San Francisco, CA

Up until 2 years ago, my view of San Francisco was limited to what I had seen during the opening credits of the TV show, Full House. There was the park where the Tanner family had a picnic, where tall houses were lined perfectly side-by-side. And then of course there's the Golden Gate bridge, where the Tanners drove across in a red convertible.

As for food wise, I had no clue what to expect. There was a Chinatown in San Francisco, so good Chinese food was an obvious connection, and San Francisco is surrounded by water, so the seafood had to be good. Other than that, I had no clue what to expect.

When I first moved to California, I went to all the tourist spots of San Francisco - Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street, Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, Union Square, etc. Along the way, I stumbled across some good, cheap eats. Living close by, I'm still discovering this eccentric city, but below is what I have found so far. (Don't worry, I'll update the page when I find new spots to eat.)

Ghirardelli Square
900 North Point St.
San Francisco, CA
As a self-diagnosed chocoholic, Ghirardelli Square was a must-visit attraction while I was in San Francisco. Near Fisherman's Wharf, Ghirardelli Square was a convenient 2 block detour off a bike route that follows along the bay.

Once the site of the Ghirardelli chocolate factory (the actual chocolate making has moved elsewhere), the square has turned into an area for small shops and eateries. With respect to Ghirardelli chocolates, there is a cafe, ice cream, chocolate and souvenir shop adjacent to one another in the square.

I personally recommend getting a sundae from the ice cream shop to fully immerse oneself in the Ghirardelli Sqaure experience. The ice cream shop serves up sundaes drizzled with Ghirardelli hot fudge, and is just heavenly to eat. While inside the ice cream shop, check out the displays on chocolate making wh

Boudin Bakery
160 Jefferson Street
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco is known for their sourdough bread. One of the most popular tourist spots for this is Boudin at the Wharf. At this Boudin Bakery location, there's a museum and bakery tour

Being one of the hotspots , more expensive, but authenticity

In-n-Out
333 Jefferson St
San Francisco, CA
In college, my friends from California always had cravings for this Pacific fast food chain and could not understand, for the life of me, how one could crave a fast food place as much as they did. It's a burgers and fries place, big deal.

Man, I was way off about this one. In-n-Out isn't just any fast food chain that churns out various meat, buns, and fries combos as fast as they can. In-n-Out burgers are simple and simply good. They use quality ingredients in their food and it makes everything on the menu taste 10x better than any other fast food joint. Options are sparse on their menus, but any good local knows that there's a secret menu.

For instance, order a burger or fries "animal style" gets you grilled onions and dressing on top of your usual hamburger. Then there's the option of 3x3, 4x4, 5x5, nxn, which is essentially the number of cheese and beef patties you get for your burger. A 3x3 corresponds to 3 slices of American cheese and 3 beef patties. For the full secret menu, check out the In-n-Out website.

Seattle, WA

I went to Seattle last May to meet up with my parents and brother. My dad was in town for a business conference, and the rest of us just tagged along to check out the city.

Seattle is a charming city (when it’s not raining). It lacks the hustle and bustle of other cities, but that’s part of its appeal. It has the accessibility and availability of a city without the chaos that is usually tied it.

Pike Place Market
I had never been to Seattle before and didn’t know what to expect. Within my first hour of wandering (I love to wander), I found Pike Place Market – home of the flying fish. (The fish are only sort of flying. Guys in orange jumpsuits throw whole fish from one side of the stand to the other.) Anyways, the market was packed with stands selling everything from seafood to handmade crafts. It was wonderful walking around and checking out everything there is to offer.

I apologize in advance for not recalling the company name, but on the street level near the flying fish stand, there is a donut stand worth visiting. Their donuts are simple, but good. Look for the long line of people, and you will find the donut stand. It’s that good.

While you’re at the market, check out the Athenian Inn a diner in the market. Peer in the windows and you can see where a part of Sleepless in Seattle (great movie) was filmed.

Pike Place Market is a fun place to visit, but be forewarned, the market gets packed with tourists and locals.

Piroshky Piroshky
1908 Pike Place
Seattle, WA
Right across the market, there is a small eatery called Piroshky Piroshky that specializes in, you guessed it…piroshkies. Piroshkies are Russian meat/veggie pies, similar to the Italian calzone. The outer bread is similar in consistency of a bagel and there are many options for the filling inside.

I stumbled upon this place while looking for the original Starbucks, which turned out to be a few stores down from Piroshky Piroshky. I saw a line of 10 people waiting to get into a small bakery and hopped right in line. The food was so good that for brunch the next day, I went right back to Piroshky Piroshky.

The traditional Piroshky is beef and onion, but while you’re in Seattle, seafood is king. Therefore, I recommend the smoked salmon pate piroshky. The piroshky comes shaped like a fish and is filled with smoked salmon and cheese. So good.

If you’re craving for something sweet, try the whole baked apple. Pretty much you can’t go wrong in ordering here since everything tastes so good.

