Anna Mindess
Sign language interpreter by day, food writer by night; endlessly fascinated by the interplay of what we eat and who we are.
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About
East Bay Ethnic Eats
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Recent Posts
- Tee Tran’s Monster Pho Invades Oakland with Traditional Vietnamese Cooking
- Kobani Kurdish restaurant: Defiant and delicious
- Mother & Daughter Realize Big Dreams at Vanessa’s Bistro
- On a Quest to Preserve Traditional Ethiopian Spices
- Handmade Tofu and Mochi Keep Traditions Alive in San Jose’s Japantown
- For Lunar New Year, the Horse Gallops in with Traditional Foods of Tết
- Don’t Poison Your Guests: Tips for Hosts on Food Allergies, Intolerances and Sensitivities
- Making Chevre with a Cheese Whiz, San Francisco’s Own Milkmaid
- Gruesome Goodies: Halloween Bentos to Make for your Little Bats and Ghouls
- Icy or Spicy? Cooling Foods Across Cultures
- Chinese food Denmark desserts and sweets Ethiopian food Filipino food France German Food gluten-free food Hawaiian food holiday food Immigrants' stories Indian food Italy Japan Japanese food Jewish Food Korean food Lebanese food lucky food Mexican food Middle Eastern Food Morocco Persian/Iranian Politeness Spain Sweden Thai food Turkey Uncategorized Vietnamese food
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Category Archives: Immigrants’ stories
Tee Tran’s Monster Pho Invades Oakland with Traditional Vietnamese Cooking
When the woman at the Small Business Administration discovered that 25-year old Tee Tran wanted a loan to open a Vietnamese restaurant even though he had absolutely no experience in the food business, she laughed at him. “You’re kidding me, … Continue reading →
Posted in Immigrants' stories, Oakland, Vietnamese food
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Tagged Monster Pho, peanut-free, peanut-free restaurant, Tee Tran, Vietnamese food
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Kobani Kurdish restaurant: Defiant and delicious
I often write about food and culture to educate myself as well as my readers, but rarely is the culture in question in the midst of armed conflict as my post goes live. On July 20, 2015, the same day this piece first appeared on … Continue reading →
Posted in Immigrants' stories, Kurdish food
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Tagged Berkeley, Kobani, Kurdish food, Kurdish Restaurant
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Mother & Daughter Realize Big Dreams at Vanessa’s Bistro
As a child and grandchild of immigrants, I notice that in writing about food and culture I am repeatedly drawn to the stories of immigrants, their struggles and triumphs. And every time someone shares their journey with me, I feel I have been given a precious … Continue reading →
Posted in Berkeley, Immigrants' stories, Vietnamese food
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Tagged Berkeley dining, Le Cheval, Solano Avenue, Vanessa Dang, Vanessa's Bistro, Vi Nguyen, Vietnamese food
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3 Comments
On a Quest to Preserve Traditional Ethiopian Spices
It is hard to overstate the importance of spice blends in Ethiopian dishes. Far from adding a sprinkle of flavor at the end of cooking, they constitute the deep soul of the cuisine, and their creation is considered an art. Fetlework Tefferi of Oakland’s Cafe Colucci is on a quest to preserve and promote traditional spice harvesting in her native Ethiopia. Continue reading →
Posted in Ethiopian food, Immigrants' stories
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Tagged Cafe Colucci, Ethiopian food, Ethiopian spices, Fetlework Tefferi
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1 Comment
ZATAR – A Mediterranean Oasis Nurtures Diners with Homegrown Produce
Growing up near a fertile riverbank in Iraq, Waiel Majid’s family naturally enjoyed cucumbers, green beans, lettuce, tomatoes, eggplant and squash from their garden. Now the transplanted Majid and his wife serve their own homegrown vegetables on plates of Mediterranean delicacies at their Berkeley restaurant ZATAR. Continue reading →
Posted in Immigrants' stories, Lebanese food, Middle Eastern Food, Morocco
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Tagged baqubah iraq, Berkeley restaurant, boreka, Kelly Majid, Mediterranean cuisine, Waiel Majid, Zatar
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1 Comment
FuseBOX Electrifies West Oakland with Chef Chang’s Korean Small Plates
Chef Sunhui Chang combines innovative and traditional Korean cooking at FuseBOX, where his kimchi and pickles make use of every part of the vegetable. His tiny space on an industrial West Oakland street has already won rave reviews and awards. Continue reading →
Posted in Immigrants' stories, Korean food
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Tagged FuseBOX, Korean food, Korean restaurant, Sunhui Chang, West Oakland
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2 Comments
Noriko Nurtures Berkeley Diners with Homey Japanese Dishes
Noriko Taniguchi cooks Japanese food “the way it used to be” at her cozy Berkeley restaurant, Norikonoko. Surrounded by tiny tea sets and origami cranes hardly bigger than a grain of rice, this nurturing grandmother will make you onigiri, oden or her special pork curry. Continue reading →
Posted in Immigrants' stories, Japan, Japanese food
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Tagged Japanese homestyle cooking, Noriko Taniguchi, Norikonoko
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Palestinian Family Shares Treasured Dishes at Zaki Kabob House
You’ve had falafel, you’ve had shawarma, but have you tried spheeha, maklouba or mensaf? Zaki Kabob House in Albany is one of the few restaurants that serves these specialties of Palestinian cuisine. Family-owned and run by Fayza and Kameem Ayyad and their children, Zaki offers tastes of another world, plus warm hospitality. Continue reading →
My Mom’s Chiles Rellenos – A Mexican Immigrant’s Story
Ten poblano chiles sit scorching on a comal (a flat Latin American griddle) on top of a small stove, filling the cozy apartment kitchen near Mills College with an enticing, spicy aroma. “I do it this way because when my … Continue reading →
Posted in gluten-free food, Immigrants' stories, Mexican food
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Tagged chiles rellenos, immigrants' story, Leukemia Society, Lupita Peimbert, Mi Pueblo, Team in Training
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3 Comments
“America is Food Heaven” – A Danish Immigrant’s story
Story of a Danish immigrant who falls in love with America’s bounty of ethnic restaurants, free coffee refills and hot fudge sundaes, but eventually misses a few tastes from home. Continue reading →
Posted in Denmark, Immigrants' stories
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Tagged Danish Food, Danish immigrants, glogg, Kim Aronson, smorrebrod
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2 Comments
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