And the hits just keep coming! New Dessert!

Yesterday, Jen put out what she calls her version of the spring roll. The dessert is called the Crispy Strawberry Rolls with a Strawberry Jam Dip. Should be another winner with all its fried goodness.

Also yesterday, we had a couple culinary adventures. For lunch, I had my very first taco truck experience. The tacos were good but the really memorable part was the all the accouterments. I had a Sangreal brand non-alcoholic, Sangria-flavored, carbonated soda and air-puff chips covered in lime and chili sauce. Each an exotic mix of flavors distinct from anything I've had but very familiar all at once. Now, for a long time now Jen has influenced me to rarely partake in chipfests, but man, these crunchy, yellow-white, sliced-tomato shaped, air puff chips were addictive even as the chili started to set in and burn. If anyone knows what these are called, please email me!

Our other adventure brought us to Dopo Restaurant on Piedmont Ave. in Oakland to celebrate my raise and to hide from the bridge traffic. This place was a great local joint with affordable prices. Entrées were like $15. We ordered a meal enough to feed 4 people to try out all their flavors. We began with an absolutely fabulous yellowfin tuna dish with fennel, artichokes, lemon, and mint. Along side it, we tried their cured meats and salumi platter for two, a decadent and oh so flavorful spread of well... meat. Our next course, we had long, uncut Pennette Pasta in a flavor-filled meaty, red sauce and a tender, medium packed sausage that was filled with an explosion of tasty goodness. We also shared an exceptionally executed, cheese and anchovy pizza with the restaurant's namesake. By that point, we were thinking to head to Bi-Rite Creamery for dessert but couldn't help but notice the cheese plate the table next to us got. So we had to order a cheese platter for two as well. Not the highlight of the meal by any means; two out of the three were just blah. All in all, the only negative thing was against the cheese and Dopo didn't make them. Definitely, a place we would come back to and recommend to all. Btw... they were listed by the SF Chronicle as one of the top 100 restaurants in the bay area.

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Culinary Word of the Day: Salumi
The word salumi means Italian-style cured or preserved meats. Most are made from pork, but some are beef, lamb or other meats. Salumi means about the same as the French charcuterie. It can refer to meats that are salt-cured, smoked and fermented as well as meats that are preserved in fat (confit), cooked sausages and pates. Within the category are hundreds of specific kinds of salumi. Source SF Chronicle