Week 37: Fried Chicken and Mysterious Bread

Week 37: Sept. 10th-16th, 2023

Please accept my sincerest apologies for the lateness of this post for Week 37. It wasn't because I hate you all or because I didn't have any new experiences to report - quite the contrary, actually. I love you all and have multiple (yes, multiple!) new things to report. Though now that I think about it... they all revolve around food. Honestly, who's surprised? Not me.

A very good test to see how much I might get along with someone is how much they enjoy food. I cannot stand a picky eater. What do you mean you don't like onions? Do you hate flavor? How can you go wrong with fried chicken? Or.... bread? Some garlic noodles?! Fruit?! Mashed potatoes. Sushi. Jambalaya. Cookies. The list is endless.

Though my sister and I are quite different, and often don't get along, one thing we can agree on is good food. This week, after my lash extension appointment in Torrey Pines, I stopped by my sister's house to drop off some stuff. She invited me to dinner, which I readily agreed to. Since their house is in the depths of renovations, we chose to avoid cooking in their plastic-wrapped kitchen and get food elsewhere. My smile grew as my sister suggested Cross Street Chicken, a Korean fried chicken spot nearby. I'd never been, but it had been on my "Places to Try" list for a while.

The cute Cross Street robot waited at the pickup counter.

My Brother in Law's chicken strips

My massive Fried Chicken Sandwich

My sister's Kim Chi Fried Rice

Cross Street Chicken was super good. I'll definitely return, either with my sister or even without her (haha), because I want to try more of their dishes.

Another bonus to dinner: I avoided the nightmarish rush hour traffic that has progressively gotten worse, or back to pre-COVID days (especially with schools starting back up again).

Later in the week, I traveled back to Berkeley to attend Blair's memorial and see my family.

Every time I go back home, I like to go on a walk with my parents. Yes, a walk, not necessarily a hike, because, like I've told so many of you before, I run hot. I may have expressed this by saying something along the lines of, "I'm a very sweaty guy."

This time, my sweaty self and my family went to Point Pinole Regional Park and worked up an appetite for a treat. The entire second half of our 8,500 step walk (thanks, iPhone!) was consumed by my mom's suggestion of a Filipino bakery that sold delicious bread. This delicious bread's name was elusive. My mom kept referring to it as "Princess" Bread, or "Star" Bread, then after many internet searches, finally realized it was actually called "Señorita Bread." The nature of where my mom got "Princess" is unknown, but this mysterious bread became even more appealing with all of its various names.

The tiny interior

The bakery itself was nothing glamorous, but that didn't matter. You could tell they were regularly swamped and busy with massive orders because a sign above the counter said "In order to serve a greater number of customers an hour before closing, we are limiting the maximum order quantity per customer to 100 pcs unless the order has been placed in advance."

They had a ton of stuff to try, but we stuck to some classics.

We got some mini walnut pies alongside our Señorita Bread.

My mom calling it "Star" Bread probably came from Starbread Bakery.

The box warmed up my lap during the car ride home.

Regardless of its name, it was delicious. It was warm and fluffy while still being gooey. The Princess/Star/Señorita Bread was an incredible feat made possible by butter and Filipino-American culture. Each piece felt like a warm hug.

Bonus: We also got tacos from a taco truck called Tacos El Autlense that were delicious!

This week, just like a couple previous ones this year, I dealt with sadness and stress through comfort food. Seeing my family, going to Cross Street Chicken and Starbread Bakery, and attending a beautiful memorial service helped alleviate the pain of losing Blair, even if it was just for a brief moment.

See you next week.