripon is reminiscent of when I first discovered fruit picking in Brentwood over 20 years ago, leisurely morning of good family fun without the crowds enjoying the fruits of our labor at a great price.  Thank you Jessop Farms, Harris Orchards and Ripon 

for salvaging my love of summer berries.

Jessop Farms - http://www.jessopfarms.com/U_Pick.html (blueberries, strawberries, cherries, and peaches were available for U-pick.  Strawberries and cherries were a bit sparse on the weekend of 6/7/19 but the blueberries were fantastic)

Harris Orchards – 18600 N Ripon Road, Ripon, CA 95366 (209) 559-3991 (cherries including rainiers in season as of 6/7/19 with apricots starting to ripen.  Peaches, nectarines, plums, pluots coming this summer and persimmons in the fall)

PAWS – Performing Animal Welfare Society – Elephants, Tigers, and Bears, Oh My!

When I saw my Yelp friend Candice’s pictures and read her review for PAWS, a sanctuary for retired animals and those rescued from years of neglect and/or abuse in the name of entertainment and trade, I knew I needed to learn more about this organization for myself.  If I can go 4 hours each way for Hula Pie, I surely can go 2 ½ hours each way for elephants.  In fact, elephants, tigers, and bears, oh my! 

I was lucky enough to recently attend their special 35^th anniversary open house.  

However, not all elephants were available to spend time with as after all this is a sanctuary and their needs always come first.  Even though after hearing the stories of some of the elephants on the shuttle ride up, aside from a quick glimpse from the shuttle, I did not get to spend time with the one elephant Maggie, whose story really intrigued me. Relocated from the Alaska Zoo to sunny California which is no small feat to get on a plane, she is supposedly the social butterfly of the bunch with her humans and fellow elephants especially her besties Toka and Lulu, fellow zoo retirees. 

But our first stop was with Nicholas and his story will just about bring you to tears.  

Separated from his mother at the young age of 2 and trained to ride the tricycle through negative reinforcement, it may have been his eventual stubbornness at age 5 making him hard to manage that eventually gave him this new lease on life 8 years later but not before enduring years of fear and continual neglect.  All those tricks you see them often do is not because they want to but because they have been trained to fear the consequences of bullhooks and electric shocks if they did not.  Thankfully bullhooks have already been outlawed in California but the trauma remains.  Now at 25 and even years of positive reinforcement and care thanks to PAWS, trust is still difficult to gain due to his traumatic younger years.  But we can rest assure that if he decides to raise his foot up onto the fence, it is now because he WANTS to and not because he is FORCED to. 

Along the way back down, we did get to stop and enjoy the antics of Mara and Thika who apparently knows that the appearance of shuttle buses means special treats are on the horizon, prompting them to come down the hill to join the festivities.  

Although both around the same age, Thika is more timid while Mara, being the long time resident of PAWS since 1990 is the boss of the two.  For the next half an hour, we got to see Mara walk off with her hay bale so she did not have to share, 

be the first to make her presence known for treats by shaking the fence 

and almost swallowing an iPhone in a successful attempt to take a picture of her teeth.  

She was rewarded with a choice of apples, oranges, or bananas donated by visitors like ourselves acquired through a $5 bean bag toss.  

Not to fear, Thika is here as he joined in for a share of his treats as well. 

On the way back to the shuttle, we passed the black bear 

(Hi Ben!) 

and tiger habitat 

and with patience was rewarded with a glimpse when they chose to come down.  Remember, animal sightings are bonuses, not guarantees as this is their sanctuary and we are the guests. 

Because this is a sanctuary, it is not open to the public except for a few times during the year for special events- http://www.pawsweb.org/calendar_of_events.html like an Open House or Educational “Seeing the Elephant” Getaway and an occasional educational session for local schools.  With this year being their 35^th anniversary, a special anniversary tea is scheduled for this Sunday, June 9^th at a tea room in Dixon (not at the PAWS facility) to support this wonderful organization. 

If you are too far away to attend one of these events in person or would like to further support PAWS which receives no public funding, you can become a PAWS partner - http://www.pawsweb.org/become_a_paws_partner.html, one time or recurring online “cash donor” http://www.pawsweb.org/donate_online.html, gift card or item donor http://www.pawsweb.org/donation_wish_list.html, including an Amazon wish list - https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1ESCX3EWD5MQZ/ref=cm_sw_su_w. 

At the end of the day, I felt so honored to see the animals get a new lease in life surrounded by good people who truly care for their well being.