There is not much room to eat at Piroshky Piroshky, so if it’s a clear day, grab your piroshky and head across the street to the open space where you’ll find others just hanging around and relaxing.

Pike Place Chowder
1530 Post Alley, Suite 11
Seattle, WA
Up an alley off of Pike Place, you will find Pike Place Chowder. They offer various types of chowders and are best known for their award-winning New England style clam chowder. I tried some of their other chowders, but I recommend sticking to the clam chowder. It's what they're best at.

Ivar's
Pier 54
Seattle, WA
For some more seafood, my family and I went to Ivar's down on Pier 54. The indoor dining served some great seafood and a meal on the parents was always right in my price range. For some cheap seafood eats, though, there's Ivar's take-out right next to the restaurant. Still in the mood to try some more of Seattle's seafood, we split an order of fish-n-chips from Ivar's take-out. I personally recommend trying some malt vinegar with the fries.

Pittsburgh, PA

I know, I know. You're probably thinking - of all the places to start, Pittsburgh? I could have chosen New York City, San Francisco, Chicago...pretty much any major city, and I chose Pittsburgh? Well, yes.

For the past four and a half years, Pittsburgh has been my home base (Go Steelers! or like Pittsburghers say it "Go Stillers!") and I have grown an affinity with the city and its people. Plus, while studying engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, I had gotten to know the cheap eats real well, on my $10/hr computer lab salary.

And so, the first food list of many (I hope)...

Primanti Bros.
Primanti Bros. is the quintessential Pittsburgh eatery. No doubt about it. Hands down, 100% pure Pittsburgh.

Their call sign is their sandwich. They take a slice of bread, place whatever meat option you choose, add coleslaw and fries to that (yes, coleslaw and fries on a sandwich), and top it off with the second slice of bread and there you have it, a Primanti sandwich.

If you go, get the number 2 best seller, the cheesesteak. It's amazing and worth breaking your diet for. What's the number 1 best seller? Beer, of course.

There are a few Primanti locations in Pittsburgh, including stands at Heinz Field (home of the Steelers) and PNC Park (home of the Pirates). So better yet, go watch one of the Pittsburgh teams and grab a Primati sandwich. Perfect!

Dave & Andy's Homemade Ice Cream
207 Atwood St
Pittsburgh, PA
Four words. Birthday cake ice cream.

Dave & Andy's serves up some of the best ice cream I have ever had. Their waffle cones are made fresh and their ice cream flavors are out of this world. Birthday cake ice cream is one of my favorite flavors. They take vanilla ice cream and add chunks of birthday cake (with sprinkles) to it. Two great things, birthday cake and ice cream, in one. Brilliant.

I used to go on runs from campus to Dave & Andy's and then walk back with waffle cone in hand. Best workout ever.

Mad Mex
370 Atwood Street
Pittsburgh, PA (Oakland area)
When I wasn't stuck in the computer lab, my favorite Friday afternoon event was Happy Hour at Mad Mex, a local mexican chain. During happy hour, their Big Azz Margaritas (16 ounces of mixed goodness) were only $6. Depending on the mix that day, finishing one margarita could keep you good for hours. While some of my friends swore that the mango on the rocks was the best, I preferred a blended, strawberry margarita.

One thing to note, is that happy hour gets packed real fast, especially at this location near University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. If you plan on going, get there early. Sometimes, my friends and I would go there for their half off food specials which ended a half an hour before happy hour and stay around for happy hour. That way we could be assured a table during happy hour.

Essie's Original Hot Dog Shop (nickname: "The O")
3901 Forbes Ave
Pittsburgh, PA
I'll be honest, I'm not a big hot dog fan. But that's fine, because it's the fries that you go to the O for. I once saw a list of the top 10 fries you have to try before you die and was not surprised when the O was on the list. Their portions are enormous. So big, they don't give you ketchup packets, they give you ketchup cups.

Their fries are cut from whole potatoes right on the premises. After they get their dunking in oil, the fries come out soft and golden, often sticking in big, delicious fry clumps. For the crispy fries lovers, the O fries may not be your thing, but definitely give them a try. Just note that if you get a large, you may want to make sure that you have at least 3 others to share it with.

helloooooooo

Welcome to my blog.

The intent for this site is to be an online scrapbook of my two favorite activities: eating and traveling. In particular, eating and traveling while on a budget - and having just graduated college, a low budget.

I love to travel. Seeing new sights, visiting new places is exhilarating. Nowadays, though, travel tends to be expensive with increasing airfares and hotel rates. So I like to backpack around, traveling cheaper by staying in hostels and finding good, cheap eats.

Which brings me to my other favorite activity: eating. I love to eat and will try pretty much any type of food. This type of attitude has both its blessings and curses. I have eaten some delicious foods on my travels. On the flip side, I have had my share of sleepless nights brought on by indigestion. Through it all, my quest to try new food continues. Afterall, I'll be fine as long as I pack my bottle of pepto-bismol.

And so I shall begin, posting some of the cheap eats I have dined at in various parts of the world. Hope you enjoy the blogs.

~amy